The Ethiopian Health Minister, who had been a party-government office until few months ago has been appointed to a top position by the international Roll Back Malaria Partnership. The News report read: “The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu to the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO).”

The selection according to the News report was “following an extensive global search and selection process supported by executive search firm Egon Zehnder.” What was the process like? Who did they compare him with?

Another member of the Ethiopian government, now advisor to the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Tedros Adhanom is poised to take a senior position within the World Health Organisation (WHO). Tedros has been a member of the core member of the Ethiopian ruling Front, the Tigrean Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), which is accused of scores of human rights abuses. He was also the Minister of Health for Ethiopia and until few months ago, Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Members of the Ethiopian Diaspora and activists have been campaigning against Tedros election bid for the WHO leadership. What most activists did not know was who from the start encouraged Tedros to run to lead the WHO. Those are the makers and breakers, who chipped him in for the position and thus despite any protest, they may have little success in averting that. Among Tedros’ Wikipedia biographic details, this sheds light on his international network and contacts,

During his time as Minister of Health of Ethiopia, Ethiopia was the first country to sign compact with the International Health Partnership. He has served as Chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (2007-2009), Programme Coordinating Board of UNAIDS (2009-2010) and the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (2009-2011) and Co-Chair of The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (2005-2009). He also served as member of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Board as well as the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and the Stop TB Partnership Coordinating Board.

Dr. Tedros and Dr. Kesete are very close colleagues and as soon as Tedros was moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he replaced Kesete in the Ministry of Health and now when Kesete was reshuffled, he gets appointed to lead the WHO. Mind you, Tedros was Chair of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (2007-2009). Not to forget also is that during their minister-ship, these ministers oversaw the national purchase of malaria kits, medicines, ARTs and many other important international medical contracts. Scratching backs.

Meritocracy defines individuals power ascension based on their talents and ability which measures their performance and records. Often times, we hear calls for a merit-based recruitment of individuals on the basis of their merit.

You hear your own friends and good wishers urging you to discard formal job application processes and find someone who can link you to someone powerful and who could do you a “favor.” We are an equal opportunity employer my foot.

Merit based employment has become a thing of the yesteryear unless one is vying for an extremely technical job but even in such jobs, networks are very important to get placement in the best department, office, region,  or receive the highest salary.

It is now very common to hear people say, you need to have good “networks”, “connections” or “contacts” to get the job you need or whatever you need in fact. It is true. Those of us who lived it, know it. Evidently, it is extremely difficult for an innocent graduate to get a job by simply applying for jobs, unless he/she knows someone in the organisation or his referees have existing links.

It is called corruption or nepotism in the developing world but “networking” in the developed world. Innocent graduates with the perfect skill and training are left jobless or work in a non-professional field, when many who do not qualify for the jobs are doing others jobs simply because they know the employer or they have contacts. This will destroy the world. It pushes us to look for contacts and networks, or worship people to help us secure the posts we need. This nepotistic network culture makes us do or give financial and valuable favors, gifts and contracts in order to get our children employed in their organisation.

How special are Dr. Tedros and Dr. Kesete to be candidates for this job among the many other African scholars, medical practitioners or policy makers? Especially, now that both of them are going to be working in almost two sister companies? What makes the many appointees working in international organisations and NGOs, receiving hefty salaries and benefits from the rest of us? Mostly, it is not their merit, it is their networks or the worldwide nepotism!

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Get your Oscar scorecard ready! The nominations for the 89th Academy Awards are in, and like every year, the list contains a few surprises.

It was a big morning for “La La Land,” as the acclaimed movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone earned a slew of Oscar nominations.

Both Gosling and Stone nabbed Oscar nominations for their roles in the film, which was directed by Damien Chazelle.

The film also earned multiple nods in the Original Score and Original Song categories, among other technical sets.

Past nominees and winners like Dev Patel, Denzel Washington and Jeff Bridges were also honored. Mel Gibson continued his comeback with a nod for Best Director for “Hacksaw Ridge.”

It was also a vastly different year from 2016, when the Oscars So White controversy loomed large. This year, “Fences,” “Moonlight,” “Hidden Figures” and “Lion” all scored big.

The Oscars will air on Sunday, Feb. 26, and will be hosted by ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.

Best Picture

• “Arrival”
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “La La Land”
• “Hidden Figures”
• “Lion”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “Hell or High Water”
• “Moonlight”
• “Fences”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Mahershala Ali – “Moonlight”
• Lucas Hedges – “Manchester by the Sea”
• Jeff Bridges – “Hell or High Water”
• Dev Patel – “Lion”
• Michael Shannon – “Nocturnal Animals”

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

• Viola Davis — “Fences”
• Naomie Harris — “Moonlight”
• Nicole Kidman — “Lion”
• Octavia Spencer — “Hidden Figures”
• Michelle Williams — “Manchester by the Sea”

Cinematography

• “Arrival”
• “La La Land”
• “Lion”
• “Moonlight”
• “Silence”

Documentary Feature

• “Fire at Sea”
• “I Am Not Your Negro”
• “Life Animated”
• “13th”
• “O.J.: Made in America”

Lead Actor

• Casey Affleck — “Manchester by the Sea”
• Andrew Garfield — “Hacksaw Ridge”
• Ryan Gosling — “La La Land”
• Viggo Mortensen — “Captain Fantastic”
• Denzel Washington — “Fences”

Lead Actress

• Isabelle Huppert — “Elle”
• Ruth Negga — “Loving”
• Natalie Portman — “Jackie”
• Emma Stone — “La La Land”
• Meryl Streep — “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Directing

• “Arrival”
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “La La Land”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “Moonlight”

Production Design

• “Arrival”
• “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
• “Hail, Caesar!”
• “La La Land”
• “Passengers”

Costume Design

• “Allied”
• “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
• “Jackie”
• “La La Land”
• “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Animated Feature Film

• “Kubo and the Two Strings”
• “Moana”
• “My Life as a Zucchini”
• “The Red Turtle”
• “Zootopia”

Original Song

• Audition (The Fools Who Dream) — “La La Land”
• Can’t Stop the Feeling — “Trolls”
• City of Star — “La La Land”
• The Empty Chair — “Jim: The James Foley Story”
• How Far I’ll Go — “Moana”

Original Score

• “La La Land”
• “Lion”
• “Jackie”
• “Passengers”
• “Moonlight”

Visual Effects

• “Deepwater Horizon”
• “Doctor Strange”
• “The Jungle Book”
• “Kubo and the Two Strings”
• “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

Foreign Language Film

• “Land of Mine”
• “A Man Called Ove”
• “The Salesman”
• “Tanna”
• “Toni Erdmann”

Makeup and Hairstyling

• “A Man Called Ove”
• “Star Trek Beyond”
• “Suicide Squad”

Live Action Short Film

• “Ennemis Intérieurs”
• “La Femme et le TGV”
• “Silent Nights”
• “Sing”
• “Timecode”

Sound Editing

• “Arrival”
• “Deepwater Horizon”
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “La La Land”
• “Sully”

Sound Mixing

• “Arrival”
• “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “La La Land”
• “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”

Adapted Screenplay

• “Arrival”
• “Fences”
• “Hidden Figures”
• “Lion”
• “Moonlight”

Original Screenplay

• “Hell or High Water”
• “La La Land”
• “The Lobster”
• “Manchester by the Sea”
• “20th Century Women”

Animated Short Film

• “Blind Vaysha”
• “Borrowed Time”
• “Pear Cider and Cigarettes”
• “Pearl”
• “Piper”

Documentary Short Subject

• “Extremis”
• “4.1 Miles”
• “Joe’s Violin”
• “Watani: My Homeland”
• “The White Helmets”

Film Editing

• “Arrival”
• “Hacksaw Ridge”
• “La La Land”
• “Moonlight”
• “Hell or High Water”

source: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/2017-oscar-nominations-announced/story?id=44988938

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A diplomatic row has broken out between South Sudan and neighbouring Ethiopia following rumours on social media that President Salva Kiir accepted to allow Ethiopian rebels to open their office in the capital Juba.

“Rumours have been circulating on social media that when President Kiir visited Egypt, he discussed import issues with the Egyptian officials so that Ethiopian rebels can open an office in Juba, “a senior government official who preferred anonymity told Radio Tamazuj today.

“The rumours circulated that the President has accepted to allow the Ethiopian rebels to open their office in Juba and Egypt will support the Ethiopian rebels with guns, because Egypt is having differences with Ethiopia over the issue of Renaissance Dam, so this is what happened on social media,” he added.

The official accused the SPLM-IO faction allied to former First Vice President Riek Machar of circulating the rumour in neighbouring Ethiopia.”The rebels now took advantage of that, and this information has already reached the government of Ethiopia,” he said.

He pointed out that the government of Ethiopia has decided to cut diplomatic ties with the government of South Sudan and expel South Sudan’s Ambassador to Addis Ababa.

“Even if there are differences between us, Ethiopia cannot expel our ambassador, because the ambassador is the ambassador of South Sudan to Ethiopia and at the same time he is representing us in the African Union. So, Ethiopia cannot expel our ambassador,” he said.

According to the official, South Sudan government will issue a statement to deny the rumour.

File photo: Ethiopian Prime Minister during his visit to the capital Juba in October, 2016 (Radio Tamazuj)

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The e-ticketing service, which is for transit buses to and from different parts of Ethiopia, will start as of December 10, 2016.

The Federal Transport Authority (FTA), inspired by the advancements of the government billing system called “Lehulu”, is leading the launch of the new payment and ticketing service powered by Kifya Financial Technology Plc.

Lehulu is a unique and unified utility billing system introduced under a public-private partnership among Kifya, the Ethiopian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), the Ethiopian Electric Utility, the Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority, and Ethio Telecom.

The new platform dubbed, “Yene Guzo”, which literally means “My Trip”, has been developed to make the public cross-regional bus service easier so that customers travel and connect with loved ones at ease.

The new “Yene Guzo” payment instrument has been developed by Kifya Financial Technology Plc in collaboration with the FTA to make cross-regional transit simpler and more convenient through accessible point-of-sale locations.

In a joint press conference on Tuesday here in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, officials from the FTA, Kifya Financial Technology plc, and the Bus Associations, told reporters that the new payment and ticketing service would address the difficulties and inconveniences that customers come across while having the bus services with the current system.

In addition to convenient purchase points, the joint press statement says that the service will allow customers to book and purchase bus tickets weeks in advance of their travel dates, which reduces costs associated with traveling to ticketing areas and eliminates the uncertainty of departing at the desired date and time.

The service, which is to be started with five terminals in Addis Ababa on December 10, will be available in all Lehulu centers in the near future, according to Kassahun Hailemariam, FTA Director General.

source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-12/07/c_135885498.htm

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Amici Curiae Brief for Appellant Kidane

Motion for Leave to File Amici Curiae Brief

The activist, who uses the pseudonym “Kidane” in order to protect himself and his family, was born in Ethiopia and granted asylum in the United States in the early 1990s. He currently lives in Maryland and is now an American citizen, but he continues to support members of Ethiopia’s democratic opposition movement. In 2012, Ethiopia reportedly infected Kidane’s computer with malware and, from October 2012 to March 2013, secretly intercepted and recorded his online activities, including his Skype calls, e-mails and web-browsing history. These allegations are part of broader trend of digital attacks targeting human rights defenders, activists, journalists and other vulnerable groups, both in Ethiopia and abroad.

The group of experts – UN Special Rapporteurs David Kaye, Maina Kiai and Michel Forst – filed an amicus brief in support of Kidane. Providing him with access to U.S. legal process, the experts said, would give effect to the obligation of the United States to ensure respect for fundamental rights guaranteed to individuals within its jurisdiction, and send a strong global signal against such digital attacks.

Kidane is represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Robins Kaplan LLP, and Guernica 37: International Justice Chambers. Earlier this year, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. Kidane has appealed the decision before the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals (D.C. Circuit).

For more information, please see EFF’s case page: https://www.eff.org/cases/kidane-v-ethiopia.

*David Kaye is the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Maina Kiai is the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. Michel Forst is the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

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Seyoum Teshome, a management lecturer  in Ambo University and owner of the http://ethiothinkthank.com blog, has been reportedly arrested by Ethiopian securities at his home.

His articles also appeared on his Facebook page and another pro-government website.

In his recent posts he described how his co-lecturers were going to silently protest the government called teacher’s meeting last month. There are also reports that Seyoum had strongly criticized the ruling Front during the meeting last month.

The post Lecturer and owner of http://ethiothinkthank.com, Seyoum has been detained appeared first on De Birhan.

Reuters/Addis Ababa

The European Investment Bank is set to lend Ethiopia $200 million to build two industry parks that will employ 30,000 refugees in a move aimed at curbing migration to Europe, the bank said on Wednesday.

The Horn of Africa country hosts more than 743,000 refugees and asylum seekers from neighbouring countries, many of whom use its camps as way stations on a longer journey to Europe.

The bank said the 30,000 refugees will be among 100,000 people who will be employed altogether in a scheme that will cost $500 million. The World Bank, Britain, and other EU nations will provide the rest of the financing.

‘We know that Ethiopia is for many a stopping point before making the dangerous onward journey to final destinations in Europe,’ said Werner Hoyer, the EIB’s president.

‘Initiatives and projects like this provide people with a choice to stay closer to home and an opportunity for economic growth as well,’ he added in a statement.

Over 161,000 Eritrean refugees currently reside in Ethiopia, the majority of whom say they fled the prospect of unlimited service in the Eritrean military.

More than 33,000 Eritreans sought asylum in Europe last year, the European Union says.

Ethiopia accounts for five percent of the refugees and migrants to have reached European shores so far this year, according to data obtained from the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.

Source: http://www.gulf-times.com/story/514548/EIB-to-loan-Ethiopia-200mn-for-migrants-jobs?

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Students at Haromaya University displaying the anti-government gesture in December 2015. Photo shared widely on social media.

Defying Olympic rules and risking the wrath of his country’s government, Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa made a political gesture in support of the Oromo people after competing in a marathon during the last weekend of the Olympic Games in Brazil.

Lilesa, who won a silver medal, crossed his arms to make an “X” at the finish line and during medal presentation. The sign is used by the Oromo people and their supporters in their protests against their repression by the Ethiopian government.

The International Olympic Committee, however, bans political protests. Tommie Smith and John Carlos, for example, two black athletes from the United States, were famously expelled after they did a black power salute in the 1968 Games.

Lilesa, who told reporters that if he returns to Ethiopia he would be killed, plans to seek asylum in Brazil, the US or Kenya.

The Oromo people have been protesting since November 2015. The protest in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest administrative region, started when students asked the government to stop its plan to expand the capital city Addis Ababa into Oromia’s surrounding farm lands. The students believe that the controversial expansion would result in mass evictions of farmers mostly from the Oromo ethnic group.

The government argued the plan was meant only to facilitate the development of infrastructure such as transportation, utilities, and recreation centers.

Although the government has scrapped the plan to expand Addis Ababa, the protesters are demanding action on the greater questions of self-rule, freedom and identity. For example, the students want Oromo to be made a federal language. Oromo, the language of the Oromo people, is the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia and the fourth largest African language. However, it is not the working language of the federal government.

Both Oromia and Amhara regions are challenging the dominance of the Tigray ethnic group in Ethiopia’s politics. The Tigray make up 6% of the population, but have an overwhelming hold on power in the country, while the Oromos, who are the country’s largest ethnic group, representing 34%, and the Amharas at 27% have very little representation in key government positions.

Dissent, both physical and virtual, is not tolerated in Ethiopia. Early this month, security forces used live bullets to disperse protesters in Oromoa and Amhara, another administrative region, killing about 100 protesters, according to news sites and social media reports.

On April 25, 2014, nine bloggers and journalists were arrested in Ethiopia on accusations of “inciting public disorder via social media” and “receiving support from a foreign government.” The detainees had all worked with Zone9, a collective blog that fostered political debate and discussion.

On July 8 and 9, 2015 several days prior to Barack Obama’s historic visit to the country, five of the nine writers were released from Kilinto Prison in Addis Ababa. On October 16, 2015, the remaining four bloggers — Befeqadu Hailu, Natnael Feleke, Atnaf Berhane and Abel Wabela — were acquitted of terrorism charges. Three of the four bloggers were released on October 19, and Befeqadu Hailu was released on bail on October 21, pending a separate charge of incitement to violence.

And in May 2016, the Ethiopian Federal High Court sentenced young Ethiopian blogger and activist Zelalem Workagegnehu to five years and four months in prison for “supporting terror” because of an alleged link to Ginbot 7 Movement, a pro-democracy political party labelled a “terrorist organisation” by the Ethiopian government in 2010. Zelalem is a human rights advocate and a scholar who regularly contributed to the diaspora-run website DeBirhan.

‘Shame on you, the despicable government of Ethiopia!

After Lilesa made headlines with his gesture, one Facebook user observed that the Olympics have exposed two things about the state of politics in Ethiopia: repression and favouritism:

This Rio Olympics has made two political revelations about the savage Ethiopian government. That guy who came 59th out of 59 swimmers showed how corrupt the Ethiopian government is. That loser guy was sent to the Olympics by his own corrupt father. Now the Marathon Silver Medalist showed a sign of the Oromo Protest which has exposed to the whole world the continued protest in Ethiopia against the brutal Ethiopian government. This is a good mix of politics with Olympics. Shame on you, the despicable government of Ethiopia!

Overweight Ethiopian Olympic swimmer Robel Kiros Habte became an object of ridicule after he came last in the preliminary men’s 100-meter freestyle heats. Some Ethiopians argue that the swimmer was included in the Ethiopian Olympic team because of his tribe and political affiliation.

Given Lilesa’s decision not to return home for fear of his life, Ethiopians online raised US$54,433 in less than 24 hours to help him seek asylum.

The Ethiopian government officially says the runner will not be prosecuted over his protest gesture but “will be conferred a heroic welcome along with his team members.”

Endalk, an Ethiopian free speech advocate in exile and a Global Voices author, reacted to the government’s statement by saying:

Follow

endalk2006 @endalk2006

Ethiopian gov’t is saying please come home so that we will torture you,nothing else #OromoProtests https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/767718892915593216 …

 

While the Ethiopian government spokesperson congratulated Lilesa, state TV did not show footage of him at the finish line.

‘A muzzled generational cry for freedom’

Jeffrey Smith, a human rights activist, declared Lilesa’s anti-government gesture a “profoundly courageous moment”:

Follow

Jeffrey Smith @Smith_JeffreyT

#FeyisaLilesa put his life on the line to expose the brutal, murderous regime in #Ethiopia. A profoundly courageous

Freelance journalist Mohammed Ademo further praised Lilesa:

Follow

Mohammed Ademo

✔@OPride

#FeyisaLilesa used the biggest stage of his life to express a muzzled generational cry for freedom. He spoke without words.#courage

Responding to those saying that he should go back to Ethiopia, Gebreslassie Kiros wrote on Facebook:

It is up to him to decide what he wants to do. We have thousands of feyisa and thosands of feyisas might be also produced. Hence, what is best is allowing feyisa wherever he needs to live

Ken Smith noted:

this nation has had its share of wars and genocides…but they still produce tremendous Olympians…especially marathoners. He deserves to be respected for this sign of protest…humanity needs more like him.

Hani Teshe wrote:

there is a genocide going on in Ethiopia .. the world must know what’s going on in Ethiopia.

And Nardos Kefle observed:

Best moment from Rio De Jenero Olympic. Respect for Feyisa Lilesa, Ethiopian Olympic Silver medal winner in Men’s Marathon. If the 42.195 kilometres (26.219 miles, or 26 miles 385 yards) didn’t kill you the Ethiopian government, [the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front] can’t kill you.

‘Not a stage for personal views’

Not everyone supports Lilesa. On Facebook, Nicola Dotto said the Olympics are not a stage for personal views:

any and all Olympic athlete who shows any sign of political or religous protest in any form should be stripped of they’re medal if they won,,these are world SPORTING EVENTS,not a stage for personal views..

Lina Aya also argued the event is not a “political showcase”:

The olympic isnt a political show case. You want to make difference you seat down in your country & create a solution. To Go out on olympic & lying and asking & a visa in a different country is a against the olympic law

Gebremeskel Tesfay Kidanu, an Ethiopian student, wanted Lilesa to go back to Ethiopia to apologise:

His act was dirty, & guilty. But, still we expect you to come to your homeland and saying excuse to the Ethiopian people that you ignored unknowingly.

It is curious to note that on 7 August, long before Lilesa made the gesture, one Twitter user, Ashe, said that she hoped that one athlete would make a solidarity gesture with the Oromo protests:

Follow

Ashe (优胜者) @Ashe_Q

I hope one of #Eth prominent Olympic athletes chooses to make a gesture standing in solidarity with the protests.

Written byNdesanjo Macha

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