Sixty years on, Africa still seeks right model for growth

Yahoo – AFP, Marie WOLFROM, December 29, 2019

Socio-economic changes in sub-Saharan Africa since 1960 (AFP Photo/
Thomas SAINT-CRICQ)

Paris (AFP) - As 1960 dawned, sub-Saharan Africa braced for historic change: that year, 17 of its countries were destined to gain independence from European colonial powers.

But six decades on, the continent is mired in many problems. It is struggling to build an economic model that encourages enduring growth, addresses poverty and provides a future for its youth.

Here are some of the key issues:

A lack of opportunity for Africa's swelling ranks of youths could spell trouble (AFP 

Photo/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI)

Youth 'explosion'

Africa's population grew from 227 million in 1960 to more than one billion in 2018. More than 60 percent are aged under 25, according to the Brookings Institution, a US think tank.

"The most striking change for me is the increasing reality of disaffected youth... a younger population that is ready to explode at any moment," Cameroonian sociologist Francis Nyamnjoh told AFP.

"They are hungry for political freedoms, they are hungry for economic opportunities and they are hungry for social fulfilment ."

Joblessness is a major peril. Unemployed youths are an easy prey for armed groups, particularly jihadist movements in the Sahel, or may be tempted to risk clandestine emigration, often at the cost of their lives.

The continent's population is expected to double by 2050, led by Nigeria, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Even if poverty rates have fallen across much of Africa, the continent is still beset 

by enormous inequality (AFP Photo/RODGER BOSCH)

Poverty and inequality

The proportion of Africa's population living below the poverty line —- less than $1.90 (1.7 euros) per day —- fell from 54.7 percent in 1990 to 41.4 percent in 2015, according to the World Bank.

But this average masks enormous differences from one country to another, exemplified by Gabon (3.4 percent of the population in 2017) and Madagascar (77.6 percent in 2012).

"The inequalities between countries are as extreme as in Asia and the inequalities within countries as as high as in Latin America, where landless peasants coexist with huge landowners," said Togolese economist Kako Nubukpo.

Christophe Cottet, an economist at the French Development Agency (AFD), pointed out that inequality in Africa is "very poorly measured."

"There are notably no figures on inequalities of inherited wealth, a key issue in Africa."

Shanty communities are not unusual in African cities as housing fails to keep 

pace with the population (AFP Photo/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI)

Mega-cities and countryside

Recent decades have seen the expansion of megacities like Lagos and Kinshasa, typically ringed by shantytowns where people live in extreme poverty, although many medium-sized cities have also grown.

More than 40 percent of Africans now live in urban areas, compared with 14.6 percent in 1960, according to the World Bank.

In 1960, Cairo and Johannesburg were the only African cities with more than a million residents. Consultants McKinsey and Company estimate that by 2030, about 100 cities will have a million inhabitants, twice as many as in Latin America.

But this urban growth is not necessarily the outcome of a rural exodus, said Cottet.

"The population is rising across Africa as a whole, rather faster in towns than in rural areas," said Cottet.

"There is also the problem of unemployment in towns -- (rural) people have little interest in migrating there."

Attempts by African countries to get around fiscal constraints didn't always end well, 

such as this Zimbabwean man who decorated his hat with worthless currency 

(AFP Photo/ZINYANGE AUNTONY)

Lost decades of growth

Growth in Africa slammed to a halt in the early 1980s, braked by a debt crisis and structural adjustment policies. It took two decades to recover.

Per-capita GDP, as measured in constant US dollars, shows the up-and-downs, although these figures are official and do not cover Africa's large informal economy: $1,112 in 1960, $1,531 in 1974, $1,166 in 1994 and $1,657 in 2018.

"If you do an assessment over 60 years, something serious happened in Africa, with the loss of 20 years. But there is no denying that what is happening now is more positive," Cottet said.

The IMF's and World Bank's structural adjustment programmes "broke the motors of growth," said Nubukpo, whose book, "L'Urgence Africaine," (The African Emergency) makes the case for a revamped growth model.

The belt-tightening programmes "emphasised the short term, to the detriment of investments in education, health and training."

Nearly all of Africa's cotton is exported without having been processed (AFP 

Photo/Khaled DESOUKI)

New thinking needed

Africa has a low rate of industrialisation, is heavily dependent on agriculture and its service sector has only recently started to emerge.

"We have not escaped the colonial model. Basically, Africa remains a producer and exporter of raw materials," said Nubukpo.

He gave the example of cotton: 97 percent of Africa's cotton fibre is exported without processing -- the phase which adds value to raw materials and provides jobs.

For Jean-Joseph Boillot, a researcher attached to the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, "Africa is still seeking an economic model of development."

"There is very little development of local industries," he said.

"This can only be achieved through a very strong approach, of continental industrial protection -- but this is undermined by the great powers in order to pursue free trade.

"The Chinese, the Indians and Westerners want to be able to go on distributing their products."

Sub-Saharan Africa has half of the countries deemed to the world's most corrupt 

by Transparency International (AFP Photo/Jekesai NJIKIZANA)

Governance problem

Lack of democracy, transparency and efficient judicial systems are major brakes on African growth, and wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, said the experts.

Of the 40 states deemed last year to be the most world's most corrupt countries, 20 are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Transparency International.

"Africa is not developing because it is caught in the trap of private wealth and the top wealth holders are African leaders," said Nubukpo.

"We must promote democracy, free and transparent elections to have legitimate leaders who have the public interest at heart, which we absolutely do not have."

Nyamnjoh also pointed to marginalised groups -- "There should be more room for inclusivity of voices, including voices of the young, voices of women."

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G20 launches plan to fight poverty in Africa

"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

" .... Africa

Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit.. ...."

The Recalibration of Awareness - Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… The Future of the Illuminati

Now, I want to tell you something that you didn't expect and something I've reported only one other time. What about all of the money that the Illuminati has? There are trillions and trillions of euro in banks, under their control, waiting. What are they going to do with it and where are they going to use it? It's still here. They're waiting.

This group is waiting for something to happen that they know is going to happen, for they see it coming as much as I do. However, I would like to tell you something that they don't expect. With awareness comes generational shift. Those in charge of this money will not always be elders. The indigos eventually will have it.

They are waiting for something to happen in Africa - the building of a new civilization, a continent that has nothing to unlearn. Once Africa is cured, once it's ready, a new civilization can be created from the ground up. Africans will be ready to learn everything about building a foundation for the most advanced civilization ever and will do it with the most modern and inventive systems available. Eventually, this new continent will even beat the economics of China.

This is the prediction and always has been, and the Illuminati's money will fund it. Did I say the Illuminati will fund it? [Kryon laugh]The Illuminati's money will fund it, but there is a difference from the past, dear ones. The ones who inherit the positions in the Illuminati will be a different consciousness. Listen, they are not suddenly going to be the ones who have the good of everyone in their hearts - hardly. They want to make money, but what they will see instead is a way to make a great deal of money through this investment. In the process, it will automatically help hundreds of thousands, and they will be at the beginning, the foundation, that builds the new Africa. The new African states of unification eventually will create a continent stronger than any of the others, and it will have one currency. The resources alone will dwarf anything in the world.

"Wow, Kryon, how long is that going to take?"

The Humans in the room control that and those listening later and reading. When you leave this room, what are you going to do? Go home, report this, rub your hands together, and wait for it to happen? It won't. For the Humans in the room and the old souls hearing and reading have got work to do, and I've told you this before. You've got work to do.

There's an alliance that you're going to have to create with one another and with another group - the young people of Earth. The youth of this earth are changing the way things work. Can you see it? You're not supposed to sit around and watch them either, because they need you, old soul.

It's time for you to align with the indigos and the concepts of the youth of the planet. Do not think for a moment that their age shows their wisdom. These two attributes are not commensurate with one another; they're not linear. These young people may be older souls than you are! Don't think that because they've got technology that you don't understand that you can't be one with them. Their technology is social networking, the very thing we are talking about, where everyone can talk to everyone. The new consciousness on the planet starts in two areas - the children and the old souls.. …”

UN extends investigation of leader's mysterious 1961 death

Yahoo – AFP, December 28, 2019

Only the second secretary-general in UN history, Dag Hammarskjold was killed
along with 15 others on September 18, 1961 when their plane crashed in what was
then known as Northern Rhodesia (AFP Photo)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United Nations General Assembly on Friday approved a resolution extending the investigation into the mysterious 1961 death of secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold.

The Swedish diplomat had been traveling in southern Africa for a mission when his plane crashed.

The text, initiated by Sweden and co-sponsored by more than 100 countries, was adopted by consensus without a vote.

Sweden recommended the reappointment of Tanzanian lawyer Mohamed Chande Othman, who has led the investigation for several years.

In his last report, published in early October, Othman accused the United States and Britain of withholding information regarding Hammarskjold's death.

Only the second secretary-general in the history of the UN, Hammarskjold was killed along with 15 other people on September 18, 1961 when their plane crashed near the city of Ndola in what was then known as Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia.

At the time, he was seeking to unite Congo and stop the mineral-rich Katanga province from seceding.

Two investigations concluded the crash was caused by pilot error. But since 2014, new probes have focused on a possible plot, a theory enforced by Othman's most recent report.

"South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States must be almost certain to hold important undisclosed information," he wrote.

The resolution urged member states, "in particular those referred to in the report, to release any relevant records in their possession."

In his report, Othman mentioned the likelihood that UN member states intercepted communications related to the crash, as well as the existence of Katangan air assets that could have attacked the secretary-general's plane.

He also cited the presence of foreign forces, including pilots and intelligence agents, on the ground at the time of the crash.

Survivors tell of France's 'dirty war' in Cameroon independence

Yahoo – AFP, Reinnier KAZE, December 28, 2019

Survivor: Odile Mbouma says she saw dozens of people slaughtered by French
troops who were hunting for Cameroonian independence fighters (AFP Photo)

Ekité (Cameroon) (AFP) - It was a "dirty war" waged by French colonial troops but it never made headlines and even today goes untold in school history books.

The brutal conflict unfolded in Cameroon, which on January 1 marks its 60th anniversary of independence -- the first of 17 African countries that became free from their colonial masters in 1960.

Many decades on, those who witnessed the violence recall events that shaped countless lives in the central African country yet remain unchronicled today.

"My life was overturned," Odile Mbouma, 72, said in the southwestern town of Ekite.

On the night of December 30, 1956, French troops arrived in the town and slaughtered dozens of people, perhaps as many as a hundred, she said.

"We were sitting under a tree when we suddenly heard the crackle of gunfire," she said. "It was everyone for themselves."

Taking to her heels, the seven-year-old found herself jumping over bodies. "They were everywhere."

The troops were looking for independence fighters -- members of the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), a nationalist movement established in 1948 that faced repression first by the French and later by Cameroonian soldiers.

French authorities labelled the UPC "communist" and cracked down from 1955, driving the movement underground, though its charismatic founder Ruben Um Nyobe preached non-violence.

Benoit Bassemel was aged seven when his father was 

killed in the December 31 1956 massacre (AFP Photo)

Buried in cement

In September 1958, Um Nyobe -- nicknamed Mpodol (for "he who brings the word" in the Bassa language) -- was killed by French troops.

"His body was dragged around and displayed so that everybody (saw the corpse) of a man who was considered immortal," said Louis Marie Mang, UPC activist in Eseka, where Um Nyobe is buried in a Protestant graveyard.

"To prevent traditional rites from being held, he was put in a block of cement and buried (without) a coffin."

The conflict continued long beyond independence, for repression of the nationalists continued under Cameroon's first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, who also banned public references to the UPC and to Um Nyobe.

The violence "passed unnoticed, wiped from memories," according to Thomas Deltombe, Manuel Domergue and Jacob Tatsitsa, authors of "La guerre du Cameroun" ("Cameroon's War"), published in 2016.

They estimate that between 1955 and 1964, tens of thousands of people, including civilians as well as UPC members, were killed.

In Ekite, a wreath of flowers lies on the soil of a scrubland field at the end of a dirt track. "The Nation will remember your sacrifice," says a memorial notice.

Louis Marie Mang, a UPC activist, stands before the tomb of anti-colonialist leader 

Ruben Um Nyobe (AFP Photo)

"This is one of the mass graves where the nationalists were buried," said Jean-Louis Kell, a UPC militant.

A second ditch was apparent a dozen metres (yards) away, and "a third was discovered not long ago," said Benoit Bassemel. He was seven during the French massacre and has tears in his eyes when he tells how his father was murdered.

'Free like the others'

UPC nationalists believe that the independence granted on January 1, 1960 was not what they fought for.

They view the country's two post-independence presidents, Ahidjo and Paul Biya, who has been in office since 1982, as working hand-in-hand with France.

"We wanted to be free like the other countries. We no longer wanted white people to subjugate us," said 80-year-old Mathieu Njassep, in his tiny family apartment in Petit Paris, a poor district of Douala, the economic capital.

In 1960, aged 21, Njassep joined the Cameroon National Liberation Army (ALNK), the UPC's armed wing.

After two years of fighting, he was appointed secretary to Ernest Ouandie, a leading figure in the movement. He was sentenced to death but escaped the firing squad, unlike Ouandie, who was executed in 1971.

A farewell to arms: Former independence fighter Mathieu Njassep (AFP Photo)

"We had almost nothing to wage a war with," Njassep said.

"We carried out ambushes" with machetes, sticks and homemade guns. "If we had had enough weapons, we would have beaten them."

At the time, the ALNK had established its headquarters in the village of Bandenkop, on the land of the main western tribal group, the Bamileke. Fighting was fierce between the nationalists and the French army.

In the rugged valley from which ALNK commanders led operations, there is no sign of human life today and the only sound is that of a bubbling stream.

"This whole zone was regularly bombed" by the French air force, said Michel Eclador Pekoua, a former UPC official.

Pekoua and other nationalists say French planes dropped napalm. France has neither confirmed nor denied the use of the notorious incendiary weapon.

Decapitations

On a road 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the north, in Bafoussam, a roundabout is known as the "crossroads of the guerrillas," for it was where the decapitated heads of nationalists were placed on show, said Theophile Nono, head of a historical association, Memoire 60.

The regime's methods "ranged from the arrest and arbitrary imprisonment of any Cameroonian suspected of 'rebellion' to systematic torture, with extrajudicial summary executions," Nono said.

A statue of Ruben Um Nyobe has been erected in Eseka to commemorate 

his part in Cameroon's independence (AFP Photo)

For many years the conflict mostly remained taboo in Cameroon. It was in the 1990s, when the authorities came under mounting pressure for democratic change, that people began to raise the historic past.

Biya, in a speech in 2010, paid tribute to "people who dreamed of (independence), fought to obtain it and sacrificed their lives for it... Our people should be eternally grateful to them."

After years of French silence, then president Francois Hollande in 2015 became his country's first head of state to speak of "a repression" of Cameroonian nationalists leading to "tragic episodes".

For many survivors, this is not enough.

"France must accept its responsibility," Nono said.

"It must undertake to compensate victims of the dirty war, which has been carefully concealed by both the French side and the Cameroonian side."

Sudan, rebels, agree plan to end conflict in Darfur

Yahoo – AFP, December 28, 2019

There is fresh hope for peace after Sudan's transitional government, led by Prime
Minister Abdalla Hamdok, made peace in these areas a priority (AFP Photo/
ASHRAF SHAZLY)

Juba (AFP) - The Sudanese government and nine rebel groups on Saturday signed an agreement on a roadmap towards ending the bloody conflict in the Darfur region.

The deal outlines different issues the parties will need to negotiate during the latest round of talks in Juba.

"We believe this is an important step," said Ahmed Mohamed, the chief negotiator on Darfur matters from the Sudan Revolutionary Front or SRF, a coalition of nine rebel groups involved in talks with the Sudanese government.

"This step no doubt will help the process to achieve a lasting peace in Darfur and also it will enable the transitional process in Sudan to move smoothly without hindrances," Mohamed told AFP.

Among the issues they agreed need to be tackled are the root causes of the conflict, the return of refugees and internally displaced people, power sharing and the integration of rebel forces into the national army.

The deal also states that the Sudanese government will address land issues, such as the destruction of property during the conflict.

Khartoum has been negotiating with different rebel groups in the capital of South Sudan for two weeks, in the latest round of efforts to end conflicts in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Rebels in these areas fought bloody campaigns against marginalisation by Khartoum under ousted president Omar al-Bashir.

The Darfur fighting broke out in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Bashir's Arab-dominated government.

Human rights groups say Khartoum targeted suspected pro-rebel ethnic groups with a scorched earth policy, raping, killing, looting and burning villages.

Bashir, who is behind bars for corruption and awaiting trial on other charges, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for his role in the conflict that left around 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced, according to the United Nations.

However, there is fresh hope for peace after Sudan's transitional government, led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, made peace in these areas a priority.

"We failed to achieve a lasting peace for Darfur simply because the previous government was not ready to take strategic decisions to resolve the conflict in Darfur," said Mohamed who has been involved in previous failed peace talks.

General Samsedine Kabashi, the top Sudanese government representative at the talks said: "We are committed to ending all the problems in Darfur and ensuring that we restore peace and stability not only in Darfur but across all parts of the country."

The peace process began in August and mediators aim to reach a final deal by February 2020.

France to return Benin artworks by 2021: minister

Yahoo – AFP, December 16, 2019

President Macron pledged last year to hand back 26 artefacts "without delay" in
a landmark decision that has piled pressure on other former colonial powers to
restore looted artworks to their countries of origin (AFP Photo/GERARD JULIEN)

Cotonou (AFP) - France will return artworks taken from Benin during the colonial conquest of the region by the start of 2021, culture minister Franck Riester said Monday on a visit to the West African country.

President Emmanuel Macron pledged last year to hand back 26 artefacts "without delay" in a landmark decision that has piled pressure on other former colonial powers to restore looted artworks to their countries of origin.

The pieces -- including a royal throne -- were seized by French troops over a century ago and have been housed at the Quai Branly museum in Paris.

Riester said the artworks would be returned "in the course of 2020, perhaps at the beginning of 2021" as he met with Benin's president Patrice Talon in Cotonou.

Benin has welcomed France's decision to return the objects, but has warned against doing so too quickly as it works to build a proper facility to showcase the heritage.

Benin's culture minister Jean-Michel Abimbola told a joint press conference that the two countries had agreed that the artworks would be handed back "in several stages".

He welcomed "the commitment of the French President to return these works" and "the opening of a broader discussion" concerning other artefacts.

The Kingdom of Dahomey -- in what became modern-day Benin -- reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries and became a major source of slaves for European traders before conquest by Paris in the 1890s ended its rule.

Two Algeria ex-PMs get heavy jail terms in graft trial

Yahoo – AFP, December 10, 2019

There was tight security outside the Algiers courthouse for the reading of the
verdicts against former prime ministers Ahmed Ouyahia and Abdelmalek Sellal
and other leading political and business figures (AFP Photo/RYAD KRAMDI)

Algiers (AFP) - An Algerian court sentenced two former prime ministers to long jail terms Tuesday in the first of a string of high-profile corruption trials launched after longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in the face of mass protests in April.

Ahmed Ouyahia was sentenced to 15 years and Abdelmalek Sellal to 12, the state-run APS news agency reported.

It was the first time since Algeria's independence from France in 1962 that former prime ministers had been put on trial.

The state prosecutor had sought 20-year prison sentences for the two ex-premiers.

In all, 19 defendants were tried on charges ranging from money laundering to abuse of office and granting undue privileges in the vehicle assembly industry.

The nascent Algerian automotive sector got its start in 2014, via partnerships between foreign groups and large Algerian corporations, often owned by businessmen linked to Bouteflika's entourage.

One former industry minister, Abdeslam Bouchouareb, who is on the run abroad, was sentenced in absentia to 20 years.

Two other former industry ministers, Mahdjoub Bedda and Youcef Yousfi, were handed 10-year terms.

Businessman Ali Haddad, founder and CEO of private construction firm ETRHB and former head of Algeria's main employers' organisation, was sentenced to seven years.

Three businessmen who own vehicle assembly plants -- Ahmed Mazouz, Hassen Arbaoui and Mohamed Bairi -- were sentenced to seven years, six years and three years respectively.

The verdicts come just two days before Algeria is due to elect a president to replace Bouteflika in a vote bitterly opposed by the country's nine-month-old protest movement, which sees it as a regime ploy to cling to power.

While no opinion polls have been published, observers expect high levels of abstention, in keeping with previous elections in a political system seen by voters as rigid and unaccountable.

Ethiopia PM Abiy urges unity as he collects Nobel Peace Prize

Yahoo – AFP, Pierre-Henry DESHAYES, December 10, 2019

Abiy, shown here receiving the Peace Prize from the chair of the Norwegian Nobel
Committee Berit Reiss-Andersen, faces rising ethnic violence at home (AFP Photo/
Håkon Mosvold Larsen)

Oslo (AFP) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed collected the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Tuesday, appealing for unity as ethnic violence flares in his country and reconciliation efforts with former foe Eritrea have stalled.

"There is no 'Us and Them'," he said in his speech at Oslo's flower-bedecked City Hall. "There is only 'Us', for 'We' are all bound by a shared destiny of love, forgiveness and reconciliation."

The Nobel committee honoured Abiy -- Africa's youngest leader at 43 -- for the spectacular progress in the months after he took power in April 2018.

Just months into his premiership he met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to formally end a stalemate that had dragged on since a 1998-2000 border conflict.

He has pushed to introduce democratic elections in a country long ruled by authoritarian governments and played a wider role as a mediator in East Africa.

But the winds have since shifted -- some of his domestic reforms have fuelled a flare-up of ethnic tension and outstanding issues with Eritrea have once again come to the fore.

Faced with these challenges, he called for unity as he picked up his award in a formal ceremony attended by the Norwegian royal family and dignitaries.

Map of Ethiopia and Eritrea and the history of their relations. (AFP Photo)

'Comrade-in-peace'

During his speech, Abiy was quick to praise Afwerki as his "partner and comrade-in-peace" -- the only leader Eritrea has known since it gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

"We understood our nations are not enemies. Instead, we were victims of the common enemy called poverty," he said.

A former soldier, Abiy also spoke of the ravages of war, recalling how his entire unit had been wiped out in an Eritrean artillery attack but he had survived after briefly leaving a foxhole to get better antenna reception.

"War is the epitome of hell for all involved," he said.

During the lightning-fast rapprochement that followed the peace deal with Asmara, embassies reopened, flights resumed and meetings were held across the region.

But the "Abiymania" hype has faded and he is now facing major challenges.

The land border between the two nations is once again closed and the question of border demarcations is unresolved.

"At present, this work seems to be at a standstill," said the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen.

During the lightning-fast rapprochement that followed the peace deal with Asmara, 

embassies reopened, flights resumed and meetings were held across the region 

(AFP Photo/Fredrik VARFJELL)

"It is the hope of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that your previous achievements, coupled with added encouragement of the Peace Prize, will spur the parties to further implementation of the peace treaties," she added.

Abiy has vowed to hold the first "free, fair and democratic" elections since 2005 in May, and experts fear the Ethiopian leader may have to shift his attention away from the peace process to focus on the vote.

'Humble disposition

In stark contrast to his authoritarian predecessors, Abiy has lifted the state of emergency, released dissidents from jail, apologised for state brutality and welcomed home exiled armed groups.

He also established a national reconciliation committee and lifted a ban on some political parties.

But less than two weeks after the Nobel announcement in October, anti-Abiy protests left 86 people dead.

In his Nobel speech, he denounced the "evangelists of hate and division" who are "wreaking havoc in our society using social media".

The ceremony took place at the Oslo city hall, with Abiy denouncing the "evangelists 

of hate and division" who he said are "wreaking havoc in our society" (AFP Photo/

Fredrik VARFJELL)

Meanwhile, the Nobel festivities have been tainted by Abiy's refusal to field questions from the media.

Nobel Institute head Olav Njolstad called the decision "highly problematic", noting that a "free press and freedom of expression are essential conditions for a lasting peace in a democracy".

Abiy's entourage responded that it was "quite challenging" for a sitting leader to spend several days at such an event, especially when "domestic issues are pressing and warrant attention".

They also said Abiy's "humble disposition" contrasted with "the very public nature of the Nobel award".

Nobel peace laureates are awarded a diploma, a gold medal and a cheque for nine million Swedish kronor (850,000 euros, $945,000).

The other Nobel prizes for literature, physics, chemistry, medicine and economics were also handed over on Tuesday, in a separate ceremony in Stockholm.

New EU chief pledges to back Africa on Ethiopia trip

Yahoo – AFP, Robbie BOULET, December 7, 2019

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Ethiopia's capital Addis
Ababa, her first trip outside Europe since being appointed (AFP Photo/
EDUARDO SOTERAS)

Addis Ababa (AFP) - European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen assured Africa of the EU's strong support during a visit to Ethiopia on Saturday, her first trip outside Europe since assuming her post.

The former German defence minister, who took office on December 1, landed in the capital Addis Ababa in the morning and headed to the African Union headquarters for talks with AU chief Moussa Faki Mahamat.

"I hope my presence at the African Union can send a strong political message because the African continent and the African Union matter to the European Union and to the European Commission," she said after the meeting.

"For us, for the European Union, you are more than just a neighbour."

Von der Leyen, who has prioritised the fight against climate chang, said the EU and AU could collaborate on the issue.

"You here on the African continent understand climate change better than anyone else," she said.

She and Faki also discussed migration and security issues.

"Honestly I don't have all the answers to these challenges but I am convinced that together we can find answers," she said.

Faki for his part called for greater international mobilisation to counter security threats, including terrorism.

'We are at your side'

Von der Leyen also met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, congratulating him on winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

"I think that Ethiopia has given hope to the whole continent," she said, adding that "I want you to know that we are at your side".

Abiy thanked her for the EU's support but said he hoped for more funding to spur economic reforms.

"We're still demanding more financial support because we are ambitious. As Madam President mentioned, when you are a young prime minister you are also more ambitious and you want to deliver more," said Abiy, who will receive his Nobel in Oslo on Tuesday.

Von der Leyen congratulated Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for winning 

this year's Nobel peace prize (AFP Photo/EDUARDO SOTERAS)

The EU and Ethiopia also signed agreements worth 170 million euros ($188 million) on Saturday.

Of that sum, 100 million euros will go towards transport and infrastructure in the East African country, 50 million for the health sector, 10 million for job creation and 10 million for elections ahead of landmark polls next year.

Saturday's agenda also included a sit-down between von der Leyen, the commission's first woman president, and Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, the first woman to hold that title.

Speaking to journalists after her meetings, von der Leyen said it was "important" for the EU to continue to support Abiy's ambitious reform agenda.

"They have started but we need a long breath to see the effects that these reforms are bringing along," she said.

Migration and security

The EU is Africa's largest trading partner and biggest source of foreign investment and development aid.

But the two blocs have struggled in recent years to find ways to curb the number of African migrants heading north to Europe using perilous sea routes.

Just this week at least 62 migrants died when a boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania.

Both African and European officials are keen to address the root causes of migration like poverty.

The EU has also been a strong supporter of the AU's peace and security efforts.

Its African Peace Facility, a mechanism established in 2004, has allocated more than 2.7 billion euros for peace and security operations, targeting 14 African-led operations in 18 countries.

Yet European officials have signalled they want to shift away from providing stipends for troops in places such as Somalia, where the EU is a main backer of the regional peacekeeping force known as AMISOM.

The AU has struggled to get member states to impose a 0.2 percent levy on eligible imports so the body can provide more of its own financing -- an initiative the EU supports.

So far just 17 African countries have followed through on that commitment.