AFRICA’S FORTUNES CAN BE CHANGED AS ETHIOPIA IS A CASE IN POINT
(Posted 31st March 2019)
It took a matter of weeks rather than months – supersonic speeds given the country’s and Africa’s past record for such massive change – for Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy to kick out decades long hostilities vis a vis Eritrea and forge a new way forward for the two countries – erstwhile allies fighting and defeating the communist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam before turning deadly enemies.
Today are infrastructure projects being not just discussed and planned but implemented already and Ethiopian Airlines flies twice a day between Addis Ababa and Asmara. Eritrean Airlines too now plies the Addis route and in fact is partnering with Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s number one carrier and most successful airline on the continent.
With relations between Addis and Asmara improving by the day, has Prime Minister Abiy turned his attention to other neighbour South Sudan, in decline as a result of long internal strife following decades of independence wars with the regimes in Khartoum.
Only recently did South Sudan’s President Kiir, on Prime Minister Abiy’s request, receive Eritrean President Afwerki and Ethiopia’s new leader, to discuss improved relations and peace initiatives aimed to kickstart the ailing economies of South Sudan and of Eritrea.
Infrastructure development too, from the Eritrean sea ports via Ethiopia to South Sudan, was discussed, giving hope that Abiy’s initiative will be as successful as was his peace initiative with Eritrea.
As there are less and less of the old guard in power now across Africa is hope also rising that the examples set by Ethiopia and Abiy will lead to peaceful change across the continent in coming years.
