Postcard from Addis Ababa
IT’s 2018 under Ethiopia’s own calendar, and things have started well, according to our Pentecostal prime minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali.
Since New Year on 11 September, he’s formally opened the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), welcomed delegates to the second African Climate Summit, and launched his new book, The Medemer State. Medemer translates as “synergy and coming together” – just so long as we all agree with the author.
The latest volume provides a “foundational blueprint for governance, development and inclusive growth” for Africa. As the PM explains: “What Ethiopia is experiencing is not just growth – it is a miracle.” He has seven major new projects on his $30bn transformational wish list, including a nuclear power plant, two gas factories, a fertiliser factory, an oil refinery and, as something of an afterthought, “1.5m houses for citizens”.