Ethiopia’s late PM Meles Zenawi died convinced of a no relationship between democracy and development. He was wrong
Bisrat Teshome, Special to Addis Standard
The famous Economist and Nobel Prize winner of 1998, Amartya Sen, on his bestselling book “Development as Freedom” unwaveringly argues that development has to be seen as a process of expanding real freedom that people enjoy at different places and time.
The crisis in Mali is no longer a simple Malian affair. How Africa deals with it will speak volumes on the continent’s readiness to solve its troubles by itself.
Fred A. Eno, Special to Addis Standard
Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma could be pardoned for over indulgence in the oft-criticized but favorite past-time of the AU Commission: travel. Yet the Malian crises, and the many others she will have to tackle in the next four years, cannot be resolved from behind her desk in the Office of the Chairperson of the Commission in Addis Ababa. The tasks ahead require the best of her experience, tenacity and perseverance, as they bring to play all the challenges, and criticisms that the AUC encounters in determining its role in questions of peace and security, development, governance, democracy, human rights, social equity, humanitarian issues and inclusivity on the continent.
Recently Lonely Planate named Addis Ababa as one of the world’s ten best cities to visit in 2013. It did so for the city’s culture, food, and value for money. But customer handling in most places where the best food and culture is available is niggling
Emnet Assefa
Being home to the African Union Commission (AUC), The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), more than a hundred embassies and diplomatic missions, as well as a growing number of multilateral companies means Addis Ababa in particular and Ethiopia in general has seen its share of hotels and resorts, cafés, restaurants, and tour and travel agencies, among other service delivery sectors, triple in the past one decade alone. Not only has the number tripled, each and every service delivery sector has seen their income increase significantly thanks to Ethiopia’s opportunities to host so many international conferences, meetings and events every year.
