Ethiopia's Farms and finance

The government has a mission to use a strong state to build infrastructure and develop the industrial and agricultural sectors. It argues that it could repeat the rapid growth of East Asia in the 1990s, but critics warn about intimidation of the opposition and the risks of crony capitalism.

The rebel army that chased the Derg military regime out of power in 1991 inherited a time bomb that could easily have spun out of control. Massively poor, plagued with chronic food shortages and with a population explosion around the corner, Ethiopia sat in a region gripped by post-Cold War insecurity.

Today, the neighbourhood is not any easier. The population has almost doubled from 50 million to 92 million people.

Now, Ethiopia is mentioned in the same breath as the East Asian miracle and is perhaps on the cusp of massive state-driven take off.

The unassuming Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn tells The Africa Report: "Everyone is now talking about the Ethiopian renaissance".

Even institutions traditionally at odds with state-led models recognise the progress. In an October 2013 report, the International Monetary Fund praised Ethiopia's "strong growth performance and impressive progress in decreasing poverty and inequality".

World Bank Loans Ethiopia US$250 Million

Ethiopia has been given a $250 million loan from the World Bank to finance a job creation project.

The loan supports Ethiopia’s efforts to create new jobs in the manufacturing sector through the development of industrial zones in Addis Ababa and enhancing their links with the local economy.

State Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ahmed Shide, said that the establishment of industrial zones will spur both foreign direct and domestic investments to Ethiopia.

Ethiopia deports MENA's manager in Addis Ababa

The Egyptian Embassy in Addis Ababa sent an official note to the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry to express its deep regret at the decision of Ethiopian authorities to deport the manager of Egypt's official Middle East News Agency in Addis Ababa for no apparent reason.

"The ministry has formally asked the Ethiopian authorities to provide explanations and clarifications for deporting [MENA's office manager] without notifying the Egyptian Embassy in Addis Ababa immediately once he was detained," spokesperson for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Badr Abdel Aaty said.

El-Sisi called for further negotiations with Ethiopia

Former army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi answered questions about political prisoners, the Ethiopian dam and other issues in the second half of his third pre-election interview on Monday.

Three anchors from the privately owned TV stations Al-Nahar, Dream and Al-Hayat fielded questions at the frontrunner for two hours.

When asked if he would release those jailed for breaking the controversial protest law, El-Sisi said: "I will do anything that will help promote stability and social justice."

He emphasised that he was not speaking about the Muslim Brotherhood.

The former army chief spoke of a "Marshall" plan in the works for Egypt, similar to the US sponsored plan that rebuild Europe in the aftermath of World War II.

Visa pushes for more access to barely-tapped Ethiopia

May 26 (Reuters) - Visa Inc., which is piloting Ethiopia's first international debit card, is seeking to persuade the government to ease tight restrictions on banks in an effort to boost the use of electronic payments.

Ethiopia has one of Africa's fastest-growing economies bu

The government bars foreign banks, saying it needs to protect domestic lenders, and local debit cards have until now not worked abroad.

Man accused of torture, killing in Ethiopia faces sentencing in US for immigration crimes

DENVER –  A man who authorities say masked his identity as a brutal guard at an Ethiopian prison faces sentencing for immigration fraud.

Kefelgn Alemu Worku (kah-FEH'-lun ah-LEE'-moo WER'-koo) was convicted in October of identity theft and lying on immigration forms by denying he committed political violence.

Witnesses testified at his trial about torture and beatings they suffered at the hands of Worku at a prison in the 1970s during a government suppression campaign known as the Red Terror.

A former prisoner recognized him in Denver in 2011 and told authorities.

Ethiopia crackdown on student protests taints higher education success

Western backers of the Ethiopian education system should not ignore reports of violent clashes on university campuses
Over the past 15 years, Ethiopia has become home to one of the world's fastest-growing higher education systems. Increasing the number of gradu
ates in the country is a key component of the government's industrialisation strategy and part of its ambitious plan to become a middle-income country by 2025. Since the 1990s, when there were just two public universities, almost 30 new institutions have sprung up.

On the face of it, this is good news for ordinary Ethiopians. But dig a little deeper and tales abound of students required to join one of the three government parties, with reports of restricted curricula, classroom spies and crackdowns on student protests commonplace at universities.