A Week in the Horn 11.7.2013 News in Brief Parliament adopts budget for the Ethiopian fiscal year 2007 (2014-15) Third anniversary of South Sudan’s independence: new calls for peace Ethiopia’s economic growth to be higher than previously estimated says IMF Second National Business Conference held in Addis Ababa An attack on Somalia’s Presidential Palace Failure to understand AU and IGAD aims in Somalia News in Brief African Union AU Commission Chairperson, Dr Zuma, expressed readiness to work together with the new members of the AU Panel of the Wise appointed at the Malabo Summit: Dr Lakhdar Brahimi (Algeria); Mr. Edem Kodjo (Togo); Dr Albina Faria de Assis Pereira Africano (Angola); Dr Luisa Diogo (Mozambique) and Dr Specioza Naigaga Wandira Kazibwe (Uganda). The Chairperson paid tribute to the outgoing Panel, chaired by the late President Ahmed Ben Bella, whose members, former President Kenneth Kaunda, Dr Salim Ahmed Salim, Madame Marie Madeleine Kalala-Ngoy, and Dr Mary Chinery Hesse, become Friends of the Panel. The World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have launched an urgent appeal to address a funding shortfall that has already resulted in reduced monthly food allocations for nearly 800,000 refugees in 22 African countries. WFP is appealing for US$186 million to maintain its food assistance through the end of the year; UNHCR is asking for $39 million to fund nutritional support and food security activities. Worst affected are refugees in Chad, Central African Republic and South Sudan. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on Thursday (July 10) appointed Dr. Maman S. Sidikou, as the new African Union Special Representative for Somalia and Head of AMISOM. Dr Sidikou replaces Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif, who was AU Special Representative November 2012 to June 2014.Dr.Sidikou has been Niger‟s Ambassador to the US since October 2011 and previously served in Niger‟s Government in various senior capacities as well as working for a number of international organizations. Ethiopia President Mulatu Teshome on Tuesday (July 8) met the Prime Minister of the People‟s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, in Beijing. Discussions centered on the importance of strengthening mutual benefits and expediting cooperation as well as advancing common development. President Mulatu noted that Ethiopia-China bilateral relations were guided by mutual trust, mutual understanding and win-win results, and that China was an important partner in Ethiopia‟s march to national renewal and development. 1 Prime Minister Hailemariam told Parliament on Monday (July 7) that Egypt has shown a major shift of stance toward the GERD and he welcomed “the recent shift in stance demonstrated by the new Egyptian leadership.” The Prime Minister and Egyptian President al-Sisi agreed at the Malabo Summit to resume tripartite talks on the Dam. Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom on Monday (July 8) met with Mr. Aeneas C. Chuma, Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa of the International Labor Office (ILO) who noted that the ILO was prepared to promote entrepreneurship, broaden access to affordable capital and provide social financing to youth in Ethiopia. The House of People‟s Representatives (HPR) received an award from the World Health Organization. The House, which ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in January, set up a smoke-free work environment to protect non-smoking employees from secondary smoking. It has also been taking other steps to oversee the efforts to control tobacco use in the society. The Ministry of Health in cooperation with key stakeholders launched on Monday (July 7) a two-day national conference in Addis Ababa under the theme "Ending Fistula and Transforming Lives”, and announced that it has prepared a national action plan to eliminate obstetric fistula from Ethiopia over the next six years. The caucus of Ethiopian women parliamentarians, past and present, held a consultative meeting with representatives of the Embassies of China, Egypt, South Sudan, Brazil, France and Mexico this week on ways to work together with the diplomatic community to improve the decision- making role of women. Djibouti The government has cancelled DP World‟s concession to run the Doraleh Container Terminal after finding evidence of corruption. DP World was given a 30-year concession to operate the container terminal in 2006. Talks aimed at resolving the issue have broken down and the government is seeking damages through arbitration. DP World rejected the accusations and said it would defend its position. It will manage the container terminal pending arbitration. Kenya Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who heads the opposition Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) returned to Kenya last month after three months abroad. On Monday (July 7) he led a demonstration in Nairobi as part of his demands for a “national dialogue” with President Kenyatta who heads the Jubilee Coalition which won the 2013 election Somalia The Al-Shabaab terrorist attack on the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu on Tuesday (July 8) has been strongly condemned by IGAD which applauded the Somali Armed forces and AMISOM 2 peacekeepers for their efficiency and commitment in effectively defending the Palace. (See article) Abdullahi Mohamed Ali, Somali Ambassador to the UK, has been appointed Director of National Security. His appointment is one of several changes to the government‟s security after several high profile Al-Shabaab attacks. (See article) The UN's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) said on Monday (July 7) that Somalia was sliding back into an acute hunger crisis with parts of the capital facing emergency levels just short of famine. The food security crisis is expected to worsen over the next several months following poor performance of the main rainy season, shrinking humanitarian assistance and access, increasing malnutrition, conflict and surging food prices. South Sudan The third anniversary of independence was commemorated on Wednesday (July 9) in Juba. Speaking at the anniversary, President Salva Kiir said former political detainees were free to return and participate in efforts to end the conflict in the country. He said “We want solutions. We don‟t want problems to continue.” (See article) Sudan President Omer al-Bashir told members of Sudan‟s National Elections Commission on Monday (July 7) that the government wouldn‟t intervene in the upcoming 2015 elections saying the process must be fair and transparent. He also said Sudan would welcome world powers to monitor the electoral process. A group of Sudanese journalists have been visiting major development works in Ethiopia this week, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on which they were briefed by the project manager, Engineer Simegnew Bekele. They concluded GERD will not cause any appreciable harm to downstream countries and said it offered useful developments for fishery, tourism and research purposes as well as power generation. The Minister of Mining, Ahmed Mohamed Sadiq al-Karuri, predicted on Monday (July 7) that Sudan will be Africa‟s largest gold producer by the year 2018. It currently ranks third after Ghana and South Africa in gold production. Sudan's Central Statistics Office said this week that the annual inflation rate jumped to 45.3% in June, reflecting a 10 percent rise in prices of consumer goods. ***************** 3 Parliament adopts budget for the Ethiopian fiscal year 2007 (2014-15) The House of People‟s Representatives adopted the draft budget submitted by the Council of Ministers on Monday (July 7) after detailed discussions and deliberation. At 178.6 billion birr ($9.2 billion) the budget for this fiscal year (July 8 to July 7 2015) is 15.1% up on last year. Of this, 37.5 % (66 billion birr) is allocated for capital expenditure, 28.9 % (51.5 billion birr) as federal budgetary support to regional states, 25.1% (45 billion birr) for the recurrent budget and 8.4 % (15 billion birr) for programs aimed at meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The budget boosts spending on education, health and road building and a considerable amount goes to ensure completion of major projects under the five year Growth and Transformation Plan which ends next year. The budget is based on forecasts for a good harvest expected later in the year to boost economic growth. It is largely devoted to expansion of basic services, employment expansion, and infrastructure development while maintaining a macroeconomic balance. The share provided to the MDG‟s also underlines the emphasis on pro-poor provision and human capital development. This is best exemplified in the allocation of a 12 % increase in the budget to be spent on infrastructure, with 29 billion birr earmarked for upgrading and rehabilitation of roads alone. In general 64% of the budget will be spent on development activities. Of this education gets 24.55 billion birr up from 22.48 billion the previous year; health spending will rise by 12% to 5.15 billion birr; and 29 billion birr will be spent on road building; defense spending rises by 0.5 billion birr to 8 billion (4%). Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Sofian Ahmed, explained that the government planned to collect 43 billion birr from domestic revenue and 12.1 billion birr from foreign loans and aid. The remainder would be covered by the Treasury, and the Government also expects $500 million from development partners to help finance the budget. An opposition motion rejecting the proposal that the budget deficit could be filled by local loans was rejected. During the session, Prime Minister Hailemariam responded to questions from MPs on inflation and export performance as well as on next year‟s election and on relations with Egypt. He told MPs that the Government had substantial plans to further boost domestic revenue and the performance of the export sector.