Editor's Column on the Eye of the Horn of African Affairs

IGAD  Breaking News (HAN) January 29th, 2006.

Somaliland

Ethiopia

Eritrea

Djibouti

Kenya

Somalia

Sudan

Uganda

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Ethiopia: Meles accused the only Ethiopian rebel OLF

 Djibouti (HAN) January 29, 2006 - The Ethiopian Prime minister Meles was speaking  ten days after Britain said it would block 50 million pounds ($89 million) in budget support because of concerns about governance and human rights after a deadly crackdown on post-election demonstrations. Britain said it would re-direct the funds to humanitarian aid in donor-dependent Ethiopia.

Western donors currently fund about 10 percent of the budget in sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous country. "The government has the capacity to run regular activities and main development programmes of the country through its own expenditure, should any serious measures be taken by development partners," the Ethiopian Herald quoted Meles as saying.

Meles said he was not aware of any reduction in overall aid to the Horn of Africa nation, "as has been alleged by some media outlets," but appeared to acknowledge that some donor countries were shifting budget support to other forms of assistance.

Ethiopia had no problem with this in principle but strongly objects to the reasons given, he said, adding allegations that it had taken "inappropriate measures following the election are wrong and baseless".

Meles accused the only Ethiopian guerilla rebels- the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), neighbouring Eritrea and CUDP hardliners, of being behind the post-election disturbances in Addis and other parts of the Ethiopian territories.
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Ethiopia: Chines joint venture with Nageria firm to build road

Nairobi (HAN) January 29, 2006 - The Chinese construction company won a contract to build a 309-kilometre road connecting the central Ethiopian towns of Kombolacha and Gundewein, the Ethiopian Road Authority (ERA) said in a statement Saturday. 

The ERA said it had signed an agreement with the China Geoengineering Corporation (CGC) Overseas Construction Co. Ltd., the winner of an international bid at a cost of 1.5 billion birr (173 million dollars). 

The Chinese construction company operates in a joint venture with the CGC Nigeria Ltd. of Nigeria, it said. 

The work, which involves the upgrading of 173 kilometres of existing road and the construction of an additional 136 kilometres, is scheduled to be completed within three and a half years. 

HAN Note: "Most of the Somalia stories you read on the Geeskaafrika.com come from HAN, freelance journalist, newspapers, news agencies and internal sources all over the Horn of African States. We aggregate and distribute the reporting of IGAD newswires. Our aim is to reflect the diversity of reporting, analysis and commentary from as many as possible of the influential media in every IGAD zone." 

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