Mereja.Forum

[Horus]

Believe in facts not in fiction. I will pick Ethiopian Airlines that an entity called Eritrea (that dreams the demise of GERD!!)

[sesame]

HorseAss,

Do you know how much EAL's income will decrease as a result of losing access to Eritrea's air space? We will teach you lessons that the PP kids have forgotten!

[Zmeselo]

Abiy Ahmed’s $10 B “Chacka” Prestige Grand Palace Project Amidst Widespread Poverty in Ethiopia

A must-read, comprehensive analysis contrasting Abiy Ahmed’s $10 billion vanity “Chacka” Project with the urgent humanitarian and development needs of 80 million impoverished Ethiopians—69 percent of whom live in multidimensional poverty (UNDP, 2024).

Project Cost & Scope
• Chacka is billed at roughly $10 billion—a lavish mixed-use development (palaces, luxury lodges, infrastructure) meant to showcase Ethiopia’s economic rise.
• By contrast, the UNDP (2024) Multidimensional Poverty Index reports that 69 percent of the population—approximately 80 million people—remain trapped in multidimensional poverty.
Humanitarian Needs
• Healthcare shortfalls: Per-capita government health expenditure is under $30/year, leaving millions without basic care.
• Education gaps: Secondary-school enrollment in rural areas hovers below 50 percent; many schools lack textbooks, classrooms, and qualified teachers.
• Water & sanitation: Over 35 percent of rural households lack access to safe drinking water; open-defecation rates exceed 25 percent in certain regions.
• Food insecurity: Nearly 25 percent of Ethiopian children under 5 suffer chronic malnutrition, and recent droughts have pushed an additional 12 million people into acute food crisis conditions.

Opportunity Cost

Diverting $10 billion toward luxury infrastructure—while these service gaps persist—represents a profound misalignment of national priorities. According to the article, that same $10 billion could have:

1. Fully funded a five-year universal primary healthcare expansion (hiring 50,000 community health workers).
2. Supplied safe drinking water systems to 10 million rural Ethiopians.
3. Invested in teacher training and school construction to eliminate primary-school overcrowding nationwide.
4. Subsidized emergency food relief for at least 5–7 million people in drought-affected areas.

Key Data Points:

• Multidimensional Poverty (MPI): 69 percent of Ethiopians in 2024 live under the MPI threshold (80 million people).
• Budget Allocations: Ethiopia’s 2024/25 national budget allocates roughly $1.5 billion to social sectors (health + education). By comparison, Chacka alone consumes over $10 billion—more than six times that combined social allocation.
• Infrastructure vs. Service Indicators:
  – Roads & Airports: Ethiopia has built/upgraded over 2,500 km of “prestige” highways and constructed two international airports (Chacka, Gondar) since 2020—yet 40 percent of rural communities still lack all-season roads.
  – Water Access: Only about 64 percent of Ethiopian households have year-round access to clean water (UNICEF, 2024), despite “showcase” fountains and irrigation schemes in the Chacka corridor.
  – Healthcare Workforce: Ethiopia has just 0.76 physicians per 1,000 people—one of the lowest ratios in Sub-Saharan Africa—while Burkina Faso maintains 0.91 physicians per 1,000 people (World Bank, 2023).

For the full analysis, read: https://borkena.com/2025/06/03/ethiopia ... re-part-i/…

[Zmeselo]

ETHIOPIA — Government Communication Minister, Legesse Tulu, claimed that “there are no organized forces in the country capable of challenging the National Defense Forces or other security institutions.”

However, on the same day, Oromo rebel groups released another video showing dozens of these troops surrendering after being defeated in a recent battle, dealing a fresh blow to the government’s narrative.

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The Somali people, under Ethiopian occupation, have long suffered systemic robbery at gunpoint, pillaging, plunder, and extortion stripped of their hard-earned resources by state and military forces acting with impunity..

[Horus]

[Horus]

[Zmeselo]