Weekly Editorial: Knowledge is Power
Between 2006 and 2018, Ethiopia paid the UAE a total of $20.4 Billion dollars when the UAE was operating and administrating Djibouti's Port under a 50-year contract.
Luckily, cash-strapped Ethiopia had to borrow billions of dollars from the World Bank and the IMF in order to pay the $1.6 billion dollars a year the UAE was asking to use Djibouti's port services. This went on for 12 long years!
How did Ethiopia get there?
Well... after enjoying 7 peaceful years of Eritrean generosity and benevolence that granted Ethiopia free access to Eritrean ports without asking a single penny, in 1998 the then-Ethiopian regime received an order to invade Eritrea, a country which Neo-colonial powers saw as an obstacle to their domination and exploitation of the African continent, its people and resources.
Although the then-Ethiopian regime, prior to the invasion, had expressed concerns about losing its free access to the sea, its Neo-colonial masters pointed to their Plan "B", which would allow Ethiopia to use Djibouti's port, and have access to World Bank and the IMF loans to pay for Djibouti's port services.
It's worth noting that, the then-Ethiopian regime had no idea how much it would cost to use Djibouti's port services, and it was in for a rude awakening.
It was during this time that the UAE saw a golden opportunity to milk Ethiopia dry by signing a 50-year port operations contract with Djibouti, which enabled the UAE to reap all the profits, while paying only 5% royalty fee to Djibouti's ruling elite.
China's 2018 offer to take over Djibouti's port operations with 30% royalty fee was readily accepted by Djibouti's ruling elite who happily terminated UAE's 50-year contract in a blink of an eye! Who could blame them!
The UAE that made $20.4 billion dollars operating Djibouti's port for 12 years was not a happy camper. It brought several lawsuits against both China and Djibouti on the international court and won a settlement of $685 million dollars, which was all paid by China. It was a small price to pay for China's lucrative $1.6 billion dollar a year contract.
In 2025, both the World Bank and the IMF said Ethiopia's foreign debt that has reached $68.9 billion dollars is unsustainable, as the country defaulted on its international debt after failing to make debt repayments.
In other words, the banks can no longer give loans to Ethiopia to pay for Djibouti's port services. And to make matters worse, the Trump administration's foreign aid freeze has deprived Ethiopia the "income" it heavily relies on for its survival.
Its unrepented sin is catching up to Ethiopia-- a generational sin that had cost the country $68.9 billion dollars. If the aid-fed country had never invaded its neighbors and destabilized the region, it could have spared itself the staggering foreign debt, currency depreciation, economic collapse, political upheaval, ethnic conflicts, multi-front civil wars, and imminent balkanization.
It breaks my heart to see 26 million young Ethiopian children not attending school today due to the deteriorating security situations in the country. Some students haven't been to school for over 5 years! Uneducated societies are more vulnerable for manipulation, are more likely to repeat mistakes, and are inherently more biased against their highly educated neighbors.
Albert Einstein said, "You cannot solve a problem from the same level of consciousness that created it."
Let's all pray for Ethiopia.
