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<p>Agriculture systems are facing many disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. The continent imports $80 billion of food and since January, 19 countries have imposed restrictions on food exports. The World Bank estimates that agriculture production in 2020 might contract up to 7 per cent in Africa. Lloyd D. Le Page, Senior Agriculture Advisor joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19: How the pandemic is disrupting agriculture systems & food security in Africa

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<p>The Mayor of Kigali City, Pudence Rubingisa sits down with CNBC Africa&#8217;s Steven Muvunyi to discuss the priorities in his 5-year term and plans to meet the housing, water, and electricity demand for close to 4 million people that are projected to be living in the city by 2050&#8230;.</p>


In conversation with Kigali City mayor Pudence Rubingisa

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<p>Yesterday Rwanda&#8217;s final budget for the 2020/21 fiscal year was read by the country&#8217;s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Uzziel Ndagijimana. In it, an expected decrease in tax revenue was revealed, as well as the amounts allotted for developmental efforts, domestic production and the transportation sector among others. KPMG Rwanda Senior Tax Manager, Angello Musinguzi joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


What the 2020/21 budget means for Rwanda’s private sector

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<p>On Tuesday Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Uzziel Ndagijimana announced the final 2020/2021 budget, 60 per cent of which will be sourced domestically&#8230;.</p>


Rwanda unveils $3.43bn 2020/21 budget

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<p>Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni in an address to the nation last night maintained curfew measures as the country’s fragile economy continues to be greatly affected by COVID-19, CNBC Africa spoke to Ken Agutamba Analyst &#038; Chief Strategist, Impact Communication Strategies for more.</p>


Uganda maintains COVID-19 curfew

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<p>As investors look at safe bets during the pandemic, nothing could be more attractive than government bonds. But is Tanzania the right place to do this? De Carnys Capital LTD CEO, Jim Coleman joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


De Carnys Capital announces Tanzanian loan note

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<p>Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Uzziel Ndagijimana is today reading the final 2020/2021 budget, 60 per cent of which will be sourced domestically. Economic Analyst, Ted Kaberuka joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How can African governments cushion the agricultural sector from COVID-19 shocks?

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<p>Rwanda has over the weekend seen a spike in COVID-19 cases, with some predicting renewed lockdown measures as a new wave of infections seems possible. Dr. Jose Nyamusore, Rwanda Biomedical Center joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Rwanda sees spike in coronavirus cases

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<p>More collaborations between sectors and the role of financial players in a post-COVID-19 recovery for economies will be key, well according to most experts but will this be enough? CNBC Africa spoke to Marc Holtzman, Chairman of Bank of Kigali for more.</p>


Rwanda sets up $100mn COVID-19 relief fund

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<p>Mzawadi unveiled a new incentive program with fully automated CashBack and Manufacturer&#8217;s coupons platform to help businesses track their clients across the globe.</p>


Here’s how digital coupons impact e-commerce businesses

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<p>Through the Intellectual Property Bill 2020, Kenya is set to review her intellectual property laws. The first major proposed change is to harmonise all the pieces of legislation into one known as the Intellectual Property Act. To better understand how this move is set to spur innovation, Elizabeth Lenjo, IP and Entertainment Law Expert joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Kenya set to review her intellectual property laws

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<p>In Uganda, the 3rd National Development Plan was tabled before Parliament in January 2020 by the Minister of State for Planning, a move that was supposed to inform the processing and approval of the budgets for the next five years starting with 2020/2021 financial year. Analyst, Charles Bwogi joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Unpacking Uganda’s 3rd National Development Plan

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<p>Kenya has set aside $1. 28 billion in this year’s budget for the big four agenda projects, a 70 per cent drop compared to last year’s budget. With only two years left, how is the ambitious plan likely to be achieved and how will COVID-19 affect its implementation? Ken Gichinga, Chief Economist at Mentoria Economics joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19: Is Kenya’s big 4 agenda achievable?

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<p>UK government-owned finance development institution CDC Group has signed a MoU with Rwanda Finance limited in a historical first that will see them a partner develop the Kigali International Financial Center. Rwanda Finance limited CEO, Nick Barigye joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


UK’s CDC Group signs MoU with Rwanda Finance limited

UK’s CDC Group signs MoU with Rwanda Finance limited, to develop new financial center

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<p>The East African Community finance ministers have agreed on measures to protect and enhance the competitiveness of the regional manufacturing industry. This comes ahead of the conclusion of a comprehensive review of the Common External Tariff that has dragged on for more than three years. Economic Analyst, Ted Kaberuka joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


COVID-19: East African Community unveils new measures to protect manufacturing industry

<figure>
    <img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/341884/original/file-20200615-65925-1c1kb92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&#038;q=45&#038;auto=format&#038;w=754&#038;fit=clip" />
      <figcaption>
        Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaking during a press conference on general elections in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
        <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</span></span>
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<span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yohannes-gedamu-432503">Yohannes Gedamu</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/georgia-gwinnett-college-2416">Georgia Gwinnett College</a></em></span>

<p>It’s two years since a surprise leadership change took place in Ethiopia. Introducing himself with a <a href="https://borkena.com/2018/04/02/ten-points-abiy-ahmed-made-in-his-speech/">historic speech</a> to the nation, the new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed preached democracy as the only future for the country of more than 110 million.</p>

<p>The initial reforms were breathtaking. So much so that imagining democracy became justifiable. But Abiy’s administration inherited an extraordinary set of problems. </p>

<p>Apart from the challenge of democratising an authoritarian state, it had to deal with ethnic violence and conflicts. And massive internal displacement of citizens.</p>

<p>Two years later, the government seems to have controlled the issue of internally displaced people. Resettlement programs appear to have been mostly successful. </p>

<p>And there’s been considerable progress in ensuring peace and stability. News of violence is now mostly confined to two areas where the Oromo Liberation Army operates.</p>

<p>Beyond domestic politics, the volatile Horn of Africa also posed major challenges to Abiy’s leadership. But Ethiopia’s former arch-rival, Eritrea, is no longer a regional adversary. </p>

<p>In addition, Abiy played a major role in the Sudanese transition from chaos to some political promise. And the fact that he changed the loud silence between Somaliland and Somalia into potentially history-making meetings also deserves recognition.</p>

<p>But, looking back over this period, Abiy’s major achievement could be viewed as the dismantling of the 28-year-old Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and the birth of a nationally unified political organisation, the Prosperity Party. This is not without its challenges too, however. </p>

<p>These developments have reinvigorated opposition groups afresh. In particular, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, a regional political organisation that had  major dominance over the old revolutionary front, has now emerged as a major political foe to Abiy’s Prosperity Party.</p>

<p>This poses a menace to Ethiopia’s path to reform. As a result, Ethiopia’s road to democracy and national elections, which were due to be held in August, is now facing two challenges: a global pandemic, and deteriorating relations between the Tigray regional state and the Prosperity Party, which is in charge of the federal government, and the remaining eight regions and two city administrations.</p>

<h2>National elections</h2>

<p>In its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Ethiopia has so far done a promising job. But cases continue to grow – slowly but alarmingly. </p>

<p>Abiy cited the pandemic as a reason to postpone the national elections. The current administration’s five-year tenure was set to expire come September 30, 2020. Debates on the legitimacy of the government after that date have dominated national discussions.</p>

<p>The government proposed a number of options. One was to dissolve parliament and declare a state of emergency. Another was to request a special constitutional interpretation of the challenge. Yet another was to extend the tenure of current incumbents. </p>

<p>The opposition was consulted and the issues were discussed in parliament. The decision that was finally taken was to ask for a judicial review process to provide a constitutional interpretation. These are done through the Council of Constitutional Inquiry, which then submits its recommendations to the House of the Federation for discussions and a decision.</p>

<p>The House of the Federation is the upper house of Ethiopia’s bicameral legislative branch. Its legislative authority is limited to powers on budgetary allocations, powers to interpret the constitution, and to safeguard the federal constitutional framework. </p>

<p>Based on House’s decision, the chamber postponed the national election. </p>

<p>The decision was not received well by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The regional parliament in Tigray has since defied the federal government’s decision, and announced it will hold its own elections. </p>

<h2>High stakes</h2>

<p>This decision has wide-ranging implications. By holding an election without the supervision of the National Electoral Board, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front is undermining Ethiopia’s federal constitutional system.</p>

<p>Going it alone is a reflection of the front’s loss of power since the demise of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition. This has weakened its resolve to maintain Ethiopia’s constitutional system.</p>

<p>The decision poses a threat to Ethiopia’s promising democracy. It has ignited an unprecedented level of tension between the Tigray region and the federal government. If this situation deteriorates further, the country’s fledgling democracy could regress. </p>

<p>So far, Abiy’s administration has ignored the threat from the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front. This could lead to undesirable repercussions. </p>

<p>The federal government’s reluctance to address the crisis in Tigray might lead to renewed violence. This could in turn harm government’s response to the public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>

<p>Finally, unless addressed, the deteriorating relations between the federal government and the Tigray region could further unravel Ethiopia’s dangerously designed federal system that in any case, is in need of major revision.</p>

<p>For democracy to take root in Ethiopia, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front’s defiance to the country’s constitutional order must resolved.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140750/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" /></p>

<p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yohannes-gedamu-432503">Yohannes Gedamu</a>, Lecturer of Political Science, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/georgia-gwinnett-college-2416">Georgia Gwinnett College</a></em></span></p>

<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/abiy-put-ethiopia-on-the-road-to-democracy-but-major-obstacles-still-stand-in-the-way-140750">original article</a>.</p>

shutterstock_487433470

Abiy Ahmed put Ethiopia on the road to democracy: but he still has a lot to do, here’s why

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<p>Due to the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic, many economies are grappling with a need for investment across various sectors as a way of keeping jobs and low unemployment figures. But how best can this be done?  We join CNBC Africa&#8217;s Arnold Kwizera for this panel discussion on the topic of How to Recapitalise African Economies&#8230;.</p>


East Africa

COVID-19: How the pandemic is disrupting agriculture systems & food security in Africa

In conversation with Kigali City mayor Pudence Rubingisa

What the 2020/21 budget means for Rwanda’s private sector

Rwanda unveils $3.43bn 2020/21 budget

Uganda maintains COVID-19 curfew

De Carnys Capital announces Tanzanian loan note

How can African governments cushion the agricultural sector from COVID-19 shocks?

Rwanda sees spike in coronavirus cases

Rwanda sets up $100mn COVID-19 relief fund

Here’s how digital coupons impact e-commerce businesses

Kenya set to review her intellectual property laws

Unpacking Uganda’s 3rd National Development Plan

COVID-19: Is Kenya’s big 4 agenda achievable?

UK’s CDC Group signs MoU with Rwanda Finance limited, to develop new financial center

COVID-19: East African Community unveils new measures to protect manufacturing industry

Abiy Ahmed put Ethiopia on the road to democracy: but he still has a lot to do, here’s why

How to recapitalise African economies hit by the COVID-19 crisis

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East Africa

COVID-19: How the pandemic is disrupting agriculture systems & food security in Africa

In conversation with Kigali City mayor Pudence Rubingisa

What the 2020/21 budget means for Rwanda’s private sector

Rwanda unveils $3.43bn 2020/21 budget

Uganda maintains COVID-19 curfew

De Carnys Capital announces Tanzanian loan note

How can African governments cushion the agricultural sector from COVID-19 shocks?

Rwanda sees spike in coronavirus cases

Rwanda sets up $100mn COVID-19 relief fund

Here’s how digital coupons impact e-commerce businesses

Kenya set to review her intellectual property laws

Unpacking Uganda’s 3rd National Development Plan

COVID-19: Is Kenya’s big 4 agenda achievable?

UK’s CDC Group signs MoU with Rwanda Finance limited, to develop new financial center

COVID-19: East African Community unveils new measures to protect manufacturing industry

Abiy Ahmed put Ethiopia on the road to democracy: but he still has a lot to do, here’s why

How to recapitalise African economies hit by the COVID-19 crisis

News Tips

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