President Museveni

Nigerian VP: Osinbajo “Climate Justice Must Include Ending Energy Poverty” Especially for Sub-Saharan Africa

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), as well as Nigeria’s gas initiatives, will help transform Nigeria into a gas-based industrialized nation. (Courtesy of pulse.ng, Tolani Alli)

April 29, 2022

Nigerian Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, over the last year, has repeatedly demanded ending global energy poverty, which is a life and death necessity for the majority of the world’s population. Speaking at the Atlantic Council on April 13, VP Osinbajo challenged the prevailing green-environmental dictates against using fossil fuels to supply energy to energy starved nations. He told his virtual audience, “climate justice must include ending energy poverty .” (Osinbajo seeks justice for Africa.) (Emphasis added)

For sub-Saharan Africa, there is no more vital need to the survival of these African nations, than energy, energy, and more energy. Over 600 million Africans living in sub-Saharan Africa are without access to electricity. Another 300 million use charcoal and firewood to cook, both environmentally harmful. For Africa to end poverty and hunger, nothing is more essential than to have on-grid, plentifully, and accessible energy, with the capability to power an industrialized economy, for which solar and wind are insufficient. Any advocate for Africa, who does not fight for the creation of abundant energy for the continent, does not have Africa’s best interest at heart.

My own estimate is that for African nations to achieve the levels of energy consumption of the advanced sector, a minimum of 1,000 additional gigawatts of electrical power must be created. In his remarks VP Osinbajo stated, “For every Nigerian to consume the Modern Energy Minimum of 1,000 kilowatt hours per year by 2050 would require a 15-fold increase in our national power generation.” To achieve that goal, “Nigeria must add 200 gigawatts of new power capacity by 2060…”

West’s Green Hypocrisy

Writing in Foreign Affairs, August 31, 2021, The Divestment Delusion: Why Banning Fossil Fuel Investments Would Crush Africa, VP Osinbajo, confronted the discriminatory green anti-development “policies directed at African nations.

Hitting at the hypocrisy by developed nations, the Vice President wrote:  

“After decades of profiting from oil and gas, a growing number of wealthy nations have banned or restricted public investment in fossil fuels, including natural gas. Such policies often do not distinguish between different kinds of fuels, nor do they consider the vital role some fuels play in powering the growth of developing economies, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. As development finance institutions try to balance climate concerns against the need to spur equitable development and increase energy security, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union have all taken aggressive steps to limit fossil fuel investments. The World Bank and other multilateral development banks are being urged by some shareholders to do the same. The African Development Bank, for instance, is increasingly unable to support large natural gas projects in the face of European shareholder pressure. Even UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on countries to end all new fossil fuel exploration and production. ”

 

(Courtesy of Inside Africa-Facebook)

Under the subhead: Little Gain, Much Pain, he wrote:

“Curbing natural gas investments in Africa will do little to limit carbon emissions globally but much to hurt the continent’s economic prospects. Right now, Africa is starved for energy: excluding South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s one billion people have the power generation capacity of just 81 gigawatts—far less than the 108-gigawatt capacity of the United Kingdom. Moreover, those one billion people have contributed less than one percent to global cumulative carbon emissions.”

He continued:

But limiting the development of fossil fuel projects and, in particular, natural gas projects would have a profoundly negative impact on Africa. Natural gas doesn’t make sense in every African market. But in many, it is a crucial tool for lifting people out of poverty. It is used not only for power but for industry and fertilizer and for cleaner cooking. Liquified petroleum gas is already replacing huge amounts of hazardous charcoal and kerosene that were most widely used for cooking, saving millions of lives that were previously lost to indoor air pollution. The role of gas as a transition fuel for developing countries, especially in Africa, cannot be overemphasized.

Yet Africa’s progress could be undone by the rich world’s efforts to curb investments in all fossil fuels. Across sub-Saharan Africa, natural gas projects are increasingly imperiled by a lack of development finance.

Gas pipelines and power plants in the most energy-hungry markets need development finance to attract other capital and enable such projects to proceed

 But many more such power plants are needed to deliver electricity to our people, to power our industry and growing cities, and to balance intermittent solar power. A blanket ban on finance for all fossil fuels would jeopardize those objectives.” (Emphasis added)

African Leaders Contest Green Agenda

 

Gwede Mantashe (Courtesy of bussinesslive.co.za)

Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa, has echoed VP Osinbajo, in his ddetermination to use South Africa’s abundant energy resources to end energy poverty. On December 9, 2021, Minister Mantashe, issued a powerful statement asserting that  South Africa’s “deserves the opportunity to capitalize on its natural resources.” (Shell: Gas and oil industry in SA under attack).  

He wrote in language more vigorous and iconoclastic than VP Osinbajo:

“Oil and gas exploitation has been carried out for decades across other economies in the World, including for more than 50 years in Norway, more than 80 years in Saudi Arabia and over 100 years in Germany. These economies are thriving today, and they were built on the back of the exploitation of these resources. Africa deserves an equal chance to develop its economies on the strength of her natural resources. 

“Several countries on the African continent have announced their oil and gas finds which present massive opportunities for economic growth, industrialization, and job creation. As these developments unfold, we have noted with interest, the pushback, and objections from environmental lobby groups against the development of these resources.

“I cannot help but ask myself, are these objections meant to ensure the status quo remains in Africa, in general, and South Africa, in particular? That is, the status quo with regards to energy poverty, high unemployment, high debt to GDP ratio at country level and economies that are not growing and, in some cases, jobless economic growth. Could it be possible that this is an extreme pure love for the environment or an unrelenting campaign to ensure that Africa and South Africa do not see the investment inflows they need?”

He concludes:

“South Africa deserves the opportunity to capitalize on its natural resources including oil and gas, as these resources have been proven to be game changers elsewhere. We consider the objections to these developments as apartheid and colonialism of a special type, masqueraded as a great interest for environmental protection. South Africa’s economic development is oppressed in the name of environmental protection when we have environmental framework that ensures that licensing is done with the utmost environmental care founded on Section 24 of our Constitution. We therefore appeal to all objectors to acknowledge this and allow South Africa to exploit its natural resources for the benefit of its citizens.” (Emphasis added)

 

Presidents Yoweri Museveni-left and Muhammadu Buhari-right (courtesy of dailypost.ng)

President Buhari of Nigeria has also challenged the attempt to keep African nations from utilizing their resources to industrialize their nations for the benefit of their citizens. Read: President Buhari of Nigeria, Demands More and Reliable Energy for Africa from COP26. President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has raised similar objections. Read: Solar and Wind Force Poverty on Africa: Africa Needs Reliable Energy-Nuclear-to Power Industrialized Economies

Live With Energy or Die with Green

Will the Western dictated green-reset to shield civilization from climate change end up killing more people than it purports to save? How many lives will perish from the dearth of plentiful and reliable energy, which is required to end poverty and hunger in Africa?

At the highest echelons of the corporate and financial world, in conjunction with Western governments, it has been decided that investments in fossil fuels-hydrocarbons will be halted. Coal, oil, and gas production will be replaced by channeling money into solar and wind renewables, which are both unreliable to supply energy 24/7. Given that it is known that neither solar nor wind are capable of providing sufficient power to drive an industrialized economy,* it should be obvious the intent of these policies: prevent African nations from industrializing. The fact there is not an all-out effort to invest in nuclear energy, especially Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which will provide safe, reliable power, indicates that there is an intent to keep Africa in energy poverty.

From slavery, through colonialism, and following independence, African nations have been denied what Kwame Nkrumah, and Cheikh Anta-Diop knew was essential for their sovereignty: the right to have industrialized economies.

Without energy dense, and infrastructure dense economies, to include mechanized farming, and robust manufacturing sectors, large portions of African nations will be forced to exist in miserable living conditions, which will lead to higher death rates.

It is criminal to prohibit African nations from using their own natural resources for the development of their economies, without which, hundreds of millions of their citizens will remain in wretched poverty.

*The sun “miraculously” maintains life on our planet, but is not an efficient energy source to perform work, because solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface is too diffuse i.e., has a low energy-flux density. Windmills are not cost efficient when one compares the energy required to construct acres of windmills, to the net energy produced. Both solar and wind are also dependent on weather conditions.

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com. Mr. Freeman’s stated personal mission is; to eliminate poverty and hunger in Africa by applying the scientific economic principles of Alexander Hamilton.

Russia Assists Uganda With Nuclear Energy. China Land Grabbing Is A Myth

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(iStock)
{Development of nuclear energy in Africa is not only essential to provide the hundreds of thousands of additional megawatts of power required for Africa’s peace and economic growth. It also elevates African nations to higher scientific platform of infrastructure, which will raise the level of productivity of the entire economy.}

Russia to help Uganda develop nuclear energy

September 18, 2019

Russia and Uganda have agreed to work together in the field of nuclear energy, the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said on Wednesday, as Moscow seeks to strengthen its influence in Africa.

Russia’s state-owned companies have been at a key part of the strategy to bolster Moscow’s presence on the continent.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s is seeking to use his country’s uranium deposits to develop nuclear power.

The deal “lays the foundation for specific cooperation between Russia and Uganda” in the field of nuclear energy, Rosatom said.
It also paves the way for working together in “the creation of nuclear energy infrastructure, the production of radioisotopes for industry, medicine, agriculture, as well as the training of personnel”.Rosatom said the parties had agreed to organise visits by specialists in the “near future”.Moscow first signed a memorandum of understanding with Kampala in this area in 2017, ahead of Beijing, which signed a similar agreement in 2018.

Russia To Help Uganda Develop Nuclear Energy

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French Agronomist Proves that China’s “Land Grab” in Africa Is a Myth

PARIS, Sept. 16, 2019 – After the nomination of Chinese biologist, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China Qu Dongyu, as Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on June 23, rumors went wild against the alleged Chinese plot to “take over” African food production.

French agronomist Jean-Jacques Gabas, a scientist, who traveled over Africa to investigate the situation, offered some clarity to {Le Monde} on September 13.

In effect, China became the head of the Organization for Industrial Development, the International Union for Tele-communications, the International Organization of Civil Aviation and, between 2016 and 2018, of Interpol.

“As a matter of fact, OECD financing of agriculture has been very poor over the last 30 years. It fell increasingly and led to the 2008 food crisis…. When you discuss the Chinese strategy with African agriculture ministers, they tell you: ‘Stop giving advice and creating fear. What did you finance over the last 30 years? Very little, given the need.’ And they aren’t mistaken,” he pointed out.

Asked if China wants to develop its imports of African agriculture products, Gabas, debunking what so many people fear.

“No. Since the end of the 2000, Beijing certainly is the first trading partner of Sub-Saharan Africa, but the share of agriculture in African exports to China represents only 2-3% of trade volume, almost nothing. China’s investments in African rice and sugar production go to regional African markets. Of course, Africa has 1.4 billion people to feed, which makes it very dependent on food imports. However, China knows that in world economic crises, notably in case of a food crisis in Africa, prices will be shaky and products will become scarce, impacting China’s domestic cereal production. China also wants to stabilize the African continent’s food production. What it imports from Africa are rubber, manioc for food packaging, and, depending on the years, peanuts, cotton, and wood. South African vineyards are also bought for export purposes. All of this implies very low volumes, far less than African food exports to Europe or those of mining products and fossil fuels to Africa….

Chinese companies are present and profit from market and investment opportunities, but without a marked strategy to ‘feed China.'”

Asked about the allegation of Chinese “land grabbing,” Gabas answers: “Respecting Chinese land acquisitions, viable statistics tell us that China is not number 1 and comes in only as 8th or 9th. Be it land for farming, mining, forestry, or rubber production, the largest investors remain OECD countries (U.S.A., U.K., and France), national companies or Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia. One observes that whenever the Chinese buy land and a conflict arises about the land or with part of the population, they retreat or change the nature of the utilization. … Chinese land grabbing is a myth.”

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Italian economist Antonino Galloni discusses principles of economic growth for developing nations.

Speaking from Xi’an, China on Sept. 12

“Africa and countries with an higher rate of demographic growth and lower GDP growth should promote a higher domestic growth,” Galloni said, by “improving their domestic industries, substitute imports, upgrading infrastructure, building efficient connections with Europe and the rest of the world.” Those countries should “export less raw materials and semi-finished products, create a productive capacity to fulfill the domestic demand and cut down low-wage exports.”

Galloni recalled that the first economist who understood this was the Italian Antonio Serra, at the end of 16th century, who demonstrated to the Spanish Viceroy in Naples that national wealth was not achieved through gold or silver, through taxation or selling raw materials, but “by improving the industriousness of citizens, mainly by education.”

Galloni also pushed the Transaqua project to bring water to Sub- Saharan Africa.

“Recently industrialized countries, like China, have correctly chosen to increase domestic demand instead of exports.” Investments in infrastructure, higher wages and employment are compatible with the increase of profits, but not with the “increase of the rate of profit,” which is typical of stock markets and financial investments.

 

Presidents Kagame and Museveni Discuss; Democracy, China, Infrastructure, and Jobs

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President Paul Kagame: Time for Europe To Invest in Industry and Infrastrucure

December  26, 2018)

In an exclusive interview with Austria’s {Die Presse} news daily, Rwandan President Paul Kagame stated that “Europe has invested billions upon billions of dollars in Africa. (But) something must have gone wrong…. Part of it is that these billions had a return ticket. They flowed to Africa and then back to Europe again. This money left nothing on the ground in Africa.” The European money was invested in the wrong place, he said.  Instead it should go to investments “in industry, infrastructure, and educational institutions for Africa’s youth, whose number is growing fast. That is the only way to create a  demographic dividend.” It would be a better way of preventing migration of young Africans to Europe, which the Europeans were so much worried about. Europe could cooperate with China, Kagame hints: “China is active in Rwanda, but not in an inappropriate way. The new roads in Rwanda are largely built with European money. Sometimes there are Chinese subcontractors.”

 What Africans do not need, is Europeans trying to give them lessons on democracy, Kagame said. The European model of democracy is a failure, Europe is in a profound political crisis, as shown by the recent mass protests and other aspects, this model cannot be one for Africans to follow. Europe finally has to give up its attitudes of fake generosity, and begin accepting Africa as a real partner, he said.

Presidents Museveni of Uganda and Kagame of Rwanda

China Creating Tens of Thousands of Jobs for Ugandans in Infrastructure Projects

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni revealed in an interview with {Xinhua} with its focus on infrastructure development, the country wanted to attract more invest-ment from China: “We are likely to advance the project of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)… in the government-to-government (talks).” Extending the Chinese-built SGR line from the Kenyan seaport of Mombasa, which is expected to reach the border areas with Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Uganda would make sense as a catalyst of economic growth. To finance its infra-structure development agenda, Uganda looked at China because of the country’s favorable lending terms compared to some of the Western global financiers.

Other major infrastructure projects in Uganda will benefit from Chinese support as well: A few months ago, the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway, linking the capital Kampala to Entebbe Airport, the country’s gateway to the world, was completed. China financed the construction of the mega road  project, the first of its kind in the country. China is also financing the expansion of Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport. Official figures show that after completion of the first phase of expansion, the cargo center can handle up to 150,000 metric tons of goods, compared to the previous 69,000 metric tons.

In the northern part of Uganda along the River Nile, the world’s longest river, China is constructing the 600MW Karuma Hydropower Plant. While touring the facility in July, President Museveni said he was amazed by the progress noting that the plant will not only address Uganda’s inadequate power supply, but also that youths have become skilled through the construction process.

Farther upstream on the River Nile, in the central Ugandan district of Kayunga, construction of a Chinese-funded 183MW Isimba Hydro-power plant that is nearing completion according to the Chinese engineers on site, power generated by the plant is expected to come onto the national grid early next year.

The power development plan is crucial for the Uganda’s industrialization policy, which has designated over 22 industrial parks across the country where investors can set up base, taking advantage of the incentives that come with establishing their factories in the parks. In October, President Museveni launched the first phase of a $620 million Chinese industrial project in the eastern district of Tororo. The project has dubbed the Uganda-China Free Zone of International Industrial Cooperation, undertaken by the Dongsong Energy Group, will manufacture glass, steel, and organic-fertilizers, creating about 3,000 jobs at peak when completed in 2020.

President Museveni, in March of this year launched another Chinese-owned Mbale Industrial Park. The park owners, Tian Tang Group, said it will attract more than 30 investors with a total investment of about $600 million and an annual output value of $1.5 billion. The park will directly employ about 12,000 locals.

 The $220 million Kehong China-Uganda Agricultural Industrial Park, is another park that will play a critical role in transforming the economy. According to government figures, almost 80% of the country’s population derives its livelihood from agriculture.

 When fully operational, Kehong China-Uganda Agricultural Industrial Park is expected to produce about 600,000 tons of agro-products annually to meet the domestic and regional market demands.

 It will also create 25,000 jobs as well as making opportunities for training local people available, according to the managers of the park.

Africa Will Be the Breadbasket of the World With Investment in Physical Infrastructure

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Africa Should be the Breadbasket of the World, Says the African Development Bank President

Aug. 9, 2018–Addressing the 2018 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting in Washington attended by over 1,600 agricultural and applied economists from around the world, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina said Aug. 5 that Africa should be the breadbasket of the world, and questioned why Africa should be spending $35 billion a year importing food.

“All it needs to do is harness the available technologies with the right policies, and rapidly raise agricultural  productivity and incomes for farmers, and assure lower food prices for consumers,” Adesina said, according to the AfDB website. “Technologies to achieve Africa’s green revolution exist, but are mostly just sitting on the shelves. The challenge is a lack of supportive policies to ensure that they are scaled up to reach millions of farmers,” he stated, not referring to phony “green” environmentalism, but the green revolution that raises productivity and would make Africa food secure.

Adesina, who was the 2017 World Food Prize winner, is advocating the creation of staple crops processing zones across Africa (SCPZs): vast areas within rural areas, set aside and managed for agribusiness and food manufacturing industries and other agro-allied industries, enabled with the right policies and infrastructure. “I am convinced that just like industrial parks helped China, so will the SCPZs help to create new economic zones in rural areas that will help lift hundreds of millions out of poverty through the transformation of agriculture–the main source of their livelihoods–from a way of life into a viable, profitable business that will unleash new sources of wealth,” he said.

Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, in Tanzania, Calls for Investment in Infrastructure Development

Aug. 9, 2018–Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, who arrived in Tanzania today on a one-day trip to discuss regional matters with President John Magufuli, said he requested the meeting to brief Magufuli on the outcome of the July 25-27 BRICS Summit in South Africa, during which Museveni made a case for the BRICS countries to invest in the East Africa Community (EAC) which provides high returns on their investments, higher than Europe,  Latin America and Asia. He said: “Investment in infrastructure development is key, especially in roads, railway and electricity. The Chinese have already helped us construct two hydropower dams, in Karuma, which is 600MW, and Isimba 183MW,” the {Kampala Post} reported today. Museveni attended the BRICS summit as rotating head of the EAC this year.

Uganda is a significant beneficiary of Chinese investments in East Africa. China has extended its hand of investment to many African countries, and continues to do so to uplift their economies. Liaoshen Industrial Park and Mbale Industrial Park in Uganda, launched last March, are set to increase local employment. The Chinese investors will offer training to the Ugandans who will work there. Among other spin-offs could be increase trade between Uganda and China.

Development Leapfrogs in Africa Due to Chinese BRI Investment

Aug. 8, 2018 — In an Aug. 7 op-ed to China Global Television Network, He Wenping, senior research fellow at the Charhar Institute, depicts the dramatic changes she’s seen in Africa after a visit to Djibouti earlier this month.

Prof He states the “two wings” of China-Africa industrial capacity cooperation; infrastructure construction and industrial park construction, have been booming on the African continent. This includes the Nairobi-Mombasa railroad and the Djibouti-Addis Ababa Railroad [see slugs in this briefing], as well as rail lines in Angola and Nigeria. In addition there are over 100 Sino-African industrial parks either in operation or under construction.

“Wherever you go, you can see an upsurge in infrastructure construction in Djibouti and a huge presence of China,” He writes. “For example, the largest free trade zone in Africa, jointly managed by Chinese enterprises and local entities, began construction in early July; the already completed Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway; the port built by China Merchants Group; and the thousands of economic housing projects built with the of Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh when he visited China in November last year. “The Westerners have been around for more
than 100 years but our country is still so poor, and the Chinese came to our country only three years ago but we have already seen great changes and hope,” President Guelleh said.

By the end of 2017, the stock of Chinese investment in Africa had exceeded $100 billion and more than 3,500 Chinese enterprises had invested and operated on the continent.  He points to the example of Dongguan Huajian Group’s investment in a shoe factory in Ethiopia. The Huajian Group has created 7,500 local jobs in Ethiopia, and the Huajian (Ethiopia) Shoe Factory now produces 5 million pairs of women’s shoes annually.

“The hope for development comes from the new impetus provided by the BRI,” He Wenping writes. “Since the Chinese government proposed the BRI in 2013, the African continent, with its abundant resources, huge market potential and strong infrastructure construction demand, has been actively involved in BRI-related projects.

“And in the process of participation, the continent seized an important opportunity for historical development, in order to achieve leapfrog development and transformation from a pre-industrial to a fully industrialized society.”

Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway Revolutionizing Transportation

Aug. 8, 2018– Kenya’s new, up-and-running Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from the Port of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, built with major Chinese participation, is already revolutionizing the country’s transportation according to the {Daily Nation} of Kenya.

The railway runs seven trains a day carrying a total of 752 containers from the port to Nairobi. While roughly 1,300 containers arrive at the port daily, the time necessary for a ship to clear the port has been reduced from 12 days to just a day and half! This has created a quantum leap in the potential throughput the port, without having to physically expand it. By August, the connection of the SGR line to berths at the port will be complete,  increasing the efficiency even further.

Of course this has led to loss of business and employment at the container freight stations (CFS) where the containers were broken down and transferred to trucks. In answer to this problem Transport Principal Secretary Paul Maringa said that SGR has brought more gains to the economy, ensured efficiency at the Mombasa port and saved roads from overloaded trucks.  “We cannot continue having the conversation about Mombasa and Nairobi. We must look at the bigger picture. We are encouraging the CFS owners to come and open their stations in Nairobi and other parts of the country,” Maringa told the {Daily Nation} by phone.  Asked whether players in the sector should concentrate on investing in Nairobi, Maringa said, “We should not lose the direction. Let’s look at things holistically. We have been able to attract more business at the port which is benefitting Mombasa and the country at large,” he said.  “And this is because of the speed that the SGR has been able to transport cargo to the inland container depot in Nairobi compared to the trucks. We have added handling capacity at the port and that is beneficial to all of us,” he said, stating that the port has handle at least 17,000 containers.

Furthermore the SGR has enabled the government to save money for other development projects.  “The accidents cases have also gone down. Those are the silent benefits of the project as Kenyans’ lives are more important than the businesses we are doing,” he said.

Ethiopia Railway on the Road to Self-Management

Aug. 8, 2018–China is now training Ethiopians to independently run the new standard gauge railway line between Djibouti and Addis Ababa. As of now the locomotive drivers, the management, and many of technicians are still Chinese.  While teams of Ethiopians and Djiboutians have been undergoing training in China, the Chinese and Ethiopian governments are cooperating in building an Ethiopian railway academy.

The Chinese Embassy Economic and Commercial Counselor Liu Yu told the {Ethiopian Herald}, “The Ethiopia railway academy is already under design in Bishoftu. The government has donated $60 million for the  construction. Ethiopia and China have been enjoying strong relationship and cooperating in different areas, one of which is human capacity building takes the epicenter.”

The Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company (EDRSC) Director General Tilahun Sarka stressed that human resource development is the top priority of the corporation, as the railway has been under the management of two Chinese companies, China Railway Group (CREC) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

Pointing to the high quality of the Chinese training, Tilahun said: “The good thing about Chinese instructors and lecturers, as long as you keep on asking questions you will get what you need.”

“Keeping the ration of the EDRSC share, we are engaged in training about 50 Ethiopian and Djiboutian prospective train drivers. These trainees will exchange ideas on topics related to railway operations technologies and railway management, that could realize and create a competent and skilled labor force to operate the Chinese-built and financed 756 km Ethiopia-Djibouti electrified rail line,” he stated.

One trainee, Eyoba Dubale, told the {Ethiopian Herald}: “The trainers from China are dedicated in assisting us. The training is going well in its schedules and we are happy of the whole process. After the training we will be assistant driver, and after establishing comprehensive skills and knowledge as well as attitude of serving in the system, we will take over charge of the driving responsibility to the service the logistics sector for the common good.”

The EDRSC is part of the five-year growth and transformation plan, which aims to enhance the transportation network within the country by connecting to adjacent countries and ports. The National Railway Network of Ethiopia is believed to provide efficient mobility and improve the export and import activities, boosting the economic development.