Journal articles on the topic 'Water resources development – Ethiopia – Addis Ababa'

Water security is a global concern because of the growing impact of human activities and climate change on water resources. Studies had been performed at global, country, and city level to assess the water security issues. However, assessment of water security at a domestic scale is lacking. This paper develops a new domestic water security assessment framework accounting for water supply, sanitation, and hygiene through twelve indicators. Water supply, sanitation, and hygiene are central to key water-related sustainable development goals. The framework is subsequently applied to the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. From the domestic water security assessment of Addis Ababa, the water supply dimension was found to be of good level, whereas the sanitation and hygiene dimensions were of poor and fair level, respectively, indicating both a challenge and an opportunity for development. Because the analysis is spatially explicit at the city-branch level (in Addis), variation in domestic water security performance across Addis Ababa can be assessed, allowing efficient targeting of scant resources (financial, technical, personnel). Analysis further shows that a lack of institutional capacity within the utility, existing infrastructure leading to ‘lock-in’ and hindering maintenance and upgrade initiatives, and an unreliable power supply are the main issues leading to poor domestic water security in the study city. These areas should be tackled to improve the current situation and mitigate future problems. The developed framework is generic enough to be applied to other urban and peri-urban areas, yet provides planners and policy makers with specific information on domestic water security considering water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and accounting for within-city variability. This work could therefore have practical applicability for water service providers.

Assessing the impact of climate change and population growth on river water quality is a key issue for many developing countries, where multiple and often conflicting river water uses (water supply, irrigation, wastewater disposal) are placing increasing pressure on limited water resources. However, comprehensive water quality datasets are often lacking, thus impeding a full-scale data-based river water quality assessment. Here we propose a model-based approach, using both global datasets and local data to build an evaluation of the potential impact of climate changes and population growth, as well as to verify the efficiency of mitigation measures to curb river water pollution. The upper Awash River catchment in Ethiopia, which drains the city of Addis Ababa as well as many agricultural areas, is used as a case-study. The results show that while decreases in runoff and increases in temperature due to climate change are expected to result in slightly decreased nutrient concentrations, the largest threat to the water quality of the Awash River is population growth, which is expected to increase nutrient loads by 15 to 20% (nitrate) and 30 to 40% (phosphorus) in the river by the second half of the 21st century. Even larger increases are to be expected downstream of large urban areas, such as Addis Ababa. However, improved wastewater treatment options are shown to be efficient in counteracting the negative impact of population growth and returning water pollution to acceptable levels.

This research examines the viability of the design of environmental taxes in the achievement of sustainable waste management in the Addis Ababa Administration (AAA) of Ethiopia. It has employed an empirical qualitative method. It first shows the mutual contribution of the achievement of waste management to the progress of sustainable sanitation and water resource management. Secondly, it displays the distributive and incentive roles of environmental taxes in the achievement of sustainable waste management. Thirdly, it indicates that a cautious design of the source, base, scope and rate of environmental taxes is a critical determinant for environmental taxes’ overall success in addressing the prevalent waste mismanagement in Ethiopia. Fourthly, it demonstrates that in the AAA: (1) The sources of solid waste collection, landfill, sewerage service and effluent charges are subject to the principle of legality; (2) the scope of solid waste collection, landfill, sewerage service and effluent charges is appropriate; (3) while the base of sewerage service and effluent charges is efficient, the base of solid waste and landfill charges is not at all efficient; and (4) while the rates of solid waste, landfill and sewerage service charges are slightly optimal, the rate of the effluent charge has not yet developed. Fifthly, it reveals that, having a somewhat viable design, solid waste, landfill and sewerage service charges are marginally reinforcing the aspiration of Ethiopia to achieve sustainable sanitation. Sixthly, it uncovers that because Ethiopia has not yet developed the rate of effluent charge, effluent charge is neither internalizing the cost of water resource degradation nor incentivizing sustainable water resource management. Finally, it implies that the aspiration of Ethiopia to achieve sustainable sanitation and water resource management by 2030 is contingent on the cautious design of its waste management taxes.

The development of transport infrastructure is a priority objective for many African countries. This process has significant impact on the efficiency of continental and world trade corridors, and also influence on the costs of economic activity. In this case, the transformation in the transport sector of Ethiopia must be noted. The government of the country has taken a decision to create national railway network and develop aviation and road lines of communication. After The Eritrean War of Independence Eritrean separation was announced and Ethiopia lost its maritime infrastructure and became a landlocked country. This situation provides great difficulties in process of international trade and economic activity for the region. Now the development of transport corridors which connect economic centers with large ports of the region is a priority task for Ethiopian government. In this case Ethiopia is actively attracting foreign investors and world financial organizations to create stable, efficient and economically profitable ways of transport communication with the port infrastructure of neighboring countries. This year, Chinese companies finished to rebuilt the railway line Addis Ababa-Djibouti, in the coming years, governments of Kenya and Ethiopia, will launch new Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa motorway. This infrastructure projects are essential for enhancing Ethiopian competitiveness and economic activity and provide opportunity to reduce transport costs. Moreover, the Ethiopian authorities are making great progress in developing the internal transport infrastructure, first of all, in terms of increased paved road and development of railway infrastructure, which promotes more efficient use of natural,economic and human resources. Foreign companies are actively involved in realization of this transport projects and it can be a perspective area for cooperation between Russian Federation and Ethiopia. The article provides a detailed overview of Ethiopian transport sector and describes the key infrastructureprojects which can be interesting for Russian companies.

Hotels create unforeseen damages to the environment by depleting natural resources and driving out wastes. Studies have rarely been conducted to investigate the nexus between hotels and the environment in Ethiopia. This study aims to explore environmental practices among Addis Ababa hotels. The quantitative research design was applied to the study. The data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed through descriptive statistics. The totels' environmental practice indicators were examined under the themes of water-saving, energy-saving, green purchase, and waste management. Within these themes, the installation of energy-efficient bulbs, installation of a key card for light; using energy-efficient appliances; regular maintenances of water and electric facilities; the installing of dual toilet and other low flow water technologies; placing of dustbins; sorting and disposing of solid wastes, and buying of local products were implemented to a certain extent. The study implicates the requirement of intervention to make hotel operation environmentally sustainable.

This article explores how livelihoods in two typical communities, condominium housing and urban agriculture cooperatives, in Addis Ababa manage water resources and green spaces in order to identify key challenges and potentials for building water-resilient livelihoods. Results show that livelihoods in the two communities are heavily affected by water stress. Being dependent on natural assets makes the farming community vulnerable, but also more flexible than people in condominiums who are locked into a malfunctioning water infrastructure. However, there is potential for building water-resilient livelihoods, if broader policy frameworks are bottom-linked with locally specific situations using landscape-based stormwater management.

Abstract Flood risk maps for the built environment can be obtained by integrating geo-spatial information on hazard, vulnerability and exposure. They provide precious support for strategic urban planning and decision-making. These maps, generated in a probabilistic framework, can consider various sources of uncertainty in the flood risk assessment such as the occurrence of extreme flooding events, future land use and land cover, characteristics of the buildings, and exposure to flooding. This paper investigates how these maps can be used in complicated urban context such as developing countries, where engineers are forced to work with scarce or little data. Specifically, a detailed investigation on the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, has been conducted. Although the city of Addis Ababa is undergoing extensive formal housing development, it is most likely that the informal settlements will continue to constitute a significant portion of urban housing landscape in the years to come. Recent research findings and field work from a large project (FP7-CLUVA) are employed in order to provide a quantified basis for decision-making between alternative adaptation strategies for informal buildings in Addis Ababa. Risk maps, obtained by up-scaling more accurate risk assessment results at neighborhood level, are adopted for risk zoning of the urban residential texture within the city. This provides risk-based criteria for both identifying suitable flood adaptation strategies and prioritizing between viable risk mitigation measures.

This paper argues that development through large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs) in Gambella, western Ethiopia, belies a state-remaking project under a dispossessive political economy. This argument is based on fieldwork in Gambella, Addis Ababa, and Minneapolis and is situated within the broader development agenda pursued by Ethiopia's ruling party. The political economy of LSLAs tells us that the deals are not occurring in a predominantly economic manner; rather, extra-economic state intervention clears the way for, facilitates, and ensures sustained accumulation. This political intervention is “unlocking” and making the lowland resources accessible and extractable by the state, while a concomitant villagisation project is guaranteeing continued accumulation by disempowering the local population by making the community legible, governable, and controllable. By combining these processes, the Ethiopian state is mastering, and building itself in, Gambella's lowlands.

In recent years, many urban areas in Ethiopia have experienced frequent flood events as a result of climate change and urban sprawl. Unplanned and unsustainable poor urban storm water management strategies will aggravate the impact and frequency of flood occurrence. In this study, impacts of urbanization and climate change on generated flood magnitude are analyzed using the urban hydrological model of Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) and Low Impact Development (LID) sustainable land use optimization techniques. Three rainfall distribution patterns (TS1, TS2 and TS3) in combination with rainfall duration periods of 10, 30 and 60 min and a pessimistic climate change scenario of RCP 4.5 compared to RCP 8.5 are used for the analysis purpose for selected infiltration and storage LID techniques (Bio-Retention Cell, Infiltration Trench and Rain Barrel). The study results showed that combined LID techniques have a significant impact on urban flood reduction of up to 75%. This significant amount of flood reduction is greater than the amount of excess flood magnitude which occurred as a result of climate change using the most pessimistic climate change scenario. The study results also confirmed that rainfall patterns have a significant impact on peak discharge for shorter rainfall durations. This study highly recommends using cost effective, easy and environmental adaptive and sustainable LID techniques for urban flood management in addition to existing drainage structures.

In Africa, social capital (SC) is an important resource for the informal economy. It substitutes the limited formal business support systems as factor inputs for enterprise development. This article investigates the effect of Burt’s structural holes theory of social capital in the context of the Ethiopian informal economy. Data were collected from street entrepreneurs in Addis Ababa using multiple name generators constructed on the basis of entrepreneurs’ frequent interaction with people related to resources needed for entrepreneurial activities. Social network analyses and statistical procedures of instrumental variables estimation were used to analyse the data. By controlling the potential endogeneity problem between structural holes and enterprise outcomes, the findings of the study show that entrepreneurs’ dense network structure, which lacks structural holes, has a significant negative effect on entrepreneurial outcome. Accordingly, policies that aim at supporting informal entrepreneurs need to consider the benefits of social contacts while taking into account the downside of being excessively embedded in dense networks.

The stock of financial literature reveals emerging and conflicting stands on the effect of finance on the performance of the economy. The previous thoughts considered finance into account as an important driving force to growth through its role in intermediation, reduction of transaction costs and risk, and efficient uses of resources. Nevertheless, the newly emerging thoughts focus on the vanishing effect of finance due to its stiff competition over resources with the rest of the economy. The dialogues also reflected in the process of industrialization and promoting the manufacturing sector. Therefore, the general objective of this study is to reexamine the impact of financial services on the performance of manufacturing firms in Ethiopia with a special focus on firms in Addis Ababa. The study used propensity score matching method. The result shows that those who access finance has increased their operating margin profit by 2.6 on average in comparison with the non-treated groups. The treated groups have 0.42 greater net return on a net asset than non-treated groups on average. Therefore, the study suggests that financial institutions should increase their involvement to expand the accessibility of financial products to manufacturing firms that are the expected engines of sustainable growth and economic transformation.

Abstract Despite the quick urban population growth increased volume of wastes, including human excreta, which demands an expanded need of infrastructure, solid institutional setup and communities' engagement for management of safe disposal of excreta, arrangement of such basic social services has not developed as per the rate of population growth. Mostly, communal latrines are inclined towards an absence of cleanliness, as they accommodate many people beyond their capacity, filling up septic tanks quickly. A community-based cross-sectional study conducted in 817 randomly selected communal latrine user households, five focus group discussions and four key informant interviews were analysed. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to discover the impact of different factors on the use of communal latrines. The findings revealed that the rate of communal latrine use in Addis Ababa was about 79.8%. Unhygienic conditions, latrine emptying challenges, extreme smell, number of family units sharing the same squats, and latrine designs for the aged and children were identified as barriers to latrine utilization. This study suggests that, in parallel with the continued investments to increase access to sanitary facilities in the city, the management and behavioural change part has likewise to be stressed for better use and sustainability.

Abstract Sebeta town is one of the rapidly growing towns in Ethiopia. Its closeness to Addis Ababa city has attracted industrial, urban development, and population growth. This development has created problems with drinking water shortages in the community. This study aimed at determining the household's willingness to pay (WTP) amount toward improving water supply services and analyzing the influencing factors of WTP. A contingent valuation (CV) technique was applied in quantifying the households' WTP and the influencing factors toward the program. The field observations, key informant interviews, and household questionnaire interviews from 250 respondents out of the targeted 280 were employed in collecting field data. Results from CV revealed that 66% of the households were WTP toward improving the water supply services beyond their current monthly water bills. Households were WTP about 20 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) above the average current water bill of 161 ETB. The binary logistic model results statistically demonstrated that independent variables of gender, age, marital status, education level, years in Sebeta, and average monthly income were significantly influencing the household's WTP at p = 0.01 and 0.05. This study provides vital hints for further research and baseline information for local administration and communities about the water supply in the area and holistic appropriation of water tariffs in line with government policy.

BackgroundUnderstanding the pathways to psychiatric care and recognition of delay points are crucial for the development of interventions that aim to improve access to mental health-care services.MethodOver a 2-month period in 2003, a total of 1044 patients at the commencement of new episodes of care at Amanuel Specialized Mental Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia were interviewed using the encounter form that was developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the study of pathways to psychiatric care.ResultsThe mental hospital was contacted directly by 41% of patients. The remaining patients sought care from up to four different caregivers before arriving at the psychiatric hospital. Where the initial service was not received at the psychiatric hospital, 30.9% of patients sought care from priests/holy water/church. The median delay between onset of illness and arrival at the psychiatric hospital was 38 weeks. The longest delays before arriving at the mental hospital were associated with having no formal education, joblessness, and diagnoses of epilepsy and physical conditions.ConclusionsImplementing a robust referral system and establishing a strong working relationship with both traditional and modern health-care providers, as well as designing a service delivery model that targets particular segments of the population, such as those who are uneducated, jobless and/or suffer from epilepsy and somatic conditions, should be the most important strategies towards improving mental health service delivery and shortening of undue delay for patients receiving psychiatric care in Ethiopia.

Background. Human resources for health-care delivery are essential for attaining global health and development goals. Especially in developing countries, health extension workers are frontline health personnel who can play a key role in preventing and controlling HIV/AIDS. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of health extension workers in HIV-1/2 screening tests. Methodology. A comparative cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the performance of health extension workers in HIV-1/2 screening tests. Study participants had performed HIV screening tests on the prepared sample panels. Finally, the percentage of accuracy, error rate, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and measure of agreement (kappa) were calculated using SPSS version 26. Result. Totally, 1600 HIV screening tests were performed, and of these, 684 and 235 tests were done by HEWs (n = 15) and laboratory personnel (n = 5), respectively, with three discordant results by HEWs from a single sample panel which was weak reactive for HIV antibody test. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of HIV screening tests by HEWs were 97.4%, 100%, 100%, and 97.22%, respectively, and 100% for all parameters when it is tested by laboratory professionals. The measure of kappa agreement was 0.971 (95% CI, 0.932–1) for HEWs and 1 for laboratory personnel compared with the reference result. Conclusion. Based on this evidence, we conclude that the potential contribution of HEWs can be invaluable in the expansion of HIV screening tests nationwide to compensate the shortage of laboratory personnel.

Abstract The study aimed to determine the status of microbial load of drinking water and seasonal variation of water quality. An institution-based longitudinal study was conducted. 1,141 food establishments were divided into slum and non-slum areas based on their location. Moreover, they were categorized as large and small food establishments. Then, 125 food outlets were selected using a simple random sampling technique. From the selected food outlets, 250 drinking water samples were collected directly from the drinking water storage in the rainy and the dry seasons. Data analysis was conducted using a repeated-measure ANOVA statistical model. The finding indicated that, 26.4% and 10.7% of the food establishments' drinking water was positive for Escherichia coli in the wet and the dry season, respectively. Moreover, 3.2% and 1.6% of the food establishments' drinking water had very high health risk to customers during the wet and the dry season, respectively. The drinking water at the point of use was found to be vulnerable to microbiological contamination and had a serious health risk. Therefore, good sanitation and proper handling of drinking water, and effective drinking water treatment, such as disinfection and filtration, should be practiced in all food establishments.

After 1991, Ethiopia has introduced an ethnic federal governance system constituting nine regional states and two autonomous city administrations, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. The restructuring of the state seemingly led to the decentralisation of power to the regions and Woreda (district authority) levels local governance structure in 1995 and 2002 respectively. The purpose of this article is to examine the practices of decentralised local governance in Ethiopia in general and the local governance performance at the level of peasant association (Kebele) in particular. The article also analyses the link between the local governance and poverty based on three indicators: decentralisation and self-rule (DSR), local capacity for planning (LCP), and effectiveness of local governance system (ELGS). Data was collected from eight selected Kebeles of three different regional states through household survey, qualitative interviews and focus group discussions. The study shows that while the power and control of the central government is well established, the Kebeles lack the capacity and resources to deliver development. The LCP at Kebele level is weak because of organisational incapacity and institutional constraints related to DSR. The ELGS is also poor since Kebeles do not have any fiscal rights and administrative power for the reasons associated with DSR and LCP. The government has been implementing poverty reduction strategies using productive safety net programmes and farmer training centres. These, however, have not had the desired outcome due to organisational and institutional incapacitation of Kebele administrations.

Background Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a group of several communicable and non-communicable diseases prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. The co-endemicity of these diseases, the similarity of their clinical signs, and the need to maximize limited financial and human resources suggest the importance of adoptingan integratedapproach to their prevention and treatment. Aims This study describes the development of a comprehensive package of physical, mental health and psychosocial care for people with lower-limb lymphoedema caused bypodoconiosis, lymphatic filariasis (LF)or leprosy as part of the EnDPoINT program in Ethiopia. Method The care package was developed using a mixed-methods approach, consisting of a literature review, situational analysis, Theory of Change (ToC) workshops, qualitative research, and additional workshops to fine-tune the draft care package. The care package was developed between March 2018 and January 2020 in Addis Ababa and the implementation research site, Awi zone in the North-West of Ethiopia. Results The holistic care package includes components implemented at three levels of the health care system:health organization, facility, and community. Sections of the care package are directed at strengthening capacity building, program management, community engagement, awareness-raising, stigma-reduction, morbidity management, disability prevention, follow-up visits, referral linkage, community-based rehabilitation, and monitoring and evaluation. Conclusions The study developed a holistic integrated care package for lower limb disorder and co-morbid mental health problems caused by podoconiosis, LF or leprosy. The approach has the potential to significantly reduce lower limb disorder-associated morbidity, disability, and psychosocial problems. It also standardizes a scalable approach appropriate for the Ethiopian setting and, most likely, other countries where these NTDs are present.

Objectives: The survey was to determine Knowledge, attitude, and practices around bronchiectasis, as a starting point for the development of guidelines for care in African Countries. Materials and Methods: This survey was administered to non-specialist physicians in urban health centers in Burkina Faso, Uganda, South Africa, and Ethiopia. Data were anonymized and analyzed at an individual level by country and health-care setting. Results: A total of 388 participants were recruited from Ouagadougou (75/388, 19.3%), Kampala (85/388, 21.9%), Johannesburg (74/388, 19.3%), and Addis Ababa (154/388, 39.6%). Median age was 30 years, and 66% were male, with a median of 3-year medical experience. Knowledge about the definition, clinical presentation, and diagnosis of disease was good. However, guidelines for local practice were largely absent. Wide variation was reported in diagnostic and management practices. Physicians recognized the need for guidelines and further training. Conclusion: This study highlighted the lack of local guidelines for bronchiectasis care in these settings and marked variation in approaches to investigation, diagnosis, and management within and between sites. Context-appropriate guidelines for bronchiectasis care in Sub-Saharan Africa are needed. These must be informed by local epidemiology, should reflect locally available resources and comorbidities including tuberculosis-disease, and should be codeveloped with local practitioners.

INTRODUCTION The African Union Commission on International Law (the AUCIL) was established as an advisory organ on the basis of Article 5(2) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union. On February 4, 2009 the Executive Council of the Union adopted the operational Statute of the AUCIL. The objectives of the AUCIL, inter alia, are to undertake activities relating to the codification and progressive development of international law on the African continent with special reference to the laws of the Union, including African customary law arising from the practice of Member States (Article 4(4)). Furthermore, the AUCIL shall cooperate and collaborate in the teaching, study and dissemination of International law and African Union law, with universities, institutions and other educational and research bodies, and lawyers’ associations (Article 9). For several years now, the AUCIL has held an annual Forum as a means to fulfill these goals. The AUCIL convened its 7th Forum on 10 and 11 December, 2018, at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The Theme for the Forum was, “MANAGEMENT OF AFRICA’S NATURAL RESOURCES’’. This theme was deliberated on the context of African Union Agenda 2063. Officers for the Seventh Forum were: Chairman of Forum: Hon Judge Ismael Abdi Hersi, Vice-Chairperson of AUCIL Rapporteur General of Forum: Hon Kathleen Quartey Ayensu, AUCIL Commissioner In attendance: Ag Executive Secretary, Dr Guy-Fleury Ntwari, and selected Attorneys from the Office of the Legal Counsel, African Union Commission.

The quality of Little Akaki River in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) is deteriorating significantly due to uncontrolled waste released from point and diffuse sources. In this study, pollution load from these sources was quantified by integrating chemical mass balance analysis (CMB) and the watershed model of pollution load (PLOAD) for chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solid, total nitrogen, nitrate, and phosphate. Water samples monitored bimonthly at 15 main channel monitoring stations and 11-point sources were used for estimation of pollutant load using FLUX32 software in which the flow from the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model calibration, measured instantaneous flow, and constituent concentration were used as input. The SWAT simulated the flow quite well with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.78 and 0.82 and Nash-Sutcliff (NSE) of 0.76 and 0.80 during calibration and validation, respectively. The uncharacterized nonpoint source load calculated by integrating CMB and PLOAD showed that the contribution of nonpoint source prevails at the middle and downstream segments of the river. Maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) load from uncharacterized nonpoint sources was calculated at the monitoring station located below the confluence of two rivers (near German Square). On the other hand, high organic pollution load, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) load, was calculated at a station upstream of Aba Samuel Lake, whereas annual maximum total dissolved solid (TDS), total nitrogen (TN), and phosphate load (PO4-P) from the nonpoint source in Little Akaki River (LAR) were found at a river section near Kality Bridge and maximum NOX load was calculated at station near German Square. The integration of the CMB and PLOAD model in this study revealed that the use of area-specific pollutant export coefficients would give relatively accurate results than the use of mean and median ECf values of each land use.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider recent field evidence to analyse what online public services citizens need, explores potential citizen subsidy of these specific services and investigates where resources should be invested in terms of media accessibility. The authors explore these from a citizen-centric affordability perspective within three exemplar developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank and United Nations in particular promote initiatives under the “Information and Communication Technologies for Development” (ICT4D) to stress the relevance of e-Government as a way to ensure development and reduce poverty. The authors adopt a contingency value approach to determine directly reported citizens willingness to pay for digital public services. Hence, our focus is mainly upon an empirical investigation through extensive fieldwork in the context of sub-Sahara Africa. A substantive survey was conducted in the respective cities of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Lagos (Nigeria) and Johannesburg (South Africa). The sample of citizens was drawn from each respective Chamber of Commerce database for Ethiopia and South Africa, and for Nigeria a purchased database of businesses, based on stratified random sampling. These were randomly identified from both sectors ensuring all locations were covered with a total sample size of 1,297 respondents. It was found, in particular, that citizens were willing to pay to be able to access digital public services and that amounts of fees they were willing to pay varied depending on what services they wish to access and what devices they use (PCs or mobile phones). Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a contingency value approach to determine directly reported citizens willingness to pay for digital public services. A survey was conducted in the respective cities of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Lagos (Nigeria) and Johannesburg (South Africa). The sample of citizens was drawn from each respective Chamber of Commerce database for Ethiopia and South Africa, and for Nigeria a purchased database of businesses, based on stratified random sampling. These were randomly identified from both sectors ensuring all locations were covered with a total sample size of 1,297 respondents. Findings The findings suggest that by understanding citizen needs, demands and how they can benefit from online public services could drive decisions related to what public services need to be prioritised for economically active citizens, potentially explore citizen subsidy of these specific public services which will have a trickle-down benefit to poorer citizens by reducing the pressures on traditional channels of public service delivery and investigate where resources should be invested in terms of media to access online services. Willingness to pay between the top online public services showed no statistically significant difference among all respondents. Research limitations/implications The research focused on economically active digitally savvy citizens in the major capital cities in each of our selected countries. While these are not representative of the population at large, our intention was to understand what citizen-led government services would look like from the perspective of this group, with an insight into the value they place on these online services and their ability to access them. Technology diffusion starts with the early adopters (Rogers, 2010), and here the authors have focused on those that are likely to be early adopters. Practical implications Poor fiscal capacity, namely, the amount and type of resources a state has at its disposal, not only has an impact on economic wellbeing, but particularly relevant in this case, also has an impact on the quality of government (Baskaran and Bigsten, 2013). Thus, e-government is one way in which developing countries can focus on developing good governance and strengthening civil society to improve the quality of government and motivate citizens to participate in the political process. Social implications The economic performance of African countries has been viewed with pessimism, consistently considered to be the poorest continent (Harrison et al., 2014). Recent studies have empirically shown that new information technologies have contributed to longer term economic growth in African countries and stress the need for government to further invest in developing telecommunications infrastructures and internet access (Donou-Adonsou et al., 2016). However one of the major constraints and challenges for developing countries is the limited fiscal capacity and ability to mobilise fiscal resources to finance the provision of public services, which is essential for economic development (Ali et al., 2015). Originality/value The authors contribute to the World Bank and United Nations initiatives to promote ICT for Development’ (ICT4D) the relevance of e-government as a way to ensure development and reduce poverty. If online services are of no benefit, even if they are more convenient and lower cost, they are unlikely to be used. Accessing digital public services directly addresses the needs of economically active citizens and can also facilitate the steps towards an improved quality of government and interaction with civil society. The study has contributed to an insightful understanding of the value, cost and benefits of citizen-led e-Government in this respect.

Background: Human resources are essential to the sustainability and scalability of health interventions. A barrier to global cancer efforts has been the scarcity of trained pediatric hematology/oncology (PHO) professionals in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Studies highlight this inequity and the need to develop a global PHO workforce through allocation of financial resources, strengthening of healthcare infrastructure, and development of innovative training programs. Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. Because of recent reduction in infant mortality and improved treatment of Malaria and HIV in Ethiopia, non-communicable diseases contribute an increasing proportion of childhood mortality. The annual incidence of pediatric cancer in Ethiopia is estimated to be 6000-8000 cases. Prior to 2013, no dedicated PHO programs existed in Ethiopia, and there was no formal process for training local physicians in PHO. The following intervention aimed to increase local capacity for treating childhood cancer through the creation of a formal two-year PHO fellowship. Strategy: The PHO fellowship program was created by The Aslan Project, a US non-profit led by a group of experts in PHO, pediatric oncology nursing, and pathology with experience practicing in LMIC, in collaboration with Addis Ababa University (AAU). The goal was to provide a robust educational experience for fellows within the existing resource-constrained clinical environment. Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) was the initial clinical site (in 2013) for the training program with a second at Jimma University Medical Center (JUMC) in 2016. An Aslan clinical director was present throughout the first year at each location. Visiting faculty from the US and Canada provided clinical supervision, on-site didactics, and professional mentorship. The second year of training included a six-month rotation at a high-functioning cancer institution in India. Fellows were expected to complete a scholarly activity, pass a certification exam, and serve as pediatric hematologist-oncologists in Ethiopia for a minimum of two years following training. Outcomes: Since 2013, four physicians completed PHO fellowship based in Ethiopia, with extensive support of local healthcare leadership and visiting faculty. One additional fellow left training prior to completion and one fellow currently is in training. Twenty-three faculty members from 18 Universities made 51 trips to Ethiopia for onsite training of fellows from 2013-2019. Each fellow completed a rotation in India in his/her second year (Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, or TMC Kolkata). Fellowship projects included a comprehensive pediatric cancer unit assessment, safe chemotherapy practices, and the role of diagnostic pathology. The four subspecialty-trained physicians have remained local, two at TASH, one at JUMC, and one returned to Gertrude's Children's Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. JUMC now supports a 22 bed PHO unit running at 90% capacity with over 300 new diagnoses since August 2016. TASH supports a 26 bed inpatient unit and 16 additional inpatient beds at a nearby oncology center, treating over 600 new patients annually. The fellowship structure has succeeded in training subspecialty physicians to establish PHO care in Ethiopia. Discussion: Developing specialized care in LMIC requires a multifaceted approach, including nursing training, social support, health system buy-in, diagnostic expertise and facility, pharmacy services, and subspecialty physicians. Focusing on physician training for PHO in Ethiopia, we designed a training structure and curriculum to 1) teach resource appropriate medical care, 2) provide sustained clinical mentorship, 3) develop health system leadership skills, and 4) retain physicians to support local pediatric oncology units. Onsite training by visiting faculty was augmented by sending fellows to a mature, middle-income country program and the support of full-time clinical faculty/mentorship for a large portion of the program. Challenges included fellow recruitment, pathologic accuracy, chemotherapy access, nutritional support, and treatment retention. Formal subspecialty PHO training can be implemented in LMIC without established subspecialty physicians, but requires ongoing commitment of administrators, visiting faculty, local universities, and a multidisciplinary team of health professionals. Disclosures Alexander: AbbVie: Other: travel funding.

Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa after Nigeria, has more than one hundred million people and is one of the world’s fastest-growing countries in terms of economy. It has 12 major river basins with an annual renewable flow of 122 billion m3. The country is facing increasing pressures on water resources both in terms of quantity and quality. Many researchers have highlighted that water pollution is severe and increasing particularly in the environs of Addis Ababa because of complex anthropogenic factors. The objective of this review was to synthesize the key results of research to date on the water quality in the environs of Addis Ababa and use that information to highlight management gaps, challenges and future research needs. According to the studies reviewed, water pollution pressures result from rapid urbanization and industrial expansion without adequate solid waste management and wastewater treatment facilities and agricultural activities. The problems are compounded by law enforcement difficulties. Trace metal contamination of rivers, streams, reservoirs and their bioaccumulation in vegetables highlight the urgency of addressing water pollution in the catchment. Most studies agreed that water from reservoirs, rivers and streams in the environs of Addis Ababa is unfit for human consumption as it contains a wide range of pollutants that could affect community health. Hence effective pollution detection, mitigation measures, and monitoring including the development of bioassessment tools, together with cost-effective management measures are urgently required to reverse the decline in water quality in Ethiopia in general and in the greater metropolitan area of Addis Ababa and the upper Awash basin in particular.
 
 Keywords: Addis Ababa, Metropolitan, Waste management, Upper Awash basin, Water quality

Improving water security is critical to delivering the best outcomes for development. In Ethiopia, the upper Awash sub-basin supports expanding urban and industrial areas, with increasing water demands. Studies have preferentially focused either on surface water hydrology or on groundwater characterization. However, novel tools are required to support the conjunctive use of surface and groundwater for competing users under potential climate change impacts. In this paper, we present research based on a WEAP-MODFLOW link configured for four catchments in the upper Awash sub-basin (Akaki, Melka Kunture, Mojo, and Koka). The Akaki catchment supplies water for Addis Ababa city. Unlike most surface water hydrological models, both supply (surface water and groundwater) and demand (domestic, industrial, and livestock) are modeled. The tool was used to evaluate the impacts of population growth, leakage, expansion of surface and groundwater supply schemes, and climate change scenarios up to the year 2030. Considering the high population growth rate scenario for Addis Ababa city, the unmet domestic water demand may increase to 760 MCM in 2030. Water leakage through poor water supply distribution networks contributed about 23% of the unmet water demand. Though not significant compared with population and water loss stresses, climate change also affect the supply demand condition in the basin. Planning for more groundwater abstraction without considering additional surface water reservoir schemes will noticeably impact the groundwater resource, with groundwater levels projected to decline by more than 20 m. Even more groundwater level decline is observed In the Akaki catchment, where Addis Ababa city is located. Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater not only boosts the supply demand situation in the basin but will lift off some of the stresses from the groundwater resources. Even under the likely increase in temperature and low precipitation climate scenarios, the conjunctive use resulted in a significant increase in domestic water demand coverage from 26% for the reference condition to 90% in 2030, with minimum effect on the groundwater resources. To improve water security conditions through sustainable utilization of both surface and groundwater resources, policy responses need to consider surface and groundwater conjunctive use. Minimizing water leakage should also be given the highest priority.

Municipal Solid Waste management is one of the most fundamental issues in the contemporary urban environments particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia. A huge generation of waste coupled with unbalanced waste management services is the major challenges facing the City of Addis Ababa. A continuous increase of production of more wastes and change in the composition of waste into complex, the waste management practice is challenged by low prioritization of waste management, limited revenues for financing waste management with the ever increasing population of this city. This retrospective study received documents from books, thesis works, annual waste management conference reports, journals on waste management, newsletters, abstracts and proceedings which can properly address the main factors that strongly hinder proper waste management and the extent to which community is aware of appropriate waste disposal systems in Addis Ababa city. The mechanism of Addis Ababa city Sanitation, Beautification and Park Development Authority to coordinate stakeholders has played a vital role in waste management. However, the daily monitoring of waste management by the community development section has not been sufficient because of poor governance where accountability, participation and transparency are lacking. It is also unauthorized solid waste dumping practice problem in different locations and has an effect on water sources and its resources. Effective involvement of both private and public sectors should improve waste management and provide door-to-door collection, street sweeping and facilitate drainage disposable canals. Therefore, an integrated solid waste management practice should be implemented for the City and also for the surrounding environment. As a result, strong political will, multi-sectoral approach, public awareness and participation, strategic planning, adequate funding and the adoption of Integrated Solid Waste Management is recommended SWM system required in Addis Ababa city.

Abstract The study aimed to assess the determinants of drinking water quality and sanitary risk levels of water storage. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted. One hundred and twenty-five drinking water samples were collected directly from food outlets' drinking water storages. An observational checklist was used to assess the sanitary risk levels of the storages. Data analysis was conducted using multivariable logistic regression. Type of primary source of drinking water, having continuous piped water, type of drinking water storage equipment, drinking water storage having a lid/cover, method of drinking water drawn from the water storages, presence of any method of drinking water treatment, and having functional a hand-washing facility with soap near the toilet were identified as major determinant factors. This study revealed that nearly 30% of the food outlets' drinking water was not microbiologically safe. As a result, these establishments could be a source of different health problems for their customers. In the study, many determinant factors that affect the drinking water quality of the food outlets were identified. In addition, 16.3% and 18.7% of the food outlet drinking water storages were grouped into high and very high contamination risk levels, respectively. Therefore, the existing regulatory body should force the food outlets to have effective hand-washing practices, clean, suitable drinking water storage, and to avoid dipping practice.

AbstractRapid urbanization in developing countries is attracting urban livestock farming, which is associated with feed nutrient imports and manure nutrient accumulations. Here, we report on manure nutrients (N, P and K) production on urban livestock farms in Addis Ababa and Jimma in Ethiopia, and estimate manure recovery on these farms and its recycling in urban, peri-urban and rural crop farms. Estimates were based on data from farm surveys, statistics, literature and model calculations. Urban livestock farms had on average 13 tropical livestock units and positive N, P and K balances. Urban crop farms had negative N and K balances, and did not use manure from urban livestock farms. We estimated that 0.5–2.6 Gg N, 0.2–0.8 Gg P and 0.9–3.7 Gg K can be collected in manure from the 5,200 urban livestock farms in Addis Ababa year−1, and can be recycled in crop land. Two manure allocation strategies were explored: balanced P fertilization and balanced N fertilization. The former allowed greater precision in matching nutrient supply to demand, and was associated with greater manure transport and distribution, up to rural areas. Manure recycling has several benefits: synthetic fertilizer savings (75–300 million Ethiopian Birr year−1 for Addis Ababa), soil fertility replenishment, and reductions in water pollution. However, there are various cultural, educational and institutional barriers for manure recycling. We argue that more quantitative data and scenario analyses are needed for deliberative decision making and for exploring more sustainable development pathways of urban livestock farms, re-connected to crop farms via manure recycling.

IntroductionThere are two types of Africa. The first is a place where people and cultures live. The second is the image of Africa that has been invented through colonial knowledge and power. The colonial image of Africa, as the Other of Europe, a land “enveloped in the dark mantle of night” was supported by western states as it justified their colonial practices (Hegel 91). Any evidence that challenged the myth of the Dark Continent was destroyed, removed or ignored. While the looting of African natural resources has been studied, the looting of African knowledges hasn’t received as much attention, partly based on the assumption that Africans did not produce knowledge that could be stolen. This article invalidates this myth by examining the legacy of Ethiopia’s indigenous Ge’ez literature, and its looting and abduction by powerful western agents. The article argues that this has resulted in epistemic violence, where students of the Ethiopian indigenous education system do not have access to their books, while European orientalists use them to interpret Ethiopian history and philosophy using a foreign lens. The analysis is based on interviews with teachers and students of ten Ge’ez schools in Ethiopia, and trips to the Ethiopian manuscript collections in The British Library, The Princeton Library, the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and The National Archives in Addis Ababa.The Context of Ethiopian Indigenous KnowledgesGe’ez is one of the ancient languages of Africa. According to Professor Ephraim Isaac, “about 10,000 years ago, one single nation or community of a single linguistic group existed in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and the Horn of Africa” (The Habesha). The language of this group is known as Proto-Afroasiatic or Afrasian languages. It is the ancestor of the Semitic, Cushitic, Nilotic, Omotic and other languages that are currently spoken in Ethiopia by its 80 ethnic groups, and the neighbouring countries (Diakonoff). Ethiopians developed the Ge’ez language as their lingua franca with its own writing system some 2000 years ago. Currently, Ge’ez is the language of academic scholarship, studied through the traditional education system (Isaac, The Ethiopian). Since the fourth century, an estimated 1 million Ge’ez manuscripts have been written, covering religious, historical, mathematical, medicinal, and philosophical texts.One of the most famous Ge’ez manuscripts is the Kebra Nagast, a foundational text that embodied the indigenous conception of nationhood in Ethiopia. The philosophical, political and religious themes in this book, which craft Ethiopia as God’s country and the home of the Ark of the Covenant, contributed to the country’s success in defending itself from European colonialism. The production of books like the Kebra Nagast went hand in hand with a robust indigenous education system that trained poets, scribes, judges, artists, administrators and priests. Achieving the highest stages of learning requires about 30 years after which the scholar would be given the rare title Arat-Ayina, which means “four eyed”, a person with the ability to see the past as well as the future. Today, there are around 50,000 Ge’ez schools across the country, most of which are in rural villages and churches.Ge’ez manuscripts are important textbooks and reference materials for students. They are carefully prepared from vellum “to make them last forever” (interview, 3 Oct. 2019). Some of the religious books are regarded as “holy persons who breathe wisdom that gives light and food to the human soul”. Other manuscripts, often prepared as scrolls are used for medicinal purposes. Each manuscript is uniquely prepared reflecting inherited wisdom on contemporary lives using the method called Tirguamme, the act of giving meaning to sacred texts. Preparation of books is costly. Smaller manuscript require the skins of 50-70 goats/sheep and large manuscript needed 100-120 goats/sheep (Tefera).The Loss of Ethiopian ManuscriptsSince the 18th century, a large quantity of these manuscripts have been stolen, looted, or smuggled out of the country by travellers who came to the country as explorers, diplomats and scientists. The total number of Ethiopian manuscripts taken is still unknown. Amsalu Tefera counted 6928 Ethiopian manuscripts currently held in foreign libraries and museums. This figure does not include privately held or unofficial collections (41).Looting and smuggling were sponsored by western governments, institutions, and notable individuals. For example, in 1868, The British Museum Acting Director Richard Holms joined the British army which was sent to ‘rescue’ British hostages at Maqdala, the capital of Emperor Tewodros. Holms’ mission was to bring treasures for the Museum. Before the battle, Tewodros had established the Medhanialem library with more than 1000 manuscripts as part of Ethiopia’s “industrial revolution”. When Tewodros lost the war and committed suicide, British soldiers looted the capital, including the treasury and the library. They needed 200 mules and 15 elephants to transport the loot and “set fire to all buildings so that no trace was left of the edifices which once housed the manuscripts” (Rita Pankhurst 224). Richard Holmes collected 356 manuscripts for the Museum. A wealthy British woman called Lady Meux acquired some of the most illuminated manuscripts. In her will, she bequeathed them to be returned to Ethiopia. However, her will was reversed by court due to a campaign from the British press (Richard Pankhurst). In 2018, the V&A Museum in London displayed some of the treasures by incorporating Maqdala into the imperial narrative of Britain (Woldeyes, Reflections).Britain is by no means the only country to seek Ethiopian manuscripts for their collections. Smuggling occurred in the name of science, an act of collecting manuscripts for study. Looting involved local collaborators and powerful foreign sponsors from places like France, Germany and the Vatican. Like Maqdala, this was often sponsored by governments or powerful financers. For example, the French government sponsored the Dakar-Djibouti Mission led by Marcel Griaule, which “brought back about 350 manuscripts and scrolls from Gondar” (Wion 2). It was often claimed that these manuscripts were purchased, rather than looted. Johannes Flemming of Germany was said to have purchased 70 manuscripts and ten scrolls for the Royal Library of Berlin in 1905. However, there was no local market for buying manuscripts. Ge’ez manuscripts were, and still are, written to serve spiritual and secular life in Ethiopia, not for buying and selling. There are countless other examples, but space limits how many can be provided in this article. What is important to note is that museums and libraries have accrued impressive collections without emphasising how those collections were first obtained. The loss of the intellectual heritage of Ethiopians to western collectors has had an enormous impact on the country.Knowledge Grabbing: The Denial of Access to KnowledgeWith so many manuscripts lost, European collectors became the narrators of Ethiopian knowledge and history. Edward Ullendorff, a known orientalist in Ethiopian studies, refers to James Bruce as “the explorer of Abyssinia” (114). Ullendorff commented on the significance of Bruce’s travel to Ethiopia asperhaps the most important aspect of Bruce’s travels was the collection of Ethiopic manuscripts… . They opened up entirely new vistas for the study of Ethiopian languages and placed this branch of Oriental scholarship on a much more secure basis. It is not known how many MSS. reached Europe through his endeavours, but the present writer is aware of at least twenty-seven, all of which are exquisite examples of Ethiopian manuscript art. (133)This quote encompasses three major ways in which epistemic violence occurs: denial of access to knowledge, Eurocentric interpretation of Ethiopian manuscripts, and the handling of Ge’ez manuscripts as artefacts from the past. These will be discussed below.Western ‘travellers’, such as Bruce, did not fully disclose how many manuscripts they took or how they acquired them. The abundance of Ethiopian manuscripts in western institutions can be compared to the scarcity of such materials among traditional schools in Ethiopia. In this research, I have visited ten indigenous schools in Wollo (Lalibela, Neakutoleab, Asheten, Wadla), in Gondar (Bahita, Kuskwam, Menbere Mengist), and Gojam (Bahirdar, Selam Argiew Maryam, Giorgis). In all of the schools, there is lack of Ge’ez manuscripts. Students often come from rural villages and do not receive any government support. The scarcity of Ge’ez manuscripts, and the lack of funding which might allow for the purchasing of books, means the students depend mainly on memorising Ge’ez texts told to them from the mouth of their teacher. Although this method of learning is not new, it currently is the only way for passing indigenous knowledges across generations.The absence of manuscripts is most strongly felt in the advanced schools. For instance, in the school of Qene, poetic literature is created through an in-depth study of the vocabulary and grammar of Ge’ez. A Qene student is required to develop a deep knowledge of Ge’ez in order to understand ancient and medieval Ge’ez texts which are used to produce poetry with multiple meanings. Without Ge’ez manuscripts, students cannot draw their creative works from the broad intellectual tradition of their ancestors. When asked how students gain access to textbooks, one student commented:we don’t have access to Birana books (Ge’ez manuscripts written on vellum). We cannot learn the ancient wisdom of painting, writing, and computing developed by our ancestors. We simply buy paper books such as Dawit (Psalms), Sewasew (grammar) or Degwa (book of songs with notations) and depend on our teachers to teach us the rest. We also lend these books to each other as many students cannot afford to buy them. Without textbooks, we expect to spend double the amount of time it would take if we had textbooks. (Interview, 3 Sep. 2019)Many students interrupt their studies and work as labourers to save up and buy paper textbooks, but they still don’t have access to the finest works taken to Europe. Most Ge’ez manuscripts remaining in Ethiopia are locked away in monasteries, church stores or other places to prevent further looting. The manuscripts in Addis Ababa University and the National Archives are available for researchers but not to the students of the indigenous system, creating a condition of internal knowledge grabbing.While the absence of Ge’ez manuscripts denied, and continues to deny, Ethiopians the chance to enrich their indigenous education, it benefited western orientalists to garner intellectual authority on the field of Ethiopian studies. In 1981, British Museum Director John Wilson said, “our Abyssinian holdings are more important than our Indian collection” (Bell 231). In reaction, Richard Pankhurst, the Director of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa, responded that the collection was acquired through plunder. Defending the retaining of Maqdala manuscripts in Europe, Ullendorff wrote:neither Dr. Pankhurst nor the Ethiopian and western scholars who have worked on this collection (and indeed on others in Europe) could have contributed so significantly to the elucidation of Ethiopian history without the rich resources available in this country. Had they remained insitu, none of this would have been possible. (Qtd. in Bell 234)The manuscripts are therefore valued based on their contribution to western scholarship only. This is a continuation of epistemic violence whereby local knowledges are used as raw materials to produce Eurocentric knowledge, which in turn is used to teach Africans as though they had no prior knowledge. Scholars are defined as those western educated persons who can speak European languages and can travel to modern institutions to access the manuscripts. Knowledge grabbing regards previous owners as inexistent or irrelevant for the use of the grabbed knowledges.Knowledge grabbing also means indigenous scholars are deprived of critical resources to produce new knowledge based on their intellectual heritage. A Qene teacher commented: our students could not devote their time and energy to produce new knowledges in the same way our ancestors did. We have the tradition of Madeladel, Kimera, Kuteta, Mielad, Qene and tirguamme where students develop their own system of remembering, reinterpreting, practicing, and rewriting previous manuscripts and current ones. Without access to older manuscripts, we increasingly depend on preserving what is being taught orally by elders. (Interview, 4 Sep. 2019)This point is important as it relates to the common myth that indigenous knowledges are artefacts belonging to the past, not the present. There are millions of people who still use these knowledges, but the conditions necessary for their reproduction and improvement is denied through knowledge grabbing. The view of Ge’ez manuscripts as artefacts dismisses the Ethiopian view that Birana manuscripts are living persons. As a scholar told me in Gondar, “they are creations of Egziabher (God), like all of us. Keeping them in institutions is like keeping living bodies in graveyards” (interview, 5 Oct. 2019).Recently, the collection of Ethiopian manuscripts by western institutions has also been conducted digitally. Thousands of manuscripts have been microfilmed or digitised. For example, the EU funded Ethio-SPaRe project resulted in the digital collection of 2000 Ethiopian manuscripts (Nosnitsin). While digitisation promises better access for people who may not be able to visit institutions to see physical copies, online manuscripts are not accessible to indigenous school students in Ethiopia. They simply do not have computer or internet access and the manuscripts are catalogued in European languages. Both physical and digital knowledge grabbing results in the robbing of Ethiopian intellectual heritage, and denies the possibility of such manuscripts being used to inform local scholarship. Epistemic Violence: The European as ExpertWhen considered in relation to stolen or appropriated manuscripts, epistemic violence is the way in which local knowledge is interpreted using a foreign epistemology and gained dominance over indigenous worldviews. European scholars have monopolised the field of Ethiopian Studies by producing books, encyclopaedias and digital archives based on Ethiopian manuscripts, almost exclusively in European languages. The contributions of their work for western scholarship is undeniable. However, Kebede argues that one of the detrimental effects of this orientalist literature is the thesis of Semiticisation, the designation of the origin of Ethiopian civilisation to the arrival of Middle Eastern colonisers rather than indigenous sources.The thesis is invented to make the history of Ethiopia consistent with the Hegelian western view that Africa is a Dark Continent devoid of a civilisation of its own. “In light of the dominant belief that black peoples are incapable of great achievements, the existence of an early and highly advanced civilization constitutes a serious anomaly in the Eurocentric construction of the world” (Kebede 4). To address this anomaly, orientalists like Ludolph attributed the origin of Ethiopia’s writing system, agriculture, literature, and civilisation to the arrival of South Arabian settlers. For example, in his translation of the Kebra Nagast, Budge wrote: “the SEMITES found them [indigenous Ethiopians] negro savages, and taught them civilization and culture and the whole scriptures on which their whole literature is based” (x).In line with the above thesis, Dillman wrote that “the Abyssinians borrowed their Numerical Signs from the Greeks” (33). The views of these orientalist scholars have been challenged. For instance, leading scholar of Semitic languages Professor Ephraim Isaac considers the thesis of the Arabian origin of Ethiopian civilization “a Hegelian Eurocentric philosophical perspective of history” (2). Isaac shows that there is historical, archaeological, and linguistic evidence that suggest Ethiopia to be more advanced than South Arabia from pre-historic times. Various Ethiopian sources including the Kebra Nagast, the works of historian Asres Yenesew, and Ethiopian linguist Girma Demeke provide evidence for the indigenous origin of Ethiopian civilisation and languages.The epistemic violence of the Semeticisation thesis lies in how this Eurocentric ideological construction is the dominant narrative in the field of Ethiopian history and the education system. Unlike the indigenous view, the orientalist view is backed by strong institutional power both in Ethiopia and abroad. The orientalists control the field of Ethiopian studies and have access to Ge’ez manuscripts. Their publications are the only references for Ethiopian students. Due to Native Colonialism, a system of power run by native elites through the use of colonial ideas and practices (Woldeyes), the education system is the imitation of western curricula, including English as a medium of instruction from high school onwards. Students study the west more than Ethiopia. Indigenous sources are generally excluded as unscientific. Only the Eurocentric interpretation of Ethiopian manuscripts is regarded as scientific and objective.ConclusionEthiopia is the only African country never to be colonised. In its history it produced a large quantity of manuscripts in the Ge’ez language through an indigenous education system that involves the study of these manuscripts. Since the 19th century, there has been an ongoing loss of these manuscripts. European travellers who came to Ethiopia as discoverers, missionaries and scholars took a large number of manuscripts. The Battle of Maqdala involved the looting of the intellectual products of Ethiopia that were collected at the capital. With the introduction of western education and use of English as a medium of instruction, the state disregarded indigenous schools whose students have little access to the manuscripts. This article brings the issue of knowledge grapping, a situation whereby European institutions and scholars accumulate Ethiopia manuscripts without providing the students in Ethiopia to have access to those collections.Items such as manuscripts that are held in western institutions are not dead artefacts of the past to be preserved for prosperity. They are living sources of knowledge that should be put to use in their intended contexts. Local Ethiopian scholars cannot study ancient and medieval Ethiopia without travelling and gaining access to western institutions. This lack of access and resources has made European Ethiopianists almost the sole producers of knowledge about Ethiopian history and culture. For example, indigenous sources and critical research that challenge the Semeticisation thesis are rarely available to Ethiopian students. Here we see epistemic violence in action. Western control over knowledge production has the detrimental effect of inventing new identities, subjectivities and histories that translate into material effects in the lives of African people. In this way, Ethiopians and people all over Africa internalise western understandings of themselves and their history as primitive and in need of development or outside intervention. African’s intellectual and cultural heritage, these living bodies locked away in graveyards, must be put back into the hands of Africans.AcknowledgementThe author acknowledges the support of the Australian Academy of the Humanities' 2019 Humanities Travelling Fellowship Award in conducting this research.ReferencesBell, Stephen. “Cultural Treasures Looted from Maqdala: A Summary of Correspondence in British National Newspapers since 1981.” Kasa and Kasa. Eds. Tadesse Beyene, Richard Pankhurst, and Shifereraw Bekele. Addis Ababa: Ababa University Book Centre, 1990. 231-246.Budge, Wallis. 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