Winds of change reach Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s ruling party appointed a new prime minister on 2nd April, stabilising a situation that had been in flux since the previous incumbent’s resignation in February. Abiy Ahmed inherits a divided coalition and faces the challenge of de-escalating political tensions that have sparked months of anti-government protests. The new prime minister, the first to hail from the populous but often marginalised Oromo ethnic group, has promised political reforms in the country. He has also warned that the FX shortage affecting the economy will last “for years”. Recent figures do, at least, suggest that inflation has peaked. Mr. Abiy, Africa’s youngest state leader, joins a raft of fresh faces who have taken power recently. South Africa, Angola, Ethiopia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe have all inaugurated new leaders over the past six months. In each case, however, the transition was stage managed by powerful ruling parties. Tiny Sierra Leone, where the opposition won a free election in March, is the only African economy to have seen a real transition between two different political parties in recent months.