By Binyam Tamene, The Daily Monitor

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – The first edition of the award “Grinzane for Africa,” an African version of the prestigious Italian literary prize, bestowed upon three figures of contemporary African literature, including the famous writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o of Kenya, on Friday.

The award presented by the Italian Embassy in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), as a part of the celebrations of its 50th Anniversary.

Along with African Heritage Prize to Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya), the other writers acclaimed for the honor are Nigerian Ben Okri in the African Mainstream Prize and Ondjaki of Angola in Young Writer Prize.

The writers joined the African club along with Nadine Gordimer (South Africa), Wole Soyinka (Nigeria), J. M. Coetzee (South Africa), who were awarded the Grinzane-Cavour Prize, and have subsequently received the Nobel Prize for literature.

The three writers selected by panel of adjudicators that involved students from high schools and universities in Italy and the rest of the world, with a jury of critics, composed by prominent Italian and foreign intellectuals, selects a list of novels, but the winner was finally chosen by the juries of students.

“Grinzane for Africa was created with the aim, every year, of celebrating African writers of global relevance, as well as detecting young authors who are emerging on the international scene and giving them the opportunity to publish one of their works in Italy, translated into Italian,” Premio Grinzane Cavour said.

This year’s three awarded writers represent two important African linguistic areas: the English and Portuguese-speaking areas. For young Ondjaki, however, the award includes the publication of one of his books in Italian.

At each edition, according to the organizers, the award will go – in rotation – to the various African countries.

Praising the writers who won the award, Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mohamoud Dirir, lamented the rare opportunities Ethiopian writers inter into the list.

“It is a rare opportunity that famous Ethiopian writers are also in the list of the recipients of this highly revered prize,” said the minister.

Although this event was the first of its type to be held in Ethiopia, the minister said there is a plan to make the event annually staged on a regular base here.

“We have decided to work closely with all concerned bodies to make it a continuous major annual event in our capital, Addis Ababa,” Mohamoud Dirir said, adding the need for the immediate realization of setting up a Center for Translations as part of this important Initiative.

The ambassador said the vision is to connect Piedmont and Addis Ababa through cultural initiatives that could bring together writers, painters, artists and the budding young filmmakers.

Many African and Italian writers including Scholastique Mukasonga (Rwanda), Werewere Liking (Cameroon), Wondesen Adane (Ethiopia) Sisay Nigussu (Ethiopia), Sahlesellassie’ Beranemariam (Ethiopia), Luca Doninelli (Italy), Giovanni Porzio (Italy), Paolo Di Stefano (Italy), Claudio Gorlier (Italy) have already confirmed their participation, attended the awarding ceremony.

The Grinzane Cavour Literary Prize was set up in 1982 with the institutional purpose of getting young people interested in literature and with time it has become one of the most important international literary awards.

EDITOR’S NOTE: In southern Ethiopia, children cannot even go to school because they are too weak from hunger to attend classes.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – The Ethiopian government The Woyanne tribal junta in Ethiopia and the Kuwait Government on Tuesday signed a loan agreement worth over 25 million dollars for the the construction of roads in the African country.

Among other projects, the agreement said, Ethiopia will use the money to construct the Wukro-Zalambesa road spanning 96 kilometres in the north of the country in the Tigray regional state.

Ethiopian State Minister of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED), Mekonen Manyazewal and Deputy Director General of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Hesham Ibrahim Al-Waqayan signed the agreement.

Manyazewal said in a statement that the road will help improve the country’s economy.

By LUCAS BARASA and JAMI MAKAN, THE DAILY NATION –

NAIROBI, KENYA – Five countries have taken the Somali Transitional Federal Government leaders to task over their failure to end turmoil in the country.

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) council of ministers chairman Seyoum Mesfin, who is Ethiopia’s Woyanne Foreign Affairs minister, and his Kenyan counterpart Moses Wetang’ula, led the onslaught on the Somali leadership on Tuesday, blaming it for the instability.

Mr Wetang’ula accused some of the leaders of benefiting from the mayhem in the Horn of Africa country. The other Igad countries are Djibouti, Uganda and Sudan.

Mr Wetang’ula and Mr Mesfin accused Somalia’s President, Prime Minister and National Assembly Speaker of jostling for power at the expense of Somalis, who had hoped for an end to 14 years of war following the ouster of dictator Siad Barre and the setting up of the TFG in Nairobi four years ago.

The Somali leadership was accused of failing to set up institutions of governance that could have seen the country return to its feet in accordance with the Transitional Federal Charter.

“Little has been accomplished in the last four years,” Mr Wetang’ula said of the charter that expires next September.

The TFG had been expected to develop a new constitution to take over from the charter, set boundaries of federal states and enact a Political Parties Bill in readiness for elections in 2009.

The new constitution should have been in place two-and-a-half years after the signing of the Somali peace deal.

Mr Wetang’ula urged the UN to take over the role of AU forces in Somalia as the African body did not have sufficient funds to sustain them.

He said Kenya wanted a peaceful and prosperous Somalia. “We must all realise we don’t have any more time to discuss the Somalia crisis in capital cities. Somalis have suffered for too long — 18 years,” Mr Wetang’ula said.

Mr Mesfin said the clock was ticking and that in 10 months, the institutions in Somalia will not be legal and that Ethiopian Woyanne forces will also have to be removed.

He said the international community was not proud of its record in Somalia as it had ignored the country for too long.

Igad executive secretary Mahboub Maalim said the security situation in Somalia was deteriorating and called for the strengthening of ongoing peace efforts in Djibouti. Fourteen previous attempts to bring peace to Somalia have failed.

Mr Maalim, who was addressing his first extraordinary meeting since being appointed to the post in June, promised to build the organisation to greater heights.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – Police is investigating a bus accident late Monday evening that killed 19 and seriously wounded 10, sources said here Tuesday.

At least 19 people died Tuesday when a bus travelling from Addis Ababa to Hawasa city, 275 kilometres south ca accident in Ethiopian town, police said here on Tuesday.

Police said the passenger bus which left Addis Ababa slammed into an accident at Dugda Bora, as it headed for Awassa city, located at some 275 kilometers south of Ethiopia.

Over 30 people were on board in the bus.

Ethiopia is among countries with highest rate of traffic accident in the world where over 2,000 people die annually in road accidents.

Ethiopians in Denver, Colorado, have built a magnificent church, and earlier this month they hosted the North America Ethiopian Demera celebration during the Meskel holiday. The church, Dagmawit Gishen Mariam, they built is simply awesome. They did all this while keeping Woyanne cadres at bay and staying loyal to the legitimate patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Merkorios.

See more photos here.