Ethiopia’s privatisation project has earned acclamation from the usual suspects including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, lenders, and foreign bargain hunters among others, but a serious conversation among Ethiopians has yet to take place. This commentary intends to draw the attention of policy makers to some of the grey areas of privatisation of state-owned enterprises in the country. 

Ethiopian authorities have reportedly engaged a British law firm to handle a dispute over the use of the waters of the Nile. This is inappropriate. Any dispute over the Nile should be dealt with under international law. Moreover, a law firm based in a former colonial country can never be expected to be independent of the interests of the country in which its primary interest lies.