Geldof overwhelmed by massive dev’t in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, April 27, 2016 (FBC) -Irish musician Robert ‘Bob’ Geldof has paid tribute to progresses achieved in the various fields of development in Ethiopia.
The singer-songwriter, who founded Band Aid to raise money for the 1984 famine relief in Ethiopia, is overwhelmed by massive developments in infrastructure and agriculture sectors throughout Ethiopia.

“It is interesting for me to come and talk to the government, people and business people, even I couldn’t talk to business people 30 years ago because they didn’t exist”, Geldof told journalists in Addis Ababa.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn received the musician at his office today to discuss on ways of mitigating the drought and modernizing Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, among others.

Ongoing efforts to mitigate the drought are completely different from what happened 30 years ago as the infrastructure is much better now, Geldof told journalists following his meeting with the Prime Minister.

He stressed that despite the crisis in some parts of the world, the international community has to respond to the drought situation in Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Hailemariam during the discussion mentioned Geldof as a long time partner of Ethiopia and is among one of the role players in the efforts to save people in the 1984 drought.

According to a senior government official who attended the discussion, Hailemariam encouraged the musician to start investing in Ethiopia, promising strong government support for his efforts.

Mekelle University recently conferred Honorary Doctor of Humanities on Bob Geldof for his outstanding contributions to charities, business and development projects in Ethiopia for the past 40 years.

The musician has received many awards for his fund-raising work and was made an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE), by Queen Elizabeth II.