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11:44:32 pm, by nazret.com, 120 words, 40 views 
Ethiopia - Do you know Amsale Aberra?
That is the question posed by Examiner's Fashion writer Lisa Barr on her blog. And she went on to say, "If you’ve ever walked down Madison Avenue and you look up to the 2nd floor of 58th Street, you will see some of the most beautiful gowns adorning their window. Amsale is a gifted designer who is already renowned for her AMSALE and CHRISTOS collections; now Amsale takes on the role of Creative Director for KENNETH POOL."
Amsale is one of the most successful wedding gown designer in all of America, period. Read what Lisa Barr writes about Ethiopia's own world renowned designer, the one and only Amsale Aberra, and have your say.
Ethiopia - Court orders Simachew Demissie's company to pay 10.2m Br to United Bank
A court in Ethiopia has ordered Simachew Demissie Investment Plc, a company engaged in coffee exports, to pay 10.2 million Birr to United Bank, after it was found liable for failing to make payments on a loan. According to Addis Fortune, the case was brought to the attention of the court with the application by United Bank S.C. that claimed more than 10.2 million Br from the coffee exporter; the Bank claimed it had advanced the over 10.2 million Br to Simachew Demissie Investment and the latter defaulted on the loan.
Read Complete Story from Addis Fortune
Correction: We have incorrectly said Simachew Demissie is also the owner of Intercontinental Addis, that is incorrect and we regret the error. The owner of Intercontinental Addis is Simachew Kebede.
Ethiopia - Company to assemble Chinese made trucks in Adama
Belayab Enterprise, a local company is to begin the assembly of Chinese vehicles and the manufacture of conduits and electrical cables in Adama in four months, the company's management disclosed.
Established with a capital of 136 million Br, the company expects to complete the construction of its car assembly and conduits manufacturing plant over the next four months on an 80,000hct plot six kilometers from Adama, on the road to Wenji, near the Canvass and Garment Factory, according to Wondwossen Engida, project manager of the company. The construction started four months ago.
The founders of the company, Aschalew Belay and Zenebe Belay, have deals with Foton, the Chinese vehicle manufacturer, to assemble vehicles at the plant which will be erected on 50,000hct of the 80,000hct plot, Wondwossen said. Among the first to be assembled will be pick-ups, mini buses, dump trucks, cargo trucks, with automobiles to follow in due time. The plant will also assemble small motorized agricultural equipments.
Read Complete story from Addis Fortune
[Editor's Note: Addis Fortune may have it wrong when it reported that the assembly plan will be built on 80,000hct plot. If we assume hct stands for Hectare, then 80,000 Hectare is 800 Square Kilo Meter and knowing the area where this plant is located, it is definitely can not be that size. We used google conversion calculator ]
Ethiopia - EEPCo signs accord with two companies for wind power project
ENA - The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) here on Monday signed accord with Egyptian and Chinese companies providing the companies to search for loans for two wind power projects.
The corporation has plans to construct the projects in Adama Town of Oromia State and Mesebo Harena area of Tigray State.
The corporation signed the accord with an Egyptian company called Elsewedy Cables and a Chinese company named HydroChina International.
Speaking at the occasion EEPCo General Manager Mihret Debebe said constructing the wind power projects is significant to get alternative energy sources.
He said the country has a potential to produce over 10,000 megawatt electric power from wind.
The manger said the two wind projects can produce a total of 100 megawatts electric power. The wind power project being constructed in Tigray State with support of the government of France has a capacity produce 120 mega watt electric power.
According to the agreement, Elsewedy Cables will look for fund from Islamic Development Bank for the project that would be constructed in Adama Town.
The company will also search for fund to install generator that can produce 120 megawatt electric power for emergency power supply in Addis Ababa.
The Chinese company for its part will look for fund from the government of China for construction of wind power project in Mesobo Harena area.
Company representative, Wang Yantao on his part said the wind project that will be constructed in the area can produce 49 mega watt electric power.
Elsewedy Cables president Ahmed El Swede also said the company will send team to conduct feasibility study for the project.
Ethiopia - Assossa College graduates nearly 500 students with diplomas, certificates
ENA -
Assossa College of Agriculture existing in Ethiopia's Benishangul Gumuz State on Sunday graduated close to 500 students with diplomas and certificates in regular and continuing programs.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, College Dean, Tsedeke Demissie said the graduates received relevant theoretical and practical trainings in plant and animal science, and also natural resource fields.
Handing over the diplomas and certificates to the graduates and special awards to outstanding ones, State Chief Ahmed Nasir urged the graduates to play their role in improving the livelihoods of farmers.
Established in in 1994 E.C., the college has so far graduated over 1,000 students with diplomas and certificates
Recent eruption in Ethiopia causes surface displacement in Afar region
ENA - A team of geologists and geophysicists dispatched to Northeast Ethiopia, where volcano has recently erupted, confirmed that the eruption caused surface displacement in the area.
The volcano has recently occurred in the area located at 65-kms northwest of Semera, capital of Afar regional state.
Geologists drawn from Institute of Geophysics, Space Sciences, Astronomy and Earth Science Department of the Addis Ababa University, Universites of Cambridge and Oxford told ENA over the weekend that the volcano, which occurred on June 29th , 2009, has created about 4.5-kms opening within a 60-km-long dyke created in the area in 2005.
According to the geologists, the 2-meter wide dyke has extended from Dabbahu to Harraro areas.
With the expectation of more volcanic events in the region, Dabbahu-Manda-Hararo is the most active area on the planet right now, they said.
Assistant Professor at the Institute of Geophysics, Space Sciences, and Astronomy of the Addis Ababa University, Dr. Elias Lewi said that number of volcano incidents happened in the area since 2005.
Most of the volcanic eruptions that occurred in the region remained beneath the surface of the earth, he said, adding, the recent one is the fourth eruption in Ethiopia since 2005.
According to him, the eruption was a follow-up to the dyke created due to similar eruption four years ago .
The recent volcano covering 4.5 square kilometers has also created small hills elevated from 30 to 40 meters.
Associate professor at the institute, Dr. Tesfaye Kidane on his part said lava has overflowed from the dyke that covers 5-kms long and surface displacement occurred following the eruption.
He said that bigger eruptions and earth quakes are expected to happen in the next five years.
The geologists urged responsible bodies in the region to consider the issue in any of development activities being undertaken in the area.
Kuwait's Prime Minister in Ethiopia for working visit
A high level Kuwaiti delegation led by Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah arrived in Ethiopia's capital to pay a three day working visit, the state-run news agency ENA reports from Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and other top government officials accorded warm welcome to the delegation upon its arrival at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
The Prime Minister will hold discussion with senior government officials including president Girma Woldegiorgis and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on ways of further strengthening cooperation between the countries.
The delegation is expected to sign various trade and investment agreements.
Ethiopian Coffee Exports Fall to Six-Year Low After Drought
July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Coffee exports from Ethiopia, Africa’s largest producer of the beans, fell 28 percent to the lowest level in six years after a drought cut harvests.
Coffee shipments fell 22 percent to 133,993 metric tons from 170,888 tons a year ago, the lowest since fiscal 2003, when they measured 126,100 tons, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in an e-mailed statement, dated July 17. Coffee earnings declined to $375.8 million in the fiscal year through July 7 from $525.2 million a year earlier, it said.
Read More from Bloomberg
Ethiopia - Nyala wins its HQ back
By Groum Abate
Nyala Insurance S. C. of Ethiopia has finally won its case over the ownership of its headquarters. Employees of the insurance company celebrated the ruling by the court of cassation on Tuesday July 13, in which the court overruled previous verdicts made by the Federal High Court and the Federal Supreme Court.
Teka Asfaw, Nyala’s lawyer, told Capital that the cassation court ruled in favour of Nyala, saying that the deal could not be reversed because both parties signed an agreement for the purchase of the building.
Nyala bought the building two years ago for 6.5 million birr, but was then forced in March 2008 by the Federal High Court to return the building and take its money, as the deal was not legalised by the Document Registration and Authentication Office.
After appealing to the Supreme Court, Nyala again lost its case after it upheld the ruling by the Federal Supreme Court. However, it won the final crucial battle with last week’s ruling by the cassation court.
The staff of Nyala Insurance gathered on Saturday, July 18 at the premises of the headquarters to celebrate the victory.
Nyala Insurance S. C. was established with a capital of five million birr, which it increased to 30 million birr in July 2005.
Ethiopia - Youth groups to take over parking
By Kirubel Tadesse
The Addis Ababa City Administration Cabinet in Ethiopia has approved a decision to award parking businesses to youth associations, a source has informed Capital.
Youngsters employed in various parking services across the capital will form associations in their respective service areas and will be awarded contracts with the City Administration through bids.
"The decision was made to let the young employees and others engaged in the parking service to form their own associations and run the parking business by themselves, both as employees and owners," the source explained to Capital.
A senior city official, who confirmed the decision, explained that the City's Trade and Industry Bureau Micro and Small Scale Industry Department will be in charge of setting procedures on how the associations are formed and how they will take over the contracts from the current owners of the parking business.
The bureau's head was not available for comment.
"We are hearing rumours that our salary will soon be 300 birr per shift and that we, like company shareholders, will receive payments from annual profits," one parking agent around Gojam Berenda area said, adding that such reform news is circulating around parking attendants.
Parking employees currently make 400 birr for double shift work, each shift lasting six hours. At first it was 120 birr for a single shift when the parking business was introduced back in 2004 under then City Mayor Arkebe Oqubay. The service though was in place in a different form from 1997.
Official data shows that currently more than 7,000 youths work in 50 parking businesses and these employees are the ones the city will primarily help to regroup into various associations.
"If implemented, I think it would be nice for the jobless youth and even for those employed. They make less than two birr per an hour though they work in sunny or rainy weather for long hours.
"Some are even victims of tragic traffic accidents when they try to collect fees," Omer Aberar, a driver Capital talked to around Piazza commented, "I think if there is going to be a change, first it needs to medically insure these employees and then it needs to guarantee safety for our cars and properties we have inside our vehicles. Currently, no parking agent is interested in looking after our car, they simply come to collect the money when they see you leaving."
The decision is expected to come as a shock for the 50 parking operators whose union, Addis Ababa City Parking Operators' Association, announced just a month earlier a five year development plan, which includes huge investments at a cost of 100 million birr.
Unveiled by Debrework Teklu, association chairman, back in June 29, the operators said they will construct modern facilities at a cost of 100 million Birr in a bid to provide modern parking service to the public.
The new facilities planned were to provide services for up to 800 customers per hour in Merkato and Kazanchis areas of the metropolis; areas where severe traffic congestion occurs.
The association also said it has designed projects aimed at installing parking machines to be placed in the outskirts of Addis Ababa, hoping to create 10,000 new jobs in addition to the 7,000 workers they already employ.
Capital could not reach the association chairman and other members for comment before it went to print.
Ethiopia - Big, modern farms now on ruling party’s agenda
By Kirubel Tadesse
With the continuing declining contribution to the economy of the agricultural sector, the ruling coalition says it wants to encourage larger scale, industrial farming practices.
According to the Government Communication Affairs Office head, Minister Bereket Simon, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) Executive Committee approved two decisions in its regular meeting that concluded last Sunday regarding a Rural Land Administration System and Rural Land for Investment System.
Making what it called a vital change, the committee decided to amend the previous Rural Land for Investment System in an attempt to improve the development of the agriculture sector, which it described as impacting on other economic sectors.
Acting on behalf of the regional administrations, the Federal Government awards vast arable plots, also making sure infrastructural needs of the investors are met.
Recently, concerns have been expressed over the growing interest of foreign investors, from locations such as Djibouti and Saudi Arabia, who have been looking to acquire vast plots, with the produce most likely to be shipped to their home countries. In response, Minister Bereket said the trend is a global one and Ethiopia possesses a huge amount of unutilised arable land that can be given to investors under advantageous arrangements for the nation.
A Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development senior official was quoted later in the week saying that the ministry is assessing plots in various regions to see which crops they are suitable for and whether to award them to local and foreign investors.
The Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) strategy, which is described as the Government’s overarching policy response to Ethiopia’s food security and agricultural productivity challenge, does not emphasise huge farms. The strategy does say it encourages support for the development of large-scale commercial agriculture, but this was not significantly prioritised during recent years.
Experts say the ruling party’s shift is not only due to attracting a few major investors to the sector who demand large plots. They speculate that the continuing poor productivity of agriculture persuaded the party to look further into developing a more intensive form of commercial farming, particularly after a year that saw a substantial amount of wheat imports in an attempt to reduce rampant inflation.
Despite the opposition’s wholehearted support for this year’s budget, the Government did face criticism for not producing the promised shift of farmers to other more productive sectors, such as to industry: the 85 per cent share of agricultural workers in the economy at the start of the EPRDF regime is now at 83.3 per cent.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi - who explained the actual number of farmers, not the percentage, who have found alternative employment is a more significant one - said the last five years’ double digit growth has mainly come from the agriculture sector.
MP Lidetu Ayalew of the opposition Ethiopian Democratic Party insists that it is only when the Government starts priming the construction sector, and others, with public spending that the economy starts to motor.
Though it still awards the major economic contribution to the agriculture sector, official data shows the service sector closing rapidly.
According to the latest report from the National Bank of Ethiopia, a record 659 million dollars were collected from the service sector during the first nine months of the last fiscal year, while exports sunk by landing one billion dollars off target, though they are still estimated to amount to close to 1.5 billion birr in the year.
The overall economic performance in the last five years-the period of double digit GDP growth-saw agriculture average 11.6 growth, while industry and the service sector kept close with respective averages of 10.4 and 12.7 per cent. However, sub-sections within the service sector, such as construction, performed far better than agriculture, with a growth rate of close to 14 per cent.
According to independent experts, who quote official data, the agriculture sector is no longer dominant, as the service sector is almost its equal. Last year the service sector accounted for nearly 43.4 per cent of GDP, while agriculture’s share was 44.6 per cent.
“Just five years ago, agriculture’s share of GDP was 47 per cent, while the service sector’s was 39.7 - the difference was wide. But while agriculture stayed put, and slightly fell in the last two years, the service kept improving and now stands at 40.9, in an average of the last five years.
Ethiopia - ECX board to endorse auditors directive
By Muluken Yewondwossen
The external auditors directive for the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange Authority (ECEA) is expected to be issued next week.
The directive will establish external auditors who will inspect the financial statement of companies that are members of the new ECX trading system.
A source at ECEA told Capital the registration will start in January next year.
"We have set aside the next six months for the grounding of those auditors that need to complete conditions based on the directive," a source said.
The authority held a discussion with stakeholders on the draft of the directive in mid April. At a day long discussion several arguments were raised by auditors. Some of the arguments, such as the division of auditors as category A, B and C, which here include in the draft directive were opposed by the stakeholders as unsuitable given current conditions. The guidance that the auditing work should follow the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) was the other article that raised a challenge from the auditors due to the fear it will make the auditing business expensive. They said that the directive may discourage small companies from auditing their finances.
A source also disclosed that the directive was revised after discussion. According to the sector experts, the directive does include modern international auditing practices, but some of it is not necessary for the country in the current business climate.
IFRS was endorsed in 2001 by the International Accounting Standards Board to improve the transparency of accounting, complement company financial information and ensure that investors receive more accurate and consistent reports. Most of the directive has been copied from this standard.
ECEA is an authorised entity to proclaim directives related to the exchange market and it controls the whole exchange system.
In the country, about sixty external auditor companies are registered and active in the sector. Any auditing organisations that have not registered by ECEA criteria do not have a legal framework to audit companies that are members at the exchange.
The new coffee, grain, pulse and oil seed trading system officially started its operation in March 2008. According to the authority source, the first auditing report will be in 1.5 years' time according to the schedule.
Ethiopia - Getaneh’s properties up for auction
By Groum Abate
The Federal High Court of Ethiopia has put up a public auction notice for properties registered under Getaneh Plc., after Tigist Ketema filed charges against the defendant for issuing cheques not backed up by sufficient funds.
The federal court a couple of months ago ruled in favour of plaintiffs and froze properties registered under Getaneh Plc after charges were filed by four applicants.
The court issued the notice stating the auction of acrylic yarn products stacked in one of the defendants warehouses on August 5 at a floor price of 3.9 million birr.
Getaneh Plc, largely owned and managed by the late Yohannes Getaneh, has been sued during the past months for money it allegedly owes claimants.
According to the claim, the defendant on November 12, 2008, and December 9, 2008, issued two cheques worth five million and 10 million birr, respectively, to the plaintiff, Tigist Ketema, assistant manager of K.K. Plc, which is largely owned and run by her father Ketema Kebede.
The cheques that were supposed to be cashed from Getaneh Plc’s account at the Bank of Abyssinia, Negadras Branch bounced due to a lack of sufficient funds.
The court ordered the defendant to pay its debts with interest.
KK Plc’s businesses cover a diversity of goods and services. The company currently has two blanket factories and one acrylic yarn dyeing plant. It is also engaged in the import and distribution of heavy duty machineries and equipment for mining, construction, road making, quarrying, stone crushing, and many others.
Getaneh Plc also faces other charges at the Federal High Court filed by two plaintiffs, Ayele Debela and Almaz Huluka, which claim Getaneh Plc issued them two cheques worth 20 million and 15 million birr, respectively, that also bounced.
Getaneh Plc’s major shareholder, Yohannes, committed suicide on December 18, 2008.
He was popular in Addis Ababa and around the country for retailing low cost garments and shoes through his outlets.
New lab for leather industry in Ethiopia
By Addis Mulugeta
The Leather and Leather Product Technology Institute (LLPTI) received a laboratory accreditation from the Italian Government at a ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel on July 13 to test for five important chemical components of leather and leather products.
This new initiative is supported by the Italian Government and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to further promote the sector's development.
Solomon Getu, Director of LLPTI, noted that the accreditation allows the institute to cover important tests for chromium (VI), formaldehyde, tensile strength, colour fastness and chemical oxygen demand (COD). He added that this is also an important opportunity for the institute to carry out reorganisation; professional training for the staff; start-up of laboratories for quality analysis; and completion of the procedures for international accreditation
In the first phase, the Italian Development Cooperation (IDC) gave 1.36 million Euros to LLPTI for the new Technical Assistance Project for the Up-Grading of the Ethiopian Leather and Leather Products Industry. In addition, in the second phase of the project IDC made a 2.6 million euros contribution. The overall project is to be implemented by UNIDO.
Italian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Raffaele de Lutio, said that Italy is committed to facilitate exports and foreign direct investments in Ethiopia in order to further stimulate production capacity in the leather sector.
Salpi Salvadian owner of Bale Leather Garment plc told Capital that the previous quality control of leather products was not satisfactory. However, he added, the accreditation of the institute is an important step to make better quality products and it allows for leather companies like his to have maximum testing of products.
Tadesse Haile, State Minister of Trade and Industry (MoTI) said during the occasion that to assist the enormous potential growth opportunity for the industry, the Government of Ethiopia, and particularly MoTI, is working closely with the institute, associations and individual companies.
The two year technical assistance project of the Italian Government to LLPTI includes the provision of technical assistance to the tanning sector and to the footwear and other leather products industries. Furthermore, special attention will be paid to the development of the formal and informal micro and small scale enterprises, and assistance will be provided to the MoTI for setting-up the new 'Textile and Leather Industry Development Center' (TLIDC).
The LLPTI too will benefit from further support, with the objective of strengthening its services to the local leather industry.
Ethiopia - New vehicles needed to improve Addis air
By Addis Mulugeta
Clean fuels and new vehicles are needed to improve urban air quality in Ethiopia , a research paper has suggested.
Air quality deterioration is an emerging trend in Addis Ababa due to the old age of vehicles; poor fuel quality; poor maintenance of vehicles; inadequate transport infrastructure; and a lack of proper transport planning and management.
Research papers on the subject were presented at an event organised by the Forum for Environment (FfE) held at the Hilton Hotel on July 14.
The papers recommended the need for an integrated approach, combining clean fuels and clean vehicles to improve air quality. This could be done with a review of vehicle importation age and emissions and the introduction of tax incentives to import modern, environmentally-friendly vehicles.
Tibebu Salehu, a researcher at FfE, indicated that currently there are more than 250,000 vehicles in the country. Out of these, 65 per cent are at least 15 years old and in the last three years a 17.2 per cent annual increase in old vehicles has been observed.
In her research paper, Jene Akumu, Program Manager of United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in Kenya told Capital that emission from these outdated vehicles are very much dependent on the quality of fuels.
In his paper, Misker Tesfay indicated that detailed studies on the level of air pollution in Addis Ababa have not been done, but some studies indicate that the level is increasing, and some measured pollutant values are above the WHO and FEPA standards. For instance, a pilot air quality (2004) study conducted in Addis Ababa suggested that the average 24 hours sulphur concentration is far greater than the annual standards set by the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
Ms Akumu further indicated that in addition to the contribution of vehicle fumes to poor air quality, emissions from industries and mining; the open burning of waste; and blown dust are the other major sources of air pollution.
The resultant fuel wastage; exacerbation of disease, particularly respiratory diseases; and poor air quality comprises a negative economic burden for the country.
In order to reduce the emissions of toxic gases from exhaust pipes, the research papers recommended that unleaded gasoline; sulphur phase down; air quality monitoring, and emission measurements are introduced.
Various ongoing efforts are being made by the Government to reduce the impact of the problem by addressing the issue with regards to road construction, transport policy, and the emission standards of industries. For example, the country banned leaded fuel importation in 2002, however, it is still importing fuel containing high levels of sulphur.
Farewell to Donald Yamamoto, the US Ambassador to Ethiopia
Farewell, the American way!
By Elias Meseret
As Donald Yamamoto, the US Ambassador to Ethiopia, prepares to depart to take over a post in the State Department, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ethiopia (AmCham Ethiopia) organised a farewell party to thank him for the contribution he made to the chamber's establishment.
The event, held at Hebir Traditonal Restaurant last Thursday, was attended by ministers, diplomats, business people, family members of the attendees and other invited guests.
"It is with great pleasure that we recall your support and full commitment to the establishment of our chamber," Getachew Ayele, President of AmCham Ethiopia said in his opening speech.
He added that the strong support extended by the departing ambassador has give members of AmCham Ethiopia good reason to believe that they will succeed in creating a flourishing business exchange between Ethiopia and the US.
Getachew said the policy changes that are now taking place in the US Government, especially the recent announcement to give agricultural development assistance to Ethiopia for the first time, will greatly contribute to make famine in Ethiopia history.
It is to be recalled that President Barack Obama has endorsed a 'trade and not aid' policy.
Ambassador Yamamoto was appointed by President George W. Bush in November 2006 as an Ambassador to Ethiopia and presented his credentials to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi before he officially started work.
Mr Yamamoto was born in Seattle, Washington and later graduated from Columbia University. He was formerly the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti.
Ambassador Yamamoto entered the foreign service in 1980. Previous assignments include at the US Embassy in Beijing as staff aide to the ambassador and Human Rights Officer during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations in 1989; in Japan as Principal Officer of the Fukuoka Consulate; and in Eritrea as Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Asmara. He attended the National War College in 1996 for senior training and received a Congressional Fellowship in 1991.
Donald Yamamoto also formally bid farewell to the African Union Commission (AUC) on Saturday. Since January this year, he has doubled as US Ambassador to the African Union.
Yamamoto disclosed that a new paradigm for development will be formulated and implemented by the new administration of President Obama. The new thinking, he said, questions whether aid is the best means to assist Africa and that, increasingly, there is the feeling that the focus should be on development, which is more sustainable.
Ethiopia - Bird strikes causing substantial damage
By Elias Meseret
Damages incurred on aircraft due to bird strikes during take-off, mid-flight and landing is soaring, the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) said.
This was disclosed in a consultation meeting held between ECAA and Addis Ababa city officials last Thursday at the Ghion Hotel.
It was said at the meeting that Ethiopian has sustained a 3.6 million dollars cost between 2000 and 2009 due to damages caused by bird strikes on aircraft. During the first five months of 2009 alone, seven avian hits were registered.
The meeting aimed at creating awareness about the problem and finding common ground with the city officials on ways to deal with one of the causes - birds breeding in and around Bole International Airport.
Gobena Gwangul, Director General of ECAA, said during the opening session that the country's aviation industry is not currently suffering critically from the problem.
"However, the danger posed to ‘passengers and aircrafts’ safety is becoming a major concern for the future."
According to data gathered from 1999 to 2003, aircraft accident rates in Africa are the highest in the world at 13.3 per cent, while the world average is around one per cent. The US and Canada, on the other hand, have the smallest rate with a mere 0.4 per cent.
The hazard birds pose to aircraft is a global problem. The world was exposed to vast news coverage of bird collisions on a US Airways aircraft on January 15, 2009 when the pilot managed to crash land the plane into New York's Hudson River after both of its engines were hit by birds.
"On average, there are five serious bird strikes on aircraft in Ethiopia in one month only. This is caused by a multitude of factors that should and could be addressed before major accidents happen," Girma Gebre, head of ECAA's Aircraft Safety and Inspection Bureau head explains.
Be that as it may, the main focus of the meeting was on measures that should be taken on the part of the city officials to avoid bird breeding areas that are aggravating the situation.
"The presence of an abattoir, waste disposal area, landfills, water retention ponds, flowering plants and other sources of food attract birds to the airport area," Girma explained, adding that prevention measures should be taken, rather than paying millions of dollars after an accident occurs.
In Ethiopia's aviation history, the worst accident due to a bird strike happened back in September 1988 when Ethiopian's Boeing 737 crashed in Bahir Dar killing 35 people and seriously injuring 27 out of the 104 passengers boarded on the plane.
On another occasion, the airline's DHC-6 aircraft was struck by birds off the aerodrome on October 1995 causing the crew to sustain serious damages and seriously damaging the plane. Experts say September and October are bird seasons when most strikes happen.
Bird collisions between 1988 and 1997 have cost Ethiopian Airlines 21.7 million dollars. In recent times, 2006 has registered the highest attack with 17 incidents.
While 37 per cent of the attacks happen in Addis Ababa, 58 per cent happen abroad, one per cent in regions and four per cent in unrecorded locations.
"Many do not realise that if planes collide with a soft feathery bird, the effect of speed turns it into a missile capable of inflicting considerable damage. This has included smashed windshields, blocked engine air intakes, damaged brake hoses and holed structures," Captain Solomon Gizaw, owner and Managing Director of Abyssinian Flight Services told Capital.
"You could find hollow areas just 100 to 200 metres away from the runway. This will make difficult for planes, both big and small alike, to make emergency landings," he added.
Ethiopia's Opposition party UDJ in turmoil
By Kirubel Tadesse
Capital
The jailed Birtukan Midekssa’s party, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), is in a huge turmoil as two factions vie to control the party's direction.
The party's executive committee, and a group of 21 party members spearheaded by the veteran opposition figure Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, have been fiercely criticising each other.
Called by the executive committee, the party's top leadership, the sixty member national council, was expected to meet yesterday and discuss the statement the twenty members distributed back on July 9.
"The meeting is expected to reach some sort of decision against this unlawful accusation the statement contains," party spokesperson Hailu Araaya (PhD) told Capital. More than 40 members of the council were expected to attend the meeting.
The group that disseminated the statement says the party's executive committee is firing people without any credible justification and is even eliminating members heard criticising decisions.
"We will no longer keep silent, the executive committee is not only abusing its powers, but could once again deny the nation an opportunity it should not miss," the group's ten page statement reads.
UDJ's acting chair following Birtukan's re-arrest, Gizachew Siferaw, and Secretary Asrat Tasie, were among members of the executive that were strongly criticised for attempting to organise the party based on political favouritism.
In response, the executive explained that all the group wants is to throw accusations in order to try to disturb the party and halt UDJ's effort to form a strong alliance with members of the Forum for Democratic Dialogue (FDD), a group striving to emulate the former CUDP's 2005 campaign success.
"The reasons we are hearing are really embarrassing. The group says FDD members are ethnically-based in their formation and other reasons," Dr. Hailu explained, adding on July 9, the day the group disseminated the statement, was the day UDJ should have discussed progress made in talks with other forum members.
It was the national council that decided how the party can best work with the FDD. The forum was first initiated by the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), the Somali Democratic Alliance forces (SDAF), Arena Tigray for Democracy and Sovereignty (Arena) groups and two former ruling party senior officials: ex-president MP Dr. Negaso Gidada and former defence minister Seye Aberha.
The forum is still adding more members to its list, with the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement and UDJ becoming the latest strong additions.
The forum members, including the UDJ, are currently discussing a draft sixty page strategy that each member party's representatives have agreed upon.
"I don't think the council would go as far as to fire Professor Mesfin and others, but I expect other strong measures.
"Birtukan was holding the balance between the two groups and managed not to go against the idea of joining the forum, though she was not thrilled about it.
"Following her re-arrest the executive committee got momentum and is working to join the forum, and the group is trying to stop that," an independent party insider commented to Capital.
The party says it will announce the decision of Saturday's national council meeting at a press conference expected to be held tomorrow.
Ethiopia - Addis Ababa City police fires over 300 staff
By Yohannes Anberbir
Capital
The Addis Ababa Police Commission in Ethiopia has fired over 300 of its staff.
This was the ruthless decision made following the self-assessment meeting the commission held in Tolay military camp in Welega Zone of Oromia region, 327 kilometres west of the capital.
Some high ranking officers are also included in the mass dismissal, a source at the commission told Capital.
Police commanders and chiefs of the city met at the meeting hall of the Ethiopian Mapping Agency two months ago to discuss weakening security issues in the capital. This led them to organise the self-assessment session in Tolay, which gave every employee invited an opportunity to openly point out the weaknesses of their colleagues in the presence of their bosses.
The meeting helped the chiefs of security to figure out what action needed to be taken to remedy the problems, the source said. According to him, over 300 officers are to be fired by the commission and many more are to be demoted. One of those to be demoted is the secretary of the commission, showing the seriousness of the measure, he added.
The commission recently deployed nearly 1,000 new police in the capital. The commission is accountable to Federal Police, but the city administration is currently drafting a bill that aims to return the former city police commission to its jurisdiction.
A need to oversee city security is the reason given by Mayor Kuma Demekssa’s administration to bring back the police commission under city control, which coincided with the restructuring of the police commission for similar reasons.
The commission was transferred to the control of the Federal Police by the ruling coalition, the EPRDF, in the aftermath of the disputed 2005 General Election.
This move came about after the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, who strongly contested the ruling party’s overall election victory, refused to take charge of the Addis Ababa City Administration, despite winning the majority of the capital’s seats.
This political scuffle resulted in a power vacuum in Addis Ababa, leading Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to propose the politically neutral caretaker administration and the transfer of responsibility for the police commission to the Federal Police.
09:52:56 am, by nazret.com, 710 words, 3768 views Ethiopia - Teddy likely to be free in a month
By Muluken Yewondwossen
Capital
Teddy Afro, Ethiopia's most popular pop singer, should be released in a month after an appeal court upheld a decision to reduce his six year sentence to two years.
The final verdict on the hit and run charge against the popular singer, whose real name is Tewodros Kassahun, came from the Cassation Bench at Federal Supreme Court.
Last Thursday morning, the court upheld the two year sentence handed down by the Federal Supreme Court in mid February, but the court accepted the 18,000 birr fine that the Eighth Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court gave in December 5, 2008. On appeal, the Supreme Court had previously reduced the fine to 11,000 birr.
Following the decision, the public expressed their happiness at the imminent release of the popular singer. One of Teddy's lawyers, Ameha Bedlu, told Capital the singer was also happy at the decision of the court.
"I am really glad that the court decided to accept the reduction of Teddy's time in prison, because he will be free after four weeks; but I still do not accept he is guilty," one of Teddy's fan told Capital after he heard of the verdict.
Most people from all ages and walks of society that Capital interviewed were delighted with the court's verdict, though many still believe Teddy is innocent. They think he was the victim of a political vendetta, because his music was identified with the opposition's cause at the time of the controversial 2005 General Election.
The Cassation Bench of the Federal Supreme Court is the final court of appeal, so neither side has any opportunity to make further appeals.
Teddy Afro was jailed on April 16, 2008, for killing a homeless boy in a hit and run incident. The initial guilty verdict was reached almost nine months later and he was sentenced to six years in jail and fined 18,000 birr at the Eighth Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court in December 2008.
Subsequently, Teddy's lawyers, Million Assefa and Ameha Bedlu, appealed to the Supreme Court. The first appeal hearing was adjourned until February 18 for a final verdict.
The appeal judge, Justice Dagne Melaku, sustained the guilty verdict, but reduced the sentence, deciding the deceased had some culpability for the incident that cost him his life.
The Federal Supreme Court cut the original sentence to two years and the 18,000 birr fine to 11,000. The decision was based on the finding that the deceased was unconscious due to alcohol consumption and sleeping in the middle of the road when the accident happened.
Due to a lack of lighting, the court reasoned it would be almost impossible for a driver to spot a person, or anything else, at night.
When the sentence reduction was heard, fans inside the compound went out singing one of the pop icon's famous songs, and were joined by a crowd outside to create an impromptu celebration. The same thing happened last week at the cassation court around Arat Kilo, until city police broke up the celebrations within minutes.
Teddy Afro has already served almost 16 months behind bars at Kaliti Prison, some 25km out of Addis Ababa. With probable parole for good behaviour he will be free in less than 26 days on Friday, August, 14.
The parole given is four months per every year in jail, so the singer is set to receive an eight month reduction.
Teddy Afro Factfile
The 31-year-old performer entered the Ethiopian music scene in 2001 and has made three albums since and a number of singles.
He is well-liked by fans for his varied style and his powerful lyrics that he writes himself.
He was first detained briefly in November 2006, a day after the incident occurred and released on 50,000 birr bail. On the day of the accident, Teddy had returned home from a year long tour outside Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa police arrested Teddy, suspecting him of killing an 18 year old street boy named Degu Yibeltal, who was killed after he was hit by a car.
Teddy pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A taxi driver at the time allegedly tipped off the police of the plate number of Teddy's BMW, which was later found in a ditch on the road towards the CMC residential area where the singer resides.
09:51:07 am, by nazret.com, 547 words, 947 views Ethiopia Government settles coffee loans
By Muluken Yewondwossen
Capital
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has paid off the loans taken out by six banned coffee exporters.
The re-payment of loans comes after the ministry exported beans seized off the major exporters, who were alleged to have been hoarding the commodity, through the Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise and other private exporters.
Three weeks ago, MoARD called the exporters and suppliers to confirm their bank account numbers for the transfer of the money, after it decided to clear bank loans that were taken to buy about 18, 000 tons of the subsequently confiscated beans from the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) and other local markets.
In March this year, after the Government made the hoarding accusation, it seized and sold the coffee at the exchange market through selected intermediary members.
The state-owned member of ECX, the Ethiopian Grain Trade Enterprise began to participate in coffee trading weeks before the seizure and has bought the major share of the seized product after finding markets in Europe, North America and Japan.
Recently, some of the exporters claimed that the seized coffee has been sold below the price it should have fetched. The exporters told Capital the value and quality of their coffee was high, but the selected intermediary sold the beans as a standard product for the local market.
Tarkegne Tsgie, public relations head with MoARD, recently responded that the coffee had been sold at the market price and through the exchange. He stressed that the claim regarding the price is baseless, as the ministry was bound by the international market price.
Some of the exporters and suppliers told Capital they have not yet received the money into their account.
The Government has also promised that it will return the money earned from the seized coffee to the exporters. The six exporters had been responsible for over 80 per cent of the country total coffee exporst. For instance Muluge PLC, one on of the rejected exporters, had the majority share of the total exports and it was exporting to Starbucks, one of the largest coffee firms in the world.
The banned firms are Mulege Private Limited Company, S. Sara Coffee Export, Legesse Sherefa Private Limited Company, Hajji Kemal Abdella International Private Limited Company, Seid Yasin Ali Coffee Export and Ersede Private Limited Company.
The Government gave four reasons why it took the action against them: They have hoarded last year’s coffee products instead of exporting to the global market before this year’s crop season; they have hoarded coffee by-products instead of supplying to local markets; they were found by the ministry’s inspectors during an inventory to be hiding a substantial volume of standard coffee they bought last year from an auction centre; and the exporters were also found to have failed to export sufficient quantities of coffee to honour an agreement with the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
MoARD suspended their coffee quality certificates and export licenses; and shut stores where export coffee and byproducts were stored.
Coffee accounted for about 60 per cent of Ethiopia’s foreign exchange revenue in the 2007/08 season, when it earned more than 525 million dollars from exports of 170,888 tonnes of mostly high quality Arabica beans. However, the export volume has declined by 40 per cent on this year.
Ethiopia - Two new luxury hotels to be built in Addis
By Yohannes Anberbir
Capital
Limitless LLc, a subsidiary company of Dubai World, has finally reached an agreement with Addis Ababa City [Ethiopia's Capital] Administration to lease two huge plots to construct two five star luxury hotels.
A delegation led by Sheikh Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, had visited Ethiopia in July 2008, and conferred with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who warmly appreciated the Dubai giant’s interest in Ethiopia.
Limitless, which is based in Egypt, submitted a proposal to the city administration a month after DP World’s visit Ethiopia. The proposal highlights Limitless’ interest to engage in the hotel business in Ethiopia’s capital.
Officials of the city immediately invited the company to visit two key plots. Their prompt response showed their excitement at the potential investment of nearly 100 million dollars.
A garage used by the Defense Ministry located near the African Union (AU) Headquarters in front of the National Tobacco Enterprise off Roosevelt Avenue, and a plot located between the Addis Ababa Market Development and Exhibition Centre and the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions buildings are the plots offered to Limitless, who were equally excited about the potential of the locations.
A few months later Saeed Ahmed Saeed, CEO of Limitless, sent project proposals, although, they did not meet the city’s requirements. This prompted Mayor Kuma Demekssa to write a letter requesting a clear proposal that explicitly indicated the company’s lease plan and construction schedule.
Reports suggested officials of Limitless were surprised with the Mayor’s request, because they thought the plots would be offered for free. In fact, Limitless was not dismayed with the request, but did send one of their management in May to discuss the issue and clarify the city’s stance. The mayor told the delegate that no plots will be offered free of lease, which pushed Limitless to accept the lease arrangement.
Now the company has signed with the lease bureau of the city to pay the amount in three installments, the source told Capital.
According to the business proposal, Limitless intends to erect a 250 room business hotel, 150 serviced apartments, as well as additional office spaces and food and beverage stores, on the 30,525 square metre plot near the AU site.
The second proposal envisages a 200 room business hotel, 50 serviced apartments, cultural and entertainment centres, as well as offices, retail and food and beverage market spaces.
This is a ‘doorway investment’ for the Gulf giant because the delegation also announced its interests in receiving a management concessions to operate the 761 kilometre Ethio-Djibouti railway lines and to install a pipeline for oil that runs from Djibouti to the Awash area, a few hundred km east of Addis Ababa.
Dubai World Factfile
• Dubai World is an aggressive investment arm of the Gulf state, which is active both at home and abroad.
• It owns diverse and successful companies, including Dubai Drydoks, Dubai Maritime City, Inchcape Shipping Services, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, Istithmar World, Kerzner, One & Only, Atlantis, Island Global Yachting, Tejari, TechnoPark, P&O Maritime, Discovery Gardens and Tamweel.
• Dubai World was established under a decree ratified in 2006 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makktoum,Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Dubai.
Ethiopia - Price of Ambo Mineral Water Triples in major cities
Ambo price fizzes
Capital
The ongoing power crisis coupled with generator problems caused Ambo Mineral Water Factory in Ethiopia to totally halt production for seven days two weeks ago.
Almost immediately, the cessation caused the price of mineral water to triple in Ethiopia’s major cities, Capital learnt.
A source in the sales department of the factory told Capital that ever since the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) introduced power rationing, the factory was producing at one third of its full capacity of 240,000 bottles per day using diesel generator. The generator is only able to supply enough electricity to power a single line of the factory’s production machinery, and has also suffered a breakdown itself: “A technical problem a week ago with the generator that kept alive production for the last few months has contributed to hiking the price,” a source said.
Previously, the price of a single crate - 24 bottles - was 38 birr, which dealers distributed for approximately 45 birr to users. But since the production decrease two months ago, dealers have been distributing crates for around 70 birr. For the consumer this has meant a hike from the regular price of five birr to 16 birr for a bottle.
According to another anonymous source, EEPCo has given permission for the company to use power every other day from last Monday.
A further additional factor causing the delays is unrelated to power problems, as three weeks ago Italian Agapti Company started maintenance work on the second production line of the factory. This work should be completed in the next week.
According to the sales source, the company has distributed a root card - which contains information about their quotas - for dealers in an attempt to manage the distribution fairly.
“But the demand has a big gap than the current supply, which make it difficult to control the dealers who sold the products over the price,” he explained. However, the factory is distributing its product for big hotels as usual, a source said.
Ambo Mineral Water Factory, located 130 kilometres west of Addis Ababa in Ambo, was established 77 years ago and controls over 85 per cent of the mineral water market in Ethiopia. A year ago the state Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency (PPESA) and a company based in South Africa, SABMiller Beverage, negotiated to acquire the company jointly. As agreed between the two parties, factory expansion work by Crones, a German firm commenced a week ago. When the expansion is completed the production capacity of the factory will double to just less than half a million bottles per day.
Ambo is exporting its product in US, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Djibouti.
The other previously state owned mineral water plant, Babile Mineral Water Factory, is located 526km east of Addis in the Harari Regional State and was sold to local company Petram Plc in March 2007. Petram bought the factory for 6.5 million birr.
SAB Miller is one of the world’s largest brewers and includes among its products international beers such as Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Miller Genuine Draft, as well as range of South African brands such as Aguila, Miller Lite, Snow and Tyskie. It is also one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world.
The state-owned electric power producer requested industries to halt their production until the hydro power electricity generation improved with the coming of the rainy season. Most industries are using diesel generated power to continue their business while they wait for the green light from EEPCo to resume business as usual.
The situation is contributing to inflating the price of goods and services in the country, particularly in Addis Ababa.
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