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Month: June 2019

TRAGEDY & TRAUMA

Posted on by Web Master

Shock and grief engulfed the nation last week as news spread that top military officers in Addis Abeba and high ranking politicians in Bahir Dar were assassinated. A nation grieved with family members see during the farewell in Addis Abeba (above) and funeral (inset) held in Bahir Dar.

It was a sober moment in a time span of a little over a year, the country has gone from euphoria and hope to tragedy and trauma.

When three years of widespread protests resulted in two rounds of states of emergency, the entire country, even the world, was holding its breath, fearing the worst. Whether Ethiopia was going to descend into a civil war was the question on everyone’s mind. When a ruling party renowned for its stubbornness, reluctantly but with unexpected flexibility, offered a bold reform agenda that included a change of leadership, there was a collective sigh of relief. It was a realisation that the country had just stepped back from the edge of the precipice. The new leadership of EPRDF, now led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), moved quickly to open up the political space, release prisoners and journalists, and invite political organisations to freely and legally operate in the country. When that was followed up with new appointments to the Election Board and the Supreme Court, signalling the intention to reform independent institutions, it was taken to be kind of an unwritten bargain for a new beginning of electoral politics.

The return of political violence last week was such a shock following the assassinations of Army Chief-of-Staff Se`are Mekonnen (Gen) and his friend Ge`zai Abera, a retired army general. Hours before that, in Bahir Dar, the seat of the Amhara Regional State, its President, Ambachew Mekonnen (PhD); his aide, Ezez Wassie; and Migbaru Kebede, the region’s attorney general, were shot dead while attending a meeting.  The government accused Asamenew Tsegie (Br. Gen.), head of the regional state’s security bureau, for masterminding and orchestrating the killings in an attempted coup d’etat. He was later killed in an exchange of fire with police. Now, people are not only grieving bitterly for those who lost their lives, but they are also grieving for much more.

Assassinations Cast Shadow on New Era

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The unforgettable memory of Etsegenet Berhe, one of the prominent local business people, dates back to the celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium 11 years ago. He was in Qobo town, northern Ethiopia, working on a new project he had planned in the area when he received a call from his close friend, Se’are Mekonnen (Gen), the now deceased Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defence Force, was in Meqelle at that time.

Etsegenet and Se’are were born in the same town in the northern part of the country but did not develop their friendship until 1996; Etsegenet left to go abroad and Se’are joined a rebel group that fought against the Dergueregime.

In their conversation a decade and more ago, Etsegenet told Se’are that he was in Qobo for his new project. The next day Se’are surprised him by arriving in Qobo to inspire him and show his support.

“This is Se’are,” Etsegenet recalled. “He is always there for his friends and family.”

On June 22, 2019, Etsegenet heard the devastating news while he was on a family vacation in Meqelle, celebrating the end of the school year.

Se’are and his old friend, Ge’zai Abera (Maj. Gen), a retired army general, were shot dead inside Se’are’s residence in Bole District, behind Desalegn Hotel on Cape Verde Street, where they were chatting in the garden of the front yard.

Mesafint Tigabu, a young soldier and team leader of a four-member security detail assigned to protect the army chief of staff, allegedly shot dead both Ge’zai and Se’are.

“It was after 9:00pm when we heard a continuous firing from automatic weapons,” said a retired military member who is currently working as a security guard at one of the diplomatic residences near Se’are’s home. “The unoccupied buildings that are still under construction in the neighbourhood echoed the gunshots, scaring everyone around.”

No one dared to go outside to find out what was going on as everyone was apprehensive about the news that was filtering out of Bahir Dar just a few hours before, according to a security guard in the neighbourhood.

The incident in Bahir Dar, Amhara Regional State, involved the shooting of the region’s President, Ambachew Mekonnen (PhD), his aide Ezez Wasse, and the region’s Attorney General, Migbaru Kebede, who were in a meeting with four other officials. Ambachew and Ezez were killed instantly on the spot, while Migbaru died at Black Lion Hospital in Addis Abeba of his wounds two days later.

Both federal and regional officials have disclosed that Asamenew Tsegie (Bir Gen), head of the Amhara Regional State Security Bureau, allegedly orchestrated the assassinations of the regional officials. Asamenew was released about a year ago after serving 10 years in prison, convicted of plotting to oust the administration of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

“I called a couple of fellow security guards in our neighbourhood, and they told me none of them ventured out to find out,” he said. “They were following the incident from behind closed gates just like me.”

Everything turned to tragedy after it became clear that Mesafint had allegedly assassinated the two Generals. He was also wounded during the ensuing gun battle with the other members of the security detail. One of the security details shot him in the leg before Mesafint shot himself in the neck in an apparent suicide attempt, according to people who are familiar with the incident. Police reported that Mesafint survived and that he is under medical treatment.

“After the gunfire stopped, we heard people in the compound moaning and calling out the names of the two Generals,” said the guard, “followed by cars coming and going in the area.”

The two Generals then were taken to Washington Hospital, located close to Se’are’s residence, but they were pronounced dead on arrival. Their bodies were taken to Tor Hailoch, the army hospital, and then sent to Meqelle where they were buried last Wednesday.

The government hosted a memorial in their honour at Millenium Hall, attended by President Sahle-work Zewde, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) and Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, alongside government and military officials.

The next day, the Amhara Regional State organised a public funeral ceremony for the three regional officials who died in the afternoon attack that took place in Bahir Dar, the regional state capital.

“We were only done with one of the agenda items when the attackers burst into the meeting room and started firing,” said Lake Ayalew, who has now been appointed acting regional president, in an interview with the Amhara Mass Media Agency, the regional broadcaster. “Ambachew and Ezez were dead on the spot.”

Gunfire exchanges between the attackers and the security details present at the meeting followed, according to Lake.

The incident took the life of a dozen people, including the alleged ringleader Asamenew, who was caught and killed in an area called Zenzelema on the outskirts of Bahir Dar following a gun battle with security forces.

Demeke described the incident as “tragic, cruel and a betrayal.”

“The assassination of the regional leaders who fought for the release of political prisoners by those who were freed as a result of their struggle was a betrayal,” he said. “This is a backward step in the country’s political journey.”

Tigray Regional State also hosted a funeral ceremony for the Generals with Debretsion Gebremicahel (PhD), deputy president of the regional state, attending with family and friends of the deceased Generals and thousands in Meqelle turned out to say their farewell.

“The country has a serious challenge,” said Debretsion during the ceremony. “It has become the centre of killings, the political structure is disordered, and everything is messed up.”

Debretsion also said that with the aim of the democratisation process, the government had released prisoners who violated the law, but the move has backfired and put the country in a serious situation.

“There is too much patience,” he said, “now, we have reached the time that requires serious action.”

Since 2016, the country has been hit by recurrent violence in different parts of the country, which has resulted in the death of many and the imposition of two rounds of states of emergency.

Continuous outbreaks of violence ignited the current change of administration after former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalgn resigned, opening the door for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) to enter. After Abiy came to office, things seem to have shifted for the better as he has made bold moves as part of political reforms.

Opening up the political space was his major achievement by releasing prisoners who were leaders and members of opposition parties, as well as journalists. He also invited political organisations to be part of the political space in the country, appointed a former opposition party leader who was in exile as the board chairperson of the Election Board; and appointed a prominent lawyer as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, signalling his intention to reform institutions.

However, the recent tragic incidents, both at the regional and federal levels, have undermined the reforms, according to critics.

Beyond the assassinations of regional high officials and ranking officers, the incidents signal failure of the government in ensuring the rule of law. There are weaknesses in intelligence work, and a growing trend of regional states amassing armed special forces with military-grade weaponry and manpower, according to some experts.

“The prospects for genuine reform is being undermined in large part by the complacency of the elite, costing the country a tremendous amount,” wrote Yared Hailemariam,  executive director of the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, onEthiopian Observer, a website that publishes opinions and commentaries that focus on Ethiopia.

The current turmoil is caused by multiple causes, according to Yared, who adds that government’s failures in ensuring the rule of law, in its failure to structure its relations with regional states, and allowing regions to establish their own special forces and armed militias have greatly contributed to the turmoil.

“It’s high time for the Abiy administration to do a proper diagnosis of the situation and develop an effective strategy to address the problems in the wake of this turmoil,” recommends Yared.

Up until Friday, a total of 212 suspects were arrested for alleged involvement in what the government has described as a “coup attempt” in the Amhara Regional State, while 43 more were detained on suspicion of involvement in the incident in Addis Abeba, according to the Office of the Prime Minister.

On Thursday evening, June 28, 2019, the Security & Justice Task Force, comprised of members of the National Defence Force, the Attorney General’s Office and the National Intelligence & Security Service, has announced that it has started an investigation to determine whether the twin attacks have connections and were led by the same group.

The twin incidents in Addis Abeba and Bahir Dar…

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The twin incidents in Addis Abeba and Bahir Dar late last week have opened the floodgates to widespread speculations and grand conspiracy theories on the motive and the actual events surrounding the multiple assassinations. The characterisation by federal authorities of the incident in Bahir Dar as a “failed coup d`etat” has lost its currency since. The telling and retelling of the sad events in both places will continue for decades to come, with variations of all kinds branching out upon the conveniences of the narrators, gossip anticipates.

A few hours after hell broke loose on June 22, 2019, in Bahir Dar, another incident took place in Addis Abeba, inside the residence of Army Chief-of-Staff, Se`are Mekonnen (Gen), located behind Desalegn Hotel on Cape Verde St., which began after 9:00 pm, according to gossip. He was with his old pal, Ge`zai Abera, a retired army general, chatting in the garden of the front yard.

The Chief of Staff was coordinating a force deployment in response to the catastrophic development in Bahir Dar, which began in the late afternoon. A disgruntled head of Amhara Regional State’s security bureau, Asamenew Tsegie (Br. Gen.), orchestrated the murders of the regional state’s President, Ambachew Mekonnen (PhD), and two of his close aides, including the region’s Attorney General, Migbaru Kebede, while they were in a meeting with four others. Se`are was preparing to go to the army`s headquarters when bullets showered on him and his comrade-in-resistance friends since their days of the insurgency back in the late 1970s.

A soldier in his late 20s and a team leader of the security detail for the Chief of Staff, Mesafint Tigabu, allegedly shot Ge`zai first before he finished a round of eight bullets all on Se`are, gossip disclosed. Three members of the security detail were inside a room in the service quarters behind the one-storey villa, while a soldier was deployed outside the gate, claims gossip. Assuming that the gunshots were discharged from the outside, they all rushed out only to be told that there was no attack from the outside, says gossip. They were probably misled by seeing Mesafint lying in between the bodies of the two fallen Generals, claims gossip.

The alleged attacker then got up and ran over to a room in the service quarters where he began firing back at the remaining members of the security detail before he shot himself in the neck, reveals gossip. Dressed in a brown t-shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers, Mesafint was found gasping for air. Immediately, he was taken to a hospital where he survived, gossip says. His situation has stabilised since, while he still remains alive up until press time of this newspaper on Saturday night.

The two Generals were not so lucky. General Ge`zai died on the spot, according to gossip. Chief-of-Staff Se`are was taken to a close by hospital on Rwanda St., Washington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, gossip says. His body was later taken to the army`s hospital, Tor Hailoch, on Chad St.

A highly decorated military officer, General Se`are was not only the first Chief of Staff to be killed while in service of his country, but he was also the first high-level official, both in the military and civil branches, to fall in the hands of a bodyguard assigned to security detail.

His passing leaves behind too many unanswered questions, gossip foresees.

How are the two incidents that transpired on the same evening connected? How did a team leader of a security detail for the most powerful military leader evade a standard surveillance check on his background and behaviour while on duty? Why was the family`s concern on his alleged erratic behaviour ignored? Who was responsible for his assignment made four or five months earlier and who were the people he was talking to on the phone a few hours before he allegedly committed the assassination?

Investigators have recovered his phone to check the log of the calls and texts he made, claims gossip. When Mesafint recovers fully, confessions are expected to provide leads to probe the plot further, says gossip.

Two Firms Win 7.3b Br Mega Projects

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A Chinese and a local firm secured contracts for design and build mega projects two weeks ago that have an aggregate value of 7.3 billion Br.

Addis Abeba City Construction Bureau awarded China Jiangsu International Economic & Technical Limited and Geom Luigi Varnero Plc with contracts to construct a parking lot, a tourism park, a library and a museum, which are expected to be completed within a period of 18 months to two years.

China Jiangsu was awarded 1.5 billion Br for the Grand Palace Heritage Project, which comprises the construction of a 60m underground tunnel, a parking lot and a tourism park connected with Menelik II Palace. The project also entails the construction of a two-storey commercial building atop the parking lot that will house four basements that accommodate 1,000 vehicles.

China Jiangsu also won the bid to construct the 4.6 billion Br Adwa Zero Kilometre Project, a museum which commemorates the Victory of Adwa, to be built in the centre of Piassa adjacent to Menelik II Square, comprised of meeting halls and recreational and fitness centres.

Varnero secured the construction of a three-storey library in Arat Kilo valued at 1.1 billion Br. The library will have reading rooms with state-of-the-art technologies and recreational facilities designed for all ages.

The two companies are expected to submit detailed designs for the projects within 45 days based on a schematic design proposed by the Bureau, according to Afework Nigussie, deputy head of the City’s Construction Bureau.

“A technical committee at the Bureau will review their design for approval,” Afework told Fortune. “The companies will be paid in Birr.”

The city’s Construction Bureau floated a restrictive tender inviting seven firms to submit their bids following a green light from the Addis Abeba Finance Bureau, after the City Administration’s Cabinet approved the projects four months ago. The companies were selected based on their reputation and potential in the construction sector, according to Afework.

Along with the two winning companies, ALEC Engineering & Contracting LLC, China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the Italian firm Elmi Olindo Contractors Plc and China Wu Yi were approached for the bid. China Wu Yi was disqualified at the earliest stage due to a late submittal of its bid on the opening date.

ALEC Engineering, a Dubai-based multi-disciplinary construction company established in 1999, is currently involved in the construction of a recreational centre and a museum at the Grand Palace.

Maheder Gebremedhin, an architect and a radio host, applauds the projects, but he stressed that they require strong follow-ups from inception to the final stage, stating that design and build projects are new to the country.

Maheder recommends that the Construction Bureau ensure the designs of the projects are in line with the city’s structural plan and should have a stringent design review process.

“An independent supervisor that has experience supervising such projects should also be hired to follow up on the projects,” said Maheder. “The experience of the design and build project of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia’s headquarters building should be taken into account.”

“During implementation, it is important that knowledge transfer parameters and all the right protocols and procedures should be stipulated clearly to verify proper budget and time utilisation,” he said.

New Lease Financier to Join Business

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Girma Wake, the former CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, along with eight foreign companies and individuals is forming the sixth lease financing company in the country.

Ethio Lease Ethiopian Capital Goods Finance S.C is under formation with 400 million Br in paid up capital by nine shareholders that hail from five countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and Kenya.

Girma, who is also board chairperson of United Insurance and sits on the board of Ethiopian Airlines, is the proposed board chairperson of the company, which has already opened an office on Cape Verde Street.

Girma, 75, had served as the CEO of Ethiopian Airlines from 2004 until his retirement in 2011. He has 50 years of experience in the aviation industry and has also worked as board chairman of RwandAir, and as an advisor to the Rwandan Minister of Transport. Currently, Girma is the adviser to the president of Togo on aviation matters.

The company, which has 400,000 shares with a par value of 1,000 Br, is waiting for the final approval from the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) to commence operations.

African Asset Finance Company Holdings BV, a Netherlands registered company, holds the majority of shares in the company, while the remaining eight shareholders have one share each.

Gabriel Nigatu, a senior official at the African Development Bank based in Nairobi, Kenya, is also among the shareholders. African Asset Finance Company Inc, a privately owned US corporation launched in 2017 focusing on equipment leasing and asset-backed lending in Africa, is also among the shareholders.

Girum Tsegaye, who currently works as an advisor for African Asset Finance Company and had served as vice president of operations for United Bank, is the proposed CEO.

Ethio Lease plans to offer its finance leases in combination with a maintenance agreement, insurance as well as operator training, certification and deployment. It also aims to provide lease financing to businesses engaged in manufacturing, food processing, energy, and agriculture.

Ethio Lease will be the first finance company in the country co-owned by non-nationals. Even though the central bank had allowed foreign companies to engage in capital goods financing in Ethiopia since 2014, no company had registered to provide the service.

The company will be joining the five local capital goods finance companies licensed by the National Bank of Ethiopia including Aliya, Oromia, Addis, Debub and Kaza Capital Goods Finance Business. One other company, First Capital Goods, is also under formation.

Recently, the central bank issued a directive allowing foreign companies to access and use their foreign currency to finance the import of capital goods. The regulatory bank has also permitted foreign companies to borrow funds from a foreign source to import the goods but prohibited them from borrowing funds from domestic financial institutions.

The change in perspective of the business environment of the country has made foreign companies and individuals invest in the area, according to Habib Mohammed, a financial expert with a decade and a half of experience in the financial industry.

Habib, who is optimistic that lease financing will increase access to finance, said, “The company should work on its public image through transparency and gain the confidence of the people.”

Five Firms Vie to Supply 936 Elevators

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Five international and local companies are vying to supply 936 elevators for the middle-lower-income housing schemes with an estimated value of 1.3 billion Br.

During the bid opening held on June 25, 2019, three foreign companies – Yida Express Elevator Co Ltd, Xizi Elevator, XiXiAO Elevator – and local companies DAN Lift Technology Plc and Sintec Ethiopia Plc were qualified for the preliminary screening stage of the bid that was announced by the City Administration’s Public Procurement & Properties Disposal Agency.

The elevators will be procured for houses that are under construction by Addis Abeba Construction & Housing Development Project Office.

For the initial tender announced in April this year, 46 companies showed interest in buying the bid document. However, only seven of them submitted their technical and financial proposals. Two companies were disqualified due to late submission of their bids.

The elevators, which are divided into four lots, will be installed in seven-storey buildings with and without basements for 468 building blocks.

The first lot consists of 44 elevators that will be installed in 22 building blocks located at Bole Arabsa and Lideta Melso Malmat sites. Under lot two there are six lifts to be installed in three blocks at Bole Arabsa.

Under the third lot, a winning company is expected to supply and install 832 lifts for 416 blocks of houses that are under construction at Bole Bulbula, Tulu Dimtu and Koye Fiche sites. The last lot has 54 elevators for 27 blocks at Koye Fiche.

The Sino-American joint venture Yida Express and the Chinese firm XiXiAO vied for all lots, while Dan lift, XiZi Elevator and SINTEC submitted their technical and financial offers for three lots.

The financial and technical documents of the companies will be evaluated by a team composed of the Agency and the housing project office, according to Bata Edao, chairperson of the tender committee.

“It is difficult to tell when the winning companies will be announced,” Bata told Fortune.

Last March the City Administration transferred 52,651 housing units under the middle-lower-income scheme. The houses are located at Koye Fiche. It also handed over 28,000 units of houses built at Bole Arabsa, Lideta, Bole Bulbula, both old and new locations, as well as Tulu Dimtu.

Currently, 41,421 housing units are under construction in six sites including Bole Arabsa, Yeka Tafo, Goro Selassie, Furi Hana, Gulele Wetader Sefer and Jemo Gara.

The project office is also constructing 1,717 housing units in four-storey buildings at the Basha Wolde and Gelan sites for rentals, according to Goitom Berhe, construction supplies procurement and contract engineer at the Project Office.

“The houses are expected to be delivered in 10 months,” said Goitom.

In the capital, a total of 835,000 people were registered for apartment housing, but only 176,000 of them have received houses thus far.

Henock Semaw, dean of the College of Business & Economics at Haramaya University, asserts that the problem of public procurement involves poor procurement management, especially in planning, the absence of an efficient workforce and deployment of clear purchasing policy in the institutions.

“The tender for the elevators should have been processed immediately after the approval of the final design of the buildings and commencement of the civil work,” he said. “That way the delay would be avoided.”

Agency Establishes Regional Shops for Agricultural Inputs

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The government is engaged in setting up nearly 200 one-stop agricultural supply shops within three years in four regional states at an estimated cost of 624 million Br.

The Agricultural Transformation Agency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and regional bureaus, will establish the shops through a public-private partnership arrangement. The project aims at expanding smallholder farmers’ access to agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, agrochemicals, veterinary drugs and seeds along with advisory services.

The project aims at improving smallholder farmers’ productivity, food security and incomes through the development of private sector driven and market-oriented agricultural supply and services, according to Yitbarek Semeane (PhD), director of inputs at the Agency.

“Agricultural productivity in Ethiopia is low, due largely to limited availability of inputs,” said Yitbarek.

Studies show that Ethiopia is one of the lowest countries in terms of agricultural input utilisation. Fertiliser and pesticide use per hectare of arable land is 18.47Kg and 0.25Kg, respectively, well below the average. Ethiopia has 71.4 million farmers who cultivate 13 million hectares of land. As of the last fiscal year, the contribution of agriculture to GDP was 34.9pc.

Farmers currently use agrochemicals they buy at informal markets, which are neither regulated nor checked, according to Yitbarek, who says that some of the chemicals are defective and entered the country through contraband. The largest collection of shops, 80, will be located in Oromia Regional State; Amhara Regional State will have 54; Southern Nations, Nationalities, & Peoples’ Regional State will have 48; and Tigray Regional State will have 18. The construction of one shop is estimated to cost between two million Br and 2.5 million Br, and 30,000 dollars is required for a onetime supply of agricultural inputs.

The scale of agricultural activities in the regions and how the benefits of such shops could be maximised were the two primary criteria in selecting the four regional states, according to Yitbarek. To date, the construction of 53 centres has been initiated with six shops already completed. The construction of 10 more centres is also expected to be finalised before the end of this year.

In the selected weredas, the Agency held an outreach campaign where it communicated and explained about the benefit of the shops, how they will be set up and operated, with the hope of getting private parties to vie for their ownership. The shops will be constructed and operated by beneficiaries including farmers, cooperatives and business persons who have submitted their proposals. They will be selected after the Agency conducts due diligence of the bidders, evaluates their financial capacity and existing assets, as well as their background and knowledge in the field.

The winning private party, at its own cost, then enters into a contract with the Agency to build the centre that lies on a 200Sqm plot within a nine-month period of time. The shops will be built in line with the Agency’s design criteria including chemical safety rooms, a training area and staff facilities.

“We want the shops to be run by professionals,” said Yitbarek. “The Agency will pay the first year salary of the staff, and the shop owner will continue from there.”

The Agency will initially invest 30,000 dollars as a onetime service to supply each shop with agricultural inputs. The beneficiaries will then be on their own to stock the shops and maintain its operations.

The project kicked off after the successful closure of the four-million-dollar pilot project that was initiated by the Agency and USAID. The three-year project was completed in 2018 with 20 one-stop agricultural shops constructed in four regions. The project planned to serve 100,000 smallholder farmers to access agricultural inputs, create 150 jobs and generate a total turnover of 1.2 million dollars. At its conclusion the project ended up serving 400,000 farmers and generating a total turnover of 12 million dollars.

Alemitu Hordofa, the owner and general manager of Bako Farm Service Centre in Oromia Region State, where one of the 20 pilot shops is located, says the programme has been beneficial to both her and farmers of the area. When she opened the shop in mid-2017, she had eight employees. Now the number has grown to 15, and she has managed to build two more satellite shops.

However, Alemitu says that she is facing challenges in getting enough supplies due to the shortage of foreign currency to import the supplies. In the current fiscal year, Ethiopia imported nearly 1.4 million tonnes of fertiliser valued at 563.3 million dollars through 133 companies registered to import pesticides and other agrochemicals. However, experts in the area are critical about repeating the success rate of the pilot in the scale-up project.

Mohammed Aman, assistant professor of agri-economics and agri-business at Haramaya University, argues that the shops should not be viewed as a single entity by the Agency, stating that input demand of the farmers will differ from region to region depending on ecology.

“The supply of the shops should be demand-driven,” said Mohammed.

He also warns that the Agency should not roll out and keep being involved in both securing the supplies as well as ensuring input prices at the shops, arguing that the purchasing power of the farmers should determine the market price.

“We can’t expect a free market when there are few suppliers,” said Mohammed. “Prices will go up.”

Local Detergent Maker Boosts Capacity with $3m Investment

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A local manufacturer of consumer goods plans to invest three million dollars to expand its spray drying detergent powder plant’s production capacity.

East African Tiger Brand Industries plans the expansion inside Eastern Industrial Zone in Dukem, some 40Km west of the capital. To hire a company that will construct the new plant, East African Tiger has floated an international tender.

Expected to start within two to three months, construction is planned to be completed next year. The existing detergent plant produces three tonnes of powder detergent an hour, and the new plant will boost that volume to eight tonnes an hour, nearly tripling its capacity. The project will also increase the number of employees to 500 from the current 400.

The company was established 23 years ago by prominent businessperson Buzuaeyu Bizenu. It sold 51pc of the shares to South Africa’s Tiger Brands in 2011. However, the partnership of the two companies ended in 2016 after East African Holdings acquired the shares of Tiger Brands and the acquisition process was completed last year.

Following the divorce, East Africa Holdings is in the process of changing the name of the company to East African Lion Brand Industries, which is pending with legal proceedings and clearances with the Ethiopian Investment Commission and is expected to be finalised in three months.

East African Tiger Brand Industries has a total of 1,500 employees working in its four units, which manufactures personal care, home care, packaging and food products. East African Holdings operates 16 companies, clustered in engineering and construction, manufacturing and agro-processing, marketing and distribution.

In response to the increased demand, the project is part of the strategic plans of East African Holdings for 2020, according to Fitsum Nigusse, marketing and corporate communication director with the company, which is one of the 348 companies registered in the country to manufacture detergents.

“The local and the Horn of Africa markets in Sudan, Djibouti and Somaliland are our potential customers,” he adds.

The mother company, East African Holdings Group, has 6,000 permanent and temporary employees, produces over 100 different products and provides distribution and logistics services to sister companies and external customers.

National Cement, Hameressa Edible Oil S.C, East African Trading House Plc and Ethio-Asian Industries Plc are some of the companies operating under the umbrella of the holding company.

Occupying the entire 28 hectares at the Eastern Industrial Zone, East African Tiger Brand Industries produces biscuits, macaroni, supplementary food, soaps and detergents. It also holds companies involved in printing, packaging, tea blending and coffee roasting.

Hailemariam Kebede (PhD), a lecturer in the marketing management department at Addis Abeba University, applauds the expansion project since it will create more jobs, meet local demand and generate revenue from exports.

Hailemariam recommends the management of the company penetrate the Horn of Africa market, a market that he says contains enormous demand.

“To penetrate the regional market, the company has to work on advertising aggressively in the destination countries,” said Hailemariam.

 

First Ever Kids TV Channel Goes On Air

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Ethiopia Kids TV Channel, the 30th television channel to be launched in the nation, started trial transmission last month.

Founded by seven professionals hailing from journalism, the arts, information technology, mass communication, education and other social science fields, the first television station dedicated to children’s programming was established with 30 million Br in investment. The station commenced operations on African Child Day, a celebration initiated by the then Organization of African Unity in 1991.

The channel is established to provide entertainment, educational and informative content for children and teenagers 24 hours a day, according to Eskinder Kebede, managing director of Ethiopian Kids TV.

Ethiopian children, zero to 14 years in age, constitute about 43pc of the total population of 108 million people, according to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report of July 2018.

“Even as the way young audiences consume media has fundamentally changed,” said Eskinder, “it’s one of the top ways that families and kids spend time together.”

Before starting the process for the establishment of the company, the founders conducted a survey.

“In the last two years, the company has been conducting a survey that indicates Ethiopian children need an indigenous children’s media outlet that gives due attention to their culture and related issues,” Eskinder said.

The company secured a license under the trade name of Ye Ethiopia Lijoch from the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority in 2018, becoming an addition to the nine public and 20 privately licensed satellite television stations.

Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, which started operations in November 1964, is the pioneer state-owned channel in the country and broadcasts to 4.3 million households with satellite dishes, according to a media survey report released in March 2017.

The new channel is mainly devoted to children’s programming, but it will cover family issues with due emphasis on children’s rights and their wellbeing. It also includes children’s plays, music and songs, question and answer competitions, puppet shows, dramas, films, reading books and storytelling with characters.

“The programmes are designed to be participatory, showing Ethiopian culture like an elder, entertaining like a friend, educating like a teacher, with the best interest of the child in mind,” Eskinder said.

Children’s television programming is still an important means for children to entertain themselves and learn important values in life, according to Seble Hailu, a psychologist and counsellor.

“Children shouldn’t have more than two hours a day of screen time though,” Seble said.

Media use is linked to obesity, other eating disorders and lack of exercise, because kids do not want to be pulled away from television shows when they should be physically active for multiple hours every day, according to Seble.

The expert believes the right approach to media is not to set rules but to help parents and caregivers understand the effects of media and give them practical tools they can use.

“Families should strike a balance when it comes to giving children screens,” Seble added.

Bureau Seizes Aggregates Poached from Railway Corporation

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The regional mining bureau in Oromia confiscated 29,000tn of construction material in Adama town “stolen” from the Ethiopian Railway Corporation.

Worth 12 million Br, the materials were unused leftover material from the construction of the Ethio-Djibouti railway project, which has been operational since January 2018. It was confiscated at Dabe Soloqe Kebele, 90km from the capital.

After the project was completed, the construction material should have been returned to the government but was not, according to Yirdaw Negash, director general of Oromia Water, Mineral & Energy Bureau.

“Three individuals allegedly sold the confiscated materials in the past two months, and police are investigating the case,” Yirdaw said.

In the past two weeks, the Bureau has also seized 278 Sino trucks carrying 4,448 cubic metres of construction material valued at 360,000 Br in Eastern Shoa.

The railway, which cut travelling time between Djibouti and Addis Abeba from three days to 12 hours, was constructed under the authority of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation for 4.2 billion dollars, with 70pc financing by the Export-Import Bank of China.

The railway mainly transports imports and exports from the capital to the Port of Djibouti, where 90pc of Ethiopia’s international trade takes place, and assumes 70pc of the total activity at Djibouti’s port.

“Our main challenge was the gap in penalties in the law, so we started amending the directives and proclamations one month ago, and the draft bill has been sent to the region’s Attorney General,” Yirdaw said.

In the new directives, the illegal possession of minerals will lead to five years of imprisonment and up to 200,000 Br in penalties.

Gujji, Borena and Wollega are well-known areas for their abundant, albeit underutilised, mineral resource deposits. In Oromia region, 61 exploration licenses have been issued at the federal level and at least 2,000 from the regional bureaus. In 2018 there were around 1,400 large-scale miners in the Oromia Regional State, and the sector creates job opportunities for 82,000 employees.

“One of the other major problems is after a project is completed, the contractors sell off the leftover construction materials to third parties,” he added.

For the past two years, the export revenue in the country has dwindled. In the first three quarters of the current fiscal year, the export of minerals generated 39.6 million dollars, while the government targeted to earn 766.9 million dollars in export revenues this year.

Ejigu Alem, a PhD candidate and lecturer at Haramaya University’s School of Geography & Environmental Studies, believes that contraband and illegal activities in the mining sector contribute to losses of a significant amount of money.

“Construction firms, either intentionally or by carelessness, transfer leftover material to other parties, and the material is misused,” Ejigu said. “Amending the laws will strengthen the law and help minimise illegal activities.”

Dereje Tefera, communications director of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation, did not reply to Fortune’s inquiries by the time this paper went to print.

Trading Firm Ventures into Marble Processing

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A Chinese trading company is setting up a marble processing plant with an investment of 130 million Br.

Located in Bahir Dar, Amhara Regional State, the company started production in mid-June with a capacity of processing 400Sqm of polished marble a day. The company sells the marble for a price that ranges between 953 Br to 1,300 Br a square metre. The marble will be supplied to hotels, commercial buildings, residential houses and other construction projects.

Chweani Import & Export Plc has invested 41 million Br to import 11 marble cutting and polishing machines from Turkey. MKS, a Turkish company which has been manufacturing stone, marble and granite processing, cutting and polishing machinery since 1978, has supplied and installed the company’s machinery with a two-year guarantee.

For the investment, Chweani borrowed 20 million Br from the Development Bank of Ethiopia. Chweani has also partnered with marble suppliers from the area of Mankush, Guba Wereda, Metekel Zone, Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State.

For the production, the company is buying two containers to transport, 60tn, of marble a day, paying 6,500 Br for one cubic metre of marble from suppliers.

Ethiopia is endowed with marble resources in different places around the country including in Benishangul Gumuz, Tigray and Amhara regional states.

Established in 2010, Chweani has been engaged with the export of agriculture commodities such as grains, oilseeds, pulses and spices. It is also engaged in the construction rental business. The company generates five million dollars a year from the export of oilseeds, pulses and species. It currently operates with 37 workers, which the company will increase to 100 with the marble manufacturing plant.

“The main aim of the company is to substitute imports,” said Adugna Alem, general manager, adding that the company plans to export its products after meeting the local demand.

Between 2002 and 2011, on average, the country imported 37,011Sqm of processed marble annually.

In the last fiscal year, the country exported 2,063Sqm of marble from the total national production of 35,137Sqm. About 70pc of the marble is supplied to the local market. In the country, there are three small local producers and eight large companies that secured licenses for the production of marble.

The company received an investment license for the newly-built plant from the Amhara Investment Commission in 2016, joining 416 medium and 110 large industries established with 30 billion Br of investment in Amhara Regional State. These industries have created 25,000 jobs.

The company can play a big role in saving foreign currency through import substitution and stabilising the price of marble, according to Henok Semaw, dean of business & economics at Haramaya University.

But Henok fears that the automated machinery of the company will minimise the job opportunity the company would create, saying that one of the benefits of investment is playing a role in reducing the unemployment rate in the country.

World Peace

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When the question “what is the one thing you would want?” is asked in a beauty pageant almost every contestant responds with “world peace”. World peace, however, is such a broad concept. It is a concept which surpasses one specific meaning. It is a concept that seems a bit impossible to achieve in this day and age.

The irony of the concept comes from the peace that is ignored in an attempt to achieve it. This is, of course, attributed to the sacrifices that should be made for the greater good. War has been a recurrent phenomenon, which is as old as roman history itself. It is a way of acquiring power in order to manifest one’s own agenda. It is an act that shows who the boss is. History shows us that war is caused by an accumulation of little bitter feelings that all of a sudden engulfs an entire continent. The beginning of various conflicts in history allows spectators fragments of escape routes that could have been taken to avoid war.

Of course, war can also be said to be one element of what it is to be human. It is part of the human condition. Human beings, by nature, have a set of rules and regulations that they abide by and that they adhere to. They also have a set of desires and needs that need to be fulfilled to have a satisfying life. These desires and needs, knowingly or unknowingly, are sometimes taken away from a specific group of people or a particular individual that ultimately causes agitation and frustration.

This lack of personal peace due to external factors refusing to be in sync with one’s values causes unhappiness. The resulting dissatisfaction of an individual affects a community, a country, a continent and a planet as a whole. This dissatisfaction surely enough acts as building blocks for aggression and countermeasures to defend against it. That need to protect oneself against the assault of others and the resulting arms race even leads to the amassing of weapons of mass destruction.

Despite its ugly face, war is front-page news in almost every country of the world, and Ethiopia is no exception. The nation has been in and out of wars for political and economic reasons for decades. While some are a symbol of strength and a glimpse of hope for the entire continent, others are a reason for despair and segmentation of the country itself.

The past week has been engulfed with news of an act of violence that has led to the death of five high-ranking officials. That might or might not act as a stepping stone for an age of horror. But it certainly has made for a dark week in the country. Glimpses of darkness are scary facts that could be detrimental to the mental health of individuals that are a part of a country that is going through acts of violence and tragedy.

That is why, when beauty pageant contestants, children and citizens of the globe are asked about what they really want, they respond with “world peace”.

But world peace is not merely a lack of war. It entails more than that. It shows health, wealth and happiness all wrapped in one box for everyone to share. It speaks of never thinking about nuclear programs or conflicts between powerful countries. It means no wartime sexually-abused victims.

World peace, a concept that seems far-fetched and almost always overlooked, is not in the hands of governments and human rights associations. It is something that every individual has power over. That is why one has to be able to fight wars, not with people but with ideas — struggling with the mentality that degrades the environment — wrestling with concepts that attempt to tear down love and harmony — fighting with illiteracy.  And fighting to cultivate a world that is at peace for generations to come.

World peace for every one of us, in the only planet that we have been given, is an aspiration that should move every citizen of the world.