In the foreground is the shanty mud houses with dilapidated rooftops and deteriorating walls. In the background, visible from all the way from Cherkos, is the headquarters of Wegagen Bank which stands over two dozen storeys high and was inaugurated three years ago in what the City Administration aims will be a financial district.
Month: January 2020
Flowery Hearts
An ornamental statue in the shape of the symbolic representation of the heart is standing on Menelik II Avenue, close to the UN Economic Commission for Africa. Flowers are placed all around it, regularly watered every morning. A similar heart-shaped statue has also been placed near Bole Ring Road by the city.
Timqet Eve
Two girls, in traditional attire, dance at the centre of a group on Timqet (Epiphany) celebration, around Gofa condominium in Addis Abeba. The celebration was held on January 20, while the Tabot, meant to represent the Ark of the Covenant, was taken in a procession to a river on the eve of Timqet. It is this procession that is usually celebrated more colourfully
Red Cross Gets 268m Br in Six Months
The Ethiopia Red Cross Society has gained a total of 268 million Br in the past six months of the current fiscal year.
Out of the total, 135 million Br was secured from rental income, project income, and grants and donations. The remaining comes from regional branches generated from ambulance subsidy, membership fees, and government support, among other sources.
Branches in Tigray, Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, & Peoples’ regional states generated 37 million Br, 35 million Br and 25 million Br, respectively.
In the reported period, the Red Cross managed to give emergency response services to 335,188 people for 47 million Br.
The institution is now on an aggressive campaign to expand its membership base and mobilise more resources from domestic sources to ensure organisational and financial sustainability, according to Meshesha Shewarega (PhD), the secretary-general.
Ministry Collects 127.5b Br in Tax Revenue
The Ministry of Revenues has collected 127.5 billion Br in taxes in the past six months of the current fiscal year.
The figure is 101pc of the Ministry’s target. Comparing the result with the same period last fiscal year, the revenue shows an increment of 28.9 billion Br, according to Adanech Abebe, Ministry of Revenue.
Of the collected revenue in the reported period, 58pc was from domestic taxes, and the remaining 42pc came from customs duties.
During the current fiscal year, the government targets to cover 253 billion Br, or 65pc, of the budget from domestic tax revenues. In the last fiscal year, the Ministry collected 197.2 billion Br in tax revenues.
Pump, Engine Testing Centre Breaks Ground
The National Pump & Engine Testing Centre, which tests and certifies locally produced and imported small-scale irrigation pumps and engines, was launched last week.
Built for 19.1 million Br financed jointly by the Netherlands and Canada, the Centre is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Officially launched by State Minister of Agriculture Kaba Urgessa (PhD), the Centre was handed over to Teshale Belihu, director-general of the Ethiopia Conformity Assessment Enterprise (ECAE).
“Ensuring quality of pumps and engines is crucial to increase agricultural productivity of small-scale irrigation,” Kaba said during the inauguration ceremony.
About 20pc of the imported machines are dysfunctional and carry a huge cost, according to the State Minister.
State Bank Mobilises 31.8b Br in Deposits
The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) mobilised 31.8 billion Br in deposits in the past six months of the current fiscal year.
The Bank has mobilised 24.6 billion Br from the private sector in the reported period, according to Bacha Gina, president of the Bank.
Out of the 37.9 billion Br in loans the bank planned to collect, it was able to collect 30 billion Br. Comparing the achievement with the same period last fiscal year, the performance shows a 38pc increment.
CBE also earned 139.4 million dollars from exports and 1.7 billion dollars from remittances in half a year.
To be reached by all classes of the society, CBE has opened 114 new branches in half a year, out of which 36 are fully interest-free banks.
The Bank also managed to increase its depositors to 23.5 million.
COWASH Project Secures 1.3b Br
The Clean Water & Health Care (COWASH) project, which is being implemented in five regional states, secured 1.3 billion Br in financing.
The governments of Ethiopia and Finland have agreed to cover 700 million and 644 million Br of the finances, respectively.
The financial and technical bilateral relations to provide clean water and health care between Ethiopia and Finland started 25 years ago. And the project is being implemented in 76 weredasacross five regional states.
The current agreement is to provide clean water and health care for residents in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray, Southern Nations, Nationalities, & Peoples’, and Benshangul Gumuz regional states starting from next year.
Eagle Hills Avails Residential Tower for Sale
Eagle Hills launched the first residential tower for sale at its La Gare Eagle Hills development.
The company launched the residential units at an event held at Hyatt Regency Hotel and attended by 1,200 people.
The project was developed by a joint venture between Eagle Hills Ethiopia and Addis Abeba City Government. La Gare One is expected to offer 187 units.
The 360,000Sqm development is expected to create a new dynamic downtown in the capital with over 4,000 residential units, alongside unique lifestyle, hospitality, retail, commercial and leisure offerings.
The 21-floor La Gare One features one to four-bedroom units. The building is expected to be equipped with 24-hour security and resident parking.
2,460,000,000
… total commitment, in dollars, by the World Bank to Ethiopia in the past fiscal year, according to the international financial institution.
“We will establish a conservative party.”
Eskinder Nega, journalist and politician, said about Balderas for Real Democracy, his new political party. Ethiopia’s politics is left-leaning and should be challenged to lean right, according to him.
Ministry Issues Five Exploration Licences
The Ministry of Mines & Petroleum issued five exploration licenses to four companies last week.
Aleta Land Plc, Rose Ethiopia, Agodayo Metals and A-One Marble and Granite are the four companies that have signed an agreement with the Ministry for three years. The companies are expected to explore gold, iron ore and limestone in two regional states.
Of these companies, Aleta Land was issued two licenses.
The agreement was signed between Samuel Urqato (PhD), minister of Mines & Petroleum, and representatives of the four companies in the presence of officials from the mines and petroleum bureaus of the Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples’ (SNNPR) and Amhara regional states.
The exploration in the Southern region will be undertaken by Aleta Land and Rose Ethiopia, and the exploration activities in the Amhara Regional State will be managed by Agodayo Metals and A-One Marble & Granite companies.
The companies have allotted 45 million Br for the exploration, and they are expected to create 57 jobs.
The mining sector used to generate more than 600 million dollars from exports. However, the revenues have declined to 170 million dollars in the last fiscal year
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