Pre-Primary School Obtains 3.5m Br for Expansion

Jan 31 , 2021


Dalota Pre-Primary School in Galan town, Oromia Regional State, received a 3.5-million-Br grant from the Embassy of Japan for an expansion project, with the grant signing ceremony held earlier this week. The expansion project entails the construction of one block of four classrooms and another block for toilets at the school. The Galan Town Administration requested assistance from the Embassy to accommodate the growing number preschoolers, and it is hoped that the grant will enable the creation of a better learning environment. The grant comes as part of the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, which has implemented over 400 projects in Ethiopia since it was introduced in 1989.


Radar

Electricity Bills Get the VAT Jolt

The new Value Added Tax (VAT) has begun implementation on electricity consumption and various service fees affecting customers who use more than 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. Based on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, the tax will be applied to the excess amount of electricity consumption above 200 kilowatt hours. The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) began implementing the VAT on bills starting from November though both prepaid and postpaid customers will have to pay V...


Radar

Gadaa Bank Expands Reach, Faces Lending Constraints

Gadaa Bank closed its first full fiscal year of operations with a net profit of 90.2 million Br. The 18-month-old Bank held its annual general assembly at Millenium Hall on Africa Avenue last week where the board announced that during the year, the Bank opened 15 branches and now has 85 operational branches. “Due to recently enacted policy measures on credit by NBE and unmet resource mobilization during the fiscal year, the Bank was unable to make loan disbursements,” stated Wolde...


Radar

Oromia Bank's Branch Expansion Weighs on Profits

Oromia Bank reported a 47pc decline in net profit to take in 840.9 million Br for the past fiscal year. Interest income grew by 21pc to reach 7.19 billion Br while personnel expense grew by 36pc to hit 3.16 billion Br. The opening of 72 new branches, bringing the total to 575, led to a four percent growth of deposits to 56.4 billion Br. The profits are “unsatisfactory against our ambitious moves,” said Assefa Seme (PhD), board chairperson. “The deviation is primarily attributed to our aggr...