Customs Commission Sets Another Franco Valuta Deadline


Customs Commission Sets Another Franco Valuta Deadline

The Ethiopian Customs Commission has given importers who used the franco valuta system up to December 26 to finalize the import of their goods. This pertains only to importers who purchased the merchandise and registered their import documents to the Commission before November 7. The Ministry of Finance had previously offered a two-week window for merchandise imports made through the scheme to finalise customs procedures. It is to be recalled that the government banned merchandise imports under the Franco Valuta scheme to address foreign exchange imbalances and stabilize Birr. The move was aimed at curbing unregulated imports of non-essential goods. According to the Commission, the value of franco valuta imports reached 1.95 billion Br in the first quarter of the 2023/24 fiscal year.


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Yirgalem Hospital Inaugurates New Oxygen Production Plant

A new oxygen production plant has been inaugurated at Yirgalem Hospital Medical College in Sidama Regional State. The launch was attended by the regional state's chief administrator Desta Ledamo and Health Minister Mekdes Daba (PhD). Desta noted that a new kidney dialysis centre will soon be opened as well. Mekdes stated that the Ministry is working to increase the number of oxygen production facilities from the current 10 to 34 nationwide. The Yirgalem plant cost 86 million Br to build and h...


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Corridor Develops with Parking, Recklessness Concerns, Research Finds

Research involving 400 respondents across four first-round corridor development routes revealed major challenges to the initiative. The study, conducted by Shaka Analytics and ETC Institute in collaboration with the Addis Abeba City Transport Bureau, examined the impact of the program on transportation patterns, transit accessibility, and parking availability. The routes—Arat Kilo to Bole Deldey, Embassy of England to Arat Kilo, Mexico roundabout to Wello Sefer, and Piassa to Arat Kilo—we...


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Digitalisation Spreads to the Court System

Ethio telecom and the Amhara Regional State Supreme Court have agreed to implement a Smart Court project in Bahir Dar to modernize court operations using digital technology. This agreement includes building a modern network infrastructure, implementing cloud services, creating a modular data centre, establishing a network operations control centre, and connecting the region's courts with a secure digital network. The project is designed to facilitate secure digital information exchange betwee...