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MasterCard Foundation Fund to Ramp up Pandemic Preparedness

May 31 , 2020

The MasterCard Foundation has committed 1.6 million dollars to buffer the ongoing response activities of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The project, which is expected to benefit 5.7 million people, will commence in June 2020 and run for six months. Under the MasterCard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery & Resilience Programme, the committee will address the screening of more than 1.6 million people with the aid of infrared thermostats and target 3.6 million people through house-to-house screenings. It also aims to avail protective equipment and sanitiser to some 3,800 health workers in targeted hospitals and quarantine centres and install handwashing facilities in 20 key locations. “There is no blueprint for navigating this global pandemic. The actions we take now will shape the post-COVID-19 world,” said Reeta Roy, president and CEO of the Mastercard Foundation. The project requires the deployment of more than 700 ERCS volunteers who will serve in coordination with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute and the Ministry of Health's Risk Communication Community Engagement programme.

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...

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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...

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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...

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