MPs Pass Bill with Divided Votes

Mar 16 , 2019


[ssba-buttons]

The bill drafted for a loan agreement to finance the Meqelle Water Supply Development Project was passed for further review with 20 abstentions and against votes. The 230 million dollars of financing that came from the Export-Import Bank (EX-IM Bank) was aimed at financing the construction of a dam on Giba River with a capacity of holding 362 million cubic meters of water. The project also includes the construction of a water treatment plant with a daily treatment capacity of 136,700 cubic metres roads, procurement of electromechanical equipment and other utilities. After a fierce debate, the bill was passed to Finance, Revenues & Budget Affairs Standing Committee for further review. The framework for the interest-free loan agreement was signed in May 2018 in Addis Abeba, while the concessional loan was signed in Beijing the following month between the governments of Ethiopia and China. The loan will be repaid within 20 years and has between seven to 10 years of grace periods.


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...