1. law, govt and politics
2. legal issues
3. human rights

Vol. XIX No. 948 |1
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Vol. IXI No. 948 | November 08, 2014 | ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
www.thereporterethiopia.com
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PATIENCE WEARING THIN
By Neamin Ashenafi
For the first time since conflicts erupted
in the world’s newest nation, South
Sudan, leaders of the two warring
factions came face-to-face for negations
as patience of a peaceful resolution to
the crisis wears thin.
Leaders of East African countries
under the Intergovernmental Authority
on Development (IGAD) are in Addis
Ababa mediating between South Sudan
President Salva Kirr and his former
deputy-turned rebel leader Riek Machar.
Photo By: Reporter/ Nahom Tesfaye
Opening the meeting attended by all
six IGAD heads of states, chairperson
of the regional bloc and Prime Minister
of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, in
a strongly worded speech said that the
regional peace process is almost “at the
end of the line”.
“While in our Summit today we expect
to make significant headway into
breaking the impasse, it should be
clear that it’s time the issue be given
the full attention it deserves by the AU
and UNSC in order for meaningfully
strong actions to be taken,” the PM said.
From left: President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemeriam Desalegn
Patience... page 35
During a press conference held on
Wednesday at the Ministry of Trade
(MoT), Assefa Mulugeta, director general
of the newly formed Export Promotion
Directorate, said that Ethiopia has
become the major player and price setter
of sesame in the global market. The
fourth producer, next to India, China and
the Sudan, Ethiopia in 2013/14 was able
to export 674 thousand tons of oilseeds,
pulses and spices out of which sesame
alone performed 90 percent of the export
volume, Assefa noted.
which was the major exported item in
the category. The spice exports amassed
USD 19.2 million against the targeted
USD 26 million in the concluded budget
year.
Oilseeds export
outweighs
coffee
Sesame harvest affected
by heavy rainfall
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By Birhanu Fikade
Making Ethiopia the second larger
exporter next to India, oilseeds, spices
and pulses export have generated a
total of USD 919.9 million during the
concluded Ethiopian fiscal. The export
performance of oilseeds has surpassed
coffee where the latter concluded the
budget year amassing USD 718 million,
remaining short of USD 200 or so million
behind the oilseeds performance. Coffee
was unable to meet the targets set for the
ended fiscal year, shying away by over
half while USD 1.5 billion was expected
from its export.
However, the export of spices in the
reported period was below five percent,
following the impact of a ginger disease,
When asked by reporters the impacts
of the heavy rainfall during the rainy
seasons, Haile Berhe, president of
Ethiopian Pulses, Oilseeds and Spices
Producers and Exporters Association
(EPOSPEA)
confirmed
that
the
unprecedented rainfall is expected to
affect the best and premium varieties
sesame, which are grown mostly in the
Oilseeds export... page 35
2| Vol. XIX No. 948
EDITORIAL
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Published weekly by Media &
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Upholding merit-based
appointment
Ethiopia is endeavoring to join the ranks of middle-income countries within the next two decades or so. Towards this end the
Government of Ethiopia has taken the bold step of formulating and executing mega-projects despite the doubts expressed by many
that it was out of its depth.
The country is in the final stretch of the first phase of the five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). This period witnessed
the implementation of ambitious projects, among others, in the energy, telecom, road and railway sectors. The projects have
attracted several overseas companies. This is indeed good news for the country as it very much needs foreign direct investment
to accomplish the goal it has set out to achieve.
Ethiopia’s greatest capital is its people, not the natural or man-made resources it is endowed with. Its citizens, hence, must be
steeped in morality and ethics if it is to extricate itself from the clutches of poverty and become a democratic, prosperous and
peaceful nation.
Ethiopia is home to around eighty nations, nationalities and peoples which have different languages, cultures and creeds and
which have coexisted and continue to live in harmony in spite of their diversity; it’s a symbol of tolerance and respect for one
another. Therefore, it needs to build on and hand down to succeeding generations these positive attributes.
Historically, the people of Ethiopia are known for bravery, patriotism and hospitality. Their proud record of having never been
colonized and compromised their nation’s sovereignty places them on a moral high ground. This is precisely why the intelligentsia,
political elite, the business community, civil society, public officials and servants, etc, have to work towards inculcating ethical
and moral values within the whole society.
The topic we would like to dwell on in this editorial is the perceived disregard for merit in the appointment of government
officials. One can argue that most appointees yearn for power in consideration of its perks and do not have a proper appreciation
of what it involves in terms of the grave responsibilities it entails. Admittedly, the appointer does not bestow someone with power
just because he hankers for it.
The ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has openly admitted in previous years that political
loyalty is a key factor when it appoints someone to a position of power. By and large the vast majority of the officials it appointed
during its 23-year tenure fit this bill. Merit played an insignificant role, if any, in their appointment.
Unarguably installing individuals in office solely because they unquestionably toe the ruling party line is bound to cost both
the public and the nation dear. Since they lack self-confidence on account of the fact that they are well aware that they can be
turfed out any time, they cannot discharge properly the duties entrusted to them. And because they are devoid of the requisite
knowledge and capacity as well, they not become a source of maladministration and injustices, but are also liable to slow down
the rapid growth the country has been registering over the past decade.
The scourge of corruption, which feeds off and is mutually reinforcible with incompetence and bureaucratic red tape, is disrupting
the services the government delivers. As a result, it too is exacting a heavy toll on the national and public interest.
It is imperative that the officials the government appoints to positions of responsibility possess the necessary educational
qualifications, experience and mindset. The ruling EPRDF must in particular abide by this principle given. Otherwise, the
practice of assigning officials on the basis of their political loyalty alone will have unpleasant consequences for the party and the
public at large.
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HEADLINES
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 948 |3
Boeing aircraft turned into UDJ says
gov’t
a restaurant
pressure is
mounting
Nine parties “cooperate” to
organize demonstration
By Neamin Ashenafi
By Birhanu Fikade
Ethiopian Airlines-owned property –
a Boeing 737 aircraft – has been sold
and turned into a hotel and restaurant
business here.
Guttama Gutta, the owner of the new
aircraft hotel, told The Reporterr that he
invested some 30 million birr for the
purchasing, refurbishing and decoration
of the aircraft, which is now located in
the town of Burayu, some 15 km west of
the capital.
Guttama
said
that
he
made
the
Giant stateowned edible
oil factory
privatized
The new aircraft hotel located in Burayu town
investment in the hope of creating a Guttama added that the restaurant will
type of recreational center in Burayu. provide services for weddings, birthdays
The construction and installation of the and meetings.
aircraft, and having it ready for catering
In addition to selling the old aircraft,
services, took two years, Guttama said.
Ethiopian, according to Guttama,
When asked why he wanted to set up has provided decorative items and
an aircraft restaurant in the town, he paintings. The new restaurant will
explained that his intention was to officially be inaugurated today and will
upgrade his previous business and by begin operations next week.
doing so the aircraft business came up.
Ethiopian currently operates more than
The engineless aircraft is said to provide
67 aircraft out of which 20 are B373.
both indoor and outdoor service where
Recently, Ethiopian agreed to purchase
the Boeing 737 aircraft will host 60
an additional 20 B737 MAX from Boeing
individuals at a time for food and drinks.
for its growing operations worldwide.
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The Unity for Democracy and Justice
Party (UDJ) criticized the government
for the harassment of its members and
leaders of the party in various parts of
the country and said that the pressures
from the government are mounting
like never before and it is mainly done
deliberately to weaken the party and
control the political space and the
upcoming national election.
This was expressed in a press conference
given by Asrat Abreham head of public
relations and Zekaryas Yemanebirhan
head of party affairs. The event was held
yesterday at the party’s office located
around the Kebena area.
The two leaders of party stated that
members of the party across the country
are harassed and detained arbitrarily
and they also said that though the ruling
party is doing the same for the past,
the current harassment, imprisonment
and interrogation is mainly aimed at
weakening the party in the coming
national election, which will be
conducted in the coming May 24, 2015.
In this regard the leaders of the party
said that their leaders and members in
Amahra, Tigrai and southern regions
are detained and physically harassed.
Zekaryas said that members of the
party have been beaten by unknown
individuals in front of the head of the
police in the Wolaita zone of Southern
Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’
Regional State and was denied medical
treatment.
By Birhanu Fikade
The largest state-owned edible oil factory
was sold to Ethio-Asian Industries PLC,
a subsidiary of East African Holding SC
for 50 million birr.
Mamo Gomu, Weno Menasa and Altaye
Abota chairperson, head of party affairs
and head of public relations of the party
in the zone respectively has suffered
a serious injury, by the same token
members of the party in the Amhara
Regional State were also detained as of
November 4 and their whereabouts are
still unknown.
A few days ago, the Privatization and
Public Enterprises Supervising Agency
(PPESA) struck a deal to transfer the
factory to the Ethio-Asian Company.
Hamaressa Edible Oil Factory was reestablished as a share company in 1991
with an authorized capital of 81.5 million
birr. Ethio-Asian will take over the
existing employees of the factory along
with other physical assets.
He further said that a member of the
party and resident of Mekele town of
the Tigray Regional State was also
detained on November 5, and that his
whereabouts are also unknown.
Situated in the Harari Regional State,
some 526 km east of the capital, the stateowned enterprise was set to process and
produce edible oil from groundnuts,
cottonseeds and the likes. The study
made by the agency indicated that the
edible oil was set to hit the South Sudan
and Djibouti markets. Hamaressa was
also associated with producing and
supplying oil-cakes and pallet to the
local market.
The leaders of the party finally said
that the pressure from the ruling party
is mounting and calling to the public
for a comprehensive peaceful struggle
to change the situation. In this regard,
the party will organize a demonstration
soon opposing the violation of the
democratic and human rights of its
members and citizens of Ethiopia, the
leaders concluded.
Ethio-Asian Industries, which started
operations in 1994 here is best known
for the production of laundry and toilet
soaps and detergents. The East African
Meanwhile, the newly established
“cooperation” by the nine opposition
political parties revealed that the
cooperation will organize a two-day
Giant state-owned.. page 35
UDJ says... page 35
www.thereporterethiopia.com
4| Vol. XIX No. 948
HEADLINES
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Ethiopian expanding
MRO center
OIC introduces new
service for pastoralists
By Yonas Abiye
Photo By: Reporter/ Nahom Tesfaye
Oromia Insurance Company (OIB) has
introduced a new service using satellite
data to insure pastoralists in Southern
Ethiopia by using Index Based Livestock
Insurance (IBLI).
According to OIC, for the first time, the
insurance company has paid more than
half a million birr to Borana pastoralists
insured by IBLI.
From left: Tewolde Gebremariam and Jean-Paul Ebanga briefing journalists
By Kaleyesus Bekele
Ethiopian Airlines is investing in its
Maintenance Repair and Overhaul
(MRO) center with the view of
accommodating the growing demand of
the airline and do more third-part work.
At a press conference held on Tuesday,
Zemene Nega, vice president for
Ethiopian MRO, said that the airline
is making a substantial amount of
investment in its MRO facilities. “We
are doing third-party work. But we
want to grow our third party business.
As we speak now we are building three
maintenance hangars. The first one will
be completed in three months’ time. The
other two will be completed with-in a
year and a half. We will do more thirdparty business when these hangars are
completed,” Zemene said.
The MRO center is building its engine
and component maintenance capability.
The airline recently built in house
capability of maintaining CFM engines.
CFM engines are produced by CFM
International, a joint venture company
established by General Electric (GE)
and the French Snecma 40 years ago.
According to Zemene, Ethiopian CFM
maintenance shop is approved by CFM
International, the Ethiopian Civil
Ethiopian expanding... page 34
OIC, one of the private insurance
companies in Ethiopia, embarked
upon the IBLI in August 2012 and has
been underwriting this product in ten
pastoral woredas of the Borana Zone,
Oromia Regional State.
According to a statement OIC sent to The
Reporter, in 2014, OIC sold 1,138 policies
covering 2,563 head of livestock and it
gives the insurance cover for cattle,
camel and shoats (sheep and goat) for
ETB 6,000, 10,000 and 800, respectively.
The value or premium that pastoralists
pay various from one ‘woreda’ to the
other depending on the drought severity
history of the woreda. However, one
herder/pastoralist pays ETB 469 for
cattle, ETB 781 for camel and ETB 62
for shoats on average, according to the
company statement.
It was also noted that the IBLI Ethiopia
project has been introduced here based
on the lesson drawn from a highly
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
innovative program, similarly led by
an International Livestock Research
Institute (ILRI) and Cornell University’s
partnership in Northern Kenya that is
currently being scaled up.
The Borana IBLI product was designed
by correlating publicly available
satellite data known as Normalized
Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI),
with field-based research of seasonal
average herd loss.
OIC has been giving the services to the
Borana pastoralists for the last two and
a half years covering five sales windows.
Because of the good forage availability
for the last three years, settlement of
claims has not been there for the last
three years.
However, as drought has been observed
in the last three months at the zone, the
payout has been triggered and OIC is
poised to pay the insured pastoralists
570,000 birr in 10 woredas, OIC said.
ILRI and Cornell University designed
the Index Based Livestock Insurance, a
drought insurance product that enables
pastoralists to transfer drought risk
to the insurance company. IBLI is a
new insurance product that has been
implemented in Kenya for the first time.
Ethiopia is second in implementing
the product in both in Africa and the
world. Index Based Insurance (IBI) is
OIC introduces... page 35
HEADLINES
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 948 |5
Ethiopia, Egypt agree to strengthen PM office
to oversee
cooperation
mapping
agency
By Yohannes Anberbir
Photo By: Reporter/Mesfen Solomon
A new draft law submitted to the
executive branch is considering the
re-establishment of the Ethiopian
Mapping Agency (EMA) by altering
its accountability from the Ministry of
Finance and Economic Development
(MoFED) directly to the Office of the
Prime Minister.
The expanding duty of the agency has
prompted the amendment, a reliable
source, engaged in the drafting process
of the bill, told The Reporter.
From left: Foreign Minister of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry with Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Tedros Adhanom (PhD) at the Sheraton Addis
By Neamin Ashenafi
The Fifth Ethio-Egypt Joint Ministerial
Commission meeting, which opened in
Addis Ababa on November 1, concluded
earlier this week with the signing of
many agreements and a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen
the bilateral relations and cooperation
between the two countries, which have a
long history in various fields.
Development (IGAD) and the African
Union (AU), and by the same token on
the situation in Burkina Faso, both sides
exchanged their views and called for a
peaceful resolution of the situation in
the country to regain its stability.
On the Palestinian issue also, both
countries reaffirmed their position
calling for a just and lasting peace based
on the two-state solution; and the United
Nations (UN) resolution.
The two sides also discussed and
reaffirmed the importance of adopting
a comprehensive vision and approach
to deal with the Ebola epidemic, the
outbreak in Western Africa that has
The agency was originally established
in 1954 as the geography and mapping
institute of Ethiopia. Since then, it has
passed through various organizational
setups until its establishment as an
autonomous agency of the government
of Ethiopia under proclamation No
193/1980. According to the proclamation,
the agency has been responsible for the
compilation, preparation, publication,
administration and distribution of
fundamental geo-information data and
reporting it to MoFED.
Ethiopia, Egypt... page 35
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The meeting was attended by the Foreign
Minister of Ethiopia, Tedros Adhanom
(PhD), and his Egyptian counterpart,
Sameh Shoukry, as well as Ministers
and high-level officials of the two sides.
Ethiopia
to grant
scholarship,
technical aid to
South Sudan
After the meeting was conducted
thoroughly between the two foreign
ministers and other senior officials of
the two countries, the respective officials
of both countries signed agreements and
MoU in areas of education, trade, health,
women’s affairs and diplomatic training.
After signing these various agreements
and MoU the two officials also
affirmed their commitments for the
implementation of the agreements and
others, which were signed previously
and not implemented due to various
reasons.
20 state ministers, senior officials
to receive free education
Both foreign ministers said that the
meeting was conducted candidly and in
a manner of friendship and it will also
play a significant role in the discussion
between the two countries on various
issues in the future.
By Yonas Abiye
Despite the continuing unresolved
internal war in South Sudan, the
Ethiopian government is set to extend
its bilateral relations with the recently
born East African nation with an offer
of free scholarships for senior South
Sudanese officials and technical support
to assist the neighboring country’s
education sector.
The joint communiqué, which was
released after the meeting by both
sides, also stated that apart from the
discussions of the issues of the concerns
of the two countries in areas of trade,
investment and other issues of bilateral
affairs the two parties also discussed a
range of other issues.
On Tuesday a draft law that will
enable Ethiopia to provide support for
South Sudan’s education sector was
tabled before the House of Peoples’
Representatives (HPR).
Among the issues the two foreign
ministers discussed were current
regional political and security issues
including the situation in Somalia,
South Sudan, Libya, Burkina Faso, and
the Palestinian issue. And both sides
agreed that all issues should be resolved
through peaceful means.
The two countries signed a Cooperation
Agreement in April, 2012. In a bid to make
this agreement effective, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs presented the draft
bill for law-makers whereby the House
briefly discussed it and referred it to the
Foreign Relation and Defense Standing
Committee for further revision.
With regard to South Sudan, they
reaffirmed the importance of resolving
the problem between the two parties
in conflict through peaceful means
and appreciated the role of the
Inter Governmental Authority on
According to the draft bill, once the
Ethiopia to grant... page 35
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6| Vol. XIX No. 948
In-depth
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Access to justice
By Mikias Sebsibe
Access to justice is regarded as the most
fundamental human rights as it also
serves as an instrument to ensure the
respect and guarantee of other legal
rights. Italian jurist Mauro Cappelletti in
his book titled ‘Access to Justice’ wrote
“Effective access to justice can be seen
as the most basic requirement, the most
basic human right, of a system which
purports to guarantee legal rights.” The
concept also includes features such as
accessibility, affordability, satisfaction
and trust in the formal and informal
institutions of the justice system.
Ethiopia’s constitutional and legal
frameworks recognize the right of access
to justice. The FDRE Constitution, under
Article 37, declares that “everyone has
the right to bring a justiciable matter to,
and to obtain a decision or judgment by,
a court of law or any other competent
body with judicial power.”
The various stakeholders in the justice
system agree that ensuring this essential
right remains a challenge in Ethiopia.
Where they differ is in their assessment
of the underlying barrier to the right of
access to justice in the country.
That is exactly what was witnessed
during a discussion held at Churchill
Hotel on October 22 organized by the
Ethiopian Lawyers Association (ELA).
The panel drew stakeholders from
private practitioners, academia and
representatives from the Ministry of
Justice and regional justice bureaus.
While participants in the business of
legal advocacy point their fingers on
the laws enacted and their enforcement,
government officials raise issues of
capacity and inadequacy of the legal aid
services.
“The biggest problem in our country
is failure to discharge collective
responsibility to ensure access to
justice,” Filipos Aynalem, a lawyer and
legal researcher, said while presenting
his paper on the practical challenges of
access to justice in Ethiopia. For Filipos,
the issue the right of access to justice
begins from the laws themselves. That is
why his presentation, to the most part,
focused on the laws, cassation bench
decisions and procedures that he said
hinder the right of access to justice.
As a showcase, Filipos cited the legal
procedure put in place to resolve tax
related disputes. According to the
country’s tax law, tax assessment made
by the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs
Authority (ERCA) can be appealed
before the Tax Appeal Commission.
However, taxpayers can only appeal the
decision after depositing fifty percent of
the disputed amount of tax levied by the
authority.
“This is, for instance, the sort of legal
provision that hamper the right of access
to justice,” Filipos argued. “Even if one
has a strong ground to appeal to the
decision, the taxpayer is legally barred
from doing so unless they deposit the
required sum.” Here, Filipos argues that
the requirement to deposit the sum can
be taken as an effective limitation to the
right of the taxpayer to access to justice.
The legal barrier is not limited to tax
laws, Filipos argued citing similar
administrative and legal provisions
scattered around various legislations
such as foreclosures, land lease,
government housing and business
licensing
g and registration.
g
However, other stakeholders say that
the underlying hindrance to the right of
access to justice lies elsewhere.
For Adem Kasse (LLD), a senior
at
the
Institute
of
researcher
International Peace and Rule of Law
of the Max Planck Foundation at the
University of Heidlberg (Germany), the
issue of administrative justice is one
factor usually overlooked when it comes
to issues of access to justice.
“Administrative bodies pass directives
and make decisions that affect millions of
people everyday. Most of these directives
do not appear to be supported by a
guiding principle. There is no system
that governs every administrative
entity,” Adem told The Reporter.
Inadequate legal aid
In his presentation during the panel,
Fekadu Demissie, Advocate License
Administration Directorate Director at
the Ministry of Justice, criticized the
performance of lawyers in the discharge
of their “moral and legal duty” to provide
free legal aid services.
According to Federal Court Advocates’
code of conduct Regulation No 57/99,
Article 49, any advocate is required
to provide at least 50 hours of legal
services in a year, free of charge or upon
minimum payment.
“Advocates are failing in the discharge
of their legal duties to assist in the
promotion of the right of access to
justice,” Fekadu said.
According to data from the directorate,
out of the 2300 legal advocates licensed
to operate in federal courts, 668 provided
free legal aid services during the 2013/14
budget year, representing only 29
www.thereporterethiopia.com
percent.
“Most are reluctant to discharge their
legal duties and provide all sorts of
excuses when approached,” Fekadu said.
Nonetheless, the free legal aid service
provided by federal advocates has been
showing slight increase over the past few
years. For instance, the 2013/14 figure
eclipsed the preceding year by 183 free
legal aid services provided by advocates.
Apart from free legal aid services
provided by individual advocates,
various professional associations in
the field of law, NGOs and universities
provide the same service.
The Ethiopian Lawyers Association
(ELA) is one association which has been
providing free legal aid services to those
who cannot afford to pay for the service.
The association operates from a single
office restricted to the confines of the
Lideta compound where the federal first
instance and high courts are located.
“We are aware that this is very
insufficient. A lot of people come to
our office hoping to get the service,”
Gebreselassie,
Wondimagegnew
president of ELA, said. The president
said ELA will open six more offices
utilizing the financial support from the
European Union Civil Society Fund,
which was approved by the government.
However,
observers
say
without
coordination among the various legal
aid services scattered across the
country, effective delivery of the right of
access to justice will continue to remain
a challenge.
The National Human Rights Action Plan,
Access to... page 36
HEADLINES
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 948 |7
ASCOM Mining Trade union confederation takes charge
in negotiations of Sheraton labor dispute
to secure
mining license
By Kaleyesus Bekele
A multinational mining company
engaged in gold exploration projects in
western part of Ethiopia, Ascom Mining
Ethiopia PLC, is holding talks with the
Ethiopian Ministry of Mines to secure a
large-scale gold mining license.
Ascom Mining has been prospecting for
gold in the Benishnagul Gumuz Regional
State, Assosa Zone, Sherkole Wereda,
Shungu and Nazali localities since 2009.
The company has discovered a large
amount of primary gold in the license
area which covers 268.17 sq.km of land.
The gold deposit is found in a mountain
commonly called Dish mountain.
Last March, experts of Ascom made a
presentation to officials of the Ethiopian
Ministry of Mines about the gold
discovery. Reliable sources told The
Reporterr that officials of the ministry
were happy with the presentation.
Sources said the company conducted
feasibility study.
A senior official at the Ministry of Mines
told The Reporterr that executives of
Ascom and the ministry are holding
talks on the gold mining license. The
official said the ministry will grant
ASCOM Mining ... page 36
Poly GCL
inaugurates
Addis Ababa
By Kaleyesus Bekele
The Chinese company that acquired
the Calub and Hilala gas fields in
eastern Ethiopia, POLY GCL Petroleum
Investment Limited, is scheduled to
inaugurate a new country office it
opened in Addis Ababa today.
The company opened its new office
near Bole Medhanialem Church on
Medhayialem Mall. Senior executives
of the company, representatives of the
Chinese Embassy and officials of the
Ministry of Mines are expected to attend
the inaugural ceremony.
On November 16, 2013, the Ethiopian
Ministry of Mines and POLY GCL
Petroleum Investment Limited signed
petroleum exploration and development
agreements in Addis Ababa.
The agreement enables Poly GCL to
develop the Calub and Hilala gas fields
found in the Ogaden basin in Eastern
Ethiopia. The agreement also allows Poly
GCL to prospect for oil and gas in Blocks
3&4, 11&15, 12&16, 17&20 exploration
blocks in the Ogaden basin.
Pictured above are former employees of Sheraton whose case has been taken over by CETU
By Yonas Abiye
The Confederation of Ethiopian Trade
Unions (CETU), an alliance of trade
unions in Ethiopia, has taken over the
case of disgruntled former employees of
Sheraton Addis, the Luxury Collection
hotel located off Taitu Street.
The management of the hotel terminated
the employment contract of 65 of its
workers on July 30 this year alleging
deterioration of relations between the
management and the employees and that
the measure is “intended to safeguard
the general safety of the industry.”
The dispute was referred to CETU by the
Tourism, Hotels and General Services
Labor Union Industrial Federation,
which has been handling the case since
the dispute started over three months
ago.
CETU will hope to resolve the labor
dispute through negotiation or legal
recourse. “However, the management
of Sheraton Addis has locked its doors
despite repeated attempts to engage in
negotiations,” Asfaw told The Reporter.
“The executive members of the union
have unanimously decided to take
over the labor dispute,” Asfaw Abebe,
president of the Tourism, Hotels and
General Services Labor Union Industrial
Federation which represents 240 trade
unions, told The Reporter. “This is no
longer the concern of a particular trade
union but rather a labor issue of national
significance.”
Dawit Samuel, Chairman of Sheraton
Addis Trade Union, is among the
employees who was fired by the hotel
management. He hopes the labor dispute
will get a resolution by CETU.
United, Dashen obtain agent The Difret
saga
banking licenses
By Dawit Taye
United and Dashen banks, two of the
local share companies operating in the
banking sector, are set to start agent
banking services having obtained the
licenses from the National Bank of
Ethiopia (NBE) last week.
Taye Dibekulu, president of United
Bank, disclosed on the Thursday that
United and have become one of the first
private banks to obtain agent banking
licenses, together with Dahsen, and is all
set to launch agent banking services in
Ethiopia.
Agent baking system, according to the
directive issued by NBE, is a system
that allows banks to give agency to
non-banking institutions to conduct
its formal banking businesses with
exception of giving loans. Agent banking
mostly facilitates transaction and
payments for customers of the banking
since representing institutions would
be able to offer payment and settlement
service as big as 25,000 birr. Agency
banking would help banks reach their
customers with out having to invest
on branch offices with the exception of
approving and disbursing loans. The
directive states that any institutions
that is legally registered to execute trade
activities would be eligible to receive
United, Dashen ... page 36
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continues
By Tibebeselassie Tigabu
The
Ethiopian
Women
Lawyers
Association (EWLA) has become the
latest party to further fuel the controversy
surrounding Difret film, which has been
taken down from cinemas in the country
following copyright claims.
The film, which is based on the true
story of Aberash Bekele, tells the story
of the young girl who was accused of
killing a 29 year old man that raped, beat
and abducted her for marriage.
Zenaye Tadesse, managing director
of EWLA, has accused the film, which
received the Sundance Audience Award,
of failing to portray the proper image of
the association whose member provided
legal representation for Aberash.
According to Li Wei, general manager
of Poly GCL, since signing the PSA,
Poly GCL organized a competent project
team and set up a management system
in accordance with international
petroleum industry practice. “We have
submitted the 2014 work program and
Poly GCL ... page 36
“But if the union fails to resolve the
issue, we will file our complaints to the
Office of the Prime Minister,” Dawit told
The Reporter.
“In the film the name Ethiopian
Women Lawyers Association was never
mentioned and was rather replaced by
Andinet Women Lawyers Association,”
Zenaye told The Reporter.
“Free grant... page 36
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Difret ... page 36
8| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
Vol. XIX No. 948 |9
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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10| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
COMMENTARY
R
ussia is openly breaking those
rules and no longer bothering to
justify itself under international
law. Instead, it boasts of reclaiming
territories once ruled by the Kremlin and
threatens to use force to “protect” ethnic
Russians from purported threats.
Governing a world out of order
By Anne-Marie Slaughter
Can we develop an international order
that will keep the peace and allow
countries to play by agreed rules? That
is the question that Henry Kissinger
poses in his new book World Order.
Unfortunately, it is the wrong question.
defines
“world
order”
Kissinger
as a concept of just international
arrangements that is “thought to be
applicable to the entire world.” Before
the advent of the European Union, for
example, Europe conceived of world
order as a balance of great powers, in
which multiple religions and forms of
government could coexist.
As a civilization and a religion, Islam
envisions the optimal world order very
differently – as a caliphate, in which
faith and government are united and
peace prevails throughout the Dar
al-Islam, or house of Islam. That is
certainly not the belief of all Muslims or
of the governments of Muslim-majority
states, but the radicalism espoused by
groups like the Islamic State seeks to
spread not just codes of conduct but an
entire worldview.
In
Kissinger’s
view,
contending
conceptions of world order are emerging
not only in the Middle East, but also in
Asia. China is currently playing by the
international rules but is increasingly
signaling that it expects to be treated
as first among equals in the region (as
the US has long insisted with respect
to its position in the Americas). But, as
China grows stronger and reclaims what
it believes to be its historic position in
Asia and the world, how long will it wait
to insist on reshaping the international
rules?
Russia is openly breaking those rules
and no longer bothering to justify itself
under international law. Instead, it
boasts of reclaiming territories once
ruled by the Kremlin and threatens to
use force to “protect” ethnic Russians
from purported threats.
When Russia annexed Crimea last
March, Kadri Liik of the European
Council on Foreign Relations pointed
out the marked difference in the way it
handled its invasion of Georgia in 2008.
The Russian government essentially
provoked
Georgia
into
attacking
first and then crafted an elaborate
justification aimed at rendering its
actions compatible with international
law. But this time, Kadri wrote, “Moscow
has challenged the whole post-Cold War
European order, together with its system
of rules.”
Kissinger’s hope is that these countries
and rising powers like India and
presumably Brazil (he leaves Latin
America out of his account of world
orders) will be able to forge agreement
on a set of rules that all will regard
as legitimate, thereby maintaining a
stable global balance of power. The
Westphalian principle of multiplicity
will be critical, he believes, as it will be
necessary to allow different countries
and civilizations to operate on very
different domestic principles.
Governing... page 28
VIEWPOINT
By Sam Akaki
Another western NGO stabs Ethiopia in the
heart because of dam project
We congratulate a number of western
NGOs for their devotion to support
humanitarian and development work
in Africa and Ethiopia in particular,
providing basic education, healthcare
and clean water. These initiatives are
making a real difference to millions of
people, especially those living in the
rural areas. Sadly, there is a growing
list of western NGOs that appear to be
dedicated to the destruction of Ethiopia
as a nation. Consider the following:
Last week, the London-based Amnesty
International released a sensational
report titled “Because I am Oromo’, which
claims that Ethiopian security forces
are “ruthlessly” targeting, arresting,
torturing and raping members of the
Oromo ethnic group simply because of
their perceived opposition to the ruling
Peoples’
Revolutionary
Ethiopian
Democratic Front (EPRDF). As intended
by its authors, the report has gone viral,
being quoted as a Gospel-truth in the
print, broadcast and electronic media in
London and across the globe.
Earlier, in August 2012, when the former
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died, the
International Crisis Group’ released
a report titled ‘Ethiopia After Meles’,
which said “the passing of the man
who has been Ethiopia’s epicenter for
21 years will have profound national
and regional consequences. Meles
engineered one-party rule in effect for the
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)
and his Tigrayan inner circle, with the
complicity of other ethnic elites that
were co-opted into the ruling alliance,
the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary
Democratic Front (EPRDF).”
The report continued, “without Meles,
the weakened Tigrayan elite, confronted
with the nation’s ethnic and religious
cleavages, will be forced to rely on greater
repression if it is to maintain power and
control over other ethnic elites. Ethnoreligious divisions and social unrest are
likely to present genuine threats to the
state’s long-term stability and cohesion.
The international community (read the
www.thereporterethiopia.com
US, France and Britain) should seek to
influence the transition actively because
it has a major interest in the country’s
stability.”
One year before that, on the 5th of August
2011, the BBC News-night program had
broadcast a documentary program
called ‘Ethiopia using aid as weapon of
oppression’, which claimed that a “joint
undercover investigation by BBC Newsnight and the Bureau of Investigative
Journalism has uncovered evidence
that the Ethiopian government is using
billions of dollars of development aid as
Another western... page 28
Vol. XIX No. 948 |11
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Advertisment
$
$%&
Title: Contractor/Company to Refurbishment of one Prison
Facility
Objective
Organizational Section/Unit: To establish one emergency delivery room, one treatment ward for inmates
!"##
$ with mental health problem, One treatment ward, one TB treatment and
Isolation room and one drug store, and to strengthen the quality and
(POETH)
accessibility of Health services provided to female prisoners and children
Proposed period: 1 month
through the refurbishment and rehabilitation of existing health facility.
Actual work time: 1 December 2014 – 31December 2014
1. Background
Most prisons in sub Saharan Africa are characterized by overcrowding
and congestion with limited health services provided. The health services
provided in prisons settings are generally substandard and under-funded,
characterized by shortage of staff and of essential medications. Often
health care in prison settings functions in complete isolation from the
general health care system, hampering the quality (and equity) of health
care and continuum of care following release. Effective, evidence based
and coordinated response in the prison settings is lagging behind in
commitments, inter-sectoral coordination and action.
With regard to HIV and AIDS in the Sub-Saharan African Region,
Prisons are at high risk environments. They are characterized by: high
rates of imprisonment leading to severe overcrowding and dismal prison
conditions, presence of high risk and vulnerable populations including
women and children, prevalence of high risk behaviors for transmission of
HIV, high prevalence rates of HIV infection and other related infections (TB,
Hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections), increased staff vulnerability to
HIV, poor or inadequate and inaccessible health services in general and
%
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*'
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Under the Joint supervision of the Federal Prison Administration and
UNODC, the contractor will perform the following duties and responsibilities:
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quality and quantity, agree on time line to accomplish refurbishment;
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Headquarter; update the progress in the joint forum between UNODC
and Federal prison Administration; report to UNODC and the Federal
Prison Administration.
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Expected Results:
One Health Facility in Kality refurbished and rehabilitated and therefore
able to provide basic health services to female inmates;
A recent study by UNODC and the Federal Prison Administration in prisons
in Ethiopia revealed that the prevalence of HIV among inmates are far
greater than those the HIV prevalence in the country. The existence of
multiple risk factors could explain the markedly higher HIV and possibly TB
incidence and prevalence in prison populations. Analyzing Health service
delivery in prisons in Ethiopia also indicated that prisons are under served
with regard to access to basic health services. Limited facilities to provision
of comprehensive health services such as absence of examination and
treatment rooms to mentally ill inmates, lack of isolation rooms for TB
patients, and absence of delivery room; Lack of trained personnel on
$
$* +$'
% $7 ''
97 % %
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and inadequate budget and resources are among the responsible factors
to substandard health service delivery in prisons in Ethiopia.
Refurbishment of the clinic for female prisoners in Kality: Extension on
existing clinic for TB isolated room (4mx5m), Emergency Delivery Room
(4mx 4m), ward for Mental illness (4mx4m) and medical ward (4mx4m)
and drug store (3mx4m). Each of these rooms will have its own bath/toilet
rooms and electrical installation.
UNODC through its regional programme is supporting the prison Authority
in Ethiopia to strengthen national HIV and AIDS service delivery initiatives
through refurbishment of physical and technical infrastructure of health
$
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prisoners.
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The purpose of the refurbishment of the Health facility for Female prisoners
in Kaliti is to create conducive physical condition of the health facility for
improved health service delivery targeting women prisoners and children
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improve physical infrastructure of Female prisoners’ clinic with particular
emphasis on refurbishment for emergency delivery, and for mental health
and TB treatment wards and isolation rooms. Each refurbished facilities
will have its own bath/toilet rooms and electric installation.
The Health facility at the Female prisoners in Kaliti was selected by a team
of experts and the selection decision was made by the FPA management
due to the situation of the existing health facility where few small rooms
designated to service female inmates.
The contractor will be designated to accomplish tasks within the scope
indicated below:
4. Duration
The contractor for this job is expected to refurbish the health facility within
one month, starting in 1 December 2014.
The Contractor/company shall be licensed with construction and/or
renovation of physical infrastructure such as housing, environmental
Z
$*='%'*
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Similar experiences on construction, housing, refurbishment/renovation,
hygiene and sanitation, environmental Health.
Interested companies which meet the above requirements shall contact
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for site inspection: E mail: seblewongel.melaku@unodc.org; Telephone:
+251115443831.
Contractors shall submit refurbishment plan and itemized budget within
10 days of this announcement:
6. Languages:
Excellent oral and written communication in both Amharic and English
www.thereporterethiopia.com
12| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Advertisment
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Vol. XIX No. 948 |13
Opinion
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Buoyed by recent progress, Ethiopia can
accelerate family planning access
By Dr Babatunde Osotimehin and Dr Chris
Elias
For the past two years,the global
community has been reaffirming its
commitment towards an ambitious and
important goal: to ensure that, by 2020,
120 million more women and girls in
the world’s poorest countries are able
to decide – freely and for themselves
– whether and when to have children.
Government
leaders,
including
in Ethiopia, have made historic
commitments to expand the availability
of family planning information and
services.
This week, Family Planning 2020
(FP2020) released its second progress
report, which confirms, definitively,
that our renewed collective efforts are
heralding results. Family planning and
contraception are reaching more women
and girls around the world, and saving
and improving more lives. In2013, 8.4
million additional women and girls
were using modern contraceptives. In
Ethiopia alone, there were nearly 711,000
new users – and family planning helped
avert more than 1.5 million unintended
pregnancies and more than 5,000
maternal deaths.
The Ethiopian government, along
with counterparts in several other
prioritized
family
countries,has
planning based on its conviction that
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this is one of the best investments a
country can make in its future. Access
to contraceptives to delay pregnancies
and space births helps ensure the health
of women, newborns and children.
Family planning also enables more girls
to stay in school and more women to
join and remain in the workforce. This
has tremendous social and economic
benefits for families, communities and
nations.
Yet, despite progress, many women who
want to plan their families still lack the
means to do so, even though it is their
human right. Too often, women face
huge barriers in accessing contraceptive
information and services, particularly
in poor and remote areas. Local clinics
often run out of supplies, limiting
women’s contraceptive options. Health
workers may not be fully trained in
providing services. Cultural attitudes or
lack of knowledge may keep women and
girls from asking questions or seeking
care.
From the national to the community
level, Ethiopia and other countries
must take a hard look at the barriers
impeding access to family planning,
and develop creative solutions. For
example, it is critical to reach women
and girls where they live. To this end,
Ethiopia and other countries have
succeeded in changing guidelines, so
community health workers can provide
more contraceptive options. This change
means more women and girls can have
a choice of family planning methods,
without having to travel long distances
to health centers.
Additionally, to be empowered to plan
their families, women and girls – and
young people in general – must have
the support of their peers and elders.
It is important to engage religious and
community leaders, husbands, fathers
and brothers in discussions around
family planning and encourage them to
become powerful champions for women’s
and girls’ health and well-being. Young
people, in particular,need safe spaces in
which to discuss family planning and
access contraceptive services.
Political commitment at all levels is
also needed to continue driving access
to family planning – and accountability
is essential. In Ethiopia, national and
state governments have committed to
this issue. It’s critical that additional
resources are allocated to further drive
this progress and continue to improve
the quality of family planning services.
Finally, due to newly established
measurement systems, we now have
more reliable data annually to track
progress against Ethiopia’s family
planning goals. These data can and
should be used by policymakers and key
stakeholders to help match resources to
needs, and to develop stronger policies
www.thereporterethiopia.com
and more impactful family planning
programs.
We have some very important reasons
to be optimistic that we can and will
achieve our goal of making voluntary
family planning accessible to women
and girls everywhere. Millions more
women and girls already have access to
family planning and contraception since
these pledges were made. There is also
unprecedented global momentum and
attention around family planning.
Now is the time for global leaders,
including in Ethiopia, to redouble their
commitments and accelerate progress.
We have never been in a better position
to give women and girls the ability to
plan their lives and shape their futures
– provided that efforts are sustained
and resources mobilized to make that
happen.
Ed.’s Note: Dr Babatunde Osotimehin,
United Nations Under-Secretary-General
and Executive Director of UNFPA, the
United Nations Population Fund, and
Dr Chris Elias, President of Global
Development Programs at the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, are the CoChairs of the FP2020 Reference Group.
The article was provided to The Reporter
by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The views expressed in this article do
not necessarily reflect the views of The
Reporter.
14| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
COMMENTARY +
M
any central bankers portray former
US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan (who served from August 1987
until January 2006) as the culprit, saying
that he projected an image of central-bank omnipotence
that is not warranted in theory or practice. But this
critique is overblown: Greenspan is long gone, but the
focus on central-bank pronouncements is greater than
ever.
Celebrity central bankers
By Kenneth Rogoff
Why do the comments of major
economies’ central bankers command
outsize attention nowadays? It is not as
if they change interest rates all of the
time. Nor have they developed new,
more robust models for analyzing the
economy. On the contrary, major central
banks’ growth and inflation forecasts in
the years since the financial crisis have
consistently overestimated both growth
and inflation – and by wide margins.
There are many good reasons for
the attention lavished on monetary
policymakers, including the rise of
independence,
public
central-bank
acceptance of the need to appoint highly
competent technocrats to oversee the
money supply, and the deepening of
financial markets. And many central
bankers have been rightly lauded
for their role in preventing a global
meltdown during the financial crisis.
the
numerous
Even
so,
given
uncertainties
surrounding
macroeconomic forecasts and the
effects of policy instruments (not least
quantitative easing), many academics
find it puzzling that central bankers’
speeches and statements generate so
much fanfare. And for all of their heroics
during the financial crisis, many central
bankers have been far too inflexible in
the aftermath, worrying too much about
overshooting inflation targets, and
too little about deflationary dynamics.
Moreover, central bankers bear a share
of the blame for the crisis in the first
place, mainly owing to lax regulatory
policy.
Many central bankers portray former
US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan (who served from August
1987 until January 2006) as the culprit,
saying that he projected an image of
central-bank omnipotence that is not
warranted in theory or practice. But
this critique is overblown: Greenspan is
long gone, but the focus on central-bank
pronouncements is greater than ever.
What, then, is going on? I would argue
that, in addition to all of the factors listed
above, three further considerations
should be noted. For starters, the public
perception that central bankers are
omniscient makes them an attractive
whipping boy for politicians. Moreover,
the digital revolution in media has
elevated the role of business news, one
of the few profit centers for print and
broadcast journalism in many countries.
Central bankers’ pronouncements are of
interest to businesspeople – especially in
the financial sector – and businesspeople
are of interest to advertisers.
Finally, and perhaps least appreciated,
is the fact that central-bank policy
pronouncements are almost unique in
having clear and predictable effects on
financial markets, at least in the very
short run (which can be a day or less). If
Fed officials surprise markets by making
more “hawkish” statements (suggesting
an upward bias to policy interest rates)
than investors were expecting, the dollar
will usually appreciate; long-term dollar
interest rates will usually rise; and the
stock market typically will decline.
True, these effects may be small and
transitory. But, unlike most of the
Celebrity... page 28
VIEWPOINT +
By Ali Sheikh
The Ogaden region of Ethiopia: the source
of Somali oral literature
In Somalia, for centuries, poets
and thinkers were regarded as the
“significant-ones”. The perception of
oral literature in Somali society stands
in two considerable viewpoints. First,
it is a centerpiece archive where past
histories of both successes and failures
are kept. Memories such as clan
victories and defeats are recorded in the
traditional oral literature. Secondly, it
was the only means where information
was communicated and decrees were
made. It was mainly done in the form
of poems, proverbs, songs, lyrics and
prose. The clan that produces the
best poets, dancers and singers were
regarded as the “elites” and earn high
esteem from the other Somali clans. The
oral traditional literatures could appear
either in prose or doggerel. The prose
is often legendary or historical and can
include tales of the swindler, the hero,
the coward or the fool. The famous poets
and storytellers of the Somali society do
use “call-and-respond” techniques to tell
their messages and stories.
However, the Ogaden Region (read
Somali Regional State now) since time
immemorial led the creative theater
of Somalis of the Horn of Africa. The
forefathers of the Ogaden region engaged
and spent their times and energy in
creative engagements that have left an
astounding record in both theold days
and in contemporary Somali literature.
The Ogaden region, apart from Islamic
faith practices that were in every nook
and cranny, played a significant role
in modeling culture and behavioral
www.thereporterethiopia.com
practices at times where there was no
formal schooling and public education.
Major forms of oral literature such as
poems, songs, storytelling, proverbial
myth, fable, fairytale, historical fiction
and folklore were all part of the culture.
All of these forms have contributed to
the informal education of the Somali
society for years and have served as the
only media to pass messages and alerts
The Ogaden region... page 24
Vol. XIX No. 948 |15
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Advertisment
)*&+
)*!
Tender No. 2014-02
Request for Proposal (RFP)
ETHIOPIA
1. The East Cement Share Company is a cement manufacturing
factory; we produces cement PPC32.5 and OPC42.5. Our
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2. A complete set of bidding documents in English language may
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(Company Name, Contactor, Telephone number)
3. East Cement Share Company reserves all rights to accept
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and Programming UNDP Entrepreneurship
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Firms and/or Institutions with proven track record of relevant experience to provide
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P.O. Box 5580
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0
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Or
Att our secured
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download the detailed RFP Standard Bid Documents and ToR (both word and pdf
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Your proposal must be expressed in English and shall be valid for a minimum
period of 120 days.
days
ays.. It shall remain your responsibility to ensure that your proposal
reaches the address above on or before the deadline. Proposals that are received
by UNDP after the deadline shall not be considered for evaluation. For any
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* prospect bidders may send your request to: info.procurementet@
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
16| Vol. XIX No. 948
Opinoin +
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Redefining business competence
By William Boulding
One of the most interesting parts of my
job as a business school dean is engaging
in candid conversations with leaders
across industries. A few years ago, I
started hearing a troubling refrain:
business leaders are feeling the type
of public disdain once reserved for
politicians.
The problem is one of trust – or lack
thereof. The 2014 Edelman Trust
Barometer reveals that less than onefifth of the global public believes that
business and government officials will
tell the truth when confronted with a
difficult issue.
That public sentiment is affecting
business worldwide. The Duke University
CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook
Survey found that nearly 60 percent of
chief financial officers in the United
States believe that a lack of public trust
has harmed the business environment.
Those percentages are even higher in
other parts of the world.
Given the constant stream of security
and data breaches and allegations of
financial manipulation involving some
of the world’s most respected banks, who
can blame the public for feeling this way?
Now, more than ever, we need leaders
who can regain the public’s trust. To do
that, we must redefine what it means to
be a competent business leader.
Traditionally, society has measured
business competence by a person’s
intellectual ability to examine problems
broadly and deeply. But, in order to
seize global opportunities today, we
need to emphasize a new dimension: the
ability to create a shared set of values
and foster a culture that embraces those
beliefs. Doing so requires taking three,
sometimes uncomfortable, steps.
First, business leaders must overcome
their fear of learning from others.
That sounds simple, but how many
executives can admit that they don’t
know everything or that they aren’t
the smartest person in the room? Many
business leaders talk a good game about
diversity, but surround themselves with
people who are just like them. Working
closely with others who think differently
can be scary and frustrating. But the best
leaders have the courage to encourage
authenticity in both themselves and
others.
Second, embrace the ambition of
others. The downfall of many business
leaders in recent years has been greed
and selfish ambition. Great leaders are
other-directed instead of self-focused.
They adopt a “your success is my
success” mentality. This attitude goes a
long way toward developing trust among
team members and helps foster strong
commitment to a common vision. It also
requires leaders to trust others that they
will not abuse the faith placed in them.
Finally, business leaders must value
collaboration – and mean it. Leaders who
overcome fear and frustration, embrace
the ambition of others, and possess a
strong character and sense of purpose
are likely to build diverse teams whose
members share an identity and common
goals but still represent themselves
authentically. Research has shown that
such teams outperform others, which
means that this approach can lead to a
tremendous competitive advantage. In
short, collaboration not only matters; it
wins.
Imagine the immense potential we
would have to solve some of the world’s
toughest challenges if business leaders
adopted this strategy. Consider the
global threat posed by Ebola. Efforts are
underway to research, manufacture, and
distribute experimental drugs that could
treat the disease. But until now drug
companies had largely ignored Ebola,
because there appeared to be little profit
in developing a drug for populations that
could not afford to pay for it.
The New York Times reported last
month that United States officials are
planning to scale up the production of
one experimental drug, but it is still not
likely to meet demand. If some of the
brightest minds in business and health
care had found a way to encourage the
production of an Ebola drug before the
outbreak, thousands of lives might have
been saved.
The type of leadership that I am
advocating poses no threat to a
company’s bottom line. On the contrary,
it is the starting point for scaling a
business to its full potential. As former
Proctor & Gamble CEO and current
US Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob
McDonald is fond of saying, leaders have
a responsibility to make sure that their
organization can “do well and do good.”
Business can be the common thread that
weaves positive change throughout the
world. In order to reach that goal, we
need business leaders with the vision,
skills, and commitment to make a profit
and a difference. A new standard for
business competence that incorporates
more than the bottom line will go a long
way toward winning back the public’s
trust.
Ed.’s Note: William Boulding is Dean
of Duke University’s Fuqua School of
Business and a member of the World
Economic Forum’s Global Agenda
Council on Values 2014-2016. The article
was provided to The Reporter by Project
Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source
of original op-ed commentaries. Project
Syndicate provides incisive perspectives
on our changing world by those who are
shaping its politics, economics, science,
and culture. The views expressed in this
article do not necessarily reflect the views
of The Reporter.
Society
“My children abroad”
By Mette Sommer
In the Bole area, not far from Edna Mall,
live Aster Dergu and her family. They
are like any other busy Ethiopian family.
They work hard during the day and
enjoy themselves with a cup of coffee by
gathered around television during the
evening. But in one aspect they are very
different from other families; the family
have since November 2007, opened their
house to foreigners, working in Ethiopia
as volunteers for an organization called
Projects Abroad. Her family is therefore
one of the first host families in the
Ethiopian part of the organization,
which opened its office in Addis Ababa
seven years ago.
“It all started when the founder of
Projects Abroad set up an office in
Ethiopia,” Aster says. “They needed
host families for their volunteers and
therefore contacted schools. One of the
schools was the one where I was teaching
and was a counselor. They brought their
idea and documents to the school and I
was told to announce it to the students.
You know, I was asking them if they were
interested in having foreigners in their
houses and sharing their experiences.
But they also told me about their projects
and what they were working on. Then
I thought why I didn’t do it myself? I
became very interested in the program
and the volunteering service. What is
more, I wanted to promote Ethiopia, and
hosting volunteers would also be good
for us. Most of them are working at the
orphanages and schools and I saw an
opportunity to help Ethiopia as well.’’
A part of the family
The project has since then become a
huge part of the family’s life and Aster
says that they so far have hosted about
400 volunteers from all over the world.
All of them have imparted her some
experiences and values, which she uses
every day. “I have hosted volunteers
from the US, Europe and Africa. They
come from all over the world. It is a great
experience to host people from other
countries. You learn a lot yourself. You
learn to have an open mind, to be kind,
and help people. I decided to do it with
all of my heart and energy, something
I’m very happy about.’’
These days Aster and her family are
hosting two volunteers, one from
England and one from Denmark. They
have, like her earlier volunteers, become
a part of the family and participate in the
family’s daily routine just like the other
children. ‘‘When volunteers come here
I feel like they are a part of my family,
like a child or a sister,’’ she says. By
doing this it is much easier to have an
open mind, and it is much easier to cope
with everything in the everyday life.
But even though the volunteers become
a part of the family and spend some
days at the house, the family still has
time to be alone and have privacy. For
instance, when the volunteers are out
for work or engaged in activities with
the organization the family spend time
together or invites friends.
But it has gotten a lot easier since the
very first volunteer and the family now
knows how it is to live with a brother
or sister from abroad. But it was not
always like that. “At the beginning most
of my family was against the idea of
opening up our home this much. They
didn’t want to lose their privacy. My
daughter Daggi supported me and the
idea from the very beginning and she
was very dedicated to the project too.
She was the one who had to convince her
dad. But our first volunteers changed
my family’s opinion. Some of our first
volunteers were a couple from America.
They were very friendly and changed
my family’s mind,’’she says. And now
about 400 volunteers later, the family
has not regretted their decision about
continuing to be a host family. So far
they have only had great experiences
with the volunteers and been taught
great values. For instance, being happy
and open-minded is essential for the
family’s everyday life as well as for
being a good host mother. As Aster puts
it, one cannot change people, and all of
the foreigners are different and have
different behaviors. “I can’t change
their mind in a month – they grew up
in a different environment, a different
country, so I have to be open-minded
to make their stay worthwhile. To give
them privacy is important too. I do my
best to give the volunteers a great time
and make them happy,’’ she says.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Don’t be afraid
Every week volunteers arrive at Bole
Airport, ready to do different things in
Ethiopia. They come from all over the
world, but all with the same intention:
to help people. Some stay for only a few
weeks, others for several months. Most of
the organizations that arrange trips like
these prefer to let the volunteers stay at
host families so that the volunteers not
only get experience at their placements
but also get to know the culture.
And how would you ever experience
homemade injera if you don’t live with
an Ethiopian family? But it is a great
step to open up your home to strangers
and it craves an open mind from the
family as well as from the volunteer to
make it a success. Still, Aster thinks
that it is all worth it. “My best advice for
other families who are thinking about
becoming a host family is that they
have to try it. Just do it! But you have
to work hard because it demands lot of
you. You have to clean and cook and
do all these things. But first of all you
have to be happy and enthusiastic about
the work. Otherwise, if you’re not like
that you might be bored, because every
day when you wake up you have to be
happy and have an open mind. But still
I wish everyone would try being a host
family. I am very happy about having
volunteers,” she concludes.
Ed.’s Note: The writer is on an internship
at The Reporter.
Lifestyle
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 948 |17
The art of meaningless laughter
By Henok Reta
For many Ethiopians, meaningless
laughter can be a symptom of
abnormality. Some might see it as a work
of evil spirit. When someone laughs
without a reason, “Yamewal ende?” (Is
” (Is she
he sick?) and “Yamatal ende?”
sick?) are somewhat frequently used
expressions among people. Laughter is a
part of human behavior regulated by the
brain. Common causes for laughter are
sensations of joy and humor. However,
other situations may cause laughter as
well.
“I don’t think everybody feels everything
the same way,” Sisay Mengiste, a radio
host says. He was one of the guests
gathered at Ghion Hotel when the country
celebrated. Laughter Day on October
29. Although many of the guests looked
happy with the entertaining activities
deliberately acted to prompt laughter
amongst the crowd, some were isolated
behind the pavilions to take their faces
off the “captivating activities” that were
taking place on stage. “I feel nothing, to
be honest with you. But I know we have
to laugh anyway, I mean I realize the
importance,” Sisay says.
When one ponders over the move to
celebrate. Laughter Day, the name
that should come in one’s thoughts is
Belachew Girma, a man known for his
innovation of laughing for no particular
reason. A few years ago he was named
Master of World Laughter in Germany
to open the first laughter school on the
continent. Now he manages the school
in Addis Ababa admitting hundreds
of students who are keen to motivate
themselves to reset their attitude towards
life. They are from different walks of life
and age categories. Athletes, scholars,
models, and businesspeople are part of
the theoretical and practical teaching
that runs from 3 months to 6 months.
“I often feel a sort of pride because
laughter is just a precious gift of God,”
the founder says. In a pretty fascinating
coincidence, this year graduates met
with Alex Sternick, founder of Art of
Nonsense in Israel. Moreover, Robin
Graham, a world laughter ambassador
also joined the crowd to perk up the less
than usual festival in the country.
Most graduates, who appear to be less
vocal about the training they received
and the way forward in their life, simply
describe it as being “useful.” Hana
Tadesse, one of the graduates who went
through the 6-month course told The
Reporterr that she enjoyed it and hopes
it will impact her personality since she
sees herself as being a bit shy. Mesay
Demisse, on the other hand, wanted to
focus on the essence of the laughter class
in the country since Ethiopians are a
bit of a closed society. Although, the
graduates looked less impressed about
the occasion, their smirks and smiles
went on until the end of the program.
As expected, Belachew was master of
ceremony hugging people and making
them laugh.
Aex Sternick demonstrated a kind of
group laughter with the people he met.
He finally succeeded in linking the World
Laughter Club members with the team
he selected on stage to laugh together
via Skype. For many, it was a crazy
experience. “How clever these people are
to show us such a wild enchantment!”
Masters of laughter Alex Sternick and Belachew Girma laughing in front of Belachew’s students
a man who stood by the stage abruptly
spoke out about his amusement with the
interaction between the laughing group
and the members in Europe. “Wow, it
just happened. That just happened!” Alex
jumped off the stage in an uncontrollable
manner laughing with the crowd by
the side of the stage. “Maybe that is
the perfect scene of his theory—Art
of Nonsense,” another man from the
crowd is mesmerized. “I have always
been this. Anyone can say anything. I’m
just recreating myself,” Alex told The
Reporter. In a quick question-and-answer
session with The Reporter, he said quite
a lot while laughing in between talking.
Sometimes standing up and shouting
at the photographer in a rather strange
manner. He at times comes too close to
the camera. “Do I look ugly, or funny or
scary, hmm?” he asked The Reporter.
According to him, people’s face type
has something to do with laughter. His
theoretical and practical research over
the last decade proves his hypothesis.
“You are a type of the East Europeans
who laugh less. Look at the West Africans
and find out how different their faces are
from the rest of the world,” he said. His
philosophy of the Art of Nonsense has
been used as an instrument to change
the stereotypical outlooks of life in the
world. “If you ask if there is nonsense
with humanity, I would say yes, there
is a part of nonsense in humanity,”
he argues. Indeed, used to have an
unbearable boyhood in Israel. He grew
up the same way while serving the
army as well. “I started contemplating
to find out what made me feel this
nonsense. Then I realized it,” he says.
In an attempt to raise the awareness of
people towards their nonsensical part,
he laughed at the parks in Israel in front
of hundreds Moreover, he dared to laugh
at the cabinet, which is said to have very
serious deliberations every day due to
the endless conflicts with the neighbors.
In spite of the reluctance of his people,
he has won over millions across the
globe. He started traveling in Europe
and Africa and has earned a status of his
own brevity. “I laughed on the streets of
Bamako in Mali with hundreds of people
around, then in Italy, in Moscow. I found
it quite interesting and not nonsensical
in another way,” he explains. He has
been in Ethiopia for three months
meeting the renowned master of
laughter, Belachew, and his pupils,
to help the effort being made by the
Ethiopian laughter master. Gibberish
– His magical language created to solve
language barriers while traveling is a
typical demonstration of his philosophy.
“I just created it to ease people’s worries
about my laughter,” he says. Since the
creation of his absurd language he has
overcome the importance of meaningful
dialogue with this laughing partner.
“We have got something absurd in life;
why don’t we have an absurd language?”
he confronts the possible counter-claim
people might have for him.
The laughter day this year appears to
be marked more interestingly with the
company of Belachew. “I’m very proud
to have them in my country so that
more people will realize my endeavor is
normal and global,” he says. The master,
who has successfully crossed the hard
line of the society, appears to be more
joyful now than he was some years ago.
“We need it. We have to laugh at any of
the incidents we have every day,” he
says. According to him, his popularity
has increased amongst the aging part
of the society he lives in. A 105-year old
patriot, Assefa Sodere, and the former
athlete, 95-years old Wami Biratu walked
www.thereporterethiopia.com
into the event with their helpers along
with their walking sticks. “I’m very
much blessed to have them every time
I have a laughter party,” he gives his
compliments to the elders confidently
putting his hopes forward of attracting
many more elders in the future. The
former president, Girma Woldegiorgis,
had an important influence with this
“elders club” as he prefers call them.
“Oh, he is our beloved father and a
very interesting president. He wished
to be here as well,” he tells of his finest
relationship with the formers president
who is approaching 100 in a few years
time.
In response to the elders company, he
has found sponsors who take care of
the elders. “They are big. They are the
fathers of the nations. We need to take
care of them always,” he says. As a
result, they have been promised to have
milk and honey from the local agroprocessing firm until the last day of
their lives. “What do they need then?”
he expresses his happiness with the
firm’s partnership in supporting the
elders whom he always puts first. While
talking about future cooperation with
the Israeli, Alex and Robin from the UK,
he proudly speaks about them helping
his dream come true. Alex, on his part,
appreciates Belachew’s efforts to change
peoples’ attitudes in the country. “This
is not only Ethiopian but billions in the
world who have bad days in life. I think
you will all have more joy ahead that will
erase all the traumas you’ve had in life.
Just enjoy!” he passes his message to
people. In fact, the graduates give their
full consent with regard to the national
attitude. “We can be a better society
while living every day with bad luck and
hardship with a little laughter,” they
conclude.
18| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
MINIMUM WAGE
ACROSS THE BOARD
Dressed in a colorlless dusty outfit, Abinet Negash, a 33-yearold daily laborer, is moving bricks around in scorching
sunlight at one off the building construction sites located
off Cameroon Stre
eet in Bole area. Looking at her, it is easy
to tell how life is a struggle for a daily laborer like herself.
Abinet, who is marrried and mother of a 13-year old daughter,
toils in the blisteriing sun all day long. Determined to make
es a container of cement, sand, bricks and
a living, she carrie
the like. She seemss indifferent about things that is going on
around her. Apartt from a faint smile and a distant nervous
laugh, she is not good with words. SEE THE FULL STORY
ON THE NEXT PA
AGE
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Vol. XIX No. 948 |19
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
enterprises, the minimum wage that
they offer to their employees is widely
erratic. It seems that everything is
open for negotiation. According to some
critics, this might have opened the door
for exploitation since the bargaining
power is on the hands of the employer.
And critics question if people who do
not have a means to survive can in
fact negotiate. Rather they argue that
the government should legislate the
minimum wage. And those critics say
that leaving this for the market to dictate
might create more chaos.
By Tibebeselassie Tigabu and Mihret Aschalew
Dressed in a colorless dusty outfit,
Abinet Negash, a 33-year-old daily
laborer, is moving bricks around in
scorching sunlight at one of the building
construction sites located off Cameroon
Street in Bole area. Looking at her, it
is easy to tell how life is a struggle for
a daily laborer like herself. Abinet, who
is married and mother of a 13-year old
daughter, toils in the blistering sun all
day long. Determined to make a living,
she carries a container of cement,
sand, bricks and the like. She seems
indifferent about things that is going
on around her. Apart from a faint smile
and a distant nervous laugh, she is not
good with words.
Within a capitalist economy wealth
accumulation is seen as the “growth” the
country requires. The affluence of a few
are increasingly making the disparity
huge in Ethiopia.
Born in Minjar, Eastern Shoa Zone of
the Amhara Regional State, she started
working in a construction sector after
hearing about it from friends. The work
did not have any terms of reference
rather daily laborer does anything from
carrying cements, moving sand between
different floors and masonry.
Alem Gebre works at one of the
companies which makes millions in the
capital, but like her fellow workers she
gets 600 birr per month. However, this
money increased only recently from 400
birr. Doing a cleaning job, she walks to
and from her home. Now, she is saying
that she is considering taking a parttime job as a housemaid. Because she
says rent alone takes half of what she is
getting.
She starts her day early in the morning
walking from Gergi, where she lives to
work. Usually, she works nine hours
a day with one hour lunch break, and
seven days a week at 35 birr per day
income.
Low wage is a question for many people
these days including bachelor and
masters degree holders in Ethiopia since
they are barely trying to cover the basics
such as food, shelter and clothing.
And her nine hours of hard labor was
not the only thing that keeps Abinet at
her toes. She has to go home and take
care of the house chores.
According to Fekadu Gebru, acting
director of Harmonious Industrial
Relations at the Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs, private employers and
their employees negotiate and settle on
their wages and other matters. Fekadu
says that the country is ruled by a free
market system and unless the market
shakes, government interference is not
permitted. Within this situation, the
labor market should be dictated by the
demand and the supply.
“Given the skyrocketing cost of living,
the money is not enough but you have
to do anything to put food on the plate,”
Abinet says.
True to form, there are many Abinets in
different parts of the city, who struggle
to afford a decent meal a day. Similar
to other sectors, daily laborers in the
construction sector seems to be at the
bottom of the income hierarchy in their
industry. And their wage bargaining
power is also quite limited due to ample
supply of workers in the market.
He further says that the current trend in
the economy shows that the demand for
skilled labor and knowledge is decided by
the market. With the current situation of
the country, minimum wages cannot be
set because there are severe levels of
unemployment which is yet to be solved.
This will be an obstacle for job creation.
In fact, this very cheap labor market
is basic attraction for international
companies to come to Ethiopia to invest.
Better yet, Ethiopia’s cheap laborer
market is reported to be offering better
wages (cheaper) than China. And the
outcome of this is already visible. For
instance, giants like the Turkish AYKA
Addis and the Chinese Huajian, which
produces shoes for well known brands
like Guess, Tommy Hilfiger, Naturalizer
and the like, have already dipped into
the attractive Ethiopian labor market
already.
“This is simple economics. If minimum
wages are set and firms cannot afford to
hire at the minimum wage, the economic
system will tremble, “ Fekadu told The
Reporter.
According to Fekadu, following the
natural process of the economy, which
is the increment of the government tax
collection capability and the expansion
of infrastructure, overall with the
growth of the economy, workers’ social
security will be also be ensured.
In a recent article on the Daily Maverick
entitled “Treading a new path: Chinese
companies eye booming Ethiopia,”
Helen Hai, former Vice president
of Huajian group, talked about how
Ethiopia should follow a path of labor
intensive industries. She said, “the labor
cost of making shoes in China is about
22 percent of the overall cost. In China
today, the cost of one laborer is USD 500
per month while in Ethiopia it is only
USD 50.”
Fekadu did not hide the fact that
the government also believes in
minimum wages but this will have a
negative consequence with the current
level of unemployment in Ethiopia.
Fekadu believes a priority should be
given to dealing with the number of
unemployment in the country.
Within this, some of the private
organizations having food and transport
services and establishing social security
funds is an indication that the demand
for minimum wage legislation is coming
in Ethiopia, Fekadu argues. “To set a
minimum wage, professionals should
study the conditions and also research
the issue very well,” he says.
With this disparity, the country not
having minimum wage legislation is
bound to raise eyebrows.
In the absence of a minimum wage
legislation, the government has decided
not to pay its employees less 570 birr.
Although the figure is still challenged,
it appears that that was the closest
thing to having formal minimum wage
legislation in country.
However,
in
the
case
of
private
Contrary to Fekadu’s view, President
A daily laborer at one of the many construction sites in Addis Ababa
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Minimum wage... page 31
20| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
INTERVIEW
Sharing agricultural
experiences
Photo By: Reporter/ Nahom Tesfaye
Ilan Fluss – a father of four and a former navy officer – is deputy director of the Israel’s International cooperation agency
MASHAV. Last week Fluss was in town to visit agricultural sites in Northern Ethiopia where MASHAV is engaged in areas of
horticulture seedlings and nursery and water management schemes mainly on the basis of drip irrigations. While discussing and
signing agreements with UN agencies for agricultural interventions, Birhanu Fikade of The Reporter discussed with Fluss the
project and other pertinent issues. Excerpts:
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Vol. XIX No. 948 |21
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
other agencies like the United
States Agency for International
Development (USAID). What can you
tell us about that partnership?
The Reporter: You are here to visit
and discuss agricultural activities.
In addition, you have signed an
agreement with the UN Development
Program (UNDP). Is that the reason
for you being here?
Yes, we also had a partnership
agreement with the USAID. We have a
project which was running for six years
now. One of the things we do with USAID
includes establishing nurseries in the
agriculture sector to improve the quality
of seedlings of fruit trees. If you have a
fruit tree that can give better fruits and
if you can use better practices, then the
smallholder farmer will have much more
income. In the nurseries we are working
to give the knowledge of how to operate
such setups. We have six nurseries and
we are in the process of expanding.
We do tissue culture activities too. As
part of the partnership we set out a few
laboratories. There are mini-nurseries
which are dedicated to vegetables.
Smallholder farmers can operate in a
very simple way. It’s a local innovation
to say. The other reason for my visit
relates to a development related with
the German Development Agency (GIZ).
This year we have initiated something
called
the
Israel-Germany-Africa
initiative. All of us are working together
in Ethiopia on issues of agriculture,
irrigation, water management and
adaptation to climate changes. It was
a three-year program and now, due to
the request of the government here, we
are asking the German government to
work us in the Afar Regional State. Both
sides have teams set up for the task to
introduce relevant solutions. Afar is
different from the highland areas. The
challenges of lack of water and soil and
the social challenges are out there. We
have to understand the settings of the
region and to find entry points where
we can be welcomed to come and join
in will require the coordination of the
Ethiopian government and the Afar
regional government. The process is at
its initial stage. My visit is also related to
such and other issues and I had meetings
with various stakeholders.
Ilan Fluss: No, the visit is a very
important for me because, we are in
a different processes of development
activities in Ethiopia. The main reason
for the visit was to promote development
activities and one of them is signing
an agreement with UNDP. Basically,
the agreement lays the foundation for
partnership on working on critical
issues. UNDP works on the eradication of
poverty and they work on the generation
of incomes. Hence, they are very much
linked to the agriculture sector. In that
regard Israel has a lot to offer. What
we are going to do with UNDP include
entrepreneurship
and
agriculture,
innovation aspects. I think 80 percent of
Ethiopians are engaged in agriculture.
It’s a very essential sector for the
economy of the country. But if you can
transform it from subsistence farming
to commercial farming, this will
contribute the growth and development
of the economy for the creation of
better income and poverty alleviation.
Hence, helping smallholder farmers and
transforming agriculture to commercial
farming will offer a lot. It’s not always
investment in high technology which
will bring about transformation. Israel is
a leading state in agriculture. It’s almost
a hi-tech society. But what we bring
from Tel Aviv cannot be the same here.
It has to be adapted and adjusted to the
circumstances of Ethiopia. For instance,
say computerized irrigation may not be
relevant here. But still the issue of water,
land and crop management, planning
the irrigation and using better seeds, of
which we have the knowledge in Israel,
could be utilized here. It’s all about the
question of approach both at the policy
level and implementation aspect. This is
related to entrepreneurial approach.
Have you also agreed to cooperate on
matters of innovations? How could
that be realized?
You told us how to involve smallholder
farmers in the entrepreneurship
process so that they can produce
surplus and get into the market.
How can that be possible and what
opportunities are there for them?
Yes, we have the innovation aspect.
To find solutions, you have to be
innovative. You need to be encouraged.
The development of Israel being part of
the OECD and where we are at present
in our economy is due to a very simple
fact. It’s not because we have natural
resources. Just a couple of years ago we
had discovered gas. But we have no other
natural resources. We have limited soil,
limited water availability. Fifty percent
of Israel is dry-land. Therefore, how do
you develop it? The issue here is human
capacity; it’s a sort of innovation and
encouragement of scientists. In small
country, climatic conditions, geopolitical
challenges, issues of migration, young
country; how do you survive? You have
to find solutions to survive. These led
us to where we are now. We want to
share our experience with the Ethiopian
government in an effective way. I
would say UNDP is one channel. Israel
is a small country. We are busy in our
issues but we still would like to share.
We would like to help other nations to
develop. I think it’s important morally
to do so. When we see the poverty, we
believe we have to do something. Doing
things alone is less effective. Hence, we
have created partnerships; I would say
with other donor agencies. UNDP in this
regard is the biggest UN organization
and partnering with such organizations
makes the whole process more effective.
That’s why we have engaged with them.
I think it’s all about the question
of putting all the elements of better
practices. By doing that, the yield would
increase and there will be better quality.
The other thing is the use of irrigation.
This may allow you to harvest two or
three crops per year. We are focusing
on horticulture which will allow us to
cultivate fruits and vegetables three
times a year. I want to remind you
that Israel is a small country. We don’t
have big farms as you have here. Israel
is much limited in scale even where
you are specializing in specific crops.
If you grow by using better practices,
you could make a good sum of money.
The other point we need to consider is
organization. We are doing a project
in Senegal by organizing communities
in a group. Each group consists of 50
producers. Each of them uses about 500
sqm. Though it is a small group, if you
do the marketing together, you could
become a commercial force; you would
be commercially viable. Hence, this is
one of the aspects which could be looked
into. We know the cooperative system is
widely applied here. In Israel things are
done via cooperatives too.
In the northern part of the country,
one of the things you were doing is the
You have also been working with
Sharing... page 30
www.thereporterethiopia.com
22| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
INTERVIEW+
Photo By: Reporter/ Nahom Tesfaye
WHO
BENEFITS
FROM
ACCESS TO
JUSTICE?
Adem Kasse (LLD) is a senior researcher at the institute of
International Peace and Rule of Law of the Max Planck
Foundation at the University of Heidlberg. Recently, he was given
Extraordinary Lecturer level by Pretoria University for his services
to the institution during his time there. In fact, Adem did both of
his second and third degrees at the University of Pretoria before
working as lecturer and a researcher there. Over the years, Adem
has published a lot of papers and research materials on the state of
the rule of law and access to justice in Ethiopia. Recently, Adem was
in town to give a lecture at the Addis Ababa University Faculty of
Law. Solomon Goshu of The Reporter caught up to him to discuss
Ethiopia’s international human rights complying mechanism and
implementation of the right to access to justice. Excerpts:
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Vol. XIX No. 948 |23
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
formed by the Charter. However, from
an international point of view, when the
rapporteurs visit countries and compile
reports they do follow the accusation
and reports made by entities formed by
international agreements. In general,
one follows the other very closely.
The Reporter: Most international
conventions, including those of
Ethiopia as a signatory state, require
constant follow-up in terms of offering
periodical implementation reports
and working with committees and
special Rapporteurs. Commentators
say that Ethiopia’s response has been
improving in recent times. Do you
agree?
Apart from the formal report
that
governments
present
to
international
organizations,
civil society organizations and
independent bodies also present
alternative reports to augment the
general picture in that nation. In case
of Ethiopia, some reports indicate
that the charities and civil society
proclamation have minimized the
number of such alternative reports.
How does that affect the country?
Adem Kasse: Although the time-frame
varies with the kind of agreement that
is signed, signatories of international
conventions are always required to
report. For instance, countries which
had signed the African Human and
Peoples’ Rights Charter are expected to
report every two years. However, when
it comes to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights this
requires regular reporting every four
years. For most of these agreements,
Ethiopia started reporting very late.
But efforts have been made to be able to
reduce the arrears of overdue reports
considerably. The challenge lies with
the response to the recommendations
and complaints that these institutions
forward on the country. In my opinion,
there must be an institution that deals
with and appropriately responds to
these things. May be, the Ethiopian
Human Rights Commission can be
charged with this task. On the other
hand, such international conventions
have rapporteurs who can only come
to the signatory country if permitted
by the government of that state. Some
countries have a standing invitation to
the rapporteurs but Ethiopia did not do
that. In fact, the country has rejected
some requests for visits. Had they
had the chance to come to Ethiopia,
they would have talked to government
bodies, NGOs and different segments of
the society and would have contributed
to making things better.
Previously, such alternative reports
were perceived as opposing views to
that of the government. Over time,
the role of these becomes more of a
complementary one. That is, they
do their part in incorporating issues
and agendas that the report of the
government left out unintentionally or
those issues purposely curtailed by the
report of the state. This helps the various
committees to have full information
about the country they are reviewing.
This is important for the discussion
that is happening between the countries
and international organizations. The
proclamation that you have mentioned
have a two-fold effect on the alternative
report that CSO’s offer to international
organizations. The first is that the
proclamation would contribute to
weakening the civil society organization
in Ethiopia in addition to discouraging
any new ones coming to the fore. The
other one is the fear factor. In fact, even
before the proclamation, there weren’t
a lot of them producing such reports to
international organizations. But, given
the provisions of the proclamation that
gives the Charities and Civil Society
Agency the power to take measures on
those legally registered and recognized
CSOs, they might increasingly become
reluctant to participate in reporting.
Some of them seem to have the fear
of reprisal if they do participate in
providing alternative reports about the
country. And some of them prefer to stay
anonymous when doing it. Of course, so
far the agency did not take any measures
on those CSOs that provided alternative
reports. But fear is there.
What is the mandate of special
rapporteurs? How are they selected
and why are they not welcomed in
some countries?
They are appointed by the UN Human
Council
which
comprises
Rights
various countries with interchangeable
membership place in the council. They
are experts of high standard in the area
of the thematic issues they are tasked to
lead. They are not accountable to their
government. For most of them, it is their
spare-time work. Sometimes countries
do not want the special rapporteurs
to visit their country due to their
political affiliation. Some countries are
convinced that the rapporteurs espouse
a purely neoliberal political ideology. In
fact, they (the rapporteurs) are accused
of spreading this neoliberal ideology.
With respect to Africa, some also fear
that they do not have consideration for
the overall condition of the continent.
Usually, the rapporteurs, when they
visit a particular country, talk to
various entities and institutions to get
to the bottom of any possible rights
abuse issue in the nation. This could be
in contradiction to the notion that the
country is giving in its reports. Hence,
some countries are seen to be reluctant
to let rapporteurs visiting their nation.
In Ethiopia, the responsibility to
prepare a report and follow-up
implementation of international
treaties falls under the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MoFA). As we know, the ministry
is a political entity. Is this practice
common in other countries?
There is a wide perception that Ethiopia
has accepted a number of international
agreements and conventions to date. I
disagree. In fact, I see the nation dragging
the ratification of protocols that require
organizing institutions like the African
Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights
and the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights Protocol No. 1. In
fact, the country is exhibiting a clear
indication of not endorsing conventions
that put forward obligations on signatory
countries. As to responsibility, to follow
up on these agreements exclusively
belongs to the government. So, the
Ministry of Justice or MoFA can do this
job. National human rights institutions
are not expected to write the report
as it violets their basic institutional
freedom. These institutions are expected
Where is place of the rapporteur
under the UN human rights system?
How is their relationship with other
human right organizations both in
the UN or out of the UN system?
The special Rapporteurs do not have
direct involvement to the human rights
organizations formed by international
agreements. In Africa, the Rapporteurs
have direct communication with entities
„$=
†‡
www.thereporterethiopia.com
24| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
The Ogaden region...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 14
across society.
The Ogaden literature piracy
After the independence of Somalia in
1960, formal education started to emerge.
Syllabuses were developed and natural
sciences were basically adopted from
western syllabuses and translated to
Somali language; however, the major
bottleneck was encountered in the
field of social sciences, particularly in
literature. The then Somalia republic
leaders were caught pants down; they
brought together elders with diverse
clannish (ancestral) backgrounds and
allowed them to come up with all the
traditional oral literatures best practiced
in their respective localities. The leaders
– led by the only democratically elected
president, the late Honorable Ahmed
A’ade, – and the rest of the then ruling
clique assessed the elders’ feedback.
To their surprise, they felt that none of
the collected oral literatures fitted the
criteria to be documented as a Somali
national literature icon. In that, not an
iota of the pieces gathered had a national
entity and pan-Somali nationalistic
nostalgia illusion.
Thus, they had to abandon it since
they deemed that it is unrelated or
irrelevant and inconsiderate in terms
of its equanimity. The Somalia leaders
were left with no option other than
pirating the Ogaden region of Ethiopia’s
artistic oral literature. It became the
worst piracy of literature in the history
of the Horn of Africa and was committed
by Somalia. The pirated oral literature
include; the famous poemssuch as that of
victorious but lament-full poems of Rage
Ugas and the historic scenario of how
he regained his wife from Garad Farah
Wilwaal – Rage Ugas himself was from
Nogob zone of Somali Regional State.
Rage Ugas was remembered in Somali
oral literature for his invention of the
introductory poetic lyrics that added
flavor to poem until this very day. The
other great nationalist poet was Seyyid
Mohamed Abdulla Hassan and the
founding father of the Dervish forces.
Seyyid Mohamed Abdulla Hassan was
from the Korahey zone of Somali Region
in Ethiopia, he is remembered among
other things for his artistic talent of
introducing new words to the Somali
language such as “Jaale.”
Thirdly, among the great poetry giants
whose intellectual property was stolen
was the likes of the contemporary 21st
century led-poet the late Abdullah
MalimDhodaan from Doolo Zone (Danot)
the inventor of the famous “Jacbuur”
mix-poem as a type of poem with its own
different styles, tonic and lyric nature
mostly recited in serenity fashion. All
these individuals have significantly
contributed to Somali literatures (poem)
and language, which has become a
basic foundation for the existing poetic
literature.
True to form, all of them hail from
the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia, but
the Somali Republic (Mogadishu
government) never acknowledged their
place of origin, and where they belonged,
that is, the Ogaden Region of Ethiopia.
Proverbial myth piracy
All Somali fables, proverbial myths told
as informal education, used in schools
as well as evening traditional bonfire
and historic-fiction telling circles, are
all those events that took place in the
Ogaden region of Ethiopia. The mostly
quoted characters include the wise elder
from theAfder zone of Somali Regional
State
“CigaalShiidaad.”Cigaal
left
astounding records in the proverbial
myth of Somalis.
His historical fable episodes ranging
from the act of preponderance cowardice
to heroic imaginary pretence have
become events of reference up to today.
Yet the Somali republic has never
acknowledged him as a fable hero from
the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia.
Caraweelo is the legendary queen that
hails from the Agwa tribe in northern
Ethiopia. Caraweelo, who destroyed
the Axum churches in 680 A.D, was
a castrator ruler who extended her
influence to the Somali Regional state.
She empowered women and gathered a
lot of wealth.
Her tales dominate the Somalis sayings,
examples and proverbs. Caraweelo
formally known as “Gudit” is a semilegendary, non-Christian, Beta Israel
from Ethiopia. Most of her deeds in
Somali society are recorded in the
oral traditional. Information about
Gudit in Ethiopian Somali context is
contradictory and incomplete. Somalis
believed that in order to maintain her
influence she castrated all men, except
the famous wise elder popularly known
as “Oday-biikh” who escaped captivity
by playing sick.
He later posed tough challenges by
advising the captive castrated men
to disobey her orders. Oday-Biikh
hailed from Godey of the Shebelle zone.
Caraweelo’s accounts of her brutal
transgressions and crimes are still
related among Somalis and parts of
northern Ethiopia. Caraweelo and OdayBiikh dominate the Somali tales when
it comes to women tricks. It is widely
believed that Caraweelo sacked and
burned DebreDamo, which at the time
was a treasury and detention center for
male captives.
Again, Caraweelo was an Ethiopian
queen and a ruler for over 40 years
whose influence extended to the Ogaden
region. The Somali government refers
to her as a historical legend recorded
in their literature syllabus, while still
not acknowledging her as an Ethiopian
whose violent events took place in
theOgaden region.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of
the pirated intellectual property.
Astonishingly, the Somalia government
has been shoplifting the famous poems
and other fables from the Ogaden region
of Ethiopia. It is always acceptable
to use the literature of other nations,
nevertheless, it must be acknowledged
at all times.
Ed.’s Note: Ali Sheikh is an MBA-IB.
The views expressed in this article do
not necessarily reflect the views of The
Reporter. The writer can be reached at
dhagaweyne3@gmail.com.
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Vol. XIX No. 948 |25
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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26| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
WHO BENEFITS...
to monitor the government with respect
to protection of human rights but not
do the job of the government. But, along
the way, they are expected to share their
experience in their area of expertise to
the government. This is the experience
in other nations.
With respect to the impact of
reports and accusation of rights
violations coming from human
rights institutions under the UN
system, commentators hold a bleak
view. Some argue citing the case of
Ethiopia and its interaction with
such institutions. What is your view?
Yes, these institutions do have complaints
rights becomes firmer, such criticisms
would be more meaningful.
What do you think are the challenges
to the right to access to justice in
Ethiopia?
Talking about the right to access to
justice, there is a tendency among the
public to view this from the perspective
of courts and the legal process in the
courthouse. But, the most important
aspect that is ignored is the part of
administrative justice that affects many
people on a daily basis. In fact, having
the rights to review any administrative
decision, courts are very important.
Administrative bodies give directives
CONT`D FROM PAGE 23
went to cassation is something to think
about. Apart from that, the court system
still suffers from insufficient trained
professionals and materials.
How do you review the justice sector
reform that is undertaken by the
government and its development
partners? Do you think it has brought
about a profound change in rights of
people to have access to justice?
The core of the justice reform is the socalled Business Process Re-engineering
(BPR), the aim of which is basically
reducing corruption, improving quality
and speed. In addition the reform also
seeks to improve the coordination of
laws of the land. Beyond that, we also
inquire if these principles and laws have
been internalized. If they do not believe
in the laws and if they do not shape their
system then it becomes very difficult.
On the other hand, if we see the justice
system as a marketplace, we can see that
there are those who offer the services and
those receiving it. If the receiving bodies
do not know their right then the chance
that they will demand will be really
slim. They might accept wrong decision
because they do not distinguish the right
from the wrong. So, citizens should be
encouraged to know and ask for their
rights. The basic thing to consider about
the right of access to justice and how to
improve it is that the reform should not
always start from those big issues about
which the majority tends to be sensitive.
Rather, the small day-to-day practices are
the ones worth focusing on. If we look at
institutions, the experience of successful
countries shows that there are different
approaches to go about the reforming.
In Ethiopia, for instance, it is the
Office of Ombudsman that is primarily
entrusted to work on administrative
malpractices. In South Africa, it is the
Office of Public Protector that that
works on this issue. In South Africa, this
institution exposes even the president
of the country to be accountable to
parliament. This is not well developed in
Ethiopia yet. What we should learn from
other nations is that nongovernmental
institutions should be given the chance
to participate in the protection and
promotion of administrative justice.
This is because the government cannot
solve all administrative issues by itself.
So, the government should learn to use
other institutions to help bring about
administrative justice. If society has
trust in the administration system,
it also means that it has trust in the
government.
What do you think is the impact of not
having an administrative procedure
law in Ethiopia?
against Ethiopia. It is also true that
there is no institution that follows up
on these complaints and to see that they
are corrected. In general, human rights
treaties are unique in such way that
they give rights to the people and put
the obligation of observing these rights
on the government. Other international
agreements bestow both the rights
and obligation on governments. If one
country reneges on a trade treaty for
instance the other country has the
power to make it right; so it will correct
it immediately by taking measures. But,
in the context of human rights, the best
that countries can do is criticize. Or at
times, if they feel the infringements are
severe, they might go as far as cutting
their support to the nation. With regard
to the Ethiopian government, its track
record in terms of reducing poverty,
improving access to health, education
and social rights is very good. But it is
also criticized with regard to the right
to freedom of expression, assembly
and association. In addition, it is also
blamed in terms of civil and political
rights. However, its achievement in
other rights has given it the power to
defend its position. In my opinion, these
criticisms would carry more weight if
there are strong CSOs, media, human
right commission, parliament and other
institutions. I have a problem believing
that these institutions are strong in their
current status. But, over time, when
these institutions become stronger and
the response of society to violation of
and make decisions that affect millions
of people every day. Most of these
directives do not appear to be supported
by principles. There is no system that
governs every administrative entity.
For instance, it is possible that police
stations located in different parts of the
country to have considerably different
practices. Instead of a principle, they
are governed by institutional culture.
Things go as usual. Now a days, you
see the Office of Ombudsman trying to
set branch offices outside of the capital.
In the current system, this is the only
institution that can really influence
administrative bodies. But, you see, if
we talk about access it is far too small at
the moment. Although the government
recognizes that there is a problem,
still there is no baseline study that can
clearly show the state of the problem.
More than administrative bodies, it is
the court which can play a great role
in this. Specially, when it comes to
crime, courts have an indispensable
role to play. However, even the court
system is known for its notorious time
taking process. Although justice can
be served at the end, the time it takes
is really troublesome. There are even
cases where lower instance courts are
making a ruling based on piece of law
that has been repealed. For instance,
if you take the cassation bench, its
decisions and ruling are known to set
precedent for future court litigations.
But, how many of our judges actually
have good understanding of cases that
the various parts of the justice system.
However, from the perspective of
administrative justice expediting the
process might not always be compatible
with administrative principles. And this
will be at loggerheads with the right to
access to justice. Yet gain, the reform
program has introduced a new system
where institutions with similar task to
come and work together. Of course, I
cannot conclude that these encouraging
initiatives have become successful. at
least not yet. In fact, I have not come
across a study which deals with such
issues. It is unclear how the Ministry
of Justice, courts, law faculties, legal
and justice system research institution
can work together. However, what the
Human Rights Commission is doing
with universities in supporting free
legal clinics is quite a good start. I also
think that lawyers’ associations should
also get involved in such initiatives.
The right to access to justice
has number of gaps in Ethiopia.
What does the experience of other
successful country say with regard to
this? What should Ethiopia do?
The right to access to justice can be viewed
from two different perspectives. The
first is from the side of the institutions
that offer the service. More specifically,
this can be seen from the point of view
of the capacity of these institutions. We
can ask how deep their knowledge is in
terms administrative principles and the
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Yes. There is no law that governs and
disciplines administrative laws and
decisions in Ethiopia. The government
as well is well aware of the existence of
this gap. And to that effect, there was
one that was drafted in 2004 but it never
saw the light of day. I believe such a
law would establish predictability and
discipline of administrative laws and
decisions.
What do you think the major
challenges are for Ethiopia in terms
of making sure all parts of the justice
system like the police, prosecutors,
courts and correctional facilities
to respect human rights? How can
one keep a delicate balance between
result-oriented
and
due-process
focused procedures?
It is very difficult to assess this given
the current situation of Ethiopia. As
much as there are those institutions
which deeply care about the rights of
individuals there are also some that does
not have a problem overriding it. There
are complaints of wide inappropriate
conduct everywhere. But, this is hard
to imagine that problems are actually
supported by the system. It could be
a case of lack of awareness or failure
to execute once duties properly. It is
difficult to believe that the government
wants these problems to happen. In my
view, in Ethiopia, implementation is
much bigger issue than loopholes in the
law. Of course, there could be loopholes
here and there. But if the existing laws
are implemented properly this brings a
lot of changes.
Vol. XIX No. 948 |27
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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28| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Governing...
An effective world order for the twentyfirst century, however, must do much
more than keep the peace. Kissinger
focuses on inter-state relations – on
how, from one country’s perspective, to
avoid war with other countries while
deterring them from aggression or other
actions likely to upset a regional or
global balance of power. Yet a glance at
today’s headlines suggests that what is
most likely to kill and displace millions,
if not hundreds of millions, of people in
the coming decades are global threats
such as pandemics, climate change, and
terrorist and criminal networks – not
inter-state war.
Yes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
has led to more than 3,000 deaths. But
current projections of the spread of the
Ebola virus predict a million cases by
January. According to the World Health
Organization, the HIV/AIDS epidemic
has killed 36 million people, roughly
ten million higher than the estimated
number of military deaths in World War
II, with an additional 35 million people
infected.
Many of these global threats are closely
intertwined with war, but war that is far
more likely to be fought within borders
than across them. Consider that roughly
two-thirds of Syria’s population has
Celebrity...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 10
been displaced by the country’s civil
war, with millions living miserably in
refugee camps.
The disastrous state of health care in
Liberia and Sierra Leone, where Ebola
is raging, reflects decades of horrific
civil war in both countries. The ongoing
violence in Africa’s Great Lakes region,
which has claimed millions of civilian
lives, is rooted in the 1994 Rwanda
genocide and the resulting flood of Hutu
refugees into neighboring states.
The droughts and floods caused by
climate change will put millions of
people on the move, first into crowded
and combustible cities, and then across
borders. Russia and Canada may be
happy to receive them as vast new tracts
of land open up, but many other parts of
the world are already crowded, which
spells conflict.
Maintaining peace is mostly a matter
of restraint or constraint. Effective
global cooperation requires much more.
Governments must be able to come
together, alongside vital actors from
both business and civil society, to adopt
comprehensive plans of action.
Those plans, in turn, require funding,
collective
will,
and
manpower,
enforcement capability. Yet today, faced
with a virus that kills half of those it
infects and the prospect that it could
decimate an entire region of Africa,
disrupt air travel, and put people around
the world in quarantine, the world has
delivered only a fraction of the needed
financial and material assistance.
We live in a world of global problems
and largely national solutions. The need
for institutions that can respond swiftly
and effectively, as domestic government
does in well-governed states, is greater
than ever. The post-WWII institutions
have become insufficient. It is time
to reform them – and to devise new
structures and tools designed to address
global problems.
Ed.’s Note: Anne-Marie Slaughter,
President and CEO of the New America
Foundation, is the author of The Idea
That Is America: Keeping Faith with Our
Values in a Dangerous World. The article
was provided to The Reporter by Project
Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source
of original op-ed commentaries. Project
Syndicate provides incisive perspectives
on our changing world by those who are
shaping its politics, economics, science,
and culture. The views expressed in this
article do not necessarily reflect the views
of The Reporter.
In conclusion, the International Rivers “recommends construction on the Dam
project be halted until all necessary studies recommended are completed, and a
process is in place for ensuring public accountability on the project.
Another western...
a tool for political oppression... Posing as
tourists the team of journalists traveled
to the southern region of Ethiopia.
There they found villages where whole
communities are starving, having
allegedly been denied basic food, seed
and fertilizer for failing to support Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi.”
Some Oromo people may well have
some legitimate complaints against
the conduct of the Ethiopian security
forces; but which country does not face
complaints from a section of its own
community? In the US, black people
complain they are being targeted and
ruthlessly killed by white policemen
every day. In Britain, the 1999 Sir
Macpherson report declared that the
British police were “institutionally
racists.” In France, it has become illegal
for Muslim women to wear the Hijab and
Burqa in public. In Egypt, thousands of
the Muslim Brotherhood leaders and
supporters are either dead or serving
life sentences for their political beliefs.
Shiite Muslims in Saudi Arabia, Iraq,
Qatar and Bahrain complain that they
are treated as second-class citizens. And
in South Sudan, the Nuer and Dinka
tribesmen are complaining the other
has killed over 10,000 of their people and
displaced almost two million more since
December 2013.
Ethiopia is not being singled out
because its human rights record is
worse than the ones stated above but
because of a coordinated effort to stop
the construction of the Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam. This was made
clear in the report by the International
Rivers’ report released in March 2014
and claimed that a “number of key
studies for the project are outdated or
in process. While references are made
to some specific international standards
being adhered to, overall, the process
described seems chaotic and incomplete.
It is also clear that there is precious little
oversight on Africa’s largest dam project
to date.”
In conclusion, the International Rivers
construction
on
“recommends
the Dam project be halted until all
necessary studies recommended are
completed, and a process is in place
for ensuring public accountability on
the project. Given the panel’s findings,
Egypt’s call for mediation in the process
is reasonable, and donor governments
and international bodies should support
such a process and stop funding the
Dam.”
These recommendations are curious
for two reasons. First of all, there are
several new and old dam constructions
along the River Nile from Uganda to
Egypt, but the International Rivers have
not recommended that any of them be
halted on safety and environmental
grounds. Secondly, like all the dams
on the Nile, the Ethiopia Renaissance
project is also intended to produce
the badly needed energy for internal
industrialization, which is the only way
to achieve sustainable poverty reduction.
Ethiopian
and
other
African
governments
should
welcome
constructive criticisms from abroad;
after all, globalization has reduced the
CONT`D FROM PAGE 10
whole world into a small village. But
international NGOs that have become
partisan political activists are not only
provoking inter-tribal discontent and
possible civil war in Ethiopia, they
are also unwittingly damaging the
reputation of other western NGOs
which concentrate on development and
humanitarian work in Africa and across
the world.
Where is the evidence?
In 2011, in Pakistan, the US Central
Intelligence Agency ((CIA) funded a fake
vaccination program that gathered the
blood samples leading to Osama bin
Laden’s location and killing. Not that
anyone misses bin Laden, but it was the
use of a humanitarian program that got
him, which may have justified Russia’s
decision in 2012 to pass a law requiring
foreign-funded NGOs involved in
political activity to register as “foreign
agents.”
One thing is clear. All Ethiopians will
face the greatest human rights abuse
through dehumanizing poverty and
hunger if foreign NGOs manage (God
forbids) not only to delay or stop the
Dam construction, but also to provoke
a tribal war. The human tragedy in
South Sudan, Libya, Syria and Iraq is
instructive.
Ed.’s Note: Sam Akaki is a Ugandan-born
British citizen and former independent
parliamentary candidate in the UK.
The views expressed in this article do
not necessarily reflect the views of The
Reporter. He can be reached at sam.
akaki@iloru.fsnet.co.uk.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
CONT`D FROM PAGE 14
reams of macroeconomic information
with which we are bombarded every
day, central bankers’ speeches and
opinions have relatively foreseeable
effects, especially when the bank’s
chair, president, or governor speaks,
or other officials speak in concert.
And, with trillions of dollars swirling
around global financial markets, this
predictability creates a fat target, with
investors willing to make massive bets
when they are pretty sure they are right,
even if the profit per dollar is small.
If you think I am exaggerating, consider
the coverage of other economic news,
say, unemployment, GDP, or the trade
balance. Virtually every story quickly
shifts its focus to what the data mean for
monetary policy.
Some economic indicators, such as
unemployment or inflation data, are
indeed immediately important for
central banks, because they may directly
concern their mandates, and therefore
have rather predictable effects. But
much information is simply noise.
This makes policy opinions that come
straight from the horse’s mouth almost
uniquely valuable.
In short, there are many good reasons
why central bankers receive so much
media focus, including their relative
independence and generally solid
performance. But there are also other
reasons having to do with politicians’
need for scapegoats, the media’s struggle
to reinvent itself in the Internet age,
and central-bank pronouncements’
predictable short-term effects on
financial markets. These other factors
have combined to create a bubble
around central-bank pronouncements
and decisions that grossly exaggerates
their economic significance.
Is this a bubble that central bankers
should worry about? The answer is
clearly yes. The news bubble is of
particular concern, because it reinforces
the idea that central bankers somehow
care disproportionately about financial
markets, which is generally not the case.
Most central bankers really are
targeting
growth,
inflation,
and
financial stability, if not necessarily
in that order. The political bubble is
an inevitable product of central-bank
independence, and preventing monetary
policy from becoming a target for elected
officials requires constant effort. The
predictability bubble is perhaps the
trickiest to navigate, though my instinct
is that less would be more. Exaggerated
importance is one kind of bubble that
central bankers should always be eager
to burst.
Ed.’s Note: Kenneth Rogoff, a former
chief economist of the IMF, is Professor
of Economics and Public Policy at
Harvard University. The article was
provided to The Reporter by Project
Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source
of original op-ed commentaries. Project
Syndicate provides incisive perspectives
on our changing world by those who are
shaping its politics, economics, science,
and culture. The views expressed in this
article do not necessarily reflect the views
of The Reporter.
Vol. XIX No. 948 |29
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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30| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Sharing...
practice of drip irrigation. However,
it had remained under pilot projects.
Is there a way where such practices
could be widely replicated?
It is not always true that one solution
relevant in Israel may be implemeted
elsewhere. Drip irrigation is very
effective. It’s also environmentally
friendly because you use the exact
quantities of pesticides and the
chemicals you need. Everything is
very accurate and may not harm both
land and water resources. But for such
irrigation scheme, you need to have
a minimum scale of infrastructure.
We always have such a dilemma and I
still have the dilemma that when some
places where there is enough water and
where you have pressurized water and
good sources, it’s worthwhile investing
on drip irrigation. The place where the
infrastructure is not in shape may suit
the practice of traditional irrigation
schemes. But doing it in a better way,
in a better managed manner and
understanding the details of the good
farming practices would still render
higher yields. Yes, we promote drip
irrigations in all our nurseries. In Israel
all agriculture activities are done via the
use of drip irrigation. But you have to
be extra careful because it’s not always
the right solution. In many cases it
might help. It may also depend on the
capacity of the farmer. Farmers may not
be always open to such an investment.
I have seen two places where they
have made big investments supported
by the donor communities. But those
investments were just a big waste of
money since they were irrelevant;
they were not the right solutions. Drip
irrigation requires farsightedness and
planning which will benefit if it is well
incorporated according to the needs and
relevance of the farmers.
What are the real changes or
development you have brought to
that part of the country?
For example, in the drip irrigation we
saw that there are some areas that are
doing it. We have visited Bahir Dar. We
have a pickle nursery there. We have a
nice nursery but what are the changes?
I have asked the head of the Woreda
(district) what changes he had seen as
a result of what we are doing there. He
told me success stories. A farmer living
near the nursery had made earnings of
some 200,000 birr and he currently runs
his own nursery acquiring the basic
know-how. He’s a changed man now.
He is able to feed his family well and
buy extra clothing. This is an isolated
example of poverty alleviation. We can’t
supply all the demands with the nursery
we are running alone. We are now busy
in establishing a proper training center.
Formerly, there was one but we believe
we have to upgrade the existing one to
be able to conduct a proper training. The
nursery needs to become a knowledge
center and demonstration center for
farmers in that vicinity.
How about your engagements in
Tigray Regional State?
I didn’t visit Tigray. My visit was
scheduled for Bahir Dar.
Tell us more about the activities
you are considering to undertake in
Afar. If I do recall well, a couple of
years back there was some kind of
arrangement to develop a portion
CONT`D FROM PAGE 21
of Afar’s land with a drip irrigation
scheme.
In Afar the government in general is
trying to develop a farm. We are still
in the process of understanding what
is happening in Afar. We are also
looking at the area where to interfere by
sending our expertise. The process is yet
ongoing. The team visited the region and
came up with very promising reports.
Hence, we have decided on future steps.
In the coming months we would send a
few more experts. We take there knowhow. We don’t claim to change the entire
region. It’s not up to us to do that. We
will join the efforts of the government
in specific interventions that could
influence. We would train, build
capacity and get the knowledge out.
Usually, we focus on training centers
and demonstration units on satellite
projects. In Afar, we are looking at water
management because if you want to do
irrigation in dry lands, you need to catch
water. There are also areas we might
look at like in the agronomic side of the
crop production and find the right crops.
The specific crop we want to look at is
the production of dates in the region. In
Israel we have accumulated exportable
dates. We do have the know-how. Hence,
we are going to send specialists to Afar
very soon; probably in a month’s time.
We see that the Afar region has a big
potential for date production.
Apart from poverty what are the
challenges ahead and how do you
plan to alleviate them?
We are going to have a conference
in Israel next month. The topic is
desertification. Desertification is very
much connected to climate change and
drought. It’s a big topic. For me there is
no simple answer. It’s a combined effort
because it’s not only affecting agriculture
and water; it touches many aspects.
Here we are talking about resilience to
drought. This issue was discussed with
the UNDP. Since 2008, when there was a
massive drought in the Horn of Africa,
lots of efforts and money was delivered
to build resilience. This takes time. In
the past many countries were engaged
in bringing much of food supplies. Today
many countries are bringing less food
since local production has been much.
It needs patience. You need vision. You
need to be innovative in your approach
and entrepreneurial. Otherwise, if you
stick to the bureaucratic traditional
activities, you will not change. This
is what we are trying to transmit as
a message. As I said, we don’t have
resources as Ethiopia has. But we were
able to achieve development. I am not
referring to this to express my pride but
to give some hope. We have our domestic
political issues. We have regional issues
with neighboring countries and so
many others challenges are there. But
how did we tackle them and develop
ourselves? It depends on the spirit,
mindset and human resources and the
sense of responsibility for yourself, your
neighbors, your community and your
nation. Then try to build on these.
Ethiopia aspires to become an
industrial nation. How will that
be realized in your view when the
larger segment of the society are in
the agriculture sector? Is it likely to
be achieved?
Absolutely. We were exporting oranges.
So you are specifically focusing on
date production, right?
Dates can be one of the potential crops
to work on. Our focus includes water
management, food production and
agriculture and of course dates are the
areas we are trying to work on. We are
establishing working relations with the
German and the Italian government
agencies. We met with officials at the
Agricultural Transformation Agency
(ATA). There are efforts to do more
developments in Afar.
There are a number of interventions
to the likes of MASHAV. But when
time goes by, the fruits of change
are not to the expectations of the
communities. What is the missing
point there?
I disagree. Look what’s happening in
Ethiopia. The future of growth in the
world is in Africa. Just look at economic
factors and indicators, it’s all inclining
to Africa. You can see what’s happening
in Addis; the construction tells you
something. Yes, it’s hectic; crazy now
because of the railroad and all kinds of
things. I am not an expert on that. I am
here just for a brief moment. Foreigners
who were here ten years ago will tell you
the changes. You might not notice them
well sometimes. I was here four years
ago and I feel Addis is different from
then. At least you can see many hotels.
These are the reflections of people
who are interested to travel to the city.
Israelis are doing businesses, producing
here and exporting to other countries,
not only to Israel. This means there are
opportunities here. Things are moving.
Frankly speaking, I see things changing
here and things are moving forward
and for us Ethiopia is a very important
country. We have a very special
relationship. I live in a neighborhood
of Israelis who are originally from
Ethiopia. I eat Ethiopian food. For us it’s
important to be here.
We are working with the World Food
Program (WFP). Communities locally
produce the basic foods and they sell it
to the WFP. Doing so creates resilience.
Smallholder farmers account for close
to 80 percent of the country so that you
can’t address them in a very short period
of time. But you need to be optimistic.
Things are changing. People like me
engaged in the development sector are
optimistic. Otherwise, we have to leave
our jobs. The challenges are enormous.
You see the level of poverty when you
go out and it is heart-breaking. By the
way, we are talking about the rural
areas. The urban poverty is also a big
challenge too. It’s very big. Sometimes,
you ask yourself, if we are doing so
much, why is still so much poverty
prevailing. There is no real answer
to that. Lots of efforts may fail due to
governance, due to wrong solutions,
and due to the people’s mentality of
depending on handouts. Development is
of a complicated nature and takes time.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
That’s doesn’t make sense unless you
get very high prices. Otherwise, you
are exporting something that is not
processed and value added. You are
exporting a lot of water when you don’t
have enough. Today, we are exporting
know-how, smart seeds which are
resilient to droughts. Being an agrarian
country, agro processing is one area for
export opportunities. Fresh produces
are also the other possibilities. Instead
of exporting chickpeas or sesame raw,
you should do some processing and add
some value to earn higher prices. We are
talking about that. Ethiopia has a lot to
offer. We have a partnership with the
United Nation’s Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO), which is looking
at the value addition prospect. They
approached us in a specific type of crop
and made some research and combined
technology for the crop to make it
exportable. It’s cactus. It cannot be
exported as fresh produce. But it’s a very
Vol. XIX No. 948 |31
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
MINIMUM WAGE...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 19
Laborers earn 35 to 40 birr per day
of the Ethiopian Construction, Industry
Workers
Association
Federation,
Zegeye Haileselassie, argues that
setting a minimum wage in the private
enterprises is a big problem to day.
Especially, in the construction field
which is hiring a great deal of workers
at fairly lower wages, he added.
According
to
Zegeye,
those
in
construction, work long hours putting
their lives in danger, and that they
are still paid 35-40 birr on daily basis.
Even though there are agreement
among workers unions and employers
associations in improving wages, Zegeye
says that even that is not implemented.
According to Zegeye, even in foreign
construction companies workers are
working long hours in hazardous
condition for a very little payment which
shows how setting the minimum wage is
a must at this time.
Employees Social Security Agency
communications directorate director,
says on his part that the impact of
minimum wage legislation is following
workers down to their retirement years.
He says if there was a minimum wage,
it will create a smooth ground for the
setting of the minimum pension benefit.
On the other hand, he shares the idea
that deciding on the minimum wage now
is not possible because of the demand
and supply factors at the labor market.
Tesfaye also believes having a minimum
wage might be positive in decreasing the
number of workers turnover from one
company to the other in the face of slight
payment difference. On the other hand,
Tesfaye says that the economy should be
in a mature stage and also the experience
of other countries should be considered.
The low wage also affects retirement
greatly. And many senior citizens are
struggling to make it with small income.
Tesfaye Gashaw, Private Organizations,
Some experts also go as far as asking
if the value of the labor force should
be valued by the forces of demand
and supply in the market. There is an
assumption that there is a resistance
among employers when it comes to
unique one.
we conclude the interview?
In his recent visit to Ethiopia
Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign
minister of Israel, was accompanied
by Israeli businesses. What are the
developments of that visit so far?
How are the businesses linked with
local counterparts?
In the past few years, we have changed
our approach from focusing very much
on results on the ground – actually
these are vital for development – we are
contributing our expertise not only to
Ethiopia but to the rest of the world. In
Israel we see the UN as the entity, which
issues some 20 resolutions every year.
We see the organization as a political
entity led by the big Arab group; which
secures votes from the non-aligned
movement against Israel. But in the
past few years we came up with the
idea of engaging the UN in a different
approach. The UN deals with three
major issues. One is peace and security.
The second is human rights and the
third is development. In the first two it’s
I don’t know about the specifics. But what
I can tell you is that I have met Israeli
businesses here. Some are engaged in
the agriculture sector. The visit was a
momentum to push for more business
links. One of the factors for long-term
change is, as some put it, moving from
“aid to trade.”Connectivity makes it
easier to change things.
Any ideas you might mention before
the minimum wage legislation and
according to Tadele Yimer, President of
the Ethiopian Employers Association
Federation, it is a wrong assumption.
Even though he believes that minimum
wage is inevitable like Tesfaye and
Fekadu, he believes that it comes with
the country’s political, economic and
other circumstances in the future.
Tadele says there should not be only
one criterion to set the minimum wage;
rather different criteria should be
employed while considering minimum
wage. For instance, he says that the
purchasing power of the currency and
the consumer, the negotiation balance
between employers and employees are
some of things to consider. Apart from
that, Tadele believes that Ethiopian
employers do not exploit their workers.
Minimum wage is also among the few
its concerns for political parties such as
Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP).
According to Chane Kebede (PhD),
president of the EDP, says that minimum
wage legislation is part of their election
all about politics. But development is an
area where Israel should contribute and
should be involved for better outcomes.
Hence, a few days ago we initiated two
UN resolutions adopted by the great
majority of the assembly. 141 countries
have supported it. The Arab countries did
not because it’s from Israel. But we have
been joined by the board of UN entities.
We also have created partnerships and
influence the management and policies
of the UN. Hence, this puts Israel in
a different place than in the past. We
are contributing our experiences in
the development arena and what we
have had since 1958. One of the earliest
development agencies in the world is
MASHAV, which started operation in
1958.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
manifesto. Looking at the skyrocketing
cost of living EDP proposed a minimum
wage standard for both the private and
public employers to be at 1,000 birr.
Although this might resolve some of the
issues, EDP admits that there is need for
an all out economic reform.
Apart from that, he says there should
be provision of water, electricity,
telephone free of charge for this segment
of the society. Many are struggling with
transport, basic goods, health expenses
and the day to day expenses also is
increasing which is a hustle for many
and he believes that there should be a
quick fix.
Demis Chanyalew (PhD), an economist,
says that there is no such thing as
competitive market to decide the correct
worth of labor. Rather he believes it
should be related to the service they are
giving and the country’s living standard.
More than that he believes workers’
wage should be way upper than the
poverty line. He strongly believes there
is a necessity of setting minimum wages
whether in public or private sectors.
Do you think the development
instrument you brought to the UN
would genuinely be considered a
developmental agenda?
The Arabs are trying to politicize it,
nobody else does. Those 141 countries
have voted for it and the resolution was
passed recently. It has been supported
not because of the Middle East issue
but rather because the resolution was
good for development and came from a
country that has been doing it for many
years at home. It’s a genuine contribution
and strictly of a professional matter.
That’s why it has been supported.
The resolution does not address at all
the Middle East. It’s all under the UN
language of genuine task.
32| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
Vol. XIX No. 948 |33
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
34| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
By Leyou Tameru
Pieces
&
Reparations: ideal
@anchihoye
Bits
or possibility?
Ethiopian expanding...
Aviation Authority and the US Federal Aviation
Administration. “We have successfully maintained
10 CFM engines so far and we are happy with the
output.” Ethiopian invested USD 21 million to
develop the CFM engine overhaul capacity.
According to the airline, in 2013/14 fiscal year
Ethiopian MRO generated 483 million birr from
third party maintenance service. In the Vision 2025
growth plan, it projects to make around 10 billion
birr from third party work.
I attended a lecture on a topic that seems to be gaining some
steam around the world these days: reparations. This particular
lecture was about reparations to be made by the US government
to the African American community. The lecture was by a writer
whose piece entitled “The Case for Reparations” had caused
quite a stir when it was published two years ago. The basic gist of
the article was that the segregation, both economic and political,
suffered by the African American community in the US rooted in
the history of slavery have and continue to put that community
at a significant disadvantage. Thus, because the government is
responsible for it all, it needs to make reparations to even the
playing field for the disadvantaged community. In his article,
the author focuses on the housing situation, where African
Americans were given loans at a higher interest rate or were
denied loans, denied housing in certain areas or just housing in
general because of the color of their skin. All this happened while
these communities were part of the state as taxpayers but were
getting less in return from the State.
Established in 1945, Ethiopian Airlines maintains
modern and complete aircraft, engine and component
overhaul and repair facilities. With an all-Ethiopian
work force of over 750 technical personnel – most
of whom are trained by the airline’s Aviation
Maintenance Technicians School and are United
States FAA and Ethiopian CAA licensed – the center
maintains its own jet and turbo prop aircraft as well
as customers aircraft from different parts of the
world.
The case for reparations for slavery has been made on numerous
occasions by different authors, researchers, academician etc.
What I found appealing in the argument set forth by this writer
is that it was made in a tangible way, a way in which the legal
institutions that we have built would be able to adjudicate. In
the end of the lecture, he mentioned that he would be surprised
if reparations took place in the US in his time or his children’s
time. But in his opinion, it is important to keep the conversation
about this topic alive among the young generation because
although the generations experiences the disadvantages that
come from that time, they are so removed from the original
causes that they forget their importance. This point hit the mark
for me, especially the point about the young generation being so
removed from the history of colonization and segregation in the
African context.
In a related news, Ethiopian Airlines and CFM
International on Tuesday celebrated a 10-year
partnership at the Sheraton Addis. Ethiopian
started using the CFM engines in 2003 on its Boeing
737 Classic aircraft. The airline’s 737NG aircraft are
also powered by CFM engines. The airline today has
20 aircraft powered by 40 CFM engines.
And because of that, I thought of the two interesting reparations
cases I had come across in other countries.
The first one is related to the atrocities committed by the
British government against the Mau Mau Freedom Fighters in
Kenya. The suit was brought before a UK court by a group of
the surviving Mau Mau Freedom Fighters. There was a lot of
challenge gathering written evidence as the government itself
had destroyed it, but with what was recorded through other
historical documents the court made a decision that stunned
many people: a 21.5 million pounds reparations award for the
living freedom fighters. The amount is not very high. Honestly,
I am not sure how you can put a number on such atrocities. Yet
the fact that such a case was entertained in court with such an
outcome is an encouraging sign, in my opinion.
The second reparations case is a very recent one. It is a case that
the Caribbean nations have come together to sue the former
colonial states for slavery and stealing of their natural resources.
This case is interesting because it is being brought before the
International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is the United Nations
court. These 14 Caribbean countries that have come together to
start this suit have indicated that what they seek is a negotiated
settlement with the European countries. The Prime Minister
of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines stated that they European
governments will need to partner with these countries in a
special way so as to be able to repair the damages. I honestly am
not sure what that exactly means. Are they suing them for money
or for help?
Regardless of what the outcome will be for the Caribbean
case, I believe that these two cases are very interesting for two
reasons. They are setting forth two practical trends as to suits
for Reparations. The first one is by victims who can show direct
correlation between the atrocities and themselves and the other
is by a State. These cases have also been brought before different
courts with different jurisdictions. I honestly believe that at a
national level courts have more chances of being implemented
and taking less time to do so. Whereas the decision that will come
out of the ICJ, in my opinion, will be more of a symbolic one. Be
that as it may, it seems that the case of Reparations is being made
before courts, and is no longer a far-fetched ideal. I cannot help
but wonder what the ramifications of this will be if African states
decided to join hands and start their own suits!
Ed.’s Note: Leyou Tameru is a graduate of Georgetown and Addis
Ababa University Law schools, specializing in International Legal
Studies. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, she seeks to understand
the impact of economic, political and social issues on everyday
lives. She can be reached at bitsandpieces@ethiopianreporter.com
The airline has an engine workshop that lies on 12,000
sqm of land. The MRO center repairs and maintains
Pratt and Whitney, and CFM engines. The center
has the capability of maintaining airframe and
engines of Boeing, Bombardier and Fokker aircraft.
Recently, Ethiopian ordered 20 B737 MAX
aircraft that all will be powered by the new CFM
LEAP engines. The engines are worth USD 900
CONT`D FROM PAGE 4
million. Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde
Gebremariam, said that the CFM engines are the
most reliable ones. “The engines have the longest on
wing life. Long on wing life means low maintenance
cost,” Tewolde said. “Our ten-year partnership is
a long journey and it will continue for the coming
decades. I can say that it is a very happy marriage.”
Jean-Paul Ebanga, president and CEO of CFM
International, said the marriage is between the best
airline in Africa and the best engine maker in the
world. Ebanga said that Ethiopian Airlines is doing
good while many carriers in Africa and else-where
are facing serious challenges. “Today, Ethiopian is
operating the best product in the world. If you go to
Europe or the US you cannot find a better product
than Ethiopian. I advise other African carriers to
use the recipe Ethiopian is having.”
Ebanga said that CFM engines are the best in the
world adding that his company has so far delivered
27,000 CFM engines. The company has sold 8000 new
CFM LEAP engines that will power the B737 MAX
jetliner.
In a related development, Ethiopian has started
preparations to fit in the new Airbus 350XWB. In
2009 Ethiopian placed firm orders for 12 A350XWB
jetliners from the European consortium. Ethiopian
will begin taking delivery of these aircraft in 2016.
Ethiopian has already started preparations that will
enable it to accommodate the new aircraft. Experts
of Airbus were in Addis Ababa this week to offer
training to Ethiopian staff members.
Ethiopian currently serves more than 83 destinations
across five continents with a current fleet of more
than 50 Boeing aircraft that includes B737, B757,
B767, B777, B787 and a cargo fleet that includes B757
and 777 Freighters and MD-11s.
PM office to...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 5
Conducting geodesy (an accurate measuring and
understanding fundamental properties of the earth),
aerial photography, satellite imagery, topographic
maps, thematic maps and hydrograph are some of its
responsibilities. Though the agency is responsible
for reporting to MoFED, there are various
governmental and non-governmental institutions
demanding and obtaining the agency’s information,
the source said. The Central Statistical Agency, the
National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, the Ministry
of Mining, the Ethiopian Roads Authority are some
of the government institutions getting the data and
maps with the full consent of the government, the
source said.
“Thus, it is mandatory to make the agency more
autonomous and report directly to the PM office,”
he said.
Furthermore, the draft bill, prepared by EMA,
intends to amend a few articles from the existing
proclamation so as to avoid conflicts from the
Information Network Security Agency (INSA), the
source added.
Proclamation 808/2013, which re-established INSA,
contains a few articles that are contradicting with
duties of the mapping agency.
For instance, article 6 sub-article 13 of this
proclamation gives power to INSA to develop and
administer national geospatial data infrastructure
and usingithe infrastructure INSA is required to
collect, analyze, store and disseminate any kind of
geospatial data.
This article entirely disregarded the main task of the
mapping agency, the source said but is not willing to
elucidate how the draft could rectify this with the
interest of the agency.
In related news, the mapping agency is co-organizing
www.thereporterethiopia.com
the ninth ministerial conference of the Regional
Center for Mapping of Resources for Development
(RCMRD), a regional body of mapping and geospecial information in collaboration with the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
The ministerial conference will be held for two
days starting on November 17, Sultan Mohammed,
director general of Ethiopian Mapping Agency,
told journalists on Thursday. The ministerial
conference is the overall policy and political organ
of the RCMRD as well as a platform for promoting its
activities at a national and regional levels, acording
to Sultan.
Thus, the ministers comprising 20 member states
will review and approve a new strategic plan of the
RCMRD for the period 2015 to 2018.
This strategic plan is expected to provide clear
direction and a bold step to position the regional
body and to play a strategic and central role in the
development and use of geospatial information
to foster sustainable development in the member
states, Sultan said.
Prior to the ministerial conference, the governing
council of RCMRD will convene from November 10
to 14, this month. The governing council is composed
of officials with the rank of permanent secretary
or national mapping agency director generals
representing each member states.
The RCMRD was established in Nairobi, Kenya,
in 1975 under the auspices of the UNECA and the
African Union. It is a non-profit intergovernmental
organization and currently has 20 tracting member
states, namely: contracting Burundi, Comoros,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,
Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South
Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania,
Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Vol. XIX No. 948 |35
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Ethiopia to grant...
House endorses it, Ethiopia will offer
free scholarships in postgraduate
studies for ten South Sudanese State
Ministers and for another ten senior
officials from the Ministry of General
Education in a single academic year.
In addition, the agreement also states
that the Ethiopian government will
extend experience-sharing activities
to support the neighboring nation’s
technical and vocational education and
training as well. Similarly, encouraging
programs
among
their
twinning
UDJ says...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 3
demonstration on the coming 6 and 7 of
December; this was disclosed earlier this
week by the chairman of the cooperation
Yilikal Getnet (Eng.).
Chairman of the cooperation said that
the newly-established cooperation of
the parties is preparing a one-month
action plan, which will be implemented
throughout December that will include
three public meetings in three Sundays
of the month and other activities during
the same month.
Apart from the demonstrations and
various activities, the party is also
seeking a prayer from different religious
institutions for the problems that the
country faces. In this regard the party
will send its statement to the Muslim
community to apply it in the Friday
prayers by the members of the party,
the same will be sent to all religions, the
chairperson concluded.
CONT`D FROM PAGE 5
respective universities, exchanging
knowledge, experience and expertise in
higher education and scientific research,
academic tours among the countries are
also stated in the agreement.
Similarly, the House also deliberated
on a draft bill that was presented by
the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development (MoFED) regarding the
economic and technical cooperation
agreements between Ethiopia and
Indonesia.
The two countries signed the cooperation
agreement in September, 2011 in
New York City that mainly aims at
developing and promoting advantageous
cooperation in the economic and
technical fields.
According to their agreement, the two
nations will explore and realize possible
cooperation in specific sectors including,
agriculture, oil and minerals, trade and
investments, culture and tourism, family
planning and poverty eradication, and
small and medium businesses.
Having discussed the contents of the draft
bill and its objectives, the House voted
to send it to the Trade and Investments
Standing Committee for more revision
before the final endorsement.
In the same session, the House also
endorsed three more bills which were
presented to it earlier that include a
bilateral agreement that the Ethiopian
government had signed with other
countries.
Among the bills the House ratified are
a bilateral agreement Ethiopia signed
with Brazilian and Spanish governments
in the aviation sector and a cooperation
agreement between the Ethiopian and
Brazilian governments in the education
sector.
OIC introduces...
used to protect against shared rather
than individual risk such as the risks
associated with weather fluctuations,
disease outbreaks or price loss.
For the time being, OIC has targeted
Borena zone which is best known for
its dependence on livestock production
owing to its pastoralist and semipastoralists population.
However, the area is notoriously known
for pervasive drought hazard that claims
the lives of livestock due to shortage
of forages. Because of the lack of any
mechanism that absorbs such loss, it
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CONT`D FROM PAGE 5
claimed the life of thousands and to
collaborate with the regional and
international efforts to deal with this
grave and serious challenge facing the
entire continent.
On the joint communiqué that came at
the conclusion of the meeting, both sides
expressed their satisfaction with the
outcome of the meeting and decided to
hold the next sixth meeting in 2016, in
Egypt.
Giant stateowned...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 3
CONT`D FROM PAGE 4
leaves many households destitute.
The product is sold and premium is
collected through intermediaries such
as primary cooperatives, unions and
Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). Since
electronic money transfer and cellphone
transaction have not been rolled out in
the country, the possibility of collecting
the premiums through such channel
is further down the road. Premium
is collected through intermediaries
for which OIC pays commission and
the payout is also carried in the same
manner.
Oilseeds export...
Ethiopia,
Egypt...
Holding SC, chaired by Bizuayehu
Tadele, manages 11 companies under its
umbrella including National Cement,
Anbessa Flour and Pasta Factory,
Berchaco Ethiopia, the East African
Group Chemical Industry, the East
African Group Food Industry and
recently the East Africa Tiger Brands
Industries Company joined the family.
Patience...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 1
Furthermore, Hailemariam reiterated
that the patience of the international
community is wearing thin, but said “it
is not hopefully lost, on both sides.”
Chief negotiator of IGAD, Ambassador
Seyoum Mesfin, former foreign minister
of Ethiopia and currently serving
as ambassador to China, hopes for a
lasting solution after conclusion of the
extraordinary summit. He told members
of the media that all parties in the conflict
are taking part in this negotiation
including those who were detained by
the Kiir government at the beginning of
the conflict. All the participating parties
have taken part in setting the agenda and
deciding the format of the negotiation,
according to the chief negotiator.
CONT`D FROM PAGE 1
Northern region of the country. Haile
said that though the effect could be seen
reducing the quality, it is anticipated
that sesame would make it to the
international market with the target
volume for this fiscal year.
Samuel Gizaw, Director of Crop
Marketing Directorate at the Ministry
outlined the details of the export
targets for the year. Hence, USD 1.4
billion revenue is set wherein the first
quarter of the budget year the targets
have been achieved at full scale. The
reason for that, according to Assefa,
is that the high volume export of
delayed produces contributed for the
performance registered. In a nutshell,
the performance of the sector in the past
four years stood at 11.6 in growth with 24
percent of annual growth in prices.
Furthermore, he noted that the two
leaders, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar,
have agreed to sit down face-to-face for
negotiations for the first time since the
start of the bloody conflict. The two
are scheduled to sit together with PM
Hailemariam as chair and President
Uhuru Kenyatta as rapporteur starting
Thursday November 6.
In this regard, the major points of
discussion will be seeking and probing
on the agenda that was set by the two
parties which includes distribution
of responsibilities at the high level of
the transitional authority, defining
the governance system and some other
issues, the chief negotiator added.
That said, the country remains unable
to hull and add value to sesame, forcing
Ethiopia to lose USD 300 to 400 per tone.
According to Assefa, exporters are not
performing well in processing sesame
and adding value to the expectations
of the government. The Ministry of
Industry was tasked to oversee the
activities in that regard yet the actual
outcomes remain unsatisfying, Assefa
said.
“We are optimistic that this will be the
last session which will end without
gaining the considerable grounds in
the negotiation process,” Seyoum said,
based on the pledge that the two leaders
have made to IGAD heads of state. He
strongly stated that it is the last time the
two parties would leave the negotiation
table without an agreement. And added
that “if they fail to agree, definitely the
consequences will be too big and that
cannot be an option. So we are looking to
achieve meaningful outcome during this
session,” he concluded.
In related news, EPOSPEA is set to host
the fourth international conference on
November 12 and 13 at the Sheraton
Addis. According to Haile, over 400
participants are expected to attend it.
Out of that, 100 individuals are said to
come from 20 countries. Established
13 years ago, EPOSPEA houses 125
exporting companies engaged in the
oilseeds, pulses and spices business.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
36| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
The managing director said EWLA
not only provided legal services but
also took part in an effort to bring
Aberash to Addis Ababa and facilitated
accommodations for her when she was
casted from her birth place.
“Although the name of the association
was not mention in the film, people
could easily associate it with Andinet,”
Zenaye said. “Even then, the association
is portrayed as having problems with
the government and has suspended its
operations.”
Their accusation also extends that, apart
from Meaza Ashenafi, who was director
of EWLA at the time, the film also fails
to recognize the role played by other
members of the association.
Asked whether EWLA plans to file suits,
the managing director said the decision
whether to take the matter to court
would be decided by the board of the
association.
The controversy surrounding Difret
started when the film was about to
be premiered at the National Theater
on September 3 following a lawsuit
by Aberash and Fekru Ashenafi, who
claims to be the co-author of the script.
Following resolution of the dispute
through arbitration, the movie was
being screened at various cinema houses
in Addis Ababa. However, the screening
was short-lived as another court
injunction ensued. This time plaintiffs
ASCOM Mining...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 7
The Difret...
CONT`D FROM PAGE 7
Beruk Asrat and Alkidihim Asrat filed
suits and asked for an injunction that
the screening of Difrett would cause
irreparable harm to their economic
rights.
the company a large-scale gold mining
license once the negotiations are
finalized. The official said Ascom has
made the largest gold discovery in the
history of gold exploration in Ethiopia.
“Once the company acquired the license
it will develop the mine with in a year,”
the official said. The gold deposit is
estimated at more than 100 tons.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs,
who claimed to be the legal heirs of
Etagegn Lemessa, said the filmmakers
did not consult or get an approval from
them. They claim Etagegn was the
lawyer who represented Aberash. The
case is still pending at the Federal High
Court.
Ascom Mining Ethiopia PLC got its
gold and base metals exploration
license through transfer from previous
license holder Ariab Gold Mining PLC
(Sudanese and Ethiopian JV Company)
on November 20, 2008.
Written and directed by Zeresenay
Mehari, the film was produced by
Lellai
Demoz,
Mehret
Mandefro,
Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and as
executive producers Angelina Jolie,
Julie Mehretu, Jessica Ranki, Francesca
Zampi and Lacey Schwartz.
United, Dashen...
agency from banks to give the services
while religious institutions, non-profit
making organizations and foreign
entities or those which are fully or partly
owned by such entities are prohibited
from becoming agents of banks.
According to Taye, agent banking is
a somewhat very important banking
system for Ethiopia as it would enable
banks to go down to the residential
areas in contrast with the ATM banking
service which seems to be limited to citycenters. He further explained that agent
baking can be operated by supermarkets,
CONT`D FROM PAGE 7
malls, pharmacies and shops to ease the
need to go to banks to get the services.
“Kenya can be named as pioneer in the
region in agent banking,” Taye said.
As one of the payment services, agent
banking plays an important role in
promoting the country’s banking system,
he explained further. According to the
president, customers are only allowed to
have a transaction up to 25,000 on a daily
basis. More importantly, the system
will enable people to have cash payment
which other modern means in banking
do not.
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Access to...
The license was previously granted to
Ariab Gold Mining PLC on May 7, 2007.
Ascom Mining Ethiopia PLC constitutes
of ASCOM PRECIOUS METALS BVI
owning 96 percent of the share and Ariab
Gold Mining PLC owning the remaining
4 percent. According to the Ministry of
Mines, in accordance with the mining
law, in addition to the initial first three
years the license has been renewed
four times relinquishing 25 percent
from the retained license area at each
renewal. The ministry said the company
is currently in its 7th year exploration
period working in 268.17 sq.km area.
Ascom Mining Ethiopia Plc exploration
site is 100 km from the Great Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam, and the company is
a multinational share company whose
long list of shareholders includes
Egyptian shareholders.
According to the Ministry of Mines, the
shareholders are Sudanese, Egyptians
and other North African and Middle
Eastern country nationals. The company
has concessions in many countries
including South Sudan and Sudan. In
Ethiopia it has another exploration
license in the Gambela Regional State. It
also undertakes exploration and mining
activities in different countries in Africa
and the Middle East.
“Egyptian investors are our country’s
development partners. We share the
same geological and mineral belts with
Egypt similar to the Blue Nile water,
thus, we wish more Egyptian investors
to join us to invest in Ethiopia,” the
ministry said. So far MIDROC Gold is
the only company engaged in largescale gold mining activity. In 2012, the
ministry granted Ezana Mining PLC
large-scale gold mining. Ascom will
be the third company to secure large
scale gold mining license. A British
company, Nyota Minerals, was about
to secure its large-scale gold mining
license to mine the Tulu Kapi gold mine
in west Wollega. However, the company
recently farmed out its concession to
another UK company, KEFI Minerals.
KEFI Minerals will soon apply for large
scale gold mining license.
CONT`D FROM PAGE 6
launched in October 2013, acknowledges
the problem of access to justice in the
country. The action plan identifies a
number of problems that stands out as a
challenge to the fulfillment of the right of
access to justice. The lack of coordination
in the provision of free legal aid services
by the various governmental and nongovernmental organizations is one
challenge also recognized in the action
plan.
To address the problem, the action plan
has recommended the development of a
strategy to coordinate and integrate the
free legal aid service disparately given
by government and non-governmental
organizations.
Poly GCL...
According to Yibekal Gizaw, head of
National Human Rights Action Plan, a
committee has been tasked to develop a
draft strategy to coordinate and integrate
free legal aid services in the country.
CONT`D FROM PAGE 7
budget, finished the comprehensive
geology and geophysical study, signed
the contract with a company to begin the
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
study,” Wei said.
Despite the number of government
initiated measures to improve the right
of access to justice over the past two
decades, the problem still persists. For
Filipos, the right of access to justice
“remains a serious challenge”. All
share the need to raise awareness and
all agree that only a combined effort of
every stakeholder is need to improve the
right of access to justice. But, without a
general consensus as to what the core
hindrances to such a fundamental right
is, the problem could continue to linger.
According to Wei, Poly GCL is in the
process to hire a company that would
undertake a seismic survey and drill
exploration wells. “We are preparing
bidding documents for seismic and
drilling work tender,” Wei said.
According to the current plan, the first
stage of the project will produce around
3 million tonnes of LNGs (Liquefied
Natural Gas) annually and is expected to
go into production in 2018.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
LEISURE
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 948 |37
Crossword
ACROSS
1. Mama __, rock singer
5. Run from A to B
9. Invests in little enterprises
13. Beehive
19. Sailboat
21. Puerto __
!"#$%#&'
tissue
23. Praising
25. A country in NW Africa
27. Mixes
29. Cakes
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32. Belonging to a thing
33. Can
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37. A solution containing a phosphate
buffer
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42. A composition written in metrical feet
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50. Japan
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58. A witty person who makes jokes
59. A set of three similar things
61. Romania
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70. Malevolency
74. Italian opera set
76. Beam out
77. The former capital
79. Beat pleat
80. Small container
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85. Many subconsciousses
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87. Express a supposition
88. A person’s brother or sister
90. __compoop
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92. Of she
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as in a silo
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103. Charms
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108. Letters of the alphabet
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110. Doyen
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112. Place casually
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114. Sea eagles
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2. National capital
3. A formal religious act conferring a
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4. Turns away
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6. Exactness
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8. Anagram of iros
9. Schisms
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12. Someone who is morally
reprehensible
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24. Performs arithmetic functions by
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26. USSR river
28. Lyings
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33. Mutual savings bank
34. Type
genus
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38. State capital
39. Mineral
moon
97. Ailments
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101. Oil company
102. Spanish baby
104. Mayan language
106. The neural structure consisting of
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students have
no confidence in
you sir.
What do you have for
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Kuncho Komments
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46. An acute highly contagious viral
47. Venues
49. ___ of corn
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56. An open fabric woven together at
regular intervals
57. A woolen cap of Scottish origin
60. Plant part
63. Excavate the earth beneath
64. Anagram of saci
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66. Large integers
68. Swiss river
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71. Travel list
72. Colombian Town
73. __gate, lengthen
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78. Dark glassy rock
81. Don’t know when yet
82. Swiss river
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Don’t worry
sir that will
change.
I have the result for
the class survey.
How?
Wow! That is
bad!
Great! What are
the results?
Your Zodiacs
We’ll no longer
conduct class
surveys.
1
Ouija
2
Nightcrawler
3
Fury
4
Gone Girl
5
The Book of Life
6
John Wick
7
St. Vincent
8
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day
9
The Judge
10
Dracula Untold
(astrology-online.com)
ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20)
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23)
CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20)
The positive thoughts can help you to replenish a storage
of your inner energy this week. You should learn how to
do it when you have feeling of despair. This week is very
good for you to make plans and get over just about any
money investing - they should probably be put on hold for
next week. This week lucky numbers are: 57, 24, 74, 73, 41
You feel full of energy this week and your reach imagination
during that week. Despite of fact that you are going to
work hard during all week there will be enough energy for
improving surroundings or life situations as well. This week
lucky numbers are: 65, 21, 37, 53, 59
It is very important for you to take some quiet time for
yourself this week. By the middle of this week you may be
seen by others that can be put in charge of some projects
requiring a sharp mind full of fresh ideas. By the end of the
friend who has lots of information about this week’s events
to share with you. This week lucky numbers are: 86, 55, 80,
36, 67
Now it is great time to work in groups. Other people like working
with you because you know how to become one with the group
but not a leader. By the middle of the week there are a lot of
opportunities appear to accomplish what you set out to do.By
the end of the week all sorts of activities are possible. You can
lucky numbers are: 71, 63, 9, 91, 68
LEO (July 23-Aug 22)
SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)
TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21)
You decide not to challenge big bosses today instead
you should better redouble your efforts and prove your
increases this week as you realize you are becoming
home front. Don’t rely on anyone. Remember- appearances
are deceptive! Speak the truth and nothing but the truth.
Friendships may also transform this week. The old ones come to an end new ones - are formed. This week lucky
numbers are: 11, 83, 75, 29, 16
GEMINI (May 22-June 21)
You are very ambitious person and this week you will
be reconsidering your purposes and how close you are
to reaching them. Circumstances can throw you into
interests and purposes. The recent beginnings can
now reach its realisation and a resalt promises to be
satisfactory. This week lucky numbers are: 89, 44, 26, 48,
29
You set your own rules in the work place this week. The
business situation is very good and you are able to earn more
money at almost every turn you make. In the middle of this
week you will probably want to change something. Try to
" ideas with the higher ups. By the end of the you will want
to pay more attention to the loved ones. They were really
patient this week so show them your appreciation. This
week lucky numbers are: 6, 77, 98, 42, 67
This is going to be a good week for thinking and ideas. You
may feel like noticing some new interesting details or getting
lost in the thoughts. Enjoy it. There are no serious problems
expected. The second half of the week is a great time to work
together with you partners. There are some group meetings
and sharing your ideas will be very productive. By the end
of the week you may feel full of tenderness so spend this
weekend with beloved. This week lucky numbers are: 26, 66,
87, 98, 12
AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19)
A lot of work to do this week. Try not to loose an opportunity to
stretch your horizon. Travel, education are the ways to do it. It is
also very rewarding week- any reasonable investments will be
in a position to help you get ahead or give you advice on the best
way to handle a business situation. By the end of the week you
may want to break your routine and try something new or different.
Some new hobby may bring much joy. This week lucky numbers
are: 69, 42, 41, 81, 43
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21)
VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23)
You will have a lot of energy for work this week and there is
#
You should also spend some time doing something pleasant.
You could go to the movie for example. By the middle of the
week be ready to capitalize on an opportunity that comes
with some family project. This week lucky numbers are: 40,
55, 89, 28, 73
You are very attentive to dear people now. You want to take care
of others express your compassion. By the middle of the week
there is a big progress in work. As soon as you are on the top
of your own mental force there is nothing to worry about. By the
end of the week there is a new money - making opportunity on
the horizon- you should be ready. This week lucky numbers are:
3, 65, 75, 33, 35
SPOT THE DIFFERENCES
Can you spot the 12 differences between the two pictures?
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Solution
PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)
You seem to be able to answer any question this week. You are
always ready to get any challenge or problem over. The middle of
this week is a perfect time to be persevering and move forward in
your career decisions. You have all your energy for it. The end of this
week is a good time for money. The old debt may be paid or some
new opportunities appear. This week lucky numbers are: 79, 62, 67,
40, 71
Solution
38| Vol. XIX No. 948
Sport
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
oaching superstars
Sentayehu Eshetu
By Mark Jenkin
Sentayehu Eshetu is smiling proudly in
his smart blue Adidas track suit top.
It is a gift from Tirfi Tsegaye, the latest
athlete he has helped emerge from the
humble town of Bekoji to become a
superstar of world athletics.
Two months ago in Germany, Tirfi
recorded the fastest women’s time of
the year to triumph in front more than
one million spectators at the Berlin
Marathon.
Now, living in Addis Ababa and a regular
contender in the biggest races, she
has returned to her roots to say ‘thank
you’ to the father figure who made it all
possible.
For Sentayehu, the legendary coach,
Tirfi is just the latest in a long line of
talented youngsters who turned out to
be running royalty.
Since 1992, when his protégé Derartu
Tulu became the Olympic 10,000m
champion in Barcelona, the gold rush
has never stopped.
Those he guided as juniors include
three-time Olympic gold-medal winners
Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba,
two of the sport’s all-time greats.
Add to that list, Fatuma Roba and Tiki
Gelana, Olympic marathon winners in
1996 and 2012 respectively and Ejegayehu
Dibaba, who won silver over 10,000m at
Athens 2004.
A third Dibaba sister, Genzebe, has this
year been nominated as IAAF World
Athlete of the Year after setting indoor
world records at 1,500m and 3,000m,
while Kenenisa’s brother Tariku Bekele
was a bronze medalist over 10,000m at
London 2012.
In sports such as football or tennis,
Sentayehu would be declared a genius.
Famous coaches like Jose Mourinho
Athletes while training
and Ivan Lendl have received countless
plaudits and gained public profiles on a
par with the players they work with.
Yet such acclaim does not interest
Sentayehu who, two years short of his
60th birthday, can happily work to a
backdrop of barley fields and farmers
tending cattle. On a rare visit to Addis
Ababa, he can walk down the street
unnoticed.
It is 170 miles away in the green fields of
Bekoji, a town of only 17,000 inhabitants,
where he feels at home, stopwatch
in hand and whistle to his mouth,
enthusiastically passing on instructions
to kids dreaming of glory.
At the age of 29, Tirfi has been rewarded
for her years of dedication. Now it is
her sister, 16-year-old Workesh, and
hundreds of others like her, who are
the focus of the coach’s relentless
enthusiasm.
Not content with shaping the past and
present of Ethiopian distance running,
he is polishing new gems for the future.
“I love the job,” Sentayehu told The
Reporter. “I really love the profession of
coaching.
Every day, I don’t feel like I succeed
enough so I’ll get back to the field and
coach again and again.
“I need to contribute more until I can’t
work, until can’t move any more.
“Bekoji is very cold but I’ll always wake
up at 6am, resisting the cold, to work
with the young athletes.
“I always wake my family up in the
morning and they can’t go back to sleep
but they don’t mind because they know
how much I enjoy coaching.”
While he was growing up in Harar,
Sentayehu was not an athlete but a
soccer player – he still has the scars on
his leg to prove it.
And judging by the way he briskly
moves across the training field, it is
not surprising to learn he was once an
energetic midfield player.
“I started coaching in 1976 (Ethiopian
calendar),” he said.
“I was a sports teacher in a junior school
and I used to teach kids to run and
encourage them into sports activities.
Then I started getting very interested in
being a coach.”
The big breakthrough came in 1992
when Derartu sprinted away from the
South African Elana Meyer, becoming
the first African woman to win gold over
10,000m at the Olympics. Her tears of joy
on the podium were matched at home in
East Africa.
“I was a teacher and I was assigned
to go to Harar to give a course at the
time,” Sentayehu said. “I saw the race
on television and when Derartu won, I
burst into tears.
“After she won, my students knew I was
the one who coached her so I used her as
motivation for other children. I showed
them her picture and I said ‘you need to
be like this girl’.”
Watching his athletes perform on the
world stage, is always emotional.
“My heart pounds much faster when I
see them running,” he said. “Those are
my children. Those are my athletes. It
gives me butterflies in my stomach.
“When they represent their country and
be part of an international competition,
I feel so proud. When I see my children,
my athletes win Olympic medals, that’s
the proudest moment of my life.”
Sentayehu is reluctant to name the best
athlete he has ever worked with, noting
they have all achieved great things.
But, many observers would argue his
former protégé Kenenisa Bekele is the
greatest of all time. By the age of 22,
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Kenenisa was already the world record
holder for 5,000m and 10,000m. He has
won multiple world titles on the road,
cross country and track, even surpassing
the achievements of Haile Gebreselassie
who hails from down the road in Asella.
“You can tell by a young age if they can
be a special runner,” Sentayehu said.
“You can see by the way they run, their
physical appearance. And the other
thing you see is their motivation. How
interested are they to train.”
Years before the glory comes the
groundwork. Hundreds of teenage
runners in Bekoji are up every morning
striving to give their best under the
watchful eye of the coach.
Honesty and openness are vital part of
his relationship with them.
“You have to consider them like your
children,” he said. “You need to take
care of them and show patience and
understanding. You should be able to
tell every detail about a single athlete
when someone asks you what their
characteristics are like.
“A coach should be very transparent. If
an athlete performs badly, he needs to be
very open with his criticism so that they
learn.
“Every time the athletes train, I observe
their negative parts and write down
what they are doing wrong. I will tell
them their mistakes. When they come
back to training, I will look to see if they
have corrected their mistakes.”
Particularly with younger runners, it is
important their training load is managed
to minimize risk of injury.
“A common mistake an athlete makes is
when you put them on the line and you
tell them a certain speed to run, they
sometimes want to go over that speed
to show how good they are,” Sentayehu
said.
Sport
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 948 |39
The drive to succeed
By Mark Jenkin
Success in professional life and on the
golf course have long gone hand in glove.
In Western nations, the sport has
aways been seen as a friendly means
for potential business partners to build
trusty relationships.
With its rapidly developing business
links, Ethiopia is now recognized as a
nation with the drive to succeed.
And the country’s constant quest for
improvement can be seen on the golf
course too.
At the Addis Ababa Golf Club near the
city’s old airport, the game is clearly on
the rise. A neatly-kept nine-hole course,
restaurant, clubhouse and hotel complex
are testament to that.
Mesfin Gebermichael, the club’s vicecaptain, witnessed the “huge” boom in
golf during 30 years living in the United
States. His interest became a passion
after returning to his home country in
2011.
“I’m a new golfer,” Mesfin, who has a
handicap of 21, says.
“When I went to business school, they
told us the other thing we had to do,
apart from getting a degree, was to go
out and play golf.
“Golf has all the characteristics you
want in a businessman. Your stance has
to be there. Your focus has to be there.
Confidence has to be there and most of
“A good athlete has discipline and is a
dedicated and motivated person.
“He diligently listens to what the coach
says to him. A good athlete keeps away
from bad habits like smoking, drinking
alcohol, things that are harmful to the
body. And in my opinion, to engage in
too much sexual activity is not good for
an athlete.”
In Bekoji, runners are fortunate to
train in clean air at altitude of 2,800m
above sea level, and to have access to
carbohydrate-rich food.
“The other thing is the footsteps,”
Sentayehu said. “They can follow the
footsteps of other athletes.”
Everyday, runners in bright tracksuits
and tatty trainers make thousands
of footsteps, gliding across the lush
grass and dashing through undulating
woodlands, attempting to emulate role
models like Kenenisa and Tirunesh.
When the time comes for his young stars
to fly the nest, they will leave Bekoji
with the coach’s blessing.
“I feel very happy when I see them
moving on because they are moving
on in a positive way,” he said. “It’s like
they are going from the first stage to the
second stage when they go to clubs or to
international level.
“Then, I will have other very young
athletes to work with.”
And so the process starts over again.
Perhaps one day, like those who have
gone before, a boy or girl from the new
generation will cross the line first and
fly the flag for Ethiopia at the Olympic
Games or Berlin Marathon.
Ed.’s Note: The writer is on an internship
at The Reporter.
all, you have to have vision for where
you want the ball to go. If you implement
all of those things, then you’re a good
golfer.”
It is not just on the greens and fairways
they are striving to improve at Addis.
With a strong stance, focus, confidence
and vision, they are modernizing a club
which first opened in 1989.
In 18 months, work to upgrade the ninehole course to 18 holes is expected to
have been completed.
Yared Zenaye, the club captain, said:
“It will give us a more international
standard golf course with tee boxes,
bunkers, hazards, properly cut semirough and rough and good drainage.
Our main goal is to host the East Africa
Amateur Championship in 2016 or 2017.”
By practicing four times as week, Yared
has lowered his handicap to 2.
“I’ve played for 10 years,” he said. “I
used to be a footballer and I tore my knee
ligaments. That’s why I ended up playing
golf. To be a scratch player, that’s my
goal.”
Born in Ethiopia, he has witnessed the
popularity of the sport in Europe and
North America and is enjoying seeing its
profile increased in his home country.
“I was raised in Rome,” he said. “I went
to school in the States and I came here
five years ago.
“Golf is getting popular. May be seven
years ago we had two Ethiopian golfers.
Now we have over 50.
“This is the only course in the country
(apart from a six-hole course at
the British Embassy) but they are
developing courses in other places. I
think the future is very bright.”
With eight months of dry weather every
year, it is not easy to maintain a healthy
course but a team of green keepers work
hard to keep Addis in good condition.
“There is a good number of people that
look after the course but obviously there
needs to be resources,” Mesfin says.
“We have had an expert come here from
America to look at the deficiencies of the
course and make some adjustments.
“The management here is doing its best
to make a more attractive golf course.
It’s an ongoing process. I can’t say it’s
perfect but relatively, it’s ok. I have been
to see courses in Kenya and Uganda and
this compares well.”
In international competition, the
achievements of club professional
Haile Gebregziabher have helped put
Ethiopian golf on the map. He has
previously appeared in European
Challenge Tour events and regularly
competes in tournaments across East
Africa.
However, Ethiopia still has a long way
to go to match the level of interest in
neighboring countries such as Kenya
where there are 42 golf courses.
“Welcome to heaven” is the bold claim
on the website for the Kenyan Golf
Marketing Alliance, an organization
which promotes the country as a tourist
destination for golfers.
For the level of interest to develop in
a similar way here, there needs to be
greater investment and more Ethiopian
people need to give the game a try.
“Soccer is more important than anything
in this country,” Mesfin says.
“The perception about golf, including
from some of the members but not me
personally, is that it was for the rich and
those that have time.”
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Individual membership for the year
costs USD 723 and couples can join for
1,085 US dollars. There is an additional
charge of 15 percent VAT.
The Addis club has more than 200
members, including 60 players and 40
caddies who are part of an independent
association, organizing and playing in
competitions. Players from the British
Embassy are also invited to compete
when the club hosts tournaments.
Sponsorship is crucial. Last week,
Addis hosted a tournament sponsored
by Lubtam and, with other investors
such as John Deere, Paradise Lodge
and Kenya Airways committed for the
coming months, it is expected extra
competitions will improve the standard
of play.
Members have recently benefited from
oversees competition in the East Africa
Amateur Championships. Last year the
team traveled to Kenya, where they tied
for last place and this year in Uganda,
they made progress by finishing fifth.
For many players, golf will always
remain a mysterious sport. Equally
frustrating and rewarding, it is a pastime
which demands constant honing of the
skills.
“You can’t figure it out,” Mesfin says.
“You can’t say ‘today I played well,
tomorrow I’m going to play well again’.
You see how Tiger Woods was playing,
now he’s not playing as well as he
used to. “The thing about golf is, it’s a
continuous improvement.”
Gary Player, the South African golfer,
would probably agree. In a suitable
motto for the game of golf and life in
general, he famously said: “the harder
you practice, the luckier you get.”
Ed.’s Note: The writer is on an internship
at The Reporter.
40| Vol. XIX No. 948
The Reporter | Saturday | November 08, 2014
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