The aftermath of the earthquake left some students in Hawassa University with minor injuries. When the first incident took place many students were inside the library preparing for their first semester examination, which was scheduled for today. After the first earthquake hit, there was a stampede in the library when panicking students were attempting to go out. Some even tried to jump out the window.

Ataklt Issayas, director of Corporate Communication and Marketing Directorate at the university, told The Reporter that students (the number is yet to be confirmed) who sustained injuries were immediately referred to Hawassa Hospital and the University Referral Hospital for medical care. According to Ataklt, none of them are in life threatening conditions with two or three students seeking further medical attention.

He also said that the University management has postponed students’ examination until tomorrow.

The University president has called an immediate management meeting to consult on what measures to be taken.

The President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu (PhD), is visiting Ethiopia.

Accompanied by Zaid Woldegebreil, Ethiopia’s permanent representative at the ICAO, and ICAO’s regional directors Barry Kashambo, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Mam Sait Jallow, Western and Central Africa, Aliu arrived in Addis Ababa last Tuesday to attend the African Union Summit.

On Tuesday, Aliu visited the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA), the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) and Ethiopian Airlines. The ICAO delegation visited the training center of ECAA and officials of ECAA made a briefing about the authority’s effort in ensuring safe and reliable air transport in Ethiopia. The officials explained how the authority was cooperating with neighboring and other African countries in the areas of training and information sharing. 

The delegation visited the headquarters of the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) and the massive expansion project the enterprise is undertaking at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Officials of EAE made a presentation about the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport passenger terminal expansion, the planned new international airport and other regional airport development projects.

Aliu expressed ICAO’s firm commitment to provide technical assistance to both ECAA and EAE. The delegation also visited the headquarters of Ethiopian Airlines. Executives of Ethiopian Airlines gave a briefing about Ethiopian Airlines' development strategy. The delegation visited the maintenance facility and Aviation Academy. As part of his visit to Ethiopia, Aliu visited the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia. 

ICAO’s delegation met with Workneh Gebeyehu, the minister of Transport, in his office on Friday afternoon.  Aliu and Workneh discussed the role Ethiopia is playing in ensuring aviation safety in the region. Workneh told the delegation that the government of Ethiopia is striving to transform the air transport sector in Ethiopia. He mentioned how Ethiopian Airlines is integrating African countries and the various airport development projects being undertaken by EAE.

Aliu expressed his delight with the aviation facilities he visited at ECAA, EAE and Ethiopian Airlines. He assured Workneh that ICAO will assist Ethiopia’s effort in developing air transport in Ethiopia and in Africa in general. Aliu stressed the need to improve aviation safety in Africa. 

Aliu is a Nigerian citizen elected by the ICAO Council as president of ICAO in November 2013 at the headquarters of the organization in Montreal, Canada.  

ICAO is a United Nations body that governs the global aviation industry. Ethiopia is one of the 52 countries that established the organization in 1944 in Chicago, US.

Incidence led to closure of the university

The unexpected series of earthquakes that has rocked the town of Hawassa, 275km South of Addis Ababa, has tormented residents of the town and forced the closure of Hawassa University for not less than two weeks.

The earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 on the Richter scale hit Hawassa and its environs first on Sunday 24 January 2016 around 9:33 local time.

The earthquake happened 20km far from Hawassa in the south-west direction and some towns located in the surrounding of Hawassa.

Although no loss of life was reported so far, around 100 students sustained mild injuries which in turn forced the university administration to suspend regular classes and close down the facility at least for two weeks.

Earlier this week, Yosef Mamo (Prof.), President of Hawassa University, told The Reporter that when the first incident took place, many students were inside the library preparing for their first semester finals, which was scheduled for Monday January 25. That contributed to most of the damages on the students, according to the president; there was a stampede in the library when panic broke out among students who were attempting to leave. Some even tried to jump out the window, Yosef said.

In another shocking incident, five students of Hawassa University, who were on their way to Addis Ababa after the University announced temporary suspension of regular classes, have died yesterday after their Toyota Vitz automobile collided with an Isuzu FSR truck on the bridge near Koka town, some 100km south of Addis Ababa.

Meanwhile, in relation to the Hawassa earthquake and reports of cracks which appeared on the university building and some condominium houses in the town, concerns are being raised regarding the quality and standards of construction in Hawassa and around the country.

According to experts, the current earthquake would serve as a wakeup call for the government and builders alike on the importance of strictly enforcing building standards in earthquake affected zones across the country.

A Structural Engineer and Manager of Pelda Consult PLC, Dawit Tamerat, told The Reporter that the country has its own building codes and standards along with the legislation that governs it.

However, when it comes to ground acceleration or the peak ground acceleration (the amplitude of the largest absolute acceleration recorded on an accelerogram at a site during a particular earthquake) that is taken into account during constructions is uniform and agreeable among professionals. He further says that this is an issue that a number of conferences had deliberated on in past. For one, geophysicists are not comfortable with the ground accelerator number that Ethiopian engineers and architects employ; they say it is generally quite low.

Nevertheless, the country is divided into four different zones based on tendency to be prone to earthquake, Dawit further explained. The most earthquake prone areas inside the rift valley system, which Hawassa is located, is under zone 4, which is also the highest in terms exposure to earthquake. As one moves away from rift valley the exposure to earthquake declines with zone 3, 2 and 1 becoming less prone in descending order.

According to the same standards, for instance, in zone 4, which also includes Hawassa, the ground acceleration number that is used is 0.1; the highest number that is used in Ethiopia, he elaborated. But, geophysicists still argue that this number is not enough. Nevertheless, the new building code that is being drafted is expected to address this gap, Dawit said.

The draft directive that National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) circulated among commercial banks for feedback around the end of last week is seeking to bring about greater transparency in the foreign exchange trade and transaction activities by setting the priorities and instituting “first come, first served” rule which should be adhered to by banks when allocating hard currency to their customers.

The major departure point in the draft directive was the institution of the “first come, first served” rule while allocating foreign exchange to bank customers. According to an industry player, although many banks prioritize forex request based on first come, first served rule, the practice of offering special treatment for high-value customers and exporters is widespread in the banking sector. “High-value customers are always prioritized by banks in their forex allocation and this would greatly even the playing field for forex trade industry,” he told The Reporter.  

However, the draft directive also states that apart from fairness in processing forex requests, banks should also observe certain priorities while apportioning their forex resources among their clients. Priority number one, according to the draft directive, is fuel. Fuel and fertilizer imports make up a line of priorities in forex allocation followed by pharmaceuticals, machineries, raw materials, spare-parts and the like. Apart from that, payments are approved by NBE such as loan, interet, profit, dividend and excess sales of foreign airlines and salary transfer of foreign employees. According to the banking professional who doesn’t want to be named, banks should first exercise the sector priorities before allocating their hard currency to customers on the basis of ‘whoever comes first’.  

On the grand scheme of the matter, the directive is more concerned about ensuring the right level of foreign currency assets that any bank is holding at a certain time. NBE has a clear directive when it comes to the foreign currency asset that banks can hold at any given time: 15 percent of the overall capital of the bank. This in effect entails that banks could not hold forex that is more than 15 percent of their capital base as much as they cannot have foreign currency deficit which is more than 15 percent of the capital.

“Sometimes, looking at their projected cash flow, banks would accept and process forex requests by customers mostly in the form of Letter of Credit (LC) although they don’t have the foreign currency at the time of approval of the currency request,” he explains. However, rarely could there be mis-match and since LC are payable obligations to the banks within 90 days at most, some banks might find themselves in a position of being unable to settle their obligations.

The draft directive states that the board of directors of the bank is the primary organ tasked with monitoring the foreign exchange level of the bank and whether it is within the declared healthy levels. On top of that, the board is also expected to devise detailed forex trade and transaction guidelines for the bank it is leading and oversee its implementation.

Apart from the board of directors, the executive management team is also another entity tasked to monitor the transparency of the forex trade which is conducted in its bank. In fact, the executive is tasked with the responsibility of following up the day-to-day foreign exchange exposure of the bank.

An internal audit body is also tasked to closely monitor the implementation of guidelines and other NBE rules and regulations relevant to foreign exchange trade. According to the directive, the audit body will be making surprise visits to the bank and its branches to monitor the level of transparency in the forex transaction.

Audit body is further required by the directive to report to both bank’s board and NBE’s Foreign Exchange Monitoring and Reserve Management Directorate.

The directive also strictly prohibits the practice of rewarding exporter clients by allocating large sum of forex for imports. The industry player confirms that exports command a greater market power among banks since they had brought hard currency proceedings to the bank. Hence, at times, he says, they might request sums almost equivalent to what they have brought in as foreign currency.

“Sadly, most banks don’t have the opportunity to say no since the exporter would immediately go to the bank’s competitors and get the service,” he elaborated further. However, NBE’s rule about foreign currency retention of exporters is quite clear in all senses, he says. The exports would not be allowed to utilize more than 10 percent of the export proceedings.

But, the standard practice says otherwise, the bank professional argues. Exporters always get what they want. On the other hand, the banker also argues that there are far bigger damages that are caused by the forex trade system. He says that access to forex is encouraging exporters to get involved in the import business as well.

For one, the profit or loss from the export sector is hardly any concern to these exports since they can more than compensate the loss in exports by the gains in profit from imports. This is severely hurting the value of exports because the exporters would not invest in the export business as long as they have the imports.        

A new UK-based company, Delonex Energy Limited, has launched an oil exploration project in the Ogaden basin, south-east Ethiopia.  sources at the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas told The Reporter that Delonex Energy is currently collecting seismic data from its exploration blocks in the Ogaden basin. Sources said the company has already acquired seismic data on more than 1000 km line.

According to sources, based on the seismic data the company would identify drilling sites. The company hopes to drill at least two oil exploration wells in its concession.

Officials of the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas told The Reporter that they are happy with the progress Delonex is making on the oil exploration project.    

Delonex Energy is an oil and gas exploration company focused on Sub Saharan Africa. In August 2014, the then Ministry of Mines awarded Delonex an exploration license in the Ogaden basin.

The license area covers blocks 18, 19, and 21 located in the Abred-Ferfer area with a total area of 29, 865 sq km. The license covers an initial exploration period of three years with a provision for two extensions of two years each.

The exploration areas were previously held by Pexco Explorations (East Africa), a Malaysian oil and gas company whose exploration license was terminated in July 2013.

Delonex Energy said it is leveraging its technical expertise, proven project execution skills and strong balance sheet to fast-track the exploration and development of hydrocarbons for the benefit of host nations.

Rahul Dhir, CEO of Delonex Energy, previously said his company had designed a comprehensive exploration programme leveraging best-in-class technology, to test the oil and gas potential in the Ogaden basin. “We will work closely with the Ethiopian government and local communities, to ensure this work programme is implemented rapidly and in line with the highest standards of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance.”

Delonex Energy was established in 2013 with an investment capital of 600 million dollars led by Warburg Pincus, a renowned global private equity firm based in New York, and the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. Delonex energy is head- quartered in London, with subsidiaries in UK, India and Kenya.  

In 2013 IFC, the investment arm of the World Bank Group, provided Delonex Energy 60 million dollars in equity finance to fund the company’s oil and gas exploration in East and Central Africa.  IFC believes that the identification and development of local sources of energy has the potential to support more competitive downstream industries and offset the high cost of imported fuels in the region.  Currently, petroleum companies including Poly GCL, New Age, and South West Energy are prospecting for oil and gas in the Ogaden basin. Africa Oil, Genel Energy and East Explorations have working interests in some concessions.       

The African Union Executive Council on its meeting held on Friday endorsed the candidature of Ethiopian foreign minister Tedros Adhanom (PhD) for the post of WHO director general.

Only Senegal voted against Tedros’s candidature while the rest member states represented in the executive council by their foreign ministers have voted for the Ethiopian minister to represent Africa as director general of the global organization WHO.

According to reliable sources the AU heads of state summit that will kick off today in the Addis Ababa is expected to adopt the executive council endorsement of Tedros as a candidate for WHO.

The election of the WHO director general is scheduled to be held in May 2017.

According to diplomatic sources, the US and the UK have revealed their support to  Ethiopia and are going to vote for Tedros in the upcoming election. However, among the western powers, France is suspected to vote against Tedros.

The unexpected candidature of Tedros is a surprise for many Ethiopians who knows him with his successful achievement in the health sector while he was a health minister before joining the diplomacy sector three years ago following the death of the former PM Meles Zenawi. As a foreign minister, he chaired the AU executive council in 2014.

He also chaired a ministerial contact group on ICC that fought for the deferral of cases of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, and achieved withdrawal of President Kenyatta’s case and procedural amendment of the Rome Statute, according to information obtained from the foreign ministry.

In September 2015, he was elected again as chair of the Open-ended Ministerial Committee on ICC and co-chair of the Third Financing for Development meeitng.

Tedros holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Community Health from the University of Nottingham in 2000. He obtained a Master of Science in Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the University of London in 1992 and completed his undergraduate studies in Biology at Asmara University in 1986.

The Executive Council of the All-Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) has banned Abebaw Mehari, president of the party, and decided that the deputy president continue the day-to-day activities of the party on his behalf until the next general assembly.

The deputy president, Enderyas Ero, chaired the Executive Council extraordinary meeting on Monday outside the office of the party in the absence of the president.

“Though members of the Executive Council repeatedly requested the president to call a general assembly to deliberate on the overall activities of the party and other major political issues, the president refused to do so and wanted to purge the members of the party who requested the calling of the general assembly,” Enderyas told The Reporter.

“The major reason that forced us to reach this decision is the reluctant nature of the president to call a regular meeting of the general assembly, and hence decided unanimously to ban the president till the next general assembly, which is going to be held after six months,” the deputy president added.

He added that their decision is in accordance with the bylaws of the party and one-third of the Executive Council was part of the decision.

“Though his term has expired and he has been banned, the president should deliver a full report as well both internal and external audit reports at the next general assembly meeting.

The deputy president also stated that although the party had faced various challenges from the ruling party, the challenge by very few individuals within the rank and file of the party is also another challenge.

It is to be recalled that the party had passed through similar problem on the eve of the 2015 general election when Mamushet Amare and Abebaw Mehari were in a stiff squabble by claiming the leadership of the party. That bickering had forced the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to interfere.

According to the decision made by the NEBE, Abebaw Mehari was recognized, as the president of the party and took part in the 2015 election when the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), won all the parliamentary seats.

The de facto state of Somaliland has opted to explore legal options to gain their long-awaited international recognition as an independent sovereign state which includes taking their case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the primary judicial body of the United Nations (UN) headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.

The court settles legal disputes submitted to it by states and provides advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. Somaliland’s quest for recognition is a quarter-of-a-century old; and these days the government of the small nation looks to be tired of waiting for the international community to recognize it as sovereign state and have decided to push matter to the legal arena.

In his address to the joint session of parliament at the beginning of the year, President Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo told lawmakers in Somaliland that his administration was prepared to pursue legal remedies to his countries long-awaited international recognition. The Somalilanders believe that they have a good legal case and that it would benefit them to seek international legal arbitration.

The history of Somaliland is rather complicated. According to local elders, the nation has always been an independent entity in the Greater Somalia Region. For one, Somaliland or the British Somalia as it was once called was never a full colonial state for the British, they argue. They underscore that the country was under British protectorate, an arrangement where a dependent territory is granted, some degree of autonomy and independence to run its local affairs save foreign policy and international relation matters.

Regardless, the territory gained its independence in June 26, 1960 under the assumption that it will join the Italian Somalia to the South. Somaliland preceded Italian Somalia in gaining independence. For brief stay, around 5 days, the territory existed as the state of Somaliland there by making the union with Somalia a union of two sovereign states. This appears to be the basis of Somaliland’s drive to explore the legal option since the territory has to establish that it is a state to even have the ICJ consider its request and the legal substance that is right to self-determine.

Saad Ali Shire (PhD), Foreign Minister of Somaliland, told The Reporter in an exclusive interview that his government has good legal case for self-determination since what they are asking is to leave the union that they have entered willfully. “We were an independent state when we forged the union and all we want to do now is leave this union,” Shire said. Furthermore, the minister also argued that the strength of his country’s case is much re-enforced when one looks into the fact that the quest for independence is a popular quest of the Somaliland people.

“It is not a decision passed by politicians; rather it is decision that was reasserted by the people in the reconciliation conference of Burao in 1991 and again in the referendum on the country’s constitution,” he argued further.

Apart from that, the massacre that Somaliland people suffered under the Somali central government especially towards the last decade of the 40 years old union is another strong ground for Somaliland to be a sovereign state. Shire is careful to assert that Somaliland is a not a region that want to secede from a country; rather a country that wants to leave a union which it has opted to join voluntarily.

According to legal experts The Reporter talked to the case of Somaliland could well qualify to be one of the unique cases in the ICJ. For one, the court entertains requests coming from territories which have a state capacity. Hence, he argued that accepted and entertained the matter by itself be construed as a positive signal for the Somaliland’s recognition. He further remembers the case of Northern Rhodesia where the ICJ rejected the case for it was not recognized as a state and the precedent set by that decision.

Shire also argues that the case of Somaliland is going to be a unique case and studies have been conducted pointing to that direction. Nevertheless, another most important factor that would enhance the legality of the Somaliland’s request for recognition, according to Shire, is the fact that it has fulfilled all the necessary requirement of sovereign statehood as proclaimed by the Montevideo Convention signed in 1933 in Uruguay which defined the rights and definition of a state. 

Nevertheless, the legal avenue was not priority number one for Somaliland to gain its recognition. It has tried various ways and exerting its soft power in it strategic partners. Apart from that, they have also tried to engage their neighbors to the south—Somalia—in hope of achieving a negotiated separation.

Formal talks between Somaliland and Somalia finally kicked-off 2012 in London. The talked went on for nine rounds until it finally failed due to alleged lack of commitment by the Somali side, which Shire said was reflected by the composition of his delegates who come to the meetings. “They [the Somalis] chose to send Somalilanders who are living in Somalia to talk to our delegates; that defeated the whole purpose of Somaliland-Somali talks,” Shire explained.

The management and board of RwandAir, the national carrier of Rwanda, has selected Ethiopian Airlines as a strategic partner.

RwandAir has been looking for a strategic partner that would own a 49 percent stake on the fledgling East African airline. The strategic partner will invest in RwandAir, represented in the management and provide technical assistance. Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways are among the list of international airlines that have shown interest in buying stake in RwandAir. After talking to a number of international airlines the management board of RwandAir has selected Ethiopian to be a strategic partner. 

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told The Reporter that two weeks ago a Rwandese delegation led by John Mirenge, CEO of RwandAir, came to the headquarters of Ethiopian in Addis Ababa and informed the management of Ethiopian of its decision. “They told us that they had selected Ethiopian as a strategic partner. They gave us a letter,” Tewolde said.

The Rwandese delegation includes the deputy CEO and chief operating officer of RwandAir, Jean-Paul Nyirubutama, and Girma Wake, board chairman of RwandAir and advisor of the Rwandese Transport Minister. 

John Merenge told The Reporter that Ethiopian Airlines is a very good partner of RwandAir. “They maintain our B737 and Q400 fleet. They support us training crew and technicians. They also support us in management areas. When we ask them to cooperate in these areas they are very happy to assist us. If you talk about real south-south cooperation among airlines Ethiopian is a true and living example what a big airline can do to a young airline,” John said.

According to Tewolde, the management of Ethiopian and RwandAir held their first round of meeting in Addis Ababa. “We will have a series of meetings and negotiations on the details,” he told The Reporter. Ethiopian and Rwandese Ministry of Transport will sign the partnership agreement in the coming few months.

RwandAir would be the third African airline to partner with Ethiopian following ASKY and Malawi Airlines. And Kigali will be Ethiopian fourth hub after Addis Ababa, Lome and Lilongwe.  As part of the 15 year development road map Vision 2025 Ethiopian is implementing a multi hub strategy in Africa.   

Based in Kigali RwandAir is a fast growing airline in East Africa. Rwandair was established in its present form in 2009. It existed before as RwandAir Express which was semi-governmental. With only one wet-leased twin otter aircraft Rwandair Express was a small airline.

The Rwandese government started RwandAir in 2009 as the sole proprietor and started investing in the airline buying new fleet, and expanding its route structure. Instead of investing at one go in the airline, the government is giving the company financial support yearly to upgrade its fleet and to expand facilities at its hub in Kigali. RwandAir is serving 16 domestic and international destinations with eight aircraft.

Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. As the country is land-locked the government is paying due attention to air transport development. President Paul Kagame’s administration is lauded for transforming the tourism, air transport and ICT sectors. The government is now trying to make Kigali a regional hub.   

- Minister says IRLI is one example     - IRLI says not aware of the allegation

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) expressed concerns over the safety and security of the country’s indigenous genetic resources especially in connection with some foreign organizations and individuals who are active in research and related activities.

According to Abiy Ahmed, minister of MoST, the government has set up a special committee following the proposal of his ministry to strengthen oversight with regards to the indigenous resources of the country.

After presenting his six-month report to the Science Communication and Technology Standing Committee of the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR), Abiy faced question from MPs as to what his ministry is doing to protect the indigenous genetic and other related resources. 

Abiy then admitted to MPs that his ministry is concerned with the activities of some international organizations and mentioned the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as one institution whose activities, especially regarding the gene bank that ILRI owns and operates in its compound located around Gurd Shola area, is a great source of worry for the government.

“We don’t oversee ILRI; it is an international organization,” Abiy told the members of the standing committee. However, he said that the gene bank that is developed by ILRI in its compound is probably one of the biggest in the world and the government should be well-informed about the kind of research that is going on there and if our indigenous resources are protected.  

However, in an email response to The Reporter, IRLI’s Director General, Jimmy Smith said “ILRI is not aware of the issue”.

Furthermore, the minister disclosed to MPs that the special committee which was set up at his ministry’s proposal is finalizing a study on how ILRI undergoes proper oversight so the government can be sure that the nation’s resources are duly protected and that Ethiopia’s property right is not violated.

“This gene bank that ILRI has can even be considered as one of the top ten globally. We have very little knowledge about this huge facility and what is going on in there. Every types of the genetic resource we have are being studied and researched scientifically and after that we don’t know what happens; they may leave the country,” Abiy elaborated his concern.

However, apart from Smith, ILRI’s Head of Administration, Gail Amare, in a letter written to The Reporter said: “The genetic resources in the ILRI gene bank are housed under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture to which Ethiopia is a contracting party and signatory through ratification. All distribution is done in line with the standard Material Transfer Agreement of the Treaty and approved by appropriate government bodies.”

On the other hand, Abiy also discussed the need to acquire proper property right documentations on some of our indigenous resources such as Enset (false banana), Tuhullo and the like. “This is one of the areas where strategic intervention is required; we need to afford proper protection for these indigenous resources and in that regard there is still a lot to be done,” Abiy opined.

Meanwhile, the committee is also tasked with conducting detailed researches and study to identify Ethiopia’s indigenous resources and genetic variety which needs to be protected.

He also indicated that this week the committee is traveling to Geneva where it will negotiate on patent rights of resources that belong to Ethiopia.

Beyond that, in his report presentation, Abiy has also discussed various activities his office has been undertaking in the first half of the fiscal year. Despite encouraging performances and better results in authentication, accreditations and well as registration of property rights, he also confessed that the very target that of the ministry that is implementing and utilizing science for the country’s development and improvements of the society has been evaluated as “almost failure”.

“When we evaluate as a nation the contribution of science that it was supposed to help accelerate our economic development as well as shaping of our youth with better knowledge and scientific innovation, we still are far from the required result,” he said.

As part of the measures to address the critical issue of science and scientific knowledge, the ministry has already set plans to open its own broadcast media fully dedicated for science and technology.

“We have already identified the gaps and the major challenges, including the communication gaps and structural issues. By addressing all of these challenges, we are planning to open our own a 24 hours satellite program in two years,” the minister told MPs.

Gemechu Dubiso (R), auditor general, berating officials of the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas inducing Wakgari Furi (PhD), state

minister, (second from right). Click Here to read more

A study conducted by Ernst & Young Ethiopia has indicated that the overall investment levels of Foreign Direct Investment from the United States have reached four billion dollars in the fiscal year 2013/14.

Zemedeneh Nigatu, managing partner at Ernst & Young Ethiopia, presented the findings of the study at the 10th US-Africa Business Summit  that was held in Addis Ababa earlier in the week.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn in his opening remark invited US companies to invest in Africa and said: “The summit is taking place at a time when US investment flows to Africa and Ethiopia are beginning to show promising trends.”

“This is a real opportunity to help investors and business communities discover the potential and the prospects of investment in our continent,” he added.

He also revealed the major areas where foreign investors can work on in Ethiopia.

“Our priority sectors available for investment include light manufacturing in terms of textile and apparel, leather and leather products, sugar, metal and industrial engineering and pharmaceutical industries,” Hailemariam said.

The PM also added that the Government of Ethiopia has put in place an inviting framework and encouraging conditions designed to attract foreign businesses and investments.

The same sentiment was echoed by Zemedeneh who said that previously the relation between the US and Ethiopia was mainly characterized by security issues but now it is changed to business and investment.

“Many giant US companies are investing in Ethiopia in different sectors. General Electric is set to open a medium company here and the 250-million dollar expansion by Coca Cola are tangible demonstrations,” Zemedeneh told The Reporter.

Apart form the already existing companies in Ethiopia, there are also those in the pipeline, according to Zemedeneh.

“Though it is difficult to say exactly when the new companies will start their work here am sure more American companies will invest in Ethiopia within the coming one year and a half,” Zemedeneh added.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (PhD) Commissioner of the African Union Commission and Linda Thomas-Greenfield US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs were among the 1,200 participants of the summit.

Four Ethiopian scientists are among twenty-nine early career scientists to win awards to conduct research on Climate Impacts Research Capacity and Leadership Enhancement (CIRCLE) program. The program is being implemented by the African Academy of Science (AAS).

The Academy announced the award winning candidates on Thursday from its headquarters in Nairobi. The award winning scientists, selected from 24 African universities and research institutes, will spend a year in another institution outside their own researching the impact of climate change in five main thematic areas: agriculture, water, health and livelihoods, energy and policy.

The four Ethiopian scientists awarded CIRCLE Visiting Fellowship (CVFs), are Ejigu Etaferahu from Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Kidane Gebremedhin (PhD) from Mekele University, Molla Wondiye (PhD) from Wollo University and Habitamu Berie from an Addis Ababa-based research institute.

CIRCLE is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) with a GBP 4.5 million funding and the AAS and the Association for Commonwealth Universities (ACU) in the UK are jointly managing and implementing the program.

According to the Academy, the thirty-four CVFs were selected in 2015 to take part in a CIRCLE Completion Workshop taking place from 8 to 10 February 2016 in Nairobi. CIRCLE has also recorded some success with the first cohort producing 30 publications from CIRCLE-funded research results comprising research articles in peer reviewed journals, review articles, blog posts, conference proceedings and book chapters by the end of 2015. CIRCLE also enabled CVFs to make 14 publications which are not from CIRCLE-funded research results.

As an initiative to develop the skills and research results for early career, African researchers in the field of climate change CIRCLE is playing a significant role in climate related researches, said Benjamin Gyampoh, program manger of CIRCLE, adding that this is being done to ensure that we have a 50/50 ratio of male and female CVFs by getting close of awarding 100 fellowships. Over a course of five years, beginning in 2015, the academy, along with UK-based Association of Commonwealth Universities, will provide a100 fellowships to 40 post-masters and 60 post-doctoral researchers to spend a year in institutions outside their own studying the impact of climate change on the continent.

Asks PM for solution

Road Fund Office, responsible for raising and allocating fund for road rehabilitation, is facing a budget constraint that it should allocate for road maintenance work.

Transport experts are concerned with the absence of adequate budget for roads rehabilitation projects. At a consultative meeting organized by the Ministry of Transport on the draft national transport policy, transport experts said that the government did not give due attention to road maintenance work. “The government builds major roads at hefty costs. However, adequate budget is not allocated for maintenance work. This poses a threat to the maintenance of the roads. If the roads are not periodically maintained they could be wasted,” experts had warned.

Reshid Mohammed, director general of Road Fund, said that the Federal Government of Ethiopia spent 200 billion birr to build more than 80,000km of roads in the past 18 years. The road network reached 110,000km and work is in progress to increase the road network to 220,000km in the next five years.

According to Reshid, 2.5 to 3.5 percent of the total road construction expenditure should be allocated for road rehabilitation. He said that 5-7 billion birr should be allocated for road maintenance work yearly. However, due to budget constraint the Road Fund Office is allocating only one billion birr for road rehabilitation yearly. “Adequate budget should be allocated and periodical road maintenance work should be undertaken,” Reshid admitted.

The Federal Government allocated 34 billion birr only for the current fiscal year for road construction. Due to the budget constraint only 35 percent of the road network is maintained. “Sixty-five percent of the road network is not maintained.  We can keep the roads safe with 17.5 billion birr maintenance budget. But if we fail to allocate adequate budget for maintenance work annually we may need 130 billion birr to reconstruct the damaged roads after five years,” Reshid toldThe Reporter.

Road Fund collects 0.9 cents from every litter of petroleum sold in the country. The fund is able to raise 1.2 billion dollars (60 million dollars) yearly. “This was set 18 years ago and it was not revised since then,” Reshid told The Reporter. Kenya collects 0.10 dollars from every litter of petroleum products. The Kenya Road Fund raises 285 million dollars yearly.

The Ministry of Transport has asked the office of the Prime Minister for a solution. A letter signed by Minister Workneh Gebeyehu was submitted to the prime minister’s office last month. The minister explained the budget deficit the Road Fund is facing and asked the office for a solution. 

“The government has two alternatives. One is to raise the 0.9 cents tariff levied on fuel sales, or to allocate more fund from capital budget,” a transport expert told The Reporter. 

Samson Wondimu,  Communications Director with the Ethiopian Roads Authority, told The Reporter that in the past the main problem was the absence of a reliable financial source. “The problem was solved after the establishment of the Road Fund some 15 years ago. But as the road network is expanding fast, the demand for rehabilitation fund is also increasing,” Samson said.

According to Samson, the Road Fund is solving the problem. However, he said there is a budget deficit which should be filled. “We believe that an adequate budget should be allocated for road maintenance work. And the concerned authorities are working on the matter,” Samson told The Reporter.

The Ethiopian road network which was only 48,000km five years ago has reached 110,000km. The government is striving to further boost the road network to 220,000 after five years.

Toyota affiliate expresses interest to bid for construction

A geothermal project, which is sponsored by the Government of Japan and is expected to be built in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, is to receive a USD 200 million financing with a pull of contribution both from the Government of Japan and the World Bank Group.

According to officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project had a successful testing stage. Matsuhisa Ippei, deputy director of the second African division for Africa department at JICA, who is particularly responsible for Ethiopia, told The Reporter that the project has been delayed by the Ethiopian side.

For Ippei, it is the incapable drilling machines and other equipments provided for the project that are costing valuable time. Yet, the geothermal project has passed a successful testing stage to generate some 70MW geothermal power. Either ways, the project is still delayed but there are hopes it will soon be realized from the Japanese government's point of view.

So far, costs to build a 70MW geothermal power project is known. However, company that is going to undertake the task is yet to be decided. It seems that Toyota Tsusho Corporation, one of the major sales and infrastructural projects company, is going to be the likely one.

Hideyuki Oiwa, senior general manager of energy infrastructure project at Toyota Tsusho Corporation told The Reporter that the corporation will look to the Alto Langao project to develop as long as JICA avails the finances. JICA officials on their part affirmed that the financing part has been well dealt with where the World Bank is said to play a significant role in the process of availing finances, he said.

The same company is heavily involved in Kenya’s Mombasa Port Terminal Construction project. In addition to that, Toyota Tsusho is progressing well in the construction of a fertilizer factory in that same country.

Toyota Tsusho is linked with one of the very few Japanese businesses in Ethiopia. Hiroki, the leather goods maker is partly financed by the car dealer.

The Third Civil Bench of the Federal First Instance Court at Arada on Wednesday ordered Abebaw Mehari, president of the All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP), not to use the stamp of the party until the next court hearing on March 5, 2016.

Members of the party who banned the president last week filed the case to court which led to the prohibition of the president from using the stamp.

Mulugeta Abebe, head of Public Relation of AEUP, confirmed to The Reporter that the party received order and said, that “the ban is inappropriate”.

“The next hearing date is almost a month away and we are going to file an appeal so that the court would make the next hearing at a sooner date.”

Regarding the ban of the president made by the Executive Council of the party last week, Mulugeta said that the decision made by the executive council is illegal and unacceptable.

“Individuals, who are part of the decision, are either individuals who are excluded from the party due to their discipline or those who left the party because of their own reasons. Therefore, the decision is not known and is unacceptable by the party,” he told The Reporter.

It is to be recalled that Executive Council of the party banned the president from his position and decided that the deputy president continue with executing the day-to-day activities of the party on his behalf until the next general assembly is held in six months’ time.

The party passed through a similar problem on the eve of the 2015 general elections when Mamushet Amare and Abebaw Mehari were in a stiff squabble by claiming the leadership of the party. That bickering had forced the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to intervene.

According to the decision made by the NEBE, Abebaw Mehari was recognized as the president of the party and represented AEUP in the 2015 election where the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won all of the seats in parliament.

The long standing disagreement between the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and an Indian company, Federer Lloyd, over electric transformers provided by the latter still remains unresolved.

The purchase, which was conducted by the Public Procurement and Property Disposal Service back in 2013, has not yet been received by the EEP as the power company said that it is “below standard” and demanded compensation from the supplier.

This was announced by Yigezu Daba, director general of the Service, who appeared before the Budget and Finance Standing Committee of the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) on Wednesday while he was presenting his office's six-month performance report.

Following questions from MPs that demanded an explanation as to why the agency was not able to collect the 702 transformers, the officials responded that the case was related to a dispute between EEP and the supplier, which is currently being treated in an arbitration process by the Ministry of Justice.

The transformers were imported in 2013 after the Service issued a bid for the  procurement of 702 transformers. The Indian company, Federer Lloyd, won the bid for the supply of the transformers for 270 million birr. The agency had made the purchase order on behalf of EEP based on the power utility’s specifications and standards for the intended power transformers.

However, the purchased power transformers were found to be below the required specification after it was unloaded at the Port of Djibouti, according to Yigezu.

However, the client [EEP] later refused to take the transformers as it was dissatisfied with the standard, which it said did not meet the required specification.

According Yigezu, EEP instead sought compensation before taking the transformers. Due to EEP’s demand, the supplier refused to compensate the claimant. The disagreement among the two sides led the Service to take the matter to court. So the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was designated by the Ethiopian government to handle the case.

However, according to Yigezu, MoJ opted to proceed with arbitration instead of a formal court trial.

“Agreement was reached on the gap that exists between the actual quality of the transformers, which are already imported, and the specifications that had been required by EEP,” he told MPs

Nonetheless, the dispute is on the amount of compensation EEP has sought that the company refused to pay.

“The disagreement is not only the amount of compensation, but also on load loss and non-load loss,” he said adding “It’s not yet possible to collect the transformers from the port”.

According to the director general, the load loss and non-load loss are calculated in terms of hard currency that has already stirred contention among the two sides.

Yigezu, who was explaining the complex nature of the dispute, also said that the supplier has shown the willingness to pay some USD 2.3 million. Yet the EEP demanded some five million dollars as compensation.

He, however, believes that the transformers will be transported only after the arbitration process comes to an end with a resolution that will be accepted by both sides. But if the arbitration fails to bring the expected final solution, that would be referred to a formal court trial.

The Ministry of Transport on Tuesday presented the first draft integrated national transport policy to stakeholders.

Officials of the Ministry of Transport said that the integrated national transport policy will enable the government to holistically develop different transport sectors and subsectors. To date the country does not have an integrated national transport policy. This has adversely affected the growth of the transport sector. Considering the negative impacts of the absence of national transport policy, the Ministry of Transport drafted an integrated national transport policy and presented it to stakeholders for consultation on February 2 at the Ghion Hotel.

The documents presented for discussion include draft integrated transport policy, draft aviation policy and human resources development. State ministers of the Ministry of Transport, Abdissa Yadeta and Deslaegn Ambaw chaired the meeting.

The integrated draft transport policy comprises road transport, maritime, railway, air transport and pipeline transport. The Ministry of Transport, and a private consultancy firm, Afro Consult, has been conducting a study on the draft policy for the past three years. Government organizations and development partners such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the European Union collaborated with the ministry.

Abdissa Yadeta said that it was for the first time when a national integrated transport policy was formulated in the country. However, he said vast infrastructure development projects have been implemented in the absence of an integrated national transport policy. Abdissa said that the road network has been increased to 110,000 km and there is an on-going work to further increase the road network to 220,000 km in the next five years. The government is also striving to build a 6000 km railway line.

“We have a leading national carrier in Africa. Ethiopian Airlines is a globally competitive airline. A massive airport expansion project is being undertaken in Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. New airports are being built in the regional states and the existing ones are being upgraded. The fact that we did not have an integrated national transport policy does not mean that work has not been done,” Abdissa said.

The draft national transport policy pinpoints the major challenges facing the transport sector. “Development of transport infrastructure and systems could not be effectively and thoroughly addressed, effectively overseen, guided and integrated. Public resources could not be effectively and efficiently managed. Adequate investment can not be acquired, while components of the system identified to become financially self-sustaining remain fragile.  Transportation regulations, in relation to overloading, speeding, safety, security, consumer protection and illegal public passenger transport could not be effectively enforced,” the document states.

Abdissa told The Reporter that the new transport policy will integrate road, railway, maritime (including inland water transport), air transport sectors. “It will enable the government to develop all the transport sectors holistically,” he said. The draft policy calls for the participation of the private sector in developing the transport sector. 

According to Abdissa, the policy will ensure quality, environment friendly, competitive and safe and reliable transport system in the country. “It will enable us to make the export and import trade efficient, cost-effective and globally competitive. The policy will also enable the government to integrate our country with neighboring countries by different modes of transport. It will facilitate economic integration with neighboring countries,” he told The Reporter.

The policy is expected to support the country’s economic development for the coming 20 years. Experts of the Ministry of Transport made briefings on the draft policy. Stake holders also commented on the documents.

Abdissa said that the ministry will organize similar forums in the future with stakeholders. After enriching the draft policy with inputs drawn from stakeholders it will be endorsed by the Council of Ministers.           

Residents of Hawassa town stormed the capital of the Southern Regional State with protests against members of the Hawassa police force after a policeman shot dead a teenager on Thursday around 10:00 am. The incident took place after the deceased refused to cooperate with the police after he was allegedly reported of causing disturbance inside a local church. 

According to The Reporter's sources, an unnamed young man, who was believed to be between the ages of 18 and 20 was reported to the police for allegedly causing disturbance in the vicinity of a local church. Within a few minutes, five police officers arrived on the scene and confronted the young man. However, according to eyewitnesses, the response of the officers was harsh and eventually led to the firing of a gun at point blank range subsequently leading to the alleged assailant's death.

Sources told The Reporter that the young boy carried a small knife that prompted police to shoot and kill him. However The Reporter was unable to confirm this from the Hawassa police.

Witnesses told The Reporter that the public outrage was caused by the policeman's irresponsible use of force, which led to the killing of the young man. “Even though, the boy was unwilling to cooperate, they [the officers] could have controlled the situation instead of firing a bullet,” a witnesses, who requested anonymity, told The Reporter.

Sources also disclosed that the shooting of young man immediately drew public anger and led to the throwing of stones at police officers. In addition, the regional special police force and riot police were immediately deployed where they fired teargas to calm the protests, witnesses said.

Repeated attempts by The Reporter to solicit comments from the Hawassa police department, including Chief Inspector Kibret Toga who responded via SMS saying” “I'm in a meeting”, was not successful until press time.

A legal analyst The Reporter approached said that police officers are required to exhaustively use all measures short of killing a human being.

- The private sector can operate airports    - Sector remains closed to foreign nationals

The Ethiopian government is to lift the aircraft seat limitation it had imposed on private airlines many years ago.

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority restricts the type of aircraft private airlines can operate and this has been a bone of contention for the past many years. Private airlines cannot operate aircraft with more than 50 seats. Previously private airlines were allowed to operate only light aircraft with less than 20 seat capacity.

The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) pushed the seat limitation to 50 two years ago. Private airlines owners have been complaining about the seat limitation by saying that they cannot be profitable with 50-seat aircraft. They lamented the fact that the government imposed the seat limitation to unfairly protect the national flag carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, on domestic routes.    

There are 12 registered private airlines in Ethiopia but only six of them are operational. All the private airlines provide only charter flight services. None o

f them renders scheduled domestic or international flights.

The draft aviation policy formulated by the Ministry of Transport and the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) proposed to removes the 50-seat limitation imposed on private airlines. The draft national aviation policy was tabled for discussion last Wednesday far stakeholders.

The draft policy also states that the domestic air transport sector is reserved only for Ethiopian nationals. Foreign companies or investors cannot fully or partially own private airlines serving domestic routes or engaged in general aviation. Private operators welcomed the move.

Solomon Gizaw (Captain), managing director of Abyssinia Flight Services, said that the draft policy was superb. However, he said the problem in Ethiopia is implementation. “Government enacts laws but the problem is when it comes to implementation. We face problems when we go to various government offices to get things done.  So after enacting the policy by the concerned authorities should follow up the implementation,” Solomon said.  

Abera Lemi (Captain), CEO of National Airways, lauded the Ministry of Transport and the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, for their effort and hard work to draft the national aviation policy. However, Abera expressed his reservation on the draft policy. “It seems that the experts drafted the policy keeping in mind only Ethiopian Airlines. When we draft policy we should not think of only one company. It should go beyond that. We should be able to think of a country, generation and the coming many years,” Abera said.

Amare Gebrehanna (Captain), deputy managing director of Abyssinia Flight Services, said that the policy has so many attractive and commendable articles. “How can we be sure that these articles will materialize?” he inquired. Amare said that the policy says much about air transport or the national carrier ignoring the general aviation subsector. “Ethiopian Airlines has grown big. It is doing very well. But what about the general aviation? The first aircraft was imported to Ethiopia only 20 years after the Wright brothers flew the first air plane. Ethiopian Airlines is a leading carrier in Africa. That is one thing. But the general aviation is still its infant stage. The general aviation should be supported. There is air ambulance service, aerial work and helicopter flights. These all are general aviation. The general aviation could contribute a lot to the tourism, construction and mining sector. Due attention is not given to the subsector,” Amare said.

The private operators also complained that they have difficulties in freely operating flights. “Getting a clearance is a big challenge,” says Amare. “Whose responsibility is managing the air space? Is it the ECAA or the Ministry of Defense?”. 

Mulat Lemlemayehu (Captain), managing director of East African Aviation, said that the government gives tax holidays to various investment sectors. However, Mulat said the draft aviation policy does not state anything about tax holiday given to the aviation sector. “Aviation plays an important role to the country’s economic growth. It is a capital-intensive sector but tax incentive is not given to this sector.”

Mulat also commented that owners of private airlines have children who hold foreign passports. “Our children are working with us. They are Ethiopian-born but have foreign citizenship. Since the sector is reserved only for Ethiopian nationals, how can we inherit our companies to our children?”

The draft aviation policy was prepared by experts drawn from the Ministry of Transport, Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise. Executives of Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopian aviation experts living abroad were consulted in drafting the aviation policy. It took five years to produce the draft aviation policy. It was going back and forth between the ECAA and Ministry of Transport.

Director general of ECAA, Wossenyeleh Hunegnaw, said that the drafting committee will take some of the questions and inputs forwarded by the stakeholders into account. However, Wossenyeleh said that some of the questions are operational issues that cannot be entertained in the aviation policy.

Wossenyeleh said that the tax issue is dealt in the country’s investment law. “It will be redundant to talk about the customs duty exemption in the aviation policy. But the investment law skips the big thing – airplane. And that will be taken care of.”

Wossenyeleh admitted that much emphasis has been given to the national carrier. “There is no doubt about this. The government supports and protects the national carrier. And all countries do that. I think we do not differ on that. The national carrier should be supported and protected but the assistance should not inflict harm on others. I think we all agree on this.”

With regards to air space management, Wossenyeleh said that the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority is mandated by law to administer the country’s air space. “We consult with the Ministry of Defense in granting clearances. We need to give prior notice. For example you cannot abruptly fly to northern Ethiopia. We know the situation in the North. So we communicate with the Ministry of Defense.”

 The draft aviation policy states that the policy is aimed at creating world class air transport system and aviation hub in the region that significantly contributes to a sustainable economic and social development of the country, by fostering safe, secure, cost effective, reliable and preferable air transport service sector that is environmentally friendly.        

So far the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise builds and administers airports in the country. The draft policy proposes that the private sector could operate airports built by the enterprise.

Mulat said that since the private airlines do not own maintenance hangars they are compelled to send their aircraft to neighboring Kenya where they spend millions of dollars on maintenance. “We spend the hard earned currency outside of the country. Building a maintenance hangar is costly. Why don’t we allow foreign companies to build a maintenance hangar and establish an MRO center here?”

Wessenyeleh said that foreign companies will not be allowed to engage in the sector. However, he said the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise is in the process to allow local private airlines build their own maintenance hangars at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

The Ministry of Transport will beef up the draft aviation policy and present it to the Minister of Transport who will remand it to the Council of Ministers for endorsement. The stakeholders urge officials of the ministry and ECAA to expedite the endorsement of the draft policy.