Vol. 23 No. 1164 December 29, 2018
00 Birr
Confusion at the border
By Dawit Endeshaw and Brook Abdu
In a surprise turn of events
this weeks, the government
in Asmara is reported to have
Opposition gaining momentum
By Neamin Ashenafi
Semayawi Party a.k.a Blue
announced it has finalized
its preparation to conduct
its second general assembly
meeting by December 30, 2018
where the party is expected
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
closed down its border with
Ethiopia, adjoining the Tigray
Regional State, from the side
of Eritrea with no official
explanation yet offered by both
to deliberate on the issue of
joining hands with two other
parties: Patriotic Ginbot 7
Movement for Unity and
Democracy and Ethiopian
Democratic Party (EDP).
The general assembly is
expected to be attended by
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Ethio-Eritrean boarder adjoining the Tigray Regional State
countries.
On the side of Ethiopia,
both the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MoFA) and the Office
of the Prime Minister declined
to give explanations as to what
is unfolding in the area.
Confusion at . . . page 19
members of the of the party
from different regions of the
country to convene on various
matters especially on the issue
of merger with other like-
minded political parties so as
to become a strong opposition
in the country, chairman of
the party, Yeshiwas Assefa told
Price 5.
Auditor General
declines Board
appointment
Auditor General, Gemechu Dubisso
By Dawit Endeshaw
The Auditor General, Gemechu
Dubisso, is reported to have
declined his appointment
as member of the board of
directors of the state owned
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
(CBE) this week, The Reporter
has learnt.
Gemechu, who is the public
face of exposing malpractice
and abuse in public offices,
was appointed by the new
Auditor General . . . page 19
The Reporter.
It is known that the party
started negotiations and
discussions with two
opposition political parties
namely: Patriotic Ginbot 7
Opposition gaining . . . page 33
2| EDITORIAL
HEADLINES
Failing to learn from mistake: a recipe for becoming a laughing stock!
The age-old adage “The wise learn from the
mistakes of others, fools don’t learn from
theirs” conveys a powerful message. No
one is perfect. However, quote ad nauseam
the saying “To err is human, to forgive s
divine” to justify one’s failings is entirely
indefensible. Mistakes exact a heavy toll
when they are repeated time and again. In
this unforgiving era it’s imperative to do
everything possible so as to avoid making
costly errors. Presently Ethiopian politics
is being roiled by forces which keep on
making the same mistakes they have been
making for decades. In the fast-paced
world we live in today an opportunity that
rarely comes along cannot be regained once
it is squandered. A hard-earned reputation
built over years can be destroyed in an
instant with a slip of the tongue or a
display of swaggering driven by a perceived
enjoyment of loyal support. This has been
shown to be true time and again.
One of the worst traits characterizing
Ethiopian politics is the near complete
absence of a willingness to engage in a
civil dialogue. Over the past nine months
though scores of exiled opposition groups
including those which had taken up
arms have returned home following the
commencement of democratic reforms
aimed at laying a solid foundation for
peaceful political struggle. So far the
reforms seem to bode well. A broad
consensus has been reached on the notion
that Ethiopia’s very survival requires the
peaceful pursuit of political objectives.
Sadly, a slew of troubling developments are
detracting from the promising beginning.
Chief among these developments is the
RXWEUHDNRIGHDGO\LQWHUFRPPXQDOFRQÀLFWV
that have led to the death and displacement
of innocent civilians in different parts of the
country. The violence is being perpetrated
by elements loath to learn from errors of
their ways. While time will tell where such
strategy takes them they’re better advised
to know that failing to learn from a mistake
is learning to fail. Otherwise, they are
bound to repeat the same mistake that had
haunted generations and end up a laughing
stock.
The public has been demanding to no avail
for some time now for a full disclosure of
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substance of the negotiations held between
the government and rebels as well as the
agreements the parties reached. In spite
of this, however, everyone ought to be
clear-eyed about one fundamental fact—
any insurgent group which claims to be
committed to a peaceful political struggle
must lay down its arms unconditionally in
the realization that the government by its
nature enjoys a monopoly on violence, i.e.,
it has a sole right to the legitimate use of
force. In the normal course of things its
¿JKWHUV DUH GHPRELOL]HG DQG KRXVHG LQ
military camps pending a decision on how
they are to be reintegrated. Meanwhile,
the political wing transforms itself
into a mainstream political movement.
Otherwise, the whole point of its rejoining
the political fold will be defeated.
The actions that one of the rebels which
had vowed to take up mainstream politics,
namely the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF),
has been accused of are downright criminal
and dangerous. These acts include killing
JRYHUQPHQW RI¿FLDOV VHFXULW\ SHUVRQQHO
and defenceless civilians plus dismantling
administrative structures in various zones
General Manager
Amare Aregawi
Managing Editor
Bruh Yihunbelay
Editor-in-Chief
Asrat Seyoum
Sub city: N.lafto, K. 10/18, H.No. 614
Senior Editor
Dibaba Amensisa
Editors
Kaleyesus Bekele
Yonas Abiye
Bruck Getachew
Online Editor
Brook Abdu
Assistant Editor
1HDPLQ$VKHQDÀ
Senior Reporters
Samuel Getachew
Dawit Endeshaw
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
of the Oromia regional state in western
(WKLRSLDWUDLQLQJDQHZURXQGRI¿JKWHUV
and refusing to hand in weapons. Just
recently the party in power in Oromia,
the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP), had
organized a joint forum with the OLF
and other parties operating in the region.
The forum was primarily mandated with
resolving differences amongst themselves
through discussions and negotiations.
Instigating unrest entailing catastrophic
consequences in utter disregard of this
democratic process is an egregious
lapse in judgement. OLF leaders have
been excoriated by the Oromia regional
government for dragging their feet in
implementing the measures they have
promised to take during meetings it held
with them. The regional government says
this has led to the death and dislocation
of residents of the affected areas, property
damage and the disruption of basic services
due to road closures. How can an entity
which swears in the name of the public
claim to have the people’s interest at heart
if it destabilizes the country after returning
home to abide by the principles of a peaceful
Reporter
Dawit Tolesa
Columnists
Leyou Tameru
Tsion Taye
Chief Graphic Designer
Yibekal Getahun
Senior Graphic Designer
Sofoniyas Tadesse
Dagmawi Gobena
Graphic Designers
Tsehay Tadesse
Fasika Balcha
Semenh Sisay
Netsanet Yacob
political struggle? How can it argue with a
straight face that the 2020 elections should
be held as scheduled when it is actively
undermining stability? How can it expect
peaceful, democratic and credible elections
to be held in an unstable environment? It
has to understand the simple fact that it’s
suicidal to commit one political folly after
another.
The Oromia regional government,
the regional police and the federal
government have all warned that they will
no longer tolerate acts of violence. There
is no denying that efforts to ensure the
peaceful resolution of disputes need to be
strengthened. Needless to say this calls
for the collaboration of all stakeholders.
Resorting to violence as a means to settle
disagreements while legal mechanisms
are available only serves to exacerbate the
problem which gave rise to the discord. It’s
for this precise reason that it’s incumbent
on the OLF leadership to come clean
about their true intention and be part of
the solution. Peace cannot come forth
where the party that feels aggrieved is
reticent about divulging the real cause for
its gripe. Transparency and is an essential
prerequisite for peaceful political struggle.
And where transparency is upheld so is
accountability. Innocent citizens must not
pay with their lives for the sins of others
due to the absence of accountability.
Ethiopians have had to endure unbearable
ordeal for centuries because of the mistakes
of the political elite. There is no way that
they will countenance more of the same.
6DFUL¿FLQJ WKH SXEOLF LQWHUHVW RQ WKH DOWDU
of political expediency is bound to wreak
havoc across the nation. This is a calamity
that neither the present nor the coming
generation want to read about in the
history books. What’s needed now more
than ever before is a democratic dialogue.
If civilized discussions and negotiations are
to be conducted national it is of the essence
to rectify mistakes that have accumulated
for ages. Belligerence and empty blustering
have no place in nation building endeavors.
It’s foolish to expect a solution to appear
somehow while repeating the same
mistakes over and over again. That is why
failure to learn from one’s mistake is a
recipe for becoming a laughing stock.
Head of Photography
Nahom Tesfaye
Photographers
Tamrat Getachew
Mesfen Solomon
Daniel Getachew
Cartoonist
Elias Areda
Fasil W/giorgis
Marketing Manager
Endalkachew Yimam
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 HEADLINES |3

House approves bill to setup

reconciliation commission
By Yonas Abiye

The House of People’s

Representatives (HPR)
on Tuesday endorsed the
draft proclamation named
‘Reconciliation Commission
Establishment Proclamation’
that intends to establish
an independent institution
with an exclusive power and
responsibilities to inquire,
disclose the truth and take
measures on human rights
violations so as to ensure
reconciliation and lasting
peace.
During its 14th regular
session, the House heard
Foreign Relations and Peace
Affairs Standing Committee’s
resolution to which the draft
bill was referred to for further
revisions earlier in November.
While presenting the
resolution, Chairperson of the
Standing Committee, Tesfaye
Daba, told MPs that the main
objective of the reconciliation the House approved the draft bill with a majority vote
commission is to help the
reconcile. that were committed in the same time.”
nation from the current
past.
political, economic and social “I wonder who those people are Accordingly, Tesfaye further
upheavals. to get reconciled. Yet the people While responding to MPs who stated that “establishing
of Ethiopia have never been argued over the existence the commission is timely
“The commission is believed to
engaged in a quarrel with each of hatred among the people, to promote forgiveness at
play a pivotal role in bringing
other? He asked stating that it Tesfaye said that, “it is not the national level, build
national reconciliation and
is meaningless to talk about possible to conclude that there national consensus, and more
strengthening unity among
reconciliation in the absence is no problem among the people. importantly not to repeat
the people by promoting
of people who are in conflict. There have been various blunders and misgivings that
forgiveness while helping the
“As a citizen of this country, conflicts in various parts of prevailed in the past.”
ongoing reform,” Tesfaye told
our people have had neither the country that caused mass
the House. Meanwhile, Tesfaye explained
hate nor deceit,” Kassa said. displacements and killings.
that the commission does not
However, few of the MPs raised Hence, the very rationale to
On the other side, other MPs serve to give or recommend
questions over the need of establish this commission is to
presented their own support for amnesty or pardons for
establishing the commission. undertake investigations that
the bill arguing that it is time perpetrators who are accused
Among those MPs who raised would eventually identify the
for the House to compensate of gross human rights
their arguments against the basic causes and problems of
for turning a blind eye to the violation.
bill, Kassa Gugsa questioned these conflicts while bringing
who the commission will social harms and grievances perpetrators to justice at the House approves. . . page 33
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
4| Advertisment The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 HEADLINES |5

Ericsson to resume work on

mobile network expansion project
By Kaleyesus Bekele
The Swedish mobile giant, Ericsson,
has agreed to resume work on mobile
network expansion project which it
interrupted due to a disagreement
with Ethio Telecom some time ago.
Ericsson has been working on a vast
mobile network expansion project
in South East region. The mobile
expansion project was supposed to
be completed in 2016. However, due
to a disagreement with the former
management of Ethio Telecom,
Ericsson suspended the project. Six
months ago Ericsson decided to pull out
of Ethiopia because of disagreements
with the former management of Ethio
Telecom over the mobile network
expansion project which was supposed
to be completed two years ago.
In a press conference held last week,
CEO of Ethio Telecom Frehiwot
Tamiru disclosed that due to the
suspended mobile network expansion
project Ethio Telecom was unable
to provide reliable mobile network
in South East region covering
towns including Adama, Jimma and
Nekemte. “We were not serving the
public in this region properly. There
was a serious problem with the mobile
network quality,” Frehiwot said.
However, Frehiwot said that following
a series of negotiations between the
new management of Ethio Telecom
and Ericsson the company has agreed
to resume the work it interrupted. “We
have arrived at a general consensus
that Ericsson would finalize the
mobile network expansion project.
They would supply the additional
telecom equipment required to
complete the project. The negotiation
is nearing completion and we would
soon start the implementation process,
“Frehiwot said.
The Chinese telecom giants Huawei
Technologies Co. Ltd. and ZTE Corp.
are also undertaking mobile network
expansion project. The total cost of
the mobile network expansion project
is estimated at 1.6 billion dollars. The
number of mobile subscribers has
reached 64 million.
The quality of the mobile network is
shaky. Frehiwot revealed that Ethio
Telecom now wants to work on quality
improvement projects. “The number of
customers and the network handling
capacity is incompatible. There is a
huge market and we consider that as
an opportunity for growth,” she said.
However, the CEO disclosed that
there is no plan to undertake massive
expansion projects like what the
telecom company used to do in the past.
“Instead of undertaking expensive
expansion projects we will carry out
small quality improvement projects,”
she told reporters in her office, which
is located off Churchill Avenue.
According to Frehiowt, the telecom
company has been unable to undertake
development projects due to shortage
of foreign currency in the past three
years. “The company was unable to
procure telecom equipment between
2015 and 2018 due to the foreign
currency crunch the country was
facing.”
However, the government recently
allocated foreign currency for
Ethio Telecom. The company has
purchased tools required for network
optimization work. Last year the
company used only 120 million dollars
but in the past three month alone it
secured 157 million dollars.
“We are not only doing the current
work but we are also clearing back
logs that were supposed to be done
between 2015 and 2018,” she said.
Ericsson, a Swedish multinational
networking and telecommunications
company headquartered in Stockholm,
has a long history in Ethiopia. Ethiopia
started its business relationship with
Ericsson in 1894 when it ordered
for telephone receivers. Ericsson
currently has a 90 percent market
share of fixed-line network services.
The breakthrough occurred during
the 1950s when Ericsson started to
supply 500-point switching systems.
Ericsson opened a technical office in
Addis Ababa in 1962.
The technical office was closed in
1974 when the military regime came
to power, but Ericsson opened a
representative office in Ethiopia in
1997.

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BID INVITATION
Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) in cooperation with Bread for
the World(BftW) wants to invite all interested and eligible bidders to supply Human
Medicinesand other equipment for the project titled ‘Facilitating Improved
Maternal and Reproductive Health Service in Barabara may Maternity Hospital in
Afar Region’’.
$ FRPSOHWH WHQGHU GRFXPHQW LQ (QJOLVK LV D YDLODEOH DW +HDG RIÀFH RI $3'$ LQ
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eligible bidders can purchase it upon payment of a non-refundable fee of 100.00 ETB
(One Hundred Birr only) in cash and upon submission of a written application together
with copies of the following legal documents:-
1. :KROHVDOHUV DQG ,PSRUWHUV RU DJHQWV WKDW KDYH OLFHQVH RQ +XPDQ
medicine supply.
2. Renewal for the year 2011 E.C under consideration.
BID INVITATION
Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) in cooperation with
Welthungerhilfe (WHH) wants to invite all interested and eligible bidders to
Construct water spreading weir in Gayale site, Geraaro Kebele, Mille Woreda, of
Afar Region, Ethiopia for the project called“Strengthening the Resilience capacity
of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in Afar region, Ethiopia”.
$FRPSOHWHWHQGHUGRFXPHQWLQ(QJOLVKLVDYDLODEOHDW/DLVRQRIÀFHLQ$GGLV$EDED
DQGDWWKH+HDGRIÀFHLQ6DPDUD,QWHUHVWHGDQGHOLJLEOHELGGHUVFDQSXUFKDVHLW
upon payment of a non-refundable fee of 100.00 ETB (One Hundred Birr only) in cash
and upon submission of a written application together with copies of the following
legal documents:-
1. License on Building construction, General Works construction and
Water Works Construction only for level 8 contractor.
3. 7R75HJLVWUDWLRQDQG7D[3D\HU5HJLVWUDWLRQ7,1FHUWLÀFDWHV 2. License Renewed for the year 2011 E.C.
4. 5HJLVWUDWLRQ FHUWLÀFDWH DQG &RPPHUFLDO OLFHQVH IURP  PLQLVWU\ RI 3. VAT 15% Registration
ÀQDQFHRUEXUHDXRI7UDGHIURP5HJLRQ 4. 7D[3D\HU5HJLVWUDWLRQ7,1FHUWLÀFDWHV
5. 2% of bid bond only in the form of C.P.O. 5. &RPPHUFLDO5HJLVWUDWLRQFHUWLÀFDWHIURP5HJLRQDOWUDGHEXUHDX
7KH ELG GRFXPHQW FDQ EH FROOHFWHG GXULQJ RIÀFH KRXUV IURP+HDG RIÀFH RI 6. 3HUIRUPDQFH/HWWHU
$3'$LQ6DPDUDDQG/DLVRQRIÀFHDURXQGWR*OREDO+RWHOLQ$GGLV²$EDED7KH 7. &3221/<FDQEHJXDUDQWHG
bidders should submit their proposals within Ten consecutive days starting from the 7KH ELG GRFXPHQW FDQ EH FROOHFWHG IURP /DLVRQ RIÀFH LQ $GGLV$EDED QHDU
annoncement date of this invitation 29/12/2018 at 8:00 AM. The bid closing date WR *OREDO +RWHO DQG WKH +HDG RIÀFH LQ 6DPDUD7KH ELGGHUV VKRXOG VXEPLW WKHLU
ZLOOEH*&#30LQWKHDIWHUQRRQLQERWKSODFHVDQGWKHRSHQLQJ proposals within Ten consecutive days starting from the annoncement date of
will be on the same date08/01/2019 G.C@ 10:00AM in the Morning at Samara this bid 29/12/2018 at 8:00 AM in the Morning.The bid closing date will then be
KHDGRIÀFH 07/01/2019 at 5:00 PM in the afternoon and the opening will be on the 08/01/2019
at10:30 AMLQWKHPRUQLQJLQ6DPDUDKHDGRIÀFH
The bid proposal must be accompanied by a 2% of bid bond only in the form of C.P.O The bid proposal must be accompanied by a 2% of bid bond only in the form of
and originals and copies of the above mentioned legal documents. The bid shall be C.P.O and originals and copies of the above mentioned legal documents. The bid
wax sealed and vividly marked. The bid document should be inserted in the bid box shall be wax sealed and vividly marked. The bid document should be inserted in
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%LGGHUVDUHUHTXHVWHGWRIXOÀOODOOWKHQHFHVVDU\FRQGLWLRQVFOHDUO\LQGLFDWHGLQWKH %LGGHUVDUHUHTXHVWHGWRIXOÀOODOOWKHQHFHVVDU\FRQGLWLRQVFOHDUO\LQGLFDWHGLQWKH
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
6| HEADLINES The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

Authority relaxes aviation proclamation

to enhance private sector involvement
By Kaleyesus Bekele said the participation of the
private sector in the aviation
sector is limited. “It is a big
The Ethiopian Civil Aviation challenge for the government
Authority (ECAA) is revising to build the entire air transport
the existing Civil Aviation infrastructure by itself,
Proclamation and regulation administer and operate it all
to enhance the participation of by itself. The way forward
the private sector. should be a public private
partnership,” he said.
The Authority yesterday held
a consultative meeting with Officials of ECAA revealed
stakeholders on the draft civil that the government intends
aviation proclamation and to open the air transport
regulations. Director General sector for the private sector.
of ECAA, Wossenyeleh The draft regulation proposes
Hunegnaw (Col.), noted that small airports to be built
the existing civil aviation and operate by the private
law was enacted in 2001 sector, regional government
and the global aviation and city administrations.
industry has transformed a The regulation opens ground
lot in the past years. “With handling services, aircraft
Director General of ECAA, Wossenyeleh Hunegnaw (Col.) deliberating on the draft proclamation,
the existing proclamation parts designing, manufacturing
and regulations we cannot transport accessibility and presented to the stakeholders. disclosed that the air transport and maintenance work for
meet the International Civil development regulation and sector in Ethiopia did is not the private sector. While the
Aviation Organization’s Endeshaw Yigezu, air
small airports ownership and developed considering the vast
(ICAO) standards. Second the
operation regulation were transport director with ECAA, growth opportunity. Endesahw Authority relaxes . . . page 19
participation of the private
sector in the aviation sector
was limited. With the new
proclamation and regulation
we want to enhance the
participation of the private
DBE to foreclose on Ayka Addis
sector. We also want regional By Dawit Endeshaw In this regard, the valuation
states and cities to have a process takes up to one month
stake in the aviation sector,” after which the factory will be
Wossenyeleh said. The Development Bank of available for sale.
Ethiopia (DBE) is to foreclose Once the process is completed,
Wossenyeleh said that the
on the bankrupted Turkish the factory will be up for
aviation policy which was
drafted some years back was textile company – Ayka Addis foreclosure sale for two
not presented for discussion Textile & Investment Group – consecutive times in case there
during the meeting. “We shall in the coming one month, The were no takers.
make some amendments based Reporter has learnt.
“When the foreclosure is made,
on the direction to be given by “The state owned bank will the borrower or former owners
the government,” he said. of the factory have a stake
begin asset valuations of the
The amendments of the civil plant soon,” a senior manager
aviation proclamation, air at the Bank told The Reporter. Yusuf Aydeniz, the original owners of the factory DBE to . . . page 29
.
..
Ð NEWS IN BRIEF
Refugees from Ethiopia will come to Italy via Remains of Ethiopian Christians killed by
‘university corridors’ Islamic State uncovered in Libya
The University of Bologna announced on Wednesday that it has started a project to give The remains of 34 Ethiopian Christians killed by the Islamic State group in 2015 have
refugee students the possibility to continue their academic studies in Italy through been found in a mass grave, a branch of the interior ministry said Monday.
humanitarian corridors from Ethiopia. An official said Monday their bodies have been discovered near Sirte, the jihadists’
“University corridors” between Ethiopia and Italy will give students the chance to former stronghold until they were ousted from the coastal city in December 2016 by
continue their academic studies at the University of Bologna. forces loyal to Libya’s UN-backed government.
The UNI-CO-RE University Corridors for Refugees (Ethiopia-Unibo 2019-21) project is
Taha Hadid, spokesman for the Sirte protection force, told AFP that the bodies of 34
supported by Alma Mater and the UN refugee agency UNHCR and is being implemented
Ethiopians were discovered on Sunday at a farm near the city.
through support from Italian and international bodies and institutions.
“According to the prosecutor general’s office, these remains belong to the Ethiopians
The project was designed for students who, having fled their countries of origin, are
executed” by the Islamic State group, he added.
now in Ethiopia and have been granted refugee status.
The mass grave was discovered through confessions made by IS members captured
In the pilot phase for the next two academic years (2019/2020 and 2020/2021), five
during the battle to retake Sirte, according to the organised crime department in
students who have earned an undergraduate degree in Ethiopia and want to continue
their studies in Italy will be selected. Thanks to the UNI-CO-RE humanitarian corridors, Misrata to the west of Sirte.
the students will be able to get scholarships to attend a master’s degree course at the “The bodies will be repatriated to Ethiopia once the national and international legal
University of Bologna. procedures are completed,” the department said in a statement posted on Facebook.
(ANSA) (AFP)

www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 HEADLINES |7

Girma Wake, Tadesse Tilahun

join Ethiopian Airlines board
By Kaleyesus Bekele
Former CEO of Ethiopian
Airlines, Girma Wake, has
joined the board of directors
of Ethiopian Airlines Group as
of last week.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
(PhD) last week appointed
three new board members
including Girma Wake,
Tadesse Tilahun, CEO of
National Oil Company (NOC)
and Aklilu Hailemichael,
state minister of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. The
new board members were
introduced to the board of
directors chaired by Abadula
Gemeda, former speaker of
the House, on December 22,
2018. Deputy Chairman of
the board is Arkebe Oqubay
(PhD), who is also the
board chairman of Industrial
Parks Development
Cooperation.
Senior executive of Ethiopian
Airlines told The Reporter that
the management of the airline
is delighted to once again work
with Girma Wake. “We are
happy that Girma joined our
board. We will benefit from
his wealth of experience. He
is considered as a father in
the airline community,” the
executive said.
Girma told The Reporter that
he is honored to serve the
board chairman and worked
as advisor of the Rwandese
Minister of Transport.
Currently, Girma is adviser
of the president of Togo on
aviation matters. Aged 75
Girma has a 50 year experience
in the aviation industry. He is
married and a father of five
and has eight grandchildren.
Girma is also board chairman
of United Insurance SC, one
of the private insurance
companies operating in
Ethiopia.
On the flip side, stakeholders
voiced their reservations on
the appointment of Tadesse
Tilahun of NOC. Industry
sources said that since NOC
supplies aviation fuel to
Ethiopian Airlines Tadesse’s
appointment as board member
is a conflict of interest.
However, Tadesse told The
Girma Wake Tadesse Tilahun
Reporter that the motive
national airline. “I am always
some disagreements with the behind his appointment is to
happy to serve our airline. I
then Ethiopian government encourage the participation
am committed to work for the
officials and left the airlines to of the private sector which he
national carrier together with
join Gulf Air. He also worked supports. “Fuel purchase is
my colleagues,” Girma said.
for DHL in the Middle East. something that goes through
Girma Wake served as CEO of tendering process. This is
Up on the government’s
Ethiopian Airlines from 2004 to not something that is usually
request Girma retuned to
2011. Girma joined Ethiopian presented to the board. If there
Ethiopian in 2004 to take
at a young age. He was trained is a chance that fuel purchase
the CEO position. After
at the Ethiopian Airlines issue is presented to the board
successfully restructuring the
Aviation Academy and served airline he retired in 2011. After then I will recuse myself and
the airline for 34 years at leaving Ethiopian at the age of not participate in that board
various posts. In 1993 he had 67, Girma served RwandAir as meeting,” he said.

Ethiopia earns USD 38 mln in export revenue
from Chinese-built industrial park
Ethiopia has earned USD 38 million in export revenues from its flagship Chinese-built
Hawassa Industrial Park in the last two years, an Ethiopian official said on Wednesday.
Built by China Civil Engineering Corporation (CCECC), the Hawassa Industrial Park,
which is located in the Southern Regional State, was initially completed in a record
time of nine months back in July 2016.
CCECC has also constructed and commissioned Kombolocha and Adama industrial
parks, while it has completed 70 percent of construction work for Bahir Dar Industrial
Park.
Speaking to the media, Mekonnen Hailu, Public Relations Director of Ethiopia
Investment Commission (EIC), said the 38 million US dollars export revenue was
earned from textile goods produced by 20 local and foreign firms located inside Hawassa
Industrial Park.
Mekonnen further said that the Hawassa Industrial Park has created job opportunities
for 23,000 Ethiopians, who are also receiving practical skills training to build their
capacities.
Ethiopia hopes to build and commission 30 industrial parks by 2025.
(Xinhua)
ILO develops application connecting
employers, job seekers in Ethiopia
International Labor Organization has launched application code named “Sira” that
directly connects employers and job seekers through mobile and web applications as
well as call centers on Wednesday.
The aim of “Sira” is to address the mismatch between job seekers and employers
focusing on low and middle skilled occupations. The applications will facilitate
returnees and other members of the community to easily have access to suitable and
decent jobs.
The user-friendly application that uses both Amharic and English language was
developed by “Sira” CEO Mamil Masresha.
The CEO, who had no better way of searching for jobs on her return from abroad, was
motivated to develop the application to ease the hardship of finding jobs for other
returnees.
“Sira is user-friendly and above all reduces cost and unnecessary involvement of
brokers through specific matching like location, job title and educational level,”
Mamil said.
There are plans to include other languages as per the users of the application if
regions welcome the idea and promote it, she noted.
(ENA)

www.thereporterethiopia.com
8| HEADLINES The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

Afar rocked
by deadly violence
By Dawit Endeshaw
In a fresh round of violence
that erupted this week four
people are said to have lost
their lives and 13 severely
injured in what was a relatively
calm region: the Afar Regional
State, The Reporter has learnt.
According to source from the
area, the clash which erupted
in a place called Endefo–a
small Kebele along the border
of Afar and Somali Regional
States – involved a group
of armed individuals and
a Special Police of the Afar
Regional States.
The clash was preceded by a
public protest in the kebele a
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week ago, at which time the clash began, probably around in the area is still high where
public was raising demands midnight on December 25, the security situation might
for a better administration 2018. deteriorate. However, federal
and infrastructure in the area. police and the Ethiopian
The Special Police Force of the
Furthermore, sources say that
Afar Regional State clashed Defense Forces are currently
there were also questions of
with the armed individuals monitoring the situation in the
inclusion under the Somali
in the kebele escalating the Kebele and to deter another
Regional states.
situation and causing the eruption of violence.
The small kebele – which damages.
belongs to Afar Regional State It is to be recalled that just
Following this, the road which
– in addition to other ethnic a couple of months ago, the
passes thorough the small
groups, is also inhabited by ruling party of the region–
kebele and connecting the
Issa Somalis. Afar National Democratic
Tigray Regional State as well
During the protests, there as Djibouti with the rest of Party—replaced the a other
were attempts by groups to Ethiopia was closed for hours, long serving president of the
take down the flag of the Afar Abdi Bouh, deputy head of region (next to Ismael Ali Sero)
Regional State and replace it Agriculture Bureau at Endefo Haji Seyoum with Awol Areba.
with Somali Region’s flag, a told The Reporter. It was on In addition, the party has also
resident of Endefeo told The the next day that the road was appointed Ayesha Mohammed
Reporter. opened for cars.
(Eng.), Minister of Defense, to
It was after this that the According to Abdi, the tension be the chairman of the party.

Request for Expression of Interest

for Architectural Design Competition, December, 2018
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supervisionand contract administration service contract in negotiation. before 5pm to the following
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Address: Techachelo Menor Joint Building PLC,
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experience in designing complex buildings to submit their expression of Kirkos sub city
interest. 8thÁRRU2IÀFH1R
Tel.no.+251115580002
Project Details
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 HEADLINES |9

Soldiers of patriotic Ginbot 7 to

relocate to camp in Ethiopia
By Neamin Ashenafi before joining the community.

Regarding the upcoming election, he

Patriotic Ginbot 7 Movement for Unity said that “it doesn’t matter whether
and Democracy, in its first press briefing the upcoming election will take place
since its homecoming in September, according to the plan or not; what
stated that preparation is underway matters most at this historical juncture

Photo By: The Reporter /Tamirat Getachew

both by the government and the party to
return some 550 of its soldiers to camps
and rehabilitate them, Andargachew
Tsige, general secretary of the party,
disclosed on Wednesday, December 26,
2018.
The party has been determined to
commit its soldiers stationed in Eritrea
to military camps in Ethiopia since
its return. However, due to delay from
the government’s side, it could not
happen, so far. Nevertheless, it is going
to be implemented shortly and some 550
soldiers of the party will be committed
to camps, secretary general of the party
told The Reporter.
“Even though we want all our soldiers
to be relocated to camps from day one,
the government did not prepare a camp
and allocate the appropriate budget to
do the rehabilitation works. However,
now, the camp has been identified and
Advertisments
the budget allocated by the government.
Therefore, our soldiers will be relocated
to the camps and will engage in the
rehabilitation process,” Andargachew
highlighted.
Regarding the delay, Andargachew
blamed the government for its sluggish
actions, and responses and said that,
“relocating soldiers to the camps did not
is that the reinstatement of law and
order, make sure different institutions
are free, and independent to oversee
the election and so on. If this occurs, it
is easy to conduct the election without
having such guarantees. We don’t have
to conduct an election just to meet the
schedule to conduct an election.”
On the subject of merger with other
political parties, the secretary general
Andargachew Tsige stated that so many activities have
been completed so far and leaders of
happen just because the government
didn’t act swiftly. To do so, therefore, is the parties like EDP, Blue and former
up to the government not to us.” members of the Unity for Democracy
and Justice (UDJ) have agreed to merge
According to Andargachew, the soldiers
the parties and create a new one which
who are going to join the camps are
those who have lost their properties, focuses on the politics of citizenship.
homes and other assets due to their This new party is expected to be
engagement in the struggles of the past functional as of April, Andargachew
and the soldiers will be rehabilitated revealed.

INTERNATIONAL BID
Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) in cooperation with Bread for the
World(BftW) wants to invite all interested and eligible bidders to Supply Ambulance
and Solar for the project titled ‘Facilitating Improved Maternal and Reproductive
Health Service in Barabara may Maternity Hospital in Afar Region’’.
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Afar Pastoralist Development Association (APDA) in cooperation with GTKwants
to invite all interested and eligible bidders to hireVehicles for the project
called ‘Strengthening Drought Resilience and Agro-Pastoral Livelihoods in the
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annoncement date of this invitation 29/12/2018 at 8:00 AM. The bid closing date
will be 28/01/2019 G.C@ 10:30 AMMorningin the in both places ,and the opening
will be on the date29/01/2019 G.C@ 10:30AM in the Morning at Samara head
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shall be wax sealed and vividly marked. The bid document should be inserted in the
bid box placed at KHDGRIÀFHLQ6DPDUD
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E-,mail : afarpda@gmail.com
10| HEADLINES The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

MoFA announces ambassadors’ placements

By Yonas Abiye
The Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MoFA) has announced
the countries of which its 20
Ambassadors are to be posted
to head Ethiopia’s diplomatic
missions; including Fitsum
Arega. The former chief
of staff of the Office of the
Prime Minister is bound to
Washington DC.
The announcement comes
three days after the
ambassadors appointments
were made public by President
Sahle-work Zewde, with no
mentioning of their posts at
first.
Kassa Teklebirhan (Amb.)
Like Fitsum, Suleiman Dedefo
– the former Head of Mission in
Djibouti – was also appointed
as Ethiopia’s Ambassador to
Abu Dhabi, the capital of the
United Arab Emirates. Until
his new post became public,
Suleiman has been serving as
Directorate Director at MoFA.
Suleiman, who has further
gained reputation after the
controversial documentary
film featuring the grand
corruption and embezzlement
in the Metals and Engineering
Corporation (MetEC), was
praised by many people for his
bravery.
However, some argue that
Suleiman should have been
appointed to an office with
a regulatory power like the
Anti-Corruption Commission
or public enterprises that run
mega projects.
Similarly, Meles Alem,
the current Spokesperson
of the MoFA was given an
Ambassadorial role to Kenya.
A few years ago he served
as a diplomatic attaché to
Ethiopia’s neighbor to the
south.
Furthermore, Teshome Toga,
the former ambassador to the
EU takes the Ambassador’s
role to Beijing, China replacing
Berhane Gebrekirstos.
Another long serving
politician, Abdulaziz
Mohammed received the nod
to become the Ambassador to
Djibouti replacing Shamebo
Fitamo.
Replacing the veteran
politician, Kuma Demeksa as
Ethiopia’s new Ambassador
to Berlin, German is the
outspoken, prominent
businesswoman and former
president of the Ethiopia
Chamber of Commerce and
Sectoral Association; Mulu
Solomon who was picked from
the civilian side to represent
the Government.
Other appointees include,
Nasise Chali to Canada, Hassen
Taju to Senegal, Reta Alemu
to Israel, Henok Tefera to
France, Alemtsehay Meseret to
Uganda, Tizita Mulugeta (PhD)
to India, Tesfaye Yilma (Amb.)
as Permanent Representative
of Ethiopia to the AU, Teferi
Tadesse to South Sudan,
Addisu Gebregziabher (PhD)
to Zimbabwe, Million Samuel
to The Netherlands, Berhane
Fisseha as Deputy Permanent
Representative of Ethiopia to
the AU, Airorat Mohammed
(PhD) to Oman and Samia
Zekaria (Amb.) to Qatar.

Out of the lists of new

appointees, some have already
caught the public’s attention
for their appointments and the
Sahle-work welcomes Eritrean
ambassador to Ethiopia
countries they will go too.
Notably, more than anyone
else, the appointment of Fitsum
Arega and Suleiman Dedefo
(Amb.) surprised the public. July. Affairs in Eritrea’s Ministry
By Yonas Abiye
It has only been two months of Foreign Affairs until 2001.
He has been a prominent
since Fitsum moved back to figure in the Eritrean He has served as the Mayor of
the Ethiopian Investment Five months after Ethiopia People’s Liberation Front Asmara, and later as a head
Commission, which he since 1976. of the Ministry of Education.
and Eritrea officially ended a
previously led for five years;
two-decade old stalemate and It is also to be recalled
having served as the Chief of President Sahle-work
somewhat restored normalcy said that she was pleased that Ethiopia, in its part,
Staff for Prime Minister Abiy
in relations, President to receive the letters of
for six months where he has appointed Redwan Hussein
gained his fame. Now, after Sahle-work Zewde received credence noting that it was as its Ambassador to Eritrea,
four months since he retained a credentials letter of the her first since she took office who as well, presented his
his former role, President newly appointed Eritrean as President of the Federal
head of mission, Semere credentials to the Eritrean
Sahle-work included Fitsum Democratic Republic of Foreign Minister, Osman
among the 20 new appointed Russom at the National Ethiopia.
Palace on Thursday. Salah in October.
Ambassadors unveiled on
Monday, this week. After Eritrea’s independence,
Semere came to Ethiopia four Semere has served as the Alongside the Eritrean
Later, on Thursday, MoFA months ago following the Eritrean Ambassador to the diplomat, the President has
officially announced that restored relations with the United States and Canada. also received four more
Fitsum is going to be Ethiopia’s signing of a joint declaration Afterwards, he continued credentials including from
Ambassador to Washington of Peace and Friendship his career in public service Somalia, Egypt, Tunisia and
replacing veteran politician agreement in Asmara last as Director of European Thailand.
.
..
Ð HORN IN BRIEF
Canadian Court set to hear Nevsun Resources Six killed in South Sudan communal clashes
case on Eritrea human rights abuses At least six people have been killed and 17 others wounded in communal clashes in South
Sudan’s former Lakes State, security official said on Thursday.
The future of the Canadian resource industry hangs in the balance as the Supreme
Court of Canada prepares to hear a high-profile case accusing Canadian miner The official, who wished to remain anonymous because he no is not authorised to talk to
Nevsun Resources Ltd. of human rights abuses in Eritrea. the media, said the clashes started on Wednesday evening over a cattle raid.
At the heart of the hearing, set for Jan. 23, is whether customary international law “Yes the fighting is still ongoing between the Palchang and Pakam communities,” he told
(CIL) — a fairly undefined and shifting body of law that has, to date, only been applied The East African on phone.
to sovereign states — will now apply to Canadian companies.
He alleged that the Palchang community in Tonj State attacked their Pakam counterparts
Traditionally, Canadian courts have been loath to deal with violations of international in western Lakes State, triggering the fighting.
law that have occurred abroad.
The government spokesman in the capital Juba declined to comment on the matter.
The Nevsun case could change that — an unappealing outcome for Canadian
multinationals, especially resource-extraction companies who must often enter The state that seceded from Sudan in 2011 has a long history of communal clashes, with
into arrangements with foreign governments regarding their exploration and the conflicts often aggravated among nomadic groups over cattle and grazing lands.
development initiatives. South Sudan is home to some 64 ethnic groups, each with several clans.
“The prospect of customary international law applying to Canadian businesses, and The majority Dinka are cattle keepers, constituting about 35 percent of the South Sudan
particularly the mining sector, creates unpredictability that will compromise our population.
competitiveness if not properly thought out,” said Ben Chalmers, the Ottawa-based
senior vice-president of the Mining Association of Canada. (The East Africa)
(Financial Post)

www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 HEADLINES |11
AEUP calls for intervention to stabilize market
By Neamin Ashenafi on the ground and might lead advised the government that the recent house rent called on the government to
the public to an unnecessary saboteurs might be behind increment by the corporation follow closely and control
disorder. Therefore, the the recent price hikes, and providing a sound the activities of some greedy
The All Ethiopian Unity government should take the shortages in the services of solution to the problems that businessmen that are engaged
Party (AEUP) in its latest action to revise and discard transportations, electricity are faced by the public in
and water irregularities. in creating an artificial price
press briefing stated that the decision,” leaders of the different parts of the country.
the recent price increment Hence, the government increment on commodities
party highlighted.
on the tenants of the Federal should take all the necessary Apart from this, the leaders and take some measures to
Housing Corporation is The leaders of the party also measures including stripping of the party stressed and stabilize the market.
unacceptable and the price
hike might be related to those

Local Entrepreneur to head

groups trying to sabotage
the ongoing reform. Hence,
the government should

Philippines Consulate in Addis

discard the price increment
unconditionally, the party
requested.
The party presented its
request at its head office
on Thursday, December
27, 2018, for both local and
international media. The
briefing was delivered by
Bezabeh Demisse (PhD) and
Mulugeta Abebe, chairman
and vice chairman of the
party, respectively.
The party further stated
that the recent price hike in
different basic commodities
like water, electricity and
shortage of transportation
is way beyond bearable,
adding that, the government
should act swiftly in order
to address these demands of
the public before the issues
become turned into sources
of calamity and chaos.
“At a time when commodities
are very expensive and
citizens are struggling to
cover their basic needs,
the price increment by the
federal housing agency
doesn’t consider the reality
By Samuel Getachew
Local Entrepreneur Tewodros
Sheferaw has been selected as
an Honorary Consulate of the
Republic of the Philippines to
Ethiopia.
The appointment of the well-
connected businessperson – the
owner of Nahoo TV, Rosita real-
estate and a major exporter– is
seen as the groundwork to open
a fully functioning embassy in
Ethiopia for its commercial
interests and to represent
the estimated 800 Philippine
citizens working within the
country.
This comes as both Ethiopia
and the Philippines are
looking to expand their
bilateral relationship in areas
of trade, medical tourism and
the expanding industrial parks
operating in the country.
“After a thorough background
check and because of my time
living in South Asia and my
Tewodros Sheferaw
interest, as a student and a
business person; I was selected
to represent the interest of
the Philippines in Ethiopia,”
Tewodros told The Reporter.
“The new consulate will
“After a thorough
background check and
because of my time living in
South Asia and my interest,
as a student and a business
person; I was selected to
represent the interest of the
Philippines in Ethiopia,”
facilitate almost all of the
core services of the embassy,
including student visas and
delegation visits.”
Ethiopia, with its drive to be
an industrialized nation, has
looked at the experiences of
others including the lived
experiences of the Asian
nation.
There has been a minimal
diplomatic relationship,
however small between
both nations. Its diplomatic
office in Cairo has also been
representing its interest in
Ethiopia. The duo announced
the signing of an Air Services
agreement last year allowing
Ethiopian Airlines to fly to
Manila, as well as promise to
build a bilateral consultation
mechanism.
The trade between both is
estimated to be around USD 20
million and the major imports
to Ethiopia are in areas of
millstones and grindstones
used for milling and pulping
while Ethiopia exports leather
products and kidney beans.
According to Tewodros, the
new consulate which will
be located inside the Rosita
building in Bole and is expected
to be opened on January 15.

US issues travel advisory for Somalia over
terrorism
United States Department of State said in a statement that violent crime, such as
kidnapping and murder, is common throughout Somalia, including Puntland and
Somaliland. Illegal roadblocks are also widespread.
A number of schools acting as “cultural rehabilitation” facilities are operating throughout
Somalia with unknown licensing and oversight. Reports of physical abuse and people
being held against their will in these facilities are common.
Sudan claims Israeli connection to unrest
The Sudanese government has claimed arresting several people for collaborating
with Israel to destabilize the country.
The claim amid sporadic protests in the capital Khartoum on Thursday and a general
strike by journalists for being targeted in the crackdown against the continuing
unrest.
The Sudanese Journalists Union (SJU) on Thursday declared a three days strike to
protest the increasing attack on them during the coverage of the protests.

Terrorists continue to plot kidnappings, bombings, and other attacks in Somalia.
They may conduct attacks with little or no warning, targeting airports and seaports,
government buildings, hotels, restaurants, shopping areas, and other areas where large
crowds gather and Westerners frequent, as well as government, military, and Western
convoys.
Pirates are active in the waters off the Horn of Africa, especially in the international
waters near Somalia.
The United States government has limited ability to provide emergency services to United
States citizens in Somalia due to the lack of permanent consular presence in Somalia.
(US State Department)
The journalists have also been angered by the censorship imposed on them.
SJU said in statement that the security organs had imposed censorship, especially on
the newspapers, to control the flow of information relating to the protests.
“We are deeply concerned by the aggressive abuses against the journalists since the
beginning of the protests,” read the SJU statement.
It further stated that many journalists had been attacked, arrested and tortured, with
several cases recorded in the past few days.
“Around nine of our colleagues have faced different kinds of abuses including arrests,
detention and,” SJU said.
(The East African)

www.thereporterethiopia.com
12| IN-DEPTH
Usually, a number of people send us a message on facebook, to verify particular news in the
social media posted under our name,”
FAKE NEWS
ALERT By Dawit Endeshaw
October 23, 2018 was unfortunate
day for two longtime friends
who went to their hometown
to conduct a medical research.
The research results and its aim
would have been a great deal for
the local community. However,
their effort and aspiration was
cut short with a tragedy that
claims their lives.
They were beaten to death by
an angry mob in West Gojjam
Zone, Amhara Regional State.
Wossen Tafere, a researcher and
a PhD candidate at the Ethiopian
Institute of Water Resources
and his friend, Mandfero Abi,
were killed while conducting
a research at a school in West
Gojiam.
According to reports from the
area, things took a turn to worst
on that fateful day and it was all
because of unfounded rumors or
fake news reportedly circulated
in the social media on the day of
the killing.
The rumors were first began
in the social media and then
found their way into the town,
according to those close to the
case.
According to these accounts,
a group of youth in the area
spread a rumor about the two
researchers saying that they
were administrating injections
and vaccinations to students.
The youth also disseminated a
false claim that the students who
received the injections form the
researchers were filling ill and
dying, according to multiple
sources from the area.
Following this,
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
hundreds of people went to the
school where the researchers
were taking samples and began
attacking them. They were
attacked by stones and dragged
on to the streets.
In the same token, other
researchers who went to study
the level of HIV Prevalence in
Bahir Dar were also attacked.
Apparently, the incidents had
far reaching consequences for
the health sector. Since then,
health workers in various
regions are facing problems to
practice their usual routine, and
it is all because of fake news in
the virtual world, particularly
facebook.
With the popularity of the
social media and the growing
penetration of the internet, the
conventional media platforms
such as radio, television and
print media is diminishing,
experts argue. Now, people
have more access to those news
platforms, largely facebook for
news.
However, this new platform
came with its own
danger where anyone
can disseminate any
information freely;
whether it true or not.
But, the more burning
issue is the fact that
people are inclined to
believe the information
or news reports on these
platforms without questioning
their trustworthiness.
This has a created a new era of
fake news in the world politics.
And no one is shielded from this
raging fire. In fact, sometimes
these new mediums are seen
turning to platforms for hate
speeches where in countries like
Myanmar they helped fuel the
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
Given the complexity of the problem and its global trend, there are only few countries that
have laws to regulate fake news, thus far.
act of genocide on the minority
Muslim Rohingya by Buddhist
majorities.
In fact, according to a number
of news reports, known
personalities in Myanmar
stormed facebook and used the
platform to attack the Rohingyas.
A number of fake news items
which talks about the killing
of Buddhist and the raping of
Buddhist woman by a Muslim
Rohingyas were some of the
unfounded allegations which led
to the massacre of Rohingyas.
Africa was also a victim of fake
news, although not as deadly as
Myanmar, the impact was still
felt in the lives of many people.
Nevertheless, reports have also
shown that the quickly spreading
fake news reporting was not only
limited to social media. In fact,
main news outlets were either
misled or were perpetrators in
the fake news phenomenon, in
recent times.
For instance, according to news
report by BBC Africa entitled:
“A year in fake news in Africa
“on November, 2018, there was a
number of news items which was
circulated in the social media.
In this regard, new reports from
an Ethiopian outlet was also
implicated in such incidents
where by a video footage which
has allegedly shown an alleged
killings of Somalis by Oromos,
which not only circulated in the
social media platforms first but
also crossed to a broadcast by a
U.S based Ethiopian television
station, Ethiopian Satellite
Television (ESAT).
According to reports, the footage
has created tension among the
two ethnic groups at the time
and might even have resulted
in the harassment and beating
of Oromos who live in Djibouti.
The same report by BBC also
proved that the same footage was
first used in Cameroon. Granted,
the US-based ESAT vehemently
denounced the allegations
going as far as writing a letter
of complaint to the trust that
governs the British outlet: BBC.
Such trends in different forms
are also growing from time to
time sometimes becoming an
immediate reason for violence
and clash among communities.
More particularly such
dissemination of fake news in
the virtual world has become
more popular over the past few
months when it comes to the case
of Ethiopia.
Just few weeks back, fake news
which said to narrate the rally
IN-DEPTH |13
he said.
Given the complexity of the
problem and its global trend,
there are only few countries that
have laws to regulate fake news,
thus far. In this regard, just
recently France has introduced
a law which will regulate articles
which are fake news.
However, the move to regulate
fake news is also becoming
controversial following a
concern that the laws might
be used to effect censorship on
freedom of expression.
In this regard, Elias suggests
Ethiopia to have its own legal
in Mekelle was circulated by accounts with similar names. framework to deal with the
activists in the social media. These accounts usually made up trending problem.
The news was said to be compile a number of fake news reports
“It makes me scared when I
by the Washington Post and using Fana’s name. think what will happen when
reported the rally as if it was
Later, the media house decided the internet penetration level
mainly organized by protesters reaches the likes of Egypt and
against Prime Minister Abiy to verify its account which led
to the fake accounts with similar South Africa,” he said. It’s for
Ahmed (PhD). the lawmakers to determine
names to be shutdown.
Later, it was proved that what that legal framework may
Washington Post has never But still, other media houses look like, but I strongly believe
done any reporting about the such as Walta Information there should be one in place
rally and the claim was totally a Center, some TV stations are before it is too late.
fabrication. suffering from such problems.
In fact, there a number of fake “With regards to fake news,
Elias Meseret, a local accounts with Walta’s name with I believe the solution lies in
correspondent for Associated the fake pages having more likes tracking, exposing, blocking/
Press, was in fact the first than the original: the fake Walta or penalizing and educating.
to disprove the fake news page, for instance, has 106,841 One solution could be
disseminated regarding the likes while the original is not penalizing; preferably through a
rally in Mekelle. Elias beside his more than 90k. nongovernmental independent
profession in the main stream body in order to deter others from
media is active on social media “This is creating a problem for continuing on this path,” Tara
and recently has taken it up on us,” said Abrham Dreje, media Al-Kadi (PhD), a lecturer at
himself, to hunt similar fake expert at Walta Information Department of Journalism and
news reports and to disproving Center. He has been managing Mass Communication in The
them. the website and social media for American University in Cairo,
Walta for the past three years. told The Reporter.
The trend is also making
journalists job difficult. “Usually, a number of people “This could mean paying fines
send us a message on facebook, and getting a warning that would
“Verifying information has now to verify particular news in the escalate if repeated or whatever
become an added job description social media posted under our fair system an independent body
for me because that was not name,” he said. “We have tried would seek,” she said.
a major issue when I started to report our complaints to
practicing journalism some eight facebook but it has been difficult In addition, the so called
or nine years ago,” Elias told The to clear put the issue.” journalists or sources of such
Reporter. materials tend to make a lot of
He indicated that such trends of financial gain through the fake
“ It also makes me wary of every fake news and using duplicate news. The cycle could be broken
information that comes my way accounts is becoming common if we manage to block or reduce
these days because I have to practice over the past six or the financial rewards. This
verify, and study the source of seven months given the political would mean advertisers and
information, rethink the movies sensitiveness of the country. sponsors should be deterred as
behind it and then decided well, he argued further.
Tamiru L Kitata, is one of the
whether to use it or not before I
started the actual story writing,” many facebook users, who was In relation to this, the Office of
he said. tricked by such duplicate fake the Attorney General is somehow
account. He said he wasn’t sure trying to come up with some sort
Such unhealthy activity of which one was the real account of deterring mechanism for fake
fabricating false news mainly for Walta. news.
involves creating a duplicate
facebook accounts which are Given the number of fake news “We are now preparing a
similar with known media in the virtual world, he always proclamation which will
houses. tries to use different method to regulate the dissemination of
cross check the authenticity on hate speech,” Zinabu Tunu,
Media houses such as Fana the news. communication director with
Broadcast Corporate S.C was the Office told The Reporter.
“I was motivated to do such
a victim of such malicious
practice where until recently follow ups after a fake footage “Soon the law will be functional,”
there were a number of facebook circulated in the social media,” he said.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
14| INTERVIEW
CLOSER
LOOK AT
BANKING
AND
FINANCE
Abdulmenan Mohammed is a seasoned
accountant and well-known commentator
in Ethiopian print media. Currently based
in the UK, Abdulmenan is works for a
premium property management company
as an accounts manager. Before moving
to the UK for education, he worked for an
DXGLWÀUPZKHUHKHZDVDEOHWRULVHWR
a level of an audit manager. He is ACCA
FHUWLÀHGDQGKROGVPDVWHU·VGHJUHHLQ
ÀQDQFLDOPDQDJHPHQWIURP(GLQEXUJK
University, in England. More than a decade
in the UK, Abdulmenan, nevertheless,
stayed close to the issues back home in
Ethiopia. Furthermore, since 2010, he
has become an active participant and
commentator in Ethiopian print media;
HVSHFLDOO\RQEXVLQHVVDQGÀQDQFLDO
matters. While back home for a vacation,
Asrat Seyoum of The Reporter caught up
to Abdulmenan to discuss current issues
LQ(WKLRSLD·VEDQNLQJDQGÀQDQFHVHFWRUV
Excerpts:
The Reporter: As you
know, since 2014,
Ethiopian lawmakers have
the
passed a proclamation
instituting what is called
the International Financial
Reporting Standards
(IFRS) replacing the so
called Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles
(GAAP). Can you explain the
basic difference between the
two accounting principles
and what it means to
the process of preparing
and presenting financial
statements?
Abdulmenan Mohammed: To
begin with, GAAP is not really
a codified and organized set of
standards. It was composed of
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
mostly accounting principles
practiced in the US; it was not
exclusive to US standards but
just accepted rules from around
the world. For instance, in
Ethiopia, the set of standards
thought at higher learning
institutions and the ones
practiced in the professional
environment are often a blend
of the US and UK standards.
At times, you have industry
specific standards adopted
from personal experiences of
professionals. So, largely, we
had a scattered set of standards
in use in Ethiopia. Hence, what
IFRS seeks to accomplish is
collect all the accounting and
audit standards and devise one
unified templet and guideline
for accounting and audit. In fact,
it is not limited to accounting
only; auditing as well will
have specific set of steps and
standards to follow while
auditing financial accounts
under IFRS. For instance, there
are specific steps to follow
when an auditor goes through
a financial account; there are
also sets of standards to refer
to when an auditor verifies a
financial reporting is really
up to the standards. What you
need to know is every country
or industry had its own set of
financial reporting standards
for many years; and now
IFRS would be that common
accounting language among
the global community. So, what
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
it means is that there is an
international body that would
research and adopt accounting
and audit principles. And
Ethiopia would have to follow
that body and keep up with
these evolving set of standards.
Since the enactment of the
law, Ethiopian institutions
are now in the process
of migrating to this new
set of standards. But, the
migration is proving to be
quite difficult, what does
the international experience
show?
No doubt it was a long and
difficult process. You see,
countries had already adopted
accounting principles that fits
their unique situation. The
set of standards were tailored
to country-specific needs; so
the issue was debated fiercely
even in the UK. Mind you, for
the UK and other advanced
nations compliance to the
IFRS is relatively easier since
most of the crafters of these
new standards are from these
nations. But, for developing
countries like ours, since
most of these standards are
developed in the context of
the advanced economies,
compliance could prove to
be difficult. Most of these
financial and accounting
standards do serve a purpose
in the advanced world. But,
developing nations lack these
basic financial sophistications.
Furthermore, some of
standards included in the IFRS
could also have contradictions
with other laws and
proclamations of developing
nations. For instance, the
standards could be in conflict
with some of the regulatory
frameworks put in place by
the National Bank of Ethiopia
(NBE) to protect the banking
sector. Sometimes, it is like
taking laws from other nations
and trying to implement it to
a local context; it is incredibly
difficult.
If the previous standard
were as disintegrated as you
say they were how then is
the world communicating
with respect to finance?
You have to know that most
of these advanced economies
had a unified set of unique
standards applicable within in
their own national territories.
So, what had been happing is
that companies had to adopt the
local standards wherever they
operate. This is partly due to
lack of centralized standards.
If certain companies do
business in two or more nations
they will be forced to operate
with the standards of each
nation. That being the general
rule, most of these standards
in advanced nations are quite
similar to one another. On
top of that, the respective
accounting and audit bodies in
these nations have had constant
communications over the years
thus leading to the adoption of
this common standard. When
you come to our situation,
the demand for financial
information is not that big
to begin with. Most of these
financial reports are consumed
either by the company’s
management and shareholders
or by some government bodies.
There is rarely the need to
share such reports beyond
our national borders; so the
push factors to find a common
accounting terms with the
global community did not as
such exist since now.
What about the tax authority
and financial reporting for
tax purposes…?
There is financial report and
there is tax report. The tax
authority is the intended
consumer of the tax reporting.
Ethiopia had a tax law for so
many decades now and that
proclamation kept evolving
taking into consideration the
changes in the nation’s tax
base. What this law actually
does is codify the way the
taxpayer should organize its
accounting books and how to
present that information for tax
purposes. So, the outcome of
this report is tailored to the tax
authority and no other groups.
If you take shareholders, stock
markets (if there is any) and
the like they require a different
set of financial information;
completely different from
the one prepared for the tax
authority. This difference
emanates from the simple truth
that the tax proclamation has a
unique goal in sight. It could be
that about collecting taxes more
effectively or encouraging
investment or bring about
income redistribution.
Financial reports, on the other
hand, could be concerned with
performance of that company
and valuation of its assets and
that sort of thing.
So, what could you tell
me about the specific
differences between GAAP
and IFRS with regard to the
output which is the financial
report?
If you look at IFRS, what it does
is it gives you specific rules
as to how to prepare financial
reports. For instance, there are
some many methodologies as
www.thereporterethiopia.com
INTERVIEW |15
to how one can calculate assets
values or financial investments.
In the past, professionals were
free to cheery pick between
different methodologies
and that will make the
overall product uneven. For
instance, even in Ethiopia,
the terminologies chosen by
accountants while preparing
financial reports could vary
greatly: some reports could say
“inventory” while others say
“Stock”. This happens when
the set of reporting standards
are acquired from different
countries. It lacks uniformity.
However, the advantage of
IFRS is that there are codified
steps to follow while preparing
financial reports. And that
will bring about increased
uniformity among reports.
For example, if you look at an
IFRS based financial report
for five firms and GAAP based
reports for another five, the
end result would probably
be similar in structure and
terminology in the IFRS based
five reports. Meanwhile, this
is not true for GAAP. On the
other hand, under IFRS-based
financial reporting, the level
of information that is provided
to the customer would increase
tremulously. The disclosure
rate for GAAP-based reporting
was quite low.
With regard to real value
estimation could there be a
difference between two?
It is possible. One thing I can tell
you is that GAAP did not really
have uniform methodology to
estimate certain values such
as depreciation on fixed assets.
Mostly, it depended on the
practice that the accountant
is more familiar with, in his
previous work experience. For
instance, if we see financial
assets like shares the value
estimation could vary greatly
depending on accountant’s
inclination to use par value or
the market value. It is really the
discretion of the accountant to
choose any of the methodology.
However, under the IFRS, we
are talking about unifying
all these methodologies and
following a uniform practice.
What about the academic
curriculum, could IFRS
affect the education sectors?
We regard to the academic
curriculum, and if we are
talking about our curriculum,
even with the GAAP, it was
really difficult for graduates
to connect with the real world
application of the accounting
principles. I don’t know how it
is now, but in my day, most of
what we were thought at school
was based on accounting books
from the US. On the other
hand, when we left school,
we came to realize that most
of Ethiopia’s accounting
standards were copied from
the UK; that was a big problem.
Even then, the curriculum in
itself, although reliant on US
textbooks, it was not really
designed in way that follows a
certain system. Furthermore,
what is thought at schools in
Ethiopia is not really up-to-
date. You see, these standards
are just like laws; they keep
evolving through time to fit
the existing conditions in the
business world. So, when we
come to IFRS, the academic
institutions have to really
think long and hard. They need
to focus on IFRS books now.
Nevertheless, I also sympathize
with the institutions since it
will require huge investment to
replace all these books and also
to keep an updated knowledge
stock; as I told you the
standards are highly dynamic
they keep changing from time
to time.
What should be then the role
of the Ethiopian Accounting
and Audit Board? Shouldn’t
the education system be
an important area in the
migration to IFRS?
Closer look . . . page 25
16| LIVING AND THE ARTS The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

ESCAPING CONFLICT:
YEMENI REFUGEES IN ADDIS

By Hiwot Abebe
Ahmed is a little boy of
around 9 years old. He
runs across the street
around Atlas Hotel, yells
out people’s names when
he sees them approach, and
waves around a piece of
wood he plays with as he
wanders the streets of Bole.
Ahmed’s father holds up a
laminated plastic sign in
Amharic that explains he
is a Yemeni refugee and in
need of help. He is among
thousands of Yemeni
refugees that have flocked
to Ethiopia in the past 6
months, escaping civil war,
drought and famine.
Hundreds of thousands
of Ethiopians have made
the dangerous trek into
Djibouti, across the Red
Sea into Yemen in hopes
of a better life. This trend
continues to this day
with these young people
endangering their lives
during the treacherous
crossing of the sea to live
as illegal immigrants in
a foreign land. News of
their lives under harsh
work conditions or as
slaves in people’s homes
is often heard. The 180,000
refugees from the Middle
East that have recently
returned to Ethiopia is also
memorable. International
Labor Organization in
collaboration with 251
Communications has
developed a mobile app
SIRA to help these returnees
reintegrate into the job
market by linking them
with potential employers.
With this in mind, the
migration route to the
Middle East now flows both
ways. Refuges from Yemen
and Syria can occasionally
been seen in the streets of
Addis Ababa and several
more live outside the city.
Ethiopia is one of the largest
refugee asylum countries
in the world and the second
largest in Africa following
Uganda. At the beginning
of 2018, Ethiopia has hosted
892,555 refugees that fled
their homes as a result
of political instability,
conflict, famine and other
problems. So what is being
done to integrate them into
the country?
Along with immigrants
from South Sudan, Sudan,
Eritrea and Somalia,
refugees from Yemen and
Syria have entered the
country this past year. As
www.thereporterethiopia.com
of June 2018, there are a
total of 22.443 refugees in
Addis Ababa, mainly from
Eritrea, Yemen, Somalia
and South Sudan. The
majority of these (79%)
are from Eritrea and 8.3%
of these are from Yemen.
Since November 2017, 9,292
Yemenis have entered
the country through Bole
International Airport
and 8,965 have departed
by November of this year.
Officially 1,771 Yemeni
refugees are in the country
but the number can be as
high as 4000. Syrian refugees
in Addis are estimated to be
significantly fewer.
The war in Yemen, in
conjunction with ecological
crisis has resulted in the
largest humanitarian
disaster the world has ever
seen. According to the UN,
more than 600 civilians
have been killed and 10,700
injured since March 2015.
The lack of adequate
health care facilities has
forced massive outbreaks
of cholera and nearly
two thirds of the Yemeni
population is food insecure.
More than 3 million
Yemenis have fled their
homes in the past 3 years
and tens of thousands have
made the trip across the Red
Sea into the Horn region.
In a recent interview with
Al-Jazeera, Rafiq Ahmed,
chairman of the Yemeni
Refugee Community in
Ethiopia said, “We live here
like it’s our own country.
This is because of the huge
bond dating back thousands
of years between Ethiopia
and Yemen.”
Yemen has historical ties
with Ethiopia. Some wall
inscriptions state that the
Axumite kingdom extended
throughout Ethiopia into
Yemen and the southern
Arabian Peninsula. Yemen
and Ethiopia enjoyed
trade relations during
Medieval times. Yemenis
became the largest Arab
community in Ethiopia
rooting themselves in the
country during the 1920s by
becoming shop operators,
sweet sellers, launderers
and butchers. During Italy’s
1936 invasion of Ethiopia,
the Italians brought in
numerous Yemenis to work
as builders. And in times
of crisis, Yemen provided
a safe haven for Ethiopian
refugees and Ethiopia
in turn accepted Yemeni
immigrants during times
of political upheaval.
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
Many Yemenis cross from Aden to Djibouti by boat
before crossing the Ethiopian border. The Many
have been in the country since war broke out in
2015 while several more have arrived more recently,
following family members already in the country.
Some are beneficiaries of the government’s Out-
of-camp policy. They have been allowed to reside
in urban areas and seek employment. However,
opportunities for employment are scarce.
With few employment prospects and dim
likelihood of returning home any time soon,
many have made their homes around the
Urban Refugee Reception Centre office
in Hayahulet. A little known restaurant
in Bole area is a convening point for
those that have made the city their
home and for the new arrivals. The
UNHCR provides 70 U.S. dollars
per person for refugees that reside
in urban areas of Addis Ababa. conjunction with ecological
However, the organization has
only received 17% of the USD 327.8
crisis has resulted in the largest
million dollars needed to support humanitarian disaster the world
refugees in Ethiopia. Living expenses
in the city are high and many have
resorted to begging.
One of the main objectives of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees global
compact is enhancing refugee self-reliance.
The Ethiopian government launched the
Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework
(CRRF) in 2017. According to the UNHCR report on
the CRRF in July, Ethiopia plans to expand its out-
of-camp policy; provide work permits to refugees;
increase enrolment in primary, secondary and
tertiary education; provide access to irrigable land
for crop cultivation; facilitate local integration in
instances of protracted displacement; earmark
LIVING AND THE ARTS|17
a percentage of jobs within industrial parks
to refugees; and provide access to vital events
documentation to facilitate increased access to
basic and essential social services. The government
has also planned to amendment to the 2004 Refugee
Proclamation, which will enable refugees to
become more independent, better protected and
have greater access to local solutions.
The residents of the city have grown used to
seeing these refugees. The confusion that was
stirred up a few months ago is dissipating,
now. Their integration into local
community is questionable. Most treat
them with pity, often praying for those
still trapped in their crisis-torn homes,
and hope to forget them soon. They
frequently approach cars and better-
The war in Yemen, in off neighborhoods, often amassing
more cash than local beggars. Some
of these refugees make enough for
their daily food and save for their
monthly rent. But what will the
future hold for them?
has ever seen. The famine in Yemen remains the
largest humanitarian crisis in the
world, The US pulled out troops from
Syria on December 26 and both countries
continue to be fighting ground for Saudi
Arabia, Russia and Iran. It is unlikely that
these crises will end soon and that refugees or
the displaced will return home in the near future.
Ahmed joins his father on the sidewalk but a
passerby immediately distracts him. The cafés
nearby are used to this pair, offering them
refreshments, lunch or shade from the strong
midafternoon sun. Ahmed eats a little from plate
of french-fries the café staff has brought him then
rushes out to invite his father inside.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
18|COMMENTARY
Because our moral system
is diminishing, these days,
our politicians are so quick
to judge and too feeble to
control their nerves (just
like the mindless crowd)
while talking about
sensitive issues. Most
political leaders care more
about arousing the emotions
of their crowd than taming
irrational views of their
people against others,
Kibrom Berhane.
VIEWPOINT
The whole of Ethiopia,
including the Oromia
Region, is now yearning for
lasting peace and inter-
group harmony in the wake
of the reform measures being
courageously taken by the
change agents within the
UXOLQJ(WKLRSLDQ3HRSOHV·
Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF) coalition
itself, writes Merhatsidk
Mekonnen Abayneh.
Diminishing moral system and political
narcissism in Ethiopia
According to many scholars,
such as Email Durkheim,
morality is a source of solidarity.
It governs the actions of humans
in accordance with acceptable
social norms. Morality is
directly related to reasoning.
Moral reasoning is also an
attribute of a civilized nation
which exercises morally rational
capabilities to solve complex
social, political and cultural
problems. Hence, morality
is not simply a psychological
matter which is controlled only
by the will of individuals. It is
a system of different factors
which governs actions of all
sections of communities in a
certain nation. Jonathan Haidt,
the writer of the book entitled
‘The Righteous Mind: Why
Good People Are Divided by
Politics and Religion’ defined
moral systems as “interlocking
sets of values, virtues, norms,
practices, identities, institutions,
technologies, and evolved
psychological mechanisms that
work together to suppress or
regulate self-interest and make
cooperative societies possible”.
Without a moral system, it
is hard to imagine that our
social, economic, cultural,
and political systems function
The evolution of a state within a state: is that
not a mockery of contemporary politics?
Aristotle, one of the leading
thinkers of ancient Greece,
used to say that “man is, by
nature, a political animal”. In
his philosophical conception
and elucidation of politics in
its formative stage, he argued
that the organization of a noble
society is achieved more through
cooperation than confrontation
between and among its hostile
individuals and groupings with
various competing views and
interests.
This golden dictum has lasted
ever true throughout our ages to
this date. Definitely, politics is
the art of conducting war through
peaceful and harmonious means
and the battlefield happens to be
the mainstream society in which
it operates. You cannot genuinely
compete for political power
and fight it out successfully
articulating and arguing in favor
of your own separate policies
and programs in one hand and
using firearms in another.
Sad to rush for a dismissive
conclusion, Dawd Ibsa, who
claims to be the sitting head of
the Oromo Liberation Front, is
too old to grasp this classical
unhindered. When (the political
and economic) elites respect the
moral system, they instantly
committed to societal benefits.
Even though there will be drastic
ideological differences between
political groups, they would
probably accept it as an input to
generate a variety of solutions to
solve societal problems. In other
words, when a moral system is
strong, political differences are
vital to reap the best of shared
wisdom.
To the contrary, when there are
diminishing moral systems and
rise of narcissistic individuals,
social and political ills will reign
in society. Social, political, and
cultural differences might be
assumed as sources of all evils.
There will be little or no room for
cooperation between groups.
In the same vein, in my view,
the social, ethnic, and political
tensions in our country might be
outcomes of diminishing moral
system and the proliferation
of narcissistic politicians. The
political arguments (whether it is
between political elites or among
the common people) always move
towards more extreme positions.
We are not able to see any
prospect of civilized discussions
notion or rather grapple with
the deteriorating reality on the
ground getting complicated by
the day. In a press statement
he gave on December 21, 2018
from his office in Addis Ababa,
he was not hesitant to declare
having officially instructed his
armed militia illegally operating
in Oromia to show maximum
restraint when it comes to
undesired and intermittent
clashes with the Regional and
Federal Police and military
forces except where they are
provoked and compelled to
defend themselves at times of
unexpected attack.
Probably due to his advancing
age coupled with an intoxicating
self-coronation, it is hard to
establish if the gentleman knew
of the far-reaching consequences
of his manipulative and self-
incriminating declaration. In
other words, it must be a simple
mockery of civilized politics to
encounter an exhausted rebel
leader formally excused for his
previous wrongdoings, officially
invited to lay down his arms
and welcome home as a proud
celebrity to otherwise contribute
in the reconstruction of the
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
between different groups. Most
of our so-called politicians do
not even know when they do
not know how to bring harmony
between different groups. Most
political arguments, discussions,
and decisions often do not seem
to consider the consequences
to the general public. They
listen to their ego. They respect
themselves much more than
their responsibilities.
Consequentially, any politician
who cannot foresee the
consequences of his/her actions
on the general public does not
have a moral ground to talk
about humanness in general and
Ethiopian-ness in particular.
Unfortunately, except a few,
politicians in our country lack
the gut to genuinely speak how
to solve disappointments of all
Ethiopians. Almost all political
leaders of the different ethnic
and political groups seem to be
short-sighted and thoughtlessly
consider only the interests of
their respective groups – if they
think for others. In my view,
this is immoral. It is important
evidence of how politicians lack
moral commitments to humanity
and develop a narcissistic
personality.
country under reform to instead
initiate a renewed violence and
prepare for war against the host
government in command.
Worse, the old man’s
astonishingly odd and
uncompromising criticism of
the Government of Abiy Ahmed
(PhD) in power was not limited to
this pompous threat apparently
making the rebel group look like
an ‘an alternative ‘government
in the country at the moment. It
also denounced the government’s
alleged failure to honor the
terms of the bilateral agreement
purportedly concluded with a
view to paving the way for its
comeback in the same manner
as did a dozen of other opposition
forces which were allowed into
the nation one after another
having relinquished their anti-
government struggle in all its
forms.
On the verge of the dynamic
change that has been taking
place in this country, Only
God should know what kind
of peace deal the agents of the
reformist Government of Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed and the
leadership of the then-exiled
As mentioned repeatedly, most
of our politicians are entranced
by themselves. Politicians who
are in power are possessed by
thoughts how to tighten their
grip to their power. Those who
are in the opposition block are
also consumed with a desire
for power. Therefore, this is
an indication of (political)
narcissism. Utmost, it is a sign
of moral decay because political
elites who are not able to put
themselves into the common
people’s shoes cannot be morally
advanced.
Nowadays the vast majority of
social and political messages
dispatched through different
media platforms are arrogant
and terrifying. Because most
of our politicians fight against
each other via their ill-informed
‘Facebook servicemen’, the vast
majority of us are caught in
the crossfire between messages
of political conspiracy and
narcissist believes. Moreover,
the ubiquity of infuriating
politics, which is intensified by
social media message exchanges,
between different regional
political elites as well as between
the federal government and
Diminishing moral . . . page 30
Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)
had struck in Asmara, Eritrea, if
any, prior to the latter’s decision
to return to Addis Ababa after
quite a terribly long break from
domestic political scene. Come
what may, though, one cannot
become that naive to imagine
the brokering of a secret deal
– a deal which would allow the
former guerilla fighting front
into the country together with its
active combatants to still keep on
carrying out its armed resistance
where and when it wishes to.
Naturally, no government is
that magnanimous or foolish to
put its inherent, legitimate and
exclusive authority of owning
and using force in jeopardy
to that level in the face of an
incoming belligerent.
Amid this confrontational
rhetoric injected into the crisis
by Dawd Ibsa, the Oromia Police
Commission had no choice,
but to release a balancing
statement emphasizing that it
has run out of its patience under
the circumstances. On this
account, it has unveiled, (though
reluctantly), that the Oromo
The evolution. . . page 31
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
Auditor General . . . CONT`D FROM PAGE 1
administration of
Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD)
Prime
along with other four directors
to oversee the operations of the
biggest bank in Ethiopia: CBE.
“I did receive the letter of
appointment this week,”
Gemechu confirmed to The
Reporter via a phone interview.
“However, it is difficult for me
to accept the assignment,” he
added.
“It will create a conflict of
interest to serve in the board
of directors of an institution
when the office I lead is tasked
with the responsibility of
auditing it,” he explained.
Having this, Gemechu
confirmed to The Reporter
that he intends to decline the
appointment.
Gemechu has been serving as
the head of the Office of the
Auditor General since 2009
after replacing the embattled
Lemma Argaw, who suddenly
left the post after the famous
throw-down with the late Prime
Minister, Meles Zenawi, in
parliament about the legality
of auditing regional states’
financial books. Since then,
he has been well known in the
public sphere for his daring
audit reports which caught the
attention of many.
As of this week, the
government along with
Gemechu has also appointed
four other individuals to serve
as directors in the board of the
mammoth state-owned CBE.
In this regard, Eyob Tesfaye
(PhD), a macroeconomist
currently working for the UN,
has also been assigned to serve
as director in the Board.
Eyob, who has an immense
experience in the financial
Authority relaxes...
draft proclamation allows
the participation of foreign
companies and nationals in
local aviation companies the
controlling interest should be
held by Ethiopian nationals.
According to Hanna
Tegegnework, aerodrome,
safety and standards director
with ECAA, investors are
requesting to build their own
small airports and heliports.
“Hotels and hospitals are
demanding to build helipads,”
she said.
Hiwot Mossisa, state minister
of the Ministry of Transport,
noted that Ethiopian Airlines
which is the pride of the nation,
has registered a remarkable
growth. Hiwot said the ECAA
and Ethiopian Airports have
sector is currently working
with the UNHe, had served as
the director of the Financial
Institutions Supervisory
Agency before he left public
service some years back. In
addition to this, he was also
serving as vice governor at
National Bank of Ethiopia for
a while.
The government has also
assigned Mamo Mihretu,
formerly a senior project
manager at the World
Bank, to serve CBE in the
aforementioned role.
It is to be recalled that Mamo,
who has more than 15 years
of experience in economic
policy, legal, and logistics
sector reform, was also
recently appointed by the PM
as his senior adviser on Policy
Reforms and as Ethiopia’s
Chief Trade Negotiator.
Similarly, Demitu Hambissa,
former minister who is
currently serving at the PM
office has been appointed as
director of the board of the
state owned Bank.
CBE’s staffs who spoke with
The Reporter on the condition
of anonymity is puzzled by the
appointment of a fifth director:
Abraham Belay (PhD), CEO of
Ethiopian Electric Power.
The Enterprise is our client
and they have been accessing
finance from the Bank, said the
senior manager.
“So for me, his appointment
will clash with the interest of
EEP,” he argued.
also transformed but the
general aviation is at its infant
stage. “The aviation sector
did not grow as it should. It
should create job opportunities
for thousands of university
graduates and contribute
more to the economy. We did
not yet cover all the tourist
destinations,” she said.
Solomon Gizaw (Capt),
managing director of Abyssinia
Flight Services, said that the
growth of private operators
have been restricted. “If we
are talking about African open
skies agreement let us first
open the local air transport
market. How long should we
be limited to transporting two
tourists to Jinka?” he asked.
Mekonnen Abebe of ICAS
Confusion at...
In this regard, the Ministry
through its spokesperson,
Meles Alem, told The Reporter
that “it has no information
regarding the boarder closure.”
In addition to this, the Prime
Minister Press Secretariat, on
its behalf, has also declined to
comment saying “the mandate
rests on the ministry.”
However, according to a
number of sources from
Tigray Regional State, as of
Wednesday, December 26,
2018, the Eritrean government
closed the border crossing
at Zalambesssa followed by
another closure at Rama, later
on Thursday.
“We were not informed by
the federal government in
advance,” Daniel Mekonnen,
deputy head from Tigray
Urban Development, Trade
& Industry Bureau, told The
Reporter.
“Since the closure of the
border, no one from the
Ethiopian side is allowed to
enter Eritrea and similarly,
the Eritrean government is not
giving permits to its citizens to
cross the border to Ethiopia,”
he said.
According to Daniel, Ethiopian
traders who went to Eritrea
planning to come back were
prohibited from crossing.
It is to be recalled that
the normalization of the
relationship between the two
countries and the opening
of the borders took place in
September 2018.
Since then, thousands
CONT`D FROM PAGE 6
said that the point of entry to
Ethiopia is only Addis Ababa
Airport. “Why don’t we allow
aircraft carrying tourists to
Lalibela and Ertalle to land
there instead of coming to
Addis Ababa?” he said.
Mesfin Tassew, chief operating
officer with Ethiopian
Airlines, pointed out that
ECAA should not control
air ticket prices. Mesfin also
opposed ECAA’s proposal to
collect aviation development
tax from operators. He also
hinted that the air navigation
service could be given by an
independent body. “As there
is a big problem with air
navigation service it can be
rendered by public enterprise
or private company,” he said.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
“Since the closure of
the border, no one
from the Ethiopian
side is allowed
to enter Eritrea
and similarly, the
Eritrean government
is not giving permits
to its citizens to
cross the border to
Ethiopia,”
have flooded on both sides.
Particularly, a number
of reports indicate that
a significant number of
Eritreans were coming to
Ethiopia, where some were
seeking asylum.
In this regard, according to a
report update from UN High
Commissioner for Refugees
indicated that the reopening of
the border has resulted in an
increase in number of people
arriving from Eritrea. The
average daily rate of arrivals
has increased from 53 to
approximately 390 individuals.
For instance, since September
2018, more than 27,500
Eritreans were registered at
the Endabaguna Reception
Abera
National
Lemi, owner
Airways,
of
asked
why the Authority did not
mention about the aircraft
seat limitation in the draft
proclamation.
Frehiwot Tessema, CEO of
Aquarius Aviation, mentioned
that the private operators do
not have access to financing.
“The banks do not recognise
the aviation sector. The
Development Bank of Ethiopia
says aviation is not its priority
area,” Frehiwot said. She also
said that private operators do
not have adequate space at the
Addis Ababa Airport adding
that it would be commendable
if a separate small airport is
built for the general aviation.
Wossenyeleh said that the
aircraft seat limitation is
addressed in the draft aviation
policy. “We hope that the
|19
CONT`D FROM PAGE 1
Centre and Afar region. From
this, 90 percent of the new
arrivals are women, children
and unaccompanied minors.
In addition to the influx of
people, business activities
along the borders of the
two countries were also
flourishing.
In fact a group of experts and
officials from both federal and
regional government studied
the activities and submitted
a final report to Workneh
Gebeyhu, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Daniel told The
Reporter.
“The report which explores,
among other things, issues
on how to formalize the
trade activities was also
communicated with the
Eritrean counterpart,” he said.
Regardless, for months on
people have been traveling
from Ethiopia to Eritrea and
the vise versa freely.
Last week, Sebhat Ephrem,
Minister of Energy & Mines for
Eritrea and former Minister of
Defense, was reportedly shot
by an assailant in Asmera.
No official update, except
confirmation from Eritrean
ambassador to Japan,
was given by the Eritrean
government regarding the
Sebhat’s attack and his current
condition.
Regarding the development
at the border, Yemaneh G/
Meskel, Information Minister
of Eritrea, did not respond to
The Reporter’s queries as of
press time.
draft aviation policy will be
endorsed soon. If it is going to
take a long time we will lift the
seat limitation,” he said.
According to Wossenyeleh,
countries such as Kenya,
Uganda and Nigeria collects
aviation development fees
from airlines and ECAA can
do the same to mitigate the
finance constraint.
Wossenyeleh said that Addis
Ababa should not be the only
point of entry. “We have four
international airports which
can handle international
flights. We also want to serve
the industrial parks and dry
ports. But we need to have
immigration, security and
customs services in place.”
The officials requested the
stakeholders to submit their
inputs in writing to the
Authority.
20| Advertisment The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 Advertisment |21

www.thereporterethiopia.com
22| #REPORTERBOOK The Reporter, December 29, 20188 Vol. 23 No. 1164

#ChristmasInMoscow
R Moscow looks like a fairytale
during winter
Moscow is the most populous city in Russia and is also its capital city. Millions of
tourists visit Russia and Moscow is the top tourist destination in the city. Moscow
has over 13 million people and is a great choice for tourists to visit in the summer
months as well as in winter. Christmas in Moscow is truly beautiful as Moscow
often gets snowfall during the holiday season. The festive mood is in the air and
there are many tourist attractions in the city during Christmas. Moscow is a major
world city and a major political and economic capital in the Eastern European
region.
If tourists want to enjoy a white Christmas in Moscow, they have to look at the
average temperatures and weather conditions in the area during Christmas. The
average temperature in Moscow is usually below freezing during Christmas and
snow is a routine event during this time. Wearing thermal clothing and warm
clothing is essential and packing such clothing items for a Christmas in Moscow
makes sense.
There is a festive mood, many tourist attractions, and the celebration is something
tourists enjoy when they visit Moscow.
Winter holidays are the perfect time to discover the Russian capital. Despite the
cold grey skies, Moscow captivates the soul with its dreamy fairy-tale look.
On the right are some pictures that make Moscow look like a land from a fairy tale.

R
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WKH¶L3KRQHYV$QGURLG·ZDU

Twitter’s newest feature is reigniting the flame war between iOS and Android
owners.

The US social media company’s latest addition is a subtle piece of information

that shows the client that each tweet is sent from. In doing so, the company now
displays whether a user tweets from the web or mobile and, if they are on a phone,
whether they used Twitter’s iOS or Android apps, or a third-party service.

The feature — which was quietly enabled on Twitter’s mobile clients earlier this
month; it has long been part of the TweetDeck app — has received a mixed response
from users since CEO Jack Dorsey spotlighted it.

Some are happy to have additional details to dig into for context, for example,
whether a person is on mobile or using third-party apps, but others believe it is
an unnecessary addition that is stoking the rivalry between iOS and Android fans.

Interestingly, the app detail isn’t actually new. Way back in 2012 — some six years
ago — Twitter stripped out the information as part of a series of changes to unify
users across devices, focus on service’s reading experience and push people to its
official apps where it could maximize advertising reach.

Back in 2012, Twitter was trying to reign in the mass of third-party apps that
were popular with users in order to centralize its advertising to get itself, and its
finances, together before going public. (Tech Crunch)
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 #REPORTERBOOK|23
WeChat is the latest to get Snap-like #ThisWeekInHistory

R
WeChat,
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the Chinese
messaging giant with more
than 1 billion monthly active
users around the world, just
added a Snap-like ephemeral
video feature as part of its
biggest overhaul since 2014.
The revamp comes as Tencent,
which owns stakes in Snap,
sees increasing rivalry from
up-and-comers like video app
TikTok and news app Jinri
Toutiao. WeChat has, over
the years, morphed beyond a
straight-up messenger to include many utility purposes. With more than 1 million
lightweight apps up and running, users can accomplish a long list of tasks, ranging
from shopping to ride-hailing, without ever having to leave WeChat.
Meanwhile, some have expressed frustration over WeChat’s core as a social
app. Moments, a feature akin to Facebook News Feed, was once a haven for close
friends to share articles, photos and videos. But newsfeed content became blander
over time as people’s contact list grew to include their bosses and their local fruit
seller who needs to be added as a friend to process WeChat payments.
WeChat founder Allen Zhang is known for his obsession with user experience and
has been cautious with tweaks, so a major redesign to the super app is effectively
a guidebook for where WeChat is headed for the next few years.
The new off-the-cuff video feature, aptly named “Time Capsule,” is one of
WeChat’s more noticeable updates. In the past, users shared videos to three main On December 23, 1987, Dick Rutan (R) and Jeana Yeager (L) set a new world
destinations: A friend, a group chat or Moments. (Tech Crunch) TGEQTF QH  JQWTU QH EQPVKPWQWU ƀKIJV CTQWPF VJG YQTNF YKVJQWV TGHWGNKPI 6JGKT
aircraft Voyager traveled 24,986 miles at a speed of about 115 miles per hour.

New Instagram scroll feed was an

R accident, has users upset

#CityLife

Instagram sent its users into a frenzy Thursday morning with an abrupt change
to the layout of its feed—an all-too familiar move from an app that’s played with
your emotions since the first time you threw a sepia filter over a photo of your
coffee cup.
The new feature, which removes the vertical scroll you’ve come to know and love
(read: become addicted to), replaces it with an Instagram Stories-esque horizontal
scroll.
Given the reaction, you’d have thought Instagram banned sharing childhood
photos while home for the holidays or something. You know you’ve messed up
when you piss off the Big Meme accounts, and, uh, Mashable.
Tech Crunch heard from Instagram about the feed nuke, and reports that the
rollout was a “bug.”
“Due to a bug, some users saw a change to the way their feed appears today. We
quickly fixed the issue and feed is back to normal. We apologize for any confusion”
an Instagram spokesperson told Tech Crunch. The company confirms it’s still
testing the navigation style in Explore. Mercato in the 1970s
Simply based on the fact that Instagram has discussed rolling out a feature like
this for its explore page, I’m going to go ahead and assume that this “bug” was
more of a warning shot. (Esquire)

www.thereporterethiopia.com
24| LIFE STYLE
NIGHTLIFE
FEATURING GOLDEN OLDIES
By Samuel Getachew
The night life of the capital is
almost always busy, crowded
and at almost full capacity. With
uniform like clubs, restaurant
and pubs scattered all around
and millions of residents coupled
with tourist and the Diasporas
visiting the nation on a regular
basis, it seems the night life of
Addis Ababa is attempting to
match the busy construction
boom that has changed its recent
narratives.
In all that has become of the old
Addis, what are becoming hard
to differentiate are these venues
from each other.
The old venues that used to cater
to live music have dwindled
and then disappeared in recent
years. The azmari houses, the
jazz clubs that came about near
Bole International Airport two
decades ago have now been
replaced by skyscraper buildings
and shining hotels, mimicking
those found in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates, and other gulf
cities.
The old era of Emperor Haile
Selassie I that gave away to the
superstars, such as Mahmoud
Ahmed and Tilahun Gessesse, to
the Derg era and re-introduced
almost three decades age are
almost now history.
Enter Mama’s Kitchen Club,
Restaurant and lounge!
An immaculate specious club,
restaurant and lounge located
not far from the main Bole Road,
near Wolo Sefer off Ethio-China
Street within a neighborhood
that is in transition, from a
once sleepy area to that is with
all buildings and less green
space, the club trying to change
the night life of the capital,
complimenting what is out here.
Just a year after it opened, the
club is unique inside interior
coupled with noted hospitality;
the club is bringing some of the
grooves of the capital come to
life.
Mama’s Kitchen has been one
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
of the top rated places to dine
in the capital. Mamas Kitchen,
according to their patrons, is
one of the best hangout places
in Addis. Also known for its
five course meals, the Mama’s
Kitchen Royal Lounge at Wollo
Sefer is where people can
also enjoy live music section
every night with local and
international artists backed with
some of the best bands in town.
A fusion of the eerie rhythms of
ancient Ethiopian tribal music
with the soulful undertones
of jazz and the funky bounce
of Afrobeat, Ethio-jazz had its
heyday in the 1950s and 60s but in
recent years has been making a
slow but unmistakable comeback
in the country’s capital.
Ethio-jazz is now played on
the radio and taught at all
the capital’s music colleges,
and a new crop of musicians
is beginning to flower as a
result. And it is these musicians
that are finally performing at the
city’s premier jazz club, Mama’s
Kitchen
“I am the product of the Derg
era, where I spent my youth
fast removed from clubs with
live music like that of my
parents’ generation,” explained
Yohannes Tessema, as the
imitation sounds of Muluken
Melesse played from stage. “I am
glad I found such a place inside
Mama’s Kitchen club, instead of
being at grocery store or shinny
clubs, listening to loud music, to
enjoy and unwind.”
With its unique extravaganza
night life, artifacts and an array
of live music of the famous and
aspiring Jano Band, the hottest
raggae star Chelina and the
legendary Alemayehu Eshete
with Abegaz Shiota’s crew and
many others, Mama’s Kitchen
club has become a destination for
the young and old, the affluent
and the visiting diasporas, tired
of pre-recorded music elsewhere,
but preferring the live music of
the old, the way Addis Ababa
used to be-with its lively music,
unique hospitality, preserved
in the memories of the older
generation.
“When I moved to Washington
DC, I was young and spent
much times in clubs listening
to the likes of Ephrem Tamru
and Tewodros Tadesse. I lived
the experience and when I
returned to Ethiopia, I expected
to experience that and more,
but I was sad when that did not
happen. But this club has given
me hope that we can experience
some of that,” said Kirubel
Girma, a returnee from the
United States.
The club, an off spring of the
famous restaurant, opened a
year ago after being in hiatus
at its old location on top of the
DHG building on Bole road. Like
its current location, Mama’s
Kitchen on DH Geda had a wood-
and-glass bar on the fourth floor
of the innocuous shopping mall
near Bole International Airport.
It hosted an array of artist like
the queen of Tizta Bezawerk
Assfaw, but its abrupt closing
disappointed many. It was a
surprise when it was introduced
back.
“I am excited, this unique place
has been built in Addis as a place
where I can take my own parents
and visiting friends and make
the memories of live music last,”
said Kidist Lemma as her words
are swallowed inside the sound of
Jano Band. “Listen. I was getting
tired of the club scene, not much
of a drinker at the many lounges
and now, I can come, unwind and
meet interesting people.”
Following the success of its
offering in Addis Ababa, with a
busy and crowded restaurant in
bole, near Edna Mall, there is a
plan to open such an established
club and restaurant in other
areas, with the future plan of
expanding across Africa.
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
CLOSER LOOK . . .
As far as I know, the Board is
so far focused on the awareness
creation and training. Yes,
it is important; yet again
there is a need to move to
more specific technical
trainings and supports for
these institutions. So, they
have to think about these
things. I also have my doubts
if the Board has adequate
professionals and resources
to provide technical support
to somewhat 30 universities
in the country. Nevertheless,
the Board is expected to stir
higher learning institutions
to adapt their training courses
to the new IFRS system. As I
said before, the curriculum
is also expected to provide an
up-to-date course material and
keep up with changes in the
IFRS world. You see, that is
why accounting professionals
choose ACCA; the course
modules are always up-to-date
with developments in the IFRS.
Since I came back, I have meet
some colleagues of mine in the
business telling me the great
difficulty they are facing to
even find professionals to assist
with IFRS system.
Let’s talk about the banking
system. Let me give you
two potentially conflicting
stylized facts about the
baking industry in Ethiopia.
For one, the banking
sectors have always been
characterized as having
excess liquidity with the
regulator NBE constantly
devising instruments to
tackle that. On the other
hand, we see a scenario
where business in Ethiopia
unable to access credit from
the banking system. What is
the story there?
To give you context, let’s
go back to 7 or 8 years back
where banks in Ethiopia were
suffering from excess liquidity.
This scenario prompted NBE
to adopt the 27 percent NBE-
Bill instrument, which far
down road managed to suck
out this excess liquidity and
bring the baking system to that
appropriate liquidity level. For
many years, excess liquidity
was no more an issue to the
banks; in fact, at some point,
NBE was forced to institute
some measures to help build up
liquidity in the banking sector.
Now, I think last year, we again
are hearing of excess liquidity.
Yes, on the other hand, there is
shortage of credit. So, we need
to ask why credit is in short
supply in an industry where
there is ample capacity to lend.
In the first place, the shortage
in credit is largely caused by
the rather strict requirement
of banks to provide credits to
their customers. Yes, in some
instances, shortage of liquidity
might have played a role in
driving the credit shortage;
but in most cases it is the
banks’ strict requirements in
the form of loan guarantees
that is causing the shortage.
Currently, the banks do have
capacity to lend. They can even
tell you that there is shortage
of borrowers; borrowers that
can qualify as per their loan
requirements. Some of these
requirements like collaterals
and project plans and as such
can be a bit stringent; but it is not
the problem of the banks alone.
Generally, there is inadequate
credit information regarding
borrowers. This has to be
strengthened for banks to relax
their stringent requirements.
In this, we can mention the
absence of national ID system
which can serve as a guarantee
for some loan packages. So,
as the information system
becomes more reliable and
accessible, banks can provide
credits based mainly on the
merit of the business plan and
not the collateral guarantee.
At this point, for instance,
banks are not in a position
to provide personal loans to
customers because of the
lack of dependable national
ID system and based on that a
comprehensive credit history
of borrowers.
A recent IMF report indicted
that some 30 to 40 percent
of the overall outstanding
loan portfolio of private
commercial banks is held in
the so called 27 percent NBE-
Bill. Given the projection of
its destructive consequences
CONT`D FROM PAGE 15
back when it was first
announced, how are the
banks surviving the impact
NBE-Bill?
First of all, back when the
NBE-Bill directive was first
announced, the banks in
Ethiopia were really swimming
in excess liquidity. So, based on
my estimates, during the first
three, the instrument sucked
out the excess liquidity that
was building up in the system
prior and running to 2010. So, in
those days, even after providing
adequate credit, the banks
were not really squeezed by
the NBE-Bill requirement. But
after that, you can see the Bill
has started to impact the sector
especially around 2013 and 2014.
Meanwhile, the first NBE-Bills
approached maturity relieving
some of the strain building up
in the banking system. Now,
if you see the past 2 or 3 years,
owing to the maturity of some
portion of the Bills, the overall
net effect of the requirement
has been really static. As you
know, the first five years, the
outstanding NBE-Bill was
growing at a phenomenal rate
since the movement was only
in one direction: from banks to
NBE. But, in the recent years,
the net growth of the NBE-Bill
outstanding has slowed down
as some of the matured Bills
were playing an offsetting role.
But, this is true when we
consider the principal of
NBE-Bills; however, the
interest rate that the Bill
pays out and the interest rate
the banks charge to raise the
deposit they are investing in
the Bill indicate a loss for
the banks. How about that?
Consider this; banks mainly
have two types of deposits:
www.thereporterethiopia.com
saving and current. Current
deposit are type of deposit that
banks don’t pay interest on;
meaning it is almost cost them
noting to acquire that deposit.
If you see, the statistics, about
65 percent of the deposit that
is raised by Ethiopian banks
currently is current deposit.
So, the bulk of what they loan
as NBE-Bill is the deposit they
raised via current deposit
types. And that is why they
were able to stay afloat. If they
pay 7 percent interest on all
deposits and loan to NBE at 5
percent they go bankrupt in no
time.
So what do you think should
be the future of NBE-Bill?
At this moment, I think
the Bill has reached a level
where it is having the ideal
kind of impact in the banks’
operation. Further extension
of this Bill might generate a
negative consequence for the
banks, in my view. My greatest,
concern, however, has been
the allocation of the credit
in the economy. The original
argument is for this fund to
be funneled to Development
Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) and
to be allocated for long term
projects. So, we have to really
ask if this loan was used for the
intended purposes. Now, the
Bill is roughly about 70 billion
and out of this 50 billion is
channeled to DBE. According
to recent information, only
half of the 50 billion is loaned
to agriculture and other
priority sectors; so where is the
rest of that money? It is used
by DBE to purchase treasury
bills, indirectly financing
government expenses
indiscriminately. This leads
one to question if the NBE-
|25
Bill should have been that high
in the first place; is 70 billion
birr required to fund the said
projects. Anyway, now, should
this requirement be abandoned
the regulator has to think how
to return this fund to owners
(the Banks) and how they are
going to dispense it as a loan
without instigated inflation.
On the other hand, DBE,
as policy bank which was
allocating the fund collected
via the NBE-Bill instrument,
is said to be facing problems
in recent years with rising
NPL and loan recovery.
Should DBE face further
difficulties, do you think
there will be blow bank on
the banking sector through
NBE-Bill?
Yes, it is possible. In fact,
the banks bought Bills not
directly from DBE but from
NBE. And NBE could absorb
the losses there and settle
the banks claims should DBE
face problems. Nevertheless,
as nation and one financial
system, the impact would
definitely be felt since it a huge
fund. The saving grace is that
DBE is not a deposit collecting
entity and as such there might
not be a run-on-bank type
of risk; yet the NBE would
defiantly be forced to step in
and bailout the bank if need
be. But, the impact is certainly
big enough to be felt in the
financial system.
What is your take of the
current DBE performance
and its future?
From a financial stand point
the bank faces risk if its loans
keep failing. It even stands
to wipe out its capital base,
in its worst case scenario.
Nevertheless, as policy banks
we also know that it is highly
vulnerable to the political
situation and the success of
the projects it has financed.
On the other hand, its recent
trouble with its NPL which
is about 40 percent speaks
volumes about the policies
of the government which
led bank to finance projects
which were prioritized by the
government policy. So, it begs
the question, why agricultural
and manufacturing projects
prioritized by the government
and financed DBE are not
performing. Furthermore, the
NPL also reflects on DBE’s
internal loan evaluation
procedure; if the bank
followed the right procedures
in providing loans to projects
in these prioritized sectors.
Is the bank prudent in
assessing projects which have
accessed loans? Or has it been
compromised somehow? These
questions have to be answered.
26|COMMENTARY +
The economic development
terrain is undergoing a
rapid change, triggered by
JHRSROLWLFDOUHVKXIÁH7KLV
has prompted a change
in the international aid
modality. The US and UK
KDYHRIÀFLDOO\VKLIWHGWKH
focus of their international
aid from government
budget support and project
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Multinational Corporations
to invest in Africa. These
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agenda, writes Yonas Biru.
VIEWPOINT +
The adoption of
international convention
by a sovereign state does
not necessarily impose
automatic legal obligation
to issue implementing
laws to put it in to effect
and accordingly parties
to the convention can
carefully take measures
of implementation
depending on the
concrete circumstances
of the country and
should harmonise their
international obligation
with their national
laws, writes Yohannes
Woldegebriel.
The Case for an Independent
Ethiopian Economic Advisory Council
These are the best of times and
the most challenging of times for
Ethiopia.
On the positive side, nationally,
the ongoing reforms have
rekindled the people’s hope
for a brighter future. The
government’s pronouncements
and initial steps to privatize state-
owned enterprises and promote
market-driven economic policies
have sown a sense of optimism in
the private sector.
More importantly, the value of
Ethiopia’s strategic real estate in
the Horn of Africa’s geopolitical
landscape is set to appreciate
exponentially, as the bidding for
control of the region heats up
between China and Russia on
the one hand and the US and its
ecosystem of allies on the other.
This is bound to provide Ethiopia
with access to an abundance of
international aid from countries
who see its stability and
prosperity as an integral part
of their national interest, most
notably the US, UK and the Gulf
States.
On the negative side, there are
a host of political and economic
problems. The youth bulge that is
dominated by ethnically-charged
and restive unemployed college
Confusion and hypocrisy on the
new food and medicine bill
Commenting on my article,
“The Magic of the New Food and
Medicine Bill,” published in this
paper on December 15, 2018, two
individuals have offered their
opinions. The first one, Dereje
Moges, who is mentioned in this
paper as “a legal consultant”
involved in the drafting process
of the (bill) and, a rather detailed
critique by Wondu Bekele,
who attempted to “detoxify”
the arguments and positions
presented on my comment
against the bill and set himself
in clarifying the “intention” and
“good faith” of the Ministry of
Health by writing in his declared
capacity as Executive Director
of Mathewos Wondu Cancer
Society.
Having examined the opinions
of these two individuals, I have
confirmed that both persons have
utterly misread, misunderstood
and totally missed the core
point of my article. It is recalled
that I indicated on my article
the bill’s failure to delineate its
scope of application. I reached
and high school graduates and
the lagging job creation have
become an urgent concern to
Ethiopia and its partners.
There are also structural
challenges. Nascent and poorly
regulated financial institutions
and the general lack of access
to credit for entrepreneurial
endeavors are formidable
challenges. Lack of reliable
and sufficient energy supply,
underdeveloped industrial
base and low productivity in
agriculture also represent
structural hindrance for
development.
The pessimism of the now
(burdened by localized conflicts
and high unemployment) and the
optimism of the future (triggered
by the ongoing reforms) are
competing for political space.
The government’s effort to
navigate the tension between
the two must focus on forging
an economic vision embedded
within the larger bedrock issues
of the future.
In 1992, Bill Clinton won the
US presidency embracing “It
Is the Economy, Stupid” as his
campaign’s slogan. The message
was that political ills are best
cured with economic pills.
to this conclusion after thorough
reading of each article of the
bill one by one. In this regard,
I was not expecting a rush,
uncalled for, simplistic and very
mechanical opinion from the two
individuals with their confused
understanding of my article that
the bill is meant to cover “food
traders and food establishments,”
and not foods prepared “for social
events and holidays …traditional
healers etc…”
My argument is rather the
opposite! First of all, Food,
Medicine, Medical Devices,
Cosmetics, Alcohol and Tobacco
are so important to human beings
and should be regulated in order
to safeguard and protect public
health by whomever they may
be produced, supplied, imported,
exported, stored, distributed,
offered for sale or for free, whether
by a business establishment or at
home or even at a personal level,
so long as they are put for the use
of public consumption.
Indeed, the bill broadly defines
these items as “regulated
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
The government needs to
inspire the people’s confidence
about the economy’s future and
restore the nation’s morale to
recapture its destiny. It needs
to formulate an economic vision
along with a clear strategy,
coherent policies and a roadmap
to reach the envisioned goal. It
needs to speed-up and scale-up
its privatization process and
corruption crackdown initiative.
These are crucial to douse the
flames of pessimism and set
the country on the path toward
accelerated growth.
On bedrock issues, it behooves us
to pose the following questions:
What should Ethiopia’s
economic vision for the future
be, say for 2050? Can we envision
Ethiopia as a technology hub
for Africa? High-middle income
country? Home for medium-
sized conglomerates?
Most Asian countries that have
registered accelerated growth
started with a clear vision
that their critics at the time
considered an unattainable
dream, if not an exercise in
futility.
In 1960, Korea forged an
economic vision to be a home
for large conglomerates. In
products” in such a way as to
cover each product whether
produced industrially or at
home. While the definition of
each item in the bill extend
the scope of application of the
regulatory scheme, interestingly,
no mechanism or institutional
set up is laid down to regulate
and ensure the safety, standards
or meeting the requirements
of the law on foods produced
and offered freely for public
consumption in ceremonies such
as wedding, mourning, religious
duties etc… The same also apply
for traditional medication,
preparation and serving local
homemade alcoholic liquors,
cosmetics and in local tobacco
snuffing, chewing and smoking.
I sincerely believe that putting in
place the regulatory mechanisms
for these items too is highly
desirable since they are put to use
and have public health concerns
that involve the majority of
Ethiopian population in their
daily life.
The new bill, in the same way
1960, Korea’s GDP per capita in
current US dollars was USD 158,
lower than that of Ghana (USD
182) and slightly higher than the
average for Sub Saharan Africa
(USD 130). In 2017, its was about
USD 30,000, compared to a USD
1,554 average for Sub Saharan
Africa.
In the early 1980s, China’s vision
was to be the manufacturing hub
of the world. Its GDP per capita
was a meager USD 197, below
that of Ethiopia. China has not
only achieved its goal, but has
since upgraded it to control the
world trade by building the “21st
Century Maritime Silk Road.”
India has a similar story. In the
early 1990s, its GDP per capita
was not much higher than
Ethiopia’s. But its dream to
become “the skill capital of the
world” was infinitely bigger.
In 2018, it is within a striking
distance of achieving it in
terms of dominating the global
software development industry.
Two important traits that China,
India and Korea shared were
their steadfast beliefs in their
respective visions and their
uncompromising stand about
The Case for . . . page 30
as my critiques believed and
understood, only addresses
the public health concerns of
the small proportion of urban
dwellers by focusing on local
industrially produced, imported
and distributed products or
items and served through
business establishments
ignoring the common fact that
most Ethiopians are used to a
small scale industry way of life
in transforming raw materials
to finished products in making
food, medicine, alcoholic drinks,
cosmetics and tobacco for public
and individual consumption. If
the bill is meant to regulate only
products that are offered by such
institutions, it does not worth
the effort and the time of the
parliament, the public money to
finance the institution that would
be tasked to enforce the laws
and I am justified to question
what kind of law or institution
would be targeted to address the
regulation of the same products
that are used or consumed by a
Confusion . . . page 32
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
When it was adopted
in December 1948, the
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights sent the
unequivocal message that
an injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.
But the UDHR remains
constrained by a lack of
consensus about why the
rights it includes should be
regarded as fundamental, let
alone who should protect
them and how, writes
Gordon Brown.
OPINION +
Business leaders must
recognize that in global
value chains, there is
no way to outsource
environmental or social
responsibility. On the
contrary, multinational
companies can and must use
their extended supply chains
to drive change and improve
the quality of life in the
markets where they operate,
writes Paul Polman.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70
Seven decades after its adoption,
the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) remains
a beacon of hope for the world,
sending out an unequivocal
message that an injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere, and that no abuse of
human rights can be allowed to
continue without challenge.
While illiberalism and
authoritarianism is on the
rise, it is important to recall
that the UDHR – and the
covenants and conventions it
has inspired – champions every
person’s right to life, liberty,
and security. Incorporated into
many countries’ constitutions,
it stipulates that no one should
be subjected to torture or to
arbitrary arrest or detention.
It enshrines the rights to a fair
trial, privacy, free expression
and association, and freedom
of thought in religion and
conscience. Moreover, it
emphasizes important social
and economic rights, such as
the right to work and form labor
unions.
But the authors of the UDHR
– created amid the Cold War
politics of the 1940s – could only
agree on what rights people
should have, not on why these
rights should be regarded as
fundamental, let alone how
or by whom they should be
protected. At the outset, there
A business model for sustainability
In a recent report, the
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) warned
that without “rapid and far-
reaching” changes to how land,
energy, industry, buildings,
transport, and cities are
managed, the damage to our
planet could be irreversible.
The message was clear: we need
a cooperative effort on a global
scale to change our current
trajectory. And, given that many
of the toughest sustainability
challenges the world faces are
linked to how it does business,
the only prudent way forward is
to change how business is done.
This may sound daunting, but
we already have a framework
to guide the transition: the
United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). The
SDGs, adopted in September 2015
by 193 countries, are designed
to achieve a “more sustainable
future for all” by 2030, which,
by extension, will enable a
better business environment.
The Business and Sustainable
Development Commission has
estimated that meeting the
SDGs could add some USD 12
trillion and 380 million jobs to
the global economy by the end of
were no enforcement treaties,
no proper appeal mechanisms,
and, until much later, not even
basic covenants countries could
sign. A creature of its time, the
UDHR also says little about the
rights of women, the disabled,
the LGBTQ+ community,
and children. And so, despite
major advances over the last
seven decades – such as the
creation of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) and the
UN’s Responsibility to Protect
doctrine – human-rights abuses
continue to be perpetrated at an
alarming rate and with virtual
impunity.
To make recommendations
relevant to a review of the UDHR
at 70, New York University
convened the Global Citizenship
Commission (of which I was
chair) under the auspices of John
Sexton and Paul Boghossian. Our
deliberations were informed by a
team of philosophers brilliantly
led by Jeremy Waldron.
Beyond enumerating rights,
the Commission argued for a
new clarity about who should
carry out the corresponding
duties, and how. Time and again,
vetoes or threats of vetoes by the
permanent members of the UN
Security Council have blocked
action. The resulting paralysis
has not only permitted massive
loss of human life; it has also
undermined the credibility of
the next decade.
With so much to gain – and to
lose from inaction – the private
sector is beginning to focus on
the connection between profits
and sustainability. According to
the Ethical Corporation’s latest
Responsible Business Trends
report, 69 percent of business
executives surveyed said they
are integrating SDGs into their
strategies. At the same time, the
number of companies receiving
B Corp Certification – which
measures a firm’s social and
environmental performance –
has increased in recent years.
Global finance is also inching
toward sustainability. For
example, environmental, social,
and governance assets under
management are estimated to
be as high as USD 22 trillion
dollars; USD 82 trillion is
committed to the UN Principles
for Responsible Investment;
USD 32 trillion is pegged to
carbon pricing; and even the
market for “green bonds” is
growing exponentially. This
momentum matters because
financial market support
will be essential in achieving
the sustainable development
www.thereporterethiopia.com
collective security, enabling
increasingly flagrant human-
rights abuses. To address
this, the Commission’s report
recommends that the Security
Council’s permanent members
voluntarily suspend their vetoes
in situations involving mass
atrocities and, by implication,
allow more scope for the ICC.
And, beyond identifying the
more detailed responsibilities of
governments and international
institutions, new mechanisms
should be created to ensure
corporate compliance with
human rights.
It is to the credit of the UDHR’s
authors that, unlike the
European Convention on Human
Rights, a single declaration
enshrines not only civil and
political rights, but also social
and economic rights. But it is
not enough to declare that such
rights are important. In South
Africa, for example, a modern
constitution includes explicit
commitments to upholding
social rights. Yet the country has
found no satisfactory means of
enforcing them.
The desperate plight of the
world’s nearly 70 million
displaced people and over 20
million refugees has just been
recognized in new agreements
hammered out in December this
year. The Commission’s report
asserts unequivocally that
agenda.
And yet, to sustain this progress,
businesses must recognize that
even in a global value chain,
it is impossible to outsource
corporate responsibility. On
the contrary, multinational
corporations must use their
market power to drive social
change. Consider my company,
Unilever: 2.5 billion times every
day, someone somewhere uses
one of our products distributed
via a supply chain that includes
more than 80,000 suppliers and
nearly two million farmers, who
in turn support communities of
millions of people. Such scale
enables Unilever to contribute
to and benefit from the SDGs,
which is precisely what we try
to do.
In 2009, we introduced the
Unilever Sustainable Living
Plan, a blueprint to bolster
our social, environmental,
and economic performance.
Goals include strengthening
the health and wellbeing of
over a billion people; reducing
the environmental footprint
associated with the production
and use of our products; and
enhancing the livelihoods
OPINION |27
the world’s refugee protection
system should be strengthened,
not least by reaching an effective
consensus on the balance
between the right to movement
and the power of states to restrict
it –with the long-term objective of
a new international convention
that supports Sustainable
Development Goal 10.7, which
commits states to “facilitate safe,
orderly, regular, and responsible
migration.”
One of the Commission’s most
urgent sets of recommendations
relates to the treatment of
children now at risk in the
world’s 40-plus ongoing wars.
A new report that emerged this
year from the Commission’s
work, Protecting Children
in Armed Conflict, edited by
Shaheed Fatima QC, also calls for
radical changes – for schools in
conflict zones to enjoy the same
effective protection as hospitals;
for states to take active measures
to prevent sexual violence
against children and to prevent
child abductions and trafficking,
and for a clear declaration that
denial of humanitarian access is
always unlawful where civilians
are at risk of starvation. In the
longer term, Fatima recommends
that the international
community consider adopting a
comprehensive legal instrument
The Universal . . . page 30
of millions of workers. This
approach has allowed us to be
more strategic in identifying the
challenges and opportunities
that our business faces.
By using our resources and
brands, we have also addressed
key development challenges like
poor nutrition, sanitation, and
hygiene; climate change and
deforestation; human rights;
skills training; and workplace
equality. And we have done all
of this with nearly a 300 percent
return over ten years and a
19 percent return on equity,
demonstrating that it is possible
to employ a development-
focused agenda that delivers for
shareholders and stakeholders.
I am not suggesting that success
has come easily, or that our
job is finished. Although I will
be retiring from Unilever at
the end of 2018, I am confident
that the company I have led
for more than a decade will
continue to improve business
processes with an eye toward
strengthening sustainability.
The key to addressing
the world’s social and
A business . . . page 33
28| Advertisment The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

űúĸčêƯŦǓƻĂĈƗŒŘƯŅƯǓêøŚĵĊ INVITATION FOR BID

$PEDVHO7UDGLQJ+RXVH3YW/WG&R Tender No. OBMCSC – 003/2011 E.C
OBM Construction Share Company invites all interested and eligible

ĵƻǑ÷ƯƑǤƯǩąňøĒňƑğƲ bidders for the supply of different construction Materials.

Lot no. Description Unit Estimated Qty

źĸŦƲŒŦĵűƸĒűĵĸŹŅøĵ÷ǎŪƯƻĊNjņƯŅåƲưƴƥňƗŒ Lot.1 Supply of sanitary Fixture
øåŊúĵêƶňſŦƶ÷ŦƯúĎģŒVKRSVƯøǡŤĝğƲĂĈȝ Hand wash basins with full
No. 312.00
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Stainless steel kitchen sink No 220.00
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Toilet paper holder No 312.00
ƴȈêǑêțțĵõäŢú Wash down water closet No 312.00
  ŅĦĈǪ ßæŦú ƯǓŦĸň ǓĺűŊŤ ƯǏêĵŊ čĈŅŬ Crystal glass mirror No 312.00
Towel rail No 312.00
ĵßæú ĻňƗŒ èƴ űĢĊĻ ĒĈƖŦ åõĒĈŊ ĵ÷čǡƖ
Soap holder No 312.00
ƔǑűƑƹƻċåøčĈŊƴȈêǑêțț Shower units No 312.00
Water heater 50 lit. No 312.00
 ĒåơãĵǩąňƖõĐŅȍƯ÷ȈêǓøŦŬƖú*&%&
,QVWDQWZDWHUKHDWHU No 120.00
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Lot.2 6XSSO\RI:DOODQGÁRRUWLOH
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1RQVOLSSHU\SRUFHODLQÁRRUWLOH M2 8,312.80
  ƯøƴõåĒ áúĐ  Ƙ ĺĊ   ĵõžȈê Ưǩąň 39&ÁRRUWLOH M2 4,838.40
čšƷŦõǓƢŊƯúŊŒæõäŢŦŶƯǎåȆŦ õĒȈĊņ PPWKLFN*UDQLWHÁRRULQJ M2 1,706.56
ŶŦƶ÷ŹŅåƖƴäŤêțț Granite tile riser Ml 2,146.24
Granite thread Ml 1,218.88
 ĵſŦĒŊĈžĕŦ  ĂĈ  ȍĠƻ ƲåƖŤ ƶąljƖ *&%&  Granite skirting Ml 1,625.20
ŅVĈǮƯäšãǑƓøĒąljøĢąĺƯ÷Œê 3RUFHODLQVNLUWLQJ Ml 3,924.80
39&VNLUWLQJ Ml 3,918.72
 ƯƘƛúƯűõņŦȍĠƻƲĐƶč Supply of Water and sanitary pipe
Lot.3
DQGÀWWLQJV
 ƑĢňƓ7$;FOHDUDQFHøĢąĺƯ÷Œê
335SQGLIIHUHQW'LDPHWHU Ml 3,120.00
 ƯŅǩøćňžĒ9$7ŅõƤǑķƯäš *DOYDQL]HGVWHHOSLSHGLIIHUHQW
Ml 768.00
Diameter
 ƲĝąĵƖŦƔǑŹňƑĝĸŦžǩąňøĒŹĵćƲ&32 Chrome Valve dia. 20 No 1,056.00
øĢąĺƯ÷Œê Gate valve dia. 32 No 88.00
839&  No 7,180.00
 ƯǩąňƖŦƼžõŦŊűŦƻŷĊNjŤêŶŤűŦƻȎŋſȒ  Vent cup No 112.00
åƯĺŐ ĵĒú ĵňĕǎ ŵŦĽëũ  ŶŦƸßú ßæŦú  ĵűŦƻ Floor drain No 432.00
6XSSO\DQGÀ[DFRXVWLF$UPVWURQJ
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FHLOLQJZLWKJDOYDQL]HGVWHHOSURÀOHV
M2 2,133.60

ȆȎøĢąĺűåĵŊ Lot.5 Supply of Roof Cover

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ƛú džúċ ŶĒŹ  ƛú űƸĒ űĵĸ Ƒë čȈĊ
ĵ÷ǎũƖ ĵűúĸčê ƔŤƖ õĒćƲ ĹŊ ķċ ĞǦĊ 
ĵĒĈĒƛŊŶŤĢƹùŶĒŹțĒƛŊĵøúǤŊøĒǎĸŊ
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ǡƴģõąƹŊƴŐèêțț
Decra or equivalent tile roof cover m2 2,976
*FRUUXJDWHGJDOYDQL]HGLURQ
m2 3,304.96
sheet
*JDOYDQL]HGÁDWPHWDOVKHHW ml 2,276.00
Bidders can bid for LOT/LOTS of their preference.
1. ,QWHUHVWHG %LGGHUV FDQ REWDLQ FRPSOHWH ELG GRFXPHQWV XS RQ
payment of non-refundable 200 (two hundred) birr before January 16,
2019 from the address mentioned below.
2. Bidders shall deposit or pay 2% bid bond of their offered total price in
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3. Bidders must submit their offers in authenticated sealed envelopes.
4. All bidders requested to have renewed business license for the current
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5. The bid closing date shall be January 17, 2019 at 4:00 AM local time.
Bid shall be opened on the same date at 4:30 AM local time in the
SUHVHQFH RI ELGGHUV RU WKHLU OHJDO UHSUHVHQWDWLYHV LQ RXU KHDG RIÀFH
Meeting room.
6. OBM Constriction Share Company reserves the right to reject any part
or all bids.
OBM Construction Share Company N/S/L/Sub city, Lebu around
Haile Garment on the 3rdÁRRURIWKH%XLOGLQJZKHUH&RPPHUFLDO
Bank of Ethiopia KotariBranch situated.Tel. No 0118362024/25/29

www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
DBE to....
in which they can claim if there
is any possible damage,” said the
manager.
It is to be recalled that the troubled
Ayka failed to pay 2.8 billion birr
debt from the Bank and another
300 million birr from Commercial
Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
Since then, DBE along with other
stakeholders were trying to solve
the problem amicably. However,
the factory could not survive its
quandary.
Ayka Addis – one of the iconic
factories which represent Turkish
investment in Ethiopia – was
CONT`D FROM PAGE 6
to have left Ethiopia.
To reclaim the money it lent to
Ayka, DBE will use two options;
foreclosure on the property or a
bidding process.
“If the foreclosure fails, the
Bank will proceed to the bidding
process,” the same source told The
Reporter.
However, if both option failed to
bear fruit, DBE will be forced to
administer the factory under its
asset management; Ethiopian
Capital and Investment PLC.
Ethiopian Capital was established
|29
IMMEDIATE BID
For the Procurement of Field car
Love In Action Ethiopia (LIAE) is an indigenous CSO legally established and
operating in the country for more than 17 years. As per the requirement
of the new legislation, it was reregistered in October 2009 as Ethiopian
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DOOLQWHUHVWHGDQGHOLJLEOHVXSSOLHUVIRUWKHVXSSO\RI3LFNXS'RXEOH&DELQ
a year ago with a primary mandate 'RRUV/:%:'&RPPRQ5DLO7XUER'LHVHO,09
established eight years ago in
of asset management, tax and
Alemgena, 25 kilometers East of Lot-# Description Unit Quantity
settling payments to third parties
Addis Ababa, employing over 7,000 3LFNXS 'RXEOH &DELQ  'RRUV /:% :'
on behalf of factories confiscated
workers. The factory was founded
from borrowers by DBE. It also &RPPRQ 5DLO 7XUER 'LHVHO ,09 \HDU RI
by Turkish investors with an
purchases raw materials on behalf make 2010-2016
authorized capital of one billion
of the aforementioned factories. ƒ4 WD
birr.
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Following this, DBE has tried to ƒCC: 2393
million birr capital, is owned by
take over the management of the ƒWheel Base: 3085MM
DBE.
factory with the mere purpose ƒSpeed 6 M/T
of solving the aforementioned It is to be recalled that Else Addis ƒFuel type: Diesel
problems. Yet, it was impossible to Textile Factory was the first ƒFuel Tank: 80 Liters
uplift the factory from its failure. Turkish company to default and ƒGround: 293mm
In fact, according to sources from was handed over to Ethiopian ƒ4 Cylinders
DBE, the original owners of the Capital after the owners of the ƒ7LUHVL]H5
factory, Yusuf Aydeniz, is reported companies failed to pay their debt. ƒ+RUVH3RZHU+3530
Advertisments Model Code: GUN125L-DNFSHN
SFX:-L6
Lot-1 ƒ:DUUDQW\ 3OHDVH VWDWH WKH ZDUUDQW\ 3FV 1
period/KM you will offer
ƒVehicle should be suitable for
Ethiopian road conditions and
topography
Accessories
INVITATION TO BID ƒAir conditioner dual auto
ƒWith Front and Rear Mud guard
TO: ALL CONTRACTORS OF CATEGORY GC/BC- 4 (FOUR) AND ƒFire Extinguisher
ƒTool (factory installation)- Jack, Jack
ABOVE, WITH Handle, HUB NUT, WRENCH, wheel
RENEWED LICENSE, REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE AND TAX spanner
ƒWith spare wheel anti-theft lock
REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE VALID FOR THE CURRENT YEAR system
LINK COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Ethiopia (LCDE) now invites sealed bids from ƒ3RZHU6WHHULQJ
eligiblebidders for Furnishing the necessary labor, material and equipment for ƒAir bag for driver and passenger
the constructionand completion of G+0 Secondary School Building Blocks. ƒTool factory installation
,QWHUHVWHG HOLJLEOH ELGGHUV PD\ REWDLQ IXUWKHU LQIRUPDWLRQ UHJDUGLQJ WKH ELG /,$( LQYLWHV LQWHUHVWHG DQG TXDOLÀHG VXSSOLHUV WR VXEPLW WKHLUELGV
document at WKH /LQN &RPPXQLW\ 'HYHORSPHQW (WKLRSLD /&'( ÀHOG RIÀFH
from December 26, 2018 up to January 20, 2019 (by contacting at +251-46-
551- 2609, or +251-46- 180 – 0893).
A complete bidding document may be purchased by any interested eligible
bidder upon nonrefundable payment of Birr 500.00 (Five Hundred Birr).
All bids must be accompanied by a bid security of amount Birr 1% [One
Percent] ofthe total bid amount or above in the form of unconditional bank
guarantee.
Bids must be delivered to /&'(ÀHOGRIÀFHRQRU before January 23, 2019. Bids
shall be valid for a period of 90 days.
Technical proposal Bid Document will be opened in the presence of those
bidders or bidders’ legal representative who choose to attend on the same
date on January 23, 2019 DW/&'(ÀHOGRIÀFH
The Employer reserves the right to reject any or all bids.
NOTES ON THE INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS
NB: Bidders are kindly requested to visit the site and prepare site visit report
which will be submitted as part of the bid document.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
as follows:
1. %LGGRFXPHQWHQWLWOHG´%LG'RFXPHQWIRUWKH3URFXUHPHQWRI
3LFNXS'RXEOH&DELQ'RRUV
2. All offers must be submitted on or before January 11, 2019 till
10:00am in a wax-sealed envelope and address to:
“Bid Document for the supply of Pick up Double Cabin”
Love in Action- Ethiopia CMC Road; Cheshire Building 5th Floor
P.O.BOX 1292 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Tel: +251(0)11 6 67 57 27
3. Bidders document should have one original and one copy
4. Bid proposal shall be accompanied by the bid bond of 10%
of the offer price submitted together with the original bid
document
5. Bids will be opened on January 11, 2019 at 11:00am in the
SUHVHQFHRIELGGHUVRUWKHLUDXWKRUL]HGUHSUHVHQWDWLYHV
6. /,$( UHVHUYHV WKH ULJKW WR UHMHFW DOO RU SDUW RI WKLV ELG ZLWKRXW
assigning any reason whatsoever
30||
<2850,1'
By Tsion Taye
SERVING OTHERS
A couple of weeks back, I participated in a retreat organized for our
staff members outside of Addis. One of the aims of the retreat was
to provide the opportunity to further strengthen the team spirit
between work colleagues. One of the sessions of the retreat that I
found to be most interesting was the first session aimed at relaxing
the atmosphere of the meeting and giving the opportunity to the
participants to introduce themselves and learn more about one
another. So in this first session, one participant had to ask another
participant about his/her bio and present this to the rest of the
audience. The bio included items related to where the person came
from, what they believed their biggest achievements was to date,
what their aspirations for the future were, and what he/she wished
to be remembered for after he/she leaves this world for good. And
one of the things that I have learned from this session is that we all
would like to be remembered for one thing in life. And that is to be
remembered, as someone who has positively contributed in the life
of others, be it through charitable deeds or through our professional
works. And I thought to myself, we are all well intended people but
unfortunately quite misunderstand each other.
Is there something more rewarding and gratifying than realizing
that the people you are serving are happy and well off because of
you? Take your job for instance. There is probably a list of things
that make you happy when you think about your job. Earning a
decent salary, having a supportive and understanding boss, a decent
working environment, and work colleagues that are pleasant to
work with might be considered as common candidate criteria for
job satisfaction. In my opinion, the level of satisfaction you get from
all of these does not amount to the level of satisfaction you get from
realizing that the people you are serving are happy and satisfied
because of your service. The recipients of your service can be your
customers in the case of a business, the general public in the case of
government organizations, the recipients of your charitable deeds
in the case of an NGO, your students in case of a university, your
patients in the case of health service provider, or your clients in the
case of a law firm. That day when you realize that your service to
others is not just an option but a necessity is the day you feel that
you are really earning your income! The gratefulness you observe
in others as a result of your services is, in my opinion, an income
on its own!
Although each of us knows that we are well meaning and intended
people, we often feel that others do not understand this. Because we
feel that people misunderstand us, we loose hope in our attempts
to serve others and make others happy. And we really become the
person we do not want others to perceive us to be. I say, let us not
loose hope and keep on doing our best to serve others in the best way
possible. Because, there is always people out there who realize our
well-meaning intentions and would like to keep getting our services!
Ed.’s Note: Tsion Taye is a researcher in the field of Agricultural
Economics. She is a graduate of Wageningen university from which she
obtained her Masters and PhD degrees. Her passions include reading
books and reflecting on life experiences with whomever shares this passion.
She can be reached for comments at tsimoute@gmail.com.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
The Universal . . .
and civil accountability mechanism for the
protection of children in armed conflict.
Former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt – the
driving force behind the UDHR – once declared
that human rights begin “in small places close
to home, so close and so small that they cannot
be seen on any maps of the world. Unless these
rights have meaning there, they have little
meaning anywhere.” And indeed, The Ordinary
Virtues by the former Canadian politician
Michael Ignatieff, which grew from a Carnegie
study, indicates that even in the world’s most
desolate and lawless corners, individuals have
a strong sense of their own rights and also, if
to a lesser extent, of the importance of treating
those close to them with decency.
Yet, even as the world becomes more deeply
The Case for . . .
their authorship and ownership of their
economic visions, strategies and roadmaps.
African countries must reclaim their destiny
and start rejecting the low expectations that
have been normalized in their development
strategies and policies.
After 50 years, and hundreds of billions in
international aid, Africa’s development efforts
leave much to be desired. In the 1970s, Africa
accounted for over three percent of global
manufacturing output. In 2016, the figure has
fallen to 1.5 percent, according to the Economist
Intelligence Unit.
As bad as Africa’s share of global manufacturing
output looks, it is better than its stake in the
fast-growing global capital markets. In 2017,
Sub Saharan Africa (barring South Africa)
was the only region that did not even register
a microscopic blip on the radar screen of the
USD 77.57 trillion global capital markets.
If the past is prologue for the future, it can be
said with a sufficient degree of confidence that
“piecemeal”, and/or “gradual” reforms will
not bring about the transformative changes
that Africa badly needs.
Ethiopia is at a critical juncture in its
Diminishing moral . . .
some regional governments infer putrefying
political system, probably, due to the declining
moral system.
The political parties that came home peacefully
after decades of exile seemingly fail to solidify
peaceful political discussions. Few of them
rather apparently conspire to uphold the
political rift and to emerge as winners at the
cost of lives of innocent citizens. Above all, this
is a primitive political strategy which does not
suit the 21st century. Most importantly, it is
the strategy of morally spoiled and autocratic
politicians. Politicians who are on the moral
high ground cannot conspire to merely satisfy
their selfish ends. Instead, they might subdue
their narcissistic behavior to emerge as
champions of public interest.
All the above issues might tell us how our
politicians are consumed with themselves.
Egocentric leaders or politicians also cannot
serve the public. They mindlessly appropriate
every system to serve their insatiable interests.
In sum, because our moral system is
diminishing, these days, our politicians are so
quick to judge and too feeble to control their
nerves (just like the mindless crowd) while
talking about sensitive issues. Most political
leaders care more about arousing the emotions
CONT`D FROM PAGE 27
integrated, millions do not have a strong
sense that human rights should be upheld
as the universal rights of all. That is why
the Commission, citing the work of Fonna
Forman, founding Director of the Center on
Global Justice at the University of California,
San Diego, makes recommendations about how
governments might actively encourage and
support human-rights education – something
few countries currently do.
After all, as Roosevelt pointed out, documents
expressing ideals “carry no weight unless
the people know them, unless the people
understand them, unless the people demand
that they be lived.” That simple truth must
underpin the world’s agenda for championing
human rights now and in the future.
CONT`D FROM PAGE 26
history. The ongoing political reform has
sparked a positive national psychology for
a transformative change.
Inspired by the positive spirit, this writer
along with Professor Lemma W. Senbet (The
William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance
at the University of Maryland) co-authored
a proposal to establish an independent
Ethiopian Economic Advisory Council (EEAC)
to engage the diaspora in the reform process.
The proposal was reviewed by a Steering
Committee consisting of local and diaspora
experts and reflects inputs provided by them.
The objective is to support the government in
“formulating a vision and long-term economic
strategic direction; articulate an integrated set
of clear principles and priorities; and develop
a clear short- to medium-term road map for
accelerating economic growth and employment
generation.”
The Proposal is anchored in an interdisciplinary
approach to development, bringing together
diaspora and local experts in different
disciplines, including macroeconomics,
agriculture, industry, energy, technological
innovation, finance, etc. Its aim is to build a
critical mass of complementary and mutually
CONT`D FROM PAGE 18
of their crowd than taming irrational views of
their people against others. Instead of aiming
for a common ground for their differences,
most politicians in our country show disdain
for those who disagree with them. I believe that
this is a sheer sign of narcissistic moralism – an
indication of self-love and hunger for acclaim
which is nuanced with the idea that I am right
and all others are wrong. With the likes of such
morally frail political leaders, further political
divisions and social disorders are imminent.
Therefore, to avoid a further political rift
and social turmoil, we (the common people)
and our soi-disant politicians should be quite
cautious about where we are going from here.
Particularly our leaders should control their
self-centeredness. They should not be driven by
dreams of emptied glory which overlooks the
interests of the public.
Ed.’s Note: Kibrom Berhane is a lecturer of
Journalism and Communication at Mekele
University. The views expressed in this article do
not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.
He can be reached at kibromabselam@gmail.
com.
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
The Global
Commission
Citizenship
report was
made possible with editorial
help from K. Anthony
Appiah, Craig Calhoun,
Andrew Hilland, Robert
Shrum, Diane C. Yu, and
many others. For the
full membership of the
Commission, see gias.nyu.
edu/2016/04/release-global-
citizenship-commission-
report/.
Ed.’s Note: Gordon Brown,
former Prime Minister
and Chancellor of the
Exchequer of the United
Kingdom, is United Nations
Special Envoy for Global
reinforcing reforms.
Its approach includes: forging global
development partnerships with
leading universities, think-tanks,
and corporations with track record
and interest in developing countries;
leveraging the new international
aid modality; building centers of
excellence for innovation; improving the
effectiveness and accountability of the
public sector; and establishing a private-
public partnership in the policy space.
The timing is right and the stakes are
high. In the last 6 months, Ethiopia
has received USD 4.2 billion from
its international partners. Plans are
underway at the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) and the US government
Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) for additional financial support.
These are precursors for plentiful
international aid in the coming years.
Most importantly, massive foreign direct
investment is bound to flow to Ethiopia,
enticed by loan guarantees by the US
and UK governments and other donor
agencies.
Though these are reasons to celebrate,
we would be remiss not to temper our
celebration with the acknowledgment that
foreign aid, no matter how massive, does
not necessarily translate into progress.
It is important to channel available
resources into areas where the multiplier
effect is greater and the spillover effects
are wider to scale the country’s economic
activities.
Experiences from China, India and
Korea suggest this requires having a
clear vision and a roadmap to bridge the
vision, strategic priorities and goals set
forth. In this endeavor, the Ethiopian
diaspora community can serve as a kernel
extension of the nation’s knowledge base.
Three questions force themselves upon
us: Why an advisory council? Why should
it be independent? Why the diaspora?
The economic development terrain is
undergoing a rapid change, triggered by
geopolitical reshuffle. This has prompted
a change in the international aid modality.
The US and UK have officially shifted
the focus of their international aid from
government budget support and project
financing to incentivizing Multinational
Corporations to invest in Africa. These
have significant impacts on Ethiopia’s
development agenda.
The EEAC “can help mitigate potential
risks and threats that are inherent in a
period of geopolitical uncertainty. It can
also help position Ethiopia’s strategic
Education and Chair of the
International Commission on
Financing Global Education
Opportunity. He chairs the
Advisory Board of the Catalyst
Foundation. 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.
development agenda to take advantage of
the new international aid paradigm.”
Why an independent council? Independent
advisory councils are common in
emerging countries. Their purpose is to
supplement not supplant the country’s
National Planning Commission or the
Office of the Chief Economic Adviser of
the Prime Minister.
As the proposal notes, the primary reasons
for independent advisory councils “often
include acquiring independent policy
advice from non-governmental experts,
seeking alternative visions, strategies
and policies to expand the government’s
policy choice sets, enriching the debate in
the country’s development discourse and
creating synergies for best solutions.”
Why the diaspora? The diaspora is an
integral part of the solution. Invariably,
countries that have succeeded in their
development efforts are those who relied
on their own people, diaspora and local,
rather than on foreign consultants.
The objective of EEAC is “to create
synergy in collaborative efforts and
leverage the talents of all Ethiopians and
people of Ethiopian heritage” at home and
abroad.
As the World Economic Forum noted,
“India’s high-tech industries were to
a large extent created by returning
migrants and are deeply connected to the
diaspora…” Ethiopia, too, should make
good use of its diaspora as a matter of
priority for its economic development.
The Ethiopian Diaspora is well
represented at prestigious universities,
including the US Ivy Leagues, in
the faculty ranks. There are many
internationally acclaimed experts at the
forefront of their disciplines in finance,
agriculture, corporate governance,
health, technological innovation, etc.
Others are engaged in high-level
management and research positions in
premier international organizations and
US Federal government. Some are authors
of award winning books and sought after
speakers in international conferences.
Still others are advisors to high-level US
government officials.
The diaspora is actively involved in
Ethiopia’s development. For example, a
young Harvard professor (Jelani Nelson)
has established AddisCoder, an intensive
summer program in Ethiopia to introduce
high schoolers to computer programming
and algorithms.
Diaspora doctors have organized “People
to People” whose primary purpose is to
serve as a “bridge to transfer knowledge,
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The evolution . . .
Liberation Front’s forces operating in
the Western, Eastern and Kelem-Wollega
Zonal Administrations of the region
have so far murdered a dozen of innocent
citizens, including two police commanders
and 12 officers, not to mention that several
inhabitants in various localities have
been maimed physically and displaced
from their homes.
The commissioner further told the media
that a weaponry store belonging to the
local police station was looted and bank
robbery has been committed in broad
daylight resulting in the grievous loss
of up to three million birr. Other public
and private property damage is beyond
imagination, either.
Depending on his extended clarification,
lower-level government structures are
demolished and essential public services
are disrupted due to the serious breakdown
of law and order which has continued to
engulf the vast administrative areas of the
region affected by the rampant insecurity.
What is exceedingly disappointing is that
all this criminal activity was perpetrated
against life and property allegedly in the
name of the OLF, according to Alemayehu
Ejigu, Commissioner General of the
Oromia Regional Police.
Regardless of the misguided view of its
pioneering leader, OLF’s return from
its endless exile upon the invitation of
the government is, indeed, a ‘blessing
in ‘disguise. No one rules out that OLF
is a household name inside the Oromo
communities both at home and abroad.
Nevertheless, I have never heard of any
single news headline that the age-old
rebel group had ever managed to acquire
and control for a while even an inch of
territorial foothold in the region concerned
during the five-decade old armed struggle
it has waged in a protracted manner.
As a matter of fact, the whole of Ethiopia,
including the Oromia Regional State, is
now yearning for lasting peace and inter-
group harmony in the wake of the reform
measures being courageously taken by the
change agents within the ruling Ethiopian
technology and experience.” Its founder,
Enawgaw Mehari (MD), was nominated
as CNN Hero in 2007.
Vision Ethiopia coordinates annual
conferences to promote dialogue on post-
conflict transition in Ethiopia. There are
many such individual and group diaspora
initiatives.
The EEAC proposal provides a well-
structured, integrated and interactive
forum to scale these and other similar
initiatives for broader impact across the
economy.
The organizational arrangement of EEAC
can best be described as a cascade of
three concentric circles. At the center is
the Core Team that will be stationed in
Addis Ababa, comprising of 10 to 12 local
and diaspora experts of international and
national repute with expertise in priority
areas that are key for the development of
the country.
The second concentric circle represents
a network of satellite Interdisciplinary
Advisory Teams, consisting of subject-
matter experts, reflecting the various
focus areas of the core team. Organized
by disciplines in 8 sub-teams, the experts
will focus on urgent and strategic issues
in their expertise.
|31
CONT`D FROM PAGE 18
Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front
(EPRDF) coalition itself. Hence, why
Dawd Ibsa should desperately try to carry
on the discarded path of violence and
thus destabilize the positive atmosphere
created by the government is far from
clear.
It makes no sense for a disgruntled leader
of the former rebel group with a pretty
poor historical record of having achieved
any tangible gains on the ground in the
course of its prolonged struggle as a
liberating front to now claim commanding
an army as well as fighting against and
standing up with the government security
and military troops from the safest and
warmest throne generously awarded
to him by the welcoming authorities
diligently working hard for a peaceful and
democratic transition with unwavering
dedication.
Does it mean that an ‘infamous state’
is in an underground process of
formation within the political and spatial
jurisdiction of the ‘legitimate state’?
If pronounced to be true, that kind of far-
fetched and ill-advised move to emerge
into an ‘alternative ‘regime alongside the
legitimate authority through the barrel
of the gun would , I am afraid, eventuate
to the de-legitimization of the group and
the political suicide of its instinctually
ambitious leadership already in disarray.
Our wise forefathers have got an
interesting and quotable proverb to that
effect: In no time and by no means should a
poor mouse ever underestimate the power
of the cat to the extent of embarrassing
it by unusually smelling its nose at close
range.
Ed.’s Note: Merhatsidk Mekonnen Abayneh
is a Legal Advisor in Chief to the President of
the Amhara Regional State in the capacity
of a Regional Bureau Head without
portfolio. He writes on legal, political
and peace and security issues. The views
expressed in this article do not necessarily
reflect the views of The Reporter. He can be
reached at clickmerha1@gmail.com.
The third and the outermost circle
consists of International Partners,
including universities, multinational
corporations, and global foundations.
For instance, Google has a program that
is committed to advance Africa’s digital
transformation. Microsoft, Cisco, and
many other corporations have similar
initiatives. Established and connected
members of the diaspora can serve as
interlocutors between Ethiopia and such
corporations, universities, foundations,
and think tanks in their host countries.
The challenges are formidable, but not
insurmountable if the right strategies and
policies are put in place. The opportunities
are plentiful and could be impactful, if
properly managed. Connecting the dots
and strengthening the thread that goes
through them is getting halfway closer to
tying a bow around a strategic vision that
will transform Ethiopia.
Ed.’s Note: Yonas Biru (PhD) was
the Deputy Global Manager of the
International Comparison Program at
the World Bank. The views expressed in
this article do not necessarily reflect the
views of The Reporter. He can be reached
at biruyonas@yahoo.com.
32|
32
2| The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
By Leyou Tameru
Confusion . . .
@anchihoye large junk of the population.
While the bill mentioned regarding the
&ΎPieces
registration of traditional healers and
Bits Ύ medicine, it does not discuss anything
about homemade food, locally brewed
alcoholic liquors such as Tej, Tella, Areki,
locally prepared tobacco, cosmetics etc.
that are put for sale or offered for public
The cost of victory
consumptions. In fact the designated
executive body under the bill talks about
compliance of the regulated products
with the national standard and where
such standards are not available, to use
I was at a traffic light when a beggar who held a sign in Amharic approached
acceptable international standards. I am
my car and stuck out the sign so I can read it. It explained that he and his not aware of national standards adopted on
family are refugees from the Syrian war and have made the difficult journey regulated products produced at home and
the closest foreign international standards
by land and sea to Ethiopia and are now begging on the street. And it really applicable to purely Ethiopian foods,
took me aback. It was a moment of reminder how something that felt so alcoholic drinks cosmetics and tobacco
that are widely consumed by the public.
distance, so far and I only saw as a news headline can have come knocking
This being the case, my critiques deemed
on my door. We sometimes feel like it is a great big world, but in reality, we the regulation of the foregoing items offered
are a lot more connected than we think. to the public for use by sale or otherwise,
“beyond the mandate of the bill” as if such
I can only imagine what the journey out of Syria and into Ethiopia must items are not produced, prepared and
available for public consumption on a daily
have been like, but when it is a matter of survival, human beings are
basis and do not constitute public health
capable of so much. But what is the war about, when did it start? It seems concerns. In his opinion, Wondu further
that the Syrian as well as Yemeni civil war have been going on for years accused me of “lying,” “misleading,” “over
exaggerating” and “insincerity” on my
now and we cannot remember why they even began in the first place. I was
comments. I wish he could have justified
reading more about these civil wars was reminded that the Syrian war has and refute each of these libelous words
in relation to a specific statement on my
been going on since 2015 and the Yemeni one since 2011. The United Nations
article citing a provision in the bill or other
describes the situation as “the world’s worst man-made humanitarian legal instruments and show what he boldly
and unashamedly claimed in his opinion
disaster”, a clear indication that the situation is dire.
that the bill “save lives and advance the
public health.”
I recently read the letter written by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia regarding
I am aware that the Ministry of Health
the Yemeni civil war where he calls for both parties to sit and work out
is mandated among other legal duties
their issues around a negotiating table rather than destroying the land both to “ensure the proper execution of food,
parties claim to love and care about. The message was indeed touching and medicine and health care regulatory
functions.” Therefore, safeguarding and
I do not think that such a letter has been openly sent to both parties from a protecting the health of Ethiopians and
Head of State. This could be the Prime Minister’s way of implicitly showing ensuring that its regulatory functions that
have public health implication are well in
interest in mediating a peace agreement, although the letter does not
order on foods, medicines, medical devices,
clearly indicate that or any effort he is willing to make other than simply drinks, tobacco whether produced at home
or in industries and provided by business
express his disappointment at the state of affairs. Nonetheless, as it stands
establishments. Accordingly, this legal
today, there is no end in sight for this war and this letter could perhaps be responsibility is conferred to and assumed
a reminder for peace talks or efforts to put pressure on the parties for a by the Ministry for implementation as a
matter of obligation.
cease-fire.
Even if it is possible to think of “good faith”
These two wars have a lot in common, they are civil wars, they began on the “intention” of the Ministry of Health
that Wondu repeatedly emphasized in his
with some sort of an “Arab Spring” type of movement and they have been opinion which is but totally irrelevant,
extremely destructive. The price of war is not only going to be paid by those unfortunately the Food and Medicine bill
as it stand now, leaves large areas of public
in Yemen and Syria, although they are the primary victims, but its impact health concerns on foods, medicines,
is being felt around the globe. Seeing Syrian beggars on the street of Addis alcoholic liquors, tobacco etc…locally
produced at home and provided for public
is just the beginning, trust me. In a way, the Prime Minister’s letter as
consumption virtually uncovered and
high level and merry as it is, is in my view the beginning of a recognition unregulated.
of the impact of the war being felt. We cannot afford to be bystanders and
Finally, despite my comment covering
watch simply because we are not in the same “geographic” place as those several regulated products of public health
concerns, tobacco was singled out among
countries, we are bound to be affected by it and it is our duty to step up and
all others, meriting Wondu’s detailed
play our role in bringing an end to the madness. analysis and examination in his critique.
Understandably, tobacco is a hotcake for an
I am always amazed at how destructive greed is, and sadly in this world, appeal to increasingly stricter regulatory
framework by anti-tobacco campaigners,
it is easier to destroy then it is to build. I cannot imagine that the warring
lobbyists and their sponsors at home and
sides are unclear about the difficulties they will face in re-building their abroad. As underlined in his critique, I
have also noted Wondu’s planned ambition
countries once they emerge as “victors” of the war. Victory is great, but at
for the government of Ethiopia “to sustain
what cost? and defend the global recognition given to
the country’s public health achievements
Ed.’s Note: Leyou Tameru is a graduate of Georgetown and Addis Ababa University Law of the past two decades.” Regulatory
schools, specializing in International Legal Studies. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, she schemes must be drafted, approved and
seeks to understand the impact of economic, political and social issues on everyday lives. implemented primarily to safeguard and
She can be reached at @anchihoye protect the health of all Ethiopians and not
www.thereporterethiopia.com
CONT`D FROM PAGE 26
for the purpose of face saving, win global
recognition and obtain obsequious flattery
showered from foreign institutions to
certain individuals.
I have learnt in one of his informative
power point presentation about Mathiwos
Wondu – YeEthiopia Cancer Society,
under the title “what MWECS is doing in
promoting Cancer care in Ethiopia” freely
accessible online, that Wondu had “14
years of working experience with National
Tobacco Enterprise, as Human Resource
Administration Manager & Public Relation
Officer” and had been “Tobacco addict for
more than 17 years.” Based on these hard
facts, it is true that I cannot be in the same
position to comment on tobacco in par
with the marvelous depth of knowledge,
experience and affiliation that Wondu has.
As a freelance legal commentator and
nonsmoker with no affiliation to the
only tobacco producing enterprise in the
country, however, I shall attempt to refute
the fallacies and hypocrisy of my critiques
as follow.
Growing and locally using dried tobacco
leafs by smoking and the fresh tobacco
leafs, by chewing and snuffing reportedly
started in Ethiopia in the 16th century.
In several rural areas and market places
tobacco is still smoked using single or
multiple tubes for the purpose of pleasures.
The use of tobacco, however, was not
without restriction or prohibitive social,
religious and secular sanction. There was
royal sanction against the use of tobacco
mainly inspired by religious consideration.
While the use of tobacco is still prevalent
in various rural areas in Ethiopia, the
bill still does not regulate such practices
in the same way as industrial production,
distribution and use of tobacco products.
As if there is no adverse health impact, the
areas of application of international and
national legal instruments is excluded.
Modern production, distribution and use of
tobacco commenced during the last century
and the production as a state monopoly
started during the era of Menelik II and
continued up to present day Ethiopia. For
several decades, the National Tobacco
Enterprise (NTE) has been engaged in
growing tobacco leafs and industrial
production of tobacco cigarette. For
several decades, the enterprise unfailingly
served its customers and contributed in
creating employment to tobacco growers
in the farm and cigarette producers in the
factory, generating income for various
kinds of taxes contribution for government
coffer. Some decades ago, therefore,
it was common to see the sensational
advertisement on big and small billboards
hanging on the side of highways or on the
roof of shops or windows, stating “Gissila
Atisu” “Gureza Atisu” or “Nyala Atisu”
etc. that has now become illegal nationally
and internationally. The production of
tobacco nonetheless continued and few
years ago, the state owned NTE was floated
for privatization that fetched record
high and most lucrative bid of 1.2 million
dollars.
As a signatory to the Framework
Convention on Tobacco Control, Ethiopia
implemented several restrictions and
regulatory measures recommended with
a view to prevent the negative public
health impacts and control the production
promotion and consumption of tobacco
products. The bill is aimed to heighten
the legal sanction among others, against
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
the production, distribution, promotion
of tobacco products. While the measure
taken previously and proposed in the
bill have basis under the convention,
the drafters of the bill have gone much
further and asserted to be more catholic
than the pop supposedly in their bid to
claim “global recognition” and possibly
receive congratulations at the expense
of the freedom of action and choices of
individuals to smoke, loss of employment
opportunities for tobacco products
growers, producers, distributors and
sellers, generation of revenues for business
establishments and individual income and
last but not least, contribution of varies
types of taxes to the government.
In his critique, Wondu claimed that “no
provision proposed in the bill is unique
to Ethiopia!” In reality, the proposed bill
encroach the fundamental constitutional
freedom of citizens for personal action and
choice, good or bad, and mandate public
bodies to decide on behalf of citizens as if
the state is a caretaker or tutor and treating
individuals as a child below 18 years of
age. A constitution need not list down
the innumerable types of freedoms that
government must restrict its interference
against citizens and all personal freedoms
that a person can legitimately exercise are
categorized under freedom of action and
choice.
The bill also purports to impose 70 percent
space of health warnings on packages of
tobacco when the convention actually
requires not less than a minimum of
30 percent and ideally 50 percent. This
requirement impose extra burden to legal
tobacco products and provide enormous
opportunities for the market of contraband
tobacco that are not always free and not
bound under any obligation to comply with
health warnings.
While avoiding the sale of tobacco products
from store shelves that are easily accessible
is recommended, requiring retail sellers
to hide even the availability for sale of
the product to smokers is tantamount to
providing shield and coverage to offer for
sale illicit tobacco that will be detrimental.
The flow of contraband tobacco through
the long and porous border of Ethiopia has
always been a challenge. Unlike any other
country in the world, Ethiopia shares a
long border with a Somali nation that had
no functioning state for several decades.
This border has always posed so many
challenges for the steady flow of all kinds
of contraband goods including tobacco that
according to a study has already reached 40
percent of circulation and up to 90 percent
in the eastern part of the country. It is
entirely irresponsible to disregard this fact
and push for a bill that would encourage
the flow contraband tobacco.
The ban imposed for the sale and smoking
of tobacco and obligatory distance laid
down under the bill are also impractical
and far from the actual reality. In fact the
absence of restricted area for smokers
is another irrational addition that does
not tally with the requirements of the
international convention. The net effect of
this ban is so short sighted that would have
the effect of paralyzing the businesses of
hotels and entertainment with far reaching
consequences on their competitiveness
and profitability.
While the bill rightly banned the sale of
tobacco products to minors and ironically
it not only banned sale of tobacco products
by minors notwithstanding the 14 years of
minimum age threshold provided under
Ethiopia’s labor law and departed even
much further in prohibiting sale of tobacco
by minors by providing punitive measures
of up to six months of imprisonment and a
fine of five thousand birr. This provision
militate against the widespread practice
in the Ethiopian objective realities in
which minor children are helping and
supporting their poor family in mobile
personal cigarette vending activities. The
prohibition of sale of tobacco products by
minors is warranted on condition that
“economically viable alternatives are
promoted for individual sellers.” The
drafters of the bill have the unique luxury
to ignore the actual reality of Ethiopia
wherein children of poor family are denied
the sale of tobacco products without any
alternative employment and revenue
generation opportunity.
While I still maintain on my position that
regulating tobacco products are necessary
in line with the international convention, I
do not think imposing extra burden on local
producer, importer, distributor and sellers
would enable to achieve the objective
intended by the proclamation other than
self-serving global recognition to certain
individuals. If tobacco products are useless
and only contribute to exacerbate the
negative health impact of the person, it
would have been reasonable, legitimate
and much easier to cease production and
eliminate the factory while it was under
government ownership. Having decided
to privatize the enterprise and inviting
foreign investor to acquire and invest on
it, it is total naivety to propose and decide
to adopt a law that would stifle its activities
within the limit the law permits.
The adoption of international convention
by a sovereign state does not necessarily
impose automatic legal obligation to issue
implementing laws to put it in to effect and
accordingly parties to the convention can
carefully take measures of implementation
depending on the concrete circumstances
of the country and should harmonize
their international obligation with their
national laws. It is a bizarre to try to issue
local laws and requirements far more
than the international convention require
to brag for “global recognition” without
assessing the legal, financial, investment,
employment etc…implications.
Ed.’s Note: Yohannes Woldegebriel is
a legal expert. The views expressed in
this article do not necessarily reflect the
views of The Reporter. He can be reached
at johnwaa@hotmail.com.
Opposition gaining . . .
Movement for Unity and Democracy
and Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP)
to merge as one political party in its
endeavor to provide a lasting solution
to the political questions and demands
of the public throughout the nation.
Up on finalizing their discussion, the
three parties plan to dissolve their
individual parties and join hands to
form one new party. The new party
is expected to have a new name and
political program, according to
Yeshiwas; and most probably politics
of citizenship is the likely focus of this
new party with much higher emphasis
on social justice.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
A business . . .
environmental challenges is using
the power of markets and building
coalitions to improve effectiveness. The
final SDG, Partnerships for the Goals
(SDG 17), recognizes this and urges
business leaders to cooperate with
governments and civil society to deliver
on sustainable-development objectives.
A good example of SDG 17 in action
is the Food and Land Use Coalition, a
global network of business executives,
scientists, policymakers, investors, and
farmers that is working to transform
the world’s fragmented and complex
food systems. One key area of focus for
this coalition is the disconnect between
production and consumption.
We need more of this; the future of the
global economy is no longer dependent
on whether we act, but on how long we
take to do so. Despite some progress
on the SDGs over the past three years,
House approves . . .
“This does not mean that forgiveness
will be presented for individuals or
groups who committed mass killings
and related serious crimes. As we
all know, we approved the Amnesty
Proclamation last June,” Tesfaye
said citing the proclamation which
stipulates that criminals who are
accused of killings of people should
be tried in court accordingly with
the extents of their crimes they are
charged with.
The bill, In its preamble, states that
it is necessary to reconcile based on
truth and justice the dis-agreement
that developed among the peoples’
of Ethiopia for years because of the
different social and political conflict.
The bill has also been designed
with the aim of identifying and
ascertaining the nature, cause and
dimension of the repeated gross
violations of human rights so as to
fully respect and implement basic
human rights recognized under
Ethiopia’s constitution as well as
other international and continental
agreements that are said to be
important for the reconciliation.
“It is believed that providing victims of
gross human rights abuses in different
Recalling that it has been engaged in
different negotiations and consultations
in the past two years, Yeshiwas says that
the recent decision of merger with the
two political parties is the result of this
effort and invites other political parties
to join such initiatives to provide a
lasting solution.
Apart from this, the party is going to
celebrate its seventh year anniversary
through different programs. According
to the schedule, the General Assembly
is expected to pay tribute to the
contribution, efforts and the sacrifice
of leaders, members, and supporters of
the party for their courage and tireless
|33
CONT`D FROM PAGE 27
we are not moving fast enough. As
Winston Churchill once said: “I never
worry about action, only inaction.” That
wisdom should shape our approach to
business and the SDGs today. The world
we want for our children will arrive only
when we choose action over indifference,
courage over comfort, and solidarity
over division.
Ed.’s Note: Paul Polman is CEO of Unilever
and a member of the Leadership Council
of the Sustainable Development Solutions
Network (SDSN). 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.
CONT`D FROM PAGE 3
times and historical events with a
forum to be heard and perpetrators to
disclose and confess their actions as a
way to reconciliation and to achieve
lasting peace,” the newly endorsed bill
says in its preamble.
According to the provision of the bill,
the commission will be accountable to
the Prime Minister while it will have its
own members to be determined by the
government. Similarly, a chairperson,
deputy chairperson and other members
of the commission will be appointed by
the HPR upon recommendations by the
Prime Minister.
After an apparently moderate
discussion, the House approved the
draft bill with a majority vote, one
against and one abstaining.
The bill comes after six months, in
which time the government approved
an amnesty law issued in June for
exiled Ethiopians who had been wanted
by the former administration.
According to latest information
obtained from the Office of the
Attorney General, over 800 people have
been pardoned during the grace period
they had been given to report to the
Attorney General. The pardon period
will expire in two weeks’ time.
CONT`D FROM PAGE 1
movements to question and challenge
the incumbent and the current
leadership change in the ruling party,
the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary
Democratic Front (EPRDF), the
chairman further stated.
The party, established seven years
ago, finally conveyed a message to all
political forces in the country that they
should not hesitate to come together
to address the questions of the public
for the sake of both the nation and the
public to build and ensure a democratic
political system in the country.
34| SNAPSHOTS The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

HARNESSING
GIFTS
Making technology easily
accessible to everyone is at
forefront of advancement these
days. This revolution is also
resulting in the improvement of
accessibility of technology for
the disabled members of the
community. One NGO in Ethiopia
is working hard to increase the
capacity of the visually impaired
to take advantage of these
technological advancements.
In this regard, “Together!” a
resident charity organization
has graduated visually impaired
students who took trainings
in basic computer skills, this
week. The fourth-round of the
training session organized in
collaboration with Addis Ababa
University was concluded with
a colorful celebration featuring
the dancing and fashion talents
of the visually impaired.

2JQVQD[/GUſP5QNQOQP

www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 SNAPSHOTS |35

www.thereporterethiopia.com
36| LEISURE The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164

Crossword
ACROSS 55. Place 26. A metric unit of weight
1. European currency 60. Boast 27. Former Italian currency
6. Wanes 61. Unsanctified 28. Not closed
10. Drudgery 63. Wicked
14. Flora 64. Breezed through 29. Wastefulness
15. Journey 65. Cornered 31. Drags
16. Christmas season 66. French for “Head” 33. Slumber
17. Interlace 67. Roman emperor 34. Mountain pool
19. Anagram of “Ties” 68. Impudent
20. Chinese cinnamon 36. Applaud
DOWN
21. Atlantic food fish 37. Aquatic plant
1. Sweeping story
22. Rip 38. Caustics
2. Forearm bone
23. French farewell 42. Quiet 43. Biblical boat
25. Compassion 3. Rodents
4. 1 1 1 1 45. One or the other
26. A compact mass
30. A bowl-shaped depression 5. Stripes 47. A common green newt
32. Rejoinder 6. French for “Summer” 48. Wait on
35. Laughable 7. Stimulating drink 49. Characteristic
39. Ring around the nipple 8. Encamp 51. L
40. Hairy 9. Hurried
41. Social deportment 52. Knuckleheads
10. Mystifying
43. Mollify 54. Basic unit of money in China
11. Not inner
44. One who denies 56. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter
12. Of a pelvic bone
46. Resorts 57. Amazes
47. Prevent legally 13. Apprehensive
18. Roll of bills 58. Dregs
50. Was fond of
53. Large mass of ice 24. Frozen water 59. Countercurrent
54. Nevertheless 25. Notes 62. Fuss

Kuncho, I want
to talk to you
before I go to the
mall?
You have a video
game, right?
Oh, ok! Then would you
like a pocket calculator
for Christmas, son?
US Box
office
Kuncho Komments

1 Aquaman

2 Mary Poppins Returns

3 Bumblebee
Sure dad, No thanks,
what’s up? Yes I do, and 4 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Dad. I know
it’s the best. how many 5 The Mule
pockets I’ve
got. 6 The Grinch

7 Second Act

8 Ralph Breaks the Internet

9 Welcome to Marwen
10 Mary Queen of Scots

Your Zodiacs (astrology-online.com)

Aries Cancer Libra =LNE?KNJ

Aries December 29 is not recommended to think about what awaits
them in the ghostly tomorrow. On the eve of the New Year, doubts,
PAHALDKJA?KJRANO=PEKJO
=J@IAAPEJCO HEGAHUIAAPPDAI>U?D=J?A=J@SEHHJKPD=RA=?KJPEJQ=PEKJ&BUKQ
fears, and any worries are not allowed at all. Learn to live here and
EBUKQ=NAOEJCHA
UKQ?=JOA=N?DBKNPDEOLANOKJPDNKQCDOK?E=H
JKS =J@ NA?KCJEVA PDA OECJEł?=J?A KB PDA QL?KIEJC DKHE@=U &B UKQ
>QP@KJKPNQODPKPNQOPDEISEPDS=HHAP >AEJC=??E@AJP=HHUKBBAJ@A@SEPDEJ=LLNKLNE=PA?NEPE?EOIKN=OPEJCEJC
 PDA H=OP SKNGEJC @=U SEHH CERA >KPD FKU =J@
allow yourself to enthusiastically wait for New Year’s miracles, they
SEHH?ANP=EJHU>NA=GEJPKUKQNNA=HEPURKE@?KJP=?PSEPDLAKLHASDK
EPODKQH@JKP?=QOAOANEKQO?KJŃE?PO
=NALAOOEIEOPE?=J@QJBNEAJ@HU
=J?ANOODKQH@JKPPNQOPOPN=JCANOPK@=U1DALNK>=>EHEPUKBQJATLA?PA@
IAAPEJCO EJ SDE?D LANOKJ=H =J@ LNKBAOOEKJ=H EJPANAOPO ?=J >A
EJPANPSEJA@ EJ?NA=OAO -AND=LO = LANOKJ SEHH =LLA=N OQ@@AJHU SEPD
PDALNKIEOAKBCKK@BKNPQJA
JAPSKNGO ,PDANSEOA
KNDA=NP =QPEKJSEHH>ANAMQENA@EJLH=JJEJCUKQN@EAPRKE@QJPAOPA@
dishes, refrain from anything overly exotic and do not “overdo” the use
KBOLE?AO
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OANEAOKBBNEAJ@HUC=PDANEJCO
do not forget to control everything you say. There is a risk of someone SEOD
NAI=NG1K@=UEOJKPPDA>AOPPEIAPK>QUDKIAAMQELIAJP&PEO=HOKJKP HECDPOPNAOO&PEOLKOOE>HA=OI=HHRAN>=H?H=ODSEPDOKIAKJABNKIPDA
advisable to hurry too much when deciding on the further fate of their
DKQOADKH@#KNPQJ=PAHU
NAH=PEKJODELSEPDKJAKBPDANAH=PERAO

0?KNLEK MQ=NEQO
Taurus Leo
0?KNLEKO?=JOAAKJHUCKK@PDEJCOEJPDAARAJPOKBPDEO@=U%KSARAN  MQ=NEQO PK@=U ?=J ODKS CKK@ NAOQHPO EJ QJB=IEHE=N =BB=ENO #=?A@
1=QNQOPK@=UI=UNA?AERA=JQJATLA?PA@LDKJA?=HH1DEOEOLNK>=>HU Leos today can overshadow all those who gathered at an event.
IKOPHEGAHU EPSEHH>AQJFQOPEłA@KLPEIEOI ?=P=OPNKLDE?=HHU@ERKN?A@ SEPDPDAJAA@PKLH=UOKIAJASNKHA @KJKPL=JE?EJ=JUS=U4D=PEO
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DKQOA1DANA=NA?D=J?AOKBJAS=?MQ=EJP=J?AOPD=PI=U=BBA?PPDA from reality. There is a risk, having these rose-colored glasses in front D=LLAJEJCKJHU=PłNOPSEHH?=QOAOPNAOO =J@=HEPPHAH=PANSEHH>A?KIA
= @AłJEPA =JOSAN &P P=GAO OKIA PEIA PK ?KILNADAJ@ ARANUPDEJC
0QNLNEOAO=NALKOOE>HAEJLANOKJ=H=BB=ENO1DANAEO=?D=J?APD=PPDA O?KLAKBHKRA=BBA?PEKJO1K@=UUKQODKQH@JKPPNQOPUKQNEJPQEPEKJPKK KBUKQ PKIEOOOKIAEILKNP=JPJQ=J?ANAH=PA@PK>QOEJAOOKN?=NAAN = OKQN?A KB LKOEPERA &P EO EILKNP=JP PD=P PDA H=>KNEJPAJOERA LNK?AOO
fate of a marriage or romance will mysteriously change for the better. IQ?D0ECJ=HONA?AERA@BNKIEPI=UJKP>A?KNNA?P&PEONA?KIIAJ@A@PK !K JKP I=GA IEOP=GAO &J PDA ARAJEJC  EP EO SKNPD OLAJ@EJC PEIA KJSDE?DPDABQPQNA@ALAJ@OKJEOBQHHU?KILHAPA@PK@=U&PI=U>A=
Singles may be attracted to an old friend or colleague. łJ@PEIABKN=?KJRANO=PEKJPD=PEJPDAL=OP?=QOA@?ANP=EJ@EBł?QHPEAO OQNNKQJ@A@>U?HKOALAKLHA!KJKPBKNCAPPK?=HHPDALANOKJSDKD=O I=PPANKB@N=SEJCQL@K?QIAJPO OECJEJC?KJPN=?POKNAOP=>HEODEJC=
long been waiting for at least the slightest amount of attention. >QOEJAOOL=NPJANODEL

Gemini Virgo
Sagittaarius Pisces
Gemini today are not recommended to be led by their moods. They will The Virgos on December 29 is destined to meet an extraordinary
0KIA0=CEPP=NEQOSEHH>A=>HAPKOQ??AOOBQHHUłJEODPDAH=OPSKNGEJC
JKP D=RA =JU OPNE?P >KQJ@=NEAO ĠIKNA LNA?EOAHU  UKQN =PPEPQ@A  HEGA = LANOKJ -AND=LO PDEO ?KIIQJE?=PEKJ SEHH OIKKPDHU CNKS EJPK = -EO?AO PK@=U =NA JKP PDNA=PAJA@ >U LNKBAOOEKJ=H SKNG *KOP HEGAHU 
@=UO KB  1DANA EO ARANU ?D=J?A KB OQ??AOOBQHHU ?KILHAPEJC
LAJ@QHQI SEHH>=H=J?ABKNPDA>APPAN PDAJBKNPDASKNOA
4D=PARAN OPNKJCBNEAJ@ODELKNHKRA=BB=EN#EJ=J?AI=UNAMQENAUKQN=PPAJPEKJEJ PDAUSEHH>NEJCJKPB=PECQA >QPLHA=OQNA1DEOSEHH?KJPNE>QPAPK=S=NI
>QOEJAOO PKS=NIHU?KJCN=PQH=PA?KHHA=CQAOKJPDAQL?KIEJCDKHE@=UO
D=LLAJO=NKQJ@ @KJKP=HHKSUKQNOAHBPKOAHŃAOOHUNAFKE?A >AKLAJHU PDA =BPANJKKJ  OQ@@AJ ATLAJOA =OOK?E=PA@ SEPD @KIAOPE? PNKQ>HA AT?D=JCAKB+AS6A=N†OCNAAPEJCO=J@=OI=HH>QPLHA=O=JPCEBPBNKI
=J@PKOLAJ@PEIAEJPDA?KIL=JUKBUKQN?HKOAOPBNEAJ@HHKSUKQNOAHB
sad, or torment those around you with your unrighteous anger. EO LKOOE>HA HH PDA LKOEPERAO KB PDEO @=U SEHH >A ?KJ?AJPN=PA@ EJ PDA PK BQHHU NAH=T  BKNCAP =>KQP UKQN OANEKQO NKHA #QJ  DQIKN  ?KMQAPNU KJAKBUKQN?KHHA=CQAO1DAARAJEJC=HOKLNKIEOAOPKL=OOKJ=LKOEPERA
*K@AN=PEKJ=J@KJHUIK@AN=PEKJSEHHDAHLUKQOQNRERAPDEO@=USEPDKQP EJPANLANOKJ=HOLDANA0LA?E=HLHA=OQNASEHH?KIASEPD?KIIQJE?=PEKJ and laughter - that is what can save you from fatigue accumulated S=RA&PEONA?KIIAJ@A@PKOLAJ@PEIASEPDUKQNB=IEHU REOEP=JAH@ANHU
QJLHA=O=JP?KJOAMQAJ?AOBKN=HHREP=H=OLA?PO with children or older relatives. @QNEJCPDASKNGEJCUA=N%KSARAN SAODKQH@JKPBKNCAPSD=P=H?KDKH NAH=PERA KN@KOKIACKK@SKNGĠBKNAT=ILHA ODAHPAN=DKIAHAOOLQLLU
consumed without measure could bring. KNGEPPAJ


Can you spot the 12 differences between the two pictures? SOLUTION
SPOT THE DIFFERENCES

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The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164 Advertisment |37

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38| LETTER TO THE EDITOR
HILTON ADDIS: renovation or distortion?
Dear Editor,
I was at the Hilton Hotel
in Addis this week and was
flabbergasted by what I saw.
Saddened, my patriotic soul
urged me to share what I
witnessed with readers. Over
the years, many things have
changed but not to the better
and I have always ignored it
trying to convince myself that
it’s okay, telling myself ‘The
place needs renovation’. But
now, I couldn’t take it anymore,
cheat myself as usual. This is
way beyond renovation BUT
distortion. Stepping in the
Lobby, the Hilton I have always
known, been sentimental, is
simply gone, unrecognizable
to my sight nor my memory. A
compete change has taken over,
awash with cheap and tacky
stuff. ‘Not the lobby I know’, I
told myself. For a second, I felt
that I stepped in somewhere
else and it took me a while to
come back and realize that a so
called ‘renovation’ has taken
place.
Most of the wall areas that used
to be ornamented/decorated
with Ethiopian traditional
LETTER TO THE EDITOR+
The move by FHC is the wrong one
Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter from
Fassilo Woodworks with
regards to the recent rent
revision made by the Federal
Housing Corporation (FHC)
and how the revision impacts
Fassilo and other similar
companies.
It is a known fact that in this
great city of ours there are
residential and commercial
properties managed by the
Federal Housing Corporation
(FHC) that are occupied for
a tiny fraction of what the
market value dictates and so
has been for over two decades;
and so did Fassilo until five
years back, when our tenancy
was revised, at which time the
rent was increased over 10-fold.
The management accepted the
increase recognizing the earlier
price tag as being very low.
Determined to find our own
location, we have been looking
for a suitable relocation site to
acquire both in Addis Ababa
and in nearby cities. But our
effort was to no avail. Mostly,
Fassilo has found that the
prices are too high, or that the
locations are too far away to
artefacts; part and parcel of the
unique and rare furniture of
the Hilton Addis are no more
to be seen neither touched nor
inhaled. The beautiful Saint
George Furniture; the Lalibela
Cross, the graceful antique
chandelier; the local traditional
table and leather seats draped
with Ethiopian colorful rugs
among many, are all gone,
replaced with cheap and tacky
furniture that you see in a
regular brothel.
For many years since its
establishment in the 1960s,
what makes Hilton Addis stand
out is the building’s unique
architectural design of the
famous Ethiopian Lalibela
Church which its interior is
based on; much of its unique
characteristics designed to
reflect the pride we have in
Ethiopia and this has been well
preserved till now.
I am writing this as a concerned
citizen who, like many, feel great
attachment with The Hotel;
like many, I have childhood
memories and I’m connected
one way or another. So
witnessing this change for me is
be able to serve our customers
without considerable price
hike and remain competitive.
We would also be unable to
attract the skilled manpower
needed. In this effort, Fassilo
submitted a request for suitable
land to lease to various land
administration offices within
Addis Ababa and nearby cities.
That too has not yielded any
result and will most likely not
as the threshold investment
capital required for access to
such lease is beyond what any
local manufacturing company
can muster, which is currently
above 70 million birr.
Fassilo has been able to
strengthen its position due
to the dedicated efforts of its
employees and has received a
bank loan to finance a planned
manufacturing capacity
expansion. It also has increased
its number of employees to over
130 individuals where most of
them have families to support.
It is in the midst of this favorable
development that Fassilo – as
well as thousands of other
companies working in Addis –
received a notice from the FHC
regarding hike in rent price.
The hike completely derails
the company of any budget that
might have been set aside for
various activities. The hikes
range between 521 percent up
to 6,784 percent, and in our case
it is a 1,000 percent increase.
Such hikes, for anyone with
insight on how companies
operate, should lay bare that
it will impact the striving
business community adversely,
which would ultimately lead
to a dampening and at worst
reversal of developments
based on poorly substantiated
study. It is a process that has
not left much room for the
highly praised participatory
and transparent approach
boasted by senior government
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The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
devastating and mostly causes
pain to my soul. I hope many
of you who are ‘Hilton Addis
Lovers’ share my sentiments,
that this is a destruction of our
tradition and disrespect to our
identity and dignity. For an
Ethiopian, Hilton Addis has
a unique significance as one
of the Country’s sophisticated
ancient hotels with unique
architectural designs and
like many of our ancient
buildings should be preserved
and protected, not destroyed
like most Addis Abeba’s
ancient buildings, neglected
and knowingly/unknowingly
demolished.
Yes, I agree that the Hotel
needs renovation. And this
goes not only for Hilton Addis,
but to all ancient buildings in
the city of Addis. If there is a
need for renovation, there is
this thing called ‘renovating
while maintaining originality’.
You don’t have to destroy to
renovate unless your aim is to
distort. It is possible to remodel
without losing touch with the
past and without compromising
quality. Had there been a
will, the renovating team
office holders led by our Prime
Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD).
While the above in most regards
describes Fassilo’s journey, it
should be clear that this is a
journey experienced by many
businesses in and around Addis
Ababa, and should serve as a
good example of the experience
of doing business.
There are good lessons on how
government-owned properties
can better be managed in
various European countries
where such ownership acts
as a stabilizing factor setting
precedence for private-owned
residential and commercial
rentals. We believe the current
move by FHC will likely further
exacerbate the situation.
Currently in direct opposition
to best practices I pointed out
earlier, the government has
adjusted its rental rate against
the private sector.
Government and related
enterprises should make an
effort to lead and not be blindly
led by the private sector. It was
wrong when FHC left rent levels
untouched for so many decades
but it is now even worse to
serve such shock increase in
of Hilton Addis could have
maintained the look and feel
that is consistent with the rest
of the hotel’s architectural
characteristics.
Dear readers, it’s with great
sadness I share with you that
the once preserved historical
lobby ‘designed to reflect the
pride we have’ is long gone.
Today it is the Lobby, and we
don’t know what tomorrow
holds. This might be among
several heritage we lost and are
losing along the way. What are
we leaving behind to the new
generation if we are not capable
of keeping/protecting what we
have? It seems that the wealth
they know we have and we
had is the Chinese cheap stuff,
overwhelming the city, which
they think is what Ethiopia is
made of. Unless we embrace
our local antique heritage
and if need be, hunt down
some original pieces to add
authenticity to our space, we
will lose It all! Remember the
Mexico roundabout ornament?
Lulit Kebede
klulit@yahoo.com
one dosage. The short-term
solution should have been
a gradual increase over a
longer period affording us the
ability to align our budget,
along with a participatory
effort where FHC takes the
initiative to establish a tenants’
association with the primary
purpose of coordinating with
certain irregularities the rent
levels both for private and
government properties.
In the long run the solution
would come if the government
truly takes a closer look at
how to encourage and support
local entrepreneurship across
the spectrum. The government
should not only focus on new
establishments and Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI). It
should also encourage the
flourishing creativity and
the substantial knowledge of
companies that have sustained.
That would be in line with Prime
Minister’s recent initiative to
improve Ethiopia in the global
“Ease of Doing Business”
index, currently ranking at 159
out of 190 countries.
Rateneh Fassil
rateneh@gmail.com
The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
EAF tournament to conclude on Sunday
By Dawit Tolesa
The Ethiopian Athletics
Federation (EAF) has held
its annual clubs assessment
tournament at the Addis
Ababa Stadium. Short, middle
distance, walking race and field
events are among the sports
taking place.
The 2018/19 tournament is
being conducted at Addis
Ababa stadium and is
scheduled to conclude on
Sunday, December 30, 2018.
According to the Federation’s
data, the tournament started
on December 25th with 23 clubs
with 352 male and 259 female
participant athletes. The
federation also unveiled that it
has arranged the tournament
in consultation with EAF due
to football matches currently
going on in the stadium which
might cause inconveniences.
Ones hopeful to boast a lot of
success in the sporting world
St. George to face Ethiopia
Coffee in Sheger derby
By Dawit Tolesa
The Ethiopian Premier
League (EPL) will play host
to one of the most anticipated
matches of the season where
St. George will face Ethiopia
Coffee on Sunday in the
Sheger derby.
Boasting a strong rivalry
between the two that stems
from a 14 year dominance by
St. George and Ethiopia Coffee
being the only strong hurdle
the Horsemen face; Sundays
game will be interesting
enough since St. George’s
current form is marred by
inconsistency.
The Horsemen, have collected
eight points out of a possible
18, while Ethiopia Coffee
has collected 11 points after
playing 6 matches.
In one rescheduled fixture
match, St. George played
against Jimma Aba Jiffar on
Thursday registering a 2-0
win in Addis Ababa Stadium.
Horsemen’s forward Abel
Yalew opened the scoring in
the 56th minute and Salahdin
Said doubled their tally in the
62nd minute after his return
from injury.
Another fixture includes a
Tigray derby between Suhul
Shire and Mekele City on
Sunday. Suhul is placed at the
bottom with four points, while
Mekele has collected seven
points and is placed eighth
with a match in hand. The
newly promoted Suhul Shire
humiliated Hawassa City 6-1
last week while Mekele drew
against St. George.
Elsewhere, Sundays fixture list
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THE REPORTER SPORT |39
especially in athletics, however, received three million birr
these days, its uncertainties while Soloda Adwa, Walta,
and criticisms due to low Raya Azebo and Water works
results have been rampant. enterprise football clubs each
The center of these criticisms is received 500,000 birr.
being attributed to the athletics
federation. Furthermore, the Meanwhile, months ago, it is
federation also has concerns to be recalled that the players
towards long distance races of Dedebit stopped training
since hosting countries these amid financial crisis. The
days are cancelling the races club has been unable to pay
Ethiopia shines on. regular salaries to its players
with Dedebit’s management
The tournament focuses on
staff stating due to the club’s
short, long distance and field
partner organizations failure
events to cope with what hosting
to keep their promises of
countries are demanding; and
to seek potentials in the various financial support, and due to
sporting field. this, the club has encountered
a challenge to pay salaries to its
Tigray Regional State gives 20
million birr to football clubs player.
They also noted that they
The Tigray Regional State has
are trying their best to find a
given a 20 million birr financial
sustainable solution. Dedebit
assistance to football clubs
are under immense pressure
based on the leagues they are
recently affecting the clubs
playing in. Among the clubs,
performance and teamwork.
Mekele City, Welwalo Adigrat
Dedebit has lost all fixtures
University and Dedebit each
received five million birr. and battles the drop to a lower
The higher league side Axum league football.
:HHN(3/¿[WXUHV
Saturday 29/12/2018
Fasil City vs. Dedebit
Sunday 30/12/2018
Woliata Dicha vs. Dire Dawa City
Bahir Dar vs. Defense
Adama City vs. South Police
Suhul Shire vs. Mekele City
Sidama Coffee vs. Hawassa City
sees Adama City take on South
Police. Adama City is still St. George vs. Ethiopia Coffee
lackluster after losing matches. Monday 31/12/2018
Woliata Dicha host Dire Dawa
City and Sidama Coffee is Jimma Aba Jiffar vs. Welwalo Adigrat University
to face high flyers Hawassa
City. Hawasa City leads the
league table with 14 points.
Fasil follow via 11 points while
Ethiopia Coffee sits third via 11
points and Bahir Dar City also
with 11 points occupy fourth on
goal difference. Suhul Shire,
South Police and Dedebit still
dangle in the relegation zone.
40| The Reporter, December 29, 2018 Vol. 23 No. 1164
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