Ezana loses shares in salt industry

By Tamiru Geda

 Recently many so-called endowment companies that belong to the ruling party, EPRDF, are believed not to be in a position to pay their debts or to meet their obligation towards other business entities.
Ezana Company, one of the endowment companies involved in the extraction of minerals and related business, is said unable to meet its financial obligations to the Ethiopian Mineral Development Share Company, a state owned company engaged in the exploration of different minerals.
Sources told Capital that the endowment with the state owned mining company to extract salt from the Afdra desert, in the Afar Regional States. It is said that the endowment company Ezana, initially paid some amount of money to be registered as shareholder in the 70 million birr investment scheme. When asked to pay the balance, Ezana was found unable to do so.
EMDSC has as a consequence increased its share to 85%. Afdera Salt project is expected to produce 80,000 tones of iodized salt per year in the first phase, and the figure would increase to 250,000 tones of salt per year, when the project is in its full production.