Capital

Doctors to get house allowance, untaxed professional benefits

By Tedla Yeneakal

Lion start roaring Gives birth to insurance cub

By Groum Abate

Africa Insurance boss resigns

By Tedla Yeneakal

Nile reports profit amid pricing concerns

By Tedla Yeneakal

‘...The situation was worrisome as it caused under pricing of premiums and underwriting of large numbers of motor policies at a very low rate…’

Rent hike hits Jimma business

By Groum Abate

Tax evaders cause unfair competition: businesses

By Tedla Yeneakal

Africans for Africans - President Yoweri Museveni

By Andualem Sisay

Dire Dawa faces uncertain future

By Eskinder Michael

Depleted parliament passes PM’s report

By Eskinder Michael

Selling and buying business ideas

By Andualem Sisay

Road accident on traffic police

By Andualem Sisay

Kemal Bedri swears in new judges

By Eskinder Michael

HPR approves waste mgt draft

By Eskinder Michael

The House of People’s Representatives in its 13th regular session passed a draft proclamation on the management of dry waste, a bill that has been under study for the past three years.

Melaku Tefera’s death sentence stands

By Eskinder Michael

A park for the millennium

By our staff reporter

Changing Ethiopia’s rain-dependent farming

By Andualem Sisay

Doctors to get house allowance, untaxed professional benefits

By Tedla Yeneakal

VMedical doctors in the country, who have been in direct negotiations with relevant officials of the government, are on the brink of sealing an agreement to get benefits such as house provision allowance and untaxed professional benefits from the Ministry of Health, sources disclosed.

Young doctors, who are due to graduate this year have been engaged in talks with Minister of Health, Dr. Tewodros Adehanom and Minister of Capacity Building, Tefera Walewa for the last couple of months, on issues relating to a raise in salary as well as getting their credentials at hand upon graduation. The government retains their degree even after graduation unless they complete the required social service in the country by working under the Ministry of Health.

However, their demand was not welcomed by Minister Tefera, who responded in the previous meetings held that although their service is appreciated, it is very difficult to increase their pay as hospitals and health institutions in the country are not profitable sectors and additional subsidy by the government would be unaffordable.
About four weeks ago, all interns of the graduating class numbering 56 met with the Health Minister, Dr. Tewodros, who asked the doctors to suggest ways in which their demands could be met and their credentials given to them upon graduation.

The doctors proposed several ways in which this could happen, including an arrangement with the Ministry of Health to sign an agreement that they present a guarantee in terms of money or a binding court statement proving that they would be engaged in the social services they are mandated to conduct after they receive their credentials. Upon hearing their proposals, the Minister requested a period of three weeks so that he could confer with his colleagues and reach a final decision.

Accordingly, Dr. Tewodros met the representatives last Wednesday, December 27 at his office to tell them that his Ministry accepted their proposal, which requires them to present a guarantee engaging them to a commitment that they would stay in the country and perform their required social service.

More importantly, according to sources, the Minister promised the doctors that the Ministry is conducting a study to offer them house allowances; by either renting a house for them or to give them a separate allowance for rent. In addition, Dr. Tewodros assured them that they will be privileged with untaxed professional allowances, bearing in mind long term incentives to prevent them from departing the country.

Dr. Tewodros told Capital that he would rather reveal the details once the negotiations are finalized and made practical. “If you say we are going to do this and that with details and one of the elements do not materialize, it would disappoint the health professionals,” he said. “I would unveil the details of their benefits once everything is finalized. The issue is quite complex as it involves arrangements with all the regions.”
According to official data, Ethiopia trained 2,491 general practitioners between 1988 and 2001, but in recent year’s, one-third have already left the country seeking better employment opportunities in North America, Europe and South Africa. The country also lingers at the bottom in world rankings of health professional ratios as Ethiopia can only boast one doctor for every 34,000 people and one nurse for every 4,900 people.

Lion start roaring Gives birth to insurance cub

By Groum Abate

Lion International Bank will officially start operations as of Saturday January 8, after the 3,700 shareholders of the bank approved its Memorandum of Understanding and selected board members on Saturday January 6.
The bank proposed 16 individuals to the board where 11 would be selected. According to the information obtained by Capital, Professor Yohannes Kinfu, the only professor of accounting in the country, Tsegaye Tetemke, President of Lion International Bank, Yibrah Girmay, owner and president of Admas College, G/Medihin G/Hiwot a lecturer at AAU, Eyasu G/Abizgi, a renowned businessman in the pharmaceuticals sector, Habtom Kebede, Goitom G/Tsadik, Abraham G/Amlak, Reda Tamrat, and Colonel Legesse Tegegne are among the 16 nominees for board members in the meeting held on Saturday at the Sheraton Addis.
The bank with an authorized capital of 400,000,032 birr and a paid up capital of 108 million birr would open its first branch on Haile G/Sellasie Avenue on Lex Plaza building.

Tsegaye Tetemke, President of Lion International Bank told Capital that that the amount of the authorized capital would make the bank the first in the country to launch with such a huge amount of money. He also added that the bank has the largest number of share holders each contributing from 25,000 to 2.5 million birr.
According to Tsegaye, the bank would open other branches in the coming three months in Addis Ababa and regional towns. The bank plans to open four branches in Addis Ababa and four in Adama, Awassa, Gonder and Mekelle.

Tsegaye also said that the banks that are presently operating are not enough for the country and the number of banks should be doubled from the present number to satisfy the demand in the banking industry.
Tsegaye also said that shareholders of the bank are in the process of setting up a sister company, Lion Insurance S.C.

He said that some shareholders of Lion Bank are now in the process of selling shares to the public as the bank is expected to start with 10 million birr. The National Bank of Ethiopia’s minimum requirement for setting up an insurance company is three million birr.

Shares of the insurance company are up for sale as of September 2006 and it is expected to get its license from the supervising body NBE when shareholders achieve selling the desired amount in the next few months.
Even though the competition in the insurance sector is stiff, the insurance company would manage to survive the competition as it has a vast and strong base added Tsegaye.

Currently, there are ten private and governmental banks serving the Ethiopian market. The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Development Bank of Ethiopia, and the Construction and Business Bank are government owned banks, while Awash, Abyssinia, Dashen, United, Wegagen, and NIB banks are private. Furthermore a co-operative bank called Oromia Co-operative Bank is operating to make the banking sector more competitive.
Modern banking was introduced in Ethiopia with Emperor Minilik II signing an agreement in 1905 with Mr. Ma Gillivray, representative of the British owned National Bank of Egypt. Following the agreement Bank of Abyssinia, was inaugurated on February 16, 1906 by the Emperor.
By 1931, shortly after Emperor Haile Selassie I came to power, the Bank of Abyssinia was legally replaced by Bank of Ethiopia which was purely an Ethiopian institution and the first indigenous bank in Africa. It was established by official decree on August 29, 1931, with a capital of £750,000.

But it was only since 1994 that the government has permitted private banks and insurance companies. These services are limited to domestic concerns; foreign firms are prohibited from investing in the banking and insurance sectors. The presence of private banks and insurance firms in the financial sector has grown since then.

The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that the government continues to resist International Monetary Fund recommendations to open "the banking system to foreign capital and end government control over the National Bank of Ethiopia, the central bank of the country. The government believes that the banking system is not yet strong enough to cope with foreign competition and that full central bank independence is not warranted at this stage.

Africa Insurance boss resigns

By Tedla Yeneakal

Alamirew Moges, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Insurance S.C. has submitted his resignation and left office as of this week. The outgoing CEO told Capital that he has resigned from his post of his own will to start up a new business related with insurance, the details of which he refrained from disclosing.

“Although I submitted a resignation letter in September, I was mandated to stay three months by law and an additional one month, upon request from the board of directors,” Alamirew said. Alamirew has wide experience in the insurance business as he served the industry for the last 32 years. He started his career at the state owned Ethiopian Insurance Company (EIC) as a clerk, moving up to the post of branch manager during his 19 years stay with the EIC. Subsequently, he joined Nile Insurance Company, where he served for the duration of 10 years at the posts of both deputy CEO and CEO.

The veteran insurance man replaced his predecessor Alem Tesfazion, the then CEO of the Africa Insurance Company, who was fired by the Board of Directors and joined AIC in April 2005 at a critical period for the company, staying there until December 2006.

Africa Insurance in the last fiscal year has enjoyed a major comeback, reporting a net profit of 11.6 million birr. Moreover the company reported a gross premium of 72 million birr, an increase from 54 million birr from the previous year report.

Kiros Jirane, who was serving the company as Claims manager of the company has already taken over Almirew’s post. It is to recall that when Alemzion was fired from his post, Kiros was also acting as the acting CEO of the Company, before the arrival of Alamirew.

FACTS ABOUT AFRICA INSURANCE S.C.

Year of Establishment 1994

Africa Insurance Company is currently operating in:
Tigray;
Amhara and
Oromiyaa.
Future Expansion Plan
Africa Insurance Company wants to expand its outreach in the Oromiyaa Regional state and open two additional branches within the coming three to five years.

Total Number of Branches Opened so far
Africa Insurance Company has 9 branches operating in Ethiopia.

Total Number of Clients Served So far/ Number of policies
8068, out of which 13 are rural clients.

Nile reports profit amid pricing concerns

By Tedla Yeneakal

‘...The situation was worrisome as it caused under pricing of premiums and underwriting of large numbers of motor policies at a very low rate…’

Nile Insurance S.C. has recorded a profit after tax of 6.5 million birr for the year ended June 30, 2006 amid executives’ concerns regarding the under pricing of premiums by rival companies in the sector.
“The year ended review was challenging for the insurance business due to the unhealthy competition that deepened among insurance companies,” stated the Board of Directors’ annual report released Saturday 31st, December, 2006 at the Hilton Hotel. “The situation was worrisome as it caused under pricing of premiums and underwriting of large numbers of motor policies at a very low rate.”

According to the report, the company achieved higher business volumes as the gross written premium revenue from both life and non-life operations grew from 82 million birr in the previous year to over 100 million birr.
Moreover, the net profit of 6.5 million birr has shown a growth of 2.93% from the previous year.
“This is mainly contributed by the increase in net realized investment returns and increased cash flow from the insurance operation,” the annual report justified the reason for the recorded growth.
Nile’s claims paid, net of re-insurance recoveries stood at 44.4 million birr, a 2.74% increase over the previous years’ claims.

Nile Insurance S.C. was established 12 years ago, with most of the share holders involved being prominent businessmen in the country and who had also established Abyssinia Bank. Nile currently operates through its 20 branches, of which 11 are in Addis Ababa and the remaining in different commercial towns and capitals of regional states.

Rent hike hits Jimma business

By Groum Abate

Jimma Administration Council has decided to increase rental fees of business houses in the next few days.
Sources told Capital that the city’s Rented Houses Agency, which is supervised by the Council decided to increase rental fees as of Tuesday January 9.
The agency has classified the areas the business houses are located as first, second and third grade. The agency has also set a price for the locations. First grade business areas would pay an additional 10 birr per square meter for the houses.

Second grade areas get an eight birr increase per square meter and third grade business areas would pay an additional six birr per square meter.
According to the information obtained from the agency, the body that administers rented houses in the city would start collecting the increased rental fees as of next Ethiopian month starting on Tuesday next week.
Some business people in the city anonymously told Capital that the new rental fee increase would force them to quit their business in a short time as a business in the town cannot pay such amounts when considering their modest daily income at present.

The agency has started distributing letters to the business houses in the town.
One tenant said that he used to pay 200 birr per month for the house he rented from the agency but now it would go up to almost 3,000 birr per month. He added that if the agency continues with the increase he would be forced to leave the house and look for other means to continue his business.
The agency administer over 1,000 houses including residential quarters in the town.
Jimma is one of the largest towns in the country and noted for its coffee industry.

Tax evaders cause unfair competition: businesses

By Tedla Yeneakal

Several businesses complained to officials of the Ministry of Revenue that they are placed in unfair commerce due to the increasing number of tax evaders, who are engaged in similar business but offer goods at lower prices as they don’t pay Value Added Tax (VAT).
Invited businesses from several sectors were engaged in heated discussion with Revenue Ministry officials at the 5th annual conference held at the Global Hotel on Thursday, January 4, 2007.
A businessman from the leather manufacturing industry voiced his concerns that many of his rivals are not registered for VAT, a situation that has seriously affected his business.
“We simply can not compete with VAT unregistered businesses and it discourages us from performing our duties appropriately,” he complained. “The tax collecting system of the Ministry is also subject to lack of clarity and transparency.”
According to the tax code of the government, businesses whose annual transactions amount to half a million birr or over are subject to VAT.
The consultative meeting between higher officials of the Ministry of Revenue and representatives of businesses engaged in various sectors takes place annually. This latest round was chaired by the Minister of Revenues, Melaku Fanta.

In response to several complaints raised about VAT evaders, Amarech Bekalo, Director of the Federal Inland Revenue Authority (FIRA), said that her authority has been devising several mechanisms to hunt down the evaders and take legal action against them.

Moreover, businesses also complained about the tedious procedures they are subject to at the Ethiopian Customs Authority (ECA), when importing and exporting goods.
Bogale Negash, Director of ECA responded that problems regarding imports and exports are prevalent due to the number of inspection sites before the final destination.

“Problems would soon be alleviated once the recently agreed mechanism between the governments of Djibouti and Ethiopia for the direct transit of goods from Djibouti to the inland port in Addis Ababa, and when the Bill of Loading arrangement are implemented fully in the coming months,” he said.

The Ministry of Revenue is established with proclamation no 256/1994 issued on Oct. 10, 2002 on article 4, 5 16 and 26. In accordance with the proclamation the aims, powers and duties bestowed on the former revenue board on proclamation No 5/1987 are fully transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. In addition, the ministry is given the responsibility of conducting the Revenue sector reform program continuously. Furthermore, the Ministry leads and supervises three affiliated Revenue sectors. Namely: The Federal Inland Revenue /FIRA/, The Ethiopian Customs Authority /ECA/ and the National Lottery Administration /NLA/.

According to the proclamation No. 60/1997, the ECuA has the following objectives: to collect duties and taxes on goods imported or exported; to implement laws and international conventions related to its objectives; and to control the importation or exportation of prohibited or restricted goods.

Africans for Africans - President Yoweri Museveni

By Andualem Sisay

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia indicated the need for African countries to contribute peace keeping troops using the Burundi-model and called for the international community to provide resource for Somalis to rebuild their country.
With the press statement both gave at the National Palace on Thursday evening, they stressed the need for the international community to provide the necessary support towards empowering Somalis to restore peace in their country.
Ugandan President said: “I have been watching for the last twenty one years. There isn’t a single major African issue that has been resolved without the Africans themselves. These include: the problem of Idi Amin racism in South Africa, the problem of Mobutu, the recent Burundi problem, the issue in Sudan. So, the problem of Somalia will also be solved by Africans.” It is recalled that Tanzanians helped Uganda’s liberation from Iid Amin Dada’s dictatorship.

Uganda is one of the countries which suggested the need for deployment of peace troops to support the transitional government of Somalia when it was formed almost two years ago, although the United Nations refused the request at that time.

“Unfortunately, on the issue of Somalia the international community has neglected us,” said President Museveni, recalling the then UN stand. “I appeal to the international community to bring resources to Somalia now… to rebuild their country; money for relief, for minimum infrastructure, supporting the transitional government to rebuild the national army. I hope the international community will now come.”
“The international community is specialized in mediation. But the Somalis can mediate among themselves… We don’t seek mediation from the international community: mediation means something we don’t have which is money, because what we don’t have is enough money.”

Prime Minister Meles on his part said: “We both agreed that the Somali people should be supported that the international community should provide adequate humanitarian assistance to rebuild Somalia. We also agreed that the African Union should deploy peace keeping troops at the earliest possible moment.”
Meles also indicated reaching an agreement with President Museveni on the need for the transitional government of Somalia to be engaged in dialogue with Somali society to establish sustainable peace through an internal Somali process. Strengthening Meles’s statement, Museveni also said that: “I call up on the Somali groups, including the Islamic groups, to come to the dialogue, so that we have a win-win situation in Somalia; no loser, no winner.”

“We are ready to send our troops to Somalia; we have been ready for a long time. The only thing we need is a parliamentarian resolution. So it will not take long,” said the Ugandan president indicating the time frame for his country to send troops.

Meles on his part said: “We hope and expect that the Ugandan Parliament would reflect the attitude of the Ugandan people; the positive attitude that the people of Uganda have for the Somali people and for their African obligation will back the president in sending troops to Somalia.”

He also indicated that a slight adjustment has been made on Ethiopia’s position of moving out its troops from Somalia as soon as it complets the military operations. “…we said we will leave to help them in stabilizing their situation. Fortunately with countries like Uganda coming to help the Somalis; they (the Somalis) would not need us. The Ugandans will be there in good time to help. I am sure other African countries will send their troops. So, I don’t think there will be a vacuum. But my statement in parliament still stands.”
President of Uganda and First Lady Janet Museveni along with their delegation paid a two-day official visit to Ethiopia and departed on Friday January 5. During his visit President Museveni held talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on bilateral trade and investment issues.

In a related development, the United States of America, on Friday promised to give 16 mln USD to support humanitarian activities in Somalia.

Dire Dawa faces uncertain future

By Eskinder Michael

The current Dire Dawa Temporary Administration thought that its reign would come to an end this year as regional council elections would be held in April of 2007, but that hope was shattered as the House of People’s Representatives in its 13th regular session decided that the administration would cease being at an unspecified date of the next regional council elections.
In last year’s session, the house had passed a resolution that stated that Dire Dawa would be able to elect its own administration in April of 2007, and that decision was followed by another to revise it by discussing to set another date for the regional elections.
According to Ato Shifferaw Jarso, the incumbent’s representative in the parliament, Girma Woldegiorgis, President of Ethiopia had presented a suggestion to the parliament saying that the administration’s existence should end when elections for the regional council take place in June 30, 2007, extending the previous date by three months.
The decision however was changed after political party leaders and members came together and agreed to change the date ending the Dire Dawa Administration when the next elections for the regional council take place. The date however is unknown.
The Dire Dawa Administration has been the center of dispute between the Somali and Oromiya region as both regions believe that the city under federal protection belonged to them only. As such, no elections for the regional council took place on May 15 with the decision left to the parliament.
The decision was met by severe opposition from Ato Ayele, a member of the UEDF party who said, “This suggestion should not be passed by the parliament as it is against the constitution. The people of Dire Dawa have a right to be administered by an administration they elect and we should let them practice that right,”
The decision was however supported by the EDUP-Medhin as Dereje, a member of the party and the house said that the decision should be upheld. “The time is not right for the people of Dire Dawa to go to election now. The recent flooding have displaced many people and parties like ours need time to restructure. Political parties are also discussing the fate of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) at the moment, so the date for the elections should be postponed to a future date,” he added.
The suggestion was passed with 354 for, 5 against and 15 abstaining.
Dire Dawa, lying in eastern Ethiopia (which in Somali means ‘place of remedy’) is one of two chartered cities in Ethiopia (the other being Addis Ababa). Dire Dawa is the second largest city in Ethiopia and is home to several markets and the Aba Tenna D. Yilma International airport. Dire Dawa lies on the Dechatu River, at the foot of a ring of cliffs that has been described as "somewhat like a cluster of tea-leaves in the bottom of a slop-basin.”
Dire Dawa was founded in 1902 after the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway reached the area. The railroad could not reach the city of Harar at its higher elevation, so Dire Dawa was built nearby.

Depleted parliament passes PM’s report

By Eskinder Michael

A depleted parliament, missing most of its influential members, last Thursday passed the 11 point report that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi presented to the parliament on the current situation between Ethiopia and Somalia.
With the PM himself absent along with Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin and others from the parliament, major voices such as Professor Beyene Petros and Lidetu Ayalew were not present. The parliament passed the report following a shallow discussion that failed to produce anything vibrant.

The 11 point report is a summarized part of a long one the PM presented to parliament earlier in the week, but had some statements – Number 5 - that couldn’t be acceptable to opposition party members.
“We had discussed the report with political party leaders and members, but they wanted No 5 to be cancelled all in all and we couldn’t do that,” Shiferraw Jarso, the incumbent’s representative in parliament stated.
No 5 of the report by the PM reads, “The steps taken by the Ethiopian government were those that still reiterate the friendship with the Somalia people and the TFG. They were also ones that kept the animosity with the UIC, assisting extremists, Eritrean soldiers, Ethiopian anti-peace forces and international terrorists separate from the people of Somalia,”

The Honorable Gebru of the UEDF put clear his party’s stand on the matter. “The new report is asking us to accept that we made an historical mistake by not endorsing the PM’s request to parliament on getting ready to defend ourselves if attack came. The UEDF doesn’t believe that the war between Ethiopia and UIC will preserve the relationship between Ethiopia and Somalia and we don’t believe that the whole world has supported Ethiopia in the war, and we just can’t accept that,” he said.

Mohammed from CUD said, “The statement that says that Ethiopia had differentiated the Ethiopian forces trying to destroy the constitution isn’t acceptable. We believe that our internal problems can be solved by discussion among ourselves. We also don’t know exactly why and how long Ethiopian troops are going to stay in Somalia so we can’t accept the report,”

Ato Bulcha Demeksa, Chairman of the OFDM, speaking in his native language (Oromiffa) was also another opposition member who made his stand clear on the matter. “We don’t know why this report was brought to us in the first place. Matters are brought to us for approval, but there is nothing to approve here so we can’t support nor oppose this report by the PM.

A second report on Somalia by the PM was passed by the parliament with 314 for, 72 against and 16 abstentions, yet again denying the PM a consensus he so badly wanted on the matter of Somalia.
PM Meles, who was clearly not happy for not getting a consensus in his first report to parliament wanted to stress the need for not repeating an historical mistake.

“I am not saying that opposition party members made an historical mistake for opposing the report to parliament, but because they were not ready to stand and defend the constitution that gave them the right to support and defend in parliament,” he said.

Selling and buying business ideas

By Andualem Sisay

In the current Ethiopian situation where the country’s copyright law, which is only a few years old is unable to completely protect ideas and works from looters, displaying business ideas at exhibitions open to the public sounds like an odd idea. But someone who has visited the on going Ethio-Millennium Trade Fair and festival will realize that there is still room for displaying profitable business ideas and plans even under such conditions.
On this trade fair, the Ethiopian Entrepreneurship Initiative Association (EEIA) has begun connecting forty ideas/ business plans of its members to partners who are willing to invest in them. EEIA was founded on September 15, 2006 by 60 best plan competitors of Enterprise Ethiopia’s first Business Plan (BIZPLAN) Competition.
Though the enterprise is able to select the 60 best business plans from all over the country, only twenty were awarded 15,000 dollars each with a loan the Ethiopian government obtained from the World Bank.
Charcoal production from weeds, starch extraction from agricultural products, washing machine production, electronic library and information center are among the forty business plans presented at the Ethio-Millennium Trade Fair and Festival that is organized by Yoda Promotions and Dassouki Afro Arabian Agency from December 28, 2006-January 7, 2007.

“I have seen many business ideas dying in Ethiopia which would have a great impact in changing the lives of many and the image of our country. I am very much delighted when I see that some of the business ideas they displayed have found interested business partners,” says Wudneh Mulugeta, conceiver of selling business plans on a trade fair for the first time in Ethiopia and who sponsored EEIA in collaboration with Enterprise Ethiopia to secure a stand on the fair.

“If we pave the way today for entrepreneurs, there are still people who can repeat the glory of ancient civilization of Ethiopia,” says Ayelign Fentahun representative of EEIA. “I believe that the next Ethiopian millennium is the time of entrepreneurs who will change the image of their country.”

As non-partisan and non-profit making, EEIA is founded with the major goal of searching for partners for the remaining forty business plans which were not implemented due to the lack of finance.

Road accident on traffic police

By Andualem Sisay

Danniel Tadese, Addis Ababa Police PR officer and coordinator of traffic education and training, is well known for presenting TV programs on traffic accidents. But what happened to him on November 29, 2006 was the day Daniel best realized that individual precautions to avoid traffic accidents won’t help much as long as other irresponsible individuals exist in the society.

That day he was traveling in an old taxi (wuyiyit) from Gojam Berenda to Yohanes church when the taxi he was in happened to kill a pedestrian and injured three people in the taxi including Daniel. The owner of the taxi later claimed that the person whom he hired to drive his car was not the one driving the taxi at the time of the accident. “This is the result of irresponsible taxi owners who only care most about the money they get from their taxi at the end of the day,” says Daniel who is receiving treatment for injuries to his head and hand. “These people have to make sure a qualified person is driving their car since they are responsible for what happens with their property.”
The other cause for the accident was the poor condition of the taxi which is true of most wiyiyit taxis of Addis Ababa. The taxi was very old with uncomfortable chairs and rust everywhere.

Although, the Ethiopian Roads Authority has prepared regulation to control such old vehicles in collaboration with Addis Ababa Police Commission, the authority is still unable to provide us professionals who can check the technical parts of vehicles in order to implement the regulation, said Daniel.
The above incident is just one of many that are observed everyday in all parts of our country.

Kemal Bedri swears in new judges

By Eskinder Michael

Kemal Bedri, President of the Supreme Court last Thursday swore in 30 new judges whose appointment was approved by the House of People’s Representatives after their identities and educational backgrounds were debated upon by parliament.

PM Meles Zenawi, in a signed document sent the names of two judges as candidates for the Federal Supreme Court, seven names as candidates for the Federal Higher Court and 16 candidates for the Federal First Instance Courts.

The document sent to the house by PM Meles Zenawi had personal and education backgrounds of the candidates, but these were apparently not enough to convince some members in the parliament.
“We understand that judges are leaving their posts and that has caused strain in the justice system and so speedy justice hasn’t been possible to achieve. I just don’t understand why more judges with the proper credentials aren’t hired so that the problem can be solved. I also think that we should promote other judges who truly understand the social and economic aspects of Ethiopia,” said Mohammed from the CUD.
Dereje of the UEDF, had his own idea about the candidates as he clearly stated that Oromia Region was under represented even though it is the largest region in the country.

“Oromia provides six out of the 20 ministerial positions in Ethiopia, but the distribution of region in the presentation of the candidates leads to other problems. There are six judges from the Amhara region while there are only two from Oromia. A region that has provided more to the social, economic and political environment of the country should be represented more. Excluding an entire region from such candidacy is a crime and we will not accept that,” he said.

Ato Andualem from EUDP-Medhin apart from other, was more concerned about one of the candidates for the Federal First Instance Court named Ato Solomon Mengiste Tasew. His (Solomon’s) educational background showed Asmara University. “I understand that the Asmara University was closed in 1990 and if Ato Solomon went to that university, he must have been 13 years old, we don’t understand how that works,” he said. He also added that 8 people from the same region out of 16 was too much.

Ato Asmelash W/Selassie, Chairman of the Legal & Administrative Affairs Committee and EPRDF member in the parliament responded to that by saying that as long as judges come from a university that offered law and they were qualified to do the job, then they will be hired. “The appointment of the judges was done according to the constitution and the pre-requisite for being a judge is that he has a good understanding of the law and that he holds the law above all.

HPR approves waste mgt draft

By Eskinder Michael

The House of People’s Representatives in its 13th regular session passed a draft proclamation on the management of dry waste, a bill that has been under study for the past three years.
The draft bill of the proclamation was presented to the HPR in its 5th regular session this year with the house passing and referring to be studied by the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Affairs Standing Committee, which suggested approving the proclamation.

According to the chairman of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Affairs Standing Committee, the draft bill was discussed upon by members of parliament, government and non-governmental organizations, waste management experts and companies that produce plastic and other bags for waste collection.
The committee said that during the discussions with the Environmental Preotection Authority (EPA) and other partners, it had learned a few new points.

“The name dry waste is given to what causes harm to the human health because of technological advancement It could also be referred to as assets and of course raw material for other purposes,” the chairman of the committee stated. The draft bill was passed because it was based on the constitution and Ethiopian policy on the environmental pollution control proclamation could help in the process of managing dry waste and change it into useful materials, according to the the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Affairs Standing Committee.

“The approval of this draft bill will also assist in hitting the Millennium Development goals and also help Ethiopia act upon the international agreements it signed on development goals,” the chairman said.
The proclamation, it was stated, was passed based on economic factors with the intention of creating business for those involved and is performed in a decentralized manner, meaning that it will be followed by bodies at the lowest level possible.

The proclamation also understands the capacity of plastic bag manufacturing companies and that they could produce thicker plastic bags if need be. The proclamation will also give such manufacturers special license to be able to produce plastic bags that are 0.03 mm or less thicker for this purpose.

Before the house passed the proclamation with 379 for and none opposed , the chairman of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Affairs Standing Committee said that dry waste materials could be used as minor raw materials for bigger industries and could also be used for making compost. This will be helpful in creating small job opportunities while also ridding the effects dry waste could cause on human health.

Melaku Tefera’s death sentence stands

By Eskinder Michael

The Federal Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence passed on Major Melaku Tefera, convicted by the Federal High Court after being found guilty of genocide.
On December 8, 2006, the Federal Supreme Court had passed a death scentence on Melaku who was administrator of the former Gondar Province. He was found guilty of genocide while serving the military regime.
Melaku had appealed in hopes the court would reverse its decision or at least reduce his sentence, but the court rejected the appeal and Melaku will be executed at a date to be set later.

The courts had grounds to dismiss Melaku’s appeal statement, repeating the statement that said that he had ordered the deaths of people and that this was supported by evidence.
The Federal Supreme Court upheld the verdict by stating that Melaku, a major with the Derg, had ordered the unlawful execution of 971 citizens as well as causing permanent disability on 83 others during his term in office. Melaku was the most feared Derg official in the then Gondar that people even wrote poems for him about how fierce he was.

The trial of former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Hailemariam and other top-level officials from the former military junta came to an end two weeks ago with the courts ruling that all the defendants including Mengistu were guilty of genocide. Mengistu and his former officials could now face the death scentence.
The case ran for an unprecedented 14 years before the courts decided that Mengistu and all his junta, except one, were all guilty of genocide.
Mengistu, who was tried in absentia along with the other defendants was accused of 210 counts of charges involving genocide, crimes against humanity and systematic human rights violations.

Mengistu, who now lives in Harare, Zimbabwe as one of Robert Mugabe’s favored guests, took power in a military coup in 1974 by over throwing Emperor Haile Selassie.Mengistu who seemed more intent on destroying his enemies than building an economically strong state, started by killing the former emperor and burying him under his office, and also executed about 60 imperial ministers and other civilians he believed were his enemies.

He set out to create a Marxist state in the Horn of Africa country, but made few strides to pull the nation out of poverty.
His first few years in power were characterized by fierce opposition from a group that initially supported his political ideology, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party, but then accused Mengistu and his coup leaders, known as the Derg, of fascism.

Mengistu responded to their attacks by allowing his police and military officers to arrest, detain and kill anyone suspected of being part of the counter-revolutionary group. This campaign came to be known as Red Terror.
All the while, as the Cold War raged, Mengistu’s power was supported by the Soviet bloc, making Ethiopia one of the greatest beneficiaries of communist money in Africa.

In 1991, after 17 years of military rule, the Derg was deposed by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, a coalition of regional and ethnic rebel groups led by current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe shortly before Addis Ababa fell to the rebel alliance.
The new government quickly set up an investigation into the Derg’s crimes and a trial began in 1994. Some 5,200 Derg collaborators were accused of various charges and many have been tried in absentia.
Human rights groups say some half a million people were killed during Mengistu’s rule. Efforts to extradite the former dictator from Zimbabwe have proved futile.

A park for the millennium

By our staff reporter

Birhane Deressa, Mayor of the Addis Ababa City Caretaker Administration laid the cornerstone for the "Millennium Park of Addis Ababa" which would be constructed at the Yeka Sub-city on Wednesday January 3.
Speaking on the occasion, Administration Information and Culture Bureau Head Misganu Arega said that besides being a memorial for the Ethiopian Millennium Celebration, the park would create an opportunity for the development of the culture of environmental conservation among the public.
The administration would strive to make the structure of the park suitable for people of all walks of life, Misganu said.
According to Misganu, the park will have a nations and nationalities museum, recreational centres and other service facilities.
The head said that the nations and nationalities museum, reflecting the various cultural values of the country's nations and nationalities, would be open to public.
Though the administration would do its level best for the construction of the park, the desired goal won't be achieved without the participation of the public, he added.
The head called on investors, governmental and non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to make financial, material and other contributions towards the construction of the park.

Changing Ethiopia’s rain-dependent farming

By Andualem Sisay

In the movie entitled Semayawi Feres, the writer Serawit Fikre tried to show us the possibility of rain created from the Nile by using sun light; but this invention does not require sun light, electric energy, labor or fuel to pump water from the ground, says Solomon Fiseha, a banker by profession who introduced a new pressure hydraulic water pump.

His pressure hydraulic water pump has the potential of pumping 70,000 liters of water per day. It replaces an 80,000 birr generator that uses fuel. Solomon provides one water pump at a cost of 3,500 birr and this price will go down as the number of pressure hydraulic water pumps ordered increases.

By changing the size of the dam his new hydraulic water pump can pump water from down to 30 meters and even deeper. The pressure hydraulic water pump process one liter of water per second.
“Hunger has repeatedly hit us while our rivers are flowing endlessly. This pressure hydraulic water pump is the easiest and most appropriate technology for our farmers,” says Solomon. “Although the innovation is cheaper and best especially for low income farmers of our country, many of them don’t have any idea about the availability of this pressure hydraulic water pump at such a modest price.”

Although he received a patent right for his innovation about three years ago, he is only working on it with his family during spare time away from his banking profession. “At the moment, it is difficult for me to quit my job and fully engage in producing the pumps, since there is no one who is willing to introduce the pumps to rural areas,” says Solomon. Therefore, I expect the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and NGOs who are dedicated to changing the lives of the rural people to introduce this technology to farmers.”

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Africa Insurance boss resigns

Nile reports profit amid pricing concerns

Rent hike hits Jimma business

Tax evaders cause unfair competition: businesses

Africans for Africans - President Yoweri Museveni

Dire Dawa faces uncertain future

Depleted parliament passes PM’s report

Selling and buying business ideas

Road accident on traffic police

Kemal Bedri swears in new judges

HPR approves waste mgt draft

Melaku Tefera’s death sentence stands

A park for the millennium

Changing Ethiopia’s rain-dependent farming