As part of its silver jubilee celebrations, and continued social impact, Capital newspaper in partnership with SAMANU FMGC gives back to the community for the holidays of Fasika and Eid al-Fitr.
The media house which has often been an avid supporter of the community through its CSR initiatives this time around donated different basic consumer goods to the need, courtesy of Ethiopia’s largest FMCG platform SAMANU.
The contribution sought to give back to the parents of Ayer Amba Kindergarten and High School who have been direly affected during these peak times of inflation.
During the donation ceremony which was held on Thursday April 20 at the school premises, Teguest Yilma, Managing Editor of Capital, said that over the years Capital has played a pivotal role in rendering much needed support to the community where need arose.
She further elaborated that the media house has been vocal and keen over the years in improving the educational system as well as in donating educational materials and direct support to parents and students in different institutions across the country.
“The latest donation comes at a time where we are cognizant of the negative effects that inflation has had in our community,” Teguest said highlighting the primary reason for the initiative.
At the ceremony, Education Bureau heads and relevant government officials of Wereda 1 appreciated the initiative that Capital took and called on others to follow suit.
SAMANU FMGC, which on this occasion partnered with Capital for the donation, is one of the leading basic commodities like edible oil, macaroni and cleaning products manufacturer in Ethiopia.
Textbooks, edible oil, pasta, powder soap and flour were donated to the parents in need under the guidance and selection of the school committee.
Capital Newspaper, SAMANU pair for social impact
Customs commission leverages telebirr to settle tax, payments
Ethio Telecom pens agreement with the Ethiopian Customs Commission to enable the Commission’s customers to settle tax and commission payments via telebirr.
The partnership agreement signed on April 20, 2023 is said to allow the Customs Commission to easily settle payments via the telebirr SuperApp or USSD, and will save time and money, and access since it is interoperable with 19 banks. This agreement with the telecommunications firm is said to be the commission’s first digital payment system integration.
“Digitalization of Customs Commission will enable faster customs service, reduce operational cost, and avoid CPO fraud Integration of tax and commission payments with telebirr and it will also improve Ethiopian logistics performance, reduce costs, attract foreign investment, and empower digital economy,” said Debele Kabeta, head of the commission.
As indicated, customers of the commission can, therefore, login to customs trade portal www.customs.erca.gov.et/trade/ fill in the required information to access the service and easily settle the payments via telebirr SuperApp or SMS (*127# ) using the payment order.
“We have integrated telebirr digital payment system with government and non-governmental organizations to modernize their services and make all payments possible in one place. We have also revamped the telebirr App to telebirr SuperApp to meet the growing demands of digital payment and ease day-to-day business activities,” echoed Frehiwot Tamiru, CEO of Ethio Telecom.
So far Telebirr has gained 31.2 million customers in less than two years and is making life easier by making the daily activities of the society digitally supported. Telebirr has established relationships with more than 102,000 agents, 34,000 merchants, and 19 banks. With its recently launched digital finance loan and savings service, Telebirr has lent 2.24 billion birr to its 1.63 million users, and 2.11 billion birr to its 473 thousand Telebirr Sanduq savings service users.
“We have also integrated telebirr digital payment system with several service rendering government and non-governmental organizations so as to modernize their services and make all payments possible in one stop, thereby getting customers’ service delivery convenient and hustle free. The platform also enables for the pay bulk payments (i.e. salary), traffic penalty payment. It also serves as the payment channel for the national fuel subsidy scheme and other national mega project payments,” the telecommunications head further elaborated on the positive changes brought about by the mobile money platform.
Ethiopian Airlines preps to host the 11th edition of aviation stakeholder’s convention
Ethiopian Airlines gets underway to host the 11th edition of aviation stakeholder’s convention from May 7 to 9, 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The convention will be held under the theme, “Changing the African Aviation Narrative” with an aim to promote, serve African and champion Africa´s aviation industry.
While speaking during a press conference held on April 13, 2023, Mesfin Tasew, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines Group, said that the convection will help to promote and serve the aviation industry in the continent indicating that Ethiopian airlines is very pleased to host this big aviation stakeholders convention as the oldest airline in the continent.
“This edition of the convention will be helpful in bringing all stakeholders together to discuss about the unique challenges of African aviation and to find solutions to challenges,” Mesfin remarked.
It is stated that the Aviation Stakeholders´ Convention (ASC) is one of Africa’s major forums for air transport industry stakeholders to dialogue, exchange knowledge and experiences for the development of the travel ecosystem.
The 11th ASC is jointly hosted by the Ethiopian Airlines and the African Airline Association (AFRAA), with support from the Government of Ethiopia’s, Ministry of Transport and Logistics.w
According to AFRAA’s Secretary General Abderahmane Berthe, the convention will discuss measures to change the narrative of the African aviation sector, create a favorable climate, and improve the performance of airlines on the continent.
The convention is intended to cover topics such as digitalization, cyber security, and improving freight operations, among others.
“I believe it is critical to change the future of our aviation industry through transformative ideas and action,” said the secretary general.
The conference will be attended by representatives from civil aviation authorities, airports, air navigation service providers, ground handlers, regulators, and other relevant stakeholders.
Djiboutian customs and operators on the same wavelength
“With the Djiboutian customs administration, we have an unambiguous working relationship.”
The words of Tayo, an Ethiopian operator, are unequivocal. If his words cannot lend themselves to any interpretation, it is because they are also unanimous among all his peers.
“Thanks to the use of cutting-edge technologies, the processing time for goods has been considerably reduced,” added one of his colleagues, specifying that “the customs clearance procedure only takes fifteen minutes”.
“It is important that the truth be restored as soon as possible”, insists a senior official of the Djiboutian customs administration. “If the regulations in force bring,” he says “a lot of facilities for the operators, they also imply obligations”.
Thus, faced with its Ethiopian interlocutors during the joint meeting held from March
21 to 23 at the Sheraton hotel, the Djiboutian side points a certain administrative heaviness.
The Djiboutian side also offered to fix this by requesting access to the Ethiopian customs system for the sole purpose of boosting fluidity in goods from Ethiopia and intended for export via the Djiboutian ports.
This is all the more true as customs clearance operations for import goods do not suffer from any delay.
“Only goods for export are therefore concerned and the delays observed are in no way attributable to Djiboutian customs services. Because they find their source in documentary discrepancies, forcing Djibouti freight forwarders to ask their Ethiopian partners for corrective action in order to file the declaration in good and due form with the customs services in Djibouti,” a Djibouti official said.
Before the deadline, the Djiboutian customs administration’s leeway are very limited because they are not even informed of the presence of these goods since no declaration is recorded at this stage.
Operators and customs come together around a very simple observation: a flaw exists. But this is otherwise much more damaging than it finds its source in any failure of the Djiboutian customs system.
As much to say it right away: “this is a non-issue and our administration has nothing to do with it”, as one operator who requested anonymity summed it up so well.
While denouncing what he considers to be a “false trial that we are doing to our customs services”, the Djiboutian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds the legal channels that should be taken if a logistics company or an operator intends to lodge a complaint.
In its press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation also underlined the privileged nature of the cooperation relations between the Republic of Djibouti and its large Ethiopian neighbor, both of which are engines of regional economic integration.
