Humanity must come to terms with the consequences of all rounded psychopathic governance, political, economic, etc. History teaches us it is predominantly the demented members of our species that have always caused wars, conflicts and general discord within the human family. Of course, there are always pretexts and excuses to justify all the wrong doings caused by the power-crazed sickos. Always hungry for power and privileges, these individuals manipulate the unsuspecting sheeple (human mass) to secure positions of responsibilities, so that they can do their grabbing as well as exercise their extreme megalomaniac intentions over the majority of peaceful humanity! These individuals have been instrumental in creating chaos and repeated destructions of civilizations since time immemorial!
Why is the global sheeple willing to tolerate such repetitive and malicious destructions? It is only recently that medical science and psychiatry advanced enough to help us understand the origins, nature and execution of evil. Currently, a whole lot of research is being conducted in the field of psychiatry and neurology to deepen knowledge on ‘ponerology’. Ponerology is the new science that attempts to study the nature of evil. It all started in the 1930s in the countries of the former East Europe, including USSR. Some of the dissidents within the socialist world experienced, first hand, systemic evil unleashed by the apparatchiks. Later on, Nazi Germany embarked on a more broader and sophisticated practice of institutionalized evil. This led researchers, who themselves became victims of these regimes, to begin the systematic study of evil. To this day, the discipline is not encouraged by many of the dominant establishment institutions as well the states. The reason; new findings have potential implications with far reaching consequences. The global status quo is worried! Here is an observation by one of the foremost researcher in the field; ‘Psychopaths are social predators, and like all predators, they are looking for feeding grounds. Wherever you get power, prestige and money, you will find them.’ Robert D. Hare. Nonetheless, progress in research is being made on a daily basis, throwing light on the widespread evil that permeates organized societies!
The latest findings put the number of psychopaths in a given country roughly between 5 to 10% of the general population. Amongst these, some are bona fide clinical psychopaths. In other words, these individuals should be put in mental institutions. By and large, psychopaths cannot be cured from their affliction, at least not with the technology that is available today. What a society can do to avoid the dangerous behaviors of chronic psychopaths is to make sure these individuals do not get involved in anything that matter. Their lack of judgment, balance, empathy, conscience and their obsessive greed and entitlement with no remorse, makes them anti-social, to say the least. Unfortunately, our world system, geared by individuals with psychopathic tendencies, considers psychopathic behavior as something positive, instead of antisocial! There should be no illusion here. For the most part, the world is and has been run or led by mediocre megalomanias, rather than the most capable and fair. Armed with new and continuous knowledge, it is hoped the situation will change for the better!
With the current level of technology, humanity can now identify the psychopaths amongst us. Therefore, it is time to seriously consider eliminating psychopaths from all major societal undertakings. For instance, since it is the politicos that are handling all global governance, in one form or another, they should first be cleared of psychopathic affliction before they can occupy public offices. By not doing so, humanity will keep on exposing itself to even more calamities, as we are now living in the more dangerous universe of the techno-sphere! Here is an instructive historical example. Today many people in Germany are more skeptical of demagogues as compared to other rich nations. They seem to prefer more levelheaded/balanced politicians to that of firebrand warmongers. This is mostly because of their painful experience of the 1930s!
PSYCHOPATHS AND POLITICIANS
NBE drafts lower rates for motor insurance
National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) drafts its own minimum premium rate for motor class of business with by far a lower rate than the amount set and made effective by the Association of Ethiopian Insurers (AEI) as of November 1st last year.
It can be recalled that a minimum premium was a major issue for insurance companies because free market competition had hindered their profits and increased their risk, especially in motor and engineering coverage.
The case was also looked into by the regulatory body, National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), which finally recommended insurers to come up with the necessary detailed study with implementing indications for the minimum premium.
Since 2017, insurers through the Association of Ethiopian Insurers have been comprehensively conducting the study. Initially they assigned Kenyan based Actuarial Services (East Africa) Limited, while the study was carried out by Zamara Actuaries, Administrators and Consultants Limited, a similar company from Kenya.
On the Insurance Business Proclamation 1163/2019 which was amended in 2019, the central bank has also taken the mandate to issue a directive to determine an economic (minimum) premium rate.
The AEI then finally issued a uniform minimum premium policy rate for the motor class of business, which was then applied by all insurance companies as of November 2022.
When the uniform minimum rate was applied the association filed the case to NBE to endorse the case, while until this week there was no formal information from the regulatory body, who this week dispatched a draft directive on a case for consultation.
On the draft directive, ‘motor insurance own damage minimum premium rate’, at its preamble stated that the directive is needed to ensure that premium rates are adequate, fair and sufficient.
It added that it becomes necessary to culminate the unwarranted premium undercutting, ensure the stability of the insurance industry and protect the interest of policyholders.
However the rate that was mentioned on the draft directive is lower than the amount that is applied by insurance companies.
For instance the minimum premium rate that set by AEI is from vehicles type and their service and set from 1.5 percent to 4 percent of the value of vehicles.
The NBE draft directive on the other hand put 1.02 percent as the least minimum rate and 2.86 percent as the highest rate.
The 2.86 percentage points is put on public service vehicle types that have up to 16 seats, while the AEI percentage for similar category is four percent.
On the draft directive 1.02 percent was proposed for private cars that was 1.5 percent on the AEI rate table.
Insurance company experts appreciated the initiative taken.
Ebsa Mohammed, General Manager of Alfa Certification Consultancy, told Capital understanding and accepting the need of setting a minimum rate by the regulatory body is a big move. With others like Endalkachew Zelekew, CEO of Zemen Insurance, sharing Ebsa’s view.
He told Capital that at least it is supposed to be appreciated.
“Proposing the directive is a big success now we are on the same page for the matter,” Endalkachew says, adding, “I understand that proposing such kind of directive is showing me that the regulatory body is accepting the concern of the sector problem.”
“In the global experience associations are raking this kind of responsibilities but NBE has taken the mandate by the amended proclamation so it is expected to come up with it,” he added.
Ebsa expressed that it is difficult to accept that NBE undertook further assessment by itself.
He reminded that the study that was carried out by AEI through actuaries was tabled for NBE more than a year ago, “At the time NBE promised that it will come up with a final decision in one month’s time since it received the study but was then delayed for more than a year.”
“I am not sure that the regulatory body took its own study. For instance in the first quarter of the current financial year, several insurance companies’ profit has highly dropped, while NBE proposed the rate that has at least reduced by 30 percent compared with the rate that was implemented by the association,” he elaborated by expressing his expectation that the draft will be reviewed.
Insurance leaders said that since the implementation of the association rate there were some challenges with even the consumer protection regulatory body being involved on the investigation. Due to that such kind of directive come from NBE is a good recognition for the sector challenge it faces in terms of a motor insurance policy.
They claimed the motor insurance premium is highly deteriorating particularly compared with the unfair market competition and frequent price hike on vehicle parts.
“Proposing the directive shall enable us to come up with our argument and to set acceptable minimum rate for the business, while the proposed percentage is small compared with the rate that our association set,” the sector actors said.
For instance Endalkachew showed one of the gaps on the draft directive is that the rate between one and the other was very narrow and that it was not considerate of the actual price of the covered property.
“I hope we will get to acceptable points before the implantation of the directive,” he expressed his expectation.
When Capital reported about the case in early November some experts argued that the move of the association is totally unacceptable.
For instance Assegid Gebremedhin, CEO of At Insurance Broker and Consultant, expressed the case as it will erode the sector dynamism and creativity. “It is like the concept of what the oil cartels did,” he argued.
He said that insurwers have to maximize their profit and competitiveness by introducing information technology, development of human capital, new policies, expanding on different sectors and different new market destinations rather than concentrating in Addis Ababa and motor class of business.
In the past several years insurers say the premiums they charge are small when compared to the damage. From the total claims insurers settle every year, motor vehicles make up the largest proportion. In their annual report they expressed concern about the growing risk of auto insurance.
Experts said that the competition between insurance companies is not based on the service that they provide instead they are pulling the rug out from each other in a race for loss by trying to offer the lowest premium payments.
Currency outside banking constricts in 1st Quarter
In the first quarter of the 2022/23 fiscal year, the currency outside banking (COB) system narrows from its all-time high from the preceding quarter.
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) quarter economic review indicated that in the first quarter of the fiscal year, the currency outside banks stood at 169.5 billion birr which is an 8.3 percent contribution of broad money supply (M2) growth in the quarter that ended on September 30, 2022.
With the previous fiscal year registering high growth speed of COB, the fourth quarter of the 2021/22 fiscal year‘s growth rate was a little bit slower when compared to its preceding quarter, nonetheless the COB amount reached an all-time high in the sector at the time at 173.3 billion birr.
However, the NBE 2022/23 first quarter evaluation indicated that in the stated period the COB has contracted by 2.2 percent compared with the preceding quarter or the fourth quarter of 2021/22 fiscal year. The COB in the first quarter of 2022/23 has also dropped by almost one percentage when compared to the third quarter of last fiscal year.
Similarly its contribution for M2 has contracted in contrast to the preceding quarter and is back to a single digit.
The COB drop which is a first since the country’s demonetization of birr in 2020 is cited as a rare occurrence.
On the first quarter of 2020/21 fiscal year, which is the period when the government started the currency change, the COB had stood at 64.6 billion birr that had contracted by 29.3 percent from 109 billion birr of the fourth quarter of 2019/20 fiscal year.
However, it has taken almost the previous highest position of the second quarter to reach 108 billion birr or 67.5 percent increment when compared with the first quarter.
Mamo Mihretu, Governor of NBE, who recently met with financial sectors actors, stated that in the first half year of the fiscal year that closed December 31st COB has increased by 27 percent to reach at 189 billion birr.
This will be the new highest amount as COB. He added that this figure shows that there is much resource in the market that financial institutions shall mobilize as deposit.
The 2022/23 first quarter review indicated that reserve money reached 374.4 billion birr at the end of the period that indicates a 30.4 percent annual and 3.3 percent quarterly growth, “This significant annual increase in reserve money was reflected by 39.3 percent rise in banks’ deposits at NBE that is 166.8 billion birr in the first quarter from 119.8 billion birr a year ago and 24.1 percent growth currency in circulation to reach 207.6 billion birr from 167 billion birr in the first quarter of last year.”
The quarterly report elaborates that NBE’s deposit liabilities that include banks’ deposits at NBE surged by 42.7 compared to the same quarter of last year. This was due to a monetary policy change on reserve requirement ratio.
However, currency in circulation climbed by significant points on year on year bases has slightly dropped in the reported period compared with the preceding quarter that closed June 30, 2022.
In the reported period the banking sector’s capital surpassed 200 billion birr to reach at 210.1 billion birr of this the state owned banks share stood at 42.4 percent.
It elaborated that as a result, excess reserve of commercial banks surged by 98.7 percent on annual basis. Thus, the money multiplier, measured by the ratio of M2 to reserve money, dropped to 4.8 from 4.9.
The M2 stood at birr 1.8 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2022/23 reflecting a 29.2 percent annual growth mainly due to a 28.9 percent expansion in domestic credit, offsetting a 171.7 percent and 24.4 percent contraction in external asset (net) and other items net. Meanwhile, net claims on government grew by 57.1 percent and credit to non-government sector by 22.6 percent.
On its yearly report that covered the 2021/22 fiscal year NBE indicated that at the end of 2021/22, domestic liquidity, as measured by M2, reached 1.7 trillion birr reflecting a 27.2 percent annual growth mainly due to a 30.3 percent surge in domestic credit.
The higher growth in domestic credit was attributed to a 96.6 percent increase in credit to the central government 19.1 percent to non-central government, respectively.
All broad money components witnessed expansion where narrow money that includes COB and demand deposit rose by 34.4 percent due to higher demand deposits and COB, reflecting some improvements in money demand for transaction purposes. Similarly, quasimoney, that comprises savings and time deposits, rose 23.8 percent and reached 1.13 trillion birr owing to the increased deposit mobilization by commercial banks.
Electric vehicle charging stations across Addis in the horizon
Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and Cardinal Industrial plc agree on the establishment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in alignment with the infrastructure capabilities of the power producer.
During the launching ceremony held on Monday February 1, Cardinal Industrial announced that it is planning to build 500 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations within one year at the cost of USD 15 million.
Moges Mekonnen, Public Relations Head at EEP, said that EEP will provide the energy and infrastructure on the aim to provide sustainable power for charging stations.
As he explains, the charging station will be installed on the substation facilities that EEP is administering.
Moges further elaborated that the charging station will be connected on separate lines on the aim to keep sustainable power supply for the charging stations as well as electric supply for the public.
Liliya Hailu, CEO of Cardinal Industrial, said as a pilot, Addis Ababa will be the first to get the charging station, while the initiative will be expanded throughout the country.
According to Ashebir Balcha, EEP has over 180 substations throughout the country. He said that EEP is generating green energy thus, “it has the potential to expand the supply of energy for EV.”
He said that his enterprise has accomplished the precondition to install charging stations at its facilities.
Moges said as per the current potential, EEP has a capacity to provide up to 1,000 GWH of electric energy per annum for charging stations with the potential of generating up to one billion birr per year.
The number of electrical vehicles has been on the rise in the country following the government’s policy direction to expand environmentally friendly vehicles.
