The Public Private Partnership Directorate General (PPP DG) expects the recently floated expression of interest (EOI) on the health PPP to be accomplished in a fast track manner owing to the high demand of the private sector.
On July 8, PPP DG issued the EOI for an integrated diagnostic center (IDC) for interested partners who want to invest in the health sector for ten project years with the government.
Tilahun Tadesse, Director General of PPP DG, which is under the Ministry of Finance, said that the EOI was issued as per the request of the Ministry of Health and the approval of PPP Board of Directors, combined by directors; seven from public and two from the private sector.
The Director General told Capital that there is high demand to invest on the IDC through PPP, “due to that we estimated that the process will be concluded on a fast track.”
He said that potential investors have been expressing their interest through different forms.
He assured that the process would be concluded in the budget year even under a very short period of time.
As per the plan, a single company will be selected to invest with the government.
The EOI document said that the government has attained remarkable success in the health care system. “However, epidemiologic shift and the growing demand for quality and affordable curative health service have remained elusive in the past; hence government remains committed to its objective of increasing access to quality, cost effective, and timely diagnostic services for all citizens through the exploration of incentive service delivery models like PPP.”
The EOI was drafted with the aim of assessing the interest of the private sector’s participation on the health sector.
The upcoming competitive bid may consider the investors to invest on services to provide on laboratory, pathology and imagining service in the capital through building (installing public health facilities), financing, operating and maintaining and transferring modality.
The EOI request document stated that the diagnostic PPP envisions the development of integrated diagnostic center (IDC) to provide quality and uninterrupted laboratory, pathology and imagining service in Addis Ababa.
“The IDC will be based in one of the public hospitals in Addis Ababa,” it said, adding, “Patients from nearby health facilities outside of the capital and private facilities will also benefit from the project.”
The private party is responsible to renovate the premises, install diagnostic equipment and information systems, operate, and maintain as well as establish sample and patient transport system with the public health facilities to optimize the efficiency of the IDC.
The EOI submission deadline is scheduled till July 25 followed by an announcement for request of pre qualification (RFQ) that will be on August 1. The RFQ submission will then be on September 20.
The first health sector PPP project, Diagnostic service, tender is on-air. Both local international companies are invited to participate.
It said that the project will be implemented for 10 years and is expected to bring new capacities, technologies, skills and efficiencies.
On the budget year, other PPP invitation is signaled to occur.
After massive study and legal document development through MoF, the government enacted the PPP 1076/2018 proclamation that makes it formalized for private sector involvement through public projects for the benefit of both sides. Under the PPP; efficiency on project handling, innovation, and knowledge transfer and using alternative financing to reduce government project financing has been stated as the pillars.
So far until last year, 23 projects have been identified under PPP from over 100 proposals, while from the selected project some shall not be executed under PPP as per the recommendation that came from detailed studies. Roads, energy, housing, and health are included on the selected projects.
Except in some special cases, the PPP project threshold is USD 50 million and above.
As per the government’s projection, 25 percent of all projects will be covered by PPP. In the ten year development plan the government has targeted to conduct huge projects through PPP.
Expectation set high for health PPP
Horticulture industry surpasses performance expectation
Export earnings from the horticulture industry spikes above the projection which it set to attain in the just concluded budget year.
In the 2021/22 budget year, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) had targeted to attain close to USD 590 million from the horticulture export, one of the well performing sectors.
However, the actual performance which was secured from MoA indicated that in the budget year which ended on July 7 saw the sector surpassing expectation and contributing USD 628.5 million, which is 107 percent of the target.
Compared with the 2020/21 budget year, the performance shot up by 18.3 percent. A year ago, the sector contributed hard currency worth USD 531.4 million, which was also a success compared with the preceding period.
Meanwhile in the export commodity lists to which it is relatively new, the horticulture sector has shown steady improvement every year, standing as one of the major hard currency sources from commodity export. For instance, in the budget year that ended July 2021, it stood third after coffee and gold in terms of hard currency earnings.
In composition, by sub sector the floriculture sub sector has continued in leading the hard currency earnings and contributed USD 541.5 million, which is seven percent higher compared with the projection that was USD 508 million.
It has also increased by 15 percent compared with the preceding year.
While the vegetable and fruit subsectors have contributed USD 70 million and USD 17 million with 106 percent and 108 percent achievements of the projection respectively.
Compared with the preceding year, the vegetable subsector revenue has increased by half. Similarly, the revenue of the fruit sub sector, which is stated as a promising export earning commodity, has grown by 29.5 percent compared with the same period of 2020/21 budget year.
Regarding volume, the horticulture sector has expanded by 8.4 percent compared with the preceding budget year, while it attained 92 percent from the target.
Ethiopia is one of the top flower exporters in the world and it has accommodated over 200,000 jobs that is mainly for women.
In the 2021/22 budget year Ethiopia secured USD 4.12 billion from commodity export; of which the agriculture sector took 72 percent followed by mining and industry sectors which contributed 14 and 12 percent respectively.
Compared with the same period of last year, the total commodity export earnings expanded by 13.8 percent.
Ireland announces €9 million to meet humanitarian needs
The Embassy of Ireland in Addis Ababa this week announced funding of €9 million to respond to increased humanitarian needs in Ethiopia for 2022. This allocation adds to Ireland’s contribution last year of €25 million to respond to escalating crises.
Ireland’s funds will be channelled through UN, NGO and International Red Cross partners to provide support to people suffering from conflict and drought. The allocation will ensure that lifesaving services are provided to the most vulnerable including women and children, with a focus on protection, health and nutrition. It will help scale up emergency operations in regions affected by conflict and support the response to the ongoing drought.
With increased levels of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Ethiopia this year, Ireland is maintaining its longstanding commitment to supporting the most vulnerable people in the country. We will continue to work with the Government of Ethiopia and implementing agencies to ensure a coordinated response reaches all communities in need.
Moha Soft drinks shuts down Hawassa branch
Moha Soft drinks closes its Hawassa branch due to lack of hard currency and input.
The ongoing challenges stem from the current shortage in foreign currency in addition to the firm facing a shortage of raw materials. To this end, as sources indicated to Capital, the company has now stopped its production in its Hawassa plant which produces 7 UP, MIRINDA, and PEPSI products.
As the strain has weighed in heavy, the soft drink firm has had to stop its activities in its Hawassa plant as from the last two weeks. The production is said to be halted until October. Couple of months ago, the company also stopped its production of its 7 UP, MIRINDA, and PEPSI as a result of similar issues and restarted its operation after a few weeks. The management of the company also indicated that the problem had been solved partly. However, currently besides the Hawassa plant as sources indicated, the company is also considering to close its factory in Addis Ababa and other regions.
Moha which is popular for producing drinks like 7 UP, MIRINDA, PEPSI, Tossa Minch natural water, and Kool Carbonated Natural Mineral Water, is shutting its doors due to the burdensome challenges.
Atop the burden list, as sources revealed since a few months back, the company has been working for three days per week which is under its capacity due to lack of raw materials.
The severe shortage of foreign exchange has also resulted in delays in importing vital raw materials like glass, crates, and spare parts for production of the beverages. In addition, bottlers now report that they are struggling with foreign currency shortage problems, a lack of raw materials, disruptions due to power outages, and the overpricing of raw materials necessary for production.
Previously, about 20 bottled water producers had stopped their production as a result of shortage and price hike of materials.
MOHA which is a member of MIDROC Ethiopia (Mohammad International Development Research Organization Companies) is engaged in manufacturing and selling of different types of soft drink in Ethiopia. The company was acquired from the Ethiopian Privatization Agency and established on May 15, 1996.
The overall activates of the company are managed and administrated by Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi, owner of the company.
In the market, MOHA Soft Drinks Industry S.C claims it holds a 52% market share in the soft drinks industry in the country. With an expansion and replacement of obsolete machinery, production capacity of the plant has increased substantially. A significant growth over the years of production, sales, and profitability due to reorganization of operations has also been achieved. Moreover, productivity has improved tremendously with major cost saving and has insured a regular supply of high quality products. It has also succeeded in reaching new market areas across the country. Moha has 8 plants over the country including Hawassa and Mekele, but how it will weather this storm of challenges is yet to be seen.
