It is said that in the past Ethiopian year the banking industry have seen senior bankers reshuffle from one to other.
The issue has been attached with the hiring of new top management in different banks that include big private banks, according to sector actors.
Experts in the banking industry argued that it is because of adapting a new system and applying the recommendation of consultancy firms that develop a strategic plan for the banks.
These experts said that the financial sector has been changing over the last years. They argued that to some extent it might be related to the political change. “When banks implement a new strategy a crowd of senior experts moves to that institution,” they said.
People who work at the banks say that new management is not considering in-house talent but instead is opting to hire people from outside.
“Hiring people other than the professionals in the company is the other reason senior staff are leaving their firms and looking for jobs in other banks,” one of the senior bankers said.
He said that open positions in banks have become common and as a result banks are also losing their staff when existing experts move from one bank to the other.
Sources said “if you see Bank of Abyssinia (BoA) most of the new senior management staff are new and come from the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) that the current president of BoA, Bekalu Zeleke, had led for many years.”
At the same time the senior staff at CBE came from other private banks like Awash Bank after Bacha Gina took the helm at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, according to sources.
The financial industry is on the top in regards to profit compared with other industries. The sector is also growing aggressively in relation to recently applied rules of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and tough competition between banks.
“Even though the sector is dramatically growing in the past half a decade the labour market is not providing strongly qualified professionals,” experts argued.
According to them that might be the other reason the senior staffs are moving from one bank to the other.
They said regarding losing highly qualified experts the state owned financial giant is the major victim. Mostly banks are taking CBE staff because they are highly trained by the government and have wide experience.
Banks see high management turnover
Illegal tobacco trade affects monopoly
Illicit trade of tobacco is estimated to make up to 40 percent of the market in the country and greatly affecting the national Tobacco Enterprise and the country.
Contraband has been severely affecting the tobacco industry despite a recent MOU signed between the customs commission and the National Tobacco Enterprise to combat illegal tobacco trade.
An MOU was signed between the two parties back in June focusing on three pillars: intelligence, Identifying legitimate products and showing seized illegal tobacco products.
Apart from the two major brands which control 90 percent of the market, Duty free tobacco products make their way to retail shops largely via Ethiopians coming from abroad and those working for the diplomatic community.
“Anyone can get cigarettes with duty free stamps in retail shops even though they are only targeting diplomatic communities, but because of the corrupted network that exists in the enterprise and Ethiopian drivers who work for the diplomatic mission, the illegal trade is getting out of hand” said Grant Mowat, General Manager of the National Tobacco Enterprise.
Ninety percent of contraband trade which engulfed the market, was produced in in Dubai and Yemen and were shipped through Somaliland and Djibouti.
“Although we are entitled to the monopoly in principle, the illicit trade takes almost half of the market share which also has an impact on the government in terms of tax collection” adding that his company is one of the 160 companies awarded in recognition for paying their taxes properly, the manager said.
As part of efforts to combat smuggling, all cigarettes imported into Ethiopia must be marked with a National Tobacco tag.
The previously state owned National Tobacco Enterprise was recently acquired by the multinational JTI and expanded. It is Ethiopia’s only manufacturer of Tobacco.
In Ethiopia, recent data suggests that 8.9 percent of males aged between 15-49 are smokers.
Chinese textile manufacturer raises investment to a billion dollar
Chinese textile product manufacturer, Sunshine Ethiopia Wool Manufacturing Company, is set to increase its investment portfolio in Ethiopia to 980 million USD.
The Chinese textile firm, which has been part of the Adama Industry Park since 2016 has a registered investment capital of 350 million USD, but plans to further increase its investment capital in Ethiopia to 980 million USD as part of its second phase investment.
Chen Min, General Manager of Sunshine Ethiopia Wool has indicated that the planned investment would be important for the company’s current exportportfolio.
The General Manager, however, voiced his concern over recurrent electric power interruption as a major bottleneck affecting the company’s manufacturing chain.
“The ongoing frequent electric power interruption has led the factory to greater performance uncertainty in its ambition to expand its business,” the manager adds.
The general manager also noted that there are times that the factory encountered total blackouts for five or more days, eventually halting operations inside the plant.
“Such power issues are hampering the factory’s production capacity, and hundreds of employees are stranded inside the factory awaiting the return of light which has an effect on efficiency,” Chen said.
In addition to challenges attributed to recurrent power cuts, investors also expressed their concern over the waste-water treatment scheme at the Adama Industry Park.
Previously the government assured investors it would be finished on time but that has not been the case.
“It poses another challenge to our factory because we can’t afford trucks to transport 260 tons of industrial waste every day or to take out waste from the factory,” Chen said.
The textile firm, when operating under normal circumstances, has an annual production capacity of 10 million metric ton of wool fabrics, according to the general manager.
Ephreme Bekle, Operation manager of Adama Industrial Park, told Capital that they are aware of the situation and will solve the problem
The industrial park was built by China Civil Engineering Construction Company, and is part of the Ethiopian government’s grand plan to transform the country’s largely agrarian economy into an industrialized one by 2025.
Covering 100 hectares of land and built at a cost of around 146 million USD. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Obtaining passport still delayed
The Immigration, Nationality & Vital Events Agency says that people must meet five criteria to obtain a passport.
Although citizens who hold kebele identification cards and birth certificates can obtain a passport from the agency, they have to wait for 45 days as the shortage of hard currency has affected the supply of passport books.
According to the Agency in order to get an expedited passport, applicants must present documents from government institutions including a letter of recommendation, proof of a medical condition, an active visa, or engagement in inport-export trade. Expedited passports cost 2,186 Birr.
“Even though there is some relaxation after working with the National Bank of Ethiopia to get foreign exchange to import passports, still, there is a problem getting passports quickly,” said Desalegn Teressa, Agency Communication Director.
For the, the applicant should wait for 45 days to get a passport through the normal procedure, which costs 600 Birr for 32 pages and 900 Br for a 64-page passport.
The rules are different for those looking to travel to Middle Eastern countries that Ethiopia has signed bilateral labor agreements with. They should bring a certificate of competence that shows a three-month training from accredited institutions.
Currently, the agency is working in its full capacity to serve 2000-3000 citizens.
The Agency has nine branches in: Adama, Semera, Jigjiga, Hawassa, Dire Dawa, Jimma, Dessie, Bahir Dar, and Meqelle.
