PM meets opposition business dealings by nature require acumen and farsight, the deceptions that are...

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The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |1

Vol. XX No. 1020 | March 26, 2016 | ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA www.thereporterethiopia.com

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By Neamin Ashenafi

Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, during discussions held with members of the Joint Political Parties National Council, said that there are plans to reform the Council adding that it will strengthen free flow of ideas.

“Members of the Council asked for the improvement of articles on the amended electoral law and to focus on having a national consensus,” Desta Tesfaw, head of Public and External Relations of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), told The Reporter.

Though the PM pledged to strengthen the Council, political parties that are not members of the Council are discontented labeling it as an undemocratic move.

“The meeting between the PM and members of the Council has nothing new to offer. They mainly raised

mundane issues that both the government and the parties have discussed previously. The current situation the country is facing was not even tabled for discussion,” Tilahun Endeshaw, head of Public Relations of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity

PM meets opposition

SEE FULL STORY ON PAGE 10.

PM meets.... page 38 Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn


2| The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1020

Computer SecretariesBirtukan Abate, Helen Yetayew,

PrintTesfaye Mengesha, Yeyesuswork

Mamo,Gezaghgn Mandefro

Marketing ManagerEndalkachew Yimam

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EDITORIAL

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Tel: 011 6 616180 Editorial011 6 616185 Reception 011 6 616187 Finance

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Sub city: N.lafto, K. 10/18, H.No. 614

Senior Editors Yacob Wolde-Mariam

Dibaba AmensisaMikias Sebsibe

EditorsKaleyesus Bekele

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Assistant EditorTibebeselassie Tigabu

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Published weekly by Media & Communications Center

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The rank of swindlers intent on robbing the public under the guise of legally sanctioned business operations is swelling alarmingly. These cheats primarily use smooth-talking sales operatives as well as alluring ads in which they offer to avail housing, vehicles, construction machineries and business or educational opportunities to rob thousands of unsuspecting citizens of their hard-earned savings running to billions. The government should look into why incidenctss where unscrupulous characters con the public are proliferating. How can the public engage in commercial dealings with confidence if the concerned government agency turns a blind eye to untoward practices which undermine the sacrosanct trust that should inherently exist between contracting parties? Such a dereliction of duty is bound to harm the public interest.

The delivery of various goods and services should not be governed by contracts alone if consumers are to be safeguarded against fraudulent acts; other appropriate legal remedies need also be available. Any trader who asks for partial or total payment in advance prior to delivery must not be allowed to collect such payment before he furnishes adequate assurance guaranteeing that he will discharge his obligations in accordance with the terms of the contract. He also has to have a paid-up capital that enables him to meet his contractual commitments. The absence of legal protections like these has played a significant role in the financial ruin and psychological trauma that deceived consumers have been subjected to.

It is the lack of strong regulatory frameworks and agencies that, with the notable exception of financial institutions, has left impotent many share companies founded through public subscription. Banks and insurance companies operating in Ethiopia would have gone bust let alone thrive as they do now had the National Bank of Ethiopia not exercised strict control over them. This is borne out by the profit they consistently turn in year in year out and the scandals it dealt with decisively before they got out of hand. A raft of companies engaged in real estate, agro-industry, transport, merchandise sales and other sectors have either folded or are in an anemic state due, among others things, to the non-existence of close monitoring

that allowed fraudsters to utilize the companies as vehicles to execute their nefarious plans.

The increasing brazenness of the scams perpetrated in recent years by mafia-type groups has made it practically impossible to continue with the traditional trust-based business transaction that had existed for generations. Granted business dealings by nature require acumen and farsight, the deceptions that are being witnessed these days are becoming more sophisticated by the day. It is principally up to the government to keep abreast of the loopholes which cheats exploit and close them off. One cannot talk about the rule of law when citizens can no more rely on the government to protect them from con artists and bring the criminals to justice.

All this compels one to raise some critical questions. How come no government agency or law enforcement organs take proactive measures to deter confidence tricksters from hoodwinking citizens all over the country? Doesn’t this strongly imply that they enjoy the backing of powerful patrons? Who was responsible to ensure that they provided proof demonstrating that they have the requisite business license, capital base, work experience, commendable track record, insurance coverage, etc., before they embark on collecting money? Any investigation into the matter should address these and similar issues.

It’s through a strict enforcement of the law that swindlers who rob citizens of their hard-earned savings can be brought to heel. This calls for the introduction of a new set of rules, namely making it mandatory for any business enterprise to take out adequate insurance prior to mobilizing funds from the public, to bolster existing legislations. The regulatory agencies which, by law, shoulder this duty are the Ministry of Trade/ regional trade bureaus and the entities they delegate. The victims of previous as well as recent scams have asked the government to help them get recompense for their losses. Though it cannot compensate them directly from its coffers, it has to explore various options that alleviate the suffering they underwent. It is also incumbent upon it to see to it that they get justice by punishing the culprits to the fullest extent of the law.

Safeguarding the public from unscrupulous swindlers


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |3HEADLINES


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The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1020

IN-DEPTH

With the ongoing

construction boom in the

country, various high-rise

corporate headquarters

and condominiums are

step by step popping up

in the city. The industry

and the construction

boom has attracted the

likes of Nigerian business

tycoon, Aliko Dangote,

and Ethiopian-born

Saudi billionaire, Sheik

Mohammed Al Amoudi.

The years 2012 and 2015

brought the giants Derba

Cement Factory and

Dangote Cement PLC to

the sector, respectively.

The demand end of the

sector’s chain welcomed the

coming of these huge plants

with high hopes, while

the supply side expressed

anxiety about their entry

to the market. Whether the

existing cement factories in

Ethiopia, and the ones in

the pipeline, could solve the

demand-supply disarray or

not is yet to be determined,

writes Kaleyesus Bekele.

Following the establishment of a dozen new

cement factories the price of cement has fallen.

The once cash cow business is not attractive

anymore for many traders like Fikre, a father of

three.

The history of the Ethiopian cement industry is

was built by Italians during the occupation

of 1938 in Dire Dawa town with a yearly

production capacity of 30,000 tons.

“Both the

government

and the

industry

should

share the

responsibility

for what

happened”

Fikere Derbew, 47, has been trading in

cement for the past twenty years. Fikere,

who runs a small store at the heart

of Addis Ababa around Laghar area,

cheerfully remembers the “good old days”

when there was high demand for cement

between 2006-2010. “I used to sell 200-300

quintals of cement daily. It was a time

when we sold a quintal of cement for 500

birr,” Fikere told The Reporter.

In recent years things have changed.

Following the establishment of a dozen

new cement factories the price of cement

has fallen. The once cash cow business is

not attractive anymore for many traders

like Fikre, a father of three. “Now I do

not sell more than 150 quintals a day.” A

quintal of cement is now sold at as low

as 200 birr and the profit margin of the

producers, wholesalers and retailers is

slim.

The history of the Ethiopian cement

industry is long and fascinating. The

first cement factory was built by Italians

during the occupation of 1938 in Dire Dawa

town with a yearly production capacity of

30,000 tons. Prior to that, probably the first

bulk cement import was made during the

construction of the Ethio-Djibouti railway

between 1904 and 1917. In the 1960s the

Ethiopian government built two cement

plants at Massawa (Eritrea) and Addis

Ababa, with a combined annual output of

150,000 tons. Two production lines with an

installed capacity of 600,000 tons were built

at Mugher between 1984 and 1991. All state-

owned factories were managed by Mugher

Cement Enterprise from the mid- 1980s.

In his acclaimed book dubbed “Made in

Africa”, Arkebe Oqubay (PhD), special

adviser to the prime minister, wrote that

after a long, sluggish development prior to

the 1990s the Ethiopian cement industry

recorded impressive growth between 2000

and 2012. According to Arkebe, installed

capacity in the industry rose from 800,000

tons in 1999 to 10 million tons in 2012. The

average annual growth rate for cement

production was more than twice when

compared to the rest of Africa or the globe

during this period. By the end of 2012, the

number of firms had increased from a

single state-owned enterprise to 16.

“The cement industry has undergone

major changes throughout this period and

it appears that Ethiopia is likely to become

one of the top three cement producers in

Anomaly in the

cement industry Africa,” Arkebe says.

A major milestone for the Ethiopian

cement industry occurred during 2004-

2012 when the construction industry

registered an abrupt boom. Giant public

infrastructure development projects,

housing projects and private investments

propelled the demand for cement. The

government launched the construction of

major hydro power dams, low cost housing

projects and private real estate firms

mushroomed. The local cement factories

(Mugher and Messebo) were unable to

satisfy the rising demand. The price of

cement skyrocketed.

“There was not enough cement supply

that can accommodate the sudden

construction boom,” Gemechu Waktola

(PhD), managing director of i-Capital

(Africa) Institute and associate professor

at Addis Ababa University, says. “The

capacity built before this was not adequate

to accommodate the abrupt construction

boom. So because of that the cement

industry suddenly changed. Things in

the industry changed the construction

economy, policy direction, and many other

things.”

Arkebe says that the government did not

make timely interventions in the face

of new challenges and lacked a realistic

long-term strategy for the industry. He

says that the government failed to prevent

and contain cyclical crises in the industry.

Consequently, the country faced critical

cement shortage and was compelled to

import cement between 2006 and 2011.

Cement is a bulk product made from

limestone and volcanic ash (pumice)

and importing it from long distances

with foreign currency was costly to the

fragile Ethiopian economy. To satisfy the

cement starving economy the Ethiopian

government took various measures. The

government allowed the import of cement

with Franco Valuta [Franco Valuta

imports are goods imported without

foreign exchange expenditure from the

domestic banking system] and tried to

impose price controls. But these measures

created an opportune time for rent-seekers

to use the loopholes in the government

policy and make fortunes.

Bribes were rampant and investors who

are given high quotas of cement for their

investment projects sold the cement for

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12|


Vol. XX No. 1020

The Government of Ethiopia is upgrading and expanding the country’s infrastructure and housing.

This is bound to enhance the country’s demand for cement. Even now, local producers are grappling

to turn out sufficient quantities of cement and there is fear that price war is looming. Ethiopia’s

current cement production capacity stands at 15 million tons per year. However, it was forecasted

that the cement production capacity would reach 27 million tons per year by the end of country’s

first Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). This was a erroneous projection, according to

experts in the industry. Haile Assegide is the CEO of Derba MIDROC, one of the leading cement

factories in Ethiopia. Haile served as the minister of state at the then Ministry of Infrastructure.

Currently, he is heading the Ethiopian Cement Producers Association which is under formation.

Kaleyesus Bekele of The Reporter spoke to Haile about the challenges facing the Ethiopian

Cement Industry. Excerpts:

INTERVIEW

The Reporter: When was the

Ethiopian Cement Producers

Association established and what

are the main objectives of the

association?

Haile Assegide: The Ethiopian

Cement Producers Association is under

formation. We are in the registration

process. 98 percent of cement producers

have signed for membership. We have

submitted the document to the relevant

body. The association has two main

objectives. The first thing is facilitating

the ground work for the growth of the

local cement industry. To work on

building our capacity and expand the

local cement market. The second thing

is that we could benefit a lot by working

together. For instance we can work

together on alternative energy source.

If one company works by itself alone it

will not be fruitful. If we all collaborate

and work together it will benefit us all.

We could reduce our operational cost.

How many members does your

association have now?

Fifteen cement producers have

been registered. Except one all the

cement factories have registered for

membership. There are about 20 cement

companies and some of the companies

have two factories but we register them

as one company so we have 15 members

at the moment.

What are the main challenges facing

the Ethiopian cement industry?

There are various challenges facing the

cement industry. The first one is dearth

of skilled labor. Previously there was

a backward cement technology. The

old cement factories used backward

mode of production. The recently

established factories apply modern

cement technology. The problem we

are facing now is that we do not have

adequate number of professionals

who are familiar with these modern

cement technologies. So, it can be

said that there is limited number of

professionals. There were a couple of

cement factories.

The professionals were working at

either Muger or Dire Dawa cement

factories. Then the Messebo Cement

Factory came up with a better cement

technology. The current cement

technology is completely different from

the old ones. Everything is backed

by IT systems. There is no adequate

number of trained professionals capable

of operating this modern cement

technology. The newly established

factories poach professionals from the

existing ones. A factory, which trained

its professionals, will lose them to a new

factory.

What should be done to mitigate the

labor shortage?

Training is the most important element.

Universities should offer cement

technology courses. The mechanical

and chemical engineers do have the

knowhow on cement technology. We

train the university graduates on

cement technology. I suggest that the

universities offer at least one course

on cement technology. Particularly, we

except much from the Adama Science

and Technology University (ASTU). I

think ASTU should incorporate cement

technology in its curriculum. It could

offer the course at the fourth or fifth

year.

First the university itself should have

the knowledge. It can hire professionals

from abroad (expatriates) and train

Ethiopian instructors. Then ASTU can

pass the knowledge to young Ethiopian

students. Each cement factory has

professionals who can cooperate with

the university. We should be able to

be self-sufficient in a short period of

time in terms of skilled labor in cement

technology.

What are the problems in the cement

market and capacity utilization?

The cement production capacity has

been boosted. There were only two

or three factories and they could not

meet the demand since it has increased

through time. So, in the past several

years many new factories were built

and have joined the market. The

cement demand is not up to par with

the production capacity. Currently,

the installed annual production

capacity is 15 million tons and the

annual cement sales is eight to nine

million tons. Production surpassed

Cementing

the gaps

mhiopia.com

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lion tons and the

ales is eight to nine

oduction surpassed


30|


Vol. XX No. 1020

LIVING & THE ARTS

The public

transportation service

of Addis Ababa leaves

a lot to be desired.

There is a long way to

go before it meets the

required standards.

Since it is massively

under-supplied, the

hustle associated with

public transportation

is the most unbearable

part for residents. In

this respect, things

get more complicated

when the commuter

is a pregnant woman,

writes Tibebeselassie

Tigabu.

They say having children is a true

blessing. Though the outcome—the

offspring—is as rewarding as it gets, the

journey for pregnant women is not a

romantic adventure. For many months

women endure nagging morning

sickness, heartburn, hemorrhoids and

acid reflux, although the severity of

the conditions varies from one person

to another. Not to mention the testing

child delivery process which for some

women could even prove to be fatal.

For many mothers the hormonal effects

manifested in episodes of mood swings

is also another unique experience

that comes with the territory. Some

pregnant women speak of experience

of acute emotional upheaval resulting

in distrust of the people around them

which sometimes leads to breaking

down in tears for no apparent reason.

However, this is just the tip of the

iceberg. The difficult inner body

experience of the pregnancy period

also requires a reasonable amount

of comfort externally. Commuting is

certainly an important aspect here.

Things tend to get more complicated for

a pregnant working woman everywhere

when it comes to commuting; this is

especially so when the chosen means of

transportation is public.

Physically exhausted and hormonally

fragile, Mekdela Tadele is due to give

birth in a month’s time. Although she

drives herself this time around, she

says that she particularly remembers

the hustle of using the overcrowded

Addis public transportation system

while she was pregnant with her first

child.

Until she reached her eighth month,

Mekdela was a devoted customer of the

public transportation system of Addis

Ababa. She usually takes the route

from Bole to Haya hulet and has to

negotiate her way to get into vehicles

like everybody else. She specifically

remembers one incident where she had

to wait for a very long time to see one

minibus taxi (blue van) approaching

the crowd she was tucked in. Instantly

people around her started to run and

shove to fill the limited seat in the taxi.

Likely, she was not alone and her friend

rushed into the taxi and tried to save

a seat for her. Yet again, Mekdela still

had to do quite a bit of the shoving and

pushing just to reclaim the seat that

her friend had saved for her. Luckily,

she was able to get into the taxi by

slightly pushing other passengers. This

situation would not be acceptable for

one of the commuters (a woman) who

proceeded with verbally assaulting her.

The random stranger did not stop there;

rather she became highly physical and

threw her bag at her. The metal side of

the bag scratched Mekdela’s hand and

she immediately started to bleed.

“This woman was yelling at me and

telling me to get out of the taxi for

physical confrontation. She angrily

proposed to take the fight outside,”

Mekdela remembers the incident with

a smile. “Her frantic situation also

shocked the other passengers since

I could not be mistaken for being

anything but heavily pregnant,” she

recalls.

Let alone for pregnant women, even for

a fully functional commuter, the Addis

public transportation system is a bit too

much to maneuver. The long queues,

the long waiting time, the pushing

and shoving to board and the recently

emerging problem of pickpockets are

the main characterisatics of public

transportation in the city. In fact, the

demand for transport is so high that

even the introduction of the Light

Railway system does not appear to be

putting a dent on the problem.

Shortage, however, is not the only

The public transport

nightmares for

pregnant women

for

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it too

es,

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34|


Vol. XX No. 1020

#REPORTERBOOK

R

R

#AnimalORFood

These crazy Twitter memes

have thousands asking:

Animal or food?

Facebook turns on Safety Check

for Brussels attacks

It’s been a sad day at work (isn’t it always?) and we’re tired (aren’t

we always?) and hungry (definitely always), and perhaps a little

frazzle-brained, but we’ve been seeing these animal vs food memes...

And they’re really getting us. Or we’re getting them. Or something.

Either way, they’re super funny. And super delicious looking. And

super cute.

So, the internet recently went crazy after a meme popped up

comparing dogs to food and we at Hindustan Times can’t get enough

of it!

Earlier this month, Twitter user Karen Zach (@teenybiscuit) posted

a photo of some Doodle pups who look alarmingly like a delicious

serving a fried chicken.

The 25-year-old US woman behind the popular memes, told ABC

News that everything started with the collection of cute animal

pictures she’d amassed on her phone over time.

“When I zoom out to look at the collections altogether, I begin to

notice patterns similar to other things, in this case mostly food,” the

Portland, Oregon, resident said.

Zack posted the first photo on Twitter in November, asking:

Duckling or plantain? “I laughed so hard at the first one I just kept it

up simply for my own entertainment,” Zack said.

Featuring curly-haired Labradoodles vs fried chicken, wide-eyed

Chihuahuas vs muffins, and grain-colored puppies vs bagels, the

revolutionary comparisons have been retweeted tens of thousands

of times on Twitter and garnered hundreds of thousands of views on

sites like Reddit and Imgur.

(Hindustan Times)

Facebook has turned on its Safety Check feature for Brussels, where

a series of explosions at the Brussels airport and a metro station left

more than 30 dead and many more injured.

The feature, available here, lets you check on your Facebook friends

in or near Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and see whether they’re

safe, or mark them as safe if

you know where they are and

how they’re doing.

Originally used for natural

disasters, the Safety Check

site was turned on during the

terrorist attacks in Paris in

November 2015, and Facebook

CEO Mark Zuckerberg

promised to use the feature in

“more human disasters.”

Since then, Safety Check was

used during terrorist attacks

in Nigeria and Turkey.

Media reported that more than 30 people are dead and dozens were

wounded following the blast at the Brussels Zaventem airport after

8:00 AM local time Tuesday. Two of the suicide bombers who carried

out attacks in Brussels on Tuesday have been named as brothers

Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui, Belgian nationals.

The federal prosecutor said Brahim was part of the attack at

Zaventem airport that killed 11 people. Khalid struck at Maelbeek

metro, where 20 people died.

Two other attackers at the airport have not yet been identified. One

of them died, while another is still at large.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it was behind the attacks.

(Various Sources)

INSI

DE

By Kaleyesus Bekele

Derba Cement, one of the subsidiary companies of MIDROC Ethiopia, is to undertake a massive expansion project at its cement plant in Derba at a cost of 300 million dollars.

Haile Assegidie, CEO of Derba Cement, told The Reporter that his company is planning to build a second plant in Derba, near Chancho town, 80 km north-west of Addis Ababa. Haile said the planned second plant will have an installed capacity of producing 25 million quintals of cement annually.

According to Haile, the total cost of the second plant is estimated at 250-300 million dollars. The construction will take 18-24 months. “Once we finalize the negotiations and an sign agreement with the contactor and the financiers it will take us a maximum of 24 months to finalize the construction of the second plant,” Haile told The Reporter.

Derba Cement had built the first cement plant at a cost of 351 million dollars. The first plant has an annual production capacity of 25 million quintals. Haile said the factory is currently producing and selling 20 million tons of cement annually. “We do not produce for six hours everyday because of power interruption. But since Gilgel Gibe III started generation we believe that the

By Tamiru Tsige

Ermias Amelga, founder and former CEO of Access Real Estate S.C, has been charged by prosecutors at the Second Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court at Arada Division on March 25 for writing bad cheques.

The latest charge came after Ermias was released on bail the day before against a half-a-million-birr bond. After 73 days in police custody pending investigation on alleged breach of trust and aggravated fraud, a judge at the First Criminal Bench of the Federal First Instance Court at Arada Division ruled that the suspect should be

released on bail, but banned him from overseas travels.

Federal investigators objected the appeal lodged by Ermias’ lawyer, Molla Zegeye, for his client to be released on bail. They claimed a 1.4-billion-birr case warrants more bond value than the amount granted, Ermias presents a flight risk, and letting him out would enable him to tamper with evidence, they argued.

However, the presiding judge ruled that these claims have not been substantiated in the two-and-a-half-month-long investigation. Investigators pleaded that Ermias remain under custody, at least until the ongoing audit

investigation into the finances of Access Real Estate is completed.

Ermias appealed to the judge saying that he had not been able to generate income for the last three years and added that he had a mere 25,000 birr in his possession. He told the Judge he was dependent on his family for his needs.

Following the objection of the prosecution, the high court ruled suspended the lower court’s ruling to grant bail to Ermias. It also ordered that the defendant remain under custody until Monday, March 28 when he will enter his plea on the charge instituted against him.

Derba Cement plans to erect second plant

High court reverses lower court’s bail ruling

Ermias charged with writing bad cheques

Derba Cement

problem will be resolved,” Haile said.

Derba Cement is holding talks with the Chinese construction firm—China National Building Materials Company— which had built the first cement plant. The first plant was inaugurated by the late prime minister Meles Zenawi and Sheik Mohammed Hussein Ali Alamoudi, owner and chairman of MIDROC Ethiopia in February 2012. Derba Cement played a major role in stabilizing the sky-rocketing cement

price at that time. “Everybody knows the situation in the cement market before we started production,” Haile said.

Back then the Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire, Mohammed Al Amoudi, invested 100 million dollars in the Derba Cement project. The remaining 251 million dollars was secured in the form of loan from the Development Bank of Ethiopia, International Financial Corp (IFC), the World Bank

Group investment arm, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank.

Haile said that his company is negotiating with the same financial institutions to secure financing for the construction of the second plant.

At the moment there are 20 cement factories in Ethiopia with a total annual production capacity of 15 million tons. The country’s annual cement consumption stands at nine million tons

Asked how Derba intends to build a second plant while there is an excess production capacity, Haile said his company would be cost efficient if it uses the existing infrastructure like operation line, road and houses. “We have to be cost leaders. If We are cost leaders then we will be price leaders,” Haile said.

With regard to the fierce market competition, Haile said the situation will change in the coming few years. “If we successfully implement the second GTP, the demand for cement will increase and the market situation will change for the better.”

Derba also has a gypsum manufacturing plant with an installed capacity of 2000 quintals per day. Furthermore, it to be remembered that Derba had imported 1000 Volvo trucks at total cost of 200 million dollars.

Ermias Amelga



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The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |5Advertisment



a

HEADLINES

NEWS IN BRIEFOver 2.5 bln birr in capital injection

to DBE

Addis encountered 221 accidents in six

months: AgencyThe executive branch of government has submitted a draft bill seeking the parliamentary approval to issue a Special Government Bond for in order of 2.56 billion birr which will serve as needed capital injection to the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE).

According to draft bill, the intentions of issuing the special bond is to fulfill the financial requirement of DBE in its development activities set forth in the second GTP period which cannot be financed by the government’s limited capacity.

The document also says that the special bond is intended to raise the paid up capital of DBE from three billion birr to 7.5 billion birr by financing gap from the proceedings.

According to the draft bill, the special bond will be issued in accordance with the proclamation to raise the capital of DBE.

The requested bond is also said to be redeemed in 10 years period after a grace period of five years. It is also proposed to be issued with no interest.

The Addis Ababa Fire and Emergency Prevention and Rescue Agency announced that 221 accidents had happened in Addis Ababa in the past six months.

According to the agency, out of the total number of accidents registered in the city, 146 of them were related to fire while the rest 75 involves falling from buildings, sliding in to wells and submerging in to water.

The Agency’s Communication Officer, Nigatu Mamo, told WIC that those accidents have cost the life of 60 people. Out the 60 deaths encountered, only one was caused by fire while the remaining had been caused by falling from buildings, sinking in water and sliding in to uncovered wells.

Besides, the fire accident that broke out in different part of the city has caused injuries to 17 individuals, he said.

Apart from the fatalities to human life, the past six months have also saw damages to property estimated at 31.6 million birr while the fire squad was able to save close to 792 million birr. (WIC)

By Birhanu Fikade

In a bid to curb the critical shortage of skilled labor in the hospitality business, the star-rated hotel owners in Addis Ababa have agreed to establish an academy, which aspires to cater to the demand of regional markets in the future, it was learnt.

Benyam Bisrat, chairperson of the

Addis Ababa Hotel Owners Association (AHA), who is also general manager of Jupiter International Hotel, told The Reporter that lack of adequate human resource in the hospitality industry has been a vertebral challenge. This shortage has to some extent contributed to price hikes, Benyam said. Hence, the association is currently pushing the idea of launching an academy that can serve the region dominated by the

Middle Eastern and Asian expatriates.

According to Benyam, the issue has been tabled to the Ethiopian Tourism Council chaired by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn. Benyam said that the PM has requested for a feasibility study be conducted and have it submitted to the council for further review.

Having a membership base of 130 star-

rated hotels in the capital, AHA recently launched a new hotel guide magazine featuring the capital and its touristic attractions. The magazine, which was launched on Thursday, is expected to be distributed globally. It shows how Addis Ababa could be visited in 48 hours.

Both Benyam and his deputy Zenawi

Attorney General takes over

public prosecution

Hotel owners vow to establish hospitality academy

By Yonas Abiye

A draft bill that was presented to parliament this week for debate proposes the reestablishment of the Federal Attorney General, which will possess all the powers and responsibilities that have been assigned to the Ministry of Justice hitherto, in additional to consolidating all the prosecutor’s roles in the country including those accorded to the special prosecutors of Ethiopia Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA), Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (FEACC) and the Trade Practice and Customer Protection Authority (TPCPA).

The bill which found its way to the House on Tuesday was considered to be one of the most influential pieces of legislation in recent years with the effect of overhauling the justice system in the country with far deeper consequences to law enforcement and prosecutorial discretion in the country.

In this regard, the FEACC will see a significant reduction in its powers and duties and redirection to the ethics part. “The primary aim of the commission

was to educate the public on ethics,” Getachew Ambaye, Minister of Justice told The Reporter. Together with ERCA, the FEACC has managed to build an image which has come to be feared among the business community and the officials alike.

On the other hand, recent decision to strip prosecutorial power off the FEACC come after the House strongly criticized the commission for not using its power to prosecute properly. Especially, the role of the commission in bringing to justice government officials who have been implicated in corruption cases was disappointing MPs opined at the time. “Why are you showing leniency towards institute charges when the lawmaker is giving you full backing?” asked one of the MPs at the previous meeting.

On the other hand, ERCA is one institution which has been rocked by leadership turmoil since the indictment of its former director general, Melaku Fenta, and his deputy Gebrewahad Weldegorgis. Among the defendants in the high profile corruption case are the rank and file of the legal department of the authority.

As a result the three key institutions will no longer own or have power to exercise any prosecutorial activities or an accompanying police force which was established in each of the institutions to help with the investigation.

Another piece of legislation that was tabled before the MPs in the same session was an amendment to the establishment proclamation of Federal Police Commission. This bill shifted formal accountability of the Federal Police Commission to the Office of the Prime Minister replacing the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Pastoral Development, which exercised purview over police since 2003. Similarly, the Legal Research Institute and Federal Prison Commission were also made accountable to the newly incorporated Attorney General.

According to the draft bill, the powers and duties previously given to the Ministry of Justice under article 16 will shift to the new body.

The draft bill also offers the Attorney

Attorney.... page 28

MoJ no longer exists

By Yonas Abiye

Ethiopia’s bid to join the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATIA) has come close to be finalized as the Houses of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) on Tuesday reviewed a draft bill that stipulates membership terms for the country when joining the continental insurance organization.

The draft bill, which was submitted by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MoFEC), cited as an Agreement Establishing the African Trade Insurance Agency Ratification Proclamation was said to enable the country’s insurance companies and other institutions benefit from the special insurance services that the agency offers.

ATI is an insurance agency that guarantees trade and investment between member African countries. It now has 40 member states and

Ethiopia edges closer to joining Africa Trade Insurance

Ethiopia edges... page 38

Launch new hotel guide magazine

Hotel owners.... page 28



Security Council extends mandate of

UN mission in Somalia

Ethio Telecom bags close to 11 bln birr

gross profit Stressing the importance of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia to that country’s political process, the Security Council yesterday extended the mandate of UNSOM’s work until 31 March 2017.

The 15 members of the Council unanimously adopted an extension of UNSOM’s work, underscoring the provision of UN good offices to support the Federal Government’s peace and reconciliation process, including preparation for an inclusive, free, fair and transparent electoral process in 2016 and universal elections by 2020.

Last month, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Somalia Michael Keating, met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the speaker of the Federal Parliament Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Feltman reiterated the UN’s support to the Somali people for agreeing on an electoral process for this year.

In its resolution, the Council encourages UNSOM to enhance its interaction with Somali civil society to ensure that different points of view are incorporated in the political process. (UN News Center)

The state-owned telecom monopoly, Ethio Telecom, announced this week that it has secured 10.9 billion birr gross profit in the first half of this Ethiopian fiscal year, thus, enabling the service provider to attain 111 percent of its target.

According to FBC’s report, the revenue earned in the reported period has also shown a 33 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Encouraging results were registered in terms of increasing number of subscribers as well as expansion and provision of quality telecom services, Abdurahim Ahmed, Corporate Communication Director at Ethio Telecdom told journalists at a press conference.

In the first half of the fiscal year, Ethio Telecom managed to raise the number of its total clients to 43.6 million, though the target was to achieve around 48.5 million, Abdurahim told the press.

According to the communications director, the number of cell phone subscribers and internet data users across the country has also reached 42.3 million and 12.4 million, respectively. (FBC)

EMA installs.. page 28

By Neamin Ashenafi

The Ethiopian Meteorological Agency (EMA) installed on Wednesday its second air pollution monitoring station in Adama city of the Oromia Regional State to measure the level of pollution in the air and the quality of air at a cost of five million birr.

The station was inaugurated in the presence of the director-general of the Agency, the mayor of Adama, invited guests and members of the the diplomatic corps.

The station, which is constructed in the compound of the agency’s Adama branch, is expected to provide data that will help to measure the level of the pollution trends in the city. The data will also serve as a vital input for policymakers and stakeholders who work on air pollution and related issues, Abate Getachew, head of the Meteorological Research at EMA told The Reporter.

The station is expected to measure, monitor and analyze the level of emission of pollutant gases from vehicles and industries to the environment. It also measures and monitors the level of dust in the air.

According to Abate, the station in Adama mainly has five devices to monitor the level of ozone (O3) carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NO), sulfur (S) and various dusts in the environment.

In addition, the station will help forecast the level of the pollution in the environment.

By Yonas Abiye

The House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) on Tuesday discussed several draft laws, including a USD 300 million loan agreement that Ethiopia recently cemented with the World Bank Group for the soon-to-start Urban Productive Safety Net project which will be implemented in Ethiopia for the first time.

The project is aimed at benefiting low-income citizens in eleven towns in the country, particularly targeting elders, people with disabilities, those with mental development problems, orphans,

street children, child beggars and commercial sex workers.

The urban productive safety-net project, which will be implemented over a period of five years with a total cost of 450 million dollars, aims at improving the income of poor households in urban areas via an urban safety-net mechanisms.

The financing was extended by the International Development Association (IDA) in the order of USD300 million covering 67 percent of the project cost. The remaining 33 percent or USD150

By Birhanu Fikade

The implementation of Kaizen in Ethiopian companies’ daily work flow has resulted in cost reductions across production line in the manufacturing sector by half-a-billion dollars, equivalent to some two billion birr, it was learnt. Kaizen is a Japanese management philosophy on continued improvement in quality, which is sponsored by the government of Japan.

Getahun Tadesse, director general of the Ethiopian Kaizen Institute (EKI), said that since Kaizen had become a norm in the manufacturing sector, mainly for exporting firms, sugar plants and housing construction it has enabled both private and public enterprises to effectively reduce costs in the past five years.

Hosting delegates from 12 African countries and organizing a Kaizen knowledge sharing seminar here, which was held from March 23 to 25, EKI has demonstrated how far Ethiopia has traveled with the Japanese model. Getahun, while presenting the outcome of his institution boldly said that Ethiopia is keen to become the third country next to Japan and South Korea to follow suit in implementing Kaizen in everyday life.

The director-general said that Kaizen has entered into its second phase in Ethiopia after achieving basic Kaizen. According to Getahun, Ethiopia has customized the philosophy and trained professionals to become experts in the Kaizen systems. Basic Kaizen mostly focuses on changing and suiting the working environment, which in turn

enable employees to take part in the decision-making processes.

The second level of Kaizen, according to Getahun, is a bit advanced than the basic one. It concentrates on creating an innovative system, which might include formulation of policy, ensuring quality, production and cost management and the like. Currently, the country is moving towards the second stage of Kaizen implementation where EKI has initiated a Master’s degree program to pursue the advancement. In the coming two years PhD graduates of Kaizen will join the workforce in Ethiopia, Getahun said. He added that 108 MSc and five PhD candidates are expected to graduate in 2017.

Institute says companies cut cost by half-a-billion via Kaizen

Urban safety-net secures

USD300 MLN financing

EMA installs

second air

pollution

monitoring

station in Adama

By Neamin Ashenafi

The Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority (AAWSA) disclosed this week that it had started to supply water on alternate days as of March 3, 2016.

AAWSA says it was forced to take water rationing measures as the rains have not returned to appropriate levels and reservoir levels are not restored to normal in the city.

Etsegenet Tesfaye, head of Public

Water rationing comes into effect

Water rationing... page 38

Targets to make Ethiopia third generation of Kaizen next to Japan, South Korea

Institute says.. page 23

Urban safety-net... page 38



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Special Notice!Preparations are underway to celebrate the 75th year Diamond anniversary of Ethiop’s glorious victory over the Italian Fascist invaders.The celebration would be launched a week ahead of the actual date of the anniversary, 27th of Miazia 2008 (E.C.)The occasion would also be used to highlight and remember

cause.Messages of allegiance by patriots shall also be conveyed to the youth so that they would take patriotic fervor of their forefathers through various developmental undertakings.SMS Tombola lottery would also be run between Yekatit 15-Sene 15/2008 E.C. The proceeds shall be used to fund future projects.To play the lottery, all one has to do is to write 8400, press any number or letter and send. The cost for one single message is only Birr 3:00The lineup of prizes that will be awarded to the winners include:Minibus, Automobile Cars, Bajaj cars, Motorcycles, Laptop Computers, Tv Sets, Refrigerators, Washing Machine, Mobil

The Association of Ethiopian Patriots (AEP)

Huawei authorizes.. page 32

By Birhanu Fikade The Chinese telecom giant, Huawei, has authorized Techno Brain, a global ICT training provider based in Tanzania, to train and certify ICT professionals who can service, maintain or develop IT solution suitable for brands and services that Huawei markets.The two sides have inked an agreement on Thursday in Addis Ababa and announced that they have forged a partnership to offer certified trainings that correspondence to Microsoft, IBM or Cisco to professionals in the ICT business. The partnership was also said to offer a unique opportunity for professionals to acquire expertise in the state-of-the-art Huawei technologies. Mekonnen Tesfaye, country director of Techno Brain in Ethiopia, told The Reporter that Huawei has already approved and provided a training curriculum for Techno Brain. Basically, Techno Brain trains what Huawei requires it, Mekonnen explained. According to Cooper Qu, deputy CEO of Huawei Ethiopia, the new scheme covers a wide range of trainings in the field of ICT where networking, cloud computing, data storage, data center, unified communications, mobile technologies and the like are some of the areas where both companies are

By Yonas Abiye

A total funding in amount to 1.5 billion birr has been dispatched for six regional states in Ethiopia, which are severely affected by the current drought, and specifically targeting the devastating water shortage associated with drought conditions in these regions.According to the Motuma Mekassa, minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, the stated sum has been dispatch to the regions via their respective water bureaus targeting water well drilling projects and major water trucking activities to reached the

By Shaheda Hussen

The Endowment Fund for Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) has contracted a Chinese engineering company— ECE Engineering Corporation—for the construction of the first ever PVC resin (Polyvinyl Chloride) manufacturing plant at cost of five billion birr (USD 250 million at current exchange rates) in Arato locality of Mekelle city, the capital of the Tigray Regional State. The EPC contract that was signed yesterday at Sheraton Addis came after a long process of bidding starting from 2012. Ever since, the project has retendered a couple of times to finally land a contract with the ECE, which in turn agreed to deliver the project in time frame of 30 months starting from

the commencement of the project.The plant is estimated to have an installed capacity of 60,000 tons of PVC resin per year which varied in quality grading from SG1 to SG8. Apart from that, the chemical manufacturing

complex would also have a host of other side production lines that includes Chlorine alkali plant, Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM) plant, PVC

EFFORT seals deal for first PVC resin plant

Gov’t, donors allocate 1.5 bln birr to address water shortage

Huawei authorizes Techno Brain to train, certify ICT professionals

most affected communities. “So far, 1.5 billion birr in funding and some 309 tankers have been deployed to the drought-hit regions in response to critical water shortage,” Motuma told Members of Parliament on Thursday. Motuma appeared before the House together with Workineh Gebeyehu (PhD), Transport minister, to answer to questions thrown by MPs. The parliamentary question and answer session is part of the regular schedule of the House where the legislators can summon any ministry to answer to specific questions that MPs might have. And among other things, the drought

was one of the discussion topics on Thursday.Motuma explained to MPs that water shortage has always been a critical challenge for Ethiopia for a long time; even before the drought. However, he argued that the drought has resulted in worsening the condition and it has called for a coordinated effort.However, in a bid to address this water shortage, the federal government has dispatched a total of 750 million birr for the six regional states’ water bureaus.

EFFORT seals.. page 32

To All CCRDA MembersAnnouncement of Membership

Assembly Meeting

The Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Associations (CCRDA) will conduct the 244th Membership Assembly Meeting on March 31, 2016 starting 8:30 A.M at its compound located around Kaliti Square in front of Drivers’ and Mechanics’ Training Center. Thus, the Consortium would like to cordially invite all its members to attend the Meeting.

CCRDA

Gov’t, donors... page 22

Azeb Mesfin, CEO of EFFORT and Chen Sheng, CEO of ECE.


10| The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1020IN-DEPTH

With the ongoing construction boom in the country, various high-rise corporate headquarters and condominiums are step by step popping up in the city. The industry and the construction boom has attracted the likes of Nigerian business tycoon, Aliko Dangote, and Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire, Sheik Mohammed Al Amoudi. The years 2012 and 2015 brought the giants Derba Cement Factory and Dangote Cement PLC to the sector, respectively. The demand end of the sector’s chain welcomed the coming of these huge plants with high hopes, while the supply side expressed anxiety about their entry to the market. Whether the existing cement factories in Ethiopia, and the ones in the pipeline, could solve the demand-supply disarray or not is yet to be determined, writes Kaleyesus Bekele.

Following the establishment of a dozen new cement factories the price of cement has fallen. The once cash cow business is not attractive anymore for many traders like Fikre, a father of three.

The history of the Ethiopian cement industry is

was built by Italians during the occupation of 1938 in Dire Dawa town with a yearly production capacity of 30,000 tons.

“Both the government

and the industry

should share the

responsibility for what

happened”

Fikere Derbew, 47, has been trading in cement for the past twenty years. Fikere, who runs a small store at the heart of Addis Ababa around Laghar area, cheerfully remembers the “good old days” when there was high demand for cement between 2006-2010. “I used to sell 200-300 quintals of cement daily. It was a time when we sold a quintal of cement for 500 birr,” Fikere told The Reporter.

In recent years things have changed. Following the establishment of a dozen new cement factories the price of cement has fallen. The once cash cow business is not attractive anymore for many traders like Fikre, a father of three. “Now I do not sell more than 150 quintals a day.” A quintal of cement is now sold at as low as 200 birr and the profit margin of the producers, wholesalers and retailers is slim.

The history of the Ethiopian cement industry is long and fascinating. The first cement factory was built by Italians during the occupation of 1938 in Dire Dawa town with a yearly production capacity of 30,000 tons. Prior to that, probably the first bulk cement import was made during the construction of the Ethio-Djibouti railway between 1904 and 1917. In the 1960s the Ethiopian government built two cement plants at Massawa (Eritrea) and Addis Ababa, with a combined annual output of 150,000 tons. Two production lines with an installed capacity of 600,000 tons were built at Mugher between 1984 and 1991. All state-owned factories were managed by Mugher Cement Enterprise from the mid- 1980s.

In his acclaimed book dubbed “Made in Africa”, Arkebe Oqubay (PhD), special adviser to the prime minister, wrote that after a long, sluggish development prior to the 1990s the Ethiopian cement industry recorded impressive growth between 2000 and 2012. According to Arkebe, installed capacity in the industry rose from 800,000 tons in 1999 to 10 million tons in 2012. The average annual growth rate for cement production was more than twice when compared to the rest of Africa or the globe during this period. By the end of 2012, the number of firms had increased from a single state-owned enterprise to 16.

“The cement industry has undergone major changes throughout this period and it appears that Ethiopia is likely to become one of the top three cement producers in

Anomaly in the cement industry

Africa,” Arkebe says.

A major milestone for the Ethiopian cement industry occurred during 2004-2012 when the construction industry registered an abrupt boom. Giant public infrastructure development projects, housing projects and private investments propelled the demand for cement. The government launched the construction of major hydro power dams, low cost housing projects and private real estate firms mushroomed. The local cement factories (Mugher and Messebo) were unable to satisfy the rising demand. The price of cement skyrocketed.

“There was not enough cement supply that can accommodate the sudden construction boom,” Gemechu Waktola (PhD), managing director of i-Capital (Africa) Institute and associate professor at Addis Ababa University, says. “The capacity built before this was not adequate to accommodate the abrupt construction boom. So because of that the cement industry suddenly changed. Things in the industry changed the construction economy, policy direction, and many other things.”

Arkebe says that the government did not make timely interventions in the face of new challenges and lacked a realistic long-term strategy for the industry. He says that the government failed to prevent and contain cyclical crises in the industry. Consequently, the country faced critical cement shortage and was compelled to import cement between 2006 and 2011.

Cement is a bulk product made from limestone and volcanic ash (pumice) and importing it from long distances with foreign currency was costly to the fragile Ethiopian economy. To satisfy the cement starving economy the Ethiopian government took various measures. The government allowed the import of cement with Franco Valuta [Franco Valuta imports are goods imported without foreign exchange expenditure from the domestic banking system] and tried to impose price controls. But these measures created an opportune time for rent-seekers to use the loopholes in the government policy and make fortunes.

Bribes were rampant and investors who are given high quotas of cement for their investment projects sold the cement for


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |11IN-DEPTH

Cement is a bulk product made from limestone and volcanic ash (pumice) and importing it from long distances with foreign currency was costly to the fragile Ethiopian economy.

Bribes were rampant and investors who are given high quotas of cement for their investment projects sold the cement for exorbitant prices in the local market amassing millions of birr.

exorbitant prices in the local marke,t amassing millions of birr. Many young millionaires were created overnight.

The Ethiopian government did not expect such a critical cement shortage and it was ill-prepared to handle the challenges. “Both the government and the market was caught by surprise when critical shortages of cement occurred in 2005 and lasted till 2010,” Arkebe says.

To address the erratic cement market the government offered attractive investment incentives to local and foreign investors who were interested in investing in the cement sector. Long-term subsidized loans, duty-free privileges and income tax exemption. The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) finances 70 percent of cement industry investment projects.

As a result, the existing cement factories undertook aggressive expansion projects and foreign firms–mostly Chinese–built new cement factories. The number of cement factories grew to 20 and annual cement production increased from 2.7 million tons to 15 million tons. Per capita cement consumption increased from 39 kg to 62 kg, which is still minimal compared to Sub-Saharan average of 165 kilograms.

Gemechu says that though the cement production capacity of the nation was generally growing, the consumption of cement was not increasing proportionally. Though the annual cement production capacity grew five-fold to 15 million tons the annual cement consumption stood at only six million tons.

In 2011 the cement industry developed excess production capacity. Arkebe says that both the market and the government again appeared ill- prepared when the industry suddenly experienced excess supply and productive capacity in 2011.

According to Gemechu, the cement market has saturated. He says the Ethiopian government made an erroneous projection at the beginning of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). “It was projected that the annual cement consumption would be 27 million tons by the end of GTP-I (2015) and the per capita consumption was supposed to be 300 kilograms. By end of the GTP-I the consumption was only 5.47 million tons while per capita consumption was 62 kilograms,” Gemechu says. “Both the government and the industry should share the responsibility for what happened,” he says.

The local cement manufacturers tried to export cement to South Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya. However, the market is limited and could not solve the market saturation problem. “Transporting cement by truck more than 300 kilometers will not make you competitive,” Gemechu says.

Haile Assegide, CEO of Derba MIDROC Cement and president of the Ethiopian Cement Producers Association, says that the demand for cement which was growing by 24-25 percent dropped to 15-16 percent. According to Haile, the current annual cement demand is 8-9 million tons.

Cement manufacturers are now complaining about the saturating market. “There are now more

complaints and fears among manufacturers than the previous years. The situation is getting tougher and tougher,” Gemechu says.

In an exclusive interview with The Reporter, Haile says production has surpassed demand and factories are scrambling for the limited market. “The industry transformed from shortage to abundance. The competition is getting fierce,” he says. Cement factories are utilizing 50 percent of their production capacity. The government has banned cement imports and suspended granting investment licenses.

The frequent power interruption has also contributed to the low capacity utilization, according to industry players. “We do not produce for six hours on the average due to power cuts,” Haile says. “But we hope this would improve as the Gilgel Gibe III has commenced generation.”

Gemechu argues that the government’s erroneous and ambitious projection of 27 million tons of cement consumption by 2015 contributes to the market problem. Arkebe shares Gemechu’s view. “The GTP projection which targeted ten-fold growth in five years proved to be grossly unrealistic and was not founded on a careful market study by the government,” he admits.

However, there are some government officials who try to defend the government. Samuel Alala, director-general of the Ethiopian Chemical and Construction Inputs Development Institute, says that the market saturation is a temporary problem.

“The growth of the cement industry should be viewed as part of the overall

economic development of the country. The country targets to become a middle-income country by 2025. As the middle-income base expands so does the cement market,” Samuel told The Reporter.

According to Samuel, the cement market is seasonal. “The demand for cement at some point increases and reaches a peak and declines at another phase. When the government launches major infrastructure development projects the demand escalates and drops when they are finalized. Now the government is finalizing preparations to commence work on major construction projects. After a few months it will introduce these projects and the cement demand will peak up.”

However, Samuel says this is not a sustainable market position. “A sustainable cement demand will be created as the economy grows and the middle-income group expands. We hope that the whole scenario will be changed in the course of economic development.”

Gemechu calls the Ethiopian cement industry a captive where the government is the single major cement consumer. “When something goes wrong with the government the cement industry players will jitter and pray that things will be okay.”

Industry players are advocating market stimulation. One of the recommended practices for market stimulation is replacing asphalt concrete roads with cement concrete roads. The Ethiopian government is investing heavily on the road sector development. Experts

Anomaly.... page 28

Haile Assegide Gemechu Waktola (PhD) Arkebe Oqubay (PhD)



The Government of Ethiopia is upgrading and expanding the country’s infrastructure and housing. This is bound to enhance the country’s demand for cement. Even now, local producers are grappling

to turn out sufficient quantities of cement and there is fear that price war is looming. Ethiopia’s current cement production capacity stands at 15 million tons per year. However, it was forecasted that the cement production capacity would reach 27 million tons per year by the end of country’s first Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). This was a erroneous projection, according to experts in the industry. Haile Assegide is the CEO of Derba MIDROC, one of the leading cement factories in Ethiopia. Haile served as the minister of state at the then Ministry of Infrastructure.

Currently, he is heading the Ethiopian Cement Producers Association which is under formation. Kaleyesus Bekele of The Reporter spoke to Haile about the challenges facing the Ethiopian

Cement Industry. Excerpts:

INTERVIEW

The Reporter: When was the Ethiopian Cement Producers Association established and what are the main objectives of the association?

Haile Assegide: The Ethiopian Cement Producers Association is under formation. We are in the registration process. 98 percent of cement producers have signed for membership. We have submitted the document to the relevant body. The association has two main objectives. The first thing is facilitating the ground work for the growth of the local cement industry. To work on building our capacity and expand the local cement market. The second thing is that we could benefit a lot by working together. For instance we can work together on alternative energy source. If one company works by itself alone it will not be fruitful. If we all collaborate and work together it will benefit us all. We could reduce our operational cost.

How many members does your association have now?

Fifteen cement producers have been registered. Except one all the cement factories have registered for membership. There are about 20 cement companies and some of the companies have two factories but we register them as one company so we have 15 members at the moment.

What are the main challenges facing the Ethiopian cement industry?

There are various challenges facing the cement industry. The first one is dearth of skilled labor. Previously there was a backward cement technology. The old cement factories used backward mode of production. The recently established factories apply modern cement technology. The problem we are facing now is that we do not have adequate number of professionals who are familiar with these modern cement technologies. So, it can be said that there is limited number of professionals. There were a couple of cement factories.

The professionals were working at either Muger or Dire Dawa cement factories. Then the Messebo Cement

Factory came up with a better cement technology. The current cement technology is completely different from the old ones. Everything is backed by IT systems. There is no adequate number of trained professionals capable of operating this modern cement technology. The newly established factories poach professionals from the existing ones. A factory, which trained its professionals, will lose them to a new factory.

What should be done to mitigate the labor shortage?

Training is the most important element. Universities should offer cement technology courses. The mechanical and chemical engineers do have the knowhow on cement technology. We train the university graduates on cement technology. I suggest that the universities offer at least one course on cement technology. Particularly, we except much from the Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU). I think ASTU should incorporate cement technology in its curriculum. It could offer the course at the fourth or fifth year.

First the university itself should have the knowledge. It can hire professionals from abroad (expatriates) and train Ethiopian instructors. Then ASTU can pass the knowledge to young Ethiopian students. Each cement factory has professionals who can cooperate with the university. We should be able to be self-sufficient in a short period of time in terms of skilled labor in cement technology.

What are the problems in the cement market and capacity utilization?

The cement production capacity has been boosted. There were only two or three factories and they could not meet the demand since it has increased through time. So, in the past several years many new factories were built and have joined the market. The cement demand is not up to par with the production capacity. Currently, the installed annual production capacity is 15 million tons and the annual cement sales is eight to nine million tons. Production surpassed

Cementing the gaps



Training is the most important

element. Universities should offer

cement technology

courses. The mechanical

and chemical engineers

do have the knowhow

on cement technology.

INTERVIEW

the demand so factories scramble for market. There is a stiff competition. The industry transformed from shortage to abundance.

There are also other challenges. There is shortage of foreign currency. The cement industry requires a large amount of spare parts. There is no heavy industry that manufactures cement factory spare parts so we are fully dependent on imports. It takes a prolonged time to secure foreign currency.

What should be done to stimulate the cement market and boost demand?

New development projects create demand. Rural development will create additional demand.

Which rural development are you referring to?

The rural housing development project has a paramount importance. 85 percent of the Ethiopia’s population live in rural area. Rural development will stimulate demand. It creates a huge cement demand. If we say 80 percent of the

population live in the rural area then we are talking about 72 million people. If the rural housing project is realized it will create a huge demand that the existing factories can not meet.

Our cement per capita consumption is only 62 percent. Sub-Saharan African per capita consumption is 165 kilograms and the global average is 500 kilograms. So we have a huge space for growth. Our problem is that most of our investments are in the urban areas. All the infrastructure is found in urban areas or along the main roads. If we can develop the rural infrastructure we can create a huge market.

If the rural housing projects is realized it will create a huge cement demand. We can produce low grow grade cement for rural development at an affordable price. Until now we are engaged in producing high quality cement that can be used in urban areas mostly used for structures and high rise buildings and the high quality cement is expensive for the rural community. For the rural housing projects we can produce low grade cement with lower prices which

the rural community can afford to buy and that would be a big market for the cement industry. We need to replace the use of mud with cement in rural areas.

How do you evaluate the export market in neighboring countries?

There are local cement factories that sell cement to Djibouti. Derba Cement used to export cement to Djibouti. Derba exports cement to Kenya. We sell 500,000-600,000 dollars worth of cement to Kenya on a monthly basis. We transport cement by truck and the problem is that you cannot be profitable if you transport cement by truck beyond 300 kilometers. We sell to Kenya because we have excess capacity and we want to bring in foreign currency. We prefer to sell here as the local demand picks up.

Can you be competitive if you use rail transport?

Rail transport is highly beneficial to the cement industry. But it has to be integrated with the cement

Cementing... page 22


14| The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1020COMMENTARY

VIEWPOINT

For poor people in the developing world, such transboundary

cooperation generates significant dividends. When countries agree on

the construction and management of critical infrastructure, there are no

delays, write Prince El Hassan bin Talal and Sundeep Waslekar

Civil society has a major role to play both in educating the public on how

best to prevent and treat TB, and to maintain pressure on industry

and governments to ensure that medicines, vaccines and diagnostics for TB are available and accessible

for all in need, write Festus Mogae and Precious Matsoso.

Such was the fear around tuberculosis (TB) in the17th-century that author John Bunyan described the deadly disease as “the captain of all these men of death.” TB killed one in seven, causing many to believe it was inherited, witchcraft, or punishment from God.

It was not until 1882 that Robert Koch, following tests on guinea pigs, announced to the Berlin Physiological Society that he discovered an infectious disease that he called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Next week, on 24 March, the world will mark the anniversary of Koch’s findings in what is now known as World TB Day. Koch’s discovery is acclaimed as the most important step taken toward the eliminating the disease.

However, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Global Tuberculosis Report of 2015, there are 9.6 million cases of TB every year, with 1.2 million cases being TB/HIV co-infection. Three quarters of these cases are in Africa.

TB still kills 1.5 million people across the world every year, with 400,000 of those deaths among people who are HIV-positive. People with HIV are particularly at risk from TB because they have suppressed immunity, which makes them vulnerable to infection.

Further complicating matters is the rise in multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), which is TB that is resistant to

rifampicin and isoniazid, two of the most effective drugs that are used to treat ordinary TB. The WHO estimates that there are 480,000 cases of MDR-TB every year worldwide, with only a quarter of these actually detected and reported. MDR-TB is harder to treat and more deadly. It typically takes two years for a patient to recover from MDR-TB, negatively impacting the patient’s overall health and exponentially raising the cost of treatment. An estimated 190,000 people die every year from MDR-TB.

In what should sound a global alarm, nearly ten percent of MDR-TB cases are resistant to not only rifampicin and isoniazid, but also several second line treatment options. This form of drug resistant TB is known as extensively-drug resistant TB (XDR-TB) and represents a dangerous moment for the world as we move towards a contagion scenario where all available drugs are ineffective in tackling the disease.

In Ethiopia, the scenario is concerning and needs action at the international, national and local levels. Every year, the WHO estimates that there are 200,000 cases of TB in Ethiopia, 19,000 are co-infection cases with HIV. This is alarming as TB is the leading cause of death among people living with HIV across the globe. With drug-resistant TB being reported across the country, there is a lot to be done at all levels to reduce the number of cases and deaths, and prevent a drug-resistant TB contagion.

This month, the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicine is holding global meetings in London and Johannesburg to discuss new ideas, thoughts and innovative ways that governments, civil society, pharmaceutical companies, human rights lawyers and academia can help both promote innovation and increase access to vaccines, diagnostics and medicines. The TB and associated drug-resistance crisis gives added urgency to the development of the Panel’s report, which will be released in June.

In the early 2000s, when the HIV epidemic was out of control and spreading exponentially in sub-Saharan Africa, millions of people with HIV died because they did not have access to antiretrovirals. Civil society was able to focus a great deal of national and international media attention and pressure on the high cost of antiretovirals and lack of access due to patents. This pressure led to the production of generic drugs in India, which saved tens of millions of lives. However, victories on certain medicines did not translate across the board. TB and the threat of a drug-resistant contagion emphasize that we need to find new solutions so that access to life-saving medicines, vaccines and diagnostics are accessible and sustainable.

Stopping the TB contagion

Stopping... page 23

This year’s World Water Day, on March 22, provides an opportunity to highlight what in many countries has become a grim reality: The availability of fresh water is increasingly a defining strategic factor in regional and global affairs. Unless water resources are managed with extraordinary care, the consequences could be devastating.

Last year, the United Nations World Water Development Report once again highlighted how the growing gap between supply and demand could create conflict. The World Economic Forum has ranked water crises as the most worrying global threat, more dangerous than terrorist attacks or financial meltdowns, and more likely to occur than the use of weapons of mass destruction. And research by the Strategic Foresight Group has shown the importance of wise management: Countries engaged in the joint stewardship of water resources are exceedingly unlikely to go to war.

The Middle East serves as a tragic example of what can happen when regional cooperation is lacking. Iraq, Syria, and Turkey have fought over every cubic meter of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. All have lost as a result. Non-state actors control important parts of the two river basins. And water shortages have aggravated the region’s refugee crisis (itself the

apotheosis of poor governance).

The bitterest part of the tragedy is that it could have been avoided. In 2010, at the West Asia-North Africa Forum in Amman, we proposed the creation of “circles of cooperation,” which would have institutionalized collaboration among Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey on water and environmental issues. A similar arrangement would have helped manage environmental resources shared by Jordan, Israel, and Palestine.

If a supranational organization had been created, it could have introduced joint strategies to manage drought, coordinate crop patterns, develop common standards to monitor river flows, and implement investment plans to create livelihoods and develop water-treatment technologies.

Other regions have done exactly that. Countries sharing rivers in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America have recognized that national interests and regional stability can be mutually reinforcing if human needs are given priority over chauvinism.

Last fall, the international community adopted the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which promise to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Part of this pledge is a commitment

to “expand international cooperation.”

Those in charge of implementing this commitment must bear in mind that water cooperation is not merely about signing treaties and holding meetings. It also entails jointly planning infrastructure projects, managing floods and droughts, developing an integrated strategy to combat climate change, ensuring the quality of water courses, and holding regular summits to negotiate tradeoffs between water and other public goods.

The Water Cooperation Quotient, a measure of collaboration created by the Strategic Foresight Group, can help countries sharing river basins and lakes monitor the intensity of their cooperation. Out of 263 shared river basins, only a quarter benefit from properly functioning collaborative organizations. It is crucial that such organizations be extended to cover every shared river basin in the world by the SDGs’ target year, 2030.

For poor people in the developing world, such transboundary cooperation generates significant dividends. When countries agree on the construction and management of critical infrastructure, there are no delays. Costs are saved. Benefits are shared in an optimum way.

Managing the politics of water

Managing... page 22


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |15OPINION

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In the regions with the highest child mortality rates, we know that infectious

diseases cause the most deaths, but we do not know which ones. A new

initiative will help diagnose the causes of death more accurately, so that

potential interventions can be prioritized accordingly, writes Scott Dowell.

o. 1020

In an age in which data are more plentiful and accessible than ever before, we are accustomed to basing our decisions on as much evidence as we can gather. The more important the decision, the keener we are to ensure that our research is thorough and our information is accurate.

And yet, when it comes to what is arguably one of the most important decisions we face today, we have very little data. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the United Nations last September, the international community has pledged to end preventable deaths of children under the age of five by 2030. And yet, in the regions with the highest mortality rates, we lack the most basic information about why children die. We know that infectious diseases cause the most deaths, but we do not know which ones. When it comes to deciding how best to allocate our resources, we are effectively flying blind.

Since 1990, we have halved child mortality worldwide; but nearly six million children under the age of five still die from preventable causes. Four out of five child deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia, regions where there are few doctors and even

fewer pathologists. Standard medical investigations of the causes of death are rare. In many cases, there is no official death record at all.

When the cause of death is investigated, it is almost exclusively through a “verbal autopsy.” Parents are asked, typically three months after their loss, about the circumstances surrounding their child’s death. But while they may be able to report that their baby suffered from rapid breathing or diarrhea, they have no way of identifying the cause of these symptoms.

The problem is aggravated when it comes to the nearly 45 percent of deaths that occur during the first month of life. In these cases, the cause of death is often recorded simply as a “neonatal death,” a label that provides no hint as to what caused the illness. This information is useless and cannot help prevent other families from suffering the same tragedy.

Experience from successful health campaigns, such as eradicating polio or controlling Ebola, shows that while early progress can be achieved relatively easily, lasting results require enormous efforts and very accurate surveillance data. It is to collect this crucial information that the Child

Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance – or CHAMPS – program has been launched.

The CHAMPS program – a long-term initiative led by the Emory Global Health Institute, with partners including the International Association of National Public Health Institutes, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Task Force for Global Health – eventually will involve some 20 sites in areas with the highest child mortality rates. This will allow us to record causes of death more accurately and track progress as vaccination campaigns and other measures are introduced.

These sites will rely on a new technique that allows tiny samples of key organs, such as the liver or lungs, to be extracted with a needle, causing minimal damage to the body of a deceased child. The samples will then be sent for analysis to strengthened local labs and reference centers to provide a more accurate and complete picture of all causes of death.

There are many possible interventions – such as providing folic acid to prevent

How autopsies can save

children’s lives

How autopsies... page 22

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Wayna, born Woyneab Wondwessen, is an Ethiopian-born singer and song writer. She left Ethiopia with her mother at a young age and grew up in the US. She has always been musical and started

to fully embrace her talents while she was in school and founded a gospel quartet in college. They performed at different events. After earning a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in English and Speech Communication from the University of Maryland, Wayna began her professional career as a writer in the White House for the Bill Clinton administration. However, she left the job to pursue her true passion–music. Over the years she has performed in different countries and worked in collaboration with numerous international musicians. She has three albums–Moments

of Clarity, Book 1 (2004), Higher Ground (2008) and The Expats (2013). Known for her melodies R&B, soul and other general hits, she recently came to Ethiopia to perform. Meheret Selassie

Mokonnen of The Reporter sat with her to talk about her music odyssey.

INTERVIEW +

Reporter: What is the purpose of your latest visit to Ethiopia?

Wayna: I came to perform at the Marriott. I have been doing a residency for six weeks starting on New Year’s Eve ending on Valentine’s Day weekend. Now I am working on photos and videos. I was inspired by my mom’s generation and sense of style. They were young housewives who were looking at fashion abroad and incorporated their own way of doing things. I want to pay a tribute to them as if I was my mom in their heyday, before she came to the States, being a young fashionable mom. We wanted that old look so we did a shoot in Piazza. The concept is Ethiopian social life in the 1960’s. It is going to be used in my music, social media page or anything. I am also learning about the music scene here. On a personal level I have brought my family. I wanted to introduce them to their culture. It is my daughter’s first visit to Ethiopia and my mom is here too. So it is a family and personal visit.

You left Ethiopia at a very young age and was growing up in the States. What was your connection to Ethiopian music?

I grew up listening to Ethiopian music and at the back of the house it was always playing. I had my favorites. I listened to Aster Awoke and Gigi. But, I only recently realized that the sound was part of my ear and part of my approach to making music. When I started making music I was doing mostly R&B and soul and that is rooted in gospel music. I thought of myself as an Ethiopian that was doing American music. And then the more music that I made I realized that the parts of me that are Ethiopian are so intertwined in every part of who I am that it comes out without even thinking about it. And I started to explore that more. I produced my last album with a band in Toronto that has two Ethiopians. Recently, when I was touring with Stevie Wonder, he would give us things to sing and when I would sing back the same thing that he just sang, he would tell me I sounded Ethiopian. He heard the Ethiopian thing in my voice which I didn’t know. It made me realize that it is very much

part of who I am that I am not even conscious of it. The exciting thing is to explore it and become conscious of it. I’m now becoming a student of old Ethiopian music. I am studying Bizunesh Bekele and some old folk music that my cousins gave me to take home and research. I will leave soon but, I will come back for about a week in May. Hopefully if I get invited back to perform I will come.

What was Ethiopian or other music’s role in your life, with you growing up in the states as a black woman?

Music was my escape. Anytime I wanted to express happiness, sadness, confusion or whatever emotion, music was a comfort for me. I wouldn’t say our house was very musical. But I was from a very young age drawn to music and completely absorbed in it. In the beginning, as a child it was just a way to have fun and express myself. As I got older I found that I could attach my own story to sounds I was enjoying and it became a way to express myself more.

You worked as a writer at the White House during Bill Clinton’s administration. What was your experience there like?

It was wonderful. The people were brilliant. The atmosphere was very intense and demanding. The work was important. I felt like I was a part of something special. I really believed in a lot of the goals of the Clinton administration. Their accomplishment was something I was proud of. It was a special time of my life. I was a fresh graduate from college. I had all kinds of ideas about how I wanted to impact the world with my life. Seeing people do enormous things with their abilities was very inspiring. I learned the standard of excellence they had there. Everything we put out was a reflection of the president that the expectation was perfection, even though, obviously, we were human and we all made mistakes. But, there were all kinds of systems in place to prevent a mistake from actually happening. The best thing I took away from that was aspiration to a very high level.

The soulful singer



To me the purpose of

music is to be a voice especially for people who

don’t have a voice. The most

interesting thing to me as a song

writer is to tell a story that either hasn’t been told or to tell it in a way that people

haven’t heard.

INTERVIEW +

You started being involved in music at a young age and in college you sang in a quartet. What has that practice contributed to your musical career?

I was singing in the University of Maryland gospel choir in college. Four of us started our own quartet. We performed at various shows up and down the east coast. It was wonderful because gospel singers are some of the most amazing singers in the world. It was great to study gospel music and to have this kind of intimate performance with three other singers that were good. I learned a lot.

You went straight from politics to music. What brought that transition?

There was about a couple years working at the White House. I felt a little uninspired and lost. I was doing what I thought would make my family proud and what was an application of my education. But I wasn’t happy and fulfilled. It took me some time before I was strong enough to walk away from the job to chase what was in my heart. Even though the dream itself seemed unrealistic for some people, I got to a point where my desire became greater than my fear. The last two years working at the White House I started writing and working with producers in the area and performing in George Town Friday nights. By the time I left I had a plan for who I would work with and how I would start the creative process. But, it still took me another two

years before I found the right theme and had actually gotten comfortable in the studio and found sort of direction I want to go on creatively.

Your remake of Minnie Ripperton’s “Loving You” was nominated for the 2009 Grammy Awards in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category. What has the nomination brought you?

It was big for so many reasons. First of all I was and am an independent artist. Most people believe that to get nominated and to get recognized on that level, you have to have a company behind you; there has to be lots of promotion behind you. The fact that I got recognition as a very underground artist was a big deal for me and lots of my peers who didn’t even think it was possible. I remember one guy, when I told him I had submitted my album for consideration and asked him what I can do to promote it and to get recognized, his exact words were Christmas isn’t coming early, don’t even try. Still it happened. The Grammy itself had their ears to the ground and were listening curiously about up and coming music. Because we had worked hard and made the product, for me it was huge. It gave me hope and affirmation for all of the work that I had done. It gave me access to people and producers just on another level of the industry that I didn’t have the access before. It is still helping to this day. Now the goal is to win one not just be nominated.

You have got a chance to tour around the world with one of your muses: Stevie Wonder; tell us other musicians who inspire you?

He is one and also Roberta Falck, Minnie Ripperton, Donny Hathaway old school classical sound artists are the ones I started studying in the beginning. Recently I have been very deep into alternative rock like The Police and Radiohead modern day artists that I love are Lauren Hill, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott. Now I am beginning to sink into Ethiopian music. Now I’m all about Bizunesh. I’m sure the list is going to keep growing. I want to expand my ears as much as possible.

One of your songs “Mama’s Sacrifice” deals with women’s struggle and it is dedicated to your mother. Similarly “My Love” speaks against domestic violence. How do you express the value of music that reflects the day-to-day struggle of women and raise consciousness about domestic violence?

To me the purpose of music is to be a voice especially for people who don’t have a voice. The most interesting thing to me as a song writer is to tell a story that either hasn’t been told or to tell it in a way that people haven’t heard. When I hear a story of women or children being abused my instinct as most women who have a nurturing

The soulful... page 24


18| The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1020COMMENTARY +

VIEWPOINT +

Entrepreneurship has become a catalyst for progress in resolving

conflict worldwide. The focus on job and wealth creation has become a

“talking point” upon which nearly all governments can agree – or at least

find little with which to disagree, write Anne-Marie Slaughter and Elmira

Bayrasli.

The barriers to polio eradication are no longer medical; the disease does not occur where vaccination

programs operate unhindered. Successful immunization campaigns

must secure the support of de facto political leaders – whether of an

internationally recognized state or of a vilified militant organization, write

Jonathan Kennedy and Domna Michailidou

Armenia and Turkey have long been at odds. Divided over a tragic past, the neighboring countries do not have diplomatic ties, and their border remains closed.

Despite this, in November 2014, a group of Turks traveled to Armenia for Startup Weekend, an event where aspiring entrepreneurs hone and pitch their ideas to investors and experts. In mixed teams, young Armenians and Turks worked together to build new ventures. “We weren’t focused on being Armenian or Turkish – just on being the best,” a Turkish participant noted.

That sentiment is exactly what the people who backed the trip – diplomats from the United States and the European Union – had hoped to achieve. For decades they have struggled to find common ground for Armenians and Turks to begin a dialogue. The common personality types, values, and single-minded focus of entrepreneurs created an opening.

Entrepreneurship has become a catalyst for progress in similarly thorny situations worldwide. The focus on job and wealth creation has become a “talking point” upon which nearly all governments can agree – or at least find little with which to disagree. That has

made it a handy tool for a new form of diplomacy.

Whether in Africa, Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East, entrepreneurship has improved individual capability, capacity, and connectivity. It has stimulated not only economic activity but also social mobility. An emphasis on entrepreneurship stands the traditional foreign-aid paradigm on its head, because it is based on the assumption that the engine of development is local talent, a class of people – equally distributed throughout the world – with the capacity to innovate and commercialize their innovations.

In Africa, mobile money platforms such as M-Pesa in Kenya and Paga in Nigeria have solved a key problem for millions in their respective countries and across several continents: the lack of financial services. Through a simple text message, anyone with a cellular handset is able to send and receive money. That has helped move money. More importantly, it has given millions of individuals an opportunity to start their own businesses. Unlocking human creativity and ingenuity is lifting millions out of poverty and helping improve national infrastructure.

As fossil fuels contribute to global

warming, entrepreneurs in Asia, Latin America, and Europe are pioneering a variety of alternative energy solutions. Startups such as Optima Energia in Mexico are harnessing wind, sun, and biofuels to offer sustainable and scalable energy options.

“An entrepreneur is a person with the vision to see a new product or process and the ability to make it happen,” writes Steven Koltai in his forthcoming book, Peace Through Entrepreneurship. A former US State Department official who set up the Global Entrepreneurship Program (GEP) in 2009, Koltai describes entrepreneurship as a “job-creating machine.” It is the difference between opening a restaurant and reimagining what the experience of eating could be like. Entrepreneurs create new things that in turn create consumer demand for those things.

Last week, GEP, along with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Brazilian NGO ANDI, and the city of Medellín co-hosted the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Medellín, Colombia. The gathering brought together entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, and policymakers from

Entrepreneurship as a diplomatic tool

Entrepreneurship... page 23

A few years ago, the global campaign to eradicate polio seemed to have stalled. After decades of eradication efforts, the virus remained stubbornly endemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. Then, in 2013 and 2014, it was found to have returned to seven previously polio-free countries in Africa and the Middle East, prompting the World Health Organization to declare the disease’s resurgence a “public-health emergency of international concern.”

Despite this recidivism, the world today is closer than ever to eradicating polio. In 2015, there were just 74 new cases of the disease – 80 percent fewer than the previous year and the lowest annual total ever. And all of the cases were concentrated in just two countries, 54 in Pakistan and 20 in Afghanistan. Moreover, it has been eighteen months since the virus was last detected in Africa.

The reasons behind this remarkable turnaround are instructive, illustrating the challenges facing public-health workers and the best ways to overcome them.

The barriers to polio eradication are no longer medical; the disease does not occur where vaccination programs operate unhindered. During the past five years, polio cases have occurred almost exclusively in five conflict-

affected countries: Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Syria. Because immunization programs are led by national governments and the WHO, which, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, works closely with incumbent regimes, it can be difficult to carry out vaccinations in areas where militants wage war against the state.

The fall in the number of polio cases largely resulted from improved access to such areas. In Nigeria and Pakistan, vaccination programs were able to proceed after troops asserted the state’s control over conflict-affected territory.

Most polio cases occurred in northern and eastern Nigeria, where the terrorist group Boko Haram had killed and kidnapped immunization workers, disrupting vaccination programs and leaving more than a million children unprotected. After a regional military force pushed the group into sparsely populated mountains and forests, immunization workers were provided access to previously rebel-controlled areas.

In Pakistan, polio is concentrated in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the northwest of the country, where the Taliban are strongest. In 2012, militant leaders in the region banned immunization programs over concerns that they were being used to

gather intelligence for drone attacks by the United States. Consequently 1-3.5 million Pakistani children were not vaccinated.

That changed in the summer of 2014, when the Pakistan military brought large areas of the region under government control. In the space of a single year, the number of polio cases fell from 306 to 54.

Using troops to assert control over conflict-affected areas is not the only way to improve access for polio workers, and in some cases it may not be the most effective. In Afghanistan, Somalia, and Syria, the government was either unable or unwilling to assert authority over rebel-controlled territory. Instead, immunization workers adapted to the political reality and worked with militants to gain access to areas under their control.

The Afghan Taliban have cooperated with polio vaccination programs since the 1990s. In most cases, local-level leaders have welcomed immunization workers, seeing vaccination programs as a form of patronage that reinforces their authority. The few polio cases that have been detected have been either cross-border transmissions from

The politics of polio eradication

The politics... page 25


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |19OPINION +

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There have been a number of initiatives in recent years to move beyond GDP

in measuring countries’ success in governance and development. In a

country that has spent the past five decades building an economy from a

standing start, the government knows only too well that such figures do not

tell the whole story, argues Ohood Al Roumi.

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I’m delighted to join in the celebration of this year’s International Day of Happiness. But, to be honest, my focus is on the other 364 days of the year. After all, I am in the happiness business.

There have been a number of initiatives and efforts around the world to move beyond GDP and data on schools or hospital beds in measuring a country’s success in governance and development. In a country that has spent the past five decades building an economy from a standing start, the government in which I serve knows only too well that such figures, while showing that our development is progressing, do not tell the whole story – or anything like it.

In 2011, the United Nations called on member states to place more emphasis on happiness and wellbeing when working to achieve and measure social and economic development. Since then, many countries have come to realize that placing happiness at the heart of their governance objectives makes perfect sense.

Here in the UAE, we have recognized, as others are recognizing, that we need benchmarks for governance that truly express what we mean by success. The question we ask is not whether we are providing adequate services and sound economic policy to our people, but whether we are making our people happy. Of course, the latter requires delivering the former; but it also means

going beyond statistics, to comprehend that we are all individuals with our own hopes, fears, and aspirations.

Happiness is serious business in the UAE, where attention to it permeates everything we do in government, including efforts to encourage private-sector companies to place a value on it in their everyday operations. It entails formulating national strategies, programs, and policies to increase happiness and then measuring our achievements on an ongoing basis.

But what exactly is this indicator we are calling happiness? It is neither a transitory moment of delight nor a constant condition. It is a state of being beyond satisfaction, a flourishing and ambient joy.

Happiness is knowing that you and your family are safe; that there is opportunity open to you and your children; and that you can depend on a high degree of care, dignity, and fairness in your society. Happiness is not something that is bestowed from on high; we all must work to achieve it. But, as I see it, our role in government is to create an environment that enables happiness and a positive attitude toward life to flourish.

Setbacks or frustrations in one’s life do not necessarily imply a loss of happiness, which depends on how you – and others who are helping you – go about overcoming obstacles. Happiness

thus entails a commitment to helping others, as well as taking responsibility for your own decision to proceed constructively and optimistically. In my ten years working in government, I have personally encountered no situation that could not be handled with a smile, a little consideration, and a touch of positivity. Happiness is something I take personally and believe in passionately.

Happiness can’t be mandated, demanded, or enforced. It must be encouraged and nurtured. It requires a change of mindset, with a focus on seeking constructive outcomes. It is experienced at both the individual and collective levels.

So how are we going about it in the UAE? It is still early days – my post is just over a month old. But we already have a 100-day plan in place and a clear set of tasks ahead of us. We have defined guidelines for shaping policy across government, and we have started to create structures for coordinating among government entities and for defining new approaches to services and service delivery. We are also developing benchmarks and assessment tools, in order to formulate and monitor measurable performance indicators for happiness.

Alongside our efforts to place the quest

A quantum of happiness

A quantum... page 25

1. international bidders for the supply and Delivery of 140,000 MT White Cane Sugar

2. Bidders shall submit their offers, price in two options:- CFR Djibouti port and FOB stowed, based on terms of payment in three options:- by an irrevocable Letter of Credit in USD at site, Deferred Letter of Credit payable after 12 and Deferred Letter of Credit payable after 18 months.

3. A complete set of bidding documents in English Language can be purchased by

th Floor

Tel: +251115524586

P.O.B. 20034- 1000

4. Sealed bids marked as per instructions given to bidders in the tender document and addressed to the address below must be received by the BUYER at or before 10:00AM local time on 03 May 2016. The document will be received through bid box or hand delivered. No liability will be accepted by the buyer for loss or late delivery.

5. The bids shall be opened in the presence of the bidders/representatives who choose to attend at the conference hall of Marketing Zerf, Mexico Square, Philips Building, 4th Floor, Room No. 412 at 10:30AM local time on 03 May 2016.

6. Bids must be accompanied by a bid security BB amounting USD 30,000.00 or equivalent in Ethiopian Birr at the prevailing exchange rate in the form of CPO or

demand by SC.7. SC reserves all rights to accept or reject, decrease or increase, any or all bids or

cancel the tender without giving reasons thereof.



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will be given to candidates who are registered as Librarians and Translators

Excellent communication skills, both oral and written

Computer literacy and Internet competence

Analytical skills

Knowledge of issues relating to South Africa and its foreign policy

Sense of Urgency

Planning and Organisational Skills.

Management of stake-holder relations.

Translation of the written word a

Interpretation of the spoken word

effect on South Africa and its image abroad, in all spheres of life – political, social, economic, cultural etc.

Monitoring of local information services such as newspaper reports and television broadcasts

Conducts research and collects data, scans newspapers, radio, internet, and television broadcasts and prepares synopsis for mission reports

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Curriculum Vitae

8 April 2016


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |21ART

By Henok Reta

On many occasions, finding a number of people guzzling juice and devouring vegetables after 7:00 in the evening is a somewhat uncommon trend to observe in Addis Ababa since it is usually a time when people go to bars to spend a couple of hours sipping beer. Likewise, one can feel a bit strange when looking at the increased number of pedestrians strolling on the streets of Addis at this time of the evening. So what is the main reason for this change in style of living? Well, many from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church have already started the Lent season.

At this time of the year lifestyle is enormously subjected to paradigm shift. It is a time where people stop listening to music and get connected to the spiritual world, intertwining oneself within the liturgical hymn murmured by the elders. Similarly, it is a time when the vast majority becoming vegans and avoiding alcoholic drinks. Fasting becomes more intense over the 56-day period of Lent, when no meat or animal products of any kind, including milk and butter, are eaten. As a result, Ethiopian juice marts and vegetable stores are somewhat busy and profitable due to this change in eating habit. It will also inevitably result in

low consumption of dairy and meat products. Similarly, this is a time when nightclubs are stripped of their patrons and nightlife becomes desiccated. But that is not the case across the board.

Usually, the lights and the high-tempo music at most of the city’s lavish night clubs are exhilarating with club goers dancing and having fun with friends. However, it was the exact opposite of this common scene that was observed last Saturday. Some four guests sat down in a scattered manner trying to cope with the humdrum night. Even the DJ was not fully engaged as he repeatedly went out and came back inside after a few minutes to change the rhythm of the music played for only a handful of guests inside. “It went on like that up until midnight,” Samuel Tessema, one of the customers, says. After an hour, Samuel and his friends left the nightclub, which is located around Haya Hulet. They decided to change venues and went Barel at Bole Medhanialem–a famous spot in Addis Ababa. “It looked less crowded than usual but it was a better place to spend some hours,” Samuel says.

What has been labeled as a perplexing scenario by many Addis Ababans is that these days Lent is seeing a steady flock of club goers in many of the night spots of the city. While some totally abstain

themselves from drinking and partying for the whole two months, some stay indoors for at least a couple of weeks in to the Lent season and gradually start going out to clubs. As a result of the slowdown, some nightclubs, lounges and bars suspend services and under go renovations until the non-fasting days arrive while others welcome the non-fasting patrons.

One of the city’s most jubilant reggae spots have already closed doors but, according to the manager, the decision has nothing to do with Lent. “We are not operating well in the market anymore for a number of reasons. Higher rent price and small number of guests are the major factors,” Abraham Shiferaw, manager of Jams Addis Reggae Nightclub, says.

In fact, the nightlife is not part of most people’s lifestyle. The once who are active in that regard go out once a week to relieve their fatigue. Some people have other ways of relaxation which includes going to the movies. All the same, going out to nightclubs–especially on weekends–nowadays seem to be urbanites’ way of life regardless of their religious and other social backgrounds. These days, many Addis Ababans are very eager to experience what other resident of cities in developed countries are accustomed to. According to

Getahun Dana, a lecturer of philosophy at the Addis Ababa University, the capital city is eager to signal a kind of metropolitan status through its physical infrastructure and is also spurring its residents towards the sophisticated way of life of a metropolis. As a result, the young generation hardly harness the traditional and religious principles, he says.

In spite of this assumption, others believe that there are youngsters who are serious about their religious and traditional values. And for them, the best moment to witness this is the Lent season for the Orthodox Christians and the Ramadan for Muslims.

This year’s Lent is advancing and has almost reached half way. And so far this has forced the nightlife in Addis Ababa to stagnate to some extent. “We are not experiencing any significant impact on our business because of the fasting season but it is obviously not as reverberant as other times of the year,” Zekarias Engidaw, a night-shift manager at Jubilee Lounge, located off Mickey Leland Street, says.

Zekarias, who himself belongs to the Orthodox Tewahdo Church, feels that Lent is something that should be

The perplexing

nightlife during Lent

The perplexing... page 23



If all developing countries with shared river basins embraced transboundary cooperation, their GDP growth easily could rise by a percentage point.

The international community should encourage countries to embrace such cooperation by creating financial instruments that make concessional and preferential funds available. A global Marshall Plan for shared river basins might at first seem like an expensive proposition; but the cost of inaction – consider the threat to Europe alone posed by massive refugee inflows – easily could be several orders of

magnitude higher.

Likewise, the international community should act promptly to save critical water infrastructure from acts of violence and terrorism. Many rivers, including the Tigris and the Euphrates, have been and continue to be cradles of human civilization. The UN should consider creating special peacekeeping forces to protect them.

Finally, international law should be designed to prevent, not just resolve, conflicts. In particular, a robust global treaty is needed to regulate emissions into bodies of water. Today, most

disagreements over water concern the quantity parties are to receive. In the future, conflicts will increasingly be about water quality, as irrigation practices, industrialization, and urbanization contribute to rising pollution levels.

World Water Day is the ideal occasion to launch a new agenda for water wisdom. But every day must be a day when we work together to manage one of the planet’s most important resources.

Ed.’s Note: Prince El Hassan bin Talal is the founder and Chairman

of the Arab Thought Forum and the West Asia-North Africa Forum and a distinguished member of the Global High Level Panel on Water and Peace. Sundeep Waslekar is President of Strategic Foresight Group. The article was provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives on our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science, and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

Managing... CONT`D FROM PAGE 14

birth defects, introducing new vaccines, or treating infections earlier – that we know could have an impact on child mortality. CHAMPS will provide the information needed to prioritize these measures.

Furthermore, each site will help build the capacity of partner countries’ public health systems, providing valuable data and technical support that will have an impact far beyond helping to reduce child mortality. For example, the surveillance centers will generate the data needed to tackle infectious diseases, provide early warning of epidemics, and generally improve global health.

The CHAMPS initiative is still in its early days. The sites – six of which are being funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through an initial $73 million grant for the first three years – are just being established.

More partners and more funding will be needed to expand the network and maintain it over the long term. And it will take time for the benefits to become clear.

But early results are encouraging. Worries that parents would be reluctant to allow postmortem tests on their children have proved unfounded. On the contrary, our experience so far shows that parents are very interested in finding out what killed their children. At a well-established pilot site in Soweto, South Africa, both mothers and fathers are returning to learn the results of the testing – an unprecedented level of interest.

I believe that CHAMPS’ work may have the greatest impact of anything in which I have been involved in my 20 years in public health. By accurately tracking the causes of child mortality, we can target treatments more precisely

and usher in a new era – one in which preventable child deaths really will be a thing of the past.

Ed.’s Note: Scott Dowell, Deputy Director for Surveillance and Epidemiology at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was Director of the Division of Global Disease Detection and Emergency Response at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is an adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Medicine. The article was provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives on our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science, and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

How autopsies... CONT`D FROM PAGE 15

factories. The location of the routes is a determinant factor. The Djibouti line is mainly used for imports. The train basically transports imported goods and it heads to Djibouti unloaded and if we can use it for export as well it will be beneficial. We could be more competitive in Djibouti. We can even be competitive to export it beyond Djibouti.

Some experts advocate the use of cement to build roads instead of asphalt. The government has awarded the first cement concrete road. What is the stance of your association on this recommendation?

We held several discussions with the government on this issue. The government built the first 12 kilometers cement concrete project as a pilot project. We learnt a lot from this project. It has been a year and a half since the road has been built and there are no shortcomings noted so far. Cement concrete roads are much more beneficial than asphalt roads. The first thing is asphalt is imported product while cement is locally produced. We can save a hefty amount of foreign currency if we build cement concrete roads.

Maintenance cost is minimal when it comes to cement concrete road. It has a longer life than asphalt road. Maintaining an asphalt road is costly. Asphalt road easily deteriorates in the rainy seasons. But if you see the cement concrete road it gets stronger when it gets water. So rain water does not damage cement concrete road. But the initial investment on cement concrete road is higher than asphalt road. But considering the low operational cost and longer life span it is still beneficial or much better than the asphalt road.

The price of cement has been dwindling due to the stiff competition in the industry. But compared to other countries it is still expensive. Experts say it is the energy cost that escalates the cost of cement. What efforts are being exerted to replace carbon fuel with alternative energy sources?

The old factories used heavy fuel oil. Muger Cement, Messebo and National Cement used to burn heavy fuel oil. They now started using coal. This is one step forward in reducing cost. But now we are trying to use biomass. There is an initiative to use coffee husk as source of energy. There is also an ongoing effort to use a widespread weed found

in the Afar Regional State by National Cement. If we all use biomass we can reduce cost and price. We are working on it and the government through the Chemical Corporation is providing us assistance in this regard.

Tell us about Derba Cement?

Derba Cement launched production in February 2012. It has been four years since we joined the market. Everybody knew about the recklessness of the cement market before we commence production. We played a great role in stabilizing the cement price in the local market.

Derba Cement has an installed cement production capacity of 25 million quintals. Currently, we produce and sell 20 million quintals of cement.

What is your plan for the future?

We are planning to build a second factory in Derba. The second plant will have the capacity to produce 25 million quintals of cement. When completed Derba Cement will have a total annual capacity of producing 50 million quintals of cement. The construction will take 18-24 months. The total cost of the project is estimated at 250-300 million dollars. The contractor would

Cementing... CONT`D FROM PAGE 13

be the same company that built the first plant.

We are trying to secure financing from both local and international lending institutions. We are holding talks with the Development Bank of Ethiopia, International Finance Corporation (IFC), African Development Bank (AfDB), and the European Investment Bank.

So why are you venturing into a second plant while you are saying that the cement market is saturated?

The first thing is that we need to be cost leader. If we are cost leader we will also be price leader. Other than the cement plant there are many investments. We have built roads, houses and operation line. We can maximize our benefit by properly utilizing these infrastructure. We can optimize our cost by exploiting these infrastructure more efficiently there and at the same time reduce our cost. If we use them for the two factories we would benefit more.

Secondly, things will change. The market will evolve and more demand will be created in the next two to three years. It will take us two years to build the second plant and by then things will change for the better. If the second Growth and Transformation Plan is implemented properly a huge cement demand will be created. We believe that the cement market will change.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has also availed 450 million birr in funding to this cause and together with the regional states’ own resources which amounts to 320 million birr, he said that funding can go a long way in addressing part of this problem in the coming months.He further explained that all the funding which is available at the disposal of the water authorities has been directed to digging new wells and maintain old ones some which are left dysfunctional for very long time.In addition to the finance, the government and UNICEF have also deployed a total of 306 water tankers to assist with the distribution of water for some of the districts where water well development is not feasible.Currently, 5.8 million people are facing severe water shortage in 189 woredas of six regional states, the minister noted.

Gov’t, donors... CONT`D FROM PAGE 9



CONT`D FROM PAGE 14

At the local level it is critical that medical staff are trained appropriately on how best to prevent the spread of TB, as well as how to best treat people with the disease. Also, it is critical that medical staff are trained in the different care and treatment needed by those patients with MDR-TB and XDR-TB.

Civil society has a major role to play both in educating the public on how best to prevent and treat TB, and to maintain pressure on industry and governments to ensure that medicines, vaccines and diagnostics for TB are available and accessible for all in need.

Investing in tuberculosis is value for money. A group of 60 economists identified TB as one of the best buys with a return of USD 43 for each dollar invested in TB diagnosis and treatment. Further research and development will be needed to expand if the world is to win the battle against TB. Last week for example, a new study in the Lancet highlighted a low-cost, easy to use, urine test that could diagnose TB among patients with HIV and thereby

significantly reduce the TB death rate of HIV-positive patients and save thousands of lives every year.

Next week, the world will mark 134 years since Robert Koch’s discovery. We know the dangers of TB and the growing challenge of drug-resistant forms of the disease. If we don’t act together immediately to increase access to quality medicines, diagnostics and vaccines, we will continue to see millions of people die for no reason and the world will have to deal with a TB doomsday scenario.

Ed.’s Note: Festus Mogae is the former Botswana President and co-chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines. Precious Matsosois is Director General, Department of Health, Republic of South Africa and a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter. The article was provided to The Reporter by Global Health Strategies.

Stopping...

more than 160 countries to share best practices and work to bolster startup growth and build the ecosystems in which they operate. Medellin itself is busy transforming itself from a cocaine capital into a startup hub.

Silicon Valley seized on this phenomenon some time ago, rolling out the red carpet for world leaders such as Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and China’s President Xi Jinping. These world leaders are looking for the Silicon Valley secret: the magic ingredients that will create an equally vibrant innovation ecosystem in their countries.

Entrepreneurs themselves, however, do not depend on innovation or technology. As Koltai points out, Starbucks built an enormous enterprise around serving a cup of coffee, a centuries old beverage. Today Starbucks employs roughly 182,000 people worldwide – 50,000 more than Facebook, Google, and Apple combined. An Argentine, Jordanian, Malaysian, or Spaniard who can visualize and create thriving global demand for a product or service – just as Spain’s Amancio Ortega did with Zara – is just as much an entrepreneur as the

next Bill Gates is.

From Lahore to Lagos, Mexico City to Mumbai, governments are looking at their own populations as pools of talent waiting to be tapped. It is time for diplomats to do the same. They should support and encourage job creators and problem solvers, and turn development assistance into investments. They should include entrepreneurship in economic policies and trade agreements. They should press governments to allow entrepreneurs to develop their innovations as a component of human flourishing and as an essential source of sustainable solutions for often-intractable problems such as disease, climate change, migration, and war.

Indeed, entrepreneurship, as a channel for young men and women to express themselves, is a compelling weapon in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. It is an outlet to build and add value rather than destroy it. This is especially important in the Middle East, which is, as the Brookings Institution has noted, experiencing “an unprecedented ‘youth bulge.’”

More than 30 percent of the region’s

population – over 100 million people – is aged 15-29, and a significant number of these young people are unemployed. For them, entrepreneurship and the ability to gain control over their own destinies isn’t an option; it is an imperative.

Similarly, entrepreneurship is not just a commercial or economic option for diplomats and policymakers. In a world with ever more pressing challenges – from pandemics to poverty and resource depletion to religious extremists – it is becoming a vital tool of foreign policy.

Ed.’s Note: Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of New America, is the author of Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family. Elmira Bayrasli is the co-founder of Foreign Policy Interrupted and the author of From The Other Side of The World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places. The article was provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives on our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science, and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

Entrepreneurship... CONT`D FROM PAGE 18

solemnly observed by the faithful but does not mind if there are some who do not want to be part of that. “I don’t mind it at all and it is a matter of personal preference,” he says.

For many people, who consider themselves faithful, watching others consume alcohol during Lent is something unpleasant. In fact, they would never go to bars even for a couple of beers; but for others it is not an issue. “I’m a modest follower so I think it is fine to have a couple of beers. There is a small bar across my apartment that I go to. I just want to relax and have a few beers after a weary day,” Andualem Mengiste says. For him, not observing Lent is disadvantageous not just spiritually but also economically. “You can cut spending by a significant amount,” he says.

The nightlife in Addis offers a taste for everyone, from hookah bars, low-key lounges, and high-paced nightclubs to a small place to call refuge till the early morning hours. Frequent nightclub goers make friends with the

The perplexing... CONT`D FROM PAGE 21

bouncers and managers and themes of certain nights become more popular at particular venues. However, during Lent-season there is relative serenity. Women sporting mile-high pumps, miniskirts, and accessories and the men wearing blazers and dress shoes are some of the signature nightlife outfits, which at the first two weeks of Lent become rare but later on gain pace. Still, this is not an everyday activity for many residents of the city as religious holidays and culture norms still have the power to interrupt it at any given time. Yes, the weekends can be crowded, even on these days of Lent but nightlife appears to be a little bit tranquil.

Nonetheless, the nightspots and exotic hookah bars in the capital still cater to expatriates and members of the diplomatic corps and according to a waitress, who requested not to be named, the nightlife in Addis Ababa is vibrant and whether it is Lent-season or not the impact minimal. Working at Jolly Bar and Lounge for a year and a half season she says that nightlife is little affected by fasting seasons. “Some times, during Ramadan business might be a bit slow since some of our customers are from gulf countries,” she says.

All in all, testing the Addis nightlife during the Lent might give a perplexing view to some, forcing them to stay indoors until the colorful Ethiopian Easter arrives. Nevertheless, it will not be long since things will return to their usual ways after a few weeks. But Lent is also somewhat considered by some to be an interesting break for those who fast only for the first two weeks and then get back to their normal routine.

... during Lent-season there

is relative serenity. Women

sporting mile-high pumps,

miniskirts, and accessories and

the men wearing blazers and dress

shoes are some of the signature

two weeks of Lent become rare but later on gain

pace.

In the coming five years Kaizen is expected to expand to the services sector, energy and power generation and distribution, taxes and customs, logistics and transportations, water management and the like, Getahun said.

Go Shimada (PhD), associate professor of international economics at the University of Shizuoka in his interview with The Reporter said that Ethiopia needs to carefully balance the fresh graduates with the vacant posts in

Kaizen. The professor said that Africa and Ethiopia in particular need a structural shift in their industry sector for the economy to flourish.

Professor Shimada recalled how it was challenging to introduce Kaizen to the public and private sectors. However, together with Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, Professor Shimada said that it was Meles who masterminded and eased the introduction of Kaizen in Ethiopia.

Kazuhiro Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan

Institute says... CONT`D FROM PAGE 7

to Ethiopia, said that Ethiopia has become a center of excellence in Africa. He mentioned that it was the US that introduced Kaizen to Japan after the Second World War. “The American management and quality control training method was modified and altered to suit the business environment in Japan. That was indeed Kaizen in a Japanese way,” the ambassador said.

He added that Africa should remodel and improve Japan’s Kaizen to meet the requirements of the continent. He even suggested that countries in Africa could adopt Kaizen and name it “Africkaizen” or “Kaizen in Africa”.



The soulful... CONT`D FROM PAGE 17

protective side is that I want to speak on their behalf. It is about raising awareness and using my voice for something positive and powerful. The story for “My Love” is from what I read in Essenes magazine. It was an expose about women in Prince George’s County, which is the area that I live in outside DC. The story was about how the area was the wealthiest black community in the US but, it also had the highest occurrence of domestic violence in Maryland. For me it was very ironic. The beautiful community full of lovely houses and people who apparently were living the American dream behind closed doors. It was anything but that. I wanted to tell that story, what it was like being a woman who looked like she had everything on the outside but underneath was suffering like most women. I don’t have a personal experience with domestic violence. The story was based on an African American struggle. Within my first week I was here, we were staying in Samit. One night I heard this sound and as soon as I heard it I knew exactly what it was and I went out to my veranda. There was a woman and her husband arguing. She was wailing so deep that it made every body from everywhere come running. As soon as they came the guy went running. She spent the rest of the night in her house crying for him. It was ironic. It was a similar story as the one in the Essence article but in a different culture and different class. It was a reminder to me that it is something women everywhere deal with and that we still deal with. Seeing people’s reaction after they realize she was okay and there weren’t any kids, they were laughing saying it wasn’t a big deal. But it is a big deal. The woman was really tormented and the man was ashamed. This are the kind of things we need to talk about more and maybe music can help.

What is the role of music in the process of eradicating the problem?

Look at the protest music of the 60’s that expanded people’s consciousness. Look at the movies that changed how people see. Any major social shift usually starts with entertainment. It is changing the public’s consciousness. Sometimes entertainment can be a leader or a way maker in changing people’s minds.

A while ago your arrest in Houston in relation to one of your songs about police brutality went viral. Tell us about the ironic coincidence and has the incident affected you in any way?

I was traveling from Houston to Boston for a performance. I have a song called “Billy Club” that is about police brutality where I use an actual billy club for a prop. I was rushing to catch my flight. I forgot that the button was in my performance bag when I was getting on the plane with. I think in other states they would probably throw it away and it would have been the end of it. But, because I was in Texas, which is a politically charged state and their arrest record and all the things are important to the officials there, it was the wrong place for me to make the mistake. I was arrested. A couple of days before the charges were officially dropped the DA himself thought that

it was not a good decision and they expunged everything. For me it was very enlightening. Sometimes people who are not personally affected by abuse in police misconduct or mistakes in the legal system can’t identify with it in a personal level. You might know somebody who has gone through something but, unless it has happened to you, you don’t know what it feels like or know how scared and vulnerable you feel being protected by a system that could make a mistake that end up changing your life for ever or even ending your life. That is what most African Americans are used to. Up until that time I haven’t experienced it personally. It gave me a window into that experience. To be honest it took me a long time to get over. I realized that if I am going to talk about tough issues then I have to be ready for those things happening. I’m willing to do that. The incident was painful for me. But, it made me stronger. I know who I am. I know my strength and shortcomings. I can’t live in how other people judge me. If I want to be a person of excellence or do anything great in the world I have to be able to judge myself. Even in the midst of a storm or the wind blowing in the other direction I have to be able to stand front. That’s what I ultimately took from the experience.

Ethiopian-born musicians working in different genres outside Ethiopia are well known and every time their name is raised Ethiopia’s comes up. There are also artists in Ethiopia working on Ethiopian music. Which is the most expedient way to promote the country’s music?

I think both. I’m blown away by the talent here. The musicianship is great but, I think exposure helps one get better. Those of us who have had exposure, have to come back and give so that we can keep the tradition of excellence growing. There are things they can teach us too. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. What’s indigenous and native to our musical experience is something that is special enough in itself. There is a way to develop and preserve that. I also think there is a way to explore and experiment with

other sounds too. Weather that means being abroad and making other kinds of music or being here and developing those original sounds, both can be done.

Do you think these musicians get the exposure and have an easy access in the international stage?

There is definitely a platform now with the internet and social media. There are opportunities with Youtube. There is an opportunity for any artist for their music to be heard if they make something original. The audience is there. Maybe what isn’t quite there is a daring spirit. The more people give artists permission to experiment with different sounds and to be themselves and express their own unique journey, then the more the artist will be rewarded and continue new things. Bands like Jano who are breaking barriers by merging different sounds with Ethiopian music are exciting. It may take time for people’s ear to open to that idea. If there is more artistic freedom given the artist, then the community will grow and listeners will be impacted.

However, this doesn’t seem the case for Ethiopian music, especially when compared with other African countries. So why not Ethiopian music?

That is a very good question. I honestly don’t know the answer to that. Maybe it is in part with our very close network community and our music is a cultural experience for us that we use to celebrate amongst each other only. Maybe it’s about us opening ourselves up to the rest of the world more. I can’t imagine it will be like that for much longer. There are too many great artists that are making music. I’m sure within ten years things will change.

How do you express your experiences through music?

That is the fun part for me - to tell my story and try to tell other people’s story if I can relate to it. Sometimes in some of my songs I go look back at my journal and I will be amazed in how I didn’t even realize I was thinking about that before the song came out. It is a healing

process and sort of coming to terms with what I’m experiencing and whatever I see other people experiencing. It is spiritual for me. I take it seriously and I also try to have fun.

You write most of your songs yourself. Do you think that has given you some kind of artistic freedom?

There is nothing wrong with having other people write for you. Some of the best writers in the world have collaborated with other writers. Including my mentor Stevie Wonder, some of his most popular songs have been co-written by other people, even though he himself is an amazing lyricist. So it is good not to be bound by one way of doing something. I really enjoy the writing process, because it is a deeper way of expressing something I am seeing that I may not already have heard in a song or somewhere else. I was asked to sing at a university event to make a tribute to African women I was searching for the right song and I couldn’t find. I said this means I’m supposed to write one. That is why I enjoy it. At the same time, if I come across a composition that is special and that I connect with then I would have no qualms with singing it if I could.

Do you give lyrics to other musicians?

I have. While I was on tour, I wrote for an amazing male singer. There was a specific story that he wanted to tell about love. I have never done that before. That was exciting and fun. I hope to do that more. I wrote something for Dawit Melese a long time ago and few American Jazz and R&B independent artistes based in my area. That is something I’m interested in exploring especially now that I am a mom. I don’t want to travel quite as much. Working in the studio will be ideal for my life style.

Tell us about your family.

I have two beautiful girls, who are quite amazing, feisty and fiery little women. I really enjoy them. They are my inspirations. Also my biggest challenges are in balancing family and work. I have a lot of support from my husband and my mom. So far we are enjoying the ride. We have our share of ups and downs.

What type of response do you receive especially when you sing about critical social issues and also other matters?

The song I wrote about my mom, I thought of it as a personal story. The more I performed it the more it was not a specific story to me that a lot of people related to it. That was very enlightening in terms of showing how we really are a lot more in common. Some of the stories we keep to ourselves because they seem private maybe make us feel too venerable. We realize that a lot of other people are walking with the same things. It is one step closer to being free.

You are an independent artist, what are the advantages and drawbacks of working without a recording label?

The other day a friend of mine posted on Instagram saying thanks to everyone who said no to him because he learned how to do it himself. That’s one of the benefits of being s self-promoting artist.

The soulful... page 25



Pakistan or have occurred in areas where intense conflict between the Taliban and the Afghan government has temporarily disrupted polio campaigns.

By contrast, in Somalia, the terrorist group Al-Shabaab has historically forbidden polio workers from operating in areas under their control, viewing vaccination campaigns as part of a foreign campaign to impose a centralized government. One million children were unvaccinated between 2010 and 2013, when a polio outbreak occurred. Since then, immunization campaigns have improved their access to rebel-controlled areas by employing locally recruited staff to work within their own clans and negotiate access with local-level militant leaders.

In Syria, after the start of the uprising in 2011, the government prevented the WHO from operating in areas outside its control. Over three million children were not vaccinated for polio, leading to an outbreak in rebel-controlled regions in 2013.In response, an ad hoc coalition, including moderate opposition groups, Turkish authorities, and local NGOs carried out a series of vaccination campaigns and contained the outbreak. The coalition negotiated access with local rebel leaders, allowing them to choose volunteer vaccinators. Militant groups – even the so-called Islamic State

– permitted immunization campaigns to operate in areas under their control.

The lesson is clear. Successful immunization campaigns must secure the support of de facto political leaders – whether of an internationally recognized state or of a vilified militant organization. As objectionable as working with groups like the Islamic State might be, it is important to remember that the main objective of efforts like the campaign to eradicate polio is to improve the health of people wherever they may live.

Ed.’s Note: Jonathan Kennedy teaches at the UCL School of Public Policy and is a research associate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Domna Michailidou works for the Economics Department of the OECD and teaches at the Center for Development Studies at the University of Cambridge and the UCL School of Public Policy. The article was provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives on our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science, and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

The politics... CONT`D FROM PAGE 18

for happiness at the core of the national agenda, we need to encourage the private sector to join us. In one of the world’s most diverse labor markets – the UAE is home to people representing up to 200 nationalities – we must ensure that, beyond maintaining appropriate legislative and regulatory frameworks, our country’s entrepreneurs act on the basis of enlightened self-interest.

Just as GDP is not the only benchmark to define a country’s success, profit alone cannot define a company’s success. In our connected and social world, where opinion, news, and information travel at the speed of light, happiness is a competitive advantage; indeed, it is central to a company’s brand.

We live in a tough neighborhood. The Middle East is usually not associated with happiness; at times, the bad news from our region seems to drown out the good. And yet we are all bound by the desire to see ourselves and our loved ones thrive and be the best we can be.

That spirit is within us all, and by celebrating it and strengthening it, we can aspire to offer peace, security, tolerance, positivity, and respect. We can work together to create an environment where people can truly flourish and aspire to fulfill their human potential. We can all be part of

a community brought together by the desire to share the quality of happiness.

Ed.’s Note: Ohood Al Roumi is Minister of State for Happiness of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The article was provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives on our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science, and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

A quantum... CONT`D FROM PAGE 19

The soulful... CONT`D FROM PAGE 24

It lets you grow all kinds of muscles that you didn’t know that you had. But then again, if your aspiration is to reach a certain level, it’s impossible to do it as an independent artist. The way the industry is, you can have a great career and make a great living as an independent artist. But, to reach the level of those like Rihanna, you have to have a recording label. For me I see every experience as a training. Having my craft, honing my expose as a business woman and my personal resilience. I believe my opportunity will come it just hasn’t happened yet.

You blend Ethiopian music with some of your songs and also add elements that reflect Ethiopian culture in your music videos, why? How does your audience respond to that?

I have one song in my last album called “As Long As You Know” where I had a masinko. It came out really cool. It was played by Setgn an amazing guy in DC. On “Time Will Come” we took an expert from Emperor Haileselassie’s famous speech to the League of Nations. I have some guset artists in my last album. I did a collaboration with Tewodros Tadesse. I am sure I will do more. There are some works I don’t want to say yet with some artists I love, who sing exclusively in Amharic. I’m looking forward to that. My understanding of myself is that my Ethiopianness is part of who I am. And I feel more complete as an artist when I find a way to express it one way or another, whether in a simple way as wearing some

Ethiopian jewellery when I perform or incorporating something in a story that I tell. Whenever I perform “Mama’s Sacrifice” there is an element of the story that talks about Ethiopian culture. It is for my own sanity. It is a part of me that I have to include. I think people respond to it because it is genuine.

You worked with Tewodros and other Ethiopian musicians as well. Is there a platform in the States where the diaspora musicians work together?

I feel very fortunate to the community. The community is relatively small. I feel as if there is someone I want to get to I could get to them. Everybody is interested in making good stuff. It is just a matter of everybody being busy working and having a family. That is the obstacle. But, the willingness and the creative interest are there.

What inspires you in making music or writing your lyrics?

Whenever I see injustice or unfairness, it deeply troubles me. If there is anything for me that is hard to swallow being in Ethiopia it has been seeing the disparity in classes. I feel a sense of obligation. You can’t like and choose. You can’t be proud of the cloth and music and not take your share of responsibility for the advancement of the culture. Being an advocate for people who can’t be advocate for themselves is everyone’s responsibility. My microphone is not for me. I feel sorted in a lot of ways in my life. The purpose of our microphone is to be a

spotlight to other people. It is for being a voice for other people and also giving them an opportunity maybe to see themselves in what I am doing.

Your last album “The Expats” incorporated musicians from Eritrea, Kenya, India and many other countries and the album has got critical acclaims. What has the collaboration and the diverse sounds contributed?

It has contributed so much. The different cultural sounds that we brought together were based on every body’s taste and what they have been exposed to living in Toronto being an international community. The way the culture is intertwined makes it a perfect place to come up with an integrated sound. Every moment of making that album was a surprise because it was a very democratic process. Everybody came forward with an idea and we picked the best idea, made decisions as a group. When people you are working with are excellent and amicable then that is a fun process.

The expression “expats” reflects the idea of being an immigrant and not belonging there. Where do your belong?

I try very much not to hold myself to any boxes. Because my first responsibility is to be a free thinker. The more I connect with people and not feel inhibited the better I can do that. At the same time I think it is not an accident that I am Ethiopian and that I left Ethiopia at a young age and it is not an accident that I’m back here now. There is a part of my experience that is interracial to fulfilling whatever purpose God has for me. I try to pay attention to those circumstances and learn from them.

Growing up in the states since you were

a toddler, do you feel interconnected to Ethiopian identity and culture?

For sure. My mom raised me and she is a very traditional Ethiopian. If you met her now you would be very surprised. She has lived for more than 30 years in the US, but she is just who she is. She is tight to her tradition and her way of seeing the world. I am raised by that.

You play R&B, soul, reggae, rock and many more genres. How do you describe your music?

I still describe it as soul music because it is music from the heart and it is passionate music. Any genera can be soul. Maybe that is a good thing or bad thing, I don’t like to classify it.

From the perspective of the dreams you had when you started music, how do you feel about where you are ?

It has been an amazing experience growing personally and professionally. I’m starting to see the fruits of my hard work. It is a constant evolutionary process. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to do what I love and work with people that inspire me. As long as I’m still growing, touching people I will keep doing this.

What is on your plate in the near future?

I’m working on some music. I want to do a live album and I would love to do that in Ethiopia. If there is an opportunity for that it would be great. I’m performing with Stevie Wonder throughout the coming year. I want to encourage people to support as they can. Follow me on social media and listen to my music on you tube. I have a new video coming out. I shot it in Ethiopia last week. It is a reggae hip-hop history.

Just as GDP is not the

company’s success. In our connected and social world,

where opinion, news, and information travel at the

speed of light, happiness is a competitive advantage;

indeed, it is central to a company’s brand.



ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF

One woman show @ Alliance Ethio-

Française

Dance and theater performance @ Alle

School of Fine Arts and Design The French artist Laure Bontaz presented her one woman show entitled: “Laurete de Paname” on March 24, 2016 at the Alliance Ethio-Française here in Addis Ababa.

A show of explosive strength and boundless energy that blends singing, dancing, with slapstick humor comedy is also highlighted by sophisticated stage designing and interaction with the audience in attendance.

Laure’s inspiration draws from her Parisian admiration that explores the various neighborhoods of Paris. The piece depicts with portraits in different colors from the grissette of bohemian Paris to the little hen; from the half-worldly salons to the French Cancan dancer; from the revolutionary barricades to the bourgeoisie of saint-German –des-pres; from the lead dancer of the great music hall to the modern day Parisian woman.

This vibrant work traces, the humble or grandiose lives of these Parisian born or adopted universally admired women, which still create today, a series of fantasies in the imagination and tells that Paris is often associated to love and women.

A dance and theater performance entitled: “No Woman Behind” will be presented on April 8, 2016 at Alle School of Fine Arts and Design.

No Woman Behind is a dance and theater project, which empowers young women from humble backgrounds living in Addis Ababa.

Contemporary dancers namely Meseret Yirga and Jessie Brett have been training 12 girls who live on the street, orphans, disabled and partially sighted women.

The training uses dance and theater to improve the girls’ life skills such as confidence, communication, focus, discipline, and team works. Apart from that it is designed to serve them as kind of therapy to help them deal with the difficulties they faced in their lives so they can hope for a better future. This project aims to continue training these women on a long term-basis until they become professional.

The dancers have been working together for four years and have created many performances to raise awareness of women issues in Ethiopia

Luxury vs. MiseryFlamboyant mansions guarded by fences and private security and manicured lawns best describe the villas of of the affluent in Addis Ababa, a potent symbol of the emerging elite.

However, this does not represent the life of the vast majority of Addis Ababans. In fact, urban poverty in Addis Ababa is so extreme that the difference is visible.

Pho

to B

y: R

epor

ter /

Tam

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Ethio-American architect urban

monument has Brazil buzzing

Second edition of Dire Tube award @

Sheraton HotelIn the spring of 2011 Sara Zewde was on her way to Harvard’s Graduate school of Design (HGS) to study landscape architecture when she found herself in the middle of a movement to preserve a historic Afro-Brazilian heritage site in the Pequena Africa (Little Africa) neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro.

Today Sara, who works for a major US architecture firm in Seattle has the attention of Brazil’s second largest city as it prepares to complete part of a design proposed by the architect before the 2016 summer Olympics commence there in August.

Sara’s proposal includes a promenade around the old wharf, embellished with fluid shapes that echo the roads or circles where people engage in traditionally black Brazilian Marshal Art Capoeira and Samba music and other aspects to be included.

In an article entitled “Sara Zewde has the mayor of Rio De Janeiro paying attention-And for good reason” noted that how her design got an attention. (Tadias Magazine)

The second edition of Dire Tube award will be held today at 6:00 PM at Sheraton Addis.

The award is held in seven categories namely Best Book of the Year, Best Comedian of the year, Best TV Talk Show of 2015, Introducing Ethiopian Music to the World, Best TV Drama 2015, Best Radio Program and Best Music Video of the Year. The award is based on the highest count of online voting on Dire Tube.

“Merek” By Adam Reta and “Zubeyda” by Alex Abreham are in the Best Book of the Year 2015 category. Best TV Talk Show of 2015 category has “Who is Who” and Seifu on EBS. In Introducing Ethiopian Music to the World Category are Mulatu Astatke and Samuel Yirga. Best TV Drama 2015 category has the likes of Mogachoch and Meleket. In the Best Radio Program Category “Chewata” and “Endalk ena Mahider” will be competing while in the Best Music Video of the Year Hacchalu Hundesa’s “Maalan Jira” and Esu Balew’s “Mare Mare” are included.

SNAPSHOTS



believe that if the government builds some of the roads with cement it can create a huge cement demand.

Haile told The Reporter that the cement concrete road is much better than the asphalt road. “Asphalt is imported product while cement is locally produced. We can save a hefty amount of foreign currency if we build cement concrete roads.”

According to Haile, maintenance cost is minimal when it comes to cement concrete road. “It has a longer life than asphalt road. Maintaining an asphalt road is costly. Asphalt road easily deteriorates in the rainy seasons. But if you see the cement concrete road it gets stronger when it gets water. So rain water does not damage cement concrete road. But the initial investment on a cement concrete road is higher than on an asphalt road. But considering the low operational cost and longer life span it is still beneficial or much better than the asphalt road.”

The other major project that can be a main demand driver is rural development. “If the government realizes the rural housing development it could boost cement demand. We can produce low grade cement for the rural community. If farmers could buy cement at an affordable price and use cement to build their houses and other house hold utilities that means a lot to the cement industry because 80 percent of the Ethiopian population lives in the rural areas,” Haile says.

Haile is optimistic that the market situation will improve as the government starts implementing the projects set in the GTPII.

Despite the dwindling price of cement the price of cement in the local market is still considered as expensive. Many in the cement industry agree that the price could reduce if manufacturers can bring down their production cost. Energy is the single biggest cost to cement factories. The factories use heavy fuel oil and coal to burn lime stone and other raw materials. Both energy sources are imported products. Energy accounts for 50-60 percent of the overall operational cost of cement factories. The global industry average is 30-40 percent. Hence, for the energy intense cement industry, energy is a strategic issue.

Samuel says that previously factories used heavy fuel oil which was costly to import from the Middle East. Now

companies are switching to coal mostly imported from South Africa. “We have managed to bring down the energy cost to 40 percent but our plan is to further reduce it to 20-30 percent by using biomass. If we can do that the price of cement would go down radically,” Samuel says.

Samuel advises local cement factories to further explore the cement markets in neighboring countries. With regard to the cumbersome transport cost Samuel says the factories would be competitive once they start using rail transport.

However, the railway lines route are determining factor. Experts say the railway lines should be integrated with the location of the cement factories.

Experts strongly recommend the establishment of ready mix and concrete industry in Ethiopia. Prefabricated houses and concrete producers are the major cement buyers in other parts of the world. “In the developed world the concrete industry consumes the majority of the cement. We do not have that industry here. We should be able to establish the sector and concrete production has to be regulated. Standards have to be set for concrete production,” Gemechu says.

According to Gemechu, despite all the odds, the country cement industry has an immense potential. The mega public infrastructure and housing projects are strong demand drivers. There are significant opportunities in the cement sector. There is a national vision that we love and want to share becoming a middle income country. What does that mean in terms of construction, in terms of road construction, infrastructure development? You need to build infrastructure and you need to consume cement. However, Gemechu says the government and industry players should do their homework first to exploit these opportunities. “It requires a coordinated effort to resolve the problems and change the gloomy picture.”

Industry players from the giant manufacturers to small retailers like Fikere pray that these dark days for the cement industry are over soon. “I hear that the government has diverted budget from the construction projects to the relief work to rescue the populace affected by the current drought. And that is why the demand for cement falls. We hope that things will get better next year,” Fikere says.

Anomaly... CONT`D FROM PAGE 11

CONT`D FROM PAGE 7

The rapid motorization with aged vehicles, poor maintenance practice, poor fuel quality, and inefficient public transport are the major causes for pollution, which is affecting public health.

Though different countries have their own standards in measuring the level of the pollution in the environment, Ethiopia has not prepared a standard so far. “The level of the pollution in the environment is reaching an alarming level, Abate told The Reporter.

The Government of Ethiopia officially established the National Meteorological Services Agency in December 31,1980.

It was at the end of the 19th century

that missionaries who came to Ethiopia started conducting meteorological observations of Addis Ababa. From 1946-1949 government offices for agricultural sector carried out some preliminary meteorological tasks especially for locust control. However, due to the growing demands of meteorological information for safe operations of air transport, a unit that handles meteorological activity was also established in the early fifties under the Civil Aviation Department.

As the other economic and social sectors began to realize the importance of meteorological services the then unit was changed with the responsibility of giving assistance to non-aviation activities.

EMA installs...

Dangote cement factory

CONT`D FROM PAGE 6Attorney...General the exclusive power of executing, implementing, regulating and supervising all tasks relating to prosecution activities.The Attorney General is also proposed to assume the role of representing Ethiopian governments on the matters that require legal counseling both locally and abroad.In general, the Federal Attorney General is proposed to have some 16 major duties and responsibilities. In addition, it is supposed to work as a principal legal adviser and representative of the federal government.According to the bill, the federal Attorney General will have an attorney general and his/her deputy to be appointed by the Government. However, this provision has been questioned by MPs since there is another provision which proposes that the Attorney General and his deputy may be removed from their position by the decision of the Prime Minister. “If their appointment needs to be endorsed by the House, what is the legitimacy of enabling the Prime Minister to dismiss them? Hence, it’s my suggestion for the standing committee to consider it before the bill comes back,” an MP questioned.Furthermore, most of the provisions that the draft law incorporated have already stirred several queries and demands of further clarifications which was then referred to the Law and Justice Administration Standing Committee for deeper scrutiny.The Attorney General, in fact, is one of the common institutional structures in many countries and in most advanced democratic system this institution is organized as an independent (autonomous institution). Though the establishment of attorney

general as an autonomous body is not common in Ethiopia, historical records show that such a trend was emerging during the Imperial Era. However, following the overthrow of Emperor Hailesilassie I, the Derg decided to mash the attorney general with the Ministry of Justice as one department under the name of Pubic Prosecutor. This trend has continued to date. The debate that surrounds the autonomy of the institution is one that looks to be raging currently. According to the current arrangement, the newly to be established attorney general would be accountable both to the executive and legislature. “The House of People’s Representatives will undertake the necessary supervision and monitoring activity to make sure that the attorney general executes its duties and responsibility based on professional and ethical standards. In a bid to prevent any external pressure that affects the institutional task, it is expected to create that legitimate capacity to defend itself with legislation incorporated in the proclamation”, the draft bill detailed.Similarly, MPs have also raised questions and sought more explanation on the provisions of the draft bill that proposed an amendment on the establishing proclamation of Federal Police Commission. In the beginning the federal police was under the Ministry of Justice. However, regarding the shift of accountabilities to the PM’s office, the House raised various questions and asked for more clarification including the basic rationales of putting it under the purview of the PM. But, the explanation attached to the bill also suggests that the PM purview is temporary; until it found a permanent home.

Mesfin accept the criticisms forwarded by most visitors, which is centered on Addis Ababa not having to offer much other than conference halls. However, both Benyam and Zenawi said that the new guide offers new things to customers. Currently, the average number of days visitors spend in the capital is two and AHA is working to increase that to at least 3.5 days in the foreseeable future, Benyam said.Presently, 130 star-rated hotels have 8,000 rooms but that in five years is expected to reach some 20,000 rooms. According to Benyam, there are 100 hotels in the pipeline, which will contribute to meet the increasing demand for more rooms. But it is difficult for the country to host an event

congregating ten thousand participants.

In a move to reclassify hotels in Ethiopia, a United Nations Word Tourism Organization (UNWTO) sponsored star-rating program has been initiated recently. It is to be recalled that properties like Hilton Hotel have been downgraded into three stars. Following the announcement, some have echoed the program lacks objectivity and opted to be rated by third parties.

It is to be recalled that international brands Sheraton and Radisson Blu together with Capital Hotel and Spa and Eliley International Hotel–both local establishments–have obtained a five-star status.

Hotel owners... CONT`D FROM PAGE 6



US officeBox

C r o s s w o r d

Your Zodiacs (astrology-online.com)

Ku

nch

o K

omm

ents

ACROSS

1. Very fast airplane4. Express pleasure7. Soul and calypso songs12. Managed health care13. Shed tears14. Arthropod genus15. Astronomical distance units17. Showed old move18. Pinna19. Whale (Norwegian)21. Individual Retirement Account22. Chalcedony24. Pestilence25. Ryukyu Islands city (Japan)26. Rapid bustling movement27. Per __, each29. Networks31. Apt or likely to change35. Tied once more37. A waterproof raincoat made of rubberized fabric38. Parent Teacher Associations41. Club or staff42. Chanted melodiously

43. A slippery or viscous liquid44. Kilo yard, abbr.45. Records electric currents generated by the brain46. A citizen of what was Persia48. Pertaining to Iran52. Goddesses53. Calendar month54. __ Ling, Chinese mountain range55. Exploiters56. Ethiopia (abbrev.)57. Before

DOWN

1. Shaft horsepower, abbr.2. Senior officer3. Matadors4. Magnoliopsid genus5. A continuous portion of a circle6. Bitter leaves used sparingly in salads7. Frock8. Being a single unit or thing of a group or category9. Ancient region on Aegean Sea10. Hindu month11. Yemen capital

16. Unhappy 20. Deported22. “Play it again, ___”23. Turns into noun24. Baked good25. Catch or detain27. After B28. Small amount30. Time units, abbr.32. Conceive of33. Local area network34. Records electric currents associated with contractions of the heart 36. A salt or ester of hydriodic acid38. Thick stew made of rice and chicken39. Rubber wheels40. Alar42. Japanese coin44. Smooch45. All of the persons or components specified considered individually47. Neither49. A way to soak50. Swiss river51. The compass point that is midway between north and northeast

SPO

T TH

E D

IFFE

REN

CES

Can you spot the 12 differences between the two pictures? Solution Solution

1 Zootopia

2 Allegiant

3 Miracles from Heaven

4 10 Cloverfield Lane

5 Deadpool

6 London Has Fallen

7 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

8 The Perfect Match

9 Grimsby

10 The Revenant

Kuncho come here I want to ask you something.

My dear boy what is your date of birth?

It’s July 18th dad. Are you going to

buy me a present?

I was kind of busy dad but make it

quick.

LEISURE

Aries

85, 67, 32, 73, 17

16, 76, 80, 5, 65

34, 97, 31, 80, 20

13, 73, 95, 25, 1

82, 9, 35, 5, 95

49, 6, 95, 53, 27

20, 39, 77, 9, 40

5, 45, 4, 17, 14

4, 48, 54, 20, 24

60, 87, 80, 36, 61

58, 27, 74, 19, 67

25, 23, 8, 85, 82

Maybe smart pants. What

year?

Duh! Every year.


30| The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1020LIVING & THE ARTS

The public transportation service of Addis Ababa leaves a lot to be desired. There is a long way to go before it meets the required standards. Since it is massively under-supplied, the hustle associated with public transportation is the most unbearable part for residents. In this respect, things get more complicated when the commuter is a pregnant woman, writes Tibebeselassie Tigabu.

They say having children is a true blessing. Though the outcome—the offspring—is as rewarding as it gets, the journey for pregnant women is not a romantic adventure. For many months women endure nagging morning sickness, heartburn, hemorrhoids and acid reflux, although the severity of the conditions varies from one person to another. Not to mention the testing child delivery process which for some women could even prove to be fatal. For many mothers the hormonal effects manifested in episodes of mood swings is also another unique experience that comes with the territory. Some pregnant women speak of experience of acute emotional upheaval resulting in distrust of the people around them which sometimes leads to breaking down in tears for no apparent reason.However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The difficult inner body experience of the pregnancy period also requires a reasonable amount of comfort externally. Commuting is certainly an important aspect here. Things tend to get more complicated for a pregnant working woman everywhere when it comes to commuting; this is especially so when the chosen means of transportation is public.

Physically exhausted and hormonally fragile, Mekdela Tadele is due to give birth in a month’s time. Although she drives herself this time around, she says that she particularly remembers the hustle of using the overcrowded Addis public transportation system while she was pregnant with her first child.Until she reached her eighth month, Mekdela was a devoted customer of the public transportation system of Addis Ababa. She usually takes the route from Bole to Haya hulet and has to negotiate her way to get into vehicles like everybody else. She specifically remembers one incident where she had to wait for a very long time to see one minibus taxi (blue van) approaching the crowd she was tucked in. Instantly people around her started to run and shove to fill the limited seat in the taxi. Likely, she was not alone and her friend rushed into the taxi and tried to save a seat for her. Yet again, Mekdela still had to do quite a bit of the shoving and pushing just to reclaim the seat that her friend had saved for her. Luckily, she was able to get into the taxi by slightly pushing other passengers. This situation would not be acceptable for one of the commuters (a woman) who

proceeded with verbally assaulting her.The random stranger did not stop there; rather she became highly physical and threw her bag at her. The metal side of the bag scratched Mekdela’s hand and she immediately started to bleed. “This woman was yelling at me and telling me to get out of the taxi for physical confrontation. She angrily proposed to take the fight outside,” Mekdela remembers the incident with a smile. “Her frantic situation also shocked the other passengers since I could not be mistaken for being anything but heavily pregnant,” she recalls. Let alone for pregnant women, even for a fully functional commuter, the Addis public transportation system is a bit too much to maneuver. The long queues, the long waiting time, the pushing and shoving to board and the recently emerging problem of pickpockets are the main characterisatics of public transportation in the city. In fact, the demand for transport is so high that even the introduction of the Light Railway system does not appear to be putting a dent on the problem. Shortage, however, is not the only issue; rather the flow of traffic and the bad state that the vehicles are in look

The public transport nightmares for pregnant women


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |31, 2016 LIVING & THE ARTS

Let alone for pregnant women,

even for a fully functional

commuter, the Addis public

transportation system is a bit

too much to maneuver. The

long queues, the long waiting time,

the pushing and shoving to board and the recently

emerging problem of pickpockets

are the main characteristics

of public transportation in

the city.

to have compounded the problem. In a country where vehicles do not seem to have an end to their service period, it is common to see vehicles with faded paint covered with rust and dents; and at times with shattered glass windows. Some vehicles would leave one to wonder how they are still in service. In some instances, these situations take people by surprise. One example of such dilapidated public transporter is the so-called wuyiyiyt taxis (an innovative modification of pickup trucks into a shared taxi or mini bus service-giver vehicle) which are now increasingly being replaced by blue van minibus taxis. Some of them clearly violate the national technical codes and it is quite unclear how they pass the yearly vehicle inspection. Essential matters such as suitable chairs, working windows sounds like a luxury, to say the least; and clearly most do not have designated seats or places for either the people with disability or those who need it temporarily. The situation gets worse to vulnerable groups such as elders, pregnant women, disabled and other groups who cannot function normally. A mother-to-be, Meseret Shawel, did not expect using public transportation during pregnancy would be an everyday hustle. The womb squeezes she feels as the unborn baby inside her squirms has become a daily struggle for her.Living around Kotebe Kidanemihret area, accessing public transport is terrible. Her workplace is around Bole and she has to take two taxis or buses (a Higer and Anbassa Addis Ababa City buses) every day. Before her pregnancy she used to get transport by hook or crook, including by shoving people to the side. But she feels the pain until now. During her first months of pregnancy, she continued struggling to get by. After her fifth month or so, the bouncing baby inside her womb forced her to depend on the goodness of people. Each day offers new experiences, she explains, such as the opportunity to be offered a seat by a well-meaning stranger as well as the chances of getting elbowed, shoved and cut off by a harried fellow passenger. She says she was not comfortable revealing her pregnancy and seeking sympathy until the fifth month. Later on, her attempt to reveal her condition shocked her beyond her wildest dreams. “One time,” she says, “I approached the taxi coordinator in the Bole area

asking for leeway but would not give me a minute of his time”. This situation discouraged her so she walked back to the end of the queue like everybody else. The insensitivity runs deep, Meseret explains. At one time she remembers witnessing a taxi coordinator spotting two pregnant ladies and pulled them to the front of the line because as there was a very long queue. An older man was visibly unhappy that they were offered a priority.The surprise for Meseret was coming was that the objection came from a senior citizen who is expected to be a bit advanced on the moral side. “And usually it is the seniors who are more receptive of such conditions,” she says. Recently, she was also forced to travel standing on a bus all the way from Kotebe to Megenanga while there clearly were many people who are more fit to stand occupying seats. “My pregnancy is visible; but four men sitting next to me looked at me

and turned their eyes away,” she expresses her disappointment.

She is also faced with unfortunate situations

when taxi conductors compel her to move

over to make way for other passengers.

Apart from those moments, her worst situations were when the minibuses discriminated her because she is pregnant. “The conductors want to board beyond legal limit so they pass you or

they openly say it is not

comfortable for you,” says Meseret.

Especially with short trips, these

situations happen frequently and she says

she was forced to walk on many occasions.

In Ethiopia there is no legal requirement regarding preferential

services to vulnerable groups especially when it comes to public transportation. The social norm, however, dictates that respect and priority be accorded to senior citizens, people with disability and pregnant women. These societal values seem strong at times where passengers intervene on behavior of pregnant women when mistreated on public transportation. Without any spoken word, many people leave their seats when they see pregnant women. It is not only in Ethiopia but in many countries there are no public policies on such customs and norms. In other countries, with the

The public... page 32



Bits PiecesBy Leyou Tameru

&

Ed.’s Note: Leyou Tameru is a graduate of Georgetown and Addis Ababa University Law schools, specializing in International Legal Studies. Born and raised in Addis Ababa, she seeks to understand

the impact of economic, political and social issues on everyday lives. She can be reached at @anchihoye

@anchihoye CONT`D FROM PAGE 31The public...

It is so interesting that we have always had the perception that we are more connected to each other today than we used to be decades ago. Living in a time where technological tools designed to create connectivity, I am not sure if they have managed to pull us together or apart.

I thought of this as I was watching a documentary about Amilcar Cabral and the movement he led resulting in the liberation of Guinea and Cape Verde from Portuguese colonizers. The fight for independence in the African continent was something that happened during a certain period of them and it would be silly to overlook the fact that these movements supported one another. How did they do it? How did Ethiopia know about Ghana’s movements? How did Angola know about Mozambique? How did the theories and ideas spread like wildfire without Twitter, Facebook or Instagram?

Information traveled at a “leisurely” pace then. One would not know what happened the second it does, but you would end up finding out. Juneteenth Is a great example of this. Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration of the end of slavery in the USA. However despite the fact that the emancipation proclamation was passed in 1863, the information did not make it to Texas before 1865, roughly two and a half years later. Some theories about this delay include, the messenger being killed before he/she made it to Texas and the military deliberately withholding the information.

Whatever the archaic means of communications were, information did get around and social movements and trends were built around ideas that emanated from one side of the world, to the other. But the nature of that information was collective. In today’s terms the information was delivered in a group message rather than a personal or direct message. And this highly affected the content of the message. Or in today’s highly valued lingo, it was not “personalized”. Which brings me to what I have been asking myself lately: Has technology brought us closer to others or to ourselves?

The Individual nature, or personalized, of our communications tools is undeniable. From branding and marketing of clothing lines to politicians everything is focused on a targeted community. It’s the 19 to 25 year old male groups in college, or the 25 to 35 year old professional women group within a specific income bracket. We all get our one personal email, online page dedicated to our thoughts, pictures and beliefs. We all carry our own little devices around. To check messaging directly addressed to us. It’s all so individualistic. Yet at the same time, we meet like-minded people from across the globe who carry their own little devices and are doing the same things were miles away. It makes us fell less alone in this big world while still pushing us to living a lonely life. We are digging ourselves in a virtual hole so much so that we forget to reach out and touch someone, in the most literal sense. Who knows, in the coming years we might have apps and websites selling hugs. (Wait a minute… that already exits!)

As my high school philosophy teacher used to say, “Trop d’information, tue l’information” which translates into “too much information, kills information”, meaning information looses its value when there is too much of it going around. One person cannot possibly process all of the information that is available online, to try and do so would be crazy in my opinion. As we keep digging into that virtual hole, let’s not let it distract us from living life before we end up in a hole, a real one… The one we all get buried in.

Disconnectedly

connected

conventionality of public transport system, there are ways to ease the difficulties. According to Mail Online 2012, a commentary entitled “why won’t women give me a seat on the bus”, one in five pregnant women in London spent more than 100 pounds on extra taxis fee during pregnancy.Though Meseret’s experience is a mixture of both good and bad, for Helen Kassa, mother of two, it is all bad. She says that she didn’t get any special consideration from people because of her pregnancy. She does not expect special treatment; but she is surprised to see lack of common courtesy becoming the rule than the exception. She has been almost knocked sideways whilst getting onto taxis and people visibly and deliberately rushing to beat her to the front of a taxi queue. Even though she did not expect a seat, sometimes she expects a modicum of sympathy from commuters. Though she has been treated shoddily even on her delivery day as she took public transport on her way to deliver the baby.On some of her trips, she had experienced commuters being displeased because they were asked not to vacate but move to another seat for her. She says that during her two pregnancies, only a few people were happy and willing to offer their seats. Passing through the same process, now, Helen is vocal about other pregnant women.Gezahegn Gelaye, a taxi driver, says that he comes across at least five pregnant women on a daily basis. Working on the route from Kazanchis to Bole, they pass the main delivery hospitals such as Betsega and Bras. Gezahegn and his conductor (assistant), Shimels Tadele, share a conviction in according proper care for pregnant women. “The most precious woman in my life is my mother; so I think about her when I see pregnant women,” says Gezahegn. Gelaye does not agree with people commenting that some conductors don’t want to take on pregnant women and that they pass them deliberately. Gezahegn says there might be some cases where that happens.Waiting for a taxi that is going to Bole, Tsigereda Tamirat and her husband are queuing at a taxi station around Megennagna. Someone from the queue suggested to Tsigereda to go to the front of line as she was pregnant. She smiled and said that her husband is not comfortable with that idea. She says that her husband is not Ok since the

priority is not only for her but also for whoever accompanies her. He also responded by saying he is not comfortable with the glaring eyes who are waiting in line. Even though she admits that she accepts the niceties when she is with other people or by herself, this time around she preferred to wait in line for her turn.Now at her maternity leave, Tsigereda’s experience is not that different from that of the other pregnant women. Leaving around CMC Michael area, everyday she has to rush to work under the scorching sun where in some instances she was suffering from her shin splinting. Working as sales officer in a private company, she has to move around even a lot to do her job at times, enduring morning sickness. She admits that she becomes cranky all the time with the public transportation system.Now passing the eighth month of her pregnancy, it was been two months since she took her maternity leave. She says that her worst breaking point was when she fainted during her sixth month pregnancy. “The taxi was suffocating on a very sunny day and I felt drowsy and fainted, although it was for a couple of minutes,” says Tsigereda.For many pregnant women it is physically draining to have a seat on a packed minibus which triggers motion sickness. Fainting is not the only extreme scenario but also extreme cases such as miscarriages are recorded during a road transport. Tasew Hailu (MD), a gynecologist in Sinamoksh Health for Women Special Clinic, says that though it is not practical with the country’s situation, using public transport after six month is not recommended. According to Dr. Tassew, being suffocated and standing for prolonged hours might cause them to faint. He says that especially standing for more than thirty minutes will put the baby in danger by cutting the flow of blood from the mother to the baby. Dr. Tassew also says that cars such as bajajs (three wheeler transportation vehicles) which are used as a major mean of public transport in some areas are not recommended for pregnant women since they do not have space to breath. Apart from that he advises people to be cautious on a seating arrangement to avoid sitting immediately above the rear or front wheels as it s also highly dangerous.

pant, water treatment plant, waste management plant and few others. Azeb Mesfin, CEO of EFFORT and widow of the late Prime Minister, predicts that upon completion of the project the value that will be created would boost the overall net worth of the endowment conglomerate greatly.PVC resin is one critical industrial chemical that is in great demand both domestically and abroad. According to experts, the chemical is strategic for manufacturers especially among plastic manufacturing plants in Ethiopia. Currently, a considerable foreign exchange is devoted to import this product, especially from oil producing countries as since it could also be made from

distilled petroleum. The solid form of PVC is highly employed in the contraction process as liquid pipe while liquid form is also useful for electric cable coating and related production processes.Azeb said that the idea to establish the plant is that of her husband’s and that she is very happy to see the project coming to fruition. She also indicted that SUR and Mesfin Engineering will both have a role to play in the construction process and successful completion of the project.The project site is known to be highly endowed with limestone which is key for PVC resin manufacturing plant.

EFFORT seals... CONT`D FROM PAGE 9

looking to train professionals in Ethiopia. Gary Gao, partner-development manager at Huawei Ethiopia, indicated that Huawei International has such tailored ICT training schemes across 160 countries, which it provides in partnership with academic institutions and training centers. Techno Brain on the other hand although it is a relatively young company, it has managed to train some 5000 students in Ethiopia so far. Last year, Huawei has reported a total sale of 100 million pieces of mobile phones worldwide. Qu said that the smartphones market in Ethiopia

is picking up in addition to the expanding IT solutions services that it offers to the finances and transport sectors. Banks are actively buying data center technologies in Ethiopia not to mention the Addis Ababa Light Railway Transit (LRT) system which depended on Huawei’s communications technologies, Qu explained. So far, Huawei has been involved in stretching 4G telecom network throughout the capital. Qu claimed that the company has invested some 530 million dollars in its operations in Ethiopia.

Huawei authorizes... CONT`D FROM PAGE 9


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |33AdvertismentAdvertisment


34| The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1020#REPORTERBOOK

R

R

#AnimalORFoodThese crazy Twitter memes have thousands asking: Animal or food?

Facebook turns on Safety Check for Brussels attacks

It’s been a sad day at work (isn’t it always?) and we’re tired (aren’t we always?) and hungry (definitely always), and perhaps a little frazzle-brained, but we’ve been seeing these animal vs food memes... And they’re really getting us. Or we’re getting them. Or something.

Either way, they’re super funny. And super delicious looking. And super cute.

So, the internet recently went crazy after a meme popped up comparing dogs to food and we at Hindustan Times can’t get enough of it!

Earlier this month, Twitter user Karen Zach (@teenybiscuit) posted a photo of some Doodle pups who look alarmingly like a delicious serving a fried chicken.

The 25-year-old US woman behind the popular memes, told ABC News that everything started with the collection of cute animal pictures she’d amassed on her phone over time.

“When I zoom out to look at the collections altogether, I begin to notice patterns similar to other things, in this case mostly food,” the Portland, Oregon, resident said.

Zack posted the first photo on Twitter in November, asking: Duckling or plantain? “I laughed so hard at the first one I just kept it up simply for my own entertainment,” Zack said.

Featuring curly-haired Labradoodles vs fried chicken, wide-eyed Chihuahuas vs muffins, and grain-colored puppies vs bagels, the revolutionary comparisons have been retweeted tens of thousands of times on Twitter and garnered hundreds of thousands of views on sites like Reddit and Imgur.

(Hindustan Times)

Facebook has turned on its Safety Check feature for Brussels, where a series of explosions at the Brussels airport and a metro station left more than 30 dead and many more injured.

The feature, available here, lets you check on your Facebook friends in or near Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and see whether they’re

safe, or mark them as safe if you know where they are and how they’re doing.

Originally used for natural disasters, the Safety Check site was turned on during the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised to use the feature in “more human disasters.”

Since then, Safety Check was used during terrorist attacks

in Nigeria and Turkey.

Media reported that more than 30 people are dead and dozens were wounded following the blast at the Brussels Zaventem airport after 8:00 AM local time Tuesday. Two of the suicide bombers who carried out attacks in Brussels on Tuesday have been named as brothers Khalid and Brahim el-Bakraoui, Belgian nationals.

The federal prosecutor said Brahim was part of the attack at Zaventem airport that killed 11 people. Khalid struck at Maelbeek metro, where 20 people died.

Two other attackers at the airport have not yet been identified. One of them died, while another is still at large.

So-called Islamic State (IS) has said it was behind the attacks. (Various Sources)



R

R Social media giant ditches support for BlackBerry

Beyond touch screen: How the latest affordable smartphone uses touch technology in an innovative way

#JeSuisBruxelles

#REPORTERBOOK

#AwkwardHandshake

With 1.44 billion mobile monthly active users as of December 2015, Facebook is the most popular mobile app in the world.

Unfortunately for BlackBerry users, they won’t be a part of this statistic come year-end, as Facebook will stop supporting the BlackBerry and BBOS platforms at the end of 2016.

The news comes less than a month after Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp announced it will stop supporting BlackBerry

devices by the end of the year.

BlackBerry App Ecosystem lead Lou Gazzola announced the change in a blog post last week, saying Facebook would discontinue support of their essential APIs for BlackBerry.

“We are extremely disappointed in their decision as we know so many users love

these apps. We fought back to work with WhatsApp and Facebook to change their minds, but at this time, their decision stands,” he wrote.

Even though Gazzola bundled WhatsApp and Facebook together, Facebook dropping support is a a much bigger hit for BlackBerry’s operating system, BlackBerry 10 (the older BlackBerry OS is still live on some devices, and Facebook has ended support for it as well).

BlackBerry users won’t be entirely Facebook-less, even without official support. A recent support note on BlackBerry’s website recommends users to move to the web-based version of Facebook, saying it will provide “the most feature rich alternative.”

This might be a final wake-up call for BlackBerry. The company released its first Android-based smartphone, the BlackBerry Priv, in Nov. 2015 to good reviews.

Perhaps it’s time for BlackBerry to focus all its efforts on Android. (Mashable)

Touch screens are so 2009. Isn’t it time for your smartphone to get a little, well, smarter? With the new Huawei GR5, touch technology

gets a serious upgrade, giving you instant access to your phone’s most popular functions with a simple swipe of your finger.

Because this innovative touch technology is faster than ever, the quick unlock feature means you can go from your back pocket to answering a call, snoozing your alarm, or capturing video of your friends

goofing off in an insanely fast .5 seconds.

The Huawei GR5 packs a lot of impressive tech specs into a sleek, affordable package, making it the perfect option for fun-seekers set on sharing their world at record speed (but without breaking the bank).

Second-generation fingerprint identification means that your unique digits grant you access to not only your phone, but also everything you love about it — and under any conditions. The GR5’s touch technology unlocks in 0.5 seconds, works both wet and dry, and at every angle thanks to 360-degree identification, so you’ll never be out of touch.

A simple tap of your finger will unlock the phone, launch the camera and answer a call, while sliding your finger down prompts your notifications. Need to clear them? Simple double-tap and those notifications will go away. (Mashable)

people, social networks have been awash with powerful memes and images paying tribute to the victims and expressing support for the traumatized

city. Often using the #JeSuisBruxelles hashtag to show solidarity with those who died in the Belgian capital, many of the most popular social

yellow, and red. One of the most widely shared memes came from Le

the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last November that killed 130 people.

President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro delivered statements to the press Monday, during Obama’s historic three-day visit to Cuba.Things got a little awkward when the two presidents discussed human rights and democracy, with Obama calling Cuba’s record a “powerful

irritant” in the relationship between the two nations.Castro also appeared irritable when asked by a reporter about Cuban

political prisoners, and responded, “What political prisoners? Give me names. After this meeting, you can give me a list of political prisoners and

they will be released.”But nothing prepared us for this awkward handshake which is likely to go

down as the most awkward handshake in history.



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I. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia currently owns fully and partially equity of the following business.

II. The Government intends to sell the ownership of these Share

capable of operating and developing them.

III. Ministry of public Enterprise pursuant to the powers and duties

prospective investors to submit bids for the acquisition of one or more of the following.

2.

2.

IV. of public Enterprises Gerji water works Design and Supervising Enterprising building 2nd

V. Interested bidders can obtain documents during working hours

in U.S. dollars for each set of document.

VI. Bidders shall submit bid bond in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders.

VII. Bids shall be submitted in wax-sealed envelopes on or before

Ministry of Public Enterprises

Tel:-

Gergi, Infront of the former Imperial Hotel Water Works Design and Supervising Enterprise Building 2nd

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Enterprise

VIII. meeting Hall Room at the same address stated under VII above.

IX. The Ministry reserves the right to accept or reject bids partially or totally.

Invitation to BidFor the total acquisition of government owned public enterprises

Ministry of Public Enterprises

Dell, the Dell logo, Inspiron are trademarks of Dell Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows 10 and the Windows 10 logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the trademarks or trade names of other entities used to refer to them or their products. Copyright 2015 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.

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CONT`D FROM PAGE 6 CONT`D FROM PAGE 7

Ethiopia edges... Water rationing...Relations at AAWSA, told journalists at a press conference that the city’s main source of water, the Legedadi reservoir, has lost its one meter reserve, which according to the official, means that five million cubic meters of water, which could have served for a month, have been lost.

“In order to use the remaining available water efficiently and reasonably, the authority is applying a rationing system when distributing water to the residents of the city,” Etsegenet said.

In that regard, supplies to the northern and the eastern areas of the city will be restricted to four days a week with immediate effect.

The normal operating level of the dam is 38 million cubic meters, but the water levels are much below normal due to inadequate rain. Similarly, Tadesse Zegeye, head of Water Production, Purification and Distribution, said that

Legedadi reservoir

due to the shortage of water in the dam, areas of the city that previously had 24-hour access to water supply are now restricted to four days a week.

Ethiopia is experiencing dry weather El Niño–a global weather pattern that causes dry conditions.

The Legedadi Resevoir supplies one forth of the city’s water demand. The reservoir was built 45 years ago with a storage capacity of 45 million cubic meters. However, due to sedimentation in the reservoir the capacity is now reduced to 38 million cubic meters.

Potable water supply for Addis Ababa city was initiated during the reign of Emperor Menelik in the year 1895 particularly for the Palace, Patriarch and Parliament services by distributing the water through two pipes. The water supply was realized by constructing a mini-dam (with earth and gravel packs) along Kebena River in the foothills of Entoto Mountain.

CONT`D FROM PAGE 7

million will be paid for by the Ethiopian government.

According to the loan document, the project will be launched as of next year; and its design is inspired by the rural productive safety-net program that has been implemented for more than a decade now as a major strategy to combat poverty.

The objective will be achieved through the provision of cash transfers, financial and technical support to access livelihood opportunities, building the capacity of institutions

to effectively deliver the support and developing core systems for delivery of safety-nets and complementary livelihood services, according to MoFEC.

Similarly, the House has also deliberated on the 40 million euros loan agreement signed between the Ethiopian government and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance water supply and sanitation projects for small and medium urban towns.

According to the program document, it

Urban safety-net...is part of the Universal Access Plan, a countrywide strategic plan which aims at expanding the reach of water and sanitation services in Ethiopia, whose total project is estimated to cost some 75 million euros. So far, according to MoFEC, a 20 million euros loan has been secured from France Development Agency and 15 million euros from Italian government.

According to the bill, the loan that MoFEC already secured will be transferred for urban water development bureaus as credit schemes through Water Development Fund Offices.

After deliberating on the provisions of the draft proclamation, the House referred both bills to Budget and Finance Affairs Standing Committee.

CONT`D FROM PAGE 1PM meets...Forum (Medrek), told The Reporter.

By the same token, President of Semayawi (Blue) Party Yilekal Getnet (Eng.) argued that the meeting is more of a public relation stunt, which did not provide any solution to the current political problems.

“I don’t expect something concrete and different from the Council that was created by the ruling party to prolong its power,” Yilekal told The Reporter.

President of the All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) Abebaw Mehari on his part highly criticized the discussion and said that the statement by the PM was discriminatory. “The PM boldly stated that parties in the Council will get financial assistance from the government and this is against the principle of building democratic institutions,” Abebaw said.

On the contrary, president of the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), Chane Kebede (PhD), argued that such discussions should be conducted frequently so as to narrow the differences between the ruling party and the opposition camp.

In this regard, Chane told The Reporter

the PM’s statement regarding the strengthening of the Council is seen by his party as positive and constructive.

“Generally speaking, the discussions were fruitful and will strengthen the Council in the future. Amendments of laws and regulations is possible if they are supported by research,” Desta told The Reporter.

Concerning the criticisms forwarded by political parties that are not part of the Council, Desta said that membership is open to all parties. “However, criticisms from parties that are against the basic principles of the Council and keep blaming the ruling party, are not acceptable,” Desta counter-argued.

Parties also have different views concerning the issue of national consensus.

“We don’t want any kind of chaos in the country, therefore, to avoid such problems discussions shhould be conducted with all concerned bodies, political parties and civil societies. Discussing with a few parties cannot fix the problem once and for all,” Abebaw told The Reporter.

By the same token, Tilahun said that

the discussions were not focused on major issues that matter to the country. “Therefore, it is very difficult to accept that the outcome the discussions will pave the way for a national consensus,” Tilahun said.

However, the president of EDP is optimistic. “We will wait and see the results of the discussions. We have raised our concerns and the government has promised to solve the problems. In the past, problems in implementing the promises but we hope that government is committed this time around,” he said.

The PM also responded to various questions raised by the members of the Council. He also pledged to meet members of the council every six months to discuss major national issues.

The Joint Political Parties National Council is composed of nine parties that are signatories of the Code of Conduct. Major opposition parties including Blue, Medrek and AEUP are not members of the Council because of their differences over the code of conduct with the ruling party.

investments worth 17 billion dollars in Africa.

According to the draft bill, MoFEC will be given the power and the responsibility to implement the agreement in cooperation with the concerned government organs.

While presenting the draft bill, deputy government whip, Amanuel Abrha, told MPs that the government has already signed the loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB), in the amount of 7.5 million birr, to finance the minimum financial requirement set by the Agency to acquire membership.

After reviewing, the House referred the bill to the Budget and Finance Standing committee with no major queries from MPs.

Following the MPs endorsement, the Deputy Whip immediately presented one more draft bill which proposed the ratification of the aforementioned loan agreement that the government secured to cover the ATI financial requirement to acquire minimum share.

According to the deputy whip, the loan agreement between MoFEC and the African Development fund was signed in November 2015 and is set to be paid in 30 years at zero interest.

He said that membership in the agency will give the country’s trade sector an insurance access, promotes the trade and creates competitive trade capacity that can enhance local production and export.

While requesting the House’s endorsement, he also underlined that since the loan is interest free with longer period of payment time, it is compatible with the country’s debt management strategy.

The House also referred this bill to the same standing committee for further revision.

Political and trade risks are insurance products beyond the capacity of national insurance companies as they require a huge amount of money.

Once Ethiopia obtains full membership of the ATI it is entitled to receive dividends from the profits of the agency and ATI could collect premiums from companies in the country after selling political and trade products.

According to the ratification document, ATI was established in 2000 after African heads of state got convinced that the institution’s establishment would increase the availability of financial resources for trade, investment and other productive activities and reduce the cost of trade finance in the continent by mitigating associated political, non-commercial and commercial risks.

Initially, it was launched with the financial and technical support of the World Bank and the backing of seven African countries. The African Development Bank recently joined as shareholder and partner by funding countries to join ATI.

Since 2003, it claims that it has supported over $17 billion worth of trade and investments across the continent, secured an investment grade rating of ‘A’ from Standard & Poor’s, and expanded membership with plans to attract even more African member countries and international financial institutions in the near term.


The Reporter, Saturday, March 26, 2016Vol. XX No. 1020 |39THE REPORTER SPORT

FIFA president visits Ethiopia

By Dawit Tolesa

The Ethiopian Women’s National Football Team Lucy are to face Algeria today in the second round of the qualifier for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2016.

The Algerian team is to play the return match on the back of a 1-0 win after Dalila Zerrouki found the back of the net two minutes after the hour mark. Attempts made by in form Lucy striker, Loza Abera, were not successful.

The Fennecs arrived early Thursday morning and had their training at Addis Ababa Stadium. Ahead of the encounter, Coach Birahnu Gizaw said that they have the home ground advantage and will focus on attacking.

After Lucy suffered the 1-0 defeat in Algiers they started early preparations. Experienced players and young

Lucy, Fennecs to face-off in return match

By Dawit Tolesa

Gianni Infantino, the newly-elected president of the world football’s governing body, FIFA, visited Ethiopia this week. During his visit, Infantino met with a delegation of the Ethiopian Football Federation led by Juneydi Basha, its president.

The Swiss-Italian president made his first visit to the African continent and football development was the main topic on the agenda. Infantino also paid a visit to the headquarters of the EFF, a FIFA Goal project, as well as the Ethiopian Youth Sports Academy.

Before his departure, Infantino met

with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Redwan Hussein, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tedros Adhanom (PhD) with whom he held discussions regarding the development of football. The FIFA president also promised to increase the number of African World Cup participants from five to seven. Infantino also said that the number of the national teams in the world cup would increase to 40.

EFF president Juneydi said that the visit holds a great value for the development of Ethiopian football.

The FIFA delegation then went to the neighboring country of Djibouti, where the program included a meeting with

Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed and a visit to the Djibouti FA Headquarters – another FIFA goal project. FIFA president Infantino then attended his second 2017 AFCON qualifiers game, with Liberia defeating hosts Djibouti 1-0. The FIFA president will concluded his three-day trip to Africa on Friday with a visit to Gabon, hosts of the next edition of the CAF African Cup of Nations which will be played in 2017.

Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino is a football administrator and current FIFA president. He has been the general secretary of UEFA since 2009 and was elected president of FIFA during the 2016 FIFA extraordinary congress on 26

February 2016.

Gianni Infantino started working with UEFA in August 2000 and was appointed as the director of UEFA’s Legal Affairs and Club Licensing Division in January 2004. He became deputy general secretary of UEFA in 2007 and secretary general of UEFA in October 2009.

During his time there, UEFA introduced Financial Fair Play and improved commercial support to smaller national associations. He oversaw the expansion of UEFA Euro 2016 to 24 teams and played a role in the conception of the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Euro 2020 that will take place in 13 European nations.

Infantino paid a visit to the Ethiopian Youth Sports Academy.

talents including striker Loza Abera, Shitaye Sisay, Erehima Zergaw and the midfielder Birtukan Gebrekirstos are expected to turn things around.

The Ethiopian Women National Team was excluded from the qualifications round of the 2016 championship due to a technical error made by the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF). Later, Lucy was replaced by Togo Women National who opted to withdraw because of lack of finance.

The winner of Saturday match will face Kenya as the Democratic Republic of Congo withdrew from the qualifier.

Today’s lineup will be Dagmawit (goalkeeper), Habtam Eshetu, Tsion Estifanos, Tiruanchi Mingesha, Estgenet Bizuneh (defense), Hiwot Dangiso, Biruktawit Girma and Birtukan G/Kirstos (midfield) while Eriema Zergaw, Loza Abera and Shitaye Sisay will lead the frontline.The Ethiopian Women’s National Football Team Lucy



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