1. travel
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The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |1
Vol. IXI No. 955| December 27, 2014 | ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Museveni says no!
Price 5.00 Birr
Abadula
replaces Addisu
as Ethiopian
board chair
By Yohannes Anberbir
Uganda said it will not withdraw
its troops from South Sudan unless
the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) forces are ready
and capable to replace its troops in the
newly-emerged war-torn country.
Uganda’s president and strongman,
Yoweri Museveni, who is paying an
official visit to Ethiopia starting from
Friday met with journalists at the
National Palace after signing several
bilateral cooperation agreements with
the Government of Ethiopia.
However, journalists were very keen
to know the president’s position with
regards to the crisis in South Sudan and
the withdrawal date of the controversial
presence of Ugandan troops that were
deployed in South Sudan immediately
after the crisis.
“We didn’t go to south Sudan looking for
job” the president started responding
on the withdrawal of his troops. “We
deployed our troops because we have
brothers there,” he lauded.
“That is all. We are not the problem in
South Sudan and the problem is lack
of peace among the South Sudanese
Museveni... page 38
By Kaleyesus Bekele
Speaker of the House of Peoples’
Representatives,
Abadula
Gemeda,
replaced
Addisu
Legesse,
senior
government official, as board chairman
of the Ethiopian Airlines as of December
8.
Photo By: Reporter /Mesfen Solomon
President of South Sudan have asked the
deployment of Ugandan forces and the
Government of Uganda accepted the call
at least to defend the capital Juba not to
become a war zone, president Museveni
added. But later on the soldiers of the
rebel’s side began attacking Ugandan
troops that led the Ugandans to go
and liberate the town of Oboure, the
president said.
Abadula Gemeda
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
An overview of the public diplomacy mission to Egypt
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6
Reliable sources at the Ministry of
Transport told The Reporter that Addissu
requested the Minister of Transport,
Workneh Gebeyehu, to release him of his
post as board chairman of the national
flag carrier due to personal reasons.
Sources said Workneh, who accepted
the request, appointed the Speaker of
the House, Abadulla Gemeda, as the new
board chairman of Ethiopian Airlines.
Arkebe Oqubay, former mayor of Addis
Abadula replaces... page 38
2| Vol. XIX No. 955
EDITORIAL
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Published weekly by Media &
Communications Center
Address: Bole Sub City,
Kebele 03, H. No. 2347
Tel: 011 6 616180 Editorial
011 6 616185 Reception
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E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
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Managing Editor
Bruh Yihunbelay
[email protected]
Editor-in-Chief
Asrat Seyoum
Sub city: N.lafto, K. 10/18, H.No. 614
[email protected]
Senior Editors
Yacob Wolde-Mariam
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Editors
Kaleyesus Bekele
[email protected]
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[email protected]
Assistant Editor
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[email protected]
Senior Reporters
Henok Reta
Neamin Ashenafi
Columnist
Leyou Tameru
[email protected]
Chief Graphic Designer
Yibekal Getahun
Senior Graphic Designer
Tewodros Kebkab
Graphic Designers
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Head of Photography
Nahom Tesfaye
Photographers
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Cartoonist
Elias Areda
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Marketing Manager
Endalkachew Yimam
Marketing Officers
Biruk Mulugeta Biruk Chernet
Institutionalizing public diplomacy,
think tanks
A sixty-member strong public diplomacy delegation organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and chaired by His Excellency
Abadula Gemeda, the Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives, returned home last week after a five-day visit to Egypt.
The delegation by and large had an auspicious beginning.
The ties between nations need not be limited to or rely solely on the customary government-to-government diplomatic relations.
They have to be complimented by people-to-people relations. As a matter of fact such relations are becoming more common and
popular all over the world. In view of this it is laudable that the government has taken the initiative to organize and deploy a
public diplomacy delegation.
The public diplomacy delegation which traveled to Egypt had a clear mission.
Though Ethiopia and Egypt have had long years of ties, it’s the aspect of the relationship which revolves around the Nile which
always takes center stage. In particular, ever since Ethiopia announced in 2011 its plans to build the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance
Dam (GERD) Egypt has been invoking the 1959 colonial-era treaty it signed with Sudan to claim that it has historical, decisive
and preferential right when it comes to the use of the Nile’s water and no one should “mess with it”. And it has been taking both
direct and indirect steps to exert pressure on Ethiopia towards this end.
The current president of Egypt, former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, however, seems to be transitioning his country from
throwing about threats to forging cooperation. This is attested to by his unequivocal expression, to the public diplomacy delegation,
of his desire to work with Ethiopia in resolving differences. He also said that the cooperation between the two countries must no
longer be confined to the Nile and needed to include, among others, investment and the fight against terrorism. Overall the tone
of his message was positive.
The Ethiopian public diplomacy was not delighted by the reception and speech of the present alone, though. The discussions
it held with the prime minister, the foreign minister, artists, Al- Ahram newspaper as well as members of the Egyptian public
diplomacy team and the business communities were constructive and conducted in good spirits.
Given its objective, the visit of the delegation was an unqualified success. This said, there are elements within Egyptian society
which still harbor hatred and suspicion towards Ethiopia; they have not been won over yet.
Inasmuch as there exist those who are looking forward to an era of greater cooperation and solidarity, it is inevitable that a few
politicians and elites refuse to abandon their archaic attitude and describe the construction of the GERD as an act of enmity
which has no developmental purpose at all. They accuse Ethiopia of breaking an international agreement while Ethiopia in fact
is entreating Egypt to sign a new framework agreement on the use of the Nile, which it has done along with six other riparian
countries. And some of have even called for Egypt to launch military attacks against Ethiopia.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us as a nation to see to it that we organize ourselves better in order to ensure that the success on
the public diplomacy front is not rolled back. One of the important things which can be done in this regard is to institutionalize
public diplomacy. This is essential not only in terms of negotiations over the Nile, but also bilateral and multilateral relations
with Egypt and other nations.
One of the lessons that Ethiopia can learn from Egypt is the need to establish a strong and capable public diplomacy institution
which enjoys government backing. The Egyptian public diplomacy delegation which visited Ethiopia in 2012 has been elevated
to a very-well organized institution that has earned governmental recognition and does an effective job of carrying out the tasks
entrusted to it.
It’s not public diplomacy alone which must be conducted in an organized manner, however. The country also needs organized
think tanks across a range of sectors. This is also something we can adapt from Egypt. One of the institutions with which
discussions were held is the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, which was celebrating its fifteenth year anniversary. Although
the council is supported by the Government of Egypt, it is an independent body that was established by a group of diplomats,
academics, professionals, military experts and businessmen. It consults the government, undertakes researches and forges ties
with overseas entities on matters which directly or indirectly impact Egypt’s national interest.
Computer Secretaries
Birtukan Abate, Helen Yetayew,
By the same token, Ethiopia also requires think tanks which provide research and advisory services to the government not only
on foreign affairs, but also on investment, tourism, education, health, good governance, etc. Bearing this in mind the government
is duty-bound to support the establishment and functioning of all types of think tanks.
Print
Tesfaye Mengesha, Yeyesuswork
Mamo,Gezaghgn Mandefro
All in all it is imperative that the government institutionalizes public diplomacy and think tanks. The announcement by Prime
Minister Hailemariam Desalegn that the public diplomacy delegation would be organized as a council is a welcome move. If the
success achieved in the first round of public diplomacy is to be replicated, there is no alternative but to put in place the necessary
conditions which allow the government and people of Ethiopia to work hand-in-hand in advancing the national interest.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
HEADLINES
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |3
MoLSA to lift year-long travel
ban to Middle East
By Yonas Abiye
The banning of citizens from traveling to
the region was prompted after repeated
reports that countless Ethiopians have
lost their lives and undergone untold
physical and psychological trauma
due to illegal human trafficking.
The decision was meant to safeguard
the wellbeing of the citizens, and was
effective until a lasting solution was
found to the problem.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
(MoLSA) has announced on Thursday
that it is going to lift the travel ban that
it imposed on domestic workers who
travel to the Middle East. The ban which
was ordered in October 2012, eventually
led to the barring of work permits of
agencies that facilitate existing travels
for work, and other destinations popular
for overseas employment.
According to an International Labor
Organization (ILO) report in 2011,
migrant domestic workers in countries
like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia become
trapped in exploitative or abusive
employment because of the sponsorship
system.
Speaking before the House of Peoples’
Representatives (HPR), Minister of
Labor and Social Affairs, Abdulfetah
Abdulahi Hassen told MPs that the
government decided to lift the ban after
it made bilateral agreements on the
safety of citizens with the governments
of Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan.
They face criminal penalties if they try
to leave a job without their employer’s
permission,
facing
detention
by
government authorities if they are
reported as ‘absconding’ and deported,
even if they have been abused and are
seeking redress.
He also indicated that the government
had to take time to deliver trainings and
proper education for domestic workers
who seek to travel to the Middle East.
“So far we have been undertaking
important steps such as revising the
existing bilateral agreements and trying
to amend them in order to ensure the
safety of our people”, the Minister told
Mps. However, he did not mention when
the ban is going to be lifted.
Ethiopian
to provide
premium
charter flight
service
House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR)
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In countries like Lebanon, a lack of
accessible
complaint
mechanisms,
lengthy and costly judicial procedures,
and restrictive visa policies discourage
migrant
domestic
workers
from
reporting abuse and exploitation.
Ministry
slashes Nyota’s
concession
near GERD
By Kaleyesus Bekele
The British mining firm prospecting
for gold in Ethiopia, Nyota Minerals,
announced that the Ethiopian Ministry
of Mines slashed its gold exploration
concession in western Ethiopia near
the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
(GERD).
To buy 50 light aircraft
By Kaleyesus Bekele
The Ethiopian Airlines is going to
launch a new premium charter flight
service with light aircraft in Ethiopia
and neighboring countries.
Following submissions to renew the
exploration licenses called Towcester
and Brantham projects, in western
Ethiopia, the Ministry of Mines has
taken the decision not to renew any
license areas or to issue new exploration
licenses that would be affected by the
development, along the Nile river.
The national flag carrier is contemplating
the idea to provide high-end comfortable
charter and scheduled flight services
with light aircraft that have 10-20 seats
each. The airline is planning to buy
about 50 light aircraft in the new year.
A press release issued by Nyota last
week, the company said the ministry’s
decision affected the Towcester license,
where the rationale for the renewal
of the Gombo block was to conduct
exploration and prospecting in support
of the proposed mechanized mining
of the alluvial deposits that would be
inundated by the rising water level.
A new separate division within the
airline will manage the charter flight
service, according to officials of the
airlines. The airline targets tourists,
mining and construction companies as
potential customers.
A senior executive of Ethiopian yesterday
told The Reporter that the airline
marketing department was conducting
research on the charter flight service in
Ethiopia for the past one year. “We have
noted a big market potential. It is a big
market that will grow even further,” the
executive said.
As a result, while the exploration license
for the Towcester project had been
renewed, the exploration area had now
been reduced from 1 002 sqkm to 48 sqkm.
Similarly,
the
exploration
license for the Brantham project
Ethiopian to provide... page 38
Ministry slashes... page 38
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HEADLINES
4| Vol. XIX No. 955
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Diageo unveils Zemen beer
in an already tough market
Colleagues confused with air force
pilot decision to defect to Eritrea
A new campaign on under-age drinking kicks-off
MI35 gunship
By Kaleyesus Bekele
Zemen Beer
By Henok Reta
Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic
beverages company and owner of the
Meta Abo brewery of Ethiopia, unveiled
its new product, Zemen Beer, on
Thursday aiming to stay at the forefront
of the booming beer market in Ethiopia.
Francis Agbonlahor, managing director,
Meta Abo Brewery, Ethiopian subsidiary
of Diageo, introduced the company’s
latest product at Capital Hotel. “Some
of our esteemed customers have told
us to make our product a bit light as
Meta is known for its stronger alcoholic
content,” he said.
Zemen, Meta’s light lager, is an
innovation of the brewery that has been
working on it for the past two years
after Diageo took over the 42-year-old
brewery in Ethiopia. With an alcohol by
volume (ABV) of 4.5 percent Zemen will
Diageo unveils... page 34
Colleagues and friends of Captain
Samuel Gidey are confused by his
decision to defect to arch foe Eritrea
with the MI35 gunship on December 19.
Captain Gidey was commanding the MI35
Russian-made combat helicopter with copilot Lieutenant Bilelegn Dessalegn and
flight technician Tsegabirhan Gidey.
They departed the Dire Dawa Ethiopian
Air Force base on December 19 at 8:35
AM for a routine flight exercise. Captain
Samuel lowered his altitude and went
out of the flight path to head to Eritrea.
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Sources confirmed to The Reporter that
the gunship landed in Assab, the port
town of Eritrea.
Colleagues of Captain Samuel told The
Reporter that it was hard for them to
believe that Samuel took this measure.
“He is a very nice guy. He was not an
opponent of the government. He is
neutral when it comes to politics. He
usually avoids political discussions. He
is a person who diligently discharges
his duties and responsiblities and looks
after his children,” his colleagues said.
Colleagues confused... page 34
HEADLINES
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |5
Ebola
pandemic
affects ASKY’s
operation
Low turnout for tax
meeting irks officials
By Kaleyesus Bekele
By Yonas Abiye
Ethiopian Airlines affiliate airline in
west Africa, ASKY Airlines’, operation
is seriously affected by the spread of
Ebola virus disease (EVD).
A low turnout for a meeting called in by
the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs
Authority (ERCA) irked officials of the
authority.
The Lome, Togo-based private airline,
ASKY, operates in 22 destinations in
West and Central Africa. The panAfrican airline operates in the region
most affected by the Ebola pandemic at
the moment.
ERCA expected to house around 1000
participants at Kokeb Hall next to the
authority’s headquarters on Thursday
December 25 but only 57 showed up. The
meeting, which was supposed to begin at
8:30 AM, was delayed for more than two
hours with officials hopping that more
taxpayers would turn up.
Following the outbreak of EVD, ASKY
has canceled flights to Conakry, Guinea,
Monrovia, Liberia and Freetown, Sierra
Leon. The airline has also suspended
flights to Abuja and Lagos for about
ten days last September. The airline
recommenced operation to Conakry as
of December 1. It hopes to resume flights
to more destinations soon.
In a written response to The Reporter
CEO of ASKY, Yissehak Zewoldi
said that the airline has taken all the
necessary measures recommended by
the World Health Organization and local
civil aviation authority.
Ebola pandemic... page 34
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The meeting was scheduled to deliberate
on tax related issues including VAT
and issues regarding usage of cash
registration machines, among others.
Taxpayers continuously complain of
poor services provided by ERCA and
other contentious tax issues.
ERCA officials expressed dismay with
the low turnout for the meeting which
they felt would have served as a platform
to address some of the grievances of
taxpayers.
“Usually, people come to us individually
rather than coming to meetings like this
which would enable us resolve some of
the problems with a collective voice,”
Empty seats in Kokeb Hall infuriated ERCA officials
Hiwot Hadush, head of Eastern Region
branch of ERCA, told The Reporter.
She was expecting a lot of issues would be
raised for discussion as most taxpayers
have been experiencing so many
challenges and grievance with regards to
the existing tax law specifically on VAT
valuation, uses of cash registrations as
well as tax assessments.
Girma
Tafesse,
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Coordinator
of
Federal
Inland
Revenue
Branch
Office Directorate, also expressed his
disappointment. He was bewildered as
to how taxpayers, who usually cry foul,
failed to show up to a meeting aimed
at deliberating on tax system and tax
reports.
Despite the stated low turnout, however,
the officials went ahead with the meeting
with the small group of taxpayers
present.
6| Vol. XIX No. 955
In-depth
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Ethiopia: defining its role in the Horn
By Asrat Seyoum
With a long history of statehood and
independence, Ethiopia is arguably the
oldest country in the Horn of Africa and
the continent alike. However, Ethiopia’s
role in shaping the economic and
political life of both the continent and the
Horn of Africa remained largely limited,
according to scholars. Indeed, the
country is one of the founding members
in the global multilateral structures like
the UN or the continental organization,
the AU. In a way, many attribute the
leadership of the early pan-African
movements to the country on account
of its resistance to foreign invasion
most importantly colonial advances.
Although, this gave the nation a unique
chance of assuming a concrete leadership
role in the continent or even the region
scholars believe that the country has not
yet rose to that level. According to them,
this is mainly because the country has
been preoccupied by its internal political
strife for many decades.
However, the pundits also observe that
the Horn of Africa is one unique region
not only for its constant instability and
human suffering but for the lack of clear
regional influential power playing a
decisive role in shaping its own destiny
and the ones around it. Comprising,
six nations including Ethiopia, Kenya,
Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea and South
Sudan the region has never seen or at
least recognized one strong regional
leader in its existence. According to
scholars, few like Sudan and Kenya
could be considered as candidates for
this role. But, they argue that Ethiopia
by far stands a better chance of assuming
that role. As to the Sudan, many argue
that the nation itself do not aspire to
evolve as a leader of the region, but
rather want to align more with the Arab
world across the Red Sea. Meanwhile,
Kenya’s
longstanding
isolationism
policy towards the troubled Horn region
is the factor behind Kenya not coming
out as strong leader of the region.
Ethiopia is rather a complicated case,
they say. For one, the state stood a better
chance of assuming the leadership
role from a military standpoint. A
country of more than 90 million today,
Ethiopia is believed to have one of the
strongest, if not the strongest military
in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, weak
domestic political conditions, war with
neighboring countries ans prevalence
of poverty effectively shielded it from
playing the stated role.
Now, the narratives are changing.
Again, the leadership position in one
of world’s most unstable corner seems
to be up for grabs once again. And, this
time round, the countries themselves,
especially Ethiopia, are coming with a
renewed image. To back this claim, the
scholars direct attention to the fresh
political instabilities and unrests in
the Horn of Africa and the role that is
played by countries in the region. Under
the auspices of the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD),
which as argued by many is
predominately influenced by Ethiopia,
countries of the region are major players
in dealing with recent instability in
South Sudan and Somalia.
As chairperson of IGAD, since 2008
and symbolizing the country’s role
in the region, Prime Minister of
Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, is
increasingly becoming vocal on issues
of neighboring countries and the Horn
region in general. In fact, traditionally,
an Ethiopian head of government is a
person who is rather swamped with local
matters such that he rarely ventures on
regional politics, unless directly linked
to domestic conditions, while addressing
the Ethiopian public. In his recent media
briefing, PM Hailemariam was seen
devoting considerable time to addressing
issues in the Horn perhaps a bit more
than usual. He talked in length about the
youngest African nation South Sudan
and its trials and tribulation regarding
its recent political division-cum-civil
war. The most troubled, Somalia; newest
ally, Kenya and Ethiopia’s gateway to
the sea, Djibouti.
Somalia
Arguably the first bold move by Ethiopia
to go beyond it boarders to defend its
national security/interest is to Somalia.
In 2006, Ethiopian National Defense
Forces, who at the time were estimated
to reach 8 thousand (UN estimates),
was deployed in a conventional combat
mission to expel an Islamist group
called Union of Islamic Courts (UIC)
that was threating the weak transitional
government of Somalia formed in Kenya.
This was a turning point in a sense
that since the EPRDF-led government
assumed power Ethiopia has seen a shift
in foreign policy direction. According
to scholars, the government unlike its
predecessors pursued an inward looking
foreign policy that is largely guided by
insuring the peace and development of
the nation. Of course, the preconditions
of the intervention was a clear and
present danger that the group [UIC]
posed on Ethiopia. However, it also had a
larger goal of supporting a stable Somalia
under a strong stable government.
Since then, Ethiopia got involved in
fighting extremist groups in Somalia
and went back to the country in 2011,
and finally under the AMISOM in 2013.
Currently, Ethiopia has 4395 troops in
Somalia fighting the Al-Qaeda-linked
Al-Shabaab. According to Hailemariam,
Ethiopian troops are still playing a
significant role in Somalia cleansing 65
percent of the territory from Al-Shabaab.
“Although the other peacekeeping forces
are significant in number, the territory
Ethiopia: defining... page 32
In-depth +
An overview of the public diplomacy
mission to Egypt
By Amare Aregawi
An
Ethiopian
public
diplomacy
delegation returned home last week
after a five-day visit to Egypt which ran
from December16 through to December
20, 2014. Given that the delegation was
entrusted with a vital mission and is
due to make similar visits in the future
it is important to conduct an assessment
of the visit with a view to address its
shortcomings and build on its positive
aspects. Therefore, it is imperative
to propose the way forward based on
an evaluation of the following major
yardsticks: the purpose, the preparations
for the visit and the activities carried out
during the visit as well as the outcome of
the visit
What was the purpose of the mission?
Ethiopia and Egypt have long and
historical relations. Both are recognized
internationally as being ancient and
replete with history. And they have
centuries-old religious ties through the
Orthodox Christian and Islam religions.
Above all, however, their tie largely
revolves around the Nile. While this tie
should have been positive and one of
Members of the Public Diplomacy delegation for a photo op with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
collaboration, it has been characterized
by mistrust and misgiving.
Until recently Egypt has been using
both directly and indirectly all available
means to exert security-related and
other forms of pressure on Ethiopia with
the aim of guaranteeing its continued
dominant and sole use of the waters of
the Nile.
In the wake of the announcement by
Ethiopia of its plans to build the Grand
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)
www.thereporterethiopia.com
the government of former president
Mohammad Morsi went apoplectic and
even went as far as threatening to bomb
the dam.
An overview... page 28
HEADLINES
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
New meat processors in
the making
By Birhanu Fikade
Euro Foods, a French-based meat
processing firm, is considering setting
up meat processing plants in Ethiopia
as more and more foreign companies are
drawn into the sector.
In his recent interview with The
Reporter, Hailesilassie Weres, director
of Ethiopian Diary and Meat Industry
Development Institute, said that Euro
Foods is on the verge of acquiring land
to set up a processing plant in Ethiopia.
The company would invest USD 32
million if all goes according to plan,
Hailesellaise told The Reporter.
The company is expected to raise whole
fund through equity financing abroad to
finance their project in Ethiopia.
Hailesilassie Weres
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Abebaw Mekonen, secretary general of
Ethiopian Meat Producers-Exporters
Association also confirmed that the
French-based company is on the process
to join Ethiopian meat industry.
Vol. XIX No. 955 |7
“The process of
the election was
peaceful and
conducted as per
the rules and
guidelines with
the participation
of all parties,”
Public observers’
election held
amid opposition
woes
By Neamin Ashenafi
The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia
(NEBE) announced that more than a
quarter of a million public observers
were elected last week as major
opposition parties continue accusations
of political partisanship.
Euro Foods represents the surge of
growing interest for the meat processing
industry in a nation with the largest
cattle population in Africa.
According to Abebaw, a local firm
called Kegna is well underway setting
up a processing plant in south eastern
Ethiopia- namely Awash Melkassa area.
Companies like Jigjiga Export Slaughter
House PLC are also successful new
entrants in the business.
The election of public observers, who
will be tasked to follow up and observe
the election process at all levels in the
upcoming election, was conducted
throughout the country on December 21.
“The process of the election was peaceful
and conducted as per the rules and
guidelines with the participation of all
parties,” Addisu Gebregziabher (PhD), deputy
chairperson of NEBE, told The Reporter.
The government plans to amass quarter
of a billion dollars this year from
the export of honey, dairy and meat
products by the end of this fiscal year.
Hailesellaise said that some 49 thousand
MT of meat products are expected to
reach the international market mainly
the Middle East.
However, major opposition political
parties including Unity for Democracy
and Justice (UDJ), All Ethiopian Union
Organization (AEUO) and the Ethiopian
Federal Democratic Unity Forum
(Medrek) criticized both the result and
NEBE. Also accusing the public observer
candidates of political partisanship in
favor of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’
Revolutionary Democratic Front.
It is to be remembered that the Indian
based Allana Sons had joined the meat
export business with a USD 20 million
investment to set up a new plant in
the Oromia Regional State at the
town of Ziway some 159 km from the
capital. Allana Sons was registered as
Frigorifico Boran Foods PLC in Ethiopia
and was able to acquire 75 hectare of
land. Hailesellaise said the Indian food
giant is also associated with yet another
investment buying out a Turkish
meat exporting company stationed in
Ethiopia.
According to Article 7 (2) of the amended
Directive (No. 3/2009) Concerning the
Procedure for the Activities of Public
Observers and Representatives of
Political Parties and Private Candidates,
“those people who are non-partisan and
neutral who are elected by the people
and who are accountable to them that
can follow the electoral process as public
observers”.
According to Hailessellasie, Organic
Abattoir Slaughter, Abyssinia Export
Abattoirs, Luna Export Slaughter House
and Modjo Modern Export Abattoir
PLC are among the fairly performing
firms in the industry, while Elfora Agro
Industries PLC, which belongs to the
Midroc Technology Group, is among
the poor performing export slaughter
houses in the meat industry.
Despite the allegations, NEBE deputy
chairperson hailed the public observers
election a success stating that the
election process was conducted in a free
and fair manner.
“We invite all parties to participate in
the election of the public observers and
to nominate their candidates and we do
invite all parties. If they fail to come it
is not the board’s responsibility,” Addisu
told The Reporter.
The value chain and animal feed
shortages are hampering the growth of
the industry according to an industry
analysis by the International Livestock
Research Institute (ILRI). On the other
hand, quality and meat hygiene are some
of the critical barriers for Ethiopian
meat exporters in the international
markets competence.
He also told The Reporter that “the board
conducted a successful public observer’s
Public observers’.. page 34
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The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
8| Vol. XIX No. 955
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |9
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NOTICE FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION OF SUPPLIERS 2015
Reference No. PTN/004/2015
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) is a non-governmental, humanitarian organization with over 60 years of experience in helping to create a safer and more dignified life
for refugees. NRC assists refugees within the sector of shelter, education, food security and WASH in Dollo Ado & Jigjiga (Somali Region), Assosa (BenshangulGumiz Region),
Gambella (Gambella Region) and Shire &Misebri town (Tigray region).
The Norwegian Refugee Council Office in Addis Ababa invites applications from competent firms for prequalification for supply of goods and services listed below for the year
2015
CATEGORY Code
CATEGORY DISCRIPTION
EXAMPLES FOR EACH CATEGORY
NRC/PQ/2015/001
Supply of Kitchen Items - Equipment
Kettles, cups, kitchen utensils, food preparation items... etc
NRC/PQ/2015/002
Supply and delivery of office and guest house Furniture
Filing Cabinets, Tables, Chairs, Beds ...etc
NRC/PQ/2015/003
Supply of Generators, Generator Spare Parts & Service &
Repairs
Cummins, Lombardini, Caterpillar, Perkins
NRC/PQ/2015/004
Supply of Office & Guest House Equipment: Electronics
Refrigerator, Microwave, Oven, TV … etc
NRC/PQ/2015/005
Provision of Office Maintenance & Repair Services
Partitioning, Painting, Plumbing, Electricity, Masonry…etc
NRC/PQ/2015/006
Supply of Mobile Air Time
50, 100, 500 ...
NRC/PQ/2015/007
Provision of Clearing & Forwarding Agents Services
Vehicles, laptops,…etc
NRC/PQ/2015/008
Supply of ICT equipment, accessories and their
maintenance
PABX, Laptops (Lenovo& Dell), Desktops (Dell), Toners, UPS…..etc
NRC/PQ/2015/009
Provision of Office Machines, accessories and their
maintenance
Printers, Photocopiers, Toners…etc
NRC/PQ/2015/010
Provision of Town Taxi Service
Yellow taxi or similar associations
NRC/PQ/2015/011
Provision of Vehicle maintenance & repair Service
Land cruisers, Hardtops, Sedans, Isuzu Trucks…...etc
NRC/PQ/2015/012
Supply of Safety and Security Equipment
Fire extinguishers, safety shoes, helmets, metal detectors ….etc
NRC/PQ/2015/013
Provision of Paper Printing Services
Calendar, Brochures, Posters, …..etc
NRC/PQ/2015/014
Supply/Design of Visibility Materials
T-shirts, Vests, Pens, Mug, Cap, Business Cards…..etc
NRC/PQ/2015/015
Supply of Shelter Materials: CGI, Flat Sheet, Nails
Different type
NRC/PQ/2015/016
Supply of Shelter Materials: Bamboo & Eucalyptus
Different size
NRC/PQ/2015/017
Supply of Shelter & Education Materials: Building Materials
Iron Bar, Door Hinge, Plumbing Materials, Metal Work Materials ...
NRC/PQ/2015/018
Supply of Education Training Materials: Tailoring
Sewing machines & accessories, sewing machine spare parts, fabrics...etc
NRC/PQ/2015/019
Supply of Education Training Materials: Electrical
Switches, wires, bulbs, electrical fittings …etc
NRC/PQ/2015/020
Supply of Education Training Materials: Electronics
Different Types
NRC/PQ/2015/021
Supply of Water equipment and accessories
Pipes, Digital Pumps, Deep Meter, Submersible Pump….etc
NRC/PQ/2015/022
Supply of Seed
Grains, Fruits and Vegetables
Document Collection and Submission Deadline
- Collection & Submission Dates: Dec. 25nd 2014 to Jan 09th 2015
- Collection & Submission time 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
- Deadline for submission January 09th 2015 @ 4:45p.m.
Address of NRC:
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Bole Medhanealem Area, Behind Sheger Building
Tel.: 011 6 61 99 80/1
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
Submission
-Sealed Envelope Marked as
APPLICATION FOR PREQUALIFICATION
NAME OF APPLICANT ______________
REF. PTN/004/2015
CATEGORY NUMBER ______________
CATEGORY DISCRIPTION ____________
- NRC has the right to reject any or all of the bids for any reason whatsoever.
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The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
10| Vol. XIX No. 955
Commentary
T
hat was the aim in 2001, when the
United Nations adopted the Millennium
Development Goals. And it will be the
aim next year, when the MDGs expire
and the UN adopts a successor framework for
environmental and development policy. The coming
set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will
seek to protect ecosystems, conserve resources, and,
as with the MDGs, lift millions of people out of
poverty.
Radical goals for sustainable development
By Barbara Unmüßig
Let us imagine for a moment that we
could change the world according to our
wishes. Dramatic economic inequality
gives way to social and political
inclusion. Universal human rights
become a reality. We end deforestation
and the destruction of arable land.
Fish stocks recover. Two billion people
look forward to a life without poverty,
hunger, and violence. Rather than
paying lip service to climate change and
resource scarcity, we start to respect and
uphold the limits of our planet and its
atmosphere.
That was the aim in 2001, when the
United Nations adopted the Millennium
Development Goals. And it will be
the aim next year, when the MDGs
expire and the UN adopts a successor
framework for environmental and
development policy. The coming set of
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
will seek to protect ecosystems, conserve
resources, and, as with the MDGs, lift
millions of people out of poverty.
Combining
environmental
and
developmental frameworks is a good
idea – one that builds on the success of
a host of legally binding international
conventions and agreements crafted
under the UN’s auspices to protect the
climate, conserve biodiversity, uphold
human rights, and reduce poverty.
Though they may not be perfect – and,
unfortunately, the countries that
ratify them do not always achieve the
targets – they have led to the creation of
institutional processes that encourage
countries to meet their promises and
embolden citizens to hold governments
accountable.
But, though the SDGs will thus stand on
solid legal ground, that ground must be
developed further. For starters, global
agreements and targets have not yet been
put in place for major environmental
challenges, including the destruction
of fertile topsoil and global plastic
production. Such agreements will be
necessary to enable the SDGs to consider
human rights, the environment, and
development holistically.
Researchers
and
civil-society
organizations have been calling for
a reversal of soil degradation by
2020, and are pressing for at least one
international panel of experts to meet
at the UN to address this central aspect
of global food security. Every year, 12
million hectares of land – an area the
size of Austria and Switzerland – are lost
to overuse and excessive application of
fertilizers. The environmental impact is
magnified by large-scale farming. The
social consequences can also be severe:
eviction, the loss of livelihoods, and
violent conflict.
The use of plastic must also be reined in.
Since the 1950s, worldwide production
has increased by a factor of one hundred.
Every year, more than 280 million tons of
plastic is produced, with vast quantities
Radical goals... page 31
Viewpoint
By Christian Bréchot
Fighting Ebola on all fronts
Judging by the media coverage in the
United States and Europe of the Ebola
outbreak in West Africa, one might
conclude that conditions in the affected
countries are gradually improving. But,
though the epidemic is no longer a frontpage story, the virus is far from being
contained. On the contrary, it remains a
serious global health threat.
I recently traveled to Conakry, the
capital of Guinea, together with French
President François Hollande, and
then visited Macenta, a rural district
in the country’s forest region, close
to where the outbreak began. In both
places, I witnessed firsthand the virus’s
devastating impact: suffering, fear,
despair, and, ultimately, death. Even
the trivial has become weighted with
meaning: no one shook hands.
The truth is that the Ebola virus
continues to spread – and quickly.
Granted, it has been contained in
Liberia, but only in Liberia, and even
there, there is no way to ensure that
another outbreak will not occur.
Ebola is spreading in ways that differ
from what we have previously seen.
The virus does not spread as rapidly as
many others, such as influenza, which in
the past limited the scale of epidemics,
particularly because outbreaks were
confined to rural areas. But this time,
the virus has entered cities and towns,
making it especially dangerous. High
population density provides fertile
ground for any virus, let alone Ebola.
West Africa’s treacherous combination
of widespread poverty, scarce medical
resources, and crowded urban areas can
be devastatingly deadly.
Nearly 7,500 people are reported to have
died from Ebola this year. More than
16,000 are reported to have been infected.
These are ballpark figures, and while
www.thereporterethiopia.com
they provide important information
about the trajectory of the epidemic and
the effectiveness of response efforts,
officials warn that the real numbers are
probably far higher.
Health is a global public good. In most
countries, the right to health is enshrined
in the constitution or legislation. The
right, according to the World Health
Organization (WHO), includes “access to
timely, acceptable, and affordable health
care of appropriate quality.” But, in the
case of viruses like Ebola, few states, if
Fighting Ebola... page 31
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |11
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Date: 23 December 2014
CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)
REFERENCE: ET/NF131/14
UNWFP–World Food Programme Ethiopia Country Office, based in Addis Ababa (“the Employer”), is the United
Nations frontline agency and engaged in several humanitarian and development activities in the country. The mandate
of the Employer is to provide emergency and development assistance to eradicate hunger and poverty amongst the
poorest and most food-insecure compatriots.
The Employer has a series of on-going programmes and has the desire to establish long term agreement (LTA) for
supply of uniform and shoe for United Nation drivers and protocol assistants from reputable companies, Garment &
Shoe manufacturer (“suppliers”) for a period of two years extendable for further period.
Thus, we seek formal requests (Expressions of Interest) from suppliers who are interested to do business with WFP
and sister UN agencies.
The required items are Standard Suits, Safari, Shirt, Overcoat, Neck tie, Belt, Rain coat, Female & Male leather shoe.
It is anticipated that subsequent to the prequalification process, WFP will be issuing solicitation document through
web based tendering system to firms which fulfil the following minimum requirements and who have the ability to
register in to WFP web based tendering system.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introductory letter (company profile)
Business license
Registration certificate from inland Revenue Administration
VAT registration certificate
Memorandum of understanding/Article of establishment
Letter of support from the Bank & Audit report for the last three years
At least three reference from clients
Vendor brochure if any (optional)
Complete WFP registration form
Prospective suppliers must have a minimum of three (3) years’ experience in their line of business. WFP, on
the basis of the financial soundness of the supplier, experience, ability to perform and relevance of the goods/
services offered, will evaluate each complete application.
A set of instructions, list of the required documentation shall be requested via email address: AddisAbaba.Procurement@
wfp.org.
Application and the above listed requirement shall be submitted at the address mentioned below.
WFP Ethiopia
Procurement Unit
Kirkos sub city, Kebele 17/18
River Side Hotel Plc
P.O. Box 25584 code 1000
Tel: 251 11 551 5188
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Only those companies possessing substantial and proven record of performance, enough manpower, and financial
resources are encouraged to apply.
Deadline for response to this EOI is 06 January 2015 before 16:00 hrs.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
12| Vol. XIX No. 955
Opinion
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Where has global warming gone?
By Ka-Kit Tung
climate change that are currently
being negotiated, such as those aimed
at preventing the global temperature
at the earth’s surface from rising more
than 2º Celsius above the pre-industrial
average.
For the last quarter of the twentieth
century, the average temperature at the
surface of the earth edged inexorably
upward. Then, to the surprise even of
scientists, it stopped. The concentration
of carbon dioxide in the earth’s
atmosphere continued to rise; indeed,
it is higher today than it has been for
centuries. And yet, for the last 15 years,
according to the conventional way of
measuring global warming, the planet
does not seem to have become any hotter.
Scientists probably did not adequately
convey to the public that their
projections for future warming are
based on models that account only for
the so-called “forced response” in global
mean surface temperatures – that is,
the change caused by greenhouse-gas
emissions. But what is observed at the
surface includes unforced, or natural,
variations, such as the El Niño and La
Niña fluctuations from year to year, and
the 60-70 year cycle from the fluctuations
of the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt in the
Atlantic.
What explains this unexpected turn of
events, and what does it mean for future
climate policy?
The pause in the rise of surface
temperatures is real. It can be observed
in surveys of the surface of the sea
and in satellite measurements of the
troposphere. But the reason it has
occurred is not that our greenhousegas emissions are no longer changing
the earth’s climate; it is that surface
temperature is a poor metric for
human-induced warming. Indeed, what
scientists have figured out is that,
instead of warming the surface, the
excess heat that is being generated has
gone to the deeper oceans.
In fact, this cycle is now thought to bury
heat deep in the oceans periodically.
And, because it existed even before
humans put significant carbon into the
atmosphere, it is likely natural.
Given the oceans’ massive heat-storage
capacity, determining how much of the
warming remains at the surface over the
course of decades is a very difficult task.
Though the challenge is beginning to be
appreciated, current projections of the
dreaded two-degree warming have yet to
take into account variable ocean cycles.
This calls into question some of the
international strategies for combating
To be sure, surface temperatures remain
important. They are a better measure
of the threats posed by climate change
than heat sequestered underwater. But
some of the threats that scientists (and
economists) deduce from the surface
temperature also reflect natural climate
change, and thus cannot be mitigated
through the reduction of CO2 emissions.
The total amount of heat contained in
oceans responds to changes in emissions,
and is therefore a better metric for
measuring such responses. Indeed, it
has continued to warm as expected, even
as the surface temperature has stopped
rising.
The oceans’ heat content is measured
by a network of more than 3,000 freedrifting robotic floats spread out
across the world’s waters, where they
routinely dive 2,000 meters beneath the
surface. The temperature they measure
is transmitted to orbiting satellites and
made available online to anyone in nearreal time. For ease of interpretation,
the oceans’ heat content can easily be
converted to a mean temperature after
dividing by a constant. In time, models
could demonstrate how to relate this
new global metric to emissions’ regional
climate impact.
Where has... page 31
Opinion +
Europe’s make-or-break year
By Joschka Fischer
The euro crisis, it is said, is over. Calm
has returned to financial markets, amid
ironclad assurances by the European
Union authorities – particularly the
European Central Bank – that the
monetary union will be preserved.
But Southern Europe’s economies
remain depressed, and the eurozone
as a whole is suffering from stagnant
growth, deflationary pressure, and, in
the crisis countries, persistently high
unemployment.
Not surprisingly, given the EU
authorities’ obvious inability to end the
malaise, many member states are losing
patience with austerity. Indeed, some
countries are facing a political upheaval.
When the turmoil comes, it is likely to be
triggered – as with the euro crisis – by
Greece, which is holding a presidential
election that seems unlikely to produce
a winner. If the Greek parliament does
not elect a new president by a two-thirds
majority in next week’s third and final
round, it will be dissolved and a snap
election will be called. The risk is that
Syriza, a far-left socialist party, will
come to power.
To win, Syriza must either mislead
its voters about its options, or insist
that it will renegotiate the repayment
conditions imposed on Greece by the socalled Troika (the European Commission,
the ECB, and the International Monetary
Fund), all while pursuing unilateral
action should renegotiation fail. But any
renegotiation following a Syriza victory
would undoubtedly unleash a political
avalanche in the southern EU that would
sweep away austerity and fully reignite
the eurozone crisis.
for compromise. The battle between
austerity’s defenders and opponents
thus threatens to tear apart not just the
eurozone, but the EU as a whole.
Of course, Greece itself is too small for
its problems to present any real danger
to the eurozone. But the election result
in Athens could fuel panic in financial
markets, causing a crisis that would
threaten to spill over into Italy, the
eurozone’s third-largest economy, and,
with some delay, France, the second
largest.
The crisis in the eurozone and the refusal
to attempt any real European approach
to reviving growth has contributed – not
exclusively, but significantly – to the
rebirth of nationalism within the EU.
The strength of this political tendency
became fully apparent in May 2014, when
anti-European populists performed well
in the European Parliament election.
The nationalist trend has continued
unabated ever since.
A miracle could occur: a new president
could be elected in Athens next week,
or Syriza might not win the next
parliamentary election. Unfortunately,
either outcome would merely delay a
politics-induced crisis in the EU. After
all, in Italy, too, the signs point to a
coming storm – one bearing down not
only on austerity, but also increasingly
on the euro itself. And after the storm
hits Italy, France could be next.
On one level, this seems bizarre. After
all, none of the problems that Europe
is or will be facing can be solved more
easily alone and at the national level
than within the EU and through the
framework of a supranational political
community.
Indeed,
nationalist
xenophobia is particularly absurd
in view of demographic realities: An
aging Europe urgently needs more
immigrants, not less.
The conflict over austerity has become
politically explosive because it is
becoming a conflict between Germany
and Italy – and, worse, between Germany
and France, the tandem that drove
European integration for six decades.
And this is happening at a time when
anti-European, nationalist forces are
establishing themselves in Germany’s
national and state parliaments – and
on the streets – thereby substantially
reduce Chancellor Angela Merkel’s room
It is also remarkable how little Europe
has been scandalized by the support
that the EU’s new and old nationalists
have received from Russia; for example,
President Vladimir Putin’s government
helped to finance the French National
Front via a multi-million-euro loan
drawn on a Russian bank. Apparently,
authoritarian values and nationalist
worldviews (together with a strong dose
of anti-Americanism) create ties that
bind.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
It is no exaggeration to say that the EU is
currently both internally and externally
threatened by reactionary nationalism,
which is why the next euro crisis will
come in the form of a political crisis.
So why are the authorities in Berlin,
Brussels, and the other EU capitals still
not willing to change their policies,
which quite obviously have made a
bad situation worse? Observing the EU
from the outside is like watching a train
collision in slow motion – and one that
was announced at the station.
And then there is the United Kingdom,
moving steadily and with apparent
determination ever closer to a
“Brexit.” That danger extends beyond
2015; nonetheless, it is an important
component of the overall picture of
impending crisis in the EU. Regardless
of whether the UK ultimately separates
politically from the continent, the
coming year will mark a turning point
for Europe.
Ed.’s Note: Joschka Fischer, Germany’s
foreign minister and vice chancellor from
1998 to 2005, was a leader of the German
Green Party for almost 20 years. 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.
Entertainment
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |13
Photo By: Reporter /Tamrat Getachew
Resurrecting rap music
By Henok Reta
It was late in July downtown
Johannesburg this year. A score of
young men aged barely 20 are chanting
together on a small stage inside a hostel.
Geared up in outfits of tracksuits,
sneakers, stocking caps and their
‘bling-bling’, the boys appear to be
very in tune with the hip-hop culture.
Accompanied by hip-hop dance moves,
the performers belch out their lyrics in
an attempt to share their feelings and
thoughts to whoever was listening. The
rap performance went on well into midnight, with occasional breaks, where
the members of the group got to smoke,
drink and chat with girls, until some of
the hostel guests started to voice their
complaints. The rap was beginning to be
noisier and hateful to their taste. “Hello
ma men, stop it! Over!” Smithy, owner of
the hostel, called it a day for the group.
According to stories, hip-hop culture
started to have ground in Africa in the
early 80’s shortly after American hiphop took shape. While Ghana’s FOKN
Bois group took up the ladder of African
hip-hop in the early 90’s, many solo
artists, including Nameless aka David
Mathenge of Kenya and Arthur Mafokate
of South Africa, shined in the continent
with the hip-hop culture mostly popular
within the youth.
In Ethiopia, however, there was very
little happening during those years.
The stereotypical dress code and violent
lifestyle associated with hip-hop music
genre was perceived as cultural invasion
and solidified the societal resistance.
Nonetheless, only a few have attempted
to break the resistance over the years.
Groups like New Habeshan Phenomena
and Messengers are among the very
few who rose to a relative fame albeit
briefly. Some members of this groups
would later, like Samvod a.k.a. Samson
Kassa, Samuel Kassa and MC Siyamregn
Teshome, gain more fame as solo rappers
featuring in collaborations with other
artists.
The proliferation of FM radio stations,
night clubs and the prominence of
DJs during the turn of the Ethiopian
millennium is said to have galvanized
hip-hop culture particularly in Addis
Ababa.
Like other international music genres
like reggae, jazz and blues, hip-hop
continues to struggle to have a solid
foothold among music admirers. And
now a new rap group seems determined
to augment hip-hop’s prominence in
a positive light. They call themselves
Yekazanchis Awara, a name derived
from a neighborhood in Addis Ababa
where members of the group grew up.
The core of the group includes Azarya
Rezzene, who goes by the stage name AtThe-Speech and Gezahagn Ferkassa, a
lookalike of the American rapper Jay-Z
and hence the stage name Jay-Z-Hun.
“We’ve grown together as very intimate
friends to share many things in common,
one is hip-hop,” Jay-z-hun says.
Born and raised in the heart of Kazanchis,
the two young men have been jamming
in the less popular clubs in Hayahulet
and Atlas areas such as Segen and Select
four about for years.
The duo were later joined by Edward
Stevens, aka Edi Drums, a Brit who has
www.thereporterethiopia.com
lived in Ethiopia for the last five years.
Married to an Ethiopian, Edi Drums has
featured in a few local movies such as
Balekelem Hilmoch (Colorful Dreams)
because of his good command of the
Amharic language.
Their journey over the last four years has
been topsy-turvy as the group struggles
to unleash their music potential in a
society that, they say, “misunderstands”
the hip-hop culture. And they say they
are out to convey positive messages
that preach about history, identity
and humanity and redeem the hip-hop
culture.
Their tremendous efforts in writing,
recording and mixing could finally payoff with the release of their first album
to which they are applying finishing
touches.
In November this year, they released
their single dubbed ‘Lijitwa’ (The Girl)
on YouTube and Sound Cloud. Famous
saxophonist Akililu Woldeyohannes
through his Riverside Studios recorded
the single which was composed by At
The Speech. Aklillu also features in
playing his saxophone.
They say they have moved away
from their past “mediocre works that
lacks indigenous touch”. But they are
confident about their new work which
they say has an “Ethiopian color” to
make it more appealing to both local and
international audience.
“We have made great efforts to create
harmony by blending culture and
rhythm,” Jay-Z-Hun says in appreciation
Resurrecting... page 32
14| Vol. XIX No. 955
Commentary +
O
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
ver the next year, the world’s 193
governments will come together
to set new global targets to be met
by 2030. The task amounts to this
generation’s greatest opportunity to translate
high aspirations into concrete targets. But
choosing the targets that will do the most good
requires learning from current experience.
Measuring the next global development goals
By Bjørn Lomborg
At the start of the twenty-first century,
the international community made some
smart and simple promises with the socalled Millennium Development Goals.
The world would halve the proportion of
people suffering from hunger and living
in extreme poverty, achieve universal
primary education, and dramatically
reduce child mortality by 2015. There
have been many successes, though not
all of the MDGs’ targets will be achieved.
The target of halving hunger, for
example, may be missed – though not
by much. In 1991, 23.4 percent of all
people in the developing world were
malnourished; more than a billion
people went to bed hungry. By 2013, the
proportion had dropped to 13.5 percent.
Though the developing world had 1.7
billion more people than in 1991, 209
million fewer were starving. Over the
past 22 years, the world has managed
to feed almost two billion more people
adequately – no small feat.
Over the next year, the world’s 193
governments will come together to set
new global targets to be met by 2030.
The task amounts to this generation’s
greatest opportunity to translate high
aspirations into concrete targets. But
choosing the targets that will do the most
good requires learning from current
experience.
That choice should be based on a
comparison of the proposed targets’
economic, social, and environmental
costs and benefits. My think tank, the
Copenhagen Consensus, has asked 60
teams of the world’s top economists to
examine most of them.
Of course, high-profile issues that affect
people’s daily lives – for example, health,
education, food security, clean water
and sanitation, and the environment –
attract the most attention. But we cannot
simply assume that efforts to improve
the situation are effective; we also need
to measure how well we address these
issues, and measurement has real costs.
After all, money spent on one priority is
not available for others.
In a recent paper for the Copenhagen
Consensus, Morten Jerven of Simon
Fraser University examines how much
measurement will cost – and how much
the international community can justify
spending. And measuring turns out to be
much harder than one might expect.
For many indicators in the developing
world, there is only a small amount
of information about what has been
achieved. There is no shortage of
information available online about the
number of poor people in almost any
country in any year since 1990; but much
of it is based on sketchy data.
To estimate the number of poor in a
country requires a household survey of
consumption. But six of the 49 countries
in Sub-Saharan Africa have never had a
household survey, and only 28 countries
have had one in the past seven years. For
example, according to the World Bank,
11.92 percent of Botswana’s population
was poor in 2008. But these data are
based on just one household survey –
Measuring the next... page 32
Viewpoint +
By Ali Sheikh
The Ogaden region of Ethiopia: the source of heroes,
heroines and scholars of Somalia
My previous article, The Ogaden region
of Ethiopia: the source of Somali oral
literature, published on the November
8, 2014 edition of The Reporter caused
public fever pitch. It is my responsibility,
like any other intellectual, to inform
readers about the hidden treasure –
literature, heroes, heroines and scholars
– that originally hailed from Ogaden
Region of Ethiopia but was hijacked by
Somalia with no acknowledgement. In
that regard, my attempt is to address
the “historical-accuracy”
for the
sake of those who might not know the
ancient treasure of their land (Ogaden)
as well as make them feel proud of their
nationality. I would also like to challenge
those with the illusionary idea of PanSomalia nationalism, which is the reSomaliisation of all Somali-speaking
regions including Ogaden region, NorthEastern Kenya and Djibouti under one
jurisdiction.
For those who oppose this opinion
article, I advise them to articulate
their comments with fine-tooth and
less emotions as freedom of opinion is
everybody’s natural right dictated in
our paradigm-shift of the faculties of our
mind.
For those who felt provoked by my
previous article, it looks like f you cannot
jot down any positive development
in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia
irrespective of what happened or when
it happened. And in the likely event
of thinking to write an opinion article
then I say that it should not appear on
other self-owned webpages. That move
will by all odds lead to condemnation.
The writers will be taken as a jack of all
trades, master of none. I believe that any
essayist – whether they are professional
or “pocket” writers – should respond to
an opinion article that that they do not
reflect agree with in a professional way
in the same newspaper, magazine or
www.thereporterethiopia.com
journal. Emotionally driven Facebook
postings, with information gathered from
are irrational and are done with haste.
The aim is should not be to demonstrate
linguistic prowess. I consider these
sort of critics as “bench-sitters” and
are utterly sloppy. Once more, I advise
against any further endeavors of
considering this paragraph as a way of
settling the scores with the individuals
who negatively aired their views against
the piece of the information published
in The Reporter earlier . I do not want
any of my writings to become a recipe
The Ogaden region... page 33
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |15
Advertisment
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
16| Vol. XIX No. 955
“You are what
you eat”
On the road to Yohannes Kitfo, a five-minute walk
from the famous juice house, Shake Off – famous for its
strawberry and mixed juices – are the offices of Edmark
International. Inside are different pictures of the before
and after photos of people who lost weight. See the
full story on the next page
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
By Tibebeselassie Tigabu
On the road to Yohannes Kitfo, a fiveminute walk from the famous juice
house, Shake Off – famous for its
strawberry and mixed juices – are the
offices of Edmark International. Inside
are different pictures of the before and
after photos of people who lost weight.
The motto is ‘Lose to Win’ and there
are photos of people who lost weight
following the “miracles of Edmark
products.” Following the four steps of
what is dubbed as a healthy program,
Yonas Mengesha managed to lose 28 kg
in three months. The man who was 106
kg is now 78 kg.
The colorful pictures, which are posted
on the walls attracts the people who go
to the office. The other one is Elizabeth
Geremew. She lost 25 kg within three
months from 92 kg to 67 kg. In the last
picture she is seen holding her big pants
to show how much weight she lost.
With physical appearance being the
main aim of the program, a person who
takes part in the program is required to
take the company’s supplements in order
to get to the desired goal. There is a fourstep program known as the P4 Slimming
Program. The first step is Detoxify
and the supplement is Shake Off Phyto
Fiber. The second step is Burn Fat and
the supplement is MRT Complex. Step
Three is Balancing and the supplement
is known as Splina Liquid Chlorophyll
and the final step is Rejuvenate and the
supplement is Edmark Café Ginseng
Coffee and Red Yeast Coffee.
Even though nutritional supplements
are recently introduced in Ethiopia, in
different countries they are available
in the form of tablets, capsules or
sachets and many countries categorize
them under food products. These are
concentrated preparations of nutrients
such as vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber
or nutritional substances.
Currently, in Addis Ababa there are
more than 27 companies that got
approval from the Food, Medicine and
Healthcare Administration and Control
Authority to import different nutritional
(food) supplements and most of them are
strongly attached to network marketing
business.
Some of the companies include the
American Forever Living Products, the
Chinese Tiens, the Malaysian DXN and
Vol. XIX No. 955 |17
Edmark International.
The supplements they serve is different
from company to company such
as preventing body aging, weight
management and other products.
These supplements are famous and many
also recommend them for losing weight,
to get relief from concentration of uric
acid, aging, disk slippery, stimulating
the immune system and also improving
mental and physical performances.
Their promotional materials also
advertise how they are a path to a happy
life, ensure one’s health and attain
financial freedom.
There are also testimonials behind those
products and one is by Yimegnushal
Diladirgachew, 45. She strongly believes
that by using Edmark’s products she has
managed to change her life totally. “I feel
like I am a new person,” Yimegunshal
says.
In her bag she has a cup which serves as a
thermos and also a pack of coffee and red
yeast coffee. Without anyone asking her,
she shares what changed her life and how
she lost a couple of weights and how she
sleeps well at night. Apart from the four-
step program to lose weight, she says
that she used CoCollagen which helps in
human hormone growth. According to
their promotional material, it provides
elasticity and gives skin its firmness as
well as the ability to retain moisture.
She went to hospital because of nerve
problem and she was told there is a
scarcity of synovial fluid. The doctor
recommended an injection which will
give her relief for some time.
She started taking CoCollagen but she
did not understand the full effect and
after some time going up the stairs
was easy. For her the rejuvenation is
real and says she changed her lifestyle
when she started eating more fruits,
vegetables and cereals. She paid 4,000
birr for the whole package. She also
became a member of the company and
also its network marketing.
It is not only Edmark that claims to
have the remedy for weight problems,
the aging process and skin beauty. One
of the producers of Aloe Vera Forever
Living Products also has customers who
make similar testimonies.
It is not only that. They says that there
are supplements that increase the libido
or function as sexual stimulators.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
After
reading
their
promotional
material some would say that it is fully
organic and 100 percent free from side
effects. Still others would ask, “Are
supplements really necessary?” and
some adverse effects are mentioned in
different researches. According to Dawit
Mengistu (MD), founder and manager
of Bole Wellness Center and health
and wellness coach of forever living
products, nutritional supplements are
important since people do not consume
nutrients in sufficient quantities. “If one
person has a balanced diet, supplements
are not necessary,” he says.
According to him, people’s intake of
vital nutrients is decreasing from time
to time, especially vitamins that are
extracted from fruits and vegetables.
Apart from that ,the amount of toxic
intake like smoking cigarettes and
drinking alcohol is increasing. These,
according to him, make supplements
more necessary. Even the World Health
Organization recommends some of the
supplements during famine, especially
for those who do not have a balanced
diet.
In using supplements the foundation for
him is to identify which ones are natural
and which are synthetic mentioning that
natural supplements are preferable.
Even when using natural supplements
there are adverse effects, which are
mentioned in different researches such
as over-consumption. This might result
in restoring the toxic substances and
killing of important bacteria in the body.
In addition, liver failure, blindness and
kidney problems are also mentioned.
According to a study published by
BMC Medicine last year, there are
supplements that contain ingredients
not listed on the label.
When looking into the Ethiopian
context, one question that is raised is
the medical background of people. For
instance, cases of allergic reaction to
ingredients such as fish oil or other
substances should be considered. Mostly
the supplements are associated with
network marketing and anyone can buy
it. Dawit says that public awareness
is important on what supplements are
and how to use them. He also believes
that the side-effects usually happen with
overdose. “People should be careful
when using supplements,” Dawit says.
“You are what... page 18
18| Vol. XIX No. 955
Letter to the Editor
An eye opening
exhibition
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Advertisment
Dear Editor,
On Friday, December 12, some 109 Japanese martial arts weapons and clothes were
displayed in the Exhibition Hall of the National Museum, in a timeline from the 8th
century to modern Japan. It is almost a week since the exhibition opened, and it will
last until January 4, 2015.
As a national staff working as coordinator of Press and Culture at the Embassy of
Japan here in Addis Ababa, I have been organizing this Exhibition which gave me
a kind of glimpse understanding and unequivocal delight with no words to express
how I was inspired by the work on display.
If culture may be defined as the most refined part of human existence, then the
Japanese Budo could be its true expression. To test my interpretation after the visit,
Budo seems to me the transfusion of combined movement of body and instruments of
offense and/or defense into modern-time sport tempering body and spirit.
Just like the transfusion of the war time-Pheidippides into the modern time
Olympians, which reminds us Abebe Bikila whom Tokyo honored this October in
commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, so does Budo
which gives birth to several of its sporting families like Karate, Juido, Siumo and
Kendo. All these sports deserve a place in the Olympics and Paralympics except that
Judo is already an Olympics and Paralympics event.
This exhibition, however, has woken me up from my long held dogmatic slumbers
and opened my mind to the values and principles of the Judo family- to harmonize
the physical and mental so as to attain peace of mind.
I suggest residents of Addis Ababa to visit the National Museum to grasp the beauty
and diversity of budo.
Dejene Sakoume
[email protected]
“You are what...
For him the most important things
people should consider when buying
supplements is the company’s credibility
and profile, checking whether there are
side-effects and even contacting the
respective companies. He says that there
are more than 200 companies which
produce Aloe Vera. So he recommends
that the users consult professionals.
However, there are a considerable
number of Ethiopians who do not read
labels of medicine and that is one of the
problematic areas for professionals like
Dawit.
Another question that is raised with
regard to supplements is whether they
have Genetically Modified Organisms
(GMOs).
According to Tewodros Girma, director
of Food Registration and Licensing
Directorate at the Food, Medicine and
Healthcare Administration and Control
Authority ,the companies openly admit
if the supplements are made of GMOs.
The authority also has the mandate to
ask for the details of the ingredients
and if the products have GMOs then
that will be banned. The companies
that import these supplements have to
pass through different registration and
screening processes to ensure the safety
and quality of food supplements.
According to the food supplement
directive of 2014, the usage of
supplements with nutritional value may
be recommended by health professionals.
These companies should have good
manufacturing practice, internationally
accepted certification and other relevant
approvals. Apart from that, qualitative
and quantitative compositions data,
including names of all ingredients,
packaging
procedure,
packaging
Cont`d from page 17
materials, method of preparation,
sample
product
completed
batch
manufacturing record, final packaging
and labeling procedures are some of the
mentioned criteria in the directive.
According to Tewodros, even though
they fulfill these criteria and are
found suspicious, it will be tested in
the authority’s laboratory. Since this
is an untapped market, according to
Tewodros, there are many requests to
import food supplements but he says
that they are looking at the requests
cautiously.
In the past, some companies had products
which claimed to treat diseases or
could be used as preventive medication
which, according to Tewodros, is illegal.
Because of that, many companies were
closed for a couple of months. The
60-year-old Abera Lemma also bought
the supplement Chitosan because he
was told it will be a relief for uric acid.
He left all the medicines and took that
for some time, which did not bring about
any result.
The office has different monitoring
procedures but still Tewodros says that
supplements such as detoxification or
those used for weight loss do not have
full approval. According to him, the
same is true for using the substances
for network marketing. Many of the
companies, including Tiens agents
such as Aster Worku, claim that since
the substances are organic they sell the
products like “candies”.
2015 UNDP
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
AWARDS
The United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) invites
you to submit your application
for the 2015 Entrepreneurship
Awards. The Awards honors
entrepreneurs
that
have
achieved strategic and sustained
positive impact on the economy,
community,
environment,
and society as a whole. Only
individual entrepreneurs are
eligible to apply for the Awards.
For more details visit http://goo.
gl/OZVr98
If you would like to nominate
someone for one of the categories,
please submit a short write up
clearly detailing why you think
that entrepreneur deserves to
win.
According to Tewodros, this is not right
and they should consult doctors before
buying these supplements. He also says
that saying these products are organic
is wrong since most of the supplements
had passed through factories.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |19
Advertisment
INVITATION TO BID
FOR THE TOTAL ACQUISITION OF GOVERNMENT
OWNED PUBLIC ENTERPRISES
Bid Notice No. 002/2015
I. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia currently owns 100%
equity of the following enterprise or Share Company. Ethiopia Crown
Cork and Can manufacturing Share Company the government has
75 % of the share of the company.
II. The Government intends to sell 100% ownership of these Enterprises
and Share Company to an investor or a group of investors ready and
capable of operating and developing them.
III. The Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency
(PPESA), pursuant to the powers and duties vested in it by Article
6 of Proclamation No. 412/2004, hereby, invites all prospective
investors to submit bids for the total acquisition of one or more of
the following.
1. Ethiopia Crown Cork and Can manufacturing share company
2. Agricultural Mechanization service enterprise
3. Bilito Siraro Farm
IV. The privatization & Public enterprise Supervising Agency intend
to privatized the following state Owned enterprise through
negotiation.
Bid Notice No. 002N/2015
4. Bahirdare Textile Share company
5. Combolcha Textile share Company
V. The Bid Documents will be available in Room No. 4-01 of the
Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency, Bole Road,
Yeshi Gebeyehu Building, (in front of Bole Printing Enterprise) 4th
floor starting from Jan 5, 2015.
VI. Interested bidders can obtain documents during working hours
upon payment of non-refundable Birr 300.00 or the equivalent in
U.S. dollars for each set of document
VII.Bidders shall submit bid bond in accordance with the Instructions to
Bidders.
VIII. Bids shall be submitted in wax-sealed envelopes on or before ,
March 5, 2015 at 3:00 P.M. local time, Addressed as follows:
Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency
Tel:- / 011 8 69 37 29/ 09 10 90 03 15/
P.o.Box 11835
Bole Road, Yeshi Gebeyehu Building 4th floor, room No 406
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Bid Notice No. 002/2015 Bid and, 002N/2015 for --------------Enterprise
IX. The bids shall be opened on, March 5, 2015 at 3:15 P.M. in Room
No. 406 at the same address stated under VII above.
X. The Agency reserves the right to accept or reject bids partially or
totally.
Scholarship Opportunity
One Planet International School is an accredited and reputed school in Addis Ababa and is
committed to providing quality education to the children of Ethiopia.
Our school is known for its:
• Exceptional student-teacher ratio
• Students learn through play, curiosity and solving problems
• Strong emphasis on moral/character education
• Extensive teachers’ training program in modern teaching methods
This year, three of the six IKen Ethiopia competition winners are from our school. These
students will visit NASA.
Thus the school wants to provide scholarship opportunity for outstanding students who could
not afford to pay the school’s tuition fee but who are entitled to a quality of education. Those
students who are currently attending grade 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 this academic year can participate
in this program. The scholarship ranges from 25% discount of the tuition fee to full scholarship.
Notice:
• The discount is from the tuition fee.
• For the first year all scholarship winners will not pay annual registration and admission
fees. However, they will pay materials fee.
• After the first year all scholarship winners will pay annual registration and materials fees
until the end of their scholarship period.
• All applicants for the scholarship will be screened based on their academic performance
and proof of distinguished character from their previous schools. Those who pass the
screening process will be given entrance assessments.
• Parents will be interviewed about parenting and other relevant issues.
• The scholarship program does not include uniform, housing, food, transportation and
medical expenses.
• Scholarship application will be received until January 2, 2015.
“Every Child is Potentially the Light of the World”
Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency
One Planet International School ● P.O. Box 3115 Code 1250 ● Addis Ababa ● Ethiopia
● Near Meganegna
+251-116-18-10-10 ● +251-912-79-46-53 ● [email protected]
● www.OnePlanetSchool.com
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
20| Vol. XIX No. 955
Q&A
With the National Election scheduled to be held on May 24, 2015, the incumbent Ethiopian Peoples’
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and other contending political parties appear to be ready for the
stand-off. That was what Hailemariam Dessalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chairman of the rulingcoalition, verbalized on Monday during a press conference with foreign correspondents and English press
based in the capital at his office located off Lorenzo Taezaz Street. Hailemariam responded to question
fired from reporters and editors from various media defending his administration’s undertakings on both
the political and economic fronts. With regards to Ethiopia’s debut bond issuance Hailemariam said that
the moved does not, in any way, imply that the government has shifted from its policy framework and
liberalized its financial sector. On the issue of regional security Hailemariam was determined to find find
a lasting solution in South Sudan. Excerpts:
Relentless and determined
Question: The opposition claim an
uneven playing-field. They allege that
the ruling party has been using the
public media alone and conducting
businesses which enable it to raise
funds for its political campaigns.
What is your response to this in this
regard?
Prime
Minister
Hailemariam
Dessalegn: We have a constitutional
system in this country in which
democracy in general and multi-party
democracy in particular constitite a
mandatory and existential issue. This is
a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multireligious country where there are a lot of
interest groups and individuals who have
to be embraced by a democratic system.
We are very keen to see multi-party
democracy in this country to flourish.
There is no way that the government can
back-track from democratic discourse
and multi-party democracy. We have
more than 90 parties which are registered
and legally operate in this country and
they have all rights to do so within the
bounds of the law. In every country, an
incumbent government always has more
advantages vis à vis other parties. But
we have a legal system that provides all
the necessary protection for opposition
political parties and their members. We
feel that even though this is a fledgling
democracy that needs to improve every
day, we have enough room for parties to
exercise their rights.
When you talk of uneven playing-field in
terms of media usage, the government
uses public media to implement its
programs and address various issues.
Of course, the opposition party members
can also use the public media whenever
they need to do so. We occasionally
have media debate with opposition
party members on basic agenda items
of the country. Specifically, you might
remember the debates on anti-terrorism
and civil society organization laws. If
the opposition parties want to have more
engagement with the media, I think they
have to work more closely with it. This is
election year and statistics shows us that,
the opposition use only about 40 percent
of the time allocated to them in the
public media during election period. So,
the allegations are incorrect. This shows
their weakness to utilize their allotted
time. I think they have to improve
their ability to use their allocated time
efficiently and effectively. But that is not
the problem of the government.
With regard to the claim about businesses
run by the ruling party, the law of
the country does not allow a political
party to engage in business activities.
The ruling party does not have any
profit-making organization. There are
organizations called endowments which
are owned by people of some regions.
And this has nothing to do with the
ruling party. Obviously, the ruling party
raises money from the private sector
and its members usually during election
period. This is how it has been, and how
it will be during coming election as well.
There is only one opposition party
member in parliament. With this
in mind, would you say that multiparty democracy is flourishing?
Or is the country moving back to
totalitarianism as some members of
the opposition say?
In an election, the decisions are made by
the people, and not by the parties. Who
am I to decide for the people the number
of opposition party members to be in
parliament? It is the people who decide
the number of seats the ruling party or
the opposition should get. Multi-party
democracy is gauged in terms of the
process of the election, not of the result.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Obviously, EPRDF (the Ethiopian
Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic
Front) is a dominant party and farmers,
micro and small enterprise developers
and the majority of city dwellers are its
support base. If you want to understand
the composition of the support of political
parties in this country, you have to see
the support base of each party.
We have 80 percent of our people living
in rural areas engaged in farming,
which is EPRDF’s strong support base.
We have huge support from our farmers.
We know there is lack of engagement on
our part with those in the upper strata
of society. We are working on engaging
them but we cannot be sure whether
we can get enough votes from them. If
they want to compete with us then it is
up to the opposition to convince those
who have been a strong support base
for the EPRDF. We have 25 million
students in our school system. These
are youth groups with huge aspirations
and demand. The EPRDF has around 2
million members from this group. You
can imagine how big this party is.
So it is very essential to understand
not in a lump-sum but with a graded
understanding. With all its limitations
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |21
their ancestral land. This allegation has
been checked and proved wrong time
and again by members of the diplomatic
community residing in Addis Ababa.
But these organizations have continued
campaigning against the Government of
Ethiopia simply because the issue of this
campaign is ideologically driven. We
will never compromise our ideological
position – the developmental democracy
ideology – and embrace their neo-liberal
ideology by force.
that the election is drawing high, they
are engaged in a similar process of
igniting a color revolution, which the
people of Ethiopia and the government
will not allow. We are on the right path
and our people do not wish to see havoc
being done. There is a democratic room
for everyone to engage in and we are
committed to have a democratic free
and fair election. The camel is moving
forward and the dog will continue to
bark.
During the 2005 election, they have
tried to initiate a color revolution in
this country, as they did in some other
countries. But they have failed. Now
How comfortable are you to enter into
an election when there is massive
public discontent over the issue of
good governance, public service
as a fledgling democracy, I can say it is
flourishing. Democracy means building
democratic culture. It is not something
you can bring in one day and teach
everyone to be democratic. We have
undemocratic practices in our societal
makeup, including households where
the husband decides everything and the
children and the wife are not part of that
decision.
If there is a consensus within the
leadership, why did the finance
minister say that Ethiopia will not
issue a sovereign bond for the next
three years?
When we talk about opposition political
party leaders imprisoned, we have to
recognize that those who are operating
legally have never been imprisoned. It
is simply because, among the legally
registered opposition parties, we
have a few in the leadership who had
connections with banned terrorist
organizations like Ginbot 7, OLF
(the Oromo Liberation Front), ONLF
(Ogaden National Liberation Front)
and Al-Shabaab. If any opposition
party leader has a connection with
these groups, which are designated as
terrorist groups by parliament then
the government has a responsibility
to ensure the safety and security of the
people. If there is no connection to these
groups, the government will not be there
to arrest any opposition party member.
We usually advice legally registered and
operating opposition political parties to
make sure that there is no connection
to the terrorist groups. When there is
evidence that there is link with these
terrorist groups, the government will
take action and take the case to the court
of justice. We cannot be blamed for this.
Human
Rights
Watch,
Amnesty
International, CPJ and the rest started
their campaign against this government
and country some fifteen years ago.
They have continued their campaign
because they have an agenda. One
issue they campaign against this
government was that there is a land
grab and the eviction of farmers from
There is no need to hold a discussion
within the EPRDF regarding the issuance
of sovereign bond. This is not a new policy
that the government was pursuing. We
were unable to issue sovereign bond
simply because we were in the HIPC
(highly indebted poor countries) range.
But in the last five years, the responsible
global institutions allowed the country
to go into commercial loans. Until five
years ago, we were only allowed to get
concessional loans not commercial
loans. Issuing sovereign bond has been
on our agenda for several years but we
were only allowed to do so in the last five
years. But that should not be confused
with getting into the international
capital market means liberalizing the
financial sector.
Liberalizing the financial sector rests
on liberalizing the capital account and
allowing foreign financial institutions
to operate in the country. So there is
no major shift of policy. In this regard,
we have a consensus and there is no
difference of opinion within the ruling
party leadership. This might be a rumor
being spread to some members of the
media.
Some opposition parties also accuse
the government of imprisoning their
leaders and members, narrowing
the political space, as election draws
near. What is the government doing
to create an even space where all
political parties can compete equally?
Organizations
like
Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch,
Freedom House and Committee
to Protect Journalists publicize
reports against your government
in connection with the upcoming
election. What kind of implication
would this have on the election?
prior to getting into the market? And
do you consider the decision to enter
the international capital market
as a major shift in policy by your
government and party that signal
more opening up of the economy
for foreign investors? How do you
respond to the growing dissent within
your party that this is a complete
reversal of the core ideological
convictions of the EPRDF?
It is true that in the next three years
we are not going to raise money by
issuing sovereign bonds. We have
project-based loans that are being
processed which need to be completed
first. We think that we can finalize
them in the coming three years. Then
we will know where we are in the real
parameters of debt sustainability. That
is why we are carefully navigating into
securing loans. The parameters of debt
sustainability should not be jeopardized.
We will continue on managing the
macroeconomic situation of the country
in a very responsible manner.
Relentless... page 26
provision, the rule of law, serious
and repeated reports of abuse by law
enforcement agents? On the ground,
we observe huge public discontent
that is no less than what was in 2005.
Maybe we have differences in our
evaluation that the public discontent is
similar to that of 2005. We have a number
of engagements with different sections
of the society. Yes, there are discontents
from the public in terms of services that
the government renders like electricity,
water, telecom and transportation in big
cities and also in areas like the justice
system and delivery of services in
some government offices. But we have
a process of engaging our people and
have held vigorous discussions with
civil servants who are at the forefront in
delivering services to the people. With
the enthusiasm of public servant after the
discussions and trainings, we feel that
we can address many of the discontents.
And there are lots of improvements in
various government service delivery
outlets. We will continue to improve and
try to bring hope and satisfaction to our
people.
Can you confirm if the EPRDF
Executive Committee had discussed
your government’s decision to enter
into the international capital market
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The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
22| Vol. XIX No. 955
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Vol. XIX No. 955 |23
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24| Vol. XIX No. 955
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Interview
“ No country
will be affected
by Ethiopia’s
hydroelectric dam”
Yasir Yusef Ebrahem, State Minister of Information for Sudan
Photo By: Reporter /Mesfen Solomon
Sudanese State Minister
of Information, Yasir
Yusef Ebrahem,
was in Ethiopia this
week where he met
various high-ranking
officials, including
Redwan Husien,
Head of Government
Communication Affairs
Office with ministerial
portfolio. In that time,
the state minister also
met members of the
local and international
media and gave a brief
account of the political
developments in his
country. Yohannes
Anberbir of The
Reporter attended the
state minister’s briefing.
Excepts:
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Question: Your country will hold a
general election in the early months
of 2015. How is it progressing? How
many political parties are going to
take part in the upcoming national
election?
Yasir Yusef Ebrahem: Among the
parties which are operating in the
country, 18 have applied to take part in
the election. There are a few parties that
have formed an alliance with the ruling
party; but that doesn’t mean that they
are not participating in the election. And
over 30 million voters have registered,
accounting for 70 percent of the general
population that is eligible to vote.
Your
government
has
started
negotiations with SPLM-N to solve
issues relating to South Kordofan
and the Blue Nile states. Can you tell
us the status of the negotiations?
There are requirements to start
negotiations with SPLM-N on the issue
of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile
States. One of these requirements is the
tripartite agreement which is adopted
by the Arab League, the AU and the
US regarding access to humanitarian
assistance. And the other requirement is
the UN Security Council resolution 2046
which stipulate that my government and
SPLM-N be involved in a negotiation.
After fulfilling the requirements, we
have started negotiations. But it failed
after nine rounds of talks because
SPLM-N rejected the requirements in the
Vol. XIX No. 955 |25
middle of the negotiation. Nonetheless,
the ruling party went out of its way and
attempted to start negotiations regarding
the specific problems on the two areas.
There are three issues on which the
government was ready to negotiate: the
security arrangement, humanitarian
issues and the political arrangement of
the two states. These were the points
which were needed to be addressed.
President Al Basher has proposed
a comprehensive peace agreement
that will involve all political parties.
Can you tell us when this national
dialogue will commence and do you
think representatives of the South
Kordofan and the Blue Nile States will
take part in the dialogue? Currently,
the two states are complaining for
not having access to humanitarian
assistance and also accuse the
Sudanese government of attacks on
civilians. What is you government’s
response to that?
The process of a national dialogue
was started in January 2014 and it has
some round-table discussions which
will continue after the general election.
Regarding access to humanitarian relief
in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan
states, there are preconditions that
should be met by SPLM-N. it should
accept the tripartite proposal facilitated
by the Arab League, the US and AU.
But SPLM-N has rejected the proposed
preconditions after signing it. They are
now asking for access again but the
request is not genuine. They are not
demanding access for humanitarian
purpose. Rather, they want the
access to get military support from
neighboring countries. They are using
the humanitarian issues as a cover to
strengthen their military capability
and destabilize the nation. With regard
to the accusation of attack on civilians,
the blame should go to SPLM-N itself.
There is war in the area. Therefore, the
party that should be held accountable
for any civilian damages is the one
responsible for or controlling the area;
they should evacuate civilians but the
reality is different. They are attacking
the Sudanese army, putting civilians as
a cover which couldn’t be acceptable by
anyone.
How inclusive will the national
dialogue be, given the number of
opposition parties in Sudan?
There will not be expectations in the
dialogue. All parties are invited to take
part in it. Most of them have started
participating in the dialogue and
there is no quorum for the discussion.
There is no alternative for nation
rather than discussing its problems
comprehensively.
Rumors claims that Egypt and Sudan
are not on good terms following
Sudanese strong support to the Great
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. What
do you say on this, and what was
the aim of your visit to Egypt before
www.thereporterethiopia.com
coming to Addis Ababa?
There is no problem between the two
countries. There was tension before
but now they are good friends and the
relationship between the two countries
will help to enhance the relations
between all other countries in the
region. The Nile is a river that belongs
to all its riparian countries, and that is
the very reason for Sudan to support
Ethiopia’s development projects. During
my visit in Egypt last week, I met with
President Al Sisi and discussed the
issues of cooperations between the two
countries. Furthermore, we discussed
the potential that the three countries
have: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. For
instance, the three countries combined
population is estimated to be 200 million,
which is huge and a good asset and a
strong power that can lead the whole
region to shared benefits.
As you may well know, some
six Nile riparian countries have
already signed the Comprehensive
Framework Agreement (CFA), which
Sudan hasn’t signed yet. Do you
think the government of Sudan will
join this agreement very soon?
With regard to the Nile, the Sudanese
position is very clear. No country will
be affected by Ethiopia’s hydroelectric
dam. The Nile is for the benefit of all the
riparian countries and the region. All
countries, I think, have accepted this
Sudanese position on the Nile.
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
26| Vol. XIX No. 955
Relentless...
“
Cont`d from page 21
First of all, the money from the sovereign bond is not going to be allocated for consumption. It
will be allocated to investment. And among the investment projects the government undertakes,
we focus on investment areas where we can generate more export so that we can increase
our export earnings and pay back the loan without any debt crisis. For this reason, we have
selected developing industrial parks where export-led industrialization will be enhanced. This
is the main area where we will spend the money.
What prompted your government to
disclose in the prospectus unusual
risks like closure of the Port of
Djibouti, violence following the
upcoming election and possible war
with Eritrea?
In technical proposal preparation, when
you state the risks, you might see risks
which are academically possible but
might not come into reality like closure
of the Port of Djibouti. Some bandits
might control the port; you cannot say
that is impossible. Every country can
determine the possibility or otherwise
of such occurrence. You put the risks
and rank them as very low, low or
medium. For technical analysis, you
disclose all the risks you can think and
give confidence to investors. But that
does not mean it would happen. It is
just an academic exercise more than
anythingelse.
Following the successful sovereign
bond issue and a favorable rating,
what other means are you looking
at to finance infrastructure and if so
what sectors are you prioritizing?
First of all, the money from the sovereign
bond is not going to be allocated for
consumption. It will be allocated to
investment. And among the investment
projects the government undertakes,
we focus on investment areas where we
can generate more export so that we can
increase our export earnings and pay
back the loan without any debt crisis. For
this reason, we have selected developing
industrial parks where export-led
industrialization will be enhanced. This
is the main area where we will spend the
money.
Currently, there is a huge flow of foreign
direct investment into the country. They
want to have pre-prepared industrial
parks where they can have a kind of
plug-and-play operation. As you are
aware, the cost of labor has become
very expensive in countries like China,
Korea, Japan and so on especially for
light manufacturing industries. So this
is an opportune moment for countries
like Ethiopia to attract these light
manufacturing industries and be aware
of the advantages we have in terms of
cheap labor, electricity and favourable
investment climate. We have to prepare
for this, and that needs investment. And
we will focus on preparing a number of
industrial parks in the country.
The second area is to allocate some of
the fund to sugar development projects
where we can very quickly produce
the commodity for export. The most
important parameter to secure more
loans is the debt sustainability ratio
of the country. We are very careful in
managing our macroeconomic situation,
and our debt sustainability ratio should
always be at low risk. We are at low risk
presently. We can secure more loans
from other sources as well carefully
monitoring our debt sustainability ratio.
Can you tell us the actual amount of
debt Ethiopia owes its creditors?
I cannot tell you the exact amount of debt
because it changes from time to time.
But it has been in the range of one to two
billion US dollars annually for the last
five years.
Some
of
the
mega-projects,
particularly the sugar projects, are
lagging behind because of lack of
finance. Do you think the money
secured from the international
capital market could solve the
problem?
The delays in our sugar development
projects are not because of lack of finance.
We finance these projects from local
sources. We have already allocated the
necessary fund for the existing projects.
The delay is because we have embarked
in a new path of industrialization in the
country where we started to have our
own industrial products at home for the
factories. This is a new venture. And
when you are a beginner, there is always
a learning curve. That takes some time.
The Metals and Engineering Corporation
is the one production unit themselves.
In that process we have some delays
due to issues of competence and skills
and design capabilities which need to
be rectified. But now they are in a good
position and we can now continue on
erecting new factories in Tana Beles II
and Kuraz I. The rest are in the process
of implementation. The money from the
sovereign bond is going to be allocated to
new sugar development projects.
What is the current status of the
housing projects in Addis Ababa?
Can you confirm your government’s
intention to bring in foreign actors in
the sector?
In the 10/90 scheme, we have 24
thousand people registered and 25
thousand housing units. So the housing
units are even beyond the number of
house seekers registered in this scheme
which will be completed very soon. In
the 20/80 scheme we have more than
500 thousand people registered and we
have around 90 thousand housing units
which are being completed. And we also
have 100 thousand new housing unit
constructions - half of which began last
year and the remaining half this year. In
the 40/60 scheme, we have 25 thousand
housing units under construction
and more than 160 thousand people
registered. With the current pace, we can
address the demands of those registered
house seekers in seven to nine years.
There are complaints that not all
registered house seekers are Addis
Ababa residents. We are now screening
and there is a possibility that there
might be a huge reduction in the number
of registered house seekers. If that is the
case, then we can address the demand
www.thereporterethiopia.com
sooner. There is an option that a foreign
company that wishes to work with us in
the government housing projects might
be allowed to do so as long as it works
under the condition the government
has put in place. This is because we
want to have technology transfer and an
expeditious completion of the housing
projects. But that does not mean that
they will engage in the real estate sector.
Why isn’t your administration
allowing Ethiopians to have rewards
from the international oil dividend
whose price has fallen by 44 percent?
Buyers in Ethiopia are not getting
more than eight percent. What is the
policy consideration behind it?
We should also consider the times when
the price of oil was high. We have not
equally increased the price of oil when
the international price went up. We have
to understand the whole macroeconomic
management, not just prices going up or
down. Tomorrow it might go down. So
you have to manage both ups and downs.
The government has been subsidizing
when oil prices are high to protect the
people. That should be balanced when
the price goes down. Progressively there
will be lowering of the price. And we
have the oil stabilization fund for that
purpose.
Recently, Ethiopia sent 187 health
professionals
to
Ebola-affected
countries in Africa. In the fight
against the deadly Ebola virus, how
ready is your government to further
extend support to the affected
countries?
Yes, Ethiopia has moral and continental
obligations to support our brothers and
sisters in the western African countries
of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. I
am very happy about the health officers
volunteering. Aside from those who
have gone to these three countries, there
are more than 1000 volunteers in the
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
country ready to provide support. This
shows the patriotism and solidarity of
Ethiopian public health professionals.
It is a professional and moral obligation
for them as well. We have also provided
financial support for this venture and
we continue to do so whenever there is a
need to fight the disease.
As a seat of the African Union and a
country which has fought for the freedom
of our African brothers and sisters, we
should also show this magnanimity in
the fight against Ebola. Usually, the
notion is that whenever this kind of
epidemic happens it is the West or other
big countries that should be involved in.
We have to break this system and show
that Africans are also there for Africans.
We should try our best to bring African
solutions to African problems. This is
where our support emanates from.
As
chairman
of
IGAD
(Intergovernmental Authority on
Development), what do you say is
the way forward for South Sudan?
Are you worried that the talks might
falter and the country will remain in
chaos for far too long?
Vol. XIX No. 955 |27
the next summit, then there will be a
strong action. And that action includes
sanction. In the same communique,
IGAD has requested the AU and the UN
to support the process. So, it has already
been spelt out.
In the last summit, IGAD had
warned that there will be a military
intervention
in
South
Sudan
without securing consent from the
warring factions if they fail to sign
the proposed peace accord. Do you
see that happening? And why have
sanctions not been imposed as yet?
We need to be patient to see a peaceful
resolution in South Sudan. Sanctions are
not the best way of resolving conflicts.
It is, rather, the last resort. We have
been patient and we will continue to be
patient for some time. But the issue
of military intervention,
if the parties fail
to
agree,
needs the
consent
o
f
Last month the UN Security Council
expressed frustration on the South
Sudan talks and IGAD’s mediation
effort itself. Do you think it is time
for the UN to be involved directly in
those talks alongside IGAD?
We, in IGAD, have also been expressing
our frustration since the middle of the
start of the negotiation. It has been a
year now. UN has not been the only
organization that has been frustrated
by this process. All members of the
international community are frustrated.
One year is too long for a country to stay
in conflict. Every day there are killings
and sufferings. But what choice do you
have other than bringing the negotiating
parties together? They are the most
responsible parties in South Sudan.
You cannot replace them. You can only
mediate and support them.
IGAD has used everything at its disposal
to bring these warring parties to sign
a number of agreements. Not one,
but a number of agreements. I do not
think other international community
members can add something different
apart from taking some kind of punitive
measures. So, if UN has to come in, it has
to come in with a punitive measure to be
taken, and not for mediation.
Do you see UN sanctions being
imposed?
We have already said, in our
communique after our last meeting,
that if they fail to strike a deal during
Some Egyptian media are reporting
that Ethiopia is not showing any
interest to allow the Egyptian
president to visit the country. What
is you comment on that?
We have excellent relations with Egypt
at this time. There is no reason at all to
disallow the Egyptian president’s visit
to Ethiopia. The request has come and
we have responded favorably that the
Egyptian president can and should visit
Ethiopia. It is through the diplomatic
channel of the two countries that the
timing can be fixed. I think it is just the
usual Egyptian media speculation.
Kenya has recently revised its antiterrorism law, which was deemed
controversial by some groups. Is
there anything that Kenya can learn
from Ethiopia in the fight against
terrorism?
We have never lost hope and we continue
to hope that the negotiations will be
concluded in a good spirit with a good
result. It is true that there is no clear
agreement between the negotiating
parties in terms of the structure
of governance they will pursue
during the transitional government
of national unity. But that does
not mean that things have fallen
apart. We need to bring the two
parties together and urge them to
go proceed in the right direction.
The South Sudanese people have
suffered for the last fifty years.
The people deserve peace, stability
and prosperity. As good neighbors,
we need to support the negotiation in
good spirit. I hope the leaders will find
a middle ground between the extreme
positions. IGAD leaders are preparing
for a summit. This summit, with the
support of the international community,
will help us to see a deal being struck.
The only issue is the filling of the
reservoir which has technical and
engineering solutions. We have to
embrace these solutions that experts
bring to us. If there is any desire from
Egypt or Sudan to purchase the power
generated from the dam, we will position
ourselves to provide them a portion of
the 6000MW. So there are lots of ways
that we can have a win-win arrangement
for the three countries to benefit from
this grand investment.
Not just Kenya but other countries,
including most in the West, are
tightening their anti-terrorism law
because the global situation has
changed. Some are frustrated that
their own citizens are becoming
foreign
fighters.
Some
were
criticizing our anti-terrorism law
and others were advising us to be
more careful in the implementation.
You need to be strong at a time
when the terrorists are changing
their strategies and becoming more
threatening for the global community.
Kenya has taken a proper step where the
government can secure the safety and
security of its citizens. That should be the
first priority of any elected government.
IGAD
leaders in
the upcoming
summit or some
time in the future. So
I cannot comment representing
the IGAD summit now.
Ethiopian
public
diplomacy
delegation recently visited Egypt.
What is the assessment of that
mission?
As far as the information I have received
is concerned, the mission was very
successful. They have met government
officials, including the president of
Egypt and religious leaders. Their
discussion has been cordial. There was
an understanding that all of us need a
win-win solution for the development
of the Nile Basin. I think this is a
remarkable achievement. As our public
diplomacy mission communicated to the
Egyptians, Ethiopia is not out to harm
Egypt in any way.
We are ready to work very closely
with Egyptian institutions and we are
doing so in our tripartite committee
arrangement where the studies to
understand the impact of the Grand
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the
downstream
countries
are
being
conducted by Ethiopian, Egyptian and
Sudanese experts. We are confident that
building this dam, a hydroelectric dam
which does not consume water, will not
harm both Sudan and Egypt.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The President of Djibouti recently
talked about fostering political,
economic and social integration
with Ethiopia. How will this help in
strengthening ties between the two
countries?
We have excellent relations with
Djibouti. I concur fully with the
Djiboutian president that we are moving
towards economic integration which,
in the long-run, will ultimately lead to
political integration. But when you talk
of political integration, we are not only
talking about Ethiopia and Djibouti. We
are talking about the IGAD bloc. There
is a program within IGAD political
integration will follow the economic
integration within the bloc.
The most successful bloc in this regard
is the East African Community (EAC).
We are working on how to bring IGAD
vis-à-vis EAC conglomeration so that
the whole East African bloc will be
in the same integration course both
economically and politically. The
African Union has a vision for 2063
under which there will be a united states
of Africa. Before that happens, regional
blocs should have some kind of political
integration.
How concerned are you that the
squabble between the President
of Somalia and its former Prime
Minister could unravel the gains
made so far in the country? Could
Relentless... page 31
28| Vol. XIX No. 955
Art
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Visiting hours
at Guramayle
By Tibebeselassie Tigabu
The Guramyle Art Center on Tuesday offered a unique exhibition and a performing
art entitled Yemeteyekia seat (visiting hours). The artist, Konjit Seyoum, featured an
exhibition and performance art that combined photos, paintings and food depicting
a scene in a hospital that also included bends, an IV and others.
Inside the compound, the first scene is a pile of cooking utensils. This scene makes
one eager to take a sneaking view of the exhibition and the story behind the
performance.
Inside the exhibition hall, Konjit started her presentation by explaining the title of
the show – Yemeteyekia Seat – which is to means visiting hours and how she used the
concept in the context of hospitals and the culture of visiting the sick.
Photo By: Reporter /Tamrat Getachew
Konjit, who related food to her art work, has experimented on food for the past 19
years. Introducing a different vegetarian cuisine at Asni gallery, which is inspired
by traditional Ethiopian dishes, Konjit brought back the dishes which seem to be
rare in restaurants these days. These vanishing food items are also part of the whole
transformation process that the city of Addis Ababa is undergoing at the moment,
according to the artist.
The exhibition had a look of a hospital. Inside the hall, there is a hospital bed with a
picture of the tentacles of an intravenous therapy (IV) hanging above it. The artist
also gave space for a few details about the Ethiopian way of life when it depicted the
Zembil (woven basket) and a scarf on the side of the bed. Apart from that, there were
different pictures such as a sick person lying in bed, a variety of cooking utensils
that are used in the kitchen and the like.
Konjit is also the founder of Asni Art Gallery, which promotes contemporary artists
and experimental works. It is also a platform for upcoming artists.
One of the art pieces
An overview...
In the past, she was the curator of numerous solo and group shows, and also presented
her works in different exhibitions. In her works, Konjit explores womanhood,
sexuality and the personal and spiritual aspects of life.
Cont`d from page 6
Following the toppling of the Islamist
government of Mohammad Morsi the
ascension to the current president,
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has said that
Egypt’s relations with Ethiopia must be
informed by cooperation and love, not
hatred and belligerence. His government
is transitioning Egypt from throwing
about threats to forging cooperation.
Organization and appointment of a
coordination committee and team leader
It was correct to appoint a coordination
committee and a team leader for
the delegation. It would have been
difficult to manage a 60-member strong
delegation without them. The delegation
was chaired by the Speaker of the
House of Peoples’ Representatives, His
Excellency Abadula Gemeda, and had a
nine-member coordination committee
comprised of individuals from different
sectors.
Such an encouraging development,
however, does not mean that animosity
and mistrust have been rooted out.
Some politicians and elites still spew
out hatred and threats against Ethiopia.
And a sizeable portion of the people of
Egypt continues to distrust Ethiopia.
Similarly, the Ethiopian public cannot
be said to have a proper appreciation of
the feelings and views of their Egyptian
brethren.
It’s in cognizance of this stark truth
that it was deemed that the customary
diplomatic relations need to be
complimented by a people-to-people
diplomacy and the Ethiopian public
diplomacy delegation was sent to Egypt.
The delegation’s visit had three main
objectives:
To understand the perception of the
Egyptian public;
To enable the people of Egypt rectify
their misconception about the GERD
and inform them about the purpose of
the dam; and
To influence the view of the people of
members drawn from, inter alia, the
business, art, media, diplomatic, and
higher education learning communities.
Its composition was excellent not only
in terms of professions and sectors, but
gender representation as well. The only
addition to the delegation which would
have rendered the delegation more
rounded would have been the inclusion
of representatives of farmers and
pastoralist communities. This should be
thought of in future delegations.
Abadula with el-Sisi
Egypt by conveying the message that
Ethiopia is building the dam not to harm
Egypt but for developmental purposes
and that the dam will not occasion harm
for their country.
The overall raison d’être and substance
of these objectives is to build trust and
cause hatred and distrust to give way
to love and collaboration. This was
the mission of the Ethiopian public
diplomacy delegation’s visit to Egypt.
Preparations for the visit
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made
extensive preparations for the visit. The
main activities carried out in this regard
are as follows.
Establishment of a delegation comprised
of various sections of the public
The
delegation
www.thereporterethiopia.com
was
composed
of
In spite of this, however, a proper
division of responsibility was not
made owing to the shortage of time. It
would have been better if it had been
determined clearly beforehand which
member of the delegation, such as the
press officer and protocol officer, would
do what task. Though the intention
was there, the coordination committee
was unable to act effectively as a result
of time constraint and the resulting
pressure it was put under. This should
serve as a lesson in the future.
Schedulement of the itinerary of the
delegation
The delegation was not worried about
who it would meet when for a detailed
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |29
program was prepared setting out the
schedule it would follow once it arrived
in Egypt. This was a quite positive aspect
of the preparation phase.
The only thing that perhaps can be raised
as being remiss in the program is the
omission of a meeting with the Ethiopian
community in Egypt. This was a mistake
that must not be repeated in coming
visits. Every attempt must be made to
engage the Ethiopian community living
in the country where a public diplomacy
delegation visits.
According to the program, the delegation
was scheduled to meet the president,
prime minister, foreign affairs minister,
tourism officials, artists, media outlets,
leaders of the followers of Islam and the
Coptic Church, members of the public
diplomacy delegation and the business
community of Egypt, to visit the Sphinx,
ancient pyramids, the Cairo Museum
of Antiquities, the Cairo Opera House
Visiting the Sphinx and other historical
sites as well as to a dinner reception
accompanied by traditional dancing
and a Nile cruise on riverboats. The
delegation was also supposed to meet on
the first day of its visit with the Egyptian
Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA),
which was celebrating its fifteenth-year
anniversary.
Preparation of project documents,
articles and statements on the GERD by
the project manager Engineer Simegnew
Bekele, Foreign Affairs Minister Tedros
Adhanom (PhD) and delegation chair
H.E Abadula Gemeda
Making the necessary preparations to
address the questions, concerns and
fears that the government and people
of Egypt were likely to raise was a very
useful and appropriate exercise. Had
more time been available, it would
have been to prepare better materials
and produce a documentary film.
Nonetheless, the materials which were
produced were adequate given the time
pressure and were discussed upon before
the delegation’s travel.
Facilitation of visa processing by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
There was no choice but to rush the
delegation’s visit in order to synchronize
with the schedule set by the Egyptian
government and other organizations. So
it was right that the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs assumed the responsibility of
visa processing so as to help the visit
go ahead within the shortest possible
time, which allowed the delegation’s
members to obtain a visa without
applying in person to the Embassy of
Egypt here. Both the ministry and the
embassy deserve to be thanked. Despite
the mistakes and oversights which were
made in the rush, a lot of work was done
in a short time.
Bearing gifts for dignitaries despite
inadequate preparations
One of the preparatory works the public
diplomacy delegation undertook was to
take gifts for dignitaries, particularly for
the president. The president was indeed
presented with a gift. Had there been
more time, it would have been possible
to bear numerous and magnificent gifts
the delegation ought to have. Though
the brevity of the time available made
it impossible to take the most important
and valuable gift, giving a messob, a
locally woven basket which is used to
place or eat from traditional Ethiopian
food, as a gift merits appreciation, not
reproof.
Getting attired in traditional garb
It was quite wonderful that several
Tedros Adhanom (PhD) bidding farewell to members of the public diplomacy delegation
of the delegation members took with
them traditional costumes which they
wore for the visit. In the future, though,
adequate preparations should be made
with an eye to display to the world the
multitude of traditional Ethiopian
clothing. Next time let’s promote
Ethiopia with a superior assortment of
traditional attiring.
Booking an international-standard hotel
which provided first-class services
The delegation stayed in the world-class
Fairmont Nile Hotel City in Cairo. It was
provided with superb treatment.
Synchronization between the Ethiopian
ambassador to Egypt and the Egyptian
ambassador to Ethiopia
The Ethiopian ambassador to Egypt,
Mohammed Dirir, and the Egyptian
ambassador to Ethiopia, Mohammed
Idris, should be praised for coordinating
each and every activity of the Ethiopian
public diplomacy delegation.
The activities performed by the public
diplomacy delegation and the outcomes
thereof
The delegation undertook several
meetings and visits during its stay in
accordance with its itinerary. Let’s take
a look at the major highlights.
Attending the celebration of the 15th
anniversary of the ECFA
The first order of business on the
public diplomacy delegation’s agenda
was to attend the celebration of the 15th
anniversary of the ECFA.
The ECFA is a think tank that was
established by a group of Egyptian
diplomats, academics, professionals,
military experts and businessmen. It
consults the government of Egypt on
policies pertaining to foreign affairs.
An important lesson the public
diplomacy learned from the dialogue
with the council was that it is vital
to establish in Ethiopia independent
think tanks which are comprised of
professionals and compliment the efforts
of the government.
The council was discussing a host of topics
during its fifteenth-year celebration.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The day the Ethiopian public diplomacy
delegation arrived in Cairo, which was
Tuesday December 16, the theme of the
discussion for the day was “Egypt and
super powers”. The ambassadors of Arab
countries, Argentina and China were in
attendance. The Chinese ambassador
spoke in Arabic at the forum.
The agenda topics for the day before, in
fact, were “Egypt and neighboring Arab
countries” and “Egypt and Africa”. It
would have been more relevant for the
delegation to attend the previous day’s
discussions and it would have provided
it with the perfect opportunity to get
across Ethiopia’s position on the GERD,
particularly to Egyptian diplomats who
espouse a distorted view on the dam.
A critical issue needs to be raised at this
juncture. A monthly magazine published
by the ECFA carried an article by one
Hani Raslan entitled “The Renaissance
Dam and its Ethiopian, Regional and
International Dimensions” in its
February 2014 edition. Motivated by
animosity and blighted by factual errors,
the paints an extremely jaundiced
picture of the dam and spews hatred.
The thrust of the article’s hackneyed and
outrageous arguments goes something
like this:
The dam is devoid of any developmental
agenda;
The dam is being built by the U.S. and
Israel, not by Ethiopia;
Ethiopia flouts
agreements;
international
water
Ethiopia’s intention is to sell water to
Egypt;
The dam is bound to force Egypt into
using such other rivers as the Congo;
Sudan is wrong to support the GERD
because Israel is behind it. Though
Ethiopia is capable of building a 2,000
Megawatt dam, it is insisting a 6,000
Megawatt dam;
Political and financial pressure should
be brought to bear on those who provide
Ethiopia with financial support.
An overview... page 40
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
30| Vol. XIX No. 955
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www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Radical goals...
Cont`d from page 10
making their way into groundwater,
rivers, and oceans – and onward up
the food chain. Though plastic is not
biodegradable, not a single country has
pledged to prevent it from entering our
environment.
Another largely unexplored possibility
would be to set targets for phasing out
environmentally damaging and socially
detrimental subsidies. Globally, such
subsidies, like those offered by the
European Union’s Common Agricultural
Policy, run into the hundreds of billions
of dollars, draining budgets and often
doing nothing for the poor. Cutting
them would not only remove perverse
incentives; it would also free up money
for education, universal health care, and
infrastructure in rural areas, where it is
needed to create income opportunities.
Unfortunately, we are unlikely to get
the world of our wishes. The SDG
negotiations reflect what is currently
possible in a multilateral framework:
relatively little. No government is truly
willing to tackle the causes of inequality
and hunger, which would require making
fair taxation and comprehensive welfare
a top priority. Such reforms would be
more effective than any development
aid, but for now they are off limits.
The rules of the global economy also
remain untouchable, making it nearly
impossible to restructure financial and
trade policies to ensure that they do
not result in more poverty, unchecked
climate
change,
and
irreversible
resource destruction.
The language agreed upon so far is not
reassuring. A timeworn commitment to
economic growth at all cost is no answer
to the question of how development can
be balanced against the limits of our
planet and the fact that billions of people
live in poverty. In a finite world, infinite
growth is impossible, and rising output
will not put food on everyone’s table
if the benefits of growth are not fairly
distributed.
It is not only the advanced countries
that are impeding the creation of a
bolder development agenda. Elites in
emerging and developing countries are
using the SDG negotiations primarily as
a platform to call for international aid
transfers.
The UN is only as good as its members.
We will know how good they are by the
extent to which they view the SDGs as
an opportunity to establish truly new
priorities and truly universal goals for
environmental and development policy
in the twenty-first century.
Ed.’s Note: Barbara Unmüßig is President
of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. 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.
Fighting Ebola...
Cont`d from page 10
any, can issue such guarantees.
From a moral point of view, it is
incumbent upon the international
community, with its institutions,
authorities, resourceful businesses, and
individuals – as well as its knowledge
and wealth – to deploy the necessary
means to stop the spread of Ebola. The
imperative is equally strong from a
purely self-interested point of view. If the
virus is not quickly contained, everyone
– every country – will be at risk.
The good news is that Ebola can
be contained. Eventually, it can be
eradicated. If we are to achieve this,
however, the virus must be understood
and diagnosed. Its spread must be
prevented, and treatment must be
offered.
Though there is no clinically proven
vaccine against Ebola, this could soon
change. Since the outbreak of the
virus in March, the Institut Pasteur,
an independent, non-profit research
organization, has worked to understand
how the virus can be contained and
what treatment can be offered. Our
researchers are tracking the spread of
the virus to understand how epidemics
evolve, and we are working to empower
local scientific and medical personnel.
We expect to have two vaccine agents
ready for clinical trials in 2015.
The Institut Pasteur’s Ebola Task Force
is fighting the virus on the ground in
West Africa and in the laboratory in
France, studying the virus and how it
spreads, and leaving no stone unturned
to find a medical solution that will
stop this outbreak and prevent new
ones. Together with the WHO and nongovernmental organizations including
Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red
Cross and Red Crescent, the Institut
Pasteur is committed to fighting the
virus and its causes.
Countries around the world have
pledged
support,
financial
and
otherwise, to tackle the most immediate
concerns: helping affected people and
communities. Many countries already
contribute to research into the causes,
spread, and treatment of the Ebola
virus. An international “coalition of the
willing” has been established, and we
call on all states, relevant organizations,
interested businesses, and qualified
individuals to join it. Together, we can
and will see the end of Ebola.
Ed.’s Note: Christian Bréchot is President
of the Institut Pasteur. 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.
Where has...
Vol. XIX No. 955 |31
Cont`d from page 12
The intensive scientific search for an explanation for the pause in global warming at
the earth’s surface has led to a better understanding of the complex functioning of the
climate. It confirms the long-held theory that the earth has an energy budget that is
affected by radiative perturbations at the top of the atmosphere, though partitioning
that energy between the surface and the deeper oceans has been difficult.
Nobody knows how long the current pause will last. Nonetheless, at some point,
the natural cycles will shift; the oceans will cease to absorb the bulk of the planet’s
warming; and surface temperatures will begin to climb again. When they do, we
can expect the increase to resume the rapid pace observed during the late twentieth
century, when surface temperature rose by about 0.17 degrees Celsius every ten
years.
In the meantime, whether the overall risk to our environment has been reduced by
the pause remains an open question. Some argue that what went down will eventually
come back up. The sloshing back and forth of warm and cold waters – El Niño and La
Niña – in the shallow layer of the equatorial Pacific Ocean will continue to produce
fluctuations in surface temperatures every year. Over longer periods, however, the
risk that the heat currently stored in the deep ocean will resurface is remote.
One thing is clear. Monitoring surface temperatures does not give us an accurate
enough representation of human-induced global warming. As long as we lack a
clear understanding of the relationship between our cumulative greenhouse-gas
emissions and the temperature of the earth, it will remain difficult to assess the
potential for damage related to climate change caused by humans – or develop the
right strategies to minimize it.
Ed.’s Note: Ka-Kit Tung, a fellow of the American Meteorological Society, is Professor
of Applied Mathematics and an adjunct professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the
University of Washington. 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.
Relentless...
Cont`d from page 27
you also give us an update on the fight against Al-shabaab.
Yes there was internal squabbling between the president and the former prime
minister. A new prime minister has already been appointed by the president. This
has happened for the second time, which shows that there are some issues that
need to be addressed. We hope that the new prime minister will stay in power until
Vision 2016. We (IGAD) have discussed this with the president of Somalia and he
has assured us that this kind of squabbling will not continue and that there will be
political accommodations and that they will learn from past mistakes.
I think they are doing this with the support of the international community. But
the harm this has caused to the progress in Somalia has not been that significant.
More than 60 percent of Somalia is being pacified by the Ethiopian peacekeeping
force under the AMISOM contingent. The Ethiopian contingent is working with
the Somali national defense force. We provide them with support and trainings
to be more effective. The most important thing in Somalia politics is establishing
grassroots institutions, including state building. I think that state building has
been successful at this moment. This will be the basis to eradicate and dismantle
Al-shabaab from Somalia.
It is reported that the Ebola-affected country Sierra Leone may not be able
to rotate its troops in AMISOM. Is Ethiopia considering increasing its troops
to replace the Sierra Leone troops?
If there is any request from the African Union, Ethiopia is ready to replace any
contingent. It is not the number of troops we have there which is important. It is
the integration and the leadership that Ethiopia provides in fighting Al-shabaab.
Al-Shabaab is a threat to Ethiopia now and for years to come. We should remain
vigilant. It is not because Al-shabaab has not threatened Ethiopia that we do not see
incidents in the country; it is simply because we were vigilant in following all the
movements of Al-shabaab in Ethiopia.
You’ve been prime minister of Ethiopia for the last two years. Do you
have any frustrations over the years and what would be the source of your
frustration?
Something that frustrates me is the abject poverty. When you come to the helm
of this position, you understand how we need to get out of poverty as quickly as
possible. That is the only frustration I have. Otherwise, I am content with what has
been achieved during the last two years. And the country is moving in the right
direction. There is a huge need for the whole society to engage in the fight against
poverty and eradicate it in the coming fifteen years. We need to work very hard to
achieve this. That frustrates you because sometimes you need to work day and night
without respite to see that you contribute something in the fight against poverty.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
32| Vol. XIX No. 955
Resurrecting...
of the work that was put into composing
the music.
In the single they released, the trio
take turns to rap in both Amharic and
English accompanied by the sound of a
saxophone.
“I rap in my pure British accent which is
not much familiar to Ethiopian hip-hop
music audience,” says Edi Drum, whose
primary earnings come from teaching
English in high schools and providing
business consultancy. Although the
majority of Ethiopians have been exposed
to American hip-hop, Edi Drum believes
British hip-hop has the potential to leave
a big impression among Ethiopians as it
had done globally.
Edi Drums, former young chorister of
an Anglican Church, and a Drummer,
facilitated the recording of their first
album by teaming up with Aklilu, who
teaches at Yared Music School of the
Addis Ababa University.
“His live sax in our rap music has given
it a unique feature that is hardly found
in hip-hop music,” the trio pay tribute to
the veteran musician who has featured
in several Ethiopian music albums and
famous bands.
Aklilu is also proud of his collaboration
with the newly-emerging hip-hop group.
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
“I think this album may redefine the hiphop music genre in Ethiopia which has
not been well received by large sections
of the society except among the youth,”
Aklilu told The Reporter.
The trio has recorded almost all songs at
his studio found in in Aware, a suburb
adjacent to Kazanchis.
Edi Drums also plans to exploit his
connections abroad to promote the
album and the group.
“I have big plans to promote the
messages these two fellows want to
convey through their music,” Edi Drum
told The Reporter.
Measuring the next...
from 1993.
Actually, there have been very few
recent surveys, and most of the available
numbers are projections and estimates,
not hard data. Overall, there are more
gaps than real observations, and the
observations themselves are often
dubious.
Data collection for the MDGs was
patchy, and the quality of much of the
information collected was questionable.
After assembling available information
about survey costs around the world,
Jerven estimates that proper monitoring
of all 18 targets and 48 indicators would
have cost USD 27 billion. This sounds
like a lot, but it is only 1.4 percent of
the roughly USD 1.9 trillion spent on
development aid during this period.
In 2013, a high-level panel of politicians
and civil-society and private-sector
leaders advocated the creation of “better
data-collection systems, especially in
developing countries.” Likewise, the socalled Open Working Group called on
the world to “increase significantly the
availability of high-quality, timely, and
reliable data disaggregated by income,
gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory
status, disability, geographic location
and other characteristics relevant in
national contexts.” And this month,
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
specifically proposed establishing a
“comprehensive program of action on
data.”
The problem is that the next set of
targets is growing ever larger. The highlevel panel suggested 59, compared to 18
under the MDGs, and the Open Working
Group nearly tripled the total number
again, to 169 targets. Jerven estimates
that carrying out even minimal data
collection for all 169 would cost at least
USD 254 billion – almost twice the entire
annual global development budget.
Even this is a low estimate. For
starters, it does not includes the costs
of national governments’ gathering of
basic administrative data, or of all of
the recommended household surveys,
because these costs were impossible to
obtain. And gathering data in countries
where none has yet been collected will
likely prove even costlier.
In fact, one significant role that
Ethiopia plays in the Horn is in the
form of peacekeeping. The country
stands as number one in terms of
troops contribution to UN peacekeeping
mission across the continent. Currently,
the state donates little over 12,000 soldiers
to peacekeeping missions in SudanDarfur under the auspice of UNAMID,
to the disputed region of Abyei under
UNISFA, to Somalia under AMISOM
and also to South Sudan under UNMISS,
among others. According to analysts,
the deployment of troops to the disputed
region of Abyei was quite different in its
nature as it involved for the first time
peacekeeping forces of a neighboring
country
monitoring
condition
in
another neighboring nation. In fact, the
deployment of the Ethiopian contingent
to Abyei was fully supported by the two
conflicting nations – Sudan and South
Sudan. Hence, they argue that this
constitutes acceptance by the countries
in the conflict of the prominence of
Ethiopia in terms of maintaining peace
and security in Ethiopia.
Commanding around 140,000 trained
military personnel, Hailemariam as
well says that his troops has a specific
military discipline that enables them to
maintain peace and eliminate threats
like Al-Shabaab. “We are working round
the clock to deliver trainings packages to
Somali forces,” he told journalists. The
military discipline that Ethiopian troops
possess will be transferred to the nascent
Somali army so that the latter could
gradually takeover the leadership in the
fight against Al Shabaab, Hailemariam
said. “Sooner or later, the Ethiopian
forces will to leave Somalia and the local
forces should have the capacity to carry
on the work we have been doing.”
On the political front, Hailemariam
admitted to the challenges that is posed
by political infighting between the
ruling circle itself in Somalia. Recent
For the Ethiopian duets, teaming up
with Edi is just a miracle to reinvigorate
their dying courage of singing hip-hop.
“We did it from our young age by
mimicking rappers like 2 Pac, LL Cool J
and Jay-Z. But it was not such an easy
thing to do,” Jay-Z-Hun explains. He got
his nickname from artist Jay-Z because
of his facial resemblance to him
“We just want to show people how
much hip-hop will be important to echo
important messages that can impact the
entire nation, particularly the youth,”
Jay-Z-Hun says.
Cont`d from page 14
Moreover, there is no allowance for
maintaining national statistical offices,
training and retaining personnel, or
analyzing and disseminating the data.
Given capacity constraints, particularly
in the poor countries, this cost is likely
to be high. Indeed, analyzing more
long-term data for the international
donor community may impede finance
ministries’ ability to make highfrequency data available for running the
country. The MDG agenda has already
stretched statistical capacity; 169 new
targets will only make the situation
worse.
The MDGs were effective in part because
the number of targets was limited. So
it is reasonable to consider how many
targets we could measure properly,
rather than how to collect data on a large
number of them.
A useful point of comparison is what
industrialized countries spend on their
statistical services. For example, the
Norwegian and British governments
spend about 0.2 percent of GDP.
Using this figure as a rough indicator
of willingness to pay for proper
Ethiopia: defining...
that they control is nowhere near to that
of Ethiopian peacekeepers,” he lauds the
performance of his troops.
Cont`d from page 13
reports has shown that the internal
rift between the president of Somalia
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his second
prime minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed
has ended in the prime minister being
voted out by parliament and replaced
by Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.
According to Hailemariam, the crisis
did have some limited effect on the fight
against Al Shabaab. This happened for
the second time, he told local journalists,
and that it is indicative of some issues to
be addressed in the political front. “We
know how they are,” the PM explained,
and hence Ethiopia is a big player in the
political dialogue. “We tried to bring
all supporters of a stable and united
Somalia under the IGAD system to find
solutions,”
Hailemariam
explained
further, and to that end he said his
governments efforts were successful.
Kenya
Meanwhile, Kenya, which has remained
fairly distant from actual peace and
security matters in the Horn, finally
www.thereporterethiopia.com
measurement and monitoring suggests
that the post-2015 goals should include
just four targets.
As the international community gears
up for the next development agenda,
the danger is that we let our ambition
overpower our reason. If we embrace
too many targets – and especially an
unwieldy 169 – we risk doing a disservice
to the world’s neediest people.
Ed.’s Note: Bjørn Lomborg, an adjunct
professor at the Copenhagen Business
School, founded and directs the
Copenhagen Consensus Center. He is the
author of The Skeptical Environmentalist
and Cool It, and the editor of How
Much have Global Problems Cost the
World? 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.
Cont`d from page 6
joined the fight in Somalia in 2011
citing an attack on tourists inside the
territory of Kenya by Al Shabaab forces.
This brought Kenya one step closer to
the security matters in the Horn. Soon
after, the Kenyans started supporting
Ethiopia’s military intervention in
Somalia and the sanction on Eritrea
in this context. Scholars argue that
it is still not possible to argue that
Kenya is endorsing leadership role
that Ethiopia is playing in the Horn
security matters, however, it has
teamed up with Ethiopia in IGAD and
has become an important ally against
common enemy, Al-Shabaab. Taking
things up a notch, Kenya introduced
a controversial anti-terrorism act last
week, which apparently was a source
of a major contentions in Ethiopia back
when it was introduced in 2009. The
Kenyan parliamentary showdown when
the bill was passed was quite unique.
According to Hailemariam, Kenya did
Ethiopia: defining... page 36
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |33
Hawa Osman Taako was born in Fafan zone, particularly Araarso district of Ogaden.
Hawa Taako was the first Somali woman to fight against the colonial rule. She, later in
her teenage years, joined the freedom struggle of Somalia and was considered as a national
heroine in the eyes of the Somalia Republic.
The Ogaden region...
for inconsequential intellectual conflict.
Last but not the least, I would like to
send salutations to my learned friends
and other romantics in the same field
who echoed their pertinent critics and
respectfully ask them to do the same in
my forthcoming articles including this
one.
The heroes and heroine from Ogaden
Coming to the crux of this article,
Ogaden of Ethiopia is/was the hub of
heroes, heroines and scholars of both
Islamic teachings and secular elites of
the Mogadishu government since ageold times. History is beautiful, in that,
it tells us where the truth of the matter
rests. Seyyid Mohamed Abdulle Hassan,
the phenomenal hero who mobilized the
structurally statelessness Somalis and
revolted against the powerful British
Protectorate in the 19th century and
later emerged as a “crowned hero”
by the then African nationalists who
themselves subjected the colonizers
of Africa in a state of restlessness, was
the son of Ogaden. Sayyid Muhammad
Abdullah Hassan was the leader of the
Dervish pastoralists’ forces that waged
war for twenty-three consecutive years
(1898–1921) against the imposition of
British colonialist rule in the lower
land of Ogaden Region of Ethiopia and
by extension to Northern and Southern
parts of Somalia Republic. But Somalia
counts him as one of their national hero,
Cont`d from page 14
inappropriately, the correct history
indicates a different account that
sharply contracts the cooked version. In
the same manner, Mohamed Siad Barre
– the late president of Somalia – was
born and brought up in Ogaden region of
Ethiopia particularly Shilavo (Shillabo)
in Korahey zone. According to history
he was born in 1919 and at the age of
15 was recruited as a colonial private
soldier in Walwal of Dollo zone by the
Italian conquerors.After a year he took
part in the the Walwal Ethio-Italian war
on the side of the Italians.
Siad Barre, was later among the soldiers
who were transferred to the British
protectorate after the defeat of the
Italian colonialists by the Ethiopian
freedom fighters and their subsequent
withdrawal. He was later posted to
Isiolo district in Kenya. The first time
Siad Barre stepped into Somali soil
was in 1951 at the age of 33. Being from
Ethiopia, Siad Barre pioneered the first
structurally formal state apparatus in
Somalia under the scientific socialist
political ideology from October 1969 up
until he succumbed to the end of his
regime in 1991. Later Barre’s birthplace
was corrupted and politicized in search
of a Somalian identity and was placed
in Burdhubo of Bakol region. In that
regard, the idea of talking about Shilavo
of Korahey zone in Ogaden region as
being his birthplace while he is the
president of the Somalia Republic was
unacceptable.
Hawa Osman Taako was born in Fafan
zone, particularly Araarso district of
Ogaden. Hawa Taako was the first Somali
woman to fight against the colonial rule.
She, later in her teenage years, joined
the freedom struggle of Somalia and
was considered as a national heroine in
the eyes of the Somalia Republic. Her
accomplishment in the struggle was a
show-case of women’s potential in any
struggle if they are put on board. Hawa
Taako later died in a combat in 1948.
Her statute in Mogadishu designate
a symbolic significance of women’s
contribution in Somalia’s independence.
Regrettably no one talks about her being
Ethiopian hailing from Ogaden and her
true birth place, Araarso of Fafan zone.
The scholars from Ogaden
Ali Abdul Rahmane (Sheikh Ali Sufi)
was a reputable Qur’an academician
who is known for his teachings. He
recommended a style of Qur’an recitation
in Somalia in the best practice of do-noharm philosophy. He educated virtually
every contemporary Somali Muslim
scholars and left no stone unturned
during his scholarly preaching. This
phenomenal man was from Nogob zone,
particularly Fiki district of the Ogaden
region. Many people who did not know
the history believed that late Sheikh Ali
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Sufi was from the Mogadishu’s environs
but the truth of the matter is that he was
from Ethiopia mostly schooled in the
then Harar city-state.
Still stretching the list, Nuruddin
Farah – the only English novelist of
the contemporary Somali-speakers –
was born in 1945 in Khalafo district of
Shabelle zone in the Ogaden region.
Nuruddin
Farah
won
numerous
literature
awards,
including
the
Tucholsky Prize in Sweden, the Lettre
Ulysses Award in Berlin, and in 1998, the
prestigious Neustadt International Prize
for Literature. All these heroes, heroine
and scholars originally hailed from
Ogaden region of Ethiopia but have been
incorporated in the national history of
the Somalia Republic and are up to this
day considered as a national treasure of
Somalia. These historical irregularities
are on of the factors that ignited me to
come to the surface so as to rectify the
mistakes and unfold the true versions. I
would welcome anyone to add to the list if
they think more is missing. I would also
love to welcome those who champion the
idea of having more articles to correct
history.
Ed.’s Note: Ali Sheikh is an MBA-IB.
The views expressed in this article
do not necessarily reflect the views of
The Reporter. He can be reached at
[email protected].
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
34| Vol. XIX No. 955
Diageo
unveils...
Cont`d from page 4
Meta Abo, a brewery
known for its motto
-celebrating life, every
day, everywhere - has
advocated the normal
use of alcohol, and
will continue doing
that along with its
innovation
be found in outlets across Addis Ababa
as of Thursday — day of announcement.
According to Bahakal Abate, corporate
relations director, the 330 ml bottle,
Zemen, features some distinctive
customer warning symbols that have
never been introduced by breweries in
Ethiopia before. 18+, pregnancy caution,
and motor restriction (don’t drink and
drive display) have been placed in the
neck of the new Meta’s products.
Meta is also preparing to launch its
brand campaign on underage drinking.
According to reports, underage drinking
has become popular amongst the youth
in the capital Addis Ababa. That is why
Meta has launched its new campaign in
addition to its earlier famous campaign
on drinking and driving known as
Shum Shufair. “We are among the
alcohol companies who have signed
an international document known as
‘CEO Commitments’ to implement the
World Health Organization’s global
strategy to reduce the harmful use of
alcohol,” Francis said, adding that
breweries’ involvement in social affairs
is significant. The new product of the
brewery will be available for only 10 birr
for the rest of the production period, but
the brewery will not intervene in the
liberal market that would rub out the
factory price and tag its rate.
Colleagues confused...
They disclosed that Captain Samuel is
an emotional person. “Minor incidents
could make him happy or sad. He also
has a personal problem that makes
him depressed at times,” they told The
Reporter.
Captain Samuel joined the Ethiopian Air
Force in 2003. He served the Air Force
for 12 years. According to his colleagues,
in 2010 he served the Ethiopian
peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan
and came back home with fat salaries in
foreign currency.
Captain Samuel was born and bred in
Mekelle, Tigray. His parents live in
Mekelle while his wife and two children
live in Bishoftu town, where the
Ethiopian main air force base is located.
The Ethiopian government on Monday
confirmed the news of defection. In
a statement issued on Monday the
Ministry of Defense said that the senior
pilot forced the co-pilot and flight
technician into landing in Eritrea. The
ministry said that a search and rescue
team was dispatched after they flight
crew went missing with the combat
helicopter on December 19. However,
it said, informants confirmed that the
flight crew landed in Eritrean territory.
The Eritrean government did not make
statement on the incident.
Ebola pandemic...
“A list of measures were put in place to
safeguard the safety of our passengers
and crew. Some of the measures are:
we created airline wide awareness and
precautionary measures to take: we
put sanitary items on our aircraft, we
regularly fumigate our aircraft, we clear
passengers before boarding, we have put
two thermometers and special protective
gears on board each aircraft, gloves and
protective masks for flying crew and
ground staff, etc,” Yissehak said.
The spread of the pandemic in West
Africa has reduced both passenger and
cargo traffic of the airline. Speaking
of the negative impacts the pandemic
inflicted on ASKY, Yissehak said, “Our
operation is based in the most EVD
affected region, so both passenger and
cargo traffic have sharply declined.”
The CEO said all airlines, travel
agents and hotels, among others have
been affected by lack of passenger
movements. “So ASKY is no exception.
Yes, there is some financial impact but
we at ASKY view this not as a long-term
problem but rather a challenge that we
should overcome. We are seeing very
encouraging signs that the government
of the three most affected countries and
the international community at large
are pulling their resources together to
contain the EVD,” he added.
Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Tewolde
Gebremariam, recently said that his
airlines is losing eight million dollars
in sales revenue every month due to
the EVD. Tewolde said that media
reports about the pandemic is scaring
away passengers from Africa. At the
46th annual general assembly of the
African Airlines Association (AFRAA)
held last November in Algiers, Algeria,
Tewolde said that many people outside
Africa consider Africa as one country
and South Africa as its capital. “Though
Cont`d from page 4
Following a two year bloody war that
ended in 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea
find themselves entangled in a nopeace no-war situation. With no peace
process to normalize relations in
sight, Ethiopia continuously accuse
Eritrea of attempting to destabilize its
internal stability and regional peace
through armed insurgents operating in
the region, including Al Shabaab, the
Somalia-based terrorist group.
Ethiopia’s continued allegation led
to the imposition of sanctions by the
United Nations Security Council against
Eritrea in 2009 which included arms
embargo, travel bans on its leaders and
freezing of assets of some of its leaders.
Cont`d from page 5
the epicenter of Ebola is in West Africa,
thousands of miles away from us many
are scared to travel to the whole of
Africa.”
The secretary general of AFRAA, Elijah
Chingosho (PhD), said it is science not
fear that should guide African nations.
“We should tackle the problem together
scientifically. We should not isolate
the affected countries,” Chingosho
said. WHO and IATA called up on
international airlines not to stop flights
to the region affected by Ebola.
The Togo-based private airline became
operational in 2010. ASKY currently
operates seven aircraft to 22 destinations
in West and Central Africa. The airline
was established by West African banks
and private investors. Ethiopian owns a
45 percent stake in the airline. Ethiopian
has also a five year management contact
with ASKY. It also provides technical
services to the West African airline.
Public
observers’...
Cont`d from page 7
election despite all those allegations”
Meta Abo, a brewery known for its motto
-celebrating life, every day, everywhere has advocated the normal use of alcohol,
and will continue doing that along with
its innovation, the managing director
said. The brewery market in Ethiopia
has seen a significant move upward as
Diageo and Heineken took over the old
and state-owned factories a few years
ago.
On Sunday, there was no much activity
in some polling stations as people seem
unaware as to whether an election
process was taking place. However,
NEBE says the turnout for the public
observers’ election was significantly
higher when compared to the previous
four general elections.
“It is not a rule that it should be similar
in all areas perhaps in some areas there
might be lack of information, lack of
necessary mobilization and at the same
time people might have different social
engagement but the overall national
picture is very successful,” Addisu said.
Since the arrival of the two international
brands in Ethiopia, the market share
has reportedly shrunk for the oldest
brewery, St. George, owned by the French
company BGI. According to reports,
Walia – the latest brand by Heineken –
is in ascendance in the market since its
introduction on the eve of the Ethiopian
New Year (2007). And Meta’s Zemen is
the new brand joining the market on the
eve of 2015. Previously Meta introduced
a non-alcoholic malt beverage, Malta.
Apart from the global alcohol giants,
Raya and Habesha breweries are set to
join the market in the foreseeable future.
“Strong moment for Meta,” Francis said,
citing the intense competition. Meta Abo
was handed over to Diageo for USD 250
million in June 2012 while the Dutchbased Heineken took over Bedele and
Harar breweries for USD 178.3 million.
Election of public observers gives the
first glimpse as to what the public
participation might look like in the
upcoming election which will be held on
May 24.
The Electoral Law of Ethiopia
Amendment Proclamation (No. 532/2007)
states that each polling station will have
five public observers. Each constituency
election office will also have three public
observers elected from among the polling
stations’ election observers established
in the constituency.
www.thereporterethiopia.com
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |35
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The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
36| Vol. XIX No. 955
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The mediation process was not that easy as the
conflict prolonged for almost a year causing
devastating damage in the country. At one point,
IGAD itself has to express frustration over the
bickering of the two parties and how things tend to
regress back every time a gain is made.
Ethiopia: defining...
EMBASSY OF INDIA
ADDIS ABABA
Cont`d from page 32
Scholarships for Higher
Education in India
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations
(ICCR), Government of India, invites
applications for thirty five scholarships
to meritorious Ethiopian nationals for the
academic session 2015-16 for pursuing
studies in under-graduate / post graduate
/ PhD / post doctoral courses in Indian
Universities / Institutions. Scholarship
would include free tuition, stipend and
air ticket.
Detailed
information
about
the
scholarship is available on the Embassy
website www.indembassyeth.in. A
briefing regarding the scholarship
will be given at the Embassy of India,
Addis Ababa premises on Monday, 29
December 2014 at 3 pm.
The last date for submitting applications
to Embassy of India, Addis Ababa is 15
January 2015, till 1700 hrs.
right thing in enacting the controversial
proclamation.“Terrorists are changing
their tactics these days and are posing
more threats to global community,” he
argued, and hence the Kenyans were
absolutely in their prerogative when
they passed the terrorists act. “Some
of the western countries are becoming
increasingly frustrated because some of
their citizens are turning into terrorists.
Even those countries who were telling
us to relax our terrorist proclamation
are now tightening their anti-terrorist
laws,” he said.
South Sudan
The involvement in South Sudan is
perhaps the most unique. During the
armed-struggle days of the Sudanese
People’s Liberation Army (SPLA),
successive Ethiopian regimes have
helped the cause of South Sudan which
at the time earned her the name of a
midwife to the birth of the youngest
nation in Africa. Its diplomatic role has
continued after independence of the
country where the the two Sudans were
at loggerheads following disagreement
on some outstanding issues like share of
oil revenue and territorial demarcation.
Nevertheless, the troubles in South
Sudan did not end there. Just last year,
an internal political fracture, which
later turned into a civil war, rocked
the core of the young nation. Ethiopia,
under the IGAD platform, was quick to
act to the situation in South Sudan. It
was just days after the conflict erupted
that Tedros Adhanom (PhD), Foreign
Minister of Ethiopia, jumped on a plane
to speak to leaders in Juba. Soon after,
Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopian
Ambassador to China, was put in charge
of the mediation process representing
IGAD.
The mediation process was not that easy
as the conflict prolonged for almost a
year causing devastating damage in the
country. At one point, IGAD itself has to
express frustration over the bickering
of the two parties and how things tend
to regress back every time a gain is
made. “The people of South Sudan
has suffered for 50 years, they deserve
peace and prosperity,” Hailemariam
said expressing the frustration of IGAD
and other mediating parties over the
lingering of the talks between the two
parties. In fact, the UN as well was
vocal with regards to the stalled peace
process that is being brokered by IGAD.
Hailemariam does not believe any global
body including the UN can do a better
job than the one being done by IGAD.
“The only thing they can come up with
is a punitive measure that would compel
to parties to table,” the PM argued.
Logically, there are no other choices but
to be patient. The two parties has to come
together and discuss and that requires
time, he said, one cannot replace them
www.thereporterethiopia.com
or bring other bodies in their place.
At present, the two parties did agree to
establish a new national government and
end the violence. However, the process
has run up to a big roadblock since
they could not agree upon the form of
government, on what the powers the two
leaders (Prime Minister and President)
should have and on the composition of
a reintegrated military. Hailemariam is
still hopeful that it does not mean that the
negotiations have failed. He says, “We
need to bring the two parties together
and urge them into the right direction”.
Nevertheless, Hailemariam also admits
that when its comes to economic interest,
the role of Ethiopia is quite insignificant
compared to likes Uganda and Kenya.
For instance, Uganda is estimated to
have some 500 million dollars worth of
trade relations with South Sudan when
Kenya is increasing its influence in the
financial sector of South Sudan. In fact,
Uganda’s interest was clearly seen from
its decision have troops on the ground
side of South Sudan when the conflict
broke out. According to the PM, it is the
lack of infrastructure which is hurting
Ethiopia’s business involvement in the
oil rich South Sudan. But, on the other
hand, analysts argue that in the long run
Ethiopia’s influence in the young nation
depends on the extent of the business
ties.
Djibouti
On the contrary, Djibouti is one
neighboring nation with whom economic
integration has reached higher levels.
The nature of Ethiopia’s relations to
Djibouti is quite different from the other
Horn of Africa countries. Following the
bloody boarder war between the Eritrea
and Ethiopia, the latter started to depend
heavily on the Port of Djibouti for access to
the sea. Now, the majority of the economic
activities in Djibouti is linked to the port
serves that is it gives to Ethiopia.
According to Hailemariam, the level of
economic ties are growing at a rate that is
desirable to the two parties. He, however,
says that the economic ties are also being
accompanied by the people-to-people
relations that the two countries have.
He says, “Djiboutians have a special
provision that is not given to no other in
the region”. They can own properties in
Ethiopia, Hailemariam said, and that can
further nurture the relation. However,
Hailemariam is not that easy about
political integration at this stage of the
relation. He told journalists that political
integration with Djibouti is not threated
any different from the rest of African and
for that we have a time table that is 2063.
However, what is interesting is that
Ethiopia has never stated any possible
aspiration to emerge as a leader in the
troubled Horn region, although scholars
and analysts see it as being the only
logical candidate at this moment.
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |37
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The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
38| Vol. XIX No. 955
By Leyou Tameru
@anchihoye
Bits
&
Ministry slashes...
Pieces
Why I keep
writing
Around this time of year, four years ago, I started writing
this column. For four straight years, meaning two
hundred and eight weeks, I have been writing an article a
week. With this standing weekly commitment, my brain
is now used to observing my environment with the central
question being, “what will I write about this week?” It is
not always easy, not because I run out of things to write
about but because of the opposite. And for some reason,
a certain hierarchy of the importance of things has been
implanted in my mind making me feel like some of the
topics I want to write about are not necessarily column
worthy. But at the end of the day, I had to remind myself
that all experiences matter and that writing about people
peeing on the street is just as relevant as discussing panafricanism today. We’re all a product of our exposures
and the realities that surround us, and no issue is too
small to ponder upon.
was also renewed, but had narrowed the
exploration area from 1 346 sqkm to 717 sqkm.
Nyota noted that the new licenses kept intact the
North West-South East lineament of anomalies
within the Brantham area and preserved for Nyota
the extension of that lineament in the Towcester
license; which was particularly important as this
was immediately adjacent to the Boka West target.
“However, the remainder of the Towcester license
has either been relinquished or was not renewed,”
it stated.
Nyota added that the application for a mining
license, submitted in the name of Towcester for the
conversion of a portion of the exploration license
as it was in April 2014, remained unaffected by
the decision not to renew or to issue exploration
licenses for any areas that would be affected by the
rising water of the dam.
“Indeed, the intent of this application and its
timeliness was precisely because the river gravels
will be submerged and their value otherwise lost.
Ethiopian to provide...
According to the senior official, Ethiopia’s economy
has been growing in double digits for the past couple
of years and this has stimulated the demand for air
travel, and particularly charter flight service. “We
want to provide a comfortable, and reliable charter
flight services for high-end customers.”
I have been asked quite a few times why I write this
column. Although I come up with a response that answers
the question, I never really had a chance or the patience
to explain all of it. I write because I would like to believe
that the experiences I write about are shared ones, that
I am not alone in finding a certain cultural practice
amazing or appalling. That I cannot possibly be the only
one who finds the way we queue in Ethiopia infuriating
and hilarious at the same time. I write because as a
citizen of a country I care deeply about, I cannot help but
ask questions when I see injustice at all levels. Writing
is one of the tools I use to start a dialogue on a topic that
some of us would rather ignore so as to not disturb the
peace or feel uncomfortable
The airlines anticipates to provide the charter
flight service for tourists that travel to different
parts of the country, oil and mining companies
conducting geological surveys in remote parts of the
country and also construction firms undertaking
major projects in remote areas. “We will deploy an
adequate number of comfortable aircraft. We will
provide a dependable service,” he told The Reporter.
I also write because I have so many unanswered
questions, and by voicing them I hope that others would
answer or add them to their own list of questions about
life, politics, history and purpose. What on earth does
the “Democracy” that every country seems to aspire
to achieve mean? Are the systems of governance built
to make sure that those that are the most marginalized
remain that way? Why is it that so many spend so much
time planning a revolution rather than planning what
should come after it? Is a revolution really the only way
to change the status quo? Can we possibly do something
to remedy the way the world is today? Or should we just
sit and watch by the sidelines for things to get better?
Abadula replaces...
As silly as it may sound to some, I loose sleep over
questions such as whether China should be sending
peacekeeping troops to South Sudan. Is this going to be
a new trend? Will Chinese peacekeeping troops play the
same role in East Africa as French peacekeeping troops in
West Africa? I have no ambitions of running for any sort
of office, but I am aware that the decisions taken by those
in power today will greatly affect me. And the political
atrophy of people around me scares me. We do not fully
understand the systems that govern us or the interests
that make the world go round because we are distracted
by things specifically designed to do so. In my opinion
we must be mad and angry at how things are today, we
must not be complacent and we must do what we can
to teach and share our knowledge. We must do what we
can to change the world one person at a time starting
from ourselves. All these thoughts and questions can be
overwhelming, burdensome and at time even depressing.
So in the end, I truly think that I write to keep my sanity.
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 [email protected]
The airlines has finalized the study and will float
an international tender for the supply of light
aircraft in 2015. The light aircraft will also provide
scheduled domestic flight services. At the beginning
the airlines will buy at least 20 light aircraft but the
number of light aircraft that the airlines will phase
in for the new division could reach 50 eventually.
Ababa and senior government official, is the deputy
chairman of the board of directors of the airline.
Addissu, former deputy prime minister and
minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,
joined the board of directors of Ethiopian in 2010
when the former board chairman Seyoum Mesfin
left his position to head Ethiopian diplomatic
mission in China. Seyoum Mesfin, former minister
of Foreign Affairs, served as board chairman of the
airline since 2001.
Observers say Seyoum probably did a good job at
Ethiopian. When the airline faced a challenging
time in the early 2000s he called Girma Wake,
Museveni...
people,” he explained.
If Ugandan troops are expected to depart from the
area there should be a replacing force from IGAD
member countries, Museveni said.
According to him, currently, Ethiopian and
Rwandan forces are already there but The Reporter
could not verify this from other sources.
“Once IGAD forces are ready and at least insure
that the capital Juba and Boure are not affected we
will go back,” the president said.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
who invited the president for the official visit on
his part said, IGAD is the best way to ensure a
sustainable peace for the people of South Sudan.
Ethiopia and Uganda and other member states of
IGAD will continue with their efforts of pressing the
warring parties to reconcile through the ongoing
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Cont`d from page 3
“The application is still being considered by the
Ministry of Mines and, as is necessary, by other
government departments. Those deliberations
are internal and Nyota cannot, therefore, report
progress with the application,” it reported.
Nyota, meanwhile, continued to review new
opportunities as they arose.
The Minister of Mines , Tolossa Shagi Moti, told The
Reporter that the ministry is evaluating Nyota’s
proposal to mine the alluvial gold deposit along
the Abay river, near the GERD. “A decision has
not been made. We are assessing their proposals,”
Tolossa said.
Nyota Minerals Limited is a gold exploration and
development company dual listed on the London
Stock Exchange and Australian Stock Exchange.
Nyota has discovered a large amount of primary
gold deposit in Tulu Kapi locality in western
Wellega. The gold deposit at Tulu Kapi is estimated
at 24 .9 tone. Nyota recently sold its working
interest on the Tulu Kapi mine to a company called
KEFI Minerals, a London-based mining firm.
Cont`d from page 3
Ethiopian Airlines provides charter cargo and
passenger flight services in Ethiopia and abroad
with big aircraft. But this is for the first time when
it starts to provide a full-fledged charter flight
services with light aircraft.
Industry analysts fear that the move by Ethiopian
could put the small private airlines operating in
Ethiopia in a difficult situation. “With an excellent
track record and big capacity, Ethiopian could easily
wipe out the private operators from the market,”
an aviation industry analyst told The Reporter. A
private operator The Reporter talked to said that the
charter flight service is a small market that should
be left to the small private airlines. “Ethiopian is a
big airline that competes with mega international
airlines. It is unfair to fight for the small pie with
small private airline. They do not want us to exist,”
he said.
A senior official at Ethiopian, on his part, said,
“This does not concern us. We have studied the
market and we want to provide a world-class service
to customers.”
Cont`d from page 1
former CEO of Ethiopian, from the Gulf to lead the
airline. Together with his deputy (the then chief
operating officer), Tewolde Gebremariam, Girma
has transformed the national flag carrier into a
leading airline in Africa.
Last June the International Air Transport
Association (IATA) ranked Ethiopian as the largest
carrier in Africa by revenue and profit. Ethiopian is
a Pan-African global carrier operating the youngest
fleet in the continent with an average of less than
7 years and currently serving 84 international
destinations across 5 continents with over 200
daily departures. The airline operates more than 60
modern jetliners including the B787 and B777.
Cont`d from page 1
mediation efforts and advice others not to create
opportunities for forum shopping, the PM said.
The parties in negotiation have asked IGAD for
more time and accordingly IGAD has allowed them
some time to deeply discuss on issues, according
to PM Hailemariam who is also the current chair
of IGAD. The eight-country trade bloc in Eastern
Africa is expected to meet very soon and decide on
the result of the consultation.
With regards to the bilateral cooperation, the
two have signed four separate Memoranda of
Understanding (MoUs) to cooperate on health,
transport and energy. The details of the MoUs
include the construction of a highway that will
connect Addis Ababa and Kampala, the capital of
Uganda, via Juba and making Addis Ababa and
Kampala sister cities. Similarly, leaders of the two
countries vowed to cooperate on energy and issues
of the Nile River.
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |39
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The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
40| Vol. XIX No. 955
An overview...
all expectations and delighted the public
diplomacy delegation in terms of forging
mutual trust. It also proved to be an
occasion from which Ethiopian religious
institutions drew valuable lessons.
All these arguments are flawed. The
GERD’s agenda is nothing but to
accelerate Ethiopia’s development and
it certainly is being built not by the
Americans or Israelis but by Ethiopians
themselves. Ethiopia has never flouted
international agreements; it just opted
to exercise its legitimate right not to be
bound by colonial-era treaties to which
it is not a party and which are patently
unjust. In fact, it is Egypt which is
refusing to sign a new agreement on the
Nile which Ethiopia has ratified along
with other riparian countries of the
Nile. Fortunately, these preposterous
views are not shared by most Egyptians;
they are held by a handful of extreme
politicians and elites. Sadly, there also
a few Ethiopian “opposition” groups
which similarly are extreme and
denigrate the government of Ethiopia
for building the dam. It’s precisely to
expose such misguided attitudes that we
as a nation very much need home-grown
think tanks. The public diplomacy
delegation did its best to lay bare, albeit
without the luxury of written materials,
skewed views and bring to the fore the
truth.
During the discussion on Egypt and
super powers, a participant raised the
question whether China was assisting
Ethiopia in the construction of the
dam, though it was left unanswered. A
former Nigerian ambassador to Ethiopia
then caught many by surprise when he
asked why the discussion was limited
to Egypt’s relations with global super
powers like the U.S., Russia and China
and why Ethiopia was left out given that
it was becoming a regional super power.
Cont`d from page 29
Meeting
Mahlab
Prime
Minister
Ibrahim
There was a palpable atmosphere of
intimacy and brotherhood when Prime
Minister Ibrahim Mahlab met the
Ethiopian public diplomacy delegation
in his office. He went around introducing
himself to the delegation members
instead of the stepping forward to
present themselves. He said he felt that
he belonged to both countries. And he
talked not only about the Nile, but also
about investment, growth and poverty
reduction. The meeting thus led to an
unexpected sense of closeness.
Meeting President el-Sisi
The meeting with President Abdel Fattah
el-Sisi in his palace as well evoked a very
special and totally unanticipated feeling.
Consequently, the delegation came away
with the impression that it is indeed
possible to build closer ties with Egypt.
President el-Sisi unequivocally said
that Egypt wanted Ethiopia to develop
and extricate itself from poverty. He
recognized Ethiopia’s right to build
the GERD while urging for caution lest
Egypt does not suffer from a reduction
in the volume of the Nile’s flow. And he
actually made an explicit call for Ethio-
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Overall the lessons drawn from the
discussion forum can be summarized as
follows:
Egypt cooperation on three fronts—the
Nile, investment and economic growth,
and the war on extremism and terrorism.
The president further said he wanted
to deliver a speech before Ethiopia’s
Parliament. Parliamentary Speaker
Abadula Gemeda immediately invited
the president to come to Ethiopia and
make a speech to the House of Peoples’
Representatives.
The delegation members on their part
told President el-Sisi that the purpose
of the GERD is to ease the plight of poor
women who cut and collect firewood
from forests by supplying them with
electricity and thereby help them beat
poverty. They also explained that
Ethiopia has no desire to harm Egypt
and that the dam will not occasion harm
for Egypt in any way whatsoever. It was
gratifying to see the president graciously
accepted the explanation.
Visiting the Sphinx museum and the
Cairo Opera House
This visit taught the delegation a lot
about the preservation of history and
promoting tourism. These historical
attractions are superbly preserved and
frequented by throngs of tourists.
The delegation was greeted by persons
wearing traditional Egyptian clothe and
singing Amharic songs when it arrived
at the opera house. This prompted
the delegation members to reflect on
why Ethiopia is lagging far back when
it comes to translating its equally
rich tourism potential into financial
dividend.
Visiting pyramids, the Sphinx
This visit also induced a pleasant vibe
within the delegation. The marvelous
reception
aside,
the
delegation’s
members acknowledged that they came
to realize how historical heritages can
be used to generate revenue. The visit
to the Al-Azhar Park likewise was an
object lesson to Addis Ababa on how to
build and maintain a public park.
Meeting members of the Egyptian public
diplomacy delegation and business
community
It is crucial to desist from reacting postfacto to perceived problems and instead
engage in permanent dialogue through
organized forums like think tanks;
It is to be recalled that an Egyptian
public diplomacy delegation visited
Ethiopia in 2012. The delegation did not
disband upon its return and in fact has
become more organized and stronger.
This is something that the Ethiopian
public diplomacy delegation must try to
replicate. The meeting with the business
community was productive as well. In
short both meetings concluded with an
accord to work together on expanding
people-to-people and investment ties.
It is prudent to keep in mind that
inasmuch as there are Egyptians who
are favorably disposed towards Ethiopia,
there also exist elements which have
misconceptions about or exhibit extreme
jingoistic tendencies;
Ethiopia should emulate Egypt creating
research and study centers which help
to undertake organized action to help
advance the national interest.
Meeting with the Al Ahram Center
for Political and Strategic Studies
Meeting the leaders of followers of
the Islamic faith and Coptic Church
of Egypt, visiting the Cathedral of the
Coptic Church
Al Ahram is the biggest media
organization in Egypt which does
considerable journalistic pieces on the
Nile. It would not be wrong to say that
it has shaped the views of Egyptians
on the Nile be it positive or otherwise.
During the meeting members of the
Ethiopian delegation representing the
media managed to persuade Al Ahram
executives on the need to collaborate
and build a closer working relationship.
Furthermore, they drew attention to the
fact that media outlets of both countries
have not done satisfactory work on the
Nile and called for greater cooperation
and trust-building between them.
The second day of the delegation’s visit
was truly historical and amazing. The
big and colorful event that was organized
in its honor was memorable. On the
occasion Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Ahmed
el-Tayeb, the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar,
and Pope Tawadros II, the Pope of the
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria,
said that the relationship between
Ethiopia and Egypt was historical
and called for an end to hatred and
a nurturing of love and cooperation.
They also pointed out that they did not
oppose the construction of the GERD
and just wished that ill fate would not
befall Egypt. The meeting was marked
by a profound sense of solidarity and a
shared desire to eradicate poverty. It
turned out to be a forum which exceeded
Attending a traditional dinner and
entertainment gala
An overview... page 42
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LEISURE
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Crossword
ACROSS
1. South American wood sorrel
4. Corporate executive officer
7. Ancient country
12. Uses water as a coolant and moderator
13. Twining perennials having cordate leaves and
flowers arranged in conelike spikes
14. Makes reefs
15. Visualize
17. A place of assembly for the people in ancient
Greece
18. Round globular seed
19. Take hold of
21. Drunkard
22. Wings
24. __ student, learns healing
25. Monetary unit
26. Japanese classical theater
27. A ceremonial procession including people
marching
29. Line of equal barometric pressure
31. Incited, esp. deliberately, to anger
35. Natives of the Arabian peninsula
37. The 7th letter of the Greek alphabet
38. Dressed
41. Chief information officer
42. The persistence of a sound after its source has
stopped
43. Paddle
44. The cry made by sheep
45. Travelling towards the southeast
46. Sacred objective position
33. Ethiopia (abbrev.)
34. Taoism
36. Diagonals
38. Arousing or provoking
laughter
39. __ Dern, actress
40. Cubic measure
42. The outward flow of the
DOWN
tide
1. Obeah
44. Semitic fertility god
2. A steep-walled semicircular basin in a mountain 45. Invests in little enterprises
3. Algonquian
47. Registered Nursing
4. Blue flowered plant
Assistant
5. The longest division of geological time
49. Flower petals
6. The first event in a series
50. The widely studied virus
7. Take the place of work of someone on strike
that causes tobacco mosaic
8. Domestic swine
51. Own (Scottish)
9. Having an irregularly notched or toothed
margin as though gnawed
10. A nobleman (in various countries) of varying
rank
11. Alar
16. 7th letter
20. Opus
22. Black tropical American cuckoo
23. __ Angeles
24. Castanets
25. A very large body of water
27. Score
28. Medical man
30. Having negative qualities
32. Die
48. Sunday
52. Type genus of the Irenidae
53. Lilly, drug company
54. Sargeant major (abbrev.)
55. Political plot56. A baglike structure
57. Adam’s wife
Hey Goshu! Your
son is charged with
impersonation.
Kuncho Komments
Kuncho!
Impersonating
someone? Who?
Your Zodiacs
ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20)
Your ideas are good, but avoid doubting too much. Do what
you must and beware of discussing your personal matters.
You may feel as if you have been used and taken advantage
of. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You will have a much
better outlook after you’ve given yourself a chance to go
over what actually took place. You’ll be able to process the
information into a solid business plan. Early in the weekend
you will probably feel an immediate improvement. This
week lucky numbers are: 23, 22, 67, 56, 65
TAURUS (Apr. 21- may 21)
Well, the teacher
thinks that he
signed your name
under his report
card.
What? Why on earth
would she think that?
Hey! Kuncho! Who
signed your report
card this semester
anyways?
US
Well dad, technically you
did. Remember when I
asked if you could write
your name in the last
blackout and you said let
me try…
(astrology-online.com)
CANCER (June 22-July 22)
You might want a home office. Think everything over before
acting. A conversation you have will spark a great idea to
explore in the New Year. Listen to other people’s ideas and
help them to look positively to the future. Your sharp mind
will allow you to bring others together. Do what you must but
don’t let anyone make you feel guilty of it. You should try to
learn from harmful experiences. Do your partners a favor for
which it will thank you. Answer their problems with realistic
solutions. This week lucky numbers are: 20, 90, 29, 37, 82
LEO (July 23-Aug 22)
Whatever you do for others will be appreciated and
rewarded. Children will play an important role in your life
and a partnership will bring about positive change. Everyone
respects your gentle, upbeat approach. Social events will
probably bring you in contact with someone who interests
you either personally or professionally. Remember that your
time and energy are more important than your money. This
week lucky numbers are: 68, 87, 47, 58, 4
Don’t stand on ceremony. Reach out for others. You have
to consider what you want in the future and look into how
you can pick up the skills you need to follow through. Avoid
discarding value when trying to be different. In your quest for
the good life, others may decide you are too materialistic.
You will have to keep your promises. There is also a great
chance for romance meeting for you. This week lucky
numbers are: 65, 96, 5, 79, 10
GEMINI (May 22-June 21)
VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23)
Use your creativity to add to the quality of your work and
life. Others appreciate your special touch. Love romance,
socializing, mixing business with pleasure as well as
picking up information that will help you get ahead should
be your main goal. Some people may not be ready for you,
but you can appeal to their sense of humour and hold their
attention for as long as you need. In general, this week is
a right time to discard the old and embrace the new. This
week lucky numbers are: 93, 49, 57, 26, 69
Vol. XIX No. 955 |41
Deal with finances before you go out shopping midweek.
Avoid making any commitments at the moment. It is necessary
to listen carefully to other people igeas. Teamwork will lead
to a closer bond between you and your partners. Bring your
strengths to the table & hope that others will, as well. You
should avoid revealing how you feel or share your personal
secrets with other people, even close ones. This week lucky
numbers are: 40, 10, 27, 97, 64
Box
office
1
The Hobbit: The Battle of the
Five Armies
2
Night at the Museum: Secret of the
Tomb
3
Annie
4
Exodus: Gods and Kings
5
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
6
Wild
7
Big Hero 6
8
Top Five
9
PK
10
Penguins of Madagascar
LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23)
CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20)
Your smile will save the day or help you win your case.
You should use caution with finances from Wednesday on.
Avoid allowing your emotions to give you a bad attitude.
Your inner self will reflect in everything that passes
through your hands. You’ll be able to relearn an old lesson
of patience. By week’s end, you’ll be in a playful mood so
you should make plans to have some fun. This week lucky
numbers are: 69, 49, 77, 97, 79
As usual, you are the leader at work. You know what you are
doing, as the end results will reflect. Feel when to draw the line.
It will be up to you to keep things running smoothly. Your quick
wit and creative imagination will guide you smoothly if you hit
any rough spots. You know by instinct what others need to learn
in higher education. Try to create a force that stabilizes rather
than one that makes more waves. This week lucky numbers are:
46, 49, 54, 39, 41
SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22)
AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19)
Do your research and confirm facts. You should Keep your
personal life to yourself and if someone tries to pry change
the subject quickly. Partnership will flourish this week. You’re
likely to get just about anything you want. Deep issues may
cause reactions. If you see trouble coming, protect those most
in need. If you don’t know what to do by the week’s end, check
out what’s available in your community and be a participant.
This week lucky numbers are: 53, 1, 2, 92, 94
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21)
Everyone will want to be on your team and helping you succeed.
Instead of dwelling on the past, consider what still lies ahead of
you. . You will make an impression on someone who will change
your future. You may want to dream however misguided, but you
know you have to be more realistic. Don’t believe everything
you are told by someone you know little about. Don’t make
assumptions. Confirm opinions and meetings. This week lucky
numbers are: 24, 13, 39, 60, 80
Spot the differences
Can you spot the 12 differences between the two pictures?
www.thereporterethiopia.com
Solution
You should challenge yourself to look beyond the box and break
past rigid thinking. You’ll find solutions as a result. Avoid leaving
anything to chance. Get out and attend any industry or community
event that will bring you in contact with new friends, lovers or
business partners. Responsibilities may override your desire
to go out and play. This week is a right time for decisions and
consequences. By the week’s end prepare to make some changes
in your personal life. This week lucky numbers are: 2, 76, 9, 73, 90
PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20)
Deal with others individually. Seek out different types of thinking .
Someone you care about may not understand what you have to do
and why. Your home is a favorite destination for people who need
to recharge their batteries. You will have all the right moves but you
will have to watch what you say. Being tough might cost you, but it’ll
be well worth it. Actions will bring the best results. However you
should allow others to do the talking. This week lucky numbers are:
72, 64, 69, 30, 92
Solution
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
42| Vol. XIX No. 955
An overview...
Cont`d from page 40
The Egyptians thought of entertainment
too. The delegation was treated to a
traditional singing and dance show on
a floating hotel cruising on the Nile.
The fact that they are reaping economic
benefits from tourists who ride such
cruises compelled the delegation to
wonder why Ethiopia is not doing the
same.
assembly hall of the House of the
federation on December 22 and met
with Prime Minister Hailemariam
Desalegn in his office on December 23 on
improvements that need to be made for
future missions. It was also invited to a
dinner reception at the National Palace
later that evening by President Mulatu
Teshome.
Return home
The discussions held in these forums
were frank. It was agreed that despite
the shortage of time and organizational
shortcomings, the visit could be
described as being a success.
The
Ethiopian
public
diplomacy
delegation returned home on December
20 upon conclusion of its visit.
Its members arrived at Addis Ababa
having pledged not to disband as well
as set a date to evaluate the outcome
of their visit and plan future missions.
All were of the opinion that though the
mission was beset by poor coordination
as a result of inadequate preparations
that came about due to time constraints,
overall it could be judged as a success.
What outcome was obtained?
Another positive aspect of the visit is the
affirmation by the delegation’s members
that they would not go their separate
ways once home and would immediately
convene a meeting to assess together
the outcome of their visit. Accordingly,
the delegation held a meeting in the
Needless to say, it is naïve to expect
centuries-old suspicion and anxiety
to be allayed overnight. The biggest
achievement of the visit is the softening
of Egypt’s age-old hostility towards
Ethiopia and its willingness to engage in
constructive dialogue.
The public diplomacy delegation
however
acknowledged
that
the
mistaken views expressed by some
among its ranks and the general public
as well needed to be set right. That is
why it is of the belief that Ethiopians
must also abandon their mistrust and
fear of Egypt and evince solidarity with
their Egyptian compatriots.
For
their
part
the
Egyptians
are
beginning to show signs that it is in their
interest to reach a shared understanding
and take confidence building measures.
This is an encouraging start which gives
rise to optimism.
Aside from this accomplishment, the
visit created an opportunity to draw
lessons from Egypt about the benefits
of think tanks and the imperative
to translate Ethiopia’s history and
heritages into a reliable revenue stream.
The way forward
After a discussion on the way forward in
which Foreign Affairs Minister Tedros
Adhanom (PhD), the Speaker of the
House of Peoples’ Representatives H.E
Abadula Gemeda and Prime Minister
Hailemariam Desalegn, the resolution
that was adopted may be summarized as
follows:
Though the organizational structure
of the public diplomacy team would be
determined based on a study, it needs to
be set on an institutional footing;
The public diplomacy delegation’s
engagement with Egypt must not be
confined to the Nile and should include
development and other bilateral issues;
The public diplomacy mission on the
Nile ought to be extended beyond Egypt
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and bring on board the other Nile basin
countries;
A public diplomacy delegation should
be sent to Sudan in the shortest possible
time to enhance the ties and trust
between the two nations;
Ethiopia’s public diplomacy mission
must be aimed at strengthening relations
with Africa, the Middle East, the West
and East;
Side by side with engaging in public
diplomacy, it is vital to establish and
encourage independent think tanks
comprised of local talent across various
sectors whose task is to consult and
work closely with the government on
advancing the national interest.
A consensus was reached on these
matters of critical importance and
seeing to it that they are acted upon
immediately. Given that the country’s
major decision makers—the Prime
Minister, the president, House Speaker
and minister of foreign affairs—and the
general public are all of the conviction
that they should contribute their due
share in this regard, there is only one
thing and one thing alone which is
needed. Action!
Sport
Table toppers face-off in
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
Vol. XIX No. 955 |43
Ethiopian premier
league fixture &
RESULTS
EPL week nine
By Dawit Tolesa
The ninth week Ethiopian premier
league fixture will see table toppers
Sidama Coffee take on Welayta Dicha
in Debub Derby as Ethiopian Electric
Power face archrivals St. George in the
Addis Ababa derby.
Elsewhere, Ethiopia Coffee will face
Hawassa City at the Addis Ababa
Stadium while Commercial Bank of
Ethiopia take on Adama City in only two
matches that will be held in the capital
on Saturday.
A win for Dicha in the Debub Derby could
see them leapfrog Sidama to top the table
depending on results elsewhere, with
Week 9 Saturday
only one point separating the two teams.
But Sidama – current leaders with 14
points – will be expected to take home
advantage playing at Yirgalem Stadium.
A win for them also means triumph on
yet another derby rival after overcoming
Hawassa away from home in their
previous fixture.
Defending champions St. George,
currently sitting in an unfamiliar 6th
place, will hope to build on their 2-0 win
against Muger Cement last week as they
take on Ethiopian Electric Power, who
sit second edging Dicha and Ethiopia
Coffee with goal difference.
Ethiopian Electric Power could only
muster one point in their away game
against Arba Minch last week. The
Addis Ababa derby will kick off at 5 PM
on Sunday at the Addis Ababa Stadium.
Ethiopia Coffee’s fine form at the start
of the league suffered a setback last
week at the hands of Adama City in
an enthralling draw that saw six goals
hitting the back of the net. Playing at
home Coffee’s ninth week fixture against
strugglers Hawassa city will be a perfect
opportunity for them to bounce back.
A win for Coffee will add more fervor
to the title race but piles more pressure
on Hawassa who find themselves in the
relegation battle alongside Muger and
Woldiya all with five points from eight
matches.
Atletico de Kolkata clinche
Indian title in Fikru’s absence
Ethiopia Coffee vs Hawassa City
(kick off 3 PM – Addis Ababa
Stadium)
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia vs
Adama City (kick off 5:30 PM –
Addis Ababa Stadium)
Sunday
Sidama Coffee vs Wollaitta Dicha
(kick off 3:00 PM – Yirgalem
Stadium)
Ethiopian Electric Power vs St.
George (kick off 5:00 PM – Addis
Ababa Stadium)
Defense Force vs Woldiya City
(kick off 3:00 PM – Addis Ababa
Stadium)
Muger Cement vs Dedebit (kick off
3:00 PM – Assella Stadium)
Dashen Beer vs Arba Minch (kick
off 3:00 PM – Gondar Stadium)
Week 8 results
(Sunday, 21 December 2014)
Hawassa City 1- 2 SidamaCoffee
WelaytaDicha 1 – 0 Defense Force
St. George 2 – 0 Muger Cement
Dedebit 0 – 0 Commercial Bank of
Ethiopia
Woldiya City 1 – 0 Dashen Beer
Adama City 3 – 3 Ethiopia Coffee
Arba Minch 1 – 1 Ethiopian
Electric Power
“He (Fikru) has proved that he is a very
good artist too, since he faked the injury
and managed to get a penalty and also
got Bruno expelled from the game.”
Fikru Tefera with his teammates
Despite losing their star striker
FikruTefera due to a hamstring injury,
Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) became the
first ever team to win the Indian Super
League (ISL).
Atletico de Kolkata scored the only goal in
the final against Kerala Blasters FC deep
into stoppage time as Kerala were made
to rue their missed opportunities. The
substitute Mohammed Rafique’s headed
goal from a corner-kick in the fourth
minute of added time sealed the historic
win for the Kolkatans.
Fikru, Atletico de Kolkata’s top scorer,
sustained a grade one tear in his
hamstring and returned to South Africa
for further treatment as well as spend
some quality time with his wife and new
daughter.
“As a team we decided to release him
ahead of the title clash to enable his
speedy recovery,” said ATK co-owner
Utsav Parekh.
“Fikru has won millions of fans not only
for Atletico de Kolkata but across the
country through his exceptional game
and even more exciting ‘somersaults’,”
said Parekh, wishing the player speedy
recovery.
“Fikru has become a father of a baby girl
and I, on behalf of the team management,
wish him and his wife all the happiness
to enjoy the most precious bonding with
their little baby,” he added.
However, reports are suggesting that
Fikru was forced out of the squad by
head coach Antonio Lopez Habas.
According to the Times of India, Fikru
Teferra attended the semifinal clashes
between Atletico de Kolkata and FC Goa
while staying at a hotel separate from
the rest of the team.
The reason for the fallout apparently
being Fikru’s clashing with teammate
Jakub Podany after the Czech midfielder
delivered a poor pass. Afterwards in
the same game, Fikru Teferra earned a
dubious penalty-which he then scored
after refusing to allow the club’s first
choice penalty kick taker Luis Garcia
the chance to take it himself. FC Goa’s
head coach, Brazilian footballing legend
Zico, had chastised the Ethiopian for the
way he earned the penalty.
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These incidents appear to have coach
Habas seeing Fikru in a bad light,
according to the report. There is no word
on whether the club will extend Fikru
Teferra’s stay in India or whether the
former Saint George striker has played
his last game for Atletico de Kolkata.
Nonetheless, Fikru made a surprise
appearance during the celebrations
when the team returned to their home
town on Sunday. The Kolkata crowd
screamed their hearts out for the
Ethiopian at the homecoming party.
Whatever his future, Fikru Teferra,
who has gained a huge following among
Indian football fans for his extravagant
acrobatic celebrations and eye for goal,
must be pleased with himself. Fikru
also made history by scoring the first
goal of the tournament. He has won his
first trophy outside of Ethiopia and was
an unforgettable part of the inaugural
Indian Super League season.
The Reporter | Saturday | December 27, 2014
44| Vol. XIX No. 955
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