e1110 by sofoniyas -...

Price 5.00 BirrVol. XXII No. 1110 | December 16, 2017 | ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA www.thereporterethiopia.com

Fresh unrest. . .page 36

IMF chief calls . . .page 37

Forex crunch. . .page 36

By Kaleyesus Bekele

The dearth of foreign currency is compelling the Ethiopian government to delay payments that should be made to international companies in US dollars.

The Reporter has learnt that the government has been unable to settle payments to oil companies that delivered petroleum products to the country in 2015-2017 according to schedule. Vitol Oil supplied diesel and gasoline to the Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise in 2015 and 2016 after winning the international tenders put up by the enterprise in two consecutive years. Vitol Oil’s second contract was terminated in December 2016.

Reliable sources told The Reporter that EPSE now owes Vitol Oil 20 million US dollars. “Though the company’s petroleum supply contract expired on December 2016 EPSE is unable to settle the remaining 20 million dollars due to foreign currency shortage. The National Bank of Ethiopia has not been able to provide dollars to settle the payment,” sources said.

Similarly the government is unable to settle a 170 million US dollars payment that was supposed to be made to Petro China, the Chinese oil company which has been supplying petroleum products

Forex crunch compels gov. to delay payments

By Brook Abdu

Just a month into the Security Council’s landmark decision to arrest the nationwide violence affecting people across the country, fresh round of unrest is being observed in different parts of the Oromia Regional State: mainly small towns along the

Eastern Haraghe zone.

According to reports, members of the federal security apparatus entered the town of Chelenko on Sunday night to control an on-going demonstration in the locality. Eventually, the demonstration ended up in the death of more than a dozen of civilians and injuring

of the same number. The demonstration in turn was aimed at denouncing earlier killings allegedly committed by other armed forces.

On its late-night news on Monday, the Regional State’s media, the Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN), featured president of the region, Lemma

Megerssa, who condemned the killings on top of alluding that the federal forces who have acted in the Chelenko were doing so without the consent of his administration.

Lemma said further that “it is unacceptable for federal

Fresh unrest claims lives in Oromia

By Birhanu Fikade

During a historic first visit to Ethiopia by a head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), its managing director,

Christine Lagarde, stressed that there was no harm in letting the private sector operate in the economy.

At a joint press conference Friday with Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNCEA), the IMF chief said she strongly believes in the involvement of the private sector to bring about competition that would

improve productivity in the country.

“I personally believe strongly, and I think many in the IMF

IMF chief calls for opening up of economy

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www.thereporterethiopia.com

2| The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110EDITORIAL

Published weekly by Media & Communications Center

Address: Bole Sub City, Kebele 03, H. No. 2347

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

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Website: www.thereporterethiopia.com

General Manager Amare Aregawi Managing EditorBruh YihunbelayEditor-in-Chief Asrat Seyoum

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

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EditorsKaleyesus Bekele

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Reporter

Dawit Tolesa

Columnists

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Tsion Taye

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Yibekal Getahun

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Endalkachew Yimam

The universities of Ethiopia have earned the moniker “little Ethiopia” on account of the fact that they are populated by students from every corner of the country. They have always been regarded as platforms for a civilized dialogue, not as combat zones where students engage in verbal and physical skirmishes. The students have always epitomized unity and tolerance for ethnic, religious and ideological differences. Ever since the establishment of the first university almost seven decades ago students have shown a united front in articulating opposition to successive governments. While universities admittedly experienced ethnic conflicts in the past 26 years, they were intermittent and limited in scope. Nowadays, though, even simple disagreements between individual students tend to escalate into violent ethnic conflicts.

Frankly speaking it’s perplexing and indeed quite an embarrassment for a nation whose patriotic citizens paid heroic sacrifices to defend its sovereignty for centuries now witness fatal ethnic clashes between students barely out of their teens. It is primarily up to the government to nip this dangerous trend in the bud through a variety of preemptive measures including organizing national consultative forums. Parents also need to ask themselves what they are teaching their children and if they are steeping them in morals. Universities are supposed to be places where knowledge is gained, where critical debates are held, and where diverse opinions are freely expressed with no fear of reprisal. It’s therefore disappointing to see these trailblazers of modernity turn into warzones.

The ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) claims that a new Ethiopia is being built on the back of the system of federalism that is being implemented in the country under its vanguard. It is now 23 years since Ethiopia’s particular brand of federalism came into force with the adoption of the constitution. The EPRDF is fond of saying that Ethiopia is inhabited by an incredible kaleidoscope of ethnic

groups. And it frequently declares that the motto “unity in diversity, diversity in unity” encapsulates Ethiopians’ aspirations. But to what extent do the youth who were born during the EPRDF’s rule share this aspiration? How successful were the endeavors to build a multi-ethnic unity in cognizance of the fact that diversity is beauty? Who is to blame when the EPRDF-era generation, which grew up on a constant diet of rhetoric espousing division instead of unity, is goaded into violence by tribalists while pursuing university education? Shouldn’t something practical be done when tribalism is eclipsing the ideals that Ethiopianness represents? The senseless bloodletting that has been occurring in Ethiopia stands in stark contrast to the solidarity and bravery Ethiopians have displayed throughout their history. History shall blame the generation which produced the youth of today and the government for the shocking events

that have transpired in universities.

The government’s primary obligation is to safeguard the security and wellbeing of the public. Failure to duly discharge this responsibility was bound to lead to the kind of deadly conflicts that have beleaguered higher learning institutions. The EPRDF and the government it heads should be ashamed by this dereliction of duty as it has exacerbated the fever pitch state of Ethiopian politics for the past three years. Furthermore, the violence has not only disrupted the teaching-learning process, but also subjected the parents of students to anxiety. Unless the government attaches the utmost importance to the crisis and act swiftly in concert with the relevant stakeholders to address it before it gets out of hand the consequences will be dire.

One of the major factors fueling the political volatility in Ethiopia is the irresponsible use of social

media. Radical elements bent on sowing instability are exploiting social media as an instrument to spread emotive rhetoric aimed at instigating the youth to launch attacks against the youth of other ethnic groups. They make use of inflammatory poems and monologues, fake news as well as doctored pictures and video footages to perpetrate wicked deeds that in no way symbolize the civility and farsightedness characterizing Ethiopians. It is incumbent on all citizens to dissuade these elements from committing heinous acts that history shall judge harshly. Otherwise, their name will live in infamy as that of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini for the destruction they wrought on the world as the architects of Nazism and Fascism.

As we have said time and again patriotism, solidarity, and mutual tolerance and respect are traits which define the proud people of Ethiopia. They are protective of a compatriot who is not native to the community clash whenever he or she clashes with a native. This is precisely what is being witnessed presently in different parts of the country. Unfortunately, forces with sinister motives are taking what should be a peaceful political struggle into an unwanted direction by inciting the youth to engage in ethnic violence. While the government is primarily responsible to ease the tension gripping Ethiopia from developing into a tinderbox that suddenly ignites, all citizen who feel they are invested in the fate of Ethiopia are expected to contribute their share. The surest way to put a decisive end to the needless violence rocking the nation and avert its recurrence is to obey and enforce the basic liberties enshrined in the constitution and the rule of law, promptly deal with violations of human and democratic rights, and ensure the prevalence of social justice. It’s then that universities become centers of knowledge and enquiry, not crucibles of ethnic conflicts and combat zones.

Universities must not become combat zones!


The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |3HEADLINES


16|

The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110

LIVING AND THE ARTS

Reviewed by Yared Haile-Meskel

History books are not easy to read; even

when you are reading one for the first

time. And while leafing through the

pages you will feel a sense of déjà vu like

you have already read part of the book

somewhere else which would make you

lose interest. Of course, historical facts

often remain the same but it can be

highlighted, distorted, or interpreted

from different angles to fit one’s own

personal views or political agenda. As a

result you either agree to flick through

the pages or continue to argue with the

book. This makes reading history books

challenging.

However, reading “Mussolini in

Ethiopia 1919-1935 The Origins of Fascist

Italy’s African War” by Robert Mallett,

2015, Cambridge University Press, was

gratifying to say the least.

While reading the book, two important

historical facts prompted me to review

it. The first was the role of France in pre-

invasion of Ethiopia and the second is the

British government’s attempt to bribe

Benito Mussolini to stop the invasion of

Ethiopia. I felt these historical facts are

not widely known.

Additionally, the book is different for

the following reasons:

It is easy to read with excellent flow.

It feels like reading a novel, with lot of

plots, conspiracies, betrayals, bravados,

prejudice, military planning and

political intrigues.

The book has new facts and quotations

that you do not find in most books to

keep you interested.

Most historical books about the Second

Italo-Ethiopian War are from the

perspective of the theatre of war and

maybe a few more pages about the failure

of the League of Nations, but this book is

different because it was written based on

primarily data such as communication,

memos, diaries, speeches and meetings

between Mussolini and his generals,

Mussolini and France’s Foreign and

Prime Minster Pierre Laval , Mussolini

and Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and the

British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden,

and others players in Europe in pre-

invasion of Ethiopia.

Mussolini in Ethiopia

1919-1935 The Origins of Fascist Italy’s African War

Robert Mallett, 2015

Cambridge University Press

238 Pages

Amazon: USD 77:99

16|LIVING AND THE


14|


THE RISING FILMMAKER

Samuel GetachewTHE RISING FILMMAKER

INTERVIEW

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14|INTERVIEW


12|


IN-DEPTH

Barre’s administration was characterized

by discrimination, violence and a full-

blown dictatorship; and hence the

emergence of rebel-armed groups since

the 1980s challenged his rule inside and

outside of Somalia. Eventually, when

Barre was ousted in 1991, there was a high

degree of fragmentation among the armed

forces of Somalia with no dominant group

emerging to claim the leadership position

and exercising authority over the whole

of Somalia. Consequently, in the last three

decades, chaos, instability, famine and

different types of humanitarian crises

has reigned in Somalia without a central

authority tackling these severe issues.

By the early 1990s, government institutions

had already lost their power and control

over the general public of Somalia. The

national army was disintegrated into

various opposing factions, right after the

demise of the government. After waging

one last intense fighting with insurgents,

Barre fled the capital, Mogadishu, in 1991

marking the collapse of a centralized

authority in Somalia. Compounding its

challenges, the country found itself in a

full-fledged civil war, widespread famine,

displacements and the emergence of

violent atrocities, in the absence of the

national defense and police forces. In their

place, civilian local militia forces were

instituted quickly to defend and protect

specific clan interests.

Following the collapse of the central

government, the country became the

hot bed for different extremist groups.

Thus far, the international community

has exerted different kinds of efforts to

restore peace, security and stability in the

country; however, many of these efforts

could not manage to bring any lasting

peace for Somalia. Some 27 years on,

Somalia is still fighting to strengthen the

power of the central government over the

numerous clan interests and leaders.

The efforts of the international community

seem to have delivered some tangible

results in recent years in terms of the

establishment of the Federal Government

of Somalia (FGS) in 2012. The FGS was

Nation building in

Somalia: an uphill battle

With vast and beautiful coastlines and a host of natural resources including oil, Somalia was once a thriving young

nation that gained independence from colonial Italy. It went steady for about 30 years before the fateful ousting of its

.

Somalia has gone through an

unprecedented protracted conflict since

1991. Today, it is one of the few territories

in the world without a fully functioning

government structure in place. Somalia

gained its independence from colonial

Italy in 1960 under the leadership of a

civilian administration. Though the

leadership of the first and the second

presidents, Adan Abdulle Osman and

Abdilrashid Ali Shama’arke, respectively,

was not without shortcomings, it was the

reign of Mohammed Siad Barre (Gen.),

according to scholars and commentators,

which planted the seeds for the current

unending conflict and instability in the

country.

Though the federal government is trying its best to reconstruct, and ensure peace and stability in the

country, it looks like it has a long way ahead to realize the dream. The country is still struggling with the

extremist group Al-Shabaab.


24|


PROFILE

By Samuel Getachew

Perhaps associated with “white

guilt”, legacy of colonization, or

wanting to part ways with the

old-fashioned way of dealing

with the African society,

President Emmanuel Macron

is charting a new course with

the African continent. Not

even 40, half-a-decade younger

than Canada’s Justin Trudeau,

who became the darling of aid

advocates with his passion of

gender parity, in the midst of a

political honeymoon that is at

its end at home, Macron seems

determined not to be a footnote

of history abroad.

“The future of the world will

largely be played out in Africa,”

he said. “Africa is not only

the continent of crises and

migrations; it’s a continent of

the future”.

His early statement has been

worrying at best but he seems

to be aiming for an encore

performance. In Hamburg,

Germany, where German’s

“Marshall Plan for Africa”

was being discussed, he linked

Africa’s complex issues in

Donald Trump-like one-liner

linking it to lack of civilization.

Most recently, in Accra, Ghana,

he stood next to President Nana

Akufo-Addo, being lectured by

an uncle-like figure that the old

French thinking specifically

when it came to Africa was

arrogant and outdated.

He looked nervous and unsure

of how to react as President

Addo made way for him to the

lunch table.

Less than a year at the helm

of French politics which he

ascended unexpectedly as

corruption ended the career

of a preferred candidate,

the president is trying to

climb on top of his missteps,

shortcomings and have a

voice in Africa. In August,

he established an advisory

body on Africa to help him

shape his African policy and

asked the likes of an African

national football team Capitan,

entrepreneurs and African

Development Bank’s senior

executive to join in its ranks.

Earlier this week, Diane Binder,

the member of the advisory

committee, visited Addis Ababa

on a personal visit and the

local French Embassy invited

a number of journalists to

have an audience with her. She

has a humbling CV, including

being a Deputy Director of the

International Development

for the Suez Group in Africa,

a decade and a half working

in emerging countries, years

working with the European

Investment Bank, the Ministry

of Foreign Affairs, a graduate

degree from the prestigious

Georgetown University, the

alma mater of Bill Clinton. The

list was endless.

“Diane Binder has been

appointed to shed light on

the President on the issues

regarding the relationship

between France and Africa

in order to guide his political

orientations but also to

share with the President the

perception of France and its

policy in Africa by the Africans

themselves, especially the

younger generations”, the

invitation read. “Diane Binder

is putting her expertise and

experiences at the service of

both continents for stronger

and more balanced relations”.

In a quiet room on top of a

boutique hotel over a coffee

that was out of flavor, Diane

opened up on what the mission

of the council is and how they

intend to help the president’s

engagement with the continent.

The group is said to meet with

him regularly and joined him

when he visited a number of

West African nations as he gave

Valedictorian like speeches.

“He belongs to a generation that

does not know colonization,”

she said. “What may have

happened, happened in the past,

the president wants to chart a

new course”.

She listed a long list of vision

of the president, including

advocating a sharp increase of

foreign aid with a target of 0.55

of the National GDP of France

and make it more inclusive

and efficient, engage civic

organizations, fight against

human trafficking in nations

such as Libya, fight terrorism,

open up opportunities

for African youth, offer

scholarships for African

students and go as far as open

a French University campuses

within the continent, advocate

for better health by injecting

private investment, promote

the idea of sustainable cities,

promote African athletes in

France and give African culture

the support it needs to flourish.

“You can’t always get back to the

past to explain the present and

think about the future you want

to build,” she said. “There have

been mistakes made in the past,

which has been acknowledged

by the French president. That

should not prevent us from

moving forward together and

building new partnership

together,” she concluded.

Chartering a

New Course

for France

in Africa

ChNefoffffff rin

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INSI

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By Yonas Abiye

With a final 10-day deadline lapsing Wednesday, the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) has started to confiscate 800 to 1,000 unclaimed cargo containers abandoned at dry ports, The Reporter has learnt.

Modjo Dry Port General Manager Addis Ayele said that only few cargo owners were able to act in a timely fashion while most others gave no valid reason for extension of the deadline.

Shortage of finance as well as issues with bill of lading have been cited as the major factors for abandoning cargo.

A bill of lading is a legal document between the shipper of goods and the carrier detailing the type, quantity and destination of the goods being carried. The bill of lading also serves as a receipt of shipment when the goods are delivered at a predetermined destination.

“For those who provided valid reasons as it relates to a bill of lading, it is understandable that the delay is not because of their failure,” he told The

Reporter, adding that “but some of them sought extension for financial reasons, which we never accept at all.”

According to Addis, some 8,100 cargo containers currently remain unclaimed at dry ports, of which more than half would be auctioned off by ERCA soon.

Most of the cargo containers were imported by private entities while others belong to public enterprises.

ERCA would confiscate goods belonging to private firms while offering to negotiate with importers of public property.

Abandoned cargo at dry

By Neamin Ashenafi

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) earlier this week passed verdict over disagreement among leadership of the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), reaffirming that Chane Kebede (PhD) is the legitimate president of the party, board head of public relations, Tesfalem Abay, told The Reporter.

The board made the decision because the claim to party presidency by Adane Tadesse would not be upheld, as attendance at his election did not

constitute quorum as per the bylaws of the party, Tesfalem added.

“The group headed by Adane submitted a letter to the board that he is elected president of the party and attached the signature of some 14 members of the national council. However, two members that voted to elect him president are not legitimate voters, since one is a member of the audit and inspection committee and the name of the other is not on the list of members of the national council already submitted to the board previously,” Tesfalemm highlighted. Hence, the board does not recognize

Adane Tadesse as president of the party and the legitimate president of the party is Chane Kebede (PhD), the board decided.

A serious disagreement surfaced among party leadership some two weeks ago in connection with the way the party was represented at the ongoing opposition political parties’ negotiation forum with the ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

NEBE rules on EDP leadership dispute

NEBE rules on. . .page 19 Gov’t to deploy . .page 19

Gov’t to deploy security forces at universitiesBy Brook Abdu and Zemenu Tenagne

The government has decided to deploy federal security forces at universities across the country, announced Samuel Kifle (PhD), state minister of education. As universities all over the country are under the jurisdiction of the federal government, it is possible that the federal government deploy its forces to ensure security at these institutions, he told the press yesterday.

But, some fear that the presence of federal forces at university premises might frustrate students and distract them.

Samuel, who briefed the media in his office located on Niger Street, indicated that the situation at institutions of higher learning has created a security threat to students, and controlling it has become beyond the capacity of campus security forces. He also expressed condolences to the families and friends of victims of violence and the wider academic community.

Apart from the deployment of security forces at universities, federal government officials have also been sent to 20 universities to discuss with members of the university community, especially students. The state minister said that there would be discussions in the coming days.

The discussion agenda will be security issues that harm the students, inter-student relations and resolving differences through dialogue, according to the state minister.

The objectives of the discussions will be getting the students out of the dark as regards the conflicts, ensure the continuation of the halted teaching and learning process and setting mechanisms by which the missed times will be compensated though tutorials, he added.

Although Samuel refrained from mentioning the specific universities where the four students he said were killed, the head of the Amhara Regional State’s Communications Office, Nigusu Tilahun, on his Facebook account, last week confirmed the death of an Amhara student at Adigrat University.


4| The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110

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Heineken Breweries S.C would like to invite potential bidders for the barely residue sales.Therefore, we would like bidders to submit their sealed bid as per the above table and the requirement set out hereunder.Bid Opening Date: December 13, 2017Bid Closing Date: December 27, 2017• Bidders shall submit their bid in a sealed envelope

along with 2% bid bond guarantee in the form of CPO or unconditional bank guarantee.

• Bidders shall submit renewed licenses, TIN number and VAT registration if applicable;

• Bidders might check the barely residues prior to submitting their offer;

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The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |5

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HEADLINES

By Kaleyesus Bekele

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) lauded Ethiopian Airlines for transforming its air cargo transport business.

At the IATA annual cargo media day held on December 5 in Geneva, Switzerland executives of the association said that Ethiopian has made a huge investment on new cargo terminal and acquiring modern cargo aircraft. Celine Hourcade, IATA head of cargo transformation, said that Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services has invested heavily in transforming its cargo infrastructure. Hourcade noted that Ethiopian Cargo has embraced e-freight and e-AWB (Airway Bill).

With eight dedicated cargo aircraft-six B777-200F and two B757-200F- and a daily up lift capacity of 8,672 tons Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services is the largest cargo operator in Africa. The fastest growing airline in Africa last month announced that it has placed a firm order for four Boeing B777 freighter aircraft at the Dubai Airshow. With the capacity to uplift 100 tons of cargo at a time the B777F is the world’s largest and longest-range twin engine cargo jet. The deal is valued at USD 1.3 billion at list prices.

Last June Ethiopian inaugurated a state

of the art cargo terminal built at its main hub Addis Ababa at a cost of 150 million USD.

Built on 150,000 sq. m of land the new cargo terminal has the capacity to handle 600,000 tons of cargo per annum. The

existing cargo terminal has the capacity to handle 350,000 tons of cargo yearly. The cargo terminal now has the capacity to accommodate close to one million tons of freight.

The new Cargo Terminal includes

facilities such as Dry Cargo Terminal Warehouse, Perishable Cargo Terminal with Cool Chain Storage, fully automated with latest technology ETV (Elevating Transport Vehicle), G+2 office building, apron area which accommodates 5 additional big freighter aircraft, sufficient truck parking apron as well as employees canteen and wash rooms. The new Cargo Terminal is also fitted with different climate chambers for storage and handling of temperature sensitive products such as fresh agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, and life Science Products.

A case study undertaken by IATA indicated that Ethiopia has dramatically moved up the global value chain by diversifying from exporting raw cotton to apparel and garments. “Between 2010-2015 Ethiopia’s textile and clothing industry grew 51 percent, supported by the country’s strong air cargo services linking Ethiopian products with international buyers rapidly and reliably,” the study said. Adding that customs modernization and embracing e-cargo adoption has helped facilitate the significant growth.

Fistum Abadi, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services Managing Director, told The Reporter that his company is now

IATA lauds Ethiopian air cargo business transformation

IATA lauds Ethiopian. . .page 19

INVITATION FOR THE EXPRESSION OF INTEREST“Assessment of Landscape Transformation and its Implication in BenishangulGumuz Regional Sate”

“Assessment of Landscape Transformation and its Implication in

Further information:

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stated in The Expressing of Interest (EoI), should they want to be

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point.ATel: +251-115-180201/02/03Addis Ababa, Kazanchis, Behind Intercontinental Hotel,

:Monday, 29th of December 2017 at 16:00h


6| The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110HEADLINES

.... NEWS IN BRIEFEthiopia to unleash livestock,

The World Bank on Monday approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit of USD 170 million to boost the contribution of the livestock and fisheries sectors to Ethiopia’s economy.

“The Livestock and Fisheries Sector Development Project will help 1.2 million farm households who largely depend on livestock-keeping and fishing, with the skills and tools they need to considerably increase the volume and quality of their produce, which means that they will earn substantially more,” said Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Turk further said that “For instance, dairy subsistence farmers could increase their milk production by 1.5 time and dairy cooperatives triple the volume of milk they collect and sale, while more specialized farmers could double daily egg production and cultivate five times more fish,”

According to the Bank, by ensuring that disadvantaged groups such as women and unemployed youth are included, the project will provide them with economic opportunities that will significantly improve their livelihoods.

(Press Release)

Vancouver-based miner to expand operations in EthiopiaVancouver-based East Africa Metals submitted two mining license applications for

the company’s Da Tambuk and Mato Bula Gold deposits at its 100 percent owned

Adyabo Project, located in the Tigray Regional State, 600 km in north Ethiopia.

In a press release, East Africa’s CEO, Andrew Lee Smith, said on Wednesday

following the Ethiopian government’s recent approval of the license for the nearby

Terakimti Oxide Gold Project, the company realized that holding two additional

deposits within a 20-kilometre footprint in an area of well-developed air, road, and

power infrastructure offered “exceptional potential for project development.”

Mineral resources at Da Tambuk have been defined as 775,000 tons at 4.51 grams

per ton gold and 2.4 grams per ton silver, containing 112,000 ounces of gold and

59,000 ounces of silver, to a drilled depth of 200 meters. Mineralization occurs in

two sub-parallel zones with a strike length of 650 meters in a northeast-southwest

direction, a vertical extent of 200 meters and horizontal widths up to 50 meters.

(Press Release)

By Birhanu Fikade

Zelalem Muluken (PhD) has entered the local beverage industry by investing in a 200-million-birr factory in Sendafa, a town some 30km north of Addis Ababa.

The plant will use natural concentrates from the puree of fruits and herbs to mass-produce rare soft drinks in Ethiopia, and will have the capacity to fill and pack 16,000 bottles per hour (or 700,000 hectoliters per year) with various types of soft drinks, juices, carbonated water and the like.

According to Zelaem, the plant is complete with state-of-the-art machinery and 3-block German technologies – a rarity in Africa and a first in Ethiopia.

Addis Alem Wale, quality control and food safety manager, and Elias Hailu (Eng.), supply chain manager with Zebym PLC, explained how the plant operates from input of raw materials to finished products, with zero human interference. The machines have features of blow molding, capping, labeling, checkmating and full bottle inspection procedures concurrently.

The plant at present employs 50

permanent and 20 temporary workers,

and is set to hire 100 more as the business

expands, Zelalem said.

With his team of ex-Meta Brewery

personnel, Zelalem is certain that he

would make a breakthrough in the soft

drink industry with natural products.

Zelalem said his factory has already packed and distributed a uniquely

New beverage plant to brew rare soft drinks

New beverage ... page 19

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By Dawit Endeshaw

As Somaliland inaugurates its new president, DP World, leading logistic and maritime transport company, is to set to commence with the first phase of the Berbera Port expansion project early next year, The Reporter learnt.

We are now finalizing the bidding process for the construction work and will soon issue official notice to winner, Supachai Wattanaveerachai, CEO of DP World Berbera project, told The Reporter.

The new quay will rest on 400 meters which is expected to increase the capacity of the port significantly.

It is to be recalled that in May 2016, DP World signed an agreement with Somaliland government to manage the Berbera Port facility. The two came to

terms in such a way that DP World is to manage the port facility under a 30-year contract and co-invest in the 442

million dollars total outlay.

The agreement was signed by Somaliland’s foreign minister, Saad Ali Shire (PhD), and Sultan Ahmed Bin Suleiyman, CEO for DP World.

Following the agreement, it was announced that Ethiopia would have a 19 percent stake in the port.

The port will be a good option for Ethiopia’s cargo (import/export), said Abdirhman Ahmed (Capt.), harbor master at Berbera Port Authority.

Currently, 98 percent of Ethiopia’s cargo load is catered for by Djibouti Port while the rest two percent is shipped through Berbera. Still, Ethiopia’s cargo via Berbera Port is largely composed of food aid.

Berbera to vie for Ethiopia’s cargo business

Berbera to vie. . .page 19


The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |7HEADLINES

By Kaleyesus Bekele

The Ethiopian Electric Power is going to sign contract agreements with independent power producers for the construction of geothermal power plants in Corbetti and Tulu Moye localities in the Oromia Regional State.

The agreement will be signed on December 19 at Sheraton Addis. Ethiopian Electric Power will sign the contract agreements with Corbetti Geothermal which will develop a 500WM geothermal power plant in Corbetti locality, East Arsi zone, near Shashemene town. The total cost of the project is estimated at two billion dollars. The project implementation agreement was supposed to be signed in August 2016 but delayed due to various reasons.

Reykjavik Geothermal (RG), an Icelandic company specialized in geothermal energy development projects, signed a framework agreement “called Heads of Terms” with the then Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation in October 2013 that enables it to develop 1000 MW of electricity from geothermal energy sources in Corbetti, Tulu Moye and Abaya localities in East Arsi Zone. Reykjavik Geothermal with its local partner Rift Valley Geothermal established Corbetti Geothermal Plc and brought along two major investors – Berkley Energy and Iceland Drilling – who have shown a keen interest to invest on the geothermal development project.

RG split the 1000 MW geothermal development project into two phases – the 500MW Corbetti project and the 500MW Tulu Moye and Abaya project – each costing two billion dollars. Corbetti Geothermal Plc, a special purpose vehicle company established by RG in Ethiopia, has been working on the Corbetti geothermal development project located 270 km south – east of Addis Ababa in East Arsi Zone, Shalla Woreda, Corbetti Kebele. RG owns a 28.5 percent stake on Corbetti Geothermal

Plc, Berkley Energy 53.5 percent and Iceland Drilling 18 percent. Corbetti Geothermal secured funding from major international financiers, including African Development Bank and European Investment Bank. Many other public and private investors from the US, the UK and other European countries are behind the Corbetti geothermal

project. The project is also backed by the US Power Africa Initiative.

After a long negotiation Corbetti Geothermal and the EEP signed a conditional power purchasing agreement in July 2015 during former US president Barack Obama visit to Addis Ababa. The company agreed to build the geothermal power plant and sell electric

power for 7.53 US cents per KWh for the national grid.

The Ethiopian Electric Power will also sign the second agreement for Tulu Moye geothermal power plant project on Tuesday with RG. RG is the first independent power producer company to sign power purchasing agreement with Ethiopian government.

Power co. to sign agreements for Corbetti, Tulu Moye geothermal projects

By Dawit Endashaw

As Somaliland’s fifth President was sworn in to power, the international community applauded the democratic elections and peaceful transition of power in the self-declared sovereign country of Somaliland, this week.

During the presidential inauguration ceremony at the National Palace, dignitaries from the European Union (EU) and other European countries along with leaders from neighboring countries such as Ethiopia attended the event and applauded Somaliland for its peaceful transition of power. Held in the early morning of December 13, 2017, the inauguration ceremony also attracted thousands of Somalilanders from all walks of life.

“We congratulate Somaliland for conducting a peaceful, democratic and inclusive election,” EU Ambassador to Somali Veronique Lorenzo said.

The presidential election, which is the third of its kind in the self-proclaimed Somaliland since 2003, brought Muse Bihi Abdi to power, who replaced Mohamed Silaanyo. Both men were (the incumbent and the president elect) were from Kulimye, a major political party in Somaliland.

Somaliland claimed its independence in 1991 from the then Somali Republic.

The 69 year old president from Isaaq clan is expected to lead his country to more economic growth and political inclusiveness.

Muse Bahi, before reaching to such heights, was a commanding officer for the Somali National Movement, a rebel groups during the war to overthrow President Siad Barre in the 1980s. During such crucial time, Ethiopia under the Derg regime used to support the rebel group as a way of weakening the Barre government. Few historical accounts also show that Barre’s government was supporting and assisting the then rebel fighters in Ethiopia.

Bahi was also an interior minister, representing his party Kulmiye in the 1990s. The ruling party Kulmiye was praised for archiving stability and economic growth. Yet, it was also under the scrutiny by commentators of a widespread Corruption as well as for running clan politics.

Since 2017, there was a fighting with Khaatumo separatist, near the Ethiopian border.

He is now the fifth president of the country, (with the population

estimated to be no less than 3.5 million where 70 percent is under 30 years of age.

“You have healing to do,” Ambassador Lorenzo said, while speaking at the inauguration.

Dragging Somaliland out of the economic depreciation, poverty and security problems as well as, getting recognition from the international community will be the next assignments of Abdi.

Following the direct election, Somaliland is expected to hold its parliamentary election in 2019. As far as the political make up is concerned, the Parliament has 82 seats and there is also called house of elders also known as Guurt.

Currently, the economy of Somaliland is highly dependent on livestock export which makes up 30 percent of the GDP. Diaspora funds and insignificant contribution from the Port of Berbera are also – to a small extent – part of the macro-economy of the country. In addition, charity from Gulf countries, particularly Kuwait and Turkey, is evident.

The country exports livestock, hides, and fishes to Gulf States.

Somaliland’s democracy put to test, passes

AU, UN reiterate commitment to

based on int'l lawThe African Union (AU) on Tuesday expressed its commitment to resolve the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict based on the international law.

Addressing the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine people today, AU Chairperson Moussa Faki said through his representative the African Union follows closely the developments in Palestine and the Middle East Region.

It has consistently expressed concern about the consequences of unilateral policies and actions and provocations, among others, he pointed out.

The Chairperson stressed that “the African Union continues to call on the international community to assume its responsibility vis-à-vis the question of Palestine and the implementation of UN resolution adopted from 1948 to date to compel Israel comply with the international law.”

The Union reiterated its pledge to support all efforts aimed at achieving a final solution for the Palestine-Israel conflict based on international legitimacy and rejects any incomplete and fragmented solutions, Faki further noted.

Representative of UN Secretary-General António Guterres also expressed readiness to work with all stakeholders for a two state solution.

(ENA)

Agency seeks to mobilize resources for TVET

Technical and Vocational Education institutions face resource constraints and requires international cooperation besides other cost effective strategies and income generation mechanisms, disclosed Federal Technical and Vocational Education and Training Agency (TVET) on Tuesday.

TVET Agency Public Relation Officer Solomon Haile said, in collaboration with other organizations, seeks to raise national consensus and mobilize stakeholders to contribute technical and financial support to the development of TVET.

TVET sector, which already operates 1357 institutions educating 1.5 million trainees nationwide requires enormous resource to create competent and self-reliant citizens for both public and private employments, he noted.

According to Solomon, the implementation of TVET strategy and strategic pillars of TVET system needs daunting task of accomplishing challenging undertakings besides the huge resource it demands to operate the institutions.

He further noted that TVET development is very much aligned with international partnership and emulation of best experience. Mutual understanding will also be created and collaboration for improved technical and vocational education and training outcomes as well as address major challenges will also be part of the strategy.

(The Ethiopian Herald)



Shipping seeks greenlight to outsource multimodal service

HEADLINES

By Dawit Endeshaw

Dashen Bank SC, one of the oldest private banks in Ethiopia, recorded a marginal increase in profit during the 2016/17 report period, while it’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) continues to decline.

During the period in question, Dashen bagged a profit after tax of 756 million birr registering a four percent increase compared to last year’s figures. At the same time, the bank kept up with the industry trend of declining EPS: offering a return of 392 birr to its shareholders down from 487 birr EPS last report period.

It is to be remembered that, during the 2016/17 reporting year, the Bank has registered one percent decrease in its net profit level, while its shareholder return declined by a bigger magnitude19 percent.

The decline in EPS came after a significant expansion in the bank’s paid-up capital. In this regard, the Bank has improved its paid up capital by 29 percent to 1.92 billion birr.

This makes Dashen one of the few private banks in Ethiopia which is getting close to fulfill the two billion birr required minimum paid-up capital. According to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), by 2020, all private banks in Ethiopia are expected to meet the threshold paid up capital level of two billion birr.

So far private banks such as Awash and Wegagen manage to surpass the threshold.

Income statement of the Bank also indicated that Dashen has managed to bag a total income of 3.4 billion birr in the report period, posting 681.8 million birr increase from its preceding year. A big chunk of the interest income of the Bank is generated from loans and advances which stood at 1.52 billion birr. Over this particular year, the Bank’s total loans and advances was

Dashen cuts shareholders’ return by 20 percent

By Yohannes Anberbir

In a bid to alleviate cargo congestion at the Port of Djibouti and offer efficient transport services for imported goods, the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistic Services Enterprise (ESLSE) is awaiting decision by the Ministry of Transport to outsource its services to private transporters under a multi-modal scheme.

The new proposal has come after a joint study commissioned by the logistic enterprise along with the Ethiopian Maritime Affairs Authority with a view

to clearing container cargos from the port timely and efficiently. They also agreed to transport items from the port via a multimodal system in addition to the ones being transported in the form of cargo containers.

However, according to sources, greenlight by the Ministry of Transport should be obtained for the private sector to do business with ESLSE.

The sources also confirmed that once the ministry approves the new proposal, imported items, particularly vehicles, reinforcement bars, capital project inputs (machineries), would be

transported via a multi-modal scheme.

Multimodal transport service essentially is a door-to-door cargo service with SAD (single administrative document) from the point of origin to the point of destination. In ESLSE’s case, cargo containers are shipped all the way from the Port of Djibouti to Modjo Dry Port as well as other inland ports. Therefore, ESLSE as an official multimodal transport operator (MTO), takes all possible care to the cargo under its custody, as of the time shipment is confirmed and ordered.Dashen cuts’. . .page 19

By Samuel Getachew

At the opening of a photo exhibition at the Addis Ababa Museum, an initiative of the Swedish Embassy in the capital, its ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union, Torbjörn Pettersson, announced IKEA, a Swedish furniture giant; the top furniture seller in the world is “seriously” considering sourcing from Ethiopia.

“They see good prospects in Ethiopia,” he told The Reporter. “I can only nudge them. They work in a global market but they see Ethiopia as their absolute most interesting African market”.

The company was founded in 1943 and sold €36.4 billion worth of goods last year. It is known to sell ready-to-assemble easy, affordable products. The company uses the world’s 1 percent commercial wood products making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector. It currently has almost 200,000 employees spread around the world, especially throughout Europe and North America.

While the company does not have any stores within the continent, it has announced its partnership with emerging African designers and have their products featured in some of its stores. “The creative explosion which

is taking place in several cities around Africa right now is something IKEA is curious about,” the company announced in March.

Design Indaba of South Africa, others from Kenya, Senegal, Egypt, Angola and others were invited to collaborate with the company and have some of the products featured in many of its stores beginning in 2019. The company is also known to help during disasters with the donation of ready-to-assemble shelters

and assists Syrian refugees by marketing their products in some of its stores.

Meanwhile, the ambassador is set to celebrate Yetnebersh Nigussie’s, a well-known Ethiopian lawyer on being a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award at a reception at his residence on Tuesday. The award widely known as the “alternative Nobel Prize”, she was chosen for “offering visionary and exemplary solutions to the root causes of global problems.”

IKEA eyes Ethiopian market for sourcing



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HEADLINES

By Birhanu Fikade

In an effort to provide potable water to residents of medium and small towns, the Water Resources Development Fund (WRDF) has extended financing to the tune of 200 million birr to support potable water projects in five towns of Oromia, Tigray and the Southern Regional States.

On the basis of the funding program to which regions contribute a minimum share, WRDF has provided the funds through the European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Italian Development Agency (AICS).

WRDF Director General Wanna Wake noted that so far 26 towns have completed project appraisal status. Of these, only four were found not to be eligible to receive financing, he said. So far, 12 towns out of the 22 have received the green light, and project implementation appraisals are evolving. Accordingly, five towns have inked deals with WDRF to receive funding and are expected to develop potable water projects within one year.

Back in May, WRDF received an additional funding of 81.4 million euros from the European Investment Bank and the French and Italian development agencies to be invested in rural small-scale water projects across a number of small towns in Oromia and Southern Regional State. At the time, four towns in Oromia and the Southern Regional State were able to ink a 300-million-birr special loan agreement. EIB, AFD and AICS have each contributed 41.9

million, 21 million and 18.5 million euros, respectively. EIB and the two agencies have joined hands to further assist 43 rural towns, which have been shortlisted from 90 potential contenders.

Having a 20-year gestation period, the loan facility and the projects to be financed in the four towns will be able to benefit some 300,000 people.

Back in February 2017, eight towns from Oromia, Tigray and the Southern

Regional State were selected to receive a total of 188 million birr from WRDF as part of the 75 million euros made available to WRDF by the three funding agencies. This money was earmarked to be disbursed to 35 rural towns, out of which eight have already benefited from the fund.

Established 15 years ago, WRDF has so far financed some 60 projects worth some six billion birr in Ethiopia.

Fund avails 200 mln for potable water projects

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10| The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110HEADLINES

By Yonas Abiye

Swiss food and beverage giant Nestlé, which last year acquired Abyssinia Spring Water, started Wednesday providing potable water to some 5,000 residents in the Sululta area of Oromia Regional State. It is part of Nestlé’s corporate social responsibility scheme, dubbed Nestlé Waters Creating Shared Value (CSV).

In attendance at the inauguration of the water point were senior company staff and prominent guests, including Athlete Haile Gebresilassie and Mayor of Sululta Muna Muhammed.

According to Nestlé officials, by installing the potable water faucet, the company was making good on the pledge it made upon taking over the business from Abyssinia Spring Water.

On the same occasion, the company also officially launched its portion of the WASH Project which was being implemented for the last two years in partnership with the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) that includes water well maintenance and upgrading under the municipality of the town.

Nestlé has already allocated over 191,147 Swiss Francs for the project. According to Nestlé Water Ethiopia (NWE) CSV Manager Betty Hailu, the project is part of Nestlé’s social commitment that it had agreed earlier on to implement

“all measures necessary to ensure sustainable management of the water resources in close cooperation with the local community, and with the goal of creating shared value which guides all engagement within the Nestlé Group”.

In a welcoming address, Deputy Director of ERCS, Engida Manderfro told participants the CSV project of

NWE is part and parcel of vulnerability mitigating projects that are already implemented across the country by ERCS.

Commending the company for providing the community with clean water, he added that, “besides profit making, we have to think about social responsibility and the community as a whole”.

“Because, as long as we are not serving the community around the plant, the very reason why the company is established here will be in question,” he added, calling on other companies to emulate Nestlé.

He also noted that the latest project, as

Nestlé scheme. . .page 35

Death of Germany. . .page 37

By Samuel Getachew

The German tourist, Walter Roepert (MD) that died in the Afar Regional State, in Northeastern Ethiopia earlier this month survived the first shot that accidently hit him and his guide that was meant to be a warning and did not die on the spot as reported by various media outlets in Ethiopia and Germany, The Reporter has learned.

According to diplomatic sources close to matter, Walter Roepert was shot up-close by his captors, although they meant it as warning shot, and hence his conditions got more severe with little medical facilities nearby. His guide, however, survived and is still in the hospital recovering from his injuries.

The noted ear, nose and throat specialist frequently travelled in some of the most daring places in the world and he is said to be no stranger to Ethiopia. Having first ventured into the country in the late 1970’s, visiting as both a tourist and a humanitarian, most specifically in refugee populated areas within the Somali Regional State, he is known to help offer young Ethiopians internship and scholarships to Germany.

The 63 year old was said to solicit his own guide at a bargained price throughout Ethiopia and that was unpopular with the locals who often inhabit the area and charge, mostly European tourists as they pleased. The guide was said to be from a different area, was not from the

Death of Germany tourist explained

Afar region, and that seemed to upset his captors when he was shot. Both run for cover, trying to join a larger group that

followed all the due process and customs of the area, but they were intercepted by flying bullets midway.

The Reporter spoke to several sources



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HEADLINES

The UAE celebrates on December 2, 2017 the 46th National Day

the Emirates that brought with it prosperity, stability, and security to the Emirati people.

UAE National Day is a day of great pride. National Day marks not only an occasion where the successes achieved over the last 46 years by our nation are celebrated, but also provides a

UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The incredible achievements of the UAE, borne out of the foresight and vision of His Highness Sheikh Zayed, and his fellow leaders of the UAE’s constituent Emirates, are a testament to what can be achieved through dedication, toil, unity, and commitment.

This vision of the UAE’s fore fathers is something that is respected and strongly adhered to by the UAE’s current leadership. Under President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and his brothers Their Highnesses members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emiratesthe UAE Government has remained dedicated to ensuring the ongoing advancement, prosperity, and happiness of the Emirati people.

The political, economic, and social development of the UAE is an achievement that has been made possible due to a gradual and balanced approach, whereby UAE decision makers have consistently taken into consideration the international and regional environment and the unique nature of the country, and it’s historical, cultural, and religious conditions when embarking upon political change.

Embassy in Ethiopia in June 2010. The visit of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, to the F.D.R of Ethiopia in March 2013, the visit of H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn Prime Minister of the F.D.R of Ethiopia, to UAE in January 2014, the visit of H.E. Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansori, UAE Economic Minister to the F.D.R of Ethiopia, in March 2014, and the visit of H.E. Dr. Mulato Techome, President of the F.D.R E of Ethiopia to UAE in October 2014.

The relations further strengthened with the opening of the Ethiopian Embassy in Abu Dhabi on November 22, 2014.

The bilateral relations between the two countries showed also a steady growth in both economic and social levels.

United Arab Emirates Celebrates 46th National DayUAE and F.D.R of Ethiopia witnessed outstanding Development in all Aspects

By Kaleyesus Bekele

Experts from the financial services sector are going to deliberate on the challenges and opportunities of the financial sector in the East Africa region at the second East Africa Finance Summit to be held in Addis Ababa from December19-20.

The East Africa Finance Summit is annually organized by the I-Capital Africa Institute. The summit which will be held at the United Nations Economic Commission Convention Center will attract financial experts from Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. The second East Africa Summit will be held under the theme “Preparing for tomorrow: Building proactive finance sector in East Africa.”

Zemedeneh Nigatu, chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, Kibour Ghenna, executive director Africa Chamber of Commerce, Tsedeke Yihune, CEO of Flintstone Engineering and Homes SC, Munir Duri, Chief Executive Officer of Kifiya Financial Technologies PLC, are among the long list of speakers at the conference. Leaders of the financial sector will participate at the panel discussion and policy round table. Banks, insurance and financial technologies suppliers will participate at the exhibition.

Gemechu Waktola (PhD), CEO of the

I-Capital Africa Institute, told The Reporter that the main objective of the finance summit is to provide a common platform for key players and stakeholders

of the region’s financial sector to come together and discuss issues that matter most in shaping the future of the financial sector in East Africa. Focusing

on Ethiopia the conference will discuss the competiveness of the local finance sector in terms of services and products, capacity and skilled labor. Gemechu said the panel of experts will deliberate on the challenges facing banks, insurances and other financial intuitions.

“With the traditional services and products it may be difficult to be competitive in the future. The technology is changing, customer demand is changing and labor behavior and working culture is also changing. So the forum will discuss how to deal with this ever changing industry,” Gemechu said.

The obstacles in the financial sector and policy and regulation issues will also be discussed. Gemechu said financial experts will deliberate on the importance of merger, capital market and stock exchange. “Is merger a solution to face the competitive bank industry? When are we going to join the stock market? Aren’t we late to establish a stock market in Ethiopia? Are some of the questions that will be raised at the panel discussion.”

The I-Capital Africa Institute organized the East Africa Summit in collaboration with Public Financial Institutions Agency, Addis Ababa University and Jimma University. More than 300 delegates are expected to attend the summit.

Experts to deliberate on

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12| The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110IN-DEPTH

Barre’s administration was characterized by discrimination, violence and a full-blown dictatorship; and hence the emergence of rebel-armed groups since the 1980s challenged his rule inside and outside of Somalia. Eventually, when Barre was ousted in 1991, there was a high degree of fragmentation among the armed forces of Somalia with no dominant group emerging to claim the leadership position and exercising authority over the whole of Somalia. Consequently, in the last three decades, chaos, instability, famine and different types of humanitarian crises has reigned in Somalia without a central authority tackling these severe issues.

By the early 1990s, government institutions

had already lost their power and control over the general public of Somalia. The national army was disintegrated into various opposing factions, right after the demise of the government. After waging one last intense fighting with insurgents, Barre fled the capital, Mogadishu, in 1991 marking the collapse of a centralized authority in Somalia. Compounding its challenges, the country found itself in a full-fledged civil war, widespread famine, displacements and the emergence of violent atrocities, in the absence of the national defense and police forces. In their place, civilian local militia forces were instituted quickly to defend and protect specific clan interests.

Following the collapse of the central government, the country became the hot bed for different extremist groups. Thus far, the international community has exerted different kinds of efforts to restore peace, security and stability in the country; however, many of these efforts could not manage to bring any lasting peace for Somalia. Some 27 years on, Somalia is still fighting to strengthen the power of the central government over the numerous clan interests and leaders.

The efforts of the international community seem to have delivered some tangible results in recent years in terms of the establishment of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in 2012. The FGS was

Nation building in Somalia: an uphill battle

Somalia has gone through an unprecedented protracted conflict since 1991. Today, it is one of the few territories in the world without a fully functioning government structure in place. Somalia gained its independence from colonial Italy in 1960 under the leadership of a civilian administration. Though the leadership of the first and the second presidents, Adan Abdulle Osman and Abdilrashid Ali Shama’arke, respectively, was not without shortcomings, it was the reign of Mohammed Siad Barre (Gen.), according to scholars and commentators, which planted the seeds for the current unending conflict and instability in the country.


The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |13IN-DEPTH

Nation building... page 28

mandated to take office and replace the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) that was established in 2004 in exile, in Kenya.

In 2004, the TFG was established following a two-year peace process, hosted by the government of Kenya and brokered by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). More successful than its predecessors, the TFG attempted to reinstate governmental and juridical institutions and while doing that the TFG has gained popular support from the population.

Its tasks of restoring order and bringing about lasting peace to this troubled country is yet to be accomplished. Through time, the TFG proved to be a very fragile alliance, prone to internal strife and clan interests. Although it enjoys international support from the United Nations, the African Union (AU), the IGAD and a number of Western nations, politically, the TFG also struggled to gain national acceptance and assure physical control over Somali territories.

After the transition from the TFG to FGS took place and many considered this transition as a pivotal shift in order to bring peace and stability to the war torn country; however, the FGS is still a weak structure coupled with a number of challenges like the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Shabaab, clan leaders and disagreements with regional governments.

However, these days, one can sense that there is a relative peace in the country especially in the capital Mogadishu where most of the international organizations

are residing. Residents of the capital are also aware of the recent peace in Somalia, though it is highly fragile. The improvements in security and infrastructure development are also due to the efforts of FGS.

Though the federal government is trying its best to reconstruct, and ensure peace and stability in the country, it looks like it has a long way ahead to realize the dream. The country is still struggling with the extremist group Al-Shabaab.

Although its insurgency is said have been weakened considerably, the group is still a major threat to the federal government with its pervasive suicide bombings and surprise attacks. By now, it is clear that Al-Shabaab is not as strong as it was previously; especially after the United Nations (UN) backed African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) launching of its military intervention in Somalia. According to AMISOM, Al-Shabaab is no longer in a position to wage a conventional war against the TFG and intervention

forces in Somalia. Of course, this could be considered as a success story both for the TFG and the mission. However, peace and stability in Somalia are still illusive and the assignments ahead are much tougher than the achievement thus far.

Last week, journalists from AMISOM Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) visited the activities of the mission to bring peace and stability to Somalia. The AU deployed a peace support operation in Somalia, AMISOM, in January 2007. The mission was endorsed by the UN Security Council and was established to provide security support to the Somali government as well as to contribute to the creation of favorable conditions for dialogue, reconciliation and the provision of humanitarian assistance.

However, until today, the mission is unable to fulfill its broad mandate. In addition to the extremely difficult conditions it has to operate in, AMISOM suffers from poor institutional competence, lack of resources, funds and troops, and remains highly dependent on assistance from outside organizations.

The overall mandate of the mission is to support the effort of the government of Somalia and the international community in bringing peace and stability in the country. It was also mandated to eliminate the militant Al-Shabaab group; apart from this, the mission was also mandated to strengthen the federal government of the Somalia.




Samuel Getachew


INTERVIEW

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The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |15INTERVIEW

The Reporter: Lambadia is movie that was released awhile ago. Why did it take this long to bring it to Ethiopia?

Messay Getahun: We started doing private screening of it a year and half ago. The film was getting official selection at various film festivals; as a result we spent a full year touring different film festivals in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Once the film had its festival run, we showcased it in the US Cinema Market in selected cities. We have always wanted to show the film in Ethiopia, but since the film first needed to finish its festival tour, we could not simultaneously release the film in Ethiopia.

The movie touches on a number of subjects – on love, relationship, politics, migration – share with me the highlights of the movie?

Yes, the film does touch on various human issues. I wanted to create a universal story that tells a journey of a boy who goes through various obstacles of life, yet faces them with resilience. Every one could identify a certain element of their personal life in this film. I think that is the reason the film had such a warm reception on both the African communities and abroad. The issue of migration, family dispersion, loss of a first love, family betrayal is all human conditions are things we’ve either experienced personally, or know someone who has. I wanted to tell a human story that highlights a journey of life; I think the film has done that.

What was the underlining message you wanted to highlight in the film?

The underlining message of the film is that life is a journey. And that journey is

often paved with many highs and many lows… and what defines us is not what we face but how we face them. Life is all about overcoming obstacles, I think the film encourages and empowers viewers to do the same.

When the film was first released to limited audience in Addis, what was the initial reaction like?

We did have a private screening of the film in Addis Ababa sponsored by the Embassy of the United States. The reception was incredible. We were really humbled by the amount of appreciation we received. The film also has been incredibly received by the Ethiopian community abroad. All the screenings held has been completely sold out and in many of the cities, we have to hold many screenings as a result of the demand.

The film is one that is based on real life, the experiences of many people, including your parents. Tell me about that?

A small part of the film is based on true events. The inspiration of the father and son element in the film came from my own personal life experience. I was disconnected from my father at an early age during the transition of power in Ethiopia. I remember the emotional rollercoaster I went through as a result and I wanted that emotion to be injected in the film. Both myself and my two younger brothers and anyone else who was born in that era relates to it. However, the remaining part of the film is fictional.

It must be hard making such a full production feature. We see many Ethiopian amateur directors soliciting donation on social media, especially on GoFundMe pages. But

you did not do that. How did you manage to make it?

Absolutely! My intention wasn’t to make a film for the sake of doing a film. It took me years to develop the script. I even paid a few scriptwriters in Los Angeles, to review the script for me in a professional manner. Myself, Justin Dickson (Director of Photography), and Hermon Tecle (Audio Operator) gave it our everything in making sure we produced a film that was rich in content and high in quality. I absolutely did not want to go through any means of crowd funding. As a first time filmmaker, I didn’t want to solicit people for financing my idea. I wanted to work my butt off and raise my own capital from my own labor and fund my own project.

One of the noted performances in the film was the actor who acted as your father. Who is the actor?

Michael Yimesgen, played my father in the film. Michael is a dear friend. He, like myself had so much emotional attachment to the film.

As a first time director, what were some of the difficulties you faced and what did you learn from it? Overall we wanted to tell and Ethiopian/African story to the Western world. Much of the films that tend to come out of Africa and make it the mainstream market seem to always have a “white savior” message. In some form or fashion, they seem to elevate the need for the West to come and rescue “poor old” Africa. I was sick of that narrative. I wanted to tell a contemporary Ethiopia, African story that went against the grain.


16| The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110LIVING AND THE ARTS

Reviewed by Yared Haile-Meskel

History books are not easy to read; even when you are reading one for the first time. And while leafing through the pages you will feel a sense of déjà vu like you have already read part of the book somewhere else which would make you lose interest. Of course, historical facts often remain the same but it can be highlighted, distorted, or interpreted from different angles to fit one’s own personal views or political agenda. As a result you either agree to flick through the pages or continue to argue with the book. This makes reading history books challenging.

However, reading “Mussolini in

Ethiopia 1919-1935 The Origins of Fascist Italy’s African War” by Robert Mallett, 2015, Cambridge University Press, was gratifying to say the least.

While reading the book, two important historical facts prompted me to review it. The first was the role of France in pre-invasion of Ethiopia and the second is the British government’s attempt to bribe Benito Mussolini to stop the invasion of Ethiopia. I felt these historical facts are not widely known.

Additionally, the book is different for the following reasons:

It is easy to read with excellent flow. It feels like reading a novel, with lot of plots, conspiracies, betrayals, bravados, prejudice, military planning and

political intrigues.

The book has new facts and quotations that you do not find in most books to keep you interested.

Most historical books about the Second Italo-Ethiopian War are from the perspective of the theatre of war and maybe a few more pages about the failure of the League of Nations, but this book is different because it was written based on primarily data such as communication, memos, diaries, speeches and meetings between Mussolini and his generals, Mussolini and France’s Foreign and Prime Minster Pierre Laval , Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, Mussolini and the British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden, and others players in Europe in pre-invasion of Ethiopia.

Mussolini in Ethiopia



The book makes you feel like watching a Second World War movie, where you vividly see military planning, mobilizations, views and prejudice, conspiracy, competition, fear and power alignments in pre-second world war preparations.

Most of the facts presented in Mussolini in Ethiopia were new to me and it might even surprise well-read historians of the Ethiopian history.

I was also amazed to learn, in tragic ways, Ethiopia, a black country in Eastern Africa, was at the epicentre of the birth of the Second World War. Of course, we all know the prophetic speech of Emperor Haile-Selassie I at the League of Nations but the plan for invasion, conspiracy, and competition started at least 12 years before the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. For example, on July 25, 1925, ‘Mussolini ordered the Minster of Colonies, Pietro Lanza di Scalea, to prepare for a future offensive against Independent Ethiopia’ pp 50.

That is probably why the author starts in 1919 when Benito Mussolini took power and end up on 3rd of October, 1935 when Italian Air force began to rain “internationally banned chemical weapons such as Mustard gas and Phosgene” and “500 kilogram” bombs on the Ethiopian civilians by the Fascist invading force to (pp. 163)

These chemical warfare were banned but used extensively within Ethiopia, which happens to be a pre-cursor for Hitler’s gas chamber.

The book gives a good understanding of the birth and growth of Fascism; it tells us about the Fascist earlier pre-occupation of Yugoslavia, Mussolini’s failure to control the Greek Island of Corfu in 1923 and forced to retreat under the British and the League of Nations’ influence. That was probably a promising beginning for the League of Nations’ objectives collective security. But the League of Nations became less assertive when the Japan invaded Northern China to create puppet king (the Manchuria crisis 1931) and totally became defunct when the Fascist invaded Ethiopia in 1935.

The book also shows how Nazi came to power and particularly, the rise of, the then wannabe dictator Corporal Hitler. It reveals how Hitler looked up to Mussolini and his desperate attempt to capture the attention of Mussolini in later 1920s. Corporal Hitler was looked down and consider as no hoper in the 1920s. In fact, a German clergyman, Monsignor Hofstein, who was an admirer of Mussolini, described Hitler “as nothing more than a poor imitation of Mussolini”

An Italian Journalist and member of the Mussolini party Partito Nazionale Fascista (Fascitst party) have also dismissed Hitler as, ‘merely a caricature of Mussolini’, and ‘a dictator who could never become a real dictator’

But soon Hitler became the big boy of Europe, against all expectation, while making Mussolini fear for the rise of Nazi, that might lead to the loss of German Speaking Northern Italy.

On the other hand the fear of France and and ,of course, total contempt to Africans lead to the biggest betrayal of Ethiopia by France.

France betrayal of Ethiopia in 1935 under Prime Minster Pierre Laval was new to me and it is one of the reasons of reviewing the book. There are two betrayals and we should not mix with Hoare-Laval Pack, which is a pack between the British and France that happened after the invasion of Ethiopia. That fact is widely discussed in Tehafi Tizaz Akililu’s memoir and John Spencer’s book ‘Ethiopia at Bay’. That is not what amazed me; there was another Laval-Mussolini agreement in January, 1935, eight months before the invasion of Ethiopia.

All wasn’t totally bad. In the 1920s France was a good friend of Ethiopia and it had contributed to membership of Ethiopia in the League of Nations.

Even though the book is about Ethiopia and Italy there is very little mention of the players from Ethiopian side. There are few brief references of Ras Teferi’s cunning diplomatic manoeuvre in 1923 when Italy and Britain supported by Australia, Holland, Norway, Switzerland tried to stop Ethiopia from joining the League of Nations. The story of Ethiopia’s request to join the League of Nations is narrated as follows.

“Shortly after Mussolini came to power the Ethiopians,

or more precisely the Crown Prince of Ethiopia Ras Tafari Makonnen, applied for membership of the League of Nations as part of his country’s ongoing attempts to modernise. Once the application had arrived at Geneva it was debated by the League General Assembly, which almost immediately split into two distinct and diverging groups over how best to deal with it. The French delegation strongly supported the Ethiopian case, arguing that the Ethiopian Empire possessed all of the requisite qualities for it to be admitted into the League. The British, however, were less keen. .... Mussolini was expressly hostile to any idea of Ethiopia’s admittance into the League, and ordered Italian delegates at Geneva to ‘stay in close touch with the British representative’ in order to block Ethiopia’s application. Ras Tafari responded by demanding that both Mussolini and British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin explain their hostility towards the Ethiopian nation, a reaction which by all accounts took the Duce totally by surprise. The result was that Mussolini contradicted his carefully constructed persona of uncompromising politico and immediately backed down and reversed his decision. Instructing the Palazzo Chigi in Rome to investigate how it was that Tafari had come to believe Italy so hostile to Ethiopia’s League application, Mussolini performed a volte face and threw the full weight of his support behind it. A month later, in August 1923, Ethiopia was admitted to the League of Nations and with full Italian backing. pp 67.

Obviously Ethiopia’s admission in the Leagues of Nations did not stop Mussolini from invading Ethiopia but Il Duce has to work harder to make friends and alliance with the two biggest powers in the World, France and Great Britain. Mussolini succeeded in making France back its invasion plan while he failed to bring Britain in to his side.

Most of us think that most Europeans failed Ethiopia at the League of Nations but nothing reaches the level of

France’s Pierre Laval. Laval’s pact with Mussolini led to tragic suffering and raining down on chemical

weapons on Ethiopians and including execution of Abune Petros, the Bishop of the Ethiopian

Orthodox Church for not endorsing the Italian rule over Ethiopia.

Laval take the central story of the invasion of Ethiopia and when you read the book you feel anger for betrayal of what was called collective security of the League of Nations. The book ends in 1935 and it wasn’t a happy ending. Then I wondered what happened to Laval. So I have Google to find, Laval, three times Prime Minster of France. Then I felt that there is some kind of divine justice. Lavel

became a collaborator with Nazi occupying force, to be made again the prime minster of

France by Hitler.

As a result, Laval zealously implemented deportation of Jews to Nazi’s gas chamber and

thousands of able body French Citizens as German’s slave labourers. Upon defeat of Nazi he fled to Germany

and Spain to be captured and stand a trial to be sentenced to death for treason. He finally faced the firing squad.

Laval sold Ethiopia to Mussolini and faced disgrace for lacking the courage, like that Abune Petros, to say no to occupation and force.

French Foreign Minister and Prime Minster Pierre Laval secretly signed an agreement with Mussolini which give Ethiopia as a sacrificial lamb, which in a way, end up in creating a condition for demise of France under Hitler boots.

The Laval-Mussolini agreement on January 1935 had three components. The first one is to give north of Djibouti to Italian Eritrea. (I guess this is a cause of the conflict between the newborn Eritrea and Djibouti). The second agreement was to give the Village of Aoxou and the Surrounding in Chad to Italian Libya and the third was to allow Italy occupy Ethiopia without interferences.

On the contrary British, particularly led by the foreign minister Anthony Eden did most of the work to stop Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia. It is the Britain that supported Ethiopia’s fear of invasion to the League of Nations while s Laval worked hard to undermine case avoid embargo on Italy.

It is difficult to make judgment from the hindsight but if France wasn’t backing Mussolini, it would have very difficult for Mussolini to invaded Ethiopia. You may ask why?

In the 1930s Italy was technically a landlocked country even though it had a vast Mediterranean Sea. British used

Mussolini in... page 25

LIVING AND THE ARTS



An off the beam... page 30

Promoting wrongs ... page 31

VIEWPOINT

COMMENTARY

ast week was rough. This opinion piece is in response to two incidents that had happened during an episode of Jossy in the House and Enetewawk on television.

While interviewing up-and-coming actress Bayush Kebede on his show Jossy in the House, Jossy admonishes Bayush on her recent decision to divorce. He kept on hammering the fact that divorce is a Western concept that is ill-tailored to the Ethiopian experience; put mothers and wives before our time on some sort of pedestal for putting up with their husbands, keeping their head down in times of abuse and neglect and choosing to stay in an unfulfilling and loveless marriages for the sake of their kids and husbands. He went on to boldly state that men are almost impossible to deal or reason with and women have the sole responsibility of containing them and making marriages work.

The other incident that caught my attention was a comment made during “Enetewawek”, a TV contest program that brings couples from all walks of life to compete against each other on personal topics to judge which couple knows each other best. The show is fine. I hear many people enjoy it. What actually disturbed and alarmed me was a question asked by the show’s host, Hanna, on an episode. Hanna nonchalantly asked a female contestant if her husband makes a habit of hitting her. Her somewhat of an off the cuff remark about the infliction of physical/mental harm throws into question how we as a society view violence and choose to respond to it.

The opinions expressed during the course of episodes under scrutiny make light of serious matters and perpetuate numerous stereotypes that are not only dangerous for women and children but also seem to support and encourage acts deemed criminal under federal laws of the country. Needless to say that I was horrified, I want to make some things clear or at least start a dialogue where we as a society enter into much needed introspection and start questioning what we think is the norm. My concerns at this particular moment in time coincide with 16 days of activism under the hashtag #16DaysofActivism to raise awareness on ending violence against women worldwide in an effort to leave no woman behind. It is my belief and many others that, no one, especially women, should be subjected to undue pressure or influence to not divorce or have their physical and mental wellbeing threatened or jeopardized.

I am no expert in the reasons behind why people choose to divorce. I also cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for a couple to live under one roof and grapple with the fact that the behavior of their partner or general conditions under which they live is the root cause of their unhappiness, as I am not married myself. I do know if marriage is typically a lifelong commitment that requires a lot of sacrifice and restraint and isn’t exactly all rainbows and sunshine. I do understand that internal and external pressures, unmet expectations and circumstance totally out of a couple’s control might bring about dissatisfaction

and unhappiness.

Again, I am no expert but no one in their right minds wakes up in the morning in the mood for a divorce. No one, with the obvious stigma attached to the status of a divorcee, walks out on someone they have promised to love and cherish, uproots their children from a loving home, on a whim. It is a deeply personal decision that one revisits and agonizes over on a daily basis years after the said divorce is finalized. It is no secret that there exist households held together by the skin of their teeth because, although, both husband and wife hell bent on making each other miserable, stay together because their families and the society in which they live with has made it impossible for them to think that separation might just be in their best interests and the interests of their children.

For someone who believes in the sanctity of marriage and the holiness of such a union, I am elated that the 2000 Revised Family Code of Ethiopia, along with some provisions of the 2005 Criminal Code have made excellent strides in protecting women who have kept quiet for too long in the face of infidelity, exploitation and all forms of abuse in the guise of love and duty to the husband.

Before the Family Code, the 1960 Ethiopian Civil Code (specifically article 664 through 696) had made

Martha Basazienw Kassa.

Promoting wrongs and disparaging rights?

Trying to sound as subtle and as indirect as he could, he finally forced his words out, “Well students, we wish you the best and as you all know, teamwork is appreciated.” As I paused to process what I had just heard, my seatmate turned towards me reiterating the exact words going through my mind, “Were my ears deceiving me or did our school vice-principal just suggest that we help each other on the National Exam?” The same person who, had it been any other time of the year, would have personally signed our expulsion letters for a similar case was now standing in front of us, desperate for the reputation of the school, telling us to resort to all options available before failing the National Exam: even cheat.

Unfortunately, cases like this have nowadays been the norm rather than the exception. It has become a widely conceded awareness that some, if not most, of the private high schools in Addis Ababa tolerate “resorting to any available option” when it comes to the National Exam, to the extent that they even payoff test administrators to be ‘lenient’ during the examination.

However, though not in any imaginable way to justify them, I believe these schools are instigated by an understandable cause that ought to be held accountable for the apparent decay of our youths’ integrity.

The logic of why private high schools tend to look the other way is simple:

private schools are profit schools; profit requires good reputation, and good reputation seems to have been inextricably connected to students’ average score in the National Exam.

The Grade 12 Ethiopian Higher Education Examination is the most important exam that students can take in their lifetime. It has the decisive power to make or break one’s future career, for it is according to these scores that students are placed into the respective universities of their choice.

To make matters even more substantial, the exam is only offered once a year. God forbid something unexpected happens to test-takers on mid-June, or they’ll be forced to postpone their college life by a whole year in order to take the test again. Sadly, there have been many students whose lives have been ruined because they had either felt under the weather, lost a very close loved one, or encountered an unforeseeable obstacle during exam week that had compelled them to under-perform despite months of arduous preparations.

A single occasion of underperformance thus seems to be exactly what it takes to mess up one’s college plans. A bad score does not only mean that students don’t get to enroll in their top choice universities, but they might also be forced to major in a department that they never wanted, all the while fully abandoning all the dreams and aspirations they’ve had for most of their young lives.

Nathanael, a very close friend of mine, is for instance one of those students who has had to give up his ambitions of becoming a surgeon. I remember our childhood days when he’d never stop talking about how he would become a doctor and help people in need. What I also vividly remember, however, are the tears that were in his eyes when the exam results had been released and he had to settle for the unbearable fact that he would never become a physician, and all because he was unable to make that year’s medical school cut-off score by ten points.

Such is also the way in which our university admissions system seems to have been flawed. Determining a student’s academic path based solely on a single exam that is offered only once at the end of senior year is to completely disregard all the bits and pieces of formal and informal education that students have acquired throughout their high school years, pieces that are so valuable when it comes to crafting the person that they become.

Looking back at my high school years, I have seen how much the National Exam has affected my senior year education. Beginning right around this time of the year, I along with all of my classmates had started cramming for the exam that was due seven months later. And due to the pervasive idea that nothing

An off the beam evaluation method



For many years, it is only organizations like the World Food Program (WFP) that are using the port, according to Abdirhman.

But now, following the arrival of DP World, businesses from Ethiopia are starting to consider the port facility, he said.

Following the port management agreement, DP has made some adjustments to the facility. In this regard, DP has started to upgrade its port facilities; introduce new equipment such as three reach stackers and four empty handlers. It is also expected that ten Inter

Terminal Vehicles, five forklifts and cranes will arrive at the port facility in the coming months.

Having this, DP has managed to increase the general cargo volume handled by Berbera Port by 30 percent since 2016. It also increased the productivity of the five berths the port currently has.

The first Port facility was built at Berbera by Soviet Russia in 1968. Later on, in 1984, the Americans constructed another quay just near to the one built by USSR.

Currently, the port has five berths which is still less in comparison

to Djibout Port. At its current capacity, Berbera handles up to 11,000 containers per month.

Berbera is located 930 kilometers from Addis Ababa but much more closer to the Eastern part of Ethiopia.

“As far as the logistic cost is concerned, we have comparative advantage over the Djibouti facility,” said Supachai.

Once the expansion project is complete, Ethiopia is expected to divert up to 40 percent of its cargo shipment via Berbera Port.

Established in1972, DP World operates 77 marine and inland terminals across the world. In 2015, the company handled a total of 61.7 million 20ft containers.

Along with the expansion of the port, DP and Somaliland have agreed on the development of new free economic zone which will complement the port facility. In addition, there will be a new road through the town of Togo-Wuchale which will connect Ethiopia to Somaliland. The current road between Hargessa and Berbera is also under renovation.

Berbera to vie . . . CONT`D FROM PAGE 6

CONT`D FROM PAGE 6

CONT`D FROM PAGE 5

CONT`D FROM PAGE 8

CONT`D FROM PAGE 3

transporting 343,000 tons of cargo every year generating 10 billion birr revenue. According to Ethiopian 15-year growth road map dubbed Vision 2025, Ethiopian Cargo will have 19 dedicated freighter aircraft (11 B777, four B767-300 and four B737-800) which can transport 820,000 tons of cargo generating two billion dollars of revenue flying to 57 destinations. It now serves 39 international cargo destinations.

Fitsum said Ethiopian Cargo is a pioneer not only in Africa but in the world in migrating its freight business transaction to e-freight and e-AWB. Ethiopian Cargo has fully implemented e-freight and undertaking 78 percent of its business through e-AWB.

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told The Reporter that with double digit GDP growth and ongoing industrialization process, Ethiopia badly needs an integrated logistics services. “The logistics sector should prepare itself to handle the growing import and export sector,” Tewolde said.

To that end, Ethiopian Cargo has already partnered with DHL, a global forwarding company to enter into the multi modal logistics business.

Celine Hourcade told The Reporter that with fast economic growth and growing middle class population Africa has an immense potential to grow its air cargo transport.

Head quartered in Geneva, Switzerland IATA is the trade association for the world’s airlines. The association has 250 member airlines worldwide operating 84 percent of global air traffic.

IATA lauds Ethiopian . . .

therapeutic qualities as well. The drinks provide energy, are nutritious and help quench thirst. He says he would like to mainstream the Dr. Moringa brand as the moringa plant is widely recognized for having at least 230 health benefits.

“We have come with a different portfolio and would like to offer from what is available naturally within Ethiopia,” Zelalem said. He also notes that there will be nothing to be imported as most of the ingredients are sourced locally.

Poised to double his investment, Zelalem is to invest an additional 200

million birr in two years’ time, when the production capacity will jump to 2.2 million hectoliters, enabling the factory to become a major player in the local beverage industry.

Lying on a 15,000 sq. m. plot of land, the plant is expected to further expand to a 30,000 sq. m. plot, and request for more land is currently under review by the Investment Bureau of Oromia , Zelalem said.

Zelalem made the investment through a combination of bank loans and private equity.

Having in mind export markets such as

Djibouti, Somaliland, South Sudan and

the like, for the medium term, he plans

to work without growers and suppliers

for fruits and herbs and other raw

materials.

In addition to those alternatives, for the

longer-term, he is thinking in terms of

venturing into farming as the right thing

to do because in ten years’ time, his goal

is to provide many countries with his

concentrates through franchise deals.

developed artesian mineral water and carbonated and smocked water. Finalizing the commissioning and securing standardization permits, the soft drinks he branded as Movita Passion, a puree passion fruit extract, Dr. Moringa, a drink developed from moringa and various herbs, hibiscus with honey are some of the soft drinks developed by Zelalem and are about to be made available soon. The carbonated and smoked water and the artesian mineral water has been named melkam qen (literally, have a nice day).

Zelalem claims that the new products are not mere soft drinks, but have

New beverage plant . . .

As party president, Chane Kebede has over the past few months been articulating EDP’s positions at the negotiation forum along with Wassihun Tesfaye, head of research and development with the party.

However, according to reports, some groups in the EDP leadership were not enchanted with the way EDP representatives were advancing the party’s political agenda at the negotiations. Hence, those people who were not satisfied with the negotiations made a plea to remove Chane and another representative, Wasihun, from the negotiations and demanded that Adane Tadesse take over from him.

Some two weeks ago, a letter with the official seal of the party was sent to the chairman of the ongoing negotiations forum, and different media outlets were claiming that the two representatives were no longer mandated to articulate the party’s position at the negotiations, and the platform took measures to remove them from the negotiation.

This letter also claimed that Adane was elected as the new party president and henceforth will be in his right to determine who represents the party at the ongoing negotiations, and that EDP would be forced to leave the negotiations if the forum did not respect these decisions.

However, the decision taken by the NEBE earlier this week cleared all the dust around the disagreement, ruling that Chane is the sole legitimate president of the party.

NEBE rules on . . .17.7 billion birr, 5.3 billion birr higher

than the previous.

In addition to this, the rest of the total income was generated from things like gains from foreign exchange transaction and other fees and commissions. When it comes to gains from foreign exchange transaction, which is marked by a declining trend in the industry, Dashen has experienced a decrease from 287.9 million birr to 266.5 million birr in the report period.

In terms of total expense, the Bank’s income statement indicated an increase of 37 percent to 2.4 billion birr. Most of this increase-more than half a billion

birr- was spent on salaries and benefits whereas the rest is distributed among general and administrative expenses as well as other costs.

Looking deep into its balance sheet, the Bank’s total asset has reached 34.6 billion birr, posting more than six billion birr increment. In addition, its total capital base has also expanded by 19 percent to 4 billion birr.

Being in the Banking industry for more than two decades as of this year, Dashen has become one of the few private banks in Ethiopia with own headquarter building located near the HQ of NBE.

Dashen cuts’ . . .

Two students were killed at Wollega University while other stories are circulated about the death of a student at Debre Tabor University.

The victims were attacked, according to the minister, in early evening and late-night while students were either going to prayers or walking to their dormitories from studying late in libraries.

Social media activists and other commentators claim that the conflicts at universities have ethnic roots while Samuel dismisses all, saying that the root cause of all the conflicts is a hidden agenda by forces intent at destabilizing the country and create hurdles to the path of progressive renaissance that the country is pursuing.

“The issue is political,” he asserted.

Apart from the political causes reflected by the two sides, the recently introduced exit exam is also seen as an aggravating factor although Samuel downplayed this

claim. He said the exit exam is a side issue and it cannot be the main cause for the violence s as there was no “opposition or reservation from students when it was announced a month ago.”

Now, with the presence of the federal security forces, there will be curfews in place at universities until it is decided things have come to normalcy, it was announced today.

Samuel noted that students themselves were ultimately responsible for their own security and called on students to expose those students with hidden agenda other than learning. He further noted that the security forces would work to ensure peace and order.

“There are universities where we did not deploy federal security forces for the time being; but come the need to do so, federal security forces will intervene,” Samuel added.

Gov’t to deploy . . . CONT`D FROM PAGE 3



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The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |21Advertisment

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#REPORTERBOOK

Using reflection in photography can lead to some amazing effects and beautiful images.Photography experts say that photos involving reflections does not have to be restricted to water-based landscape shots, there are plenty of other reflective surfaces to utilise that we encounter in everyday life such as mirrors, glass, metal, ceramic tiles and even varnished wood.The wonderful thing about using reflections when taking photos is that they can completely alter the image from something fairly straightforward to something richer or abstract or otherwise more artistic.Sometimes reflections can be annoying and certainly not artistic. But creativity and good-quality photos depend on the photographer being able to see things differently, rather than seeing only one part of a larger whole.Photographing reflections can be extremely rewarding and produce stunning results, but sometimes achieving those dramatic shots can be harder than first thought.Using reflected light can vastly improve the quality of lighting available. Diffused light is generally better for taking photos, and using reflected light, either as the main source of light or for highlighting, is an excellent way to capture diffused light.Whether you choose to use reflection in an artistic way or as a source of lightning, learning to use reflections in photography will help take your photographic skills to the next level.On the right are beautiful examples of reflective photography.

Google is launching three new experimental apps, named Storyboard, Selfissimo!, and Scrubbies, on iOS and Android.The first will come just to Android, while Scrubbies is an iOS exclusive; Selfissimo!, on the other hand, will be released on both platforms.The three apps are parts of a first round of products inside the Google's new, so-called "appsperiment" program. More apps will come, but the current lineup focuses on photography.The apps are all built on experimental technologies - a bit like Motion Still, the iOS app that transforms Apple's Live Photos into universally shareable gifs."[The apps] rely on object recognition, person segmentation, stylization algorithms, efficient image encoding and decoding technologies, and perhaps most importantly, fun!" reads Google's blog post.Storyboard is a nifty app that asks users to upload a video, and then automatically extrapolates six frames out of the clip from which it creates a comic-book like panel.Scrubbies, iOS' exclusive apps, lets you use your fingers to scroll through a video's timeline, DJ style, and record the movement to create a video loop that emphasizes movement and action.The weirdly named Selfissimo! will make its way to the iPhone and Android phones, and is the simplest app out of this first appsperiments' wave.A simple tap on the screen will make your phone start recording (with the front-facing camera), and ask you to strike a few different poses.The end result is a lot like a photobooth's, with Google's app snapping a shot every time you move and giving you back black and white pictures to save and share on social media or elsewhere. (Business Insider)



R|23#REPORTERBOOK

Twitter this week announced the launch of a new feature that will allow people to more easily post tweetstorms – that is, those series of connected tweets that have grown to become a popular workaround for getting past Twitter’s character count limitation in order to share longer thoughts. The company confirmed last month it was testing the feature – which it’s now calling “threads” – across its iOS and Android apps.

The tweetstorm format has been used for a long time on Twitter, initially by a small number of early adopters, including a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen, who would often pen the equivalent of blog posts using tweets.

The need for tweetstorms became more pressing over the years, as users continually bumped up against Twitter’s 140 character count limit – a restriction Twitter recently doubled, ahead of today’s launch.

Users have adopted the tweetstorm for a number of reasons – to tell personal, suspenseful or funny stories via Twitter, to connect facts surrounding breaking news, to rant about politics or other issues, or even to just make a longer post more readable and easier to follow.

There are now hundreds of thousands of threads tweeted out every day, notes Twitter.

Despite Twitter’s new character limit of 280, tweetstorms remain in use. The feature has essentially become a Twitter convention at this point – and the company has a history of taking inspiration from its user base in developing new features. The @reply, the hashtag, and the RT were all launched as official products based on patterns of user behavior, for example. Now the same thing is happening with threads.

(Tech Crunch)

Apple on Monday confirmed one of its most expensive takeovers yet with the acquisition of the media identification app Shazam for a sum upwards of USD 400 million. Apple confirmed the deal in a statement it provided for online tech site Tech Crunch saying in part, “We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS.” The app has been a staple in the iOS Store’s top 10.Until now Apple has been paying a commission to the London based startup behind the app for sending users to its iTunes Store to buy content. According to The Wall Street Journal, this made up a majority of Shazam’s revenue for 2016 and accounted for 10 percent of all digital download sales.However in recent years, Shazam has become more than just a tool to identify what song is playing on the radio. Its foray into other medias specifically through advertising campaigns and its augmented reality feature launched back in 2015 has helped drive the app to over 1 billion total downloads to date.The technology allows Shazamable products to be scanned, directing users to more content provided by those companies. For instance, Nike Inc made the infamous logo of the jumping basketball player on its new line of Nike Jordan shoes “Shazamable,” so when scanned by the app, users would be able to view other Nike offerings.

(kxly.com)

R


24| The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110PROFILE

By Samuel Getachew

Perhaps associated with “white guilt”, legacy of colonization, or wanting to part ways with the old-fashioned way of dealing with the African society, President Emmanuel Macron is charting a new course with the African continent. Not even 40, half-a-decade younger than Canada’s Justin Trudeau, who became the darling of aid advocates with his passion of gender parity, in the midst of a political honeymoon that is at its end at home, Macron seems determined not to be a footnote of history abroad.

“The future of the world will largely be played out in Africa,” he said. “Africa is not only the continent of crises and migrations; it’s a continent of the future”.

His early statement has been worrying at best but he seems to be aiming for an encore performance. In Hamburg, Germany, where German’s “Marshall Plan for Africa” was being discussed, he linked Africa’s complex issues in Donald Trump-like one-liner linking it to lack of civilization.

Most recently, in Accra, Ghana, he stood next to President Nana

Akufo-Addo, being lectured by an uncle-like figure that the old French thinking specifically when it came to Africa was arrogant and outdated.

He looked nervous and unsure of how to react as President Addo made way for him to the lunch table.

Less than a year at the helm of French politics which he ascended unexpectedly as corruption ended the career of a preferred candidate, the president is trying to climb on top of his missteps, shortcomings and have a voice in Africa. In August, he established an advisory body on Africa to help him shape his African policy and asked the likes of an African national football team Capitan, entrepreneurs and African Development Bank’s senior executive to join in its ranks.

Earlier this week, Diane Binder, the member of the advisory committee, visited Addis Ababa on a personal visit and the local French Embassy invited a number of journalists to have an audience with her. She has a humbling CV, including being a Deputy Director of the International Development for the Suez Group in Africa, a decade and a half working

in emerging countries, years working with the European Investment Bank, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a graduate degree from the prestigious Georgetown University, the alma mater of Bill Clinton. The list was endless.

“Diane Binder has been appointed to shed light on the President on the issues regarding the relationship between France and Africa in order to guide his political orientations but also to share with the President the perception of France and its policy in Africa by the Africans themselves, especially the younger generations”, the invitation read. “Diane Binder is putting her expertise and experiences at the service of both continents for stronger and more balanced relations”.

In a quiet room on top of a boutique hotel over a coffee that was out of flavor, Diane opened up on what the mission of the council is and how they intend to help the president’s engagement with the continent. The group is said to meet with him regularly and joined him when he visited a number of West African nations as he gave Valedictorian like speeches.

“He belongs to a generation that

does not know colonization,” she said. “What may have happened, happened in the past, the president wants to chart a new course”.

She listed a long list of vision of the president, including advocating a sharp increase of foreign aid with a target of 0.55 of the National GDP of France and make it more inclusive and efficient, engage civic organizations, fight against human trafficking in nations such as Libya, fight terrorism, open up opportunities for African youth, offer scholarships for African students and go as far as open a French University campuses within the continent, advocate for better health by injecting private investment, promote the idea of sustainable cities, promote African athletes in France and give African culture the support it needs to flourish.

“You can’t always get back to the past to explain the present and think about the future you want to build,” she said. “There have been mistakes made in the past, which has been acknowledged by the French president. That should not prevent us from moving forward together and building new partnership together,” she concluded.

Chartering a New Course for France in Africa

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CONT`D FROM PAGE 17

to control Gibraltar with it’s 8 miles narrow entry in to the Mediterranean Sea with big naval force. On the other end France and British control the exit of the Mediterranean to the Red Sea through Suez Canal.

Mussolini knew that and on page 101 ‘Italy, Il Duce had argued, was effectively trapped within the Mediterranean and could not conduct any naval operations outside of the Sea. In a war therefore Italy had ‘everything to lose and nothing to gain’ .... Most important of all, Il Duce concluded, British predominance over the Suez Canal meant that in any conflict in which Italy might come to be involved it will critical important that Great Britain ‘remain neutral’

But Mallett narrates ,’Laval irresponsibly gave the Fascist leader approval for greater Italian dominance over Ethiopia in January 1935, British officials for a number of reasons were not prepared to commit their country to a similar political arrangement’.

The other interesting thing in the book is, British chose to bribe Mussolini to avoid the war. Walwal is 100 km in to Ethiopian Ogaden region and the British tied to bribe and persuade Mussolini to take over the Ogaden and in exchange British offered a corridor for Ethiopia in the British Somaliland’s Zeila port. Of course, that wasn’t acceptable to Mussolini because Mussolini thought that would make ‘Ethiopia a naval force’.

On page 179, Mellatt narrate as follows.

If Mussolini would accept the arid Ogaden region of Ethiopia inhabited largely by Somali nomads including the disputed Wal Wal area, the British would offer Ethiopia the port of Zeila in British Somaliland to be connected by a corridor running through the territory in exchange. Few in London were convinced that Mussolini would be tempted by the deal because it still depends on the approval of Addis Ababa. Despite well founded claims by experts such as Geoffrey Thompson that Mussolini would accept nothing short of a total absorption of Ethiopia, Eden’s mission went ahead regardless. It was a desperate and poorly conceived attempt to avoid disaster that had little chance of success. But then for British these were desperate times. pp. 179

Mussolini had effectively rejected the ‘Zeila Plan’ even before Eden arrived at the Stazione Termini on the evening of 23rd June. ..... . Mussolini spoke only of revenge, of the Italian need to avenge Adowa, while at the luncheon party that followed their first meeting the dictator ‘strutted’ and ‘attitudinised’ in a manner which left no doubt as to the extent of his egomania, and his inert inability to compromise under any circumstances. .... To no one’s great surprise Mussolini rejected the ‘Zeila Plan’. If he accepted it, it would mean that Ethiopia would become a ‘maritime power’...... Besides, Laval had to all intents and purposes already given him a ‘free hand in Ethiopia’ during his visit to Rome in early January’

Thereafter, as they say, the rest is history. No appeasement on British side worked. Reading the book, you feel that Britain would have stopped the war by blocking transportation of 400,000 Italian Soldiers, 350 aircrafts and million tons of ammunition through Suze Canal.

In page 159, Robert narrates Mussolini’s fear of losing the war like Adwa.

‘...Mussolini had been worried about the potential of League involvement in his war with Ethiopia. As the dictator told De Bono shortly before the summit meeting in Northern Italy the game plan was to win the conflict as quickly as was possible, and the only way to ensure this was to attach the enemy with overwhelming force. Nominating, De Bono overall commander-in-chief of the entire operation the dictator informed him that he would be responsible for an exceptionally large fighting force that should used to crush the enemy mercilessly. As Mussolini put it, ‘You have asked for three divisions by the end of October: I intend to send you 10, then ‘ I, telling you’. Of these five would be regular Esercito division, with the remainder being made up of Black Shirt units. In total the expeditionary army would constitute 300,000 men equipped with 300 fast tanks and between 300 and 500 aircrafts’.

Eventually, Musolini couldn’t believe even with this superior force he might face another Adwa in the hands of Ethiopians. So he has to keep increasing the size of the army. On page 218, you find the following.

‘At the close of 1934 Mussolini and his senior military commanders had considered an Italian troop deployment of between 80 and 100,000 to be sufficient to defeat the Ethiopian armed forces. But by the early autumn of 1935 around 400,000 Italian troops had been shipped to East Africa, with a further 250,000 scheduled to arrive there in the early month of 1936. The Northern front, which De Bono, Badoglio and the Army High Command had designated as the

principal base for offensive operation against the Ethiopians, absorbed the lion’s share of available resources. In total around 350,000 metropolitan troops were deployed in Eritrea equipped with artillery, tanks and air units and a further 70,000 indigenous men gave the Mussolini regime a crashing superiority over its East African adversaries. On the Southern front, three battalions of Eritrean troops equipped with armoured cars and thirty aircrafts were deemed sufficient to perform the largely defensive strategic role expected of Somaliland and its commander Rodolf Graziani. pp 218

The book stops just before the war of revenge and colonization started. It took 7 months for Italian to control Addis Ababa and through this time the methods used to subjugate the people was described by Emperor Haile-Sellase in his Geneva speech as follows.

‘…towards the end of 1935, Italian aircraft hurled upon my armies bombs of tear-gas. Their effects were but slight. The soldiers learned to scatter, waiting until the wind had rapidly dispersed the poisonous gases. The Italian aircraft then resorted to mustard gas. Barrels of liquid were hurled upon armed groups. But this means also was not effective; the liquid affected only a few soldiers, and barrels upon the ground were themselves a warning to troops and to the population of the danger.

It was at the time when the operations for the encircling of Makalle were taking place that the Italian command, fearing a rout, followed the procedure which it is now my duty to denounce to the world. Special sprayers were installed on board aircraft so that they could vaporize, over vast areas of territory, a fine, death-

dealing rain. Groups of nine, fifteen, eighteen aircraft followed one another so that the fog issuing from them formed a continuous sheet. It was thus that, as from the end of January, 1936, soldiers, women, children, cattle, rivers, lakes and pastures were drenched continually with this deadly rain. In order to kill off systematically all living creatures, in order to more surely to poison waters and pastures, the Italian command made its aircraft pass over and over again. That was its chief method of warfare’

On May 1936, Mussolini controlled Addis Ababa. And yet he couldn’t believe that Ethiopians would not bow down. In 1937 an attempt to encircle Addis Ababa and destroy the Italian force by the Ethiopian patriots failed. So Italy wanted the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Bishop to give a blessing for the rule of Il Duce but the Bishop refused.

Following the fall of Addis Ababa, Abune Petros began to preach to the resistance forces in northern Shewa and Wollo, but was captured during an attempt by the resistance to drive the Italians out of Addis Ababa in 1937. The Bishop was asked by the Italians to submit to their rule and recognize King Vittorio Emanuelle as Emperor of Ethiopia, and was even pleaded with by the Archbishop Abune Kerlos (Egyptian) and the Bishop of Gojjam Abune Abraham to do so. However, Abune Petros refused to recognize any other government other than the Ethiopian government and any other King other than Haile Selassie I. As a result, Abune Petros was taken out into a public square in Addis Ababa and executed by firing squad. Before he was shot Abune Petros pronounced an anathema against the people and the very soil of Ethiopia if they ever accepted the rule of the Italians

On the contrary, few years after the execution of Abune Petros the Nazi forced captured France. The Prime Minster of France that gave away, Ethiopia to Italy couldn’t master half the courage of the Ethiopian bishop. He agreed to serve the Nazi and execute their plan in France. So he was made a Prime Minster to deport Jews and able body France citizens to Nazi ammunition factories as slave labour.

Though the book didn’t address anything after October 3, 1935, Ethiopia and France regained their freedom. Laval was captured to face the firing squad and Mussolini was hanged upside down. And of course, a monument was erected for Abune Petros at the centre of Addis Ababa.

Though the book is a narration of pre-invasion of Ethiopia and I have to search what happened to Laval.

And the most surprising thing is there seems to be some sort of divine justice after all. In 1945, Mussolini was shot and hanged upside down and the French Prime Minister Pierre Laval sentenced to death by librated France to face a firing squad.

The book is easy read and you also see the moral dimension of history. Abune Pertos took the path of principle but Laval failed.

Hence, I recommend the book for those interested in Pre World War II history of Europe and history of Ethiopia.

Mussolini in . . .



Gender equity for... page 30

COMMENTARY +

VIEWPOINT +

Since 2000, Africa has recorded impressive rates of economic growth, owing largely to development assistance and a prolonged commodity boom. While the continent shows great diversity in the socioeconomic trajectories, growth rates have generally masked an underlying lack of structural transformation.

Many African countries have yet to undergo the kind of transformation that is necessary for socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable development over the long term: namely, industrialization. Wherever industrialization has occurred, it has reliably improved economic diversification and helped to nurture, strengthen, and uphold the conditions for competitive growth and development.

In recent decades, some developing countries – mainly in Asia – have managed to industrialize. But, despite repeated attempts, African countries have not. In 2014, the Asia and Pacific region’s share of value added in global manufacturing was 44.6 percent, whereas Africa’s was just 1.6 percent. With South Africa as its only industrialized country, Sub-Saharan Africa is the least industrialized region in the world.

For African countries to achieve sustainable development, they will have to increase substantially the share

of industry – especially manufacturing – in their national investment, output, and trade. And, to their credit, most African countries already recognize that such a transformation is necessary to address a wide range of interconnected challenges that they are now confronting.

One such challenge is population growth. More than half of the continent’s 1.2 billion people are under the age of 19, and almost one in five are between the ages of 15 and 24. Each year, 12 million new workers join the labor force, and they will need the tools and skills to ensure their future livelihoods. Industrialization is the key to helping Africa’s fast-growing population realize a demographic dividend.

A related challenge is migration. Many of Africa’s most ambitious and entrepreneurially minded young people are joining others in migrating north. But no country, especially in Africa, can afford to lose so much talent and potential. Industrialization alone cannot resolve the migration crisis, but it can address one root cause, by creating jobs in the countries of origin.

A third challenge is climate change, which weighs heavily on countries where agriculture is still the primary sector for employment. To confront the threat, Africa will need to develop and adopt green technologies, while channeling more investment into

resource efficiency and clean energy. With the right investments, African countries can reduce the cost of delivering power to rural areas, and contribute to global efforts to reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.

In short, Africa must industrialize, and it must do so in a socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable manner. Given that most previous efforts at sustainable development in Africa have failed, there is a clear need for a new approach: a broad-based, country-owned process that taps financial and non-financial resources, promotes regional integration, and fosters cooperation among Africa’s development partners.

As it happens, the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2016-2025 to be the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa. During IDDA III, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, which I lead, will spearhead the new approach to sustainable development sketched above. UNIDO has put its full support behind partnerships for mobilizing resources, and is offering a tested model for African countries to follow: the Programme for Country Partnership (PCP).

UNIDO’s PCP provides countries with technical assistance, policy advice, and

Li Yong.

Africa’s must-do decade

A girl in Ethiopia could grow up to engineer a new method for improving agricultural yields, if only she could meet the right mentor. A young woman in Malawi has ideas for new cancer treatments, but will never apply them if she is pushed out of school. And a girl in Rwanda has all the skills to create a mathematical model to mitigate droughts; all she needs is a research grant to help her pay for college.

There is a global gender imbalance in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – the so-called STEM disciplines. But in Africa, this imbalance is doing more than threatening individual futures. It is also depriving the continent of talents and contributions needed to drive development and progress. A 2011 African Development Bank report finds that “getting women into science and technology ultimately promises to benefit society as a whole.”

Gender equity in STEM is achievable, and many African scholars are showing the world how to do it. But they need help, and programs that offer scholarships and support are among the best ways to achieve parity in the sciences.

The causes of Africa’s STEM gender imbalance are often compared to a leaky pipe: girls start out with interest and aptitude, but drop out of the disciplines at various points in their education. Early data from a Mastercard Foundation initiative aimed at reversing these trends show that a comprehensive approach to plugging the leaks can make a difference.

Success begins with acknowledging that

gender equity in STEM matters. “Science needs us” is how Armanda Kouassi, an industrial engineer and former Mastercard Foundation scholar, puts it. “With different ideas and perspectives come better solutions and thinking that can move scientific innovations forward and benefit the whole of Africa.”

Kouassi is right. Africa cannot afford to squander its young, female talent. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a shortfall of some 2.5 million engineers, technologists, mathematicians, and scientists. This dearth of expertise threatens a number of Sustainable Development Goals, such as food security, health care, clean water and sanitation, energy, and infrastructure.

Removing gender barriers to STEM requires African governments to make equity in the sciences a priority. Nowhere is this happening more successfully than in Rwanda, where our collective experience has helped more than 1,250 girls and young women excel in STEM disciplines.

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, is one of these agents of change. The school believes that the next Einstein could be an African woman, an educational approach that informs its comprehensive strategy to plug leaks in the STEM development pipeline.

AIMS’s innovative approach includes helping governments train teachers, ensure that female students are not vastly outnumbered in their classrooms, support students who are mothers, and engage with industry leaders to help

graduates succeed in their careers. To attract more female students, 30 percent of the school’s scholarships are reserved for female applicants, and the school aspires to reach 50 percent in the near future.

Similarly, Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa), also in Kigali, is championing change by allocating 30 percent of its scholarships to young women. These commitments will have a positive effect on the entire institution, as CMU-Africa seeks to increase dramatically enrollment of female scientists.

Finally, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) in Rwanda has funded the education of 1,200 girls enrolled at the country’s top-performing secondary schools specializing in STEM subjects. Of these students, an estimated 70 percent are expected to study science at the university level.

Despite these positive developments, quotas alone will not achieve parity. To make lasting gains, opportunities outside the classroom are also needed. At FAWE Rwanda, a program called Tuseme (a Swahili word meaning “let’s speak out”) offers girls leadership training through drama, song, and creative arts to teach presentation, negotiation, and decision-making skills. FAWE Rwanda also works with teachers to develop gender-responsive pedagogical methods.

Likewise, at CMU-Africa, scholars are invited to participate in the university’s

Aminata Garba, Dorothy Nyambi, Hendrina Doroba, and Ivy Mwai.

Gender equity for Africa’s scientists



Financial investors’ ... page 35

OPINION

OPINION +

If financial investors were to write letters to Santa Claus this Christmas, they would probably be tempted to ask for the continuation of the unusual combination of factors that has dominated over the last year: ultra-low market volatility, booming financial-asset values, correlations that lower the cost of portfolio risk mitigation, and promising new opportunities (such as Bitcoin). But before making their wish list, investors should consider the longer-term risks associated with the decoupling of financial markets from economic and policy fundamentals.

Investors could be forgiven for hoping for more of the same. After all, with less than a month to go, 2017 is on course to be a hugely, if not historically rewarding year for them. As of December 12, global stock markets, and in particular the S&P index, had returned around 20 percent for the year – and this on top of an already-strong multi-year run. Add to that unusually low volatility – in the US, 2017 so far has shown the lowest daily loss in the entire history of the S&P 500 index – and there has been little to keep investors up at night.

Usually, such strong stock returns are accompanied by lower prices for government bonds – the so-called negative correlation between risky and safe assets. Not so in 2017. Despite the impressive equity rally, the price of longer-term US Treasury bills was higher at the beginning of December than at the start of the year.

And then there is the precipitous rise of the crypto-currency Bitcoin. With its price having surged by an eye-popping amount this year (from around USD

1,000 to over USD 16,000 as of December 12), even a small allocation of Bitcoin has made a material difference in investors’ portfolios.

Five main factors have enabled this unusual situation.

A synchronized pickup in global economic growth, which continues to strengthen.

Progress in the United States on pro-growth policies.

Skillful normalization of monetary policy (which is still ongoing) by the US Federal Reserve.

Passive investment products attracting large inflows.

Continued large liquidity injections from three big central banks – the Bank of Japan (BOJ), the European Central Bank (ECB), the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) – which, together with cash-rich corporate balance sheets, have served to lower funding costs for a significant set of households and corporates.

Now for the less exuberant news: without continued economic and policy improvements, the factors that have delighted investors in 2017 risk generating an unpleasant reversal of fortune. This year’s strong performance has, after all, been buoyed significantly by “borrowed” returns from future years.

With regard to mitigating portfolio risk, the increase in government bond prices leaves little room for this traditionally safe asset to compensate for a possible decline in stocks. Given how many value-at-risk-based models work, the

persistence of low volatility has resulted in a crowded trade in a number of areas, which could turn out to be technically fragile.

As for Bitcoin, its vertiginous rise – fueled in part by the growing participation of institutional investors – may imply that it is on the path toward broad acceptance. But it may also turn out to be little more than a large financial bubble, implying serious damage when it inevitably collapses.

What, then, should investors really be hoping for in the coming year? In general, the top priority must be improvement in economic and policy fundamentals to the point that they better validate existing elevated asset prices, while laying a foundation for greater gains over time.

Achieving this would require, in the US, the expansion of pro-growth policies, which, as recently announced by Donald Trump’s administration, would include adding an infrastructure plan to deregulation and tax measures. European countries should also pursue more focused pro-growth measures at the national level, while supporting stronger regional efforts, facilitated by a reinvigorated reform-minded Franco-German leadership and a relatively orderly Brexit process.

As for Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should take advantage of his commanding majority in the Diet, won in October’s snap general election, to implement the third “arrow” of Abenomics: pro-growth structural reforms. Finally, to

Mohamed A. El-Erian.

Financial investors’ wish list for 2018

How the world uses energy is a hot topic for a warming planet, and fears of pollution and resource strain have produced a virtual arms race of energy-efficiency strategies. From the European Union to China, economies are vowing to reduce their energy intensity with the help of technological innovations and legislative changes.

Yet, despite these promises, consumer demand for energy is forecast by the International Energy Agency to rise until at least 2040. With the world’s energy needs growing, how can policymakers guarantee supply?

To put it bluntly, the world has nothing to worry about when it comes to reserves. After 40 years of fearing energy shortages, we have entered an era of abundance. We need to guard against false narratives, not scarce resources.

The culprit of this storyline is the Club of Rome, a global think-tank that, in the 1970s, spurred energy anxiety with its absurd prophecies derived from questionable models. As devoted followers of Thomas Malthus and Paul Ehrlich, the club argued that bad things come from exponential growth, and good things from linear growth. This idea fueled the prediction that the world would run out of oil by 2000.

By adopting this nonsense dogma, developed countries enabled resource-rich authoritarian leaders like Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran, to

use their oil reserves as tools to oppose the West – and particularly its support for Israel. This contributed to the oil shocks of the 1970s, and reinforced the erroneous perception that hydrocarbon reserves were even more limited, and largely confined to the Middle East.

Rapid advances in technology, particularly in the field of exploration and the ability to extract hydrocarbons in new places, eventually upended such narratives. Today’s energy “crisis” stems not from shortages, but from anxiety over pollution.

But this anxiety has not slowed our exploration habits. On the contrary, politics and international law, like the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, have been adapted to enable discovery. Consider, for example, the Rovuma gas field off the coast of Mozambique. Today, a consortium of international companies from countries including Italy and China is preparing production, and one of Africa’s poorest countries is set to reap huge rewards.

Similarly, Israel, once thought to be the only place in the Middle East without hydrocarbons, is sitting on 800 billion cubic meters of offshore gas reserves, more than 130 years of the country’s current annual gas consumption. Once a net energy importer, Israel today faces the very real challenge of exporting its gas bonanza.

But perhaps the biggest technology-driven upheaval for global energy

markets in recent years has come from shale gas and shale oil production in the United States. At 8.8 million barrels per day, US oil production is now higher than that of Iraq and Iran combined. US shale gas is being delivered to Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe. These markets were long locked up by Qatar, Russia, and Australia, but now the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry, like the oil market, has entered a period of overproduction.

Taken together, these developments have contributed to lower energy prices, and reduced the strength of OPEC. Furthermore, because LNG is favored by the transport sector (particularly freight and maritime shippers) for environmental reasons, the ability to use oil as a geopolitical weapon has disappeared. Iran was so desperate to ramp up its oil exports that it agreed to abandon its nuclear program (strikingly, the Iran nuclear deal mentions the word “oil” 65 times).

Wind and solar are often presented as alternatives to oil and gas, but they cannot compete with traditional sources for electricity generation. If they could, there would be no reason for the EU to support renewable energy production through legislation. Moreover, while wind and solar technologies generate electricity, the biggest energy demand comes from heating. In the EU,

Samuele Furfari.

The myth of a fossil fuel phase-out

p



unable to provide incentives to regional elites to subscribe to the idea of a homogeneous nation. Furthermore, lack of national institutions and networks that run across clans or regions will continue to undermine the emergence of a strong national identity.

“In your countries when a policeman approached you, and asked you what happened to you; the natural response is not which tribe this policeperson is from but the fact that he/she represent the law. Right now, unfortunately, most of the security forces in Somalia are probably accountable to both the clan elders and the national government; sometimes to a company, which may employ them to protect its properties,” Keating said, explaining how the Somalis are struggling to build a national identity and strong institutions so as to insure peace

After a decade of operations in Somalia, AMISOM is yet to show results by way of its objectives. Still different groups including Al-Shabaab are formidable challenges for the federal government and for AMISOM itself.

As conditions start to stabilize, the mission is mandated to begin to pave the way for the transfer of the security apparatus to the Somalis; however, it looks like there is little progress in that front as well. It is challenging, because the situation in the entire country is not that conducive for such actions. Though it is changing its tactics now, Al-Shabaab is still a strong challenge for the federal government.

In fact, there are places, which are not yet fully liberated from the group, and this is a major challenge to establish a strong central government. Nevertheless, Michael Keating,

Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), appreciates the efforts made by the AMISOM in bringing peace and stability to Somalia; however, he underlined that Al-Shabaab is still a major threat to the process.

“Of course, the problem is that Al-Shabaab is changing its tactics, and it is adapted to this new reality and it is demonstrated continuously to have a serious capacity to inflict damages including in the urban areas. Therefore, I don’t want to underestimate the nature of the violence and the conflict.” Keating said during a press briefing with journalists from TCC in his office in Mogadishu.

The security sector is still very weak and cannot guarantee security to most of the citizens; and hence citizens are more indulgent to the order of their

clans than the government security forces. Access to justice is hindered by poor harmonization of the formal and informal judicial systems. There has not been a system of government that ensures equity across clans and regions. The national government has not replaced the clan as a source of security for individuals.

Apart from this lack of national vision and identity, clan is also another factor that prevents identifying oneself with the national government. According to experts, there is less shared vision for Somalia beyond the clans. “Clan divisions are still big obstacles to national integration and stabilization,” they argue.

The construction of national identity will be a long-term nation-building project for the new government. As far as Keating is concerned, the weak central government has been

Nation building in ... CONT`D FROM PAGE 13



and security.

The sign of a functional state is when the state has the monopoly on the use of force, not when you have different people telling the security forces what to do, Keating argues. In this regard, the reality on the ground in Somalia is that power and force is fragmented across different groups all of which are tasked to rebuild or reconstruct Somalia.

Another challenge for the process of peace building in Somalia is the involvement of the external actors. Although external actors are not the main cause of conflict in Somalia, they are often drivers of the conflict as they form alliance with local actors affecting the conflict trajectory. External actors and states that created an alliance with local actors contributed a great deal to the perpetuation of the Somalia conflict.

True to form, many foreign countries have used Somalia to

advance their interest mainly due to its strategic location. For example, Egypt’s dynamism with respect to Somalia to advance its interest against Ethiopia is perhaps the most straightforward. Previously, due to the Cold War rivalry with the United States (US), the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was also interested in Somalia’s strategic location. According to commentators, even today the likes of the US, Europe and Arab countries are working tirelessly to protect their strategic interests at the expense of Somalia.

Although the international community is exerting its effort to normalize the war thorn Somalia, the result achieved so far are not that satisfactory, commentators say. This situation seems to continue for the coming years according to Keating; “Somalia is making a definite but quite fragile progress measured in

a number of ways, clearly the country was in conflict for more than two decades, that conflict is not yet over, there are still violent insurgencies, mainly associated with Al-Shabaab and there are still a number of local conflicts around the country over resources, revenues and long standing disputes between clans.”

In this regard, the question to strengthen the central government of Somalia is not yet addressed concerning the transfer of power to the government and the abilities of the government to assume security responsibility is not also addressed and the government is not ready to do so.

Many scholars and politicians believe that Somalia is ethnically homogenous, with one language and religion, how then could a society that has all these things in common disintegrate and suddenly fall apart? What type of political organization can be

offered in this type of society? Though Somalia is homogenous the politics and allegiance to clan and clan-based social organizations and affiliations are the major problems and hindrance to the unity of the country and establishment of strong and vibrant institutions and hence addressing this clan-led politics is the critical issue that the international community needs to address so as to bring peace and stability in Somalia.

However, Charles Geshekter, a known commentator in his article entitled The Death of Somalia in Historical Perspective stated, “There is no solution to Somalia because only puzzle have solutions. Somali reconstruction will be a political process negotiated through imperfect settlement, acceptable compromise and partial victories that do not adhere to fixed timetable.”



Ed.’s Note: Tsion Taye is a researcher in the field of Agricultural Economics. She is a graduate of Wageningen university from which she

obtained her Masters and PhD degrees. Her passions include reading books and reflecting on life experiences with whomever shares this passion. She can be reached for comments at [email protected].

30|

YOUR MIND

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else mattered except our scores, we had basically ignored every other important aspects of our higher education.

Even our teachers were wrapped around in preparing us for the exam at the cost of anything else that was deemed to “not matter”. We didn’t write essays in class because all questions were multiple choice in the exam. We weren’t given any presentation tasks nor assigned research projects because they were assumed to detract time from what was thought to be ultimately important. Our lab activities plummeted to once a month because no technical skill was examined on the test.

As a current college student studying abroad, however, I have noticed how these “extra” activities are crucial during one’s time in college. Proficiency in writing essays comes in very handy

for the countless amount of papers one has to write; good technical expertise is indispensable for lab sessions during hands-on projects while research skills become extremely vital in a scholarly environment.

As such, our government should make it its mission to adopt a holistic approach of college admissions in order to motivate students to cultivate these essential skills that are integral in tertiary level education.

After all, isn’t the whole point of a National Exam to evaluate how fit students are for college?

Ed.’s Note: The writer, who requested his name to be withheld, is an undergraduate engineering student. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter..

An off the beam . . .

Meeting of the Minds Symposium, an annual global gathering for undergraduates to showcase their work to a wider audience of faculty, students, government officials, and industry representatives. And, the Next Einstein Forum, a select program at AIMS that recognizes Africa’s best young scientists and technologists – of which 40 percent are women – provides emerging innovators with an opportunity to lead their own research while inspiring the next generation of scientific thinkers.

Inequalities faced by girls and young women in African education cannot be erased overnight. As Rebecca, a Mastercard Foundation scholar from Uganda, remembers, “When I was at my school, the boys used to call us ‘half-men,’ because if you’re a lady and you go for sciences, you’re a half-man.” But, Rebecca adds, “It was cool being a science student.”

Africa needs more women who share Rebecca’s enthusiasm for STEM. To ensure that science remains appealing to girls, schools, governments, and industries must cooperate to educate teachers and mentors, and allocate

funding to close the gender gap.

As Miranda, another Mastercard Foundation scholar, recently observed, “As we try to find new innovations and inventions to drive the economy, I believe that math and science is at the forefront of that progress.” As professionals working to improve African education, we couldn’t agree more.

Ed.’s Note: Aminata Garba is an assistant teaching professor in electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University Africa. Dorothy Nyambi is Executive Vice President of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). Hendrina Doroba is Executive Director of the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE). Ivy Mwai is a senior program manager at the Mastercard 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.

Gender equity for . . .

investments to help them design and implement industrialization strategies. The program was launched in 2014, and is already being successfully implemented in two African countries – Ethiopia and Senegal – and in Peru.

The PCP provides a multi-stakeholder partnership model that can be adapted to each country’s national development agenda. It is designed to work in synergy with governments and their partners’ ongoing development efforts, while funneling additional funds and investments toward sectors that have high growth potential and are important to a particular government’s industrial-development agenda. Priority sectors are typically chosen for their job-creation, investment, and export potential, and for their access to necessary raw materials.

The PCP approach is designed to maximize the impact of all partner programs and projects that are relevant to industrial development. To that end, strategic partnerships with financial

institutions and the business sector are particularly important. With these in place, African countries can marshal additional resources for infrastructure, innovation, expertise, and new technologies.

UNIDO’s goal is to make the PCP model the mainstream approach for all African countries. We stand ready to support Africa on its path to inclusive and sustainable industrial development – during IDDA III and beyond.

Ed.’s Note: Li Yong is Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. 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.

Africa’s must-do . . .

Suicide: a permanent decision you will not live

to regretI recently watched a movie entitled ’13 reasons why’ telling the story of a high school student who committed suicide. As the story unrolls, audio cassettes recorded by the girl prior to her death explain the 13 reasons why she decided to kill herself. Although the story tells the typical daily life struggles of an American high school student, I strongly believe that the lesson that one gets from the story applies to each and every one of us in all walks of life and all nationalities. The story is for me a reminder that we all need each other although we may think we don’t. For me, the story highlights how love is as indispensable as food and water to our everyday existence in this world.

Out of curiosity, I started browsing the internet for data on suicide rates in Ethiopia. A 2014 WHO report reveals that suicides account for 1.14% of total deaths in Ethiopia. Now this might seem a small number but is actually not. I believe that we Ethiopians have traditionally a very strong social system. Living in Ethiopia, one is rarely short of people who provide support of various kind in bad as in good times. Whether Christianity, Islam or other, religion provides a refuge to many. Seeking mental peace from advices of professional psychiatrists is in my opinion not very common in this country. But I have my doubts that this strong social bond and religious beliefs is as strong as it was say fifty or sixty years back. I believe that more individualism and more selfish behaviors is gaining momentum in our society. Many people come to your rescue in dire situations only as a return to a favor you did them in your good times. It is very rarely that you find people who would genuinely be concerned about your issues and be willing to give you sincere advice or other support and try to pull you out of your depression and misery. So, this got me wondering, could all this change in social behavior have contributed to the not so small suicide rate among our citizens?

I will bet on whatever you would like me to bet on that economic prosperity does not assure one’s mental health. If money gives you peace of mind, then why would Japan have a higher suicide rate than Ethiopia, for instance? Staying in Europe as a student, I have understood what it means to yearn for human contact (figuratively). Since everyone is immersed in their busy lives, people rarely have time to listen to the things that bother you. In my few years of stay there, I had to witness the suicide of two African students who ended their own lives in students’ apartments. Sometimes I ask myself, had their families and friends been there to give attention to their internal battles, would it have been possible to prevent these tragic events from happening?

The Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said ‘l’enfer c’est les autres’, literally meaning in English ‘hell is other people’. Although this might be true at times, I say ‘heaven is other people’ as well. There is a saying in Amharic that goes like ‘Eshohen be eshoh’, meaning that you can only pull out a thorn stuck in your skin using another thorn. What I mean to say is, although people cause our sufferings, we also need people to pull us out of our sufferings. Suicide is a tragedy that can be avoided only when we can stand for each other in painful times. As we rush in our daily “busy” lives, we can end up ignoring and losing what we need while chasing what we want in life.



Bits PiecesBy Leyou Tameru

&

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

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

@anchihoye

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CONT`D FROM PAGE 18

the possibility of divorce not only undesirable but almost impossible through the invocation of “serious cause for divorce”, the active involvement of elders and family arbitrators and convoluted and unfair apportioning of common property. In contradistinction to the Civil Code, the Family Code makes it possible for a unilateral decision to divorce from either spouse to bring about the dissolution of a marriage. Furthermore, the Family Code handles the division of common property better and introduced fairness into the proceedings.

Numbers do not lie. A good percentage of women who have sought divorce since the enactment of the Family Code a mere 17 years ago would have done so years earlier if they had been given the chance. These women who happen to be our mothers, daughters, sisters, ex-wives, future wives and most essentially humans, are courageous to have chosen a healthier path away from situations that no longer made them happy. We should applaud them and use them as examples rather than guilt tripping them and other women into staying in an arrangement that does not benefit any parties involved.

Moreover, we need to dismiss any view that dumps the responsibility of keeping a marriage intact and working on the wife and most importantly treats men like mere children who because of their volatile and impetuous behavior and physical natures do not know what they are doing. Men of marriageable age are not children or immature or unable to control their emotions. Men are rational and logical and anything that runs counter to this statement is infantilizing and dangerous.

I’m surprised that men have not yet spoken up about how they are portrayed in the media. They are insulted and ridiculed, likened to children that throw tantrums over burnt dinners and basically unable to string sentences together to effectively communicate with their wives. Men I know have always taken responsibility for their actions and exercise their agency in a manner that would dispel any sort of lingering doubt as to the importance of an equal partnership and the troubling notion that their wives have to also play the role of their mothers.

These stereotypes and deference to culture has and continues to get people killed, abused and forces children to grow up in an environment that does not have their best interests at heart. What should concern and alarm us is the fact that these sentiments expressed in these shows have made the decision to divorce, especially for women in abusive situations, all the more harder.

Men and women alike can now leave a loveless and unfulfilling union without regard to society and culture that is dogmatic and forever unchanging. We need to stop romanticizing the olden days where both husbands and wives stayed married for the benefit of society in the shackles of “yilugnta” at the physical and psychological detriment of their kids. As someone who has greatly benefited from her parents’ divorce, I would like you to know that divorce is also beneficial to kids. I was fiercely loved, adored, and taken care of by both my parents. Their divorce has not left a distinguishing mark. It never does. I assure you, children who are from broken homes are no less capable of anything. We are quite well adjusted and happy. Seeing my mother, who at a ridiculously young age, decided to leave a very comfortable home and rise up to the occasion to make another one for her and her daughter, gave me the self-confidence very few have.

It is children, who grow up witnessing how terrible their parents are at marriage and its effect on their ability or desire to provide a stable and happy home that should be of concern. Our time and efforts are better spent ensuring the best interests of a child are met, emphasizing the role a father and a mother play in the upbringing of the child as opposed to how they are linked as husband and wife. Our collective efforts and scorn should be lobbed at absentee fathers and mothers.

I would like to make a parallel between what Jossy and Hanna have done in a span of a week. They have both advertently or inadvertently undermined the

importance and efficacy of the protections afforded by federal laws to women and children in abusive homes. Jossy dismissed glaring evidence that brought about the need to overhaul laws governing familial bonds making it harder for women to resort to legal means while Hanna, most painfully, normalized acts that are otherwise illegal under our Criminal Code. Willfully inflicting bodily injury or harm on another is a serious crime and having it condoned on mainstream media is horrific.

There is nothing more toxic and damaging to one’s psyche and physical body than living under a roof where disrespect, insults and abuse are the norm. More often than not and usually in the heat of the moment children are caught in the crossfire and grow up thinking that the unhappiness their parents have brought on themselves is their fault and wholeheartedly believe that a perfectly timed insult or punch is an effective way to bring peace in the home. Coming from homes that have failed to provide a stable and nurturing environment, children of abuse are likely to repeat the same patterns believing the only way they will get heard, resolve conflict or get respect is through abuse.

Hanna and Jossy both could have used the incredible opportunity that has been given to them in simultaneously reaching millions of homes and truly done some good. Jossy, for instance, could have, with the help and expertise of child psychologists and marriage counselors as well as judges that frequently preside over divorce proceedings looked into the reason behind the uptick of divorce in Ethiopia. He along with his producers could have at least attempted to give us quality programing in addressing social ills such as growing in toxic and abusive homes and the physical and psychological impact it has on children.

The Ethiopian Broadcast Authority and other relevant authorities should be wary of shows that discourage or put undue influence on people to exercise the rights and entitlements enshrined in the Constitution Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia as well as regional and federal laws. And more importantly, the Authority and other relevant bodies should have a zero tolerance policy towards content that incites violence and emboldens perpetrators of violence to commit more heinous crimes contrary to laws such as the Federal Criminal Code.

There is a definite and unaddressed need to have sensitivity training and gender mainstreaming in shows that insist on covering issues that might traumatize and re-traumatize a good section of society. It would be prudent for governmental authorities in collaboration with relevant actors to design and disseminate toolkits and learning modules to producers and hosts of shows that delve into sensitive subjects that are surely going to affect public health and morals.

People in the entertainment industry need to make a choice. They need to either stick to what they know and focus on programing aimed to please and entertain or educate themselves as well as seek the help of professionals if and when they want to delve into delicate matters that tend to shape the morals and opinions of the general public. Moreover, the general public along with relevant government authorities needs to hold them up to a better standard and consume programing with a grain of salt.

Until a more comprehensive strategy is put in place, I, on behalf of my peers as well as the general population, would like to implore media personalities/celebrities and those working behind the scenes to exercise restraint and caution when addressing issues that sway public opinion or morals. Those who can or are in a position to do better should do better.

Ed.’s Note: Martha Basazienw Kassa received her LLM from Harvard Law School and LLB from Addis Ababa University, School of Law. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].

Promoting wrongs . . .

When being ousted, look to thy

neighbor…The political change in Zimbabwe is bringing to light an issue that had fallen out of the minds of Ethiopians and the political spotlight in Ethiopia. The new president of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnagagwa, has been asked by the opposition party of his own country for the extradition of Colonel Mengistu Halemariam, the former President of Ethiopia. It is known that Col. Mengistu Hailemariam has a pending life sentence in absentia by Ethiopian courts. The spokesperson of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has responded to these stating that they should not be asking for this as it does not concern domestic issue and that the Ethiopian government has not made any request. In addition he also alluded to some sort of “international” protocol that protects the former Ethiopian President.

The revival of this debate had me thinking about the number of former African presidents that were ousted in recent years by their people or some sort of national movement, “undemocratically” as some would say, have sought refuge in neighboring African countries. In the past year we have seen that happen with the former president of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, who is currently exiled in Equatorial Guinea. There is also the former president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, who after a popular uprising by his own people, took exile in Ivory Coast.

The case of former President Mugabe is the exception who has managed to negotiate a post-presidency life that does not consist of being exiled. I find this to be a very interesting trend. The more I think about these exiles, however, the more I ask myself about the idea of African unity. When I think of Blaise Compaore’s situation, I particularly ask myself about the role of African governments in the downfall or even assassination of fellow African heads of state. Blaise Compaore took power from this childhood friend and comrade Thomas Sankara. The role of the previous Ivorian President Boigny and the French and Belgian governments have been officially acknowledged in the murder of Thomas Sankara. Now, when Blaise Compaore was forced to leave his power, he took refuge in the country that assisted him in removing his comrade, who arguably was Africa’s most promising young president.

I struggle to understand how we, as Africans, should perceive and interpret these free passages, i.e. exiles. Are they proof of the camaraderie among our heads of states as opposed to that with the African people? Is it a case of you scratch my back I scratch yours or a mere act of peace ambassadors as they know that more bloodshed would happen had the heads of state not had this opportunity? I wonder!

The other side of the coin is that this trend could be an encouraging one for African heads of states that have overstayed their welcome. Knowledge of the possibility of being accepted into another African country and living until the end of their days without necessarily facing any sort of accountability for their time as presidents, will encourage them to take the leap to leaving power. This is in line with Mo Ibrahim’s offer to African heads of states that willingly leave power to receive $5 million and additional stipends for the rest of their lives.

If we have learned anything in 2017 though, it’s that when being ousted, a head of state can always negotiate his exile to another African country, a lesson Ethiopia has learned a few decades ago.



CELEBRATING WITH NEIGHBORS

The 12th Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Day was celebrated in Semera town, Afar regional state, last week. The celebration was attended by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, Sudan’s President, Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, Mahdi Mohamed Guled, other senior

the diplomatic corps. In addition to the different nations and nationalities of Ethiopia, nationalities from Djibouti were also part of the celebrations.

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US officeBox

C r o s s w o r d

Your Zodiacs (astrology-online.com)

ACROSS1. Treaties6. Remote10. Apply14. Almost15. Fail to win16. Monster17. Treacherous19. Desire20. Antacid21. Explosive22. Ale23. Typewrote25. Sleighs26. Credit or playing30. Conceive32. Shoulder board35. Rampaging39. Bear the expenses of40. Rye grass41. Demesnes43. The easing of tensions44. Casual eatery46. Being47. Author Mark _____50. Submerged ridge of rocks

53. Somersault54. Rechewed food55. Makes amends60. Cartoon bear61. Mix with impurities63. Chair64. A style of design65. Radiolocation66. 367. Killed68. GladdenDOWN1. Dad2. Cain’s brother3. Stopper4. A soft porous rock5. Supporting column6. Anagram of “Ail”7. Paid for something8. Apart9. A musical pause10. Crossbar on a wagon11. Yield12. Exhorted13. Ales 18. Do it yourself24. A sizeable hole

25. Brown ermine26. Formally surrender27. Mimics28. Flat float29. Indestructibility31. Adjutant33. Language of ancient Rome34. Visual organs36. Hotels37. Catches38. Delight 42. Baked dessert43. Female deer45. Make smaller47. Secret meeting48. Tempter49. Seaweed51. Not thin52. Cubic meter54. Scoundrels56. By mouth57. Zero58. French for “State”59. Arid62. Not high

4

8

Aries

This week is the right time for you to make plans. This week you have a good chance to get your act together and show what you’re made of. Daring to be different pays off, and you will soon see what a difference it makes. Someday you may decide to go into business for yourself. A co-worker friend of yours is an excellent money manager.

Taurus

You are going to have very busy days are ahead of

from others. There’s a good feeling in the air, so you may not even notice the fact that Mercury, the planet of communication, is beginning one of its retrograde periods.

Gemini

You enjoy conversations with young people. Just now, your analytical abilities are at a high point and you are very motivated to improve your work abilities. Any plans made by the end of this week that include ways in which you could increase your income will be productive.

Cancer

Money matters are improving during this period. It’s possible you may decide to consolidate and review a current path. The main purpose is to feel lighter and freer, as you need to be able to have that chance to express yourself unhampered by old thought patterns and beliefs.

Leo

Opportunities to enlarge your intellectual and spiritual horizons take high priority during this week. You will be able to see the big picture and get to the point. There will be a new meeting where you will learn something important, which in turn can help you to gain a new understanding.

Virgo

There will be some very important developments at the beginning of this week, as soon as the Moon is in your sign. There may be some very serious or

businesslike mood by the end of this week. A meeting with higher-ups will encourage you to be expressive, and you will want to choose your words carefully .

Libra

You should try to make the emotions that you have or the way that you feel very clear. Although you have great plans at the moment, you may have to revise them

can turn out to be a time in which you will discover some new and different reasons or ways to relish and celebrate life.

Scorpio

This week promises even more than last, but much depends on what your expectations are. Remember that if you expect nothing, you will get nowhere. There is also a tendency that you will feel the need to care for others or to have them care for you.

Sagittarius

If you focus your attention on the problem, the solution will appear more obvious. The main purpose during this week is to focus more on the valuable and less on the rubbish. Your thoughtful appreciation for ideas and concepts should make this an excellent time to think and study.

Capricorn

If you missed a chance last week, you will get another

are at a high point now. It looks like you are at your mental best. Your career direction will get a lift, and life’s problems should be also easy to solve.

Aquarius

This week will bring many good chances and very important ideas. You appreciate an imaginative approach and may value collective or unconventional ideas. By allowing yourself the freedom to follow your

breakthroughs with respect to your living situation or living conditions.

Pisces

This week is a great time for planning a party or participating in and having fun any way you can! On

practical insights into understandable words. Knowing that you are appreciated and esteemed for your gifts and talents can be stimulating. A loving friend that lives far away may visit this week.

Gluten, Garlic and Goshu!

Obvious. Just cut the 3 Gs.

And what are the 3 Gs.

I know what you should cut from

you diet?

Really my dear? What are they?

No, sir, it’s the same dog!

Hey mom, how did your appointment with the doctor go?

I think it was ok. He just told me to cut a few items from my

diet.

Well, how did I do sir?

LEISURE



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CONT`D FROM PAGE 10

promote stable growth, all of the world’s systemically important central banks – notably, the Fed, the BOJ, the ECB, and the PBOC – would need to continue coordinating their strategies, with a view to ensuring consistent monetary-policy stances.

Only with such efforts can the current pickup in global growth develop the structural roots that are needed to make it durable, balanced, and inclusive over the medium term. This is all the more critical at a time of fluid geopolitical risk and uncertain productivity, wage, and inflation dynamics.

However tempting it may be to focus our holiday wishes on our own immediate desires, it is imperative this year that investors’ wish lists take into account the big economic and policy picture.

Ed.’s Note: Mohamed A. El-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz, was Chairman of US President Barack Obama’s Global Development Council and is the author of The Only Game in Town: Central Banks, Instability, and Avoiding the Next Collapse. 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.

Financial investors’. . .

The myth of a fossil . . .for example, electricity represents only 22 percent of final energy demand, while heating and cooling represents 45 percent; transportation accounts for the remaining 33 percent.

All of these factors help explain why fossil fuels, which currently meet more than 80 percent of the world’s energy needs, will remain the backbone of global energy production for the foreseeable future. This may not come as welcome news to those pushing for an immediate phase-out of hydrocarbons. But perhaps some solace can be gained from the fact that technological innovation will also play a key role in reducing the negative impacts on air and water

quality.

Amid the global conversation about climate change, it is understandable that developed economies would promise significant gains in energy efficiency. But while the EU may be committed to reducing CO2 emissions, other signatories of the 2015 Paris climate agreement do not seem as resolute. It would not be surprising if most of the signatories actually raised their energy consumption in coming years, turning to fossil fuels because they cannot afford any other option.

Energy policy will remain on the agenda for advanced economies for many years to come. But as countries work

to balance security of supply with environmental goals, they must also commit to getting their facts straight.

Ed.’s Note: Samuele Furfari is a professor of the geopolitics of energy at Université libre de Bruxelles, and author of The Changing World of Energy and the Geopolitical Challenges. 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.

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agreed with Nestlé, is a pilot project designated for two years and may be extended based on its effectiveness during its very first implementation stage.

In a remark delivered at the launching of the WASH project, Athlete Haile Gebresilassie hailed Nestlé for their “self-driven” commitment to contribute to the welfare of the community besides the investment, which already “has brought various benefits for Sululta and surrounding residents in terms of

job opportunities.”

More importantly, he added, “I have to appreciate the company and am proud of you for showing responsibility, particularly your contribution for the well-being of our environment”.

In her brief remark, Mayor Muna praised Nestlé’s officials for the company’s “pioneer” projects from private companies in the town - assisting the communities near the factory as well as similar other projects

in two schools.

Nestlé Waters is the bottled water division of Nestlé Group based in Switzerland. It is the number one bottled water company in the world and currently operates in 33 African nations, including in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Ethiopia.

NWE is one of the natural spring water brands on the market with a 10 percent share.

Nestlé scheme . . .



forces” to intervene into the regional state’s affairs without the knowledge and consent of the regional government. Lemma vowed to conduct an organized probe into the “unlawful” intervention of the federal forces into regional matters without the knowledge of his government.

Following Lemma’s appearance on the regional media, residents of Ambo town took it to the street to denounce the killings of civilians which also turned deadly allegedly with the same kind of intervention from the federal forces.

According to sources in the area, unlike the previous clashes between civilians and the security forces, the one in Ambo is said to have pitted security forces against one another.

According to the same sources, the incident resulted in the death of two and wounding of one military personnel.

Experts have a hard time understanding the incident in light of the decision passed by the Security Council just a month ago. The Security Council which met aiming to evaluate the then current situation of the country and set directions for the future came up with measures to be taken if the country is to return to stability.

One of the measures approved by the National Security Council was the cooperation of the security forces at all levels (both regional and federal). The Council decided to have unity of purpose when it comes to regional and federal forces, which seems to be shaken by the current developments in different parts of the nation.

Apart from the decision to establish cooperation among federal and regional security forces, the October’s meeting of the National Security Council devised ways of reinstating the displaced people because of the conflicts between the Oromia and Somali Regional States. A committee had been established at the federal level to facilitate this work.

But, the reinstatement of the displaced

people is still an ongoing process and now is the time to settle for a long lasting solution, experts assert.

With these and other issues at stake, the EPRDF Executive Committee has convened again this week and is expected to bring tangible measures to put an end to the current situation. However, there are commentators who argue that the Executive Committee will have difficulty in bringing about lasting solution to the

situation as the violence in different parts of the country has different causes.

Concerned by the growing violence across the country, the US Embassy in Addis Ababa issued a statement this week regretting the deaths in Chelenko and various universities across the country. The Embassy also urged the government to seek ways of resolving the conflicts across the country.

The statement, indicating that it is

“troubled and saddened by reports of violence that has resulted in the deaths and injuries of people” encouraged “the people of Ethiopia to uphold their admirable and longstanding tradition of respecting their country’s ethnic diversity and its tradition of peaceful co-existence, and to seek constructive means to raise concerns and resolve their difference.”

Fresh unrest claims . . . CONT`D FROM PAGE 1

CONT`D FROM PAGE 1

to the country since January 2017. Petro China won the international bid floated by the EPSE in September 2016 and won the tender to supply diesel and gasoline for the 2017 fiscal year. Petro China’s contract will expire on December31, 2017.

Sources told The Reporter that the government now owes Petro China 170 million dollars for the petroleum products it supplied in the fiscal year. Usually payments should be settled within 90 days after the petroleum products have been delivered. According sources, the payment arears are now more than one year old.

Mean while international airlines flying to Addis Ababa are facing difficulty in repatriating their sales to their countries. Foreign carriers sell their tickets in the local currency Birr and repatriate their sales revenue in US dollars to their respective countries.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) told The Reporter that Ethiopia

has joined the list of African nations where international airlines face difficulties in repatriating their funds. According to IATA, Ethiopia owes foreign carriers 22 million dollars.

In an interview in his office in

Geneva, Switzerland Alexander de Juniac, director general and CEO of IATA, said that nine African countries have a total of 1.1 billion dollars in airlines’ blocked funds. Angola has the largest airlines blocked fund-507 million USD, Algeria-146

million, Sudan-125 million, Nigeria-121 million, Eritrea-64 million, Zimbabwe-52 million, Mozambique-33 million, Ethiopia 22 million and Libya 20 million.

Juniac told The Reporter that most of the countries faced shortage of foreign currency due to the drop in oil price while others have their own economic challenges. “We have been working with African governments to get the airlines blocked funds released and we are successful in releasing most of the funds in Egypt and Nigeria,” Juniac said.

The Ethiopian government officials explain that the country is facing the foreign currency crunch due to the commodity price decline in the international market stunting the foreign currency earnings. The increasing fuel imports and hefty expenditures on mega infrastructure projects are among the long list of contributing factors to the foreign currency shortage. The government is taking various measures to stimulate the weakened export.

Forex crunch compels . . .


The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |37 CONT`D FROM PAGE 1

CONT`D FROM PAGE 10

do, that more competition is conducive to improve productivity,” Lagarde said. She added that state-run enterprises are not necessarily competitive and productive, and noted the private sector should be given the opportunity to play a role.

“Not every state-owned enterprise is as good as Ethiopian Airlines. May be Ethiopian Airlines was a little bit opened up so that there will be equity coming in from the private sector, it would give good resources to Ethiopian authorities to invest in utilities that would help everybody”. She stressed that sharing some of the stakes with the private sector would not necessarily mean that Ethiopia loses its sovereignty.

When asked about her strong support to the policies of the government and about her positive views, Lagarde argued: “not always 100 percent positive,” but with balanced views she and her team engage with the authorities.

While welcoming the measure by the government to institute a 15 percent reduction of the purchasing power of the birr against US Dollar, she, however, recommended that the authorities introduce a flexible monetary policy [exchange rate regime]. Doing so will support an export-driven economy, Lagarde suggested. According to Lagarde, drive for export would lead to reduction of trade imbalance that the country has been suffering from for long.

On matters of the operations of the IMF office in Ethiopia, the chief counterclaimed that the office is functioning well and feeding her staff the needed information about Ethiopia. Yet, she said the office does not have IMF staff from Washington but has representatives operating out of Addis Ababa. It is to be recalled that last year she assigned Abebe Aemro Selassie, an Ethiopian, to run the African department with the IMF.

Talking about African economies, Lagarde said there are some countries seeing a decline in their per capita incomes. She noted that 17 countries (representing 40 percent of Africa’s population) are facing such the situation.

Seconding the managing director, Songwe said that both the IMF and UNECA needed to work in collaboration to alleviate some of the pressing challenges countries of the continent are faced with. She said that the “two foxes” which have met for the first time at UNECA premises have to forge ahead for the betterment of the people across Africa.

During her two-day visit to Ethiopia, Lagarde met with President Mulatu Teshome (PhD) and Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn. She also visited the Eastern Industrial Zone built by a Chinese firm. Her public lecture mostly focused on the virtues of technology and the role of women in Africa and beyond.

IMF chief calls . . .

at European embassies off the record in Addis and echoed each other’s version of what happened. The duo made unsuccessful dash to take cover with a larger group of Europeans that followed due

procedures and precaution. The Volcanic Lake at Erta Ale, near the Danakil Depression, not far from the Eritrean border, 800 kilometers northeast of the Addis Ababa, is mostly popular

with tourists.

The widow of the late doctor was stationed in Ethiopia for two years beginning in 2013 working at the German Embassy. He frequently made visits in

Ethiopia as a result and enjoyed

venturing outside of the capital.

“Africa was his great love,”

she told the German based

Schwaebische.de.

Death of Germany . . .

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The Reporter, December 16, 2017 Vol. XXII No. 1110 |39THE REPORTER SPORT

Winners of the 2016/17 Ethiopian Premier League, St George FC, will kick start their champions league campaign by facing champions of the South Sudanese topflight Al-Salaam FC in the preliminary round of the 2018 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League. This was announced on Wednesday by the continental football governing body Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The South Sudan Cup winners will visit the Horsemen in the first leg between February 9-11, 2018 with the return leg set to be played a week later, between February 16-18, 2018.

The successful winner between the two clubs will face either Uganda’ KCCA Football Club or Madagascar champions CNaPS SPORT.

Elsewhere, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco will begin the defense of their African Champions League title against either Mali’s Stade Malien or newcomers Williamsville AC of Ivory Coast.

As the reigning champions, Wydad are one of five teams to be given a bye into the second round of the tournament, which begins in March.

Horsemen to face Al-Salaam of South Sudan in champions league preliminaries

Beaten finalists in 2017 Al Ahly of Egypt and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Confederation Cup winners TP Mazembe are also straight into the second round.

The other teams to skip the first round are the 2016 African champions Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa and Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel, who lifted the trophy in 2007.

The 16 winners of the second round ties will advance to the group stage of the tournament.

For the first time ever Zambia had two teams in the draw with Zanaco, who reached the group stage in 2017 drawn to play Gambia Armed Forces, while Zesco United will play Zanzibar’s JKU SC.

The 2018 Champions League will begin on the weekend of 9-11 February with the

two-leg final set for November.

A change in the calendar for the Confederation of African Football means that the next Champions Leagues will begin in December 2018 and run through to May 2019.

After the 2019 final the competition will be held from August or September through to May of the next year.

Ethiopia Coffee FC are set to announce Didier Gomes Da Rosa, a French football manager and a former footballer, as their new head coach.

Gomes’ appointment comes after Serbian coach Kostadin Papic left the side after serving one month breaking the two years contract.

The Frenchman last managed JSM Skikda in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 2. He is famous for making an impressive impact in all the clubs he has managed in his early years in the African continent winning the league titles with Rayon Sports FC (2013), Coton Sport FC de Garoua (2014 and 2015) and also the Cameroonian Cup at the Garoua-based club.

Didier Gomes Da Rosa began his managerial career in 2008 in his home country France and managed three different clubs; AS Roquebrune Cap Martin, ES Fos sur Mer and AS Cannes in the League of the Mediterranean till 2011.

He first moved out of France in 2012 to Africa and more accurately to Rwanda where he was appointed as the manager of Rwandan giants, Rayon Sports FC on a three-year contract. The club, nicknamed “Gikundiro”

(the well-beloved), because of its popularity was in the relegation zone of the Rwanda National Football League after a disastrous start in the championship falling ten points short of league leaders and the club’s arch rivals, Armée Patriotique Rwandaise FC Under the Frenchman’s leadership, the Nyanza-based side made a spectacular comeback in the season which will be remembered by Rwandan football fans for the years to come. Seven months later, the Gikundiro thrashed rivals APR 4-0 in a historic win and were crowned the champions of the 2012–13 Rwanda National Football League. He also helped his side win the Genocide Memorial Tournament in 2013 where his side faced La Jeunesse Football Club in the finals. His side also participated 2013 Kagame Interclub Cup but unfortunately lost 1-0 to Burundi’s Vital’O FC in the semi-finals. The club after facing serious financial deficits parted ways with the French manager on a mutual consent.

In addition, he has also managed Cameroonian side Coton Sport and Algerian side CS Constantine.

Coffees to announce Gomes as head coach



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