The National Electoral board of Ethiopia conducted workshop on ‘election violence and early warning’ for political party leaders in Addis Ababa, Adama and Hawasa. The participants were from national and regional parties and of the total parties invited (75), 66 attended in the workshops organized. Each party was represented by two participants.

While opening the workshop, the board chairperson, Professor Merga Bekana noted that the constitution of Ethiopia clearly stipulated that election is the only means to hold government power and thus multy- party democracy is the foundation of the political system in the country. And hence citizens are free to organize themselves to form political parties and through peaceful competition can hold government power if won elections.

He also added, Article 102 of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and Electoral Law of Ethiopia Proclamation No. 532/2007, establishes the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE). NEBE as an independent and autonomous organ is the sole authority in charge of preparing and conducting elections, register, monitor and support political parties and capacitate political parties through trainings.

The board chair extending his speech, acknowledged the role of political parties in the democratization and development process underway in the country. Political parties are expected to design appropriate policies which reflect the concrete realities of the country and international conditions and monitor the proper implementation of policies and strategies.

While concluding his speech, professor Merga noted that political parties can play the role vested on them, only when they reflect the concrete problems of the people and continuously check their own internal party democracy. Finally he remarked that to shoulder the responsibilities vested on political parties to expedite the development process in the country, they are expected to work day and night.

In the workshop, two senior experts from University and house of people’s representatives presented papers. Based on the papers presented discussions were made and finally participants demanded for similar workshops in the futur

Addis Ababa, 10 December 2014 (WIC) – Some 13 Countries, including Ethiopia, have now reached the Millennium Development Goal I (MDG-1) hunger target, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

FAO said these 13 countries were recently awarded in recognition for their outstanding progress in fighting hunger, an achievement which includes reaching international targets ahead of the end-of-2015 deadline.

Ethiopia, Gambia, Brazil, Cameroon, Gabon, Iran, Kiribati, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, the Philippines and Uruguay are the latest in a growing list of countries to make great strides in combating undernourishment, the agency stated.

This includes the early achievement of the MDG-1 hunger target- to halve the proportion of hungry people by 2015 – or the more stringent 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) target of halving the absolute number of hungry people by 2015, it added.

During a ceremony at FAO headquarters, the Organization’s director-general, José Graziano da Silva, awarded diplomas to government representatives of the 13 countries.

“You have overcome major challenges in difficult global economic conditions and policy environments. You have demonstrated the will and mobilized the means,” Graziano da Silva said addressing the award recipients.

Progress in eradicating worldwide hunger over the next ten years “is gaining momentum”, but much more needs to be done – 805 million people still suffer from chronic undernourishment, the FAO director-general said, urging countries to accelerate progress.

To achieve this, there is a need to “improve the quality and efficiency of food systems, promote rural development, increase productivity, raise rural incomes, improve access to food, and strengthen social protection,” Graziano da Silva said.

“Among those who received diplomas on behalf of their countries were The Gambia’s vice president, Her Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, Brazil’s minister for Social Development and Fight Against Hunger, Tereza Campello, Cameroon’s minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Menye Essimi, Ethiopia’s minister of Agriculture Tefera Derbew, Gabon’s minister for Livestock, Fisheries and Food Security, Luc Oyoubi and Mauritania’s minister for Rural Development, Brahim Ould M’Bareck Ould Mohamed el Moctar.

“To date, 63 developing countries have reached the MDG target, and six more are on track to reach it by 2015. Of the 63 countries which have reached the MDG target, 25 have also achieved the more ambitious World Food Summit (WFS) target of halving the number of undernourished people by 2015,” it stated. (Observer)

Addis Ababa, 8 December 2014 (WIC) – The 9th Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Day of was colorfully marked in Benishangul Gumuze Regional State today.

The celebration was graced by the presence of President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti and other high-ranking government officials, including Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Prime Minister Hailemariam of the occasion called on nations and nationalities of Ethiopia to scale up their support for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

He said the economic growth registered during the past years is the result of the joint efforts and collaborations of all nations and nationalities of the country.

He said that the adoption of the Constitution has laid the foundation for Ethiopians to exercise their right as well as benefit from development gains.

He finally called on nations and nationalities of Ethiopia to play their part in the efforts to make the upcoming election fair, democratic and peaceful.

Speaker of the House of Federation (HoF) Kassa Teklebrhan on his part said the day marks the constitutionally guaranteed rights of nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia to benefit from development.

He added that the Constitution is the foundation of Ethiopia’s renaissance and is creating a generation of development patriots.

In the past 20 years, Ethiopian nations, nationalities and peoples have contributed a great deal to eradicate poverty, ignorance and backwardness.

He further called on Ethiopians and the Ethiopian Diaspora to intensify their efforts in developing Ethiopia.

Guest of Honor, President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir also expressed his profound joy to take part in the event. He said his government will continue to enhance people-to-people as well as government-to-government cooperation between the two countries.

Ismail Omar Guelleh, President of Djibouti and the other Guest of Honor at the event, said this year’s celebration is unique in that it is being marked in the 20th anniversary of the ratification of Ethiopian Constitution.

Chief Administrator of Benishangul Gumuze Regional State, Ahmed Nasir, said the regional state has registered tangible results in the infrastructure, social and economic sector following the adoption of the constitution.

Over 4,000 participants drawn from all nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia, ambassadors and invited guests attended the event.

The Gambella Regional State was chosen to host the next Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Day.

Addis Ababa, 2 December 2014 (WIC) – Prime Minister Hailemariam has left for Germany leading a high profile delegation.

The PM will meet the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and members of the Bundestag on ways of improving German financial and technical assistance to Ethiopia.

The Premier will also hold talks with members of German businesses and present Ethiopia’s investment opportunities.

Germany is playing a crucial role, particularly in aiding university reforms through technical and financial assistance. (Text: FBC, Image: bundeskanzlerin.de)

Addis Ababa, 01 December 2014 (WIC) – During the second phase of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II), which runs from 2015 to 2020, Ethiopia is going to spend a total of USD 20 Billion Birr on its power development program.

Commenting on this Mekuria Lemma, head of Strategy and Investment Division at the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), said this expenditure is in line with what the nation has been spending annually in the past three years, USD Two Billion.

The head disclosed this at the “Powering Africa: Ethiopia Meeting”, a meeting held at Radison Blu and organized by the UK-based company, Energy Net Ltd.
The USD 20 Billion is going to be spent on the construction of 10 to 12 additional power generating projects, Mekuria noted. He furthered he wishes to see the finance for these projects to be raised from domestic sources, which are also going to be supplemented with loans.

Construction materials for the projects are mainly going to be supplied from local resources. 60 percent of the inputs are going to be from local sources while the rest 40 percent is going to be covered from foreign investors interested in investing power generating projects in Ethiopia, Mekuria explained.

According to the head, as an incentive the Ethiopian government is going to offer tax cuts for foreign investors. They are also encouraged, with the exception of power distribution, to invest in building, owning as well as operating power generations.

Currently Ethiopia is undertaking different projects targeting to generate close to 10,000 Megawatts. By the end of GTP II, the nation intends to have a capacity of generating a total of 15,000 Megawatt. In addition to this, the government plans to extend the electricity coverage of the country to 99 percent from 55 percent where it stands right now.

According to Mekuria, Ethiopia promotes mix of energy by developing renewable wind and geothermal sources to achieve the intended goals. (Fortune)

The European Union Training Mission in Somalia (EUTM Somalia) has said it aims to train another 1,200 soldiers for the Somali National Army in 2015. This would approximately match the number of soldiers it has trained this year. The 128-strong EUTM Somalia team in Mogadishu has already completed 11 training courses involving 1,150 trainees, and in the coming weeks another 250 Somali soldiers are expected to complete their training. An EU military official said on Wednesday that the mission had set itself a target of training a further 1,200 soldiers in 2015. He added that getting the instructors from their living quarters to the training site remained an onerous problem due to the heavy protection required to guard against attacks by Al-Shabaab.

Addis Ababa, 26 November 2014 (WIC) – Ethiopia on Tuesday announced that it will be deploying about 210 volunteers to Ebola-hit West African countries in two weeks.

Responding to the call of the African Union (AU) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the country’s commitment to the African solidarity, Ethiopia earlier pledged to provide support to the Ebola-affected West African countries by deploying health professionals, said Ahmed Imano, Director of Public Relations and Communication at the Ministry of Health.

Ahmed said the East African country had also pledged to provide financial support amounting half a million U.S. dollars to support the intervention in addressing the epidemic. To implement the pledge, Ethiopia has recruited the 210 volunteers out of the 1,100 registered volunteers, according to the director, who was speaking to the press in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. The volunteers would be deployed in the three most affected countries — Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.

“As a member country to WHO and African Union, we prepared volunteers, preventive measure takers to these affected countries. We already recruited 210 volunteers from 1,100 registered volunteers totally and we are trying to send them,” said Ahmed. Ethiopia’s mission comprises doctors, public health officers, nurses, field epidemiologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, laboratory and health education experts among others. In addition to their assistance in addressing Ebola, the volunteers will share Ethiopia’s best practices in public health development towards community. mobilization to halt the spread of the virus within shortest time possible in the mission countries, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health.

The director also reiterated that Ethiopia has been undertaking various activities and preventive measures since the news of the Ebola outbreak was heard. Screening is being undertaken at Bole Airport in Addis Ababa, he said, adding training and awareness raising activities are being carried out throughout the country by varied means. “We tried to establish national committee to prevent Ebola virus from Ethiopia, and we also established technical taskforce to plan and implement preventive measures within the country,” he said. He said Ethiopia has been implementing the preventive measures in a strengthened manner to prevent the virus from entering the country.

The volunteers from Ethiopia will stay for about three months in the mission countries. (Xinua)

Addis Ababa, 20 November 2014 (WIC) – Ethiopian Airlines hopes a decision to open up intra-African aviation routes will be fully implemented in 2015, the airline’s chief executive said on Thursday.

Many African states adopted the Yamoussoukro Decision in 1999 to open up intra-African aviation routes but so far the decision has not been implemented by governments, meaning air travel between countries in Africa largely remains restricted.

“The hubs that we see today in South Africa, Kenya, and Abuja are not developing as well as they should because inter-Africa traffic is still restricted,” Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, told the CAPA World Aviation Summit in Antwerp.

He said he hoped a meeting between heads of state in January 2015 would deliver progress.

“Ethiopian will of course be taking advantage of that but the biggest beneficiary will be Fastjet ,” he said, referring to the low-cost airline that has plans to create Africa’s first pan-continental airline.

Gebremariam said this and other problems, including heavy taxation and poor infrastructure, meant African carriers had not developed as fast as they should to take advantage of predicted market growth.

Airlines body IATA says eight of the 10 fastest growing markets in terms of percentage growth in passenger demand over the next five years will be in Africa.
Gebremariam said non-African carriers now accounted for 80 percent of travel between Africa and the rest of the world, up from 40 percent in the 1980s. (Reuters)

Dr Tedros, Minister of Foreign Affairs, held discussion with the European Union Foreign Affairs High Representative, Ms. Federica Mogherini in Copenhagen on Wednesday (November 19). Dr Tedros said Ethiopia appreciated the continued cooperation and the support provided by the European Union to help the country achieve development, democracy and good governance. The Minister said the good relations between Ethiopia and European Union member countries could be strengthened by boosting investment, trade, tourism and technical cooperation. He briefed Ms. Mogherini on the situation in South Sudan and Somalia. Dr Tedros said European Union support for Somalia should continue to enhance efforts to realize a developed, democratic and stable Somalia. He also noted that the comprehensive and inclusive IGAD-led peace talks on South Sudan were bringing the warring parties towards a resolution to their conflict. Ms. Mogherini welcomed Ethiopia’s commitment and efforts to realize a developed, secure and stable state in Ethiopia as well as provide for these benefits for the region, for Africa and more widely. She reiterated the EU’s commitment and support to the development of Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa, 20 November 2014 (WIC) – The Ethiopian Road authority says it is working hard to complete the construction of 43 road projects in this Ethiopian fiscal year. Communication Director with the Authority, Samson Wendemu told WIC that the authority plans to complete these projects so as to attain the Five Years’ Growth and Transformation plan (GTP).

The construction of the road projects will cover 2,787.5 kilometers of road, Samson said, adding that the majority of the building expenses are covered by the government and the rest is covered from donors and loans.Participations of local contractors and consultants in the road construction projects are increasing from time to time. According to Samsom, 31 of the projects are under construction by local and 12 of them by foreign contractors.

The completion of the road projects will link districts to districts, zones to zones, regions from regions and the country with neighboring countries, he said.The Ethiopia Road Authority totally plans to undertake the construction of 294 road projects with the annually allocated budget of 29.9 billion EB in this budget year.