Addis Ababa, 22 December 2014 (WIC) – The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) said 250,000 public observers were elected yesterday across the country for the upcoming 5th general elections.

NEBE Public Relations Coordination Directorate Director, Demissew Benti, told WIC that the public observers have the responsibility to supervise and observe the election process.

Each polling station will have five public observers, while each constituency election office will have three mobile public observers, he said. The public observers’ election process held yesterday was successful.

Distribution of election materials, which was launched last week on 16, December 2014, will be concluded after two days, he said.

Casting ballot will be held on May 24 and the final result will be announced on June 22, 2015, according to the information obtained from the NEBE.

Ethiopia’s fifth National Elections are scheduled to be held on May 24, 2015. Ethiopians who are eligible to vote will be going to the polls to elect representatives both for the House of People’s Representatives and for the Regional States and the two City Administration Councils of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. In the run-up to the election, the Ethiopian National Electoral Board (NEBE) is undertaking a number of pre-election preparations and activities. Successive briefings by the Board indicates that the NEBE is on schedule in carrying out all the major activities that have to be undertaken before the announcement of the election results which will be made on June 22, 2015. These 30 activities, which are now being carried out, were agreed on with the majority of the political parties operating in the country. The NEBE recently announced that out of the 75 registered political parties, 58 political parties had submitted their election symbols in accordance with the required timetable. Similarly, the dispatch of electoral materials to a total of 547 constituencies and 44,454 election posts is already taking place ahead of voter registration. Registration of candidates started last week (on December 10) and will be taking place between December 10, 2014 and January 6, 2015. Voter registration is being held between January 9 and February 19, 2015.

In a recent interview with the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, Professor Merga Beqana, the Chairperson of the NEBE, highlighted the major activities undertaken by the Board over the previous four years since the 2010 national election. The Chairperson pointed out that the Board has undertaken a thorough analysis and evaluation of the weaknesses and strengths shown by the NEBE’s performance in the discharge of its constitutional duties when conducting the 2010 elections. It had subsequently undertaken a number of measures to improve its capacity and ensure the primary goal of the elections to broaden and deepen the democratic rights of citizens. Among these activities was the issuance of the laws governing the conduct of the parties, media personnel, election candidates and other related matters. The NEBE has issued a Code Of Conduct for the Mass Media and Journalists on the Manner of Reporting about Elections. It has amended its Directive on the Code of Conduct of Election Officials’ Recruitment at Various Levels, its Directive on the Registration of Candidates, the Directive for the Registration of Electors, and the Directive Concerning the Procedure for the Activities of Public Observers and Representatives of Political Parties and Private Candidates. It has also issued the Regulations Concerning the Procedure for Determining the Apportionment of Government Financial Support to Political Parties and the Regulation on Organization and Procedure of Grievance Hearing Committees established by the Board at every level for elections. In addition, to increase the public accessibility to the laws and regulations, the Board is organizing translations into a number of different local languages. It has also signed contracts with a number of different media outlets to conduct voter education and introduce election laws to the general public.

Apart from all this, the NEBE has been conducting capacity building activities along with the restructuring of the organization of regional electoral offices. Following a study it conducted, the NEBE itself has been working on improving its own staffing and increasing its qualified personnel. Professor Merga said, “we are working with a vision of building a strong institution and laying the foundation for an institutional framework that can serve for the coming 30 or 40 years.” The NEBE has also conducted a series of consultative meetings with political parties in a bid to create awareness about the practical application of the electoral laws and regulations. According to Professor Merga, the Board has paid particular attention to raising the level of participation of women. To that end, it has conducted awareness creation training in coordination with women associations in all of the nine regional states and the two city administrations. Similar training has also been given in association with the youth associations.

Another area of emphasis has been on measures related to ensuring the integrity of the electoral process. Professor Merga said the NEBE “is working to make the playing field level to all parties. “ It has introduced public funding of political parties to help them play their role in the democratization process, organizing a public funding scheme based on the practical realties, including the financial constraints, faced by all political parties in Ethiopia. Professor Merga says the scheme has three categories of support. The first is the election-time support which was started for the 2010 national election when the NEBE allotted 55% of the fund to parties which had seats in the House of People’s Representatives and Regional Councils; 25% was divided among the parties on the basis of the number of candidates they fielded in the 2010 election; 10% of the fund was divided among all parties on the basis of mere participation in the election; and the final 10% was exclusively shared between women candidates in order to encourage participation of women in the election. This formula, Professor Merga says, is unique to Ethiopia: “no other country allots 10% of election funding to women candidates.” This, he said, showed the NEBE’s commitment to encourage women’s participation in public affairs. He noted this support was already having a good impact as the number of women in the Ethiopian Parliament had now reached 28%, a figure that was well above the majority of African countries. Professor Merga added that despite the international practice of making parliamentary seats the major criteria for funding, and criticism from the ruling party “we have not made seats as primary criteria to apportion the fund to make it equitable”.

The second form of support provided by the NEBE is to provide some support to finance the day-to-day activities of political parties. Here, however, the criteria are based solely on the number of seats held in the various legislatures. On this basis, the NEBE, for instance, provided 10 million birr in February 2011 to ten of the political parties. The NEBE’s third form of support relates to such services as the rental of conference rooms or town halls and the provision of office equipment.

In addition, the NEBE has introduced specific mechanisms to ensure the impartiality of election officers. Professor Merga said “we have introduced a vetting system of election officers by their immediate election supervisors to check that they are not members of any of the political parties.” Election officers will have to take an oath to discharge their duties without fear or favor and mechanisms have been set up to hold them accountable in cases where they are found in violation of the election code of conduct and election laws. Grievance handling procedures, with a strict timeline, have been put in place to review and respond to any complaints presented by political parties. Professor Merga noted the important role now being played by the Political Parties Joint Committee established under Proclamation 662/2009 which governs the electoral Code of Conduct as a supplementary mechanism to address grievances.

Apart from what has already been carried out, Ethiopian Government officials have also underlined the readiness of the Federal and Regional Government administrations to make sure that the importance of the election in the eyes of the electorate. In a session held on July 27, Prime Minister Hailemariam specifically noted that strong public participation was vital to ensure that the election should be free, fair and democratic. He called on all opposition parties to abide by the electoral law and the code of conduct which had been passed by the House of Representatives to make sure that the election would a held in peaceful manner. Minister Redwan Hussein, Head of Government Communications Affairs Office with the Rank of a Minister, recently met with 17 Ambassadors from European Union countries. He told the EU Ambassadors that sufficient airtime and news paper columns would be allocated in such a way as to make sure that each party running in the election would be able to disseminate its ideas and programs freely. He said that, as in the 2010 election, the EPRDF used 80% while the opposition used only 50% of the airtime and column space available in papers, there should be no complaint about shortage of broadcasting time. Minister Redwan noted the possibility of civic associations and public and private media outlets running programs and election debates. This, he said, would allow for additional opportunities for party members to communicate and build up their own constituencies. Mr. Redwan, however, cautioned that any move by any political party to take state power through unconstitutional means would not be tolerated. He said “the government will take action in accordance with the law”. The EU Ambassadors and the NEBE agreed on the importance of capacity building of media personnel as part of the electoral process.

The NEBE’s preparations are all under way to ensure the upcoming national election is free, fair and democratic. At the same time, successful elections will also rest on the commitment of stakeholders to abide by the electoral laws and respect the institutions entrusted with conducting the election by the Constitution. In this regard, the NEBE has shown remarkable progress in encouraging the creation of an institutional framework to encourage increased participation of youth, women and civic society in general and ensure the election will reflect the will of the people.

 

Source : MFA Ethiopia

Almost 200 Ethiopian health workers have arrived in West Africa to bolster the response to Ebola, a disease that has ravaged weak health care systems and killed more than 300 medical staff.

The African Union (AU) said in a tweet that the Ethiopian government sent a total of 187 personnel to the region without giving a breakdown of how many would go to which countries.

The doctors and nurses will join an AU mission against the worst Ebola outbreak on record, which has killed more than 6,800 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

They will join more than 175 Nigerian medics deployed to Liberia and Sierra Leone earlier this month.

Ebola has torn through some of West Africa’s weakest health systems, killing nearly 350 medical personnel.

This month, two doctors died of Ebola in Sierra Leone on the same day, bringing to 10 the number of doctors killed in by the virus in one of the worst-affected countries.

Other countries have also sent medical staff to West Africa, notably Cuba, which has sent 256 staff, with 165 in Sierra Leone and the rest in Guinea and Liberia.

“The aim of the AU is to support the government on the progress so far made. We want to expand on it, to make sure that the community also supports it,” Major-General Julius Oketta, who head’s the AU Ebola mission, said upon the arrival of 87 of the Ethiopian health workers to Liberia.

The bulk of the African Union’s efforts in Liberia focus on Montserrado County, which is home to the country’s capital and largest city Monrovia.

Once the country hardest hit by the disease, Liberia has seen a sharp decline in new infections, spawning optimism that the outbreak there may be coming to an end.

“The campaign, getting to zero before Christmas, continues,” said Liberia’s assistant health minister Tolbert Nyenswah.

“We are still having between five to 10 cases per day in Liberia, and that is huge.”

Source : aljazeera.com

On 9 December 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between UNESCO/IHE and the Ministry of Education of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The objective of the agreement is to improve the quality of water education and training programs between the Institute of Water Education (UNESCO/IHE), located in the Netherlands, and Ethiopian universities.

UNESCO-IHE is the largest international graduate water education facility in the world and is based in Delft, the Netherlands. The Institute confers fully accredited MSc degrees, and PhD degrees in collaboration with partners in the Netherlands.

Addis Ababa, 11 December 2014 (WIC, ENA)

The Ethiopia-Turkey Business Forum has kicked off here in Addis Ababa today.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci are attending the forum and the two leaders have met on the sidelines of the meeting. Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Ethiopia started in 1896 with the exchange of delegations during the rule of Sultan Abdülhamid II and Emperor Menelik II. Following the opening of the first Ottoman-Turkish Consulate General in Harar, in 1912, the first Embassy of the Republic of Turkey’s in Sub-Saharan Africa was opened in Addis Ababa, in 1926. The Ethiopian side opened its Embassy in Turkey in 1933. The Embassy of Ethiopia in Ankara was closed in 1984 during the Communist Derg regime and it was re-opened on 21 April 2006.

Visits by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey to Ethiopia twice after the Turkish Government declared 2005 as the “Year of Africa”; the inauguration of Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul-Addis Ababa-Istanbul flights as of April 2006 and the increase of these flights to a daily basis in March 2009; the establishment of the first TIKA (Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency) Office in Africa, in Addis Ababa in 2005; furthermore, mutual visits between the two countries at various levels and a continuous increase of technical aid programs towards Ethiopia have been significant steps which contributed to the development of relations.

As of June 2013, the number of Turkish firms active in Ethiopia is around 100 and the number of employment by these firms has reached about 46.000 although it was only 1 and 5 respectively, in 2003. The total amount of investment by the Turkish firms in Ethiopia is 3 billion USD. Currently, Turkish firms employ highest number of workers in private sector in Ethiopia.

Today, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Tewodros Adhanom held talks with a Turkish business delegation led by Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci on ways of boosting the economic ties of the two countries. Ethiopia and Turkey have been working to further strengthen the existing economic ties between the two countries, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Dina Mufti, told reporters that Turkish companies which are engaged in Ethiopia have been producing quality products that have high demand. Turkish Minister of Economy said Ethiopia and Turkey have become very close sisterly countries. The minister said that Ethiopia has a favorable climate to do business and to live. Zeybekci pointed out that Turkish investors are keen to engage in textiles and heavy industries.

Another significant indication of the developing relations between the two countries is the fast trade volume increase registered in recent years. The trade volume was 27 million USD in 2000, 140 million USD in 2005, and 441 million USD in 2012 and 421 million USD at the end of 2013.

Main export items from Turkey to Ethiopia are metal and metal products, machines, mechanical and electrical devices and their spare parts, voice recording devices, plastics, chemical products, textile and ready-made clothes, food, tobacco products, visual equipment, musical instruments, clocks, measurement devices, medical and surgical equipments, vegetable oil, paper, stone, gypsum, cement, asbestos, mica, shoes, artificial flower, wood and wooden products, mineral products, leather and leather products, bags, suitcases, furs, gem stones, metals, imitation jewelries.

Main import items from Ethiopia to Turkey are vegetable (sesame, oil seeds) and animal products, leather and leather products, textile and ready-made clothes, paper and plastic products. In order to strengthen relations in the field of education, the Turkish government provided 47 scholarships for undergraduate study in Turkey in the academic year of 2013-2014.

The trade surplus of goods with Turkey was 347,6 million $ in 2012, a 49% increase (233 million $) over 2011.
Ethiopia is an important market for Turkish contractors. Turkish firms held and are holding 21 projects in Ethiopia with a total value of 2.4 billion dollars up until now.

Turkish firms are also involved in Ethiopia’s mega projects, particularly the Awash-Woldiya Railway project which will create 10,000 jobs is a case in point. Turkish investors have also expressed strong interest in the housing sector in Ethiopia. (FBC)

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)