Water Ministers of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt meet in Khartoum

The Water Ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan met in Khartoum last weekend, (January 4-5) for the third time to discuss the establishment of a framework mechanism for the implementation of the recommendations of the International Panel of Experts (IPoE). The meeting was scheduled in order to discuss the areas where agreement hadn’t been reached during the second meeting of the three Ministers, December 8-9, last year.

At their second meeting the three Ministers had agreed on three significant matters. The first and most important point related to the nature and composition of the proposed national committee.  It was agreed that the national committee should be made up of experts from each of the three countries with a clear mandate to follow-up the implementation of the recommendations of the IPoE.  It was also agreed that the national committee would be composed of four members from each of the three countries. The three Ministers further agreed to divide up the expenses of the national committee among themselves on an equal basis.

Agreements at the second meeting also included the duties and responsibilities of the national committee. The national committee was given a clear mandate to hire foreign consulting firms to conduct the two studies recommended by the IPoE. In addition, it was have the mandate to determine the scope of studies to be commissioned from international experts. The national committee would also have the duty to draw up the terms of reference and internal regulations for its activities and obtain the approval of the Water Ministers of the three countries.  The national committee was given further power to evaluate the reports of the consultants and present any suggestions or ideas that might augment their reports and submit the final report to the Water Ministers. The three Ministers also agreed that if there were issues within the report that the national committee failed to agree on then these should be submitted to the Water Ministers themselves. If they could not agree, then the Water Ministers would seek the advice of international experts. The national committee was given the power to draw up a document that provided for the employment of the group of international experts and to list the tasks that these should accomplish. However, the three Ministers failed to agree on the details of procedure for reference to international experts and it was then they decided to meet on January 4 and 5 for a third session.

All along Ethiopia has taken the position that the Water Ministers should create a committee of international experts to provide advice by consensus. Sudan supported this. Ethiopia also proposed that the group of international experts should be established after the submission of the final report to deal with issues where the Ministers were not in agreement and where expert advice might be required. Here also, Ethiopia’s position was upheld by Sudan. However, Egypt refused to accept these proposals. Instead, Egypt argued that the international experts’ committee should be established in parallel with the national committee of experts. It also said that the international committee should provide advice not only on the final report but also throughout the conduct of the two studies. Egypt also rejected Ethiopia and Sudan’s position that the hiring of the international experts should be done on the basis of consensus. In what was, in effect, a complete reversal of the agreement reached at their second meeting, the Egyptian side requested that the national committee should also review other documents outside the mandate of any follow up to the implementation of the IPoE.

These were the main points of difference during the meeting, and it is unfortunate that a good deal of inaccurate comment about the meeting has been aired by the Egyptian media. The position taken by Ethiopia and Sudan in regard to the hiring of the international experts was carefully based on reason and argument. Ethiopia and Sudan pointed out that the establishment of international experts group while the national committee carried out its agreed duties could not work as no job could be specified for the international experts until the national committee was able to evaluate the possibilities. The national committee’s agreed mandate included defining the scope of the studies to be carried out. Sudan also strongly argued that hiring international experts should be done by consensus – the Egyptian state media’s report that the international group of experts would be an arbitrary body is totally inaccurate and there was no such suggestion at any point during the meeting.

In any international negotiation, it is quite normal for parties to take different positions on specific issues which should be resolved through patient discussions. But it is not normal for one party or another engaged in good faith negotiation to deliberately misrepresent the other party’s positions in order to gain a propaganda advantage. This sooner or later will be counterproductive, since it would amount to a glaring lack of good faith. It is in this context Ethiopia indeed find it regrettable that a good deal of inaccurate comment has also been aired by Egyptian officials who took part in the discussions and who should know better. The attitude of the Egyptian media is no surprise as it has always been hostile to the GERD and has been engaged in deliberate distortion and disinformation about the GERD. What is more surprising, and disappointing, is that Egyptian officials have also taken a hostile attitude towards the GERD. We do not believe they will succeed in this unfortunate exercise as fortunately there has been a third party present in the discussions at Khartoum, namely the Sudan, which knows the true state of affairs. With regard to the progress of the construction of the GERD we hope nobody will be under any illusions that any vituperative campaign against the project will derail its progress. That is not going to happen under any circumstances. The inexorable march of the project towards completion, on schedule, is a reality which those who have chosen to take a negative attitude towards the project should accept and live with.   

Equally, the Egyptian state media’s referral of talks ‘floundering’, because of Ethiopia’s rejection of ‘confidence building measures’, is simply wrong. It should not be necessary to repeat that it was Ethiopia which came up with the idea of establishing the International Panel of Experts specifically to build confidence between Ethiopia and the lower riparian states. It should also be remembered that the report of the IPoE proved that the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will not pose any appreciable harm to the downstream countries. Ethiopia has also repeatedly made it clear it is willing to go the extra mile to reassure Egypt and Sudan that the construction of the GERD is beneficial to all by implementing all the unilateral recommendations of the IPoE, and without delay. Ethiopia has also made it abundantly clear that the bounty of the Nile waters should be shared among the riparian states on the basis of the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization as envisaged under the Comprehensive Framework Agreement. It is on the basis of this principled stance that Ethiopia has refused trilateral discussion of what the Egyptian side presented as a supposed “confidence building principle”. This was never intended to be an objective of the Water Ministers’ meeting last weekend. Nor is any such discussion necessary given the comprehensive multilateral arrangements already reached in the Comprehensive Framework Agreement.

Source: http://www.mfa.gov.et/weekHornAfrica/morewha.php?wi=1285#1285

Opportunity for Ethiopian SMEs to tap into the global market

 

BY JACO MARITZ | 13 JANUARY 2014 AT 10:08

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most  populous country with an estimated 90m people, has thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) but only a few of these businesses are currently accessing the international market.

Essete Gebriel, country manager of DHL Express in Ethiopia, is excited about connecting the country’s SMEs with global customers.

She says products such as processed coffee as well as handmade shoes, bags, scarves and leather goods could sell well internationally. “These are the kinds of items that have very good potential in the global market. Currently 70%-80% of our business is from SMEs. We are trying to help these companies to trade globally.”

A DHL study last year showed that internationally-focused SMEs are twice as likely to be successful as those only operating domestically.

“The possibilities opened up by new technologies, the internet and modern transportation means that there are many foreign trade opportunities out there for African businesses. With thorough research and a well-defined strategy, local SMEs can successfully expand into new markets, compete with larger companies and use their size and nimbleness to their own advantage,” said managing director for sub-Saharan Africa at DHL Express Charles Brewer in a statement last year.

DHL will this year launch a special SME project to help these companies build their businesses beyond the borders of Ethiopia.

Rebel with a cause

One of the most celebrated Ethiopian SMEs is sole Rebels, a footwear company that sells its products across the world. What makes soleRebels different from a normal shoe manufacturer is that all the products are handmade by local artisans at the company’s factory in Addis Ababa. The company also claims to be the world’s first Fair Trade certified footwear brand.

SoleRebels is an example of an Ethiopian SME that has successfully penetrated the international market. Customers from across the globe can order products from its online store. The company also has retail outlets in countries such as Taiwan, Singapore, Spain and Austria.

The company’s founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu has won numerous entrepreneurship awards, posing in pictures with the likes of Richard Branson, and regularly speaks at conferences across the world.

Known as one of the ecommerce pioneers of the African continent, Alemu took sole Rebels’s online presence to the next level. Moving beyond online retail partnerships she forged years back with ecommerce giants such as Amazon and Javari, Alemu led the launch of the company’s state-of-the-art, fully ecommerce-enabled global website.

Speaking to How we made it in Africa in an earlier interview, Alemu said the continent needs to “start focusing on small and medium businesses because they are the big engines of the economy. People… just need an opportunity, so we need to give them an opportunity to grow big with their ideas.”

Ethiopia moving forward

Alemu is just one of the businesspeople changing Ethiopia’s economy. The country has shaken off its image as a land of poverty and famine and is today one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. According to the International Monetary Fund, GDP growth remains robust and is estimated at 7% in 2012/13 and projected to increase to 7.5% in 2013/14.

“There are huge infrastructure developments in the country – road, railway and energy projects. Once completed, these projects will make a huge difference to the lives of the local population,” says Gebriel.

One of Ethiopia’s most high-profile infrastructure projects is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. At 6,000 MW the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed.

She says that while the country still faces many challenges, there have been significant improvements in areas such as housing and agriculture in recent years.

Gebriel’s advice to foreign companies looking to do business in Ethiopia is to ensure that they are familiar with the often complex local regulations and procedures. Foreigners should also not forget to sample the country’s unique cuisine and world-class coffee.

Source:http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/opportunity-for-ethiopian-smes-to-tap-into-the-global-market/33949/

Ethiopian Ambassador presented his credentials to the king of Belgium

Ambassador Teshome Toga

 

Extraordinary and plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Federal Democratic republic of Ethiopia to the Kingdom of Belgium Teshome Toga presented his credentials to His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium at a ceremony held at the Royal Castle of Laeken on January 9, 2014.

During the ceremony, king Philippe and Ambassador Teshome discussed issues of bilateral relations between the two countries. King Philippe of Belgium mentioned his memorable visit to Ethiopia in 1991 and positively evaluated the current state of development in Ethiopia and confirmed his intention to further develop the existing relationship between the two countries.

Ambassador Teshome on his part thanked Belgium for the fruitful cooperation in the higher education sector and informed the King on the robust investment opportunities and the keen interest to attract Belgian investors to Ethiopia. The Ambassador further briefed the King on the role Ethiopia is playing, as chair of IGAD and the African Union, to bring peace and stability to the Horn of African region.

In conclusion, His Majesty expressed the hope that the bilateral relations between Belgium and Ethiopia would get further momentum during Ambassador Teshome’s tenure in Brussels.

Ambassador Teshome has officially taken up his duties as Ambassador plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium as of January 9, 2014.

Brief Resumé of Ambassador Teshome TOGA:

Ambassador Teshome TOGA joined the Ethiopian Diplomatic Mission in Brussels on October 11, 2013.  As Head of the Mission, he is accredited to the Benelux and Baltic States and to the EU Institutions.  Prior to this, he served in the same capacity in Paris since January 2011, concurrently accredited to Spain, Portugal, the Vatican and Tunisia. At the same time, Ambassador TOGA was the Permanent delegate to UNESCO.

From 2005-2010, Ambassador TOGA was the Speaker of the 3rd House of the Peoples’ Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the highest authority of the Federal Government.  While Speaker of the House, he led the Ethiopian Parliamentary delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly between 2005-2011 and was member of the Bureau and Vice-President in charge of Human Rights from the ACP side.  As Speaker, he also participated in several Parliamentary Meetings.

He was the President of the 120th IPU General Conference and related meetings.  Ambassador TOGA also presided over the 30th African Parliamentary Union Assembly.  He contributed to the revitalizing of IGAD Inter Parliamentary Union and was Vice-President of IPU-IGAD.

Before this, Ambassador TOGA joined the Council of Ministers in 2001 as the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture until his election as Speaker of HOPR.

In between 1992 and 2001, Ambassador TOGA was Ethiopia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Ghana (1992), Egypt (1993-1996) and Kenya (1996-2001).  While in Kenya, he was accredited to Tanzania and Permanent Representative to UNEP and HABITAT.

He served as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia to the Sudan Peace Talks and Great Lakes Region.

He is married with 3 children.

Ethiopia’s model families hailed as agents of social transformation

MDG : Ethiopia's model family

Ethiopia is boosting its healthcare statistics by encouraging rural households to adopt and disseminate a range of good habits

 

Wudinesh Demisse raises her hand above her head, showing off the matchstick-sized birth-control implant embedded just beneath the skin of her upper arm.

Wudinesh, 28, is a farmer in rural West Arsi, in Ethiopia‘s central Oromia region. With three children already, Wudinesh says it is time to stop. “For me, three is enough,” she says, through a translator. “If they are too many, they are too expensive.”

Wudinesh, who lives in a small village 200km south of the capital, Addis Ababa, is one of millions of Ethiopian women who have gained access to modern forms of birth control over the past decade. Today, her local health post stocks a range of products, from condoms and pills to longer-acting injections and implants.

Ethiopia is increasingly touted as a family planning success story. The government, which has made maternal and child health national priorities, is proud of its statistics – the country’s contraceptive prevalence rate, for example, jumped from 15% in 2005 to 29% in 2011 – and says efforts to reach remote, rural areas lie at the heart of its success.

Along with trained, salaried health extension workers – all of whom are female, a step to make families more comfortable with door-to-door visits – thousands of volunteers have been enlisted nationwide in the government’s “health development army”.

At the centre of this are people like Wudinesh and her husband, who head one of the government’s celebrated “model families” and are foot soldiers in a massive social engineering project to redefine healthy behaviour.

“They are role models and change agents for social transformation in each village across the country,” says Kesetebirhan Admasu, Ethiopia’s health minister, who explains that the project is based on a theory of how innovations spread that assumes change happens step by step. The idea is that there are “trendsetters” in every community, and that others can be persuaded to admire and, eventually, copy their behaviour.

To become a model family, a household has to adopt most if not all of the government’s 16 priority interventions – from vaccinating their children and sleeping under mosquito bed nets to building separate latrines and using family planning.

Model families get certificates, are celebrated at village ceremonies and are asked to support five other households in adopting the priority interventions.

Ethiopia, Africa‘s second most populous country, is overwhelmingly rural and this has hampered the expansion of formal healthcare services and infrastructure. Estimates from 2009 suggest there was only one doctor for every 50,000 people. The government’s health extension programme is a strategy to bridge the gap and build capacity while expanding the services.

The NGO Marie Stopes International has urged rich countries to adopt some of Ethiopia’s techniques, saying they could save millions of dollars if they too trained up frontline health workers, nurses and midwives to carry out tasks – such as the fitting of implants – otherwise done by doctors.

For Kesetebirhan, the biggest successes have come from targeting “cultural and attitude-related bottlenecks”, which limit rural women from taking up services even when they are available.

In one region, Kesetebirhan says the health development army helped the government understand why women were not giving birth in health facilities. The army discovered women were fearful of the traditional stretchers used to carry them to hospital (which had become associated with bad luck) and did not want to go without the traditional coffee and religious ceremonies they could get at home. This led to changes including a newly-designed stretcher and plans to bring coffee beans, traditional food, and religious leaders to health facilities.

“All these innovations and interventions, they seem to be simple but it is changing the way services are perceived,” Kesetebirhan says. In the case of family planning, he says products like implants were not popular before but are now being used by a significant number of rural women. “It’s all because of the information that they get from their neighbours, from their friends and so on,” he says. “That is how they break all those cultural norms.”

Many African countries have set up extensive community health worker schemes to reach rural areas. Understanding why people behave the way they do, and structuring projects accordingly, is also an increasingly popular approach in development, and a response to the failures of many expert-led schemes. The World Bank, for example, is working on a major report on the behavioural and social foundations of economic development, expected this year.

The military metaphors in Ethiopia’s programme set it apart from many others, however. “Such a movement would not be successful without the discipline of the army,” insists Kesetebirhan. “We said this is the way we really want to mobilise the community – they participate in the meetings, they work with the discipline of an army, and they address the critical bottlenecks.”

Kesetebirhan says it is the government’s policy to ensure women are not coerced into taking up health interventions. But some are suspicious of the development army model, which is also being pursued in agriculture with a nationwide network of “model farmers”…

Source:http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jan/09/ethiopia-model-families-social-transformation-healthcare

Ethiopian Ambassador Presents credentials to EU Council President

EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Ethiopia’s Ambassador Teshome Toga

Brussels,January 06,2013- The newly appointed Ethiopian Ambassador to the European Union H.E.Ato Teshome Toga presented his credentials this afternoon to EU Council President H.E.Mr.Herman Van Rompuy.

The ceremony took place in the Council’s Head Quarters, the official office of the EU Council President in Brussels.

At the event, President Rompuy received the credentials and welcomed the new Ambassador to Brussels. Ambassador Teshome on his part thanked the EU for the continuous support provided for the development of Ethiopia and briefed the President on the stable political and economic progress that is undergoing in the country. He also informed the President on the challenges the region is currently facing in South Sudan and the efforts made by IGAD. President Rompuy appreciates the effort Ethiopia is making in resolving conflicts in the region and beyond, and asked after Ambassador Teshome’s mission in Brussels.

Ambassador Teshome told the President that he will be working hard to strengthening the existing relations with the EU Institutions and also engage the private sector to work and benefit from the country’s fast economic growth.

Immediately before this assignment, Ambassador Teshome was working as his country’s envoy to France.

Ethiopia’s Earning From Horticultural Exports Rising Year By Year

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 27 /2013: The revenue which Ethiopia is securing from exports in the horticultural sector is increasing year by year, according to the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association Chairman, Zelalem Mesele.

He told the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) Thursday that the country earned US$265.71 million from horticultural exports, mainly flowers, during the 2011-2012 year, an increase of US$41.71 million compared with the previous year.
Flowers constitute the biggest share in terms of revenue enabling the country to obtain US$212.56 million, while the balance was accounted for by exports of vegetables, fruits and herbs.

The size of land cultivated with flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs is also increasing, ENA learned. More than 12,550 hectares of land have been developed with flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs during the past year, exceeding the previous year’s area by 6,038 hectares.
Zelalem attributed the success to the prevailing conducive investment environment, attractive incentive packages and overall government support.
Companies from Ecuador, the Netherlands, India and Kenya are showing interest to invest in the sector.

Ethiopia exports its horticultural products to more than 100 destinations around the world with the Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Japan, Italy and the United State being the top 10 destinations.

Source:http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/wn/newsworld.php?id=1003774

 

Ethiopian Ministry of Finance&Economic Development to introduce credit rating process

Nicole Bricq and Sufian Ahmed

Nicole Bricq and Sufian Ahmed

Monday, 23 December 2013,

Ethiopia selected Lazard Ltd., a French investment bank and asset manager in a bid to secure its first credit rating, which would pave the way for issuing a debut Eurobond, an international bond denominated in a currency not native to the country where it is issued.
The credit rating is used by individuals and entities that purchase the bonds issued by companies and governments to determine the likelihood that the government will pay its bond obligations.
“We chose a French company. The second phase will be to initiate a rating for the country,” Sufian Ahmed, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, told a business forum attended by a delegation of leaders of French companies accompanying Nicole Bricq, French Foreign Trade Minister to Ethiopia.
A Eurobond is payable to the bearer and is free of withholding tax. The bank will pay the holder of the coupon the interest payment due.
Back in October Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said that the government has planned “not only a Eurobond but other bonds as well” once it secures a rating.
Eurobonds would give investors, who have bought sub-Saharan sovereign bonds, another route into Ethiopia, which is keen to shift its largely agrarian economy towards textiles and other manufacturing areas.
The French Foreign Trade Minister Nicole Bricq, who was accompanied by over 25 French business delegates, has also held discussions with the Ethiopian business community at the Sheraton Addis. The Minister said France is working to triple trade ties with Ethiopia in the coming years.
She further said that her country is striving to boost the trade and economic cooperation with Ethiopia, noting that despite the age-long bilateral relations, the trade and economic cooperation between the two countries is not as it should be. The Minister said French companies are interested in investing in Ethiopia, primarily in energy, telecommunication, agro-processing and IT. She affirmed that her country supports Ethiopia’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Mrs. Nicole Bricq also said that her visit was under the framework of the extension of the Elysee summit on ‘Peace and Security in Africa’ held on 6 and 7 December in Paris. “This is to strengthen the economic ties with a country that has recorded an average growth rate of 10 percent over the past few years and whose 2010-2015 five-year plan sets huge investments in terms of infrastructure,” she said.
“Ethiopia is like a hub in east Africa, we want to be active here, and now we are going to make it happen. We also want to participate in water, energy and other essential sectors,” she said at the opening session of the first “French Ethiopian Business Forum” that gathered more than one hundred participants in the business community from both countries.
“We also want to finance feasibility studies,” she said, affirming her country’s commitment to partnering with Ethiopia.
Ethiopia also expressed its desire for French power companies to invest in the energy sector, according Debretsion Gebremichael Finance and Economy Cluster Coordinator with the rank of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Communications and Information Technology.  At the inauguration of the first French Ethiopian Business Forum, Dr. Debretsion said that the visit has high value as it will further consolidate the existing trade partnership between the two countries. “We are happy as this is a real business engagement that is based on a win win solution. The French companies have read well our road map; they know our priorities such as the energy sector that is prompted by our development strategy of shifting from an agriculture based economy to industrial. This, he explained, entails an extensive demand of energy.
Mulu Solomon, President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association, on her part said the economic ties between France and Ethiopia are not as strong as their long years of diplomatic relations; she said the ‘current time is the best’ unlike the past, because French companies have more investment opportunities today.
During her short visit, the Minister also signed two loan agreements with Sufian Ahmed on December 19, 2013. These concessional financings of a total amount of 70 million Euros are intended for the construction of high-voltage transmission lines and substations in key areas of industrial development near Addis Ababa, and the construction of a new sanitary landfill, infrastructures and facilities, including access roads in Addis Ababa’s surroundings.
According to the agreement the 50 million Euro loan will go to the erection of 62 kilometres of 400 kV and 230 kV transmission lines, and the construction of the corresponding new substations in Debre Zeit, Dukem, Modjo and Ginchi.
The financing will be a loan to the public power utility EEPCo, responsible for implementing the project mostly located in the key industrial development area just South-East of Addis Ababa. Its completion will support Ethiopia to unleash its industrial

potential.
Another 20 million Euro loan is being extended to support the Addis Ababa City Government’s waste management system and will finance the construction of a new sanitary landfill including an access road, as well as infrastructures and facilities for both waste selecting and recycling. The operation of the new sanitary landfill, which is expected for mid 2015, will allow the current Koshe Repi landfill to be replaced. Moreover, a 500,000 Euro grant will complement the loan in order to build up technical and financial capacities of the Addis Ababa City Government.

Source:http://www.capitalethiopia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3844:ethiopia-selects-lazard-for-credit-rating-&catid=35:capital&Itemid=27

 

Ethiopia, the land of Sheba

By Linus Wamanya

Dec 22, 2013: Ethiopia never ceases to amaze and enchant guests. While there I was enmeshed in its wealth of history. I was never braced for the contrasts and surprises in the remote and wild places. These sandy brown hosts are such a friendly people who are descendants from some of the world’s oldest civilizations.

You have perhaps heard of the fabled Queen of Sheba, the Biblical home of the Ark of the Covenant, the birthplace of coffee. As if that was not enough, “Lucy” the world’s oldest known almost-complete hominid skeleton, more than three million years old, was discovered in this part of the Horn Of Africa had its roots there.

Covernant Church

To any visitor, the Ethiopia menu of attractions is lengthy and diverse. There is the Historic Route which includes the ancient town of Axum. Then there is the amazing piece of art obelisks. This is crowned by Christian festivals and relics, including the Ark of the Covenant; Gondar. I am yet to find out how ancient Ethiopians built these magnificient castles and palaces. There is Lalibela, with its remarkable rock-hewn Churches. This is contrasted with, Negash, one of the earliest holy Muslim centers dating to the Prophet Muhammad Era. To lend it legitimacy, in Islam, is the Negash Amedin Mesgid, the walled Muslim city of Harar and Lega Oda, near Dire Dawa where you can see vibrant cave paintings considered to be thousands of years old.

“This place was declared free from Jihad by prophet Mohamed,” Methenik, a guide told me. “Here a day has twelve hours. A day begins with the sun coming out and ends with it going down.”

I gasped for breath on seeing Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile. It is the largest lake there boasting with 37 islands. The Monasteries like Kibran Gebriel and Kidanemhiret boasting settlements dating far back to 14th century are also of interest

Legend has it that Emperor Menelik I, the son of the Queen of Sheba and king Solomon, brought the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem to Axum, where he settled and established one of the world’s longest known, uninterrupted monarchical dynasties.

This is only one example of Ethiopia’s magnificent history, which encompasses legend and tradition, mystery and fact, from a powerful and religious ancient civilization. The well -trodden path through Ethiopia’s famous and fascinating historic places takes you through a scenically magnificent world of fairy -tale names, such as Lalibela, Gondar and Bahar Dar.

2. The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela (North Wollo Zone) this is called the african petro with credible rock carved churches made in the 13th century by king Lalibela

Lalibela, a 45 minutes flight with Ethiopian airlines from Addis Ababa, is internationally-renowned for its rock-hewn churches which are sometimes called the “Eighth Wonder of the World”. Physically prised from the rock in which they stand, these monolithic churches were originally thought to have been built in the 12th century during the reign of King Lalibela. It took me maximum of four hours to tour all the eleven churches assembled in three groupings

For sure Lalibela stands out to be the a must visit destination while in Ethiopia

Njera and wot; Ethiopia’s traditional dish

Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile and the biggest lake in Ethiopia having 30 islands.  There are monasteries constructed on 27 of them in the 13th – 17th century AC containing unique old paintings which depict the churches and biblical history.

The churches were used as treasure houses by the emperors of that period. There are still some collections of this antique treasure to be admired.

Gonder: the Camelot of Africa

Gondar was the capital of Ethiopia in the 17th century with its notable medieval castles and churches.

The city’s unique imperial compound contains a number of castles built between 1632 – 1855 by different emperors who reigned during that period. These amazing castles, unlike the others in Africa, display richness in architecture which reveals the Axumite architecture and the influence of the Portuguese, the Arabian and the Indian.

Like Uganda, Ethiopia is home to a wealth of birds and animals. There are also the high, rugged, Simien Mountains in the north and the Bale Mountains in the southeast. They are endowed with unique wildlife, rich flora and ideal for nature walks.

This part of Africa has eleven national parks and four sanctuaries, where 277 species of wildlife and more than 850 species of birds fly. The Simien Mountains National Park is registered by UNESCO as a world heritage site and is home to three of the endemic mammals, Walia Ibex, Gelada Baboon and Abyssinian Wolf. Ras Dashen, the fourth highest peak in Africa with an altitude of 4,620 meters, is also located within the National Park.

Other National Parks include Bale Mountains and Abijatta-Shalla in Oromia, Nech Sar, Mago and Omo National Parks in the south and Yangudi Rasa in Afar, Gambella National park in Gambella, as well as Awash in both Oromia and Afar Regions.

Comparably, Addis Ababa is a friendly and safe capital city. There are first-class hotels and restaurants, museums and palaces, and good shopping malls Mercato – Africa’s largest open-air market. Ethiopia is a mosaic of people with more than 80 languages, different lifestyles, costumes and cultural dances.

Ethiopia has been called ‘the land of a thousand smiles’. By the way if you are destined to Ethiopia go ready to eat Njera and wot and to drink strong coffee brews.

Ethiopian fests

New Year’s Day September 11

To the religious calendar it is also the Feast of St John the Baptist. Here it is called Enkutatash, meaning the ‘gift of jewels’. When the famous Queen of sheba returned from her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with jewels. The festival is marked by dancing and singing. The night before, people light fires outside their houses, and run around with flaming torches to welcome the New Year. Traditionally young girls would pick a special kind of grass, called engicha or enqwutatash, and would go round signing goodwill messages for the new-year. They present the grass to whomever they meet and would be given a modest gift in return.

MESKAL 27 September.

Celebrated in the country for over 1,600 years, this important feast commemorates the discovery of the cross upon which Jesus was crucified, by the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great.

The day before tall branches are tied together and yellow daisies, popularly called Meskal flowers, are placed at the top. During the night these branch are set ablaze to symbolise Empress Helena lighting incense and praying for help to find the Holy Sepulchre was after nobody would show her. Following the direction of the smoke, she dug and found three crosses, including the True cross. A part of the True Cross is said to be in the mountain monastery of Gishen Mariame located in the South Wollo administrative zone. The priests of Gishen safeguard a gold box containing a fragment of this cross.

During this time of year flowers bloom on mountains and plains and the meadows are yellow with the Meskal daisy. Dancing, feasting, merrymaking, bonfires and in the past even gun salutes mark the occasion.

The writer: Linus Wamanya

GENNA (ETHIOPIAN CHRISTMAS) 7th January

The Ethiopian Christmas, also called Lidet, is celebrated by all-night church services, with people moving from one church to another. Traditionally, young men played a game that is similar to hokey, called genna, on this day, giving the feast day the name. This celebration is unique to Lalibela and attracts many visitors.

Timket, Feast of Epiphany, is the greatest festival of the year. It is a three-day fest, beginning on the eve of Timket with colourful processions. The following morning, the great day itself, marks Christ’s baptism in the Feast of St Michael, the archangel, one of Ethiopia’s most popular saints. There are religious rites performed by the priests from the eve of the day.

The ordinary people prepare special beers, Tej and tella, bake special bread and slaughter sheep that have been fattened for the occasion. Children receive gifts and everyone turns out in new clothes. Visitors can observe the ceremonies in most parts of the country.

Source:http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/650767-ethiopia-the-land-of-sheba.html

US$250 million Addis Ababa Bole International Airport expansion project

Addis Ababa, 24 December 2013 (WIC) – The Ethiopian Airports Enterprise is planning an expansion project of the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport passengers’ terminal at a cost of US$250 million, according to The Reporter.

Tewodros Dawit, CEO of the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise, told The Reporter that the expansion project is part of the Airlines’ Vision 2025 development strategy.

According to Tewodros, the expansion project includes the construction of a new passenger terminal as an extensions of the existing Terminal 1 (domestic and regional terminal) and terminal 2 (international terminal) and the construction of a new VIP passengers’ terminal.

A US$250-million loan for the project has been obtained from the government of China, and the agreement is signed by the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Chinese government, The Reporter reported citing Tewodros. The Chinese construction company, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), will be the contractor for the expansion project.

The design work of the expansion project is being undertaken by a Singapore company, CPG.

The project is expected to launch next March and the project is scheduled to be completed within three years, according to The Reporter.

US$ 85 million IFAD loan to scale up pastoral community development in Ethiopia

Rome, 16 December 2013 – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide a loan of US$85 million to the Federal Democratic of Ethiopia to finance a third phase of the Pastoral Community Development Project. The Government of Ethiopia and the World Bank, will co-finance the $218.2 million project.

Gessese Mulugeta Alemseged, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to IFAD and Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD, signed the loan agreement today.

Pastoralism relates both to an economic livelihood system that is based primarily on extensive livestock production and to the unique characteristics of communities that live in the arid and semi-arid lowlands of Ethiopia.

The first phase of the Pastoral Community Development Project provided the basis for scaling up into a second phase, which is being further scaled up into the third phase of this project. This underscores the importance the Government of Ethiopia attaches to pastoral development as a way of reducing poverty among the most neglected and vulnerable rural households in the country. The increased demand for livestock, both domestically in Ethiopian markets and in neighbouring countries, such as Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia and the Sudan, has been driving changes in pastoralist livelihood systems. Many pastoral households have been able to improve their livestock-based livelihoods, an increasing number have been unable to maintain their traditional livelihoods. As a result, a growing segment of the traditionally pastoralist population is dropping out of pastoralism.

The project aims to improve access to community driven social and economic services for Ethiopia’s pastoralists and agropastoralists. It is expected to improve their livelihoods by increasing andimproving their nu stabilizing their incomes,improving their nutrition, health and education status, and empowering them to be involved in decision-making on local development initiatives.

Implemented over a 15 year period by the Ministry of Federal Affairs, the project will cover more than 90% of pastoral and agropastoral woredas (districts) in the country. Improved access to public services will enhance the quality of life and support the livelihoods of about 4.7 million pastoralists and agropastoralists. In addition, the project will introduce community driven models of service delivery that will benefit pastoral and agropastoral communities throughout the country.

With this new project, IFAD will have financed 16 programmes and projects in Ethiopia since 1980 and brings the total of IFAD portfolio investment in Ethiopia to $ 387.9 million.

Press release no: IFAD/64/2013

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) works with poor rural people to enable them to grow and sell more food, increase their incomes and determine the direction of their own lives. Since 1978, IFAD has invested over US$15 billion in grants and low-interest loans to developing countries through projects empowering more than 410 million people to break out of poverty, thereby helping to create vibrant rural communities. IFAD is an international financial institution and a specialized UN agency based in Rome – the United Nations’ food and agriculture hub. It is a unique partnership of 172 members from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), other developing countries and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Source:http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2013/64.htm