In its 18th urgent session held on April 8th, the Council of Ministers has passed decisions after deliberating on different issues.

The Council first discussed on the state of emergency draft bill issued to avert the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and reduce its impact, according to a statement issued by office of the Prime Minister.

The draft bill was issued in accordance to Article 93 of the Constitution and was needed to respond to the political and socio-economic impact of the pandemic, it said.

Following the declaration of coronavirus a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 70 countries have declared state of emergency to halt the spread and protect their people from the virus, it said.

After an in-depth deliberation and with a slight change, the Council of Ministers has decided the draft bill to enter into force as of  April 8, 2020, the statement indicated.

The Council also discussed the draft bill approving three loan agreements signed with the International Development Association (IDA), a financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to developing countries.

The three agreements are $41.3m loan for Ethiopia’s COVID19 emergency response, $54.9m for the second Africa CDC regional investment project and $134.6m for Ethiopia’s growth and competitiveness programmatic development policy project.

The Council sent both draft bills to be approved by the House of People’s Representatives (parliament).

Ethiopia has declared state of emergency in response to coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic.

The move came as the number of COVID19 cases has shown rapid increase in the country, according to a statement issued by the government.

Ethiopia has so far registered 52 confirmed cases, with two deaths and four recoveries.

Despite the various measures taken by the government, data shows a rapid rise in COVID-19 infections, the statement added.

As part of efforts to contain the spread of the virus, schools and universities were closed and non-essential workers told to work from home.

According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, more than 1.4 million cases of coronavirus have been registered globally.

More than 82,000 people have died and more than 300,000 have recovered from the virus.

ክቡራትና ክቡራን ኢትዮጵያውያን

እየተመለከታችሁትና እየታዘባችሁት እንደሆነው ዓለም በአስቸጋሪ የፈተና ምእራፍ እያለፈች ነው፡፡ ዓለም ይሄንን መሰል ነገር ሲገጥማት ከመቶ ዓመት በኋላ የመጀመሪያ ነገር ነው፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት ኮሮና (ኮቪድ -19) የዓለም ሁለንተናዊ ችግር ሆኖ ብቅ ካለበት ጊዜ ጀምሮ ደረጃ በደረጃ የመፍትሔ ርምጃዎችን ሲወስድ ቆይቷል፡፡ ሕዝቡ ግንዛቤ እንዲያገኝ፣ የሕክምና ተቋማት እንዲዘጋጁ፣ የመከላከያና የሕክምና መሣሪያዎች ከውጭ እንዲገቡ፣ የማቆያ ሥፍራዎች እንዲዘጋጁ፣ ትምህርት ቤቶች እንዲዘጉ፤ አብዛኞቹ የመንግሥት ሠራተኞች በቤት እንዲወሰኑ፣ ብዙ ሕዝብ ሊሰበሰብባቸው የሚችሉ ሃይማኖታዊና ማኅበራዊ ተቋማት አገልግሎታቸውን ሕዝብ ሊሰበሰብ በማይችልበት መንገድ እንዲከውኑ፣ በአብዛኛው ሥፍራዎች የሕዝብ ትራንስፖርት እንዲቋረጥ፣ ለአስቸጋሪ ጊዜ የሚሆን ሀብት የማሰባሰብ ሥራ እንዲሠራ ተደርጓል፡፡

መንግሥት የኮሮና ወረርሽኝን በተመለከተ የሚከተለው ስትራቴጂ በመከላከል ላይ ያተኮረ ነው፡፡
1. ኅብረተሰቡን አስተባብሮ በባለሞያዎች ምክር መሠረት ለመከላከል መቻል

2. ከመከላከል ያለፈ ነገር ሲመጣ ለማከም የሚያስችሉ ዐቅሞችን ማዳበር፡፡

3. የከፋው ነገር ከመጣም አስቀድሞ በመዘጋጀት እንደየ አስፈላጊነቱ ተገቢ ውሳኔዎችን እያሳለፉ መሄድ፡፡
እስካሁንም በዚህ መንገድ ነው የተጓዝነው፡፡

አሁን ያሉን መረጃዎች እንደሚያሳዩት በቫይረሱ የተያዙ ወገኖች ቁጥር በፍጥነት እየጨመረ ነው፡፡ ይሄም በመሆኑ ሁላችንም ያለንን ዐቅም ሁሉ አስተባብረን ወገኖቻችንን ከዚህ ወረርሽኝ ለመከላከልና የታመሙትንም ለማዳን ማዋል አለብን፡፡ ያለንበት ጊዜ ሕዝብና ሀገርን ለማዳን ሲባል አስቸጋሪ የተባሉ ውሳኔዎችን መወሰን ያለብን ጊዜ ነው፡፡ ይህም ውሳኔ፣ እንደ ግለሰብ፣ እንደ ማኅበረሰብ፣ እንደ ተቋምና እንደ መንግሥት የሚወሰኑ ናቸው፡፡

ይህ ውሳኔ በዛሬው ትውልድ ላይ ብቻ የምንወስነው ውሳኔ አይደለም፡፡ በልጅ ልጆቻችን ላይ ጭምር የምንወስነው ነው፡፡ በዛሬዋ ኢትዮጵያ ላይ የምንወስነው ብቻ አይደለም፤ በነገዋና በከነገ ወዲያዋ ኢትዮጵያ ላይ ጭምር የምንወስነው ውሳኔ ነው፡፡ የኛ የመሪዎቹ ውሳኔ ብቻ ሳይሆን የእያንዳንዱ ዜጋ ውሳኔ በታሪክ የሚመዘገብ ነው፡፡

ይሄንን አስቸጋሪ ጊዜ ልናልፈው የምንችለው በአካል ተራርቀን በመንፈስ ግን አንድ ሆነን ከቆምን ብቻ ነው፡፡
የያንዳንዳችን ሀብት የሁላችን፣ የእያንዳንዳችንም ችግር የሁላችን መሆን አለበት፡፡ አንዱ በልቶ ሌላው ተርቦ፣ አንዱ ሠርቶ ሌላው ሥራ አጥቶ፣ አንዱ መኖሪያ አግኝቶ ሌላው ውጭ አድሮ፣ አንዱ አትርፎ ሌላው ከሥሮ ይሄንን ችግር ለማለፍ ፈጽሞ አይቻልም፡፡ ምክንያቱም ይህ ችግር የመጣው በህልውናችን ላይ በመሆኑ፡፡ ይህ ችግር የተጋረጠው ሰው ሆኖ በመኖርና ባለመኖር ላይ በመሆኑ፡፡

መንግሥት ችግሩን በደረሰበት ልክ ለመቋቋም ተዘጋጅቷል፡፡ የምንወስዳቸው ውሳኔዎች ክብደት እንደ ችግሩ ክብደት የሚወሰን ነው፡፡ ታሪክ እዚህ አድርሶናል፡፡ ሀገርና ትውልድ በእጃችን ላይ ነው፡፡ በዚህ ዘመን በምንሠራው ሥራ ወይ እንመሰገናለን ወይ እንወቀሳለን፡፡ ከምንም በላይ ግን በጊዜውና በዐቅማችን ማድረግ ያለብንን ካላደረግን የበለጠ እንወቀሳለን፡፡ ይህ ደግሞ ሁላችንንም ኢትዮጵያውያንን የሚመለከት ነው፡፡ ከተረፍን አብረን ነው፡፡ ከከሠርንም አብረን ነው፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ መንግሥት የኮሮና ወረርሽኝ እየተባባሰ በመምጣጡ ምክንያት የአስቸኳይ ጊዜ ዐውጇል፡፡ ይህም በሕገ መንግሥቱ ዐንቀጽ 93 መሠረት የተፈጸመ ነው፡፡ ይሄንን መሳይ ዐዋጅ ብዙ ሀገሮች ካወጁ ሰንብተዋል፡፡ እኛ እስክንዘጋጅና ሁኔታው የግድ እስኪለን ጠብቀናል፡፡

ጊዜው ሲጠይቅ ግን ዐውጀናል፡፡ ሀገርን ለማዳንና ትውልድን ለመታደግ ከዚህ በላይ ልንወስን እንደምችልም መታወቅ አለበት፡፡ ዜጎቻችንም ከዚህ በላይ ግዴታቸውን ለመወጣት ወገባቸውን አጥብቀው መጠበቅ አለባቸው፡፡

በዚህ ወቅት ሁላችሁም ችግሩን ለመቋቋም ከሚሠሩት አካላት ጋር አብራችሁ እንድትቆሙ ጥሪ አቀርባለሁ፡፡ ከዚህ በተቃራኒ ችግሩን ለማባባስ የሚሠሩ ካሉ ግን፣ በሕጉ መሠረት የማያዳግም ርምጃ እንወስዳለን፡፡
ወገኖቼ፤

ኢትዮጵያውያን የሚያምርብን መረዳዳቱና መደጋጋፉ ነው፡፡ ድኾችን እንርዳ፡፡ በአካባቢያችን ላሉት ዐቅመ ደካሞች እንድረስላቸው፡፡ የቤት ተከራዮቻችንን ዕዳ እንካፈላቸው፡፡

ከቻልን አናስከፍላቸው፤ ካልቻልን ቅናሽ እናድርግላቸው፡፡ ያም ካልሆነ ይህ ጊዜ እስኪያልፍ እንታገሣቸው፡፡ በዚህ ወቅት ተከራዮችን ከቤት ማስወጣት ፈጣሪም፣ ታሪክም ሕግም ይቅር የማይሉት ወንጀል ነው፡፡ ማናችን አልፈን ማናችን እንደምንተርፍ ለማናውቅበት ጊዜ ከመተባበር የተሻለ መሻገሪያ የለንም፡፡ የግል ባለሀብቶች የሠራተኞቻቸው ሕይወት እንዲያስጨንቃቸው አደራ እላለሁ፡፡ መንግሥት የኢኮኖሚ ችግሮቻችንን ለመፍታት አስፈላጊውን ሁሉ እየወሰነ አብሯችሁ እንደሚሆን በዚህ አጋጣሚ እገልጥላችኋለሁ፡፡

ለሌሎች ወገኖቻቸውና ለሀገራቸው ሲሉ ቤታቸውን፣ ሆቴላቸውን፣ አዳራሾቻቸውን፣ የእምነት ተቋሞቻቸውን፣ መኪኖቻቸውን፣ ገንዘባቸውንና እህላቸውን የሰጡ ዜጎቻችንን ስናይ ይሄንን አስቸጋሪ ወቅት ከፈጣሪ ጋር ሆነን ልናልፈው እንደምንችል ርግጠኞች እንሆናለን፡፡

በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ከወገኖቻቸው መከራ ለማትረፍ የሚሽቀዳደሙ፣ ከመከራ እንኳን የማይማሩ ሰዎችን ስናይ መንገዱ ከባድ እንዳይሆንብን እንሠጋለን፡፡ በጎ አድራጊዎችን የምናመሰግነውን ያህል መንገዳችንን ይበልጥ ፈታኝ የሚያደርጉብንን ስግብግቦች ግን ለሕዝብና ለሀገር ስንል አስተማሪ የሆነ ቅጣት ለመቅጣት እንገደዳለን፡፡

የሕክምና ባለሞያዎቻችንን በሚቻለው ሁሉ እንርዳ፡፡ ያለ እነርሱ ግንባር ቀደምነት ትግሉን ልናሸንፍ አንችልም፡፡ የሕክምና ባለሞያዎችን ማክበር፣ ማመስገንና በጉዟቸው ሁሉ መተባበር ከእያንዳንዳችን ይጠበቃል፡፡

ለሕክምና ባለሞያዎች ተገቢውን ሁሉ አለማድረግ እጅን በእጅ እንደመቁረጥ ነው፡፡ ከእነርሱ በተጨማሪ የመከላከያ አባላት፣ የፖሊስ ሠራዊት አባላት፣ የኤሌክትሪክ ኃይልና የውኃ አቅርቦት እንዳይስተጓጎል የሚሠሩ ባለሞያዎች፣ የሚዲያ ባለሞያዎች፣ የመገናኛ መሥመሮቻችን ላይ 24 ሰዓት የሚያገለግሉ ዜጎች፣ እኛ ቤት እንድንውል እነርሱ ውጭ የሚውሉ ሠራተኞች ተገቢው ምስጋናና ድጋፍ ከቤተሰባቸውም፣ ከማኅበረሰባቸውም ያስፈልጋቸዋል፡፡

በዚሁ አጋጣሚ አርሶ አደሮቻችን የበልግ ወቅት እንዳያልፍብን ራሳቸውን ከቫይረሱ እየተጠነቀቁ በምርት ሥራ ላይ ጠንክረው እንዲሳተፉ አደራ እላቸዋለሁ፡፡ ከቫይረሱ ባልተናነሰ የእርሻ ምርት መቀነስና የእርሻ ምርት አለመኖር ሀገራችንንና ሕዝቧን ይጎዳል፡፡ እናንተ ሀገር መጋቢዎች ስለሆናችሁ፣ እየተጠነቀቃችሁ ካለፈው የተሻለ ምርት ለማምረት ትጉ፡፡ መንግሥትም አስፈላጊውን ሁሉ ሞያዊና ድጋፍ ያደርግላችኋል፡፡

የኢንዱስትሪ ምርቶቻችንም ፈጽመው መቆም የለባቸውም፡፡ ለሠራተኞቻችን ሕይወት እየተጠነቀቅን፣ በወረርሽኙ ምክንያት የሚያጋጥመንን ተግዳሮት ሁሉ እየተቋቋምን በፋብሪካ ምርቶች ላይ የተቻለንን ሁሉ ጥረት እናድርግ፡፡ ከበተለይም ከውጭ የምናመጣቸውን ምርቶች ለመተካት ለሚደረገው ጥረት መንግሥት አስፈላጊውን ድጋፍ ሁሉ እንደሚያደርግላችሁ እገልጥላችኋለሁ፡፡ በተለይ ግን በምርት ዝውውር ጊዜ ከፍተኛ የሆነውን የመጨረሻ ጥንቃቄ እንዲደረግ ለአፍታም ቢሆን እንዳትዘነጉት ይሁን፡፡

ይህ ጊዜ ያልፋል፡፡ ሀገራችን ከዚህ የሚስተካከሉና ከዚህም የሚብሱ ፈተናዎችን አልፋለች፡፡ ዓለማችን በየዘመናቱ የከፉ ተግዳሮቶችን አልፋ ነው እዚህ ዘመን የደረሰችው፡፡

የሚሰጡንን መመሪያዎች በሚገባ እናክብር፣ የጤና ባለሞያዎች የሚሉንን ለሕይወታችን ስንል እንስማ፡፡ በኮሮና አይቀለድም፡፡ ጉዳዩ ከመኖርና ካለመኖር ጋር የተያያዘ ነው፡፡

ይሄንን ፈተና ለማለፍ ባለ ሦስት መዓዝን ትብብር ያስፈልገናል፡፡ ወደ ጎን እኛ እርስ በርሳችን፡፡ እያንዳንዳችን ደግሞ ከፈጣሪያችን ጋር፡፡ እኔ ከሌላው ወገኔ ጋር፣ ሌላው ወገኔ ከእኔ ጋር፣ እኔና ሌላው ወገኔ ከፈጣሪ ጋር የምንገናኝበት መሥመር መቼም መቋረጥ የለበትም፡፡

በርትተንና ተረባርበን የሚጠበቅብንን እናድርግ፣ ጸንተንና በተሰበረ ልብ ሆነን ወፈደ ፈጣሪ እንለምን፡፡ ፈጣሪ ከእኛ ጋር ነው፡፡ መከራውን ያቀልልናል፤ ፈተናውን ያሳልፈናል፤ ማዕበሉን ያሻግረናል ብለን እናምናለን፡፡

የሃይማኖት አባቶች ያዘዙንን ጥንቃቄ እየፈጸምን ያዘዙንንም ጸሎት ተግተን እንጸልይ፡፡
ኢትዮጵያ በልጆቿ ጥረት ታፍራና ተከብራ ለዘላለም ትኑር
ፈጣሪ ኢትዮጵያንና ሕዝቦቿን ይባርክ
መጋቢት 30/ 2012 ዓ.ም

ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ዐቢይ አህመድ

H.E. Gedu Andargachew, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, received monetary and in-kind donations on behalf of the National Resource Mobilization Committee, from various organizations to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The historic peace accord between Ethiopia and Eritrea has opened a door for new cooperation in the East Africa region, Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew said.

Gedu also praised the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the forefront reform supporters in Ethiopia.

In his exclusive interview with Al-Ain News, Foreign Minister Gedu said the fruit of rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea has “opened the door for cooperation and integration between the countries of the region.”

Following the peace agreement, the two countries are currently enjoying good neighborliness and linked by friendship, he noted.

The peace accord opened a “new chapter” which enabled to end the two decade feud and melted the ice of differences between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Gedu added.

It also paved the way for embassies to open in Ethiopia and Eritrea on the top of development of ports and the resumption of flights between the two countries.

The Foreign Minister noted that the pivotal agreement removed relations between Asmara and Addis Ababa from the bottleneck and created a state of optimism about stability in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.

In light of the rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Gedu appreciated the role of the UAE in smoothing the progress to end the 20 years standoff between the two countries in a peaceful way.

The UAE and its direct financial supports to the ongoing Ethiopian reform have been at the forefront, he hailed.

Gedu noted that the assistance provided by the UAE to Ethiopia especially, in the economic field is crucial and Ethiopia has been encouraging more Emirati investors to launch their projects in the country.

Ethiopia ’s new drive in establishing a digital economy has taken a giant step forward with the adoption of the new draft Proclamation on E-transaction last Saturday. When approved by Parliament, the Proclamation will create a thorough regulatory platform for the use of electronic means in all transaction procedures.

Tuned in the context of the growing need for the utilization of information and communication technology across all spheres of communication, the law will for the first time establish a clear legal foundation for governmental and private institutions to offer digital services – i.e., the provision of e-commerce and e-government services and the interchange and storage of data through the use of electronic transactions, electronic records, signatures and electronic data-messages.

A crucial step in building a modern economy towards a prosperous Ethiopia, the law will basically serve as a digital medium for all existing legal frameworks on trade, taxation, recognition of documents, signature seal, witnesses, digital payments, consumer protection, and data integrity – without amending their substance.

The Minister of Health has registered two deaths from coronavirus (COVID19).

A 60-year-old- woman and a 56-year-old man have died from the virus, said the Ministry in a statement yesterday (April 3rd).

Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed expressed his sorrow upon learning the two deaths from the virus.

The country has so far reported 43 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, more than 1.2 million cases of coronavirus have been registered globally.

More than 69,000 people have died and nearly 263,000 have recovered, according to the university’s figures.

Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed today met with leaders of competing political parties to discuss the impact of coronavirus (COVID19) on Ethiopia.

The meeting will continue until tomorrow, also discussing additional measures that the government will be taking, according to Office of the Prime Minister

“As we implement social distancing, meeting all parties together is not possible and hence the consultations will proceed in small groups over the two days,” said the Prime Minister on Twitter.

“I’m thankful for the constructive dialogue of this morning and look forward to the next ones,” he added.

So far, Ethiopia has 43 confirmed COVID19 cases, with four recoveries and no fatalities.

According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, more than 1.2 million cases of coronavirus have been registered globally.

More than 65,000 people have died and more than 252,000 have recovered, according to the university’s figures.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa, and Chairperson of the African Union (AU) convened a second and follow-up teleconference meeting of the AU Bureau of Heads of State and Government, on 3 April 2020, to discuss the African response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The following members of the Bureau participated in the teleconference meeting: President Abdel Fattah al Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, President Ibrahim Keita of the Republic of Mali, President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Republic of Kenya, and President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, President Macky Sall of the Republic of Senegal, and President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the Republic of Zimbabwe also participated in the teleconference. The Bureau received presentations from Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and President Emmanuel Macron of France.

Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC gave a continental update which highlighted rapidly increasing Covid-19 infection rates across the continent

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus emphasised the importance of acting now to test and to guarantee equitable access to test kits, masks and personal protective equipment (PPEs), vaccines and therapeutics as soon as they become available.

The Bureau of Heads of State and Government commended the able stewardship of exemplary leadership of Dr Tedros in leading the global response to the pandemic.

The Heads of States highlighted the unprecedented threat that Covid-19 presents to the health of African citizens and to the continent’s hard-won developmental and economic gains. They also recognised the imperative to establish humanitarian and trade corridors in a spirit of African solidarity and integration.

Given the urgent need for medical supplies and equipment, the Heads of states called for international cooperation and support while up-scaling local production on the continent.

The Heads of States noted with satisfaction progress made in operationalising the African Union Covid-19 Response Fund established on 26 March 2020 to which members pledged the sum of US$12.5 million and an additional US$4.5million to the Africa CDC.

It was agreed to establish continental ministerial coordination committees on Health, Finance and Transport to coordinate in order to support the comprehensive continental strategy.

The Heads of States underscored the need for a comprehensive and coordinated continental approach, and to speak with one voice on Africa’s priorities.

Cognizant of the devastating socio-economic and political impact of the pandemic on African countries, the Bureau reiterated the need for rapid and concrete support as pledged by the G20 and other international partners, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It is critical that these institutions review their current disbursement policies to display flexibility and speed, including raising the availability of IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). The Bureau also echoed the call for a comprehensive stimulus package for Africa, including, deferred payments, the immediate suspension of interest payments on Africa’s external public and private debt in order to create fiscal space for Covid-19 response measures.

Lifesaving supplies including PPEs, masks, gowns, and ventilators and other support devices are urgently needed. The Bureau commended the rapid action coordinated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Jack Ma Foundation in mobilising and distributing, with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP) and Africa CDC, over one million diagnostic tests, six million masks and 600,000 PPE items to all African Union member states in less than a week.

The Heads of States and Government strongly urged for the immediate lifting of all economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and Sudan to allow them to adequately respond to the pandemic and save lives. The African Union has repeatedly called for the lifting of these punitive sanctions, which the Bureau consider intolerable and inhumane in the present context.

It was noted that the Sahel region need special attention in the light of terrorist activity, and pledge solidarity with the countries in this region who have to fight the twin scourge of terrorism and COVID-19.

The Heads of States and Government thanked President Emmanuel Macron for his strong support for Africa during the Extraordinary G20 Summit. The Bureau expressed its support for the proposals he raised regarding a comprehensive approach to mobilising international support for Africa’s health, economic, humanitarian, and medical research priorities, which are aligned with the in African position. The Bureau also acknowledged the commitment of the People’s Republic of China for its support and solidarity with Africa.