President calls for more efforts of stakeholders to ensure access to justice

The President made the remark at the celebration of the Justice Day held at the Millennium Hall yesterday.

Present at the celebration were senior government officials and stakeholders, including Meaza Ashenafi, President of the Federal Supreme Court.

President Sahle-Work said ensuring access to justice has an irreplaceable role to accelerate development and democracy as well as to build public trust in judicial institutions.

She said lack of public trust in judicial institutions will be a threat for the country by eroding the unity of the people.

The six-day campaign launched on September 6 under the theme “celebrating Pagumen with synergy,” to strengthen unison among Ethiopians will come to an end today with celebration of National Unity Day.

Pagumen is the 13th month of Ethiopian calendar. The Ethiopian calendar has 12 months of 30 days plus 5 or 6 days. The 6th day is added every 4 years. This year, it has six days.

Each day is being celebrated under six pillars of prosperity, peace, national pride, democracy, justice and national unity.

The country marked days of prosperity, peace, national pride, democracy and justice during the past five days. The last day of Pagumen is dedicated to justice.

Ethiopia’s New Year (2012) will begin tomorrow.

Premier receives award from Association of Political Consultants Africa

Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has received an award from the Association of Political Consultants Africa – APCAfrica, in recognition to his contribution to democracy in Ethiopia.

Since coming to power, the Prime Minister contributed a lot for democracy, undertaken reforms, released several prisoners and political parties in exile returned to their country, said Kehinde Bamigbetan, President of the Association.

Bamigbetan made the remark at the fourth Africa Political Summit in Addis Ababa opened today under the theme “Campaign Financing and Elections in Africa.”

Regarding the three-day summit, Bamigbetan said the summit aims to promote and foster democratic process, principles and practices.

It also helps to establish and maintain relations between APCA members and political as well as public institutions to promote understanding and cooperation in matters pertaining to political activities and public affairs, he added.

During the morning session, European Association of Political Consultants (EAPC) President, Igor Mintusov, shared the experiences and philosophy of fundraising strategies for election and election campaigns to the attendees.

Mintusov stressed the necessity of technology and impacts of small amounts of money collected from potential voters to run political campaigns effectively.

He advised political candidates not to ignore small amount of fund collected from the masses to run election campaigns.

EAPC will support and work together with APCA in sharing experiences of political consultancy, the president stated.

EAPC Board Member, Reza Kazemi said defining target groups is very crucial for fundraising and election campaign, even if election and fundraising campaign differs from one country to another with regional and local variations.

Hard core supporters, voters who support a political goal, and people who funded campaigns before are the potential fund raisers of election campaign for the given political candidate, he added.

Source: FBC

A discussion forum on homegrown economic reforms opens today in Addis Ababa

A discussion forum on homegrown economic reforms opened at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) meeting hall this morning.

Development partners and the diplomatic community are in attendance of the forum opened by Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed.

In his opening remark, the Prime Minister recapped the key milestones achieved in shifting the economic landscape.

He added that the reform is aimed at transforming Ethiopia into the icon of Africa by 2030.

Towards this aim, the Prime Minister called upon development partners to continue strengthening their support, according to office of the Prime Minister.

State Minister of Finance, Eyob Tekalign said the homegrown economic reform will enhance job creation, inclusive growth poverty reduction and create a pathway for prosperity for all.

Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Dr. Vera Songwe for her part called upon the Ethiopian Government to increase investment by 6 billion US dollars.

The Next World Economic Forum to be Held in Addis Ababa

The 28th World Economic Forum which has been held from 4th-6th September 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa is concluded.

H.E. President Sahle Work Zewde stated on the closing session of the forum that the next is to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in September next year.

The 28th World Economic Forum held in Cape Town was fruitful in discussing pressing issues of Africa and beyond, President Sahle Work stated. “Let’s make a continent free from gender based violence, xenophobia, exclusion and all evils that hamper our continent; there is no place for such actions on Africa we want,” she added.

Africa Union Peace and Security Council PSC decides to lift the suspension of Sudan in the activities of the AU

AU Peace and Security Council PSC today at its 875th Meeting decides to lift the suspension of the participation of Sudan in the activities of the AU, AU Peace and Security Council PSC today at its 875th Meeting decides to lift the suspension of the participation of Sudan in the activities of the AU,  now that Sudan established a civilian-led Government;Commits to support its reconstruction & int’l mobilization efforts.

Ethiopian PM hails China’s support for education, human resource development

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed praised China’s support for Ethiopia’s efforts in human resource development.

At the Chinese Government Training Program Fellowship Reception organized by the Chinese embassy, Ahmed extended appreciation to the Chinese government and the ambassador “for their great effort to make this program happen.”

“I am sure this is the right investment; these bright Ethiopians will help us to bridge the people of Ethiopia and the people of China,” he said at the National Palace in Addis Ababa. “I am sure both the government and people will harvest from this investment.”

This year, 228 Ethiopians are admitted to long-term degree programs, including 66 PhD and 162 master degrees, accounting for 16.52 percent of the total scholarships China offers across the world.

“This is the time when the Ethiopian government is making special efforts to expand education, to enhance educational quality,” the prime minister said. “Efforts have been done to send more people abroad for scholarships to pursue overseas studies, and this Chinese scholarship is part of the efforts.”

Ahmed gave advice to the scholarship recipients on actively learning from China’s experience and practices of different development activities, even outside classroom, at airports, or on streets.

He also expressed hope that the recipients would come back from China with knowledge that enables them to contribute to Ethiopia’s development endeavors.

“Human resource development is an important component in the Belt and Road Initiative and within the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation framework,” Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian said. “The purpose is not only to build capacity, but also to strengthen people-to-people bond.”

By Aug. 30, the Chinese government has invited over 800 Ethiopians to participate in 200 short-term seminars, training courses and workshops, and offered scholarships to about 400 Ethiopians, including government officials for longer-term bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree programs, according to the ambassador