The five oil
companies that are active in the country are competing to supply
Anbessa City Bus Service Enterprise fuel and lubricants.
The winner of
the tender will be paid over 55 million Br annually to supply the
goods to the public transporter.
Anbessa sent a
somewhat contradictory invitation to bid to the five oil companies
in the beginning of April 2006. Shell Ethiopia, Mobil Oil East
Africa, TOTAL Ethiopia, Yetebaberut Beherawi Petroleum (YBP), and
the National Oil Company were the recipients of the letter. The
tender was opened on May 3, 2006.
Before the
Provisional Addis Abeba City Government handed over the key to the
new Caretaker Administration and lease board passed a decision that
the Sheraton Addis be awarded a 37.7hct plot in order to commence
its expansion project.
The plot is
located in two districts, those of Kirkos and Arada, which have been
charged with removing a total of 2,797 homes to hand over the plot
to the luxury hotel. The plot rests 24.5hct in Kirkos and 13.2hct in
Arada.
The plot is
situated in the middle of the National Palace, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Filwuha Public Spa Enterprise, the old abattoir and
Orma Garage.
ETC Awards
Procurement of 2m SIM Cards to Chinese Company
The Ethiopian
Telecommunications Corporation has awarded the procurement of two
million SIM cards, at a cost of over 12 million Br to a Chinese
company, Whuan Kianyu.
The procurement
is part of the Corporation’s goal to increase the current 650,000
mobile subscribers to 2.6 million in the coming 18 months.
The telephone
monopoly floated an international tender for the procurement and
opened it on February 28, 2006. At the opening, 19 companies
participated.
A majority of
the companies that presented bid documents to participate in the
tender were European, although there were three Chinese companies as
well as some South African firms that participated as well.
Berhanu Deressa
Addis Abeba’s newest mayor, who was appointed to head the Caretaker
Administration by the federal government, calls his new cabinet ‘The
Fire Brigade’.
Addis Abeba has
been in a cold war since the May 15th elections, having caused rifts
between the incumbent, the opposition and the voting public that
have yet to be bridged. This was manifested clearly during the
November and June unrests that took place in the capital. There has
been the loss of lives and an aura of distrust that has been bred
between the police force and the public that they are trying to
protect.
The
Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency (PPESA) has
sold Nazareth Garments SC to Siltun Balemoya Co (SBACO) for 8.5
million Br.
Located 98Km
east of Addis Abeba in the Oromia Regional State's Adama (Nazareth)
town, Nazareth Garment was established in 1989 based on an agreement
between the National Textiles Corporation (NTC) and Daewoo
Corporation of South Korea. All of the equipment for the factory was
imported form Japan or was provided through Daewoo.
Gift
Trading Finally Able to Begin Real Estate Development
Gift Trading
Plc, sister company to Gift Real Estate, has found closure to the
controversy that it was facing on a plot of land that it received in
the Yeka District. The company will finally be able to begin its
real estate development on a 90,000sqm plot that it received in the
CMC area.
United Bank (UB)
SC has awarded a four million Birr hardware supply contract to
United System Integrators (USI) after completing evaluations on a
tender floated on March 12, 2006.
The Bank signed
the contract with the winner for the hardware supply on May 10,
2006. The agreement is to supply and install 24 HP servers to the
Bank 10 of which will be installed at the main branch of the Bank
located Mekwor Plaza Building, on Debre Zeit Road while the rest
will be for branch offices.
Anti-Corruption
Deputy Commissioner Appointed to Chair Akaki Spare Parts Board
The Deputy
Commissioner of the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission,
Addisu Mengistu has been appointed to chair the board of directors
of the Akaki Spare Parts and Hand Tools SC.
Addisu was
appointed to the board by the director general of the Privatization
and Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency (PPESA), Beyene G.Meskel.
Neyo Bio-Medical to Open First
Bio-Medical Engineering College
Neyo
Bio-Medical Engineering, established in 2002 by its owner and
managing director, Nega Kebede, is planning to open the first
bio-medical engineering college in Ethiopia.
A source at the
Ministry of Health told Fortune that one of the biggest
problems the health sector is facing at this time is the lack of
skilled personnel that are able to maintain medical equipment that
is used by hospitals and clinics across the country.
Study
Recommends State Exit Real Estate Development
The Ethiopian
government should leave the real estate development sector to the
private sector and to communities that are willing to build for
themselves, according to Abebe Zeleul, former head of the Addis
Abeba City Administration’s Land Development and Administration
Authority and current deputy dean of the urban development
department of the Ethiopian Civil Service College.
Two local
companies Safecon Plc and Sigma Electric won a sub contract for the
erection and installation of nine substations from an Indian company
Ircon International.
Ircon won the
contract from the Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo),
which awarded the 18 substation construction to two international
companies, Ircon and a Chinese company, Wambao International, each
got nine substations.
Brasseries et
Glaciere’s Internationles (BGI) Ethiopia’s factory in Addis Abeba
has begun provisional production on a newly installed beer line.
The expansion
project will enable BGI’s factory in Addis Abeba to produce 35,000
bottles an hour when it comes into full swing, which is targeted for
October 2006. The current production capacity of 55 million litres a
month will be boosted by 20 million litres.
Alternative
Fuels Gain Attention as Fuel Prices Soar
As the price of
fuel increases on the international oil market, Ethiopia has set its
sights on ethanol and bio-diesel to guarantee the supply of
affordable fuel.
The increasing
international demand for the product does not guarantee that the
supply will be constant in the future, according to a study that was
done by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI). The study focused
on the two alternatives and their viability in the country.
Prime Minster
Meles Zenawi commented on the walk out of the opposition party
members, during his speech at the 22nd regular session of the House
of People’s Representatives by using an anecdote from the United
States Congress.
“This reminds me of the US congressman that was left alone with a
camera man and Newt Gingrich, who was at the time the speaker of the
house” said the Prime Minister. ”When the camera took the shot of
the room behind him, the chairs were empty. In the US congress,
congressmen can leave after they have registered their names for
that session”.
Failed
states: The agenda for human development in Africa faces many
limitations in the sphere of institutional development. On several
occasions, I have raised questions as to whether we have so far been
effective
During a recent press conference the Prime Minister had with
journalists, one of our colleagues from Fortune asked him whether
his government claims it has legitimacy after all that happened
following last May’s elections.
When it comes
to the Addis Abeba City Administration, the last year since the May
2005 Ethiopian national elections have been characterized by great
ambiguity if not mystery.
My tall Gojame friend called Thursday afternoon to kindly give me
some information that I needed. He enquired about what I was writing
about, and I ......
From many parts of Africa there is encouraging news of economic
expansion and poverty reduction. The benefits of economic
stabilization are becoming increasingly visible, with the last few
years witnessing growth at its
I exist in the strangest of contradictory states. Every
aspect of my life continues in a constant state of conflict - which
can get to be annoying when you really sit down to think about it.
It’s as though my nature just won’t make
“Fasten Your Seat Belts” is a warning slogan we hear ubiquitously
over the morning radio show of FM Addis hosted by Dagmawi Tariku.
Many people agree that fastening seat belts could minimize death
tolls by keeping drivers in their respective seats during a crash or
the overturning of vehicles. There are, however, others who view the
problem from a different perspective.
The celebration of Ethiopian Patriots Victory Day on Friday
May 5, 2006 gave almost every institution a second day off (the
first having been International Labour Day that was celebrated on
Monday May 1, 2006) during the last week. This was not the case with
the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which had a full working
day on the public holiday.
