A mother and a daughter sit
alongside a road on Thursday night, May 24, 2007, after their house was
demolished the same day by special taskforce in the Bole District. They are the
first victims of what city authorities are planning to undertake on a massive
scale that may last until October 2007. City officials claimed to be determined
to restore order in what many describe as illegal land grabbing, fraudulent ways
of acquiring leased plots and illegitimate constructions, following the May 2005
electoral disputes that left a power vacuum in the capital.
With an overwhelming force
on display from the federal and city police forces, no resistance was observed
late in the afternoon on Thursday when District authorities demolished 205
alleged moonlight houses, in the Kebelle 01, Bole District.
Letters signed by Ezra
Beyen, head of the Land Administration and Development Bureau of the District,
had been served to these houses earlier this month, advising them to vacate
within seven days of the notice from what appeared to be shanty and mud houses.
These residents were also advised to appeal to the Bureau within these days,
although many of the displaced families claimed their houses were bulldozed
before their appeals were addressed.
Many of these houses were built in an area close to Bole International Airport,
in close proximity to the runway. The area, reserved for green land under the
Master Plan, is inside the aviation security zone, District officers told
Fortune.Click Here for the full story
Justice Memberetsehay to Challenge
Banks, Judiciary on Mortgage Practice
Memberetsehay Tadesse
The Vice
President of the Supreme Court, Justice Memberetsehay Tadesse, is to
challenge an entrenched practice in Ethiopia’s banking industry that
prohibits the transfer of mortgaged properties to third parties
until debts are fully serviced. The Vice President will not spare
his home turf, with his 77-page study criticising the judiciary for
falling prey to tradition.
“I anticipate
that this paper will please neither judges nor leaders of the
banking industry,” said the Vice President.
Justice
Memberetsehay will appear on June 2, 2007, at the Sheraton to
address a panel organised by the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce and
Sectoral Association (AACCSA), in association with the Supreme
Court.
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NEWS
Surtax Endangers
Backlogged Federal Purchase Orders
Procurement departments of various federal agencies are hit by
uncertainty on how to proceed with purchase orders made months back but
were to be delivered lately. However, a circular distributed to 135
federal agencies on May 14, 2007, prohibited them from accepting price
adjustments from their respective suppliers due to 10pc increases caused
by the recent surtax.
The lone
investment bank in the country, the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE), is to
lower its requirement of a 30pc cash deposit in blocked accounts in order to
finance selected sectors, sources disclosed to Fortune. If its proposal
submitted to its supervisory agency two weeks ago is accepted, officials at DBE
hope that borrowers in sectors such as textile, garment and leather will only be
requested to deposit half of the amount the Bank has been asking for the past
three years.
Directive to Cause
Major Financial Board Reshuffling
The
financial sector is frenzied over a new directive issued by NBE that will come
into effect on July 1 that puts new regulations on the qualifications for
financial bodies' boards of directors and attempts to limit conflicts of
interests. While some members of the financial community praise the move as a
step towards order, others are chastising the regulatory body for overstepping
its bounds.
The
Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC)
signed a contract worth 867.4 million Br on Friday May 25, 2007, for the
rehabilitation of a section of the Addis-Tarmaber road. The cost of the project
will be covered by the Ethiopian government.
State Property
Conflicts with Tourism Sector Plot Grants
Bahir Dar
City Administration action in leasing land around Lake Tana without first
evacuating the already existing Fuel Reserve Depot, Amhara National Democratic
Movement (ANDM) Secretariat, the Region’s Water Works and Construction
Enterprise, Bahir Dar Penitentiary Administration and the City’s garage has
caused dismay among the investors.
Bio-diesel Project Encroaching on
Elephant Sanctuary
The
Oromia Regional State and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD)
are at odds over a segment of land falling within the boundary of the Babile
Elephant Sanctuary in East Hararghe Zone. The problem stems from land given to
Flora Eco Power Holding AG, a German company planning to produce bio-fuel.
The
Anbessa City Bus Service Enterprise Board Chairman has cancelled a fuel and
lubricants supply tender the National Oil Company (NOC) had won. The company was
notified on March 19, 2007, by Anbessa’s management that it won the bid for the
tender opened on January 30, 2007, which would have been worth 67 million Br
annually.
AAWSA to Use Eminent Domain to Curb Water Shortage
Failing to supply
around 50pc of Addis Abeba's residents with clean potable water, AAWSA
has been forced to take all measures within its powers to expand its
delivery systems. The latest attempt involves negotiations with
companies operating private wells within city boundaries. However, there
is reluctance on the part of some companies to give up control of a
reliable source when they fear the lack of dependability on AAWSA's
part.
Oil Factories Stop
Production Facing Supply Cost Increases
A privately
owned along with three state owned edible oil factories have ceased
production recently as rising seed costs have caused their final
products to be less affordable for consumers. While imported edible
oils are selling for 15 Br a litre, increases of seed prices on the
scale of 100pc have caused domestic edible oils to go for around 20
Br a litre.
Medical Liscenses
Revoked for Sub-Par Radiation Safety
The
Ethiopian Radiation Protection Authority (ERPA) has revoked the license of four
private medical centres located in Addis Abeba, Mekele, Gondar and Adama which
provide diagnostic services using radiation emitting material for failing to
observe safety standards. The Agency has inspected more than 400 centres which
use similar equipment throughout the nation.
Lion Insurance SC, a sister
company of the recently established Lion Bank SC is under formation, and could
enter the local insurance industry in less than a month.
The evolving company has
been selling shares for the last three months, and has so far managed to sell
shares worth 15 million Br. The company has also submitted an application
letter on May 24, 2007, to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the nation’s
financial regulatory body.
The Ethiopian Population
Census Commission purchased an insurance policy from Ethiopian Insurance
Corporation (EIC) for the more than 97,000 data collectors and controllers to be
deployed in the forthcoming population census against group and personal
accidents.
According to Workneh Mekbed,
Human Resource Department head at the Central Statistics Authority (CSA), which
is overseeing the programme, the policy, purchased from EIC for 3.3 million Br,
will extend for 45 days beginning May 9, 2007.
The National Lottery
Administration says it fell 2.7 million Br short of its targeted profit for the
current fiscal year due to competition from local development agencies which are
also selling lottery tickets.
Shareholders of Awash
International Bank SC are disputing the election of new members of the Bank's
Board of Directors at the General Assembly last month.
This is not the first
disputed Board of Directors election for Awash; a similar dispute occurred four
years ago during Bulcha Demekesa's time as Board Director, which was resolved
following a re-election reinstating Bulcha. Awash is the only bank in the
country to have one such row, let alone two.
In a bid to enhance the
currently strained public transport system, Anbessa City Bus Enterprise is
seeking to procure 1,000 buses from China. The Enterprise, which now operates at
a loss, must procure the busses on the behalf of the Ministry of Transport and
Communication (MoTC) according to licensing rights.
A price hike in lease
prices granted by the City Administration may put projects out of the budget
feasible for many companies. The Administration claims that rising
infrastructure costs have led to the increase in costs as some companies have
already withdrawn money from blocked accounts set aside for ventures in
industrial zones.
Stepping off the
bus at 8:00pm on a Saturday night, blurry-eyed from the 10-hour
journey from Addis Abeba, I was met by surprisingly wide-eyed
inhabitants of Harar. After the tiring and cramped voyage, crossing
the plains near Metahara where the scorching wind seemingly burns
your face and meandering through the lush Arba Gugu Mountains
approaching Harar, a refreshing locally brewed Hakim Stout draught,
followed by a long restful night, was in order.
