Hardly anyone displayed the
extent of loss and the degree of grief more profoundly than Assia Abdela,
18, when a flash flood struck Dire Dawa, a town of nearly 300,000, 501Km east of
Addis Abeba. Her photograph, taken two days after the flood wreaked havoc deep
into the night of August 6, 2006, - with tears rolling down her face exposing
the depth of her trauma - was published on Fortune; it goaded many
readers here and aboard to respond to relief appeals, with unprecedented
compassion.
The
federal government is keen to create a commission in charge
of implementing the nation’s population policy, 14 years
after it was first formulated in April 1993.
The belated presidential appointment at Wegagen Bank
SC is to arrive finally, as the Board of Directors
of the Bank chose a veteran banker, Hadgu Hailu,
former vice president and human resource head at the
state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) as its
new president. The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE),
regulatory body of the country's financial
institutions, has accepted the appointment of the
nominee.
State Insurance Corporation Gets Acting
Managing Director
Tewodros Tilahun, who has been serving as the
managing director of Ethiopian Insurance Corporation
(EIC), the largest insurance company in the country,
commanding 80pc of the market share, resigned from
his post. Subsequently the State Financial
Institutions Agency (SFIA), which supervises
state-owned financial institutions, has now
appointed Tesfaye Alemu, his former deputy, as the
acting managing director.
Sheraton Addis Hiring 2,000 Crew for Millennium Bonanza
The
management of Sheraton Addis is in a hiring spree, eyeing a
Millennium bonanza it will organise inside Ethiopia's
largest concert hall under construction on Africa Avenue
(Bole Road) at a project cost of 10 million dollars.
Why did Ethiopia sign an agreement critics say is favoring
Starbucks? Wondwossen Mezlekia, an Ethiopian working and
living in Seattle, Washington - where Starbucks is also
headquartered - has been following the trademark dispute
through his well-read blog, www.poorfarmer.blogspot.com. In
his contribution to a series of articles that appeared on
this newspaper, Wondowssen sheds some light on the issue.
On the main highway of the 526Km Addis Abeba-Harar Road is a small
spot between Asbe Teferi and Hirna called Arberekati, located 336Km
east of the capital. Three companies – the Chinese CRBC, the Greek
Dragados and the South Korean Kingnam – have taken part in the
construction of the road that cost the Ethiopian Roads Authority
(ERA) over 1.2 billion Br. It took nine years to be completed, with
the three contractors awarded the various segments at different
times.Read More
Building Growth Consensus
Interview With
Gabriel Negatu
Gabriel
Negatu is the lone Ethiopian to have held a senior position
at the African Development Bank (ADB). Following the arrival
of Donald Kaberuka as the new president of the Bank, Gabriel
has been appointed as director of the department of
Governance, Economic and Financial Management.
He was in Addis a few weeks ago where Tamrat G. Giorgis,
managing editor, was able to get a hold of him.
During the course of the interview, it was apparent that
Gabriel is very keen .... Read More
VERBATIM
"The red-tape of bureaucracy lurking in every system of the
country is too complex for inter-regional relationships to
work efficiently,"
Seyoum
Bereded, director of the executive committee of the Millennium
Festival National Council, citing the impediments to
preparations to the members of the executive committee at the
second general assembly of the Council at Sheraton Addis, last
week. Only three weeks remain until the official new Millennium
Robert J.
Shiller examines the recent volatility in world stock
markets. While international indices have generally been
characterised by rising prices of late, investor sentiment
has been faltering, as individuals and funds at large seem
less willing to buy on slight dips, possibly sensing
corrections to bullish expectations.
