Prime Minister Meles Zenawi appears delighted last week at his office while  giving a joint press statement with Howard Schultz, chairman and chief global  strategist of Starbucks Corporation. The chief of Starbucks, along with Ethiopia’s  Ambassador to the United States, Samuel Assefa (PhD), came to Ethiopia last week to announce the establishment of Farmers ... Find Out More

Labour Union Sues Shell Over Severance Benefits

Shell Ethiopia’s Labour Union filed a lawsuit at the Federal First Instance Court, Kera Area Labour Bench, alleging that the company has illegally changed its retirement policies in order to save money on lay-offs ahead of a possible closure of its operations in the country.

CBE Goes After More Mina Assets

State-Owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) has had a seven-year legal battle with Mina Trading Plc over unpaid debts and interest totalling 61 million Br. CBE has seized houses, hundreds of trucks and an 11-storey building from the company and its owners. In the saga’s latest chapter, CBE is seeking to gain hold of 22 more trucks.

Protecting Dire Dawa from Floods Will Cost Millions, Firms Says

The United Kingdom (UK)-based consulting firm Halcrow told the government that future floods in Dire Dawa can be prevented, and suggested two multi-million Birr plans for protecting the city, which was thrashed by its worst flood in history last year.

Foreign Affairs Vows to Extradite Alleged Debt-Dodging Grain Trader

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) vowed to extradite grain trader Asmelash Hadush from Yemen, where he is currently imprisoned for unpaid debt, to face charges in Ethiopia for allegedly failing to pay 36.5 million Br in loans to Nib Bank S.C.

Amhara Dev’ Ass’n Re-elects Hilawi Yoseph Chairman

Veteran EPRDF party member, Hilawi Yoseph, head of organisational affairs in Addis Abeba, was re-elected for the fifth time as board chairman of the Amhara Development Association (ADA) for three years at the fifth general assembly. On November 21 Berhanu Hailu, minister of Information, was also elected vice chairman while Mesfin Teklu, businessman, Solomon Kebere, shareholder of Tamesol, as well as the general manager of the Addis Abeba Mass Media Agency, were elected members.

CBE Offers Credit  for Enterprise to Import 500 Vans

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) issued a Letter of Credit (LC) worth 13.3 million dollars for Anbessa City Buses Enterprise to import 500 medium vans from Chinese HIGER Bus Company Ltd.

CBE had declined to open the LC claiming that the Enterprise that is operating with losses is being subsidised by the government and may default. The Enterprise receives about 80 million Br in subsidies every year from the Addis Abeba city government.

Government Pardons 77 Admitted Tax Evaders

The Ethiopian Government pardoned 77 admitted  tax evaders, according to Yezena Worku, head of the Public Relations Department at the Ministry of Revenue.

The pardon, arranged by a government committee and approved by President Girma Woldegiorgis, includes the prominent businesswoman Hadia Mohamed Gonji, owner of Hadia Supermarket and several flower farms, Sabir Argaw, shareholder and general manager of Alsam Plc, and Mengestu Wolde, owner of Airport Motel, according to sources from the ministry. 

Chinese CGC, Tana Water Works Win 60m Br Projects in Amhara

Chinese China Geo System (CGC) Overseas and Tana Water Works signed an agreement for 60 million Br in water projects to dig surface water for irrigation and potable water in Raya and Kobo of the Amhara Regional State on November 27, 2007. The two companies were selected through a tender floated by the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) in Spetember 2007.

Bio-Fuel Maker Requests Land for Expansion Project

Flora Eco Power Holding AG requested the Oromia Investment Commission to grant it 35,000hct of land for its expansion project. Officials who attended the inauguration ceremony of the company’s first bio-diesel factory last week pledged to facilitate the grant.

Nib Bank’s Loan-Deposit Ratio Exceeds NBE Requirement

Nib Bank SC’s 93.5pc loan to deposit ratio for the year ended June 30, 2007, is remarkably higher than the 75pc requirement set by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the regulatory body, in 2004. Executives, however, were rather busy saluting one another for the 33.4pc increase in net profit to 75.6 million Br at the eighth annual ordinary shareholder meeting at the Sheraton Addis on November 24.

The Public Financial Institutions Agency (PFIA), the regulator of the state's financial institutions, rejected a request by Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), East Africa's largest bank, to hire privately-owned Getachew Kassaye & Co. as an external auditor.

USAID Programmes Create Economic Opportunities for Persons Living with AIDS

The Urban Agriculture Programme for HIV Affected Children and Women, which was launched by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2004, has helped 38,000 Ethiopian women and children generate income from garden plots, remain in school, and adhere to AIDS treatment, said a press release issued last week by the Agency.

Findings on Protection of Basic Services

It has been over two years since many of the donor countries supporting Ethiopia’s economy by injecting cash to the federal budget changed course, appalled by what they saw in the aftermath of the 2005 national elections. Experts from the World Bank and the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (UK) devised a new arrangement now known as Protection of Basic Services (PBS).

GTZ Shares Award with Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry

GTZ, Germany’s overseas development agency, gave the International Results Award it had received from the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air (PCIA) to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) on Monday, saying the Ethiopian ministry was equally deserving of the accolade.