One Tree - One Moment in Time

Former Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda (Phd), who led his country in its first years as an independent state, returned to Addis Abeba last week to petition for Ethiopia's support for his country's nominee for chairman of the Africa Union (AU) Commission. During his trip, Kaunda took time to visit the tree he planted on May 25, 1963, on the same day of the approval of the charter for the Organisation of African Unity, the AU's prior incarnation. He told journalists that returning to find the former sapling fully grown in front of the Economic Commission for Africa reminded him of an important time in the African struggle for freedom.  Read More

Ethiopian Migrant Workers Get Life Insurance

The Ethiopian Private Employer Agencies Association (EPEAA) made an agreement with the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation (EIC) last week on December 20, 2007 to insure tens of thousands of people, mostly women, sent to the Middle East to work as domestic servants, labourers and other unskilled employees. 

Get Payments Or Get Busy Auctioning, Government Tells State Bank

The Public Financial Enterprises Agency (PFEA), the government agency supervising state-owned financial institutions, has decided that the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) needs to be more aggressive to recover bad loans that have risen from 5 per cent of its portfolio two years ago to 12pc of its portfolio today. 

Condom-Promoting NGO Faces Lawsuit from Former Employees

DKT Ethiopia, an NGO active in social marketing in Ethiopia, has been sued by 49 female staff members where were recently laid off.

Ebissa Wakene, chairman of DKT Ethiopia's Employees Union, presented the charge to the Federal First Instance Court's Kera Labour Dispute Bench, and demanded their reinstatement with payment of back salaries.

Fertiliser Prices Continue to Rise; Urea Hits Record High

The upsurge in fertiliser prices has continued unabated with prices of urea, one variety of fertiliser, reaching a record high 512 dollars per tonne last week, jeopardising government plans to rev up production of crops for bio-fuels. 

Abyssinia Disappoints Shareholders with Decline in Profit

Bank of Abyssina reported a net profit of 66.3 mln Br in the 2006/7 fiscal year, enabling the Bank to pay its shareholders nearly 50 mln Br in dividends, close to double what it had paid the previous year.

Selam Buys 15 New Buses, Beginning Ambitious Expansion Plan

Selam Bus Line S.C. bought 15 Scania tourist buses from Brazil for 23 million Br. The buses will arrive in Addis Abeba in six weeks, Berhanu Kebede, general manager of the company, told Fortune.

Yadot Hired to Bring Water to Fast-Growing Oromia Town

Yadot Engineering Plc won a 13 mln Br contract to install a system that will provide clean water to the fast-growing town of Nekemt in the Oromia Regional State.

Export Horticulturalists Negotiate Expansion Hurdles with the Government

Minister of Trade and Industry (MoTI) Girma Birru last week concluded a three-day visit to export farms in the Oromia Regional State, where he was told by horticulturalists – who grow flowers and berries – that the industry needs more land to expand.

Locally-Owned SATCON Completes Showcase Mountain Road

Residents of Bale and Harer, which were once separated by a day-long journey, can now visit each other by car in a little over two hours, after SATCON Construction completed its four-year effort to build a 170km through the mountainous area of the Oromia Regional State.

Trade Commission Tells Tour Operator to Stop Using ‘Habesha City’ Brand

The Trade Practice Investigation Commission instructed Habesha Traditional Centre and Art Gallery Plc that it may no longer use the name ‘Habesha City Tour’ to promote guided excursions on the open top, double-decker buses it recently imported.

Hundreds of merchants in the retail, jewelry and hotel industries next month will install high-tech cash registers that automatically transmit sales information to the Ministry of Revenue (MoR).

Local Courier Services Start Small in Addis Abeba, but Aim Big

Envisioning Ethiopia is a local non-governmental organisation committed to broadening public discourse on Ethiopian political and social life. Believe it or not, the organisation’s job just got easier.

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