A REBRANDING AFOOTthereporterethiopia.com/digitalversion/reporter-issue-1216.pdf · defendants through to the 12th. Therefore, the charge sheet obtained by The Reporter accused the

Years

A JOURNEY OF TRUST

1994-2019

+251 114 65 5656

[email protected]

www.unicportal.net

Vol. 24 No. 1216 December 28, 2019 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA www.thereporterethiopia.com Price 10.00 Birr

Multipolarity emerges as new media feature FULL STORY ON PAGE 3

By Yonas Abiye

The House of People’s Representatives (HPR) has

approved an agreement that was signed between the Government of Ethiopia and Djibouti, to install a cross-border pipeline in order to transport natural gas.

The Ministry of Mines and Natural gas of the two nations signed the deal to build USD four billion worth natural gas pipeline, to transport Ethiopian

gas to an export terminal at the

Port of Djibouti on the coast of

the Red Sea.

Parliament approves USD 4 bln natural gas pipeline deal

Demelash Gebremichael, who is appointed last year as Director General of NISS appeared on Monday morning to welcome the MPs headed by Tesfaye Daba, chairman of the Foreign Relations and Peace Affairs Standing Committee of the Parliament.

After having a closed door session with members of the committee, the Director General Demelash and Tesfaye jointly gave a press conference for the journalists that have been waiting for them for several hours in the modern building that is hosting the main offices of the Ethiopian spy agency.

Demelash has unveiled the main reform activities he has been undertaking to rebrand and restructure the intelligence office.

In an effort to rebrand the institution, NISS will have a new name— the National Intelligence Center (NIC) — as well as a new logo, Dembelash said.

Going in to the merits of the restructuring, Dembelash talked

By Yohannes Anberbir

Formerly regarded as the most abusive security organ of the government, The National Intelligence and Security Service of Ethiopia (NISS) seems adamant now about rebranding and restructuring itself into an accountable and impartial professional intelligence institution, The Reporter has learnt.

NISS, tarnished by politically motivated arrests, unlawful killings, torture and other abuses of civil rights particularly of journalists and members of opposition parties has opened its doors on Monday, allowing rear access to journalists and a team of MPs, doing a parliamentary oversight, for the first time in about three decades.

The Reporter was the only private media invited among a few state and affiliated media organizations to attend the parliamentary oversight held at NISS’s headquarters located adjacent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

REBRANDING AFOOTA

zeb Asnake (Eng.)

By Namin Ashenafi

The former CEO of Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), Azeb Asnake (Eng.), became the latest high-ranking official to be implicated in the high-profile corruption case involving the USD 6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), it was learnt. Azeb, together with two other former EEP officials,

alongside Mulu Woldegebiel (Col.), former deputy director of Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC), a number of other METEC officials and business people, are to face corruption charges specifically in connection to forest and biomass clearing work conducted on the dam site.

The charges read out in court on Friday afternoon included some

50 defendants including Azeb and her colleagues from EEP, Mulu and former high-ranking METEC officials and private business people. The charges, which listed Azeb as the second defendant, carries some serious charges and allegations on the first defendant Mulu Woldegebreil (Col.) and from 5th defendants through to the 12th.

Therefore, the charge sheet

obtained by The Reporter accused the 1st defendant and defendants from 5 to 12 for unlawfully and dishonestly receiving payment for forest and biomass clearing work on a 123,189 hectares of land, to make way for the GERD reservoir, to the tune of 2.5 billion birr, amounting to half of the overall

Ethiopian power EX-CEO faces corruption chargesFormer METEC deputy, et al to answer to unaccounted for 1.9 BLN birr

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Parliament approves . . . page 32

Ethiopian power . . . page 10

Rebranding . . . page 10

2| The Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216

www.thereporterethiopia.com

EDITORIAL

Published weekly by Media &

Communications CenterAddress: Bole Sub City, Kebele 03/05, H. No. NewTel: 011 6 616180 Editorial011 6 616185 Reception 011 6 616187 Finance

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Website: www.thereporterethiopia.com

General Manager Amare Aregawi Managing EditorBruh YihunbelayEditor-in-Chief Asrat Seyoum

Sub city: N.lafto, K. 10/18, H.No. 614Senior Editor

Dibaba AmensisaEditors

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Assistant Editor

Senior ReportersSamuel Getachew Dawit Endeshaw

ReporterDawit TolesaColumnists

Leyou TameruTsion Taye

Chief Graphic DesignerYibekal Getahun

Senior Graphic DesignerSofoniyas TadesseDagmawi GobenaGraphic Designers

Tsehay Tadesse Fasika BalchaSemenh Sisay

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Head of PhotographyNahom TesfayePhotographers

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Fasil W/giorgis Marketing Manager

Endalkachew Yimam

Bringing desecrators of religious institutions to justice!

It would not be an exaggeration to say that one of the iniquities Ethiopians abhor most is attacking places of worship. Ethiopians must condemn this vilest of acts in the strongest possible term. We should all bear in mind that an attack on one religion is an attack aimed at all religions and their followers. It is imperative to have no disillusion about the reality that last week’s burning down of mosques and similar attacks against churches before that are intended to unravel the tie which has bound Ethiopians for centuries. Given that such cowardly acts are a prelude to deadly internecine strife we need to stand strong as we always do. Moreover, we need to go beyond denouncing the perpetrators and play our part in bringing them to justice. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire.

Ethiopians’ diverse ethnicity and religious beliefs has not prevented them from intermarrying and coexisting peacefully for eons. This rich history of solidarity and tolerance, forged over centuries

subscribing to both Islam and Christianity, must not be desecrated by satanic forces of destruction. In particular, elements which peddle poisonous rhetoric over social media in order to break the strong bond between Ethiopians by instigating religious sectarianism ought to be neutralized. It is incumbent on all patriotic Ethiopians to defeat those who having failed at fomenting intercommunal clashes are now

to further their evil agenda. As they have no qualms about using gullible individuals as cannon fodders both Muslim and Christian laities have to be vigilant and expose them for who they are. It’s high time to join hands in foiling the nefarious plan of these forces. No more inaction.

The obligation to protect citizens from the kind of appalling acts which have endangered their safety primarily rests with the government. Where were local, municipal and regional administrations and security forces when places of worship were burned to the ground? Why was the security apparatus found wanting in anticipating the attacks on these places and taking the necessary preventive measures? What were they doing when four mosques were torched a week ago in Mota town of the Amhara region? These are some of the questions which have been

asked of the government in the wake of the incident. Aside from vowing to put behind bars the individuals responsible for the violence, their identity and intention needs to be fully disclosed in the shortest possible time. The residents of Mota town and its environs should assist in this effort by providing tips to

out wrong and indeed a crime for anyone, more so for government

shield the suspects from justice on account of their religion or ethnicity. Collaborating with criminals only exacerbates the problem.

Ethiopia has no place for ethnic or religious extremism. Indications abound that forces bent on sowing the seeds of ethnic and religious

vitriolic narratives which in turn are echoed by credulous individuals. The fact that the attacks on religious institutions occur on the heels of the espousing of hatred

a causal relationship between the two. Needless to say the reluctance to heed the lessons of the past incidents and take the appropriate

precautionary steps to thwart similar attacks in the works is bound to exact a toll far greater than before. That is why it is absolutely important to exert a concerted endeavor aimed at deterring elements determined to

The surest way to accomplish this is to work tirelessly towards building a nation where peace, democracy, equality and justice prevail.

The current state of affairs in Ethiopia recalls to mind the adage “united we stand, divided we fall”. Regardless of their faith or ethnic background it is incumbent on all Ethiopians to blow the whistle on the culprits behind the attacks on religious institutions. In the meantime the government has to establish an independent enquiry commission and bring the persons who masterminded, funded and perpetrated the violence. Trying to whitewash the whole affair will not do any good. Elements within government structures aiding and abetting the forces of destruction must be outed as conspirators and answer for their sins. Security and law enforcement forces on their part need to discharge their duties with impartiality and due regard to

tensions that potentially could spiral out of control. The trauma

of scores of innocent folks at the hand of criminals that were not held to account for their crimes is still raw. The government must strengthen its capacity to uphold the rule of law to avert the real specter of lawlessness. Upholding the law is not about settling scores; it’s about protecting the lives and properties of defenseless citizens as well as the security of the nation from malicious attacks. The people’s aspiration for democracy and prosperity can

they please with impunity. Though freedom is essential if democracy to thrive, it’s of paramount importance

abuses it. If the government wants the public to stand by it, it needs to carry out its law enforcement duties effectively. Then it will be able to bring the desecrators of religious institutions to justice.

HEADLINESThe Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216 |3


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The Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216


LIVING AND THE ARTS

AN

ALTRUISTIC

GESTURE

WORTHY OF

ACCOLADE

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INTERVIEW

Philip Parham was appointed the UK

government’s Envoy to the Commonwealth

on 18 June 2018. He is also the Special Envoy

for the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020

which takes place in London in January

2020. Previously, Philip was Her Majesty’s

Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from

July 2014 until June 2018. Before that, he was

the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative

to the United Nations in New York York (2009

to 2013), and British High Commissioner to

Tanzania (2006 to 2009). Philip joined the

in 1993 after working for 10 years as an

investment banker with Morgan Grenfell and

the Pakistan/Afghanistan Section from 1993

to 1994. In 1995, he was Private Secretary to

the FCO Minister covering Americas, South

and South-East Asia, Public Diplomacy,

Consular and Visa work and (in the House

of Commons) Africa and International

Development. He was Head of the Iraq

Operations Unit 2003 to 2004, and then Head

of the Counter-Terrorism Policy Department

2004 to 2006 based in London. Recently, he

was in Addis Ababa where Asrat Seyoum of

The Reporter has the chance to sit down with

him for a brief interview: Excerpts.

REKINDLING

AFRICA

FOCUS

14||INTERVI12|



IN-DEPTH

Ethiopia accounts for less than 0.1 percent of total global emission, communities are already experiencing the

adverse effects of climate change. Communities in different parts of Ethiopia are suffering from great variability

and extreme weather events, increased temperature and unpredictable rainfall, a country where 85 percent of

farmers are dependent on rain-fed and seasonal agriculture.

By Sesina Hailou

It seems that the current

buzz around climate change

is unstoppable. The world

ecosystem is crumbling and

the environment destroyed.

Many places have recently

been wrecked by volcanic

eruptions, forest fires, floods,

earthquakes, drought and

other environmental disasters.

Climate change may seem a

far off concept for developing

countries like Ethiopia, but it is

not.

Developing countries are one of

the most vulnerable to climate

change. Many countries in

Africa including Ethiopia

highly depend on agriculture.

This tells that there can be

devastating consequences

for these countries. Climate

change will have key impacts

on agriculture, livestock, water

and human health in Ethiopia.

According to USAID’s report,

Ethiopia is one of the world’s

most drought-prone countries.

Ethiopia has not been oblivious

to climate change. Prime

Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has

previously led a project, which

aims to counter the effects

of deforestation and climate

change in a drought prone area.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister

launched a national initiative

to plant 350 million trees in a

single day, which was called

The Green Legacy. According

to a UN Report, Ethiopia’s forest

coverage declined from 35% of

its total land in the early 20th

Century to a little above 4% in

the 2000s.

Even though, Ethiopia accounts

for less than 0.1 percent of total

global emission, communities

are already experiencing the

adverse effects of climate

change. Communities in

different parts of Ethiopia are

suffering from great variability

and extreme weather events,

increased temperature and

unpredictable rainfall, a country

where 85 percent of farmers

are dependent on rain-fed and

seasonal agriculture.

Ghazali Ibrahim, cofounder and

executive director of Climate

action group, says that there

are more than enough evidences

that climate change is affecting

African counties. However, one

of the major impacts is food

security. He told The Reporter:

“When we look at African

economies that largely rely on

agriculture, we can see how

rain patterns have become

unpredictable”. He continues

to explain that vulnerability

varies from one place to

another, mostly determined

by the topography of the

environment. With the lowland

areas experiencing increased

temperatures and prolonged

droughts that may affect

livestock rearing. The highland

areas, on the other hand, may

suffer from more intense and

irregular rainfall, leading to

flooding, erosions, coupled

with higher temperature, may

result in lower agricultural

production, thereby affecting

the economy. Furthermore,

with increasing population in

almost all African countries and

conflict in some regions, greater

food insecurity may ensue in

some areas.

Ibrahim explained to The

Reporter that Ethiopia like

many other African countries

is a signatory of the Paris

Agreement. In terms of policies,

Ethiopia has been engaged

especially at the international

level with climate mitigation/

adaptation/resilience agenda

ranging from the UN Convention

on Biological

Diversity,

United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC), and Convention

to Combat Desertification,

all of which had elaborated

National Action

Plans.

WASTE MANAGEMENT:

A PROBLEM THAT CAN’T BE

EASILY DISCARDED


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ENTERTAINMENT

By Nardos Fekadu

Strolling down memory lane,

in the early and mid- 19th

century Ethiopia, where

institutional correctional

facilities and prisons did not

exist, there was a strange

traditional system called

the Quranga that was later

abolished.

In this system, if two people

quarrel, both the accuser and

the accused will enchained

and go to the trial in the

royal court. Until elders give

the appropriate justice and

say you are free to go they

can neither untie the knot

that binds them nor can

they physically harm each

other. Appearing at the royal

court, the two will perform a

traditional debate with poetic

riddles at the open court to

impress the elders who are

judging them.

Quragna is all about tying

both the accuser and the

accused until appropriate

judgment is passed. Based on

this, a film named Quragnaye

was released in 2019, produced

by synergy Habesha Films

and Communication.

Written and directed by Moges

Tafesse, Quragnaye addresses

the question: “How far would

you take punishment into

your own hands or wait for the

system to levy the appropriate

punishment?”

The story takes place in

Ankober, an old town located

174kms north of Addis Ababa.

Fortunately, many of the

irreplaceable spaces like

traditional church schools,

the old palace and court, rural

farms and the breathtaking

landscape still exists today as

they did back then.

The movie which cost some

five million birr takes the

audience to a time where

justice and law were handed

down in unique and strange

ways.

“One day I was reading a

history book and there was

this word “Quragna” and it

keeps coming to my mind I

keep wondering how people do

this, walking together chained

with the one they want dead?

Then I started reading a lot

about it and I found out its

true then I thought this can

be a great historic film; that’s

how it started,” Moges said.

The movie is about a young

man and his childhood

sweetheart who is married.

Explaining about this Moges

said: “There is this young

man who is in love with his

childhood sweetheart; the

two young lovers decide to

run away together but soon

they were caught by her

husband. So neighbors stall

the ensuing fight and an elder

bind together the two men’s

cloths, symbolically chaining

them together and tells them

they must travel to the capital

to stand trial in the queen’s

court.”

“The current justice system

has a lot to learn from the

past,” Moges says.

“As a filmmaker and as

someone living in a culture

where oral tradition is still

prominent, my heart is full

and I am excited to bring the

movie to the public,” he said,

adding, “The acceptance was

really good; people loved it but

because of fear of copyright

infringement we did not take

the movie to different cities.”

The film is the winner of

Ethiopia’s 2019 Leza Awards

for Best Film, Best Actor

and Best Actress and Alem

Cinema’s 2019 Best Film

Award.

On Friday December 5, 2019,

Synergy Habesha Films and

Communication together with

Habesha View has signed a

promotion and production

agreement to distribute

Quragnaye film worldwide. It

is the first of its kind.

“We are delighted to be the

international distributor of

Enchained and taking the

film on tour to North America

and have it premiered in New

York as part of the New York

Diaspora International Film

Festival on December 11 and

15 and to Washington DC on

December 12,” Tigist Kebede,

Habesha View founder, said.

“We took the film to London

last week and this week

the film will be screened in

Washington DC and New

York,” she added.

Tigist called on filmmakers

who work on original and

historic pictures to work with

them. “We were not able to

have any contact so far, so if

one has an original story like

this we are more than happy

to work with them,” she said.

Moges on his side said “We

are happy to get an Ethiopian

distributor; I believe we will

do so much more with them.”

Habesha View was founded

in 2015 to fulfill a clear need

to provide high quality

and readily accessible TV

programs to the Ethiopian

and Eritrean diaspora

communities around the

world having an estimated

population of over six million.

Habesha View’s content

includes live

TV,

documentaries, drama, kids

programs, lifestyle shows,

which is available to watch on

iOS, android, Apple TV, Roku

and PC.

Going back in time

INSI

DE

By Brook Abdu

Despite the fact that the majority of reporting by the media in Ethiopia is about politics, the development of multipolar coverage is identified as one of the new features of the country’s media.

This was disclosed at a seminar organized by the Office of the Prime Minister at Hilton Hotel, Addis Ababa, under the title ‘Addis Wog’ (new discourse).

Presenting his research findings of the media trends in the country, Mulatu Alemayehu (PhD), a professor at Addis Ababa University’s Journalism School, said that in addition to the previous two-sided polarities in the country, namely state-affiliated and unaffiliated, two more polarities of extremities have come into play. These are ethnic federalists and unionists, he said.

Because of the number of both online and offline media outlets, the public’s political awareness has been advanced, but the scope of this awareness is of limited scope like limited plurality views, high interests in conflicts and instability, and growing negative tendencies.

“Now the general elections are coming and the concern is the prevalence of fake news and hate speech which are expected to happen,” Mulatu said.

Mulatu recommended professional discussions to be held at all levels and an increase in stakeholder engagement and participation.

In addition, Mulatu’s research finding reveals that that the majority of coverage in the media is about politics while economic and social issues, as well as conflict and instability, have lesser priorities.

“Most of the private media’s mainly report politics as this is thought to attract a larger audience and generate better income. But as the state media follows the government’s directions, they don’t usually

cover politics,” Mulatu said.

In addition to this, there is a huge expansion in hate speech and such attacks are being directed on religions and ethnicities, more than any time, Mulatu said reminding that such coverage’s are of no help to the readers.

Speaking at the seminar, Wondwosen Andualem, the deputy head of the Ethiopian Broadcast Authority (EBA) said that since the change of leadership in the country, there have been efforts to change the previous relation of a cat and mouse between the Authority and the media.

“EBA has developed a thought,

that capacity building both for the Authority and the media are vital. We are striving to work by the stipulated legal framework. Currently, the Authority has started to do scientific trend analysis of the media in the country, and it is giving feedback to the media houses,” Wondwossen said adding that they are building trust with the media.

For the future, he promised that his institution will provide the necessary support for the recently recognized Media Council and the Editors’ Guild of Ethiopia. He also disclosed that much has been done to establish a media training hub in Ethiopia.

“The media have to work

towards enhancing public media literacy and serious attention has to be given to the information closure at some government institutions,” Mulatu said also pointing out that the priority in media development should be self-regulation.

“One of the institutions that could serve as a self-regulating platform in the country is the Media Council,” Amare Aregawi, the panelist during the seminar and Chair of the Council indicated.

“Freedom of the press carries the concept of not only the freedom of the press but the freedom of the people to get information,” Amare argued. “And while enjoying their

freedom, the media have to abide by some standard ethical procedures that can serve in providing better information to the public.”

For this purpose, the Media Council has a tribunal at which complaints can be filed and looked into for a resolution, he added.

“Complaints in other countries, even leaders in Africa, are directed towards the media councils rather than courts. Hence, as hate speech and fake news are expected in the upcoming election, such establishments are of pertinent importance,” he concluded.

Multipolarity emerges as new media feature

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Mulatu Alemayehu (PhD)


Advertisment4| The Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216

AdvertismentThe Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216 |5


HEADLINES6| The Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216


... NEWS IN BRIEF

scheme for maize farmersThe Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), in collaboration with Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and International Finance Cooperation, launched warehouse receipt financing (WRF) for maize on Thursday.

During the launching ceremony, CEO of ECX, Wondimagegnehu Negera, said WRF will allow farmers, cooperatives, traders and processors to store maize and use it as collateral to access credit from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

He added that they can access credit after handing over goods receiving note and without any additional collateral.

The CEO said warehouse receipt finance is an inclusive form of lending that “allows large and small-scale players in the agriculture value chain to access loans from bank.”

Loans worth up to 70 percent of the value of the stored commodity will be issued at a competitive interest and repaid within three months, it was learned.

“This in particular is important for farmers who often lack bankable collateral and are therefore forced to sell their crops immediately after harvest when prices tend to be at their lowest,” Wondimagegnehu elaborated.

(ENA)

Ethiopia acquires over 550 joint venture investments

Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) Wednesday disclosed that the

country has acquired 559 joint venture investment projects over the last five

years.

Mekonnen Hailu, Communication Director at EIC, told The Ethiopian Herald

that out of the total 559 projects licensed from January 2014 to December 2019,

182 have already gone operational. While 113 of them are at implementation

stage, the remaining 264 projects are in pre-implementation phase.

He said that the manufacturing sector took the huge share in joint venture

investment whereas agriculture, construction, and service sectors follow.

According to Mekonnen, with 113 companies, Chinese inventors have a lion

share in terms of joint venture ownership. Among others companies that

have owned joint venture businesses are companies from the United States,

Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany and Canada, he added.

Working with foreign companies has its own merits for local investors and

the country, particularly in filling gaps related to capital, management,

capacity, market access and competitiveness, technology transfer, expertise

and so on, Mekonnen said.

(The Ethiopian Herald)

By Neamin Ashenafi

The National Council of the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP), which recently was in a legal battle with its former chairman and other members of the party and henceforth recognized as the legal representative of the party by the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has urged for the postponement of the upcoming general election by at least two years.

It is to be recalled that the Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa and local elections, which were postponed due to the political instability, have been scheduled to take place in May 2020.

In a press briefing held on Tuesday, December 24, 2019, the leaders of the party, apart from the upcoming general

election, also reflected on numerous political issues including the current internal status of the party, the planned upcoming general assembly of the party, and the current affairs of the country.

“Even though the party has urged for the postponement of the election; if the election is going to be conducted, according to the planned schedule, the party will participate,” former president and current member of the National Council, Lidetu Ayalew told journalists during the presser.

In light of the above statement made by the leaders of the party, The Reporter asked if these two decisions were contradictory to each other.

“Even though we were not convinced that free and fair elections will take place during the former EPRDF,

we have participated in previous elections because we believe that taking part in the process will help the public. Therefore, our decision to take part in the upcoming general election is also to reduce the election related turmoil and to make the public aware of our alternatives. But, above all, we don’t let different radical groups use the forum to disseminate their divisive agendas,” Lidetu replied.

In addition, the party expressed its concerns regarding the ongoing reform in the country and stated that due to different reasons, the reform is losing its track and is almost aborted.

The reasons provided to justify the claim of the party are, after the change tough the transition was supposed to be led by all political actors; the leadership of the EPRDF

tries to address all the issues alone as usual. In this regard, requests made by the EDP for the establishment of a transitional commission were rejected. This is the first flaw that the transition faces, the party lamented.

Another justification is the absence of a clear roadmap about the transition and the failure of addressing major structural issues that cause different political turmoil in the country including the constitution and the ethnic based federal arrangement.

“Without addressing these structural problems in the country, it is impossible to talk about transition or change. And in this regard, there is no promise to amend the constitution and change the existing ethnic based federal arrangement,” the seasoned politician Lidetu replied.

EDP urges to postpone upcoming election

Leadership of the Party

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Electoral board recognizes Prosperity Party

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) passed a decision on Wednesday to issue Prosperity Party with a certificate of recognition.

The Board was discussing at the beginning of this week questions regarding political parties’ registration and has passed other decisions too.

The decision is passed in light of political parties’ registration and election proclamation 1162/2011, the Board indicated.

Prosperity Party submitted its application to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia earlier this month seeking recognition. The Board requested additional documents after receiving the application before passing decisions.

The way parties ended their separate status, and the agreements they made to merge themselves to form Prosperity Party, are in line with legislative requirements, and the board has decided to cancel their individual status and recognized them as Prosperity Party, the board announced.

Three members of the ruling EPRDF and five other ally parties reached an agreement to end their existence and form Prosperity party on December 1, 2019 – days before application for recognition was submitted.

(Walta)

IFC invests EUR 50 mln in Ethiopia’s Habesha beer

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has partnered with Habesha Breweries SC to increase local barley sourcing investing EUR 50 million.

IFC’s investment of up to EUR 50 million in Habesha aims to help the company expand operations in Ethiopia and increase local barley sourcing from smallholder farmers, according to the press statement from the Corporation.

“The loan is co-funded by the Dutch development bank (FMO) and Dutch banks Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. (Rabobank) and ING Bank N.V. (ING Bank). Ethiopia’s brewing industry is fast growing and an important contributor to economic growth, but the sector imports as much as 90 percent of its malt barley needs,” it said.

IFC and FMO will help Habesha support farmers’ access to improved seed varieties and other agricultural inputs and provide best practices on agronomy and business management, according to the statement.

The project is expected to boost income for 15,000 smallholder barley farmers, double farm yields of participating barley producers and create 500 jobs.

(World Grain)

By Birhanu Fikade

A new study by a local research firm has indicated that the Ethiopian railway operation has been suffering from recurrent power outages, exacerbated lack of sound legal system, least available maintenance facilities and most importantly the absence of funding. These have impacted the suitability and regular operations of the railway transportation between Addis Ababa and Djibouti, The Reporter has learnt.

The Center of Excellence International Consult (CEIC) found out that despite the anticipated positive contributions and cementing the Ethio-China relations, the railway system that required close to USD five billion in investments, has been faced with tremendous challenges.

Gedion G. Jalata, CEO of CEIC told The Reporter that the railway industry poses several problems for transport economists and regulators that are only partially shared with other transport modalities. The railway transport subsector in Ethiopia is regulated and supervised by different laws and institutions. Accordingly, the study showed that the legal framework for railway industry in both China and Ethiopia comprises of several treaties, acts, rules, regulations, guidelines, and agreements. However, significant barriers to railway development are found to be persistent in Ethiopia.

The major ones include: railway safety, environmental and technical standards, private sector participation, track access, cross-border traffic, the administration of railways and proficiencies of railway authorities are some of the issues. A study dubbed “Sino-Ethiopia evolving partnership along Addis Ababa-Djibouti, railway economic belt,” reveals that: “There are no international instruments

regulating the railway sector in which Ethiopia is a part of is something that the study believes to be a result of having ineffective laws and institutions to regulate the sector.”

The study made has presented 573 incidents that have taken place up to October 31, 2019, including thefts of basic equipment and endangering train operation safety. The rail fastenings were stolen

often, posing a serious risk of derailment and overturning accidents.

“This shortfall has undermined the potential of the rail systems to play a strong contributing role in economic development. In fact, rail transport’s current market share in Ethiopia is below 30 percent of the total volume of freight transport,” the study claims.

Showcasing what took place back in April 2019, the finding recalled that a 53-wagon train heading from Addis Ababa to Djibouti was derailed in East Shewa Zone in the Oromia Regional State. The derailment has caused damages estimated between 200 million to 300 million birr, causing the subsequent suspension of railway transportation for several days. Furthermore, collision with livestock is also another distressing factor ailing the functionality of the railway line resulting delays and extra costs.

The entire railway transportation system has not been immune from a wide-area electric power blackout contributing to a series of disruption on its operations between the Addis-Djibouti rail networks.

The study Gedion and his team have conducted indicates that: “For instance, by the end of October 2019, the number of power cuts that occurred on train operation have reached to 6,742, and the overhead line reaching to 1,736.”

Power disruptions hobble Ethiopia’s railway lines

48,000 hours of power outages recorded across Addis-Djibouti line

Gedion G. Jeleta

Power disruptions. . . page 29





The International Committee of the Red Cross is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and other situations of violence. Within the framework of its assistance program in Ethiopia, the ICRC intends to purchase the below mentioned Goods and is hereby requesting an Invitation for Expressions of Interest for interested company for the following category /Group of good s.Interested companies must submit the following documents and indicate the interested Category/Group:

The closing date for the submission is Friday, 31st January 2020 at

the closing time. The sealed envelope must be clearly marked and addressed to:

Bole Sub-City, Kebele 12/13,House No. 498, Telephone: +251 11 6478300,Fax: +251 116478301AMCH to EGZABERABE ROADP: O: BOX -5701ICRC ETHIOPIAICRC invites suppliers wishing to be registered in the organisation’s supplier database to express their interest for the supply of goods and services. The purpose of the proposed EoI is to identify potential suppliers to render Good or services for ICRC for a period of one (2) year. Below are required materials.

Group Category of Materials

Super market Cleaning Materials Food items House hold material

Furniture Shops

Bed different size Dining Table & Chair Shelves Buffet Sofa set

Traveling Bag Suppliers. Bag Canvas type different size (Imported)

Mattress Foam Mattress different size Spring Mattress Different size Orthopaedic Mattress Different size

Agricultural tools

Shovel Hoe Pick Axe Metal Plough / wogel Dengora (Local Tools) Digging bar

Building Material

GS pipe different size HDP pipe

Stationery All type of stationery materials

Soap Body soap 80 Multipurpose 200 g soap Powder soap

Plastic Products 200 lit plastic Barrel 20 lit Plastic Bucket Washing Basin

Sanitary Pads All type

Tools Mechanical Tools Electrical Tools Plumping Tools

House hold Items Refrigerator Washing Machin Cooking Stove

Ventilator Wind driven roof ventilator

Invitation for Expressions of InterestBid Announcement

The Ethiopian Management Institute (EMI) is a public enterprise

that has been operating in Ethiopia as a service provider

since 1958. It is the leading governmental management

development service provider in the country. Accordingly,

the last two years it has provided a number of training and

consultancy services in various topics to its governmental and

non-governmental organization. Thus, the institute looking for

outcome and impact assessment of the tailored- made

training programs and consultancy services delivered during

July 2017 to June 2019 to its clients and generate an outcome

and impact assessment report.

1.

experience (supported by evidence) on similar research

and consultancy activities.

2.

and impact assessment) is also desirable.

3. The professional staff to be engaged in the assignment

must have relevant masters level and above educational

professional experience as well as sound command of

English and Amharic languages.

Further, the consultancy must present;

4.

5. Renewed business/trade license ,business registration

6.

submit their technical and Financial Proposals to the

procurement and property management Directorate

of the Institute with in 15 consecutive days after this

announcement during working days (8:00 AM to 5:00PM)

7.

should be submitted separately in wax-sealed envelope

marked “Financial proposal” and “Technical Proposal”

original and copy.

8.

thousand birr/ CPO attached in the technical proposal

original envelope

9. The bid will be closed on 15th day on 10:00 AM and open

the same day at 10:30 AM.

10. The institute preserves its right to cancel the bid partly

or fully.

11. Applicants can collect the Terms of Reference/TOR/

by paying non returnable Br. 100 from EMI Procurement

and Property Management Directorate , EMI Head

Church) 4th

Phone No: 0118-694931/0116-454147

Ethiopian Management Institute

HEADLINES10| The Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216


.. HORN IN BRIEFEritrean soccer players go missing in Uganda again

Seven players from Eritrea’s national soccer team have gone missing after playing at a tournament in Uganda, an official said, the second time in two months its footballers have disappeared while touring the country.

There were no more details on where they had gone. But dozens of Eritrean athletes have refused to return home or disappeared while competing abroad over the past decade, often in a bid to claim asylum.

Thousands of Eritreans flee their small Horn of Africa country every year, citing political repression and lengthy military conscription.

The seven players appeared to have got round tight security at the hotel where they were staying on Monday evening, said Rogers Mulindwa, spokesman for the regional soccer association CECAFA that was running the tournament.

There was no immediate comment from the Eritrean government. The rest of the team returned home after losing 3-0 to Uganda in the final of the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup.

In October, five Eritrean players disappeared from their hotel during another CECAFA tournament in Uganda.

(Reuters)

Sudan, South Sudan extend oil deal up to 2022

South Sudan and Sudan have signed an agreement extending the oil deal up

to March 2022.

The agreement, signed in Khartoum on Monday, stipulates that Juba pays

USD 26 for each oil barrel passing through the Sudanese pipeline operator,

Petrolines for Crude Oil Ltd and USD 24.1 for each oil barrel transported

through Bashayer Pipeline Company.

South Sudan will supply Khartoum refinery 28 thousand barrels per day.

South Sudan’s minister of petroleum Daniel Awou Chuang said the extension

was mutually beneficial to both countries.

“As we move on, we know that South Sudan cannot export the crude oil

except through Sudan because they have the facilities for that, and also we

know Sudan relies on South Sudan in regards to energy facilities for power

generation and refinery. This kind of relationship should continue as we

move on and that’s why the extension is extending the time beyond what

was agreed, and of course we know it is not going to end there” said Awow.

(The East African)

about a draft law, currently under scrutiny in the Council of Ministers, which is expected to refer it to the House People’s Representatives where it will be ratified.

According to Demelash, the new law will clearly demarcate the powers and functions of the intelligence service, and ensure that the activities are subject to institutional oversight and appropriate safeguards.

The bill also incorporates an article that will prevent all officers of agency from

having any affiliation with political parties so that the intelligence service operation is fully independent and has professional integrity.

To this end, the bill stipulates to disqualifying an officer who previously served as a member of the parliament, regional council, or held a position in a political party or business and trade association, at least five year from his nomination for the intelligence office.

The officers and the intelligence service, in general, will not have any engagement

with activities supporting or promoting or influencing political objectives of any kind, advanced by any lawful political party, organization and group.

The bill also plans to suspend the intelligence service from conducting any security vetting or monitoring works over legal political parties or institutions connected to the freedom of expression.

Legal accountability will also be imposed on the intelligence office when it is discovered conducting activities that

can obstruct individuals and groups fundamental human and democratic rights, according to the bill.

It also restricted the intelligence officers not to carry out any military and policing activities.

Tesafye Daba, chairman of the standing committee, said that members of his committee were delighted after witnessing the reforms undergoing at the intelligence office, NISS.

REBRANDING . . .

Ethiopian power . . .cost of the project (5 billion birr), while the actual work completed was 31 percent.

Apart from that, the charge alleges that out of 2.5 billion received from EEP, while some 595 million birr was paid to 87 independent subcontractors conducting the actual site work, the balance, which is around 1.9 billion birr remains largely unaccounted for. The charge details, based on an audit report conducted on METEC’s financial books, alleges that there is no financial accountability regarding the 1.9 billion

birr retained by METEC after paying companies which have completed the 31 percent clearing work on the mentioned site.

Furthermore, the charge also lists misgivings in connection to 595 million birr paid out to companies and the lack of transparent mechanisms which were employed to select the private contractors. It also noted a glaring lack of open bid processes to select the companies involving in the clearing process.

On the other hand, METEC officials were also charged

with the unlawful release of the retention money, the companies had with METEC, to guarantee the completion of the project they are awarded, amounting to 4 million birr.

Nevertheless, The Reporter failed to obtain the details of the counts that Azeb and her EEP colleagues face.

It is to be remembered that back in August 2019, the Board of Directors of the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) sacked Azeb, who has been in office for five years and appointed Abreham Belay as CEO of the State-owned power company.

At the time, the Board also took an extraordinary decision not only to sack Azeb, but the entire management team at the Power Company for reasons that were not clearly disclosed.

Azeb took the EEP post in 2013 replacing Mihret Debebe, the longest serving CEO of the power corporation in recent times. Before her appointment as a CEO, Azeb led the high-profile power project — the 1,800MW Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric power project.

CONT`D FROM PAGE 1

CONT`D FROM PAGE 1



Somalia, Kenya to hold border security meetings

Kenya will revive the joint cross-border meetings between communities living in the country and neighboring Somalia in a bid to combat increased cases of violent extremism in the region.

Wajir County of Kenya, a region bordering Somalia, has experienced five terror attacks in the past three months alone, the highest record in recent months.

On Monday, a team of security officers who were on a routine foot patrol in Kutulo escaped unhurt after a home-made bomb that had been planted along Tarbaj-Kutulo road exploded.

“In the light of the recent Al-Shabaab attacks in Wajir County, we have decided the county security team should re-strategize by use of elders and communities living in areas most affected by the attacks,” said Wajir County Commissioner Jacob Narengo.

Tarbaj and Wajir East sub-counties have experienced a spike in Al-Shabaab attacks in the last few months.

According to Narengo, the new strategy is aimed at improving surveillance and enhancing intelligence gathering which will help security agencies prevent attacks.

(CGTN Africa)

Sudans’ PM vows to bring murder, genocide culprits to

justiceSudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on Wednesday vowed to bring those involved in murder and genocide to justice.

“Justice will be achieved. The law will take its course on all killers,” said Hamdok while addressing a rally marking the first anniversary of Sudan’s December protests.

“War crimes and genocide do not drop due to statute of limitations. We will work to ensure that all criminals are tried and that dignity is restored to the families of the victims,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hamdok reiterated the importance of achieving peace, saying, “Without fair and sustainable peace, the slogans of the protests will not be achieved.”

The Sudanese are celebrating the first anniversary of the protests which erupted on December 19, 2018.

Upon the street’s pressure, the Sudanese army on April 11 ousted the former President Omar al-Bashir and formed a military council to run the country’s affairs.

Late last August, the military and the opposition Freedom and Change Alliance established a sovereign council and a transitional government.

(Xinhua)

By Samuel Getachew

PepsiCo has joined Veris Investments, a growing and influential investment company, as a major shareholder in Crisps Company, Senselet Food Processing Plc. (Senselet), in Ethiopia.

While Veris Investments is to remain a minority shareholder, PepsiCo, one of the leading producers of food and beverages in the world, is to be a majority shareholder in the business.

Senselet was founded by Veris Investments in 2015 and is also the producer of SUN Chips, one of the locally made products which has multi-flavors

including Habesha Spice, Paprika and Natural chips from its factory located on the outskirts of Addis Ababa and employees 150 people.

“PepsiCo shares our commitment to work with small and medium scale Ethiopian farmers as well as developing the potato value chain and sustainable farming in Ethiopia. Having PepsiCo as a partner will enable Senselet to leverage their extensive global expertise on potato cultivation, manufacturing and go-to-market capabilities as to further grow the company,” said Juliette de Wijkerslooth, managing director of Veris Investments.

From its inception, Veris has partnered with the

Government of Holland through the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, the Ethiopian Institute of Agriculture Research and the Wageningen University and Research, to sustain and expand its operations.

“We are excited for this new chapter for Senselet as we believe PepsiCo’s expertise will help accelerate the growth of Senselet in Ethiopia by boosting the company’s potato sourcing programs, as well as its manufacturing and go-to-market capabilities,” said Ferhiwot Bitew, Senselet’s Management team, adding, “In line with Senselet’s ongoing practice of strongly collaborating with smallholder farmers, Pepsico also has the commitment to build a more

sustainable future together. As such, we are happy that by joining forces, Senselet will continue to develop further in the potato value chain in Ethiopia sharing knowledge; technology and best practices with local farmers to enable them increase their yield.”

Last year, Veris – an IMPACT investor – teamed up with Dutch owned FrieslandCampina to invest in the operations of Holland Dairy Ethiopia, as it expands into dairy production such as milk and yogurt. Within Ethiopia, Holland Dairy has established itself to work towards in the areas of food security and works with local farmers with the production of its raw materials.

PepsiCo joins Veris Investments



IN-DEPTHEthiopia accounts for less than 0.1 percent of total global emission, communities are already experiencing the adverse effects of climate change. Communities in different parts of Ethiopia are suffering from great variability and extreme weather events, increased temperature and unpredictable rainfall, a country where 85 percent of farmers are dependent on rain-fed and seasonal agriculture.

By Sesina Hailou

It seems that the current buzz around climate change is unstoppable. The world ecosystem is crumbling and the environment destroyed. Many places have recently been wrecked by volcanic eruptions, forest fires, floods, earthquakes, drought and other environmental disasters. Climate change may seem a far off concept for developing countries like Ethiopia, but it is not.

Developing countries are one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Many countries in Africa including Ethiopia highly depend on agriculture. This tells that there can be devastating consequences for these countries. Climate change will have key impacts on agriculture, livestock, water and human health in Ethiopia. According to USAID’s report, Ethiopia is one of the world’s most drought-prone countries.

Ethiopia has not been oblivious to climate change. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has previously led a project, which aims to counter the effects of deforestation and climate change in a drought prone area.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister launched a national initiative to plant 350 million trees in a single day, which was called The Green Legacy. According to a UN Report, Ethiopia’s forest coverage declined from 35% of its total land in the early 20th Century to a little above 4% in the 2000s.

Even though, Ethiopia accounts for less than 0.1 percent of total global emission, communities are already experiencing the adverse effects of climate change. Communities in different parts of Ethiopia are suffering from great variability and extreme weather events, increased temperature and unpredictable rainfall, a country where 85 percent of farmers are dependent on rain-fed and seasonal agriculture.

Ghazali Ibrahim, cofounder and executive director of Climate action group, says that there are more than enough evidences that climate change is affecting African counties. However, one of the major impacts is food security. He told The Reporter: “When we look at African economies that largely rely on agriculture, we can see how rain patterns have become unpredictable”. He continues to explain that vulnerability

varies from one place to another, mostly determined by the topography of the environment. With the lowland areas experiencing increased temperatures and prolonged droughts that may affect livestock rearing. The highland areas, on the other hand, may suffer from more intense and irregular rainfall, leading to flooding, erosions, coupled with higher temperature, may result in lower agricultural production, thereby affecting the economy. Furthermore, with increasing population in almost all African countries and conflict in some regions, greater food insecurity may ensue in some areas.

Ibrahim explained to The Reporter that Ethiopia like many other African countries is a signatory of the Paris Agreement. In terms of policies, Ethiopia has been engaged especially at the international level with climate mitigation/adaptation/resilience agenda ranging from the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Convention to Combat Desertification, all of which had elaborated National Action Plans.

WASTE MANAGEMENT: A PROBLEM THAT CAN’T BE

EASILY DISCARDED

The Reporter, December 28, 2019 Vol. 24 No. 1216 |13


IN-DEPTH

needed to address these impacts. However, majority of the projects were not implemented. In 2010.

One of the basic waste management problems in Addis Ababa is

smell can cause allergies and the vegetables produced on those areas have a high amount of iron. Addis Ababa Water and Sewage Authority

Waste management . . . page 32

Nationally, the Government has developed a program called National Adaptation Program for Action (NAPA) in 2007. In NAPA, the Ethiopian government identified key climate impacts and described 11 priority projects needed to address these impacts. However, majority of the projects were not implemented. In 2010, NAPA was replaced by the Ethiopian Program of Adaptation to Climate Change (EPACC) with the objective of contributing to the elimination of poverty and to lay the foundation for a climate resilient path towards sustainable development. In terms of funding, Ethiopia has secured funding for over 20 projects related with climate change adaptation from donors such as the World Bank Group, Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, BioCarbon Fund Initiative from 2012 to date.

Many African counties encounter the same issues, lots of paper commitment with less translation to action. According to Ibrahim, the major difference between western and African practices in solving such problems lies in three major things: sincerity of purpose, technology and funding.

Some African countries in most cases do not even attach much importance to the need for combating climate change. Unless it is recognized and acknowledged, the problem can not be solved. There is also a low level of awareness on the matter by African societies compare to the western world, and handling climate change is not only for governments, rather the masses, especially the youth have critical roles to play. There is therefore a need for sensitization and youth empowerment for serious action. Limited financing and low level of technology are the other factors that affect the issue, he told The Reporter.

According to many studies, climate change is mainly a waste management problem, which makes waste management at least an important factor to consider.

In Addis Ababa, it is a well familiar sight to see garbage collected in random streets that do not get picked up for days, sewages openly leaking to the roads and places hugely accumulated with garbage containing plastics. As for one, this is not a very healthy environment for communities living around these areas. According to reports, it is

estimated that in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, more than 0.4kg/capita of waste is generated daily, while more than 200,000 metric tons is collected each year. According to the UN, only about 65% of waste generated in Ethiopian cities is collected, the rest being deposited in open sites like drainage channels and rivers. This indeed will directly affect the availability and will limit access to safe and drinkable water. There is no adequate facility to handle such waste being generated daily.

One of the basic waste management problems in Addis Ababa is sewages leaking openly into the environment. The sewage system is poorly constructed that it flows into rivers with people living near the rivers planting vegetables making it a risky for human health. The smell can cause allergies and the vegetables produced on those areas have a high amount of iron. Addis Ababa Water and Sewage Authority (AWSSA) is currently working to solve these problems around the city. Tesfalem Baye, Deputy General of AAWSA, told The Reporter that they



INTERVIEW

Philip Parham was appointed the UK government’s Envoy to the Commonwealth on 18 June 2018. He is also the Special Envoy for the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020

2020. Previously, Philip was Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from July 2014 until June 2018. Before that, he was the UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative

to 2013), and British High Commissioner to Tanzania (2006 to 2009). Philip joined the

to 1994. In 1995, he was Private Secretary to the FCO Minister covering Americas, South and South-East Asia, Public Diplomacy,

of Commons) Africa and International Development. He was Head of the Iraq Operations Unit 2003 to 2004, and then Head of the Counter-Terrorism Policy Department 2004 to 2006 based in London. Recently, he was in Addis Ababa where Asrat Seyoum of The Reporter has the chance to sit down with him for a brief interview: Excerpts.

REKINDLING

AFRICA FOCUS

Pho

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By:

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INTERVIEW

The Reporter: Let’s talk about the UK-Africa Investment forum; what is it about?

Philip Parham: It is a meeting that will take place on the 20th of January, 2019 involving African and British governments and businesses. It will be the first of its kind and around 800 to 1000 people are expected to be in attendance. Many African heads of state and government are expected to participate in this meeting; and many of them have already confirmed their attendance. We anticipate improvement not only in quantity but also in quality of the investment flow between the two. In spite of having around 8 of the 15 fastest growing economies in the world, at the moment, Africa is at the receiving end of only 4 percent of the global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow. With the city of London as the largest financial center in the world, overseeing trillions of pounds in investment funds, we know only limited amount of that capital is being redirected to the African continent. The UK is already the biggest FDI source country to Africa, with an accumulated investment of close to 46 million pounds. So, what we wish to see is British businesses to come away from the summit with an understanding of the opportunities in Africa and how some of the risks which they have perceived and which have held them back in the past can be managed; and how some UK investments have succeeded in Africa. On the

other hand, we want African governments and businesses to come away from the summit with the clearer understanding of the opportunities to fund investments from the UK. We also wish to explore, develop and announce new facilities to encourage that flow of investment from the UK.

As you have noted, the UK is already the biggest investor in Africa, so what do you want to get out of the UK-African investment summit, then?

As I was saying both the need for investment and the flow of investment both from the side of Africa and the UK could be even greater. We believe, the summit brings together two things to Africa, which are, in one hand, the city of London (largest financial services center in the world) with its exceptional financial and professional services and with strong record of innovation; and on the other hand, there is the UK government which is committed to international development, and has been a world leader in the involving methods and mechanisms of supporting international development, including collaboration with the private sector to drive a sustainable development. If you put those two things together, a government having that strong record and with those strong values and the ability and the funding streams for international development which the city of London represents, you definitely have a very strong combination, of

which we (UK and Africa) can make more use.

Do you have some sort of a target figure for the flow of investment which you want to achieve via the UK-Africa summit?

To be honest, we have not plucked a particular number out of the air at his stage; but, we really want to see the UK becoming the investor with the greatest impact in Africa. I can say there is growing demand among investors in the UK for an impact investment, which is not only about achieving financial target but also attaining other social and economic targets; including and most importantly the creation and sustainment of jobs. I think the need for job creating investment is going to be one of the themes at this summit.

Is it going to be an annual event, I mean the summit..?

I can’t predict that, since it is going to be a decision for our Prime Minister and other ministers whether they want to do that or not. But what I can say with absolute certainty is that it (the summit) is not going to be a one off event where everyone would go home and forget about it. It would rather be the beginning of a real change in the investment partnership between the UK and its African partners; there will be a real follow through. As I said before, the kind of new structures and financial sources that will be developed around the summit will have an impact over many

years. At the same time, we will be doing other things to compliment these efforts to boost investment including helping African investment promotion agencies to build up their capacities to make their economies as attractive as possible to investors; we will also be expanding the work we are doing to help African countries to broaden and deepen their financial markets as it is very critical to have a developed financial markets inside these countries to draw investment from within their own territory as well as outside.

As you know, some of the emerging nations like China, India, Turkey, Russia and also Japan have similar investment summits with Africa for quite a while now. Is it correct to see UK’s initiative as intent to step up competition in Africa? Is UK to become more aggressive towards African markets, now?

I think, we can say that this new platform definitely signals renewed commitment from the UK to build those investment partnerships with African countries; there is no question about this. Regarding the institutionalizing of the platform it remains to be seen as to how they want to proceed. I suspect most stakeholders feel that they have enough meetings and would not want to add another one. I think, once the stakeholders agree on how to go about with the investment partnerships, they might feel that they don’t need these continuous engagements. I don’t want to preempt what those involved may decide to do, but we are very conscious of the point you made that there are a lot of other platforms out there. However it is structured or if it is institutionalized or not, the distinctive feature of the UK-Africa investment summit will be those things I described earlier: the combination of the city of London and the financing streams it makes available and a very committed government. In fact, there are no other members of the G20, which is stuck with that 0.7 percent of GNI target (national resources to be dedicated to international development) except the UK. Not only that, the UK also has that strong value, expertise and innovation towards international development. I think, this is very strong combination of things that the UK brings to the table to make that sustainable development happen in Africa.

But with a number of these platforms all over the Africa and the world, investor nations are now in some sort of competition…?

I don’t really see this as a competition and I don’t think if aggressive is the word to describe UK’s approach, here. We see it as we have a very important role to play just as the other…

What is wrong with competition, though?

I am not denying the fact

Rekindling Africa . . . page 31



LIVING AND THE ARTS

AN ALTRUISTIC

GESTURE WORTHY OF ACCOLADE



LIVING AND THE ARTS

By Samuel Getachew

Gezahegn Wordofa left his humble beginnings in Dukem early. He left for his graduate level education more than two decades ago, completing a PhD in Moscow and proceeded to become an award winning advocate and humanitarian in Canada. Last week, he returned to his hometown to a hero’s welcome to inaugurate a self-funded public library inside Oda Needy School. He seemed at home.

“Growing up, I did not have the means or availability of a library. I had to walk hard and long to attend a school from my village and the first time I saw a library ever was when I went to Russia,” he told a gathering of hundreds of students and government officials, as he was given endless standing ovations.

“I do not want young people to be deprived of such an opportunity that is provided elsewhere but can enjoy the joy of studying, a library from their own community and not compromise safety and bring hardship to their lives by traveling elsewhere rather than within the proximity of their village, he further stated as he also presented laptops and a screen television for the library.

In Canada, he has been honored by Canada’s Governor General with the Caring Award and was picked as one of a top 25 Immigrants by Canada’s top daily newspaper, the Toronto Star’s, Canadian Immigrant Magazine for his volunteerism and Bekila Award, an Ethiopian Canadian group that selects about a dozen people a year to highlight contributions within the Ethiopian Canadian and wider diaspora Ethiopian community.

In 2015, Canada’s then Minister of Immigration, Chris Alexander, celebrated him as a role model and a new citizen of Canada who was making his positive mark in his adopted nation.

“Recognitions are wonderful and reminders of the efforts one is making is valued and has some important but I do it because I like it. I enjoy it and it gives me the greatest satisfaction and it’s my passion,” he said then.

The married father of one, who is multilingual in Amharic, Oromiffa, English and Russian and who is the founder and head of a multicultural group based an hour long drive from Toronto, in Stratford became an active member of his community as soon as he arrived in Canada, lured to the North American nation after he married a former Canadian diplomat who had been stationed in Moscow.

For him, he said he is proud of his Ethiopian heritage and wants to be its ambassador where ever he goes.

He says, he has fond memories of home, and is thankful to what his country of birth afforded him when he was young and the values that have afforded me great opportunities wherever he went after he left.

“Despite its shortcomings, home remains where the heart is,” he said as he hugged parents and students who came to the inauguration of the library.

His childhood friends remembered a young man who was determined to change the narrative of his life through education and that of his community.

One of his friends who is now a manager of a local

bank told the gathering how he was not surprised that Gezahegn returned to his village after accumulating much connection, networks and education.

“We have many friends who departed young and never hear from them. But he calls, he remembers us as we mark our milestones, weddings and birthdays and he is a special person. We are better because we know him and we hope our diasporas follow in his footsteps,” he told The Reporter.

To the students who had assembled in the grounds of their high school, he also promised them that he would build them a clinic and a water well.

For Almaz Beshadu, this will be a big relieve and something that would bring value to a community with little means but potential that Gezahegn is certain will be realized.

“In our community, life can be hard. We walk often times a long distance to bring water to our homes. Safety is secondary, overtaken by the issue of survival. Our children compromise their studies in order to help and such a contribution by Gezahegn goes a long way,” Almaz told The Reporter.

Her friend, Bertukan Weldegiorgis, echoes the words of Almaz.

“I am 59 years old and I have lived all my life in this village. I do not remember such a

beautiful and giving occasion like this. We are overwhelmed by his generosity and

we will forever hold on to this legacy and hope our children will use him as a role model to aspire to be,” she said.

The library, the first such place in the community will serve students in shifts and it cost 850,000 to build. There is a plan to expand it and add additional rooms and import more materials, books and computers from abroad and within Ethiopia.

“Some of the books I saw in there, I have never seen in my life and I can’t wait to

hold them and read them and learn from them. And I time, I aspire to be the first in

my family to go into university and follow in the footsteps of Dr Gezahegn,” a 13-year-old

said, as she took part in an appreciation dance from the students.

Gezahegn wants to be back in a month and plan the next chapter of his charitable gesture.

As he observed his surrounding, with empty an utilized land, little infrastructures and so much needs with little resources that cannot be put on the shoulder of a single individual, he wants Ethiopia’s diaspora to also be engaged and get involved.

He wants Ethiopia to realize its potential far from a charitable destination but a society that can not only manage to barely be self-sufficient but be bold enough to give its young the best opportunity within and not have all young people to dream to go elsewhere for opportunities that should be afforded at home and have them contribute to the development of the nation.

“That is my greatest wish and dream and something I want to see happen in my lifetime. I want to raise my hand and be counted whenever my people, my village and country need me and I am content whenever I am here,” he concluded.

That is my greatest wish and dream and

something I want to see happen in my lifetime.

I want to raise my hand and be counted whenever my people,

my village and country need me and I am

content whenever I am here.

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VIEWPOINT

COMMENTARY

By Getachew Mekonnen

Security sector reforms and controlling of small arms and light weapons proliferation are critical to the success of fostering of structural stability so that societies can live in a safe and secure environment. Normative frameworks have continued to influence extent of Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Controlling Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). Normative factors include both the binding quality of the set of rules as well as the subject matter on which behavior is prescribed or prohibited. International and regional normative frameworks have been concluded that commit States to carry out SSR and a series of regulatory and control measures to tackle the proliferation of SALW.

Security Sector Reform (SSR) is the political and technical process of improving state and human security by making security provision, management and oversight more effective and more accountable, within a framework of democratic civilian control, rule of law and respect for human rights. The goal of SSR is to apply the principles of good governance to the security sector. SSR also involves aspects of justice provision, management and oversight, because security and justice are closely related.

The illicit trade, transfer, and circulation of small arms and

light weapons (SALW) cause deaths, injuries, hindrance of development, sexual violence, forced displacement and migration, terrorism, crime, conflict, human rights abuses, violation of international humanitarian law, drug and human trafficking, and wildlife poaching.

The article provides an opportunity to establish common standards, and offers guidelines on how to bridge existing gaps in compliance with relevant UN and AU commitments and also offers policy oriented insights. I hope it helps equip policy makers, practitioners and academics working in the areas to address the multifaceted challenges of making the SSR and control of SALW objectives a reality.

UN and Africa’s normative frameworks on Security Sector Reform (SSR)

At the international level, the UN approach to SSR is contained in a 2008 report by Secretary-General titled “Securing Peace and Development: The Role of the United Nations in Supporting Security Sector Reform. Basic principles of the UN approach to SSR include national ownership and the commitment of involved states and societies, gender sensitivity, articulation of SSR frameworks in post-conflict contexts and a clearly defined strategy, coordination of efforts of national and international partners, and monitoring

and evaluation to track and maintain progress. Following the Secretary-General’s report, the United Nations published the first volume of its “Integrated Technical Guidance Notes on Security Sector Reform” in 2012. The guidance contains generic and adaptable notes on the objectives, scope, rationale, conceptual framework and processes of key elements of the UN approach to SSR, including national ownership, gender responsiveness, peace processes, democratic governance and support to national security policy-making and strategy-making processes.

The UN Security Council’s first standing resolution on SSR (Resolution 2151) adopted in 2014 reaffirmed the importance of SSR for “the consolidation of peace, and stability, promoting poverty reduction, rule of law and good governance, extending legitimate State authority, and preventing countries from relapsing into conflict” It also reiterated “the centrality of national ownership …informed by broader national political processes” and the imperative of “supporting ‘sector-wide’ initiatives that aim to enhance the governance and overall performance of the security sector”. The resolution emphasized that “SSR is not just a matter of technical support” but requires the investment of political capital. The resolution demonstrated a new UN commitment to adopt a political

approach to SSR processes; to enhance and expand partnerships with regional and bilateral SSR stakeholders; and to develop new training and capacity-building resources.

At the continental level, the African Union Policy Framework on Security Sector Reform was finalized in April 2012 after wide consultations with member states, civil society and experts. It was formally adopted by the Assembly of AU Heads of State and Government in January 2013. It represents a major step in addressing the lack of African ownership of current SSR approaches, being an effort to bridge the continuing gap between existing approaches to largely externally driven SSR and deficits in the delivery and governance of security in many AU member states. It builds on the international normative framework established by the United Nations and is also aligned with other AU instruments, including the Constitutive Act of the African Union of 2000, the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union of 2002 and the Solemn Declaration on a Common African Defense and Security Policy of 2006. The AU Policy Framework establishes a continental framework for the democratic governance of a security sector

UN and Africa’s normative frameworks on SSR and controlling SALW

A world without AIDS, tuberculosis, and malariaBy Rémy Rioux and

Peter Sands

As part of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community set itself the ambitious goal of eradicating HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria by 2030. Despite the extraordinary progress that has already been made, ending these pandemics and achieving the broader goal of ensuring the health and wellbeing of all will require ramping up efforts to support countries in building resilient and inclusive health systems.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, a public-private partnership, has contributed substantially to this effort, by massively scaling up prevention and treatment. In countries where the Global Fund invests, 18.9 million people received antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2018, 5.3 million tuberculosis patients were treated, and 131 million mosquito nets were distributed.

These efforts have proved tremendously effective in reducing these pandemics’ death toll. The latest figures indicate that 32 million lives have been saved since the Global Fund’s creation in 2002. Over the last decade, the annual number of deaths from HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria have been lowered by about half.

Yet we are still not on track to eliminate HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria by 2030. To achieve

this goal, we must not only expand access to treatment drastically; we also need to achieve a sharp reduction in new infections.

Success will require clear political leadership and sustained investment in critical capacities, such as well-trained community health workers, cost-effective supply chains, quality data systems, and well-equipped laboratories. To ensure that health services reach the poorest and most marginalized, barriers to health access – such as user fees, human rights-related impediments, or gender inequalities – must be dismantled. Active community engagement will be essential here.

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Countries and communities need to devise strategies that account for their residents’ needs and reflect the particular disease threats they face.

Moreover, no single external development partner can provide all of the necessary support. That is why we are calling for innovative coalitions comprising multilateral and bilateral development organizations that leverage their complementary strengths to strengthen national capacities. Such coordinated support is needed most urgently in regions – for example, the Sahel in Sub-Saharan Africa – that have weak institutions and infrastructure, and that are particularly vulnerable to security threats and

environmental crises.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the Global Fund and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have invested in building, together with the Ivoirian government, a regional bureau for the national medical drug-supply center. This will facilitate treatment delivery as close as possible to communities, thereby strengthening national health authorities’ capacity to reach the most vulnerable in a sustainable way.

In the same vein, the AFD and the Global Fund are supporting Niger’s Ministry of Public Health in its efforts to expand access to health products and strengthen the national laboratory network, thereby improving diagnosis, including for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. By ensuring synergy among activities and preventing duplication of efforts, we can support Niger in strengthening its health system, including at the community level.

Avoiding silo-based activity is the raison d’être of the recent partnership agreement between the Global Fund and the AFD. Under the leadership of national health authorities, we are pursuing greater convergence and synergy among programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, such as those the Global Fund finances, and initiatives to strengthen health systems, such as those in which the AFD invests. Underscoring the extent to which these two areas are interconnected, the Global Fund is already the

largest multilateral provider of grants for strengthening health systems, investing well over $1 billion per year in the cause.

By combining our organizations’ strengths, we are reaffirming our commitment to ensuring effective cooperation and coordinated action to eradicate HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, and to building strong and resilient health systems, particularly in the most vulnerable countries. The international community has a shared responsibility to fulfill its commitments without leaving anyone behind.

To end the HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria epidemics by 2030, a business-as-usual approach will not suffice. We must step up the fight. That means investing more in health systems and forging effective new partnerships, such as the one between the AFD and the Global Fund.

Ed.’s Note: Rémy Rioux is Chief Executive Officer of the Agence Française de Développement. Peter Sands is Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The article is provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives in our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.



ENTERTAINMENT

By Nardos Fekadu

Strolling down memory lane, in the early and mid- 19th century Ethiopia, where institutional correctional facilities and prisons did not exist, there was a strange traditional system called the Quranga that was later abolished.

In this system, if two people quarrel, both the accuser and the accused will enchained and go to the trial in the royal court. Until elders give the appropriate justice and say you are free to go they can neither untie the knot that binds them nor can they physically harm each other. Appearing at the royal court, the two will perform a traditional debate with poetic riddles at the open court to impress the elders who are judging them.

Quragna is all about tying both the accuser and the accused until appropriate judgment is passed. Based on this, a film named Quragnaye was released in 2019, produced by synergy Habesha Films and Communication.

Written and directed by Moges Tafesse, Quragnaye addresses the question: “How far would you take punishment into your own hands or wait for the

system to levy the appropriate punishment?”

The story takes place in Ankober, an old town located 174kms north of Addis Ababa. Fortunately, many of the irreplaceable spaces like traditional church schools, the old palace and court, rural farms and the breathtaking landscape still exists today as they did back then.

The movie which cost some five million birr takes the audience to a time where justice and law were handed down in unique and strange ways.

“One day I was reading a history book and there was this word “Quragna” and it keeps coming to my mind I keep wondering how people do this, walking together chained with the one they want dead? Then I started reading a lot about it and I found out its true then I thought this can be a great historic film; that’s how it started,” Moges said.

The movie is about a young man and his childhood sweetheart who is married. Explaining about this Moges said: “There is this young man who is in love with his childhood sweetheart; the two young lovers decide to run away together but soon they were caught by her husband. So neighbors stall

the ensuing fight and an elder bind together the two men’s cloths, symbolically chaining them together and tells them they must travel to the capital to stand trial in the queen’s court.”

“The current justice system has a lot to learn from the past,” Moges says.

“As a filmmaker and as someone living in a culture where oral tradition is still prominent, my heart is full and I am excited to bring the movie to the public,” he said, adding, “The acceptance was really good; people loved it but because of fear of copyright infringement we did not take the movie to different cities.”

The film is the winner of Ethiopia’s 2019 Leza Awards for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Actress and Alem Cinema’s 2019 Best Film Award.

On Friday December 5, 2019, Synergy Habesha Films and Communication together with Habesha View has signed a promotion and production agreement to distribute Quragnaye film worldwide. It is the first of its kind.

“We are delighted to be the international distributor of Enchained and taking the film on tour to North America and have it premiered in New

York as part of the New York Diaspora International Film Festival on December 11 and 15 and to Washington DC on December 12,” Tigist Kebede, Habesha View founder, said.

“We took the film to London last week and this week the film will be screened in Washington DC and New York,” she added.

Tigist called on filmmakers who work on original and historic pictures to work with them. “We were not able to have any contact so far, so if one has an original story like this we are more than happy to work with them,” she said.

Moges on his side said “We are happy to get an Ethiopian distributor; I believe we will do so much more with them.”

Habesha View was founded in 2015 to fulfill a clear need to provide high quality and readily accessible TV programs to the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora communities around the world having an estimated population of over six million.

Habesha View’s content includes live TV, documentaries, drama, kids programs, lifestyle shows, which is available to watch on iOS, android, Apple TV, Roku and PC.

Going back in time



MA in Social Work

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-+251-115-54 66 69

INVITATION FOR BID1. National Bank of Ethiopia invites interested and eligible

bidders for the supply of:

I.No. Description of Goods/Services Bid Ref No.1

Migration and adding new systems on turnkey basis

N B E / I C B / S / 0 1 / 2 0 19 / 20

2. A complete set of Bidding Document can be obtained from

6th upon deposit of non-refundable fee of USD 25.00 (Twenty Five dollar only) or equivalent amount in Birr in the account No. 7002010800001 at Payment and settlement Directorate found in NBE

Friday 8:00-10:30 a.m and 01:00- 03:30 p.m).

3. public body.

4. All Bids must be accompanied by bid security 2% of the Total Bid Price in the form of CPO or unconditional bank guarantees. Bidders who

local Banks.

5. Bids Shall Be submitted in the tender Box prepared for this purpose on /before January 31, 2019 Closing Time: 2:00 PM in the above mentioned address.

6. Bid opening shall be held in the presence of bidders and/or their representatives who wish to attend, in the above mentioned address, on Date: January 31 , 2019 Opening Time: 2:30 PM

7. Failure to comply any of the conditions from (2) to (6) above shall result in automatic rejection.

8. Interested eligible bidders may obtain further information from the

06.

9. The Bank reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids at any time.

Tigray water works study Design and supervision Enterprise has signed an agreement for construction supervision contract administration and capacity building of gereb Giba mekelle water supply project. Accordingly Tigray water works study Design and supervision Enterprise intend to associated with other

capacity.

1. The bidding will be conducted through international competitive bidding

2. expatriate professionals in supervision of Gerb Giba Mekelle water supply project.

3. in construction supervision contract administration and capacity building of dams, water treatment plants and water supply distribution system.

4. A complete set of bidding document can be purchased by any interested and eligible bidder on the submission of a written application to Tigray water works study Design and supervision Enterprise upon payment of non refundable fee of birr 200.00 from 28/ 12/2019 to 27/01/2020 th on working hours.

5. Bidders may obtain further information related to the biding documents, at

6. The Sealed envelope containing Bidding documents (TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL) shall be submitted to the ENTERPRISE on or before 27/01/2020 not later than 2:30 P.M. The Bid will be opened in the presence of bidders or their representative on 27/01/2020 at 3:00 P.M. in Tigray water works study

7. The bid must be an accompanied by a bid security, in of ETB 20000.00(twenty thousand birr) CPO valid for 90 days and sealed in separate envelop marked bid “security”.

8. Documents should be sealed envelope and signed on each page of

original one will open for bidding and the copy will be kept in the ENTERPRISE

9. Bids shall be valid for a period of ninety (90) days after Bid opening.

10. earlier than 22/01/2020 prior to the deadline for the submission of bids.

11. The Enterprise reserves the right to reject any or all the bids.th Floor Room No 9th

400139 P.O. Box 957



INVITATION FOR BID1. National Bank of Ethiopia invites interested and eligible bidders for the supply of:

No. Description of Goods/Services Bid Ref No. Bid closing date and time Bid opening date and time1 Six pieces of Automobile Sedan NBE/NCB/G/14/2019/20

February 3, 2019 at 10:00 A.M February 3, 2019 at 10:30 A.M One piece Station Wagon Diesel

2 NBE/NCB/G/15/2019/20 January 16, 2020 at 10:00 A.M January 16, 2020 at 10:30 A.M3. NBE/NCB/S/02/2019/20 January 20, 2020 at 10:00 A.M January 20, 2020 at 10:30 A.M

4. Akaki Campus Water Wel Pump Installation & Electric System Renovation

NBE/NCB/W/02/2019/20 January 23, 2020 at 10:00 A.M January 23, 2020 at 10:30 A.M

2. A complete set of Bidding Document can be obtained from upon deposit of non-refundable fee of Ethiopian birr 100.00 (one hundred only) for each in the account No.7002010800001 on Cash payment and settlement

3.

4. All Bids must be accompanied by bid security 2% of the Total Bid Price in the form of CPO or unconditional bank guarantees.5.

50166. The Bank reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids.

and non-governmental organization (NGO), registered as a Civil Society Organization pursuant to the new Civil Society Organization Federal proclamation No.1113/2019. NEWA has been established in the year 2003 with the aim promoting women’s economic, social and political rights through building the capacity of its member organizations. In 2009, NEWA has reregistered as Ethiopian Society under CSO law of 2009, thereby allowed to work on women’s rights & other related issues.

I. Consultancy Services: NEWA likes to invite interested and eligible

& procedures Manuals: Financial Policies Manual, Human Resources Policies Manual, Procurement & Store Keeping Manual, Fraud Policy Manual, Cost Sharing Manual and Safe Guarding Manual.

body of Ethiopia, some evidence of performed similar types of services with Civil Society Organization’s registered in Civil Society.

3rd January 2020, 05:00pm to the address mentioned on the bottom:

II. 1.

Professional/ Bachelors degree in the

Development/ Sociology/ Anthropology/ Development Management/ Economics and other relevant disciplines )

Relevant Experience: At least 4 year

The ability to remain highly organized while handling multiple tasks under tight deadlines;

The ability to complete tasks with limited supervision; Excellent reporting and document handling skills; Excellent communications skills with program and administrative

staff to identify & resolve issues; Ability to show initiative, good judgment, and resourcefulness; Ability to handle sensitive issues and address inclusion matters with

integrity. Skills in writing project proposals, monitoring and revision as well as

report writings. Skills in project life cycle management.

2.

BA in Communications and Journalism/English and Foreign Language /Social Sciences or related areas.Relevant Experience: communication and journalism

You are expected to have a good knowledge and experience of communications with a wide variety of audiences with a particular understanding of media.

You are expected to have experience of writing articles press releases

media opportunities and to devise and deliver imaginative plans for

makers and/or the masses. You need to understand international humanitarian principles,

standards, and guidelines and understand the link between

You need to have strong interpersonal skills and Sensitivity to cultural differences, and the ability to work in a wide variety of cultural contexts.

communication.

3.

requirementBachelor Degree in accounting /

Relevant Experience:

Keep the accounts record by using the existing accounting system.

procedures Preparation payroll and timely deposit of taxes deducted to the

tax authority Ensure budget are prepared in accordance to the designed

program/projects Prepare monthly bank and book reconciliations Ensure that the procurement procedures of Vita/RTI is adhered Participate in preparation and year end closing of accounts for

auditing Make sure advance payments are being settled on regular basis. Prepare and submit quarterly fund requests in reference to

approved budget Ensure that all procurements of goods and services are carried out

with the objective of obtaining the best value for money and the best possible service to the requester.

III. Full address:Network of Ethiopian Women’s AssociationP.O.Box 27159/1000 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,Or in person to the following address: Yeka Sub-City, Woreda 08, H.No. New, Signal Road, beside Sumeya Mosque, Before Magic Carpet School, Tel. +251 118 217757



#DigitalPainting

R pioneer Android Jones

R feature before the end of 2019

#REPORTERBOOK 9 Vol. 24 No. 1216

Artist turns Tom and Jerry’s most unfortunate moments into sculptures

Everyone loves "Tom and Jerry." It is one of the most popular cartoons that marked the childhoods of so many people around the world.

Then cartoon that was created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for MGM, came out in 1940 and it ended in 1967.

It is safe to say that it is one of the most popular animated franchises in existence and is still widely popular today.

The famous American animated series follows Tom's attempts to capture Jerry and the mayhem and destruction that follows. Tom rarely succeeds in catching Jerry, mostly because of Jerry's cleverness, cunning abilities, and luck. But they both suffer in the process. And it is not just about bruises or broken bones. Tom, for example, can get his head bashed with a frying pan so hard, the impact reshapes it into the pan itself.

But one man's pain is another man's gain. These gut-wrenching moments have become quite the inspiration for Japanese artist Taku Inoue. As reporter by Bored Panda the talented Japanese artist, Inoue has been turning Tom and Jerry's bad luck into playful little sculptures, capturing all the hilarious poses the characters find themselves in. On the right are some of the works by Taku Inoue.

Google Photos has received a bevy of notable upgrades in 2019. This year alone has seen the app treated to a new messaging feature designed to make sharing memories easier, a manual face tagging system and a new gesture that lets you easily switch between Google accounts.

Most recently, the tech firm introduced the ability to apply background bokeh to every image in your Google Photos library... as long as you're using a Pixel 4.

And now it seems the American tech giant is working to deliver one final Google Photos upgrade before the end of 2019.

XDA Developers recently trawled through the latest version of Google Photos, 4.33, and was able to manually trigger a feature allowing the user to zoom in when viewing videos.

At the moment, Google Photos doesn't let you zoom in when watching a video in any capacity. This is especially frustrating when a clip doesn't natively fill the entirety of your smartphone's display, leaving noticeable black borders on the left and right-hand side.

It seems the Mountain View company is finally working to fix this however. XDA Developers showed off the new feature in action and it works exactly as you'd expect - pinching in and out on a video lets you zoom in and out respectively.

(Express)



R

#REPORTERBOOK

ready for some usersR

A man holding a lion cub in Ethiopian in the 1930s.

On December 23, 1987, Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager set a new world record of 216 hours of continuous

without refueling. Their aircraft Voyager traveled 24,986 miles at a speed of about 115 miles per hour.

#Pet

Facebook has quietly removed the ability to sign up for Messenger without a Facebook account, the company confirmed to Venture Beat this week. Previously, new users using the Messenger or Messenger Lite app could opt to use their phone number in lieu of an account.

“If you’re new to Messenger, you’ll notice that you need a Facebook account to chat with friends and close connections,” a spokesperson said via email. “We found that the vast majority of people who use Messenger already log in through Facebook and we want to simplify the process. If you already use Messenger without a Facebook account, no need to do anything.”

Some Messenger users without Facebook accounts report that the transition has not gone smoothly. Perhaps owing to a bug, they say they have encountered an error message indicating that their account has been restricted.

Facebook rolled out the ability to sign up for Messenger sans account in June 2015, first for users in the US, Canada, Peru, and Venezuela. In addition to phone numbers, photos and names were accepted as forms of login identification.

The change might anticipate the forthcoming unification of Facebook’s various messaging properties, which include WhatsApp and Instagram as well as Messenger.

(Venture Beat)

WhatsApp users have been long awaiting the dark mode feature on the platform and has long been under development. And the popular instant messaging platform has finally started the gradual roll out of dark theme which is being released for iOS users first, reports BGR India.

The update was first brought to light by WABetaInfo, a popular site that updates users about the latest developments on the app. As per WABetaInfo, the dark mode feature is also ready for certain Android users. On the other hand, dark mode for iOS is already being tested by WhatsApp.

Now, although the feature is ready for the release and is functional, it’s missing certain elements. For instance, you won’t be able to spot any status update cell or profile cells under WhatsApp Settings. Other related elements that are missing includes phone number, about, and business details cells under the contact info section.

Moreover, encryption cell, contacts list cells, storage Usage cells, and cells in Backup section are also not available. Group description cell color is also not correct. However, it’s expected that all these features would get fixed with the final release of the feature for both Android as well as iOS users.

Apart from the dark mode, WhatsApp is also testing new WhatsApp iOS beta update which would bring forth other features.

(Mashable)



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VIEWPOINT +

By Bjørn Lomborg

Switch to energy-efficient light bulbs, wash your clothes in cold water, eat less meat, recycle more, and buy an electric car: we are being bombarded with instructions from climate campaigners, environmentalists, and the media about the everyday steps we all must take to tackle climate change. Unfortunately, these appeals trivialize the challenge of global warming, and divert our attention from the huge technological and policy changes that are needed to combat it.

For example, the British nature-documentary presenter and environmental campaigner David Attenborough was once asked what he as an individual would do to fight climate change. He promised to unplug his phone charger when it was not in use.

Attenborough’s heart is no doubt in the right place. But even if he consistently unplugs his charger for a year, the resulting reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions will be equivalent to less than one-half of one-thousandth of the average person’s annual CO2 emissions in the United Kingdom. Moreover, charging accounts for less than one percent of a phone’s energy needs; the other 99 percent is required to manufacture the handset and operate data centers and cell towers. Almost everywhere, these processes are heavily reliant on fossil fuels.

Attenborough is far from alone

By Brahma Chellaney

When the Cold War ended, many pundits anticipated a new era in which geo-economics would determine geopolitics. As economic integration progressed, they predicted, the rules-based order would take root globally. Countries would comply with international law or incur high costs.

Today, such optimism looks more than a little naive. Even as the international legal system has ostensibly grown increasingly robust – underpinned, for example, by United Nations conventions, global accords like the 2015 Paris climate agreement, and the International Criminal Court – the rule of force has continued to trump the rule of law. Perhaps no country has taken more advantage of this state of affairs than China.

Consider China’s dam projects in the Mekong River, which flows from the Chinese-controlled Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. By building 11 mega-dams near the border of the Tibetan Plateau, just before the river crosses into Southeast Asia, China has irreparably damaged the river system and wreaked broader environmental havoc, including saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta that has caused the delta to retreat.

Today, the Mekong is running at its lowest level in 100 years, and droughts are intensifying in downriver countries. This

in believing that small gestures can have a meaningful impact on the climate. In fact, even much larger-sounding commitments deliver only limited reductions in CO2 emissions. For example, environmental activists emphasize the need to give up eating meat and driving fossil-fuel-powered cars. But, although I am a vegetarian and do not own a car, I believe we need to be honest about what such choices can achieve.

Going vegetarian actually is quite difficult: one large US survey indicates that 84 percent of people fail, most of them in less than a year. But a systematic peer-reviewed study has shown that even if they succeed, a vegetarian diet reduces individual CO2 emissions by the equivalent of 540 kilograms – or just 4.3 percent of the emissions of the average inhabitant of a developed country. Furthermore, there is a “rebound effect,” as money saved on cheaper vegetarian food is spent on goods and services that cause additional greenhouse-gas emissions. Once we account for this, going entirely vegetarian reduces a person’s total emissions by only two percent.

Likewise, electric cars are branded as environmentally friendly, but generating the electricity they require almost always involves burning fossil fuels. Moreover, producing energy-intensive batteries for these cars invariably generates significant CO2 emissions.

gives China powerful leverage over its neighbors. And yet China has faced no consequences for its weaponization of the Mekong’s waters. It should thus be no surprise that the country is building or planning at least eight more mega-dams on the Mekong.

China’s actions in the South China Sea may be even more brazen. This month marks the sixth anniversary of the country’s launch of a massive land-reclamation program in the highly strategic corridor, which connects the Indian and Pacific oceans. By constructing and militarizing artificial islands, China has redrawn the region’s geopolitical map without firing a shot – or incurring any international costs.

To be sure, in July 2016, an international arbitral tribunal set up by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled that China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea lacked legitimacy under international law. But China’s leaders simply disregarded the ruling, calling it a “farce.” Unless something changes, the United States-led plan to establish a “free and open Indo-Pacific” will remain little more than a paper vision.

China’s open contempt for the PCA’s ruling stood in sharp contrast with India’s response to a 2014 ruling by a PCA-established tribunal awarding Bangladesh nearly 80 percent of 25,602 square kilometers (9,885 square miles) of disputed

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), an electric car with a range of 400 kilometers (249 miles) has a huge carbon deficit when it hits the road, and will start saving emissions only after being driven 60,000 kilometers. Yet, almost everywhere, people use an electric car as a second car, and drive it shorter distances than equivalent gasoline vehicles.

Despite subsidies of about USD 10,000 per car, battery-powered electric cars represent less than one-third of one percent of the world’s one billion vehicles. The IEA estimates that with sustained political pressure and subsidies, electric cars could account for 15 percent of the much larger global fleet in 2040, but notes that this increase in share will reduce global CO2 emissions by just one percent.

As IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol has said, “If you think you can save the climate with electric cars, you’re completely wrong.” In 2018, electric cars saved 40 million tons of CO2 worldwide, equivalent to reducing global temperatures by just 0.000018°C – or a little more than a hundred-thousandth of a degree Celsius – by the end of the century.

Individual actions to tackle climate change, even when added together, achieve so little because cheap and reliable energy underpins human prosperity. Fossil fuels currently meet 81 percent of our global energy needs. And even if every promised climate policy in the 2015 Paris climate agreement is

territory in the Bay of Bengal. Although the decision was split (unlike the South China Sea tribunal’s unanimous verdict) and included obvious flaws – it left a sizable “gray area” in the bay – India accepted it readily.

In fact, between 2013 and 2016 – while the Philippines-initiated proceedings on China’s claims in the South China Sea were underway – three different PCA-established tribunals ruled against India in disputes with Bangladesh, Italy, and Pakistan. India complied with all of them.

The implication is clear: for large and influential countries, respecting the rules-based order is a choice – one that China, with its regime’s particular character, is unwilling to make. Against this background, Vietnam’s possible legal action on its own territorial disputes with China – which has been interfering in Vietnam’s longstanding oil and gas activities within its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea – is unlikely to amount to much. Vietnam knows that China will ignore any ruling against it and use its trade leverage to punish its less powerful neighbor.

That is why an enforcement mechanism for international law is so badly needed. Disputes between states will always arise. Peace demands mechanisms for resolving them fairly and effectively, and reinforcing respect for existing frontiers.

Yet such a mechanism seems unlikely to emerge anytime soon. After all, China is not

achieved by 2040, they will still deliver 74 percent of the total.

We already spend USD 129 billion per year subsidizing solar and wind energy to try to entice more people to use today’s inefficient technology, yet these sources meet just 1.1 percent of our global energy needs. The IEA estimates that by 2040 – after we have spent a whopping USD 3.5 trillion on additional subsidies – solar and wind will still meet less than five percent of our needs.

That’s pitiful. Significantly cutting CO2 emissions without reducing economic growth will require far more than individual actions. It is absurd for middle-class citizens in advanced economies to tell themselves that eating less steak or commuting in a Toyota Prius will rein in rising temperatures. To tackle global warming, we must make collective changes on an unprecedented scale.

By all means, anyone who wants to go vegetarian or buy an electric car should do so, for sound reasons such as killing fewer animals or reducing household energy bills. But such decisions will not solve the problem of global warming.

The one individual action that citizens could take that would make a difference would be to demand a vast increase in spending on green-energy research and development, so that these energy sources eventually become cheap enough

alone in violating international law with impunity: its fellow permanent members of the UN Security Council – France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the US – have all done so. These are the very countries that the UN Charter entrusted with upholding international peace and security.

Nowadays, international law is powerful against the powerless, and powerless against the powerful. Despite tectonic shifts in the economy, geopolitics, and the environment, this seems set to remain true, with the mightiest states using international law to impose their will on their weaker counterparts, while ignoring it themselves. As long as this is true, a rules-based global order will remain a fig leaf for the forcible pursuit of national interests.

Ed.’s Note: Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research and Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Berlin, is the author of nine books, including Asian Juggernaut, Water: Asia’s New Battleground, and Water, Peace, and War: Confronting the Global Water Crisis. The article is provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives in our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

The illusion of a rules-based global order

Empty gestures on climate change



but now inappropriate, anchor for monetary policy. The mandate is woefully out of sync with chronically below-target inflation and growing risks to financial stability.

The potential instability of the US equity market is a case in point. According to the widely cited metrics of Nobel laureate economist Robert Shiller, equity prices relative to cyclically adjusted long-term earnings currently are 53 percent above their post-1950 average and 21% above the post-crisis average since March 2009. Barring a major reacceleration of economic and earnings growth or a new round of Fed balance-sheet expansion, further sharp increases in US equity markets are unlikely. Conversely, another idiosyncratic shock – or a surprising reacceleration of inflation and a related hike in interest rates – would raise the distinct possibility of a sharp correction in an overvalued US equity market.

The problem also lies in weak real economies that are far too close to their stall speed. The International Monetary Fund recently lowered its estimate for world GDP growth in 2019 to three percent – midway between the 40-year trend of 3.5 percent and the 2.5 percent threshold commonly associated

swift and decisive measures vis-à-vis Huawei.

One supposed reason for regarding Google and Facebook as a lesser threat is that they are private companies – unlike Huawei, which is seen as beholden to the Communist Party of China. But Google does a lot of work for the US government, including the US military and intelligence services,

preventing Facebook from being a threat; in fact, it is amplifying the danger.

depend on maximally harvesting our attention, which can then be sold to advertisers and to users wishing to “promote” their posts. The more attention the platform

becomes.

Facebook uses algorithms to push the most attention-grabbing material, which typically is shocking, outrageous, fear-

having gathered huge amounts of data about us, the company sells the opportunity to target us personally to whomever is willing to pay – even if they are setting out to destroy our societies and institutions. The fact that Facebook is damaging social cohesion, weakening democracy, and making it easier for authoritarian governments to emerge is not the company’s concern, as its behavior makes clear.

The Trump administration’s peremptory and categorical response to the potential threat posed by Huawei has persuaded

OPINION

The crisis of . . . page 32

Is Huawei really . . . page 32

By Stephen S. Roach

Predicting the next crisis – financial or economic – is a fool’s game. Yes, every crisis has its hero who correctly warned of what was about to come. And, by definition, the hero was ignored (hence the crisis). But the record of modern forecasting contains a note of caution: those who correctly predict a crisis rarely get it right again.

The best that economists can do is to assess vulnerability. Looking at imbalances in the real economy or financial markets gives a sense of the potential consequences of a major shock. It doesn’t take much to spark corrections in vulnerable economies and markets. But a garden-variety correction is far different from a crisis. The severity of the shock and the degree of vulnerability matter: big shocks to highly vulnerable systems are a recipe for crisis.

In this vein, the source of vulnerability that I worry about the most is the overextended state of central-bank balance sheets. My concern stems from three reasons.

First, central banks’ balance sheets are undeniably stretched. Assets of major central banks – the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and

By Ngaire Woods

The United States and some of its allies have acted decisively to exclude the Chinese technology company Huawei from their national markets, yet they continue to ignore the similar threat posed by Facebook and other US digital giants. Democratic governments must now be equally decisive in dealing with this home-grown danger.

Huawei is not only the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications equipment and its second-largest phone manufacturer; it is also the global leader in building ultra-high-speed 5G networks – far ahead of any US

other Chinese companies, Huawei supplies surveillance equipment to about 230 cities across Western

US President Donald Trump’s administration accuses Huawei of stealing intellectual property, committing fraud and obstructing

sanctions against Iran, and potentially using its hardware and inbuilt software to spy for the Chinese government. The US government has therefore prohibited US government agencies from buying equipment from Huawei (and also from ZTE, Hikvision, Dahua, and Hytera).

Furthermore, the US Department of Commerce has put Huawei on its Entity List, thereby preventing

they get a hard-to-obtain waiver.

the Bank of Japan – collectively stood at USD 14.5 trillion in November 2019, which is down only slightly from the peak of around USD 15 trillion in early 2018 and more than 3.5 times the pre-crisis level of USD four trillion. A similar conclusion comes from scaling assets by the size of their respective economies: Japan leads the way at 102 percent of nominal GDP, followed by the ECB at 39 percent, and the Fed at a mere 17 percent.

Second, central banks’ balance-sheet expansion is essentially a failed policy experiment. Yes, it was successful in putting a floor under collapsing markets over a decade ago, in the depths of the crisis in late 2008 and early 2009. But it failed to achieve traction in sparking vigorous economic recovery.

Central banks believed that what worked during the crisis would work equally well during the recovery. That didn’t happen. The combined nominal GDP of the United States, eurozone, and Japan increased by USD 5.3 trillion from 2008 to 2018, or only about half their central banks’ combined balance-sheet expansion of USD 10 trillion in over the same period. The remaining USD 4.7 trillion is the functional equivalent of a massive liquidity injection that has been propping up asset markets over most of the post-

Facebook no longer lets Huawei pre-load apps, and Google has

to the Chinese company’s devices. Meanwhile, US universities are under pressure to cut their research

severed its relationships with both Huawei and ZTE.

The US is pushing other countries to follow its lead. New Zealand and Japan have banned Huawei, and

out a 5G network with Sweden’s Ericsson, ending a decade of collaboration with the Chinese company. (Hungary and Russia, on the other hand, are happy to let Huawei develop their national 5G networks.)

In a recent risk assessment, the European Commission and the

warned about having a 5G supplier from a “hostile” country, or one “where there are no legislative or democratic checks and balances in place.” Mindful of these concerns, some European governments have adopted a more regulated, “middle-way” approach to Huawei. Germany, for example, will require

monitored. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, has until now kept Huawei out of “critical networks,”

a comprehensive evaluation center (whose latest report warns of a

Western governments’ concerns about Huawei are real. But are they

media and technology companies? The fear is that Huawei could gain access to a huge volume of data about us, which then could be used

crisis era.

Third, steeped in denial, central banks are once again upping the ante on balance-sheet expansion as a means to stimulate flagging economic recoveries. The Fed’s late 2018 pivot led the way, first reversing the planned normalization of its benchmark policy rate and then allowing its balance sheet to grow again (allegedly for reserve management purposes) following steady reductions from mid-2017 through August 2019. Asset purchases remain at elevated levels for the BOJ as a critical element of the “Abenomics” reflation campaign. And the recently installed ECB president, Christine Lagarde, the world’s newest central banker, was quick to go on the record stressing that European monetary authorities will “turn (over) each and every stone” – which presumably includes the balance sheet.

So why is all this problematic? After all, in a low-inflation era, inflation-targeting central banks seemingly have nothing to fear about continuing to err on the side of extraordinary monetary accommodation, whether conventional (near zero-bound benchmark policy rates) or unconventional (balance-sheet expansion). The problem lies, in part, with the price-stability mandate itself – a longstanding,

in a way that is detrimental to our interests, including by adversely

But these threats already exist, because Facebook (which also owns

Google (which owns YouTube) have an astonishingly comprehensive range of data about their users – their location, contacts, messages, photos, downloads, searches, preferences, purchases, and much else.

In other words, the US digital giants are already storing the kind of data that we fear Huawei may collect in the future. Furthermore, both Google and Facebook have already been found to misuse the data entrusted to them.

that Huawei is based in China – a strategic rival of the US – so the data the company gathers could be used to weaken democratic countries’ political systems and geopolitical standing. But Facebook is already undermining the democratic process, including in the US itself, where the platform has facilitated foreign interference in elections.

In addition, Facebook has fueled division and fear, and refused to remove hate speech, Holocaust denial, and anti-Semitic posts. The platform has been described as a “megaphone for hate” against Muslims, and it is accused of facilitating a genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar. For these reasons, the British actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen recently called Facebook “the greatest propaganda machine in history.” The Trump administration and other Western governments have been extraordinarily slow to act, however, in contrast to their

The crisis of 2020

Is Huawei really more dangerous than Facebook?

OPINION +



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The frequent power cuts not only has affected the efficiency of the railway transport, but has also led to anomalous operations including rescue, slope stopping, regression, and a very serious impact on train operation safety. Some 60 percent of interruptions took close to three hours before the train’s returned to normal operations. But in some instances, three percent of the total events have caused more than a day long outages. The total interruption time was found out to be exceeding 48,000 hours since the start of railway operations across the corridor.

Another contributing factor includes the lack of special facilities that are required to carry-out rolling stock inspections. “Rolling stock is the most maintenance intensive part of the railway system and is the most vulnerable, if maintenance is neglected,” the study revealed. Due to a serious shortage in maintenance equipment configurations, spare parts, and vulnerable and consumable parts; for example, there are eight electric locomotives with serious faults, accounting for 22.8 of all the 35 units; two diesel locomotives, accounting to 33.3 percent

of all the six units; and four passenger trains, accounting to 13.3 percent of all 30 units were found to be ill managed and ill-maintained. Hence, 502 freight trains that have been put into operation were found to have some vital faults, such as bearing oil seepage, air leakage in the braking system, risking the trains’ operational safety.

In addition, the study has outlined that keeping the maintenance and sustainability of the railway in order to let it operate at its full capacity has become a cumbersome challenge.

Gedion advises both countries

to seek and identify ways for additional capital that can help finance and sustain the railway sector in Ethiopia. “For example, for the Ethio-Djibouti Railway (EDR), financing can be maximized through policies to address the funding gap and mitigate risks through transparent, robust and corporate governance.”

Since the launch of the railway operation between Addis Ababa and Djibouti; between 2018 and partially in 2019, close to USD 60 million has been generated from transporting 160,000 passengers and 1,248 tons of freight.

Power disruptions . . . CONT`D FROM PAGE 7

4

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Ed.’s Note: Tsion Taye is a researcher in the field of Agricultural Economics. She is a graduate of Wageningen university from which she obtained her Masters and PhD

degrees. Her passions include reading books and reflecting on life experiences with whomever shares this passion. She can be

reached for comments at [email protected].

30||

YOUR MINDBy Tsion Taye

CONT`D FROM PAGE 18

that is effective and efficient. It further encapsulates core principles of SSR which are particularly relevant for the African continent, including: African solidarity and African partnerships, linkage between SSR and regional integration, national ownership, national responsibility and national commitment, adherence to a nationally defined vision of SSR and parameters for external support for SSR, integration of informal and customary security providers and traditional justice actors into SSR processes where appropriate, primary responsibility of states for the coordination of SSR assistance.

UN and Africa’s normative frameworks on Controlling Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW)

A critical starting point for any analysis of international strategies and frameworks to address the SALW issue is the 2001 UN Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which affirms that:

States and international and regional organizations should seriously consider assisting interested states, upon request, in building capacities in areas including the development of appropriate legislation and regulations, law enforcement, tracing and marking, stockpile management and security, destruction of small arms and light weapons and the collection and exchange of information.

The program of action recommends enhanced cooperation and information exchange “among competent officials, including customs, police, intelligence and arms control officials, at the national, regional and global levels”. It contains national, regional and global commitments to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in SALW, encompassing a wide array of issues including manufacturing, marking, tracing, stockpile management, international transfers, public awareness and DDR. While the program of action was a binding agreement, no mechanisms existed to enforce the compliance of signatories. Nonetheless, it provided the crucial foundation and framework for action on SALW globally, and was supplemented by other key UN conventions seeking to control SALW, such as the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Register of Conventional Arms. National and regional-level accords on SALW have gone even further than the program of action in outlining reforms within the security sector that are needed to ensure the viability of SALW reduction and control efforts.

A watershed for the SALW issue globally came in 2013 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Arms Trade Treaty; the landmark agreement signed by 130 states represented the most comprehensive global framework for conventional arms control ever established. Under Article 16 on international assistance, the treaty states that parties to the agreement may seek assistance – whether legislative, institutional capacity building, technical,

material or financial – from “the United Nations, international, regional, sub regional or national organizations, non-governmental organizations, or on a bilateral basis”. The assistance could include “Stockpile management, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs, model legislation, and effective practices for implementation. “The treaty clearly recognizes the indispensable nature of reforms in the security sector for the successful application SALW reduction and control.

The Organization of African Unity, , set out a common position on SALW in time for the 2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. Engineered at a ministerial meeting in Bamako, Mali, the agreement came to be known as the Bamako Declaration. The declaration contained clear language on the importance of SSR to SALW reduction and control efforts, recommending that the state parties “enhance the capacity of national law enforcement and security agencies and officials to deal with all aspects of the arms problem, including appropriate training on investigative procedures, border control and specialized actions, and upgrading of equipment and resources”. It also called for legislative and legal measures “to establish as a criminal offence under national law, the illicit manufacturing of, trafficking in, and illegal possession and use of small arms and light weapons, ammunition and other related materials”. The declaration reflected growing emphasis on the security sector as the locus for effective SALW control efforts, but failed to elucidate adequately how this relationship should be operationalized.

In 2011 the AU adopted the AU Strategy on the Control of Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons. The strategy set out to “address comprehensively the problem of the illicit proliferation, circulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons through mainstreaming SALW control as a cross-cutting and multidimensional issue in achieving peace, security, development, and stability in the Continent”. It empowered the AU Regions Steering Committee on Small Arms, a group comprising ten AU regional economic communities (RECs) to oversee the implementation of the SALW strategy by national governments, the RECs and the AU Commission. The committee was also mandated to engage civil society actors and regional police organizations to advance the goals of the new AU strategy. The strategy explicitly recognized the holistic nature of the SALW issue, requiring interventions in the security and development spheres, including SSR.

I would like to conclude that the preceding analysis demonstrates the extent to which SSR has come to occupy a central place in SALW thinking and policy. SSR, by expanding the capacity of the state to regulate gun possession, secure state stockpiles, curb illegal trafficking, entrench the rule of law and provide the populace with a security guarantee, endeavors simultaneously to curtail the supply of arms and

to reduce public demand for their acquisition. It creates the institutional conditions in which SALW reduction programs launched into long-term weapons control regimes. Put differently, Security Sector Reform will be capable of scaling down violent conflict to proportions that can manage and accommodate provided that this occurs in tandem with a sustained and credible process of the protection of illegal small arms trade However, while policymakers have recognized the intrinsic links between SSR and SALW programming, their relationship at the operational level remains underdeveloped. I would also argue that “to date, justice and security sector reform efforts have generally not been informed by current thinking on best practices on small arms controls – and vice versa”. The innumerable provisions on security sector capacity building and reforms encapsulated in the principal conventions on SALW have rarely been translated effectively into practice.

In the field, the implementation of SSR and SALW reduction and control programs continues to be advanced on parallel but separate tracks – only loosely connected under the peacebuilding banner – rather than as a single integrated framework of action as stipulated by both SSR orthodoxy and key SALW agreements and protocols. To take ownership of the global and Regional Framework for SSR and SALW control states should develop national security policy or strategy ,a national policy framework for SSR and plan of Action for SALW. These are effective ways to fill gaps within the security sector in line with a fast changing security environment and the security and justice needs of states and peoples. SSR and SALW reduction will further be consolidated by promoting the role of CSOs the media, and think thanks. CSOs and think thanks can play important role in supplying and supplementing human capacity and technical expertise in SSR and SALW. The role of CSOs and think thanks includes technical support to norm setting, policy development and implementation, capacity development, conducting independent analysis and proffering policy options, advocacy and sensitization, dialogue and agenda setting, and peacebuilding, mobilization of stakeholders and resources, and ensuring accountability and transparency. In line with this, so long as Ethiopia is concerned, the think-tank called Institute of Strategic Affairs (ISA) the former Ethiopian Foreign Relations Strategic Studies Institute (EFFRSI) can contribute by carrying out targeted research on Security Sector Reform and Governance (SSR/G) and work plans for the control of SALW. Apparently indeed, the Institute conducted dialogue which is strong added value to the discourse on the issues in December 2019.

Getachew Mekonnen is a researcher at former Ethiopian Foreign Relations Strategic Studies Institute, now Strategic Studies Institute. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the Institute or The Reporter. The writer can be reached at [email protected].

UN and Africa’s . . .

Leaving the boxI love injera! For me, going a day without injera is like going a day without food. Honestly, I do not feel like I have eaten anything of substance if I did not have at least one ‘gursha’ of injera during the day. Ethiopian food is addictive I have to say. I am sure that many of you would agree with that. Maybe it is the fact that we Ethiopians have been eating injera since the day we were introduced to solid food as a six-month old baby! Since then, we have been having it day in day out, at least twice a day during the day. So, no wonder we get addicted to it! Those Ethiopians who live abroad would do anything to have in their kitchen some stock of dried injera or ‘Dirkosh’ to be able to have a taste of it at least in a week! Maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but I will tell you for sure that the one thing that Ethiopians abroad yearned for and miss about their country is the taste of pure teff ‘injera be wot’.

There is one thing about ‘injera be wot’ or injera with sauce in English that tells a lot about us Ethiopians. And that is the fact that we dread the idea of living or even peeking outside the box. We love and feel comfortable in the box that is well known and familiar to us. There are different kinds of sauces in the Ethiopian dish. The one thing that is common across all is that the ingredients nor the cooking formula have not, do not, and most likely will not change the tiniest bit across generations and generations. Take missir wot or Lentil sauce for instance. You only have two versions of it. One is the red one prepared with red pepper, and the other is the one prepared without it. In both versions, only few ingredients will go in. And that is lentils, red onions, cooking oil, salt, garlic, and water. Maybe some may add some spices and Ethiopian butter. That is it! I bet that there is nowhere that you will see lentil sauce prepared together with vegetables for instance. And if you ask why not, there is no one who will answer it. The best answer you can hope to get is ‘that is just how it is done’. Who fixed how ‘missir wot’ should be done is a mystery. I have seen my mother cooking lentil sauce with the above mentioned ingredients, and that is how I will make sure it is cooked in my own household. Because I am trapped in my own box, I am unable to think of what else should be cooked at home when I am running out of the short list of common Ethiopian sauces that I or the housekeeper can cook. I myself do not dare to experiment with good old fashioned Ethiopian sauces, although I know that doing so will not kill me.

Our difficulty to leave the box is reflected in many aspects of our lives. I believe the weak levels of technology adoption among our farmers, the rigid bureaucracies in our institutions, our weak culture of self-expression, you name it, are a reflection of our difficulty to leave the traditional and out-fashioned. Although there is definitely a desirable side to maintaining our traditions, sometimes I feel that sticking too much to the old ways is doing us more harms than good. Our tiniest moves away from the tested and traditional is mostly not well received in our society. Of fear criticism, we prefer to stay locked in our boxes. As of today, let’s try moving out of the box by cooking Ethiopian sauce in a way that our mothers never did it before!



CONT`D FROM PAGE 15

that we are all competing, in a friendly way, in the international investment and financial markets. But, the way we choose to see this is as the UK having these very important instruments which it brings to the table which will help Africa to achieve real things that are very consistent with our values. This is a ‘win-win’ for both Africa and UK and of course the rest of the global economy. If Africa prospers, which I believe it will, the whole world benefits from the situation. The African population is close to two billion and there will be plenty to go around in terms of market opportunities. So, it is not a cutthroat exercise.

Do you expect some sort of a grand unveiling of resources that the UK will make available to Africa during the January 20th summit, as it is customary with other summits?

I don’t want to foretell what is to come on the summit; again it will be the decision of high-ranking officials. As you know, in the UK, the government is being restructured at this time; and hence I don’t want to preempt the decision coming out of the Prime minister office. That said, I do know UK’s focus now will be more on sustainable investment than big announcements. It is true that the action of the UK government in collaboration with UK’s private sector will be announced at the summit. But, the most interesting outcome will be long term impact than some figure attached to this conference. We are also very conscious of these big financial commitments unveiled during such summits and how these figures would eventually fail apart. Surely, we are not going to go down that road.

As you have mentioned, a new conservative majority government is taking shape back at the UK and we have heard of the strong skepticism that the new ruling party harbors for aid and development cooperation. Do you see an issue for UK-Africa cooperation in the upcoming years because of this?

I think I am right in saying that the conservative party is the one which suggested the 0.7 percent GNI commitment to international development to be enshrined into UK’s law a while back. And in practice as well, the party has shown strong commitment to meeting that target. As I said before, I can’t preempt policies that the Prime Minister and his cabinet may pass in the future. However, at the moment, it is a matter of law that we provide 0.7 percent of our gross national income in the form of oversees development assistance.

Also reports suggest that the future of organizations like DFID might even be uncertain given the position of the new government (party) towards

development assistance. Anything on that…?

Again, I can’t speak to the policy decisions of the government, which are yet to come. Yes, I have also seen the reports and heard the rumors. But, I have no inside information on that; all I can say is that different governments organize themselves in different ways. Some might have different international trade and development departments; some governments might have them both under the foreign department. In the past, the UK used to have international cooperation, overseas development assistance under the responsibility of foreign and Commonwealth office. So, there are different ways of structuring and I don’t think it should be assumed that the overall attitude and policies towards overseas development would also shift. Yet again, I can’t presume the policy decision of my government.

Speaking of UK’s government structure what are the various responsibilities of Foreign and Commonwealth office, DFID and the like, it could be a bit complicated?

Our foreign and Commonwealth office is basically our department of foreign affairs; the reason why we say Commonwealth is that as you know we want to

signal that the other common wealth countries are not exactly foreign to the UK. We regard the other 50 members of the Commonwealth as particularly close to us; perhaps not just as foreign, while our foreign office encompasses our relationship with all other foreign nations. We have an independent department for international development, DFID, which as the name implies, oversees most of our overseas development assistance work. Of course, there are aspects our overseas development activities which are conducted by other governmental departments including the department of foreign and Commonwealth office, department of environment, food and rural affairs providing assistance in their particular areas of competence and expertise.

The Commonwealth countries, which are mostly former British colonies, are not particularly regarded as foreign so with regards to new platforms like UK-African investment forum what is going to be the status of the African nation which are also members of the Commonwealth?

You have to know that not all of the Commonwealth nations are former British colonies; for instance, in Africa the like of Mozambique and Rwanda, which are members of the Commonwealth, were

never administered by colonial Britain. But, with regard to the forum there will not be any disparities. The Commonwealth is an entirely free association of independent member states; there are 19 of them in African and 34 spread elsewhere in the world. It is very much not an exclusive association; as there are some things that the association might decide to do as a whole or in smaller groups. They are pretty much free to seek any form of association and grouping to choose to conduct their business.

Lastly, with the new administration in the UK largely believed to be one to deliver Brexit after two years, can we say UK’s renewed investment interest in Africa is some sort of a response to its now assured departure from the European common market?

The best way to look at this is our leaving the EU will make as freer to look for market links elsewhere in the world. So, this is an opportunity to seek partnerships in Africa as in anywhere in the world. That is certainly part of the picture and undoubtedly we will be more driven to build partnerships around the world. But, the imperatives of partnerships in Africa, as I described it, was there anyway; regardless of Brexit. But, Brexit certainly leaves us freer to pursue these goals.

REKINDLING AFRICA . . .



CONT`D FROM PAGE 27

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CONT`D FROM PAGE 1

CONT`D FROM PAGE 26

with global recessions. As the year comes to a close, real GDP growth in the US is tracking below two percent, and the 2020 growth forecasts for the eurozone and Japan are less than one percent. In other words, the major developed economies are not only flirting with overvalued financial markets and still relying on a failed monetary-policy strategy, but they are also lacking a growth cushion just when they may need it most.

In such a vulnerable world, it would not take much to spark the crisis of 2020. Notwithstanding the risks of playing the fool’s game, three “Ps” are at the top of my list of concerns: protectionism, populism, and political dysfunction. An enduring tilt toward protectionism is particularly troubling, especially in the aftermath of a vacuous “phase one” trade accord between the US and China. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Hindu nation” crusade in India could well be the most disturbing development in a global swing toward populism. And the great American impeachment saga takes Washington’s political dysfunction further into uncharted territory.

Quite possibly, the spark will be something else – or maybe there won’t be any shock at all. But the diagnosis of vulnerability needs to be taken seriously, especially because it can be validated from three perspectives – real economies, financial asset prices, and misguided monetary policy. Throw a shock into that mix and the crisis of 2020 will quickly be at hand.

Ed.’s Note: Stephen S. Roach, a faculty member at Yale University and former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, is the author of Unbalanced: The Codependency of America and China. The article is provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives in our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

The crisis of . . .

Waste management . . .

Parliament approves . . .

Empty gestures . . .

to outcompete fossil fuels. That is the real way to help fight climate change.

Ed.’s Note: Bjørn Lomborg, a visiting professor at the Copenhagen Business School, is Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center. The article is provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives in our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science and culture. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of The Reporter.

are working at expanding the city’s sewage network. The organization is also hoping to decrease the problem by increasing 700 different communal toilers.

Tadessa Abera (MD), Director of Pan Ethiopia (NGO), on his part told The Reporter that waste management generated in Ethiopia does to a very limited extent contribute to climate change; however, it is directly being related to human health. The waste that is collected and not handled well becomes a breeding ground for bacteria that can lead to contamination. However, if the waste is segregated properly and it could be used, if not it can contaminate the soil, water and air. Tadesse told The Reporter that the infamous koshe, which is the major dump site in Addis Ababa, ignites fire and smoke on its own, which can in a very small amount contribute to climate change compared to developed countries. However,

the impact on human health is direct and very harmful. Since the collections of waste in Addis Ababa is not very organized, both hazardous (industrial and pharmaceutical waste) and non-hazardous (household waste) waste is usually mixed when it is collected. This causes major air pollution as well as pollutes the soil and water. This leads to polluting vegetables that the society consumes. Tadessa stressed that unsystematic waste management is directly linked to environment pollution and health issues.

Ethiopia is being attentive to these issues and working towards solutions. One of these is the Climate Resilient Green Economy. This focus on achieving a middle income country by 2025 as well as developing a green economy. The climate resilient green economy strategy also facilitates greater collaboration amongst climate change and economic development in a sustainable

manner.

Bearing in mind, climate change will affect African countries harder than other countries in the world, more needs to be done. Starting from waste-management, Ethiopia has a lot more that needs to be done.

There should be involvement of the youth and community at the grassroots level. People need to be enlightened about the dangers of improper waste management and the repercussions of climate change, experts say. And hence, adequate sensitization should be done for the general public especially the local communities. The experts argue this is one of the areas NGOs come in and contribute. For example, the Climate Action Group has been doing that in some countries like Nigeria and is making arrangement to launch such campaign in Ethiopia.

Ed.’s Note: Sesina Hailou is on an internship at The Reporter.

During the 7th regular session of the House held on Tuesday, MPs held discussions on a report presented by the Natural Resource, Irrigation and Energy Standing Committee, to whom it was referred to in November, for revisions.

Dubbed “The agreement between the government of Ethiopia and Djibouti on the transit of natural gas pipeline ratification proclamation,” the deal grants Ethiopia full ownership and title over the natural gas in the pipeline.

Explaining the draft bill to help approve the agreement signed, Fetiha Yusuf, the chairwoman of the Standing Committee told the House that the draft bill was well-crafted and based on international standards that will insure the benefits of the signatory parties. In addition

she noted that this will generate a much needed foreign currency.

She further elaborated that the agreement consists of the necessary modalities that will enable the two countries resolve any challenges that may occur in the future. Furthermore, it contains provisions to take cases to international tribunes should they fail to resolve possible disputes.

Having heard the standing committees report, MPs have endorsed the bill unequivocally.

It is to be remembered that Ethiopia found extensive gas deposits in its Eastern Ogaden Basin in the 1970s. China’s POLY-GCL Petroleum Investments has been developing the Calub and Hilala fields there, since signing a production sharing deal with Ethiopia in 2013. It was even announced that the volume of

the discovery, is estimated to be up to 7 to 8 billion cubic trillion feet (TFC) in the Somali regional state.

The agreement between Djibouti and Ethiopia comes more than a year after POLY-GCL signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Djibouti to invest USD 4 billion to build the pipeline, a liquefaction plant and an export terminal to be located in Damerjog, near the country’s border with Somalia.

In February, it was disclosed that Ethiopia, expects over USD one billion in annual income by selling gas to the global market.

According to the deal, the 700 kilometer stretch of the pipeline will be installed in Ethiopian territory, while 65 kilometers of the pipeline will be built within Djiboutian territory.

several other governments to follow suit, on the grounds that democracies must protect access to data about their citizens, and prevent it from being used in ways that undermine democracy. But if that is the case, Western governments should immediately take equally vigorous action against Facebook and Google.

Ed.’s Note: Ngaire Woods is Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. The article is provided to The Reporter by Project Syndicate: the world’s pre-eminent source of original op-ed commentaries. Project Syndicate provides incisive perspectives in our changing world by those who are shaping its politics, economics, science and culture. The views expressed in this article do not

Reporter.

Is Huawei really . . .





SNAPSHOTS

MEDIA DISCOURSE Addis Wog is a periodical platform for a cultured and scholarly dialogue, falling under the auspices of the

was on the media in Ethiopia, which many assume to be highly polarized and biased, and needing much attention and assistance to bring quality news content to the Ethiopia audience.



SNAPSHOTS

Pho

to B

y: T

he R

epor

ter /

Dan

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IT Assistant

General Description:

standards for helpdesk service. Additional tasks include IT training for clients, asset management, and hardware repairs. This role requires frequent interaction with clients, desk-side IT coaching, and has a limited network administrator role. This is an entry level, IT support role where candidates are expected to have at least 3 years of experience. Recent university graduates who have attained a bachelor’s degree in areas of IT or related disciplines, are encouraged to submit CVs for consideration.

French.

Duties and Accountabilities: Provides standard support for mobile devices including smart phones,

tablets and laptops computers.

troubleshooting.

software. Ensures that World Bank information and IT systems are protected in

a manner consistent with information security policy, procedures and standards.

Provides direction, support and training to clients. Helps clients solve IT problems.

Facilitates preparation for videoconferences and other collaborative activities, such as Webex sessions.

Manages all local IT assets and assists clients to manage data.

Essential Competencies: Information Technology diploma or university degree, preferably

in Computer Science or related area, plus a minimum of 3 years of experience providing IT support or facilitating IT training in an end-user environment.

Expresses thoughts and ideas effectively in oral and written communications in English.

Works with technical material and translates material into layperson’s terms.

Ability to analyze information and draw accurate conclusions.

Ability to apply problem solving strategies to evaluate and solve problems effectively.

Copes effectively and is productive under normal work stress.

Shows an understanding of other people’s concerns, motives, feelings, strengths, and limitations.

Ability to work cooperatively and collaboratively in a virtual team environment.

dealing with clients in a variety of situations.

Ability to provide basic assistance and training to other staff members.

below to apply for the position. CV and written messages should be submitted in English. Only selected candidates will be contacted. The deadline for applications is Jan 03, 2020.

To apply, please follow these directions:Go to www.worldbank.org then near the bottom select: ‘ under ‘For

Scroll down to middle and select link to Explore our ‘Current Openings’.Under ‘Career Opportunities’, you will see all available vacancies in the job site. In the box ‘Keyword or ReqID’ enter Req5416 then Search. The vacancy for Ethiopia will appear, select it and then follow process under ‘Apply Now’.

Lot n°1 Toyota Land Cruiser - Model HZJ78L- RJMRSV Code - 14975Lot n°2 Toyota Land Cruiser - Model HZJ78L- RJMRSV Code - 15043 Lot n°3 Toyota Land Cruiser - Model HZJ78L- RJMRSV Code - 15044Lot n°4 Toyota Land Cruiser - Model HZJ78L- RJMRSV Code - 15112 Lot n°5 Toyota Land Cruiser - Model HZJ78L- RJMRSV Code - 15113Lot n°6 Renault Duster - Model 1.5 DCI 4X4 Code - 15350 Lot n°7 Renault Duster - Model 1.5 DCI 4X4 Code - 15351Lot n°8 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21644 Lot n°9 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21645Lot n°10 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21646Lot n°11 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21647Lot n°12 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21648Lot n°13 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21649Lot n°14 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21650Lot n°15 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21651Lot n°16 Peugeot Partner - Model 1.6 HDI 16V 92 Code - 21652Lot n°17 Zordan Diesel Generator - Model MDE 6.5LY Code - 81680Lot n°18 Zordan Diesel Generato - Model MDE 6.5LY Code - 81866Lot n°19 Zordan Diesel Generator - Model MDE 6.5LY Code - 81932Lot n°20 Zordan Diesel Generator - Model MDE 6.5LY Code - 82365

ATTENTION!!! ALL THE ITEMS ANNOUNCED FOR SALE ARE TAX & DUTY UNPAID

CONDITIONS AND PROCEDURES:

All vehicles are sold in their present condition (“as is & where is”) on the basis of no guarantee or warranty given as to condition of usability.

Lots cannot be divided and price should be submitted for each lot as a whole.

The auction winner or buyer will be responsible to pay taxes custom duties and other charges of public nature levied by the government and must be paid to the government when assessed, Except Organizations or Companies with duty free privilege. ICRC bears no responsibility for these charges in any manner.

All Lots can be viewed during working hours from Monday December 30th 2019 to Friday January 3rd 2020, 4:00 PM at the ICRC Logistic Unit (see above mentioned address).

Everybody interested in bidding for the assets, submit their offer in a sealed Envelope marked before Friday January 3rd, 2020 at 4:00 PM at ICRC logistic Unit.

The opening of the bids is not public, it will take place within

ICRC Delegation in Ethiopia has the right to reject any or all bids without explaining the reason.

Each bidder has to deposit 10% of the offered bid amount, by the name of International Committee of The Red Cross as a bid bond, by CPO cheque, which will be deducted from the sales price.

Full payment and sales agreement must be done within 15 days after the auction closing date. Tax and duties must be done within 30 days after the auction closing date. Handover

mentioned formalities. The bid bond will not be refunded if the auction winner doesn’t

of 15 days after auction result announcement date (will result in forfeiture of the bid bond deposit).

The deposit for the non-winners will be refunded after the announcement of the auction result.

Detail of assets is available on request at ICRC Logistic Unit. Anybody who does not agree with the above mentioned

conditions and procedures shall not bid. Here is the auction notice draft for your review.

International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC

Addis Ababa Bole Sub City Kebele 12/13 Gurdshola around Agricultural Research Institute Tel.: +251 011 647 83 00Fax: +251 011 647 83 01





US officeBox

C r o s s w o r d

Your Zodiacs (astrology-online.com)

Kun

cho

Kom

men

tsACROSS

1. Dishes out

6. Unit of land

10. Exclamation of relief

14. Decree

15. Accomplishes

16. Employ

17. Acts as an agent

19. Gumbo

20. Results

21. Fury

22. Lascivious look

23. Variety show

25. Geeky

26. Stitches

30. Pictures

32. Killer wave

35. Widow

39. Dangerous

40. Small northern whale

41. Despair

43. Control surface on a plane

44. Sullenly

46. Twice-baked bread

47. Begin

50. Choose by voting

53. Emanation

54. Bleat

55. By mouth

60. Boast

61. Extraneous

63. River of Spain

64. Foliage

65. Comment to the audience

66. A soft sheepskin leather

67. At one time (archaic)

68. Anagram of "Dimes"

DOWN

1. No more than

2. Biblical garden

3. Rewards for waiting

4. Beige

5. Drive

6. Citrus drink

7. The genus of hemlock

8. A remolded tire

9. Existence

10. Middleman

11. A foot traveller

12. Made a mistake

13. Tired

18. South southeast

24. 7 in Roman numerals

25. Handrail post

26. An upright in a wall

27. Feudal worker

28. Wimp

29. Showy bloom

31. Mongolian desert

33. In progress

34. List of options

36. Mentor

37. Prima donna problems

38. Relative status

42. Escapist

43. Yes to a sailor

45. Andean animals

47. Cavalry weapon

48. Engine supercharger

49. A kind of macaw

51. Small portable bed

52. Step

54. Digestive juice

56. Backside

57. 53 in Roman numerals

58. Boys

59. The original matter (cosmology)

62. Astern

1Rise of Skywalker

2Jumanji: The Next Level

3

4Cats

5Knives Out

6Bombshell

7Richard Jewell

8Queen & Slim

9Ford v Ferrari

10Black Christmas

Aries

You can expect to feel emotionally ready for something new, Aries. You could already be on the verge of creating this for yourself. Maybe, you aren't quite sure what it is that needs a little refreshing in your life. Take some time today to slow down your pace and breathe.

Taurus

You couldn't feel more ready to start the goals you are planning, Taurus. Try not to let yourself fall into an anxious feeling though. Everything happens when it's time, no matter how much you try to force it otherwise. Learn to breathe into your patience and let go of the stress that accumulates within you.

Gemini

This weekend could have you feeling overwhelmed with excitement, Gemini. When you get a spark of inspiration, you don't like to sit on it long. That is why today you may spend with your creative side just trying to work out the kinks. This will absolutely help calm your nerves and thoughts down in the process. In turn, helping you to see your end goal more clearly than you had in the beginning.

CancerThere isn't much room for negativity in your world right now, Cancer. And what a wonderful feeling that is! You are at peace, and feel as though everything is under control and where it should be. Try not to put too much pressure on keep control of things though. This may only hinder your process in the end. LeoThere is more to you than meets the eye, Leo. Many only see the outer shell you put out into the world, only your closest friends and relatives get to see the compassionate and generous side to you. Allow yourself to drop your guards down a little this weekend. Show the world your soft side.VirgoYour life will feel as if it is unravelling beautifully before your eyes, Virgo. You feel completely at home within yourself and your surroundings. This feeling propels you to new heights. It is the perfect time for you to take risks because you can do so with

There are many uncertainties in life, but you are about to uncover some real rarities in the coming months.

LibraThis is the time of year when you become extremely sentimental, Libra. There are so many endings and beginnings around this time. You almost can't help but shed a tear or two. This weekend is a good time

as well as looking ahead to see just exactly where you are headed. ScorpioRemember to be expressive, Scorpio. Sometimes you get so lost in your own head that it makes you seem

Remember to stay present and let your walls down a bit this weekend. This is a time for love and peace as well as incredible inspiration for you. SagittariusIf you decided to take a trip this weekend Sagittarius, then you are probably well on your way to happiness.

world today. Even if it is just a mental escape. Any small adventure will do you some good. You are about to refresh your mind-set with this next moon cycle. Some serious revelations could take hold of you, guiding you toward your higher self.

CapricornThis is a beautiful time for you, Capricorn. Not only because it's the end of another year but because

moment. You may not be the most sentimental person in the world, but you do care for those that you have in your life. Spend some time today showing your appreciation for these people.Aquarius

year, and a lot has changed. It will do you immense good to remember just how far you have come. Remember all the ups and downs you went through and how much you've grown. PiscesThis may not be the easiest time to fall into your psychic abilities, Pisces. Not saying you shouldn't try; it just may be a little harder than usual. There is so much grounding energy that is calling you. Instead, you are meant to spend time on the earthly side of things taking care of your house, pets and other minor details you sometimes neglect. Bring yourself back down to earth and fall into a nice comfort zone.

Hey Dad, school gave

me a couple of weeks off.

Why on earth did

they do that?That's also obvious! I’ll

eat lots of food irresponsibly

and spend most of the time in the

lavatory.

SPO

T TH

E D

IFFE

REN

CES

Can you spot the 12 differences between the two pictures? SOLUTION

Oh it is obvious; it's because of the upcoming

Christmas holiday.

And why do you need a

couple of weeks’ vacation?

LEISURE



SPORT

By Dawit Tolesa

Match week five of the Ethiopian Premier League (EPL) is set to take place across the country this weekend. From the standout fixtures, Mekele City will host Welwalo Adigrat University while Hawassa City faces Sidama Coffee and Sebeta play against Fasil City.

The last fixtures of the 2019 calendar year will be staged mostly in regional stadiums. Placed second on the league, Mekele City faces a stern test from a visiting Welwalo Adigrat University side, which currently tops the table. Mekele, having played four league games, have collected seven points managing to win 2 matches, drawing one and losing one.

Welwalo, currently on form, have won three of their opening matches dropping only two points, topping the league with 10 points. Managed by former national team Coach Yohannes Sahle drew with St. George in Addis Ababa Stadium.

The Tigray derby, between Mekele City and Welwalo, even though early in the season, will be decisive to take command of the league.

In another derby, Hawassa City is preparing to host Sidama Coffee. Placed fifth on the league table with six points, Hawassa have won two matches, drawn one and lost one. Meanwhile, Sidama Coffee has managed to win two matches, draw two and is placed six on the table. Sidama, lost to Mekele City 2-1

ending a consecutive unbeaten home form.

On the contrary, struggling to maintain a consistent run of form since last season, 14 title winners St. George take on Jimma City. The horsemen have only managed to win one match, and drawing the rest. Placed eighth with six points, it is crucial to win the match against Jimma who are flirting with relegation with only three points to show for.

In other news, several clubs are faced with a financial crisis and players are also complaining about monthly salary payouts, The Reporter has learnt. It is to be recalled that, the Sports Commission, the Ethiopian

Football Federation and Club representatives agreed on a salary cap of 50,000 birr per month. Following the final discussions held, 12 EPL clubs agreed on the proposed salary cap.

Nonetheless, various players are complaining about the salary cap and some club players are even resisting to play for their clubs. It is rumored that many clubs have signed players based on a mutual agreement without a salary cap. Sources told The Reporter that several clubs have not paid players a salary for three to five months. From 16 participating clubs, Bahir Dar City, Welwalo, Hossana Hadiya, Adama City and Suhul Shire have not

paid three and five months’ salary. In this regard, four of Suhul Shire players have opted not to travel with the team. It was stated that club administrators were unable to solve the problem and due to this reason, in collaboration with Players Association, the players are planning to take the issue to the courts. According to EFF deputy president Awol Abduramin, they are taking considerations to solve the problem, in the coming weeks, after holding discussions with the clubs.

It is to be recalled that, the decision to implement a salary cap came due to an improper financial flow going towards players. A research conducted found out that many clubs were unable to balance their annual budget leading them into crisis. It was pointed out that millions of birr is spent on salary, transportation and hotel expenses.

According to the research, all clubs across the country spend about 2.2 billion birr a year. Mainly funded by the government, clubs depend on the budget allotted to them. More than 95 percent of EPL clubs expenses are funded by the government since they are managed by City Administrations.

It is to be recalled that in the 2018/19 EPL season, Dedebit Football club announced that it will not participate in the league due to financial problems. The club mentioned that it is unable to cover the clubs expenses including players’ monthly salaries and benefits.

Regional stadiums host key

Saturday 28/12/2019

Woliata Dicha vs. Wolkite City

Suhul Shire vs. Adama City

Hawasa City vs. Sidama Coffee

Jimma City vs. St. George

Dire Dawa City vs. Ethiopia Coffee

Hadiya Hossana vs. Bahir Dar

Ethiopian Premier League

Sunday 29/12/2019

Sebeta City vs. Fasil CityMekele City vs. Welwalo Adigrat University



DESIGN & PUBLISHER MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS CENTRE (MCC) PRINTED BY BERHANENA SELAM PRINTING ENTERPRISE

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