A Saudi Arabian businessman Sheikh Hani Yamani said he is keen to invest in tourism in Ethiopia.
After conferring with President Girma Woldegirogis at the national palace on Monday, Yamani said he is prepared to establish tourism investment on a big scale and also in livestock and meat industries. Yamani said feasibility and other relevant studies get underway for him to set foot in Ethiopia with a range of projects.
Yamani is owner to numerous businesses around the world in tourism, catering and other industries. Now he looks to Ethiopia as an auspicious investment destination with an immense market potentials. [Read more..]
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Somalia: Eritrea's hope to destabilize Ethiopia by using Somalia’s conflict failed--Ambassador (Sh.M.Network)
Somalia: Eritrea's hope to destabilize Ethiopia by using Somalia’s conflict failed--Ambassador
Aweys Osman YusufMogadishu 28, Feb.07
( Sh.M.Network) Somalia's struggle to form a unified government after 15 years of clan warfare is achieving success, after the TFG and Ethiopian forces drove away the UIC and other destabilizing forces harbored there, said a U.S. diplomat. This joint victory of last December also withered away Eritrea's hopes of destabilizing Ethiopia.
Ambassador Vicky Huddleston who recently served for 15 months as U.S. acting ambassador to Ethiopia told Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on February 22 in Washington that Eritrea, hoped to use the conflict in Somalia to destabilize Ethiopia, which the government in Asmara sees as its arch enemy Ethiopia. "But this tactic failed."
Huddleston said Eritrea is a country not contributing to stability in Somalia.
She said Somalia's struggle to form a government after 15 years of clan warfare is achieving success thanks to partners in the Horn of Africa region like Ethiopia and with help from the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the United States.
Huddleston told the CFR audience that the Ethiopian government was instrumental in "pressing for dialogue" between the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Islamic Courts Council (ICC), a radical Islamist movement that had wrested control of Somalia until driven from power by a coalition of TFG and Ethiopian forces in December 2006 after talks failed.
Before that victory, she said, "many warned that if Ethiopia intervened on behalf of the transitional government it would fuel a wider war. They were all wrong," Huddleston told the CFR panel.Now "Ethiopia's and the Somali government's surprisingly easy victories have given Somalia -- and the West -- a second chance to get things right," said Huddleston.
As it stands now, "we do have a success in Somalia," the diplomat said. After cooperating with the TFG to remove the ICC threat, she said, "About one-third of the Ethiopian troops have already withdrawn. There will be a second phase and third phase of withdrawal that hopefully will coincide with the arrival of AU peacekeepers."
Nations that volunteered troops for the AU force in a move recently approved by the U.N. Security Council include Uganda, Burundi and "possibly Nigeria and Tanzania," Huddleston told the panel.
The United Nations approved a force of 8,000 peacekeepers, of which about 4,000 have been pledged so far, she said.
The United States will support the deployment by providing 15 million US dollars for airlift and other logistics, she added.
"A window of opportunity" has opened in Somalia, Huddleston said, and added that "before the Islamists close it by disrupting efforts to stabilize Mogadishu … strong U.S. leadership will prevent Somalia from becoming a haven for al-Qaida terrorism in Africa."She said Somalis themselves are working to achieve national unity, especially on the military level and added that about 10,000 Somalis have been merged into a TFG security force representing all the clans.
This is important, she said, because "in the end, whether Somalia succeeds or not will depend on all Somalis" and their ability to govern themselves and provide their own security.(Nazret)
Shabelle Media Network SomaliaE-mail us: info@shabelle.net
Aweys Osman YusufMogadishu 28, Feb.07
( Sh.M.Network) Somalia's struggle to form a unified government after 15 years of clan warfare is achieving success, after the TFG and Ethiopian forces drove away the UIC and other destabilizing forces harbored there, said a U.S. diplomat. This joint victory of last December also withered away Eritrea's hopes of destabilizing Ethiopia.
Ambassador Vicky Huddleston who recently served for 15 months as U.S. acting ambassador to Ethiopia told Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on February 22 in Washington that Eritrea, hoped to use the conflict in Somalia to destabilize Ethiopia, which the government in Asmara sees as its arch enemy Ethiopia. "But this tactic failed."
Huddleston said Eritrea is a country not contributing to stability in Somalia.
She said Somalia's struggle to form a government after 15 years of clan warfare is achieving success thanks to partners in the Horn of Africa region like Ethiopia and with help from the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the United States.
Huddleston told the CFR audience that the Ethiopian government was instrumental in "pressing for dialogue" between the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Islamic Courts Council (ICC), a radical Islamist movement that had wrested control of Somalia until driven from power by a coalition of TFG and Ethiopian forces in December 2006 after talks failed.
Before that victory, she said, "many warned that if Ethiopia intervened on behalf of the transitional government it would fuel a wider war. They were all wrong," Huddleston told the CFR panel.Now "Ethiopia's and the Somali government's surprisingly easy victories have given Somalia -- and the West -- a second chance to get things right," said Huddleston.
As it stands now, "we do have a success in Somalia," the diplomat said. After cooperating with the TFG to remove the ICC threat, she said, "About one-third of the Ethiopian troops have already withdrawn. There will be a second phase and third phase of withdrawal that hopefully will coincide with the arrival of AU peacekeepers."
Nations that volunteered troops for the AU force in a move recently approved by the U.N. Security Council include Uganda, Burundi and "possibly Nigeria and Tanzania," Huddleston told the panel.
The United Nations approved a force of 8,000 peacekeepers, of which about 4,000 have been pledged so far, she said.
The United States will support the deployment by providing 15 million US dollars for airlift and other logistics, she added.
"A window of opportunity" has opened in Somalia, Huddleston said, and added that "before the Islamists close it by disrupting efforts to stabilize Mogadishu … strong U.S. leadership will prevent Somalia from becoming a haven for al-Qaida terrorism in Africa."She said Somalis themselves are working to achieve national unity, especially on the military level and added that about 10,000 Somalis have been merged into a TFG security force representing all the clans.
This is important, she said, because "in the end, whether Somalia succeeds or not will depend on all Somalis" and their ability to govern themselves and provide their own security.(Nazret)
Shabelle Media Network SomaliaE-mail us: info@shabelle.net
Aluto-Langano Geothermal Power Pilot Project to get finalized in four months (Walta)
Addis Ababa, February 22, 2007 (WIC) - The Aluto-Langano Geothermal Power Pilot Project that has been under rehabilitation and expansion with over 26.6 million birr to generate 30 MW would be finalized within four months, the project coordinator disclosed.
Geothermal Project Coordinator with EEPCo, Mulugeta Asaye,said the project which failed to operate due to technical reasons after being finalized in 1998 is being upgraded to generate 30 MW instead of the initially planned 8 MW.
A feasibility study that has been underway in Tendaho area of Afar State with close to 2.5 million birr, in accordance with the agreement reached between the governments of Ethiopia and USA, is also nearing completion, according to Mulugeta.
Aluto-Langano and Tendaho are the major geothermal projects expected to generate power in the foreseeable future, he said, adding that there are about 16 geothermal prospects identified in the country.
According to the coordinator, project proposals have been submitted to the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo) so as to obtain the necessary fund to construct power generation stations particularly in Tendaho and Aluto-Lanagano. ARGeo has promised that Ethiopia would be one of the countries whose proposals would be approved first, Mulugeta said.
Ethiopia has the second largest geothermal resources in Africa and the greatest geothermal potential of Africa is within the East African Rift Valley that runs across Ethiopia for nearly 1,000kms where a number of feasibility studies are currently underway, it was learnt.
Source: Walta Information Center
Geothermal Project Coordinator with EEPCo, Mulugeta Asaye,said the project which failed to operate due to technical reasons after being finalized in 1998 is being upgraded to generate 30 MW instead of the initially planned 8 MW.
A feasibility study that has been underway in Tendaho area of Afar State with close to 2.5 million birr, in accordance with the agreement reached between the governments of Ethiopia and USA, is also nearing completion, according to Mulugeta.
Aluto-Langano and Tendaho are the major geothermal projects expected to generate power in the foreseeable future, he said, adding that there are about 16 geothermal prospects identified in the country.
According to the coordinator, project proposals have been submitted to the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo) so as to obtain the necessary fund to construct power generation stations particularly in Tendaho and Aluto-Lanagano. ARGeo has promised that Ethiopia would be one of the countries whose proposals would be approved first, Mulugeta said.
Ethiopia has the second largest geothermal resources in Africa and the greatest geothermal potential of Africa is within the East African Rift Valley that runs across Ethiopia for nearly 1,000kms where a number of feasibility studies are currently underway, it was learnt.
Source: Walta Information Center
Starbucks stirred by fair trade film as Ethiopia launches fair trade campaign
Addis Ababa, January 29, 2007 (WIC) – Ethiopia has launched its campaign of securing a fair price for its internationally famous varieties of coffee in London today,the Guardian Unlimited reported.
The campaign was launched while Taddese Meskella,spokesman for the east African country's impoverished coffee growers,met British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Taddese’s meeting with Blair will be accompanied by a screening of the film Black Gold - a movie on the global coffee industry - to MPs at Westminster,who will also be addressed by the Ethiopian ambassador to Britain.
The spokesman,Tadesse Meskela, who is the subject of Black Gold,together with the film's English makers, brothers Nick and Marc Francis,are a serious irritant to some of the world's coffee giants - in particular Seattle-based Starbucks, whose annual turnover of $7.8bn (£4bn) is not much lower than Ethiopia's entire gross domestic product,the newspaper said.
Taddese runs the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union,representing about 105,000 coffee growers,and struggles to get the best price - although it is nowhere near high enough to earn them a decent living.
He said the country's premium coffees - Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harar - can sell for fair trade export at about $1.60 a pound. After deducting costs, the growers get about $1.10. Roasters can sell the coffee on at $20-26 per pound. Coffee retailers make about 52 espressos from a pound of coffee, worth up to $160 a pound.
"This ratio needs to change," Taddese told the Guardian during a visit to London. "Our people are barefoot, have no school, no clean water or health centre.They are living hand to mouth.We need $4 a pound minimum,that's only fair."
Black Gold shows malnourished coffee growers depending on handouts of food from the United States to stave off starvation.The documentary has already been released in the US and goes on general release in Britain in April.
But what of Starbucks,who are opening about 2,000 cafes a year and have put messages on their website saying Black Gold "incompletely represents the work Starbucks is doing"?
"Starbucks may help bring clear water for one community but this does not solve the problem.In 2005, Starbucks' aid to the third world was $1.5m.We don't want this kind of support,we just want a better price.They make huge profits; giving us just one payment of money does not help," said Tadesse.
He already has the backing of Ed Balls,economic secretary to the Treasury.Balls said: "Delivering trade justice is not just morally right,it is an economic necessity for Tadesse and the farmers.
"We urgently need the WTO talks to start again so that we can make good our promise to deliver trade justice for Tadesse and millions of others in the world's poorest countries."
Starbucks told the Guardian it is paying premium prices to farmers in poor countries,well above the average market price.The pictures of smiling Ethiopians in its cafes,however,belie the reality shown in Black Gold.
Source: Walta Information Center
The campaign was launched while Taddese Meskella,spokesman for the east African country's impoverished coffee growers,met British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Taddese’s meeting with Blair will be accompanied by a screening of the film Black Gold - a movie on the global coffee industry - to MPs at Westminster,who will also be addressed by the Ethiopian ambassador to Britain.
The spokesman,Tadesse Meskela, who is the subject of Black Gold,together with the film's English makers, brothers Nick and Marc Francis,are a serious irritant to some of the world's coffee giants - in particular Seattle-based Starbucks, whose annual turnover of $7.8bn (£4bn) is not much lower than Ethiopia's entire gross domestic product,the newspaper said.
Taddese runs the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union,representing about 105,000 coffee growers,and struggles to get the best price - although it is nowhere near high enough to earn them a decent living.
He said the country's premium coffees - Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harar - can sell for fair trade export at about $1.60 a pound. After deducting costs, the growers get about $1.10. Roasters can sell the coffee on at $20-26 per pound. Coffee retailers make about 52 espressos from a pound of coffee, worth up to $160 a pound.
"This ratio needs to change," Taddese told the Guardian during a visit to London. "Our people are barefoot, have no school, no clean water or health centre.They are living hand to mouth.We need $4 a pound minimum,that's only fair."
Black Gold shows malnourished coffee growers depending on handouts of food from the United States to stave off starvation.The documentary has already been released in the US and goes on general release in Britain in April.
But what of Starbucks,who are opening about 2,000 cafes a year and have put messages on their website saying Black Gold "incompletely represents the work Starbucks is doing"?
"Starbucks may help bring clear water for one community but this does not solve the problem.In 2005, Starbucks' aid to the third world was $1.5m.We don't want this kind of support,we just want a better price.They make huge profits; giving us just one payment of money does not help," said Tadesse.
He already has the backing of Ed Balls,economic secretary to the Treasury.Balls said: "Delivering trade justice is not just morally right,it is an economic necessity for Tadesse and the farmers.
"We urgently need the WTO talks to start again so that we can make good our promise to deliver trade justice for Tadesse and millions of others in the world's poorest countries."
Starbucks told the Guardian it is paying premium prices to farmers in poor countries,well above the average market price.The pictures of smiling Ethiopians in its cafes,however,belie the reality shown in Black Gold.
Source: Walta Information Center
Egypt denies training Somali Islamists (AFP)
ADDIS ABABA -- Egypt Tuesday became the latest in a string of countries to deny accusations by UN experts of violating a 1992 arms embargo on Somalia by training gunmen loyal to a powerful Islamic movement.
Cairo slammed allegations that its military officers trained Islamic fighters as "fallacious and untenable" and expressed shock about the authors' ignorance of Egypt's policy toward Somalia.
In a statement released by its embassy in Addis Ababa, the foreign ministry spokesman "expressed his shock and strong dismay at the inclusion of such totally fallacious and untenable allegations in UN reports prepared by Western experts, whose political affiliations are unknown."
The report, prepared for the United Nations Security Council, "reflects the stark ignorance of those experts about the facts and the premises of Egypt's policy toward Somalia," the statement said.
The UN report paints a grim picture of illegal militarization in Somalia, where the Islamists and weak government are now on the brink of all-out war that many fear could engulf the Horn of Africa region in conflict.
In their 80-page report, the UN experts accuse Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia of supplying weapons to the Islamists, many with Eritrean assistance.
They said that Ethiopia, Uganda and Yemen are providing weapons and troops to the government and that the potential exists for Somalia to become a proxy battleground for arch-foes Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Of all the named countries, only Ethiopia has admitted sending military advisors to help the government but flatly denied sending thousands of troops to protect the feeble administration.
Asmara has dismissed the report's proxy war suggestion as a "fairytale" and said that its conclusions were part of a US-backed plot.
Cairo, which has already protested to the UN, said that it had "presented evidence on the neutrality of Egypt's policy toward Somalia, and on its eagerness to restoring security and stability to all the Somali territories as soon as possible."
Since they seized control of the capital, Mogadishu, in June, the Islamists have expanded their territory to include most of southern and central Somalia, where they have imposed strict Sharia law.
Somalia, a nation of about 10 million, has lacked a functioning central authority since the ousting in 1991 of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The transitional government, established in 2004, has proved incapable of restoring order.
Source: Middle East Times
Cairo slammed allegations that its military officers trained Islamic fighters as "fallacious and untenable" and expressed shock about the authors' ignorance of Egypt's policy toward Somalia.
In a statement released by its embassy in Addis Ababa, the foreign ministry spokesman "expressed his shock and strong dismay at the inclusion of such totally fallacious and untenable allegations in UN reports prepared by Western experts, whose political affiliations are unknown."
The report, prepared for the United Nations Security Council, "reflects the stark ignorance of those experts about the facts and the premises of Egypt's policy toward Somalia," the statement said.
The UN report paints a grim picture of illegal militarization in Somalia, where the Islamists and weak government are now on the brink of all-out war that many fear could engulf the Horn of Africa region in conflict.
In their 80-page report, the UN experts accuse Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah militia of supplying weapons to the Islamists, many with Eritrean assistance.
They said that Ethiopia, Uganda and Yemen are providing weapons and troops to the government and that the potential exists for Somalia to become a proxy battleground for arch-foes Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Of all the named countries, only Ethiopia has admitted sending military advisors to help the government but flatly denied sending thousands of troops to protect the feeble administration.
Asmara has dismissed the report's proxy war suggestion as a "fairytale" and said that its conclusions were part of a US-backed plot.
Cairo, which has already protested to the UN, said that it had "presented evidence on the neutrality of Egypt's policy toward Somalia, and on its eagerness to restoring security and stability to all the Somali territories as soon as possible."
Since they seized control of the capital, Mogadishu, in June, the Islamists have expanded their territory to include most of southern and central Somalia, where they have imposed strict Sharia law.
Somalia, a nation of about 10 million, has lacked a functioning central authority since the ousting in 1991 of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. The transitional government, established in 2004, has proved incapable of restoring order.
Source: Middle East Times
Ethiopian troops patrol in Somalia (Brocktown News)
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Hundreds of Ethiopian troops were patrolling a strategic road that leads to Somalia‘s government headquarters after a brief but intense firefight in the area this week, witnesses said Wednesday.
"At least 200 Ethiopian troops are carefully patrolling the road," said Yusuf Kheyre, a resident of Bardale district about 40 miles southwest of the southern town of Baidoa where the government is based.
Ethiopia acknowledges sending "military advisers" — not soldiers — to Somalia, although Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has threatened to send tens of thousands of troops across the border if the Council of Islamic Courts attacks.
Experts have warned Somalia has become a proxy battleground for Somalia‘s neighbors, Eritrea and Ethiopia. A confidential U.N. report obtained last month by the AP said 6,000 to 8,000 Ethiopian troops are in or near Somalia‘s border with Ethiopia, backing the interim government. The report also said 2,000 troops from Eritrea are inside Somalia supporting the Islamic movement.
The Islamic Courts, meanwhile, have steadily gained ground since taking over Mogadishu in June and now control much of southern Somalia.
The group‘s strict and often severe interpretation of Islam raises memories of Afghanistan ‘s Taliban, which was ousted by a U.S.-led campaign for harboring Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida fighters. The United States has accused Somalia‘s Islamic group of sheltering suspects in the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
"The detainees were watching an Indian film dubbed into Somali language," said Abdi Shardi, a cinema owner.
"The flood problem in Somalia is more than we can fix alone," said Sheik Nor Barud, a spokesman for the Islamic courts‘ flood relief committee. He said his group will protect relief workers in areas under Islamic control.
Associated Press Writer Salad Duhul contributed to this report.
Source: Brocktown News
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Hundreds of Ethiopian troops were patrolling a strategic road that leads to Somalia‘s government headquarters after a brief but intense firefight in the area this week, witnesses said Wednesday.
"At least 200 Ethiopian troops are carefully patrolling the road," said Yusuf Kheyre, a resident of Bardale district about 40 miles southwest of the southern town of Baidoa where the government is based.
Ethiopia acknowledges sending "military advisers" — not soldiers — to Somalia, although Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has threatened to send tens of thousands of troops across the border if the Council of Islamic Courts attacks.
Experts have warned Somalia has become a proxy battleground for Somalia‘s neighbors, Eritrea and Ethiopia. A confidential U.N. report obtained last month by the AP said 6,000 to 8,000 Ethiopian troops are in or near Somalia‘s border with Ethiopia, backing the interim government. The report also said 2,000 troops from Eritrea are inside Somalia supporting the Islamic movement.
The Islamic Courts, meanwhile, have steadily gained ground since taking over Mogadishu in June and now control much of southern Somalia.
The group‘s strict and often severe interpretation of Islam raises memories of Afghanistan ‘s Taliban, which was ousted by a U.S.-led campaign for harboring Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida fighters. The United States has accused Somalia‘s Islamic group of sheltering suspects in the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
"The detainees were watching an Indian film dubbed into Somali language," said Abdi Shardi, a cinema owner.
"The flood problem in Somalia is more than we can fix alone," said Sheik Nor Barud, a spokesman for the Islamic courts‘ flood relief committee. He said his group will protect relief workers in areas under Islamic control.
Associated Press Writer Salad Duhul contributed to this report.
Source: Brocktown News
Ethiopia issues new rules to monitor NGOs operations (Sudan Tribune)
Nov 22, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian government is putting in place a new system to regulate the activities of the NGOs working in the country, in order to closely control and evaluate their activities.
According to the new regulation, the NGOs operating in the country have to deal with the relevant governmental institutions in order to monitor their activities.
The Ethiopian minister of Justice Asefa Kesito said there are more than 3,000 local and international NGOs operating in the country, out of which some have been breaching their declared objectives, the pro-government WIC reported Tuesday.
He said the NGOs used to secure licenses without first signing implementation agreements with the concerned authorities. He further said that licenses could now be issued, if NGOs only fulfil the requirements set by a committee established last September.
Though there was a system through which the NGOs can be evaluated by submitting an audit report, the monitoring and supervision system was very loose, according to the minister.
Asefa elaborated that it was also very difficult to find out the type of work, amount of capital and place where the NGOs were operating, while the new system enables the relevant federal and regional offices to follow up their activities.
The new system will inform ministries in each sector about the activities to be undertaken by the NGOs and open their door for the monitoring and evaluation works, he added.
The number of NGOs that operated in Ethiopia from 1951 to 2005 stood at 1,656, whereas 1,567 NGOs were registered during the last three years alone.
Out of the 3,737 NGOs currently operating in the country at present 1,681 are local,262 foreign development organizations and the rest being faith based, professional, civic and others organizations.
Source: Sudan Tribune
According to the new regulation, the NGOs operating in the country have to deal with the relevant governmental institutions in order to monitor their activities.
The Ethiopian minister of Justice Asefa Kesito said there are more than 3,000 local and international NGOs operating in the country, out of which some have been breaching their declared objectives, the pro-government WIC reported Tuesday.
He said the NGOs used to secure licenses without first signing implementation agreements with the concerned authorities. He further said that licenses could now be issued, if NGOs only fulfil the requirements set by a committee established last September.
Though there was a system through which the NGOs can be evaluated by submitting an audit report, the monitoring and supervision system was very loose, according to the minister.
Asefa elaborated that it was also very difficult to find out the type of work, amount of capital and place where the NGOs were operating, while the new system enables the relevant federal and regional offices to follow up their activities.
The new system will inform ministries in each sector about the activities to be undertaken by the NGOs and open their door for the monitoring and evaluation works, he added.
The number of NGOs that operated in Ethiopia from 1951 to 2005 stood at 1,656, whereas 1,567 NGOs were registered during the last three years alone.
Out of the 3,737 NGOs currently operating in the country at present 1,681 are local,262 foreign development organizations and the rest being faith based, professional, civic and others organizations.
Source: Sudan Tribune
Great Ethiopian Run, Athletics Federation sign 100,000 br deal
By Groum Abate
Organizers of the 2006 TOYOTA Great Ethiopian Run, one of Africa 's biggest road races, are to sign a technical support contract with the Ethiopian Athletics Federation.
Sources told Capital that Haile G/Sellasie and Bisrat Gashaw Tena of the Federation are scheduled to sign the agreement today, November 12 th 2006. The technical support the federation is to give the Great Ethiopian Run would cost 100,000 birr, according to our sources.
For sometime there have been talks that the Great Ethiopian Run may not take place due to disagreement with the Athletics Federation. The later, is said to have claimed 50% from the total income of the event, which the organizers refused, stating that they do not make that much profit from the event, according to sources. After negotiations the two parties agreed for the organizers to pay a technical support fee of 100,000 birr to the federation based on the latter's technical support proposal.
Organizers of the event claim that they spend almost 200,000 birr annually for organizing the event. They say that the money goes to race publicity material and organization, which costs 56 birr per competitor, 21 birr less than the fee charged to the participant. The balance is covered by sponsors. The profit at the end would be used for publicity and other race organizations, according to the sources. It was reported that Sonia O'Sullivan will compete in this year's Great Ethio pian Run. “I have watched the race on TV before, and I know it's getting bigger every year,” said O'Sullivan, who has dual Irish and Australian nationality. “Having competed against Et hiopia 's top athletes over the years, I'm lo oking forward to visiting the country for the first time and re newing friendships.”
Olympic champwions Hicham EI Guerrouj and Carolina Kluft will be in attendance, although not competing.
Twenty-five thousand participants have already registered for the l0 km race scheduled for 26 November.
Source: Capital
Organizers of the 2006 TOYOTA Great Ethiopian Run, one of Africa 's biggest road races, are to sign a technical support contract with the Ethiopian Athletics Federation.
Sources told Capital that Haile G/Sellasie and Bisrat Gashaw Tena of the Federation are scheduled to sign the agreement today, November 12 th 2006. The technical support the federation is to give the Great Ethiopian Run would cost 100,000 birr, according to our sources.
For sometime there have been talks that the Great Ethiopian Run may not take place due to disagreement with the Athletics Federation. The later, is said to have claimed 50% from the total income of the event, which the organizers refused, stating that they do not make that much profit from the event, according to sources. After negotiations the two parties agreed for the organizers to pay a technical support fee of 100,000 birr to the federation based on the latter's technical support proposal.
Organizers of the event claim that they spend almost 200,000 birr annually for organizing the event. They say that the money goes to race publicity material and organization, which costs 56 birr per competitor, 21 birr less than the fee charged to the participant. The balance is covered by sponsors. The profit at the end would be used for publicity and other race organizations, according to the sources. It was reported that Sonia O'Sullivan will compete in this year's Great Ethio pian Run. “I have watched the race on TV before, and I know it's getting bigger every year,” said O'Sullivan, who has dual Irish and Australian nationality. “Having competed against Et hiopia 's top athletes over the years, I'm lo oking forward to visiting the country for the first time and re newing friendships.”
Olympic champwions Hicham EI Guerrouj and Carolina Kluft will be in attendance, although not competing.
Twenty-five thousand participants have already registered for the l0 km race scheduled for 26 November.
Source: Capital
EEPCo to recycle toxic chemical
By Groum Abate
Experco International, a Canadian firm has been selected to decontaminate toxic chemical leaks of Chromated Cooper Arsenate destined for the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) in January 2002, still lying at the Port of Djibouti .
Sources told Capital that a meeting was held on November 6 at EEPCo's headquarters between the two parties led by Kidane Gizaw from EEPCo and Aboubaker Douale Waiss from Djibouti where it was agreed that Experco International executes the project at a cost of 522,887 dollars.
According to our sources, the meeting was concluded agreeing on the terms and conditions the selected company would commission and supervise the decontamination. EEPCo is expected to finalize negotiations with Experco International shortly to commence the project.
Two-hundred tonnes of Copper Chromate Arsenate (CCA) arrived from Britain in late January 2002 at the port of Djibouti , bound for EEPCo when the incident happened. EEPCo had imported the chemical for protecting wooden electric poles against termites and decay. The cargo was immediately blocked by port authorities because the chemicals were beginning to seep out of their containers, said to be in poor condition. A total of fifteen sea containers were found leaking and subsequently removed to a secure site. In September 2005, the joint Ethio-Djibouti Intergovernmental Technical Committee agreed on the decontamination of the port and the damping in Ethiopia of the whole content of the aforementioned compartment.
Several attempts by Capital to contact EEPCo officials were unsuccessful.
A UN expert sent to investigate the hazardous cargo in 2002 warned that CCA is a "carcinogenic product and dangerous for the environment," and asked the international community to help decontaminate the affected zone in the port.
The report also called for the cargo to be sent back to Britain . Some countries have banned CCA, which is used as a pesticide, primarily to impregnate wood to protect it from termites.
The cargo is currently stocked in an area of the port's docks, "sealed off" with cement. The leaked CCA is feared that it could contaminate the port's water. A Swiss ecotoxicologist from the Canton of Geneva has established a detoxing zone to accommodate contaminated waste and soil in 2002.
According to figures by WHO, at the time of the leak, as many as 350 persons have claimed to have been exposed. So far, there has been at least one death, though a direct link to chemical exposure was not established.
The components of CCA, an acid-based product containing chromium, copper, and arsenic are highly toxic, corrosive and may cause cancer. Experco International, member of Teknika HBA, a Canadian based firm was established in 1962. The firm has been involved in different projects in many African countries including Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte D'Ivoire, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, DRC, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia.
Source: Capital
Experco International, a Canadian firm has been selected to decontaminate toxic chemical leaks of Chromated Cooper Arsenate destined for the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) in January 2002, still lying at the Port of Djibouti .
Sources told Capital that a meeting was held on November 6 at EEPCo's headquarters between the two parties led by Kidane Gizaw from EEPCo and Aboubaker Douale Waiss from Djibouti where it was agreed that Experco International executes the project at a cost of 522,887 dollars.
According to our sources, the meeting was concluded agreeing on the terms and conditions the selected company would commission and supervise the decontamination. EEPCo is expected to finalize negotiations with Experco International shortly to commence the project.
Two-hundred tonnes of Copper Chromate Arsenate (CCA) arrived from Britain in late January 2002 at the port of Djibouti , bound for EEPCo when the incident happened. EEPCo had imported the chemical for protecting wooden electric poles against termites and decay. The cargo was immediately blocked by port authorities because the chemicals were beginning to seep out of their containers, said to be in poor condition. A total of fifteen sea containers were found leaking and subsequently removed to a secure site. In September 2005, the joint Ethio-Djibouti Intergovernmental Technical Committee agreed on the decontamination of the port and the damping in Ethiopia of the whole content of the aforementioned compartment.
Several attempts by Capital to contact EEPCo officials were unsuccessful.
A UN expert sent to investigate the hazardous cargo in 2002 warned that CCA is a "carcinogenic product and dangerous for the environment," and asked the international community to help decontaminate the affected zone in the port.
The report also called for the cargo to be sent back to Britain . Some countries have banned CCA, which is used as a pesticide, primarily to impregnate wood to protect it from termites.
The cargo is currently stocked in an area of the port's docks, "sealed off" with cement. The leaked CCA is feared that it could contaminate the port's water. A Swiss ecotoxicologist from the Canton of Geneva has established a detoxing zone to accommodate contaminated waste and soil in 2002.
According to figures by WHO, at the time of the leak, as many as 350 persons have claimed to have been exposed. So far, there has been at least one death, though a direct link to chemical exposure was not established.
The components of CCA, an acid-based product containing chromium, copper, and arsenic are highly toxic, corrosive and may cause cancer. Experco International, member of Teknika HBA, a Canadian based firm was established in 1962. The firm has been involved in different projects in many African countries including Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte D'Ivoire, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, DRC, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia.
Source: Capital
ERA to execute road projects with 1.5 billion birr in Somali, Gambella States
Addis Ababa, November 17, 2006 (WIC) - Preliminary works are underway to launch four road projects in Somali and Gambella states with 1.5 billion birr this budget year,the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) disclosed.
Authority Public Relations and Information Main Section Head, Samson Wondimu,told WIC today that the roads to be constructed include 220kms Degahabur-Kebridahar,105kms Kebridahar-Shilabo and 165kms Gode-Kebridahar roads in Somali State and 120kms Adura-Berbe-Akobo roads in Gambella State.
The road projects to be executed in the Somali State include asphalting of damaged gravel roads,while the roads to be built in Gambella are new gravel roads in areas with no road facilities, according to the head.
Samson further added that the Authority has purchased various construction machineries at a cost of 613 million birr to efficiently carry out the work and finalize the projects according to the timetable.
The construction of the roads would improve the social and economic benefits of the community, Samson said, adding that they would also significantly contribute toward harnessing natural resources in the regions and boost the overall economic growth of the country.
The fund for the execution of the roads and procurement of the machineries has been earmarked by the government, the head concluded.
Source: Walta Information Center
Authority Public Relations and Information Main Section Head, Samson Wondimu,told WIC today that the roads to be constructed include 220kms Degahabur-Kebridahar,105kms Kebridahar-Shilabo and 165kms Gode-Kebridahar roads in Somali State and 120kms Adura-Berbe-Akobo roads in Gambella State.
The road projects to be executed in the Somali State include asphalting of damaged gravel roads,while the roads to be built in Gambella are new gravel roads in areas with no road facilities, according to the head.
Samson further added that the Authority has purchased various construction machineries at a cost of 613 million birr to efficiently carry out the work and finalize the projects according to the timetable.
The construction of the roads would improve the social and economic benefits of the community, Samson said, adding that they would also significantly contribute toward harnessing natural resources in the regions and boost the overall economic growth of the country.
The fund for the execution of the roads and procurement of the machineries has been earmarked by the government, the head concluded.
Source: Walta Information Center
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