(GNA) – Africa Welfare and Care Foundation (AWCF), a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) that assist the needy in society, is organising a 10-day health and peace walk to raise funds for the victims of war and other unfortunate crisis in Africa.
The walk, which started from Tamale on Tuesday, would end in Accra under the theme: “Africa Millennium Health and Peace Walk.” It aimed at raising one million dollars in support of peace, good health, infrastructure and the provision of potable water for war victims.
The AWCF on Tuesday also embarked on a clean-up exercise in the Tamale West Hospital with a fundraising function at the Jubilee Park. Mr Richard Mosiah Ababba Allen, 41 year-old Master of Civil Law, told the media that he would walk from Tamale to Accra and then proceed to Ethiopia.
He said he had undertaken similar walks over the past 20 years soliciting for funds to support education and peace. Mr Mosiah dedicated his walk to President Kufour for his contribution to the Ghanaian economy nearly eight years in office and his role when he was the President of the African Union. He also dedicated his walk to Mr Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General.
Mr Mosiah called on Ghanaians not to dampen the adventurous spirit of the youth but rather encourage them to come up with innovative ideas that would contribute to the nation’s development. “It is time Ghanaians realized their wealth and excellence, which should go beyond the borders of Africa,” He said. Mr Mosiah said his walk would take him from Ghana through Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Sudan then to Ethiopia to present a White Flag to the AU President at the AU summit.
ADDIS ABABA — Emami Biotech Ltd, a member of India’s Emami Group Company, which is engaged in various investment areas, on Friday, began covering 10, 000 hectares of land in Ethiopia with jatropha for production of bio-fuel.
The company in planning to cover a total of 40,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia with jatropha and castor bean with in the next three years. This will be converted into 100,000 tons of bio fuel every year after five years, Vinthal R. Karoshi the General Manager of Emami Biotech Ltd Ethiopian Branch, told Addis Admass, a local weekly Amharic language newspaper.
As a result after five years, the country will be able to save some 600 million USD every year that it used to spend for importing fuel or it at least gets that much hard currency from the export of Emami’s bio-fuel in addition to the taxes it collects from the company. The general manager also stated that in the coming years, the company plans to cover 15,000 hectares of land every year with jatropha and castor bean.
The company is currently producing 100,000 tons of bio-fuel from jatropha evry year in Kolkata, India. According to the Mr. Karoshi, the company will create tens of thousands of jobs since covering one hectare of land with jatropha requires 170 employees. Appreciating the Oromia Regional government authorities for providing the company the required land within less than one month, he expressed his hope that the country will soon liberate its citizens from poverty.
Emami Limited specializes in manufacturing health, beauty and personal care products with over 25 years experience.
The seed will be ready to be processed and converted into bio-fuel after three years and it gives the same amount of yield every year for 45 years afterwards.
The government has made available 24 million hectares of land for bio-fuel generating companies like Global energy one of the biggest bio-fuel producer in the world and 20 other foreign companies registered to invest in the sector. Out of this, six are already on the ground and are planting or completed planting jantropha and other non food item plants for generation of bio-fuel.
The Jewish Agency has left a skeleton infrastructure in Ethiopia, even though the mass immigration of Falashmura has been halted – which means it could start bringing in large groups again.
The cabinet is expected to meet and decide soon on the Falashmura immigration. Sources predict the cabinet will agree to allow in 1,400 additional immigrants, thus reaching the quota it originally set.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian immigrants continue trickling into Israel. Despite the reports in Tuesday’s newspapers, the 61 Falashmura who arrived Tuesday from Addis Ababa were not the last immigrants from Ethiopia, but merely the last large group to arrive in Israel under the 2003 cabinet resolution setting immigration criteria for the Falashmura.
The Falashmura are descendants of Jews who converted to Christianity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Falashmura advocacy organizations Tuesday accused senior Jewish Agency officials of being behind the headlines, in an effort to create facts on the ground before the cabinet makes a final decision. The Jewish Agency does not have an official position on the matter it implements government policy - but for some time now, agency leaders have not hid their belief that the Falashmura immigration must stop.
The misleading headlines may also stem from the anticipated report by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss; parties may be interested in establishing that the immigration has ended before the report is released, fearing it will boost the Falashmura supporters.
Tuesday, Lindenstrauss asked the agency and the government not to make any final decisions before the report is released.
The Jewish Agency rejected claims that it was trying to set the agenda: “There is nothing behind the Ethiopian immigrant organizations’ claim, and we regret such statements; the Jewish Agency brought over all the Ethiopian immigrants and it will continue to stand at the forefront in doing so,” a Jewish Agency spokeswoman said Tuesday.
“The Jewish Agency acts in accordance with resolutions of the Israeli cabinet and [the agency’s] Ethiopian representation will continue bringing to Israel everyone approved by the interior minister,” the spokeswoman said.
In addition to the Jewish Agency, most of the ministries that are involved finance, interior and immigrant absorption also object to continuing the Falashmura immigration. Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai, of Shas, is a notable exception.
However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said another 1,400 Falashmura should be screened for eligibility in order to reach the quota of 17,188 Falashmura immigrants the cabinet set in 2003.
The agency’s emissary to Ethiopia, Uri Conforti, who directed the aliya program for the past four years, will return to Israel next week, thus ending his term. The agency will keep a skeleton staff of local employees in Ethiopia.
Next week, the agency will hold a high-level meeting on the future of its involvement with Ethiopian immigration. If the cabinet decides to bring over 1,400 more immigrants, the agency will have to dispatch a new emissary, and it will take at least a few months in order to post Interior Ministry officials to check potential immigrants’ eligibility.
Jewish organizations acting on behalf of the Falashmura say there are at least 8,700 Falashmura in Gondar, northern Ethiopia, who meet the criteria the cabinet set for immigration. They are convinced that once again, political pressure will reverse the decision to end the immigration. They are counting on support from Shas, which could
make the issue part of its future coalition negotiations, as well as Kadima chair candidate Shaul Mofaz, who is considered close to the Ethiopian immigrant community.
In the meantime, local activists are planning to hold a pro-immigration demonstration in Jerusalem on August 17.
NAIROBI — As fortunes in the coffee sub-sector continue to dwindle, an international charity organisation has moved to assist farmers.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has embarked on a multi-million shilling East African Coffee Initiative Project that will see thousands of farmers acquire modern skills aimed at increasing their production and income.
Select farmers from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia have been incorporated in the project which will among other things train them on modern coffee husbandry and link them with international coffee dealers who are going for specialty coffee.
Specific standards
Some dealers have been insisting on coffee that has met specific standards. Among the requirements is non-use of certain chemicals and production under supervision of recognised and specially trained officers.
Some coffee societies have signed up with dealers who supervise their operations and buy the parchment coffee directly, thereby enabling the producers earn more.
The Gates Foundation has contracted an international non-governmental organisation TechnoServe Coffee Initiative, to work with farmers so that they can meet the required international standards.
TechnoServe will provide technical assistance to the farmers and their respective societies’ management committees in agronomy and primary processing to improve coffee quality and yields.
A memorandum
Last week, TechnoServe Coffee Initiative Director, John Logan witnessed a signing of a memorandum of understanding between coffee farmers affiliated to Giakanja Coffee Co-operative Society in Tetu Division, Nyeri South District, and the NGO.
Mr Logan said the project plans on assisting at least 500,000 farmers in the next four years.
TechnoServe’s initiative aims at ensuring that coffee farmers benefit from the rapidly growing and stable specialty coffee market through training and market linkage.
“Our aim is to create a model co-operative society in Nyeri where farmers are able to sustain coffee production through improved incomes,” said Moses Ndiritu, the chairman of Giakanja society during the signing of the agreement.
At the end of the four-year project period, farmers affiliated to more than 100 societies across the country will have benefited from the programme.
Roll out
The project is mainly in Central and Eastern provinces and is expected to roll out in other regions later this year and early next year.
Giakanja, which is near Nyeri town, has been a beneficiary of other coffee quality projects, including the Hivos Project being implemented by Sustainable Management Services (SMS), a coffee management arm of the multinational Ecom Trading Company, who are offering agronomic support to farmers.
The partnership will focus
on the area of Hintalo Wajerat
in the Tigray region where
only 22% of the population
currently has access to safe water
[Photo: WaterAid / Marco Betti]
Ecover, the world’s leading manufacturer of ecological cleaning products, launched a three-year partnership with international charity WaterAid. This partnership supports a project in Ethiopia, providing sustainable and ongoing access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.
Ecover and WaterAid share the objective to provide effective, sustainable solutions for the hygienic needs of people around the world, and it is this common interest that has led to the formation of the partnership.
This is the first time WaterAid has worked with a business where both parties are actively working together to drive change. Ecover has always recognised that water is a precious commodity, and this is considered alongside total environmental impact at every stage, from product concept to final delivery to the store.
The partnership will focus on the area of Hintalo Wajerat in the Tigray region where only 22% of the population currently has access to safe water and just 6% have access to adequate sanitation. More shocking is the fact that 17 out of every 100 children will die before they reach their fifth birthday. On completion of the project 14,750 people across eleven villages in the region will have access to safe water and effective sanitation.
The partnership was launched at an event for media and friends and from the end of June will be promoted on 1.5 million Ecover products across 10 lines. Two members of staff from both Ecover UK and Ecover Belgium have also travelled to Ethiopia to see the issues first hand and WaterAid’s project work that is being funded by the partnership.
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – A Chinese company has signed a $34 million deal with Ethiopia to build four factories producing leather goods north of the capital Addis Ababa.
A statement issued by the Ethiopian government on Wednesday said the firm, Sino-Overseas Leather Products, had bought 50,000 square metres of land for the plants.
It said the first factory, a tannery, was due to be completed before the end of the year and would produce more than 1 million square metres of finished leather annually.
The other three will make gloves, shoes and jackets.
Last month, Ethiopia’s government said Chinese investors had built the country’s first glass factory, worth some $15 million. The Chinese have been investing heavily in Africa, especially in resource rich areas.
Also last month, ZTE Corp, China’s second-largest telecoms gear maker, said it had agreed to build a national network covering 14 major cities in Ethiopia.
