EFSNA announces that its 25th year anniversary will be held in Washington D.C. in 2008. ESFNA board members were given the opportunity to assess the various venues including 5-star Gaylord Hotel, RFK Stadium, D.C. Armory and the Convention Center. Board members heard attractive pitches from potential host cities, Atlanta and the DC-5. In the end the board chose the DC-5 packet in hosting the Silver Anniversary Jubilee.
ESFNA believes that the event will undoubtedly be hugely successful because it has the attributes of an ideal city – it has a large Ethiopian Community estimated at close to 250,000 and a strong Ethiopian Cultural and Business presence including over 200 Ethiopian-owned businesses and over 25 faith organizations. Additionally, the D.C. Metro area is easily accessible to more than 300,000 Ethiopians living within driving distances of cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Richmond, New York City, Pittsburgh, Hampton Roads area, North Carolina, Boston, Nashville, Columbus, Chicago, Toronto and Atlanta. There are also direct flights to three major airports for Ethiopians living in Europe and Addis Ababa.
ESFNA board members truly congratulate the efforts by Atlanta and the DC-5 and now officially invite all Ethiopians around the world to be a part of the historical event in the year of the Ethiopian Millennium.
The 1.4 billion Birr cement expansion project launched by Muger Cement Enterprise with an objective of minimizing the growing shortage of cement in Ethiopia would begin production by in March 2009, Enterprise Acting General Manager said.
In an interview with ENA on Monday, the Acting General Manager, Mekonnen Zergaw said the construction of the project would enable the Enterprise to increase its existing production capacity of 870,000 tons to 1.4 million tons annually, a 150 per cent increment.
He said 17 per cent of the construction of the project, which was launched in February 2007, has already been completed.
Though the project is expected to minimize cement shortage to some degree, it is not likely to fill the gaps of supply and growing demand, he said.
According to Mekonnen, the Enterprise, whose share in the country’s total cement supply, meets only 5 per cent of the demand which stands at 17.8 million tons according to 1999 EC survey.
He however said the stated volume does not represent the country’s total cement demand as it refers to the volume of cement demand by users to purchase from the Enterprise in 1999 EC.
Mekonnen said the country’s total cement production is estimated at 1.9 million tons while the demand for cement to Muger Enterprise alone stands at 17.8 million tons annually according to the survey.
The growing rate of construction, investment and the change in the culture of the people to building of houses with mud to cement blocks, among others, were the main factors for the increase in demand of cement, he said.
However, the government has been striving to alleviate the growing shortage of cement in the country. The expansion project and the import of cement from abroad through Francovaluta are some of the efforts launched by the government as part of mitigating the shortage and price stabilization, Mekonnen indicated.
He said close to 900,000 tons of cement was imported from November 2006 to December 2007. The volume of cement imported over the last six months stands at over 575,000 tons.
According to him, the government has also been encouraging private investors to engage in the sector by providing various incentives. A number of cement factories are presently under construction, he added.
When the projects are completed, it will likely to reduce the shortage and price of cement in the country.
The price of cement per quintal, which was less than 80 Birr some four years ago, has increased to 160-165 Birr on average.
However, the Enterprise is selling a quintal of cement for 135 Birr and 125 Birr in Addis Ababa and Muger respectively in the face of the dramatic increase of cost of production due to the skyrocketing price of fuel in the global market, Mekonnen told ENA.
Take a note of the stark similarities between the “Mount Kenya Mafia” and the ‘Woyanne mafia (EFFORT)’ that currently controls almost every major industry in Ethiopia. Ethiopian freedom fighters such as ONLF need to stop confronting the Woyanne military directly, and instead launch attacks on these industries that are fueling the Woyanne killing machine. Here is a partial list of Woyanne-owned industries.
The plan by Kenya’s opposition to boycott companies run by allies of President Mwai Kibaki in protest at the outcome of last month’s presidential election may turn out to be an astute political move.
For since President Kibaki joined the ranks of opposition politics in 1992, he has surrounded himself with a group of close confidants and friends – many going back to his days in college.
And it is they who are being blamed by some for influencing his hardline stance during the ongoing crisis that followed Mr Kibaki’s controversial win.
The wealthy old men, most in their late 70s, consider themselves to be the council of elders but ordinary Kenyans know them as the “Mount Kenya Mafia”.
The circle of influential Kibaki friends include ex-Defence Minister Njenga Karume, Nairobi university chancellor Joe Wanjui, and big time investors Nat Kangethe, Joseph Kanyago and Nick Wanjohi.
The multi-millionaires had vast business interests in commercial agriculture, real estate, tourism industry and transport industry.
Behind the scenes
So when Mr Kibaki ascended to power in 2002 after two failed attempts, the time had come to use their influence.
Apart from a few appointed to prominent positions in his administration, most operate behind the scenes.
Analysts argue that they have taken full advantage of President Kibaki’s hands-off style of administration to play a key role in the deciding of cabinet and top civil service appointments and well paid government contracts.
The president’s inner circle has also been instrumental in ensuring who gets elected to parliament in most of central Kenya.
However, during the last elections a good number of their candidates, who ran for Mr Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU), were defeated at the polls by candidates from smaller political parties.
This was described by political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi as a rebellion against the old order of doing things in the region.
Recent saga
During President Kibaki’s five-year term, it is argued that their business interests have grown considerably.
A key area being pointed out as their core business is the active Nairobi stock exchange.
Well-informed sources allege that the “Mount Kenya Mafia” are associated with companies that have in the past couple of years acquired large numbers of shares.
Just before last year’s elections, Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga claimed that underhand tactics were allegedly used at the stock exchange to the benefit of just a few individuals.
Financial experts said this led to the recent saga where the ODM leadership went to court in an attempt to stop Finance Minister Amos Kimunya from selling the government share of the highly profitable mobile phone company Safaricom.
Simmering temperatures
Political analyst Haroun Ndubi argues that their hardline political positions are intended to protect their economic gains.
“They have realised good profits during his rule and letting go to an individual they do not trust sends a chill down their spine,” argues Mr Ndubi – who is also a human rights lawyer.
When ODM spokesman Salem Lone announced last week that they would be targeting business concerns linked to the government hardliners, this moved quickly.
The ODM has listed businesses in the banking, dairy, tourism and transport sector to name but a few that will be targeted for countrywide boycotts, beginning this week.
In response, President Kibaki unexpectedly appointed a negotiating team lead by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, who came third in the race for the presidency, to try to quell the simmering temperatures.
“I think the new tactic announced by ODM has caused some shivers among the hardliners as it would hit where it hurts most,” Mr Ndubi says.
Kinijit-San Jose (California) has issued the following statement regarding Hailu Shawel’s visit to the Bay Area next weekend. Click here to read [pdf, Amharic]
The first 100 batch of 500 medium-sized passenger buses imported from China with a loan secured from HSBC, arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday January 17, 2008.
The buses, which are imported with a view to alleviating the acute shortage of transportation in the city, will be sold to provide taxi services to the public in Addis Ababa and other major towns.
Each bus, which has a capacity of seating 27 passengers, was procured at a cost of 332,000 birr.
Public Relations Section Head with the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Berhanu Amsalu, told Capital that the 100 buses that have already arrived in the city go into service in the next two weeks. He further said that a tariff has already been calculated per kilometer.
The remaining 400 buses are expected to arrive in Addis Ababa late this month.
The buses, according to some of the drivers who drove them from Djibouti, should not have fetched the above mentioned prices adding that the ministry should have had trial tests before purchasing the buses in this quantity.
The head said that the ministry has already secured buyers for the 100 buses that arrived, of which 30% of the cost should be paid first with the rest paid in five years time.
Victor Gao, Project Manager for the Chinese bus maker Higer, told Capital that they sold their buses at a price of 26,300 dollars at point of production. He said a team of technicians has arrived to give technical support.
According to him, Walya Inter City Buses is represented for the after sales services.
The project manager said that this is their first major African deal and added that they also have a market in Algeria.
According to him, Higer Buses is the biggest bus manufacturer in China, where over half of the countrys demand is met by his company.