THE ENC, Ethiopian National Congress, will hold its Sixth Congress, in Columbus Ohio, between October 24 and 26, 2008. The ENC plans to asses its strength and weaknesses, revise its constitution and elect a new executive committee.
Since our last congress, the political situation in our country has gone through a tremendous change. Because of the lack of united and viable political leadership and the fragmentation of civic organizations, our people’s struggle for justice and liberty has not produced desired change in the lives of our people and country. Our nation’s future is vulnerable today than any other time in its recent history. It is with this grim background that we hold our Sixth Congress. We believe a vibrant, dynamic civic organization can contribute immensely, to meet challenges of creating a democratic & united Ethiopia.
We call upon all our old and new members to come to this congress and be part of the effort. The task of creating a mature civic movement can only be accomplished by organizations and individuals who really understand national priorities. The effort to bring major civic organizations and individuals in a movement would also be discussed. We hope to have a productive and educational weekend and look forward to seeing you. We have made all necessary preparations to accommodate all our guests.
Your participation will be sincerely appreciated. For discount accommodation, question or suggestion on congress related events, please RSVP to the following e-mail address:
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – United States Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Yamamoto traveled to Bahir Dar on September 26-27 to celebrate Ramadan and Meskel. The Ambassador’s visit was part of the U.S. Embassy’s ongoing outreach to faith communities, which play an important role in bringing development and a better tomorrow to Ethiopia.
On the evening of September 26, Ambassador Yamamoto, in cooperation with the Selam Ber Mosque, hosted an Iftar dinner for 200 community members. At the meal in the mosque compound, the Ambassador thanked the community for sharing the celebration, and said, “We are blessed this year to join Ethiopia in celebrating its rich faith traditions. This shows us how much we all have in common and how much faith strengthens us and helps us all to be better people, better neighbors and better citizens.”
On Saturday, September 27, in cooperation with St. Giorgis church, the Ambassador hosted a Meskel lunch for 200 community members, including those in need, according to the holiday’s traditions. Speaking at the St. Giorgis church grounds, the Ambassador noted Ethiopia’s long history of building and maintaining bridges of understanding between faith communities. He told community members, ”Ethiopia is really a crossroads for all religions and I think Ethiopia stands as a model for the entire world for harmony between religious groups. We want to play a part in supporting and honoring these activities and these festivities, and to show our appreciation for the people of Ethiopia.”
The U.S. Embassy delegation appreciated the warm welcome offered by local leaders and the community in Bahir Dar. In addition to hosting the two holiday meals, the embassy staff attended the Meskel Demera celebrations, visited the American Corner Library at the Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization, and met with Peace Corps Volunteers working in the town.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – Two new loan guarantee agreements signed today between the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Abyssinia Bank and NIB will allow these two banks to offer more short and medium term loans to entrepreneurs engaged in manufacturing, services, trade, export and agricultural related activities. The agreements reduce collateral requirements to beneficiaries by 50%, amounting to more than $17 million USD in potential loans for Diaspora and women – two underserved groups of the economy who have little or no access to credit.
“This assistance from the American people will strengthen access to credit for two very important entrepreneur groups – the Diaspora and women – who will in turn help bolster an already growing national economy,” USAID Mission Director Glenn Anders comments.
USAID expects the credit enhancing program to provide lessons learned for the larger banking community by demonstrating the viability and profitability of women and Diaspora owned business. The program will be complemented by USAID technical assistance to both target groups from USAID’s Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) AGOA+ Program. The program will provide business development services and training to maximize each participant’s chances for success. VEGA’s AGOA+ program will also play a facilitating role, providing basic information about financing options to the banks, introducing lending mechanisms based upon cash flow and utilizing U.S. Credit Bureaus to assess the credit worthiness of Diaspora borrowers.
Support to the Diaspora borrowers includes the development of a Diaspora Business Center, a fully staffed one-stop shop with an interactive website and annual business conferences. The center is a public-private sector initiative funded by the World Bank and implemented by Precise Consult International, in close partnership with the Government of Ethiopia and the Donors Assistance Group on Private Sector Development.
“This loan guarantee program, coupled with technical support for the Ethiopian Diaspora, is the first of its kind in the world with the aim to stimulate private sector investment and channel economic benefits from the Diaspora community into development back home,” Addis Alemayehou, Chief of Party for the USAID VEGA AGOA+ Program. “We are hopeful that it will encourage substantial new investment into Ethiopia over the coming years.”
The new agreements build upon the success of previous loan guarantee programs with Abyssinia, Awash and Dashen Banks. Loan amounts currently utilized by the program total nearly $24.8 million USD and support 141 Ethiopians involved in agriculture, agro-processing, and manufacturing who otherwise would not have access to this type of financial support.
The Development Credit Authority (DCA) is a broad financing authority that allows USAID to leverage private sector resources to have a greater, more sustainable impact in supporting economic growth. The DCA instrument translates into partial loan guarantees of 50%, encouraging private banks in Ethiopia to increase their investments in local businesses and projects. For every USAID dollar spent on DCA guarantees, an average of $10-15 USD of private credit can be mobilized
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – Millions of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians at the weekend celebrated the founding of the true cross where Jesus Christ was believed to be crucified.
The cross on which Jesus crucified is found in one of Ethiopian monastries while the other part is believed to be in Israel.
On Friday, the celebration was held in Addis Ababa at Meskel (cross) Square in the presence of around 100,000 people including the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church.
Also in attendace, was the Ethiopian president Girma Woldegiorgisse, foreign diplomats and religious leaders from different countries.
The gathering people attending the ceremony wishes each other a happy new year.
Ethiopian patriarch, Abune Paulos, Patriarck of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches told the gathering to keep the country’s history and culture alive as their fore-fathers’ did.
Ethiopia – which follows its own ancient Coptic calendar is celebrating the day on 26 September each year.
An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300, flight ET900 from Lagos (Nigeria) to Addis Abeba (Ethopia) with approximately 200 passengers, returned to Lagos after the air conditioning system failed and the airplane could not pressurize following the departure at 1:45pm.
Repair works did not succeed until the following Sunday late evening, the passengers still waited for their departure to Ethiopia’s capital city.
NAIROBI – Somali insurgents prepared last night to unload rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns from a Ukrainian freighter seized by Somali pirates even as foreign warships surrounded the vessel.
A US destroyer and submarine from an international taskforce set up to patrol the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and two European-flagged ships were reported to be tracking the freighter that had anchored off the southern Somali coast.
The hijacked ship’s captain contacted media outlets by satellite phone to say that one of his crew had died during the hostage drama.
The pirates were demanding a $20 million (£10.8 million) ransom for the release of the MV Faina, its 20 surviving crew and cargo of weapons, which include 33 Russian tanks. It was seized on Thursday as it neared the Kenyan port of Mombasa.
“The Islamists have sent pick-ups from Mogadishu to go and collect the gear,” said an analyst with a network of Somali informers. “There’s not much they can do with the tanks — they can’t get them off — but the rest of the weapons they are trying to move ashore.”
Somalia’s insurgents have made a series of impressive gains in recent weeks. They now control the port city of Kismayo and have armed and equipped pirate gangs as part of a campaign to control the seas.
Kenya’s Government said that it was awaiting the weaponry aboard the ship, but similar shipments in the past have been sent on to southern Sudan.
Witnesses on the Somali coast said that the navy ships were using loudspeakers warning the pirates not to attempt to unload the cargo. A tribal chief and local fishermen about 250 miles north of Mogadishu said that they had seen the MV Faina near at least two ships.
“The pirates are now surrounded near the village of Hinbarwaqo by Western ships. They asked individuals in charge of the hijacking of the Ukrainian ship to come aboard the navy ship for talks,” said a local clan elder.
Piracy has flourished around Somalia’s lawless coast since the mid-1990s. It was briefly stamped out by the Union of Islamic Courts which took control of the country in 2006. The trade returned when the Islamists were defeated by an Ethiopian assault.
In the past the trade was directed at earning hard currency. However, this year the pirates have acquired an ideological dimension. Bruno Schiemsky, a Somali analyst based in Kenya, said that Somalia’s al-Shabaab militia — the youth wing of the Islamist movement — had joined forces with the pirates, offering weapons training in return for lessons in plundering at sea.
