WASHINGTON DC (examiner.com) In a report released by the Washington D.C. health department, 3 percent of residents over the age of 12 have HIV or AIDS. Nearly 70 percent of the cases are men, and 76 percent are African American.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, flanked by the city’s top health officials, unvailed a report on the spread of HIV/AIDS in Washington DC – March 17, 2009
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According to the city’s HIV/AIDS Administration director Shannon L. Hader, those numbers, higher than that of San Francisco and Baltimore, are probably an undercount.
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty released the report Monday at a news conference, calling it one of the “most serious problems” facing the capitol.
City officials will work towards more aggressive testing in hopes of controlling the virus.
“Past studies have highlighted the HIV/AIDs problems in the District, but this reports details how individuals are putting themselves at risk for the disease,” said Mayor Fenty.
“These facts serve as a blueprint that allows us to improve how we prevent HIV and better serve people living with the virus.”
The 3 percent rate is in line with several African countries. Africa has been hit hardest by the virus, accounting in 2.5 million deaths in 2005 alone.
Though the situations in Africa and North America seem like polar opposites, the report offers a sobering view of how dire the situation is worldwide.
“I’ll bet half the people in this crowd don’t know their status and you need to tell your partner your status. If you don’t do those things you’re increasing your chances of getting it and that what’s happened,” Mayor Fenty said on Sunday in one interview.
The Hague (The Press Association) – Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia suffered a shock defeat in the Fortis City-Pier-City half-marathon in The Hague on Saturday, March 14.
Gebrselassie, whose aim was to regain the world record for the distance, was beaten in a close finish by Sammy Kitwara, winner of the World Best 10km road race in Puerto Rico.
Kitwara clocked a time of 59 minutes 48 seconds, which was an excellent performance in the wet and cold conditions as he powered away from his Ethiopian rival.
Fellow Kenyan Sammy Wanjiru’s world record of 58:33, achieved over the Dutch course two years ago, was never threatened.
Pauline Wangui won on Dutch soil again, easily taking the women’s race in the unofficial time of 70:49.
Her fellow Kenyan Catherine Ndereba, the Olympic marathon silver medallist, never mounted a challenge and had to settle for the runner-up spot in a time of 71:35.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Addis Fortune) – The global financial crisis and the resultant production cut in emerging economies, compounded by the foreign reserve crunch in Ethiopia, has threatened the supply of power transformers by state power utility, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo).
The power monopoly has a limited supply of the transformers, such that orders placed by private building owners are being delayed, sources disclosed.
Apparently, there are requests made by the private establishments to the sole power supplier in the country to provide transformers of different capacity, but they have been placed on the waiting list, a source who says he is among those waiting to get a transformer, told Fortune on condition of anonymity.
“There is a current demand-supply problem now that our suppliers in India and China are affected by the global financial crisis,” Kebrom Kahesay, Sales and Marketing Work Process executive officer, said.
Mehret Debebe, general manager of EEPCo, also agrees that the problem that has knocked on most companies’ door globally has visited his corporation as well.
“We cannot say that the crisis has not got to our corporation,” Mehret told Fortune.
The electric power supplier’s establishment dates back to the time of Emperor Menelik II, who is credited for the start of power supply in Ethiopia from a generator he acquired to light up his palace.
At the moment, EEPCo is using its discretion in supplying transformers on the basis of the purposes of the buildings. Special purpose buildings, like hospitals and enterprises that produce export commodities, are being prioritized.
A customer, who claims to have completed the necessary payments, says he has been waiting to receive the 210 Kilovolt Ampere (KVA) transformer requested from the electric power supplier. Normally, the transformer would sometimes be supplied at the state power utility’s own request.
In the interim, the customer claims to have incurred 500,000 Br to 700,000 Br cost in acquiring a generator.
As a temporary solution to the problem, nearly 500 used transformers in the stores of the corporation, uninstalled from different spots due to replacements or change of arrangements, such as road constructions, are under maintenance.
“These transformers could help to narrow the supply-demand gap,” Kebrom told Fortune.
The nation’s sole electric power supplier has already placed a special order to import nearly 4,000 transformers with less than 40 days to go before the delivery, according the Sales and Marketing Work Process Executive Officer.
With about 1.7 million customers, of which 40pc are dwellers in the capital, EEPCo produces 800Mw of power daily, a supply short of the normal demand by 80Mw, and that of peak hours by 150Mw. Demand is also on the increase by 13pc every year.
Though the introduction of electric power in Ethiopia dates back to Menelik’s time, generation and distribution of power has a history a little over six decades old.
In mid 1940s, an Italian company, Campani Nazionale Imprezi, was allowed to generate, distribute and sell electricity in Ethiopia. However, the situation changed in 1955 after the formation of the Shewa Electric Power, allowing the government of Ethiopia to take over the generation, distribution and sale of electricity to Addis Abeba and its surroundings.
The Ethiopian Electric Light and Power Authority (EELPA) was then formed in 1963 for this purpose.
EELPA, in the past decade, has undergone restructuring to become EEPCo.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Addis Fortune reports that Foreign currency shortage has forced Coca Cola bottling plant in Ethiopia to shut down. It is to be noted that Woyanne-owned or affiliated companies, such as Al Amoudi’s MOHA, are not facing the same problem. Importing material for building a large stadium in Mekelle is also not affected.
ADDIS ABABA (Addis Fortune) – The newly operational production unit (left) with a capacity to fill 30,000 bottles per hour stays idle as East Africa’s door (above right) stays closed and trucks lined-up empty (below right)
For the first time in nearly half a century, bottlers of Coca-Cola and sister beverage brands closed their plant on Thursday, March 12, 2009, sending 1,000 workers on a forced annual leave, but with full pay.
The plant, located in Addis Abeba on Dejazmach Balcha Aba Nefso Street, and one of the two operated by East Africa Bottling Share Company (EABSC), was closed after instructions given last week to the Acting General Manager, Izan Bombom. The management told Fortune that the closure would be “temporary;” however, no one seems to know when production will resume.
The plant was quiet on Friday; machines were no longer running, and medium-sized distribution trucks, flourishing the company’s logo, were parked idle inside the compound. The scene outside was more revealing. The line of heavy trucks and trailers, that had been waiting for their load for the past three weeks had not yet disappeared.
But there were no workers to load them. Only a very few management staff members were still in their offices, and security personnel were guarding the facility when Fortune visited the complex.
Employees hope that this is just a temporary drawback.
“I expect to get my job back very soon,” an employee in the Supply Chain Department of the company, told Fortune. “In case this is not an alternative, I am hopeful that the company will do something for us.”
The supreme body of the company, the Board of Directors, are scheduled to meet next Tuesday, March 17, to discuss the crises, in addition to the regular agenda of reviewing EAB’s performance for 2008, sources disclosed.
The news of the closure of the plant was shocking to some of the shareholders. Dereje Yesuwork (Jambi) and Munir Duri, were two of the five shareholders informed about it by this newspaper when approached for comments.
“It can’t be true,” Dereje reacted on the night the plant was closed.
The company said it was forced to stop bottling beverage brands — Coca Cola, Fanta, Coca-Light, Sprite, Orange and Fanta Ananas (Pineapple) — and shutdown the plant because it is unable to import raw materials for production due to the shortage of foreign currency the country currently suffers from.
Recently, Ethiopia was confronted with a depilated amount of foreign currency in its reserve. This is what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) described as a positioning “into critical territory.” Ethiopia’s gross reserve, amounting to 906 million dollars in 2007/08, was the lowest recorded since 2004. Although modestly improved lately, and reaching an amount that could pay for seven weeks of the nation’s imports, commercial banks are no longer at ease with processing requests for letters of credit for imports of goods.
EABSC is one of the victims.
Restructured to its current format in May 1995, after businessmen bought the factory from the Privatization Agency for 10 million dollars, East Africa Bottling has been in continuous expansion. Its original shareholders – Negussie Hailu, Munir Duri, Bereket Haregot, Kassim Hussien and a fifth shareholder sold all or part of their shares to newcomers. Today, 73pc of the company is owned by the South African Beverage Company (SABCO), while Negussie Hailu, Munir Duri, Dereje Yesuwork and Abinet G. Meskel, own the remaining 37pc. The latter two are close confidantes of the Saudi tycoon, Sheikh Mohammed Ali Al-Amoudi, who, together with his wife, owns MOHA Soft Drinks Industry, bottlers of the competing soft drink, Pepsi Cola.
East Africa Bottling has grown so much ever since the mid-1990s. Its current capital is 400 million Br. Its expansion project, that cost 12 million dollars spent on procurement of two plants and a bottle washing machine, helped it enhance its production capacity from five million crates in 1995 to 21 million crates last year.
It was unable to fill a single crate of soft drinks beginning last week.
“Due to the current shortage of foreign currency, we are now faced with quite a shortage of crown cork,” said the management in a statement faxed to Fortune a day after the closure of the plant.
The management said that although it tried to substitute imported raw materials with locally produced ones, it was not able to substitute all of its requirements. Neither was the company permitted to receive loans of million of dollars from its major shareholder, SABCO, nor supply on credit for six months offered by Coca Cola International, as authorities from the central bank are reluctant to commit the country into debt, sources disclosed.
“The shortage is forcing us to temporarily stop the production of Coca Cola products,” EABSC said. “We are using this opportunity to maintain our machines and fleets.”
But there are many affected by this decision, in addition to the work force of the plant. Immediately hit are the 761 distribution vending shops, and the drivers and their assistants of the 250 trucks EAB contracted for deliveries. Around 35,000 outlets, scattered throughout the country will also be unable to serve Coca Cola and its sister brands for an unknown period. This will affect an estimated 150,000 beneficiaries involved in the value chain of the bottler, according to East Africa’s management.
And its customers are the most disappointed.
“Almost every customer asks for Coca,” a cafeteria owner around Piassa area, on Arbegnoch Street, told Fortune.
One of these could be Hagos Sahle, a Lada-taxi driver. He cannot spend a day without consuming Coca Cola.
“I am addicted to it,” Hagos told Fortune. “I don’t know what I am going to do.”
Industry observers see a wider effect of the problem than that simply confined to East Africa Bottling. Although bottlers of Pepsi Cola are still running their plant, owing to their opening of letters of credit earlier, they could face tough time in the months ahead should the forex crunch persist.
“We are alright so far,” Getachew Birbo, chief executive officer of MOHA, told Fortune. “We have planned our imports for up until June to July. And we’re supported by Dashen Bank; should there come the need, we’ll depend on the owner of our company.”
The two giant bottlers share the 40 million crates provided to the market almost equally. Nevertheless, Ethiopia’s soft drink market is estimated to reach at 100 million crates, 38pc of which is believed to be in the south. Both have series limitations in their capacity to satisfy this market, which is growing annually by 25pc, according to industry experts.
Industry observers believe it is just a matter of time before other beverage companies find themselves in the same position as the soft drinks bottlers, due to empty stock of raw materials. They anticipate that the breweries are next on the line.
By HILINA ALEMU | ADDIS FORTUNE
On the invitation of British prime minister Gordon Brown, Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi — also known as the “butcher of Addis” — is currently visiting the United Kingdom. Meles will make another trip to London on April 20 next month to participate in the G20 meeting.
This is a good opportunity for Ethiopians in Europe and human rights groups to file charges of torture and war crimes against Meles Zenawi, since there is a tone of evidence against him.
Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 of U.K. authorizes the prosecution in Britain of any person who commits an act of torture anywhere in the world, as defined in the UN Convention Against Torture 1984, which Britain has ratified and pledged to enforce.
Under Section 24 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, ordinary citizens have the power to arrest a person who has committed a crime.
EPPF, Ginbot 7, ONLF and other Ethiopian opposition forces have a strong presence in London. The genocidal dictator is coming to a place where they can outgun him using the U.K. law as their weapon. Go after him.
By Tedla Asfaw
Chief Judge Iftikhar Chaudery of Pakistan who was thrown with other judges by the former western loved dictator Musharraf is now reinstated to its former position by the organized protest which is a lesson to our own country. The protesters went out in force yesterday on the streets of Pakistan and planned to stage a huge demonstration today and the Pakistan government has back down after consulting with its western supporters.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was heard saying yesterday that the struggle in Pakistan is with the extremists and she wanted the government to focus on fighting Taliban and Pakistanis extremists. It is a shame that for her throwing judges to jail or the struggle to free them as was demanded by the majority of Pakistanis is not an issue that has to worry her.
Ms. Clinton on her recent visit to Asia she made it also clear that she is not standing for human rights and rule of law and cajoling with dictators to get their help in fighting the world economic crisis and do business as usual. Now in Pakistan she affirmed that what she needs is a partner to fight American war. Is this the change the Obama was talking about on his campaign ?
On March 21, citizens in huge numbers are coming to Pentagon in D.C. to demand the end of war in Iraq, Afghanistan and Middle east and force the Obama Administration to focus on the big economic crisis at home. A bankrupt USA has not the means to fight multiple wars and people are demanding their tax dollars not to be spent in any kind of war.
For the world dictators who are suffocating their people with the help of USA military machine and tax dollars they should learn a big lesson from the Pakistanis mobilization that succeeded in forcing the release of their judges. Similar actions can be taken to secure the Ethiopian judge, Birtukan Mediksa, who is now behind bars for three months.
Members of the party she is leading, UDJP, tried to stage protest rally in Addis Ababa recently and the TPLF regime denied permit. The next step is to come out and challenge the authorities like the Pakistanis did and face the consequence. If the current leadership of UDJP is not be able to stage a protest it officially has to stop calling itself an opposition party and be disbanded.
The call in western cities for Judge Birtukan release has not produced any result so far because it is not supported by similar actions back home out of fear by current leadership of UDJP. Persons like Yackob Hailemariam are good only on radios and televisions lecturing law and scared to practice law on the streets of Ethiopia.
The grassroots supporters of UDJP should be supported by the masses of Ethiopians in a huge demonstration to demand for the unconditional release of Judge Birtukan Mediksa and all political prisoners. The financiers of Meles Zenawi will back down when they see an angry crowd that condemn both the ethnic apartheid rule of TPLF and their evil hands.
