CFTC to Send a Delegation to Ethiopia to Provide Technical Assistance to the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange Authority
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that it will be sending a delegation of senior staff to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to provide technical assistance to the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange Authority (ECEA).
“We are pleased to be able to assist the recently-established ECEA in developing and implementing its regulatory regime in overseeing the soon-to-be-launched Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECEX),” said CFTC Acting Chairman Walt Lukken. “We are delighted to share the CFTC’s experience and knowledge with the ECEA in this exciting undertaking.”
It is expected that this one-week technical assistance program, provided by the CFTC and funded by the United Nations, will assist the ECEA to successfully achieve its goals of maintaining a transparent, efficient, and financially sound futures market.
Specifically, the technical assistance will focus on the following:
• Regulatory structure;
• Product development and contract design;
• Market surveillance and compliance issues;
• Trade practice surveillance and investigation issues;
• The clearing process and the use of intermediaries; and
• Enforcement
Why doesn’t Dr Ashebir Woldegiorgis respect the will of EFF’s general assembly and instead focus on improving his dental clinics in Addis Ababa that are known for their poor service and high prices?
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BBC News
FIFA has confirmed that it will not send a delegation to a meeting on Saturday to restore sanity within the Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF). This means the internal wrangling which has affected the EFF for the past three months is set to continue. Fifa will not ratify the event because EFF boss Dr Ashebir Woldegiorgis has not been allowed access to his office.
“The president’s denial to the headquarters cannot be seen as a return to normalcy,” Fifa said in a statement.
The meeting is part of the road-map to normalize the problems within the EFF.
The EFF’s general assembly fired Woldegiorgise in January for what they said was the “dismal” record of Ethiopian football and elected Ahmed Yasin to replace him.
However, the January meeting was not recognised by Fifa who met both parties to find a solution.
Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (Caf) released the road-map last month which was agreed by both parties.
The road-map said that Dr Woldegiorgis and his executive committee are the only leadership that Fifa and Caf would recognise but that an extraordinary meeting of the EFF should be held on 29 March.
The agenda of the meeting would simply be a “motion of dismissal” of the current executive committee.
According to the EFF statutes, for this motion to be approved it would have to supported by two-thirds of the valid votes cast by the official delegates in a secret ballot.
After a long two years and five months in prison, the two Ethiopian anti-poverty campaigners Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie were released from prison this afternoon.
“We are thrilled that Daniel and Netsanet have finally been released from prison. It has been a long wait for them and their families, but finally freedom and justice is theirs. The release is a testament to Daniel and Netsanet’s contributions to human rights and poverty eradication in Ethiopia, Africa and around the world, and is a vindication of civil society efforts to confront injustice.” said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and Co-Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), speaking from outside Kaliti Prison in Addis Ababa upon their release.
Daniel and Netsanet, both coordinators of GCAP in Ethiopia, were today released following recent negotiations. While they were acquitted on treason related charges in December 2007, they were found guilty on the lesser charge of “provocation and preparing incitement” and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. If they had served the full sentence, they would have been released in early May 2008.
“It is indeed a wonderful moment for civil society in Ethiopia. Two of the country’s most courageous defenders of human rights and social justice are once again free. Today, their release is being celebrated in the over 100 country coalitions of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and CIVICUS members in more than 120 countries,” said Irfan Mufti, Campaign Manager of GCAP.
Daniel and Netsanet were the last two remaining detained in the high profile treason trial that originally charged 131 journalists, politicians and civil society leaders on a range of charges from genocide to treason. They were among thousands who were detained following protests accusing the government of rigging the 15 May 2005 parliamentary elections.
Aside from their work with GCAP, Daniel is also head of the policy department at ActionAid International Ethiopia. Netsanet is also the founder of local human rights group Organisation for Social Justice in Ethiopia. Daniel and Netsanet were instrumental in coordinating legitimate election monitoring activities by local civil society organisations during the May 2005 election.
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For more information – CIVICUS: www.civicus.org, GCAP: www.whiteband.org
Julie Middleton, CIVICUS – in South Africa: +27 82 403 6040, [email protected].
Ciara O’Sullivan, GCAP – in Spain: +34679594809, [email protected]
NEDJO, Ethiopia (AP) – Rome Berihun barely remembers Ethiopia’s deadly border war with Eritrea, but she feels its effects in her shortness of breath, trouble swallowing and a tumor-like growth in her neck.
The 16-year-old is among some 80 percent of Ethiopians suffering from an easily preventable deficiency of iodine, an essential nutrient that was readily available from Eritrea until the 1998-2000 war halted all trade between the countries.
“It suffocates me,” said Rome, who has developed a lemon-sized goiter, or enlarged thyroid gland, in her neck a common symptom of iodine-low diets. “I can’t breathe. I can’t swallow.”
Iodine deficiency and its largely irreversible effects _ the most severe is brain damage can be devastating. Most children born to iodine-deficient mothers appear normal but have difficulty learning and staying in school. Other symptoms include deafness, speech defects and goiters.
Dr. Iqbal Kabir, head of UNICEF’s Nutrition and Food Security section in Ethiopia, said only 4 percent of Ethiopia’s 77 million people consume iodized salt among the lowest percentages in the world.
“I have never seen any other country like this,” said Kabir, who has worked in the nutrition field since 1983, and in that time has worked in three or four countries that used to have iodine deficiency problems, including Bangladesh and Tanzania. Both have since improved their lot.
In Ethiopia, Kabir said, «If this problem continues, a generation will suffer. Most countries protect against iodine deficiency, simply by adding iodine to salt at a cost of about 4 US cents; 2 euro cents per kilogram (2 US cents;one euro cent per pound). Most people get enough iodine simply by eating plants grown in iodine-rich soil or seafood that also carries the trace amounts of the nutrient.
But Ethiopia is landlocked and its soil is iodine-poor. The country used to get its salt from the Eritrean port of Aseb, where iodization factories added the nutrient. But since the war, most Ethiopian salt comes uniodized from the salt flats of northern Ethiopia.
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been feuding over their border since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war.
Ethiopia is among the world’s 13 most iodine-poor countries, including India, Pakistan, Ghana and Burkina Faso, Kabir said. Nearly 64 percent of Pakistanis suffer from iodine deficiency, according to the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders.
In Africa, Burkina Faso reports nearly 48 percent iodine deficiency rates, and Ghana tops 71 percent.
The United Nations estimates that up to 80 percent of Ethiopians suffer from the deficiency.
Ethiopia is working to fix the problem. Belaynesh Yifru, a nutrition expert in the Ministry of Health, expects newly purchased iodization machines to be operating within three months in northern Ethiopia.
But for those already suffering the effects particularly developmental problems this promised solution comes too late. And for those with goiters, the only treatment is surgery, a faraway option for the rural poor.
Dinke Baja, 13, blinked away tears as she touched her bulging neck in the remote village of Kelay.
“I don’t like it,” said Dinke, who has not seen a doctor because her family hopes the goiter will go away on its own. “I don’t know what causes it.”
Doctors in the area say they’re doing their part to spread awareness, but often, it’s too late. Dr. Fekede Jara, one of three doctors for Nedjo’s 20,000 residents, says he sees eight to 10 patients a day with a goiter.
In the bustling surgery ward of the largest hospital in nearby Nekemte, Dr. Adam Lemma prepared to operate on Hanmbissa Farada, a farmer who decided he was ready to shed his goiter after 25 years. The goiter, the size of a small melon, dwarfs Hanmbissa’s thin frame.
Adam, who like many Ethiopians goes by his first name, is the hospital’s main general surgeon and performs up to four goiter-removal surgeries a week. At his hospital, which is government-run and where surgeries are subsidized, the most expensive goiter removal surgery costs about US$5.50 (€3.50) a considerable sum in a country where average per capita income is US$180 (€116).
«We have to concentrate more on prevention than on surgery,» Adam said. «It is a preventable disease.
But for those in the remote areas, prevention seems as far away as that distant war so many years ago.
In Nedjo, schoolteacher Negesse Olana, 36, clutched a plastic bag that held the remains of what was a pound of iodized salt. Doctors in Nekemte gave him the salt for his two children, both of whom have begun to develop goiters.
«Six, seven years ago, it did not exist around here,» he said. «But now most of the children have it. There is a difference between them. They are not as clever in the class, those who have this illness.
With less than a few teaspoons left in the bag and nowhere to buy more, Negesse says he has little hope. His 11-year-old daughter is already starting to struggle in school, and he said he’s certain the iodine deficiency is causing it.
“This is a national disaster,” said Mesfin Namarra, a lawmaker who represents Nedjo in far western Ethiopia, some 300 miles (480 kilometers) from the capital, Addis Ababa. «I don’t know why nobody is scared about this.
Source: World Health Organization on iodine deficiency
www.who.int/nutrition/topics/idd/en.
Global Energy (OTCBB:GEYI), an alternative energy innovator focusing on the processing of organic solid and energy waste into usable products, today announced that the Company has successfully finalized the first stage of its agricultural activities — castor farming in Ethiopia.
Global, in conjunction with its subsidiaries, Global NRG Pacific and Global Energy Ethiopia (“GEE”), is involved in a project to plant, harvest and produce non-edible oil for the biodiesel industry and a myriad of other uses.
GEE expects to commence seeding of castor in April, 2008 and harvest in August/September 2008. The expected yield of the harvest is 28,000 tons of seeds producing approximately 12,000 tons of castor oil. The current commodity price for castor ranges from $700.00U.S. to $1100.00 per ton.
During the past five months, GEE has developed an infrastructure for an agricultural cooperative, in the regions of Waletia and Goma Gofa, Ethiopia. This includes, but is not limited to, signed agreements with over 25,000 families, to farm castor on approximately 7,500 hectares of their land. GEE’s operations center is based in Sodo, Ethiopia, and includes a logistics center, computer center and a staff of Company trained agricultural supervisors.
The castor initiative is located in southern Ethiopia, approximately 320 km south of the capital of Addis Ababa and is comprised of land area totaling 220km by 110km.
GEE is concurrently conducting a research and development program to achieve new “species” of castor to improve future yields and intends to conduct studies in eight experimental sites simulating a variety of conditions. Additionally, the Company is training local personnel with twelve agronomists.
“Global’s work in Ethiopia represents another business model for the Company, one that is practical, provides a service to members of the local communities, and holds the potential to generate an ongoing significant revenue stream for the Company,” stated Asi Shalgi, CEO.
About Global Energy
Global Energy’s mission is to commercialize innovative technologies which produce energy from waste and renewable sources, while contributing to a vision of a cleaner environment. Global Energy intends to use the most efficient and environmentally friendly of all currently available alternative fuel technologies, each originally developed and patented by acclaimed scientists.
For further information please visit www.global-energy.net.
Forward-Looking Statements.
Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, that seeding of castor would commence in April 2008 and harvest in August/September 2008, that the expected yield of the harvest is 28,000 tons of seeds producing approximately 12,000 tones of castor oil, and that we will conduct studies in eight experimental sites to achieve a new “species” of castor to improve future yields; that we will commercialize innovative technologies which produce energy from waste and renewable sources; and that we will use the most efficient and environmentally friendly of all currently available alternative fuel technologies.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others: (i) the inherent uncertainties and speculative nature associated with biofuels and alternative fuel sources; (ii) potential environmental liabilities, weather, mechanical failures, safety concerns, labor problems and financing problems; (iii) changes in economic conditions, adverse exchange rates and financial markets; (iv) the risk that we are not able to execute our business plan, such as entering agreements with strategic partners, leasing land, obtaining loans, etc; (v) the inability to retain key employees; (vi) changes in energy prices and the high cost of alternative fuels; (vii) Global Energy’s inability to finance its operations or growth; (viii) the inability to obtain all necessary government, environmental and regulatory approvals; (ix) an increase in competition in the biofuel and alternative fuel market; (x) the possibility that our technology does not work as well as expected; and (xi) inability to access additional funds under the arranged convertible debenture which is subject to certain conditions to funding. Further, commodity prices for castor oil may decline, and our crops may not grow as expected. Investors should consider all of these risks and should also refer to the risk factors disclosed on the SEC filings of other start up alternative energy companies.
Global Energy announced that its has started a castor farming in Ethiopia for biodiesel plants. Global, in conjunction with its subsidiaries, Global NRG Pacific and Global Energy Ethiopia (“GEE”), is involved in a project to plant, harvest and produce non-edible oil for the biodiesel industry and a myriad of other uses.
GEE expects to commence seeding of castor in April, 2008 and harvest in August/September 2008. The expected yield of the harvest is 28,000 tons of seeds producing approximately 12,000 tons of castor oil. The current commodity price for castor ranges from $700.00U.S. to $1100.00 per ton.
During the past five months, GEE has developed an infrastructure for an agricultural cooperative, in the regions of Waletia and Goma Gofa, Ethiopia. This includes, but is not limited to, signed agreements with over 25,000 families, to farm castor on approximately 7,500 hectares of their land. GEE’s operations center is based in Sodo, Ethiopia, and includes a logistics center, computer center and a staff of Company trained agricultural supervisors.
The castor initiative is located in southern Ethiopia, approximately 320 km south of the capital of Addis Ababa and is comprised of land area totaling 220km by 110km.
GEE is concurrently conducting a research and development program to achieve new “species” of castor to improve future yields and intends to conduct studies in eight experimental sites simulating a variety of conditions. Additionally, the Company is training local personnel with twelve agronomists.
“Global’s work in Ethiopia represents another business model for the Company, one that is practical, provides a service to members of the local communities, and holds the potential to generate an ongoing significant revenue stream for the Company,” stated Asi Shalgi, CEO.
About Global Energy
Global Energy’s mission is to commercialize innovative technologies which produce energy from waste and renewable sources, while contributing to a vision of a cleaner environment. Global Energy intends to use the most efficient and environmentally friendly of all currently available alternative fuel technologies, each originally developed and patented by acclaimed scientists.
For further information please visit www.global-energy.net.
Forward-Looking Statements.
Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, that seeding of castor would commence in April 2008 and harvest in August/September 2008, that the expected yield of the harvest is 28,000 tons of seeds producing approximately 12,000 tones of castor oil, and that we will conduct studies in eight experimental sites to achieve a new “species” of castor to improve future yields; that we will commercialize innovative technologies which produce energy from waste and renewable sources; and that we will use the most efficient and environmentally friendly of all currently available alternative fuel technologies.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others: (i) the inherent uncertainties and speculative nature associated with biofuels and alternative fuel sources; (ii) potential environmental liabilities, weather, mechanical failures, safety concerns, labor problems and financing problems; (iii) changes in economic conditions, adverse exchange rates and financial markets; (iv) the risk that we are not able to execute our business plan, such as entering agreements with strategic partners, leasing land, obtaining loans, etc; (v) the inability to retain key employees; (vi) changes in energy prices and the high cost of alternative fuels; (vii) Global Energy’s inability to finance its operations or growth; (viii) the inability to obtain all necessary government, environmental and regulatory approvals; (ix) an increase in competition in the biofuel and alternative fuel market; (x) the possibility that our technology does not work as well as expected; and (xi) inability to access additional funds under the arranged convertible debenture which is subject to certain conditions to funding. Further, commodity prices for castor oil may decline, and our crops may not grow as expected. Investors should consider all of these risks and should also refer to the risk factors disclosed on the SEC filings of other start up alternative energy companies.
