እነዚህ የውጭ ኩባንያዎች ኢትዮጵያ ኢትዮጵያ ሲሉ አዲስ የተገኘች ፕላኔስ አስመሰሉን እኮ። እረ በፈጠራችሁ ለአለም ጀማሪዎቹ እኛ ነን።
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Egypt seeks Saudi help on Ethiopia water dispute
የአይጥ ምስክሯ ድንቢጥ እንዲሉ ግብፅ ሳውዲን የአባይን ነገር ለመሸምገል አስባለች:ታዲያ አሁን ሳውዲ እንዲያው ማን ይሙት ለኢትዮጵያ ታስባለች። እረሳችው ወንድምና እህቶቻችንን እንደጎመን ቆራርጣ እንዳላበረርችን አሁን ደግሞ ሽማግሌ ሊሆን? ያማ አይደረግም!
Speaking to Al-Monitor, an Egyptian government official said, “A detailed report is currently being prepared to examine and explain Egyptian concerns relating to the building of the dam, in the absence of a clear agreement with Ethiopia about it. The final draft of the report, which explains the concerns over the repercussions the construction of the dam will have on Egypt and Sudan, will be sent to the International Panel of Experts.”
The official, who has close ties to Egyptian decision-making circles, added, “Egypt will ask Ethiopia, through the mediation, to sign a binding agreement with Egypt stating the dam’s operational specifications, its stored water capacity, and the amount of water that will be regularly released in a manner that does not negatively affect Egypt’s share of that water.”
This convergence of views between Egypt and the Gulf countries — except for Qatar — began after the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi by the army on July 3, 2013. While the Gulf leaders expressed their satisfaction toward the change in the political scene of Egypt after the fall of the Brotherhood, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rushed to offer financial aid packages to the Egyptian government, amounting to $10.7 billion in the span of only six months.
“Resorting to Gulf mediation will help Egypt gain more time. As Ethiopia is rushing to build the dam, we are running out of time and are unable to re-launch negotiations, which puts us in a critical situation,” the official added.
According to the same official, “Egypt is preparing this dossier after receiving verbal assurances from Saudi and Emirati officials that they would back Egypt in all issues affecting its national security. This problem has been discussed in the many meetings that took place between Egyptian and Gulf officials since last June 30.”
“The Gulf mediation is a good and useful step, but it is conditional on the acceptance of both countries,” Mahmoud Abu Zeid, the head of the Arab Water Council, told Al-Monitor.
Abu Zeid said the potency of such mediation efforts lies in the fact that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have strong economic ties with and large investments in the Ethiopian market.
The head of the Arab Water Council, whose membership includes Saudi officials, added that it was possible for the council to play an important role in helping alleviate the ongoing tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia. But the Egyptian government has yet to ask it to intervene, and Egypt’s concern with the water issue still requires direct guidance from the president, as well as an intensification of efforts to solve the crisis, Abu Zeid said.
Saudi Arabia contributes to economic development projects in Ethiopia through investments made by Saudi businessmen in infrastructure projects. In addition, it offers Addis Ababa further support through the Kuwaiti Development Fund, OPEC and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, with the Ethiopian parliament endorsing projects financed by Saudi Arabia in energy and agriculture. Furthermore, the kingdom plays host to thousands of Ethiopian workers who are employed in a variety of jobs, particularly as domestic labor, despite that this issue was the cause of tensions after Saudi Arabia expelled a large number of illegal workers.
In January 2011, the Director of the Ethiopian Investment Authority, Abi Walad Meskel, estimated Saudi investments to be close to $3 billion dollars, making Saudi Arabia the largest investor in Ethiopia, followed by India, China and Turkey.
Al-Monitor spoke with an Egyptian diplomat assigned to the Ethiopian relations dossier. “Any change in the amount or terms of monies given to the Addis Ababa government will greatly contribute in compelling Ethiopia into reassessing its stance towards Egypt, as well as committing to a serious and constructive dialogue in order to resolve the continuing crisis that exists between the two countries concerning the Renaissance Dam,” he said.
The diplomatic source, who requested anonymity, asserted, “Arab financial pressure was the best of options in the escalatory scenario currently adopted by Egypt, following strong indications that the Egyptian Minister of Water Resources’ visit to Italy would be successful, and the uncertain prospects vis-à-vis resorting to the international community, now that Egypt has a new government in place.”
African affairs specialist at the Al-Ahram Center for Political Studies, Hani Raslan, cautioned, in an interview with Al-Monitor, about “the current state of affairs, which was no longer confined to mere tensions and constituted a direct and imminent threat to Egypt, as a result of it being deprived of its water rights. Ethiopia refuses to recognize previous international norms and conventions, as well as Egypt’s historical right, and considers the waters of the Nile to be its property.” Raslan further warned against any attempts to impose a fait accompli and move toward adopting a policy where water would be sold after the building of dams.
Raslan opined that Saudi mediation did not stop at direct negotiations with Addis Ababa, but also entailed putting pressure through other diplomatic channels that exist between Saudi Arabia and the United States.
He also asserted, “The success of Saudi intervention would primarily be to the benefit of Egypt, in accordance with the political pledges and interests that Saudi Arabia has undertaken vis-à-vis Egypt lately.”
The Arab world suffers from an inability to secure daily water needs, with a November 2013 UN report estimating that Arab countries needed to allocate at least $200 billion for water resource management during the next 10 years, just to address this crisis. The report also warned about the nonexistence of comprehensive international agreements governing transboundary waters, despite that one-third of the surface water upon which the Arab world relies originating outside its borders, with the same applying to ground water in the Arabian Peninsula.
News reports have pointed toward a shift in the food security policies of Gulf countries from Africa to Europe and America. Gulf countries are re-evaluating their projects aimed at securing their food security through some African nations, such as Ethiopia, following increased animosity toward Gulf investors among locals and the spread of public reservations about Arab investments on their lands. This is a result of the massive investments that Gulf countries made to purchase tens of thousands of hectares of cheap farmland in African countries, which they used to satisfy nearly 90% of their food needs.
The Renaissance Dam crisis continues to dominate the rhetoric of Egyptian officials, as the Ethiopian side asserts its intention to proceed with the project. Despite Cairo’s efforts, there’s no clear indications that their efforts thus far have made any inroads.
Unilever Plans Manufacturing Plant in Ethiopia as Growth Surges
By William Davison Mar 9, 2014 2:00 PM PT
Unilever (UNA), the world’s second-biggest consumer-products maker, plans to open a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia during the next year in a bid to emulate its expansion into Vietnam, a company official said.
The London- and Rotterdam-based company is renting premises for a plant in the Chinese-built Eastern Industry Zone in Dukem, 19 miles southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, Dougie Brew, head of corporate affairs in Africa, said in a phone interview on March 4. Unilever, which already imports Knorr stock cubes and Omo detergent into Ethiopia, may initially make fabric-cleaning soaps before moving into food, he said from London.
“The plans are ambitious for Ethiopia because we see it as a growing market,” Brew said. “We’ve taken a long-term investment decision in Ethiopia because of the demography, broad-based growth and opportunity to create a genuinely inclusive and sustainable business model from scratch.”
Ethiopia’s economy is projected to expand 8 percent in the 12 months to July 7 after growing an average of 9.3 percent for the past four years, according to an October report by the International Monetary Fund. The country’s estimated population last year of 93.9 million people, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest, is increasing at 2.9 percent a year, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook.
Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM), the owner of the KFC fast-food chain, said on March 6 it’s considering entering Ethiopia as it expands across the continent.
Vietnam Success
Unilever invested $130 million in Vietnam as the business grew annually at more than 10 percent for 14 years after opening in 1995, a 2009 report by a think-tank at the Southeast Asian nation’s Planning and Investment Ministry said. The company is looking at a “similar scale” operations in Ethiopia, Brew said.
Ethiopia’s economy, at $41.6 billion, is almost four times smaller than Vietnam’s, according to World Bank data.
The company plans to build a “comprehensive consumer-goods manufacturing business” in Ethiopia, which will source from Ethiopian suppliers, Brew said. “Retail is still a restricted sector so a lot of our work will be developing local Ethiopian companies that will act as distributors.”
The case study by Vietnam’s Central Institute for Economic Management praised Unilever Vietnam Co. for sourcing 60 percent of raw materials and all of its packaging domestically by 2007. The company created 1,200 jobs directly and 8,000 indirectly in the country, according to the report posted on Unilever’s website.
The company whose brands include Lynx deodorant, Vaseline and Lipton Tea, will focus on sales in Ethiopia and later neighbors including South Sudan and Somalia once security improves.
“In businesses like ours it always makes sense to manufacture close to the consumer,” he said.
Violence erupted in South Sudan on Dec. 15 and clashes are continuing even after a Jan. 23 cease-fire, while Somali government forces have been battling Islamist militants for at least the past eight years.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa at wdavison3@bloomberg.net
Unilever (UNA), the world’s second-biggest consumer-products maker, plans to open a manufacturing plant in Ethiopia during the next year in a bid to emulate its expansion into Vietnam, a company official said.
The London- and Rotterdam-based company is renting premises for a plant in the Chinese-built Eastern Industry Zone in Dukem, 19 miles southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, Dougie Brew, head of corporate affairs in Africa, said in a phone interview on March 4. Unilever, which already imports Knorr stock cubes and Omo detergent into Ethiopia, may initially make fabric-cleaning soaps before moving into food, he said from London.
“The plans are ambitious for Ethiopia because we see it as a growing market,” Brew said. “We’ve taken a long-term investment decision in Ethiopia because of the demography, broad-based growth and opportunity to create a genuinely inclusive and sustainable business model from scratch.”
Ethiopia’s economy is projected to expand 8 percent in the 12 months to July 7 after growing an average of 9.3 percent for the past four years, according to an October report by the International Monetary Fund. The country’s estimated population last year of 93.9 million people, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest, is increasing at 2.9 percent a year, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook.
Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM), the owner of the KFC fast-food chain, said on March 6 it’s considering entering Ethiopia as it expands across the continent.
Vietnam Success
Unilever invested $130 million in Vietnam as the business grew annually at more than 10 percent for 14 years after opening in 1995, a 2009 report by a think-tank at the Southeast Asian nation’s Planning and Investment Ministry said. The company is looking at a “similar scale” operations in Ethiopia, Brew said.
Ethiopia’s economy, at $41.6 billion, is almost four times smaller than Vietnam’s, according to World Bank data.
The company plans to build a “comprehensive consumer-goods manufacturing business” in Ethiopia, which will source from Ethiopian suppliers, Brew said. “Retail is still a restricted sector so a lot of our work will be developing local Ethiopian companies that will act as distributors.”
The case study by Vietnam’s Central Institute for Economic Management praised Unilever Vietnam Co. for sourcing 60 percent of raw materials and all of its packaging domestically by 2007. The company created 1,200 jobs directly and 8,000 indirectly in the country, according to the report posted on Unilever’s website.
The company whose brands include Lynx deodorant, Vaseline and Lipton Tea, will focus on sales in Ethiopia and later neighbors including South Sudan and Somalia once security improves.
“In businesses like ours it always makes sense to manufacture close to the consumer,” he said.
Violence erupted in South Sudan on Dec. 15 and clashes are continuing even after a Jan. 23 cease-fire, while Somali government forces have been battling Islamist militants for at least the past eight years.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa at wdavison3@bloomberg.net
Ethiopians sweep LA Marathon
The 31-year-old Ethiopian woman won the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 37 seconds after finishing sixth in Dubai on Jan. 25.
“I’m building a house, and definitely that home will be paid off,” Gobena said through an interpreter.
Burka won in 2:10:37.
Gobena finished second here in 2009, but that was on a different course than the current Stadium to the Sea that runs from Dodger Stadium to the Pacific Ocean.
Still, she knew enough to leave runner-up and fellow Ethiopian Tigist Tufa in mile 23 and was not challenged.
Tufa finished in a personal-best 2:28:04, and American Lauren Kleppin was third in 2:28:48, some 13 minutes faster than her previous best. Her goal had been to run at least 2:37, the standard for the Olympic trials that will be in Los Angeles, albeit possibly on a different course, in 2016.
Burka clocked his best time since a 2:10:18 in Cannes, France, five years ago. Through an interpreter, he said he has been sick the last three years but has since returned feeling strong.
“(Through) the instruction of my coach, I cut my amount of exercise, so I was able to save me energy and accomplish my goals,” Burka said.
Lani Rutto of Kenya was second in 2:10:48. He challenged Burka over the last three miles but ultimately faded when Burka zigzagged in mile 25. Rutto said that was the major reason he couldn’t catch Burka.
Defending champion Erick Mose was third in 2:12:56. He had fallen well back of the pack of six in mile 13 but rallied.
“I was good but I had a big problem reaching 15 miles,” Mose said. “I had a big problem with my back running downhill. A lot of pain, so I lost my pace with the other guys.”
Joshua George won the men’s wheelchair division in 1:33:11, and Susanna Scaroni won the women’s race in 1:54:54.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Mohammed Aman wins second gold medal for Ethiopia
Mohammed Aman wins second gold medal for Ethiopia
Sopot, Poland – Mohammed Aman clinched the second gold medal for Team Ethiopia after winning the 800m race in a time of 1:46.40.
Adam Kszczot of Poland came in second 35 seconds behind, with Andrew Osagie of Great Britain in third place (1:47.10).The 20-year-old Aman, who is 2013 World champion in Moscow, retained his world indoor title from Istanbul in style finishing in 1:46.40.
Men’s 800m Result:
 |
POS | BIB | ATHLETE | COUNTRY | MARK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | 180 | Mohammed AMAN | ETH | 1:46.40 | |
|
2 | 309 | Adam KSZCZOT | POL | 1:46.76 | |
|
3 | 206 | Andrew OSAGIE | GBR | 1:47.10 | |
|
4 | 337 | André OLIVIER | RSA | 1:47.31 |
Ethiopia's Dibaba takes world indoor gold in the 3,000
Genzebe Dibaba overwhelmed opposition to breeze to a gold medal in the
3,000 meters at the world indoor championships Sunday, failing to add a
third world record in a season but clinching a long-distance title after
the 1,500 two years ago.
Dibaba knew from the start she was in a league all her own, and when
she took charge at the halfway point only a few could match her pace.
With a kick for home with two laps to go, the Ethiopian immediately
created a yawning gap, leaving silver to defending champion Hellen Obiri
of Kenya and bronze to Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain.
Dibaba had already set world records in the 1,500 and 3,000 this winter but decided against a double in Sopot.
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