Day: May 12, 2023

The National Disaster Risk Management Commission (NDRMC) recommended USAID and its partners to lift the temporary suspension of food aid in Tigray as soon as possible, which will be devastating for targeted beneficiaries.

Recall the USAID and the World Food Program (WFP) announced that they were suspending “until further notice” their food aid to the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, NDRMC Commissioner Shiferaw Teklemariam recalled that there is temporary suspension of the humanitarian aid distribution in Tigray region.

The reasons that are highlighted by the donors—i.e. USAID, WFP as well as CRS are that until they manage to get proper investigation of the cause and a person and entity that is answerable for what was done.

Moreover, the commissioner elaborated that they temporarily suspended the distribution of aid until they get a design or mechanism that no more humanitarian aid distribution is being diverted.

“We will also promote the very fact that any individual or entity will be responsible for the very cause, but of course, we have the view that the targeted beneficiaries should not be punished by the fact that until we will be able to investigate and put the robust system in place,” he noted.

“Therefore, our recommendation to USAID and its partners (is) to lift as soon as possible this suspension which will be of disastrous effect to the beneficiaries who were initially targeted with,” according to the commissioner.

On other hand, he stated that we are following very closely the situation and will definitely working closely with Tigray region as well as with the authorities how to address this issue.

“Of course the commission is also very much unhappy with the act of the diversion and we don’t want to get any of this aid to a person or entity which isn’t supposed to be or that doesn’t deserve any kind of such support. We are also aware and closely following the matter with pertinent institutions and organizations,” he underscored.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Shiferaw recalled that the government had been relentlessly working to provide all humanitarian assistance in collaboration with partners for those in need of relief assistance even before the Pretoria Peace Agreement.

Close to 15,000 metric tons of food supplies and non- food items were delivered to beneficiaries, he said.

He further said that since then, though the partners, basically USAID funded partners and others, despite some occasional gap, we managed to cover fully 5.2 million beneficiaries in Tigray, 2.4 million in Amhara region and 750,000 in Afar region.

We successfully covered two rounds, for services from one month to two months period, he said, adding: “Now we are in the distribution phase of third round.”

The government as well as a number of other partners have been trying to provide not only the food aid supplies but also non-food items like educational items, agricultural inputs such as fertilizer and seeds among others items, according to the commissioner.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Netherlands supports reform work being carried out in the justice system in Ethiopia and capacity building in public institutions, Netherland Ambassador to Ethiopia, Henk Jan Baker said.

Amsterdam Universities Graduates Association in Ethiopia (AUGAE) Alumni Network launching event was held today in Addis Ababa.

During the occasion it was indicated that over the past 30 years, the University of Amsterdam and the Vrije University in Amsterdam, have implemented various capacity building projects in varieties of disciplines.

Over 15 capacity building projects have been instituted since commencement in 1992 in which over 800 participants have been able to take advantage of postgraduate study opportunities in Ethiopia.

At the launching event, Ambassador of Netherland to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to African Union, UNECA and IGAD, Henk Jan Baker said over the past 30 years, the University of Amsterdam and the Vrije University in Amsterdam have been implementing capacity building activities in Ethiopia with several Ethiopian public institutions.

He added that hundreds of practicing professionals have benefited from these activities in which many of these activities are funded by the Netherlands.

At this particular time, we have ongoing capacity building program with the activities of federal ministry of Justice and in Oromia justice sector institutions.

“At federal ministry of justice and in Oromia justice sector institutions, currently some 450 candidates are busy preparing their final dissertation degree, research for a masters degree in varieties of specialization in the legal discipline. Furthermore, there are several short term courses that are part of this project that are offered to practicing professionals in Ethiopian public institutions among other also in Somali region,” he said.

Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Djibouti Birhanu Tsegaye on his part said in developing countries like Ethiopia, one of the issues that make it challenging to properly provide government services to the public is the lack of trained manpower and the lack of a proper service delivery system.

Ethiopia, being a country that has been challenged by the lack of skilled manpower, has been making various efforts to solve these problems.

One of the programs that played the biggest role in the process of producing skilled manpower is the Amsterdam University and later the Vrije University program.

“The program is making a significant contribution in producing professionals who can achieve the goal of the judicial sector and ensuring the rule of law by carrying out such capacity building activities”

The aim of the proposed projects was to support human capacity building endeavor of Ethiopia by the way of training of government personnel with the objective being to create a sustainable self-reliant human resource capacity.

Interim Chairperson of the Project (AUGAE), Haileselassie Gebreselassie on his part said this venture of establishing alumni is essential in gauging the contributions and added value of the capacity building programs so far implemented in Ethiopia which will further foster the task of organizing future projects.

“The importance of establishing this organization is to create network among students studied in this institutions. It also aimed at providing them with opportunities of further education, job opportunities, publication of articles,” he said.

He noted that at immediate objective level, we have 15 specializations in which we have offered postgraduate programs and at short term level, we have organized short term training ranging from one week to six months.

Director of Center for International Cooperation at Vrije University, Dr Henk Van Den Heuvel on his part said we have been co-implementing the justice capacity building program since 5 years now and it is going very well due to the commitment of Ethiopian justice sector institutions.

He added that after this project we hope that Mekelle University and Oromia State University will be able to takeover and run by themselves.

The education and training project would deepen partnership cooperation among its member on the one hand and with other stakeholders on the other, thereby strengthening capacity building endeavor which is a significant stepping stone towards the institutionalization of good governance and the rule of law in Ethiopia.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency