May 16, 2023

DPM, FM Demeke Confers With Ethiopia’s Honorary Consul In Belarus

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen has conferred with Ethiopia’s Honorary Consul in Belarus, Dmitry Lukashenko.

Demeke warmly welcomed the Honorary Consul to Addis Ababa & expressed the gratitude of the Gov’t of Ethiopia for representing Ethiopia and its people with passion and commitment in the Eastern European nation.

He told the latter, “You are our ambassador to Belarus”.

Moreover, Demeke stated it is high time that Ethiopia and Belarus strive towards strengthening bilateral ties, among others in the areas of investment, tourism, agricultural mechanization and mining.

“We will do our level best to enhance Ethio-Belarusian relations,” Demeke told Lukashenko.

Ethiopia’s Honorary Consul in Belarus, Dmitry Lukashenko, of Belarus on his part thanked Demeke for graciously hosting him and vowed to further bolster the historical relations between the two countries.

He commended the recent developments and positive changes in Addis Ababa.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

May 16, 2023

EU, Ministry of Health Sign Agreement to Improve Specialized Health Education in Ethiopia

The European Union (EU) and Ministry of Health have today signed an agreement that aims at improving specialized health education in Ethiopia with a budget of 5 million Euros.

Ethiopian Minister of Health, Lia Tadesse and the European Union Ambassador to Ethiopia, Roland Kobia signed the agreement for the project.

According to the agreement, the European Union along with Spanish and Italian cooperation will work in nine university hospitals in Ethiopia to improve the professional skills of specialized medical students and teachers.

At the launching of the project, Minister of Health, Lia Tadesse said in a bid to further strengthen the health sector, attention has been given to the development of human resources in the field.

Starting from health extension workers, training and other supports are being offered to strengthen the human resources at all levels.

One of the areas of focus for the country is to expand specialized medical training, she said, adding specialized health education is being offered in 22 educational institutions.

The project announced by the European Union today aims to increase the capacity of specialist doctors in nine university hospitals in Ethiopia, she pointed out.

According to the agreement, with a budget of 5 million Euros’, the European Union, with the Spanish and Italian cooperation, will work to expand health training and strengthen the quality of key surgical services.

The Minister further stated that by bringing experts and technologies from these countries, experience sharing will be undertaken.

“The objective is to expand and enhance quality training with a view to scale up capacities of students and teachers in the sector in key health issues such as specialties in surgeries, orthopedic treatment, and obstetrics and gynecology as well as emergency among others by exchange of experts and new technologies from these countries,” she elaborated.

European Union Ambassador to Ethiopia, Roland Kobia, expressed that he will do his part to make the project successful.

He also pointed out that capacity building activities, including training for medical doctors, will be undertaken as part of the project.

Noting that the needs are huge and the war also take toll not only on physical infrastructure including hospitals and health centers, he said that “it is not only this project that we have but we have many other projects. So if we put it all the projects it is off course much more than what we are doing here today. So working with you is a real privilege. We know that you deploy all efforts to make this project a success for Ethiopia but mainly for the population. So we can have a better access to help.’

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

May 16, 2023

One Africa Expo Instrumental To Accelerate Economic Integration among African Countries: MoFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said that the One Africa Expo 2023, a ten-day high level business expo will be instrumental in strengthening the economic integration among African countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly with members of One Africa Expo gave a press conference today on the preparation of the expo which will be held at the Ethiopia Museum of Art and Science Centre, Addis Ababa, from 20th to the 30th of May, 2023.

Director General of Economic Diplomacy Affairs at the ministry, Ambassador Ababi Demissie noted the expo is expected to bring the business communities together and play their role in realizing the goal of the African Agenda 2063.

Noting Ethiopia has been playing a pivotal role on African issues at regional and international arena, he said the nation will share its best experience at expo.

CEO of One Africa Expo, Yalew Getachew said on his part the expo will bring together government officials, diplomats, private sectors from African countries and global partners.

The first-ever One Africa EXPO will be held here in Addis Ababa in honor of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Organization of the African Unity(OAU), the predecessor of the African Union(AU).

The One Africa Expo 2023 is set to be an unprecedented Business-to-Business (B2B) trade show, created specifically for African governments, private and public business sectors, global companies, and business professionals to showcase their products, services, and expertise.

This platform offers an exceptional visual experience of Africa, bringing together diverse industries ranging from mobility, cultural diversity, tourism, technology, green initiatives, agro-industries, financial services, and infrastructures, involving all 55 member states.

The One Africa Expo 2023 is a must-attend event for those seeking to explore and expand their business potential in Africa, while also contributing to the development of the continent’s economic success, it was noted.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

May 16, 2023

Ethiopia Preparing to Conduct 4th Population, Housing Censes: Minister of Plan & Development

The government of Ethiopia has been carrying out preparations to conduct the 4th population and housing census in the upcoming three years, Minister of Plan and Development, Fisum Assefa disclosed.

The House of Peoples Representative has today evaluated the nine months performance report of Ministry of Planning and Development.

On the occasion, the minster told the standing committee that currently preparations are underway to conduct the 4th population and housing census over the coming three years.

The Minister also explained about the key activities carried out during the past nine months in her performance report.

The minister added though preparations were made previously to conduct the census with international standard in the entire country, it was not implemented due to problems the country encountered.

According to the minister, population and housing census is one of the key priorities in the preparations of development and investment plans to be implemented over the coming three years.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

May 16, 2023

LPM wins Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) won the Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election that was held on Monday, Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer Theo Mujoro has announced.

Mujoro in a media release on Tuesday said ECN Returning Officer Roseline Keramin officially announced the results.

A total of 2 912 votes were counted and 16 ballots were rejected.

The Landless People’s Movement candidate Willem Petrus Labuschagne won the by-election with 1 270 votes out of the 2 912 counted.

Swapo Party candidate Elias Kharuxab received 872 votes, while Gerrit Albertus Witbooi who contested as an Independent Candidate (IC) received 463 votes.

The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) candidate Johannes Frederick Jacobus Eiman received 275 votes, while the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC)’s Magdalena van Staden received 32 votes.

The by-election was held after LPM removed its previous regional councillor, Gerrit Albertus Witbooi.

The registered voters for the Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election was 6 675 which translates to a total voter turnout of 43.8 per cent.

“The ECN extends its gratitude to all election officials, party agents, the Namibian Police and the media for overseeing the conduct of a transparent and credible electoral process, as well as the maintenance of law and order,” Mujoro said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

May 16, 2023

Disconnection of electricity supply, not loadshedding: Haulofu

NamPower’s Managing Director (MD), Kahenge Haulofu, on Tuesday said the media has been misusing the term ‘load-shedding’ in the recent coverage of the power utility’s debt collection plan that was re-introduced through a public notice last week.

Haulofu during a media briefing on Tuesday, explained that the debt collection plan, which is a scheduled disconnection of electricity supply to defaulting customers, is a re-introduction of a debt collection plan and debt repayment incentive that was first introduced in 2021 and it is not load-shedding.

“There has been a lot of misinterpretation of terms by the media and the public in relation to the suspension of electricity supply to NamPower customers with overdue accounts.

The debt collection plan and repayment incentive are NamPower’s efforts in reaching an understanding between default customers in paying their outstanding accounts,” he clarified.

He added that with NamPower’s Power Supply Agreements, the company has the right to totally disconnect the electricity supply to defaulting customers, hence the resolution to introduce the debt collection plan.

According to the MD, several other measures were explored before reaching the conclusion of introducing the debt collection plan that will be implemented on 05 June and will affect customers who fail to pay their overdue accounts by 31 May.

The disconnection of electricity supply to defaulting customers will be divided into stages starting with stage one and escalating to stage nine.

Meanwhile, Haulofu emphasised that NamPower has received no pressure from their bilateral partner, Eskom and that the load-shedding in South Africa (SA) has to date not posed a need for Namibia to panic.

He concluded by saying that Namibia only receives 100 megawatts of electricity from SA while its largest supplier is Zambia with 180 megawatts of electricity.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency