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Fortune Volume 1 Number 50
April 14 - 21, 2001

Tekeze Dam Project on Tender
The much-talked about Tekeze Hydroelectric Power Project is edging to the implementation phase as the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is preparing to issue a bid within the next two months to select and hire an engineering company that would execute the construction of the dam.

Fortune Volume 1 Number 50
Saturday, April 14, 2001
Tekeze Dam Project on Tender
BY MIKIAS WORKU
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
The much-talked about Tekeze Hydroelectric Power Project is edging to the implementation phase as the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is preparing to issue a bid within the next two months to select and hire an engineering company that would execute the construction of the dam.
The planned construction of the 180-meters dam on the Tekeze River, in Tigray Regional State, which will house a 300MW hydroelectric power plant, is estimated to cost more than 2.5 billion Br.
Sources said the pre-qualification process to shortlist eligible companies that would compete in the upcoming tender has been completed this week. Eight European and Asian engineering firms, some of whom opted to work jointly with local companies, have been retained for participation in the bid after passing through pre-qualification requirements.
According to Engineer Mengesha Shifferaw, manager of the Project, the tender will be issued in May or June 2001 and the awarding would take place in December 2001.
He said that the project is expected to be completed within five years after the construction of the dam begins.
EEPCo has hired Harza Engineering, a US consulting firm, for consultation on the execution of the project and for preparing the bid documents.
Engineer Mengesha said that the Ethiopian government is so far the financier of the project but a reassessment of the total cost of the project is underway pending finalization.
Tis Abay II, Gilgel Gibe and Finchaa units, followed by the completion of the first phase of the Tekeze power station, would enhance the country's overall electric power generation capacity by 34pc, the project manager said.
The increase would further step up total output of electricity to 46pc when the final phase is concluded.
Berta Construction is carrying out the construction of a paved access road linking the site with the main road at a cost of more than 34 million Br. Construction has commenced in October 2000 and is scheduled for completion during the coming June.
The Tekeze project brings hydroelectric projects currently in the pipeline to two as Midroc Construction has signed a memorandum of association with EEPCo to conduct studies on a similar project on Gojeb River. Top

EU's Decision Feared to Hit Hard Ethiopia's Vege Exports
BY DAWIT TAYE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
The recent decision the European Union has introduced, wanting the pesticide chemical content in imported vegetables and fruits to be at zero level, would significantly affect the export market of such items in the developing countries, including Ethiopia, according to information from the Ethiopian Export Promotion Agency.
The measure by the union emanates from fear of health hazard that may be caused by imports with pesticide contents.
The agency fears that Ethiopia could seriously be affected by the new regulation as it exports a huge amount of vegetables and fruits to European countries.
In the first half of this year alone, products worth 2.3 million Dollars were sent to Europe. From total exports to the world market, Ethiopia has earned 4.6 million Dollars in 1998, 5.4 million Dollars in 1999 and 6.7 million Dollars in 2000, and more than 40pc of the exports between 1996 and 2000 went to European countries.
"The agency has given due attention to the issue and is trying to provide adequate information to producers and exporters," the agency said.
It further stated that the European Union would work with the Agency, so that Ethiopia would not lose the foreign currency it earns from the exports of fruits and vegetables.
The union has been studying the issue since last year and following the decision is currently conducting vigilant inspections on all imported vegetables and fruits. Top

Ethio-Italian Joint Venture to Invest 100m Br in Coffee Processing Firm
BY MARY DEJENE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Nejat International Plc., a local company celebrated for its coffee exports, is on the process of launching a joint venture company with an Italian firm that will export roasted and grounded coffee to Europe (predominantly to Germany), the United States and Japan, Ethiopia's prominent coffee buyers.
Germany is the largest buyer of Ethiopia's coffee in recent years.
Kalid Omar, deputy general manager, confirmed that the new company will be operational after six months when the erection of the prefabricated warehouse under construction, is finalized.
The investors have already acquired 30,000 Sq. m of land around Kaliti on a lease from the Addis Abeba City Administration. Leasing it on 105 Br per Sq.m, the new venture would spend 189 million Br to cover the 60-year lease agreement.
The new joint venture between Nejat and an Italian company, whose name Kalid has declined to disclose, plans to spend 100 million Br, as start up. Some sources, however, say a well known Italian company called ILLI is the one involved in this project. Although Kalid admits working with this company on other projects, he has strongly denied the involvement of this company in this particular project.
He, however, said the new venture forecasts to increase its investment to 70 million Dollars in five years.
The packing materials will be imported for at least couple of years to come, before the new venture starts producing itself locally, according to Kalid. Top

Privatization Gets 10m Br
BY MIKIAS WORKU
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
The Ethiopian Privatization Agency (EPA), whose long served board chairman, Assefa Abraha, was sacked from office two weeks ago, has received a grant amounting to 10.2 million Br in aggregate from international financial institutions and the Ethiopian government.
The financial assistance would be deployed towards financing the costs of various forms of technical assistance to the privatization process, sources said.
The fund has been made available to implement a privatization technical assistance project that EPA plans to execute in the next 24 months, up to December 2002.
The African Development Bank (ADB) has granted three million Br as a contribution to the fund, while 2.2 million Br was obtained from the GTZ a German development agency, 750,000 Br has been obtained from the International Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank.
The government has contributed 4.8 million Br.
The fund would be utilized to hire foreign consulting firms to prepare public enterprises for privatization, for the procurement of goods and equipment, providing operational support and training, and promoting public awareness on the privatization process.
As part of the assistance project and tapping from the fund made available, EPA is currently automating its operations with an installation of local area computer networking, which is being carried out by a local computer company, Cybersoft Plc.
EPA is paying the company 250,000 Br to do the computerization job, while the hardware procurement is estimated to cost around 1.5 million Br. The agency has also issued a tender last month to retain an international consulting firm that will work on the divesting process of some 20 state-owned enterprises. Top
Businesses Fear Monopoly May Loom over Port Operation
BY TAMRAT G. GIORGIS
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Contrary to its tradition of policies on trade, where any foreigner could do any type of business in its territory, the Government of Djibouti has introduced a finance law that requires all insurance companies to deposit in cash or secure a physical asset worth millions of dollars to continue operating in Djibouti.
This new requirement has indicated Djibouti's growing attitude in discriminating nationals from foreign businesses, since those insurance companies wholly owned by foreigners asked to deposit four million Dollars, while the amount for those that are fully or partially owned by Djiboutians is one million Dollars.
The new directive subsequently led to the emergence of two mergers by Amerga insurance company (controlled by the family of Marill) and AGF (controlled by the family of Buchet) with Djiboutian businesspeople, while the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation's (EIC) branch in Djibouti is made to be inactive following its failure to deposit what was required from foreign insurance companies.
These mergers, positioning the two companies to a less competitive market, now influenced them to increase their prices to insure Ethiopian trucks three times more than what the market had been costing two months back.
And this is a new restrictive trend developing in Djibouti that but worries Ethiopian businesses that are engaged in import and export.
A new directive issued last week by the government has indicated the creation of a committee that will be entrusted with power of issuing or revoking licenses on marine operations.
Though a follow up directive is being expected from President Ismael Guelleh's office, detailing further the newly introduced law, our sources disclosed that stevedoring operation (a lucrative business of unloading vessels) will be put under the exclusive domain of Djiboutian companies, furnishing a monopoly position to few companies that may pop up in the coming months.
In the meantime, however, there remain only one company, COMAD, that gives stevedoring services, determining its prices as it pleases being free from any competition, fears Ethiopian businesspeople.
"We'll soon be at the mercy of COMAD," said a concerned CEO of a company that does import and export business. "Even if we want to believe that other Djiboutian companies will be created soon, their prices will not be as competitive as it is now."
The major concern for most businesses is the fact that COMAD's largest competitor, the Ethiopian Maritime Transit Services Enterprise (MTSE), which is seen as a stabilizing factor, will not be in the business of stevedoring if Djibouti is serious about its new policy.
COMAD's officials, however, say that they have no intention of increasing their prices in a move to take advantage of their would be short-lived monopoly position.
"Our strategy with Ethiopian businesses has always been a long term interest," said Ali Ahmed Toubeh, a personal advisor to Saad Chiek, who owns COMAD.
"We would like to assure once again to our clients that our prices will remain the same now and in the future."
Ali, who is now in Addis in a bid to asses the reaction of his company's customer's to the new policy, said since 90pc of COMAD's business comes from Ethiopia, his management will remain committed to deliver the required "quality services with similar rates we have been charging so far".
"We've no intention of undermining our long term interest with Ethiopian businesses over a short term advantage," said Ali, whose company will not be concerned about the toughest competition that is now coming from Ethiopia's giant MTSE.
But, MTSE's fate in Djibouti will be something to be taken for grant.
According to sources, the new directive will require companies to choose between one of the two marine services allowed for foreign companies: ship agency or transit operations. Even Djiboutian companies will have to create different companies to do these different businesses since the new policy will not allow them to so both ship agency and transit business under one company.
What is more difficult for MTSE or any other Ethiopian company (all foreign companies for that matter) will be, their home countries should allow Djibutian companies to do similar businesses in their territories.
Ethiopia is thus a country that has laws that puts businesses such as transit, clearing and forwarding to the exclusive rights of its own citizens. Consequently, the government of Ethiopia will face the options of allowing Djiboutians open offices that will do ship agency, transit and forwarding businesses so that Ethiopian companies will be allowed to do operational works inside the Port of Djibouti; depending entirely on Djiboutian companies to process everything on behalf of Ethiopian companies; or move to a more open and liberal port in the region - this time, perhaps to Port of Berbera.
Until the dust settles, however, the cloud of uncertainty among Ethiopian businesses as a result of Djibouti's new mood, surfaces as strong as it could ever be.
"We don't really now what to think from now on," explains one importer. Top

FLOWER EXHIBITION
BY DAWIT TAYE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
A four-day flower expo, "uni-floral", an unprecedented event of its kind, was opened on Wednesday, April 11, at the Imperial Hotel, six companies participating in the flower production and show.
Mrs. Lina Pankhrest, invited as a guest of honor at the opening ceremony, said that she was delighted to see such an event coincide with all the cleaning and decoration activities in the city that have so much changed the face of the metropolis in a short period of time.
"It's being adorned with beautiful flowers, I m sure, if this endeavor is kept up, that Addis Abeba will really merit its name," she envisioned.
Bethlehem Hailu, co-organizer of the event and owner of Mawanda Flower, says that the exhibitions aims at changing people's attitudes towards flowers and develop the culture of appreciating flowers and encourage their use for gift and decoration purposes.
"If people develop the culture of using flowers as a gift, an enormous amount of money would have been saved."
Bethlehem though, says the trend is encouraging.
She explains that although it has been only six months since she opened her shop, the number of customers streaming to her store is going up day after day. "On 'Valentine's Day' alone we sold more than 1000 bouquets of flowers. This shows that the demand for flowers among the society is growing."
"There is a shortage of fresh flowers in Addis and we are urging flower producers to supply more."
She also said that in partnership with Ibex Flowers, they would start working on a project of opening a flower designing school.
Flowers were on sale for visitors at the exhibition with prices ranging between 50 and 500 Br.
Mono 2000 Advertising and Golden Rose were of a very enthusiastic help in sponsoring the event.
Imperial Hotel hosted the four-day exhibition free of charge.
Ethiopia's earnings from flower export is showing a steep climb sending flowers worth about 884,105 Br within the past half year, compared to the last year's 305,203 Br gained from exports over the same period. Top


Gash Abera Molla Struggle to Keep the Spirit Alive
No More a Lone Crusader
TAMRAT G. GIORGIS
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Selleshi Demissie, otherwise known by his popular character name Gash Abera Molla, is no more alone in his crusade to clean up Addis from its generation old litters.
His remarkable endurance, as one observer puts it, has finally helped him overcome the notorious bureaucracy in the city administration, whose president, Ali Abdo, has finally recognized his pilot projects in Addis by certifying hundreds of teens trained by Seleshi who are now invading the city as volunteers.
It is now unusual to see young people in every neighborhood and streets of Addis do cleaning, digging holes, fencing and planting flowers. Some are assisted by business firms, while others try to use the meager resources at their disposal to clean the more than one million tons of litter the city generates.
"We're now getting to the second phase," Seleshi told Bole Rotarians on Thursday, April 12, who recognized him for his voluntary achievements after handing him a certificate of excellence.
"You've shown yourself as more than a Rotarian," said one member, whose club advocates voluntary service "above self".
In fact, this certificate of recognition is not the first for Seleshi, who came back to Addis after years of life in exile, invited by the US Embassy in Addis as a Jazz Ambassador.
He was awarded a trophy by Alebie Show, ETV's single opera style Amharic show hosted by comedian Alebachew Teka, and a certificate by an international Scientific Council in Jimma and UNDP Voluntary Award, while many people here consider him as a success story of coming back from the Diaspora and achieve something against all the odds.
"You're now a hero," said one Rotarian. "You've have, surmounting the fear most Ethiopians in the Diaspora suffer, proved that it's not impossible to come back and do something that becomes successful and popular."
Indeed, that fear and frustration was what Selleshi had first experienced upon his return to his hometown.
"I was shocked and crushed to see Addis in such a state of blemish, where its own citizens have been indifferent to what they live on," recalls Selleshi, who said he went back to Washington D.C. to design a project that would embrace the youth whom he saw spending their time with a growing trend of delinquency.
And over the last three or four years he recruited more than 30,000 young men and women who are now changing the look of the town which was becoming a huge dustbin until quite recently.
And this is considered by many as a blessing to the city administration that has been unable to deal with the problem single handedly.
"This shouldn't be surprising," commented Selleshi. "They only have eight trucks to transport the 2,800 dustbins placed all over the city."
The problem, however, continues to be that of clearing the litters as frequently as possible and finding the right place to dump them, if not lack of public toilets to help people avoid relieving themselves on every corner they could possibly find.
"We've ordered 300 mobile toilets from Colorado (US) with the help of friends and supporters," Selleshi told the Rotarians who invited him as a guest speaker at the Hilton.
Selleshi said the challenge now is to keep the spirit and the momentum of what is being undertaken by the youth in the town. He says, the movement now needs guidance his project, whose second phase targets sustaining this for a longer period.
And he urges the business community and the public at large to support these efforts.
His urge, nevertheless, has not been a flimsy one. The Bole Rotary Club, one of the four Rotary Clubs in Addis, whose membership is dominated by professionals and businesspeople, pledged to do a joint project to help keep the spirit alive.
This, according to the club members, is what Rotary is all about - serving others above self. Top

Djibouti Selects New Ambassador to Ethiopia
BY TAMRAT G. GIORGIS
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Few weeks after Djibouti's latest Ambassador to Ethiopia, Dileita Mohammed Dileita, was appointed as the country's second Prime Minister since independence in 1977, President Ismeal Omar Guelleh has now selected his next Ambassador to Ethiopia, disclosed our sources.
According to our sources, Djibouti's would be Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ibrahim Kamil, 55, has been serving in the public service for many years before his joining the diplomatic corps this year.
He has been serving as a senior official in the Ministry of Industry as director of power and energy section of the ministry. Sources said Mr. Kamil speaks Afari, French, Arabic and English.
The Government of Djibouti will soon submit its letter of appointment to the Ethiopian government to announce its acceptance, as part of routine diplomatic procedures of nations, before Mr. Kamil replace his predecessor. Top
Chamber Asked to Nominate Members for Internship in the US
BY MARY DEJENE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
The State Department of the US government is to conduct an internship program for businesspeople in African countries on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for which it has requested the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce (AACC) to nominate five candidates from its members.
According to information from the Chamber, the program includes a two-week professional internship in the United States and an opportunity for interns to share their experiences and knowledge with the business community in Addis upon their return to Ethiopia.
AACC particularly urged people who are engaged in the manufacturing and export sectors to apply for the internship program.
End of submission of applications for the program is April 20, according to the Chamber.
The AACC also disclosed that a Washington DC committee established for the purpose will make final selection of candidates. The committee requires applicants to be financially capable of covering a portion of the cost of the program. Top

Enterprise Purchases Fertilizer in Bags
BY ABEBE TADESSE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Quite contrary to its tradition of purchases, including the country, Agricultural Input Services Enterprise (AISE), has recently bought 25,000 tons of fertilizers in the conventional 50kg bags from China.
Importers normally import fertilizers in bulks and bag them at the Port of Djibouti.
AISE failed to use its bagging machine, which has served it for many years at the Assab Port and latter on dismantled and taken to the Djibouti Port.
The absence of bulk purchase has been the main cause of high freight costs, analysts say. The practice of importing fertilizers in the conventional 50kg bags increases cost of shipment and leads to losses due to rough discharge at the dock and long open-air storage.
It is estimated that the saving in local mechanical bagging can be in the range of 10 to 15 US Dollars per ton for UREA and 12 to 20 US Dollars per ton for DAP.
AISE is suspected to have lost more than 300,000 US Dollars due to its import of 50kg bags compared to bulk fertilizer imports, according to sources.
Almost 40pc of the total shipment was wet when imported due to moisture.
Ethiopian Standardization Authority (ESA), however, has conducted an investigation on the sample of the wet fertilizer last month, which has latter confirmed that the wet fertilizer has not lost its nutrients as a result of moisture, rain or snow, neither humid air.
Nevertheless, the Enterprise could not spare itself from opening the wet bags and scatter the commodity in order to dry, so that farmers could find small pieces rather chunks of fertilizer in a 50kg bag. Top
Al-Amoudi Establishes New Company with First Wife as Shareholder
BY MIKIAS WORKU
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
The Ethiopian born Saudi business tycoon, Sheik Mohammed Al-Amoudi, has brought up a new company on the block further extending the long list of companies he already owns in Ethiopia.
The Sheik's latest addition is a company called Kebire Enterprises Plc that he has formed in partnership with first wife, Sophia Saleh Al-Amoudi, with a total capital of one million Dollars.
Al-Amoudi controls the majority shares in the new company owning 75pc of the total shares, while Sophia Saleh, who is also a Saudi national, made up the rest of the contribution to hold the remaining shares, valued at 1000 Dollars each.
The company plans to engage in a wide range of activities that include agricultural and agro-industrial production, manufacturing, mining, tourism, communication and information technology, construction as well as real estate development.
Kebire Enterprises Plc is headquartered in Mekele, Tigray Regional State, and Araya Zerihun has been appointed as the first chief executive officer of the company. Top
Private School to Conduct Workshop on Video, Photography
BY MARY DEJENE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
A private vocational school, Master Fine Arts and Vocational Training Center, specialized in video and photography training, has organized a half-day workshop on video art development.
The workshop, to be held at the Ghion Hotel, Awash Hall, on Thursday April 19, focuses on video art training for employment opportunities and women and media education.
The famous film director, Berhanu Shibiru, will present papers from the Ministry of Culture and Information, together with Rahel Mekuria of the British Council.
The center will award its best instructor, while students of the center will present video and photography exhibition.
The center, accredited by the Addis Ababa City Administration Education Bureau, was established in 1998 and so far has graduated 300 students, information obtained from the company stated. Top

Sheraton Goes to UNECA
BY MIKIAS WORKU
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Sheraton Addis has entered a one-year contract agreement with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) to takeover the entire catering service of the conference hall.
Sheraton has started giving the service beginning April 2 and would be working on the food service of the conference hall on daily basis deploying its own staff and management team.
The contract is a one-year agreement and renewable up on completion.
Sheraton has replaced a small restaurant, Canapé Restaurant, that has been catering for the UN community until recently.
Jean-Pierre Manigoff, general manager of Sheraton Addis, said that Sheraton's interest to join UNECA arises from forming a strategic partnership to attracting more conferences to the capital "by constantly trying to provide quality service during major conference".
"We are committed to closely cooperate with the conference hall to bring up the standards of the service and food."
Manigoff believes that attracting additional conferences to Ethiopia helps in creating a positive image of the country among the international community.
"And the UNECA is one of the best conference halls in Africa. It is a partnership for promoting more conferences to come here."
Most officials and delegates that are here to attend conferences at the UNECA usually descend to the Sheraton during their sojourn.
The hotel has deployed around 40 of its staff members at its new post, which will be serving fully-fledged buffet for lunch at the delegates dinning room and refreshments at the bar for UNECA staff and conference participants on daily basis.
A buffet lunch costs 50 Br compared to a similar meal, which would have cost up to 150 Br at the Sheraton, while tea, for instance, is only two Br, a much cheaper price compared to the rate at the hotel, although the quality of services is as good and same as the one in the hotel.
"It is totally a different environment, so we quote our prices inline with the service," Manigoff said. Top
New Insurance Company Starts Floating Shares
BY DAWIT TAYE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
Nib Insurance S.C., under formation and to be a new addition to the list of seven private insurance companies, has announced its launching of selling shares as of April 12.
The new insurance company, which is a sister company of Nib International Bank, will commence operations with an authorized capital of 50 million Br and a total paid up capital of 15 million Br. The company will also have 30,000 shares with a par value of 500 Br. each
The formation committee, in a press conference held on April 12 at the head office of Nib Bank, announced that out of the 15 million Br paid up capital, five million Birr is to be placed in a blocked account in Nib International Bank.
The forming committee is hopeful that the insurance company will soon be operational because organizations and individuals have already pledged to buy shares.
Officials of Nib Insurance told Fortune that they refute the idea that the existing insurance market has already been saturated and establishing a new company in the aftermath of two similar companies recent merger is not viable.
"The insurance business has many setbacks but in-depth researches we have conducted reveal that there is still a huge market opportunity to tap from and we can easily be competitive," said Tafesse Bogale, chairman of the committee, who also owns a number of enterprises including Trim Furniture and CBC, while partly owning the weekly Amharic newspaper, Ruh.
The recent merger between United and Lion insurance that is awaiting Teklewold Atnafu's, governor of the national Bank, final approval was taken by many as a sign of saturation of the insurance market in Ethiopia.
There were 13 successful insurance companies prior to 1974, asserts Tafesse, justifying his statements, "and all of them were profitable".
He also mentioned that the aggregate 500 million Br capital of the seven private and one government insurance companies stands low to give adequate insurance coverage to the size of the population that should use the service.
Tafesse said that the insurance service is limited to few areas and his company has plans to expand the market to different parts of the country.
He also added that the company would strive to put pressure on concerned parties to consider reforming the restriction on public organizations from becoming clients of the private owned insurance companies.
The company will start up with providing around twenty insurance services and will introduce new ones, which would be made public once the company launches operations.
"The shareholders would get 7.5pc of the net profit for three consecutive years as rewards for their initiative in forming the company," he said.
The insurance company came into life by the decision made by the board and general meeting of the stakeholders of its sister company, Nib International Bank.
The chairman said they expect many shareholders of the bank to be shareholders in the new company as well. Top
Ethiopia, Nigeria Pledge to Develop Economic Ties
BY MIKIAS WORKU
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
The trade mission that has been into an extended business trip to the northern and western African countries is scheduled to return home on Friday, April 13, after visiting Egypt, Morocco, Libya in the north and Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria in the west Africa.
The-five-member delegation was part of a large trade mission that had left for the North African trip on March 16, while the team that would have arrived two days ago had continued its journey to the west.
The delegation, led by Getachew Teklemedhin, head of Livestock Marketing Authority, has mainly focused on exploring potential export opportunities for Ethiopian livestock and meat products in these parts of Africa.
The envoy also tried to examine the import regulation and laws, identify potential trading partners as well as investors and meet with government and business leaders. During their visit in Nigeria, the founding President of the Nigeria-Ethiopia Business Association (NEBA), Chief Goodie Ibru, noted that Nigeria could export pharmaceuticals, beverages, crude oil and refined petroleum products, bitumen, and detergents to Ethiopia.
He said that his country could import items like leather, wine, cattle, sheep, coffee and tea.
"Nigerians can invest in areas like transportation, meat and livestock development and processing, hides and skin tannery, tourism, and honey production and processing in Ethiopia. While Ethiopians can invest in areas like livestock and animal husbandry, aviation, meat processing and packaging, and honey processing and packaging in Nigeria because they are strong in those areas," a news report on the delegation's visit quoted the association president as saying.
The association has also announced its plans to send a trade mission to East Africa: Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
The present volume of trade between Nigeria and Ethiopia is almost insignificant.
According to the report, the president has pledged assistance to help Ethiopia establish a stock exchange market in collaboration with Nigeria stock exchange.
Other projects include assisting the Ethiopian private sector to establish a counterpart chamber of commerce, create a website for NEBA, recruit new members, convince Ethiopian airlines to turn around in Lagos, create a database on trade and investment between Nigeria and Ethiopia.
Establishing an independent office for NEBA, fully staffed and commencing educational and cultural exchanges, is mentioned as one of the primary interests of association.
The trade delegation during its visit met with the Ministry of Co-operation and Integration in Africa, Ministry of Agriculture, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Nigeria Customs, and Ministry of trade to establish business relationships.
The group has also paid a visit to Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and met with the President, Mrs. Margaret Young, who assured to offer a credible platform for the promotion of trade relations between Ethiopia and Nigeria. Top

Global Thirst for Water Might be Cause for Future Wars
By Richard Reeves, Denver Post
We have seen the enemy and it is us - and there will be more of us. And less water.
Predictions are always tricky, especially about the future. So goes the joke - and the reality.
At the end of last year, U.S. intelligence agencies, in unusual collaborations with universities and think tanks, published a 68- page study called 'Global Trends 2015.'
It says a lot of things that seem obvious: World population will increase from 6.1 billion to 7.2 billion. And it says some things that may surprise many: The United States-European alliance that now runs the world may crack up under pressure from economic and security issues and a China-Russia-India alliance.
One of the most interesting conclusions of the analysts and scholars is that there will be energy and food enough to go around 15 years from now. Yes, they say, there will be a 50 percent increase in energy demand, but that is not a great problem with more than 80 percent of the world's oil and 95 percent of its natural gas still underground. There will be famine, but that will be because of poor distribution complicated by politics and war.
Water will be the problem. Demands for water might be the cause of future wars. More than a third of the world's people will be in areas described as 'water-stressed.'
Aqueducts and irrigation systems in one country may threaten the existence of others, particularly in the Middle East, where Egypt, Syria and Iraq could be hurt by Ethiopia diverting the waters of the Nile or Turkey taking more from the Tigris and Euphrates.
The study concludes that the United States will continue to be the world's dominant economic, military and technological power, but it will be more susceptible to more-lethal nuclear, chemical and biological terrorism.
Also on the list of possibilities: 'A de facto geo-strategic alliance' of China, Russia and India as a counterweight to American and Western influence.
Beyond water, the great threat to world orders, old and new, will probably come from growing gaps between the 'haves' and the 'have- nots' of the globe - producing 'frustrated expectations, inequities and heightened communal tensions.'
That also means more migration, says the study: 'Legal and illegal immigrants now account for more than 15 percent of the population of more than 50 countries' - 10 percent in the United States - and 'these numbers will grow substantially and will increase social and political tension and perhaps alter national identities even as they contribute to demographic and economic dynamism.'
Other predictions or possibilities include:
Russia will continue to weaken economically, militarily and socially as its infrastructure continues to decay - and the country's population might be expected to drop from 146 million to 130 million.
China's survival as a single nation could be challenged by changing political, social and economic pressures 'increasingly challenging the regime's legitimacy.'
There will be a Palestinian state. Israel 'at best' will be in a 'cold peace' with its neighbors.
Iran and Nigeria could be in crisis over religious and ethnic differences.
Some African countries may be in such bad shape, heightened by AIDS and tuberculosis, that average life expectancy could be reduced by as much as 40 years - leaving 40 million orphans.
Japan 'will have difficulty maintaining its position as the world's third-ranking economy.'
Like most efforts of sweeping context, 'Global Trends 2015' hedges a lot of its bets and offers alternative scenarios. But it does emphasize some realities that can't be ignored:
'Divergent demographic trends, the globalization of labor markets, and political instability and conflict will fuel a dramatic increase in the global movement of people through 2015.'
And: A rising tide will help the rich get richer. But, 'Globalization will not lift all boats.' Top

Land Policy Impedes Proper Utilization of Water Potentials, Expert Says
BY MELAKU DEMMISIE
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
An expert in water resources engineering fears that the existing land ownership policy is becoming an insurmountable barrier to the success of utilizing more of Ethiopia's immense water potentials, especially for irrigation, unless reforms are introduced.
"The private sector is reluctant to involve in irrigation farming as the government does not allow private land ownership," said Dr. Admasu Gebeyehu, Ph.D in water resources engineering, freelance consultant in the fields of water technology and president of Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP).
He says that a guarantee through land possession has a significant importance in every aspect of the development process.
"Without a reform in the land policy, it is futile to talk about the partnership of the private sector having a leading role in the economic growth," he told participants of a seminar at the Sheraton Addis.
A research on Ethiopia's water potentials has placed the country as the least in the world in making use of its water potentials, which is only two per cent of its annually available 111 billion cubic meters of water.
His paper compares Ethiopia's capacity to utilize its power potentials with Egypt, which manages to use 97pc of its waters.
The research was presented at the two-day symposium on "Ethiopian Water Utilization", jointly organized by the Ministry of Water Resources and Walta Information Center from April 9 to 10.
Scholars from higher education institutes, officials from different ministries and representatives from the private sector, who deliberated on the country's actual utilization of its water potentials, irrigation schemes for agriculture, hydroelectric power, and potable water supply and sanitation services, had attended the workshop.
A research, presented by Mekuria Tafesse, an expert on water resources working as a private consultant, went on with the comparisons indicating that Ethiopia satisfies only 27pc - 30pc of the total demand for drinking water, while this in other sub Saharan African countries rises to 90pc in case of Mauritius.
When it comes to irrigation, only 160,000 to 190,000 hectares out of irrigable total land of 2.6 million hectares are developed through irrigation, while Sudan that is fully dependant on the Nile waters and has more than 84pc of its flows from Ethiopia, develop 1.25 million hectares, according to the paper.
More than 84 pc of Ethiopia's water resources flow through its 12 cross-boundary rivers to the two neighboring countries carrying 90 quintals of the country's soil from every Sq. kilometer a year.
The paper attributed the causes of the grim situation and the losses, which contribute in the country's being consistently food insecure, to slack water management system and poor infrastructure.
Ethiopia's status in hydroelectric power is even worse as it only manages to generate 453MW (two per cent of the total potential), while Egypt produces 2,825MW of electric power.
"Even though Ethiopia is endowed with immense water potentials and known as of the water tower of the African continent, the country could not exploit these potentials and remains very poor in development," the expert said.
Dr. Admasu is optimistic that the symposium will spearhead some positive changes in the sector. The participants have brought forward draft recommendations and discussed on ways to reverse the stagnating situation and bring some changes.
Enhancing the capacity in hydroelectric power, improved irrigation farming, appropriate water utilization, coordination between concerned organizations, capacity building both in resource and manpower, the participation of the private sector and revisions in the land ownership policy are among the major recommendations proposed by participants as remedies to the problem.
The draft proposals will be submitted to the government, according to the organizers. Top
Feature
Holding Shares in Private Banks
By Yibekal Getahun, Dawit Taye and Melaku Demissie
Fortune Staff Writers
Tsegaye Asfaw, general manager of Imperial Hotel, has never dreamt of amassing huge profits in no time when he bought stakes and became one of the 682 shareholders of United Bank S.C.
Tsegaye understands putting money in the banking sector is a strategic investment, a far-sighted vision.
"It might take 10 to 15 years to expect a return," the Imperial boss speculates.
And no one among the 4,000 individuals and businesses that own shares in all the six private banks in the country would totally differ from his conviction.
Ever since private banks started coming to life as a result of the liberalization of the financial sector in 1994, shareholders have contributed to the paid up capital of the six private banks buying shares worth a total of over 425 million Br.
The first private bank to be established was Awash International Bank in September 1995 followed by Dashen Bank, Bank of Abyssinia, Wegagen Bank, United Bank and Nib International Bank.
The private banking sector has managed to gain a significant amount in profits in the past years. The six private banks netted 45.9 million Br in aggregate in the fiscal year 1999/2000. But all the institutions have ploughed back the returns for re-investment in expanding their services and refining customer handling rather than sharing dividends.
Kinfe G. Kidan, shareholder of Nib International Bank, established in May 1999 with over 900 founding shareholders, said that his bank netted some five million Birr in the concluded fiscal year 2000.
"Nib gained this profit in a short period of time, but it will use it to increase the capital of the bank and the stake of the shareholders," Kinfe notes.
Nib started business with a 27. 5 million Br capital and increased it's paid up capital to 50 million Br by the end of December 2000.
He says that an investment by shareholders in the financial sector is to benefit more from loan extensions and advances to businesses involved in manufacturing and import-export sector.
Data obtained from both the private banks and the National Bank of Ethiopia shows that in the year 2000, private banks have extended loans to private business amounting to over 1.5 billion Br. The loan service by the private banks is 13pc of the size of loan, within the range of 14 to 15 billion Br extended by the three government owned banks, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Development Bank of Ethiopia and Construction and Business Bank put together.
Roberto Iacona, managing director of Iacona Engineering, who says he is proud to be one of the founding shareholders of the Bank of Abyssinia, currently having 893 shareholders. Roberto owns shares worth 50,000 Br in the bank and has a keen interest to raise his stake.
"The sector is flourishing and encourages further engagement from the private sector to increase its investments," Roberto adds in a spirit of optimism.
However, not all shareholders in the banks are as optimistic as he is. Many grumble that the financial sector is not showing rapid improvements, as it should.
A researched analysis that appeared on a recent publication backs this argument, indicating that the average profit margin of private banks stands at 18pc, which is much lower than the industry average of 28pc. The analysis mentions "relative weaknesses in expense control" as a cause behind the low profit margin.
But a shareholder in Awash Bank, describing the present situation in the sector as "slack", mainly attributes the backdrop to a widespread loan default, incapability of loaners to pay back debts on time and decline in price of agricultural commodities because of harvesting mishaps.
"If loans are not repaid on schedule, how are banks expected to increase their profit margins and expand their services?" one disappointed shareholder laments.
The same shareholder fears that the current decline, particularly in coffee prices, is alarming for coffee growers and traders, which are the largest clients in most banks.
A businessman in the construction sector, who says he does not consider investing in banks as a business strategy at this moment, blames the government taxation law as a discouraging factor to engage in the sector.
"The government gobbles 35pc of the gross profit and 10pc of the small dividend." He considers buying shares in banks as " a social obligation rather than a business investment".
Roberto disagrees. He believes the economy should be supported through taxes and duties from business enterprises.
"We invest our money not only looking for profit but as a necessary cost to lift the face of the nation in the long run."
It takes a decade to get a significant amount of return, yes. But Tsegaye chooses another perspective to look at the matter. "Putting your money in one of these financial institutions would entitle you an owner's privilege in receiving the services of the company." One area he mentions being better positioned as a shareholder is loan facilities.
One thing that puzzles Tsegaye, however, is why private banks are floating millions of shares for sale to the public when it is hard even to sell private shareholdings. "A stock market should be established to be able to sell more shares. But at this stage no one is interested to buy shares even from individual shares."
United Bank has floated 791,369 shares to the public, while Nib has put up 55,192 shares for sale. For Roberto, all efforts should be exerted to enhance the sectors development as long as it is starting from the scratch because of the impacts of the command economy, which lasted over two decades.
At this stage, the annual dividend per share on average is not more than 200 Br, but for the growth of the banking sector, Knife says, "the sky is the limit".
And to achieve creating a modern banking service through training, expansion, improved customer handling and competition, re-investing the profits is what they think the only way forward. Top
Economic Commentary
Delays in Fertilizer, Costs the Economy
By Abebe Tadesse
Behind the controversy between the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and Ethiopia Amalgamated on the handling procurement and shipment of fertilizers, there are many of us who are worried about the impact of fertilizer shipment delays on the agriculture sector.
Importing fertilizers on the appropriate season, in sufficient quantity, on a sustained basis and at a competitive price is a chronic problem, which is becoming part and parcel of the system by now. Procurement is often delayed due to the extreme reliance on donors, the bureaucratic ups and downs to secure foreign exchange and the inability of some suppliers to keep their commitment, for thousands of their own reasons.
In many cases, the donors impose their own terms and conditions in the tenders, going to the extent of confining imports to their own suppliers.
More important deterrents to fertilizer use have been supply shortages and inefficient distribution systems. Fertilizers are generally expensive commodities in Ethiopia because of small procurement lots, inefficient marketing and high shipping, handling and domestic transport costs.
And fertilizer is a commodity with strategic element not only to the national economy. It has also been a politically sensitive item to the power that be.
Thus, reforms in purchases and distributions of fertilizer began in the 1990s with the removal of subsides. This, together with currency devaluation and world price increases, caused fertilizer prices to inflate, sometimes by 300-400pc.
A significant rise in fertilizer price occurred in 1993, following the 140pc devaluation of the Birr (October 1992). Subsequently, the price of DAP went up form 107.1 Br in 1991/92 to 176.2 Br per quintal in 1992/93, denoting an increase of 64.5pc. Following similar trend, the price of UREA has also increased by 63.9pc from 95.3Br.
Following three years of simple fertilizer demonstrations (1967-69) on major cereal crops, that two dominantly know kinds of fertilizers were introduced to Ethiopia in 1970/71, where a quintal DAP was 38 Br, while that of UREA was only 30 Br.
Compared to the year 1997 prices of DAP and UREA, prices had increased by 589.5pc and 690pc, respectively.
The sharp increase in the price of fertilizers, which has been observed in 1993, is believed to be the most important reason, if not the only one, for the decline in the amount of fertilizer consumption in that same year.
Though highly inflated as a result of devaluation in Birr, prices of both DAP and UREA for the period 1993-96 had been subsidized ones.
The subsequent year, however, a new fertilizer distribution policy was introduced which has totally eliminated any form of subsidy on fertilizer and introduced the system of pan-territorial pricing through the promotion of the involvement of the private sector in importation, distribution and sales of fertilizer.
The use of fertilizer, which had been once a struggle to introduce to farmers, has shown significant growth over the years.
For instance, if we take imports made in 1985 (32,997 metric tons), against what was brought into the country in 1998 (381,908 metric tons) we observe an annual growth rate of 20pc.
This is tantamount to an annual average fertilizer import growth rate of 11.5pc per annum during the period spanning from 1991 to 1998.
Ambassel Trading House Plc., known for its affiliations to the ruling EPRDF, became the second importer of fertilizer (next to Amalgamated) when it added importing operations in 1996 in addition to its whole sale and distribution network in the Amhara region which began as early as in 1994.
Ethiopia Amalgamated and Ambassel together accounted for 35.3pc of the total fertilizer import in 1996. And another entrant, Fertline Plc., was observed joining the exclusive bang in early 1998.
Despite the increase in the absolute level of fertilizer sold to farmers, the country has still remained to be one with the lowest rate of fertilizer application even by the standard of African countries below the Saharan.
The constraints on the demand side include, among others, high prices, late delivery, weak research and extension services, shortage of credit and the absence of soil testing facilities.
Further increase in fertilizer price could erode the incentive to use the input, especially in remote and marginal areas.
Only about 59pc and 64pc of the fertilizer made available for sale was sold in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The poor performance of sales is attributed mainly to high prices and inefficient distribution systems.
Thanks to the portion that remains not sold during the same year it was made available for sale, we would not be worried, as there is a balance or reserve coming to the following year.
However, the procurement system should be efficient especially by avoiding problem of delays. Is there any sector other than agricultural, which is highly affected with the time factor?
If fertilizer is not available to the farmers on time, the output would decline significantly, hence affecting productivity on a national level.
Increased use of fertilizer is essential because of the rapidly declining soil fertility. While drought constitutes the biggest threat to production in many parts of the country, the problem due to declining soil fertility is increasingly getting worse. It is estimated that 1.9 billion tons of soil is eroded annually from the highlands, sharply reducing soil fertility and yield.
The ultimate determinant of fertilizer demand is the profitability of fertilizer application and relative prices.
Ethiopian farmers face higher farm gate prices of fertilizers (currently from 270 Br - 280 Br per quintal) compared to farmers in other countries. This is mainly due to high freight costs, port constraints and poor domestic infrastructure. Top

Fortune Restaurant Review
Shanghai Restaurant & Bar ****
LOCATION: On Debre Zeit Rd., on Omedad Building, in front of CBE branch.
Tel. 655290, PO Box: 4766
Service: * * *
Wouldn't anyone find it offensive, even enraging, to be confronted at the gates of a restaurant with a guard who demands to know, "where are you going?" in a menacing tone? Don't the bellmen at this place have the conscious, or call it common sense, to figure out at first glance why people come to such a place? And this was supposed to be a restaurant, for Chrisakes, where people go to eat, get served and settle the bill before leaving and not one of those government referral hospitals with so much hardship to get in. A customer who arrives looking for a good time would be easily batted by such ill-trained manners by the guards. Greetings and courtesy are the basics the management should teach its bellmen.
Once passing through the doorway, and of course the hassle . . ., the attendants make no effort whatsoever to show a sign of welcome. The other way round, they wait until you greet them first to start communications. This is an Asian place, and oriental people are so courteous by nature and would certainly appreciate the same in return.
There is a slight delay but not long enough to drive customers impatient. Once the dishes arrive, and it does so with wide variety of ingredients and additives, it would have been much better if the attendants give you attention instead of waiting for you to insist and call upon them for inquiries.
Shouldn't attendants in an Asian restaurant be communicative and helpful to assist their customers go through the menu and explain about the unfamiliar dishes. It would have helped them were coupled with their politeness they demonstrate when taking orders and delivering.
Food: * * * * *
The food is simply elegant, very tasty and appetizing. You can find a variety of dishes including appetizers, soups, rice and vegetable. All have their own prices and should be ordered separately. But the quantity of the main dish alone is quite enough for one. You would enjoy the dishes rich with various ingredients - from sweet to sour, or from mild to hot. It's all your choice.
Environment: * * * * *
The restaurant is spacious and appealing with an attractive set up. There are tables dressed colorfully for groups or threes or secluded with partitions for those who are looking for privacy. The lamps and the walls are decorated with simple but showing the unique cultural articles. The scene right from the gate reflects that of professionalism - a work that testifies a design of someone who knows his business. With an influence of reddish color, true to Chinese taste, the room makes you feel at ease compounded with a sense of calm in a midest of crowd. Good job, indeed.
Price: * * * *
The prices of the dishes that reach up to 60 Br are fair enough considering the well-prepared food and the appealing environment, and perhaps the amount of money spent on it to create that atmosphere.
Parking: * * * *
Even though other businesses in the building share the parking space in the back yard, the front reserved area is quite enough for customers of the restaurant. There are also those "tough-on-you" type of security guards to watch over your car.
Sanitation: * * * * *
Both restrooms for ladies and gents are well and neatly kept. There is no sign of foul odor and every required facility is available and functioning well, supplemented with liquid soap tube and automatic hand-dryer. It could not be any better. Top
In My Perspective
By Yonas Kebede
Driving in Addis - VIII
Drivers Meets Sheep
The annual cattle drive through the streets of Addis Abeba will add color to the traffic chaos, this week.
The cattle will head for Kerra with the occasional panicked, rampaging, loose bull scattering pedestrians in all directions.
This is one of the few times the Addis driver willingly yields to another and only for fear that the angry animal might put a clean hole or two in the body of his beloved car.
But all is not lost.
It is rumored that any of the half a dozen young men perched on dirt-motorcycles near the entrance of the cattle depository at Kerra, could quickly roundup and subdue a loose bull, for a fee.
More often, however, the cattle travel at a leisurely trot down the streets blocking traffic, on and off, until they reach their destination. The herdsman will continually administer corporal punishment with a good-sized stick in order to steer the herd this way or that. He might twists the animal's tail in one direction, then another, as though it is a steering mechanism.
Drivers know to roll up their windows when motoring through Kerra. The stench could knock your socks off. A mountain range made of rotting bone and marrow is under construction here. Vultures by the dozens are parked near by, waiting for the next fix.
"Cover your nose!" you silently scream at the pedestrians as you cruise by in your airtight compartment.
They do not seem to care. It is not just your socks that are knocked out, you know.
Mt. Stinky must be worth its weight in gold.
Why would it still be standing?
Didn't some one offer to buy and turn it into fertilizer, or something?
Maybe it is out of concern for the scavenging vultures. They have got to eat too.
More sheep are navigating the streets this time of the year as well.
Crisscrossing the roads on their way to the impromptu markets, they mount one another every so often, in futile attempts to copulate. The need for procreation must be especially intense when you are on the way to becoming lamb chop.
But here they meet driver and sheep.
From the seat of his car, the driver is in pursuit of the seasonal bargaining ritual for a holiday sheep-for-slaughter. Just like ordering cappuccino. You drive up to some nondescript corner where sheep are assembled in large numbers and have the merchant drag a few sheep over for closer examination. Tie its legs and throw it on the roof of the vehicle.
Bingo!
You have got the groceries. Well . . . it is still practiced by a select few.
The one animal that is sure not to end up on anyone's platter this holiday is the donkey.
"The most reliable mode of transportation," some call it. But, it is also a savvy navigator of chaotic traffic. This animal almost always knows when to yield.
Told by an irate driver that his donkey is his better, the owner was heard replying, "tadia lemin beteklil atagebatem" (why don't you marry her?). That may be a little far, but maybe it could learn to drive.
Easter Sunday morning will see very few cars on the road. With the carnivores asleep with bulging stomachs, it will be the safest day of the year . . . fewer taxis, fewer buses, fewer fumes, fewer near-misses, fewer everything . . . If you are an early riser, here is your chance to drive through the streets of Addis with little or no impediment.
And if you are lucky, you might not even smell the smoke from the cooking the day before.
The next day ushers in another wedding season with its caravans and noisy Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! . . . . .
Happy Easter! Top

Editorials
Unhealthy Tit for Tat Should be Averted
The upcoming directive by the Government of Djibouti to give stevedoring business exclusivity to Djibouti nationals and other marine operations open to others but subjected to certain conditions is detrimental to all foreign companies, including those from Ethiopia.
Although we totally understand and respect Djibouti's right of enforcing any law it feels comfortable, as a sovereign land, judging from experience, we believe it is an unwise economic omen.
It is not only unwise but also a step that has not taken the economic interests of Ethiopia, its largest customer, into consideration, if not its own long-term economic benefits. It even looks as if it were a tit for tat measure to retaliate against the Ethiopian government's decision that put marine transport operations in the hands of the Ethiopian Shipping Lines a year ago.
The much talked about directive by the Djibouti government would not only hurt Ethiopia's Maritime Transit Services Enterprise (MTSE), but also all domestic importers and exporters that will certainly become hostages to the erratic mood and operational behavior of the Djibouti authorities, including the growing monopoly trend.
What is even more shocking about the new Djibouti directive is that it came on the heels of a recent agreement between the authorities of the two countries who have agreed, a couple of months back, to consult one another in case there is change in the policy and operations at the Port of Djibouti that affects Ethiopia's businesses.
Djibouti must understand that pushing Ethiopia away will ultimately backfire at its own economic interests. It should not be "Course 101" for Djiboutian authorities to understand that customer is indeed a king, hence Ethiopian businesses should be treated in Djibouti duly.
They are their customers who take the business there and pay for the services they are being offered. Djiboutians must understand that handling Ethiopian customers in a manner of care and sensitivity would benefit them much more than any intention of taking advantage of its short falls - the fact that it is a landlocked nation.
The Ethiopian authorities, on the other hand, are expected to act swiftly and bring the issue to the attention of their Djibouti counterparts to initiate another round of talks in which efforts would be made to blunt some of the sharpest edges of the new directive.
The Ethiopian authorities should not be caught napping. They should wake up to the realities and the devastating effects of the recent Djibouti directive on Ethiopia's economy and businesses.
They should not indulge in the illusion that Ethiopia has other alternative port outlets and that the decision by the Djibouti authorities would not hurt. They have to realize that Ethiopia is naturally bound to use the Port of Djibouti, thus it is necessary to continue to help one another for their mutual interests.
The use of alternative port outlets is a strategic objective that needs a long time to be realized. The new directive is, alarmingly, an immediate reality that will have to be dealt with high-degree of urgency. Top

Editorials
The Mystery Surrounding Adorna Shebelle
A couple of years ago, when news of the multi-billion dollar project for the modernization of Merkato by the famous Malaysian multinational, hit the business community here, everyone was buoyed by the prospects.
Now that the grandiose project by Adorna Shebelle looks more like a fantastic vision that a tangible reality, people have started to doubt as to its feasibility.
What made the entire enterprise look like a sham is also the mystery that has surrounded the proposed project right from its inception. It was mired from the start by a critical lack of transparency. It was not at all clear how, when and with whom the project would be carried out.
There was more heat than light about the project.
Neither was it clear why the Ethiopian authorities, particularly those at the Investment Authority, were so enthusiastic at the beginning and then made a U-turn to play down the project and finally withdraw without telling the public why they did so.
The other stakeholders too, like the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce and the Addis Abeba city government, have also strangely kept mute, while they have been feeding the public with hopes of modernization and prosperity.
What did really go wrong with Adorna Shebelle?
Why did the project fail to materialize?
Why did the group's representative disappear without a word?
Who was responsible for the failure?
Who is responsible for the mental torment and chaos the proposed project had created among the Merkato business community?
The public would like the stakeholders to come out with clear answers to these queries.
The Addis Abeba City Administration had promised to tell us about the mystery surrounding the Adorna Shebelle project but it has so far failed to keep its promise.
It should not, however, be the only institution that should be accountable. As we said above, the AACC and the Investment Authority that played a leading role in bringing the Adorna project to public attention should also come forward and give us an account of what has happened to all the promises.
They will have to do this for no reason other than learning a vital lesson because the Adorna experience might have a potentially damaging effect on foreign investment in the future. Transparency on the part of these institutions would be a damage limitation exercise so that we would not miss similar opportunities in the future. Top
In My Opinion
The Economics of Holiday Consumption
By Yosef B.
Urban Ethiopians have one habit in common whenever holidays like today's come. They are all incorrigible spenders who do not think for the day after and would voluntarily "eat today and die tomorrow".
As a friend of mine who lives in the West once related to me, Ethiopians in the Diaspora too display a similar lack of the instinct of thrift. The average Ethiopian in the United States, for instance, would often go out for a spending spree in the restaurants and nightclubs while most of the other African immigrants go to the banks to save their earnings.
Sorry, I have never been to the United States and do not want to hurt the conscience or dignity of any Ethiopian in the Diaspora. This is only something I heard from my friend's account and have no way of checking about its authenticity.
Anyway, we Ethiopians are not famous for our thriftiness and the culture of saving is still at its lowest stage in our country. And when holidays come, we often act as if there is no tomorrow. It is the ABC of economics that where there is no saving there cannot be investment or growth.
This is true not only for the country but also relevant at the household level. Ethiopian Easter is certainly a typical "laboratory" where the spending impulse of most Ethiopians is best tested. It would be more true to call Easter by its other name. At least for the purpose of this article, I would suggest that it be called the "holiday of obsession with meat consumption".
Of course Ethiopians are great meat eaters. This is not only because they are great herders and owners of one of the biggest livestock resources in the world. Argentines are famous for their beef production but I do not think they are as obsessed with meat as we Ethiopians are.
The typical Ethiopian household today looks like butchery. Even the poorest Ethiopian would not go without a skinny chicken no matter how high the price might be.
For the average Ethiopian, to go without meat and butter today would tantamount to going through a kind of "living death".
In more prosperous households, all three types of meat are available in abundance.
There is the famous Kircha meat, where people in the neighborhoods put their money together to buy oxen and share the meat in proportion to the amount they contributed. There is also this famous obsession with mutton not really for the sake of meat as for the blood.
There is a kind of spiritualism attached to spilling animal blood on holidays like Easter and the average head of a household would be rated a failure if he fails to purchase a sheep and "spill the blood" in full sight of all members of the family.
Some of them would go to any length, including big loans, to see animal blood spelt on their floors like red carpets.
The entire family would agree if the father would borrow more to buy a bigger ram so that the children would boast to their friends in the neighborhoods saying that their daddy is so rich that he bought the biggest sheep in town.
The father too would not bat an eye to earn this accolade from the kids and of course, from his wife, even if the entire family would survive on cabbage for the rest of the month, and even if the bills are left unpaid.
This is the absurd sense of competition that is bound to wreck havoc on many household and make the post-holiday mood one of depression and mourning.
The Ethiopian obsession with meat on holidays in particular does not abide by the laws of elementary economics. There must be more meat than anyone would consume. There must be plenty to drink even if the drinks are enough to make all guests at a wedding dead drunk. If you ask why people spend so much on meat during holidays, you are certain to earn rebuff if not abuse. They do not, of course, tell you that it makes them any richer.
On the contrary, all the bright and sweating faces on holidays would turn ashen a couple of weeks after the holiday. And there will be no one around to console the poor bread earner of the family who would foot all the bills for the holiday extravaganza and loses his sweet sleep digesting the thought of paying back his debt or avoiding his lender.
I wish you all a happy Easter and a quick post-holiday recovery. Top

View From Arada
High Season of Meaty Market
By Girma Feyissa
You might have noticed these days almost all the butcheries in the capital having their seasonal repaints of whitewash and reddish color half height. Even knives and cleavers are sharpened lauder and brandished cleverly, attracting attention for potential market.
The nearly two-month slack is bowing out off stage, as business in the meat market is about to show its smiling face once again. Butchers who had taken solace in chewing Khat or drinking Tej at simply mucking around idle, are now hours away from boarding onto the merry - go round of business routine and counting money again.
Of course what I am assuming cannot hold true to every butcher. A great many lapsed orthodox Christians do not give a dime; they eat whatever comes in hand without having to bother about observing the inexorable details and practices.
If number of meat shops had opened their doors throughout the fasting season and operating in full swing, although this is an act considered obscene by religious people, who take it as far as discriminating against these shops even after the lift off of the lent?
I remember some years back; a butchery that had amassed popularity for the quality of its commodity at the junction opposite St. Ourael Cathedral was made to learn lessons the hard way.
As the butchery was not adhering to strict practices, people who bought from the shop were ostracized for doing so by the community resulting in the closure of the shop until the owner had to make confessions in the church and beg pardon and fulfill whatever ordinance he was given by the priest.
An open baptism ceremony had to be held in public to reinstate his business. Incidentally, committed converts overwhelm that neighborhood that one is not permitted to smoke even in an ordinary cafeteria or chew Khat in a tearoom, I gather.
So, butchers had better watched out before they take chances, lest they risk their livelihood. Obviously, it is a catch-22 situations but one has to withstand temptations of easy money in order to perpetuate one self.
One has to know how and when to pull the strings.
I know of a butcher who has made a name for himself in our neighborhood. Meskelu is a sturdy middle aged owner of a butchery well known for the quality of meat it offers for sell in the vicinity of Semien or Adisu Gebeya, in the northern part of the capital.
Meskelu had worked hard to attain success in the business of selling meat compounded by a grocery-cum-restaurant he had managed to open in the adjacent room.
Business is always thriving here irrespective of the closure of the meaty shop for the fasting respite. Scholars and men of rank alike frequent this cozy hangout throughout the year joined by the files particularly during carnival days. New faces are seen as the sprit of merry making, eating drinking and chatting downs on every holiday-maker trying to pick the mood of it all.
Right across the road, you see hundreds and hundreds of people engaged in the routines of striking deals in the sheep (ram) and goat transactions. People stand around patches of herd and bargain over prices, while assessing the quality of the animals by making some menial evaluations and touch-tests on strategic body parts and physical surveying of health such as upholding of tails to see if there is any trace of wet excretion.
Language barrier being the main cause, or so I should think, the animals are made to open their mouths perforce for further scrutiny. All a dentist has to do is to tell his patient to open his mouth wide open to see if there is anything wrong.
When it comes to the animals, it is quite different.
People look into the mouth of a lamb or goat to see how many of the front teeth are still in place as they can reckon the age of the animal. If the animal has only molar teeth, it is assumed that this is over aged and the flesh would be full of gristle, which is good for nothing.
Men who stretch the assessment to the extent of showing no sympathy to the animals to no avail are strongly rebuked by the owners and even slandered. The brokers that hover around pestering buyers making their uncalled for intrusions cause nuisance. If you tend to show a bit reluctance, they try to make the most out of your lethargy.
The brokers feel allover the body of the animal on your behalf and start negotiating prices again on your behalf. They whisper some figures into your ears suggesting that you can strike a deal as the pared down price is the possible minimum.
These are actors who make a living by swindling money out of people. Some of them feign farmers coming from "Oromya", as if this is a far off land, clad with attires of a peasant; they even try to play fool pausing like a person who knows little or nothing of the working national language. They also try to alter a few basic Oromiffa words, while they are garages in fact.
Gullible and sentimental buyers are easily carried away by these little gimmicks and pay dearly for their folly. These brokers are simply riff raffs deployed by the few cabals controlling the market high-handedly. They divide their herds into five or six batches and try to influence the invisible hand of the market.
More often than not they succeed.
The holiday spree has also a trickle down effect on other sectors related to the carnival hoo ha.
I am thinking of what I saw yesterday at one of the so-called "groceries" in the Kasa Inches area.
There was this plump lady boss in her late fifties wearing a tight below a sweater that displayed her chest and upper part of her breast where a chain of gold had landed in between the two swelling balls.
She walked about the room conspicuously rolling her inflated bottoms clearly conscious that eyes were transfixed on the huge meatballs. She was bossing around giving orders left and right, condemning attendants for their lethargy and nonchalant to welcome the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Some of her clients were already feeling high from the effects of scotch on the rocks before sunset! There were a lot of people sitting outside the teahouse opposite Total filling station enjoying the weather and the sight of motion. Many were having shoe shine services as if to prepare them for dancing overnight.
I had to wrap up the day at my favorite stop before the day wore out. And when I went there, I was surprised to meet my old friends working on project sites and regions. They always amplify holidays by their very presence, which they observe with unflinching commitment unless they encounter force major.
We had to call it a day only after a few toasts of bottom ups on the reunion.
Cheers! Top
Letter to the editor
Dear sirs,
I am an Ethiopian residing in the Netherlands.
I am trying, with friends, to invest in Ethiopia in different sectors. I also help Ethiopian businesspeople, providing for them information and other assistances, trying to do it in an organized manner. I have talked to officials during my visit last summer, among others the commissioner for tourism, and the general manager of the Ethiopian Investment Authority.
We are working on extending our services in an organized manner so that we can attract foreign investors.
We have, indeed, a long way to go.
There are few Ethiopians [in the Diaspora] trying to establish trading companies.
But, we are facing lots of problems specially dealing with the banks in Ethiopia. Authorities and the Dutch business community here do not understand the logic the National Bank is following. Therefore, I want to bring some of these questions to your attention. The bank may certainly have reasons for these regulations. It would be of much help if we, as Ethiopians, could understand it so that we can explain them to the Dutch.
Right now, they laugh at us.
What is the logic of demanding a certificate of origin of a Lada or a Toyota? Is it relevant? Why is the bank demanding documents regarding the initial price of the vehicles or other materials? Would not it be easier for the National Bank or any other bank to have the catalogue for reference.
At this technological expulsion, all the information the bank needs is on just one CD. Why do they need to have it for every single car?
The dealers here are sick and tiered of our requests.
The bank has issued a new directive concerning how the documents should be sent. We have understood that this has to be via the banks, who could not understand our questions. They are willing to do it if we pay.
Sometimes, I wonder in whose interest the Ethiopian banks are serving - their customers in Ethiopia or the exporters here?
Besides taking longer time, the procedures are very complicated and difficult to follow. What I am trying to say is, the system is not encouraging and it is getting worse. The policy of the government, I believe, is to encourage Ethiopians in exile to contribute to the development of their country by investing and involving themselves in sustainable projects.
But the whole banking system and customs culture is frustrating. I do not know if this will reach the right person. I hope I will get responses.
To make it clear, the regulation or the system may not be the right one but we cannot sell it here. Can you give us some explanation what could be the logic behind the procedures.
We are having trouble communicating with the Dutch business community.
Please visit our website, www.nethio.com, to have an idea of our efforts.
Yours truly, Mulugeta Asmellash Top

An Interview with
Mohamed Said Mohamed "Gees"
Over the last two years, many people have returned to the self-declared state of Somaliland, northwest Somalia, to re-establish their homes and businesses. Hargeisa, the capital, was left empty after the former government of Mohamed Siyad Barre destroyed it during the civil war in the north. In May 1991, the Somali National Movement - which fought government troops in the north during the 1980's - declared unilateral independence for Somaliland.
No government has officially recognized it since; but humanitarian agencies have established aid and development programs, private business has boomed and some regional countries treat it as a de facto independent state.
Somaliland Minister of Finance, Mohamed Said Mohamed "Gees" talked to Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) in Hargeisa about how the public sector planned to cope.
QUESTION: Who is your main trading partner?
Answer: Ethiopia. With Ethiopia, our borders are very peaceful. You can drive from here to Addis Abeba - it is very normal, with no checkpoints. People can take their own cars from Berbera, to Addis Abeba, to Djibouti, and back to Somaliland. We do all kinds of trade with the southeastern part of Ethiopia . . . which is really influenced by Somaliland. Various traders come from near Harar [southeastern Ethiopia] to Hargeisa . . . their main port is Berbera. If you go to Jijiga and Dire Dawa [southeastern Ethiopia], all those small towns there, you see you are still in parts of Somaliland . . . So our main trading partner is Ethiopia and we are now trying to harmonize our customs, our custom duties and develop the official trade between the two countries. We are trying to rehabilitate the roads. The European Union pledged to us to widen the roads and do something about Hargeisa airport. I think the Ethiopians are very interested to extend the road from Jijiga all the way to Berbera. Unlike those from Arta [the Mogadishu-based Transitional National Government], we have good relations with the Ethiopians.
Q: Hargeisa has grown enormously over the last few years. What is the basis of the economy?
A: Well, I would say the basis is peace. When there is peace, people invest. They rehabilitate their houses, they establish private companies, there is open trade between different parts of Somaliland and its neighbors, including Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Yemen. So, I would say it is the establishment of peace and the Somaliland administration. It has encouraged many Somalilanders from the Diaspora to come back, establish businesses, telephone companies, airlines . . . there are factories underway. I think people are optimistic about the future.
Q: How does the government finance itself?
A: Apart from licenses and regulations . . . we do not interfere with people's business as long as they abide by the laws of the country, and as long as they pay taxes. For the first time, they are going to pay profit taxes, before they only used to pay custom duties at the port of entry, like Berbera. Now, they will pay inland revenue and regulation fees - proper income tax, profit tax, and service tax. Our budget, since 1994, has gone up . . .
Q: But there is still a strong dependence on remittances from the Diaspora?
A: Yes, it is very important, especially in periods like this, while we go through the livestock ban. Then, remittance becomes very important. But in normal circumstances it does not amount to so much because we are exporting livestock. Last year we exported something like 1.5 million heads of sheep and livestock; in 1999 we exported about 2 million heads, in 1998 there was also a ban . . . Most of our success comes from livestock export.
Q: So how do you plan to make up the shortfall this year?
A: Well, from government revenue we are loosing something like US $11 million a year . . . for the shortfall we will raise the taxes to cover the deficit. Today, I go to parliament to present my budget, it is balanced - we balance every year.
Q: But if you raise taxes, does not that mean people suffer more under the livestock ban?
A: No, it is not like that. We are not really raising the taxes. What we do is to subsidize our imports - not directly, but indirectly. We use different exchange rates for the dollar. For example, I think the rate is 5,000 Somaliland shillings for US $1. But when we are taxing at the port [Berbera] we value the dollar at 1,500 . . . The value of the dollar is the tax base.
Q: You recently appealed to international organizations to help with development projects that had been abandoned by the government because of the effects of the livestock ban.
A: We have an ordinary budget, there is not a development budget because we have no development tax. So, in a year we used to collect something like US $0.5 - 1 million for development purposes and build schools, hospitals, water wells, and rehabilitate roads. But this year, after the ban, we switched and used that for other purposes. This year we are not embarking on any development projects, and the affected area is mainly the regions [outside Hargeisa] where international agencies do not go . . . we are afraid it may cause problems for the regions.
Q: Was there any response to the plea?
A: I did not really get any response. I was not as optimistic as Ali Khalif Galayr [prime minister of Mogadishu-based Transitional National Government] who appealed to the international community for US $300 million; I just asked for US $500,000. It shows how tight-fisted Western donors are nowadays.
Q: So you feel that despite successes here, the fact that Somaliland does not have international recognition still affects the economy?
A: With our budget, we employ something like 26,000 people, so something like 70pc of our revenue goes to salaries. Actually, we are ploughing back our revenue to society. As to the problem of recognition: well, as far as we are concerned we are not in a hurry. We do not demand recognition. But we must have access to international finance and international finance institutions . . . but they are not very interested in aid per se. What we are really interested in is investment. We would like people to invest in Somaliland. We have had very interested parties so far . . . if you go to Berbera you will see the [petroleum] company Total, which has facilities in Berbera. We have had international delegations . . . people are very interested in making business in Somaliland. The problem we have, is with banking facilities. We need facilities where you can take loans, and which investors can use. Now, with assistance from UNDP we have drafted the Somaliland Investment Act . . . to invite investors to Somaliland, you must have the laws in place.
Q: Is there much trade with the south?
A: There is not much trade . . . the only thing that comes from the south is bananas and papayas, and qat [a mild narcotic leaf], so there is not much trade between us and Somalia.
Q: If the economy improved in the south, would it be considered a good thing?
A: Well, we believe if there is improvement in any part, it would be a blessing, because all we get now from the south is refugees. If you go to the streets of Hargeisa, the beggars at the traffic lights are from the south, not Somaliland . . . We do not want to be a receptacle for the problems in Mogadishu and stretch our limited resources. Any Somali can come here and establish themselves peacefully, but we do not want the generals from the south to run our fate again. Top

Economic & Investment Indicators
Trends
Aircraft Movement
By Abebe Tadesse
In 1945, the Ethiopian delegation, attending the founding conference of the United Nations, had approached the Americans for assistance in setting up a civilian airline.
In the same year, an agreement was concluded between the Ethiopian government and the Transcontinental and Western Airline (TWA), setting up the Ethiopian Airlines (EAL), which was established in 1945, having an initial capital of 2.5 million Br but with foreign management.
The agreement lasted three decades, with TWA providing the managerial and supervisory personnel for most of that period. Started with five C-47 aircraft (veterans of World War II), of which three were soon converted to the passenger version, the DC. 3, EAL has entered the jet age in 1962.
And the issue of Ethiopianization has dominated the history of the airline, with the Americans trying to delay its realization for as long as possible. But the airline managed to beat the challenges and even succeeded to appoint the first Ethiopian general manager in 1971.
Annual aircraft movement has been increasing in the last decade except in the year 1998/99, where it has declined by 13.1pc from 8,154 in 1997/98. The movement of aircraft of the country has also further slumped 12.7pc from 8,157 in 1997/98 to 7,122 in 1998/99.
Currently, air transport construction has sufficient priority, as Ethiopian Airlines undertakes huge investment projects that includes the planned purchase of four aircraft in the coming few months. Top

Business Opportunities
Exporters
Quadra Techno Corp is looking for exporters of sheep leather (5,000 skins per month) for garment production. Contact Mr. Abdul Qadeer with the following address: - 11-2-417 Nampally, Hyderabad 500001, Tel: 91-40-356 1004, Fax: 91-40-351 4161, Email: aqadeer@india.com India.
E.F.S. is looking for exporters of leather working gloves (130,000 pairs). Contact: Hamouda Hafaiedh, with the following address: - Tel/Fax: 002162269401, Mobile 002169263742, E-mail: hamouda.hafaiedh@planet.tn Tunisia.
Mercury Trading Company is looking for exporters of men & women belt, handbag, & various leather goods. Contact Ms. Fanny, with the following address: - Fit B, 11/F., Wai Yick Ind. Bldg. 99 Bedford Street, Takoktsui, Kowloon, Fax: 852-23906053, E-mail: ericpoon98yahoo.com, Hong Kong.
Productos Lombardi, S.L. is looking for exporters of fish and seafood, fresh, frozen and live. Contact Jose Pintor, with the following address: - Mercamadrid, Ed. Cefrusa 1 Madrid, 28053, Tel: 34-91-786-6115, Fax: 34-91-786-6116, E-mail: plombardi@teleline.es, Spain.
INTERBEST is looking for exporters of frozen chicken leg quarter & halal chicken. Contact Erdogan CAKIR, with the following address: - Istanbul 34560, Fax: + 90212 462 33 91, E-mail: hamouda.hafaiedh@planet.tn, Turkey.
Oh-Sung Proline Sports is looking for cotton, t-shirts (white and black). Contact Park, with the following address: -#1070-3 U-Song Haeundae-Ku, Pusan 612-020, Tel: 82-51-