Compared to their peers who have no disabilities, children and adolescents (0-17 age group) with disabilities are 27% more likely to be out of upper-secondary school, 41% more likely to feel discriminated against and 51% more likely to feel unhappy. Adolescent girls with disabilities fare particularly poorly, facing additional inequities in accessing education, affordable health and other key services, and risking greater violations to their personal safety and security, as their disabilities are compounded by gender and age.
Delegates attending a special side-event being held on Tuesday, 22 March, 2022, during the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) will call for greater focus on reducing the structural discrimination caused by gender, age and disability through provision of more resources and technical support. They will urge governments and civil society to adopt an intersectional approach which empowers women and girls with disabilities by consulting and involving them in developing the programmes that affect them.
Global leaders urged to end discriminations of girls with disabilities
Errol Lee McFarlane
Name: Errol Lee McFarlane
Education: GSE English literature (Language, Social Studies)
Company name: Family Jam
Title: Founder member
Founded in: 2017
What it does: Event organizing
HQ: Shashemene
Number of employees: 7
Startup Capital: 3,500 birr
Current capital: Growing
Reasons for starting the business: The diaspora community has been starved of the authentic quality events
Biggest perk of ownership: Not having a boss to answer to
Biggest strength: Being of Caribbean descent
Biggest challenging: Finance
Plan: To organize at least 4 events per year
First career: An entertainer and audio engineer
Most interested in meeting: Prime minister Abiy Ahmed
Most admired person: Emperor Haile Selassie
Stress reducer: Listening to music and reading historical books
Favorite past time: Listening to music and sport
Favourite book: The Sign and The Seal
Favourite destination: Any place in Africa
Favourite automobile: Mercedes Benz C-class
Tele introduces new products as Safaricom preps for operation
Ethio telecom eagerly works to introduce new products to stay competitive while Safaricom prepares to commence operation in few days.
On Thursday March 24, 2022 Ethio telecom launched its high network capacity 4G Home Wireless Broadband internet service, which is a 4GLTE based broadband access solution, for the first time at an affordable price.
The 4G home wireless broadband internet service uses the existing 4G LTE mobile network as an option of fixed broadband internet service so as to provide users alternative high-speed capacity broadband connection at their preferred areas where wired broadband internet services are inaccessible.
During the launching ceremony as mentioned by the CEO of Ethio telecom, Firehiwot Tamiru, the company has launched the 4G Home Wireless Broadband internet service at testing level in some sales centers by supplying 4G Wi-Fi device with affordable prices; while it will fully and widely commence the service in the near future in areas where 4G LTE services have already been deployed.
The leading global information and communications technology solutions provider, Huawei provided the advanced solutions for the Home 4G/WTTx service launching.
“The solution has proactive user experience management and insight,” stated Huawei on its statement sent to capital.
Ethio telecom continues to rebrand and restructure its sales centers with high standards so as to deliver best services for the customers in various parts of the country in addition to providing its customers with the latest technologies at affordable prices.
“Rebranding and restructuring sales centers of the company have been undertaken across the country,” said the CEO, indicating that the company will continue to launch new products.
Furthermore, commencing the long awaited 5G network is also one part of the plan Ethio telecom is working on for the near future.
Premium business centers have been rebranded and have commenced providing services for the enterprise customers in six zonal offices of Addis Ababa as well as in 16 cities of the regional offices. On top of this, the company will finalize the rebranding and restructuring of the remaining sales centers within a reasonable time frame to maximize the access of its branded sales centers for the customers so as to provide them with fast and convenient services.
Meta abo employees in distress after being left in limbo
Employees of Meta Abo Brewery pile their complaints as the company remains silent about its transition and their future. On similar unfolding, BGI is waiting the Ethiopian Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (ETCCPA) to approve the buy out.
Girmachew Mandefro, chairman of the trade union of Meta which has about 340 members from the total of 500 employees informed Capital that the management teams of Meta from Diageo has left the company without giving clear information about the new owners and their agenda for its employees.
As he explains, the employees have not received any information whatsoever on the matter. “Both Diageo and BGI Ethiopia has stayed silent after making agreement on the acquisitions of the company,” Girmachew stated, adding, “we have concerns about our future, on whether they are going to let us continue our job or make us leave.”
BGI Ethiopia which has plans to rejuvenate the brand, in its statement sent to Capital disclosed that after having concluded the agreement to procure Meta Abo Brewery S.C. from Diageo, BGI Ethiopia is now waiting for the approval of the ETCCPA.
As sources from BGI said, though the two companies completed their agreement, approval from the authority has taken more than three months challenging the whole operation of Meta.
“BGI will start communicating with employees and ensuring that the concerns of all key stakeholders are attended to and will launch its investment immediately after securing the approval,” the statement reads.
“In particular, Meta’s employees and the community in Sebeta will continue to enjoy all existing benefits; while they should also expect reasonably significant improvements. This is well in line with BGI’s well-reputed CSR activities that have reached out to communities elsewhere around its breweries and beyond,” the statement further disclosed.
The brewery which is based out of Sebeta, Oromia region has about 3.7 billion birr in government tax debt starting from 2017.
Diageo thus entered into an agreement for the sale of Meta Abo Brewery, to BGI, which is part of the Castel Group. The sale was subject to approval by the conditions of ETCCPA with everything set to completion by early 2022; however this has faced a slight delay.
Following the acquisition, Meta Abo joins BGI’s other five breweries i.e., St. George Brewery in Addis Ababa, Kombolcha Brewery, Hawassa Brewery, Zebidar Brewery and Maychew Northern Brewery with a combined production capacity of 3.6 million Hectoliters of beer annually.
Prior to this, Meta Abo was sold to Diageo in 2012 after privatization at a price tag of 225 million dollars. After acquiring the factory in 2012, Diageo made 119 million dollars in investment for the expansion of the factory, and has since pumped a total of 344 million dollars in investment throughout the years for its expansion with the aim of transforming the brewing industry in Ethiopia. The brewery also supported local communities through provision of clean water.
Meta Abo brewery was established by the Ethiopian government and Ethiopian private nationals in 1963 as a share company. Initially, the production capacity of the brewery was 50,000hl per annum.
