Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Road Fund have signed an agreement to collect annual vehicle license renewal fee. On Thursday 4th of March 2021, Kidane Mengesha, deputy president of Central Region and Rashid Mohamed, director of Road Fund Office have signed the agreement on behalf of their respective office.
The agreement is expected to benefit 1.2 million car owners in Ethiopia according to Kidane, “Customers will be able to pay their payment through bank branches, POS machines and online banking services without any hassle.”
As Kidane said, since 53 percent of the overall Commercial Bank of Ethiopia services is through digital system, this step could also help as part of its effort to a cash less transfer and modern society.
According to Rashid, more than 3 billion birr will be collected annually; making the payment service through the commercial bank beneficial to the customers and the office. Money is often lost through eliminating fraud and using fake documents that should have been deposited in to the road fund, since the transaction is now wireless it shall increase the office collection capacity, according to him.
Customers will pay their bills at the bank and submit their receipt and vehicle libbers to the post office after receiving the confirmation to their payment.
The bank has previously collaborated with Addis Ababa water and sewerage, Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Electric Service, Ethio Telecom and other public and private organizations.
Road Fund Agency has collected 1.46 billion birr in the first half of the current fiscal year 2020/21.
According to the agency, from its five sources the agency has collected 98 percent of its plan which was 1.5 billion birr.
Road Fund Agency works on road condition surveys and road maintenance by collecting its budget from oil tariff tallying to about 1.39 billion birr and 2.1 million birr from vehicle oil and grease. Moreover it gains revenue from: Road Value Purchase 1.526 million birr, the Treasury 8.978 million birr, Document Weight-based vehicle license renewal 64.746 million birr and the Weight-based vehicle license renewal 51.778mllion birr.
While it was planned to carry out 12125.028 km of road maintenance in the first half of the budget year, 12007.988 km has been carried out by the office thus far. Out of the 1861 km planned repairs, 1252 km of repairs have been completed.
In the last six months, the office has paid 622,779,447 Birr for regular repairs according to the office whilst 138,484,750 birr was spent on monitoring and support. 1.05 billion Birr was further paid by the office for Prepaid and Certificate of Payment for the Road Agencies Basis.
CBE, ERF strike a deal for fee collection
AACCSA set to manage Meskel square project
The Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association completed its preparation to take the management of one of the mega projects in the city, the Meskel square project which is part of the beautifying Sheger Project.
The project which has been under construction for the past nine months is said to be completed until the end of this month, March, 2021. Various modern constructions from Meskel square to Piassa city administration that will beautify the city which is carried out by 2.5 billion birr is expected to significantly contribute to the city’s landscape. The project is constructed by the Chinese construction giant, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).
The Meskel Square project sees the construction of state of the art integrated facilities, incorporating an underground parking lot enough to accommodate about 1,400 vehicles at once, six LED advertising screens, toilets, more than 70 shops and space for electric bike rides.
According to Tilahun Tadesse, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Exhibition Center and Marketing Development Enterprise, the Addis Ababa chamber has prepared its administration structure and feasibility study. To this end, the CEO highlighted that they are waiting for the official acceptance from the city administration.
The City Chamber had submitted its interest to the city administration last year in May (2020), before the start of construction on the project and further conducted its feasibility study on June 2020 as Tilahun said. “Since it is near to the Exhibition center and more focused on entertainment it is a good decision for the chamber to take over the administration of the project,” he elaborated.
Tilahun echoed that when it starts providing services, the project will create job opportunities for more than 300 peoples directly and for thousands more indirectly. “Since the project is huge with regards to its importance to the city, it has to be managed by an acknowledged institution for its profitability and long life /longevity/,” said the CEO.
Initiated by the Prime Minister, ‘Beautifying Sheger Project’ was launched aiming to lift the image of the capital city, create jobs and increase urban tourism. The three-year project is expected to cost 29 billion birr and further aims to enhance the well-being of city dwellers by mitigating flooding and pollution through the creation of public spaces and parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the riverside. It features open space for recreation, artificial lake, and wedding venues. The project was kick started on June 2020 and was set to be completed in four months for the celebration of Meskel festival, however, the global pandemic and the foreign currency crunch has delay the project.
According to engineer Gurmesa Reta, Meskel square project coordinator, 98 percent of the civil works has been completed of which remainder is just the finishing. The engineer said that the project will be completed and be made ready for the public in one month, until the end of March, 2021.
Speaking to the cabinet affairs on the six month performance of the city, deputy mayor Adanech Abebe at the beginning of the budget year explained that the project has been progressing from the 31 percent state at the time to 91 percent,
“We have built a number of mega development projects that are already on the pipeline as well as others that are up-coming. The great progress of the square project should be viewed as a lesson for others in terms of its quality and swift progress,” she expressed.
Also according to the city administrations six month performance, The Adwa Zero Kilometer Museum project has an Adwa Center building with a capacity of more than 2,000 people and three small halls with a capacity of 400 people, as well as a cinema and theater.
According to the report, the Municipal building which is over 50 years old will be renovated without changing the modern and historical form. The report also cited that the Construction performance has increased from 13.9 to 40 percent.
The construction of Addis Ababa City Public Library has also increased from 19.2 to 70 percent whereas the construction of the palace parking lot has reached 71 percent, as per the report.
Addis Ababa Chamber is also an Organizer of different Local and international trade fairs, exhibitions is also managing the exhibition center which is one of the development agency of the city. By Metasebia Teshome
The Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association completed its preparation to take the management of one of the mega projects in the city, the Meskel square project which is part of the beautifying Sheger Project.
The project which has been under construction for the past nine months is said to be completed until the end of this month, March, 2021. Various modern constructions from Meskel square to Piassa city administration that will beautify the city which is carried out by 2.5 billion birr is expected to significantly contribute to the city’s landscape. The project is constructed by the Chinese construction giant, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).
The Meskel Square project sees the construction of state of the art integrated facilities, incorporating an underground parking lot enough to accommodate about 1,400 vehicles at once, six LED advertising screens, toilets, more than 70 shops and space for electric bike rides.
According to Tilahun Tadesse, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Exhibition Center and Marketing Development Enterprise, the Addis Ababa chamber has prepared its administration structure and feasibility study. To this end, the CEO highlighted that they are waiting for the official acceptance from the city administration.
The City Chamber had submitted its interest to the city administration last year in May (2020), before the start of construction on the project and further conducted its feasibility study on June 2020 as Tilahun said. “Since it is near to the Exhibition center and more focused on entertainment it is a good decision for the chamber to take over the administration of the project,” he elaborated.
Tilahun echoed that when it starts providing services, the project will create job opportunities for more than 300 peoples directly and for thousands more indirectly. “Since the project is huge with regards to its importance to the city, it has to be managed by an acknowledged institution for its profitability and long life /longevity/,” said the CEO.
Initiated by the Prime Minister, ‘Beautifying Sheger Project’ was launched aiming to lift the image of the capital city, create jobs and increase urban tourism. The three-year project is expected to cost 29 billion birr and further aims to enhance the well-being of city dwellers by mitigating flooding and pollution through the creation of public spaces and parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the riverside. It features open space for recreation, artificial lake, and wedding venues. The project was kick started on June 2020 and was set to be completed in four months for the celebration of Meskel festival, however, the global pandemic and the foreign currency crunch has delay the project.
According to engineer Gurmesa Reta, Meskel square project coordinator, 98 percent of the civil works has been completed of which remainder is just the finishing. The engineer said that the project will be completed and be made ready for the public in one month, until the end of March, 2021.
Speaking to the cabinet affairs on the six month performance of the city, deputy mayor Adanech Abebe at the beginning of the budget year explained that the project has been progressing from the 31 percent state at the time to 91 percent,
“We have built a number of mega development projects that are already on the pipeline as well as others that are up-coming. The great progress of the square project should be viewed as a lesson for others in terms of its quality and swift progress,” she expressed.
Also according to the city administrations six month performance, The Adwa Zero Kilometer Museum project has an Adwa Center building with a capacity of more than 2,000 people and three small halls with a capacity of 400 people, as well as a cinema and theater.
According to the report, the Municipal building which is over 50 years old will be renovated without changing the modern and historical form. The report also cited that the Construction performance has increased from 13.9 to 40 percent.
The construction of Addis Ababa City Public Library has also increased from 19.2 to 70 percent whereas the construction of the palace parking lot has reached 71 percent, as per the report.
Addis Ababa Chamber is also an Organizer of different Local and international trade fairs, exhibitions is also managing the exhibition center which is one of the development agency of the city.
Africa’s build-up from the pandemic and climate sting
The Economic Commission for Africa on Monday March 1st launched the Building Forward for an African Green Recovery report which highlights the continent’s bold post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery strategy.
The report seeks to bolster the continent’s valiant quest for the realization of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), attainment of the Paris Agreement’s climate change targets and achievement of the prosperity objectives articulated in Africa’s Agenda 2063.
The Building Forward for an African Green Recovery will contribute significantly towards achieving and enhancing sustainable trade within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) over the next decade.
The report shows the African region faces its first recession in 25 years with output losses due to COVID-19 estimated to be 99 billion USD. This is compounded by climate impacts on economic output projected to cause annual losses of between 3-5% of GDP by 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario. In some cases, this will be as much as -15% of GDP. With credible data available on the impact of climate change, the ECA Building Forward for an African Green Recovery makes a case for Africa to make informed assessments and take knowledgeable decisions. The report calls for the uptake of nature-based solutions at national, regional and continental levels to inspire policies that preserve the global commons.
ECA has been at the forefront of supporting transitions in African countries towards sustainable development pathways illustrated on Green or Blue Economy pillars, which endorse climate-smart agricultural approaches, sustainable fisheries, ecotourism and adoption of cleaner energy sources including solar, tidal, wind and geothermal sources.
“For us to build back better we need a lot of energy. The conversation in Africa is about substituting expensive bad fossil fuels with something that is cleaner and cheaper,” said UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the ECA, Vera Songwe. “We have to replace fuel-based energies with green and sustainable ones.”
This report seeks to galvanize support for Africa’s Green and Blue Economy strategies and mobilize resources to bolster the continent’s climate adaptation and mitigation measures. It summarizes the continental outlook of how collaborative partnerships bringing together development partners, multilateral agencies, private sector, international and non-governmental organizations can boost Africa’s green and blue livelihoods recovery programme.
Songwe noted that with the impact of COVID-19 and its associated economic contractions coupled with the debilitating impact of the climate crisis, Africa’s focus on recovery was even more essential. According to the ECA Chief, there is an urgent need to roll-out financial aid packages, investments in sustainable infrastructure and structure fiscal stimuli to cushion the expected transition into the green and blue economy.
In the immediate this involves a new issuance of SDRs to boost liquidity for African countries, and extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). The ECA has also been advocating for SDRs to be made available for on-lending to provide cheaper forms of finance for investment in sustainable priorities such as clean energy. Opportunities for green and blue bonds using appropriate credit enhancements should also be considered alongside the opportunity for debt restructuring using debt for climate or debt for nature swaps.
The “circular economy” concept has been defined as one which is restorative, as it heavily relies on renewable energies and eradicates waste and toxic chemicals. In the same vein the green economy is described as one that improves well-being, promotes social equity, reduces ecological risks and is capable of transforming the global economy towards a low-carbon development uptake.
In his remarks, Albert Muchanga, African Union’s Commissioner for Trade and Industry, welcomed the launch of the South African case studies. “The launch of the report and case studies has come at an opportune moment as the AU will work together with the ECA and other partners in fulfilling the objective of an African post-pandemic Green recovery,” the AUC Commissioner said.
“Africa has immense renewable energy potential to boost its economic growth through adoption of cleaner energy pathways which are a boost to adaptation and climate mitigation.”
Commenting on the need for urgent global action to support Africa’s green recovery initiatives, Sir Nicholas Kay, the UK regional Ambassador for Africa of the Climate Conference (COP26), said “Global political will is building up as has been seen with the return of the US to the Paris Agreement, commitment of China to net-zero emissions and raised ambitions by the UK, among other developed nations, to pursue a Green Industrial Revolution. All these are a boost for Africa to adopt greener economic pathways for attainment of sustainable development goals.”
“Green energy is the future,” he added.
Speaking during the launch, Julia Bird from the Oxford University, who collaborated with the ECA in producing the report said; “Africa is endowed with some of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots, and one of the most important natural carbon sinks, such as the peatlands of the Congo basin which can lock in up to 30 billion tons of carbon.”
“This sequestered carbon is equivalent to 3 years-worth of the whole world’s emissions. Carbon off-sets provide an opportunity for Africa to tap into the value of its natural assets by factoring in carbon sequestration values. Uptake of reliable green energy will support Africa’s economic transformation and clean transition.”
Djibouti once again assure the requirements of ISO28000
The modern port facility in the Horn, Doraleh Multipurpose Port (DMP) reaffirms its certification on international security management from the British company.
The ISO28000: 2007 certification assures the competitiveness of the port facility that is located at Doraleh, which is in the outskirts of Djibouti city.
DMP has been ISO28000: 2007 certified since March 28, 2019 by the Llyod’s Register, a British company expert in the field of certification.
The port indicated that the said certification relating to the supply chain security management system brings to the facility at DMP a number of advantages such as a clear competitive advantage on the market, increased reliability and improved customer satisfaction.
Djama Ibrahim Darar, Port of Djibouti SA (PDSA) and DMP General Manager, said that this has enabled DMP to better control and secure its internal processes in terms of security for ships, goods and companies established in the port.
“For its customers, this translates into high value-added merchandise service thanks to a modern and safe operational capacity,” he explained.
The certification will then be maintained by annual surveillance audits scheduled by the certification body, with the renewal of the certification of the Supply Chain Safety Management System carried out on a three-year basis.
The Port also meets the safety rules established by the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) regulations.
This certification process has been endorsed since the end of the 2000s at PDSA, which is the first port in East Africa to have received certification in 2008 for its organization in terms of safety.
“As part of the annual ISO28000: 2007 audit surveillance visit, PDSA and DMP management has been making intense preparations for three months in collaboration with the Port Secure of Djibouti and the National Police who participated fully and actively in the preparatory work for the audit,” on its statement the port disclosed.
To this end, the DMP successfully validated on February 3, 2021 compliance with the requirements of the ISO 28000 audit.
It should also be remembered that the Port has a CCTV system that operates 24/7, barriers accessible with secure name badges.
The state of the art port facility that was established with an investment of almost USD 590 million and inaugurated in 2017 recently included the first livestock terminal at the cost of USD 400,000.
The recently added facility has the export capacity of 2.5 million heads per year and the area of the first phase is 27, 515 square meters.
Regarding site capacity per day it shall manage 1,000 heads of camel, 500 heads of cattle 4,270 heads of goat or sheep at the current phase that will be expanded in the coming expansion projects.
The terminal also has various structures suitable for the export of sheep, cattle, goats and camels, while new facility is viable with the railway system of Ethio-Djibouti Railway.
DMP has a range of terminals that including bulk, break, container, a RoRo depth of 15.3 meter with 8.000.000 MT annual capacity.
