Despite the decision is not yet officially given the government may take the hybrid model of process to include two more telecom operators.
The government is holding different and frequent public consultation on the way of liberalization and partial privatization of Ethio Telecom. For instance two consultation with different groups have been conducted in this week the event that organized by Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA), and Ethio Telecom and Ministry of Innovation and Technology.
Experts who followed the process of liberalization told Capital that the government is expected to implement the hybrid model to select the two new operators.
So far the government is under discussion on three options; auction, beauty contest and hybrid models for the process to select the companies.
“based on the discussion that we participated it seems that the third model has get more good turn than the first two, which I think is the best way to give spectrum,” one of the sector expert who attended consultation that held a week ago at Ministry of Finance (MoF).
At the discussion the organized by MoF a week ago some of the participants expressed their expectation that the process will aligned with the hybrid.
“It seems that the process will be held under hybrid model,” Levi Girma, General Manager of BravoCom said that the meeting.
Hybrid is the model that includes the auction plus beauty contest. A beauty contest also known as public interest franchising or menu auction is a selection process where the regulatory agency awards the licenses to the operators that it perceives to be most suitable with the measurement of the proposed strategy of a company to do when it involve on the market.
An auction on the other hand is nothing less than a process where the firms who bid the most win the license.
Government sources also gave a hint to Capital that the process is expected to take via hybrid.
Balcha Reba, Director General of ECA, told Capital that the issue is under discussion that will be disclosed in the near future.
The literature and the idea to either use a beauty contest or an auction when awarding spectrum originates from the broader literature on public franchise bidding that was first suggested as a regulatory strategy in late 1960s.
Experts in the sector suggests that using the fusion of the two would be preferable for such bidding process to meet both the revenue expected to generate and the target that the government want to see when the sector is opened for new operators.
12 companies including Vodafone, Snail Mobile, Telkom, etisalat, Liquid Telecom, Orange, Kandu Global Telecom, Axian, and MTN have expressed their interest to be part of the two operators in the country.
International Finance Corporation, Roland Berger Gong, Coleago Consulting, Jones Day, and Earnest and Young are well known international companies consulting the process via different directions like finance, legal, media and communication and technical.
In related development on the discussion that organized by ECA on Monday September 28 participants recommended that the government to allow to include local investors to invest on telecom tower development.
At the beginning the government has been targeted to open the telecom tower development for interested infrastructure developers whether it is local or foreign. Since its announcement several foreign companies have been expressed their interest to invest on it.
However the government have paused its former plan for unspecific period and stated that the new coming telecom operators or Ethio Telecom will invest in the sector.
Ethio Telecom has been also argued that it had invested huge amount of dollar to develop the infrastructure in the past and it will be affected when the government allow new infrastructure companies to invest.
Currently there are about 7,300 telecom network towers throughout the country that owned by Ethio Telecom and it has also stated that it is expanded its system every time.
According to the plan until the new two comers develop their own network system they shall lease system from Ethio Telecom infrastructures. Besides that ECA has drafted Telecommunications Infrastructure and Collocation directive that impose operators to share their infrastructure each other.
National roaming scheme will be also implemented on the sharing of infrastructure.
on the discussion that held with legal experts, infrastructure developers and academia one of the participant said that he accepted the decision of the government to hold the opening up of the infrastructure sector for not telecom operators since the state enterprise already invested huge amount, “but the sector at least to be opened for local investors to build their capacity.”
Balcha, who appreciated the recommendation, said that there are interested local investors like steel industries that are currently supplying input for Ethio Telecom to invest in the sector. “The government may consider the recommendation,” he added.
Government leaning towards a hybrid model for Ethio-Telecom bid
ECA’s new pioneering directive awaiting ratification
Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA), a key leader on the liberalization of the telecom operation has disclosed that it is drafting several directives to ratify under proclamation to provide for federal administrative procedure 1183/2020 that enforce federal offices to get approval from Federal Attorney General to issue any directive.
Balcha Reba, Director General of ECA, said that his authority might be a pioneer in applying the federal administrative procedure proclamation to issue directives on the way to opening up the telecom industry for additional operators.
The proclamation on its preamble indicated that the proclamation is required to regulate Administrative Agencies to refrain their intervention against the peoples’ rights and Interest. This is necessary as it guarantees administrative justice by promoting a culture of transparency and accountability through legally establishing a system of judicial review for persons who might be aggrieved by acts of administrative agencies, in their rule-making and decision-making capacities.
The proclamation obliged the government offices to follow different process before enforcing any directive. It states that at the time of adopting a directive, an administrative agency shall keep a record/file containing the subject matter of the directive considering the timeline of major steps such as; an information regarding the status of the draft directive in the process of adoption, notices published in relation to the adoption of the draft directive, a period of time with in which the public may comment on the draft, comments received and positions taken regarding the comments.
“Our establishment proclamation by default is obliged to communicate to stakeholders before issuing a directive, while since last October we have been engaged in drafting different directives,” Balcha told Capital.
He said that the recently issued proclamation has also forced the public agencies to follow different procedures unlike the past when they followed a directive issued ECA.
“We believe that we are the pioneers on applying the proclamation. We have been engaged on different consultations and notifications of the draft directives,” Balcha said.
He added that ECA is using its website as an avenue for direct announcements to call for consultations as well as undertaking online discussions. The draft proposals are also posted on the website.
“An administrative agency shall solicit comments from relevant administrative agencies and other stakeholders by sending the draft it publicized,” the federal administrative procedure proclamation explained.
“After the expiry of the date for receiving written comments, the agency shall organize a public forum open for all interested persons and gather inputs,” it added .This is an indicator that the agency shall ensure enough time is allotted for different views to be aired.
According to the proclamation, prior to ratification of a directive, the agency shall send the draft to the Federal Attorney General for a conclusive opinion.
The directive is supposed to finalize a process of reiteration at the attorney office for ratification. “The Attorney General shall publicize to the pubic a filled directive with its explanatory statement and the date of notifying its registration,” the proclamation stated.
National Bank is not duty bound to implement obligations when it enacts directives concerning exchange rates, interest rates and other similar secret issues of the country. The proclamation might not be applied for security and emergency events since going through all the requirements takes time which is a limiting factor during an emergency.
The proclamation may not be applied where the issuance of advance notice may be contrary to Public Interest or when the issuance of notice may undermine the implementation of the directive.
According to the proclamation, an agency may incorporate, by reference in its rules, all or part of directives or code of conduct that has been adopted by another agency/body where these matters fall within its scope of power.
ECA, which is busy on undertaking the process to open additional two service providers with the support of Ministry of Finance, has tabled and discussed on several directives besides developing a regulation that shall be ratified by the Council of Ministers.
Telecommunications Interconnection Directive, Telecommunications Infrastructure and Collocation Directive, SIM Card Registration Directive, Lawful Tariffs Directive and Competition Directive are some of the draft directive that are under consultation.
QUESTION MORE & LIVE ACCORDINGLY
We live in a world where the average sheeple (human mass) is a mere spectator in the scheme of things global. This is not altogether unexpected, as the sheeple is hardly inclined to understand the hidden agenda of the prevailing lopsided globalization. Even in the best of times, inquisitiveness was never the sheeple’s forte. On the other hand, the ruling elites’ objective of bamboozling the gullible sheeple into complete submission continuous unabated. If truth and facts defy fitting into the narratives of the rulers, they would be promptly discarded. However and through out the ages, there were some pro-sheeple thinkers, who volunteered to do the heavy lifting of analyzing, investigating and interrogating to un-fathom truth & facts, particularly in times when the ruling elites were determined to go off on a tangent, like today!
The year 2020 can be considered a watershed in the (collapsing) modern world system. At this juncture, it is advisable to carefully look at the various developments that are now in play. The first thing to notice is; discourses that do not support the narratives of the status quo are being muzzled, rather strongly. Even the natural sciences have been relativized to support the untenable positions of the current global regime. See the article next column. When controversies regarding the sciences (particularly the life sciences) are raging amongst experts, one can be sure of the existence of a sinister agenda behind the distracting noise. Granted, the descriptive sciences (life sciences) are much more prone to relativize-ation, compared to the more analytical ones (physics, etc.) Nonetheless, when one observes the kind of blatant incongruities that are being thrown back and forth between no less authorities than Nobel Laureates, surely the sheeple cannot remain passive for long. In fact and unlike those ‘good old days’, the sheeple cannot calmly hide in its cocoon, as it will be ultimately impacted by the consequences of the raging conflicted narratives. Examining all sides of arguments, not only about the current plandemic or pandemic (whichever way one prefers to spell it), but about all and sundry, will be detrimental to the future of not only the sheeple, but also all lives on the planet, including the non-human ones! See Shiva’s article next column. Here is a nice and timely suggestion put forward by a Polish author, Monika Wisniewska, in regards to the ongoing vaccine controversy. ‘The vaccine should be tested on politicians first. If they survive, the vaccine is safe. If they don’t, then the countries are safe’!
This column has tried to highlight different perspectives on many of the pressing global issues, going back over a decade. Questioning/interrogating the critical assumptions that make the current world go round remains the paramount objective of this column. In this vein and as the current political economy spins out of control, we contend that critical thinkers delve into the problematic with vigor and honesty. We believe it would be wise to calmly and scrupulously examine potential trajectories, along with colleagues across the planet, with a view to possibly bring some respite to the current situation. It is imperative that intellectuals, not the usual credentialed idiots, but perceptive and inquisitive souls with deep commitments to all humanity confront the chaos thrown at us by the crumbling world system. The social goals should remain; a more humane, more democratic, more egalitarian and more inclusive world order, a la the French enlightenment project (1789). Here is a French philosopher, sharing our frustration, lambasting the intellectuals of his days. ‘European intellectuals had lost the Classical World’s ability to reason dispassionately about political and military matters, instead becoming apologists for crass nationalism, warmongering and racism. And History will smile to think that this is the species for which Socrates and Jesus Christ died for’. (‘The Treason of The Intellectuals’) Julien Benda (1867-1956, French philosopher).
The ongoing controversies within the ruling strata, which used to be an encampment characterized by its suffocating narratives and boringly monolithic ensemble, signal an impending bifurcation, as predicted by the likes of Immanuel Wallerstein (1930-2019). One should recall that when the going was good, there was relative peace amongst the parasitic elites of the world system. But today, as the sheeple becomes increasingly restless (it is visibly hurting), business as usual is as untenable as manna in the sky. We are still bound to our motto; ‘question more and live accordingly’ or in the words of a more eloquent and capable logician/philosopher of the 20th century: “The unexamined life is not worth living” Bertrand Russell.” Good Day!
Polish help
The Polish Emergency Medical Team of the Polish Center for International Aid (EMT PCPM) arrived in Addis Ababa to give assistance.
The team that arrived in the framework of the WHO Emergency Teams Initiative, at the invitation of the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia came on September 22 and will stay until October 18, currently supporting the operations of the Millennium COVID Care Centre.
Hilina Tadesse, Chief of Staff, Director General of Medical Services General Directorate, Ministry of Health of Ethiopia expressed appreciation for the cooperation between the EMT PCPM and the Millennium COVID Care Centre. 
Millennium Covid care center is the largest such center in the country with 1000 bed capacity. Running it poses challenges for design, flow management, staff capacity development, infection prevention management and delivery of care said Dr Ishmael Shemsedin, Executive Director of Millennium COVID Care Centre. “So far we have provided service for more than 3000 patients. In our effort to provide high quality care, inadequate experience in critical care and emergency response management has been rate limiting,” he added.
“This is the sixth mission of Polish Emergency Medical Team PCPM in response to COVID-19 pandemics,” says Wojtek Wilk (PhD), leader of the Team. “We are happy to share with our Ethiopian colleagues not only the experience from the Polish hospitals, but also that acquired by our EMT during recent missions to Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Lebanon and Madagascar. Our EMT will be also supported by a doctor and a nurse from Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, which will add one more country experience to share”.
First deployment of the Polish Emergency Medical Team PCPM was to Italy, where it supported an Intensive Care Unit in a city of Brescia in March 2020. Later, it was deployed by the WHO on training and capacity-building missions to two countries of Central Asia: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Since last August, Polish doctors supported two state-run hospitals for COVID patients in Lebanon, while three Polish medical workers were deployed on WHO surge mission to Madagascar. In Poland, the Emergency Medical Team actively supported hospitals, among others setting up COVID triage areas in front of hospital emergency departments.
“The project showed once again how much the Government of Poland was dedicated to support countries around the world in dealing with the pandemic. These days, international solidarity is especially needed,” said Przemyslaw Bobak, Ambassador-designate of Poland to Ethiopia.
