The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) plans to takeover utility fee collections for the government.
The Ministry of Innovation & Technology (MoIT) is to terminate their deal with Kifiya that has been delivering a one stop electronic billing system since 2010 for government services such as payment of electricity, water, telecom bills and traffic fines, and expected to end in July. Therefore, CBE plans to take over collection.
CBE has already secured a deal to collect the Ethiopian Electric Utility billing.
Last month, Bacha Gini, President of CBE and the manager of Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority also signed an agreement to collect water bills for its 550 thousand customers through any of the CBE transaction mechanisms.
A latest deal was also made at the beginning of this week where CBE signed an agreement with the Addis Ababa Traffic Management Agency to collect traffic fines through the bank’s modern digital channel.
Tesfaye Alemnew Communication Director of MOIT said ”nowadays there are a number of options to pay through technology.”
He added that Kifya is not efficient enough to address the increasing number of the customers where long lines were observed.
“CBE’s digitalized payment system reduces cash flow risks and modernizes its service delivery system to the customers in the country,” said Dereji Fufa, Banking sector vice president of CBE.
CBE has also started to collect payment of federal document authentication and registration through its product called CBE birr, in a bid towards creating a cashless society and creating convenience for customers.
CBE is delivering service for Ethio-telecom customers who have a CBE account to pay their bills in addition to other alternative that it introduced.
As of last year, the state bank reported 565.5 billion birr in assets and over half a trillion birr in deposits.
Utilities can be paid at Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
THE ART OF RECONCILIATION
“…relativism over past standards should not preclude museums from being “above reproach” with regard to their recent and historic holdings.” Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi, Museum of Modern Art.
In an environment with such limited news published on art of Africa, I like to share, rather than re-invent the wheel. This important article published in ARTNEWS and available online at artnews.com by Robin Scher provides an in depth article about the Metropolitan Museum of Art near scandal, in which an exhibition closed after only seven months on display which almost half a million visitors viewed. Why? The Met “discovered” the “Nedjemankh and His Gilded Coffin had been looted from Egypt, according to Scher, “The museum had acquired the ornate golden coffin from the first century B.C. two years ago for €3.5 million (around $3.9 million) from Christophe Kunicki, a Parisian art dealer who supplied fake provenance records including a forged Egyptian export license dated 1971. … an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, however, it appeared that the coffin had been stolen from its homeland in 2011. In response to the finding, the Met agreed to turn the artifact over to the Egyptian government. But the question of how such a tainted treasure could work its way through the hallowed museum’s acquisition process remained. Stewards of the world’s most important artifacts have a duty to hold their acquisitions to the highest level of scrutiny,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement at the time. Max Hollein, the Met director then just a few months on the job, said, “Our museum must be a leader among our peers in the respect for cultural property and in the rigor and transparency of the policy and practices that we follow.” Hollein vowed that the Met would learn from the incident and that he would personally be “leading a review” of the acquisition program in order “to understand what more can be done to prevent such events in the future.” Seriously? Scher goes on to say, this “…was not the first of its kind in the United States, and it won’t be the last”.
Ugochukwu-Smooth chimes in saying, “Reconciling the present with the past is difficult but necessary. Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi—a Nigerian-born curator joining the Museum of Modern Art’s department of painting and sculpture in July after working as a curator of African art at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College—said that relativism over past standards should not preclude museums from being “above reproach” with regard to their recent and historic holdings. “Given that the institutional history of the museum is fraught, a more ethical approach should stem from an acknowledgment that museums were part of the colonial ideology of conquest, domination, and attempts to hijack or re-write the narratives of so-called subject peoples to serve political, economic, and intellectual agendas,” Nzewi added. By recognizing realities of the past, museums will be better equipped to revisit and dissect their collections via “a well-thought-out and deliberate process of sifting through holdings and tracing the trajectories of individual objects.”
So what does this mean for Ethiopian and all African art…looted? African Heads of State, Museums and/or Ministries of Culture may want to begin consider implementing special task forces that do their own due diligence and establish points of contacts responsible for receiving said art, with all the reparations which should come with the return. Such reparations may include updating museums, training professionals, providing technology and security support, or allow platforms for curricula which include pedagogy to develop new approaches to protect, promote and preserve art of Africa. We must prepare for the return of what is ours and ensure we do our part to provide the next generation, especially while the crisis of conscience or fear of the public relations backlash is trending. Scher closes with the following referencing the Fowler Museum, “Through … current Mellon-funded research initiative—which includes an advisory committee drawn from local and regional scholars as well as community stakeholders—the museum’s director and curators said they hope to continue learning and, in the process, help answer a question hanging heavy on their minds: “What does it mean to have a collection of sub-Saharan African art formed by a British industrialist in Los Angeles in the 21st century?” My question is what does it mean to Africa to have our collections abroad, illegally and/or immorally, in the 21st century? Wake up.
Dr. Desta Meghoo is a Jamaican born Creative Consultant, Curator and cultural promoter based in Ethiopia since 2005. She also serves as Liaison to the AU for the Ghana based, Diaspora African Forum.
TOTAL’s way
Thibault Lesueur has been Managing Director of Total Ethiopia since September 2018. He was Head of Petroleum Specialties for Africa Middle East responsible for sales and marketing development for LPG, Jet A1, lubricants and care ranges, bitumen and solvants in Africa and Middle East. Capital talked to him about recent investments of Total in Africa and the situation in Ethiopia. Excerpts;
Capital: Why is Total diversifying and buying acquisitions in Africa?
Thibault Lesueur: The Oil and Gas sector requires one to continually consolidate one’s resources, balance one’s assets and integrate new energies into one’s portfolio. TOTAL has historically been a present and significant actor in Africa and naturally, the Group continues to invest in Africa. You may have heard recently of our plan to buy Anadarko’s Africa assets. . In fact, one of our key priorities in our development road map is the environment.
Capital: What is the vision of environment by Total?
Thibault Lesueur: As far as Total is concerned, we want to play an active role in developing the renewable energy sector as well as reducing our carbon footprint in all of our activities. For example, the Total Group has recently taken many initiatives towards new energies, with several acquisitions such as SAFT, a battery manufacturer, or EREN to form TOTAL EREN, a joint-venture dedicated to renewable energy. In Western Europe countries, TOTAL is now selling environmental-friendly electricity with Total Direct Energy to individuals.
Capital: Why do big international Oil companies leave Africa while Total remains?
Thibault Lesueur: Other Oil companies first moved out from the distribution sector, but some still remain in Africa with other oil related activities. TOTAL believes in Africa, where you must have a long-term approach and accept current challenges. One of these key challenges is safety, as where ever the Group operates, we do not compromise on our safety standards; creating the safest working environment for our employees, contractors and stakeholders. We do monitor and communicate the number of days without accidents in Ethiopia on a daily basis to our teams. We are really focused on this indicator.
Capital: Is Total a leader in Africa?
Thibault Lesueur: Total is certainly the most present company in Africa with direct presence in more than 40 countries, activities in resources exploration, production, refining and distribution with more than 4000 stations across the continent. Total is considered the 1st retail company in Africa, with the largest chain of retail shops on the continent. In some countries, Total has been operating for more than 90 years! In Ethiopia, we have been here close to 70 years. On top of figures, Total is also considered as a leader in standards, as very often, we are the first to implement international standards in our various markets.
Capital: So what do you want to do in terms of being a leader in standards and safety in Ethiopia?
Thibault Lesueur: In transportation, Total Ethiopia is the only company tracking its trucks wherever they are within a GPS system in Ethiopia. We have a real-time vision of our fleet and we can survey key violations such as speeding, over driving, harsh braking and night driving. For example, over driving is a major concern for us, as the drivers need rest to drive safely in our very challenging road conditions.
I hope soon, all the fuel transportation will be supported correctly with a minimum set of standards; starting with training of drivers, controlling speed and work time, for example. Today, we train our drivers on a truck cabin simulator. It may be the only one in the country. We believe this kind of hands-on training would greatly improve the safety on our roads if every commercial driver were to complete it.
Environmentally, we are the only Ethiopian oil company to install double-envelope tanks in our stations. This is to avoid any kind of pollution of fuel in the soil. Total Ethiopia also has a state-of-the-art fuels depot commissioned 2016, in Dukam, designed specifically to serve Addis Ababa region.
Capital: Is that the depot you wanted to connect with the rail way?
Thibault Lesueur: Exactly
Capital: And that has happened?
Thibault Lesueur: No! No! No!
Capital: Why not?
Thibault Lesueur: That is a good question. We are working with governmental entities to put this project on the table once again. Connecting a fuel depot with railway means fewer road risks, safer operations and a more reliable supply for Ethiopia. Fuel supply safety is everybody’s responsibility, as the products are highly flammable and the country needs a constant supply to support the nation’s development. For that matter, the sector needs regulation, standards and authorities who play an active role; ensuring sector support and control. Today, the minimum requirements to be a fuel marketer are too low and are not sufficient to address properly the safety issues at stakes. They are not properly monitored either.
Capital: What are the challenges you face?
Thibault Lesueur: As I mentioned earlier, standards are the key to avoid accidents and ensuring a reliable supply of such strategic products as fuels. Standards cannot be ignored. I believe there is willingness now in our communities to support this method of operation. We see things moving in the right direction. The fuel market shall also be well governed by a sustainable system, enabling all actors to live economically from normal operations, respecting rules towards authorities and giving the right quality of products to all Ethiopian consumers. Today, the fuel activities are not remunerating the sector companies and you may have seen some companies closing petrol stations sites. The fuel margins are far less than what the sector needs to operate sustainably and far below the margins you see in neighbor countries. Therefore, the fuel market suffers from lack of investment, unable to follow the market growth for many years now. To develop a more dynamic fuel sector, like what we see in every African market with state of the art petrol stations and depots, you need to attract investment with the right margin level.
Capital: What do you suggest as a solution?
Thibault Lesueur: For the last two years we have established an association of fuel distributors (Ethiopian Oil Companies Association) that is made up of five principal actors. The association has already completed an industry study and submitted suggestions to authorities to improve the sector in Ethiopia. The recently created Regulatory body is in line with one of our suggestions. This official entity should now design the vision of the sector, leading all actors towards a sustainable and professional supply of the country, based on international standards and under strict control. For the fuel prices and margin, the authorities should remunerate all actors in the value chain, from oil companies to dealers and including transporters. If all actors are correctly paid from operations, I am sure this sector will actively participate the new era of Ethiopia, resuming investments, creating stations, investing in fuel depots to ensure adequate inventories and to avoid shortages and create many jobs in all the Ethiopian territory. Today, Ethiopia has less than half the number of stations of Kenya, for a larger territory and a much larger population. The Minister of Trade and Industry is also looking at specific sector regulations and our Association is supporting this initiative, bringing its own expertise to design the best fuel sector Ethiopia deserves together.
Capital: The fuel prices are different from one country to another country since each country has different tax laws and regulations. What is your view point?
Thibault Lesueur: This product is imported, you know, and distributed locally. I believe it’s best for local prices to reflect international prices or at least be linked to them somehow. There are other economic consequences that occur from having fuel prices that are too low. For example, lower prices motivate smuggling and other unscrupulous activities with our neighboring countries. Today, you pay far less your fuel in Ethiopia compared with Kenya for example. Ethiopia needs to have a good balance across the region and to discourage these activities that are challenging Government resources and a cost to all Ethiopian community.
Capital: Recently, we just have an increased price on the fuel market, does this affect your margin?
Thibault Lesueur: The Ethiopian government answered our request recently to revise the sectors margins, and we do appreciate this positive move. As an international company, we know and understand to be careful in pricing the fuel. The product is highly sensitive as it is serving all of Ethiopia. It is a basic need for transport and industries. Nevertheless in Ethiopia, everybody should keep in mind that since the beginning of 2016, the gasoline price has been increased by more than 3 birr per liter, and the margin for oil companies has only been improved by 6 cent of Birr per liter. We cannot say the oil companies are benefitting from the price changes, rather the contrary. The current margin for oil companies is far less attractive compared to bank saving rates, and therefore, does not take in consideration any of the daily efforts, initiatives and risks taken by all the sector stakeholders to serve the country with fuel.
Capital: If the margin is not motivating you why are you still in the market?
Thibault Lesueur: Total is an historic and responsible actor in Ethiopia, we do notice a kind of smooth economic revolution that Ethiopia is experiencing. Both the proclamation for the new regulatory body and the new regulations project, with the strong intention to implement standards in Ethiopia are the positive signals for the industry to motivate investors to resume investment activities. We need an additional positive sign regarding the profitability of the sector. As we do understand the access to foreign currency is a real challenge for Ethiopia and sales of lubricants no longer compensate for minimal fuel margins. Fuels profitability has thus to be addressed. For the time being, we are waiting for such a sign, limiting all unnecessary costs, optimizing the small amount of dollars we are able to capture and even welcoming Total trainees from all over affiliates of the Group to be an internal training center. The day the sector has normal fuel margins, Total will invest massively in the market to build new stations and create jobs and the Ethiopian consumers will have modern petrol stations to serve them. For your information, with an acceptable margin level, like near the average level in Africa, we can double our network and generate 5000 jobs in 5 years.
Capital: What are the prospects for green energy investment in Ethiopia?
Thibault Lesueur: Total already participated in the early solar farm tenders, but we were not selected. And we now have a team in place that is working on the scaling solar tender. We are waiting for the awards and hope to be among the selected companies. Should it become possible for us, we may also one day implement solar panels in our petrol stations to develop more autonomy from the grid as we do in many countries in Africa. But, for the time being, it is not an option due to the lack of profits in fuel distribution for us and our dealers.
Capital: Talk about how you are giving back to the communities
Thibault Lesueur: Total Ethiopia as a responsible company in its Corporate Social Responsibility programs involved in Safety on the roads, Education, Health, Small and medium scale entrepreneurs support, and Capacity building actions. Total Ethiopia has a yearly budget to support these projects with several million Birr. The second round of Total’s StartUpper program was very successful in Ethiopia. This year, Total worldwide launched the program in 62 countries in Eastern Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. For Ethiopia, we received thousands of projects and we supported the pre-selected young entrepreneurs with teachings about creating an effective pitch, a long-term business plan and how to endure rigorous questioning from experts about their visionary, sustainable projects for the country. 3 teams were awarded with prizes, and one of the three winners, a young woman, was invited to Paris to join the Digital National Women’s Day of France, hosted by the Prime Minister. We will continue to support young Ethiopian entrepreneurs with ideas, projects and who are full of energy. We also have a Young Graduate Program where we select the very best candidates to work in Total Ethiopia and offer them an international assignment for one year. Total Ethiopia works every year to eradicate malaria with local associations in Ethiopia. Total Foundation donated funds for water points to farmers. We are engaged in educating children on road safety awareness program in elementary schools located in the risk zones of Addis Ababa. The affiliate also took the initiative of truck drivers’ road safety awareness program along the Djibouti corridor. Moreover we donated servers, computers and science laboratory equipments to universities, colleges, high schools and hospitals. We have made funds available for critical research such as waste oil treatment. We also signed a MOU with Addis Ababa University for technology development in the near future we also work to reduce environmental pollution.
Capital: A lot of Interesting programs in a very challenging situation.
Thibault Lesueur: We look at the situation and market challenges and we are optimistic as we have already seen a lot of improvements. We are committed to focusing on our collective future and positive sector developments for Ethiopia. We still see a very bright future for Ethiopia and we believe Ethiopians deserve the best products and services regarding fuel.
Once up on a time…
Adapted from an old local story
Once up on a time there was a rural lady named Almaz who was 32 years old. She was so pretty that everyone in that part of the country called her Almu konjo. This nick name was originally given by an Arab man who was also a member of that rural village. The Arab man was an owner of a big shop which was regularly visited by all residents of that village. Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen including young and old visited the big shop to get whatever they needed. Sugar, coffee, salt, edible oil, sandal sticks, ointment, soap, detergent, stationeries, candy, biscuit, pasta, macaroni, wheat flour, candle, matchstick, dry cell battery, needle, thread, safety-pin, mirror, razorblade and many other materials needed by rural community were available in that big shop. Whenever someone needed something, it was common to hear others saying, “why don’t you go to Arabu’s!”. The people in the village liked the Arab shop owner who always looked happy. He always sang in Arabic along with an old and big radio which was on the whole day in the shop. People liked his way of speaking the local language. Residents of the village called this man Arabu. His real name was not known by the local people. Arabu’s shop was also called arab bet (house of an Arab guy). Little boys and girls liked to go errand to the arab bet to buy whatever they needed. Arabu used to give them candy or a lump of sugar.
Almaz lived in a big cottage surrounded by thick fence of hedges. The wooden gate of the big compound had its own shade or porch made from corrugated iron sheet. If somebody needed to visit the cottage, s/he would pull a small rope seen hanging by the side of the gate so that a small bell far inside could ring. Almaz was living with her husband and a young son aged about 13. Most of the time her husband, Simegnew and the young son, Arega spent their time out in the farmland. Simegnew tilled his farmland which was located within ten minutes’ walk. He sometimes walked back home to have his lunch and coffee. Simegnew was a diligent farmer who grew teff, beans, peas, vetch, chickpea, wheat, sunflower and other crops. Arega, their son looked after cattle of his family. As he carried his lunch, he was not expected to come back home for lunch.
Sometime Almaz crossed over the dirt road near her house and visited the arab bet to buy coffee, sugar or edible oil. This time Arabu would come out of the balcony and grab Almaz’s slim hand. He would smile and sing and talk in the local language appreciating her. “Almazu konjo! Almu pretty… I love you Almaz… Almu, my pretty lady! Welcome! Please drink tea… I can make you very sweet tea… konjo! You like it, Almu!” He sometimes hugged her, touched her breast and felt her long black flaxen hair hanging over her back.
Almaz felt shy and tried to free herself from his strong grip. Sometimes she said that she did not like the hairy arms of him. “Don’t touch me with your hair. It caresses me!” Sometimes when he did too much hugging and fondling on her, she warned him to stop it. “I am a married woman. I have a big and respected man. I am only for that man. Stop what you are doing. My husband will shoot you if he happens to see what you are doing here!” she said seriously.
“Better to die than miss the chance to touch such a pretty lady like you. Almu I love you… Bal yikotal? (is your husband angry?) …No, I don’t care. I need you! I will come to your house to chat with you. Bal yimetal (will your husband come?) Arabu anchi yiwedal! (Arabu loves you.) Ene bet yimetal (I’ll come home).” Arabu said stroking her long hair.
“Stop that and rather give me coffee and sugar. Do you hear that?” Almaz said seriously.
“Yes, my pretty lady. I do hear you. Take whatever you like for free. This shop is yours. Arabu loves you. Bal bet ale? (is your husband at home?) I will come to see you at home now…” He gave her whatever she needed. More coffee beans than she required… too much sugar and candies… He also added for her, as a gift, sandal sticks. At last he grabbed her hand and kissed it. Almaz would slap his hairy hand and walk out of the shop hurriedly.
“Almu, my dear, I will come home right now…OK?”
“No! …If you want to come, make it after two hours… at around 11:00 AM. I have a lot of things to do at home. I cannot chat with you unless I am through with my work… understand?”
“Yes, Almu… Arabu comes at 11:00 AM… bal yimetal? (Does your husband come?)” Almaz smiled and left the shop without responding to him.
Arabu walked over to Almaz’s after two hours. He carried coffee, candies, sugar, salt, wheat flour, a bundle of sandal sticks and bar of soaps. He pulled the thin rope hanging over the gate. The small bell tolled far inside the compound…
It was Almaz who responded to the call after some seconds. She was very busy cleaning the house, milking the cows and preparing food for the family. As she was surprised to see Arabu, she stared at him. …He caressed at his white beard showing her his tea-bleached teeth. She led him to the living room and started washing cups, saucers, spoons and kettle. Arabu looked at her very carefully. Her long black hair was shrouded by a white shema. Her breasts were seen bouncing inside her wide robe. “Almu, what are you going to do now?”
“I am going to make coffee for my guest.”
“No coffee! No, please! …No, please! I need you…, Almu,” Arabu implored her.
“No, you should know our culture. I thought you knew that! … Our guest should be invited coffee and snack before he directly does whatever he has come for. Particularly if the guest is a special one, we make a special coffee with butter. You are a special guest here. So, first you will drink coffee with butter.” she smiled.
Arabu’s heart started beating fast, “Ok, Almu konjo, I will drink coffee with butter! …Yes, I love coffee with butter!” He moved over and tried to kiss her on the check. But she did not allow him.
“Arabu, you sit over there! You are now my guest. I need your tolerance.” She rolled her eyes sideways.
Arabu felt something warm inside. He liked her eyes, her lips and her whole being… “Ok… Almu, I shall wait till you are through with your work…”
Suddenly the gate bell tolled. Arabu was alarmed. He rose to his feet and stared at Almaz questioningly. …She said something to comfort him. “Sometimes children ring the bell for fun… You don’t worry. Anyways, let me check out…” She walked out and returned in a moment. Arabu could read from her face that she was afraid. “My husband is at the gate! This is the end for both of us!”
“Ya Allah! … What Am I supposed to do now, Almu. I don’t want to die. Your man will shoot me! I know he will kill me! …Please, do something!” Arabu was shaking like leaves on a tree.
“Come on, follow me. …Hurry up!” She pulled him by his sleeves to the inner dark kitchen. She gave him a shema and told him to cover his head and hands. Then, she showed him to bend over and start grinding shiro (powder of roasted beans or peas) on the stone mills situated in the dark corner of the inner room. She walked out hurriedly to respond to the knocking at the gate. Arabu started grinding the shiro like local maids. He saw how they did it. He crushed the roasted peas between the two grinding stones. He pushed with his two palms the small stone against the mother or wider stone placed beneath crushing in between the grain or shiro. He padded his hands with netela cloth so that his skins would not blister.
(to be continued…)
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