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Shewaye Afrasa

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Shewaye Afrasa

Name: Shewaye Afrasa

Education: Diploma in Auto-mechanic

Company name: Shewaye Metal Works Enterprise

Title: Owner

Founded in: 2013

What it does: Metal works

HQ: Addis Ababa

Number of employees: 2

Startup Capital: 10,000 birr

Current Capital: Growing

Reasons for starting the business: Loving the field of innovation

Biggest perk of ownership: Creating opportunities for others

Biggest strength: Hard work

Biggest challenging: A place to work

Plan: A place to work

First career: Driver

Most interested in meeting: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

Most admired person: Abebech Gobena

Stress reducer: Working

Favorite past time: Working

Favorite book: ‘Fikir eske mekaber’ Hadis Alemayew

Favorite destination: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Favorite automobile: Mercedes

15 million dollar initiative for African heritage restoration

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15 million dollar initiative for African heritage restoration

The Open Society Foundation has raised USD 15 million to support efforts to support efforts to restore cultural objects looted from the African content by colonial powers. Over the next four years the initiative will support networks, organizations and ongoing research to return art and cultural heirlooms from Western colonial powers and then restore their very essence.
As told by the foundation, 75 percent of the funds will go to the African continent the rest will go to people involved in the restoration in other countries and collaboration between museums in Europe and Africa.
People in African countries have been trying to get their treasures returned, including art and ceremonial objects, human remains, historical specimens, archives, intangible cultural heritages including photographs and sound recordings. Some countries such as Ethiopia are making tangible efforts in this. Recently, the government has returned the historical heritage of Aksum Obelisk from Italy and the piece of hair taken from the dead body of emperor “Tewodros II” in 1868 from the United Kingdom Army museum.
The Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros in 1984, is the world’s one of the largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights operating in more than 120 countries of the world providing fund through a network of national and regional offices. The foundation is expecting to open its office in Ethiopia on June 2020.

GOVERNANCE / LONDON ANY LESSONS? / ADDIS ABABA

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Getachew Beshahwred

The United Kingdom, which is officially known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with their own capitals: London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast respectively. It is commonly known as the United Kingdom or Great Britain or simply the UK, and is a Parliamentary Democracy and Constitutional Monarchy.
Since 1998, the UK parliament has devolved power to the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are still part of the United Kingdom. The UK parliament has ultimate power to make laws, though it has devolved some powers to the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly. These are known as Devolved Matters. Some issues or matters which are known as Reserved Matters remain the sole responsibility of the UK Parliament at Westminster, London. England does not have its own devolved parliament or assembly.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in mid-2018, the population of the United Kingdom reached an estimated 66.4 million. The contributions from each region, according to the ONS, are as follows:
England:………………………… 56 million
Scotland:……………………….. 5.4 million
Wales:……………………………. 3.1 million
Northern Ireland:……………. 1.9 million
The UK parliament has also devolved power to the Greater London Authority (GLA) which consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The GLA together with the 32 London Borough Councils and the City of London are responsible for the governance of London.
The Mayor of London and members of the London Assembly are elected by those registered to vote, are 18 years or over on the day of the election, are British, Irish, Commonwealth or EU citizens and are resident at an address in Greater London.
The Mayor has an executive power and makes decisions on behalf of the people of London in accordance with the powers vested in him/her by the UK Parliament. The Assembly members are responsible for scrutinising the decisions of the Mayor to ensure that they are in the best interest of the people.
London has been the Capital City of England for centuries. Currently this is nominal since England does not have a devolved government, and some argue that the capital city of any future English Government/ Parliament should be in the North; like Manchester or Birmingham. It is estimated that Greater London generates a third of the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Greater London is governed by a Mayor and the London Assembly, the 32 borough councils and the city of London. Each of the 32 borough councils are managed by councillors elected by registered and eligible residents in each borough and by the Leader of the council who is elected by the councillors. However, the day to day activity of each council is carried out by a Chief Executive who is appointed by council members. Each council has also a Mayor who has only ceremonial duties and is appointed by council members for a term of one year. Since 2000, councils have been allowed to have a directly elected-mayor, chosen by local voters, to replace the job of council leader who would be charged with leading the council and the councillors. So far only a handful of councils have chosen to have an elected mayor.
The City of London, which consists of the central financial district of London is officially known as the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, or simply The City of London Corporation, which has been in existence since around 1067. The leadership of the City of London consists of the Lord Mayor (elected for a year), the Council and the Chief Executive. The First Lord Mayor of the City of London, appointed by King Richard I in 1189, was Henry Fitz Ailwyn, a Draper (who sells textile) and the Current elected Lord Mayor is Peter Estlin, a Chartered Accountant. This differs from the Mayor of London who is mayor for whole the Greater London area. The current Mayor is Sadiq Khan.
The thirty-two boroughs and the City of London are responsible for ‘the provision of day-to-day services for their local residents including education, housing, social services, local planning and many arts and leisure services.’ The Mayor of London has also some responsibilities over policing through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime. It is also responsible for transport in London. Not devolved matters are the sole responsibility of the UK parliament.
The Greater London Authority is largely funded by a direct grant from central government. It also gets some money from local councils collected through council tax. Local authorities also get direct grant from the government. However, the largest source of income for local borough councils is council tax paid by residents based on the value-band of their house, and business rates paid by businesses based or trading in their districts again based on what is known as rateable value of the property. The UK central government has a significant degree of control on both council tax and business rates and sets, ‘the policy framework in which both operate.’
Although London generates about a third of UK’s GDP, neither London nor England do have any other tax raising powers. All other forms of taxation; Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), Excise Duties, Stamp Duty, National Insurance Contributions (NIC), Capital Gain Tax and Inheritance tax are levied and collected by the central government , and the money so collected is available for the whole of the United Kingdom through the national Budget administered by the Treasury Department.
This system of government has worked very well for London, England and the United Kingdom. There are many issues that threaten the unity and integrity of the United Kingdom, but London is not one of them. London has never been an issue since it has been accepted by all including England, that it is the Capital City for the whole of the United Kingdom. England does not have a special claim or right over London, nor does it demand or obtain any special benefit.
London is considered to be one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse cities in the world. According to the Office for National Statistics, as at 30/06/2015 (the most recent available data), London had a population of 8,674,000. It is estimated that over 300 languages are spoken in London, and London is home to over 270 nationalities. Like many other cosmopolitan cities, London has its own problems: economic, racial and crime. However, London itself has never been an issue. Even when Mrs Thatcher, in 1985, abolished the Greater London Council (GLC), the predecessor to the GLA, there was no question on the overall status of London. It remains to be the Capital City of the United Kingdom. That is why it attracts so many from all-over the world; both people and businesses. It has been a magnet for foreign investment to the United Kingdom. It is considered to be one of the most attractive and stable places to work and live in.
Unlike London, the governance of Addis Ababa, which has been the Capital City of Ethiopia since its foundation in 1886, has become a contentious and dangerous issue resulting from the latest constitution of Ethiopia which reserved some unspecified ‘benefits’ to one of the devolved nations, which has proved to be controversial and unworkable.
Hello Addis! Any lessons from London?

Getachew Beshahwred BA (Dist.), MBA, BFP, FCA, Cert CII, PMP is the Managing Director of GB & Co Ltd, Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants, London. Getachew can be contacted at getachew@gbandco.co

Narrowing gaps

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By Lohini Moodley

Ethiopia has made considerable strides to narrow gaps between its male and female citizens. Indeed, it stands out in Africa for having a female president. But gender inequality remains high. This is a major missed opportunity not just for Ethiopia’s women but for the overall health of its economy.
New research from the McKinsey Global Institute and McKinsey & Company in Africa finds that if every country were to match the progress toward gender equality of the African country that has progressed the fastest over the last 5 years, Africa could add $316 billion to GDP by 2025 or 10 percent of current GDP. This is a prize worth having.
But right now, this scenario seems only a distant possibility. Progress towards gender parity in Ethiopia, and on the continent has as a whole been disappointingly slow. At the current rate , Africa could take more than 140 years to achieve gender parity. This is a missed opportunity. The research looked at 15 indicators of gender inequality in work and in society—progress on one is not possible without progress on the other.
In work, Africa’s has higher female participation in labor markets than any regions, but this reflects economic necessity rather than opportunity. The fact remains that most women work in low-paid jobs in the informal sector with low levels of education and skills and little opportunity for advancement. African women continue to undertake most unpaid care work including household chores and caring for children and the elderly. The largest gender imbalance within Africa on unpaid care work is in North Africa where women perform 6.7 hours of unpaid care work for every hour done by men.
This compromises women’s economic opportunity. Many African women cannot work far from home because they are the primary caregiver in their family or because their work as a market trader requires them to stay in a single location all day. It also makes accessing finance difficult. Consider that, in Ethiopia, 80 percent of the population lives ten kilometres or more from the nearest bank branch or ATM.
In society, Africa’s progress towards parity is poor in comparison to other regions. It has the highest average maternal mortality rate of any region in the world. Ethiopia has made strides here. To extend the reach of healthcare services to rural communities, the country launched a Health Extension Program, employing more than 30,000 workers and constructing over 15,000 health posts to serve as their bases of operations. By 2011, the country had achieved a 29 percent increase in skilled attendance at birth. By 2015, Ethiopia’s maternal mortality rate had fallen from 728 to 357 per 100,000 live births.
Women’s education and women’s financial and digital inclusion relative to men are also below the world average and financial inclusion among women has actually declined over the past four years. Violence against women is also unacceptably high across the continent.
The performance on political representation is mixed. At 25%, African women’s overall representation in cabinets and parliaments is higher than the global average (22%), and has risen by 6% and 3%, respectively, in recent years. Ethiopia is one of three African nations – the other two being Rwanda and South Africa – that have achieved gender-balanced cabinets.
So how can Ethiopia build on these gains and accelerate progress towards gender parity, thereby seizing the potential growth dividend? The McKinsey research suggests that systematic and concerted action is needed from governments, businesses, and community leaders in six priority areas.
First, Ethiopia needs to invest in girls’ education and women’s skills, as well as essential services such as healthcare – good health underlies productivity and work.
Second, it needs to create more opportunities for women in both the informal and formal sectors. This includes integrating women-owned businesses into supply chains and ensuring workplaces are environments where women can thrive and develop. Ethiopia is already opening up vocational and training programmes to people working informally. The country has also signed up to the International Labour Organization’s Convention No. 183, which is a vehicle that guarantees women paid maternity leave and daily breaks at work for childcare and breastfeeding, protects pregnant women against discrimination and dismissal, and guarantees that women will return to their jobs once their leave is over. This is a key lever to help attract women into formal employment and achieve a more equal gender balance in who undertakes unpaid care work in the provision of parental leave.
Third, Ethiopia and its neighbours need to ensure that women have the same access as men to the digital and mobile technologies that not only open doors to economic opportunity, but also make it easier to deliver key public services. Digital technologies are also a gateway to financial services. For example, in Ethiopia, Enterprise Partners is increasing access to digital financial services to include the promotion of agent banking systems and mobile money that enables people to pay bills and buy bus tickets using a phone. By 2020, the aim is to facilitate the opening of 350,000 new bank accounts, three-quarters of them with women.
Fourth, Ethiopia and others need to tackle deep-rooted attitudes about women’s role in society and work that underlie so many aspects of gender inequality. And finally, it needs to ensure that Ethiopian women have the full support and protection of the law and that existing laws are enforced.
Across the continent countries are starting to adopt explicit policies designed to close gender gaps and some are making rapid progress. These examples will hopefully inspire Ethiopia to build on and sustain its efforts in this direction. The country is in a unique position in Africa, having a woman at the top. Now is the time to use this advantage to drive further change so that women at every level of society can enjoy an equal part in the country’s journey to prosperity.

Moodley is a Partner based in McKinsey’s Ethiopia office.

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