A new regulation framework has already been prepared by the Addis Ababa Job Creation and Development Bureau to confiscate the kiosk dubbed ‘Arqebe shops’ that are illegally acquired from the original holders.
Currently, over 9,000 metal shops, nicknamed after former Mayor, Arkebe Oqubay, are working as mini business under the title of a small and micro-enterprise.
The new regulation which is being sent to the city’s Justice Bureau should be implemented by the end of this month.
According to information that Capital obtained from the enterprise, of the currently operating 9,000 Arqebe’ Kiosks 30% of them have been sold and transferred to third parties, with the approval of the city administration.
The kiosks which have been built since 2005 were given initially to the startup entrepreneurs for five years but according to the bureau a majority of the kiosks were not taken back from them though they have ended their contractual agreements more than nine years ago.
Food, soft and alcohol drinks, electronics, construction materials, boutiques, barber and printing services are majorly operated in the kiosks. 
Sources in the bureau told Capital that the kiosks will be given to the people who haven’t had an opportunity to start a new business.
“Now the bureau is fully eligible to own the kiosks. We will decide who can work on them based on our research. In some cases up to five kiosks are owned by a single person and some of the kiosks were sold for up to half a million birr, even though they are owned by the government. We will clear out all these issues and we will do a fair job by giving the kiosks to the right person.’’
According to sources, the bureau will also administer the kiosks in the city which were built by different NGO’s as part of social responsibility.
Currently The Addis Ababa Small and Micro Enterprise is planning to construct a total of 2,000 solar kiosks in the ten sub cities of the city.
The kiosk which will be administered by the Enterprise’s Work Place Development and Administration Agency is expected to create job opportunities for 4,000 people and Kiosk operators will able to use the power during the day and continue operating late into the night. The construction of the kiosks will begin this fiscal year though the cost of the construction has not been revealed yet.
Side roads, bus and train station, junctures, areas near schools and colleges, private and government companies are the locations selected to construct the kiosks.
They will be on four square meters of land and then given to the entrepreneurs who will submit their business proposal to the agency. Then the agency will select the best proposal. The winners will be able to use the mini-shops.
Enterprise to snatch ‘Arqebe’ Kiosks from illegal owners
Census still by 2020 CSA says
Despite a postponement, Ethiopia expects to complete it census in time to meet the AU’s agenda 2063, which says the census should be completed by 2020.
According to Biratu Yigezu, Director General of Central Statistics Agency (CSA) and Secretary of the National Population Commission, rescheduling the census doesn’t mean total cancellation. They believe the census can be finished as soon as the security situation improves.
CSA has worked hard to conduct the Fourth Housing and Population Census by using digital technology; despite being rescheduled for a fourth time. The census was originally scheduled for November 2017, and then changed to November 2018, and subsequently re-scheduled for April 7, 2019 before it was finally cancelled altogether, though the final decision rests on the joint session of the house of federation and lawmakers and yet make any decision.
The date for Ethiopia’s 4th housing and population census has been rescheduled by the commission for an indefinite time citing security and other reasons.
The decision to postpone the census by the Census Commission was challenged by the administration in Tigray because they said it would erode credibility and waste resources.
The Census Commission countered that they based their decision after assessing conditions on the ground and that it would be hard to conduct their census after exactly ten years.
The country should still aim at conducting the rescheduled census as soon as the conditions improve to have a credible census based on international standards.
According to Biratu, CSA they have already scouted the enumerator and finalized the necessary preparations.
“Ethiopia will be the reference for other African countries as most of them plan to conduct their national censes by 2020,” Collins Opiyo technical advisor at UNFPA said.
UNFPA, ECA, the US Bureau of the Census, ISTAT (Italian Institute of National Statistics) or the UK Office of National Statistics should also remain active in consultations and are in close collaboration with the census.
UNFPA supports more than 60 percent of the cost of its undertaking which is said to be unprecedented in African governments.
“Though the time matters, what matters most is reliability and credibility,” says Biratu.
Transport, housing allowances proposed for private school teachers
A new proposal is being delivered to the Addis Ababa Education Bureau for discussion and ratification, asking the government to allow transportation and housing allowances for private school teachers who work in Addis Ababa.
If the government approves it, school owners will add transportation and housing allowance money to teachers’ salaries.
Currently only government teachers get allowances for things like houses. Teachers’ entire salary is subjected to income taxes.
The study is being conducted by the Addis Ababa Private School Association. It will ask the government about the curriculum, the fee system, the current working rules towards private schools and to allow private schools to be represented at the highest decision-making level in education policy.
“The extra money for increasing teacher salaries is subjected to taxes and at the end the teachers don’t see take much home pay. But if there is a house and transport allowance then it is not taxed and the teachers will get a better income which will help to reduce turnover rates” a source told Capital.
The source added that questionnaires are being distributed to the all private schools in Addis Ababa to get feedback on the proposal which should be submitted to the government by the end of the Ethiopian year. The study is also examining the proper framework for licensing international schools and working procedures.
Medium private schools charge from 10,000 to 120,000 birr per year in addition to the cost of teaching books for their pupil. The range of private teacher salaries are 3,000 to 10,000 birr.
A majority of private schools have told parents that next year’s school fees will cost more due to the inflation of birr, the cost of educational materials, and the increase of teacher salaries.
Last year Addis Ababa Education Bureau closed 59 schools in the city for unqualified teachers, no libraries, laboratories, sports fields, poor toilets and sleeping rooms for the children. Among the closed schools 34 of them were Kindergartens, 14 Primary and nine High Schools. Currently, there are 1,631 private schools in Addis Ababa among these 919 are Kindergartens,569 are primary and 143 are High Schools.
Agricultural advisors say professionals must be heard
The ministry of agriculture set up a council after a panel is made with intellectuals to transform the Ethiopian agriculture sector.
Agricultural researchers, higher institution lectures, partners in the agricultural sector, and scholars from abroad participated in a discussion on Ethiopian agriculture. The advisory council then presented their findings to the Prime Minister.
The scholastic body has criticized the close door approach the ministry has been practicing which they say alienates agricultural professionals. Unstable organizational structure of the ministry was one of the areas in which scholars were disappointed. They said more attention needs to be paid to professionalism. The scant attention given to professionals in the field in favor of political appointees has led to tortoise like growth in the sector the scholar said.
Currently, agriculture contributes 35 percent of GDP which employees 79 percent of the work force in Ethiopia. The sector has only registered 7 percent growth on average for the last 10 years, despite the rapid population growth. As a result, Ethiopia has imported agricultural products such as wheat, palm oil, rice, and sugar.
According to ministry data, the nation produced 4.6 million tons of wheat last fiscal year which makes Ethiopia the third largest producer of wheat in Africa next to Egypt and Morocco. However, the paradox is, the nation still imports wheat that takes huge foreign exchange.
Ethiopia imports 1.7 million tons of wheat to meet the market demand. Wheat is also one of the areas that has taken much of the hard currency, last fiscal year, the country spent 600 million USD.
“The ministry is in a strong position to produce enough wheat for its people,” says Oumer Hussein, Minister of Agriculture.
The ministry has a strong commitment to boost wheat productivity through irrigation so as to produce wheat.
In its pilot project in Afar and Fentale, an area with a semi desert climate, farmers can collect up to 45 quintals per acre, which is by far better when compared to the productivity of wheat worldwide.
The country’s average productivity of wheat is 27 quintals. Rain fed agriculture is what the country primarily relies on currently.
“The government shows high commitment to change this scenario by shifting to irrigation and making wheat import history,” adds Oumer
In this regard the ministry is working to engage in public private partnerships and commercialize farming through irrigation.
According to the ministry, only 2.1 million hectares of land are cultivated by irrigation.
At the end of this harvest season the country expects to harvest 374 million quintals of major crops, including wheat. Wheat accounts for the fourth largest share of total cereal production.
Out of the total 1.1 million square kilometers of land size in Ethiopia, the cultivable land is about 13.2 million hectares, or 12% of the total land area, and only 6 million hectares of land is cultivated. Small-scale farmers occupy 96% of the cropped area, while the remaining 4% are cropped by State farms and Producers’ Cooperatives, according to FAO.
