Today Sunday, October 6, the Addis Jazz Festival will be held at the Embassy of Sweden, Addis Ababa. Showcasing some of the most acclaimed and emerging talents, the festival brings together both Ethiopian and international artists.
The festival is unique in its kind as a platform for culture exchange, high quality entertainment, and professional artistic expression. World famous pioneers such as Mulatu Astatke has made sure to put both the genre of Ethio-Jazz and Ethiopia as a country and culture hub on the global map through a unique fusion of Ethiopian traditional music and jazz. Even though the origins of Mulatu Astatke’s Ethio-Jazz dates back to the 1960s, its appearance and wider popularization in the capital of Addis is a fairly new development.
Addis Jazz Festival 2019 presents a legendary line-up comprised of artists Hailu Mergia, Samuel Yirga, Alemayehu Eshete, Kibrom Birhane, and Kaÿn Lab. Worth some special attention, the performance of Hailu Mergia will mark his comeback on the Ethiopian stage after decades of absence. The festival is also accompanied by various entertainment activities including DJ performance and a selection of foods and drinks. Addis Jazz Festival is brought to you by Selam Sounds, an event management and production company working in collaboration with the Embassy of Sweden and Selam Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa to host unique Jazz Festival today
Cartooning for Peace and Democracy in Ethiopia
In partnership with the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA/UNESCO), the Ethio-French Alliance of Addis Ababa (AEF), the French Embassy in Ethiopia and representative to the African Union, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and the press cartoonists, Cartooning for Peace launches its programme, supported by the European Union, in Ethiopia.
After participating in the World Press Freedom Day in Addis Ababa on May 3, Cartooning for Peace is working with the project partners to develop educational tools for Media and Information Literacy through press cartoons. On 7 and 8 October 2019, the partners will co-organize a training for some 30 teachers and 7 press cartoonists at the AEF.
Once trained, teachers will work to raise awareness among their students before welcoming press cartoonists in their classrooms for workshops between October and December 2019.
Cartooning for Peace is an international network of committed press cartoonists, united by common values such as the defence of fundamental freedoms, the pluralism of cultures and opinions and democracy.
The organisation was founded at the initiative of Kofi Annan, Nobel Peace Prize and former United Nations Secretary-General and Plantu, cartoonist at the French newspaper Le Monde, in answer to the violent reactions that followed the publication of cartoons in the Danish newspaper, the Jyllands-Posten in 2005. It started as a meeting of 12 world cartoonists for a symposium titled “Unlearning intolerance” and represents today a network of 203 cartoonists from 67 countries.
PRIVATISATION TREAD CAREFULLY
By Getachew Beshahwred BA (Dist.), MBA, BFP. FCA, Cert CII, PMP
The Ethiopian government just announced that it has appointed KPMG as its transactional advisor in its privatisation of the state-owned telecom operator Ethiopian telecom. Such an announcement was expected, and no one would be surprised by the appointment of KPMG. KPMG was involved in the many privatisations of the 90’s and 80’s in the United Kingdom and it has been operating in Ethiopia for some time now. Is it the right choice? What was the process in selecting KPMG? Would or could there be a conflict of Interest for KPMG, since no doubt it could also represent or could have represented the entities that could be interested in purchasing an interest in Ethiopian Telecom? What precautions have been taken to deal with this possible conflict of interest? These are legitimate issues which the government should be able to explain.
However, the big surprise is the timing of the announcement. There was a hope that the government would take its time to consult and to allow all publicly held companies including Ethiopian Telecom, time to reorganise, restructure and become more efficient as a preparation for possible privatisation. This process would make the company more competitive, when the market opens, and it would also maximise its sales (privatisation) value. Unlike Ethiopian Airlines, there may be a case for part-privatising Ethiopian Telecom, but the timing may not be ideal. The valuation of the company should be done or at least reviewed at the end of the reorganisation/efficiency program.
Many foreign investors would be deterred or would have second thoughts about investing in Ethiopia under the current political climate. The political risk is high. Many good investors would prefer to wait and see the outcome of the forthcoming general election. If not, the government could end up dealing with the wrong kind of investors or gamblers and speculators who are prepared to take huge risks for a short-term huge profit.
The government should not be pushed into selling prized assets due to either budgetary pressures, or pressure coming from third parties outside the Country. The first is a short-term problem and the later would have its own ‘institutional Bias’. The government should do what is in the long-term interest of the country.
The second point is in the selection of a foreign advisor. Has the government at least considered the possibility of KPMG or any other advisor working with local consultants/firms? Local consultants may not be big or experienced enough to take on this kind of projects, however, they would bring a different important perspective to the process. The government should consider this point in the appointment of its second transactional advisor and other advisors.
The appointment of a Transactional advisor is one of the first steps in privatisation which is a long and complex process. The government should use this time to consult widely and consider all options.
The government has indicated its intention to privatise other publicly held companies. I suggest that the government follows the follows steps in its privatisation program.
Allow necessary freedom and independence to all publicly held companies so that they can restructure and become more efficient and more competitive. There is no direct relationship between ownership and efficiency, and publicly held companies can be as efficient as, or more efficient than their private competitors. British Airways between 1981 and 1987 (before it was privatised) and Ethiopian Airlines are good examples.
Eliminate politician’s involvement in commercial decisions, if necessary, by legislation.
Appoint able and experienced leaders (Chairpersons, Chief Executives, and Board members), require them to come up with a turnaround plan, and leave them to it.
Remunerate the leaders of the publicly held companies in the same way as their counterparts in the private sector. This is a big issue in the UK. Any reasonably high pay to senior executives of publicly held organisations, like the BBC, the NHS, Local Government or the Civil Service attracts huge indignation especially from the right-wing press. On the other hand, tens of millions of pounds paid to executives in the private sector, either as salary, bonus or dividends is barely mentioned except by some on the left of British politics and the unions. This has led to a brain drain from the public sector to the private sector.
Develop the necessary regulatory framework and build essential institutions: strong and independent financial reporting and auditing framework, strong and adequately staffed financial institutions, training institutions which should produce the necessary expertise and leadership, an up to date company law/ legal structure, employment laws protecting workers rights, an independent judiciary and a stock exchange. Allow enough time to do it properly
At the end of the above process which could take 3-5 years, decide on each company: The decision could be one of the following:
keep in public hands
Keep in public hands but open the market for the private sector
Part-privatisation
Whole privatisation
Public Private partnership, or
a combination of any of the above.
The government should also consider holding a Golden Share.
Getachew is the Managing Director of GB & Co limited, London and can be contacted at getachew@gbandco.co
Dealing with mediocrity 4
Job performance is the product of three varying factors, i.e. individual attributes, work effort and organizational support. If any of these factors amounts to zero, the equation will be zero and hence no performance to speak of may be expected. If the worker does not have what it takes (individual attributes), (s)he cannot be expected to do the job. If (s)he is not motivated and does not make any effort, there will be no results either. The past few weeks we looked at these two factors and came to the following conclusions:
Individual attributes must match task requirements to facilitate job performance.
Contrary to what many people believe, there are very few differences between men and women that would affect job performance.
Older people are no more likely to be unproductive than younger people.
Understanding personalities helps the manager predict what somebody can do and what that somebody will do.
Management not being aware of personal attributes of workers will lead to using blanket management instruments, not necessarily the most effective.
Even if the employee fits the task requirements as closely as possible, it does not necessarily mean that performance will be high. The willingness to put in the best ultimately rests with the individual worker.
Today we will look at the last factor which influences job performance: organizational support. In other words: what can the organization or company do to get the best out of its employees? Even a person, who matches the job requirements and is highly motivated to work hard, may not be a good performer because of insufficient support in the workplace. Such inadequacies are referred to as situational constraints and include:
Lack of time and short deadlines, resulting in rushing a job.
Inadequate budgets.
Inadequate tools, equipment or supplies.
Unclear instructions and job related information.
Unfair levels of expected performance.
Lack of job related authority.
Lack of required services and help from others.
Inflexibility of procedures.
All these problems share a common theme and force the manager to find an answer to the following question: “How well is the motivated and capable worker supported in trying to perform assigned tasks?” Managers must ensure that organizational support for performance exists in their areas of supervisory responsibility. The manager’s job therefore is to create a work environment that responds positively to individuals needs. Poor performance, undesirable behaviour and decreased job satisfaction can be partially explained in terms of needs that are not met on the job. In other words, managers must understand how individuals differ in what they need from their work and know what can be offered to individuals in response to their needs, or in other words to motivate them.
Whether or not a work setting provides motivation depends on the availability of rewards. When the worker experiences rewards for work performance, motivation will be directly and positively affected. Rewards may be extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are given to the worker by somebody else in the organization, for example pay. Intrinsic rewards are received by the worker directly as a result of task performance. They do not require the participation of another person. A feeling of achievement after accomplishing a particularly challenging task is an example of an intrinsic reward. The distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards is important because each type of reward demands separate attention from a manager seeking to use rewards to increase motivation.
How can this knowledge then help us practically while managing a company or an organization in Ethiopia? Types of rewards that motivate workers in Ethiopia may not be the same as for workers in other countries and cultures. In fact they are likely to be quite different. It requires insights and knowledge of the local culture and the worker’s individual needs that will help the manager find the kind of rewards that will positively affect the motivation to work. Examples include pay, benefits, education, training, transport, leave, etc. In the Netherlands for example, it doesn’t really matter what means of transport one uses to get to work. In fact, you are likely to meet your boss on the same bus or train or on the bicycle for that matter. In contrast, being allowed to use a company car for home-work transport is highly valued here. Paternity leave is provided to young fathers in some countries to enable them to provide support at home. Here, this kind of leave may not be that effective as a result of the different support mechanisms and gender roles that exist in Ethiopia.
The situation becomes even more complicated in international companies and organizations, which employ both Ethiopian and expatriate staff. A reward from the perspective of the expatriate worker may be a punishment for the Ethiopian. The manager’s challenge is finding out what the common and individual needs are and which kind of rewards will motivate and which not. Including staff is therefore helpful in developing the right policies.
ton.haverkort@gmail.com
