After Ethiopia lifted the ban on domestic workers moving overseas and passed a new law to guard against ill-treatment, over 100,000 job orders have come in from Saudi Arabia to hire Ethiopians as domestic workers primarily in housekeeping and caregiving.
Saudi families offered jobs through 340 local agencies registering domestic workers in line with the country’s new laws. Domestic workers who wish to travel to approved countries must have proper training in their field from vocational schools.
The vocational school trainings which take from one to three months, focus on housekeeping, caregiving and domestic work like driving cars. So far 140 agencies have registered to send domestic workers to the destination countries.
One hundred thousand citizens, mostly women are registered to go to Saudi, but none of them have completed the long process of taking trainings and competency certificates.
Assefa Yirgalem, public relation head of Ministry of Labor and Social affairs told Capital that the domestic workers will start to go soon after they complete the legal process here.
“It is not like the past, when a person wants to go abroad they must have completed eighth grade and three months training from vocational schools, a competency certificate, and insurance certificate. Because the process takes time and some travellers have already finished the process and will soon travel,” he said.
On October 2013, the government banned domestic workers from traveling abroad due to the rampant torture, sexual harassment and other civil rights violations endured by many Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries.
After the ban was placed, the number of illegal brokers and undocumented migrants increased, causing a surge in the loss of life en route and at sea.
According to proclamation 923/2016 direct domestic worker employment is only for staff where the employers is an Ethiopian mission or an international organization and where the job seeker acquires a job opportunity by their own accord in job positions other than house maid service.
Receiving countries must protect the life and the disability insurance coverage rights of domestic workers. The proclamation requires domestic workers to have certificates proving that they have at least three months of training in their respective fields. Agencies wishing to send workers abroad should have one million birr in capital to get the license. According to the bilateral agreement between Saudi and the Ethiopian government the minimum wage set for domestic worker for Ethiopian workers is 1,000 Saudi Riyal.
Over 100,000 Saudi job orders for domestic help
Mekelle University tops Huawei ICT competition
Huawei announced the winners of the Ethiopia’s second ICT competition. The four-month contest engaged 4,000 students from 20 academic universities throughout the country.
The two best students will attend a global competition at Huawei’s headquarters in China. Mekelle University grabbled all three awards including best instructor and best university.
Three universities received awards recognizing the number of students they were able to engage in the race. Adigrat University topped this category followed by Aksum and Deretabor.
“We are very happy to provide such a unique opportunity for students and teachers to interact with their peers and upgrade their ICT skills,” said Huawei Ethiopia Director, Ted Mengyu.
The competition consists of thee parts- first, intermediary and final stage. In the first stage ICT examinations were conducted by selected universities and the top three qualified students were shortlisted. In the second phase shortlisted students competed in the intermediary competition, in the presence of Huawei officials and the top 10 students from the intermediary stage competed in the final national race.
Aiming to raise capacity of students in the technical skills Huawei and Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MOSHE) established academies which are going to provide students an opportunity to practice theoretical education. Starting in 2017, 33 universities registered to open an ICT academy in collaboration with Huawei, but active academies are said to be 16. Huawei provides materials to these ICT laboratories especially for its products. Focusing on networking the Huawei academies provide small funds for students who want to take certifications. Huawei trains two teachers every year from each university. 
Representing the Ministry Zelalaem Assefa, stressed that students must focus on certification before graduation as in the ICT career credentials. He applauded Mekelle University for taking the initiative in certifying students for the past ten years. He also told participants to work on ICT clubs and share their experience upon their return.
Students who are short listed in the top 20 received certificates from the Huawei Academy Director Rahel Belay, while the top 6 students received awards.
Winners for the second edition of the ICT competition will face competitors from 40 countries. They will be heading to Chania in the coming few weeks, according to the data obtained from the organizers.
Nineteen accused of illegal weapons sale as gun imports continue to rise
The Attorney General’s, Economic Crimes Department pressed 19 charges against 18 people for illegal weapons dealing. The Ministry of Revenue confiscated 60,094 guns, 161,695 bullets, nine heavy machine guns, five shotguns, and two bandoleers (belts used to carry ammunition).
Solomon W/Yohanes was one of the suspects. He allegedly sold 1,051 guns, 25,669 gun bullets, and 8,704 shotgun bullets illegally. He was denied bail and is currently in prison. A man named Seid Jemal was also charged with illegally trading 234 guns and 16,988 bullets. The police will decide if he is granted bail. Mohamed Abdurahman was released on a 60,000 birr bail bond. He is charged with illegally dealing 50 guns.
The guns and bullets came from Turkey, Russia, Syria, and Egypt. There are 92 custom check points in Ethiopia but Metema and Togochale are the main gateways for guns according to the Customs Commission.
In the past two years gun imports have rapidly increased. The weapons are made in countries outside Africa but they come to Ethiopia, primarily, from neighboring Sudan and Somalia.
The recent price for a manual gun on the international market lies between 6,670 to 16,000 birr.
The Office of the Attorney General is enacting a new law to regulate firearms and other weapons guns, knives, Tasers, tear gas (pepper spray), and hydrogen cyanide commonly used for self-defense. But arms like heavy machine guns are not regulated by the new law. This is because they are not permitted for self-defense.
The new law will mandate the same penalties for illegal firearms dealing, selling or using. The bill proposed up to three years simple imprisonment and a fine up to 10,000 birr for anyone who stores, uses, receives, shows, transfers, disposes or maintains illegal weapons.
Anyone who exports, imports, deals, sells, manufactures, hides or stores illegal weapons will face rigorous imprisonment up to 10 year and a fine from 10,000 birr up to 100,000 birr, according to the draft bill. The bill proposes simple imprisonment up to three years for anyone who refuses to cooperate with security forces.
One idea being proposed is to have legal gun shops or designated location for gun sales. The Ministry of Peace will be tasked, through a new bill, to oversee government institutions who import or use guns or train others to handle weapons.
Over 40 businesses flunk environmental tests
More than 40 companies failed to meet standards set by the Addis Ababa Environmental Protection Authority (AAEPA).
Forty-one manufacturing companies, two plastic factories, and a hotel were unable to obtain Environment Impact Assessment Certification. AAEPA conducted over 100 environmental impact assessments (EIA).
The assessments are being done to help create a healthier environment and are mandated by directive no 21/98.
Gutema Moreda, Vice Manager of AAEPA says they are working to protect the city from a polluted environment.
AAEPA hands out environmental certificates for over 400 types of work including; manufacturing industries, mines and service orientated companies. AAEPA also supervises these businesses.
“The authority is doing its best to carry out its responsibility by strictly following environmental laws,” he said.
Addis Ababa is home to over 2,000 manufacturing companies, which is 65 percent of all the industrial businesses in the country. Most of them are located along river banks in the southern and western part of the city. They discharge their waste directly into the rivers and as many as 90 percent of these companies do not have any kind of treatment plant and release their solid, liquid and gaseous waste untreated into the environment.
This is just one of the reasons that city’s rivers are polluted. They also face increasing human population, uncontrolled urbanization, inadequate sanitation and infrastructure. People urinate, defecate and throw their trash in the rivers. Apparently Little Akaki River is the most polluted because it is surrounded by factories and the large open air shopping area. The assessments were conducted during the second quarter of the fiscal year.
