Djibouti has launched the Djibouti International Free Trade Zones (DIFTZ), Africa’s biggest trade zone that will comprise a total investment of USD 3.5 billion and span an area of 4,800 hectares.
This Free Trade Zone, which already hosts 21 companies, is expected to enhance trade in the Horn of Africa and strengthen Djibouti’s position as a trade and logistic hub. It is connected to the main ports of Djibouti, and provides benefits such as zero corporate, income and value added taxes.
At a ceremony held at the Free Zone, President Ismael Omar Guelleh hailed the scheme as the culmination of infrastructure projects “boosting Djibouti’s place in international trade and commerce”.
The Horn of Africa nation, located at the mouth of the Red Sea and Suez Canal, in 2017 unveiled three new ports and a railway linking it to landlocked Ethiopia, as part of its bid to become a global trade and logistics hub.
Somalia’s president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, hailed the free-trade zone as a “victory for East Africa”, in comments echoed at the ceremony by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.
The zone, which is connected to Djibouti’s main ports, aims at diversifying the economy, creating new jobs and luring foreign investment through tax-free incentives and full logistical support.
The pilot phase launched on Thursday comprises a 240-hectare site.
The project hopes to see foreign companies setting up manufacturing plants within the zone, adding value to products instead of merely importing and exporting raw materials.
“The volume of goods travelling to East Africa keeps increasing. Every time a product arrives in the continent without being transformed it is a missed opportunity for Africa,” said Aboubaker Omar Hadi, chairperson of the Ports and Free Zones Authority.
A row of Djiboutian and Chinese flags fluttered side by side above the freshly painted bright yellow walls surrounding the expansive project – a symbol of the tiny country’s close ties to the Asian giant whose loans have funded its lightning-fast infrastructure growth.
Djibouti – which is also the site of China’s only overseas military base – is a critical part of China’s “Belt and Road” global infrastructure initiative and in a prime position along what has been dubbed the “Maritime Silk Road”.
The free trade zone is being run by Djibouti, the majority shareholder, along with three Chinese companies: the China Merchants Group, Dalian Port Authority and Chinese big data company IZP.
Djibouti inaugurates Africa’s largest Free Trade Zone
Could Cable Cars come to Addis?
The Addis Ababa Transport Bureau is in talks with US based company Doppelmayr to build a 5 to 7km length cable car on the outskirts of Addis Ababa.
The solar powered cars can accommodate up to 35 people. They can perform the work of 200 buses in one hour. The company proposes building the car from Jemmo- Vatican, Klinto – Hayat, Legeatfao- Hayat and Bole Bulbula to Bole.
The Addis Ababa Bureau is ordering the company to conduct a feasibility study in one area.
Marc Funda, Doppelmayr’s International Business Development Transport planning head told Capital that the construction will begin soon once they come to an agreement.
“Like any other major city in the world Addis Ababa experiences long traffic jams which wastes a lot of time so we are hoping this will work out and we can get people moving.”
The cost of one cable railway depends on the length, geography and number of cars. If the cost benefit analysis looks positive the cars will come to the city.
A Cable car is a type of cable railway used for mass transit where rail cars are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required. Cable cars are distinct from funiculars, where the cars are permanently attached to the cable, and cable railways, which are similar to funiculars, but where the rail vehicles are attached and detached manually.
Cable Cars have no engine or motor on the cars themselves. The power source is centralized in the cable car barn and powerhouse.
Doppelmayr was a world-renowned Austrian ropeway manufacturer that began exporting surface lifts to North America in the 1950s under the name “Alpine Lift.” The first Doppelmayr chairlift in North America was installed at Marmot Basin, Alberta, in 1968.
St Yared Hospital shareholders spar over audit
Shareholders of one of the city’s prominent hospitals, Saint Yared, are going through a dispute.
The private health facility formed about 13 years ago went from being a clinic to a high level hospital when it was initially formed by two shareholders.
Then a few years ago a third shareholder joined the ownership.
Now 56 percent of the hospital is owned by Akeze Teame (MD), 36 percent is owned by Sisay Shimeles and 10 percent by Getahun Yitbarek (MD).
Sisay, one of the two founding shareholders, told Capital that initially the facility was run without any disagreement. He said that mistrust occurred when the major shareholder established another health centre separately. There was a conflict of interest because the other facility took business from Yared.
He claimed that the hospital operation has been dominated by relatives of the major shareholder. “The major disagreement erupted when we asked the company to be audited because we were concerned after we did not receive a dividend disbursement.”
Then the two shareholders insisted on undertaking an auditing, but the major shareholder rejected the idea.
“When I insisted on auditing and sending the report to the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA) the management of the hospital reported to ERCA, which conducted an audit for a limited period,” he said.
“The finding of ERCA indicated that the facility did not settle about 12 million birr in taxes during the auditing period, but since the company willingly reported the case to ERCA the amount was reduced to 8 million birr and we are paying that now,” Sisay said.
According to the shareholders the audit of ERCA did not cover the entire period since the hospital was formed in 2008. It covered from 2012 so we want to see the audit report for the previous period, because we suspect that there was mismanagement during that time.
When he rejected being audited, Dr Getahun, the minor shareholder that joined the group in 2015, filed the case to the court. He claimed he should not have to pay the accrued tax because he was not part of the shareholders. Instead he argues that the auditing should go back to the time the hospital was established.
“When we tried to solve our problem amicably, Dr Akeze insisted we buy his share without audit or valuation,” the shareholder said.
They claimed that they have already filed their criminal and civil claims to Police this week.
A few weeks ago Capital reported that employees of St Yared were worried that they could lose their livelihoods due to an enduring disagreement between the hospital’s shareholders.
According to employees Capital spoke with, the hospital is considered by many to be one of the best health facilities in town but morale among staff has been low since shareholders have been unable to reach a common consensus over a dispute between management and the financial administration.
Capital has attempted to get a comment from the major shareholder, Dr Akeze, but he refused to respond to repeated phone calls. He did respond to a text saying that the dispute between the three partners is being handled by lawyers and the courts.
Almost 5 out of 100 people have HIV in Gambela
The Gambela Health Bureau states that the HIV prevalence rate has risen from 0.8 percent to 4.8 percent, or nearly 5 out of 100 people.
The Gambela region, has seen its 480,000 population nearly double from an influx of 380,000 South Sudanese Refugees.
According to a source in the Bureau some South Sudanese refugees are being forced into prostitution further contributing to the problem.
Many clans practice non-monogamy and seldom use condoms which places people in a high risk category for contracting the disease. The highest rate of HIV is among the Mezenger people although the rate has been increasing in the Anuak and Nuer Tribe as well. Women are being infected more often than men.
“The Health Bureau staff have been working hard but we have had difficulty achieving tangible results because people are reluctant to change their behavior. Among some ethic groups husbands encourage visitors to have sex with their wives or for their children to have unprotected sex with multiple partners.”
Adolescents between 13 and 18, in the region often contract HIV/AIDS and seem unaware of the risks involved with unprotected sex, according to the source who added that politicians and elders in the region should do more to increase awareness and encourage behavioral change.
“Unless the elders in the region see this as a problem we will not be able to make a dent in the HIV rate,” the source said.
Around 90 percent of the people in Gambela are subsistence farmers who sell some produce in local markets. Others cultivate coffee or explore for gold as in Dimma Wereda. In Alwero-Peno Wereda there are state owned farms which mainly grow cotton. There are also Malaysian and Chinese companies exploring for oil. The Anuak grow crops, hunt and fish and the Nuer raise livestock. Pressure on the land has increased as the population has doubled in the last 25 years and some has been sold to foreign investors such as those from Saudi Arabia who use the land for rice farms.
