Megertu Alemu trimmed one second from the course record at the Acea Rome Marathon, winning the IAAF Silver Label road race in 2:22:52 to lead an Ethiopian sweep of the podium. Compatriot Tebalu Zawude won the men’s title in 2:08:37 in a race where Ethiopian men filled the top five places.
With rain falling for the first half of the race, Alemu and Muluhabt Tsega took the early lead, going through 10 kilometers in 33:45 and half way in 1:11:11. They had a three-minute margin over the chasing group of Egigayehu Mengistu, Alemi Tsegaye, Chaltu Negesse and Mestawet Tadesse.
Megertu finally pulled away from Mulumbet and went on to win in a five-minute PB of 2:22:52, briefly holding the Italian all-comers’ record before Vivian Kiplagat clocked 2:22:25 in Milan a few minutes later. Mulumbet finished second in 2:26:41 and Chaltu third in 2:30:45.
In the men’s race, 14 athletes stayed together until the15 kilometers mark then the group started to splinter a bit as they reached half way. With 10 kilometers remaining, five Ethiopian men – Tebelu, Musa Babo, Birhanu Teshome, Yihunilign Adane and Tesfa Tiruneh – remained in contention.
Tebalu pulled away from the rest of the field at 36 kilometers and went on to win by 40 seconds, crossing the finish line in 2:08:37 ahead of Workneh (2:09:17), Adane (2:09:53) and Ido (2:09:55).
More than 10,000 runners participated in the event, which started and finished at Rome’s Coliseum. Nearly 70 percent were Italians, organizers said, with the 3,000 foreign runners representing 88 countries and regions.
Ethiopia’s domination of the race, especially in the women’s division, is not new. Megertu who set a new course record became the sixth consecutive Ethiopian winner and the ninth in 11 years. Tebelu meanwhile, was the sixth Ethiopian man to win the race in the last decade.
ETHIOPIA DOMINATES ROME MARATHON
Stewart, Seyoum unlikely to stay all season
Saint George’s English Coach Stewart Hall and Mekelakeya’s boss Seyoum Kebede tops the list of favorites to get sacked before the end of the current season. Saint George lost back to back title for the first time in the league’s twenty plus years while The Army side is in a free fall to bottom of the table.
With four defeats in the past six consecutive matches and after collecting only four points out of a possible 18, the gap is getting wider. Saint George is currently fourth in the table 12 points behind the league leaders. Considering the record champions’ current performance and lack of squad depth, rebounding to serious title contention appears a slippery high hill for Saint George, who boasts a record 14 titles in the past twenty one seasons.
With such an unimpressive record and Saint George’s culture of not tolerating such poor results, Stewart Hall seems destined to get the boot from behind even before the end of the season. Neither entertaining football nor results has led fans to ask how Stewart managed to get the job. Club supporters are very disappointed by the team’s poor result.
Mekelakeya’s Seyoum Kebede is unlikely to survive from the hatchet that is coming down following poor results. Six matches without a win, Mekelakeya is currently 13th in the table just a single point above the relegation zone. There are rumors that Seyoum is not on good terms with some of his senior players. This makes things complicated and he is unlikely to survive to the end of the season. Seyoum previously claimed his knock-out Cup wining team was capable of mounting a serious title contention.
MEDEMER in action witnessed through athletes: PM Abiy
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde celebrated Ethiopian athletes, coaches and officials who participated in the 43rd edition of the IAAF World Cross Country Championships at a state dinner.
The athletes achieved a great victory, returning to Ethiopia with 5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals, taking 1st place among 63 countries.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed awarded the leaders of the committee and high performing athletes with certificates of recognition and financial rewards.
In his remarks, the Prime Minister noted the value of MEDEMER in action witnessed through the victories of the athletes.
Reflecting on current challenges, he highlighted the lessons that can be drawn from athletes in winning the race if we listen to each other closely, work collectively, develop patience and work hard, according to office of the Prime Minister.
He concluded by calling upon all Ethiopians in all parts of the country to dedicate every Sunday from 6am to 7am to cleaning “our neighborhoods, our streets, our minds from all that is polluting our environment and our beings.”
The renowned athlete Feyisa Lelisa, also present at the dinner, was honored in a special category, as part of the celebratory evening, for his silver medal victory at the Rio 2016 marathon.
The Ethiopian team finished first place in the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country (WXC) Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark with a total of 11 medals – 5 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Individual business owners now must pay withholding tax
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has amended a 16-year-old withholding tax regulation to ensure that individual business people deduct withholding tax when they make a purchase.
The directive issued on March 29 mandated that businesses licenses registered by individual business owners be included in the withholding tax collection scheme.
Previously, legal personalities or businesses like share companies or PLCs were responsible for deducting withholding tax. The current amendment signed by Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, added businesses that previously were not responsible for deducting withholding tax.
According to legal experts at the Ministry of Revenue, which is responsible for enforcing laws issued by the Ministry of Finance, the individual businesses are licensed mostly by their own name or affiliates. They have at least 10 million birr in transactions over three years.
“Businesses that have the stated amount of trading within three years will be responsible for deducting the withholding as of the coming week,” an expert at the Ministry of Revenue told Capital.
Daniel Tarekegn, an accountant and auditor, told Capital that there are several businesses that have over 10 million birr in transactions every year, but they are not a PLC or holder of other business licenses. Instead, they are registered as individual businesses under organizations like the Addis Ababa Trade Bureau.
“The current scheme will be applied to these type of businesses that may be building material shops, trading machines or big retail shops located around major market places,” he added. “The amendment will place a further burden on the work of accountants or auditors,” Daniel said.
“The previous directive, which made business entities deduct the withholding tax, created an imbalance in the market between businesses which were not responsible or accountable for deducting state tax,” legal experts at the Ministry of Revenue said. They claimed that the current amendment will normalize the market and increase tax collection.
He said that the federal revenue collection body, which is the Ministry of Revenue, is the responsible body for following businesses that are legal personalities like share companies, unions or PLCs and possibly governmental and non government organs that are already deducting withholding tax. “The current amendment will put responsibility on the city administration and regional revenue offices to impose the scheme,” he added
The amendment will be applicable as of Tuesday April 9 and regional bureaus and the two city administrations are responsible for identifying which businesses are effected by the new rule.
A withholding tax, or a retention tax, is an income tax to be paid to the government by the payer of the income rather than by the recipient of the income. The tax is thus withheld or deducted from the income due to the recipient.
The current amendment replaces the directive issued on June 2003. Even though withholding tax deduction has several thresholds based on the type of businesses, 2 percent is the most common one.
