After Kicking out club manager Eskedar followed by the sacking of Technical Director Worku Dergeba and now Zemariam leaving the club because of an overdue salary of six months, the storm that was rocking AbaJifar has become suddenly calm.
They have won two in a row at home: a four nil drubbing of Mekelakeya, the famous 1-0 victory over Saint George, and an away goal less draw with Adama. As a result, things appear to be on the right track. It is a miracle that things are going so well.
The agile goal keeper Daniel Ojey is performing nothing less than a miracle. But the back four are being criticized for lack of focus and discipline. They are considered the weak side of the team. AbaJifar needs to prioritize the defense.
Former national team and Ethiopia Bunna skipper Mesoud Mohamed is orchestrating the mid field and Aschalew Girma is in support of the strike force, AbaJifar’s title defense could revive back with the addition of Okiki to the strike force that already managed to score twenty goals in the first round. Sidebe is among the leading strikers with eight goals and Ashalew is slotting six despite coming from center field. So adding Okiki means bright days are sure to come to one of the two Oromia teams; Jimma AbaJifar.
The players appear ready to walk the extra miles of commitment. But the management needs to make a wise decision and appoint someone who can handle and inspire the players.
Jimma AbaJifar’s revival needs consistency
PM lauds results, braces to address forex, deficit
This week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) gave his second press conference since he came to power a year ago.
To the surprise of few, the economy was the first issue addressed. From his perspective, the economy was a mess when he came but is now on the right track. Not everyone agrees with this assessment as some business consultants say economic indicators remain dormant. 
“A week after I came to office we could not settle a 20 billion birr salary payment, and countries that provided loans were asking for the settlement but we were unable to pay the debt or access fresh loans,” he said.
“There are two other major challenges, the hard currency shortage and the budget deficit. There are also delays on projects like sugar which have cost us a lot of money,” Abiy explained.
Without investment or other supports, we were able to secure USD three billion including the World Bank concessional loan, for direct budget support, according to the PM.
We have secured commercial loans, from China for several projects. China wanted us to start paying back loans now; however, we have convinced China to extend the payment to 30 years or a concessional loan agreement instead of the previous ten-year agreement.
“We have agreed with China on several loan extensions, allowing us to pay about 100 million USD instead of the expected half a billion,” he explained.
Our economic problems are structural and they will require several years to improve, but the short term problems have been addressed, according to the PM.
However, there are still other issues that need attention. Private companies, particularly in the manufacturing and construction sector say they have been stuck for over a year.
Representatives in the private sector and economic experts argue that dried up hard currency is affecting the economy along with stagnating government projects.
Industry leaders say they have been unable to access hard currency to import raw material, and most heavy industry is operating at less than 10 percent.
He then took this opportunity to review diplomatic, economic and political achievements.
The reform we have begun is seeing results, in the diplomatic sphere with major allies and regional powers. The US has reduced its support for the African continent generally but it has improved its support for Ethiopia. China has also provided additional assistance including a quarter of the total funds to develop the rivers in Addis Ababa, he said.
Germany is expected to announce new support in the coming weeks. Across Europe in France, Italy, and the Scandinavian countries, the reform has been met with applause.
When he came to power, the PM stated that, after renovation, he would open the historical Atse Menelik II Palace to the general public and tourists including people transiting at the Bole International Airport.
On Thursday March 28, journalists visited part of the 40 hectare Menelik Palace compound. Officials at the Office of the PM indicated that the area will likely be opened to visitors around the beginning of the next Ethiopian New Year in September, 2019.
Currently, renovation work at the old Menelik Palace and establishing recreation parks, a zoo, a kids’ playground area and other facilities is in progress.
The coming World Economic Forum on Africa 2020 is also expected to be held in the over a century old Menelik palace Hall, that stands in the same compound. While the upcoming Sheger Grand Dinner, which will gather do-gooders willing to fork over five million birr for a plate to help rehabilitate rivers in the city will be hosted in the same hall this May.
The renovation project of the palace is financed by anonymous donors. There are rumors that UAE financed the USD 130 million spent on the renovation of the palace and that the renovation is also done by UAE companies. 
French President Emanuel Macron, who visited Menelik Palace during his recent visit said that his country will support the government’s effort to rehabilitate the Menelik compound and the Jubilee Palace of Emperor Hailesilase and make them open to the public. France is also expected to manage the renovation work of the Lalibela Rock Churches.
Turkish company finally pays nearly 2.1 billion birr in tax
The Turkish multinational construction company, Yapi Merkezi, which is building the 389km long Awash-Kombolcha-Hara Gebaya Railway, agreed to pay 2.1 billion birr in tax levied by the Ministry of Revenue (MoR).
They forked over a down payment of over 471.5 million birr. The company is expected to finish paying off its debt in the next three months. 
The Ministry negotiated with the company to resolve the controversy that began over disagreements involving a loan provided by the Turkish Export Import (EXIM) Bank and Ethiopia. The Bank provided Ethiopia a loan worth USD 300 million for this project. It is the largest loan that Turkey has ever given to another country. Another USD 1.4 billion needed for the railway was covered by European financers such as Switzerland’s Credit Suisse.
Both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took part in the negotiations, which went on for quite a while. The company argued that they were being double taxed.
At first Ethiopia wanted the Yapi Merkezi to pay 2.4 billion birr but it was reduced to 2.1 billion birr by the tax appeal bench. In October 2018 it had its assets frozen in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Railway Corporation was ordered to deposit any payments owed to the company to the government instead.
As the first and largest company of the Yapi Merkezi Group, Yapi Merkezi Construction and Industry Inc, founded in 1965, has realized the design and construction of a wide variety of buildings, heavy construction and railway projects both in Turkey and abroad, especially in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco and Ethiopia. The group has now nine holding companies including the Prefabrication Group and real-estate.
“As always, Yapi Merkezi has fulfilled all of its obligations regarding tax issues, according to the set-rules of the Ethiopian Tax Authority,” Murat ÖCAL Country Manager of Yapi Merkezi told Capital via email. “We are glad to inform you that the grievance Yapi Merkezi had with regard to the tax assessment made by the tax authority is properly addressed.”
Condo hopefuls want do-over
A group of people who has saved their 40/60 condo payments has formed a committee and suing Commercial Bank of Ethiopia who is on the verge to transfer 18,000 condo houses to the be beneficiaries .
The sue l also include Addis Ababa Savings & Houses Development Enterprise and Ministry of Urban Development and Construction.
The plaintiffs who are comprised from more than 100 people brought their case to Federal Instant Court Ledta Division last Wednesday and asked the court to suspend the transferring of the houses and to redraw the lottery which will give priority for the people who saved 100 percent of t total amount of the houses and the court is expected to give adjournment very soon. . A total of 24,000 people paid the full amount and only about 3,000 were lucky to get the house.
The condos were drawn by the Addis Ababa Saving House Development Enterprise who build the houses.
The plaintiffs are gathering video, audio and print evidence for their lawsuit saying that the Enterprise should have not given the same chance to people who had saved less money than they did.
Earlier during the lottery draw Takel Uma, Vice Mayor of Addis Ababa announced that people who saved 40 percent of the total amount of the house would be included in the draw. As a result, the recent drawing included everyone who saved over 40 percent of the house price.
Admasu Kassa ,committee representative told Capital they are suing to the have the lottery done over.
“During the previous condo lotteries people who saved 100% percent of the home price got priority and the administration promised to do the same kind of thing for consecutive draws but they did not” ,he said.
More than 21,000 people were included in the recent draw and over 10,000 of them saved the full amount of the house.
When the 972 houses were delivered two years ago, the Enterprise raised the condo price from 3,200, birr to 4,918 birr per square meter. This meant that a 124sqm two bedroom would cost 609.8 thousand birr, and a 150sqm three bedroom 737.7 thousand birr and a 168sqm four bedroom 826.2 thousand birr.
CBE told winners to add the interest rate price from the previous increased price which meant that two bedroom buyers had to pay 701,270 birr while the two and three bedroom winners had to pay 847,650 birr and 950,000 birr respectively.
Currently, there are 20,000 40/60 and and 100, 000 condominium units that are under construction at different sites. However, due to poor capacity of contractors and consultants, and inadequate government supervision, most of the projects are behind schedule
In the past 25 years the Addis Ababa City Administration delivered 180,000 houses to beneficiaries but now close to a million people are on the waiting list for condo houses and have saved more than 10 billion birr at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.
