The Ethiopian Biotech Institute (EBTi) sent the first biotech policy draft to the Prime Minister’s Office for approval by the Council of Ministers.
If the draft policy is approved by the council, it would be the first significant move by the government of Ethiopia to develop genetically modified organisms (GMO).
Ethiopia had strongly resisted bio-technology despite pressure from external partners. Recently, however it has become a reluctant supporter. A couple of years ago the country allowed research on BT cotton as they wanted to boost the textile industry which suffers from insufficient local production and relies on imports. Ethiopia has also begun researching genetically modified corn and false banana (enset), for human consumption.
Kassahun Tesfaye (PhD), Director General of EBTi, said that not having a GMO policy has affected development of biotechnology in Ethiopia. He believes the policy will help the country’s economy since Ethiopia wants to improve agricultural profits through industrialization, especially agro processing industries.
Our institute was expected to develop the policy and strategy so we have been developing the draft since last year. First we looked into 18 biotech policy areas but after consulting with the Council of Ministers we condensed the number of issues to eight, he said.
The areas covered in the draft policy include: expanding skilled professionals; ensuring quality, making sure there are adequate laboratories and related infrastructure, research and development and transferring technology to users. The policy also seeks to address bio safety, bio security and bio ethics.
Biotech by its nature is capital intensive since its infrastructure is expensive, and undertaking proper research takes money. The theory is that spending money on this is a good investment because it will improve the economy and support industrialization while expanding agricultural research. All of these are interconnected, according to the Director General of EBTi.
“The policy may not consider GMO for all crops, but we have to work on problems we can’t solve through conventional research. Otherwise we will not be able to compete with others and may be unable to survive,” he explained.
“For instance the cotton industry is dominated by GMO products so we should use it, but if there is an organic cotton market we can work on that strategically,” he added.
“We have to maintain our organic market but it may be difficult to be self-sufficient and improve our exports so GMO is a viable option,” Kassahun said.
Ethiopia ratified a science and technology policy about 17 years ago. The former Science and Technology Commission tried to develop a biotech policy but it was not successful. About four years ago the ministerial steering committee was established to develop the ten-year road map resulting in the formation of EBTI and the council.
The country has a bio safety program ratified in 2009 and improved in 2015 followed by research on some agricultural products and attempts to implement BT cotton.
Agriculture, industry and health are the major areas using biotechnology. This has significantly expanded since the mid 1990s. Several countries are engaged in the research and development of GMO products. However, many Europeans resist it.
The institute head said that the policy will attempt to determine if GMOs have a negative or positive effect. “We want to understand every direction when we conduct research,” he said.
Kassahun said that currently Europeans are producing some GMOs. He said that the fear of using of GMO products is not supported by scientific research. The sector has become a source of hard currency for other countries.
GMO products closer to reality
Discussion to use carbon trading for distribution of safe water
The government of Ethiopia is in discussions to use the carbon trading for the distribution of safe water and related schemes at public schools through a partnership with Impact Water, a US based social enterprise.
The delegation discussing carbon trading visited Ethiopia for the second time this week to meet government officials working in areas like the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health.
Besides discussions a consultative workshop included presentations from representatives of Impact Water and government bodies, the private sector and local and international nonprofit organizations working on water issues.
The workshop was held at Golden Tulip and included people working on water purification, construction and related projects, international and local supporters and government officials.
The US based social enterprise has been working in African countries including Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda.
Tim Neville, COO of Impact Water, told Capital that Impact Water is working to create access to safe drinking water solutions in schools. “We have successfully installed water purification systems in over 12,000 schools in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria reaching 5 million students,” he said.
“We are in a conversation now with the government of Ethiopia and stakeholders that are involved in water, sanitation and hygiene to see how our model might be of value to Ethiopia and how to create affordable, sustainable and cost effective safe drinking water solutions for schools. We would love to move beyond schools, health facilities, community water, and household water over time but today we are focused on schools,” Tim added.
“The discussion with the government was very successful since we have gotten all government stakeholders from the environment, finance and water sectors. The dialogue focused on how Impact Water and its partners have worked and how those partnerships and resources could be made relevant for the government of Ethiopia,” he explained.
We are making a proposal. It is in the initial project design. We will explore how much funding we need and collect clear data regarding schools.
“It is in the initial stage but all partners have enthusiasm. I think we have sufficient interest and there is enough alignment with resources,” the COO explained.
He hopes that the pilot will be finished in the next three months. Social impact financers are providing zero or minimal interest rate loans for such kind of projects, while company will be refunded by institutions or governments for their role in reducing carbon emission regarding the process of purifying of water on the carbon trading scheme.
Menassie Kifle, CEO of Citrus International Trading Plc, which is local providing Aquatabs to purify 180,000 liters of water used by Impact Water, said that his company motivated the social enterprise to come and work with the government in Ethiopia.
He said that there is different water system in Ethiopian schools and that the social business will work with the government.
Several studies indicate that investing one dollar in water and related project is saving four dollars for the society since the rate of water born diseases, which is one of the major health problems in Ethiopia and affects the economy.
Water, sanitation and hygiene are a national development priority for Ethiopia and part of its development goals. There are over 26 million students in 39,000 schools in Ethiopia.
Make media more free, panel says
During a panel discussion organized by a team under the Council of Ministers, established to assist legal reform, ethical journalism was addressed. Media representatives stressed the danger faced by the nation because of lack of ethical conduct and asked for amending proclamation to resolve this problem.
The current laws focus on monitoring and controlling the media, thereby limiting freedom of expression. International and human rights conventions support freedom of speech which the current laws limit. They came to a consensus saying that a strong democracy requires people’s participation and freedom of expression.
When freedom of expression is limited, the panel felt, it should be done so based on international laws and principals. Otherwise it should be protected, which goes in line with the Ethiopian constitution. This document forbids censorship, entitles the people to obtain information concerning them, and sees the media as a force for building a democratic system. The panel felt that information needs to be allowed even if it goes against what the government wants. In a similar vein, government sponsored media should not be immune from penalties when it makes mistakes.
Another major issue on the table, was foreign media ownership, which currently is prohibited except to Ethiopian Diaspora. The team looked at South Africa’s experience which allows foreign nationals to own up to 20 percent of a media company.
They also felt forbidding a publisher from owning more than one print media in the same area, or in the same language marginalized the press.
Lawyers attending the dialogue, which is a rare occurrence, featured the presence of media, placed the issue of defamation on the agenda. They recommended it be removed from criminal laws. They also went over a literature review of current research that showed lawsuits used by the government to stifle the media. The charges are made by using the current media law to stifle the media and they mostly fall under terrorism cases, according to the working team chair person, Solomon Goshu.
Representatives from Ethiopian Reporter Newspaper said that the current code of conduct signed between the opposition parties allows political parties to own media companies. He questioned this because the Prime Minister said parties still own media. However media law states that political parties can’t do this.
They also felt that rules regarding responsibility for content was vague, and they asked that it be made clear. Currently the reporter, audience, seller or the printing house could face consequences for unlawful content. They said the responsibility should fall on the Chief Editor.
Recent reform in the nation is expected to alleviate this to some extent. However, currently media law is fragmented, the panel said. Right now there are three major proclamations addressing media; the Broadcast Service Proclamation, Computer Crimes Proclamation and Media Law.
The team working on reforming media law looked at academic research, feedback from previous dialogue and experiences of team members.
It was chaired by Solomon Goshu, journalist, lawyer and lecturer, and 14 other members including: Deputy Attorney General, Giedion Thimotiyos (PhD), Teamerat G.Giyorgis, Mesenbet Assefa (PhD), Hallelujah Lule, Yared Legesse (PhD), Hanna Betachew, Bethelhem Negash, Mesfin Negash, and others.
Nyala Insurance pays over 10 million birr to Dangote Industries plc
Nyla insurance SC paid over 10 million birr to Dangote Industries plc in a compensation claim.
Dangote Industries plc Ethiopia claimed 10.7 million birr as a compensation when its conveyer belt failed and its business was interrupted four months ago.
The payment was made in the presence of Nyala Insurance Management team and representatives of Dangote Industries on March 20, 2019.
“This is really a moment of truth to stand beside our prominent customers, Dangote Industries Ethiopia and we are honored to pay out the claims as per the insurance policy coverage for assets and the risks of machines breaking down and client business interruption Yared Molla, CEO of Nyala Insurance said.
“Nyala Insurance is ready to settle claims on time and provide effective and regular risk management and safety trainings to ensure customer business welfare,” Yared added.
Nyala Insurance Share Company (NISCO) was founded in July 1995 following the liberalization of the insurance business to the private sector. Companies such as BGI Ethiopia, Derba Cement, Salini Impergilo, Trans-nation Airways are some of its corporate customers.
Last fiscal year, the company recorded the industry’s highest result in its core business where its growth written premiums increased by 76 percent to stand at 769 million birr.
The insurer became one of the leading private insurance companies in Ethiopia with a strong financial capacity of Birr 300 million subscribed capital, it guarantees protection with care to its customers through three pronged services – General, Life and Micro-insurance solutions with 45 branches throughout the nation.
