Relegation threatened Ethio-Electric came out victorious in a seven goal thrilling theater at Addis Ababa stadium on Tuesday. “We are heavily burdened to save Electric which has more than half a century experience producing lots of great players for the national side,” man of the match Ghanaian KalushaAlhasen told reporters after the much deserved dream victory.
Critically in danger of relegation 14th place Ethio-Electric was considered the underdog for in poor form Dedebit in search of a turning point to the title race regained the service of head coach NegussieDesta after a three month suspension.
Though “The Blues” took control of the first twenty minutes, the determined Electric turned out in to high voltage to burn out the unsuspecting Dedebit in a seven goal thriller that ended with a 4-3 score line.
Kalusha opened the score sheet 23 minutes into the first round but with two successive goals in less than twenty minutes Dedebit returned to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead thanks to Abel Yalew and Abel Endale.
Back in to the second half and the muddy field it was all about Electric taking full command of the match sending number of attacks followed by the important equalizer from team skipper Addis Negash four minutes in to second half. Then the rest become history as Electric clinches the three points from the title contenders.
High voltage Electric burns out Dedebit in a 4-3 thriller
Fahmi Girma Wassie
Name: Fahmi Girma Wassie
Education: BSC in Architecture MSC in Construction Management
Company name: Black Studio Architecture and Interiors
Title: General Manager
Founded in: 2016
What it does: We do architectural designs, interior design and finishing construction
HQ: Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Number of employees: 6
Startup Capital: 200,000 birr
Current capital: Growing
Reasons for starting the business: Passion for design and I wanted to make a contribution to building design.
Biggest strength: Speed and on time delivery
Biggest perks of Ownership: Free time and having the chance to build a great company
Plan: To become one of the leading design and building firms in Africa
Biggest challenge: Office management and finance
First career: Teaching
Most interested in meeting: Dr Abiy Ahmed
Most admired person: My mother
Stress reducer: Motorcycles, racing cars , off road dirt bike riding and travelling
Favorite past-time: Maintaining a car and motorcycle
Favorite book: The Fountain Head by Ayn Rand
Favorite destination: Dubai
Favorite automobile: YAMAHA YZ 426f, SUBARU WRX, NISSAN GTR
Turning ideas into reality
Doing business is not easy. Not in Europe, not in Asia, not in the America’s, not in Africa and certainly not in Ethiopia. I happen to know a few business owners that are doing relatively well. I Occasionally I like to sit down with a business owner and discuss how he or she runs the business and what he or she does to make it a successful business. I remember a particular occasion during which a good friend of mine, who became a successful business owner, shared some of his thoughts and factors that contributed to this success story. Without pretending to be exhaustive, I’ll try to highlight some.
Not taking “No” for an answer. When my friend returned from abroad with his business idea, all he heard from others was that this would not work in Ethiopia. Isn’t this the kind of response people often give to somebody with a new idea? In Ethiopia, things are done the Ethiopian way and new concepts from elsewhere will not work, is the consensus. New ideas are only picked up after somebody has proved that it works and becomes successful with it. By then the idea is copied by everybody else. This man didn’t allow himself to be discouraged though and went ahead anyway, cashing his first cheque not too long after that.
Having a vision and remaining focused. He came with an idea that developed into a vision and that vision became his dream. Next, he made sure that all he did was to make that dream come through and he didn’t allow himself to be distracted from that. There were plenty distractions and discouraging moments on the way of course but the vision stood out and the entrepreneur continued to pursue it.
Taking time out for strategic reflection. After the first few successful years there was a moment that the upward curve began to flatten out and even go down because of internal as well as external factors. My friend realised he needed to look into finding ways to jumpstart the company again and looked for support. With the help of a facilitator he sat down a few days with his employees and held a strategic planning exercise, analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the company and the opportunities and treats surrounding it. As a result, he could make some important strategic decisions and indeed the company jolted into gear, never to stop again. Strategic planning is something that every business should do regularly, lest it will lose its competitive advantage and niche.
Taking responsibility. When he realised that things were a bit shaky the business owner took real management responsibility resulting into action that turned the situation around. No whaling and pointing fingers to others but considering ways out of the situation.
Involving the staff. The strategic planning exercise became a success also because employees were part of it, felt recognised and became all the more creative in their thinking. This attitude of involving employees remained a lasting management strategy, resulting in them feeling part of the company, having a sense of ownership and taking responsibility.
Not settling for less. Having said that, the company also made sure it recruited employees that had the potential and the motivation to be what the CEO refers to as “A players”.
Delegation. Recognizing potential in employees is a very important skill of a good manager, followed by the ability to unleash that potential, facilitate its further development, gradually giving away more responsibility and letting go, while providing effective coaching support on the way. Some workers will pick up the opportunity and develop into managers and leaders themselves.
Appreciation. In his own charming way, the business owner manages to encourage his staff and make them enthusiastic about the work they do, followed by generous appreciation for their effort. PPPP is an important principle here: Praise in public, punish in private.
Globalisation and relocation. The business owner had lived and worked abroad for a number of years and took the opportunity to learn as much as possible from the ways things are done there. Coming back to Ethiopia he brought along with him all this baggage of knowledge and skills, while realising all too well that applying blueprints wasn’t going to work indeed, adapting them to the Ethiopian context instead.
And so, a rather simple business idea that resulted out of the recognition of a certain need, developed into a mature company providing effective services to a growing number of clients, even setting up shop in neighbouring countries now. Consistently applying principles as some of the above will indeed increase your chances to run a business successfully and grow.
Ton Haverkort
ton.haverkort@gmail.com
All about power
South Sudan’s civil war between the government and opposition forces has killed around 300 thousand people and displaced over 3.5 million. Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia report receiving over 1.5 million refugees. Previous ceasefire agreements brokered by IGAD have been violated within days and have failed to bring about a sustainable solution. James Pitia Morgan is the current South Sudanese Ambassador to Ethiopia. He says that South Sudan’s peace is sustainable only if rebels help solve the problem democratically.
Capital’s Reporter Tesfaye Getnet spoke with him to learn more about what is happening in the war and what can be done to alleviate the situation. Before independence, on July 9, 2011, he served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Sudan. He has also been an ambassador to India and Kenya. Excerpts;
Capital: Can you respond to rumors that South Sudan would like Ethiopia to discontinue its role as a mediator in the peace process?
James Pitia Morgan: I am not aware of anything. What I know is the Government and the people of South Sudan are not satisfied with the process itself. First, there is a lot of interference from non IGAD member States; for instance, the Troika, (US, UK and Norway). These three countries are not supposed to run the show, first they are not members of IGAD, second, they are not members of the African Union. The people of South Sudan are very much frustrated with their meddling in the region as well as in the continent.
Another point is that, the rules of establishment of IGAD are very clear, thus; no IGAD Member State should harbor rebels, who are seeking to overthrow an elected government of another IGAD member State. But this rule is not being observed by many IGAD countries. Rebels fighting the Government of South Sudan, a member State of IGAD are being harbored in many IGAD countries that is why achieving peace in South Sudan, has become difficult if not impossible.
Surely, there might be some voices out there, which feel that peace talks should be conducted in a country that is completely neutral from both harboring the rebellion in order to provide a level ground for conducive mediation. But that has not been the position of the Government of South Sudan.
Capital: Many political experts suggest that a transitional government is the best tool to curb the long dispute and war in South Sudan what do you think about this?
James Pitia Morgan: The Government of South Sudan is currently a Transitional Government of National Unity. The point is that some of the political parties that signed the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS), were not committed to its implementation, for instance Dr. Riek Machar went to Juba from Addis Ababa on 29/04/2016 and was sworn in as the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan, according to the Agreement, but on July 8, 2016, he staged another military coup inside the Presidential Palace with the aim of assassinating the President and seizing power by force of arms!
The second group is that calling itself, Former Political Detainees (FDS).This group was a party to the same Agreement, but the Agreement allotted them two (2), Ministerial Portfolios, and there were only ten of them. So the other eight who did not get ministerial positions, rebelled again, and continued to work against the Transitional Government of National Unity of which they are a party according to the August 2015 Agreement.
Presently, the IGAD ongoing peace process is talking about revitalizing the same agreement. The question is, will the revitalized agreement come up with ministerial positions that will accommodate all these groups? This is because the ongoing crisis is all about power, nothing else.
Capital: IGAD is doing a fund raising job to facilitate the work in the peace building process, what is your government doing to help IGAD reach their goals?
James Pitia Morgan: I don’t think, the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is in a position for fundraising, given the economic crisis the country is currently passing through.
Capital: Will your government allow Rick Machar to do his political work if he comes to South Sudan?
James Pitia Morgan: On the question of Dr. Riek Machar, the President of the Republic has just recently indicated that, Riek Machar is a South Sudanese citizen, and he is free to return to the country as long as he does not create instability. Riek Machar was asked to denounce violence, so that the country heals from the ongoing animosity. He was also told to participate in the coming General Elections.
Capital: The recent peace accord signed last January was not fully respected both by the government and rebel groups. Why do you think this is?
James Pitia Morgan: On December 21, 2017 the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, signed a Cessation of Hostilities, Protection of Civilians and accessibility of the relief assistance for the needy population throughout the country. But the rebels of Dr. Riek Machar did not respect their commitment to this agreement. Secondly, the JMEC and the CTSAMM have failed to monitor the ceasefire, and this is not the first time, they have done so. In most cases, cease fires, have not been respected due to the weakness of the above institutions; for example, JMEC and CTSAMM.
Capital: Many people have died and women have been raped and millions have fled their homes what can be done to stop the humanitarian crisis?
James Pitia Morgan: In any war situation, people die, and some criminal activities, such as rape and other malpractices always take place. The Government of the Republic of South Sudan has always tried its best to protect the lives and the properties of the civilians, but the rebels, have acted contrary to these principles. It is obvious that some of the stories, reported by the UN agencies on the ground are not true. We have a case which was reported in one of the Refugees Camps in Gambela that a woman was forced to eat her own baby after the baby was thrown into a burning house, which was set ablaze by the Government forces. This never happened, and it was just a lie, but the United States Secretary of State, Nikki Haley, took it to be a real story. In this case, most of the reported stories are mere propaganda, and are not true.
Capital: Is oil in South Sudan the reason behind the long conflict?
James Pitia Morgan: No, the fight in South Sudan is the reason for its oil. We have a lot of oil, which has yet to be explored. But yes, other parties that seem to be forcing the solution of their own might have been driven by interest in the oil. But this is up to those parties, which want to impose their own solution in order to own the oil in South Sudan but the oil belongs to the people of South Sudan.
Capital: How is your government working with the South Sudanese Diaspora for peace in your country?
James Pitia Morgan: The Government of South Sudan has always reached out to the Diaspora to be part of the solution in the ongoing conflict. The Diaspora is sometimes divided according to its own interest. But the Government remains committed to engage the Diaspora.
Capital: What do you think of Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister?
James Pitia Morgan: The Policy of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is always guided by the principles of non interference in the internal affairs of its neighbors. The resignation of the former Prime Minister of our sisterly and neighboring Ethiopia involved the internal affairs of the Ethiopian people, whom we do dearly respect. South Sudan looks forward to fully working and cooperates with the New Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dr. Abiy Ahmed and the people and the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, wish him all the best and success to bring peace, unity and prosperity of our region.
Capital: Recently a UN expert conducted a report on the current situation in South Sudan. The African Union peace and security council sent its delegation to perceive the situation on the ground, how do you see the role of international actors towards the stability of South Sudan?
James Pitia Morgan: The Government and the people of South Sudan feel that the international actors in the ongoing peace process spearheaded by IGAD should be left to the Region and the AU, which are our regional and continental bodies. On the onset of this interview, I did make it clear that Troika seems to be taking a lead in the IGAD peace process, which the people of South Sudan are not comfortable with, their meddling in the African issues makes it difficult for Africa to put it into practice its slogan that: African problems need African solutions.
