One Water to increase production with 100 Mln birr investment
Mogle Bottled Water Manufacturing, which began production two years ago, is building a new factory which will enable it to produce18,000 bottles of water per hour. The company was started via an investment of 200 million birr in Sebeta 25km southwest of Addis Ababa. It leased a 13,000sqm plot of land from the Oromia Regional State to construct a plant on 9,322sqm.
They currently produce 32,000 bottles per hour and the expansion project, which takes up another 3,000sqm of land, will give them the capacity of producing 50,000 bottles per hour. It will also create job opportunities for 50 people.
Their water comes from a 186 meter deep bore hole at Mogle Mountain.
Eneyew Zeleke,Managing Director of Mogle Bottled Water Manufacturing told Capital that they are in the process of getting machines for the expansion project in order to begin production in August.
“We are in the process of bringing the machines from China to the factory, which is currently under construction; Mogle Mountain prides itself on being an active member of the local community. The company’s decision to expand here in Sebeta signals our long-term commitment to the region, and we look forward to continued success in the years ahead.’’
One Water currently sells bottled water in: 0.4 liter, 0.6liter, one liter, 1.5liter and two bottles, as well as 20liters. The company is eyeing distribution in Addis Ababa and other regional towns.
They have 400 workers and have plans to export their product to east African countries.
He added that company is producing most of their materials here which has allowed them to save 40 percent of their foreign currency. “We built the factory in Welete, in Oromia Zone, now we only import a tiny plastic ball from Asia we don’t waste time importing other things and we save hard currency.”
Recently DQS Holding gave ISO food safety and good standard certificates to One Water which is owned by Bedru Kider a notable coffee exporter.
Selective prisoner release begins
On Monday January 15, Attorney General Getachew Ambaye announced the government would pardon 528 individuals currently in prison, and two days later it began releasing them. This included Dr. Merrara Gudina and Dr. Rufael Dissa.
A couple of weeks ago the leaders of EPRDF stated that political leaders and other activists would be released for political reconciliation. 
The Attorney General stated that those convicted would be pardoned and those who were still undergoing trail would have their cases dismissed. He said that convicted individuals would be pardoned as opposed to receiving amnesty.
He said there were not political prisoners in the country.
At the press conference Getachew said that those released had passed pre conditions set by the government.
This included four pre conditions and criteria used to determine who would be pardoned or have their cases thrown out.
People had to not have caused casualties, not destroyed economic sites, or plotted against the constitution, in order to be pardoned, according to the Attorney General.
On the federal level 115 suspects, whose cases were ongoning trial, had them terminated.
It is reported that Merera Gudina (Prof), a prominent opposition figure and Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress who was arrested over two years ago is one of those who had their case thrown out.
In SNNP 413 people had their cases terminated
The suspects were arrested because of violence at Gedio and Segen Zones in SNNP. Their cases were undergoing trial.
The other regions have not yet come up with lists of people to be released, according to the Attorney General.
He said that the process will take two years.
He said that pardons and case terminations do not mean the law will not be enforced. “We want to give notice to those who think like that,” he said.
The current action is a direction that is given by the government, while the usual pardon is directly related with correctional facilities, according to Getachew.
Amnesty will be given for those who hide from law and left the country. “We will consider the details of individual cases,” he said.
He argued that there are not political prisoners in the country, but several oppositions, activists and international organizations claim there are.
Flawed Government Offices
Ethiopian government offices have a fundamental problem of not treating people seeking service professionally.
Recently, I had to take care of a personal matter at a government office. As I was waiting in a long line for my turn I had a moment to think about the phrase “Ethiopians are hospitable”. Ethiopians warmly welcomed and sheltered Prophet Muhammad’s followers. This is an example of Ethiopian hospitality towards people in general without regards to the color of their skin and religion.
Given Ethiopia’s economic level, it is understandable if our government offices are not well equipped. Due to a lack of technological advancement, government institutions do not process tasks as effectively as they should. I believe that as we are all in the same boat we need to be more empathetic about the struggles people working in these offices face.
In order to settle my issue at this particular government office I had to go back and forth. During this time I questioned whether this hospitality extends amongst ourselves. Employees failed to provide sufficient information and treat their customers properly.
Customer’s frustration begins with an unwelcoming face and continues with the fact most of the officers do not act like it is their duty to be there, but as if they are doing the customer a favor. Most of the customers I observed took extra care to submit their files, however, due to negligence these dossiers are not organized in an easily accessible manner.
In addition to not handling the task at hand well, these officials do not seem to value to the customer’s time. Most government offices are constantly in “long meetings”, making it almost impossible to find the official responsible for carrying out the specific task the customer seeks. Due to various technical difficulties such as system failure, shut down of power/electricity the offices temporarily suspend their services. Rather than trying to compensate the time the customer has lost, these officers are seen taking even longer breaks.
Another problem encountered at these offices is the unnecessary waiting, due to lack of a structured system. Understandably queue management machines cannot be present in every government office due to financial issues. Even though, these technologies cannot be everywhere officials can manually create a structured system and prevent overcrowded waiting areas. The lack of hospitality at these offices, are not only attributed to the system of the government offices or their officials. While the root of frustration of the customer is understandable, it does not however justify the impatience of some customers. Often times customers push the buttons of the officials by unnecessary questions and constant nagging.
There are instances where a customer “knows/is friends” with the official, hence, gets better and faster service.
Some individuals seem to think that their problems/issues are “more important” than others, having this mentality they try to cut lines and put themselves before everyone else. By doing so, this creates anger among officials and customers, hence, hindering a smooth service process.
Having pointed out the negatives, one cannot go without giving credit to the individuals trying to change the system. Some government officials go beyond their job specification, filling in the gaps this system has created. Likewise, customers voluntarily try to make the system run more efficiently.
Our hospitality has to include each other. In most scenarios, the officials and the customers are Ethiopians, however, we lack patience and tolerance among one another.Given all of these challenges, if we are more tolerant, the system will be less flawed.
It’s easier said than done, but as most of our problems are within us, so are the solutions. We need to re-define the relationship we have with each other. We need to be cautious of what we leave behind for coming generations, regarding hospitality.
By Makeda Leikun
