Salaries for long distance truck drivers are expected to increase based on a three year study by the Ethiopian Transport Authority (ETA).
The study recommended maximum working hours, pensions, job security and other changes based on concerns raised by drivers. Their suggestions are expected to be implemented by the transporters and owners association.
According to the research, drivers often carry contraband items to supplement their low incomes. When drivers do this it puts the owners at risk because they can have their trucks, which cost millions of birr, confiscated.
The report recommends drivers be paid more although it suggests that the difficulty of the job and the capacity of the owners be taken into account. “Even though we recommend a specific salary, increasing driver’s income must fit the conditions of the job, this is crucial for the owner,” Endale Demeku, coordinator of the study told Capital.
According to the report, drivers and owners often don’t use contracts, leading to multiple court cases to solve conflicts. Owners and drivers terminate their relationship whenever they want which affects both parties’ rights and the nation indirectly.
The study recommends that drivers work between 11 and 16 hours a day, keeping in line with global standards. This would be a higher working day than the Ethiopian labor law allows.
It also calls for the implementation of the national traffic law and forbidding long distance drivers from operating at night. “The working hour includes the waiting, loading and unloading hours,” said Endale. “As the corridors of the nation have very high temperatures drivers prefer to drive at night,” he said. “However, that puts them at greater risk of traffic accidents.”
Drivers do not have pensions so when they become too old to drive, they often do not have enough to support themselves.
“We believe the changes will be implemented by associations as they were part of the research in the first place,” he said. “Even though we can’t mandate a minimum wage, we will pressure the owners to do this.”
Endale also said that the research can be an example for other kinds of transporters to properly implement Ethiopia’s labor law. The research team consists of five permanent members from the Authority three owners associations and 4 transportation delegates.
Mehari Reda (Phd), a prominent labor law expert, thinks the main problem is the result of a misunderstanding about the labor law. “The fact that you have no written agreement doesn’t mean that you don’t have legal relationships, or that the labor law doesn’t demand a written agreement,” he said.
Mehari believes that governmental intuitions like the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) and the Social Security Agency are accountable for enforcing tax and pension issues. He also told Capital that the drivers sometimes refuse to work if the company cuts taxes and pensions.
“As there is skilled manpower in the area drivers will leave their company for a slight salary difference without considering the owner,” he said. “However, the government suffers when there is an interruption in imports as the job is the life line of the nation.”
Court controversies will increase if drivers can’t get jobs easily because drivers don’t want to waste their time in the court. He recommends executing agencies be strengthened and the labor law become binding regardless of if a contract is in place.
The research is expected to be tabled for discussion by the associations in a week.
Currently there are about 15,000 cross border trucks.
Study recommends pay hike, improved safety rules for cross-border drivers
ATA hotline takes 38 million calls
The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) celebrated successful registration of 3.5 million users and 38 million calls from farmers and pastoralists through its 8020 hotline at the international ICT Expo. Representatives from Ethio-telecom and the Ministry of Agriculture attended the event.
(Phd), CEO of Ethio-telecom, said infrastructure must be well utilized to help the community.
“We only build the infrastructure, utilizing it is up to different governmental and nongovernmental intuitions,” he said.
“ATA is a good example of an agency which has pushed telecom to develop service and utilize technology,” he added.
Andualem said that seeing technology help people in practical ways makes people more familiar with technology.
The Agency was established to help spur agricultural growth. For the past eight years it has been reaching out to both commercial and subsistence farmers. The hotline was developed and launched by the ATA in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Resources, Ethio-telecom, and the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research.
Khalid Bomba, CEO of ATA, said they are working to retain subscribers; often many join during their radio campaigns but this number declines over time so they want to do more to maintain consistency.
“Farmers are becoming more attracted to engage in their business and produce based on the market,” Eyasu Abreha (Phd), State Minister of Natural Resources, said. “ICT is making that possible.”
The interactive helpdesk feature allows smallholders to get customized information from woreda experts by calling in and leaving voice messages with questions on content not covered by the prerecorded menu options.
“The change and modernization we seek in agriculture is going to be achieved by collaborative efforts across sectors,” said Mirafe Gebriel Marcos, senior director at the ATA. “Logistics, trade and telecom are just an example”.
The Agency hired an independent organization to evaluate its impact and to proceed to the next level. After the evaluation is complete multiple uses of the hotline will be explored with other stake holders said Mirafe. He also stressed that the system has the personal information of every user which can help policy makers and other participants in agriculture to get better information.
“We have to work more on informing the farmers how to use the hotline in appropriate and more productive ways,” he added.
The hotline service, which is said to be the largest one in Africa, was used by the farmers both to resolve their problems and also to get alerts about different environmental situations from the government.
Social accountability program gets positive reviews
The second phase of the Ethiopian social accountability program (ESAP) has reached 223 Woredas. The program, initiated by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MoFEC) with support from the World Bank, is expected to provide better services and increase citizen involvement.
A recent evaluation by regional representatives indicated that users of basic services increased to 75 percent from a baseline of 33 percent.
“We have had the most success in increasing the participation of citizens in public service,” Lucia Mass an expert for the project said. “When people face challenges sometimes they feel helpless and angry so we want to alleviate this problem by making them feel they can assertively ask their responsible body for help.”
She added that projects like these are important in countries like Ethiopia where civil societies and advocacy groups are not well developed.
Delegates from across Ethiopia presented their experiences and challenges at the consultation held last week. The common challenge faced was frustration by Government bodies when asked to meet the national standard and also understanding the project as a fault finder of their job.
“There was a public school where traditional alcohol was being sold, class rooms being rented for residential proposes and so on. Using our ESAP structure we were able to solve this malpractice which the principal can’t achieve,” a representative from Amhara region pointed out.
The project has an impact on the budgets of regional governments.
Lucia feels public services must be simplified.
“People must easily be aware of their health, education, roads and other basic access rights so that they know where to go for help.”
She also added that the media can be used to inform society and help people stand up for their rights. Public awareness through media will be the focus of the next phase in January 2019.
The accountability of government officials who refuse to respond when citizens ask for their rights is an issue that needs addressed.
Associations like the Youth and Women Association are groups that will be utilized by the project. The final report indicated that 81 percent of women approved of the project, compared to 41% as the baseline value.
Another tool Lucia points to is using corrective approaches to dealing with problems as opposed to discipline.
Ethiopia’s per capita income reaches USD 863, GDP 1.8 trillion birr
The National Planning Commission (NPC) announced that Ethiopian’s per capita income reached USD 863 in 2016/17 and the country’s GDP now stands at 1.8 trillion birr.
The commission that appeared at the parliament to deliver a report of on an 11 month performance of the fiscal year which ended yesterday stated the country’s supply side GDP grew by 10.9 percent during the 2016/17 budget year.
The NPC report stated the agriculture sector grew 6.7 percent, which was around two percent in the 2015/16 budget year. The industry and service sector grew 18.7 percent and 10.3 percent respectively.
“In the time market rate the expenditure side GDP stood at 1.807 trillion birr, which is USD 66.2 billion with the current exchange rate,” the report explained.
For the 2015/16 budget year the GDP stood at 1.5 trillion birr, with is a growth of 17.2 percent, the commission report says.
Per capita income has also risen. It stated that a year ago per capita income stood at USD 863 meaning it has grown by 62USD compared with the preceding year.
In the 2015/16 budget year the per capita income was USD 801.
The report stated that the service sector continues have the biggest share of GDP at 39.3 percent. The report indicated the service sector grew by 0.2 percent. While the agriculture sector, which was affected by El Niño made up 36.3 percent. Agriculture went down from 37.8 percent to 36.3 percent of the GDP.
According to the report industrial sector, which was mainly dominated by construction sector, has grown more than service, at 1.3 percent compared to the 2015/16 budget year.
The report stated that the GDP share of the industrial sector is 24.4 percent.
Government officials argued that in the past decade the country registered double digit growth but some international financial and economic organizations and local economic experts say the growth is not that high. However all agree that Ethiopia has been growing economically at a very high rate. At his appearance at the Parliament PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) hinted that the country’s economic growth for the past budget year would be between nine and 10 percent.
