A delegation comprised of top leaders in the Ethiopian logistics sector visited Djibouti for two days, between August 15 and 17, where they observed operations and discussed improvements they wanted their Djiboutian counterparts to focus on.
Several areas of concern were addressed during the meeting which took place in the conference room of the Doraleh Multipurpose Port (DMP).
“There are some challenges with the port service that have to be improved,” Eshetie Assfaw, State Minister of Transport said. “We have also agreed on developing logistical standards so that they resemble other countries. In addition, new technology is expected to be applied to port services as per our agreement with the leaders of the logistics sector in Djibouti to modernize the service.”
They also reviewed the additional capabilities deployed this year by DMP to best meet the needs of neighboring countries, primarily Ethiopia, according the information Capital obtained from the Djibouti side. This included improving services to accelerate the operation and connecting the railway line with the port at Doraleh and using modern technologies in the operation.
The Ethiopian delegation also talked about linking the railway line from DMP to the main line. Eshetie stated that the two sides agreed to conclude the line, which is about one kilometer, until September. When the line is connected it will be easy for Ethiopia to take the bulk and other cargos from the port directly to Ethiopia within a short period as opposed to stranding cargos at the port for several days, which would likely mean additional demurrage costs, according to Eshetie.
“In DMP, we will have five loading lines for the trains,” Mohamed Aref Mohamed, Head of the Marketing Department of DPFZA, told Capital.
He added that the railway feasibility study mentioned 20 freight trains per day, now there are two trains per day but the market needs at least 10 trains. “From both sides, all the necessary improvements are being undertaken,” he said.
The delegation met with the Ethiopian transport associations’ representative in Djibouti, who was experiencing some problems which they agreed to solve.
The Ethiopian delegation members also visited the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT).
On February 22, 2018 Djibouti took the management from DP World they also took over the Horizon Djibouti Oil Terminal. According to statements from the Djibouti side, during the visit to DCT, which is already in the final stages of connecting with the railway line, the management said productivity had increased since February 22.
“They learned that three loading lines connecting DCT to the road are in the process of being finalized. The capacity of these future loading lines will be 106 containers per train,” a spokesperson told Capital.
According to sources in Djibouti, the delegation wanted the oil terminal, which is also located at Doraleh, connected to the railway.
The two parties also had discussions on various lines of partnership between the management of DMP and the entities in charge of logistics in Ethiopia.
Djibouti will continue to be a major hub for Ethiopia as Ethiopia expands its port access in the region. The nation is the major port outlet for Ethiopia with up to a 95 percent share of cargo services. The two countries have undertaken several projects including an electrified railway. Ethiopia has 75 shares, while Djibouti owns the balance. According to the project design the line has to be connected at major ports in Djibouti especially the Doraleh Multipurpose Port, the biggest port facility in the region.
The recently appointed State Minister said that they have talked about Ethiopia’s latest move to expand port services across the region. “Djibouti says they are not disappointed or worried about our move, and they want to do business as a business model,” he told Capital.
He went on to say that even though Ethiopia is aggressively looking for more ports it is obvious that Djibouti will continue as the major hub for Ethiopia since the country is equipped with modern port infrastructure and a railway line. “We have expressed our stand and they are also delighted,” he added.
“The government’s intention with Eritrea is not to accesses ports. It is beyond that. It has to do with the historical relation between the two brotherly nations,” Eshetie emphasized.
A week ago Mohamed Aref Mohamed, Head of the Marketing Department of DPFZA, told Capital that Djibouti welcomes free and fair competition. He said that for the last three decades, Djibouti has been a trans- shipment hub for the Red Sea and East African ports, and continues to be more than ever. “We are linking countries to one of the busiest maritime trade routes in the world,” he said.
“Indeed, our infrastructure capacity is far larger than Djibouti and Ethiopia’s external trade. Our relationship with Ethiopia is of vital importance but Djibouti’s facilities are strategic for the whole region. Our ports are designed to be a transshipment hub and have sufficient capacity volume to service Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Durban, Sudan, Aden, Berbera and Massawa, which have served for many decades (is not a new business),” he added.
The delegation was led by Eshetie Assfaw, State Minister of Transport (MoT). Hiwot Mosisa, State Minister of MoT, Araya Girmay, State Minister of MoT, Abdissa Yadeta, Director General of the Federal Transport Authority, Mekonnen Abera Director General of the Ethiopian Maritime Affairs Authority, Roba Megerssa, CEO of Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Services Enterprise, and Tilahun Sarka (Eng), CEO of Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Share Company took part in the talks.
They met with Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority, Saad Omar Guelleh, Managing Director of Djibouti Port Corporation (PDSA), Wahib Daher Aden, Executive Director of DMP, and several other managers.
Djibouti, Ethiopian logistics leaders meet to improve sector
Sweden supporting women empowerment
With support from the Swedish Embassy, Initiative Africa (IA), a local NGO, has launched a USD 1.5 million project to improve economic and social empowerment and wellbeing for young women
The– project “Making Change Happen” directly benefits girl students in junior and senior high school and girls who have dropped out of school in communities. Despite all the effort about empowerment these days, women are still stereotyped, especially if they try to fit into men-dominated spaces. Many industries, such as the tech, engineering, media and construction sectors employ very few women compared to men. This is not because women are less capable in those domains; they are just made to believe so, and in many cases, are denied the chance to prove their worth. The project covers 92 Woredas in six regional administrative areas.
Nearly 200,000 girls and boys will directly benefit from the project which seeks to increase women’s participation, leadership, influence and decision making skills by focusing on the workplace, schools, communities and the media.
Hopes are that this will reduce levels of gender based violence and sexual harassment from the earliest stages, and introduce or expand gender mainstreaming as a strategy towards realizing gender equality in public and private organizations.
Annika Jayawardenar, Head of Development Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy said “protecting the rights of girls is key to sustaining social and economic development so learning how to uphold rights is vital,’’as she signed a Grant Agreement with Kebour Ghenna, Executive Director of IA last Thursday.
During the ceremony, Kebour pointed out that empowerment projects such as this one are geared towards helping young girls and women have a voice in the society and achieve their full potential. Kebour appreciated the Swedish Embassy for the support it lent to the organization since 2006.
Ethiopia suffers from some of the lowest gender equality performance indicators in Sub-Saharan Africa. While good progress was made in the past decade on several of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the country still fails short in advancing the social, economic and political participation of women.
The Ethio=Sweden relations began in 1866 when the first Swedish missionaries landed in Massawa. Since then partnership covered a wide range of development areas including education, health, democracy and human rights, research roads, humanitarian assistance and civil society cooperation.
Initiative Africa (IA) works to promote self-reliance, opportunity, and access to key supports for persons vulnerable to poverty. Since its re-registration in 2009, IA has teamed up with NGOs, associations, policymakers, and journalists to reduce poverty through leadership training, advisory services, connectivity and experience sharing.
Ethiopia’s National Parks, Abiyata, Chamo Lakes on brink of death
Most national parks and lakes in Ethiopia are in grave danger and may even dry up or become extinct, according to the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA).
Among the 13 parks the Authority administers, ones with endangered species such as the Babile Elephant Sanctuary (BES) and Sinkile Species Sanctuary are in danger of the most tragic ends.
BES is home to the Horn of Africa’s only surviving Elephants, Loxodonta Africana. However, according to Elephant Action Plan, there are only 350 elephants living there and the population is declining rapidly.
One major problem facing Ethiopia’s National Parks face is the many pastoralists who live on them and use the land for cattle grazing. Nech-sar National Park (NNP) is one example and Abiyata Shalla National Park is also being threatened because there are 5,000 people living there, according to Girma Timer, Director of Wildlife Protection at the Authority.
“There is an increasing number of people and cattle competing for resources,” Zerihun Tefera (PhD), Biodiversity Specialist told Capital.
Illegal fishing on the Arbaminch side of NNP is affecting Chamo Lake, causing it to rapidly narrow, according to Girma. Meanwhile neighboring Abaya Lake, is swallowing its surrounding area because it is also being affected by upper streams carrying eroded soil and increasing the water level.
“The ecological catastrophe will affect our lives and everyone should work to solve the problem, not only the Authority,” he told Capital. “We are paying a sacrifice for deforestation and soil erosion.”
Bale National Park is said to be a model for demarcation and establishment of legal protection. According to EWCA the park has in place a ten-year road map to solve the crisis of pastoralists living in the park and using the land for cattle grazing. There are an estimated one million cattle in Bale National Park.
EWCA is focusing on policies like this in other parks as well as it has recently hired new managers, Girma said.
They are trying to establish park boundaries, establish the ability to enforce laws, and undertaking structural and institutional reform in collaboration with German aid agency, G.I.Z.
He admitted that previous relationship between the Authority and the Parks was ineffective but said they are working to change this. Sometimes there is also not a clear understanding between local and federal administrations over park rules.
“We have agreed with the localities about the importance conserving wildlife and the park and we will progressively move people living in the park off the land,” Girma said. “We want every park and conservation area to follow suit.”
There are 27 Parks in Ethiopia, 14 of which are administered by the regional governments. Parks become national when they exist between two regional governments and are registered as a global heritage or when they are trans-boundary.
In trans-boundary parks, residents of neighboring countries can include foreign pastoralists looking for water and grass or dwelling in the parks along the border area until the dry season is over.
Zerihun Tefera (PhD), Biodiversity specialist, recommends developing a project to conserve natural resources. He gave the example of Abiyata Lake which is rapidly decreasing in volume due to Potash production, which is water intensive.
“The government must be serious about the Environmental Impact Assessments done not as a mere formality but as a life line of the ecosystem,” he advocated.
“The nation lost the most diverse ecology in the lakes including artic birds which migrate to Abiyata every winter. We have completely lost the Pelicans and flamingos are at their lowest numbers ever. There is also a tremendous loss of fish and other wildlife in the lakes, and similar phenomena is occurring in the Babile Elephant Sanctuary.”
“The problem must be taken seriously before it gets out of hand,” Zelalem pleaded.
Consultant replaced, as Lalibela residents express anger over new road project
A road construction project passing through Lalibela has been delayed after residents destroyed equipment and a camp the construction company was staying in.
The 98.7km long Gashena-Lalibela-Sekota road was supposed to make it easier for tourists to access the highly popular Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela but residents complained that the road was falling apart and a bridge in Lalibela had already washed out.
CCCC First Highway Engineering C.O. Ltd a state-owned Chinese enterprise, which also constructed Adama expressway and other roads in Ethiopia was responsible for building the road.
However, two weeks ago residents of Lalibela Town attacked the Camp, according to the City’s Deputy Mayor, Hayle Negate. Police are investigating and attempting to locate the vandals, but for now the company has left the site.
The Mayor said there were other problems with the project which led the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA), to change consultants.
“The residents were also angry because the company brought its own (Chinese) employees from another construction site instead of employing local residents, which they were expecting. They also are upset because of the low quality and class of the road,” said Haile.
“We, the leaders and the localities agree on our pervious request of Asphalt Concrete (AC) and we have presented this request to ERA as well.”
The mayor also told Capital he doubts they will be able to repair the road. A new consultant has promised the streaming company they will build the existing road.
According to procurement specification the road should be finished in 3.5 years. Since it began in 2015 this means it should have been finished by mid-2019. The road was expected to be constructed as a class DS4 meaning it would have a double surface concrete treatment and a cross section of 10m.
However, the Northern Wollo Zone Culture and Tourism Bureau Head, Getahun Kassa, did not want the road to be concrete.
“As the Rock-Hewn Churches are registered in the UNESCO World Heritage the comfort of the tourist must meet their expectation,” he told Capital. “The previous gravel road is better than what is being constructed,” he said.
The Lalaibela Rock-Hewn Churches have brought in over 81,000 foreign tourists and more than one million domestic visitors.
“Most tourists who visit Ethiopia will usually come to Lalaibela. That’s why making this destination accessible is crucial for the nation and improves the livelihoods of the people,” said Getahun.
ERA went to the place last week and replaced the consultants, according to Getahun.
Samson Wondmu, Communication Director, told Capital that the road has not been handed over to ERA yet and if there is a quality problem ERA will not approve it. He also said that the damage occurred due to heavy rains.
“We want the project to resume but we want the quality to improve. We hope the company will correct the issues raised by the community,” the city deputy mayor told Capital.
