2merkato

Tax payers voiced some concerns at a consultation meeting organized by the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority last week. The meeting was organized to raise awareness amongst tax payers on the higher end of the scale.

Business owners told ERCA officials that employees at the authority sometimes forget that their role involves serving public interest.

There are corrupt and incompetent ERCA employees admitted Nebyu Samuel, Deputy Director of ERCA. The authority recognizes this gap and is working on capacity building through training and education he said.

Ethiopia celebrates the Global Entrepreneurship Week from the 14th to the 20th of November. The event will afford young entrepreneurs an opportunity to develop creativity and form networks according to Michael Fekade Chief Executive Officer of Empact Capital Partners, LLC hosting the event.

Young people with post secondary levels of education are encouraged to take on business initiatives said Michael.

The Butajira Fruit Nursery and Training Center, Ethiopia blended imported species with local ones producing short trees that are ready for harvest within three years. Avocado species and technology were imported from Israel through financing from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The blended species is resistant to disease, bears fruit annually for an estimated fort years and bears fruit that is uniform and softer than local types said Amerga Menji Manager of the Nursery.

A Taiwanese business delegation made up of forty representatives from 29 firms will begin a visit to Ethiopian on the 24th of November. The Taiwanese businesses are primarily interested in the garment and clothing manufacture sector.

The delegation plans to communicate with the Ethiopian business community and can be reached through appointments made via email to the Taiwan Trade Center in Nairobi.

A Bill to ratify the establishment of the International Renewable Energy Agency was tabled before the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives.

The bill has been sent to the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Affairs Standing Committee for further review.

Ethiopia will benefit from becoming a member of IRENA said Wendimu Gezahegn, deputy government whip. Advantages of membership include technology transfer and capacity building according to Wendimu.

The Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency is testing the draft directive, changing the unit of measurement of exported flowers to weight from stem count, on selected exporters. The testing will be conducted for two weeks as of the 11th of November before the draft directive is passed.

The test aims to identify problem areas in implementing the new directive, explains a letter sent to the seven exporter selected for testing from Desalegn Assefa Director of the Marketing, Research, Study, & Quality Follow-up Directorate.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy is to set up two servers to make the national energy data base available to the public. The move follows the completion of the first phase of the Energy Sector Mapping and Database Development project.

The Ministry expects to make the database available through a website hosted on new servers to be acquired following an invitation to bid for their supply.

Boursa Africa Limited, promoted a Pan-African Exchange at the International Convening on Commodity Exchanges held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. The Botswana based company aims to launch a Pan African Exchange in May 2012.

The African exchange planned by BAL is expected to be a multi-asset class and commodity exchange, dealing in commodities, bonds, currency and diamonds. This exchange also aims to create a center where continental and international bilateral and multilateral trade could be conducted. 

A Hong Kong based Ethiopian company, South West Energy, is to sign a petroleum production sharing agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines.  The Ministry is prepared to sign the agreement upon approval from the Cabinet said Sinknesh Ejigu Minister of Mines.

South West Energy presented an inquiry to the MoM to undertake exploratory activities in the Gambella Basin in August 2010. The Petroleum Licensing and Administration Department of the MoM reviewed the proposal from SWE and negotiated terms in the absence of other interested parties.

Egypt is working to narrow the gap in the volume of its trade with Ethiopia according to Mohamed Edrees, Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia. The Ambassador made the announcement in relation to a five day business visit to Ethiopia by a 25 person Egyptian delegation.

Strengthening economic ties between the two countries is an important element of the new relations being forged between Ethiopia and Egypt according to Ambassador Edrees.  Reducing the import-export gap is an important factor to safeguard mutual interest in the new win-win relations established between the two countries he said.