Saturday, November 2, 2013

Tewodros Adhanom is confident that Walia can still beat Nigeria


Ethiopia’s foreign affairs minister Tewodros Adhanom is confident that Walia Ibex can still make it to Brazil 2014 World Cup.
Pundits might have written off Walia after the 1-2 loss to Nigeria at home in the first leg play off but Tedros who is passionate about football and recently asked teenage Arsenal prodigy Gideon Zalalem to play for Ethiopia thinks it is not over.
"Its not over yet! Our team has very good chance of beating Nigeria. Our team reached here against all odds. Anything is possible," Tedros told supersport.com.
Walia have been undergoing training under coach Sewnet Bishaw ahead of the do or die match though their hopes of playing friendlies against Cameroon and Burkina Faso were dashed at the 11th hour.

Ethiopian Maid throws newborn down garbage chute in Abu Dhabi


The maid allegedly wrapped the newborn girl in a piece of cloth and put her in a plastic bag before throwing her in the garbage chute.

The Abu Dhabi Police have arrested an Ethiopian domestic worker for allegedly dumping her newborn baby in the garbage chute of a building in Khalidiya area here.

The 26-year-old maid allegedly wrapped the newborn girl, conceived through an illicit affair, in a piece of cloth and put her in a plastic bag before throwing her in the garbage chute.

Colonel Dr Rashid Mohammed Borshid, head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said the preliminary investigation showed that the baby girl was born full-term late on Saturday. The mother claimed that her baby was stillborn. She also admitted to getting pregnant from an adulterous relationship in her home country.

“The CID is currently investigating whether the baby was alive when she dumped the newborn in the chute on the seventh floor. The investigation would also examine whether the baby’s fall from such a height was the cause of death. Additionally, the investigation will reveal the circumstances leading to this incident,” added Colonel Borshid.

“The mother thought that disposing of her daughter after firmly sealing the baby in a plastic bag would hide her secret forever. She was surprised that the police discovered her secret within hours, thanks to the efforts of the investigative team trained to deal with such situations,” he said.

The preliminary examination indicated a crime. “An investigation was carried out and information was collected based on the specifications of the deceased newborn.”

The circumstances and evidence collected during the initial investigation were linked, resulting in the identification of the domestic worker, called L.A.S. She was working illegally for a Canadian family in the building where the crime occurred. “The family will also be held accountable under the law for employing a worker on someone else’s employment visa,” said Col Borshid.

The housemaid confessed that she gave birth in her room without anybody’s assistance or the family’s knowledge, after she developed labour pain. “The housemaid claimed that her newborn baby was born dead and not breathing. She cut the placenta herself, cleaned the remnants of the birth, and then wrapped her with a piece of cloth, and put her in a plastic bag and dumped her in the garbage chute on the 7th floor. She then returned to work as if nothing had happened.”

He condemned this hideous crime, describing it as an aggression against the dignity and inviolability of the human body and human feelings. It violates the teachings of the divine religions and social values, he added. -

Ethiopian military receiving T-72 Tank




It appears that the Ethiopian military is receiving T-72 main battle tanks from the Ukraine, with a consignment delivered last month.

According to IHS Jane’s, satellite imagery taken on August 24 at the Otkyabrsk port in the Ukraine showed 16 tanks and other equipment waiting to be loaded. Apparently, the tanks were loaded onto the Ocean Power cargo vessel, which departed on September 7 for Djibouti.

It is believed that these tanks are part of a contract for 200 T-72s signed in June 2011 with state controlled arms exporter Ukrspecexport SC. The deal, worth more than $100 million, was one of the largest contracts signed by the Ukrainian arms exporter in more than 15 years.

The T-72 was first produced in the Soviet Union in the 1970s but the tanks that will be supplied to Ethiopia were to be modernised with a new engine, guided weapons and reactive armour.

Ukrspecexport also received maintenance and repair contracts for the upkeep of Ethiopia’s T-72s.

Ethiopia already operate the T-72, 60 of which were purchased from Yemen in 2003, according to Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessment.

Ethiopia is concerned with improving its military in order to secure its borders in the restive horn of Africa region. Over the last decade the country has engaged in several skirmishes and conflicts with neighbouring countries, particularly its neighbour Eritrea (which used to be part of Ethiopia). Between 1998 and 2000 Ethiopia fought a costly border war with Eritrea that did not significantly alter the border line. During the conflict, Ethiopia increased its stocks of T-55 tanks and artillery pieces, including BM-21 122m multiple rocket launchers and 122 mm D-30 towed howitzers.

The T-72, a development of the earlier T-64 main battle tank, entered production in 1972 in the Soviet Union. It was the Soviet Army’s most numerous tank until the collapse of the Soviet Union, but was also exported in large numbers to Warsaw Pact countries, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It was built with and without license in several countries like Poland and Czechoslovakia. More than 40 countries have operated an estimated 50 000 T-72s.

The T-72B entered production in 1985 and in export form is known as the T-72S. It has a new engine and suspension system and is configured for mounting explosive reactive armour (ERA). It is armed with a 125mm smoothbore gun, a 7.62mm co-axial machine gun and a 12.7mm air defence machine gun mounted on the commander's cupola

The T-72 can also carry guided weapons in the form of the 9K120 Svir (Nato codename AT-11 Sniper). It is intended to engage tanks fitted with ERA as well as low-flying targets. It has a range of 100-4 000 metres and firing requires the tank to be stationary. Both shells and missiles can be fired from the main gun.

The hull and turret are protected by armour plating, including combined armour arrays over the frontal arc. Since 1988, ERA has been fitted.

Various upgrades offer more powerful engines, new guns, updated sighting systems and countermeasures.

Africa’s fastest-growing economies have not relied on oil or mining





AFRICA is a continent rich in minerals and oil. China has an economy that requires them in abundance. Since the mid-1990s the economy of sub-Saharan Africa has grown by an average of 5% a year. At the start of this period Africa’s trade with China was negligible. It is now worth around $200 billion a year. Most of Africa’s exports are raw materials. China sends manufactured goods back in return.

It can thus be quite hard to see past the role of China’s ravenous appetite for raw materials in Africa’s recent economic success. Natural resources make up a quarter or more of export revenues for around half of the 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Nine of them, including Nigeria and Angola, which have two of Africa’s largest economies, benefit from exports of oil and gas.

Yet mining and oil are far from the whole story. A study published this week by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finds that eight of the 12 fastest-growing economies in Africa in recent years did not rely on natural resources. Together these economies grew more quickly even than the group of oil producers.

To discover what lay behind this success, IMF researchers focused on countries that met two criteria: GDP growth of at least 5% a year on average from 1995 to 2010, and growth in GDP per head of at least 3% a year. Six countries qualified: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda (see chart). They are a diverse bunch. Mozambique and Tanzania have ports; the rest are landlocked. Ethiopia has a population of 87m; Rwanda 11m. What they have in common is poverty. Even after their growth spurt none has an average income per head above $1,500 a year.

The first thing the IMF wanted to confirm was that the growth was real. Countries of meagre means cannot afford to devote much money or manpower to gathering economic data; their GDP figures can be shaky, forcing analysts to fall back on rough-and-ready guides to the economy’s health. Beer sales, for instance, are often a good gauge of overall consumer spending. The IMF’s researchers used such ploys to check official statistics in four of the countries in their study, and found that they stacked up. Construction figures tallied with cement sales; output growth in telecoms was in line with mobile-phone subscriptions; growth in financial services mirrored the rise in bank deposits.

Why did the six economies grow so fast? Stable and purposeful policy-making helped. All six countries took steps in the 1990s to control public finances and curb inflation. Tanzania is a striking example. In 1998 it introduced a value-added tax in place of less reliable forms of revenue. Income-tax bands were simplified and rates cut. Tax inspectors focused on the cases likely to yield the most money. Receipts rose from 10% of GDP in 2000 to 16% by 2009. That allowed higher public spending.

Higher revenues, in turn, helped to control inflation. Tanzania’s government had once relied on the central bank to plug its budget deficits. The more money the bank printed, the less it was worth. From 1980 to 1994 inflation in Tanzania averaged almost 30%. With a more reliable tax base and better control of public spending, the central bank was freed to focus on inflation, which has since dropped to single digits. In neighbouring Uganda the headway has been even greater. Inflation fell to 6% in 1995-2010 compared with an average of 92% over the preceding 15 years.

Progress was not restricted to economic policy. The six countries in the IMF study are far better governed than they were in the mid-1990s. Based on indicators compiled by the World Bank, they are less corrupt, have better bureaucrats, enjoy more stable politics and are better regulated than their African peers.

My plan is to hit $10m mark by 2016




Born and raised in Zenebework,Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. As a child, she discovered that people of her community were living in abject squalor because there were very few jobs available.
While most of the locals were unemployed, Bethlehem discovered that several of them possessed remarkable artisan skills which remained largely unexploited. This observation drove her to brainstorm on ways through which she could transform the skills of her community members into a sustainable enterprise that could generate livelihoods for them, and create wealth over the long term.
By 2004, armed with startup capital sourced from her husband and members of her immediate family, Bethlehem mobilised artistically-gifted members of her community and founded SoleRebels which has become one of Africa’s most recognisable footwear manufacturers.
Basically, SoleRebels produces footwear locally that often features a strong infusion of ancient Ethiopian culture with subtle undertones of modern, western design influences. Practically, all SoleRebels shoes are redesigns and reimaginations of the famous Selate and Barabasso shoe, a traditional recycled tire sole shoe which has been worn by Ethiopians for a very long time. The Selate and Barabasso shoe was famously worn by Ethiopian rebel fighters who vehemently opposed western forces from colonizing the country. As matter of fact, that’s where the name ‘soleRebels’ emerged from.

SoleRebels manufactures comfy sandals, slip-ons and lace-up shoes hand-crafted from recycled, weather-beaten tires and an assortment of locally-sourced natural fiber ingredients such as the ancient Koba plant (an indigenous plant which has been cultivated in Ethiopia for over several thousand years) and organic Abyssinian jute fiber which are used mainly in creating the mid-soles of SoleRebels shoes.

By blending this ancient recycling tradition with contemporary, western-influenced, hip shoe designs, SoleRebels has built a successful footwear brand utilizing a production process that is zero carbon production and very eco-sensitive. All of SoleRebels shoes are hand-crafted by Bethlehem’s staff of over 100 people strictly using Ethiopian craft practices such as hand-spun organic cotton and artisan hand-loomed fabric.  And the company sources all of its raw materials locally.
Today, shoes under the SoleRebels brand are sold in over 30 countries around the world and through various e-commerce sites like Amazon and Endless.

SoleRebels has become a hugely successful, sustainable, truly world-class enterprise.  The company takes in at least $1 million in annual revenue and was among the top 5 finalists of the 2011 edition of the prestigious Legatum Africa Awards For Entrepreneurship. One of the criteria for the finalists was that their companies had proven annual revenues of $1 million – $15 million.
Bethlehem has earned significant international recognition for her work at SoleRebels and is now one of Africa’s most recognisable female entrepreneurs. Early last year, she was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In June she won the award of ‘Most Outstanding Businesswoman’ at the annual African Business Awards organised by African Business Magazine, and in November, she was named the ‘Most Valuable Entrepreneur’ at the 2011 Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).

A lady of grandiose ambitions, Bethlehem is relentlessly pursuing her dream of building an international footwear brand right from the heart of Ethiopia. And she’s making significant progress.  SoleRebels has opened up a retail outlet in Taiwan and has franchise proposals for Canada, Italy, Australia, Israel, Spain, Japan and the United States among other countries.
Speaking on the company, Bethlehem estimated that revenues from Sole Rebels retail operations will hit the $10 million mark by 2016. Considering the exceptional success she’s achieved in less than 8 years,  Bethlehem  will probably exceed her estimations.
Global charity donates books to Ethiopian universities 

Global charity World Vision (WV) has donated 41,194 reference books worth about $235,000 to the Ethiopian Ministry of Education to be distributed to about 10 new universities in the country.

WV Ethiopia Director Margaret Schuler handed over the donation to Takele Gebre-Kidan, Office Manager for Construction of 10 Ethiopia's Universities, in a ceremony held on Saturday at the Ethiopian Ministry of Education in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Schuler said World Vision's key strategic direction focuses on education at the elementary, secondary and university levels.

The donation, which came from WV's Australia division, demonstrates "the interest the World Vision has in helping the government of Ethiopia to strengthen the universities and to ensure quality education both the lower levels and also the university levels," she said.

Takele said that the donation from WV Australia is timely as Ethiopia is currently working to improve the quality of education in higher education.

He said that the books would be distributed to the universities soon.

Ethiopia refuses to recognise Abyei referendum 


Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, said on Friday that his country will not recognise the recently conducted referendum to decide on the future of the Abyei region which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan.

Hailemariam made the remarks while holding talks with visiting Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ali Karti. The African Union (AU) had proposed that a referendum be held in October but the two sides could not agree on who could participate in the referendum.
The Dinka Ngok who are resident in the area held a unilateral referendum at the end of last month, which saw over 99% of voters opt to transfer the oil-rich region back to South Sudan from where it was transfered for administrative purposes in 1905 during the Anglo-Egyptian condominium.
A senior government official who attended the meeting said on Saturday that the Ethiopian prime minister, who also is the current chair of the AU has made clear that it was the Ethiopian government’s and the continental bloc’s decision that a unilateral move to decide the fate of Abyei is unacceptable.
The AU has said that the vote was illegal further describing it as a threat to peace between Sudan and South Sudan.
According to outcomes of the referendum reveled on Thursday 99.98% of the Dinka Ngok voted to join South Sudan. However neither Khartoum nor Juba have recognized the poll.
During his meeting with the Ethiopian premier, Karti reiterated that his country won’t accept any unilateral actions taken to determine the fate of Abyei.
Since South Sudan officially proclaimed independence in 2011, the final status of Abyei is one of the key and sensitive issue that remain to be settled between the two former civil war rival neighbors.
Ethiopia has deployed 4,000 peacekeepers to Abyei as part of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), which was established in June 2011 just one month before South Sudan voted to secede from Sudan.
The Sudanese foreign minister also briefed the Ethiopian prime minister on the current developments between Sudan and South Sudan particularly on president Bashir’s recent trip to Juba.
The two sides discussed the Ethiopia-Sudan Joint Ministerial Commission meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Khartoum next month as well as ways to further bolster bilateral relations.

Ethiopian Wins Double Awards from the Pan-African Award Committee

Ethiopian

Press Release
Ethiopian Airlines is pleased to announce that the Pan-African Award Committee comprising of travel professionals and journalists from across Africa has recognized the airline with multiple awards, including as “African Airline of the Year” and “Best Cabin Crew in Africa” at the opening ceremony of the 9th Travel Market, AKWAABA, meeting in Nigeria at Eko Hotel Convention Centre on 27 October 2013.
Ethiopian 787 SuccessTravel Market, AKWAABA, is the only annual international travel fair in West Africa bringing together all the stakeholders in the tourism industry value chain, including airlines, hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, restaurants, national tourism boards and media. While receiving the award, Ato Essayas WoldeMariam, Managing Director of Ethiopian International, said “We are honored to receive these double awards in Africa today which will encourage the 8,000 strong work force of Ethiopian to double their efforts for African Aviation development.”
Tewolde Gebremariam CEO, Ethiopian Airlines Group said, “It is a special honor and privilege for Ethiopian, the fastest growing and most profitable African Airline, to receive these double awards from the awards committee of travel professionals and distinguished journalists of the continent. The double awards are strong testaments and recognition of our continuous and remarkable performance. By combining the best and latest aircraft technology like the B-787 Dreamliner and well trained, qualified and highly motivated employees supported with latest information and communication technology systems, Ethiopian is connecting the Continent of Africa with the rest of the world better than any other carrier. As a truly indigenous African airline, our international network of 76 cities spread all over five continents is connecting 46 African cities with 30 major cities in the rest of the world served by mostly daily and nonstop flights. We are also making intra-African connectivity easier and more convenient with our multiple hubs thru our partnership with ASKY in West Africa and soon Malawian Airlines in Southern Africa.”
Ethiopian has also won the 2013 SKYTRAX award for “Best Airline Staff Service in Africa” and the 2013 Passengers Choice Award for “Best Airline in Africa.”
During the award ceremony of the 9th Travel Market, AKWAAB, meeting, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport was also recognized as “Best Airport in East Africa”.
About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is the fastest growing Airline in Africa. In its operations in the past close to seven decades, Ethiopian has become one of the continent’s leading carriers, unrivalled in efficiency and operational success.
Ethiopian commands the lion share of the pan-African passenger and cargo network operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 76 international destinations across five continents. Ethiopian fleet includes ultra-modern and environmentally friendly aircraft such as the Boeing 787, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777-200LR Freighter and Bombardier Q-400 with double cabin. In fact, Ethiopian is the first airline in Africa to own and operate these aircraft.
Ethiopian is currently implementing a 15-year strategic plan called Vision 2025 that will see it become the leading aviation group in Africa with seven business centers: Ethiopian Domestic and Regional Airline; Ethiopian International Passenger Airline; Ethiopian Cargo; Ethiopian MRO; Ethiopian Aviation Academy; Ethiopian In-flight Catering Services; and Ethiopian Ground Service. Ethiopian is a multi award winning airline registering an average growth of 25% in the past seven years.

Ethiopian Opposition Alleges Killings, Abuse

A leading Ethiopian opposition party said in a report Thursday that scores of its members and supporters had been killed, abused or jailed over the past two years.

“The report has information on human rights violations on members of UDJ, on supporters and other political party members and leaders… in different parts of Ethiopia,” said Unity for Democratic Justice (UDJ) leader Negasso Gidada.

Negasso said seven party supporters had been killed in southern Ethiopia and around 150 supporters had faced intimidation, arrest without charge, abuse, abduction and confiscation of property by police and security forces across Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian government said it had not seen a copy of the report, but accused the party of routinely coming up with “concoctions and spurious accusations”, Information Minister Redwan Hussein told AFP.

National Geography Photograph Journalist detained in Gambela


National Geography Photograph Journalist, Robin Hammond, is detained in Gambela State Ethiopia, according to Anteneh Abraham, President President of Ethiopia National Journalists Union(ENJU).
According to sources, the journalist along with an Ethiopian colleague has been detained this morning November 1, 2013 by the Custom authorities in Gambela for entering the country holding 4,000 USD in hand with out declaring the amount of money he has at the point of entry as per the law of the land.
Hammond was first identified that he has that amount of undeclared money by the Federal Police at a check point in Gambela and later handed over to the custom authorities.
The journalists were given visa by Ethiopian Embassy in Paris, France applying to tour to Ethiopia for photographing green development as well as agricultural and horticultural activities in Ethiopia.
The sources also confirm that, Hammond and his Ethiopian fellow journalist were nor release until 11:00 PM.
The Ethiopian Law stipulates that everybody entering the country should declare the amount of foreign currency at the point of entry.

ETHIOPIA: A LOT OF HOT AIR OVER GAS


Part of Ethiopia's geology resembles the oil and gas fields of the Middle East and, indeed, natural gas fields were first discovered as far back as 1972. Despite the fact that commercially viable volumes of gas are present, the Ethiopian government has so far been unable to put together an arrangement to extract the gas. Kaleyesus Bekele looks back on an astonishing series of missed opportunities.
THE HISTORY OF OIL AND GAS Exploration in Ethiopia dates back to the 1950s. After several oil field discoveries were made in the Middle East, hopes were high for similar results in Ethiopia as some its geological formations, particularly in the Ogaden basin, a vast arid land in southeast Ethiopia, resemble those of the Middle East. But so far, the gas has remained undisturbed under the ground despite the fact that many international oil companies were engaged in oil and gas exploration projects in the Ogaden basin's 350,000 sq km of land. It was an American company, Tenneco, that hit the jackpot in 1972. The company discovered a natural gas reserve in Calub, a locality 1,200 km southeast of Addis Ababa, estimated at 76bn cubic metres. Tenneco also discovered a non-commercial crude oil reserve with a thickness of one metre at Hilala.
Tenneco was not lucky enough to reap the fruit, though. In 1974, a socialist revolution swept the country, which ousted the imperial regime with whom Tenneco had signed a 50-year concession agreement. Tenneco was expelled by the former socialist government of Ethiopia in 1977, together with many other Western companies.
Following the expulsion of Tenneco, a former USSR company, Soviet Petroleum Exploration Expedition (SPEE), started working on the Calub and Hilala gas fields. SPEE drilled more wells in Calub and Hilala, and confirmed the natural gas reserve in Calub. SPEE discovered a gas condensate at Hilala 4 at a depth of 4,750 metres. However, SPEE's contractual agreement was also terminated in 1994 after the fall of the military regime.
After SPEE pulled out of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government signed several agreements with different companies that pledged to invest millions of dollars in the gas fields. The American company Secor, the Russian companies Methanol Joint Stock and StroyTrans Gas, the Jordanian company SITech International and Petronas, the Malaysian oil and gas giant, all signed memorandums of understanding (MoU) and petroleum development agreements to develop the gas fields.
However, Secor, which signed the agreement in 2000, vanished into thin air, while Methanol and StroyTrans Gas, which had signed an MoU in 2002 with the government-owned company, Calub Gas SC and the Ministry of Mines, demanded that the government should come up with the funds required to execute the project while they would provide the technology.
SITech International, which had pledged to invest $1.7bn in 2003, was unable to raise any significant capital. The company said it was unable to commence work on the project until 2006. Alemayehu Tegenu, former Minister of Mines, revoked the petroleum development licence given to SITech and decided to offer the project to tender.
The Ethiopian government had tried to develop the gas fields in collaboration with the private sector by establishing Calub Gas SC and was selling shares of the company to the public. The World Bank, which agreed to finance the small-scale gas development project designed by the company, signed a loan agreement for $66.3m. However, in 2001, the World Bank suspended the loan, insisting that the project should be privatised. Repeated attempts to jointly develop the gas fields with the company were not successful. Later on, the government liquidated the share company.
"The bank's move surprised everyone," says a senior official of the defunct Calub Gas SC, "because the bank usually does not suspend loans once it signs an agreement. Second, the well-completion work was done with the first round of payment secured from the bank. The gas reserve was made ready for production and it was made to rise to the surface. So production was supposed to start as soon as possible.
"Only a gas treatment plant is required to start production. The fact that the gas was made ready for production could cause pressure build-up and that is a big risk for the wellbeing of all the gas wells," the veteran geologist said.
In 2006 the Ministry of Mines put up a tender inviting international oil and gas companies interested in developing the gas fields. Petronas won the tender and in June 2007 signed a petroleum development and production sharing agreement with the Ministry.
Petronas made an upfront payment of $8om to the Ethiopian government. The company planned to build a gas treatment plant and to construct a gas pipeline all the way from the gas fields to the port of Djibouti. The total investment was estimated at $1.9bn. Petronas has been analysing and interpreting the petroleum data collected from the gas fields. However, due to a managerial decision, Petronas relinquished all its concessions and pulled out of Ethiopia in 2010.
Following the withdrawal of Petronas, the Ministry of Mines put up a tender to select a company that would take over all the concessions held by Petronas in the Ogaden in March 2011. Subsequently, in July 2011, the Ministry awarded the Calub and Hilala natural gas fields and eight exploration blocks (that belonged to Petronas) to a Chinese oil and gas company based in Hong Kong, PetroTrans, which had won the tender.
Furious reaction
After a year, in July 2012, the Ministry cancelled the petroleum development agreement it had signed with PetroTrans, saying the company has failed to commence work on the project according to schedule. In a letter dated 1st July 2012 and signed by Mines Minister Sinkenesh Ejigu, the Ministry notified PetroTrans of the termination of the petroleum development agreement. The company had agreed to develop the gas fields within three years. PetroTrans furiously protested the Ministry's decision. The company claims that it was analysing and interpreting old data collected from the concessions. It explained to the Ministry that it hired specialised companies that would collect seismic data and drill exploration wells. PetroTrans said it was negotiating with companies that would construct the gas pipeline and gas treatment plant.
In a letter signed by president and CEO of PetroTrans, John Chin, and addressed to Sinkenesh, the company listed the works it had undertaken and asked the Minister to revise her decision. The company had spent more than $18m on the project. It paid $11m in signature bonus to the Ministry.
It had also paid for land rent and community development projects. The company said has been working on the paperwork required to do the field work, adding that it was about to commence field work at the time of the termination of the contract. The Ministry did not accept the explanations, saying that PetroTrans is a broker company.
Executives of PetroTrans said they want to resolve the problem with the Ministry in a round table discussion and resume work on the project. However, they said, if the Ministry refuses to do so, they want to be compensated for the loss they incurred. Sinkenesh admitted that PetroTrans has spent a significant amount of money for the project. However, she said, the Ministry would not pay compensation to the company.
PetroTrans, which entered into a tug of war with the Ethiopian government, filed its complaint to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) based in Geneva on 28th December 2012. The Ministry has responded to the complaints lodged by PetroTrans at the ICC and currently the case is being overseen.
The Ethiopian government recently established a new company called Ethiopian Petroleum Development Enterprise that will engage in developing the gas fields in collaboration with an international oil and gas company. "Our government this time shows a firm commitment to extract the gas reserves. We are looking for a reputable international petroleum company that is committed to jointly develop the gas fields," Sinkenesh said.
However, PetroTrans said there is no company that will take over the projects before the disagreement is settled. "There is no company that will acquire the concessions, whose case could be presented to an international arbitration court. If there is any company that attempts to take over our concessions, we will sue it," a senior official of the company said. Sinkenesh downplayed the warning, saying that the concessions belong to the Ethiopian government. "The concessions belong to the Ethiopian government and people. And they are in our hands. No one can prevent us from utilising them," the Minister said.
Ethiopia is probably the only country on this planet that has been unable to develop a proven gas reserve for four decades.