Day: May 16, 2023

The Government Communication Service Ministry called on media in Ethiopia to work more focusing on big national agendas and on ways that help tap into Ethiopia’s great economic potential.

Government Communication Services Minister Legese Tulu and State Minister Selamawit Kassa as well as leaders of media organizations and personnel visited the today the Agriculture and Science exhibition at Science Museum in Addis Ababa organized under the theme “From the lab to the field.”

Government Communication Service State Minister Selamawit Kassa on the occasion said media in Ethiopia must work centering on big national agendas and on ways that help tapping into Ethiopia’s great potentials.

According to her, tapping into the country’s immense potentials requires applying studies and innovations into practice.

“Realizing research results into practice first requires information flow. In this regard, media plays big role and a huge task is waiting for the media to inform the public. That is why this visit is crucial,” Selamawit said, adding that the media should also introduce innovative youth to stakeholders.

She also stressed the need for the media in Ethiopia to work centering on big national agendas that could benefit the people, mentioning the Green Legacy and Yelemat Tirufat, a development campaign that focuses on nutritional opulence.

“The media should focus on big national agendas to tap into the untapped potential and benefit the people,” Selamawit said.

Ethiopia has, for instance, untapped potential in the agriculture, which needs implementing researches and innovations into practice, she said pointing out that media should play key role to realize this.

The state minister called on media organizations in Ethiopia to play their key role focusing on the big national issues.

The media have to ask why we are not benefiting from the immense potential resources and on how to utilize them effectively, she said.

This all is the way the media can bring concrete results in addition to creating awareness and mobilizing, she added.

Agriculture Minister Girma Amente on the occasion explained to the visitors the successful works being carried out under the ministry to transform the agriculture sector using different initiatives and technologies.

The exhibition, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with Ethio Telecom, aims at promoting the role of technologies in transforming the agricultural sector and improving production and productivity in a sustainable manner.

The exhibition is expected to create awareness among farmers and pastoralists, youth, students researchers as well as investors on the role of science and technology to improve production and productivity and realize sustainable development.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest network operator in Africa has officially commenced a new service between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Atlanta, USA today.

Addis Ababa City Mayor, Adanech Abiebie, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Chargé d’affaires of US embassy in Addis Ababa Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, and other officials attended the inaugural ceremony.

Commenting on the launch of the new flight, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mesfin Tasew said, Ethiopian will operate a four times weekly flight to Atlanta (ATL) starting from today.

The new flight is our 5th destination to the USA and we have been using Addis Ababa as a gateway, according to Mesfin.

He added that Addis Ababa, the most preferable destination, fast growing metropolitan and a diplomatic city; Atlanta is also the biggest city in the USA.

The CEO noted that Atlanta is home to several Ethiopian diaspora and the new flight will serve to strengthen relations of the two sister cities.

“We have been connecting the U.S. and Africa for 25 years now and the new service will help boost the investment, tourism, diplomatic and socioeconomic bonds between the two sister cities.”

As a pan-African carrier, we are committed to further expand our global network and connect Africa with the rest of the word, the CEO stressed.

Tracey Jacobson on her part noted that the ties between Ethiopia and USA is in all sector adding that the flight will help to further strengthen the relations of the two countries.

Addis Ababa City Mayor Adanech Abiebie on her part said “we want to work with Atlanta to foster the socio economic benefit of the two sister cities and learn from them.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens on his part said the flight would play a crucial role in connecting people to people relations and enhance the ties with the sister city of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Atlanta will be Ethiopian Airlines’ 5th passenger destination in the USA following Chicago, Newark New York and Washington.

The multiple award-winning Airlines announced that in this month it will also launch additional flights to Copenhagen and Abijan.

Ethiopian is adding new destinations around the world and is currently flying to 145 domestic and international destinations on 5 continents.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

NamPower’s Managing Director (MD), Kahenge Haulofu, on Tuesday said the media has been misusing the term ‘load-shedding’ in the recent coverage of the power utility’s debt collection plan that was re-introduced through a public notice last week.

Haulofu during a media briefing on Tuesday, explained that the debt collection plan, which is a scheduled disconnection of electricity supply to defaulting customers, is a re-introduction of a debt collection plan and debt repayment incentive that was first introduced in 2021 and it is not load-shedding.

“There has been a lot of misinterpretation of terms by the media and the public in relation to the suspension of electricity supply to NamPower customers with overdue accounts.

The debt collection plan and repayment incentive are NamPower’s efforts in reaching an understanding between default customers in paying their outstanding accounts,” he clarified.

He added that with NamPower’s Power Supply Agreements, the company has the right to totally disconnect the electricity supply to defaulting customers, hence the resolution to introduce the debt collection plan.

According to the MD, several other measures were explored before reaching the conclusion of introducing the debt collection plan that will be implemented on 05 June and will affect customers who fail to pay their overdue accounts by 31 May.

The disconnection of electricity supply to defaulting customers will be divided into stages starting with stage one and escalating to stage nine.

Meanwhile, Haulofu emphasised that NamPower has received no pressure from their bilateral partner, Eskom and that the load-shedding in South Africa (SA) has to date not posed a need for Namibia to panic.

He concluded by saying that Namibia only receives 100 megawatts of electricity from SA while its largest supplier is Zambia with 180 megawatts of electricity.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) won the Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election that was held on Monday, Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) Chief Electoral and Referenda Officer Theo Mujoro has announced.

Mujoro in a media release on Tuesday said ECN Returning Officer Roseline Keramin officially announced the results.

A total of 2 912 votes were counted and 16 ballots were rejected.

The Landless People’s Movement candidate Willem Petrus Labuschagne won the by-election with 1 270 votes out of the 2 912 counted.

Swapo Party candidate Elias Kharuxab received 872 votes, while Gerrit Albertus Witbooi who contested as an Independent Candidate (IC) received 463 votes.

The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) candidate Johannes Frederick Jacobus Eiman received 275 votes, while the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC)’s Magdalena van Staden received 32 votes.

The by-election was held after LPM removed its previous regional councillor, Gerrit Albertus Witbooi.

The registered voters for the Keetmanshoop Rural Constituency by-election was 6 675 which translates to a total voter turnout of 43.8 per cent.

“The ECN extends its gratitude to all election officials, party agents, the Namibian Police and the media for overseeing the conduct of a transparent and credible electoral process, as well as the maintenance of law and order,” Mujoro said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

The Namibian Police Force (NamPol) in the Kavango East Region have recovered the bodies of two boys who drowned in the Kavango River close to the Sauyemwa informal settlement on Sunday.

Nine-year-old Kerko Sikongo’s body was found floating at Rundu Beach while the body of 17-year-old Hendrik Wayoya was found at the location where the two boys drowned.

NamPol’s acting regional commander, Deputy Commissioner Eino Nambahu, told Nampa yesterday Sikongo’s body was retrieved six kilometres from where the boys drowned.

Nambahu explained that the boys had been collecting sand to be used for construction when the incident occurred.

It is alleged that the younger boy slipped and fell into the river and the older boy jumped into the river to help him.

A woman witnessed the incident and reported it to the police.

The next of kin of both boys have been informed and police investigations into the matter continue.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency