Category: Government Policy

State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ambassador Mesganu Arga, received and held discussions today with the Ambassador of Italy, Agostino Palese, the Ambassador of Germany, Stephan Auer, and Ambassador of France, Remi Marechaux, on various issues.

Ambassador Mesganu appreciated the cooperation between Ethiopia and those countries on bilateral and multilateral platforms.

He further highlighted the importance of the Ethiopian Government’s economic reform process, the Transitional Justice Mechanism aimed at addressing human rights issues, and the national dialogue process.

Italian Ambassador Agostino Palese pointed out Ethiopia’s key role in the region and expressed the commitment of the Government of Italy to collaborate with Ethiopia on issues of mutual interest.

Stephan Auer, Ambassador of Germany, on his part, assured his Government’s commitment to work closely with Ethiopia.

He also appreciated Ethiopia’s role in peacekeeping missions and regional integration in the Horn of Africa.

French Ambassador Remi Marechaux also assured the support of Government of France for the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement and for the ongoing reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts.

The State Minister further called on the European Union to make practical and tangible interventions in rehabilitation and the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ambassador Mesganu Arga, received and held discussions today with the Ambassador of Italy, Agostino Palese, the Ambassador of Germany, Stephan Auer, and Ambassador of France, Remi Marechaux, on various issues.

Ambassador Mesganu appreciated the cooperation between Ethiopia and those countries on bilateral and multilateral platforms.

He further highlighted the importance of the Ethiopian Government’s economic reform process, the Transitional Justice Mechanism aimed at addressing human rights issues, and the national dialogue process.

Italian Ambassador Agostino Palese pointed out Ethiopia’s key role in the region and expressed the commitment of the Government of Italy to collaborate with Ethiopia on issues of mutual interest.

Stephan Auer, Ambassador of Germany, on his part, assured his Government’s commitment to work closely with Ethiopia.

He also appreciated Ethiopia’s role in peacekeeping missions and regional integration in the Horn of Africa.

French Ambassador Remi Marechaux also assured the support of Government of France for the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement and for the ongoing reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts.

The State Minister further called on the European Union to make practical and tangible interventions in rehabilitation and the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Belgium will continue its support for the success of Ethiopia’s National Dialogue, Belgium Ambassador to Ethiopia, Stefaan Thijs said.

Talking to ENA, Ambassador Thijs expressed his government’s commitment to supporting the national dialogue commission to realize its efforts.

“I think there are two ways… for us as Belgium and as the European Union. That is the financial support we can give,” he said.

I know that the European Union has already provided financial support to the National Dialogue Commission, he stated.

The ambassador added that there is another way of helping the commission in sharing expertise that our countries have, and maybe we can share expertise with your country.

Moreover, Ambassador Thijs said “we put our hope in the big success of this National Dialogue Commission” for Ethiopian people and also for the international community.

He recalled the speech that President Sahle-Work had delivered at the joint opening session of the House of Peoples’ Representatives and House of Federation called for peace and reconciliation among Ethiopians.

The Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission was established with 11 Commissioners by the House of People’s Representatives to lead an independent, inclusive, and transparent national dialogue across the country.

The main objective of the commission is to facilitate consultations among various segments of the society on fundamental issues of the country by identifying the root causes of existing differences through dialogue.

Since its establishment, the commission has been carrying out various activities, engaging numerous stakeholders at federal and regional levels.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopia and Chile held their first political consultation today in Addis Ababa to further diversify bilateral ties in various areas of cooperation.

The Acting Deputy Director General for European and American Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Eskinder Yirga and the Director General of Middle East and Africa Affairs at the Chilean Ministry of Foreign AffairsAmbassador Juan Pino , co-chaired the meeting.

Following the opening remarks, both delegations held a comprehensive discussion on bilateral relations, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The political consultation, held on the basis of the MoU on Political Consultation signed in July 2022, aimed at further diversifying bilateral ties in various areas of cooperation, including on multilateral platforms.

Eskinder noted that Ethiopia cherishes its relations with Chile and that political consultation should be held regularly.

Ambassador Juan, for his part, stressed the need to strengthen relations in the economic and education sectors as well as at multilateral forums.

The consultation covered the review of bilateral relations and collaboration on various regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

The two sides concluded their discussion, pledging to enhance bilateral cooperation and longstanding relationships.

Chile and Ethiopia established formal diplomatic relations in 1965.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Have you ever pictured yourself using a handheld or portable jackpot gambling machine where you play and win money or cooling your room with a fan not powered by electricity, all made in Namibia?

This is exactly what Simon Matias is currently doing. This innovator and inventor from Windhoek’s Havana informal settlement has a natural talent for electronics.

He does not have a formal technical education from a vocational training centre or university, but he uses his God-given talent to imagine and build things from scratch.

This reporter met with Matias in Havana, where he demonstrated how his two prototype jackpot gambling machines operate.

“I made this one last year,” he said about the portable machine that operates on N.dollar 5 coins. This was the first invention he came up with soon after he failed Grade 11.

“This is my second invention, which I made this year. It works on N.dollars 20 notes,” Matias said about his second machine, which, like the first, can be fitted in a backpack. The two machines are powered by cellphone batteries, which, once fully charged, can last up to a month.

“I used discarded things like radios, cellphones, and computer scraps—things that could have ended up being burned and polluting the environment. I fixed them, put them together, and came up with these jackpots. I came up with these out of nothing, and that is because God has blessed me with a unique talent,” said the 27-year-old inventor.

Matias said he does not have any formal training or technical experience. Additionally, he does not draw ideas from YouTube or the Internet.

“It all comes naturally to me. My passion for electronics started at a young age, when I used to fix radios and torches while growing up in the village. It is a God-given talent. It is not that I went to a special school,” said Matias, who is originally from Oshikunde village in the Ohangwena Region.

Matias has lofty goals as he plans more inventions and has already experimented with an electricity-free fan.

Unfortunately, Namibia does not have a culture of manufacturing, and there is no assistance for young people with natural talent like him.

“I have many concepts, but I cannot do much due to the limitations. I cannot get the materials and tools that I need to create different products. I am planning a fan that is self-powered. I made some progress with it, but I am struggling to buy the essential components. The fan is an important product, especially for people who do not have access to electricity, like here in Havana,” he said.

With the necessary financial and material support, Matias said he would be able to improve and refine his jackpot machines. “I have ideas on how to improve and refine the electronics and software, but I don’t have resources,” he said.

Matias is unemployed, but he manages to make a little money with his mobile jackpot machines.

“I play with friends in the neighbourhood and also go around showing them off at various places, including bars. People are interested in my machines, and many are encouraging me to continue with my passion for inventing things,” he said.

The young innovator said he has a dream of augmenting his talent with a formal education, especially vocational training.

“I can also fix smartphones and do general electrical repairs. Though I have no formal training, I am good at fixing electricity. Maybe I just need guidance, but I can do most of the electrical work,” he said.

The Councillor for Moses //Garoëb constituency, Stefanus Ndengu, said there is a need to assist Matias and other talented young Namibians.

“This young man is showing his talent. He is talented, he only needs assistance, whether it is from the government or the private sector. We really need these talented people to produce various products because we cannot continue to rely on others for everything. We have our own people who are really talented, but they do not have support in terms of materials and equipment. They are not equipped, and people like Matias should be taken to training institutions like vocational training centres to add to their talent. He can fit in well,” Ndengu said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency

A group of disgruntled residents from Okahandja’s informal settlements took to the streets on Friday to demand their petition back from the town’s Mayor, in order to submit it to the head of state, following an alleged lack of interest from the town’s leadership in addressing their concerns.

Led by their community activist leader, Sethy Gariseb, chanting ‘We want land! Down councillors!’ the group marched from the town’s informal settlement to the municipality building in the central business district, demanding the return of their petition. The petition urged the municipality to address their plea for land and municipal services.

In the petition submitted to the municipality in July 2022 and the minister of urban and rural development in March 2023, residents demanded the provision of water, electricity, and all other basic municipal services in the informal settlements. The petition also calls for relevant authorities to clarify who is entitled to own a piece of land and who qualifies for municipal services.

‘We are tired, and because they are not acknowledging the petition, we want to take our petition to the President… so that the President can see which doors we have exhausted. The streets are dark, our children are being raped,’ stressed Gariseb.

Land grabbing continues unabated in the once eminent ‘Garden Town,’ with many landless people occupying unserviced municipal land in the fast-growing illegal informal settlements, including Promise Land, Virgenoeg, Dom Lokasie, Oshetu, RCC camp, Five Rand, and Sweet Village.

At the protest, Okahandja Mayor Kaunapawa Fillemon handed over the petition while refusing to make any comments on the matter. ‘I am just here to hand over the petition… I don’t have anything to say,’ she said.

Anna Fredricks, a resident of Promise Land and one of the first settlers on the unserviced land since 28 June 2020, shared that eviction from their former landlord due to nonpayment led them to occupy the unserviced municipal land illegally.

‘I had nowhere to go as a mother of four. So, my aunt and I decided to set up our caravan here, and we started living here. Since then, many landless people have found their homes in Promise Land. People are calling us illegal since we don’t have Erf numbers, so when are they planning to legalize us?’ she asked.

Gariseb said that they are planning to hand over the petition to the Office of the President in two weeks’ time.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency