Ethiopia’s SNNP Pardons over 3,000 Prisoners (more vote for woyane?)

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September 27, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia’s Southern Nations and Nationalists and Peoples state (SNNP) on Sunday releases 3,535 prisoners from various detention centers of the region, in connection with ’Meskel’, a religious holiday.




In a statement, SNNP regional president, Shiferaw Shugute said that the prisoners were set free based on conditions set on Federal and regional constitution.



Prison term reduction is also granted to 13 prisoners.



The prisoners were pardoned based on the deep regret they showed, the good behavior they displayed while in prison and also considering their length of stay and old ages. They have all served at least half of their prison terms. But the amnesty grant does not include to those who are jailed on rape, murder or other serious crimes.



Shiferaw called on the freed prisoners to learn from past mistakes and to take part actively in the economic and developmental endeavors of the country and be exemplary citizens



Two weeks ago, Ethiopia’s regional states of Oromiya and Amhara, in a similar move, freed 9,612 prisoners, including 391 women on amnesty in connection with the New Year.



Ethiopians are today celebrating Meskel, the finding of the true cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified.



Late Yesterday, tens of thousands of Ethiopians including government officials, ambassadors and diplomatic corps gather at the capital’s Maskal Square to celebrate, Demera, eve of the founding of the true cross.



A grand bonfire was lit by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos.



Meskel, in the Ethiopian Orthodox church, is an annual religious holiday commemorating the discovery of the True Cross by Queen Eleni (Saint Helena) in the fourth century. Meskel occurs on 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar (27 September, Gregorian calendar, or 28 September in leap years). "Meskel", means cross.



The Meskel celebration includes the burning of a large bonfire, or Demera, based on the belief that Queen Eleni had a revelation in a dream. She was told that she shall make a bonfire and that the smoke would show her where the true cross was buried.



Demera-procession takes place in the early evening the day before Meskel or on the day itself, according to local traditions. The firewood is decorated with daisies prior to the celebration. Afterwards, charcoal from the remains of the fire is collected and used by the faithful to mark their foreheads with the shape of a cross.

Ethiopia: Country Can Exploit Opportunity in Unesco Now - Ambassador

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Addis Ababa — Ethiopia could exploit the potential opportunities presented in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in the wake of the recently elected Bulgarian Director General, Irina Bokova, the Bulgarian Ambassador in Addis Ababa said. The familiarity of the new Director General with Africa's development needs and challenges and her positive position toward the Continent makes her an asset that could be put to use through the Embassy here, he said.




In an exclusive interview with The Daily Monitor, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ambassador Svetlozar Panov, said Ethiopia occupies an important place for the Bulgarian nation. However, relations between the two countries is not as it used to be in the past, he said and went on to add, efforts are being made to change that and that his government would be happy to respond positively to any gesture on the part of the Ethiopian government to strengthen mutual relations further.



The Ambassador considers the coming into office of a Bulgarian Director General who knows a lot about the developing world and has travelled to most African countries as a good opportunity to buttress relations between Ethiopia and Bulgaria and particularly for the former to exploit opportunities being presented by the coming into office of such an individual.



Ambassador Panov says the charter of UNESCO indicates the organization's biggest interest is to support developing nations and yet UNESCO has had problems when it comes to providing the appropriate help to these countries in various sectors of its mandate.



On top of that the role of the Director General of UNESCO is important because it handles education. And the issue of education is of strategic importance in the life of nations. Through the Bulgarian Embassy in Addis, Ethiopia could exploit to the maximum such an opportunity and enjoy its benefits, the Ambassador underscores.



The Ambassador says the incoming Bulgarian Director-General, whom he claims to know personally and as a colleague, knows a lot about Africa and has travelled to its most parts. And this in turn would enable her to define the Continent's priorities as well as what to do and how to do it in her term of office in the coming years.


The election of a Bulgarian into the Director General office is the first for Bulgaria and at the same time she is the first lady for UNESCO after 65 years of the organization's existence.



Ambassador Panov said Ethiopia is one of the important countries in Africa. That is why Bulgaria pays a lot of attention to the relations between the two nations. In the past their relations used to be more active and fruitful. But that ended with the fall of socialism.



There are efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries in various sectors and yet there are areas that need more efforts to facilitate that, the Ambassador underlined. The problem of visa Bulgarians face when coming to Ethiopia is a case in point, according to the Ambassador. Cooperation potential is more than being exploited currently, he added.

Ethiopia: Nationwide housing project puts economy in danger

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Ethiopian Ministry of Works and Urban Development (MoWUD)) this year suspended a number of affordable housing projects across the country with the exception of the capital city, Addis Ababa. Top government officials have said the exercise is to lessen the government’s expenditure and save the economy from further decline.


Fearing the nationwide housing project’s inflationary impacts due to its huge associated expenditure, the government has moved to suspend new constructions for this fiscal year. “We are currently working on unfinished projects, (but we are) suspending all new constructions”, said a source, a top government official, from the MoWUD, suggesting the government’s involvement in the decision to suspend the project.



According to him, the escalating prices of construction materials led to the reversal of budgeted targets as the housing project’s expenditure skyrocketed. To achieve the set targets, the government would be forced to increase its expenditure which could in turn have a macro economic impact. Commenting on the appropriateness of the suspension, he confirmed that the housing project fovoured the hikes in prices of construction material.



The ambitious low cost housing plan, first introduced in 2004 during former Addis Ababa Mayor Arkebe Equbay’s term in office, sought to construct 50,000 houses on yearly basis in the capital. The project was first halted due to the outcome of the 2005 election that saw Arkebe voted out of office as mayor. The ruling party, however, appointed him to his current position as state minister of MoWUD after which he obtained government permission to initiate the low cost housing programme nationwide.



In 2005/06, the Federal Government launched its Integrated Houses Development Program (IHDP) under the direct supervision of Arkebe with the aim of constructing 400,000 houses in 70 towns. Until the last Ethiopian fiscal year, a total 24 billion birr budget directed to the project had seen 36 towns in the country benefit from some 61,000 affordable houses.



Addis Ababa, has been excluded from the suspension of the nationwide housing project as neither the federal government nor the Addis Ababa City Administration are directly involved in the financing of the city’s housing project, the official said.



In the meantime, the city’s administration has recently denied budget to its Housing Development Office while recommending the office to transfer finished houses and reinvest the funds obtained from the transfer. The programme is currently expecting a 1.2 billion birr loan from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), one of the investors of the housing project.