Ethiopia: Booming Construction Sector Springboard for Other Industries

The construction sector plays a pivotal role in accelerating economic growth. Its roles in the expansion of infrastructural facilities such as roads, schools, hospitals, residential houses, among others, can be mentioned.   The growth of infrastructural facilitate by itself is part of development. As a stimulant for growth, it creates an up and downward linkages so as to create value chains. It generates job opportunities for hundreds of thousands.   The booming of the.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 4th January 2017

Automobile speed limiter made by The University of Ilorin

 The University of Ilorin has produced an automobile speed limiter that could be used by any vehicle including jeep, car, bus and truck. Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, disclosed this on Tuesday in Ilorin, Kwara State while speaking with newsmen. Ambali noted that the feat was in response to the challenge thrown at institutions of higher learning in the country by the National Universities Commission. He said this was an assignment that the.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 4th January 2017

Feed the Future Ethiopia Farm Service Center project to improve production and productivity

 Feed the Future Ethiopia Farm Service Center project is a three year initiative model developed by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) to serve the inventory and technical needs of smallholder and medium sized farmers. The Farmer Service Center (FSC) model has been tested with high levels of success and community buy-in and currently developed as a working model in several countries across Africa and Eastern Europe. The FSC model in Ethiopia also demonstrates and.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 4th January 2017

Rwanda: 'Made-in-Rwanda' Strategy Looking to Balance Trade Deficit

Sometime back when I was in The Netherlands, I once searched high and low to get an English newspaper and asked some Dutch people why it's difficult to chance upon one. I never got anywhere.   The response was "English newspapers are over-taxed so as to discourage them in favour of newspapers published in Dutch language". The reason is to promote locally-made products in order to maintain the balance of trade and payment.   Despite the practice, The Netherlands.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Rwanda: Govt Scraps Pre-Shipment Inspection Scheme

The decision by government to shelve plans to contract private firms to carry-out pre-shipment inspection for goods destined to Rwanda has raised concern from the business community, especially importers. The exercise was previously being conducted by Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) a Switzerland-based firm under the Imports Products Conformity Assessment to Standards (IPCA) scheme from mid-2014 till the exercise was suspended late last year. SGS was.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Kenya: Standard Gauge Rail to Finally Become a Reality This Year

This will be the year of the railway - perhaps mimicking 1899, when the current railway reached Nairobi.   By then, the railway was Colonial Kenya's most expensive project. Today, the new standard gauge railway is still the country's most expensive infrastructural project.   A historical transport masterpiece in the region, SGR has encountered numerous challenges like her predecessor, the metre gauge line that is more than a centenary old now.   The resilience.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Ethiopia: $100 Million World Bank Refugee Project to Benefit Over 1 Million People

A new World Bank funded project promises improved living conditions for refugees camped across five states in Ethiopia.   The Bank offered 100 million USD to implement "Development Response to Displacement Impact Project (DRDIP) in the Horn of Africa."   Speaking at project launching event in Semera, Afar State, Livestock and Fisheries Minister Dr. Misrak Mekonnen said the projects are believed to increase the benefit of the community from socio-economic as.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Ethiopia Ready for Low Carbon, Green Industries

Though Ethiopia didn't cause climate change it is confronted by the threat the challenge poses. It should also recognize the opportunity that the change presents. Climate change is not a future possibility for Ethiopia but it is already a present reality.   Like much of Africa, Ethiopia has become warmer over the past century and human induced climate change is projected to bring further warming over the next century at unprecedented rates. Climate models suggest that Ethiopia.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Government Prioritizes Agriculture Sector in 2017

 Saurimo — The agriculture sector is expected to receive special attention from the provincial government of Lunda Sul in this fiscal year, aiming at increasing and diversifying production, local governor Candida Narciso said Sunday in Saurimo. In her first statement in 2017, Cândida Narciso considered Agriculture a key sector for the development of the economy, which deserves special attention and greater investment. The governor appealed on the occasion to the.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Ethiopia: Ample Power Generation Potential, Access is the Key

The development of electric power is an area in which Ethiopia has registered significant growth over the course of the last two decades. Particularly, the nation could generate huge electric resource from hydro power scheme alone.   As the effort to generate electric power had begun in 1897 with a generator capacity to the national palace, currently Ethiopia could build mega hydro-power projects which have the capacity to generate 6,000 MW in at a time. It is well known that.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Tanzania: Govt Revokes New Power Tariffs Set By Regulator

Dar es Salaam — The government yesterday revoked new electricity tariffs, only a day after they were announced by the regulator-- Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (Ewura).   Energy and Minerals minister Prof Sospeter Muhongo took the unprecedented action in a letter ordering Ewura to shelve the planned increase in the cost of power supply.   The letter dated December 31 and addressed to Ewura director general Felix Ngamlagosi would come as a surprise.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017

Ethiopia: Agricultural Extension Key to Sustainable Farmer Development

Ethiopian Society of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension said it is working to create a highly effective extension system that fulfills the promise of sustainably improving the lives of smallholders.   Speaking at a recent annual conference , Society President Chimdo Anchala said effective and efficient agricultural extension would enhance production and productivity of smallholders through the development of innovative, effective and sustainable farmer and.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 3rd January 2017