The Civil Society Organizations Authority has issued a statement and list of 1,514 CSOs that have had their licenses revoked on July 8, 2024. Heads of the Authority decided to move ahead with the mass revocation during its 17th regular meeting.

Girma Mekonnen, head of public relations and communications at the Authority, told The Reporter that these organizations were losing their licenses on account of failing to re-register with the Authority before the deadline.

CSOs are required to renew their licenses every year, a process which involves the submission of an annual audit report to the Authority. The audit report must also be approved by the organization’s general assembly prior to submission.

According to Girma, the 1,514 failed to present their annual audit report to the Authority, despite deadline extensions and repeated calls from the Authority to do so, going as far back as 2021. The decision follows changes to the decree governing CSOs, which was amended to strengthen compliance.

Another 204 CSOs have seen their licenses revoked as a result of failing to register and renew their permits despite having presented their audit reports.

Heads of the Authority say they consulted the Council of Civil Society Organizations, a lobby group, before making its decision.

A CSO manager who spoke to The Reporter anonymously said most of these organizations are formed by a group of people and lack the organizational structure that would enable them to conduct annual audits and organize general assemblies.

Terefe Degeti, director of the CSO Council, sees the decision to revoke the licenses of more than 1,700 organizations as a regrettable but justifiable action.

“All CSOs must present annual performance reports to the regulatory authority as per the CSO proclamation. But these organizations did not, despite several deadline extensions from the Authority. It finally decided to revoke the licenses after waiting a long time. It should not have happened but we cannot negate the proclamation. We, the management of the Council, were present when the Authority made the revocation decision. We agreed with the decision. Most likely the revoked organizations are out of operation due to a lack of resources. Since COVID-19, it has been difficult to mobilize funds for CSOs,” Terefe told The Reporter.

However, Terefe agrees the revocation of such a large number of CSO licenses will create a “huge vacuum in the much needed humanitarian provisions.”

“We are working on the localization of foreign CSOs in order to bridge the vacuum,” he said.

Over the past six months, more than 800 small-scale coffee farmers, each managing less than 20 hectares, competed for a spot in this prestigious event. After rigorous national-level evaluations, 150 contestants from regions including Jimma, Hawassa, Dire Dawa, and Addis Ababa advanced to the next stage.

The top 40 farmers, who met stringent criteria, will now compete internationally. Their exceptional coffees will be auctioned online at the end of August 2024, offering them a chance to achieve premium prices and global recognition.Beyond global recognition, winners will also receive awards for their outstanding achievements.

ShafiUmer, Deputy Director General of the Authority, emphasized the competition’s transformative impact on Ethiopian coffee. This annual event, now in its fourth year, “significantly benefits our farmers and elevates the quality of Ethiopian coffee on the global stage,” he said.

The 3rd Cup of Excellence competition in 2022 saw Ethiopian coffee earn international acclaim, with prices reaching USD 10 per kilogram. This year’s top three finishers include Basha Bekele, Mathews Lemesana, and BukutoDure.

Originally launched in Brazil in 1999, the All-Taste Coffee Tasting Competition aims to empower coffee farmers and traders by securing better value for their products. The competition has since expanded market access for Ethiopian coffee and set new standards for quality improvement.

 Tim Stein, Deputy Director of US Agency for International Development (USAID), praised the unique flavors of Ethiopian coffee and highlighted USAID’s ongoing support since 2020. “We’ve established coffee warehouses, a research lab, and trained nearly 100 quality graders,” Stein noted. He added that these efforts have helped Ethiopian coffee exporters and producers raise over USD 7.5 million.

Coffee is considered the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, generating USD 1.5 billion in foreign exchange. USAID’s business support improves the competitiveness of coffee sales by enhancing productivity, quality, and market access, supporting farmers, cooperatives, and other industry stakeholders.

On July 11, the USAID-sponsored Cup of Excellence coffee competition was held at the Hilton Hotel, where participants were honored for their premium coffee beans which attract some of the highest prices on the world market.

In past competitions, approximately 20 percent of coffee enterprises that participated in the Cup of Excellence competition improved their ‘quality’ scores to 80 percent and above.USAID-supported coffee businesses increased revenue by an average of 63 percent, with 16 of the 40 participants more than doubling their revenue.

Hussein Ambo, President of the Ethiopian National Coffee Association, underscored the competition’s pivotal role in supporting coffee farmers, particularly women, and linking them to global buyers. “The Cup of Excellence has provided market access for smallholder farmers, raising their household income and setting standards for premium prices,” Hussein said.

Despite logistical challenges, the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority and national media continue to promote participation in the competition. According to Hussein, the Cup of Excellence has significantly impacted Ethiopian coffee farmers, promoting quality improvement and connecting them to global markets willing to pay premium prices.

This year’s event also featured notable contributions from partners like Youngto Coffee. CEO Usan Chung donated a green technology solar system to this year’s winner, further showcasing the collaborative spirit within the industry.

Looking ahead, the Authority aims to achieve USD 1.4 billion in coffee exports in 2024, reinforcing Ethiopia’s position as a global coffee powerhouse.

Onerous collateral requirements and short repayment periods are discouraging would-be electric vehicle (EV) buyers and putting a damper on the government’s crusade for green mobility.

Commercial banks are enforcing five-year repayment periods for loans they disburse for the purchase of EVs as opposed to the 10-year periods credit officers grant for other vehicle loans. Banks are also requiring EV buyers to provide additional collateral for long-term loans.

The credit policies contrast with the government’s policy shift favoring EVs, which has prompted some businesses and organizations to begin facilitating bank credit for employees looking to buy electric cars. These buyers cover a certain portion of the cost of the EV upfront, and pay the rest using bank loans.

However, commercial banks have shortened the repayment period for EV loans to five years and heightened collateral requirements, discouraging many who had hoped to buy an electric car using credit. The banks reportedly cite concerns over battery life for their tightened lending terms.

“EV suppliers have guarantees that battery life will last at least eight years, but banks refuse to provide loans for longer than five years,” said a manager at an international NGO based in Addis Ababa. The NGO is working on green energy initiatives and is hoping to buy EVs for its employees.

The lifecycle of EVs equipped with lithium-ion batteries can vary from 8 to 15 years, depending on usage and maintenance, highlighting the need for improved support and understanding of EVs in Ethiopia.

Car importers say that if vehicles are imported directly from manufacturers, they come with warranties of eight to ten years, including battery specifications. However, traders in the market are often unable to offer such guarantees.

The NGO manager observes that repaying loans over the five-year term imposed by banks would cancel out any potential savings on fuel costs.

“The government is campaigning for electric cars but the financing mechanism is not in place. The government’s EV policy is not aligned with financial institutions. It must order banks to create a new policy to finance EVs,” said the manager.

However, a loan officer at the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) argues that financial institutions’ EV loan terms are justified.

“First of all, people are buying EVs because they’re being forced to by the government. Had the government not enacted the ban of fuel cars and made them more expensive, everyone would want to buy a combustion engine vehicle. Second, EV battery life is not guaranteed. Although manufacturers guarantee eight years, since EVs enter Ethiopia some years after the manufacturing date, the battery life is already reduced. The technology is also new and banks do not want to take risks. EVs don’t even have good insurance coverage yet. Therefore, EV buyers must provide additional property as collateral if they want to repay the loan over a 10-year period like they do for other fuel cars,” said the officer.

Despite the government’s ambitious initiatives to boost EV adoption, key stakeholders such as customs, financial institutions, and other public sector actors have yet to fully support these efforts. EVs have only recently been introduced to Ethiopia, and the durability of their batteries is still untested.

There have been around 80,000 EVs shipped into the country thus far, although the government had targeted 100,000 by the end of the year. In comparison, there are close to 1.5 million combustion engine vehicles on Ethiopia’s roads.

Experts point out the high risk associated with EVs, including limited availability of insurance and accessories in the market, leading to greater depreciation and shorter loan terms from banks. Some global data surveys have suggested that hybrids may be more effective than purely electric cars, further complicating the issue.

Still, the government has outlined a ten-year plan to replace gasoline-powered vehicles with electric ones, aiming to deploy over 148,000 domestic EVs and around 5,000 electric buses. This initiative is part of a broader strategy to reduce fuel costs and align with green economic policies, promoting environmental sustainability as the global shift towards electric vehicles continues.

The federal government is preparing an ‘International Crimes Proclamation’ as part of the transitional justice initiative, according to a new document.

The draft ‘Transitional Justice Implementation Roadmap’ indicates that the proclamation, which will be used to address crimes that have been committed during the violence and armed conflicts of the last few years but are not included under Ethiopia’s existing legal frameworks, will be finalized and tabled to Parliament in the coming two months. The crimes in question include crimes against humanity, torture, forced disappearances, gender-based violence (GBV), and war crimes, according to the roadmap.

It asserts the need to refer to international customary law in order to ensure justice for human rights violations and crimes via the preparation of new legislation, which officials say is critical to the implementation of the transitional justice initiative.

The envisaged law will allow the review of crimes retroactively and empower the Federal Supreme Court, Federal High Court, and other transitional justice institutions to exercise their power to investigate and rule over the criminal offenses.

The document reveals that the preparation of other proclamations and regulations necessary for the establishment of the commissions and institutions that will be in charge of implementing transitional justice is also underway.

This includes the establishment proclamation for special courts/benches that will be mandated with reviewing and ruling over transitional justice cases. The legislation will determine the criteria for the selection of judges for the special court branch.

An establishment proclamation for a special attorney general for transitional justice is also in the works. It is expected to lay down the indicators and criteria that will be used to determine whether cases should be reviewed under the initiative. It also defines the criteria for individual and personal jurisdictions to determine involvement in human rights violations. Based on the nature of the cases of transitional justice, this law will determine the kind of investigation to be employed.

The legislation will nullify all forms of immunity, and perpetrators who are based abroad will be extradited to answer for alleged offenses. The law will set terms for cooperation with foreign governments.

The establishment proclamation for the Truth Commission is expected to be ratified in a few months’ time. The Commission will be charged with uncovering truth, determining which cases require justice, pardon, or reconciliation, and executing decisions related to compensation.

Judges, investigators, leaders and experts selected to work in the transitional justice institutions will travel to foreign countries in a bid to extract lessons. These include the criminal courts of Rwanda, where the officials are expected to take part in discussions with judges who participated in the Rwanda genocide inquiries. They will also visit the International Criminal Court (ICC), among other institutions.

The preparation of a comprehensive guide to coordinate transitional justice activities between the federal government and regional administrations is also underway at the Ministry of Justice following the approval of the transitional justice policy by the Council of Ministers last month.

The Ministry is moving to establish the commissions and institutional structures needed to implement the initiatives, as well as two ad hoc institutional mechanisms in the meantime.

The first is the Transitional Justice Ad-hoc Institutional Coordination Mechanism. This will be headed by a committee of 14 leaders pooled from institutions such as Parliament, the ministries of Justice, Finance, Women and Social Affairs, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The Human Rights directorate at the Justice Ministry will serve as the secretariat.

The second is the Transitional Justice Standing Institutional Coordination Mechanism, which will be led by a 13-member committee drawn from the same institutions in addition civil society organizations and manpower from the upcoming commissions and institutions.

These ad hoc institutional mechanisms will oversee the formation of the transitional justice commissions and institutions, resolve any clash of roles among them, and ensure complementary, mutually supportive coordination.

They are slated to last only for the coming five months, until the transitional justice commissions and institutions are established and take over their mandates.

The roadmap indicates a list of all the new legislations, commissions, institutions and tasks required for the transitional justice implementation and the timeline. According to the timeline, most of the tasks at the preparation phase are scheduled for completion by the second quarter of the 2024/25 fiscal year.

The government is also planning to establish a central archive system to store the documents and confidential records from the transitional justice process in one place.

There are also plans to establish a Transitional Justice Museum at the Justice Ministry headquarters.

The shareholders of Ahadu Bank breathe a sigh of relief as it records its first ever profits before taxes and other deductibles of over 175 million birr two years after it kicked off operations.

The Bank’s operating income surged to 1.15 million birr, reflecting sustained growth in banking activities while diversified revenue streams contributed significantly to its performance.

“The Bank’s commitment to financial inclusion, strong partnerships, and collaborations with stakeholders as well as deployment of digital technology has been instrumental in its success helping it mobilize 4.6 billion Birr in deposits, reflecting the trust and confidence of its valued customers,” said Sefialem Liben, president of Ahadu Bank.

Ahadu managed to increase its paid-up capital to 1.03 billion birr, far short of the five billion birr minimum threshold that regulators at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) expect all banks to meet before the deadline in June 2026.

Ahadu’s assets have grown to the value of 6.3 billion birr as the Bank expands its reach with 104 branches across the country, providing service to more than 700,000 customers.

“Our performance is astonishing given the challenging business environment, in a particularly difficult fiscal year, during which we remained committed to delivering exceptional financial products with excellent customer service, which paid off remarkably,” said Sefialem.

Among the difficulties mentioned by the President is the 14 percent growth cap enforced by the NBE.

“It had a detrimental impact on new banks like Ahadu with a small outstanding loan portfolio,” said Sefialem.

Ahadu Bank looks forward to continuing its growth trajectory guided by a five year-strategic plan and a business model focusing on business growth, human capital, agile operational platforms, customer-centric operating model, and ESG commitment contributing to the national economy.

Ahadu Bank was established in 2022 and currently employs more than 865 people.

“Sudan hasn’t paid its electricity bills for the third year now,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) told Parliament on Thursday.

Senior officers at the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) confirmed to The Reporter that receivables from Khartoum have topped USD 90 million. Nonetheless, they say the utility provider will continue supplying energy to Sudan.

Overdue electricity bills were not the only time the PM brought up Sudan on Thursday, as Abiy briefed lawmakers on the status of border disputes with the neighboring country.

“Ethiopia is not willing to solve the disputes through violence and will continue supplying electrical power to Sudan despite its inability to pay,” said the PM.

He stated that his administration is unwilling to take advantage of Sudan’s misfortunes and will take risks to ensure peace in Sudan while adhering to the principle of non-intervention. He said that the peace-loving people of Sudan deserve peace.

Last month, the AU announced that Addis Ababa will play host to an all-inclusive political dialogue centered around war-torn Sudan for five days beginning July 10, 2024. Ugandan President Museveni has been charged with facilitating the talks between the heads of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to reach a ceasefire agreement in “the shortest possible time.”

More than 14,000 people are thought to have been killed in Sudan since the brutal civil war broke out in April 2023, with thousands more injured, and more than 10 million people displaced, making it the worst internal displacement crisis in the world, according to the UN.

Heads of the Tigray Interim Administration (TIA) have called on Parliament to facilitate the recovery of nearly 20 billion birr in undisbursed budgetary funding withheld over a 17-month period during the northern war.

The budget was among a range of issues raised by TIA officials during discussions with lawmakers and the Ministry of Finance on June 26, 2024.

“Tigray has no representatives in federal institutions, including the two houses of Parliament. Therefore, we haven’t been able to make our voices heard in any of the decisions being made regarding Tigray,” said Desta Bezabih, a TIA representative.

The Ministry of Finance earmarked 13 billion birr for the Tigray region in the 2024/25 budget proposal tabled to Parliament last week. Representatives from the regional state, however, contend the figure is not nearly enough.

Some 130,000 civil servants in Tigray have gone without pay for the last year and a half, according to the TIA, which estimates the pay backlog to equal 1.2 billion birr a month, or more than 20 billion birr in total.

As all capital projects and government activity have ceased in Tigray since the war, civil servants have had no choice but to sit idle and wait for pay, according to TIA representatives. They lay the blame on the federal government for refusing to disburse budgets meant for Tigray.

The Reporter has previously covered the cutoff of budgetary disbursals to Tigray based on a letter from the House of Federation, which contended that Tigray was not a member of the Federation during the two-year conflict.

“When we requested the federal government to disburse the war time budget for Tigray, it introduced a new law that prevented us from placing such requests. The federal government said the case could only be solved through the constitution. We are currently in court proceedings at the Constitutional Inquiry Commission,” said Desta.

However, the drawn out proceedings have forced the TIA to request parliamentary intervention.

Lawmakers did not make any comments on the TIA request during a session held on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Getachew Reda, president of the interim administration, has moved to bar petitions for unpaid salaries following public demonstrations by unpaid workers in Tigray and mounting pressure on the TIA.

A letter signed by Getachew authorizes the extension of a six-month embargo on salary claims, imposing it for another six months. The extension is a bid to find a solution to the financial crisis gripping the war-torn region. The letter mentioned that the ban on court proceedings regarding salary claims was requested by the regional bureaus of Industry and Finance.

TIA officials have also asked lawmakers to revise the federal subsidy budget allocation formula for regional states.

“We’ve already tabled our request to the Ministry of Finance officially. However, we are not sure who would make the decision to restructure the formula ratio,” said Desta.

The House of Federation calculates federal subsidies to regional administration based on population, revenue potential, and development needs. The federal government and regional states share revenues based on a certain ratio portioning as part of a procedure introduced a few years ago.

“Tigray is not the same as it was four years ago. Therefore, the federal government cannot use the regular budget formula for today’s Tigray. Today, the TIA is governing a region that has no revenues. Four years ago, Tigray achieved all its SDG targets. Today, all of them are at zero. How can these targets be achieved with normal-time intervention? The baseline for everything in Tigray is reversed and has to resume from scratch. The budget allocation formula for Tigray must also be restructured,” said Desta.

Eyob Tekalign (PhD), a state minister of Finance, commented on the request.

“In addition to Tigray, other regions have also requested for the restructuring of the budget formula. We know the existing formula is old. So it needs change. The House of Federation, as well as the standing committee for Budget, Finance and Planning are discussing the possibilities for restructuring the formula. It can only be revised by the House of Federation. The Finance Ministry’s mandate is to allocate budgets to regions based on directions from the House of Federation,” said Eyob.

TIA officials told MPs that inflation continues to pose a challenge in Tigray.

“People are migrating to look for work. The federal government must resume its projects [in Tigray],” said a TIA representative.

Heads of the National Disaster Risk Management Commission presented a report titled “From aid recipient to productivity for national sovereignty and freedom” to senior officials from various ministries this week.

In it, they assert the need for sourcing 1.5 million metric tons of emergency food assistance and an additional half a million tons for the national food security reserve to manage humanitarian issues throughout the country. The figures represent the volume of food the government is looking to source domestically, and do not include forecasts for external aid donations.

The report reveals the Somali region is in need of 358,000 tons of the total, while Oromia requires 351,000 tons, a further 290,000 tons for the Amhara region, and 184,500 tons for Tigray, among others.

The document states that regional administrations must cover a portion of the needs, and at any time, keep reserves for emergencies.

Regional states hosting more than 26,000 IDPs are slated for priority in the distribution of emergency assistance from national reserves, according to the Commission.

The document proposes the cultivation of over 250,000 hectares of farmland to meet the huge humanitarian needs. It also highlights the need for non-food aid items, including 400,000 aid kits. Half of these are slated for distribution while the other half are to be kept in reserve. The kits include equipment for cooking food, clothing, and shelter.

Officials aspire to see domestic resource capabilities grow to address all humanitarian needs independently by 2030.

Self-sufficiency in aid and shifting towards productivity, is the new theme imbedded in Ethiopia’s disaster risk management policy, which is recently approved.

“Ensuring self-sufficiency in aid, is realizing national sovereignty and honor,” Shiferaw Teklemariam (PhD), commissioner of NDRMC, told the officials.

The Board requires a full list of members to determine the distribution of budgetary support to legally registered political parties, in line with the ‘Electoral, Political Parties’ Registration, and Electoral Ethics’ Proclamation. Budget allocation is based on the size of a party’s membership pool and other factors, such as the inclusion of women and persons with disabilities.

An NEBE statement released this week reveals that 11 of the country’s 21 registered parties have failed to verify membership lists with highly exaggerated figures regarding women and persons with disabilities, with some parties claiming up to 900,000 such members.

The figures are significantly higher than those reported over the last three years, according to the Board.

The inconsistencies led the Board to call for a resubmission of full and accurate information for memberships held by women and persons with disabilities in March this year. Only 10 registered parties complied with the order.

Among the parties that failed to submit updated information are the Prosperity Party, Ethiopian Democratic Union, Ethiopian Social Democratic Party, Amhara National Movement, Ogaden National Liberation Front, Raya Rayuma Democratic Party, Wolayita National Movement, Gambella National Democratic Movement, Arena Tigray for Democracy and Sovereignty, Mocha Democratic Party, and the Ethiopian National Unity Party.

Andom Gebreselassie, public relations head for Arena Tigray for Democracy and Sovereignty, told The Reporter the inaccuracies were due to difficulties in obtaining the names and photos of members affected by displacement in the Tigray region.

“The members must be clearly visible with a photo and name list. It is not possible to reach all the members. Because of this problem, it was not possible to obtain accurate names and photos,” said Andom. “We’re working to organize displaced people in the region.”

Simon Tutu of the Gambella National Democratic Movement told The Reporter that a clerical error had made its way into the party’s initial membership report.

“We registered 7,292 women in our party, but one zero was added to the figure due to a typing error, so the final report read 72,920. The Election Board has accepted the correction,” he said.

Simon also indicated that security issues near and around the patry’s head office in the Gambella region have been an obstacle.

The Election Board has threatened to take administrative action based on provisions set out in the Election proclamation if the parties fail to submit accurate membership information within a week.

The Tour Operator Association has demanded that the tourism sector, considered an export industry, should be exempted from paying value added tax (VAT) and excluded from the upcoming VAT proclamation.

The appeal came during a discussion session on the upcoming tax legislation with the parliamentary standing committee for Planning, Budget and Finance earlier this week.

The president of the Association called on the government to support tourism as part of its economic reform agenda, and argued that imposing VAT on tour operators would further strain the already struggling sector.

“Imposing VAT on tour operators will increase the cost of services, making it difficult to attract tourists,” said the head of the lobby group. Highlighting Ethiopia’s previous standing of 122nd out of 140 countries in the World Economic Forum Tourism and Travel rankings, he expressed concern that the country’s current situation might push it out of competition in 2024. He estimated it could take five to 10 years for Ethiopia to re-establish itself in the international tourism market.

The draft looks to charge tour operators VAT for the activities and services that their customers take part in while moving around the country.

Fikresilassie Admase, a representative from another tour operators association, echoed the calls for tax exemption, suggesting the adoption of a ‘tour operator margin skim system’ used in other countries instead. He emphasized that the tourism sector generates valuable foreign currency for the country and should be nurtured rather than taxed.

MPs also deliberated on plans to impose taxes on utilities such as electricity and water, as well as on digital financial transactions.

The draft proclamation proposes to set a threshold for tax-free electricity use, whereby households that go over the limit would be taxed based on how many extra kilowatts of power they have consumed. The experts who prepared the draft argue this provision aims to alleviate the financial burden on low-income households.

Wasihun Abate, an advisor to the Ministry of Finance, said the goal is to grow government tax revenues without burdening low income individuals and households. Accordingly, fintech providers such as Telebirr and its peers will be exempt from taxes while other financial service providers such as Eth-switch will be required to pay VAT.

The tax will also apply to transport service providers, with the exception of three-wheeled vehicles (bajaj).

The discussions also touched on the taxation of services provided from outside the country. The proclamation proposes that tech-linked business-to-business services will be subject to reverse taxation, where the company registered in Ethiopia will bear the burden of taxes. It also looks to oblige foreign companies that provide services to consumers in Ethiopia to register here and pay taxes.

The draft places VAT obligations on the premiums paid on life insurance products.

Eyob Tekalign (PhD), a state minister for Finance, told MPs the goal was to raise VAT contribution to government tax revenues to at least four percent. He also said the Ministry had taken a step back from its responsibilities in the approval of tax exemption requests.

“The Ministry has the power to grant tax exemptions, but its decisions have been altered and reversed by other institutions. Therefore, we believe any decision relating to tax exemptions should be carried out by the Council of Ministers from here on,” said Eyob.