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Tag: ADDIS ABABA

  • IATA forecast $300m loss for African carriers in 2019

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast bleak outing  for Nigeria and African airlines in 2019  affirming that the  continent’s carriers are expected to report a $300 million net loss .

    The projected loss is a slight improvement of $400 million net loss recorded in 2018.

    Director-General of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac made the disclosure at the global IATA Media Day at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva in a paper titled, “Cautious optimism extends into 2019 airlines heading for a decade in the black”.

    He said the precarious situation makes Africa the weakest region as it has been over the past four years, stressing that performance is improving but only slowly.

    His words, “Losses are expected to be cut in 2019 as fuel prices decreases. The region benefits from higher-than-average yields and lower operating costs in some categories. However, few airlines in the region are able to achieve adequate load factors to generate profits.”

    This is coming as the clearing house for global airlines has criticized the stoppage of airport projects under construction, describing it as an ‘extreme case’.

    He listed Lagos, London, Addis Ababa, Sao Paulo, New York, Frankfurt, Bangkok and Sydney as some of the aerodromes in the world with huge bottlenecks in terms of capacity leading to slow passenger facilitation.

    Ironically, while African airlines are expected to lose $300 million in 2019, other region’ carriers’ in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Latin America are to post $16.6billion; $7.4billion; $10.4 billion; $800 million and $700 million net profits respectively in 2019.

    He urged governments in these countries to help decongest airports adding that it is a shame to waste the investment already made, citing the example of Mexico City where the new Mexican government is backtracking on constructing a critically needed hub airport.

    Speaking on planned airport privatization in Nigeria and other countries, de Juniac lamented that airlines have many bitter disappointments with airport privatization/concession.

    He recalled that IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in June held in Sydney unanimously passed a resolution urging governments to be cautious, stressing that there is lack of transparency in the transaction process and influence from unsolicited proposals, interested private parties or financiers.

    It would be recalled that Nigeria is at the verge of concessioning many of the airports across the country starting with those in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port-Harcourt, with claim by government that it had scarce resources to run the facilities.

    Meanwhile, the government had slowed down on the exercise with many wondering how it intends to drive it and ensure good regulatory framework for the exercise so that it would be a win-win gain for airlines, consumers and other airport users.

    He said : ” There are already many airport concessions across the world but they frequently suffer from a wide range of issues across the concession life cycle.

    “Experience has shown that while these contracts are negotiated between the government and the concessionaire, there is a risk that the interests of these contracting parties can take precedence over those of other stakeholders including airline customers of the airport, the passengers which use the airport and rely on quality services at fair prices, as well as the wider community and the economic benefits the airports supports.

    “We expect there to be many more concession contracts coming as new airport infrastructure is built to support traffic growth needs in various regions especially the Far East so it is very important the improvements are made to the concession setting process”, he added.

    Historically airport concessions he said have suffered from unduly long and arbitrary concession lengths, adding that it can be for the benefit of the government with higher concession fees and longer term returns for the concessionaire.

    He cited example of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris where they are seeing a concession length of 70 years being proposed. Sydney Airport he noted was privatized in 2002 with a long-term lease of 50 years plus a 49 year option for extension.

    Speaking in the same vein, Director, Government and Infrastructure, Delloitte, Dorian Reece in her presentation, “Airport Privation: Focus on concession”, said, “We have seen many examples of very high concession fees; where a large proportion of the gross revenue of the airport is diverted to the government and not necessarily reinvested back into aviation”.

    “This of course puts substantial pressure on charges increases and/or resistance invest in needed infrastructure. The bad practices cannot continue for the overall interest of aviation. A balanced concession is a new approach that defines new ways of developing and delivering an airport concession based on a wider stakeholder perspective than typically used’, he stated.

     

  • Ethiopia deal means ‘state of war is over’ – Minister

    An agreement signed on Monday between the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea means the state of war between the neighbours has ended, Eritrea’s Information Minister said.

    The deal signed in Eritrea’s capital a day after a summit between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afkwerki states that the “State of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end,” Yemane Gebremeskel wrote on Twitter.

    Direct international telephone connection has been restored between Ethiopia and Eritrea “for the first time after two decades”, an Ethiopian official said.

    The meeting was the first of its kind between the leaders of the two neighbours and bitter rivals in the Horn of Africa, who went to war with each other and broke off diplomatic relations in 1998.

    UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet Prime Minister Ahmed on Monday evening in Addis Ababa.

    UN sources in the Ethiopian capital said, the meeting comes the day after Ethiopia and Eritrea heralded an end to a near 20-year military standoff.

    Abiy and Afkwerki announced they would re-open their embassies in each other’s capitals, hailing a stunningly swift rapprochement between bitter regional enemies.

    The two leaders personally symbolised the breakthrough, embracing warmly and swaying side by side to live traditional music at a lavish state dinner in the Eritrean capital.

    The talks were the product of an unexpected peace initiative by Ethiopia’s new reformist Ahmed, which could transform the Horn of Africa region, ending decades of animosity during which both countries remained isolated and dominated by their security forces.

    Eritrea’s long-time leaderAfwerki welcomed Ahmed at Asmara’s airport in the morning before they departed for the State House for talks that lasted all day.

    Read Also: Ethiopia needs $7.5bn to drive industrialization – PM

    The men exchanged hands and a hug there, before departing for the State House for talks. Along the way, they were cheered by thousands of Eritreans who flooded the streets and waved flags of both Ethiopia and Eritrea.

    The two embraced again at the state dinner, hosted by Isaias and broadcast on both countries’ state television.

    The meeting was the first of its kind between leaders of the two Horn of Africa neighbours since their war of 1998 to 2000 in which around 80,000 people died.

    Eritrea achieved independence from Ethiopia amicably in 1993 but the two countries swiftly became bitter enemies.

    However, the sides did not make clear whether the most immediate issue — Abiy’s pledge to finally implement all terms of a 2000 peace deal with Eritrea — had been addressed.

    In early June, Ethiopia announced it would honour all the terms of the 2000 peace deal, suggesting it might be ready to settle the border dispute.

    Eritrea responded positively, sending a delegation to Addis Ababa for a meeting at which Abiy announced that Ethiopian Airlines would resume flights to Eritrea.

    Abiy, a 41-year-old former intelligence officer who took office in April, is pushing other bold reforms to open Ethiopia up to the outside world after decades of security-obsessed isolation.

    He has pardoned dissidents, lifted a state of emergency and pledged to partly privatise key state-owned firms.

    Across the border, Eritrea is one of the world’s most isolated and repressive nations and has long used the Ethiopian threat to justify hefty military spending and long-term military conscription, which has caused hundreds of thousands of young men to flee, mostly to Europe.

  • Ethiopia’s state of emergency to last six months

    Ethiopia’s state of emergency to last six months

    The Ethiopian Minister of Defense, Siraj Fegessa, said on Saturday that a state of emergency imposed on the country after the prime minister resigned would last six months.

    “Ethiopia bans protests and publications that incite violence during emergency rule.

    “There are still pockets of areas where violence is prevalent. The (ruling EPRDF coalition‘s) council were unanimous in their decision,” Reuters quoted Fegessa as saying to journalists at a press briefing.

    Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced his surprise resignation in a televised speech on Thursday, saying he wanted to smooth the way for further reforms.

    Since January, Ethiopia has released over 6,000 prisoners charged with taking part in mass protests and, in some cases, offences against the state.

    It has also closed down a jail where activists alleged torture took place.

    Many of the prisoners took part in anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016 in Amhara and Oromiya, the country’s two most populous provinces.

    The demonstrations began against a government plan to expand the capital Addis Ababa but morphed into greater demands for civil rights.

    The government previously imposed a state of emergency in October 2016, which was lifted in August 2017.

     

  • Ethiopia has no plans for martial law – official

    Ethiopia has no plans for martial law – official

    Ethiopia has no plans to impose martial law in the wake of the resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, an official said on Friday.

    Negeri Lencho, Minister of Ethiopia Government Communication Affairs Office, said a speculation about martial law was groundless and unfounded.

    “Martial law won’t be a solution to people’s economic and democratic demands, and those, who speculate that martial law will be imposed don’t understand the legal framework under which it will be issued,” he said.

    Ethiopia had declared martial law in October 2016 in the wake of widespread protests in parts of the two most populous regional states of Amhara and Oromia.

    Read Also: Ethiopia ’s Prime Minister resigns

    The martial law was lifted in August 2017, after the easing of protests.

    The unrest in 2016 led to the deaths of hundreds and was dubbed by analysts as the gravest challenge the ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, faced in 25 years.

    However, sporadic deadly protests especially in Amhara and Oromia regional states in recent months have renewed fears about Ethiopia’s stability, East Africa’s largest economy.

    Protesters accuse the central government based in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa of marginalising their political and economic demands.

    NAN

     

  • Ethiopia’s Prime Minister resigns

    Ethiopia’s Prime Minister resigns

    Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said on Thursday he had submitted his resignation as both premier and the chairman of the ruling coalition in an effort to facilitate reforms following a period of mass unrest.

    Hundreds of people have died in violence sparked initially by an urban development plan for the capital Addis Ababa.

    The unrest spread in 2015 and 2016 as demonstrations against political restrictions and human rights abuses broke out.

    “Unrest and a political crisis have led to the loss of lives and displacement of many,” Hailemariam said in a televised address to the nation.

    Read Also: Ethiopia‘s Academy graduates 14 aircraft maintenance technicians

    “… I see my resignation as vital in the bid to carry out reforms that would lead to sustainable peace and democracy,” he said.

    Hailemariam said he would stay on as prime minister in a caretaker capacity until the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the country’s parliament accepted his resignation and named a new premier.

    NAN

  • Buhari returns to Abuja after AU Summit

    Buhari returns to Abuja after AU Summit

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday returned to Abuja after a successful outing at the 30th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was conferred as the anti-corruption Champion.

    The theme of the 30th AU Summit was; “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation.’’

    The President’s aircraft landed at the presidential wing of the Nnamdi International Airport Abuja at about 2.20p.m.

    The Chief of Staff to the President, Malam Abba Kyari, Inspector-General of Police Idris Ibrahim, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Musa Bello, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr Ahmed Abubakar and other presidential aides were at the airport to welcome the President.

    President Buhari had on Jan. 27 started his four-day engagement in Addis Ababa when he joined 14 other members of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union to discuss conflict and crisis situations across the continent.

    PSC is a standing organ of the AU for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts.

    The meeting discussed the persistence of violent conflicts and crisis situations in some parts of the continent, the upsurge of Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs ) and refugees, climate change and its consequences as well as the issue of the derailment of national development programmes.

    The meeting also reviewed the situations in Somalia, South Sudan, Libya, Guinea Bissau, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

    At the meeting, President Buhari had stressed the need to curb the flow of terrorism financing.

    The President, who spoke under the theme, “Towards a Comprehensive Approach to Combat the Transnational Threat to Terrorism”, maintained that “concerted efforts must be made to dismantle the network between transnational organised crimes and terrorist organisations, and also to block the payment of ransom to terrorist groups.

    Buhari expressed Nigeria’s grave concern over the increasing threats posed by transnational terrorism and the attendant humanitarian crisis.

    The president also condemned in the strongest terms the continued activities of the terrorist groups in Africa, and around the world and called for more concerted action by the African body and the international community to address the global scourge.

    According to him, in doing that, the conditions that are conducive to the spread of extremism, radicalisation and terrorism must first be addressed.

    He added that collaborative measures must be taken to disrupt the recruitment of terrorists, their financing networks and the movement of foreign fighters.

    Read Also:  Don’t ignore Obasanjo’s letter, ex-NANS president tells  Buhari

    Buhari disclosed that Nigeria had enacted domestic anti-terrorism laws that also deal with related issues such as kidnapping, drug peddling and gun-running.

    He, however, noted  “terrorism cannot be defeated only through military force and law enforcement measures.

    While formally launching the African Anti-Corruption Year 2018 during the Opening Ceremony of the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union on Sunday, Buhari described corruption as “one of the greatest evils of our time.’’

    The President thanked his African colleagues for entrusting him with such a noble responsibility.

    He pledged to do his best “to ensure that the anti-corruption agenda receive the attention it deserves and make the impact we all hope for, during 2018 and beyond.”

    He said: “Corruption is indeed one of the greatest evils of our time. Corruption rewards those who do not play by the rules and also creates a system of distortion and diversion thereby destroying all efforts at constructive, just and fair governance.’’

    The President, who noted that Africa had made some significant strides in enacting legal and policy frameworks such as the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) to address the vice, said the desired impact had been lacking.

    “Fifteen (15) years after the adoption of the African Union Convention, 2018 provides a good starting point to take stock of progress made so far, assess what still needs to be done and devise new strategies to address new corruption challenges,” he said.

    President Buhari and ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo had exchange pleasantries briefly before the opening ceremony of the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

    Their contact marked the first time both men met since the controversial special letter released by Obasanjo criticizing Buhari’s administration and advising him not to seek re-election in 2019.

    The latest reaction to Obasanjo’s letter came from a serving Minister of Communications, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, who on Monday, advised the former president to allow Nigerians to determine Buhari’s eligibility or otherwise to re-contest the presidential election in 2019.

    Shittu told State House correspondents in an interview that, “Obasanjo as a Nigerian has the right to hold an opinion.

    According to him, if Obasanjo holds an opinion that Mr President has performed less than it should be, those of us who are in the position to know better has a right to also state the other side, which perhaps Obasanjo is ignorant of.

    “You see, there are some people who enjoy engaging in sensationalism.

    “With due respect to General Obasanjo, if you take his history over the last 30 years, there is hardly any regime other than his own that he did not criticize except Sani Abacha, who didn’t wait for Obasanjo to criticize him before he was sent to the gulag.

    “So many Nigerians know that Obasanjo enjoys this type of sensationalisation’’.

    President Buhari also attended the closing ceremony of the summit on Monday where the African Union inaugurated the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

    NAN

  • Buhari urges establishment of single market in Africa to create jobs.

    Buhari urges establishment of single market in Africa to create jobs.

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday canvassed for the speedy establishment of a single, unified market in Africa to increase trade, create more jobs and reduce poverty.

    The President made the call while presenting Nigeria’s position in favour of the Report on the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and related issues presented by President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic.

    Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said the president made the presentation during the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    President Buhari said: “It is Nigeria’s position that as African leaders and principal architects of our Union, we must now speed up action to conclude the negotiations and establish the CFTA.”

    He noted that the continent had missed the timeline set by the African Union (AU) in Jan. 2012 to establish the CFTA in 2017.

    The President, however, stated that African leaders still had the opportunity to set it up by March 2018.

    While justifying Nigeria’s vote for the CFTA, the President said: “In a rapidly changing global economy, with much uncertainty, we believe that the establishment of a CFTA would provide Africa with tremendous opportunity to achieve significant growth driven by intra-African trade.”

    Read Also: 2019: Senate to confront Buhari on order of polls

    According to him, while the stakes in setting up CFTA are no doubt very high, the benefits are wide-ranging and significant.

    “The primary objective is economic namely, for trade in goods and services on the continent.

    “A single, unified market would lead to a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement amongst African Union Member States.

    “If we integrate Africa’s market for trade in goods and services, we will not only double intra-African trade, but also negotiate with other regions or continents on trade matters,’’ he said.

    President Buhari argued further that, “If we increase our trade, we grow faster, create more jobs and reduce poverty. Thus, with CFTA, our continent will be more integrated, united and prosperous.”

    According to him, the CFTA will carry significant welfare gains associated with increased production, consumption and revenue.

    He said it would also generate more economic growth, enhance efficiency and support enterprise and innovation.

    The Nigerian leader urged his African colleagues to also look beyond the economic benefits of the CFTA, stressing that it would be another step in uniting Africa and consolidating the architecture of the African Union.

    He said: “The establishment of the CFTA is also the first step for the African Union in the implementation of “Agenda 2063” for the socio-economic transformation of the continent as well as being a building block in the achievement of the goals of the 1991 Abuja Treaty on the African Economic Community.”

    Buhari commended President Issoufou on his role as the “AU Champion for the CFTA”, whose work “has significantly advanced our goal to conclude and launch the CFTA.’’

    He also lauded the technical support provided by the AU Commission, with Nigeria serving as the Chair of the Negotiating Forum and Chairperson of the AU Ministers of Trade.

    While considering the huge benefits of the CFTA, the President said Nigeria welcomed the idea and called on AU Member States to lend their strategic support without delay.

    NAN

  • AU unveils plaque inaugurating single African air transport market

    AU unveils plaque inaugurating single African air transport market

    The African Union ( AU ) on Monday inaugurated the Single African Air Transport Market ( SAATM ) in the framework of the ongoing 30th AU summit in Ethiopia’s Capital Addis Ababa.

    President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who is the current chair of the 55-member African bloc, and Moussa Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, unveiled the plaque on the premises of the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, marking the inauguration of the SAATM.

    The SAATM is a flagship project of AU Agenda 2063, which aspires to create a single unified air transport market in Africa, the liberalisation of civil aviation in Africa and as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration agenda.

    According to the AU, the launch of SAATM is expected to spur more opportunities to promote trade, cross-border investments in the production and service industries including tourism, resulting in the creation of an additional 300,000 direct and two million indirect jobs.

    READ ALSO: ISGPP to host seminar on economy

    In order to move the continent forward towards the concrete implementation of the AU Agenda 2063, the 24th Assembly of Head of States and Government, which took place between Jan. 30 and Jan. 31, 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, adopted the Declaration on the Establishment of a SAATM.

    Eleven African Member States championed the Declaration by signing the Solemn Commitment to actualise the Yamoussoukro Decision creating the single market.

    These Member States were constituted as a Ministerial Working Group with the responsibility to follow-up implementation progress, provide guidance, and spearhead the advocacy campaign to urge more Member States to join the single market.

    In May 2016, the AUC wrote to those States that have signed the Solemn Commitment to highlight a number of concrete measures for them to undertake to initiate operationalisation of the single air transport market in the continent as soon as possible.

    Among these measures, each State is required to officially publish in accordance with its national regulations or gazette that they are committed to the immediate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision under the terms of the Declaration of Solemn Commitment in line with the AU Agenda 2063.

    NAN

  • Buhari congratulates Super Eagles over victory against Angola

    Buhari congratulates Super Eagles over victory against Angola

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday  congratulated the Super Eagles on the spectacular 2-1 win over Angola in the CHAN quarter-final match in Morocco.
    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, said that the President watched the match in his hotel room in Addis Ababa after a long day of meetings.
    The President, he said, wished the team the very best in the upcoming matches.
  • Photos: Buhari departs Abuja for Addis Ababa

    Photos: Buhari departs Abuja for Addis Ababa

    President Buhari departs Abuja for Addis Ababa to attend 30th AU Summit on Friday.