Irrecha festival is taking place here in the Ethiopian Capital, Mayor of the Addis Ababa City, Adanech Abebe, has reminded that Irrecha is a festivity of ‘love and peace.’ It thus fosters solidarity.
Taking place in Addis Ababa for the third consecutive year, this thanksgiving festival is becoming another tourism attraction, Adanech noted adding, celebration of Irrecha in the greener and brighter season of Ethiopia, symbolizes the coming of optimistic future.
Oromia Region President, Shimeles Abdissa, on his part said, ‘Mogassa’ and ‘Gudifecha i.e., inclusiveness and adoption, are magnificent traditional practices of the Oromo to be revered by humankind.
The third Irrecha peace forum has also been held. This year’s celebration of Irrecha continues for the coming few days. (FBC)
#########
Ethiopia Airlines To Support Single African Air Transport Market Policy
Ethiopian Airlines has reiterated that the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) policy would give the carriers from the continent the opportunity to dominate the continent’s sky.
Esayas WolderMariam, the Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said that the management would continue to spearhead the implementation of SAATM for the continent.
“SAATM gives opportunity to African airlines to dominate African skies. Right now, from Africa to the world and from the world to Africa, our airlines constitute only 3 percent of the total aviation market by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and 80 percent of that 3 percent is operated by non-African airlines, while only 20 percent is left for us. But, with SAATM, we would dominate the African traffic,”Esayas said.
He expressed that airlines on the continent would work with each other once SAATM comes into force, adding, the Ethiopian Government commenced online visa processing for travelers, while visa on arrival for all Africans was also available. (Independent)
########
Kale Heywot Church donates 16 mln ETB to IDPs in South Wollo Zone
Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church Development Commission has donated over 16 Million Birr to Internally Displaced People (IDP) sheltered in several camps in South Wollo Zone, Amhara region.
Commission Head, Abrham Alambo said the donation has been delivered to 9,000 internally displaced people. Recipients of the support are IDPs in Kutaber, Meqdela, Kalu and Ambassel woredas of South Wollo Zone, according to Abrham.
Donation includes 400 quintals of powder, 200 quintals of beans, 154 quintals of nutritious foods and 9,000 liters of edible oil, Ambrham indicated. (FBC)
#######
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health signs MoU with Response Plus Holdings
The Ministry of Health as well as the Job Creation Commission (JCC) of Ethiopia signed a trilateral MoU with the UAE-based Response Plus Holdings PJSC.
The MoU seeks to enhance job opportunities for Ethiopian professionals in the UAE.
Lia said, “This would immensely help the professionals from Ethiopia, especially from the medical field, to enhance their knowledge and gain experience in the most modern and internationally accredited hospitals of the UAE.”
This collaboration begins with Response Plus Holdings PJSC employing 200 plus nursing professionals (in a phased manner) in various top-level hospitals.
Major Tom Louis, CEO of Response Plus Holdings PJSC, said, “Providing employment to these professionals is just for one of the areas of our collaboration with the Ministry of Health and JCC of Ethiopia. Response Plus Holdings is also in the process of establishing its office in Ethiopia to support the Ministry of Health’s efforts to improve tertiary care, emergency services as well as human resource development in the country as per international standards.” (Gulf news)
Somalia opens nation’s 1st public oxygen plant amid pandemic
Somalia has opened the country’s first public oxygen plant as the Horn of Africa nation with one of the world’s weakest health systems combats COVID-19
The oxygen plant was installed Thursday at a hospital in the capital, Mogadishu It is expected to produce 1,000 cylinders of oxygen a week.
The scarcity of medical oxygen has hurt response efforts across many African nations as the delta variant of the coronavirus now drives the bulk of infections on the continent of 1.3 billion people.
“When we have people in the hospitals for COVID, the most important component is oxygen,” said Fawziya Abikar, Somalia’s health minister. “During the last months, we had a shortage of oxygen in all the city.” Another such plant will be donated soon, she said. This one was purchased by the Hormuud Salaam Foundation, the charitable arm of Hormuud Telecom. Part of the work around the oxygen plant’s installation focused on repairing that damage.
(The Independent)
#####
Kenya Airways to seek more loan deferrals as it awaits nationalization
Kenya Airways will need to ask its lenders for more deferrals of capital repayments as it waits for parliament to approve its planned nationalization, CEO Allan Kilavuka tells The Africa Report ahead of the AFRICA CEO FORUM Digital Edition where he will be a speaker.
The airline has been paying interest only on its loans. “So far lenders have been understanding,” Kilavuka says in Nairobi, adding that he expects they will continue to give support.
The government owns 48.9 percent of the airline, with a consortium of lenders holding 38 percent and Air France-KLM 7.8 percent. The bill to nationalise the airline has passed parliament on its first and second readings, but still needs to be read a third time. Kilavuka says that the bill has not been given priority, and that he doesn’t know when the third reading will take place. “Nationalisation is not a panacea, or an end in itself,” he says. “It’s only part of the reform process.”
The proposed nationalisation would bring together Kenya Airways and the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) under a single holding company, the Kenya Aviation Corporation.
