TIRET October 2012 Issue

October 2012Free Copy

The MIDROC Ethiopia Group Corporate Magazine

IN FOCUSAwassa Chip WoodFactory: RedefiningConstruction inEthiopia...pp.34

WRITER’SCOLUMNNani Building:The Gem of AddisBy Omer Red...pp.44

NMiC’s New GoldDiscoveries...pp.56

ASCENDINGHEIGHTS OFSUCCESS

DOING IT OTHERWISEA Leap to PersonalGreatness by UncoveringThe True SelfBy Dr. Selam Aklilu...pp.52

The state of transposition, transformation and transitionfrom past to present and future.... pp.28The state of transposition, transformation and transitionfrom past to present and future.... pp.28

Change & ChangeManagementChange & ChangeManagement

New ColumnAscendingHeights of

Success

TireT October 2012 1

Chairman’s Message

It has always been my dream to participate in the development of Ethiopia in the biggest way possible. This possibility has been created by the Ethiopian Government and its visionary leader, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. I am heart-broken by his passing.

My Investment Group, MIDROC Ethiopia, has entered into multi-sectoral and huge investments never seen before. In the manufacturing sector, Derba-MIDROC Cement is one of a kind in the East African Region. I believe Derba-MIDROC Cement, not only overwhelm the supply of cement but also shattered the backbone of cement shortage in the fast growing construction sector of Ethiopia. The upcoming Toussa Steel in the Kombolcha area will also be a significant addition into the metallurgical industry of Ethiopia.

The discoveries of large gold reserves by my Mining Companies are only telling about the various untapped mineral potentials of the country. Venturing into the natural gas, petroleum and coal exploration and development is not beyond the reach and scope of MIDROC Ethiopia. The other most important natural resources of the country are the availability of suitable agricultural land and water.

It is my earnest wish, as it has always been Prime Minister Meles’s target, to see a relatively prosperous Ethiopia where poverty and food insecurity will be in the realm of history. In the bid to cope up with the food deficit situation with which this country has grappled for so long, determined as I am, I have earmarked billions of Birr to the agricultural sector of the economy.

We are currently engaged in massive agriculture food production establishing two large companies; Horizon Plantation Plc and Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, for the introduction and development of state of the art commercial farms and agro-industrial complexes. The acquisition of export-oriented state farms such as Bebeka Coffee Estate S.C is the other dimension my investment is involved in. These commercial farms will not only modestly contribute to the food supply chain of the domestic market, but also open the gates of the Middle East market for Ethiopia’s agricultural and agro-industrial products.

In line with these ambitions, the executives, the senior management and professionals of MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group are ready to introduce good corporate governance for sustainable and meaningful contribution of our investment to the Ethiopian Economy incorporating environmental and corporate social responsibility over and above regulatory frameworks.

I am pleased that MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group is a true partner in the realization of the current National Growth and Transformation Program engineered by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi; and will continue being so in the series of such national development programs in the future. May his soul rest in peace.

I wish all Ethiopians “A Happy, productive and prosperous new year”.


Editor’s Note

The Ethiopian year that just ended brought on the country and the MIDROC Ethiopia a great loss through the passing of the nation’s visionary leader, H.E. Prime Minister Ato Meles Zenawi. We pay our saddest tribute to the family of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and to the people and government of Ethiopia.

During the year we also saw great achievements by the Group. Derba-MIDROC’s inauguration, announcing the beginning of the end to dire shortage of cement hence ensuring the continuation of infrastructure development in the country. The immense discovery of gold reserve by the National Mining Corporation Plc. is yet another major achievement and a significant contribution by MIDROC Ethiopia to the economic growth of the country. The commencement of production by Awassa Chip Wood Factory of high quality particle wood products for domestic and export markets from local renewable eucalyptus plantation is another milestone. ‘TIRET’ reports on these and much more success.

Our Main Story by Emeritus Professor Johannes Kinfu and Ato Asrat Bulbula focuses on global, regional and national changes, alerting our group companies to prepare for change management applying good corporate governance and succession plan.

Incidentally by Dr. Berhanu Tadesse explains about ICASA 2011which attracted over 10,000 participants, and Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi’s contribution of more than USD 10 million for its success.

In our Health Column, Ato Yilma Yemane-Berhan in

his article, Coffee and Health, describes the scientific findings on coffee and human health.

Further, Doing It Otherwise by Dr. Selam Aklilu tells us how we can attain a better life by dissolving a false-self and replacing it by true-self.

On Writers’ Column, Mr. Omer Redi describes how harmony of buildings gives cities their identity. Emphasizing on Nani Building’s exterior and interior qualities, he indicates ways for Addis to create such identity.

Our new Column, Ascending Heights of Success highlights major accomplishments of MIDROC Ethiopia Group Companies. The first article of the Column explains National Mining Corporation’s ascendancy to the heights of success with the discovery of a variety of minerals, culminating years of exploration and millions of Birr investment.

We wish to tell our readers that we are having a special issue of ‘TIRET’ due to be published very shortly in tribute of H.E Prime Minister Ato Meles Zenawi’s extraordinary contributions and support in the economic development and growth of the country most particularly in the implementation and smooth running of the multifaceted investment drives of MIDROC Ethiopia.

Editors of ‘TIRET’ wish our Chairman, Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi and his family, staff and employees of our Group Companies , readers of ‘TIRET’ and all Ethiopians a “Happy and Prosperous Ethiopian New Year.”

TireT October 2012CONTENTS

TIRET means “EFFORT” in Amharic and is a Corporate Magazine of MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group.

paTRonTeklu Haile

EdIToRIal boaRdTadelle Teferra (Chairman)Melaku BezaBrook DebebeJohannes Kinfu (Emer. Professor)Asrat BulbulaYeshimebet DemissieAselefech Getachew

EdIToR-in-ChIEfYeshimebet Demissie

dEpUTY EdIToR-in-ChIEfAselefech Getachew

SECRETaRIal SERVICEHaimanot Negussie & Martha Kassahun

phoToGRaphYDegife Tekle, Tadesse Demissie,Kibrealem Yalew pUblIShEd bYThe Communication & Public Relations Department of MIDROC EthiopiaTel: +251 11 554 99 69Fax:+251 11 554 99 55 P.O.Box: [email protected], [email protected] www.midroc-ethiopia.com.et

Graphic designAychew Design WorksTM

Tel: +251 913 13 63 76/62 42 76

CopYRIGhTOctober 2012MIDROC EthiopiaAll rights reserved. Reproduction in part and or whole is allowed with a written authorization of the Publisher.

MIdRoCMohammed InternatioalDevelopment Research & Organisation Companies.

October 2012Free Copy

The MIDROC Ethiopia Group Corporate Magazine

IN FOCUSAwassa Chip WoodFactory: RedefiningConstruction inEthiopia...pp.34

WRITER’SCOLUMNNani Building:The Gem of AddisBy Omer Red...pp.44

NMiC’s New GoldDiscoveries...pp.56

ASCENDINGHEIGHTS OFSUCCESS

DOING IT OTHERWISEA Leap to PersonalGreatness by UncoveringThe True SelfBy Dr. Selam Aklilu...pp.52

The state of transposition, transformation and transitionfrom past to present and future.... pp.28The state of transposition, transformation and transitionfrom past to present and future.... pp.28

Change & ChangeManagementChange & ChangeManagement

New ColumnAscendingHeights of

Success

MiDrOC News 7

Incidentally 40

Writer’s Column 44

health 48

doing it otherwise 52

ascending heights of Success 56

iNFOCUS 36

COVer STOrY 34

Change & ChangeManagement

The Investment Companies of Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, MIDROC Ethiopia and its Group and affiliate

Companies, wish to express their deepest and heartfelt condolence due to the untimely loss of the Ethiopian Prime

Minister, H.E Ato Meles Zenawi.

We treasure his life long and steadfast determination and contributions for

promoting investment, development and economic growth in the country.

MIDROC Ethiopia and its Group and affiliate Companies reaffirm their

readiness to actively continue and participate in the investment activities in Ethiopia in a sustainable manner,

especially in the current GTP and the subsequent national spans of economic

development.

We will always cherish the legacy, H.E Ato Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, has

left behind and our profound sympathy will stay with his family, government and people of Ethiopia, while taking solace in

his charted out road map of development for the country.

Message of Condolence


MIDROC News

Agreement Signed for Construction of Toussa Steel Factory

An EPC turnkey project contract agreement, involving USD 800 million for the construction of an integrated steel manufacturing plant, Toussa Steel Factory Plc., was signed on October 2, 2012 between Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, Chairman and Owner

of MIDROC Ethiopia, and Mr. G. Bennedetti, President and CEO of Danieli Spa of Italy. Danieli SPA is one of the largest steel plant manufacturers in the world with an experience of over 100 years in the business.

Present at the signing ceremony were H.E. Ato Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister of FDRE, H.E. Ato Ayalew Gobeze, President of the Amhara Regional State, Ministers, senior government officials and invited guests.

Toussa Steel Factory Plc. is located at Galissa; 5 km. north of Kombolcha in the Amhara Regional State, 376 km away from Addis Ababa. The Factory will have a production capacity of 1,350,000 tons per year (“tpy”) of hot rolled long steel product and will be built to international standards. The use of state-of-the-art technology will enable the Factory to produce varied product mix and production capacity to be maximized.

Toussa Steel Factory Plc. is designed to be environmentally friendly and incorporates state-of-the-art technology to mitigate harmful environmental pollutants in compliance with applicable Ethiopian and international environmental protections and emission limits associated with steel manufacturing and rolling.

Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi in his remark at the signing ceremony, disclosed his determination to engage in large scale heavy industries sighting the readiness of three other upcoming large projects including the Edible Oil Factory Project in Bahir Dar, the construction contract agreement of which will be signed with the contractor from Great Britain in the coming

Shiekh Mohammed H. Al Amoudi signing the agreement for Toussa Steel Factory project

week. The construction contract agreement for a Genes and a Cable Project will also be signed shortly.

He also reaffirmed his preparedness to invest and work for a sustainable development of Ethiopia and emphasized the importance of partnership of government with the private sector and the people.

Ato Haile Asegidie, Executive Director of Derba MIDROC Cement Plc. addressing the gathering explained that the completion of Toussa Steel Factory Plc. will be a game changer in Ethiopian steel manufacturing industry as the erection and operation of Derba MIDROC Cement Plc. has been for the cement industry.

According to him, the establishment of the Factory is extremely important to further advance Ethiopia’s economic performance by providing the critical inputs: steel bars, sections and billets, for the enhancement of the construction industry, metal engineering and other related sectors.

The factory during construction will give job opportunities for over 2,000 people and when completed provides 600 jobs for young people around the area. One hundred engineers will be employed in various managerial activities in the Factory.

Toussa Steel Factory plans to undertake an expansion of the Plant in the future by constructing a steel melting plant, continuous casting machine vacuum degasser and a rolling mill with auxiliary facilities capable of producing 300,000 tpy of rails and medium sections.


MIDROC News

Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi contributes to making ICASA 2011 a success

The financial contributions of Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi to the success of the “16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted

Infections in Africa (ICASA 2011)”, which took place from December 4-8, 2011, in Addis Ababa exceeded USD 10 million.

Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi was awarded with a Medal and a Certificate by the government of Ethiopia and the Society for AIDS in Africa for his outstanding contributions to the Conference.

After handing over the Award to Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, the Ethiopian President H.E. Girma Wolde Giorgis, expressed his appreciations and said that Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi has been contributing significantly to the ongoing development activities of Ethiopia.

Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi after receiving the

Award, praised all stakeholders and said that he is happy and the Award is a pride not only to him but also to his family, his Companies and colleagues as well.

The Millennium Hall was refurbished specifically for the Conference by the order of Sheikh Mohmmed H. Al-Amoudi, who personally followed the progress. The improvements to the hall included new meeting and event halls, air conditioning, audio visual facilities furniture etc. all of which was offered free of charge for the Conference.

The Conference was attended among others, by the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Ato Meles Zenawi, former US President George W. Bush, former Botswanan President, Festus Mogea, UNAIDS Executive Secretary, Mr. Michel Sidibe, Ethiopian Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, prominent personalities and about 10,000 scientists, health workers, policy makers, representatives of civil society and people living with HIV from 103 countries.

Sheikh Mohammed receiving a special Award from H.E. President Girma Wolde Giorgis for his oustanding contribution

Phot

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10 TireT October 2012

MIDROC News

Derba MIDROC Cement Factory, the largest in the country, with a construction cost of USD351 million (USD 151 million is Owner’s contribution and USD 200 million is loan)

sprawling on 123 ha. of land was inaugurated on January 29, 2012. The total cost including, the road construction and transformer installations, goes up to USD 600 million. Daily capacity of the Factory is 8,000 tons of cement.

Present at the inaugural ceremony were the late Ethiopian Prime Minister, H.E. Ato Meles Zenawi, ministers, senior government officials, prominent personalities, invited guests, Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi and Ato Haile Assegdie, Executive Director of Derba MIDROC Cement.

Addressing the ceremony, the late PM H.E. Ato Meles Zenawi appreciated the construction of this huge cement factory and said that it is a pride for all that the construction of the first phase is completed and the factory has projected future expansion undertakings.

Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi also expressed his satisfaction and said that his dreams are coming true.

The construction of the project had employed 5,000 Ethiopians and 1,500 Chinese. The factory expects to make as many as 20,000 people gainfully employed in the production and distribution process.

Derba MIDROC Cement has joined the industry with high hopes for the local economy. The Ministry of Industry had projected an annual demand of eight million tons for the fiscal year 2011/12, whereas the supply was only 6.64 million tons. Part of the 1.36 million tons gap was filled by Derba MIDROC Cement, which had started operation in the second half of the year.

“Once we enter the market at full capacity,” said, Ato Haile Assegdie, Executive Director of Derba MIDROC Cement, “we are confident that all cement needs of Ethiopia will be satisfied in the next 3-5 years at an affordable price.”

Derba-MIDROC Cement Factory Inaugurated

Factory View of Derba MIDROC Cement


MIDROC News

A bond purchase worth of Birr 26 million by employees of the MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group, to help finance the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project, was handed over by Dr. Arega Yirdaw, CEO of the MIDROC Ethiopia Technology Group, to the President of Development Bank of Ethiopia, Ato Esayas Bahire, in a ceremony organized at the premises of the Bank in the presence of Ato Teklu Haile, Designate and Manager of Finance Department of MIDROC Ethiopia.

The amount was raised through a contribution of a one month salary of the employees of the MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group. It is to be recalled that Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi’s pledge of Birr 1.5 billion has already been cashed.

Cheque for Bond Purchase Handed Over

Handing over ceremony (from left to right) Ato Isayas Bahire, Dr. Arega Yirdaw and Ato Teklu Haile

The late H.E. Ato Meles Zenawi with Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi and Ato Haile Assegidie at the inaugural ceremony

Derba MIDROC Cement provides a credit facility and own transport to deliver the product to the customer’s door step. Individual buyers and contractors are only expected to pay 50% of the price for the cement they are buying, if they can provide an unconditional bank guarantee (for contractors) or a similar guarantee from their employers, for individual buyers. The other half is payable in 60 days.

As long as the guarantee is in place, Derba’s customers can keep buying the cement, which became available at a low price of Birr 170, per quintal (100kg) excluding VAT and transport according to Ato Haile Assegdie.

This price is true for PPC type cement while the OPC is sold for Birr 220, per quintal (100kg) excluding VAT and transport.

Derba MIDROC Cement has 750 Volvo trucks that deliver cement to clients within five days of order. This delivery initially started covering areas within 600kms of Addis Ababa, with the aim for the future to cover the rest of the country.

Derba Cement Factory is a subsidiary of Al-Muwakaba for Industrial Development and Commerce, where Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi is a major shareholder.


MIDROC News

Toussa Steel Factory Plc. owned by Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, and a member of the Derba MIDROC Group, has embarked upon building a Steel Plant with a capacity of 1.3 million tons per year in Kombolcha town of the Amhara Regional State. The new Steel Plant with a melting shop and three rolling mills is capable of producing 800,000 tons re-bars, 150,000 tons wire rods, 400,000 tons light sections and 300,000 tons medium sections and R 60 rails per annum.

HWC Swiss AG, one of the highly experienced consultant conglomerate in the field of iron and steel plant project management and engineering supervisory services, has been selected as a Consultant for the construction of Toussa Steel Factory Plc. and an agreement between the two parties was signed on February 21, 2012.

According to the Consultancy Contract Agreement, the Consultant will provide services based on the EPC Contractors’ proposal, contract preparation, project management and engineering supervision. The contract amount signed is about Birr 80 million.

Various EPC Contractors have submitted their bid proposal on January 18, 2012 and the process of evaluation and negotiation with prospective bidders was concluded in July 2012.

The formal contract signing is expected to be finalized shortly. The project contract amount is USD 570 million and the construction, completion and commissioning of the Factory Project is expected to be completed in 36 months.

The Company is currently under taking sub-soil investigation and site topographic surveying while the hydro geological and geophysical study is already completed. Negotiation for land lease payment agreement with Kombolcha Town Administration is also underway.

Toussa Steel Factory Plc. on the Move

Partial view of Bidders

Ato Haile Assegidie (right) with Eng. Shimelis Eshete, the Project Director and Ato Wondimu Gualew at the bidding ceremony


MIDROC News

The 13th Consultative Group Meeting Held

The 13th Consultative Group (CG) Meeting of MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group and Affiliate Companies hosted by Ethio-Leather Industry Plc. (ELICO), was held on February 23, 2012 at the Sheraton Addis focusing on “Constraints and Future Prospects of the Leather Sector in the Ethiopian Economy”.

The meeting was attended by CEOs, General Managers, senior advisors and other senior management staff of the Group Companies.

Ato Teklu Haile, Designate and Manager of Finance Dept. of MIDROC Ethiopia and Chairman of the CG, in his opening address, expressed his gratitude to the host company, ELICO, and said that ELICO needs to pay its share of responsibilities in the mitigation measures of problems in the leather sector by way of installing environmentally compliant facilities and participating in the control of animal skin diseases in order to improve quality of raw materials supplied to the market.

In his introductory remarks, Ato Astrat Bulbula, MIDROC Ethiopia’s Senior Advisor and CG Secretariat Member, also emphasized that the meeting could be a ‘birth place of big ideas...and is blessed by a new concept that ‘small is beautiful’ and ‘big is even more beautiful’.

Welcoming participants Ato Brook Debebe, ELICO’s General Manager, explained ELICO’s achievements in terms of improved productivity, efficiency, quality and image building as a result of implementing Quality

and Environmental Management System as well as ISO certification.

A brief presentation on the theme of the meeting was made by the resource person, ELICO’s Consultant, Ato Kidanu Chekol, focusing on global position, resource, value chains, constraints, marketing and future prospects of leather and leather products.

The major export markets for ELICO products are Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea, China, Indonesia and some African countries, according to an “Overview of ELICO” presented by three senior managment members of ELICO.

Ato Teklu Haile (right), Ato Brook Debebe and Ato Kidanu Chekol, the resource person, at the opening of the meeting

A view of participants at the meeting


MIDROC News

The 14th Consultative Group Meeting Conducted

Hosted by MIDROC Energy House Electromechanical Services (MEH-EMS) Plc., the 14th Consultative Group Meeting (CG)

of MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group and Affiliate Companies, which focused on the energy sector, was held on May 24, 2012 at the Sheraton Addis. The meeting discussed on “Prospects and Challenges in the Development of the Energy Sector of Ethiopia” and was attended by CEOs, General Managers, senior advisors and other senior management staff of the MIDROC Ethiopia Head Office.

In his welcoming address, Ato Getachew Degefu, MEH-EMS General Manager, highlighted the opportunities and challenges in the electromechanical services business. He also briefed participants on the achievements of MEH-EMS, which he said now sees “some light at the end of the tunnel”.

Previously known as ABB-MIDROC Industrial Services PLC, MEH-EMS was established in 1999 with 4.6 million Birr capital with founding partners ABB-MEA and MIDROC Ethiopia holding 51% and 49% shares, respectively. Its founding objective is establishing an electromechanical contracting company of good standing using the knowledge base and brand name of ABB. Current paid up capital of the Company is Birr 6.79 million with 67% share held by EH-KSA which took over ABB’s shares in 2003 – and 33% by MIDROC Ethiopia.

In his conclusion, Ato Getachew indicated the existence of very high market opportunities for EM contractors

both within and outside the MIDROC Ethiopia Group; and the serious constraints facing such companies at every level.

Ato Teklu Haile, Designate and Manager of Finance Department of MIDROC Ethiopia and CG Chairman, said in his opening statement, that the CG was initiated

and proved by all members as solid foundation for lasting partnership and unity. He called the CG “Coalition of the willing who are determined now and in the future for the great success of MIDROC Ethiopia and Affiliate Companies”.

Referring to the theme of the 14th CG, he stated that energy supply has great role in production processes and electromechanical (EM) communications. The Group companies, hence, should be ready to

tackle all challenges in the business including energy supply shortage through strategic plans and utmost effort, he added.

The resource person of the meeting Ato Mengistu Tefera, a Consultant, in his presentation focused mainly on economic development and energy resources in Ethiopia, current status and development trends of the use of the Ethiopian energy section and areas of investment opportunities in the sector.

A special time was allotted for presentation on MIDROC Ethiopia Communications and Public Relations Department and TIRET Magazine.

Ato Teklu Haile (right) with Ato Getachew Degefu and the resource person, Ato Mengistu Tefera, at the opening of the meeting

Ato Asrat Bulbula, addressing the opening of the meeting


MIDROC News

15th Annual General Managers’ Conference Held

The 15th Annual General Managers’ Conference of MIDROC Ethiopia that was attended by 40 participants from the different Group Companies was held in Adama town.

The Conference deliberated on the theme “Financial Repor ting S t a n d a r d s a n d S u s t a i n a b l e Reporting”.

I n h i s i n t r o d u c t o r y remarks , Emer. Prof. Johannes Kinfu, Director of Training and D e v e l o p m e n t o f M I D R O C Ethiopia highlighted “Financial R e p o r t i n g S t a n d a r d s a n d Sustainable Reporting” was very timely in relation to the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) the government has declared and the upcoming issuance of proclamation of financial reporting law in the country, including the international reforms on audit and the rendering of incompatible services by auditors.

Ato Teklu Haile, Designate and Manager of F inance Dept . of MIDROC Ethiopia and Chairman o f t h e Tr a i n i n g C o m m i t t e e , opening the Conference noted t he impo r t ance of t he top i c to the country’s “transformation” policy and enhancing transparency and accountability, and stressed the need for providing adequate and reliable information for business and audit ing and appropr iate governance strategy.

Emer. Prof. Johannes Kinfu delivering his opening remarksAto Teklu Haile opening the Conference

Group picture of participants

He also emphasized the importance of such conference for “working together and sharing knowledge.”

The first part of the Conference focused on the draft Financial Reporting Proclamation of the Ethiopian government and its implications to MIDROC Ethiopia. Ato Gemechu Dubiso, the Auditor General of FDRE explained the issue at length in his presentation under the title “Financial Reporting Standards in Ethiopia – Status and Perspectives.”

The presentation was followed by extensive discussion on implications of tax laws in varying financial reporting practices; whether the new law would require changes in accounting system; and the role of internal auditors.

The second agenda was on synergy among companies under MIDROC Ethiopia with particular focus on inter-company property transfer.

Also at this Conference, General Managers of Ethio Leather Industries Plc. (ELICO) and Nyala Insurance S.C. presented a brief introduction of activities about their current status and new developments in their respective companies. They emphasized the importance of buying the products and services of Group Companies to ensure synergy.

The second part of the program was conducted by Dr. Selam Aklilu, Director of the first Chiropractic – Health Wellness Clinic in Ethiopia, on the idea of “making a difference” through “self-appreciation” and related exercises. During the session she explained how self appreciation can influence the outlook of life and related changes of attitude to life.


MIDROC News

Plant goes operational

The Summit Soft Drinks and Natural Mineral Water Plant was inaugurated on May 26, 2012 introducing into the market all MOHA’s soft drinks and Kool water packaged in PET bottles, the first in the country, Kool water is also packed here. The new Plant was constructed at a cost of Birr 230 million.

Summit started in 1997, when it was established as Summit Partners Plc, to market Schweppes soft drinks. Its products were well accepted by consumers, but it could not beat the competition. It then started bottling Coca Cola products in a deal with East African Bottling S.C., but that deal also failed. In February 2002 it entered into a similar packaging deal with MOHA Soft Drinks Industry S.C. MOHA took full ownership of the factory in October 2006.

Senior Officials of MIDROC Eth. listening to explanations at the plant

Inaugural ceremony of the road

Road Project Inaugurated

M I D R O C C o n s t r u c t i o n E t h i o p i a P l c . c o m p l e t e d the construction of the 30mt. wide and 5.4 kms. long Road Project and handed it over, on May 13, 2012 to

the Addis Ababa City Road Authority.The Yerer Ber-Yerer Goro School AAWSA Treatment P lant Road Project was officially inaugurated by Ato Yohannes Bekele, Chief

Executive Officer of Bole Sub City, in the presence of Ato Negussie Abera, Deputy General Manager of MIDROC Construction Ethiopia Plc., Eng. Endrias Kebede, the Counterpart Engineer of Addis Ababa City Road Authority, officials of the Addis Ababa City Road Author i ty and representat ives and prominent persons of the surrounding area.

The Road Project includes two roundabouts and two bridges with a span of 60 mt. and 40 mt.

The total contract value of the Road Project amounts to Birr 95 million.

MOHA Soft Drinks Industry S.C. refurbished and maintained the machineries to boost Summit’s production capacity from 1.5 million cases to four million cases, transforming the company into modest profitability.

The packaging comes in three sizes: mobile (0.5lt), family (1.0lt) and party (1.8lt). The Plant packages 13,500 bottles per hour or 189,000 bottles a day in two shifts, according to Ato Kefyalew Bersisa, the factory’s Manager.

“The Plant has made us beneficiaries of the latest technology,” he said during the inauguration.

He added that the whole management and the employees were proud.

According to Ato Getachew Birbo, CEO of MOHA Soft Drinks Industry S.C.’, the Plant will serve the Ethiopian and South Sudan markets.


MIDROC News

Bebeka Coffee Estate S.C. Engages in Spice Exports

Bebeka Coffee Estate S.C. a member of MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group, exported Ethiopia’s first ever black pepper.

Previously under the Coffee Plantation Development Enterprise and established 33 years ago, Bebeka Coffee Plantation became a joint venture between the Ethiopian government and Horizon Plantation Plc. under an August 2011 agreement.

BCESC in 2011/12 budget year exported 42 metric tons dried black pepper mainly to Europe and Asia. Export of other agricultural products including ginger, honey etc. will start soon.

The export size is expected to rise significantly in the coming years as production will increase following completion of ongoing expansion on the size of land dedicated to spices and introduction of improved agronomic practices.

Located in South Bench and Guraferda Weredas of Bench Maji Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS), 595km southwest of Addis Ababa, in an area known as home of Arabica Coffee, BCESC covers 10,030 hectares of land. Of this, about 6,949 hectares is already cultivated 5556 hectares Arabica Coffee (Coffea Arabica) 1,000 hectares ginger, 315 hectares black pepper and 78 hectares other crops.

Major commodities either currently produced or soon to be introduced are washed and sun dried coffee, ginger, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, banana, rubber tree and honey.

Over 26 different varieties of coffee are all grown under tree shade at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,368 meters above sea level having specific aroma, flavor and acidity.

Bebeka is currently working to start supplying specialty coffee to the world market.

Black Pepper FarmGinger plantation


MIDROC News

First Corporate Code of Conduct (CCC) Issued

Equatorial Business Group Plc. (EBG) issued on April 2012, its Corporate Code of Conduct (CCC) that established 16 behavioral standards for strict adherence. In his message of endorsement of the CCC document, the General Manager of the Company, Ato Tadelle Teferra said “… the Code is the basis of the company’s operations on trust-trust and we are committed to up-hold the highest ethical standards while receiving and delivering products and services to and from clients.” He expressed his strongest convictions that all employees and management group shall strictly comply to all provisions prescribed in the CCC in the course of the operations of the company.”

The ELFORA Agro Industries Plc has upgraded the Metehara Export Abattoir with an investment of Birr 15

million. The abattoir now has new machinery, pens for 4,000 cattle and 10,000 shoats, two slaughtering lines fitted with air conditioners, freezers and other facilities.

A member of MIDROC Ethiopia Technology Group, ELFORA was established in 1997 by acquiring eight enterprises from the government. It focuses on poultry farming, crop production and meat processing businesses. Metehara Abattoir, which lies on 50,000sqm plot, 200kms east of Addis Ababa, was acquired in 2007.

It is one of three abattoirs ELFORA operates, including the Debre Zeit and Melge Wondo Abattoirs are all export certified. With annual export capacity of 6,000tns of goat meat and mutton, and 4,000tns of beef, ELFROA exports meat products to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other African countries.

Its agro-processing units in Kombolcha and Melge-Wondo produce canned minced meat sauce, beef in jelly, vegetable soup and tomato paste.

The Metehara upgrading project, which started in January 2010, was undertaken to meet export standards and the growing market. Prior to the upgrading, the abattoir

was restricted to night shifts only because it did not have air conditioning system. The cooling system of its chillers was also inefficient. Hence, it was running at lower capacity facing risks of losing export market.

Abdella Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi Establishment, an affiliate Company in Jeddah, ELFORA’s exclusive representative and agent in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and its subcontractor, Samara Trading Establishment, both from Saudi Arabia, were responsible for the installation of insulating panels and air conditioning equipment, while a local contractor was responsible for the asphalt work. ELFORA’s own engineers and technical service staff also handled many other activities, enabling the upgrading to be completed in time.

ELFORA’s poultry farming produces 50 million table eggs and 1,000tns of broiler meat at present; both projected to grow to 100 million and 10,000tns, respectively, following upcoming modernization.

ELFORA also cultivates 6,200ha of land growing maize, haricot bean, mung bean, chick pea, grapes and various vegetables in different parts of Ethiopia.

ELFORA Inaugurates Metehara Export Abattoir

H.E. Ato Wondirad Mandefro, State Minister of Agriculture (left), Sheikh Abdella Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi and CEO Dr. Arega Yirdaw at the inauguration


MIDROC News

New ModelLaunchedOn the occasion of the 7th Customer A p p re c i a t i o n We e k a n d t h e launching of the new Heavy Duty UD truck model, named “QUON”, Nyala Motors S.C. that joined the MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group recently, conducted free technical inspection for customers of UD trucks, and offered discounts on Spare Parts of the trucks.

The special program that was held from June 17 to July 18, 2012 was organized by the Company, in collaboration with the manufacturer of UD Truck Corporation and the supplier, Marubeni Corporation.

Many UD customers during this per iod enjoyed f ree technica l inspection and benefited through the discounts on Spare Parts at the Head Office Sales Counter and Branch Offices in Hawassa, Bahir Dar, Dire Dawa and Mekelle.

Nyala Motors S.C. is well known for its major brands; UD heavy duty trucks and light duty Nissan Motors vehicles and forklifts. The Company, since joining the MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group, has made major renovation of its Branch Offices and restructured the organogram of the Company for efficient management.

It has also upgraded and conducted expansion works at its Branch Office in Bahir Dar building a 1100sqm. Branch Office Workshop facility to provide comprehensive ser vices to customers. Similarly the construction of a new facility Branch Office in Hawassa is being under taken. The Company has currently 200 employees in the Head Off ice and the di f ferent Branch Offices.

NOC Participates at 2012 African Downstream Workshops

National Oil Ethiopia (NOC) has participated at the African Downstream Workshops, organized by CITAC Africa Ltd, at Le Palais des Congrés de la Palmeraie as part of the African Refineries Association (ARA) Week, from March 22 – 23, 2012, in Marrakech, Morocco.

NOC, the only participant from Ethiopia, was represented by its CEO, Ato Tadesse Tilahun.

CITAC Africa Ltd, established in 1998 in UK, is an independent consultancy company focusing on energy market in downstream Africa, especially refining, trading and petroleum products marketing. It organized the workshops jointly with ARA, established in 2006, becoming “the voice not just of refiners but of all downstream oil in Africa,” according to its website.

Over 300 participants from Africa and the rest of the world took part at the interactive Marrakech workshops. Participants gained insights into African and international oil markets; new technologies and methods in refining, distribution, marketing and financing of African downstream oil; and shared experiences with Pan-African and international companies.

The workshops also offered an unequalled forum for networking with key players in the African downstream sector, including refiners, marketers, international and local traders, banks, storage and distribution companies, national oil companies and regulators.

Speakers at the ARA Week emphasized the need to invest in downstream oil infrastructure to ensure efficient, economic and safe distribution of high quality oil products at a time when products of imports were forecast to double by 2020.

Mrs Anabela Fonseca, President of ARA said members agreed to encourage governments and local associations to assist in establishing common fuel specifications along with major supply chains.

From left to right, Ato Tadesse Tilahun, Chief Executive Officer of NOC-Ethiopia, ARA President and the Executive Secretary and representative of Lesotho


MIDROC News

Emeritus Professor Johannes Kinfu, the only Accounting Professor in Ethiopia, has obtained the “Training & Development Leadership Award” from Mumbai, India based World Human Resource Development Congress in recognition of his efforts to create efficient human resource through training.

The award ceremony took place during the World HRD Congress 2012, which was held at Taj Lands End from February 16-18, 2012 in Mumbai.

He has earlier been recognized as “Ethiopian Accountancy Father” by

the London based Qualified and Certified for Charter Accountant.

Emeritus Professor Johannes has taught under and post graduate students at the Addis Ababa University for 44 years. He has provided human resource trainings to Ethiopian Airlines and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, and authored accounting and auditing books.

He has been serving MIDROC Ethiopia as Director of Training since 1996 and is the Deputy General Manager for the MIDROC Education and Training Institute Project (METI).

The Ethiopian Quality Awards Organization (EQAO) has on April 8, 2012 recognized KOSPI, a member of MIDROC Ethiopia Technology Group, with Honorary Award under the Manufacturing Companies Category.

Another member of the MIDROC Technology Group, Modern Building Industry (MBI), was also recognized with a Certificate at the Second Ethiopian Quality Awards ceremony held at the Hilton Addis.

General Manager of KOSPI, Ato Solomon Getu, received the award from Ato Kassa Teklebirhan, Speaker of the House of the Federation.

KOSPI has been awarded after it was evaluated based on seven selection criteria on which it has scored remarkable results, according to Ato Solomon.

Speaking on his part the Guest of Honour, H.E. Ato Hailemariam Desalegne, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, said that if manufacturing and other services companies in Ethiopia meet the requirements of international standard, they can speed up the country’s development efforts and increase its role in the international market. “While I appreciate those of you who have stood up with determination for change and participated in the competition, I congratulate the winners,” he added.

Dr. Admasu Tsegaye, Board Chairman of the EQAO and President of the Addis Ababa University, on his part said winners of the award were selected for their manifested and outstanding performance in productivity, efficiency and overall execution which met international criteria.

Emer. Professor Johannes Kinfu Wins International Recognition, Dr. Berhanu Tadesse Awarded

KOSPI Wins Honorary Prize of Ethiopian Quality Award

Awards of Emer. Prof. Johannes Kinfu

Dr. Berhanu Tadesse’s Certificate and Medal

Dr. Berhanu Tadesse, Manager, Medical and Professional Services Department of SalaM Health Care Plc., a member of MIDROC Ethiopia, who chaired the Leadership Program Committee “of the 16th International Coference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA 2011)”, which took place from December 4-8, 2011, in Addis Ababa, was also recognized. Dr. Berhanu Tadesse was awarded with a medal and certificate of appreciation for his outstanding contributions to the Conference by the government of Ethiopia and Organizers of the 16th ICASA.


MIDROC News

National Motors Corporation Introduces New Model Vehicles

National Motors Corporation Plc.; an affiliate Company of MIDROC Ethiopia, introduced various new model vehicles at an Auto Show held on May 22, 2012 at the Sheraton Addis.

The Corporation launched the Isuzu NMR and NPR Insulated Van and the Chevrolet CRUZE at the event attended by over 60 guests from governmental, non-governmental and private organizations as well as MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group.

Among the dignitaries were Ms Rita Kavashe, Director of General Motors Sub-Saharan Africa, and Mr Roger Abington, Business Development Manager for Sub-Saharan Region. Speaking on the occasion, Nebiat Gessesse, Sales Manager of NMC, said the corporation has strategic plan to remain abreast with the fast growing economy of Ethiopia. The Company is committed to meet the diverse needs of its customers offering variety of top quality products and services, he added, and introduced these latest automobile, trucks and vans to the Ethiopian market.

Chevolet CRUZE (The Unique Sedan) and ISUZU NPR Insulated Van

Two American scholars from Fielding Graduate University in California visited Unity University (UU) to explore areas of cooperation.

Dr. Kitty Epstein and Dr. Norman Ha r r i s came to Add i s Ababa upon the invitation of Dr. Arega Yirdaw, President of UU and CEO of MIDROC Ethiopia Technology Group, to explore ways to establish joint programs.

Accordingly, the visitors held a series of discussions with senior administration and academic staff of UU on areas of cooperation between the two Universit ies. They also attended classes and addressed UU during a “Workshop on Environment of Educational Leadership and Teaching and Learning Activities”.

The visitors also recommended areas of research that the two institutions can carry out jointly. Dr. Epstein suggested research on “Teacher Action” and “Land Use” in Addis Ababa as the best possible topics to consider.

Dr. Harris told UU’s Newsletter that the initiative for the cooperation between the two universities is indicative of the leadership quality the UU enjoys.

The visit by the two scholars has not only been highly educational and interesting but it has also been fruitful in pushing the proposed cooperation program ahead.

American ScholarsVisit Unity University

The unique CRUZE sedan is the most popular and sold of Chevrolet automobiles with global sales of nearly 670,000 in 2011, the highest global sales ever for General Motors (GM).

The CRUZE brings excitement to the entire General Motors Sub-Saharan Africa family paving the way for the next 100 years, Ms Rita said and added. “A Chevrolet is now sold somewhere in the world every 6.5 seconds”. According to her, GM plans to significantly grow and make Chevrolet a hometown brand in Ethiopia.

The light duty trucks – Isuzu NMR - and NPR insulated van – are made with simple and functional interior and exterior. The Isuzu N ser ies fur ther br ings higher performance on every level of styling, engine, safety, economy and the environment.

NMC announced that it started body building for various trucks. One of the vans exhibited at the show, made fo r t ranspor t ing perishables like flower and fish, is locally assembled by NMC.


MIDROC News

Tikur Abay Shoe S.C. Doubled Production Capacity

Tikur Abay Shoe S.C., a MIDROC Ethiopia Group Company, has doubled its production capacity to 5,430 pair of shoes. This result obtained after undertaking a major expansion and rehabilitation work worth Birr 34 million, has completely changed the image of the company and diversity of products.

The Company has three factories with: two new lines of machines from Italy; in one of the buildings with its own office and other facilities and another line of machines from the world wide technology leader, Desma of Germany, in another building. The old refurbished machines are used to produce military footwear popularly known as Keskis Shoes, a name given by customers to express its durability.

The Italian line produces refined and quality civilian shoes for export to Italy, Spain, Sudan, Canada and America. The German machines are commissioned and will start to produce safety shoes, military shoes of different types, sport wears and durable shoes of double and single density. A new all duty building about 8,000 sqm. wide to be built in the center of the city is under design. The Company has already opened up a fuel station for its own use.

Tikur Abay Shoe S.C. was transferred into the ownership of MIDROC Ethiopia in 2006 under the government privatization process. It is well known for supplying

military footwear in Ethiopia and other African countries and is ready to produce all types of shoes because of the expansion project. Almicom Agricultural Development & Management Plc. and MAA Garment and Textile Factory Export Products

Almicom is a one of the MIDROC Ethiopia Group Companies engaged in agriculture in Humera on 5,000 hectares of land. It has recently secured another 500 hectares of land in Raya, Mohony to grow horticulture products for export. It is expected that it would totally be managed by irrigation. It has 50 permanent and more than 1,000 seasonal employees and produces sesame for export, and cotton for MAA Garment and Textile Factory.

MAA Garment and Textile Factory has 1,450 employees and a capacity of producing 4 million equivalent T-shirts annually. Products of the Factory include: T-shirts, Polo-shirts, trousers, jeans, work and hospital wears, sport wears, uniforms etc. It exports different textile and garments to Germany, USA, Italy, Portugal, UK and China. It has currently finalized preparations to export various products to Sweden mainly to H & M. a famous world retailer. The Textile Unit produces knitted fabrics and has a capacity of spinning 10 tons/day, knitting 6 tons/day, dying and finishing 7-8 tons/day. After passing a challenging project phase, the company is now operational with a good image.

Factories Under Kebire Enterprises Plc. Engage in Export

The National Mining Corporation (NMIC) has acquired 62% share of the Abijata-Shalla Soda Ash Share Company, entering a joint venture with the government retaining 38% of the shares.

The government’s contribution has been paid in the form of all the assets of the Abijata Soda Ash Plant worth over Birr 20 million, while NMIC and its partners have Birr 33 million of shares.

Established by the Ethiopian government and commissioned in 1989, the Abijata Soda Ash Plant was designed to produce 20,000 tpa of Soda Ash utilizing the brine water of lake Abijata. It was established as a pilot plant to eventually pave the way for the establishment of an industrial scale plant with a production capacity of 200,000 to 1,000,000 tons per annum for export market using the brine water of Lake Shalla.

Located 184 kms south of Addis Ababa in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, the plant extracts Soda Ash from Lake Abijata. The brine waters pumped from the Lake into pre-concentration ponds are exposed for evaporation and then taken to a series of crystallization ponds, to get the crude product called trona. The trona is then harvested to be sold either as it is or transported to a processing plant where it is calcined, screened, crushed, centrifuged, washed and processed into soda ash for local market.

The joint venture aims to introduce a new approach and establish a new plant in the next five years at a cost of about two billion Birr. The plant will produce export grade soda ash of up to 200,000 to 1,000,000 tons annually using brine water from the nearby Lake Shalla.

Preparations and project study are finalized to rehabilitate the deteriorated existing plant so that it will continue to operate until the new plant is established.

NMIC Ventures with Government on Abijata-Shalla Soda Ash S.C.


MIDROC News

Horizon-Addis Tyre Share Company, a member of MIDROC Ethiopia, announced pay raises during a colourful celebration of Workers’ Partnership Day on June 16, 2012, held at the premises of the company.

The celebration, the first since ownership of the company was transferred from Matador-Addis to Horizon-Addis in January 2011, was held to introduce new Board members to the staff and to brief them about the future investment plan of the shareholders, mainly Sheikh Mohamed H. Al-Amoudi and his vision for the development of the country.

The plan includes manufacturing Light Truck Radial (rim size 15” and 16”), with technical know how and machinery from the German-based Continental Ag, the fourth largest tyre manufacturer in the world. Currently, all these tyres are 100% imported.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ato Jemal Ahmed, also said that shareholders intended to step up the production capacity in quantity, quality, increasing product portfolio and introducing new technology to the country.

To the delight of the staff, he also announced a minimum 15% salary increase. Ato Teklu Haile, Designate and Finance Manager of MIDROC Ethiopia and member of the Board, Mr. Umesh Davera, General Manager of the Company, and the chairman of the Company’s Basic Labour Union, have also addressed the employees.

Horizon Addis Tyre Surprises Employees with Salary Raise

Ato Teklu Haile, urged the employees to work harder for better results and to protect the company from corruption and theft. Mr. Davera, on his part urged on more emphasis on prioritizing quality, cost and service to customers in order to face global competition. The Labour Union Chairman reminded the employees of the five-point regulation to which, he said, workers are committed.

Also on the occasion, Horizon-Addis awarded 34 of its employees with certificates for their outstanding performances in 2011.

Ato Jemal Ahmed, Chairman, Board of Directors handing over the Award to one of the employees.

Board of Directors at the ceremony

Employees attending the meetings


COVER StORy

CHANGEMANAGEMENT

EFFECTIVELEADERSHIP

PLANNEDIMPLEMENTATION

SUPPORTIVECULTURE

COLLABORATIVETEAMWORK

As long as there is life and activity there is change. Change ceases when life stops. Change is an active movement from what is to what is to be. It is a state of transposition/transformation/transition from past, present and future. To apprehend change one must consider bold changes, subtle changes, sudden disruptive changes, smooth changes, changes in substance and in form, change from a level or stage of being to another, attractive changes or antagonistic changes, voluntary versus mandatory changes, physical, mental, intellectual changes, natural changes and imposed changes. In the dynamics of events, change is constant.

At the global level we are all appraised, amazed and engulfed by changes in technology and innovation. Change seems to be more real than ever, constant than otherwise, and fast in ways “never seen or thought of” before.

Challenge of ChangeIs change something to tout about or matter to be confounded? Most of the time change becomes a challenge when it is sudden, externally driven, as it

entails resistance, at least initially or at the outset. For to change from what one is used to or habituated to is not easy, one has to be willing to “think outside the Box”. Acceptance of uncertainty and being optimistic are big challenges. As change is inevitable, see the big picture, the forest, by being inquisitive; and not waste vital energy by being negative.

Change ManagementIn the literature change has been treated philosophically, economically, especially in terms of economic development and growth, and in technical innovation and productivity, and in relation to succession management and human resource development. Most significantly however, the meaning and development of “change management” has undergone extensive conflicting and complex debate culminating in the acceptance of two component parts. On one side is the technical and mechanical part dealing with technological innovation for improving productivity and performance. On the other hand it reckons the importance of the psychological and human aspects of change needed for adaptation for change. It is realized

Change and Change ManagementBy Johannes Kinfu (Emer. Professor)Asrat Bulbula

Change Management Diagram


now that the technological part of change should not be overemphasized at the cost of the human/physiological aspect.

The first and foremost aspect of Change Management is our understanding of the governing events of change.

Globally, unprecedented changes have taken place in the last decade. The leading economies and powers of the world have been shockingly affected by the 9/11 attack. The divide and suspicion between governments and their citizens towards targeted populations and among themselves widened like never seen in history. Complex and intricate mechanisms of activities grew out of this phenomenon.

The other major change was caused by the financial crisis of 2007/8. The undercurrent of this event is currently unsettling the Euro zone with no clarity of the outcome. The economic development center of gravity is seemingly shifting from the West to the East. The world’s manufactured goods and products also seem to radiate only from the East, primarily from China.

These are changes countries, governments and big regional economic associations, are trying to cope with. They have to manage the changes and the effects of the changes.

Nationally, Ethiopia has also been witnessing changes from within and without. Some of these changes are the wave effects of the global change. Some are the upheavals, political instabilities and uncertainties in neighbouring countries. On the bright side, mega projects are being pursued by the Ethiopian Government. The Growth & Transformation Program envisages huge hydro power complexes, fertilizer manufacturing facilities, sugar estates and transport infrastructure, both air and land.

In the world economic order and international trade, Ethiopia is aggressively pushing for membership in

the World Trade Organization (WTO). Given the weak competitive position of Ethiopia’s manufacturing sector, there will be many hurdles to be tackled.

MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group is the largest private investment in Ethiopia. So the changes that are happening globally, regionally and nationally will definitely affect the MIDROC Group. Some of the changes would come in moderately and lightly; so, seemingly manageable. But some changes could come- in in big waves and storms.

MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group, at present, has entered into mega projects. The undertaking of world scale manufacturing complexes such as Derba-MIDROC Cement PLC and Toussa Steel Project, huge agro-industrial and commercial farms such as Horizon Plantations and Saudi Star ’s Gambella Rice farm are underway. Gold discoveries in unprecedented quantities would put Ethiopia on the World Gold Reserve map. These are just some of the changes that demand paradigm shifts and challenges in the maintenance of operational sustainability.

The MIDROC Group has to be well prepared to manage and withstand these changes. Unless prior embankments and retaining walls are properly built, the waves that could have remained as manageable waves could turn out to being like ”tsunamis”. The foremost pillars of these embankments and walls are Good Corporate Governance and Implementable & Sustainable Succession planning.

Having realized these scenarios, the MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group has conducted a series of preparatory awareness creating seminars and brain storming sessions on Good Corporate Governance and Succession Planning. Whereas the governance issue would follow the Road Map as prescribed by the Private Sector Development Hub of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations the equivalent for succession planning is being designed internally.


In focus

About 10 years ago, Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi decided to put in a large investment to establish the Awassa Chip Wood Factory with a noble cause of contributing to the growth of the construction sector in Ethiopia. Over the

years, the Factory has proved that it is indeed able to redefine construction in the country.

Registered at the Ethiopian Investment Authority (EIA) on April 05, 2002, the Awassa Chip Wood Factory, is among the large investments by Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi. Established with a paid up capital of Birr 28 million. The factory has started production in 2009.

During the last years of its construction period over Birr 204 million was invested on import of machineries, trucks and factory as well as office building construction. The Awassa Chip Wood Factory now stands proud and is a symbol of the determination of its Owner, Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, to contribute to the growth of the construction sector in Ethiopia.

The primary objectives of the factory are to manufacture and market high quality particle wood products for various applications in the local and export markets.

The purpose of the establishment of the factory, includes forest development and harvesting of trees for the production of board and projected expansion and innovation plan for the manufacture and marketing of high quality particle board with 6 mm – 40 mm thickness and manufacture of various products such as laminated panel, modern office and household furniture, joineries including doors, windows and board for different applications.

It is located in Hawassa City, 275 kms south of Addis Ababa, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) on a 69,000sqm plot. Its annual production capacity of 43,000 cubic metres of chip wood and an integrated forestry development on 985hactares of woodland, acquired under a 20-year concessional agreement in Wolayta Sodo in the SNNPR, constitute the core of the factory.

AwASSA Chip wOOD FACTOrY: Redefining Construction in Ethiopia

Side view of the factory


The current product manufactured by the factory, particle board, can be used for furniture making, roofing, internal building, wall partition and also as packing material.

The factory employs 130 professional and skilled employees on a permanent basis and 500 casual laborers. This will grow to 300 professional and skilled employees when it begins operating at full capacity (three shifts). The forestry development in Wolayta Sodo also employs 500 local residents during harvest seasons.

Production Process Chipwood is composed of wood particles mixed with resin, as an adhesive, and wax and hardener; the mix is treated under various temperatures, moisture, pressing, curing and sanding conditions. The factory produces chipwood size 11.20m x 1.83m, which can be resized in to 2, 3, or 4 equal or different sizes.

It uses four types of raw materials: chipwood particles (logs), urea formaldehyde resin (glue), wax and hardener (Ammonium Chloride), all of which, except logs, are imported at an annual cost of Birr 31 million.

Chip wood has two outer layers (surfaces) and a core. The general steps used to produce particle wood include wood material chipping, flaking, drying, classifying by size, blending with resin, hardener and wax, forming the resinated (glued) material into a mat, hot pressing and finishing (cooling, trimming and sanding). The process involves the use of chipping, flaking and drying machines. A forming machine turns the glued material into a continuous mat, which is cut into the desired length. Furnace oil and wood dust are the energy sources used for the drying.

Factory InputThe consumption of wood per annum is 18,167 m3 at present, which will rise to 25,000 m3 in the near future. The factory can use any kind of wood, but the preferred wood type is Eucalyptus, because of its abundance and easier replacement. Accordingly contract agreement was entered with the Regional Government for the use and management of forest on 985hectares of land in Wolayta Sodo for the coming 20 years to ensure sustainable supply.

Manpower Development and Training SchemesIn order to ensure that quality remains the business’s top priority, the factory has adopted different approaches in recruiting and nurturing its employees, developing positive attitude towards learning, as part of the management’s commitment to equip and groom each individual.

Accordingly, on the job training is given for 3-6 months for new recruits to familiarize them with the different machines and operations. Inviting expatriate professionals to provide short-term training to employees is also part of this Manpower Development and Training Scheme. In addition, the factory is working with Hawassa University in the “University-Industry Linkage Program” for mutual benefit to train and familiarize students with the industry and exchange technology and knowledge with technologists of the University.

Development PartnersThe factory’s development partners include Regional and Zonal offices of SNNPR, Dashen Bank, Nyala Insurance, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, MIDROC Group Companies, Hawassa University, contractors, small scale distributors and furniture manufacturers. Special emphasis is due to MIDROC Ethiopia Head Office for the unrelented support in all aspects, for the

Wood transported to chipper machineA view of the forestry development


In focus

development and smooth functioning of the factory.

The strong support and effort made by AHFA Plc to promote and introduce the products to the market and build the product demand to its present status is worth mentioning.

In the future, the surrounding out growers who will supply wood (log) and play a significant role to the factory will also be the factory’s development partners.

Future Development PlanAt present the factory is supplying sanded board, but market study about the consumption of laminated wood for furniture manufacturing and panelling in the country is underway inorder to select the ideal type of lamination plant. The factory is also considering the possibility of exporting its products; preparation to meet the required standards is already in progress.

When the factory begins production at full capacity, its annual turnover is estimated to reach over Birr 78 million.

Part of the future plan includes cutting energy expenses by at least 20% by substituting current oil consumption with cheaper alternatives. The factory’s current annual consumption of fuel oil, in addition to electricity, is 1.1 million litres. The cost of fuel is continually rising without any sign of stabilizing. The price of oil has gone from Birr 4 a liter to Birr 15.24 in just three years. This is an increase of over 275%. The factory is working at

present to substitute as much as 20% of the fuel it uses at the dryer burner by wood dust recovered from the sanding process.

Maintaining Standard in the BusinessCustomers have very high demand for the factory’s product, which is the leading brand in the current market. Due to the unique behaviour of the product, such as medium density, low thickness swelling, high bending & tensile strength, the board is preferred by customers for multi purpose consumption and has therefore, proved to be customer’s first choice. To maintain its standard, the factory regularly surveys the market collecting information and feedback from customers. Reviewing standards based on customer feedback; strengthening the quality control system starting from approval of raw material to the final product; and integrating the activities of different departments has become more important than ever before.

Social Responsibility & Safety ProtectionIn addition to the wood land it is managing in Wolayta Sodo, the factory has plans to support local development activities such as road construction, water development and installing milling machines for the society surrounding the plantation. It also provides its employees with recommended safety protection devices and training on fire fighting procedures and precautions.

Products of the FactoryChipped wood ready for drying


IncIdentally

ICASA 2011By: Berhanu Tadesse M.D.Leadership Program Committee Chair,ICASA 2011, SalaM Health Care, MIDROC Ethiopia

“A warm welcome to Addis Ababa!! Ethiopia is honoured to host the 16th ICASA.” Those were the words and sentiments of His Excellency, Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on December 5, 2011 welcoming ICASA delegates to Addis Ababa. The late Prime Minister recalled that it is now 30 years since the first case of AIDS was recognized, it has since then claimed 30 million young lives, and orphaned millions more. But since 1999, new infections have declined, millions can now access ARVs, and PMTCT is now more accessible than it was before. He thanked all international partners who have contributed to providing treatment for HIV/AIDS, particularly PEPFAR, which he described as the single largest and unprecedented donor to support the halt of the HIV pandemic.

He attributed Africa’s success in controlling HIV/AIDS to aggressive social mobilisation and a positive approach, but said more remains to be done.

The 16th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually transmitted infections in Africa (ICASA 2011) was successfully held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from December 4–8, 2011 in the Millennium Hall, specially prepared for the Conference. ICASA is one of the major international AIDS conferences, which takes place in Africa biennially, alternating between Anglophone and Francophone countries.

ICASA 2011 brought together more than 10,000 participants from 103 countries, including scientists, health workers, people living with HIV, policy makers, civil society and non-governmental organizations, activists and government representatives to share and learn about successes, challenges and innovations in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.

The 16th ICASA opened and ended successfully in the presence of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, former US President, George W. Bush, former president of Botswana, Festus Mogea, UNAIDS Executive Secretary, Mr. Michel Sidibé, the US ambassador for HIV/AIDS, Dr Eric Goosby, the Society for AIDS in Africa President, Prof. Robert Soudre, Ethiopian Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, ICASA 2011 Chair, Dr. Yigeremu Abebe, diplomats, invited guests, media professionals and senior government officials.

The 3 objectives of the UN High level meeting in June 2011, “Zero new infections, Zero deaths and Zero discrimination”, declaring that the dream was possible. Mr. Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS Executive Director, addressing the Conference described the day as an important day to take stock of happenings on the continent over the past 30 years, with a disease burden of 400,000 newborns who are sero positive and accounting for 68% of PLHIV worldwide. A day to demonstrate the results achieved by global solidarity, a day to remember the 24 million Africans who lost their lives to the epidemic, a day to demonstrate solidarity and compassion for 34 million PLHIV in the world, and a day to celebrate our successes. In this journey of combating the epidemic, the 2001 negotiations was a critical milestone; it was said then that treatment will not be successful in Africa as adherence will be impossible; that prevention programs will not work. But now they have been proved wrong. There are now more than 6.8 million people on treatment, compared to only 50,000 ten years ago.

Special thanks went to President George Bush from several speakers for the decision he took to provide treatment for HIV/AIDS in Africa, through PEPFAR, when everyone was unwilling to do so. On account of his decision, 32 countries in Africa have stabilised the pandemic and reduced new infections by 25%. Ten years earlier, only two countries could do that. Prevention programmes in Africa are now working for his unique and outstanding contribution; President Bush was awarded a special leadership excellence medal by the Ethiopian Government.

President George Bush praised ICASA for the efforts being made in responding to HIV/AIDS in Africa. He remarked that Public Private Partnership is a commitment to serve the poor and suffering people. No society can advance if it denies the needs and dreams of half its people. Leaders should take action to relieve the sick and dying of the hardships of disease and poverty. Dramatic actions are needed to stop the spread of a terrible disease. In 2001, the AIDS humanitarian disaster threatened Africa’s existence and the US Government had to step in to provide treatment to over 30 countries, initially through the Global Fund and then through PEPFAR. These initiatives were built on result oriented strategies to provide pregnant women with drugs to prevent MTCT. Life restoring AIDS medications saved 350,000 children born HIV-free in the last decade.

The objectives of ICASA 2011 were:• Serve as an advocacy platform to mobilize African

leaders, partners and the communities to increase ownership, commitment and support to the response.

• Provide a forum for exchange of knowledge, skills and consolidation of experiences and best practices in Africa and around the globe to scale up evidence-


based response on HIV/AIDS/STIs, TB and Malaria to achieve the MDGs.

• Use as a forum to link and hold accountable political and national leaders, the scientific community, practitioners, communities, civil societies, the private sector and partners to scale-up and sustain the response.

• Create opportunities to define priorities and set policy and program agenda to enhance mobilization and effective utilization of resources.

The ICASA 2011 Conference theme “Own, Scale-up & Sustain” emphasized the importance for African governments, civil society organizations, private sector, communities and individuals to own and lead the response to HIV/AIDS at all levels, as well as the critical need to sustain what has been achieved while enhancing scaling-up of all responses to the epidemic.

The Conference deliberated on many timely and important issues in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. Scientific papers highlighted areas of development in prevention, treatment, care and support. Community sessions highlighted the community’s involvement in the prevention and care of the disease and the mitigation of its various impacts. The leadership sessions emphasized the roles of individual and organizational leadership in the control of the pandemic. Various recommendations were made to be implemented by program leaders in Africa.

The Conference served as a global platform to promote the efforts and achievements of African countries in combating HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. It provided an opportunity to further strengthen partnership among governments, civil societies, communities, scientists, activists, partner agencies and the global AIDS community. A unique opportunity was provided to review the collective progress made towards universal access and the attainment of MDGs. The challenges facing the fight against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria and the prospects for better prevention, control and management were shared by the delegates. The focus on Africa, relevance of program content to current challenges of HIV response in the continent and the international dimension were the added values of ICASA 2011.

Some of the benefits gained by Conference delegates include: increased understanding of the HIV epidemic in Africa; new contacts and opportunities for partnership and collaboration; increased understanding of the challenges to achieve treatment access in Africa; motivation, renewed energy and sense of purpose; new knowledge and insight into HIV and STI prevention; new skills including best

practices; shared information with colleagues, peers and partners; influence on work focus and approach of parent organizations.

Ethiopian scientists submitted a record number of 347 abstracts and 59% of these were accepted and presented creating a unique opportunity to highlight the research, prevention and care work being done in HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in the country.

ICASA 2011 is hailed by most participants as the best ever ICASA. This is in terms of organization, scientific content, logistics and security. This is achieved through the concerted efforts of a number of key players.

Dr Tedros Adhanom, the Minister of Health, who has personally selected and put together a team of highly committed professional volunteers to organize and lead the various committees of ICASA 2011. This team was working relentlessly under the personal guidance of the Minister for the past several months. MIDROC Ethiopia, a leading private corporate entity, has also contributed a staff member who was leading the Leadership Program Committee of ICASA 2011.

The Millennium Hall, where the Conference was held specially refurbished with new meeting and event halls, air conditioning, audio visual facilities, furniture, etc in a very short time. The whole facility was provided free of charge to the Conference. The catering services along with the hall’s facilities have added comfort and color to the Conference leaving an indelible image of the conference and the country in every participant. Thanks to the Hall, Ethiopia’s capacity to host big meetings has been demonstrated to everyone beyond a shadow of doubt. The financial contribution of Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, owner and Chairman of MIDROC Ethiopia has exceeded USD 10 million and is far in excess of any other major donors to ICASA 2011. The Conference, assessed by most participants as the best, could not have been held at all leave alone have the glamour it had if it was not for the timely and unreserved contributions and personal follow up of Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, Owner and Chairman of MIDROC Ethiopia.

Sheikh Mohammed Ali Al-Amoudi instructed the refurbishing of the Millennium Hall and personally followed up the development and completion. This time again he made our beloved country Ethiopia, its citizens and leadership proud. All the people and organizations involved in ICASA 2011 are extremely proud of his contributions in recognition of which the Ethiopian government has awarded a Special Medal to him, on a special ceremony held at the Grand Palace.


Writer’s Column

A city where every sort of building is mushrooming, one could not help wondering what Addis Ababa will look like few decades later. Among the most visible features of newly built structures

in the city is a major lack of harmony that, if not addressed in time, would eventually make Addis a city with no identity. Most suffer from poor interior and exterior quality and lopsided spacing while they are built with little concern for the environment and beautification. As a city considered not only Ethiopia’s but Africa’s capital, Addis Ababa needs a strict, detailed and forward looking building code enforced aggressively to ensure the city will have harmonious buildings, giving it a unique identity.

Cities in the developed west and in Africa’s own advanced countries like South Africa maintain distinct identities that they derive from their buildings. Even in a single city, one district has an entirely different identity from another where the kind of buildings and housing blocks stand in harmony in terms of size, colour, finishing materials and green space. The designs of commercial, office and any other sorts of buildings are in harmony with neighbouring school and historical old buildings.

New York is a good example of how buildings’ harmony gives a city identity, despite the fact that the city is not considered green, so much so that its current Mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, has come up with what is called PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York whose main purpose is to take on a comprehensive approach to reducing energy consumption in existing buildings and to ensure under construction and future buildings maintain the same standard while the city continues to build.

Few cities can rival New York’s skyline, dominated by skyscrapers and lights. The towers that define the city give it its density, its efficiency, and its architectural character.

With the exception of few older parts such as the National Theatre area, Addis Ababa has none of

Nani Building:The Gem of AddisBy Omer Red

these features. In the middle of what is supposed to be residential district, or suburb, office buildings of completely different colour, height and design stand in the way. In a neighbourhood of concrete housing blocks rise buildings with glazing glasses that reflect sun rays to the residential neighbourhood. Worst, almost all of the buildings occupy the entire land designated to such projects with the main parts of the building for office and shop spaces. This makes the city highly suffocated and the buildings look like boxes with no parking and green spaces denying people enough breathing space.

Few buildings – such as Nani, the new African Union as well as Awash International Bank and Awash Insurance headquarters visibly standout of the crowd for their captivating exterior and charismatic height. But Nani has unique interior and exterior features making it a building with an identity.

The lack of skilled manpower in modern construction and shortage of supplies needed to deliver such a high-end engineering masterpiece equipped with state of the art amenities, is huge hurdle that wouldn’t have been

Nani Building-partial view


overcome had it not been for the determination of the proprietors of Nani, whose Group Company, MIDROC Construction Ethiopia Plc., did most of the construction work. MEPO Contracting and Management Service Plc., (another member of MIDROC Ethiopia) took over the finishing part of the construction work.

“But what is it about Nani building that made the contractors take this long?” is a legitimate question that calls for a professional and technical explanation.

Nani building has distinctive exterior looks just for ordinary eyes that would not care to evaluate the quality of the materials used.

Close to Birr 400 million has been spent on this building which has more spectacular interior qualities and high end amenities, unprecedented in Ethiopia. Existing FeaturesLocated in the centre of Addis Ababa, just in front of the National Stadium and next to Ghion Hotel, Nani is a 21-storey building with 4 podium floors of each 2,700 m2 (basement to 2nd) and 17 floors each 720m2 tower part (3rd to 20th).

It is equipped with all features of a modern building; the 250m2 gorgeous grand office entrance – excluding the elevator lobby area – and two entrances for the podium part, one at front and another from Ghion Hotel side, welcomes visitors with refreshing spacious ambiance.

A 3-storey structure that stands on its own as an extension of the main building is a standard parking space that accommodates over 120 vehicles as the number of offices on the building plus visitors’.

The podium has cafeteria on the ground floor, supermarket on the 1st, modern stationery on the 2nd and luxurious restaurant on the 3rd.

The tower part is for office use housing the different MIDROC Ethiopia Group Companies from 4th to 16th floors and the Owner and Chairman’s office form 17th to 20th floors.For vertical transportation Nani is equipped with five elevators, one with panoramic view and the other four working with quadruple system programmed so that the nearest elevator to the needed floor will arrive quickly making the wait time remarkably short. It has a separate freight elevator reserved to transport goods.

Nani Building-Lobby


Writer’s Column

Nani also has one elevator and four escalators serving only from ground to second floor.But most importantly, this building is equipped with all safety and security features like fire alarm, fire escape stairs, fire fighting, CCTV and public address system which are controlled by a modern building management system from a control room with trained personnel.

The containment work of the telephone and data system supports IP-telephone, a cutting edge technology available to date only in international institutions.

Addis Ababa is situated in a seismic zone; so, buildings of this height need strict adherence to the international building codes in seismic zones. Taking this into consideration, Nani building has three reinforced concrete shear walls with dual purpose located in triangular points, the most efficient system to withstand lateral force (seismic force) from any direction and also serve as lift, stair and utility shafts.

Nani is powered by a combination of power supply from the utility company, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) line, transformer, switchgear, generator, central UPS, and electrical boards all working in perfect harmony as they take turn automatically. The high capacity containerized stand-by generator and a central UPS with plc controlled switchgear system ensure a permanent supply of power with no fluctuation even at times of blackout. It also has MATV (master antenna television) system to serve centrally selected office

rooms, cafeteria, restaurant, hipper market and public use areas.A further distinct feature of the building is the water supply system, which has underground raw water tank, water purification, treated water tank, pump, over head water tank, booster pump, pressure reducing valves and copper pipe water supply line. The water purification system with a 250m3 underground and over head water reservoirs, out of which 40% is reserved for fire fighting system, is a major unique feature. Parts of the fire fighting system are sprinklers, water hose, portable fire extinguisher, dry riser and dry hose.

The external glass wall, otherwise called glass curtain wall, retains 33% of the heat from the sun. The internal double gypsum dry wall with rock wall insulation in the middle fiber optics ceiling with aluminum frame makes the rooms sound and fire proof.

Nani building is equipped with three chillers (two working and one stand by) to circulate chilled water to all air handling units. All floors have their own air handling units to supply cool air to each room. Each room has its own VAV (Variable Air Volume) with thermostat sensor to adjust the air temperature automatically.

Electric driven crane with rail, which can move all around the building, is placed at the roof top to allow easy cleaning of the building glasses and aluminum cladding.

Installations of all these systems are made with particular

Nani Building-HallwayNani Building-Escalators and Stairs


Writer’s Column

care to make maintenance, upgrading or replacement works easy.Structurally, Nani is built with state-of-the-art techniques that engineers call shoring, pile, pile cap (mat foundation), framed structure and flat slab.

Architecturally, the curtain wall, gypsum partition with insulation (dry wall), false ceiling with perfect specification and master key system, as well as water proofing (roof and wet area), make Nani a master piece.

Come to this building at nights, you will be amazed with the light points, fluorescent lamps, down lights and trickle battery lighting. The emergency lights, push button are remarkable.

A fuel transfer system including bulk tank, pumps, day tank and generator fuel tank make the building’s backup systems most reliable.

The HVAC system with its Chiller, AHU, VAV, fire dumper, volume dumper, thermostat, MCC panel and BMS is simply impeccable.

Nani is probably the only building in Addis Ababa with all these features properly and carefully installed making it a truly engineering and architectural marvel and ultimately the gem of Addis.

But Addis Ababa needs more Nanis; buildings that remain comfortable not only to the occupants and occasional visitors but also to onlookers who enjoy the scene of modern city. There are plenty of new buildings popping up, and many more planed, in Addis Ababa some of which of high standards. And lately, as the city embarked on huge reconstruction projects demolishing old and disorganized villages, hopes are high to see this African capital become home to modern and beautiful high-rises that would give a major face lift to the 125 years old city, one of the oldest in Africa.

Nani Building-Restaurant

Nani Building-Supermarket


HEALTH

It seems necessary to clarify c e r t a i n m i s c o n c e p t i o n s prevalent in the world of coffee consumption. There has been a time when coffee consumption

was discouraged especially by religious leaders (both Christians and Muslims alike) considering it as harmful to human health. Even today many physicians still consider coffee to be detrimental to health. This is because the latest scientific research findings about the positive sides of coffee have not properly reached all the medical teaching schools. Even in Ethiopia, many people linked the traditional coffee drinking with superstitions like fortune telling and others. However, the truth is that coffee in addition to its health benefits is also a social drink. The purpose of this article is therefore to provide the highlights of the scientific research findings on

the effect of coffee on human health and clear off the confusions about coffee drinking.

Over the ages, many legends have been told about the origins of consumption and benefits of coffee. Of these, the most well known is that of Kaldi. According to the legend of Kaldi, coffee drinking started in the Sixth Century.

For curiosity, he too tried the fruits and felt the same stimulating effect. Then the news spread in the area and with that its consumption also started to spread. Gradually, the method of coffee consumption changed from chewing to boiling the fruits to drinking the infusion.

Now for many, coffee has an important contribution to start the day. A cup of coffee makes one awake, energetic, and alert.

Coffee and healthBy: Yilma Yemane-Berhan

a) In the olden days, man over time used coffee as medicine. For example, legend has it that a man in Yemen used coffee to treat the people in a community to cure them from itching problems. He became successful in his effort for which the community highly respected him to the extent of naming him as the “god” of coffee.

However, the first written document on the medical value of coffee was that of an Arab physician named Rhazes in the 10th century. Then in about the same century another Arab physician, Ibn Sina wrote more in details on the subject.

b) Regardless of the biases against coffee, its consumption and demand has grown to the extent it has reached today. Coffee has a great economic value in the world being the second to oil with an annual retail value of over USD 70 billion.

The major coffee drinkers in the world are USA, Europe, Japan, the Middle East and Brazil. For example, more than 50% of Americans drink everyday three to four cups of coffee, which is more than 330 million cups a day. Now coffee drinking is also gradually entering China, a traditionally tea drinking country, with a population of over 1.3 billion.

Considering the millions of people who are drinking coffee, researchers and scientists in major universities and medical centers mainly in USA, European countries, Japan and lately Brazil, have made and are still making scientific studies on the effect of coffee to human health.

According to some new researches conducted at Harvard Medical School and the University of California at San Diago, revealed that coffee reduces 40% of the diabetic

Coffee Plant


risks among those predisposed of to the disease (coffee science. org).

Other studies also disclosed that coffee may help to reduce the risk of a number of other diseases including Parkinsons disease, colon cancer, cirrhosis, gallstones, depression etc. David. A Meyerson, MD, a cardiologist at John Hopkins University and National spokesperson for the American Heart Association (AHA) states that coffee does not promote the development of atherosclerosis. According to AHA, no study has demonstrated that caffeine encourages or accelerates atherosclerosis. The AHA report also stated that although many studies have tried to find a direct link between heart disease and coffee, the scientific evidence is conflicting and the results are inconsistent (National Coffee Association of America, NCA, USA).

Although some literature on coffee reveals the following benefits of drinking coffee, the benefits can not be taken for granted, it should be dealt with caution.

• It helps to manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is not available.

• Some studies showed that coffee reduced the risk of prostate cancer and another study showed that it could protect people from the onset of Alzheimer.

• Coffee can stop a headache and boost mood

• Coffee is a good source of potassium, magnesium and fluoride.

• The National Cancer Institute of Japan in Tokyo found that the people drinking coffee daily

avoided half the liver cancer risks more than those who never took coffee.

Major Medical Centers and Universities are contributing to our knowledge about what components in coffee help in the disease fighting process. Accordingly, the studies show that coffee has more than 1000 components of which caffeine is one of them. Many of the components have potent antioxidants like chlorogenic acids. The health benefit of antioxidants is broader since the compound they contain helps to fight diseases.

The German scientists have identified a powerful antioxidant which is found exclusively in coffee that is believed to protect people from colon cancer.

Caffeine is also the most prominent component in coffee whose major benefits are keeping one awake, alert and energetic. It boosts energy and reduces fatigue. It is indicated in various studies that up to 400 mg caffeine per day for a healthy person, is fine. A normal cup of coffee has about 140 mg caffeine and the recommended amount per day of 400mg caffeine is equivalent to about 3 to 4 cups of coffee depending on the size of cups and coffee concentration.

It is reported that caffeine in coffee improves performance and endurance during prolonged exercise. It is said that two cups of coffee is all it takes to overcome fatigue and feel alert again.

Research continues everyday on coffee, caffeine and health. Following this, hundreds of new studies are published every month by scientists and research institutes

mainly in USA, Europe, Japan and Brazil.

The National Coffee Association of America (NCA) has a committee of scientists and doctors who monitor and analyze regularly the scientific literature on coffee research findings.

Overall, the scientific studies so far have shown that coffee is beneficial than it is harmful. Thus taken moderately 3 to 4 cups of coffee per day has no harm but benefits. Tom De Paul, PhD research scientist of the Institute of Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt University has said, “For most people very little bad comes from drinking coffee but a lot of good”. Prominent scientists and researchers assure us that moderate coffee drinking poses no health problems. And it is rather more beneficial.

The writer of this article, wishes our readers a good cup of Ethiopian coffee which is world wide known for its unique aroma and flavor, balanced body and acidity. But take it moderately as recommended.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

FACT: Do you know that over one billion cups of coffee is consumed daily in the world?


HEALTH

Global Status of HIV/AIDSNearly 50% of people who are eligible for antiretroviral therapy now have access to lifesaving treatment

Substantial scale up, even during the financial crisis, highlights country driven commitments new investment framework will help countries save more lives and money

A new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), shows that 2011 was a game changing year for the AIDS response with unprecedented progress in science and, political leadership and results. The report also shows that new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since the peak of the epidemic. New HIV infections were reduced by 21% since 1997, and deaths from AIDS-related illnesses decreased by 21% since 2005.

“Even in a very difficult financial crisis, countries are delivering results in the AIDS response.” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “We have seen a massive scale up in access to HIV treatment which has had a dramatic effect on the lives of people everywhere.”

According to UNAIDS and WHO estimates, 47% (6.6 million) of the estimated 14.2 million people eligible for treatment in low- and middle-income countries were accessing lifesaving antiretroviral therapy in 2010, an increase of 1.35 million since 2009. The 2011 UNAIDS World AIDS Day report also highlights that there are early signs that HIV treatment is having a significant impact on reducing the number of new HIV infections.

In Botswana, patterns in sexual behaviour have remained relatively stable since 2000. The country scaled up access to treatment from less than 5% in 2000 to over 80% which it has maintained since 2009. The annual number of new HIV infections has declined by over two thirds since the late nineties and data suggests that the number of new HIV infections in Botswana is 30% to 50% lower today than it would have been in the absence of antiretroviral therapy. As treatment reduces the viral load of a person living with HIV to virtually undetectable

levels, it also reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to an uninfected partner. Recent studies show that treatment can be up to 96% effective in preventing HIV transmission among couples.

At the end of 2010 an estimated:• 34 million [31.6 million – 35.2 million] people globally

living with HIV • 2.7 million [2.4 million – 2.9 million] new HIV infections

in 2010 • 1.8 million [1.6 million – 1.9 million] people died of

AIDS-related illnesses in 2010

Treatment has averted 2.5 million deaths since 1995People living with HIV are living longer and AIDS-related deaths are declining due to the lifesaving effects of antiretroviral therapy. Globally there were an estimated 34 million people living with HIV in 2010, and since 2005, AIDS-related deaths decreased from 2.2 million to 1.8 million in 2010. Around 2.5 million deaths are estimated to have been averted in low- and middle-income countries due to increased access to HIV treatment since 1995.

If full implementation of the new framework is achieved in the next four years, global resource needs would peak in 2015 and decline gradually thereafter; making the AIDS response an excellent investment opportunity where returns will offset the upfront cost in less than one generation.

This new strategic approach to investments would achieve extraordinary results; at least 12.2 million new HIV infections would be averted, including 1.9 million among children between 2011 and 2020; and 7.4 million AIDS-related deaths would be averted between 2011 and 2020.

At the end of 2010 around US$ 15 billion was available for the AIDS response in low- and middle-income countries. Donor funding has been reduced by 10% from US$ 7.6 billion in 2009 to US$ 6.9 billion in 2010. In a difficult economic climate the future of AIDS resourcing depends on smart investments.

To rapidly reduce new HIV infections and to save lives, the 2011 UNAIDS World AIDS Day report underscores that shared responsibility is needed.


Doing it Otherwise

Every man and woman without exception senses that there is something else beyond his ordinary life. The perfect evidence that there is something far better is the enduring search for it. Our task is to raise this unconscious sense to the conscious level where it enriches us just as pearls enrich the man who bring them up from the ocean. No person and no circumstance can prevent you from experiencing the new life. Not even you can prevent it, if you are willing to find the true self. Your life transformation is in exact proportion to the amount of truth you can take without running away.

So do these:- • Proceed courageously upon the principle that

even just a glimpse of light leads to more light. For it always does. Just dare a lot, and you will get a lot. But all this may call for your goal to become a normally functioning individual with real nature of a simple, decent, honest, unafraid human being.

• Start with a right frame of mind, with simple receptivity. Everything depends upon the way we take the truth. Your grasp of it makes everything else clear. Man has a false sense of identity. He thinks he is his false self, just the body, which he is not, the two conflicting selves with in him: his true self and his false self. It is difficult at the start to see that but what a fine step toward wholeness! The false self consists of everything negative within a person. Its nature is to be envious, helpless, angry, despairing, worried, critical, unstable, foolish and everything

else at enmity with happiness. It is the cause of all inward pressure which explodes outwardly in wars, crimes and other social tragedies. The man dominated by his false self does not live his day, he is driven through it, hounded by compulsive desires, pained by automatic desires, scared by unrealistic imaginations. Because he wrongly takes himself as the false self, his desperation is endless. And there for one loses the objective of every seeker which is to become an enlightened, happy, and pleasant human being.

• To overcome the barrier to happiness, the false self cannot be and need not be changed. But it can be dissolved and be replaced by the True Self.

• Remember the false self is false, it is nonexistent, but by believing in it we act as if it were real. In reality there is only one self, one power. The True Self is your higher self, the Divinity In man.

• The task is to dissolve the imaginary self and live from our real center of being. That is the only way to human health. The greatest single barrier to attaining this is mans secret assumption that he already knows the answer to his problems. The only evil is ignorance, unawareness, failure to see our authentic identity. To the degree that we learn to live from our true identity, our pains and follies fall away, to be replaced with peace and wisdom.

A LeAp TO perSONAL GreATNeSSBY UNCOVERING THE TRUE SELFBy: Dr. Selam Aklilu

The Writer of this article, Dr. Selam Aklilu, is the Director of the first Chiropractic and Wellness Clinic in Addis Ababa for the last 11 years. She has her first degree in Chemical Technology, and secured her Doctor of Chiropractic and Doctor of Medicine degrees consecutively. She has been in private practice for 24 years with a special interest in psycho-neuro immunology emphasizing “our thinking governs or affects our health”. Prior to moving to Ethiopia she has been practicing in Los Angeles, California for 13 years. She is a Mother of 4 and married for 25 years, and has been on a personal journey of “looking inwards” for the last 25 years.


Happiness is yours in the here and now. The painful state of anxiety and loneliness are abolished permanently. Financial affairs are not financial problems. You are at ease with yourself. You are not at the mercy of unfulfilled problems. Confusion is replaced with clarity. There is a relieving answer to every tormenting question. You posses true self. Something can be done about every unhappy condition. While living in the world you can be inwardly detached from its sorrows to live with personal peace and sanity. This is the greatest secret on earth! Because finding your true self changes everything!

So the whole question is how can we free ourselves from the false power of the old nature? Author P.D. Ouspensky quotes a modern mystic, George Gurdjieff.

“The inner self of every human waits patiently until we are ready, then it extends an invitation to enter the luminous mystery of existence in which all things are created, nurtured, and renewed. In the presence of this mystery, we not only heal our-selves we heal the world.”

Power Freedom Grace by Deepak Chopra

Knowledge of this real nature is how a man achieves unshakable success. He is like a permanent guest in a spacious mansion, enjoying everything while being

responsible for nothing. Read as if you have no personal attitudes, be open and receptive. This frees the mind of conditional thinking, enabling it to absorb the new. We need to start with nothing more than a simple desire to get to the point. It is not a question of intelligence. Everyone has the intelligence. We need to have no concern whether we are able to do this or that toward our inner happiness. Our only concern is whether we are willing to learn. And even if we are not, we can be willing to be willing. The truth at all costs! It is like an ice breaking ship that cracks its passage through frozen obstacles. A tremendous power works for the man who meets a challenging problem with the honest admission `I don’t know the answer.` By turning his helplessness over the power in him, he enables it to reveal the answer. It is like turning over the basic material to a master rug-maker, knowing that he can take what we give and weave something far more beautiful than we could ever do.

Do not confuse the instrument with the user of the instrument. The instrument is the brain the user of the instrument is the true self. Being expressed.

* Most concepts adapted from the book,Mystic Path By Vernon Howard


NMiC ascends heights of success with new mineral discoveriesThe National Mining Corporation Plc. (NMiC) has recently discovered unprecedented quality and quantity of minerals in Ethiopia heralding yet another ascendance on the heights of success by MIDROC Ethiopia Investment Group.

The discovery of over 500,000 kgs of gold resources in Dawa Digati and Werri areas of Oromia and Tigray Regional States, respectively, are the highl ights of such achievements culminating years of exploration operation and investment of millions of Birr.

The remarkable result in Dawa Digati and Werri which heralded the discovery of the largest gold deposits in Ethiopia is a significant contribution by MIDROC Ethiopia to the country’s economic growth.

Encouraged by the successful completion of the exploration phase of the Dawa Digati and Werri prospecting, NMiC is now undertaking preparations to start production by 2015.

Newly Discovered Gold and Base Metals DepositsThe National Mining Corporation Plc. (NMiC), whose establishment objective among others is to explore and develop the mining and mineral industry sector of Ethiopia, has embarked in the prospecting, exploration and development for gold and base metals as well as industrial minerals of the country since in 1993.

The successful acquisition of the Lega Dembi gold mine from the government and quarrying of decorative building stones, such as marble, already in progress heralded the beginning of the company’s aggressive involvement in the mineral industry development. NMiC designed gold and base metals prospecting and exploration program aimed at discovering additional economic mineral reserve deposits over new prospective areas of the country to fulfill the ever magnanimous aspiration of the owner, Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi, to see Ethiopia prosper.

Ascending Heights of Success

Location of Werri & Dawa Digati

This column (Ascending Heights of Success) is a newly started column on TIRET. This new initiative is meant to highlight major accomplishments of MIDROC Ethiopia Group Companies. This is the first article for the column, which will be regular in future editions. The editorial team of TIRET humbly welcomes comments and contributions. Enjoy the new column!


Two areas, Dawa Digati in Oromia and Werri in Tigrai Regional States, respect ive ly, were se lected to prospect and explore for gold and base metals based on concession granted by the government.

Results of the Dawa Digati Exploration WorksThe Dawa Digati, which initially covered about 547 km2 area, is the southern extension of the Megado Graben Syncline. Following subsequent relinquishments during the past exploration periods, the license area held by the Corporation at present has been reduced to about 87 km2.

Located along the Addis Ababa-Hageremariam road, the area is accessible through 470km asphalt road and the Sod-Dawa Digati 97km all-weather road and a number of other road options.

Exploration activities in the license area star ted in early 1996. The integrated activities thus conducted at different scales (1:10,000-1:5,000) during the initial gold exploration period (3-years) resulted in the

identification of encouraging gold prospects like Ginchile, Dugho Sefer, Burikaro, Ejersa South, and Okote. Gold values varying from 0.01-5.9 g/t in Burikaro; 0.1-3.6g/t in Ejersa south; 0.01-99g/t in Ejersa North were the first few indications. Okote’s gold manifestations were quite glaring from the outset. Laboratory analysis from three trenches within Okote mineralized zone covering an area of 2.6 km long (NS) and 4 km wide (EW), for instance, showed 25g/t for 10m; 37.7g/t for 5m; 2.7g/t for 20m. These results were not only encouraging but also justified a drilling programme. Subsequently few test boreholes were dug to trace the continuity of these trenches which manifested gold showings at depth.

The works in Buri Karo and Ejersa South have also revealed about 5km and 3.6km long mineralized zones, respectively.

The Okote prospect, about 2.6km in strike length and 4km wide could not be covered with detailed exploration work simultaneously. Instead the prospect had to be subdivided into Eastern and Western mineralized zones. The 400m wide western mineralized zone (Okote North and Okote South) has been the focus of detailed exploration work including diamond drilling. Of this the North western Okote target has been more systematically explored.

Rev iew of the 2 .6km in s t r i ke l e n g t h a n d 4 k m w i d e O k o t e project exploration data, which was undertaken in two mineralized zones, and inc luded diamond drilling, was periodically conducted by four di f ferent independent foreign consultants to ensure the study and data collected were in accordance with the internationally accepted exploration practices.The National Mining Corporation

Plc. (NMiC) was established in 1993 with a registered capital of 43 million Birr has now reached 103 million Birr. Few years after its establishment, it started exploration and prospecting for gold and associated minerals in the two areas under exploration and prospecting License agreements with the then Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ato Melaku Beza, NMiC has become one of the top most exploration and mining companies in Ethiopia along with global leaders in the industry.

Scoping Study Results Based on the deta i led rev iew findings and in accordance with the Guidelines set out by the Canadian Code of Reporting of exploration Results, Mineral Reserves, NI 43-101, Venmyn estimated gold ore resource amounting to 190 million tons at 1.86g/t or about 380,000 kgs of gold and about 300 million tons at 1.54g/t or about 500, 000 kgs of gold respectively for the north Okote and both for north and south Okote together, respectively.

A d e t a i l e d e x p l o r a t i o n d a t a review and preliminary economic assessment (PEA) conducted by the consultant has found the Okote gold prospect to be technically and economically viable. The study has further shown an open pit and underground gold resources amounting to 68.4 million tons of ore with gold recovery of over 114,667 kgs to be exploited for a period of 20 years.

The PEA shows exploit ing this r e s o u r c e w i t h a n e s t i m a t e d investment of about $120 million could bring over $4 billion to the company and over a billion dollars to the government in the form of Royalty and profit tax.

Exploratory drilling


Ascending Heights of Success

Future work programme includes detail drilling, metallurgical test work and carrying out feasibility studies.

Werri Gold and Base Metals Prospecting and Exploration ProjectI n M a r c h 1 9 9 6 , a y e a r l o n g prospecting license agreement was signed between the then ministry of Mines and Energy and NMiC to prospect for gold and associated minerals over 1,637 km2 of Werri area, in Tigrai Regional state, 100km North West of Mekelle, the regional Administrative capital.

The prospecting study conducted at a scale of 1:50,000 analyzed a large number of geochemical samples for gold, copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum and other metals.

The resul t def ined three most prospective targets namely, Worq Tarbi , Worq Amba and Chemit areas covering 382 km2. Exploration results obtained from section of Worq Amba area, among other targets , was pos i t ive showing persistent surface mineralization continuity for a kilometer strike length and average width of up to 15 meters.

Results from the 34 boreholes drilled with average depth of 120 meters Orifurrous core samples

CEO of NMIC, Ato Melaku Beza, and geologists examining samples

each confirmed gold and base metals depth extensions defining ore zones of persistent continuity.

The mineralization defined at Worq Amba was open both to south and north. Later, Chini (80 km2 area), which was located outside NMiC property was incorporated as part of Werri prospect area. The extension areas have been explored in detail and are ready for immediate test drilling program implementation, according to the study.

Resource EvaluationThe resource evaluated along with process route tested by three renowned foreign companies , Japanese consult ing f irm back i n 2005 and by I ndependen t Consulting Companies, Wardell Armstrong international of U.K. and Venmyn Independent Project (VIP) of South Africa all gave positive results.

The Japanese Consult ing Firm a long wi th a loca l geo log ica l team evaluated the presence of 3.5 million tons of gold ore and significant base metals indications. It also recommended further detail exploration studies to upgrade the reserves obtained.

The metal lurgical test work on

the indicated Worq Amba-south deposit, under taken by Wardell Armstrong International of U.K., proved recoveries of up to 95% gold by direct leaching and salable base metal zinc recoveries by floatation methods.

The scoping study made by Venmyn Independent Company (VIP) of South Africa, on the other hand, estimated the mineral resource of the same Worq Amba section deposit revealing the presence of about 16,000 kgs of gold, 146 tons of silver, 108 million pounds of lead and 84 million pounds of zinc resources.

VIP, furthermore, concluded that this deposit can be mined economically at current gold world market price, and also suggested a simple open pit method for the extraction of the ores to be mined. Currently the project is undertaking feasibility studies. Okote and Werri gold and base metals projects could not have reached i ts current s tage had it not been for the continuous encouragement and provis ion of finance by the owner, Sheikh Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi.

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TIRET October 2012 Issue

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