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ሰላም ለንግዱ ዘርፍ ለአገር ግንባታ ወሳኝ ነው 

ከእሸቱ ደስታ  

ሰላም ለሰው ልጆች ሁሉ አስፈላጊ እና ዋነኛ ከሆኑ እሴቶች አንዱ ነው፡፡ በማንኛውም መልኩ እጅግ በጣም ጠቃሚ አይደለም የሚባል ሰላም እንኳ ፍትሐዊ ነው ከሚባል ጦርነት ይመረጣል፡፡ ሰላም ከሁሉም ፍትሕ ይበልጣል፡፡ የጦርነት ጥሩም ሆነ መጥፎም የለም፡፡ ሰላም የሁከት እና የብጥብጥ ተቃራኒ ነው፡፡ ሰላምን ብዙዎች ከስጋት ነጻ መሆን፣ አለመረበሽ፣ መረጋጋት፣ ነፃነት ብለው ይገልጹታል፡፡  

ለዚህም በአገራችን ኢትዮጵያ ከቅርብ ጊዜ ወዲህ ግጭቶች ታይቶ በማይታወቅ ደረጃ የተለያየ ባሕሪ በመያዝ በተደጋጋሚ እየተከሰተ መሆኑን ከፍተኛ እና አሳሳቢ ማህበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ችግሮችን እያስከተለ ይገኛል፡፡ በግጭቶች ሳቢያ በርካታ ንፁሃን ዜጎች ተገድለዋል በሚሊዮን የሚቆጠሩ ከቀያቸው ተፈናቅለዋል፣ ተሰደዋል፡፡ አካላዊ እና ስነ ልቦናዊ ጉዳት ደርሶባቸዋል፡፡ ለረጅም ጊዜ የቆዩ ማህበራዊ ግንኙነቶች ተዛብተዋል፡፡ ይህንን አሳሳቢ እየሆነ የመጣውን አደጋ እና ስጋት መመልከት ለሰላም ወዳድ ኢትዮጵያዊያን ሁሉ አንገብጋቢ እና ተቀዳሚ አጀንዳ ሆኗል፡፡  

ይህ ሁኔታ እልባት እንዲያገኝ ከሚፈልጉት የሲቪል ማህበረሰብ  ድርጅቶች አንዱ የሆነው ኢኒሼቲቭ አፍሪካ ከሚያከናውናቸው በርካታ ተግባራት መካከል በሰላም ግንባታ ዙሪያ ኘሮጀክት ቀርጾ በመንቀሳቀስ ላይ መሆኑ ነው፡፡  

በዚህም በተለይ ንግድ ለሰላም እና ልማት በሚለው ኘሮግራሙ የንግዱ ዘርፍ ተዋንያኖች በተለያዩ የግጭት ቀጠናዎች ውስጥ መደበኛ የንግድ ስራቸውን የመቀጠል እና ከሌሎች የሲቪል ማህበረሰብ ድርጅቶች ጋር ተባብሮ በመስራት ማህበረሰቡ ለረጅም ጊዜ እርስ በርስ ተከባብሮበት የኖረው ማህበራዊ ሰንሰለት እና የአብሮነት ውል ሳይበጠስ እንዲቀጥል በማገዝ ረገድ ቁልፍ ሚና ሊጫወቱ እንደሚችሉ ያምናል፡፡  

ይህም ብቻ አይደለም የግሉ ዘርፍ የስራ እድሎችን በመፍጠር፣ ለሰላም መደፍረስ የተጋለጡ  አካባቢዎችን እንዲያገግሙ በማገዝ ብሎም ወደ ዘላቂ ሰላም የሚያመሩበትን መንገድ በመፍጠርም ቁልፍ ሚና እየተጫወተ እና በመጫወት ላይ ይገኛል፡፡  

በዚህም ንግድ ለሰላም ኘሮግራም ትኩረት ሰጥቶ በዋናነት እየሰራባቸው ካሉት ቁልፍ ተግባራት አንዱ የግሉን ዘርፍ አቅም መገንባት ላይ ነው፡፡ ከአቅም ግንባታ በተያያዘ የንግዱ ማህበረሰብ ወይም የግሉ ዘርፍ በአገራዊ ምክክሩ አገራዊ መግባባት እና በሰላም ግንባታ ዙሪያ የራሱን አስተዋጽኦ ለማድረግ እንዲችል የአቅም ግንባታ ድጋፎችን ሰጥቷል እየሰጠም ይገኛል፡፡  

ከዚህ በመነሳትም የንግዱ/የግሉ ዘርፍ በአገራዊ ምክክሩ ሚናቸው ጐልቶ እንዲወጣም እየተሰራ ነው፡፡ በዚህም በተለያዩ ጊዜያት በአገራችን ከሚገኙ የንግድ እና ዘርፍ ማህበራት ም/ቤት፣ የነጋዴ ሴቶች ማህበራት እንዲሁም ከቢዝነስ አባል ድርጅቶች ጋር በተደረጉ ምክክሮች በአጀንዳነት እንዲቀርቡ የሚነሱ ነጥቦች አሉ፡፡  

በቅድሚያ የንግድ ሥራ በተሟላ ሁኔታ ለማከናወን የሚያስፈልገው ወጪ እንዲቀንስ መንግስት ታክስን እና የተለያዩ ክፍያዎችን መቀነስ እና ሕገ ወጥ ንግድን መከላከል፣ በፖለቲካ ያለመረጋጋት እና በአካባቢ አስተዳደሮች በንግዱ/ በግሉ ዘርፍ በሚገኙ ማህበረሰቦች ላይ የሚፈጸሙ ተጽእኖ እንዲሁም የክልል ተወላጆች አይደላችሁም በሚል ማግለል ላይ ትኩረት ተሰጥቶ መወያየት አስፈላጊ መሆኑን በተጨማሪም የግሉን/ የንግዱን ዘርፍ ከማጠናከር አኳያ ምክክሩ በግሉ ዘርፍ የሚመራ እድገትን ማበረታታት እና ንግድ ሥራ ማከናወን ምቹ ከባቢን መፍጠር ይገኝበታል፡፡  

በሌላም በኩል በሞኖፖል አሰራሮች ላይ እርምጃ መውሰድን፣ ስራ ፈጣሪነትን እና ለሁሉም ገበያ እና ተዋንያን እኩል የመወዳደሪያ  ሚና መፍጠሩን ተጠቃሽ ነው፡፡ ሌላው ለግሉ ዘርፍ የንግድ ፖሊሲዎችን እና ደንቦች ለማሳያ የንግድ፣ የትራንስፖርት፣ የገቢ እና ወጪ እንዲሁም የታክስ እና የጉምሩክ ፖሊሲዎች እና ደንቦች ላይ ትኩረት መስጠት እንዲሁም ከግሉ/ንግዱ ዘርፍ ፍላጐት ጋር የተጣጣመ እና ምርታማነትና ፈጠራን የሚያጐለብት የትምህርት ኘሮግራም ማስፋፋት፣ የሰራተኛ ዜጋው ክህሎት እንዲበለጽግ በቴክኒክ እና ሙያ ዘርፍ ያተኮረ የትምህርት መርሃ ግብር ላይ በስፋት መዋዕለ ነዋይ እንዲፈስ እንደሚያስፈልግም ተጠቁሟል፡፡  

Axum Airport Reopens, Signaling Hope for Economic Growth

Ethiopia – June 9, 2024 – The recent reopening of Axum Airport represents a significant turning point for the region, promising renewed economic opportunities and growth. The airport, which had been closed due to the conflict in Tigray, left a profound impact on the socio-economic fabric of the area, disrupting trade, tourism, and livelihoods. However, with its reopening, the region is poised for a revitalization.

The closure of Axum Airport had far-reaching consequences, particularly for local businesses reliant on tourism and trade. Hotels, restaurants, and small enterprises faced unprecedented challenges as the flow of tourists dwindled.

In the lead-up to the reopening, Initiative Africa (IA), in collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprises (CIPE), organized a pivotal conference in Axum on October 2, 2023, under the theme of ‘Revitalizing Axum’s Tourism’. This gathering brought together experts, stakeholders, and community leaders to explore strategies for leveraging the airport’s revival to stimulate economic growth. This workshop underscored the importance of the reopening of the Airport to revive the economy of Axum.

The reopening of Axum Airport symbolizes hope and resilience for the residents of Axum and Ethiopia. It represents a significant step towards economic recovery and progress. As the region prepares to welcome travelers and cargo once again, the positive impacts on the local and national economy are anticipated.

While the reopening of Axum Airport is a milestone worth celebrating, its full potential will unfold gradually over time. As flights resume and activities at the airport pick up pace, the region can look forward to a brighter future.

Exploring the Vital Link Between Business and Peace: Initiative Africa and Addis Ababa University Host Dynamic Panel Discussion

On February 22, Initiative Africa, in collaboration with Addis Ababa University, hosted a panel discussion on the critical link between business and peace. This event, a part of the Business for Peace project, aimed to explore the role of commerce in fostering peace. Dr. Yohannes Adigeh initiated the discussion with a welcoming address, followed by presentations from esteemed speakers Dr. Tilahun Bejitual, Dr. Desalegn Amsalu, and Ato Mesfin Messela.

Under the skilled moderation of Dr. Samuel Tefera, the discussion unfolded seamlessly, with each speaker offering nuanced perspectives and practical insights. From exploring how businesses can foster stability within communities to examining the role of economic development in conflict resolution, the dialogue was rich and diverse. Attendees were actively engaged, with a robust question and answer session allowing for further exploration of key themes and ideas.

During the panel discussion, the historical connection between business and peace in Ethiopia was highlighted. The panel emphasized how previous trades and exchanges have shown the pivotal role of the private sector in fostering peace and security. Business activities have not only contributed to economic development but also played a significant role in promoting stability and social cohesion. The discussion highlighted the interdependence between business interests and peace outcomes, emphasizing that a conducive environment for business operations is essential for maintaining peace, while peace, in turn, creates favorable conditions for business growth and investment. Furthermore, panelists stressed the importance of a collaborative approach among the private sector, government, and civil society in promoting peace and security. They emphasized the need for dialogue, cooperation, and partnership to address underlying causes of conflict and build sustainable peace.

The closing remarks were delivered by Dr. Adigeh and a representative from Initiative Africa. They underscored the significance of the discussions held and reiterated the commitment of both organizations to advancing peace through collaborative efforts and knowledge-sharing. This event serves as a testament to the potential for businesses to play a constructive role in promoting societal stability and sustainable development.

The Process of Rebuilding Axum’s Airport has Begun

Recent reports have brought encouraging news, signaling the commencement of the official reconstruction process for Aksum Airport. This marks a significant milestone as the airport had previously lain in ruins due to the conflict with Tigray, which, in turn, had a detrimental impact on the country’s business sector. For quite some time, the process of restoring the airport had remained stagnant, but there is now tangible progress through the means of the Procurement of materials needed to repair Aksum Airport.

The regional maintenance process coordinator, Ato Tewolde Girmay, who is based at Ethiopian Airlines’ headquarters, has confirmed that the airline has begun the process of obtaining crucial materials for the maintenance of the airport. This significant development represents a major step forward in the efforts to restore critical infrastructure.

Initiative Africa has been an unwavering advocator for the reconstruction of the airport. In close collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprises (CIPE), they recently organized a highly informative and engaging conference in Axum. The conference provided a platform for experts and stakeholders to explore various strategies for leveraging the airport’s revival to stimulate economic growth in the country. This collaborative effort has injected a fresh sense of urgency and purpose into the mission, and it has been instrumental in voicing the cause.

Regrettably, it is worth noting that the airport’s restoration will not be completed in time for the annual Zion Maryam holiday, which falls on the 21st of Hidar. This religious holiday holds significant importance in the Axum region and is widely celebrated, underscoring the need for continued efforts in revitalizing this essential infrastructure for the broader community.

Source: TIKVAH

A conference on Revitalizing Tourism in Axum

Happening Now!

October 2, 2023. A conference on Revitalizing Tourism in Axum is now being held at Ramhay Hotel in the Axum region. The conference is organized by Initiative Africa and CIPE in partnership with the Tigray Chamber, Axum Chamber, Tigray Tourism Bureau, and the Federal Ministry of Tourism.

The main objective of this conference is to address major issues that have been hindering the Tourism in Axum and revive its economy by strengthening a peaceful environment, restoring the heritage, and reconstruct Axum’s airport.

Axum Conference: Revitalizing Axum’s Tourism