Major federal ministries and public offices will soon open a unit exclusively dedicated to facilitate investment and other requests from the diaspora as the government aims to have returnees bypass the often chaotic bureaucracy which they complain is driving them away from investing in the country.A full-fledged diaspora policy will also enter the statue books before this European year ends.

The disposable income (the net payment that goes home) of permanent employees in private organizations is going to be reduced by five percent, following the ratification of the private pension fund proclamation on June 09, 2011. As opposed to earlier practices, the permanent employees of private organizations will contribute to their pensions like public employees. The Private Organizations Employees Social Security Agency (POESA) announced that the scheme will be effective starting from July 8, 2011.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Defense will be expected to retire from their positions in the coming budget year as the replacement of higher government and ruling party officials continues.

What makes a middle-class, middle-age, Middle-Eastern mother risk her life, liberty and livelihood to join street demonstrators and stand up against a mighty ruler? Think about it. Behind the masses in Cairo and elsewhere, there is a moment of personal decision. Something tips your scale toward involvement. Something finally makes you care. Suddenly, getting your government to be accountable to you -- and not the other way around -- is worth putting it all on the line. It reaches the top of your value list.

Ethiopian lawmakers have approved a new law to impose a mandatory Environmental and Social Friendly regulation on the country’s horticulture producing and exporting enterprises. Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers, led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, last week approved a Horticulture Development Regulation to curb the negative impact of the horticultural sector’s on the environment.

French telecommunications giant, France Telecom, and the Ethiopian government are involved in a dispute following a decision to cut 8,000 jobs at Ethio Telecom in a bid to restructure the state-owned company. Concerned over a number of irregularities, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi last week delegated a representative to find a solution to the issue.

Ministers of Council of Ethiopia approved 7.5 billion birr supplementary budget on the 72.2 billion birr annual budget set for this Ethiopia fiscal year six months ago.

In the wake of the price ceiling made last Thursday on basic commodities, Ethiopian civil servants to enjoy a salary increment beginning the coming Ethiopian month (Tire), Sufian Ahmed Minister of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) confirmed to EthiopiaFirst.

The Millennium Development Goals are likely to remain important for the long-term task of eradicating poverty beyond 2015. But development policy is being challenged by a host of issues brought into focus by the quadruple crises of the past three years: the food, climate, energy and financial crises. These crises and their aftermaths require us to "think out of the box."

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who has been meeting different stakeholders to explain the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) since its announcement at the beginning of August 2010, lost his patience and had nothing to say but, "So what?" to naysayers during the adoption of the plan on Thursday, December 2, 2010.