Dangote operation asked to let youth supply raw materialsRegional administration seeks to reduce youth unemploymentEthiopian regional officials are demanding foreign cement producers including Dangote Cement Plc hand control of some parts of their businesses to groups of unemployed youths. Pumice is an additive used in cement manufacturing and its extraction is overseen by local bureaucrats, rather than Ethiopia’s central government. Dangote Cement was among several businesses attacked during the unrest, which caused foreign investment to slump. Oromia has 1.2 million unemployed youth, according to the Addis Ababa-based Walta Information Center news service, which cited a local youth affairs office. The company’s plant in Mugher, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Addis Ababa, has the capacity to produce 2.5 million metric tons a year of cement, according to Dangote’s website.

Source: Ethiopian News March 20, 2017 08:00 UTC