By Staff Reporter
ADDIS ABABA – (BORKENA) – Mekuria Basaye, owner and CEO of Time General Business Group has responded to the national call for the improvement of school infrastructures across the country, sources said. The tycoon made public that he allocated 165 million birr budget for the entire pre-regular schools to be built in 11 regional states. “Especially in the northern part of our country, as infrastructures and schools were destroyed by the recently held war, two pre-regular schools will be constructed in every war-hit region,” Mekuria said.
The weekly Amharic Addis Admas reported last Sunday that Mekuria would build the first pre-regular school in Yuwo Kebele, Wendo Woreda of Sidama Region where the investor reportedly made wealth. The Chief administrator of Sidama Regional State, Desta Lendamo laid a cornerstone on 24 June 2023 for the pre-regular school to be built at Yuwo Primary School.
The chief administrator of Sidama Region, Desta Lendamo expressed appreciation on the occasion to Mekuria Basaye for the concern he has shown for his compatriots and country.
The investor, Mekuria said on the occasion that the construction of ‘Yuwo Pre-Regular School’, which was said to cost from 19 to 15 million birr would be finalised within two months’ time and be ready to enrol students for the 2023/24 Ethiopian academic year.
The school leadership including the director said that the pre-regular school to be built at Yuwo Primary School would enable students to emerge with a firm foundation and play a role to maintain quality education. Renowned individuals including the current chief administrator of Sidama Region had their early education at Yuwo Primary School, which was established in 1977.
“I have tried a lot to get educated, but unfortunately I was not successful…,” said the investor. He said that to compensate for what he had lost, he supported many to travel abroad for further education. Mekuria announced that he would keep on building schools throughout the country in areas where the regional officials claim to be with pressing problems.
The investor indicated that the pre-regular school construction started in Sidama Region would continue in Tigray, Amhara, Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Oromia, Southern Ethiopia and other regions… “We build schools in all regions. We planned not only to construct the building and handover it, but also to hire efficient teachers and do school feeding,” the investor said.
“Although I was born and brought up in Oromia and am an Oromo, I made wealth in Sidama. All Ethiopians bought and used my products and services for 38 years. Therefore, my wealth belongs to all Ethiopians. That is why I wanted to build schools so that children all over Ethiopia can get quality education from the very beginning and become able citizens to take over the country,” Mekuria said.
Mekuria has begun gold mining investment months back in three Woredas of Guji Zone at a capital of USD two billion. He organised 7,300 young people of the area to engage themselves in gold mining.
The investor runs 32 companies in the fields of mining, real estate, construction, coffee plantation, hotel and cafe, import and export, horticulture with employees numbering about 3,000.
Mekuria said that if the bureaucratic bottlenecks and malpractices being witnessed in the country improved, he can contribute to support the effort of paying back the loan of the country through hard work.
The Federal Ministry of Education has recently announced the launching of a campaign to upgrade school infrastructures with the major objectives of bringing quality education across the country.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has also called all to support the initiatives of improving schools where they attended their early education.
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What a patriot! He is the incarnate of those Oromos who sacrificed their Allah Blessed lives on the battlefield at Adwa along with their brothers and sisters from Amhara, Harari, Tigre, Afar, Somali and many other ethnic groups in 1896. Those patriots were ethnic blind then and they have a direct descendant in this great-grandchild. Their sacrifice was not in vain. Ways to go Obbo Mekuria Basaye. We should all follow his example in giving back to that gem of the colored that produced us all.
God Bless this gentle man
The country has also these kinds of citizens!
God bless you, my brother!! The country needs people like now more than ever.