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State owned shoe factory, Anbessa Shoe SC, won a
civil suit for a claim of 8.7 million Br against La
Nuova Adelchi SpA, an Italian company, on Tuesday,
July 20, 2010, for failure to effect payment for
shoes supplied to them.
Anbessa Shoe signed an agreement with the Italian
company in July 2006 for the supply of shoes to La
Nuova’s agents in Addis Abeba and Djibouti. Anbessa
agreed to supply 50,000 pairs of shoes prepared with
the specification order of the Italian company every
month. La Nouva agreed to provide materials and
technical assistance to Anbessa.
In cases of conflicts the Ethiopian courts would
have the jurisdiction to see the case, it was
agreed.
Anbessa filed a lawsuit in February 2010 claiming
nearly 800,000 dollars which it said should have
been paid by February 13, 2009.
Transactions between the two parties used to be
conducted through a Letter of Credit (LC) opened
through banks but it was later changed to direct
transactions due to the shortage of foreign exchange
after acquiring permission from concerned government
organs, according to the statement of claim of
Anbessa.
The Italian company failed to pay the amount,
attributing the delay to the global financial
crisis, and repeatedly asked for more time despite
several notices served to it, Anbessa claimed. The
shoe manufacturer also claimed for the payment of
interest on the money starting from the date the
money should have been paid.
The Federal High Court, which heard the case in the
absence of the defendant who failed to show up,
despite being served with the summons, ruled in
favour of the plaintiff last week and ordered the
payment to be made at the current foreign exchange
rate.
Officials from Anbessa Shoe declined to comment in
detail, saying they have not yet received the ruling
in writing.
“We will go ahead with the execution of the ruling
once we have consulted legal professionals,” Enyew
Zeleke, general manager of Anbessa Shoe, told
Fortune.
Since it is a foreign company, they will consult
with the Ethiopian Embassy in Italy, the Italian
Embassy in Addis Abeba, and concerned government
offices to collect the money after the execution
proceeding has been finalised, according to Enyew.
Anbessa Shoe SC, whose current capital reaches 6.4
million Br, was established in 1927. It was
reorganised as an autonomous organisation in 1993
after the National Leather and Shoe Corporation was
dissolved. |
La Nuova Adelchi reneges on payment of shoes that were made
according to its 
