Documents Agency, Ethio-Post Partnership Shakes Up Internet Cafes, Stationery Shops Built Around Old System

A new partnership between the Documents Authentication and Registration Service (DARS) and Ethio Post is raising concerns among businesses that depend on offering drafting services to DARS customers. Under the new system, customers can either access the DARS portal directly or draft contracts and submit them through the postal service, bypassing traditional intermediaries. In Addis Ababa alone, the 18 DARS branch offices are typically surrounded by internet cafes and stationery shops that have long relied on their proximity to DARS locations to attract and serve customers.

Hamid Kenneso, Director General of DARS, says customers often faced excessive costs for the simple drafting of contracts, articles of association, and documents. He pointed to the free templates available on their website, which provide the standard outline for almost all types of documents.

“Customers used to pay as much as 500 birr for a few pages,” Hamid told Shega.

Through the new arrangement, customers might soon be able to access DARS services through one of nearly 700 Ethio Post branch offices for standardized fees. While templates for contracts have been available for some time at the DARS website, adoption has remained minimal with many still opting to go to intermediaries. The Director believes that the intuitive design of the DARS platform allows even digitally inexperienced individuals to navigate it with ease.

Hamid expects the new partnership to narrow the space in which unethical practices and corruption could flourish through a transparent digitized format. He revealed that collusion between DARS employees and the intermediaries allowed authentication for files without adequate documentation.

“We want to stop that practice,” the director says.

A few months back, the Service launched an online appointment booking platform dubbed Qetero as part of its ongoing digitization initiative. The 86-year-old institution had adjusted its fee structure in April of last year to reflect contemporary costs. 

However, the latest announcement is fueling anxieties among the intermediaries, who often hang around DARS branch offices eagerly awaiting to call on customers. One internet café owner in the Lideta District, a busy hub of several white-collar services , was shocked by the announcement. She serves around 35 people daily who are looking for assistance in drafting contracts and sales agreements.

“Drafting the contracts accounts for the majority of my income,” she told Shega.

The mother of two believes that most of the public does not understand how to properly write formal documents, which creates the demand for their business.  She says the fees are just small enough to cover operational costs without placing too heavy a burden on clients.

“It is not like we charge a hefty fee,” the café owner proclaims.

Businesses like hers have become a standard feature for anyone looking to authenticate documents at DARS offices, with staff often pulling prospective customers off the street. 

Eba Nizamu, an entrepreneur who recently terminated one of his businesses, could not help but feel elated by the new announcement. He says paying a few extra hundred birr while trying to close his business compounded frustrations.

“I was paying 500 birr for each document,” Eba told Shega. “I wish it had been implemented even earlier.

Officials at DARS have indicated the possibility that intermediaries could register as agents under Ethio-Post in the long run.