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Chinese buses arrive in Addis Ababa

Posted on , Updated on by Elias Kifle

(APA) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – One hundred of the 500 city service buses which Ethiopia has purchased from China at an estimated 20 million dollars, have begun arriving in the country, APA observed here on Wednesday.

The buses are intended to help tackle the transport shortage in Addis Ababa where around 5 million people live.

Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Communication said the remaining buses are expected in the country by next week.

Transport sources say there are currently around 14,000 taxis in Addis Ababa and over 500 city buses.
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How much commission did Azeb Mesfin, Meles Zenawi’s wife, and Junedin Sado, the transportation minister, receive from the purchase of these inferior quality buses from China? ER Research Unit is investigating.

19 thoughts on “Chinese buses arrive in Addis Ababa”

  3. These buses are not purchased for benefiting the Addis Population. In the 2005 election campaign taxi boycotting played a significant role in the struggle and at that time woyanes (including Alamudin) were saying they will import in 5000 taxis from abroad. So, this is a strategy having different purpose, watch out! woyanes never ever do any good for Ethiopians!

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    A few years ago they imported hundreds of buses, and within a year most of them have fallen apart. The same thing is going to happen to these cheap buses from China. At most they will last one year.

  4. hey Elias you should be smart to when you criticize woyanes, apparently you are telling us the good things meles and his adminstration is doing to allevaite the transport shortage the city is facing.

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    Not by buying cheap buses that will fall apart in a few months.

  5. Cheap build Chinese buses do not make our transpiration problem. Inferior technology has been brought from China and we’re witnessing in telecommunication and other sectors. Just because is it cheap, we don’t have to buy from China, other aspects of the bus needs to be evaluated.

  6. ቻይናዎች ገንዘብ ለማግኘት ብዙ ያረጋሉ እዚህ አሜሪካ እንኩዋን የለጆች መጫወቻ የተመረዘ እየሆነ ወላጆች የቻይና መጫወቻ ለመግዛት ፍላጎት የላቸውም:: ታዲያ ሃገራችን በጠላት በተወራ ባለችበት ሁኔታ ላይ አውቶብሶቹ ጤናማ መሆናቸውን ለወገኖቻችን ማነው የሚያረጋግጠው?

  8. The buses from China are like the shoes made in China(smelling, inferior,…).I dont object to buying the buses but should be durable and long lasting (Volvo,Toyota,M-benz….etc).The officials that approved the purchase of the buses after collecting their commissions from the Chinese will recone thier action in the near future and should not be forgiven.Long live Ethiopia.

  9. Purchasing city buses is something good. But my worry is why all the 500 are procured at one time. Would it not be wise to first buy few and test so that more will be purchased later. Is it not like putting all the eggs just in one basket?

  11. Economy of Scale.
    When you buy in lots, you get discounts.
    When was the last time Ethiopia produced any kind of Autos. or Buses ? Why Insult china when you get your buses for Zero down and a lot more. (Zero financing.) ? Ask Mercedes or Volvo, and they will give you 0.5 cents ??? Why are Ethiopian people in America so vicious and so one sided even when good things are happening to them ? Why not work Hard and help country poor country ? Too much talking and people starve many times every five years… No government will create or change the current problems you people are facing. All of you should stop talking and start working. In china there is an old say… Pig bottom never become bird mouth…
    Man who talks for a living never becomes man of honor…
    Please Help your country and yourselves. God gave good country to you but you losing your country talking…

    China Friend.

  13. The story tells that a long time ago soemthing an honest mistake was made and thanks for the good thinker the correction made rightaway. A few buses which were bought on a trial bassis from India known by the name TATA, these buses were not able to surivive even for six monthers and were removed form the street by the collaboration of the Ethiopian government and Indian government; because they were bad buses unifit for Ethiopian geographical condition of the roads; likewise, the buses form chinal will definitely fail in just few monthes. Mark our word and take the crimefamily accountable for wasting the publics’ money.

  14. Anonymous says:
    Why do we have to settle for a less inferior product?

    you have to remember we have never even aspire to try to make any thing bigger than KUCHINETA when we were grown up. Even today even here in America Ethiopians are most likely will end up purchasing old used cars in most cases, that is because we are brock, so I am some times surprise when I see such a nonsense comment here and there ….china product is not necessarily inferior rather the product is chip and for the obvious reason we have to resort to such products. and I think it shouldn’t take a knowledge to understand this fact.

  15. If additional information needed:- frnakly speaking, for the road condition and other measurable factors when buses are bought that must be considered, the buses that served Addis residents for years by enduring carrying passangers thousands of killometers years were Italian and German made buses. These buses are still going storng and worth buy them in hundreds although the prices of the buses is expensive.

    But quality last long. That is why, when buying buses, a great consideration must be given for the fact that durability and quality. the criemfamily bought these buses because they would get good commission on the purchase and besides the crimefamily don’t care what shoub be gained for the hard-earned money that the public put into the country in the form of tax.

    Again, mark our words, these buse will be out of serves withing six or 14 monthes.

  16. Please guys you should be smart in criticizing the thing u do not know in detail. it is not valubel at all for our country rather destructive. keep silent and ask for detail information to know every thing before forwarding your naive thinking. some thecnical issues are not like our continent political issues which every body desires to effect his ideaology, forgeting the issue of compromise.

  17. I appreciate the comments made by Mr. Kalubicha. I do not agree with the crude concept of the econmy of scale suggsted by Mr. China friends, when it comes to public transportation as it can cost everythig including the lives our people. quality should come first. There is a chinese proverb “cheap things are always expensive”. The chinese know this trick. My friend, please do not advise those people who bought those 500 batches of chinese “trail product” to buy airplanes in the future under such a similar deal of settling on inferior products.

  18. I think 20,000 Dollar is very,very profitable when compared with our day to days taxi expence in Addis. Please don’t think in west standard. Why do we spend fur the west capitalsts?? Theorethically, they spend for the third world, but in practice we spend for them. That is the way we live today. You want to say that we must buy M.Benz,Volvo….and again in the future spend for the spare parts. It’s very,very simple to talk about Quality standards and also Democracy of the West. But to practice both, never mind who comes and goes at the power, first of all we must learn how to wright and read, learn how to take individualy responsibillity for the country, learn dicipline, learn to respect each other, learn tolerance, be ready TO TAKE OR ACCEPT AN ORDER from experienced and learned peoples, avoid to have conflicting feelings & inferiority feeling……… Are we feeling alright???I Not at all. We need a little horse sense,to turn out alright….

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