The Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) has taken a positive step on Thursday to correct its blunder by accepting $300,000 in donation from Woyanne businessman Ato Al Amoudi, a drunkard womanizer and a thief who calls himself “sheik.” (DLA Piper, take that to the court.)
ESFNA president Dawit Agonafer and public relation officer Fassil Abebe had called a press conference at the RFK Stadium in Washington DC on Thursday afternoon to answer questions about the controversy surrounding the donation from Al Amoudi.
Over 20 representatives of the media, including EthiopianReview.com associates, went to the press conference. The two top ESFNA officials have admitted that it was a mistake to receive the donation and that in the future they will be careful NOT to make such a mistake.
Both Ato Dawit and Ato Fassil have presented themselves in a professional and humble manner, and answered all questions with apparent sincerity. Their professional approach and admitting mistake from the outset disarmed all members of the media who went to the press conference to strongly challenge and confront them. Our arrogant, stupid, self-destructive politicians should learn from these two ESFNA officials how to handle crisis and address concerns of the public.
Al Amoudi’s photo was also removed from the stadium on Thursday after disgracing the annual event since Sunday.
The ESFNA officials explained that the money was received without the knowledge of the majority of the Federation’s executives. They said that an interview with one of the Federation’s officials on the VOA Radio broadcast to Ethiopia where he thanked Al Amoudi was uncalled.
Regarding questions about financial corruption, Ato Dawit said from now on the Federation’s financial books will be open to the public for inspection.
ER congratulates the Federation for taking these first positives steps, even though they are a little too late to save this week’s event since only two days (Friday and Saturday) left before it’s concluded.
The Federation needs to take further step and expel from the Federation the culprits, vice president Eyaya Arega, Secretary Samuel Abate, and board member Sebsibe Assefa, who have brought shame to the organization by trying to associate it with a criminal who is helping the Meles dictatorship to brutalize and terrorize the people of Ethiopia and Somalia.
The Federation needs to also keep its promise that it will root out corruption from its midst by instituting a transparent financial accounting system that is open for public inspection.
This is a victory for patriotic Ethiopians in the Diaspora, and a defeat for Woyanne and its hodam servants like Eyaya, Sebsibe and gang.
59 thoughts on “ESFNA takes steps to correct its mistakes”
ESFNA is full of hodams and pro Woyane elements. So it is hard to fathom that ER seems to buy their temporary pledge as a fact.
Funds raised from tournaments should be donated to charitable and humanitarian as well as Ethiopian community organizations, that are run professionally.
ESFNA should be in the forefront in fighting Woyane if it is truly an Ethiopian organizations.
It bylaws were corrupted to suit the hodams, claiming that they have no right to different right from wrongs as far as Woyanes, who are still funding it indirectly through EAL and other sources.
Mr AlA-Mudi made a strategic move by donating 300K…. He will make this money back during July and Aug holiday period… when Ethios visiting Addis eventualy visit Shereton….. The only way is not to visit sheraton during your visit to Addis. Hence no dollar go to him…..
Why do we blame Woyane of hunging on power. Look at ESFNA members, the same people are in leading position for the last 25 years. We always here the name of the same people. I guess, we have something in our blood that make us to stick in power once we clinched to it.
Yes it is indeed a victory for patriotic Ethiopians in the Diaspora, and a defeat for the ill conceived elements that keep working against the interest of the country. I’d agree that these two individuals that are now positively viewing their opinion come up in the open and tell the rest of Ethiopians back here at home “apologies”. That makes a lot of difference.
God bless Ethiopia and its people!
In washington DC area. Some teams are built with seas-pool of woyan geboche and woyane agent hodamoche. Taking ERs example, names will be named with backed with evidence – very soon. Two hodamoche confirmed are ayaya and sebsebe and those in ESFNA who claim the organization is not “poletical” – safariwoche. what do they need to see from woyane? It is raping the country in day light, braking the country pices by pices – woyane need to be challnged in diaspora as well as in Ethiopia.
Elias;
I agree with most of your comments surrounding ESFNA. ESFNA has been and is a collection of unqualified and distrusted people. There are so many evidences to proof this statement, but I will not get into that in this note. I will come back with another commentary with respect to the background and interest of the so called board members of ESFNA. To come back to the current situation, I will only considere the admission of the mistake as genuine only if: (1) they donate the $300,000 they received from the Shiek to a credible Ethiopian walfare association; and (2) they replace all those accountable to the mistake with compitent and credible Ethiopian with an open election. Short of these corrective measures, I will not consider Dawit and Fassil as genuine.
ESFANA has to to return the money to the “shiek” preferably donate it to some NGO in Ethiopia- much the same way the former mayor of NY returned the millons of dollars to the Saudi Prince in opposing his offensive remarks about the US.
Moreover, they need to ban the shiek’s active agent from having key roles in the comittee.
You know this is sickening. Sorry is not enough, they have to return the money. What is is this, ESFNA got together and said, let’s tell this fools that we are sorry and get it over with?
There was a song by Tilahun which goes:
Yeliben serto yiker belugn
mines atefahu min bedelkugn
bemalet sewen yemiamogn
Return this blood money
Although Sheik Alamoudi has chosen to be partial in the political arena and tried to use his economic clout to impress upon the public to support EPRDF, calling him a thief and a womanizer is a bit extreme. It reflects negatively upon the writer. Please object his actions. Name calling brings down the issue to a classless drughouse type dialog.