In its February 2008 newsletter, VEGA (Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance) announced a business project in Ethiopia supported by USAID (paid for by American tax payers). According to the newsletter (PAGE 3), VEGA initiated the first joint venture factory between an American investor (Victor Ozeri) and a local Ethiopian business woman (Lily Bertu). The two were introduced by Addis Alemayehou, Chief of Party (COP) of the VEGA Ethiopia project.
What happened next is truly scandalous and shameful. Lily Betru, who brags to foreigners that she is the best friend of the first lady of Ethiopia and a close friend of the Prime Minister, proved to the unsuspecting American businessman that she is also above the law. Within 4 short months, she orchestrated a vile accusation against the successful and respected businessman, used a her 28-year old son to physically attack and intimidate him, bribed a police man to put him in an Ethiopian jail, and finally managed to chased him out of Ethiopia without his money.
Mr. Ozeri, 55, a native New Yorker and the father of three children, who had just sold two companies doing a combined sales of $100 Million U.S. Dollars annually before moving to Africa to start his new venture, was robbed of his Ethiopian investment in daylight.
Below is Mr. Ozeri’s letter to the public and the media. You may contact him directly at 917-5961982.
– – – – – –
Dear Friends of Ethiopia;
With deepest regret I report to you my very unfortunate incident of my investment in Ethiopia; I moved there in January and was so committed to my cause that I bought a house to take up permanent residence in Addis Ababa.
I had hoped to bring thousands of jobs to the Ethiopian people. I had hoped that we could create the beginnings of a previously unknown prosperity for the Ethiopian people… Just as we did in China for so many years.
Unfortunately, my partner, Lily Betru, and her husband, Dr Getachew Betru, head of Ethiopian Railway, and son Michael Asfaw, turned out to be the “problem” rather than the “solution” for Ethiopia. Within 4 months of starting the business:
– All of my machinery and equipment were stolen
– I was locked out of my own factory
– 9 million birr investment gone
– Personal legal documents, and business documents all stolen by my partner… including the documents for the ownership of the home I bought in Addis Ababa, and even photos of my deceased parents
– And the worst of all… my Ethiopian partner is attempting to bring down my NGO where I have fed, clothed, and educatd hundreds of street children for the last 6 years (in an attempt to cover up her crimes).
– My so called partner bribed the chief inspector of the LAFTO police station. I was subject to arrest, detained in a police station, and had to fake a heart attack to get myself out of jail and flee Ethiopia the same night!
Read my letter below to the Investment Minister of Ethiopia. I had so much hope for this country. But now I have tasted why most of Africa is doomed to fail. Because the rich (like Lily Betru and her family) care nothing about the poor of their country. It is always about power and how much money they can steal.
I am back in New York with a profound sadness and deep disappointment. I apologize to all those I misled that it was possible to transform Ethiopia. This dream I had is now shattered. I don’t even know if I can ever go back to the country I have come to love.
With Sadness,
Victor Ozeri
– – – – – – – – – – –
To: The Honorable Abi Woldemeskel
Director General, Ethiopian Investment Agency
Dear Ato Abi,
Thank you for the meeting with me in Addis Ababa. Unfortunately, I am no longer in Ethiopia. After I spoke to you, an incident occurred in which I tried to enter my own factory and was attacked by Lily Betru’s son (Michael Asfaw) in his attempt to stop me from entering the factory I legally own.
After the attack on my person, I went to the Lafto Police Station to ask help from the police so that I could enter the factory I own. Within 10 minutes of making my complaint, without my knowledge, the police inspector called his friend Lily Betru to come to his office.
Before I know it, Lily, her husband and son are in the police station screaming about me in Amharic to the police inspector. They all speak English, but still carried on in Amharid, although I speak very little and objected several times. I attempted to explain to the officer that I am a good man that takes care of many poor children in Addis for many years. The next thing I know, the police inspector is screaming that my NGO is just a cover for a place for me to engage in sex with children!
This officer knows nothing about me. Conducted no investigation, and asks me no questions. But tells me he is going to detain me, and attempts to move me into a jail cell like a common criminal. It is quite obvious at this point that Lily has bribed this policeman and I knew I could not win.
I became very frightened of the idea of being in an Ethiopian jail. In the police station, I became ill.
I am 55 years old. I have never had a problem with the law. I have invested 6 years of my life taking care of the poor children of Addis Ababa, spending close to 1 million birr annually of my personal funds to feed, educate, and nurture these children.
Now, in the poorest attempt to justify their fraud and theft of my factory, Lily and her criminal family are accusing me of being a pedophile! (a man who has sex with children), the very same children that I have personally taken to America for life saving medical surgery.
I repeat Lily’s disguesting lie without hesitation nor worry. The accusation is completely baseless. I have over 100 girls whose lives I have saved. I welcome anyone to interview these children or their parents about who I am in their lives. I am a loved and respected man that has served your country for many years. Lily and her family have made this up as some flimsy justification to defraud me of commercial investment of 3.75 million birr. (Not to mention they have stolen the documents for the 4.2 million birr home I purchased in Megenanya, so I cannot even properly register the home and pay the transfer tax).
Iam sitting here in my garden in New York with a heavy heart and deep sadness. It is hard to grasp that after six years of dedicating my life to helping the children of Ethiopia, and then further dedicating myself to the people of Ethiopia by building my own factory there, that I was forced to flee the country after threats were made to my personal safety.
I am an honorable and trustworthy businessman. I will use what ever legal means available to me to protect my good name and bring these people to justice.
Beneath this letter is an accurate recap of all that has gone on with my Ethiopian investment. Thank you for your attention to this matter and I hope that you can demonstrate that there is a rule of law in Ethiopia and these terrible people will be brought to justice.
With truth and sincerity.
Victory Ozeri
Founder: Victor and Lilu Bag and Apparel Makers PLC.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I NOW SWEAR TO YOU THAT THESE ARE THE EXACT FACTS OF WHAT HAS OCCURRED WITH MY PARTNERSHIP WITH LILY BETRU.
1) IN NOVEMBER 2007, I AGREED TO FORM A PARTNERSHIP WITH LILY BETRU FOR A BAG AND APPAREL MANUFACTURING BUSINESS. BY JANUARY 2008, LILY LAND I HAD SIGNED AN AGREEMENT THAT STATED THAT WE WOULD BE EQUAL PARTNERS. FURTHERMORE, IN A SIGNED AGREEMENT, IT STATED THAT VICTOR WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE SALES AND MARKETING OF THE COMPANY OUTSIDE ADDIS ABABA. I WOULD ALSO BRING ALL OF THE EXPERTISE NEEDED TO RUN THE FACTORY. I DID ALL OF THIS AND KEPT MY WORD.
2) LILY AGREED IN WRITING THAT SHE WOULD BE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE FACTORY, SUPPLYING A LOYAL WORK FORCE, AND WOULD BE THE IN-COUNTRY MANAGER FOR THIS PROJECT.
3) IN FACT, LILY MISLED ME AND HAS NO SKILLS TO RUN A FACTORY. FURTHERMORE, SHE HAS MADE NO ATTEMPT TO LEARN HOW TO RUN THE FACTORY AND HAS BEEN LITTLE HELP OTHER THAN HER POLITICAL CONNECTIONS AND THE FACT THAT SHE OWNED THE BUILDING.
4) IN MY ORIGINAL DISCUSSIONS WITH LILY, I ADVISED HER THAT THE COST TO GET THIS OPERATION OFF THE GROUND WOULD BE CLOSE TO ONE MILLION USD (OR ABOUT 4.5 MILLION BIRR EACH WOULD BE NEEDED TO FUND THE COMPANY OVER THE NEXT 12 MONTHS. SHE SAID… NO PROBLEM ! SINCE MY ARRIVAL IN ADDIS ON JANUARY 3RD, I CONTINUALLY ASKED LILY WHEN WE WOULD FUND THE COMPANY, BUT TO NO AVAIL.
5) FINALLY, AT THE END OF FEBRUARY, LILY INFORMED ME THAT THE ITALIAN GENTLEMAN WHO SOLD HER SOME ITALIAN KNITTING MACHINES HAD CHEATED HER OUT OF A QUARTER MILLION USD AND THAT SHE HAD NO MONEY TO INVEST IN THE COMPANY (BY THE WAY… IN THE BEGINNING SHE CLAIMED THAT THIS ITALIAN GENTLEMAN WAS HER BEST FRIEND !)
6) I REMAINED PROFESSIONAL ABOUT THE SITUATION. I PUT UP THE FIRST TWO MILLION BIRR TO FUND THE COMPANY ON MY OWN WITHOUT COMPLAINT. LILY SIGNED AN AGREEMENT THAT HALF THE MONEY OR 1 MILLION BIRR WAS A LOAN TO HER THAT WOULD BE PAID BACK FROM THE PROFITS OF THE COMPANY AT 5 PERCENT INTEREST TO ME.
(SINCE THEN… LILY HAS STOLEN THIS DOCUMENT THAT SHE SIGNED AS PROOF THAT SHE MADE THIS LOAN )
7) IN THE LAST 90 DAYS, I HAVE REQUESTED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS FOR LILY TO GIVE ME A FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE COMPANY. SHE ALWAYS PUT ME OFF. FINALLY I APPROACHED THE CO. ACCOUNTANT AND HE REVEALED TO ME THAT LILY HAS NEVER GIVEN HIM A BANK STATEMENT AND HE HAS NO INFO ON THE WHERE WE STAND FINANCIALLY! (WHAT KIND OF PERSON HIRES AN ACCOUNTANT AND HOLDS BACK BANK STATEMENTS? THIS IS TANTAMOUNT TO HIRING A PLUMBER AND THEN GIVING HIM NO ACCESS TO YOUR TOILET!!!
IT WAS CLEAR BY THIS TIME THAT I WAS DEALING WITH AN UNRELIABLE PERSON WHO HAD BROKEN OUR AGREEMENT FROM DAY ONE. STILL I GAVE LILY THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT AND REMAINED SILENT, DOING MY BEST TO GET THE COMPANY GOING WITHOUT HER HELP. AFTER ALL… I CAME TO ETHIOPIA TO LEND A HAND AND HELP BUILD A COUNTRY AND BRING JOBS TO POOR PEOPLE.
8. THROUGHOUT FEBRUARY, MARCH AND APRIL THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED:
A. LILY APPROACHED 3 OF MY CHILDREN GIVING THEM EACH 50 BIRR AND ASKING THEM TO COME TO ME TO SAY THAT DAVID AND HELEN WEINBERG (MY FRIENDS OF 30 YEARS THAT CAME TO ADDIS TO BUILD THE FACTORY WITH ME) WERE VERY BAD PEOPLE ! (WHAT MOTHER ASKS YOUNG CHILDREN TO DO SUCH A THING?) SO UPSET AND CONFUSED WERE THESE KIDS THAT THEY WENT TO THE SOCIAL WORKER OF MY NGO ASKING HER WHAT TO DO. THE SOCIAL WORKER THEN REVEALED THIS STORY TO ME.
B. DAVID AND HELEN ARE CONSUMMATE EXPERTS IN MY BUSINESS WITH 12 YEARS COMBINED EXPERIENCE WORKING FOR ME IN MY FORMER COMPANY AND THEIR EXPERTISE WAS BADLY NEEDED IN ETHIOPIA. WHEN LILY GOT WIND THAT DAVID WAS HEARING EMPLOYEES COMPLAINTS ABOUT HER MISTREATMENT OF THEM… LILY INSISTED THAT I GET RID OF DAVID AND HELEN. (STATING THAT IN HER OPINION, THEY WERE UNQUALIFIED FOR THE JOB !) WHAT COULD I DO? SHE WAS MY PARTNER AND AGAIN I GAVE HER THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, AND AGAINST MY BETTER JUDGMENT ALLOWED LILY TO DRIVE DAVID AND HELEN OUT OF THE COMPANY AND BACK TO THE U.S.A.).
C. THE FOLLOWING WEEK, I REMINDED LILY THAT WE NEEDED TO MODIFY OUR APPLICATION TO THE WORLD BANK (REQUESTING THE BANK TO REIMBURSE UP TO 75% OF THE SALARY FOR DAVID AND HELEN) AS THEY NO LONGER WORKED HERE., SHE REFUSED TO AMEND THE APPLICATION…TELLING ME TO LET HER WORRY ABOUT GOVERNMENT MATTERS. NOW I BEGAN TO SEE THAT MY NEW PARTNER WAS PERFECTLY WILLING TO COMMIT FRAUD. I WAS DISTRAUGHT WITH WORRY AT THIS POINT OF WHAT I HAD GOTTEN MYSELF INTO !
FURTHERMORE, IN MARCH LILY INVITED ME TO LUNCH SPECIFICALLY ASKING ME WHAT WAYS WE COULD USE FOR HER TO HIDE PROFITS OF VICTOR AND LILY OUTSIDE ETHIOPIA SO SHE COULD “SAVE MONEY” ON TAXATION. I AVOIDED REPLYING TO HER.
SHE ALSO TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD A COUPLE OF MILLION BIRR STILL LEFT TO SPEND FROM HER BANK LOAN. SHE ASKED ME TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR THE FACTORY WITH THIS LINE OF CREDIT. I INFORMED LILY THAT WE NEEDED NO OTHER EQUIPMENT. SHE WAS ADAMANT ABOUT IT AND BECAME UPSET WHEN I WOULD NOT HELP HER USE UP THIS CREDIT LINE TO HER OWN BENEFIT WHILE IT HURT THE COMPANY FINANCIALLY (BESIDES I WAS SURE WHAT SHE WAS ASKING ME HELP HER DO WAS ILLEGAL)
D. IN FEBRUARY… LILY MADE ALLEGATIONS THAT THE ONLY REASON ADDIS ALEMAYEHU (THE GENTLEMAN FROM U.S.AID THAT INTRODUCED US AND STRONGLY RECOMMENDED LILY BETRU AS “THE PERFECT PARTNER”) WANTED TO ACCOMPANY PATI HABER ( OUR U.S. SALES DIRECTOR FOR APPAREL) TO THE RETAILERS WAS TO STEAL OUR BUSINESS AND GIVE IT DIRECTLY TO OTHER ETHIOPIAN FACTORIES ! SHE TOLD PATI THAT SHE SHOULD NOT TAKE MR. ALEMAYEHU TO ANY RETAILERS WITH HER… THE MAN PUT THIS DEAL TOGETHER ON HER BEHALF… AND 2 MONTHS LATER, SHE IS CALLING HIM A THIEF AND A LIAR!
E. THROUGHOUT THIS 3 MONTH PERIOD I WOULD INTERVIEW QUALIFIED YOUNG ETHIOPIANS THAT WERE EAGER TO JOIN OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM. LILY WOULD THEN INTERVIEW THEM AND THEY WOULD NEVER RETURN . FURTHER HAMPERING MY ABILITY TO RUN THE COMPANY. IT SEEMS THE ONLY PEOPLE LILY WOULD AGREE TO HIRE ARE THOSE SHE CHOSE… ALTHOUGH SHE HAS ZERO EXPERIENCE IN RUNNING THIS BUSINESS.
G. IN MID APRIL A 400 BIRR A MONTH WELDER APPROACHED ME (FOR THE 10th TIME IN 3 WEEKS) TO TALK ABOUT LILYS MISTREATMENT OF THE WORKERS. WHEN HE ASKED ME THE FIRST TIME, LILY FORBADE ME TO SPEAK WITH HIM AND SAID SHE WOULD DEAL WITH IT. I COULD NOT TAKE IT ANY LONGER AND FINALLY AGREED TO MEET HIM. I SPENT AN HOUR WITH THIS FINE YOUNG MAN MENTORING HIM AND EXPLAINING TO HIM THAT LILY WAS NOT A BAD PERSON JUST “A TOUGH BUSINESSWOMAN” I REASSURED HIM THAT THINGS WOULD GET BETTER AND HE SEEMED TO BE SATISFIED AND ASSURED ME HE WOULD STAY ON AT THE COMPANY.
3 DAYS LATER I LEARNED THAT LILY CONFRONTED HIM ABOUT MY MEETING WITH HIM AND FIRED HIM ON THE SPOT! (FURTHER THREATENING ALL OF HIS COLLEAGUES THAT IF THEY EVER TALKED TO ME THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS AS WELL)
I CAME TO ETHIOPIA TO CHANGE THESE PEOPLES LIVES , NOT CONTINUE TO ABUSE THEM WHICH IS ALL LILY KNOWS HOW TO DO. IE. WE BUDGETED 200 BIRR PER MONTH FOR TRAINING SALARIES. AFTER THE FACT I LEARNED THAT LILY COMPELLED ALL THE NEW STAFF TO WORK WITHOUT PAY FOR THE FIRST 2 WEEKS ! IN THE BUILDING LILY OWNS THESE WORKERS HAVE PUT UP WITH HORRIBLE CONDITIONS. LILY DID NOT EVEN SUPPLY THEM WITH PROPER TOILETS FOR OVER A MONTH, TILL I GOT ANGRY.
H. FINALLY ON THE LAST FRIDAY IN APRIL 2008, I SAT LILY DOWN AND VERY CALMLY I CONFRONTED HER ABOUT BREAKING OUR FINANCIAL AGREEMENT, HER UNWILLINGNESS TO LEARN HOW TO RUN THE FACTORY, THE THINGS SHE SAID TO MY CHILDREN AND HER FIRING FOR NO CAUSE OF THE WELDER… SHE CALLED MY CHILDREN LIARS (ALL 3 OF THEM) AND DENIED SHE EVER FIRED THE WELDER FOR MEETING WITH ME, ALTHOUGH WE HAD HEARD IT FROM THE EMPLOYEE DIRECTLY (WOULD 3 KIDS AND A 400 BIRR EMPLOYEE GET TOGETHER AND PLOT TO LIE TO ME ABOUT MY PARTNER?
I. AT THE MEETING ON FRIDAY MAY 2, AFTER 5 MINUTES OF TALK SHE DECLARED OUR PARTNERSHIP FINISHED. I ASK HER TO CALM DOWN…IT IS BETTER TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS WHEN YOU ARE CALM AND RATIONAL. I LEFT THE OFFICE ON FRIDAY HOPING THAT AFTER THE 3 DAY HOLIDAY, WE WOULD GET TOGETHER ON TUESDAY AND I WOULD FIND SOME AMICABLE WAY TO DISSOLVE MY PARTNERSHIP WITH HER AND BUY HER OUT.
ON SATURDAY NIGHT LILY CALLS ASKING ME TO MEET HER IN THE FACTORY AT 7 P.M. I TOLD HER I WAS NOT GOING TO TALK TO HER UNTIL SHE CALMS DOWN AND THAT I WOULD LIKE ADDIS OF US AID TO BE THERE AS A MEDIATOR. SHE TRIED HER BEST TO GET ME TO COME TO THE EMPTY FACTORY ALONE AFTER DARK. I REFUSED. SHE HUNG UP THE PHONE
J. ON MONDAY AFTERNOON MAY 5, DURING THE PUBLIC HOLIDAY, ABOUT 1 P.M. I WAS WALKING AROUND LAKE HORA IN DEBRA ZEIT WHEN MY PHONE RANG. I REPLIED TO THE CALL VIA MY SPEAKER PHONE. THE MAN ON THE OTHER LINE WAS LILYS HUSBAND. HE HAD SAID (IN AN ANGRY AND THREATENING TONE OF VOICE) THAT CERTAIN ACCUSATIONS WERE MADE ABOUT ME (TERRIBLE ACCUSATIONS) AND THAT IF I WAS NOT IN HIS OFFICE BY 4 P.M.
“I WAS GOING TO BE PICKED UP”
HE SAID THIS SEVERAL TIMES AND ALSO MENTIONED THAT I HAD TO ANSWER FOR THESE (AS YET UNKNOWN) ACCUSATIONS AS I WAS IN VERY BIG TROUBLE. THIS ENTIRE CONVERSATION WAS ON SPEAKER PHONE AND I HAVE 7 WITNESSES TO DR. GETACHEWS VEILED THREATS.
AFTER HE THREATENED ME WITH POLICE ACTION I TOLD HIM THE CONVERSATION WAS OVER AND I HUNG UP. I WAS VISIBLY SHAKEN BY THIS PHONE CALL. I HAVE LIVED IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FOR 1/2 MY LIFE. AND I KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN WELL CONNECTED PEOPLE CHOOSE TO DO YOU HARM.
I CALLED THE AMERICAN CONSULATE, UPON HEARING THE SERIOUSNESS OF DR. GETACHEWS PHONE CALL. THEY PATCHED ME THRU TO THE HEAD OF SECURITY. WHEN I TOLD HIM HOW WELL CONNECTED LILY AND HER HUSBAND WAS… THEY WERE ADAMANT THAT PEOPLE WITH LESS CONNECTIONS COULD HAVE A FOREIGNER THROWN IN JAIL WITHOUT CAUSE OR PROVOCATION. IT WAS MY THOUGHT (AND HIS PROFESSIONAL OPINION)THAT I SHOULD LEAVE ADDIS IMMEDIATELY FOR MY OWN SAFETY. THREE HOURS AFTER THE CALL I WAS ON THE NEXT PLANE TO N.Y.C WITH MARK JAWETZ, ANOTHER AMERICAN FACTORY ADVISER THAT HAD COME TO HELP.
I REMAINED IN AMERICA FOR 4 WEEKS, CONSULTING WITH ATTORNEYS, AND LETTING ALL MY CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT MY DREAM OF MASS AMERICAN PRODUCTION IN ETHIOPIA IS NOW DEAD! THESE BUYERS COULD HAVE INCREASED EXPORTS 10 TIMES FROM ETHIOPIA WITHIN 1 TO 2 YEARS. I ASSURED THEM IT WAS SAFE TO DO BUSINESS IN ETHIOPIA. YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE MY EMBARRASSMENT TO GO BACK AND TELL THEM MY INVESTMENT WAS STOLEN BY THE PRIME MINISTERS CLOSE FRIENDS.
I WAS COMPELLED TO RETURN TO ADDIS ABABA ON MONDAY JUNE 9, FOR 2 REASONS.
1. MY NGO HAS 12 MILLION BIRR TO BUILD A FACILITY TO CARE FOR 400 STREET CHILDREN IN ADDIS ABABA. I WAS COMING TO FINALIZE A PURCHASE OF LAND IN ARAT KILO TO BUILD THIS SCHOOL AND CHILD CARE CENTER. (BUT I AM SURE THIS PROJECT WILL NOW BE CANCELLED DUE TO LILY BETRU AND HER CRIMINAL FAMILY MAKING IT UNSAFE FOR ME TO RETURN TO ADDIS ABABA.
2. I WANTED TO GO TO MY FACTORY AND HOPEFULLY TALK SOME SENSE INTO LILY..END THE PARTNERSHIP AMICABLY AND ALLOW ME TO CONTINUE MY PLAN BRING THOUSANDS OF JOBS TO ETHIOPIA AS I ORIGINALLY PLANNED.
BUT INSTEAD.UPON ENTERING MY OWN FACTORY, I FIND THAT MY PERSONAL OFFICE HAS BEEN LOCKED, MY PERSONAL FURNITURE STOLEN. ALL OF MY DOCUMENTS PERTAINING TO THIS BUSINESS AND THE LOANS I HAVE MADE TO LILY… AND EVEN PERSONAL PHOTOS OF MY DEAD PARENTS HAVE BEEN KEPT BY LILY BETRU.
I WAS THEN ATTACKED BY MICHAEL ASFAW , LILYS 28 YEAR OLD SON. HE IS 28 AND I AM 55 AND THIS YOUNG MAN ATTACKED ME TO KEEP ME FROM ENTERING MY OWN FACTORY. THIS IS THE SAME YOUNG MAN WHO (AT THE REQUEST OF HIS MOTHER, HACKED INTO MY COMPUTER, STOLE VERY PERSONAL (BUT COMPLETELY LEGAL) PHOTOS OF MY PERSONAL LIFE AND NOW ATTEMPTS TO BLATANTLY BLACKMAIL ME WITH THIS.
THIS IS NOT AN ACCUSATION BUT A FACT. THERE ARE NOW SEVERAL WITNESSES TO THIS BLACKMAIL ATTEMPT. LILY EVEN WENT TO MY DRIVER OF 5 YEARS AND ATTEMPTED TO OFFER HIM MONEY IF HE WOULD SAY THAT HE WITNESSED ME HAVING SEX WITH MY “ADOPTED” SON LAWGAW WHOM I HAVE BEEN CARING FOR SINCE 2003. OF COURSE MY DRIVER WAS SICKENED BY THE THOUGHT AND REFUSED LILY. SHE THEN FIRED HIM AS THE COMPANY DRIVER.
THIS DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY OF THIEVES EVEN WENT AHEAD AND CREATED A POWER POINT PRESENTATION IN WHICH THEY THREATEN TO SEND THIS BLACKMAIL TO EVERY CHARITY I WORK WITH. (OF COURSE NONE OF THIS WORRIES ME ) AS THE LIES ARE BASELESS, AND THEIR UNINTELLIGENT ATTEMPT AT BLACKMAILING ME WILL GO NOWHERE.
BESIDES, I HAVE CONTRIBUTED MILLIONS TO THESE CHARITIES OVER THE YEARS. LILYS FOOLISH ATTEMPTS ARE ALMOST LAUGHABLE AS THE STORY HAS NO MERIT AND MY REPUTATION IN THE WORLD OF CHARITABLE GIVING IS FLAWLESS
HOWEVER, NOW WE KNOW THAT LILY AND HER HUSBAND ARE BLACKMAILERS! THAT HAS EVEN INVOLVED THEIR SON IN THEIR CRIMES.
HOW INCREDIBLY SAD THAT THIS IS MY REWARD FOR DEDICATING MY LIFE AND MY PERSONAL FUNDS TO HELP THIS COUNTRY. I INVESTED OVER A MILLION USD IN ETHIOPIA FOR THIS PURPOSE, IN ADDITION I HAVE SPENT 80,000 BIRR EVERY MONTH FOR THE LAST 2 YEARS TO FUND MY NGO AND SAVE OVER A HUNDRED CHILDREN FROM A LIFE OF ILLITERACY AND POVERTY. I STUCK MY NECK OUT AND PERSUADED PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO COME AND HELP ETHIOPIA TO GIVE PEOPLE KNOWLEDGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET. SO FAR LILY HAS MANAGED TO CHASE 4 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 EXPERTS OUT OF THE COUNTRY. ONE BY ONE THEY WOULD REPORT TO ME THAT LILY WAS NOT ACTING IN MY BEST INTEREST AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW LILY IS FIRING THEM. (AND ATTEMPTS TO KEEP THE MONEY FROM THE WORLD BANK SALARY REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM ).
I WAS POISED TO BRING THE BIGGEST NAMES IN AMERICAN AND EURO RETAILING TO FILL THE UNDER UTILIZED FACTORIES OF ETHIOPIA, IT IS PUBLIC RECORD THAT I JUST SOLD 2 COMPANIES DOING COMBINED SALES OF $100 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS ANNUALLY.
PATI HABER , OUR MARKETING EXPERT FOR APPAREL IN THE UNITED STATES WAS TALKING TO EVERY MAJOR U.S. RETAILER TO MAKE THEIR APPAREL IN ETHIOPIA. WE WERE VERY CLOSE TO BRINGING THOUSANDS OF JOBS AND MILLIONS IN EXPORTS TO ETHIOPIA OVER THE NEXT 3 YEARS. I DID THIS NOT FOR PROFIT…BUT TO CHANGE THE FACE OF A BEAUTIFUL NATION THAT DESERVES PROSPERITY AMONG ITS PEOPLE. BECAUSE OF LILY BETRU, THAT DREAM IS NOW DEAD.
WE WERE ENGAGED IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE LARGEST CUSTOMERS IN AMERICA TO PAY FOR AND SEND EXPERTISE TO ETHIOPIA TO TEACH THE APPAREL FACTORIES HOW TO WORK IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA. (AND HOW TO USE THE FORMULA WE DID IN CHINA TO HELP MAKE IT A GREAT NATION.) I HAD A GREAT VISION OF A PROSPEROUS ETHIOPIA THAT WOULD BE TRANSFORMED BY BRINGING LIGHT INDUSTRY TO ETHIOPIA AS WE DID IN CHINA A QUARTER CENTURY AGO. ONCE AGAIN BECAUSE OF LILY BETRU THAT DREAM IS NOW DEAD!
I BEG THE ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT TO LOOK INTO THIS PROPERLY AND BRING THESE PEOPLE TO JUSTICE. I CAN NO LONGER RETURN TO MY HOME OR BUSINESS OR CHILDREN’S WELFARE CENTER IN ADDIS ABABA. LILY KEEPS CALLING ME IN THE U.S. WARNING ME THAT “IF I COME BACK NO ONE WILL PROTECT ME ! SHE SAYS SHE IS THE PERSONAL FRIEND OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND NO ONE WILL DARE TO INTERFERE WITH HER.
I STILL BELIEVE THAT ETHIOPIA IS A GREAT COUNTRY WITH ALL THE POTENTIAL NEEDED FOR IT TO BECOME THE NEXT POWERHOUSE OF MANUFACTURING FOR U.S. CORPORATIONS.
I AM A MAN WITH A PROVEN TRACK RECORD OF A QUARTER CENTURY IN CHINA… CREATING JOBS, KNOWLEDGE, AND PROSPERITY FOR THE CHINESE PEOPLE. I KNOW SO MANY LARGE COMPANIES WILLING TO GIVE ETHIOPIA A TRY. I KNOW THE TOP EXPERTS IN LIGHT INDUSTRY THAT COULD BRING MOUNTAINS OF TRANSFERABLE KNOWLEDGE TO ETHIOPIA.
PLEASE DO NOT LET THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT OF LILY BETRUS FAMILY DESTROY THIS POSSIBILITY.
(New Vision) KAMPALA, UGANDA — THE ten African countries that share the River Nile under the umbrella of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) should consider economic and political integration, an Ethiopian academic has suggested.
Dr. Tesfaye Tafesse from Addis Ababa University was presenting a paper on Benefit-sharing Framework in trans-boundary river basins during a stakeholder dialogue by the Nile Basin Discourse at Hotel Africana on Wednesday.
The countries that make up the Nile Basin are Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, DR. Congo, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda.
He said the Nile Basin is home to 160 million people living in the ten countries, of which four of the countries are water scarce.
“A number of benefits are potentially realisable. For instance, implementation of watershed management in Ethiopian Highlands will reduce silting in Sudan,” said Tafesse.
He said the Nile which flows through arid countries of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, has often been a source of tension with countries such as Uganda, which are located upstream of the river.
He said that regional integration could bring about mutual dependency between the Nile Basin countries.
The NBI was established in 1999 to address water conflicts in the region, reduce poverty and promote economic integration.
Court Overturns Asylum Denial to an Ethiopian Woman Claiming Torture
By STEVEN M. ELLIS, Staff Writer
(Metropolitan News-Enterprise) — The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected the conclusion of an immigration judge—who openly accused the court of failing to follow U.S. Supreme Court precedent—that an Ethiopian woman seeking asylum who alleged torture by her government lacked credibility.
Ruling that the determination was not supported by substantial evidence, and pointing to statistics refuting the judge’s claims that the Ninth Circuit rarely affirmed such determinations, the court remanded Etagegn Haile Tekle’s petition for relief to the Board of Immigration Appeals to review whether she was eligible for asylum or other relief.
The court also suggested, to the extent further factual findings might necessitate a similar remand by the BIA, that a different immigration judge be assigned, noting that the judge had warned that he would recuse himself if the matter were remanded “for any reason” because of his conclusions as to Tekle’s veracity.
Tekle and her husband are both Ethiopian citizens and members of the Oromo ethnic group. After entering the United States in 2003 and later filing a petition for asylum, Tekle testified that security agents of the Ethiopian government had arrested and tortured her on account of her active membership in the Oromo Liberation Front, a political organization that supports self-rule for the Oromo people.
Before she testified, the immigration judge—whose name was not disclosed—commented for the record:
“I don’t care if the Ninth Circuit wants to report this to my supervisor. The Ninth Circuit does not comply with Supreme Court law with regard to asylum.”
He continued:
“While I am in the Ninth Circuit and have to comply, I do note that they don’t really care what immigration judges do. If an immigration judge makes an adverse credibility determination, they will, in only one case out of every 250 to 300, affirm it. So I don’t play their game with regard to credibility determinations.”
Instead, the judge said, asylum hearings should be analyzed “on the basis of whether the claim itself is credible as opposed to testimony because that’s really the, the strength of it,” and remarked it was “very rare” that an adverse credibility determination would be upheld.
Tekle then testified that government agents had “continuously” beaten the bottoms of her feet with electrical wires while questioning her as to the whereabouts of her husband—an active OLF member—and whether they had any weapons.
She also said that, after she fled the country after being released on the condition that she not engage in any OLF activity, her father was taken into custody for aiding her flight.
However, the immigration judge—despite acknowledging reports from the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom showing arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other mistreatment of the Oromo by the Ethiopian government—found that purported inconsistencies rendered her testimony incredible.
Alternatively, he also found that she was ineligible for asylum because her fear of future harm was the result of “general conditions of violence and civil unrest,” leaving her without fear of persecution by the government itself if she returned.
The Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed, but referred to only four of the eight reasons cited and specifically declined to review the immigration judge’s alternate conclusion.
On appeal, Judge William A. Fletcher first cited statistics showing that approximately 80 percent of all adverse credibility findings by immigration judges were affirmed in asylum cases between January 2005 and March 2008. Cases in which the Ninth Circuit reverses an adverse credibility finding “are the exception, rather than the rule,” he wrote.
Fletcher then dismissed the immigration judge’s conclusions that Tekle’s testimony was inconsistent as to the duration and scope of her interrogation, the impact on her father, and her rationale for seeking asylum in the United States.
Writing that any purported inconsistency as to the duration of the beating was attributable to the immigration judge’s misunderstanding or incorrect recall of the context of Tekle’s use of the word “continuously” to describe it, Fletcher noted that Tekle’s testimony consistently referred to a beating on one occasion, and pointed out that “Tekle never testified or even suggested that she had been beaten throughout her two-week detention.”
He then swept aside the immigration judge’s reasoning that Tekle’s testimony that the interrogation focused on her husband and weapons differed from a previous statement in which she said it focused on the OLF’s organization and the identities of other members, and criticized the judge for not giving Tekle an opportunity to explain herself.
Fletcher criticized a similar failure with respect to a purported inconsistency between Tekle’s testimony that her father had been taken into custody, and the testimony of her brother—a lawful permanent resident of the United States—that their father had only been questioned. Noting that both qualified their testimony as hearsay, Fletcher wrote that it the difference was understandable in the context of lay witnesses speaking of police practices.
He further rejected the immigration judge’s conclusion that Tekle’s testimony that she decided to flee Ethiopia when she was released was contradicted by preparations to leave she had been making when she was arrested.
Noting that Tekle testified she decided to leave “for good” after her release, Fletcher wrote out that “[s]he never stated or even suggested that she had never considered leaving Ethiopia prior to her arrest.”
Senior Judge John T. Noonan and Judge Carlos T. Bea joined Fletcher in his opinion.
The case is Tekle v. Mukasey, No. 05-76841.
Israeli marathon runner Haile Satain, who is set to represent Israel in the Beijing Olympics, has been arrested in Ethiopia for unknown reasons.
The Ethiopian Athletics Association recently informed its Israeli counterpart that the runner was arrested at his training camp and transferred to the capital, Addis Ababa.
“The Israeli Athletics Association will do everything in its power to get Satain out of prison soon and return to his training routine so that he will be in good shape for the Olympics,” said Shlomo Ben Gal, the association’s chairman.
Satain underwent a similar ordeal half a year ago when he was training in Ethiopia ahead of the Tiberias marathon. He was incarcerated after an acquaintance complained that he owed him money, and was released only after the Foreign Ministry intervened.
On that occasion, Satain said he did not eat or sleep during the three days he was held in custody. Despite the ordeal, the runner arrived in Israel on the morning of the Tiberias marathon and participated in the event, but had to quit after the 35th kilometer.
In 2006, Satain came first place in the Tiberias Marathon when he completed his run in an hour, five minutes and six seconds.
(KHOU.com) HOUSTON — U.S. Customs agents on Monday seized a large container at the Port of Houston from Ethiopia. Inside what was supposed to be musical drums was $185,000 in elephant ivory.
Smugglers were trying to slip the illegal cargo into the country. The real elephant ivory would have been used to make bracelets and other jewelry.
Elephants are an internationally protected animal and ivory shipping is illegal.
In the midst of the current issues that attracted public attention and intense debate such as the Ethio-Sudan border, the war in Ogaden and Somalia, the drought and the political and economic crisis prevailing throughout the nation, in the Ethio-cyber media we often read news, features, commentary and reports about the capital city, Addis Ababa. Being a resident of the city and an urban development professional who has been closely following and studying the recent development trends of the city, I am particularly interested in the reports of those contributors who recently visited the city and shared with us their observations and experiences. After reading those reports that give the impression that currently the city is in a very dynamic and rapid urban transformation and development process, I started to ask myself whether the city that I know most is really in progress or crisis.
In fact the answer to this question differs from one observer to the next, depending on the time and place from which the city is observed (the vantage point), the knowledge, premises, assumptions, biases, beliefs, interpretations and the language employed to describe it. Each observer makes sense of a city and creates his own image, though the type of image one creates about a place varies depending on the depth and quality of information one has.
In today’s Addis Ababa one could easily observe a paradox of two competing dynamics that exist simultaneously. One is a creative dynamic where you have new buildings, new roads and new businesses coming in. The other is a dynamic of crisis where an acute housing shortage, wide spread of informal settlements, dilapi dation of inner-city areas, lack of basic urban services and chronic traffic and parking problems challenge the proper functioning of the city. The fundamental question is, therefore, whether this decline can be halted, or whether the creative dynamic is going to outpace the destructive dynamic.
As I will try to demonstrate in this rather brief and sketchy overview, Addis Ababa’s recent development is very minimal compared to the magnitude of the problems the city has faced and the huge potential it has to grow and prosper. The city today, as perceived by residents, community leaders and trained experts, is rather in crisis and has faced serious challenges that put its sustainability (socially, politically, economically and environmentally) into question. Hence, I contend that the emergence of few high-rise buildings here and there and the opening of some roads do not reflect the claimed rapid development and the real image of the city. As I said earlier, many contributors have tried to portray their perception of the city’s recent development and its strength and weaknesses from the point of view of visitors while my attempt is to observe it from a different vantage point and based on facts and figures to reflect real-life problems faced by residents.
Visitors and residents’ views
It is a common practice that visitors of a city spend much of their time in places where there are relatively high standard hotels, restaurants, malls, well lit and paved streets. In most cases they neither have the time nor interest to visit slum areas and squatter settlements where about 80 percent of the city’s residents struggle for survival. Hence, the image that visitors create about the city is often partial, in most cases distorted and different from that of residents who see their city in its totality. This reminds me of an NGO’s report that illustrates how observers’ mental image of the city varies depending on the time spent and spatial area covered during the the visit:
A good number of those travellers who make brief stopovers in Addis Ababa might leave the city with the impression that it is a very busy metropolis like most other major cities of the world packed with high rise buildings, tarred roads, world class hotels and beautiful shops and restaurants. For many of the visitors that spend days and weeks moving around the various residential areas of the city, on the other hand, Addis Ababa is nothing but a gigantic slum interspersed with modern high-rise buildings and a few affluent neighborhoods.
Falling in the trap of politicians in power
As noted above, what we observe in Addis Ababa varies from place to place, as there are “cities within the city”. If we are talking about spaces created for and by the few affluent groups, political elites and their allies with the intention of displaying political achievements and success, the impressions created by many of the visitors seems to be valid. However, knowingly or unknowingly, they could not escape from the trap of politicians who spend much of their time to let us believe that the city as well as the nation as a whole has been prospering under the EPRDF government.
All governments wish cities to be physical denominations of national achievements and I think there is nothing wrong with that. The problem In Ethiopia is the disparity between what is reported and the reality on the ground. Sometimes reports include not only whatever is accomplished but also what officials dream. Let me give an example. During the Ethiopian millennium celebration the public media were very busy reporting development projects implemented in the last 17 years. I remember in one of such reports unrealized 3D images of construction projects posted on the huge billboard of Sunshine Real-estate Co. at Meskel Square were included and repeatedly broadcasted on national television as part of the achievements. This clearly shows to what extent the politicians in power are desperate for something to show. As a result of this in the present day Addis Ababa political decisions are strongly influenced by short time horizons and consequently short term and visible projects take precedence over the longer term and less visible tasks. What we see as developmental activity in Addis Ababa today is, therefore, part of this political game and showcase building process.
The showcase, particularly targeted to impress the Ethiopian diaspora, leaders of funding agencies and visitors, starts at Bole International Airport, the standard of which was raised in 2001. As many of the visitors observed, this redevelopment extends along the Africa Avenue, commonly known as Bole Road. In the last two decades, the land use of this area has been drastically changed from a predominantly residential to commercial while the cityscape has been transformed from low-rise low-density residential villas to medium and high-rise office blocks, malls, hotels and apartments. This is quickly extending along the newly redeveloped Urael – Bole Road and Kazanchis area. This development is particularly extensive and limited to about a block or two along these major corridors and follows the route of visitors, i.e. from Bole International Airport to the palace, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNECA, Sheraton, Hilton etc. This is, unfortunately, a very small segment of the city and does not show Addis Ababa in its totality.
As noted by a foreign observer, “one significant fact that is masked by such development is the predominantly low standard of most of its residential neighborhoods and housing units”. Which means the real image of the city comes when one moves further to the inner-city neighborhoods such as Cherkos, Teklehaymanot, Addisketema, Eribekentu, Lideta, where the majority of the city population lives and works. These are neighborhoods characterized by deteriorating environments, high level of overcrowding, nonexistence of open spaces and playing fields, dilapidating housing structures, unpaved access roads, inadequate circulation systems, scarcity of water supply, lack of drainage system, toilet facilities, and widespread of large proportion of uncollected refuse as well as high incidence of communicable diseases.
Addis Ababa compared to its past
No one disputes the fact that since its establishment in 1886, the city has been experiencing spectacular change and transformations. Its demographic size, urban forms, and the activities it concentrates illustrate how far the city has come from a modest traditional Ethiopian town to one of Africa’s metropolises. Available information on Addis Ababa’s growth indicates that the city’s population doubled in the last twenty years and it now has a population of more than 4 million. With an estimated average annual growth rate of 3.8 percent its projected population growth points to 5.1 million in 2015.
The rapid growth of the city is reflected not only in demographic terms but also by its extensive physical expansion over the years. In the early years of its establishment, the area of the city was estimated to be only 33 km², which grew to 224 km² in 1984 and now it is about 540 km². These are figures that show the city’s limits delineated by political/administrative boundaries. In reality, however, the unprecedented expansion of the city has gone beyond these artificial limits. Encroaching on farmlands and other open spaces, it has been growing outwards in almost all directions except to the north where Entoto Mountain is a physical barrier. Small towns that are outside the administrative limits of the city have become its extensions. Unfortunately, this extension is taking place in advance of local development plans and provision of public facilities.
This uncontrolled growth has also contributed to the formation of physically and socially fragmented and strongly delineated urban spaces. Addis Ababa is known for its social and economic homogeneity and different social groups live in close proximity to each other. In recent years, however, fragmentation has indeed become an obvious trend in the city and pockets of the rich already started to isolate themselves from the poorest city dwellers. The large-scale production of gated communities (like the ones in Hayat, Sunshine, Shola, Habitat New Flower, Ropack …. real estates) reveal the emergence of increasing segregation across the city. These developments are located in the fringe areas and are often closed off from surrounding neighborhoods by physical barriers and other conspicuous security features.
Addis Ababa compared to other cities in Ethiopia
Indeed, compared with its peers among Ethiopian cities, the capital city is growing fast and dominates the nations political, economic, and intellectual life. Accommodating about a third of the Ethiopia’s urban population, Addis Ababa represents a primate city. Its population is fourteen times larger than Diredawa, the second largest city in Ethiopia and the sum of the population of the next 10 big towns in the country is no more than half of the capital. In view of its dominance in politics, economics, and education, it is only natural to expect Addis Ababa to be a magnet attracting local investment and migrants from all parts of the country. The key question is not how big Addis Ababa is or how it is compared with other cities in the country, but whether the city is globally/regionally competitive and able to find a niche in which it can build and market a comparative advantage, thus attracting foreign investment, creating employment opportunities, improving quality of living conditions and maintaining its status of being the diplomatic capital of Africa.
Addis Ababa compared to other global/regional cities
In this globalizing world cities are increasingly competing with one another for investment. Hence, the roles of cities are being defined in terms of other similar cities within the “borderless” global economy, rather than the local ones. Compared to other cities and evaluated based on parameters that measure quality of living that include political, social, economic, infrastructure and other public services and environmental factors, our Addis Ababa lags not only well behind world major cities, but also could not keep pace with most African cities. According to the 2007 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, Addis Ababa with a score of 43.1-ranked 197 out of 215 cities covered in the survey. Whereas our immediate neighbor’s capital, Nairobi, scored much higher points (60.2), compared to Addis Ababa, and stood 156th.
Addis Ababa’s development compared to its potential
The city has all the potential to grow, prosper and improve the quality of living conditions of its residents and attract international investment. As we all know, Addis Ababa is the center of a huge market in Africa. With a population of 81.2 million Ethiopia today is the second most populous nation in Africa. Located at the geographic center of the nation that has attractive historical and archeological sites, scenic landscape and cultural heritage as well as wild life, Addis Ababa is an important regional and international transportation hub. All major highways that connect the different parts of the country radiate from the capital. The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, the only rail link in Ethiopia, also connects the capital to the Djibouti seaport. Relatively the capital enjoys air transport facilities that made it one of the most globally connected cities in Africa. Addis Ababa is not only the capital city of Ethiopia but also the diplomatic center of Africa. It is headquarter of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Unity (AU). Moreover, its excellent weather condition, low incidence of crime and the hospitable culture and attitude of its inhabitants are all assets that could give the city a comparative advantage in spurring development and attracting investment. Unfortunately, because of lack of visionary leaders, creative organizations and a political will, so far it has not been possible to exploit the full potential of the city.
Severe infrastructure and service deficiencies
The most visible manifestation of the urban crisis in Addis Ababa is the lack of the essential basic amenities such as piped water, sanitary facilities, electricity, telecom and road network. Where they are provided, these facilities are insufficient or do not function due to neglect by relevant authorities and therefore do not meet the requirements of the users leave alone the capacity to attract foreign investment.
According to official statistics, in Addis Ababa the amount of water demanded is much higher than the supply and in 2007 the amount supplied was only half of the amount demanded. In addition to the urban water supply problem, provision of adequate sanitation is perhaps the most critical problem of the city. Over half of the households in Addis Ababa, have neither private nor shared toilet facilities, resulting in an indiscriminate use of drains, open spaces and waterways. The conventional sewer system serves less than 2 percent of the population. Solid waste disposal is also a major problem in the city. It is estimated that 290 tons of solid waste is generated every day and of this more than a third is not collected and disposed off. Drainage facilities are absent in most areas and this makes most part of the city liable to flooding during heavy rainfall.
A city’s economic activity and its competitiveness depend heavily on the reliability of its power supply. Deficiencies in power supply in Addis Ababa are so high that power rationing has become a norm and recent reports show that the nations capital and the diplomatic center of Africa has no power up to three days a week. As a result virtually all manufacturing firms, big enterprises and institutions are forced to have their own electric power generator to cope with unreliable public power supply.
As we all know, in recent years information and communication technology (ICT) has been playing an important role in tackling a wide range of health, social and economic problems. Like all other services, ICT development in Addis Ababa is highly constrained by inappropriate government policies and actions. The services provided by the publicly owned Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC), which has a monopoly over all telecom services, has not been able to meet the growing demand of the population. For instance, the number of Internet subscribers in the city does not exceed 6,000. If we assign five individuals per Internet account the number of users could not surpass 30,000 persons. ETC, instead of facilitating free flow of information and ideas, has been used by the regime to control citizens’ access to information. For example, it had banned its text messaging services during the political unrest that followed the contested 2005 polls and blocked access to popular Ethiopian websites and most-read blogs.
Traffic accident, congestion and pollution are among the serious problems of the city. Ethiopia is first in world traffic accidents, more than 60% of which occurs in Addis. Official statistics show that every year traffic accidents claim the lives of more than 300 people and nearly 2000 people sustain heavy and light injuries. The publicly owned Anbessa Bus Transport is the only mass transit service in the city. The quality of the service is very poor and the ratio of buses to the city population is 1: 8000 (i.e. about 500 buses for 4 million people). The average waiting time for the service ranges between half to an hour and half. As a result, the great majority, about 70 percent, commutes to and from work by walking.
The housing crisis
The housing problem in the city is overwhelming and the sector typically suffers from the following major weaknesses:
a) Housing shortage
The first is that total housing production has been inadequate in relation to need. According to official estimates:
The accumulated housing backlog is estimated to be 250,000 units; in addition, an estimated 30,000 units are needed to accommodate the population increase of 6-7% per annum.”
b) Deterioration of existing housing stock
The housing problem in Addis Ababa manifests itself not only in terms of quantity but also in quality. The majority of the population lives in areas where the housing condition has deteriorated significantly with the associated degree of lack of necessary facilities. The official report continues
2 million out of the total population of 3 million are living in overcrowded houses or dilapidated structures, under unhygienic conditions, lacking basic urban services like safe drinking water and sewage, and in the sprawling informal settlements with a growing number of shacks.
The poor condition of the housing stock is the result of existing tenure arrangements, housing management and low quality construction systems.
c) Proliferation of Informal settlements
According to official sources, presently more than two thirds of the city’s housing stock has been classified as informal. This sector is already leading in reducing the housing pressure resulting from rapid demographic growth, and informal housing units are growing at a rate of roughly 30,000 each year. The mushrooming of informal settlements is in part the direct result of failed government approaches to housing and continuous escalation of land prices.
d) Difficulties in access to land
The scarcity of urban land for poor families has also contributed for the acute shortage of housing, increase in the sub division of the existing stock as well as development of spontaneous settlements. As we all know, to date the state bureaucracy is responsible for overall management of land. It determines who gets or enjoys what, where and how. However, recent years have witnessed a decreasing capability of the state to manage urban land. The level of corruption, emergence of informal land markets and the extent of informal housing evidently display this. A very recent study by UN states that
with regard to land and housing, the new government’s policy was very similar to that of the junta during its final days. There may be no better evidence than the EPRDF’s decision to keep urban land as public property, together with persistent ambivalence or indecision over privatization of public housing.
e) High cost of building materials
Among the prominent factors, which inhibit the development of affordable housing for the low-income groups, is the scarcity and high cost of building materials. According to a study conducted by the Addis Ababa University, the price of building materials has been rising constantly. If we just take the case of cement, the most important construction material, as an example, before EPRDF government came into power the price of a quintal of cement was Birr 17, while in 1995 it reached Birr 40 and a very recent market price shows that it already passed Birr 400. This situation clearly exhibit that the price of building materials has increased more than twenty times in the last 17 years.
f) Problem of affordability
Housing affordability, which describes the extent to which households are able to pay for housing, is one of the serious problems of the city. A recent UN study confirms that:
Addis Ababa is a city where probably up to two thirds of households live at or below subsistence levels, with the rest living below the poverty line. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the overwhelming majority of households are simply incapable of building or buying the smallest, officially acceptable dwelling unit.
Other socio-economic problems
There are additional grim statistics to depict the severity of Addis Ababa’s social and economic problems. For example, unemployment in the city is running at an average of 30-35 percent. A third of Addis Ababa’s population does not earn sufficient income to cover its food requirements and lives in absolute poverty. Addis Ababa has a street population of 40,000 children or nearly 40 per cent of the nation’s total homeless children. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is claiming the lives of the most productive segment of the population. According to official sources, the adult prevalence rate in the city increased from 7.2% in 2004 to 7.5% in 2007. According to some estimates, it is projected to reach 9.2% in the year 2010. The annual HIV/AIDS death in 2007 was 41,433.
Failed policies and governance crisis
As the world’s economic system is increasingly becoming an urban one, cities have been widely recognized as key engines that produce diversified and dynamic economies, raise productivity, create jobs and wealth, provide essential services, and absorb population growth. Despite this global understanding, the EPRDF’s economic development policy of Agricultural Development-Led Industrialization (ADLI) has given very little or no attention to urban development. Besides, the macroeconomic policy failed to promote the productivity of the city’s economy. According to a study conducted by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) the critical policies and public interventions that hindered foreign investment and private sector development include: public ownership and inefficient provision of key inputs such as land, energy, telecom and other services; investment policy that failed to give security for investment and protect property rights; financial-sector policies that inhabit foreign investment in the sector; and unequal and more favorable treatment of party-owned/affiliated enterprises. The same study notes that institutional inefficiency is among the critical deficiencies. In what follows I would focus on these institutional deficiencies and outline some of the inherent governance problems in the city.
a) Highly politicized management system
The current governance and management structure of the city is highly politicized and most of the people in positions of authority within the administration of the city got their positions not by their merit or through professional competence but because of their political allegiance. Resource allocation is totally politicized and the civil service has replaced the market as the principal instrument for the allocation of resources. This serves as an instrument for the enrichment of members of the politically dominant group as a significant contributor to corruption As such, there is little room for professional urban management and leadership. Local governments (Sub-cities and Kebeles) are used to consolidate the power of the central government. They mainly play a support role in urban development and have no decision-making autonomy. Moreover, the extent of the services they deliver is related to the regime’s needs for support from the city’s dwellers.
b) Lack of legitimacy and rule of law
Electoral legitimacy is derived from periodic open, competitive and free elections that provide an elected political executive with a mandate to govern. As we all know, Addis Ababa has never been administered by a body with electoral legitimacy as defined here. Perhaps the first and relatively competitive election was conducted in 2005, during which the majority of the citizens expressed their dissatisfaction with the performance of the EPRDF government through their votes and elected the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), the main opposition political organization, to govern the city. Unfortunately, against the will of the people, most of the elected officials and CUD leaders were thrown into Jail and the so called Caretaker Administration composed of individuals loyal to the ruling party was institutionalized. This was recently replaced by a new administration that was formed as a result of the recently held uncontested and fake local election.
c) Lack of capacity and leadership quality
It has been recognized that in order to be competitive and successful cities need to have visionary leaders, creative organizations with clarity of purpose. Further, open mindedness and a willingness to take risks, a clear focus on long-term aims with an understanding of strategy and willingness to listen and learn are key qualities to be possessed by actors involved in any city administration. In Addis Ababa there appears to be lack of perspective and, more significantly, it seems that decision-makers are carried away more by the forces of development – national and international- rather than influencing the direction of change by a conscious and well-conceived policy frame. In addition to that, many officials simply lack the requisite management skills and awareness of the core functions and responsibilities that a modern city government should undertake. To make matters worse, changes of leadership are so frequent that none of the appointed leaders have enough time at their disposal to become aware of the fundamental needs of the city that they administer, let alone to plan and implement development projects.
d) Lack of accountability and transparency
Accountability on the part of the public authorities to the people, which implies responsiveness to the demands of the governed, enforced by respect for the rule of law and an independent judiciary, together with widespread access to information, is a process yet to be established in Ethiopia. A study conducted by the Addis Ababa University concluded that:
the leadership of the city owes a greater degree of upward accountability to the politics of the day than to the people. Due to the strongly hierarchical public sector, the unclear distribution of tasks and competencies as well as unresponsive decision-making the urban management process is lacking transparency and accountability.
Because of lack of accountability and transparency corruption has become a serious development challenge. Bribery, which was once considered unacceptable and immoral in most Ethiopian culture, is now woven deep into the fabric of every day life. It has become a common practice that bureaucrats exploit their public positions to generate benefits for themselves, their families, and their ethnic or social cleavage. Private individuals and business firms pay to get routine services and to get to the head of the bureaucratic queue. They pay to limit their taxes, avoid costly regulations, obtain contracts at inflated prices, and get concessions and privatized firms at low prices. This affected the investment behavior of firms. It is observed that entrepreneurs either tend to keep the size of their business small, or secure their expansion by reinforcing their relations with public officials.
e) Lack of community participation
The potential of community’s initiatives and participation in making development strategies successful, which is widely accepted almost everywhere, has no place in Addis Ababa. There is no consultation and citizen input in deriving development plans, projects and goals. This resulted, on the one hand, in insufficient knowledge about the plans by the people, on the other, the plans, projects and regulations are often perceived as “the government’s” ideas. Additionally, in recent years, while social movements, regime-critical civic organizations and NGOs are stigmatized and limited by legislative means or repression, government-sponsored NGOs have often been encouraged. As part of this initiative, regime-sponsored youth organizations have been created to increase control, disseminate the ideology of the political organization in power and suppress political dissent. Exclusion of citizens and their organizations (NGOs and CBOs) from the urban development process and general decision-making on their daily lives has impeded the development of feelings of belonging to the city.
f) Who is to blame?
Since 2002, when the Prime Minister dissolved the Council of the Addis Ababa City Government led by Ali Abdo who was made to publicly admit that he lacked the competence and capacity to mange the city, Addis Ababa has seen three mayors appointed by the political party in power. As the following news excerpts show, all of them admit that the city suffers from the lack of good governance and management capacity. The question is where lies the problem and who is to blame?
The city of Addis Ababa and its citizens were experiencing poor urban governance as manifested in a highly centralized government system, un-participatory governance, poor service delivery, and lack of transparency. The political system was heavily bureaucratic… – Mayor Arkebe Oqubay [worldmayor.com]
Rapid population growth, unemployment and poverty, and environmental degradation in the face of limited management capacity and resources are the main challenges facing Addis Ababa… – Mayor Berhane Deressa [Addis Fortune, May 11, 2008]
The most serious problems the city is facing are the death of good governance, unemployment, a shortage of housing facilities and the recently escalating cost of living… – Mayor Kuma, Demekssa [Addis Fortune, June 1, 2008]
Some final reflections
The above outlined mounting political, social, economic and environmental problems that the city’s residents face on a day-to-day basis are manifestations of lack of good governance. It also demonstrates that the current management system in Addis is neither able to counter the challenges the city is facing nor competent to utilize the full economic potential of the city. The current unsatisfactory situation and the complex environment show that there is a strong need for a governance system that includes a competent, efficient administration and a legitimate and democratically elected government. I have no doubt that Addis Ababa’s multidimensional problems will continue to worsen unless we are able to join our forces and create conditions for the establishment of a governance system based on the principles of the rule of law, electoral legitimacy, freedom of expression and association, as well as accountability and transparency.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The author, Ashenafi Gossaye, Ph.D., can be reached at [email protected]
