The net worth of Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi is listed as $1.2 billion in Wikipedia.org, the most referenced encyclopedia in the world. Meles is also listed as the 11th richest head of government in the world. (See here.) This has caused the Adwa Mafia (a clique within the ruling Woyanne junta that is mostly composed of close family members and friends of Meles) to scramble and remove their boss from the list. After several back and forth between those who wanted to keep Meles in the list and members of the Adwa Mafia who are terrified of the exposure, Wikipedia editors stepped in yesterday and “called off” the war until December 20.
One may wonder why Meles Zenawi’s clique is scrambling to suppress such information. First of all, the information is correct. Secondly, the Adwa Mafia has amassed such incredible wealth during the past 18 years while most Woyanne cadres and fighters, particularly those who are not from Adwa Awraja, have gotten only frifari (crumbs). Such disparity in wealth is causing friction within the Woyanne hierarchy.
Currently, the Adwa Mafia (a.k.a. the Meles Crime Family) controls 60 mega corporations through an organization named EFFORT (Endowment Fund For Rehabilitation of Tigray). These companies — doing businesses ranging from mining to transportiaon — are estimated to worth over $15 billion. EFFORT, which is currently headed by Meles Zenawi’s wife Azeb Mesfin, has never been audited, pays no tax, and is shielded from inspection of its books. All the profits from EFFORT go into offshore private bank accounts of Meles, Azeb, Sebhat and the other members of the Adwa Mafia.