Meles Zenawi and the Cover Up of Corruption
07/02/2009
The Prime Minister ordered government dignitaries to hand some of their assets back to the State in order to fight against accusations that they are enriching themselves.
The President of the Oromia Regional State, Abadula Gemeda(real name: Menase Wolde Giorgis), has accepted to hand a villa back to the State in response to an appeal by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The former minister Junedin Sado yielded a plot of land he owned but did not use. Other officials in the EPRDF (governing coalition) and the TPLF (the regime’s hard core), however, have declined to follow the example, stating that they had paid with blood for all they own today. Executives in the ANDM such as Addisu Legese (the owner of the Papyrus Hotel in Bahar Dar), Bereket Simon (road haulage) and Tefera Walwa (refuse collection) preferred to remain silent on the matter. Meanwhile, Abadula Gemeda has attributed land to President Girma Woldegiorgis at Alem Gena, near Addis Ababa, where the expropriated peasants are complaining that they have not been paid any compensation.
Source: The indian Ocean Newsletter
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The book and the corruption
January 29th, 2009
Right after a book, just published by insider, exposes corruption scandals, Aba Dula Gemeda (real name: Menase Wolde Giorgis), president of the Oromia regional state has donated his villa to the Oromo People’s Democratic Organizaton (OPDO). OPDO is one of TPLF affiliates created by Meles Zenawi mainly from the captives or POWs of the derg army during the war aiming at controlling and subjugate the Oromo’s.
According to a new book by an insider journalist and a writer close to the ruling party, Tesfaye Gebreab, Aba Dula Gemeda was unable to disclose his income source, to OPDO executives, of building a villa that worth 700,000 ET. Birr. “The issue was brought to Meles Zenawi” The book reads, “We can’t touch Aba Dula as we don’t have any loyal person [from OPDO] to replace him. ” Zenawi responded.
The puppet president of the Oromia Region, Aba Dula Gemeda, who faced another challenge, had donated his villa to OPDO last week, according to the weekly reporter, Amharic news paper. The news paper also commented on Mr. Junedin Saddo, a senior OPDO member and minister of science and technology who donated his embezzled plot of land in Adama to his party. “Junedin didn’t say anything about his 3 million Birr worth villa at Letafo.”
The paper said.OPDO is accumulating wealth embezzled from the poor by its leaders.
Several sources are unfolding that the looting and suffering of citizens has continues in the last two decades of Meles Zenawi rule.
Government’s anti-corruption efforts are meant=2 0to destroy political foes than the loyal corrupts like Aba dula Gemeda. To that end an anti-corruption commission has been formed in Ethiopia since 2001. The former prime minister, Tamerat Layne and defense minister, Seye Abraha were victim of dubious corruption charges who served 12 and 6 years respectively in prison.
According to Transparency International, Ethiopia is stil classified as one of the most corrupt states in the world, as close circle of people in power are looting the nation.
The anti-corruption commission itself has proved to be the most corrupt organ of Meles Zenawi’s regime. It is very difficult to abandon corruption so long as Meles Zenawi himself is benefiting from it. A recent report indicates that Meles Zenawi’s wife, Azeb Mesfin has rented her modern building to state owned telecommunication for 60 million birr.
News obtained from Indian Ocean Newsletter exposes Meles Zenawi’s top men are accumulating wealth at the expense of the majority poor. According to the ION, few people, including Azeb Mesfin, are owning and running dozens of multi-billion campanies.
The recent phenomena signify embezzlements has become beyond Zenawi’s control. In his discussion with coffee exporters earlier this month, Meles Zenawi said “10,0 00 tons of coffee bound for export has disappeared recently”. This bound of coffee worth about 20 to 23 million dollars.
Professor Seid Hassan’s analysis gainsays Zenawi’s anti-corruption effort. Professor Seid Hassan links the systemic and structural nature of corruption with ethno-centric minority rule. One can not reasonably expect to root out corruption by a one-party, one-man dictatorship setting up a fake anti-corruption commission. It is simply meant to paying lip-service to the cause of good governance to decieve donor countries.
To end up corruptions and sufferings of our nation, people must join hand and fight the root cause of these miseries which is the Meles Zenawi regime. Two decades in power, Meles is the same. We repeat ethiomedia’s motto: “TPLF cannot be reformed; like apartheid, it should be abolished.”
Source: EMF
