|
|
Ethiopia: City Cabinet Bans Lease Boards from New Land Transfers
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
7 April 2008
Posted to the web 7 April 2008
Wudineh Zenebe
The Addis Abeba City Caretaker Administration Cabinet early last week instructed the central, as well as district lease boards of the city, to stop passing decisions on land related issues, until such time the newly elected administration takes office. This was subsequent to instruction from the Office of the Prime Minister, sources told Fortune.
During power vacuum in transition from the provisional city administration of Mayor Arkebe Oqubay to the current caretaker administration, there had been an alleged massive land grabbing and illegal transfer of plots. The Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has recently apprehended close to 68 officials from the city administration and districts who currently are under investigation. The rerun of such cases seems to be behind the federal government's latest decision.
The directive, issued on March 31, 2008, also restricts the Addis Abeba Land Development and Administration Authority from making any decision either. The cabinet passed this decision on March 28, according to reliable sources.
Wubishet Berhanu (PhD), general manager of the city, told Fortune that the decision was made in a bid to control illegal land transfers that would potentially occur in transitional periods such as during the upcoming elections.
National by-elections and local as well kebele elections are scheduled to take place on April 13 and 20. The April 13 election will be conducted to fill 138 seats that are vacant in the House of Peoples' Representatives (HPR); where as on the April 20 election, candidates will contest for councils of districts and kebeles.
Following the decision, 140 files that were planned to be reviewed for decisions by the central lease board were left unattended and tenders floated by districts have also been terminated, these sources revealed.
The second tender the City Land Administration and Development Authority floated to give plots out to prospective developers interested in the hotel business has also been turned down. The Office of the Prime Minister had told city officials earlier this year to apportion plots for the construction of at least 50 hotels and float publicly held auction in order to award successful bidders. A study conducted by the Ministry of Works and Urban Development (MoWUD) revealed that there is a 10,000 bed shortage in the city for guests who visit the capital. The first tender, opened five months ago, was canceled and re-tendered on March 10 as there were only 10 bidders for nine plots, whereas there should been three bidders for each, according to the tender procedure. Though the opening date for the re-tendering was scheduled to be on April 8, the cabinet has cancelled it in any case.
The plots designated for these hotel constructions are located in Bole District, Kirkos District, and in the premises of some federal agencies.
The tender specification compels investors to put aside two to 6.2 million Br in a blocked account before they could bid for the plots. Tender documents of bidders will be transferred to the incoming administration, city officials told Fortune. Land related issues will no more be addressed by the officials of the caretaker administration, but rather by the new administration.
An official at the Kirkos District revealed his concern that the city may lose its earnings until the new administration adjusts and gets used to situations.
The City Land Administration and Development Authority has so far granted 52 plots in the 2007/2008 budget year.
|
A mid ranking official at the City Administration disclosed to Fortune that the idea was initiated by Mayor Brehane Deressa. He is expected to discuss the issue further with senior officials from the Office of the Prime Minister.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Addis Fortune. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
