Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
Wudineh Zenebe
13 October 2008
Council members of the Addis Abeba City Government have decided to uphold the administration's proposal to revise the law that governs how condominium houses should be transferred to beneficiaries, for the second time in three months.
The council, chaired by its Speaker, Sinknesh Atale, was held for two days last week (October 7 and 8, 2008); it had convened for the second time since the City Council began its business in June 2008, the councillors have accepted the administration's proposal to be granted the authority to handover condos with special consideration.
This was one of the six agendas the council discussed last week, including the endorsement of the code of conduct; the evaluation of the quarterly performance of the administration; and the forming of standing committees. The case for the revised bill on condo transfers was made by Tsegaye H. Mariam, head of Justice and Legal Bureau of the city administration.
The issue of condos transfers to beneficiaries has been a delicate matter in all the city administrations since the time of Arkebe Oqubay, the first mayor of Addis Abeba who had launched an ambitious, publicly-financed project to build 150,000 condos within three years. When he left office after the debacle of May 2005, there were a little over 10,000 condos ready for handover to beneficiaries.
The law then allowed his administration to transfer houses through open raffles and decisions made by the cabinet; hundreds of people were given houses through discretionary decisions by Arkebe's administration. This practice was maintained only during the first year of the Caretaker Administration under Brehane Deressa. With growing public discontent as the system was open to abuse, Brehane's cabinet decided to transfer houses only through raffles; for the second time, close to 15,000 condos were transferred to beneficiaries through publicly held raffles.
Whether or not this practice should be upheld was one of the six issues on the agenda that the existing council discussed during its first meeting back in June 2008. Councillors unanimously voted to authorise Mayor Kuma Demeksa's administration to use their discretionary powers in the allocation of condos to those who would had been displaced when the city granted plots to developers.
There was no unanimity in the EPRDF controlled council this time around, where there is only one councillor from an opposition party, the CUD. The councillor who voted against the administration's proposal to revise the law, so that the cabinet could give condos to individuals in special was, however, from the EPRDF.
"You cannot discriminate one from the other when it comes to housing in Addis," said a councillor who voted against the bill. "Every applicant for housing has an equally desperate need; it isn't appropriate for the cabinet to use discretionary power anymore."
There is a 400,000 housing shortfall in Addis Abeba, according to studies conducted by the Ministry of Works and Urban Development. A little over 450,000 people have applied to be given condo houses; many of them live in kebelle houses and service quarters rented from private land lords and ladies.
Nonetheless, the cabinet has been authorised to do exactly that, after the revised law was passed with the support of 100 councillors, with another three abstaining.
For Tsegaye, those who will be moved out from an old house on Africa Avenue now designated as historically significant are a perfect illustration as to why his administration needs such discretionary power. Originally owned by Degazemach Ayalew Emiru, this house was given to Liya Kebede by the Caretaker Administration. The Ethiopian international model wants to renovate the old relic into a guesthouse.
Currently, there are 24 families residing in the house; for instance, Worku Ambaye's family has lived in the house for 25 years.
"Moving these families into condos and handing over the house [to Liya] is not only good for the city administration, it will also help build the country's image," Tsegaye told the council.
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