Town in a heightened state of security, preparation

The organising committee of the Eighth Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) Congress to be held for three consecutive days from September 15, 2010, in Adama (Nazaret) Town, Oromia Regional State, for the first time, mobilised close to 450,000 Br from the business community for the preparations.

The committee, which was also responsible for overseeing the Sixth Oromo People's Democratic Organisation (OPDO) Congress held on September 3 and 4, consisted of prominent town elders, the Adama Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association, Adama Chamber of Industry and Sectoral Association, and Adama Women Trade Associations.

The committee, which was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating the preparatory work for the two meetings, is engaged in several activities including fundraising. The committee is also entrusted with the task of ensuring security, controlling price hikes, city sanitation, and overseeing the peaceful culmination of the congress.

They were able to raise close to 340,000 Br in cash, while close to 10,000 Br was also pledged by the business community. Other donations of gifts including cattle were also given to the committee.

The meeting, which is held every two years, has rotated among the regional states, with Hawassa having had the chance to host it twice. The eighth congress, now to be held for the first time in Adama, seat of Oromia, has prompted a festive mood in the town.

"Organising this event ensures the town as a metropolitan for nations and nationalities, and will initiate the successful implementation of the Five-year Growth and Transformation Plan," Sisay Negash, mayor of Adama Town, told Fortune. "It will also foster the business and economic activities of the town."

Adama, in the past week has mobilised its dwellers to engage in the cleaning of their neighbourhoods in preparation for the meeting. Activities like mending streetlights and painting of railings on city roads are also being carried out in the weeks leading up to the congress.

"These activities should not only be done when there are such kinds of events," Abebayehu Assefa, resident of the town, told Fortune. "Instead, their continual maintenance should also be taken into consideration."

A big colourful banner conveying the message of the event ahead was seen at the heart of the town, along with flags of the nation and the regional state, as well as flags with emblems of the EPRDF and the OPDO displayed on the main streets of the town.

Security was also tightened, with riot police of the regional state deployed in the town and its surrounding villages on Wednesday, September 1. City dwellers with prior criminal records and suspected of posing a danger and those who are found after 10:00pm in the evening roaming around the town without a purpose are also being detained. A random search of pedestrians and drivers was also carried out by riot police at town posts last Wednesday from 2:30pm in the evening.

Traffic police have also been strictly enforcing traffic regulations and fining drivers of three-wheeler taxis if they carry more than three people, a rule which has been ignored for some time.

The 10 major hotels in the town have already been booked for the large number of participants expected to attend in the congress.

"This is an activity in which we voluntarily participate in," Abebe Benti, member of the organising committee and president of the Adama Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association, told Fortune. "We are ready to accommodate our guests the best way possible."

The EPRDF Congress, which is held once every two years, was held in Hawassa Town, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples (SNNP) Regional state in September 2008. Prior to that, the town of Mekelle, Tigray Regional state, and Bahir Dar, Amhara Regional State, also organised the congress in September 2006 and 2004, respectively.