Addis Abeba — The Tigray Regional State Supreme Court has ordered the temporary freezing of bank accounts belonging to the region's interim administration over its failure to pay 17 months' worth of salaries to public school teachers.
The ruling, issued on 22 July, followed a lawsuit filed by the Tigray Teachers' Association and will be followed by a new hearing next week.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the court reviewed arguments from both the plaintiffs' lawyers and prosecutors, following an earlier directive issued ten days ago to investigate the financial status of the defendants.
That investigation revealed 500 million birr in a Commercial Bank of Ethiopia account under the interim administration's name, and 10 million birr in another under the Federal Ministry of Finance.
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However, this was reportedly less than previously known, prompting suspicions that funds may have been moved after the court's initial inspection order.
Lawyers representing the teachers argued that the administration had failed to comply with previous court orders and requested the arrest of Interim Administration President Lt. Gen. Tadesse Worede and Regional Finance Bureau Head Dr. Mehret Beyene. They also demanded that the money be used to pay teachers and that government-managed housing assets be transferred to the plaintiffs.
In response, lawyers for the Interim Administration and Finance Bureau claimed the funds had not been moved in violation of court orders but were used to pay June 2017 EC salaries of civil servants. They also asserted that the remaining funds in the accounts were under the custody of the Finance Bureau, allocated by other government offices. The court, however, proceeded to freeze the accounts and ordered further evidence on the timing and destination of any money transfers. Tigray TV reported that the court will address the request for arrests after reviewing the new evidence.
The Tigray Supreme Court had previously ruled in favor of the teachers' right to receive 17 months of unpaid salaries.
The case, affecting over 50,000 teachers, has named the Tigray Education Bureau, Regional Finance Bureau, Interim Administration, and the Federal Ministry of Finance (in absentia) as main defendants.
Since the signing of the Pretoria agreement, the failure to resume salary payments for government school teachers has remained a central grievance in Tigray.
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In December 2023, 33 teachers in Mekelle halted classes to protest the interim administration's continued inability to pay wages. The prolonged income disruption has left many unable to meet essential financial commitments, including loan repayments and rent. Despite repeated pleas, teachers say promises from authorities have failed to translate into real support, pushing them into deeper economic distress.
In response to mounting pressure, senior officials from Tigray's interim administration, including Education Bureau Head Kiros Guesh and Mihret Beyene, acknowledged the crisis. Mihret revealed that federal budget allocations for Tigray have remained frozen at pre-war levels, even as salary expenses have grown from 900 million to 1.2 billion birr. With internal revenue generation stalled, the region is unable to cover the gap.
The Tigray Teachers Association, after 17 months of unanswered demands, warned of a peaceful demonstration in January 2024 but agreed to resume classes on grounds that the issue will be addressed timely.
The association initiated the lawsuit in August 2024 over the failure of salary disbursement that spanned from 2021 to 2023.
