Addis awaits its new mayor, cabinet

The incoming administration has a myriad of challenges that it
must alleviate

17 May, 2008

In three days time Addis Ababa's City Council will formally be constituted at a meeting that is planned to be held at City Hall. The inhabitants of the capital also expect to know their new mayor, his or her deputy, and the speaker.
Until that time, speculation is rife that Ato Kuma Demeksa will be the mayor, Ato Melaku Fenta will be the Deputy Mayor and the Speaker is likely to be Woizero Aster Mamo, who has an experience as the speaker of the Oromia State Council.

Ato Kuma Demeksa is currently Defense Minister, Ato Melaku Fenta is the Minister of Revenue while Woizero Aster Mamo is serving as Minister of Youth and Sport.

Of the 138 seats in the council, the ruling party won 137. It lost a single seat to the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). It was later found that the CUD electee had died ahead of the election.

Coincidentally, during the last election the major opposition party CUD had won 137 seats out of the total and had lost one seat to the ruling party Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

Shanty houses in Addis Ababa

The capital has been administered by a caretaker administration for the past two-and-half years.

Prior to that, Addis Ababa was run for some three-and-half years by a provisional administration whose mayor was Ato Arkebe Equobay, who now is State Minister of Works and Urban Development.

Outgoing mayor Berhane Deressa said that his office has made all the necessary preparations for a smooth hand over of office and operations to the incoming administration.

Tomorrow, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia is expected to announce the results of this year's local and by elections.

On May 21, there will be hand over of Sub-City administrations. The incoming administration has a myriad of challenges that it must alleviate.

Some of these challenges are related to rising costs of living, land administration, unemployment, shortage of housing, corruption, public transportation and good governance.

A number of these problems have been rolling over from one administration to the other

By a Staff Reporter - Ethiopian Reporter