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15 May, 2007
The massive campaign to cleanse Addis Abeba from what the Administration calls an unprecedented lawlessness will be headed by Mayor Brehane Deresse himself, disclosed reliable sources. However, the coordinating committee is comprised of 10 agencies under the Administration and members of the federal police.
The committee sees its role in ensuring that those who have possessed plots illegally, built houses without permits and broke into houses owned by the City Administration will be evicted by force. Not only will this committee provide leadership, budget and logistics to accomplish its target, but is also determined to punish its own staff “who may have acted unethically” in the course of the campaign.
“Due to what has followed the 2005 national elections, the city’s development and good governance record has not only been worse than what it was prior to the election; there is also an alarming degree of lawlessness evident,” says a 20-page campaign plan, released at the beginning of this month.
The Administration is worried that the practice of break-ins into houses under its ownership - a particular mention was made about homes located in front of the Civil Service College - will creep into the condominium houses across the city.
Although a particular concern is paid to reckless land grabbing held in the outskirts of Addis during the power vacuum following the elections, the campaign targets six of the 10 districts in the city: Yeka, Nifas Silk/Lafto, Kolfe Keranio, Akaki, Bole and Gulele. The Administration has a very detailed list of kebelles and identified specific areas where the campaign will take place.
“These are the areas where illegal landholding and construction without permit are rampant,” says the report. “It is a paramount importance to remove these with an organised taskforce.”
The city plans to set up appeals bodies during the campaign in order to address complaints that may come following forced evictions, and demolishing of identified houses, according to the plan.
The plan was endorsed by the city cabinet after consultations with authorities at the Ministry of Works and Urban Development (MoWUD), two weeks ago, a source told Fortune. A meeting chaired by Arkebe Oqubay, state minister of MoWUD, was held inside the municipality on Monday, May 7, 2007, with 600 officials from districts and kebelles.
The incursion by city authorities against alleged land and house holders, as well as illegal constructions, will be launched this week and last until October 2007, according to city sources.