Mereja Forum

[Noble Amhara]

By Haile-Gebriel Endashaw
Staff reporter

ADDIS ABABA – Addis Ababa City Administration caused damages to immovable properties with cost estimated at birr 500 million, sources said. The Amharic Weekly Reporter said yesterday that the loss was incurred due to serious violation of law committed following the decision made by the Mayor Office of Addis Ababa City Administration.

The offended or the plaintiff, Fana Consumers’ Cooperative, filed charges at the Federal Supreme Court and forwarded a request for the revert of the decision as per the provision of Proclamation No. 1183/2012 article 48.

Fana Consumers’ Cooperative, established under Proclamation No. 985/2009, clarified in its charge document that as a legitimate body it runs centers that are located in Bole Sub-City Woreda 03 commonly known as 17/19 (with identification numbers AA 000060305208) and 17/23 (with identification number AA000060305433). These centers supply daily consumers’ goods to the community and manage over 3,000 employees.

The centers served as a football, tennis and other sports arena for several residents including foreigners, young and elderly people coming from the surrounding areas and other parts of the city. The plaintiff stated in its charging document that it used to give catering, beverage, and steam bath services including rental conference provisions at reasonable cost.

Though all these were certified by the authentication authority, the Addis Ababa city Administration passed a decision that the properties should be transferred to individuals stated by the names “MWS Trading and Bekele Legesse and Aregu Abebe” for the construction of an apartment, mall and a five-star Hotel. The Consumers’ Cooperative was notified through a letter to handover, without pursuing legal means, its own properties on July 18/2022.

Following this the Cooperative filed charges at the Federal Supreme Court against Land Development and Administration Office of Woreda 03 of Bole Sub-City and the Mayor Office of the Addis Ababa City Administration on August 29/2022. However, the defendants, unwilling to be bound by the law, have directly started works on land measurement and estimation of the properties by violating the Proclamation Number 719 (10) that declares land transfer procedures. They did this without pursuing what they should as per Proclamation Number 1161 (7/1) and Regulation number 472 (8), Reporter said.

Without pursuing the supreme law of the land, the administration of Land Development of Woreda 03 of Bole Sub-City wrote a warning letter to the Consumers’ Cooperative to hand over the Center within 48 hours. As the plaintiff, the Consumers’ Cooperative, was not able to appeal on the dot for the following days were Saturday and Sunday, with offices closed, the Kebele Administration has come up with an excuse, “the cabinet has decided” and commencement of construction by the individuals in the domain of the centers.

Finally, the plaintiff, Fana Consumers’ Cooperative, asked the court to consider the unlawful procedure of grabbing its properties by illegitimate individuals and give order for the return of the centers to the right and legitimate owner, according to the news source.

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Zerihun said that though it has made its seat on water tower, Addis Ababa will plunge in to big problems if we fail to install 200,000 cubic meter water in to its system.

In a related development, the Weekly Reporter said that though it has not yet been made public, the water fees in Adddis Ababa rose by triple fold.