A city restructuring plan which would cut the number of agencies to 67 from its current 76 will soon be presented to Prime Minister Abiy Amhed (PhD) for approval.
The plan was drafted over a year ago but was delayed during the period of instability in the country. The new Vice Mayor who assumed power last week is expected to bring the plan to the PM in a few months.
The plan calls for the city to have four vice mayors overseeing the economy, social issues, land and construction, and administrative affairs. The city’s institutions will be run by 22 executive bodies.
A source in the municipality told Capital that the proposed plan may enable Addis to sell and distribute electric power by itself. Currently it is being provided by the Ethiopian Electric Utility.
“If the PM approves the plan we will buy power from the Ethiopian Electric Utility and then we will handle selling and distributing the power to households, companies, roads and government and non-government institutions. We also plan to install solar panels in apartments, condos and other buildings to conserve energy.’’
Addis Ababa has about four percent Ethiopia’s population yet consumes 59 percent of its electricity.
According to the source attempts are being made to improve telecommunication but they are still researching how best to go about it.
“Our citizens now require fast Internet and better communication so we need to upgrade the technology and we are proposing to share some of the work with telecom services.”
According to the source the proposed plan also includes opening more shops in business hub areas.
“Many people want to start their own businesses but don’t know where to work so we will study business hubs in the city and help entrepreneurs find locations suitable for them.”
The city looked at Johannesburg as an example. Another goal of the plan is to clearly differentiate political and professional jobs in the city.
