City Admin imposes ban on property transfer

Addis Ababa City administration fully imposes the suspension of any property transfer in the capital.
A letter issued on December 8 by the city administration for city bureaus and sub cites now explicitly underlined that as of December 8 any transfer of property has been banned for an unspecified period.
The letter that was signed by Binyam Mikru, Cabinet Affairs Head at the Mayor’s Office, highlighted that in line with harmonizing and taking stringent measures on the illegal activities in the capital, the ban has been applied.
Recently, the city administration had applied different tactful instruments to control illegal activities particularly to land and related sectors.
For instance it had banned the service on land and land related issues on August last year which was lifted after a few months. Similarly it imposed the same measure at the beginning of the Ethiopian New Year particularly on the power of attorney similar to instances taken in previous years.
This time around the letter that was sent to 11 sub-cites and six city offices did not however explain at length what drove to this particular decision. It only highlighted that the decision was made to provide a positive impact and to take legal actions on illegal activities being conducted in the capital.
Regarding the suspension, it is stated that the ban to transfer was imposed on fixed assets but was not clear if it was for individuals or companies.
In the ban applied on September, the city administration suspended transfer of properties through individuals that have a power of attorney on behalf of the owners.
However, the ban was eased in October for those who are; disabled, unable to move because of illness, diasporas living abroad and companies that were represented by officials.