The Addis Ababa Cultural Bureau was apparently shocked by the demolition of the Ras Abebe Aregay house near Aware and has sent documents to the Addis Ababa Police Commission to file charges against the Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers Church for demolishing the home three weeks ago.
The Bureau told Capital that the church negligently demolished the house despite receiving a previous letter notifying them that the property was a historical landmark.
However, a representative from the church said they did not realize the house was a registered historical site. If the church is found guilty, whoever is responsible for making the decision to demolish the house could face 15 years in jail.
The 2,000 sqm brick home was demolished on February 9 with the help of excavator. It took 30 minutes. The protestant church planned to build a G+14 story building to be used for a head office.
The house was used as a residence for the wife of Ras Abebe, Konjit and later sold to a businessman and finally to the church for 1.2 million birr 20 years ago.
An elderly man who resides near the demolished house told Capital that if the Bureau had stopped Muller from demolishing the first home, the second house would not have been destroyed.
Previously Muller Commercial Real Estate demolished another historical home previously belonging to Ras Abebe Aregay in the same area.
Muller wanted to build a housing development. The demolished house was listed among the 440 historical houses in the city’s master plan. It sits on 1,800sqm and was constructed 70 years ago, and was used as a residence for Ras Abebe Aregay and his families.
Muller is currently facing the same charge.
Now only one of the Ras Abebe Aregay homes are left. There are two additional historical Ras Abebe Aregay homes in Arada Sub City of Addis Ababa.
Ras Abebe Aregay had a storied history. He was a leader in the resistance against Italy’s fascist occupation and the grandchild of a general loyal to Menelik II. He also commanded metropolitan police force in Addis Ababa during the 1930’s. He experienced some turbulent years during the attempted occupation but worked to restore Emperor Haile Selassie to the throne where he was given the title of Ras for the second time. He was among the guerilla fighters that escorted the Emperor back into Addis Ababa on Liberation Day, May 5, 1941. He served as Governor General of Shewa and Tigrai, Minister of Defense and Minister of the Interior, Crown Councilor and Senator at various times. He was killed during the Imperial Guard coup attempt of 1960 and was buried at Debre Libanos Monastery.
Church charged over second Ras Abebe Aregay house takedown
Land Bureau reclaims 150,000sqm of idol land
The Addis Ababa Land Management Bureau plans to reclaim 150,000sqm of fenced land because no construction work has been done on them. The land was given to government institutions and private developers. They are located in 29 areas of the city and will be sent to land banks for future bidding.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs training center was expected to be built in Yeka Sub- City, a planned building by the Social Security Agency in Arada sub city were among the plots that were put in the land bank.
Land given for manufacturing, educational bureaus, and private buildings were also among the reclaimed land plots.
A proclamation which came out in 2011, established time limits for construction on leased land. Consequently there is a limit of 24 months for small projects 36 months for medium sized projects and 48 months for larger construction projects. Small projects can be given a 6 month extension and medium to large construction projects can be extended by one year.
Lease holders can only anticipate receiving the original lease payment with interest, the value of any construction and 5 percent of a lease transfer value should they wish to transfer lease rights before completing construction on the leased land.
Recently the Bureau announced plans to discard the title deeds of 11 fenced plots of land owned by MIDROC Technology Group because they had no construction work done on them in the last ten years. If this is approved by the city and the PM’s office then 54 hectares in Piassa, Mexico, and Kazanchies will be taken by the city.
According to the urban land lease holding proclamation No.80/1993, the lessee can renew the contract if it is not needed for public use. If it is then when the lease is terminated the lessee has six months to hand over the land to the town administration by removing all the property installed on it. If they don’t then the city administration can take whatever is built on the land as well as the land.
Last week Capital reported that the Addis Ababa Land Management Bureau planned to float 101 plots of land in seven sub cities after a six month delay. A new software system, developed by the Addis Ababa Integrated Land Information Center is expected to carry out tenders more transparently.
Ethiopia buys 19% stake on Berbera Port
The Dubai based logistics giant DP World and the government of Ethiopian officially disclosed the Ethiopian 19 percent stake buyout on the Berbera Port, while it has been stated when the government of Somaliland and DP World concluded a management deal last year.
The Dubai company that has been operating a port in Djibouti, has been agreed with the self-proclaimed Somaliland from Somalia to manage the operation of Berbera Port, one of the oldest port in the region.
The company has mainly targeted Ethiopia, the most populated country of the world without a sea port.
To attain the demand the company and Somaliland has decided to offer a stake for Ethiopia on the port, according to experts.
“Berbera would be a good option for the central part of Ethiopia in terms of nearness after the ports in Djibouti and Eritrea, while it is the best for the south eastern part of the country,” experts said.
On the statement issued on March 1, DP World and Ethiopia officially concluded their deals.
“Ethiopia will become a shareholder of the Port of Berbera following the signing of an agreement with DP World and the Somaliland Port Authority in Dubai,” the company statement said.
It has been reported that DP World will hold a 51 percent stake in the project, Somaliland 30 percent and Ethiopia the remaining 19 percent. The government of Ethiopia will also invest in infrastructure to develop the Berbera Corridor as a trade gateway for the inland country. Ethiopia has already connected the highway with Somaliland’s boarder with asphalt road.
The statement added that there are also plans to construct an additional berth at the Port of Berbera, in line with the Berbera master plan, which DP World has already started implementing, while adding new equipment to further improve efficiencies and productivity.
“After a year of serious negotiations, Ethiopia has concluded an agreement with the Somaliland Ports Authority and DP World that will give the government of Ethiopia 19% stake in the joint venture developing the Port of Berbera,” Ahmed Shide, Minister of Transport, said. “The agreement will help Ethiopia secure an additional logistical gateway for its ever increasing import and export trade driven by its growing population and economy,” he added.
Currently the country is mainly using ports in Djibouti, while Berbera has been served as a way to import aid cargos in the past years.
DP World agreed with the government of Somaliland to invest USD 442 million for the expansion of the old port and development of other facilities. The company has also announced that it will establish economic free zone to complement the development of the Port of Berbera.
The horn African self-independent country claimed that it will get recognition from governments, international organization and community.
Somaliland was granted independence on June 26, 1960 from the British colony and immediately recognized by the UN. It then unified with Italy Somaliland, who got independence on July 1, 1960, and formed the then Republic of Somalia.
Russian, US, UAE top diplomats to visit Addis
New agreement in Djibouti won’t affect Ethiopia, MoFA says
During his regular press conference Meles Alem, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoF) said Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov will come to Addis on March 8 for an official visit. Meles said the talk will be about enhancing bilateral ties.
“A council, set up by Russia and Ethiopia will carry out its 6th regular meeting and we will talk about how to achieve better economic, cultural and political results,” he said.
Both countries established diplomatic relations on April 21, 1943. Russia currently has an embassy in Addis Ababa, and Ethiopia has an embassy in Moscow and the Ethiopian ambassador to Russia is also accredited 11 other countries in that region. Russia assisted Ethiopia in the Battle of Adwa in 1895.
US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson will also visit Ethiopia from March 7-9 to talk about the relationship between the two countries and peacekeeping in the Horn of Africa. He will also visit Djibouti, Kenya, Chad and Nigeria. Last week Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Workeneh Gebeyehu was in the US for a similar visit.
Meles also added that United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan will also visit Ethiopia this week on Tuesday and Wednesday and they will discuss making their political and social bonds stronger as well.
Meles also addressed the issue of Doraleh Container Terminal’s (DCT) recent termination of the DP World contract to manage DCT. He said this will not cause any major issue for Ethiopia, which relies on that port for most of its imports.
“The termination will not affect us because only four or five mangers changed hands so the system will remain the same and if there ever is a problem with this port we can use another one in Djibouti to handle importing our products.”
Journalists asked Meles if the current political instability would affect economic ties with other countries. He responded by saying:
“We can’t deny that every peace blocking action disturbs investment but if you look at our six month performance more than 72 companies who are engaged in agriculture, agro- processing, manufacturing, car production, mining and steel, construction, health, pharmaceuticals and tourism came to Ethiopia to do some business, and this shows we are working well.’’
He added that 158 companies from Asia, Oceania, Europe, the Middle East, the US and other African nations have gotten investment licenses here, and 26 local investors entered into share businesses with foreign investors and seven of them have begun working. According to Meles 45 business forums have taken place over the last six months.
