Ethiopian Review

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The Cabinet of the Addis Ababa City Government has appointed Aweke Hailemariam, former head of Land Development issues at the city’s Land Administration and Development Authority, as Deputy City Manager for issues related to Land Development and Administration two weeks ago, sources disclosed.

The new City Deputy Manager is responsible for mainly land and land development related issues, watching over the Addis Abeba Land Administration and Development Authority, the City’s Mapping Institute and transport related matters.

The new split for responsibilities of the deputy manager came after the city administration studied and implemented the Business Process Reengineering (BPR).

Then again, the office of the newly appointed Deputy Manager and the Land Administration and Development Authority are both accountable to Mekuria Haile, city general manager.

However, Aweke’s office has a higher authority in which the other agencies report to it; the Land Administration and Development Authority – in charge of land administration – and the other agencies are expected to operate according to the city’s charter by the set objectives, responsibilities and missions.

The Authority intended to collect 1.3 billion Br from land transfer from March 2009 till the end of the fiscal year in a matter of weeks. In a desperate move to compensate for lost time, to meet the 2.5 billion Br budget, the city government under Mayor Kuma Demeksa planned for the entire budget year [from the transfer of land] to remain as is. The latest plan for revenue is slightly over half of the original plan for a full budget year.

The Authority is responsible for keeping land information and undertakes data collection and integration works. It develops the city’s plans and base maps employing modern Information Technology systems.

Aweke, who is working for his second degree in Urban Engineering at the Ethiopian Civil Service College, was born in Gonder town of the Amhara Regional State. He has been a member of the North Shoa Zone Cabinet and also served at a managerial post for the last decade.

The city has another deputy manager, Aseged Getachew, in charge of strategic plans for the City Government.

- By HILINA ALEMU | Addis Fortune