Takele Uma, former mayor of Addis Ababa, has responded to the report of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice Political Party (Ezema), which claimed massive land grab and illegal condominium transfers in Addis Ababa, accusing government officials of being behind it.
The report released on August 31, 2020, claimed that more than 210,000 sqm of land had been illegally transferred and occupied in Addis Ababa in the past two years.
It also criticized Takele Uma’s administration claiming the City Administration favored its members, officials, and affiliated individuals and groups in transferring condominium houses that were supposed to be handed to winners according to the law.
In addition, Ezema, in its report, claimed that the then deputy mayor statement about transferring 41,000 condominium houses to the 13th round winners was false information.
Rebutting the report, the new Minister of Mines and Petroleum wrote on his Facebook page that his administration took strong action on land grabbing. There were no condominium houses that were transferred illegally.
However, Takele admitted that his administration handed 20,000 condominiums to farmers who were displaced from the area during the buildings’ construction and stated that he still stands by the decision.
