By Samuel Getachew with contributions from Eloge Kaneza
In a bid to modernize Ethiopia’s capital of Addis Ababa, a new infrastructure project aims to transform the city of 5.7 million into “the new Dubai” of the continent, a glistening showcase for Ethiopia’s commercial ambitions. But the accelerated reforms come at a steep cost to the local population.
Yonas Henok is one of thousands of city residents who is losing his home. The 41-year-old was given only a week’s notice to vacate his property to make way for the new development. A resident of what was once the historic Piassa neighborhood, made famous by Italian and Armenian merchants of a bygone era, the father of four has lived in the area all his life and sent his children to a nearby school, working inside his small supermarket to support his family.
“I was given just a few days to vacate my home and my business, and the government forced me to relocate in the suburbs of the city with little infrastructure, no adequate water or electricity, and substandard education for the children,” said Henok, who has yet to find a new job.
The stress has been overwhelming, he said, costing him his marriage. With little prospect of either employment or the financial means to start a business, he placed his children in the care of his elderly parents as he contemplates his future far from Ethiopia.
He is counting on friends in South Africa to help him make the move there.
“I want to sell all my belongings, and pay my way abroad for a better life for myself and my children. I feel humiliated and defeated and I have little purpose in living here,” Henok said.
The Addis Ababa City Beautification and Greenery Development Bureau is determined to move forward with their project despite growing criticism. Amid rapid population growth, the capital has been working toward establishing new infrastructure, green spaces, and paved roads with support from the World Bank since last year, with the aim of beautifying the metropolis.
From high atop nearby Yeka Mountain, the whole city looks like it’s under construction. Long-term plans include a new residential palace for the prime minister, expensive homes for cabinet ministers, a mega mall, a man-made lake, and five-star hotels scattered throughout the capital.
Among the displaced residents, a small number have been provided housing alternatives and resources to relocate elsewhere, but most say they have not been offered any tangible support.
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Not all residents have been treated the same...
Azeb Zerihun, 64, is one of the lucky few who were offered alternative housing, not far from the city. She had been living in subsidized housing with shared toilets among dozens of neighbors. Her new home is a subsidized, two-bedroom, self-contained apartment in the heart of Addis Ababa.
“I was elated when I was offered such a housing arrangement, not far from parks and schools for my grand-children,” said Zerihun, who is taking care of two children belonging to her daughter, now in Dubai under a government-sponsored work arrangement as a domestic worker.
Demolition of the business district of Addis Ababa makes way for a modern city and displaces citizens. Photo Credit: Samuel Getachew
Within three months, the overhaul of the Piassa neighborhood and surrounding communities has totally gutted a densely populated area of 2 square kilometers. “We need to be fast and innovative to maintain our momentum in the remaining corridors,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced.
The government has already begun to loosen laws allowing foreigners to own land in Ethiopia, and it has started leasing pieces of land to the highest bidder. Along with local banks eyeing the renovated area for their headquarters, wealthy Dubai-based firms are eager to invest.
The Abiy administration wants not only to remake Addis Ababa, but to extend development to major cities across the nation of almost 130 million residents. Some cities have already commenced demolition, including the historic Gondar City, once a hub for tourism located within the Amhara region that has been engulfed in conflicts since last year.
In October, the Addis Ababa City Hall began a second phase of its corridor development, extending to the outskirts of the capital and further displacing even more of the city’s population. Ignoring the human cost, Mayor Adanech Abiebie said the aim of the project is to “enhance the beauty and cleanliness of the capital, making it a comfortable and attractive place for its residents.”
Wesnachew Ketema, a city resident, said the housing shortage has reached crisis proportions. He cited the rapidly growing influx of newcomers fleeing recurring conflicts from other provinces as one of the main drivers for the project.
But for Ketema and many other citizens, concern about displacements of a huge population in Addis Ababa during the city’s upgrades has been lingering.
“The sudden change in the landscape has made us lose our community, our roots,” says Ketema. “We are fast becoming tourists in a city of elites while we get thrown into areas with little infrastructure.”
In one of Addis Ababa’s posh neighborhoods near Bole International Airport, inhabited by local middle-class professionals as well as diplomats and government officials, a 78-year-old who requested anonymity said he was given 72 hours’ notice to move out of his house before the bulldozers arrived.
He was in the final stages of selling his property to an apartment developer who promised to give him an apartment unit and cash as he prepared for his retirement and for his son’s wedding. That was not to be.
“They posted a sign with letters in red by the entrance notifying us of the plan to demolish within two days, and we started seeing the trucks parked by our entrance,” he said. Now, his 500-square-meter housing unit has been turned into a green park overlooking the airport.
He has taken shelter in one of his children’s living quarters.
His son says, “My father, a widower, spends his days worried how much of a burden he has become to us with little resources of his own. He has lost weight, is depressed most of the time, and we have nowhere to go to complain. We try to console him and help him find a reason to live.”
He now awaits compensation from the government – at best a fraction of what the property was worth – but with many residents suddenly displaced, his son said, they don’t anticipate any payment to be forthcoming.
The second phase of demolition commenced last month in Addis Ababa and covers 132 kilometers, equivalent to 2,817 hectares of land. The project as a whole has a budget of 40 billion Birr or $329 million (USD), making it the largest infrastructure project in the history of the country.
Addis Ababa is the headquarters of the African Union. Many diplomats describe the city as one of the few in the world whose culture has not yet been penetrated or deeply influenced by Western culture. By inviting foreign investment and tourism, the infrastructure project is expected to put an end to that distinction.
