Nowadays, many people are expressing concerns about Addis Ababa City and the controversies surrounding it. Addis is not only the capital city of Ethiopia and Oromia State but also it is the seat of a number of international originations. It hosts African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) headquarters.
Actually, it is the third most important diplomatic hub next to New York and Geneva. While the Constitution dictates that the special interest of Oromia State in Addis Ababa, taking its location at the heart of the State into consideration, shall be protected by law, no clear proclamation has so far been put in place for legal implementation.
The city’s charter also stipulates that Addis Ababa’s boundary shall be determined by an agreement to be made between the city administration and Oromia State pursuant to the decision of the Federal Government. Promises were made in the past to limit the city’s expansion to the pre-1991 boundary through vertical urban development program. And nobody seems to know where Addis Ababa’s territorial jurisdiction ends and where Oromia’s administrative boundary begins.
Addis Ababa’s uncontrolled and unprecedented spatial expansion over the past two decades and a half have become a tinderbox that ignited two years of protests across the country was the displacement caused by the rapid expansion of the capital, Addis Ababa, at the expense of adjacent Oromo towns and farmlands. The failure to delimit Addis Ababa’s boundary and clearly articulate Oromia’s special interest formed the basis for the popular Oromo protests and public oppositions to the infamous Addis Ababa Master Plan.
Security forces killed hundreds of people between March 2014 and October 2016, when Ethiopia declared a state of emergency to contain the uprising. It is obvious that the special interest of the State of Oromia in Addis Ababa has not been so far determined by law for various reasons. Because of this, unnecessary verbal confrontations are taking place here and there. Plus, knowingly and unknowingly some individuals are trying to gain political advantages over the matter.
For someone who has a good knowledge of the Constitution, Addis Ababa cannot be a source of conflict under any circumstance. The constitution’s article 49 (1) clearly states Addis Ababa as the capital city of the Federal State and provides inalienable right to the residents of Addis Ababa in terms of self-governing in its article 49(2). In the same manner the Oromia regional state’s constitution clearly states that Addis Ababa aka Finfinne is the capital for the region.
Given the reality that Addis Ababa is located at the very heart of Oromia State, article 49(5) also awards the latter special interest in Addis Ababa city, regarding the provision of social services or the utilization of natural resources and other similar matters. Furthermore, the article specifically says joint administrative matters arising from the location of Addis Ababa within the State of Oromia, shall be respected. Thus, there is no need of making useless noises so long as all respect the Constitution.
In fact, the draft proclamation to determine the special interest of the State of Oromia in Addis Ababa city is awaiting a decision of the House of Peoples’ Representatives. The draft proclamation is currently under scrutiny of the pertinent Standing Committee. Sooner or later, the committee will present the draft proclamation for discussion and approval to the House.
In the mean time, a committee comprised of eight members from the Ministry of Peace, Addis Ababa City Administration and the State of Oromia, set up by the Prime Minister on March 9/ 2019, is expected to bring about a temporary solution to the problem. In a nut shell, upholding the Constitution in a full-fledged manner and putting peoples’ interest at the center will permanently stop all the hiccups of the booming metropolis of all Ethiopians and Africans.
The Ethiopian Herald, March 19/2019
