Hawassa Gets New Mayor
The new General Manager of Addis Ababa City Administration, Tiratu Beyene, said that ensuring Addis Ababa becomes the city of all Ethiopian nations where no one suffers from injustice is one of his priority areas.
The former Mayor of Hawassa, Tiratu Beyene, has been appointed as the General Manager of The Addis Ababa City Administration after Deputy Mayor Adanech Abiebie added him to her Cabinet with the Rank of Deputy Mayor.
During a regular session held on Wednesday, the Addis Ababa City Council approved a total of eight appointments nominated by the Addis Ababa City Mayor for various posts in the city administration, including Tiratu’s new post.
These latest appointees include Meskerem Feleke (Head of Housing Development and Management Bureau), Ayalnesh H/Mariam [Eng.] (Head of Construction Bureau), Meskerem Mengistu [PhD] (Commissioner of Planning Commission), Milkesa Jagama [PhD] (Head of Land Development and Management Bureau), Muluken Habtu [PhD] (Head of Industry Bureau), Tefera Mola (Head of Labor and Social Affairs Bureau) and Mulugeta Tefera (Head of Revenues Bureau).
In an exclusive interview with The Reporter, Tiratu outlined the priority areas he plans to focus on as Manager of the city; accordingly, addressing mal-governance, injustice, and sanitary problems such as water shortage make up the problems on top of his list.
He said: “I will have a strong position regarding taking serious measures on bad governance, while I also try to make every effort to ensure that Addis Ababa belongs equally to every citizen.”
He also noted that he intends to duplicate Hawassa’s best practice in greening and beautification to Addis Ababa.
He also plans to use his education and experience in water management to tackle water quality and development issues in the capital.
During his tenure as Mayor of Hawassa, The Reporter learned, Tiratu built a reputation for being ‘unfriendly and intolerant’ to corruption.
“He is not the kind of Mayor who is confined to his office,” a civil servant close to the Mayor’s office told The Reporter; adding, “This guy [Tiratu] never found it tedious to go into the villages and check the quality of cement in road projects or any other infrastructure that is under construction in Hawassa.”
Other top officials informed The Reporter that despite Tiratu’s effort and determination to transform the city, they feel he has been pressured to leave office due to current ethnic sentiments and various individuals whose self-interests have been affected under his administration.
In related news, the Hawassa City Administration Council appointed Tsegaye Tike (Asst. Prof) as the new Mayor of Hawassa replacing Tiratu Beyene on the 2nd round of its 6th parliamentary term on Thursday October 22, 2020.
Sidama was one of the 12 zonal administrations in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR).
This is the first Mayoral appointment since Hawassa became the capital city of the recently formed Sidama regional state following a referendum held last year.
Accordingly, Tsegaye is expected to run the fast growing town at least until the upcoming general election.
Before the appointment, he was Head of the Urban Development Bureau of the city. He also served as Dean at Hawassa University.
In addition to Tsegaye’s appointment, the council also appointed various officials and heads of bureaus under the city administration.
