discharged appointees demand explanation
The Addis Ababa City Mayor’s Office relieved off their duties for undisclosed reasons at least 10 appointees the former mayor put into office, The Reporter has learnt.
Sources told The Reporter that following a meeting held two weeks ago, where many of the city administrative posts passed through reshuffling and sacking measures, the ten officials who were politically appointed to serve as administrative directors for different posts under the Mayor’s Office have been told that they are relieved of their duties effective as of October 28, 2020.
The Mayor’s Office has structured itself to accommodate Protocols Directorate, International Affairs Directorate, Domestic Affairs Directorate, Social Media Directorate, IT Directorate, Spokesperson Directorate, among others. The newly appointed head of Mayor’s Office dismissed the directors who used to run these directorates.
According to sources, the officials were relieved of their duties without evaluation of their performances, achievements or misconducts. One of the sacked officials told The Reporter “we were summoned, learned of our sacking and told to apply at the Civil Service Commission. That was it”. The frustrated official said that they demand explanation from the Mayor’s Office. “We would have appreciated it, had we been evaluated and found to be inefficient. But what has happened to us is a mere political game,” he claims.
Their attempt to talk to Adanech Abiebie, the newly appointed Mayor following the removal of Takele Uma, former Mayor who currently is the Minister of Mining and Energy, failed with the officials bent on standing together to try again and set up a meeting with the new mayor. If that doesn’t help, they said they would go through the party leadership hierarchy all the way to appeal to the Office of the Prime Minister.
Efforts to speak to Ephraim Gizaw, the new head of the Mayor’s Office, went dry as repeated phone calls went unanswered. The Reporter has approached Alfia Haji Yusuf, head of the Press Secretariat with the Mayor’s Office. She said she has no information about the matter and will get back when she has any.
