The House of People’s Representatives (HPR) on Thursday unanimously approved the appointment of Ayelign Mulualem to head the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC).
Previously chief administrator of the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Regional State, Ayelign replaces long-serving Ali Suleiman who was assigned to a diplomatic post overseas in July.
The HPR endorsed the appointment to the position – vacant for the past three months – at a regular session attended by a mere 290 MPs, of the total 547.
In a career spanning close to three decades, the new chief had held senior leadership positions with the Amhara Region Health Bureau and Prison Commission as well as administrations in West Gojjam, South and West Gondar Zones.
A former schoolteacher, he had also been a member of the Amhara Region Council (for three terms) as well as a board member and chairman of public organizations, primarily responsible for the region’s institutions of higher learning.
According to his CV, Ayelign had studied biology at Asmara University and later earned a degree from US-based Azusa Pacific University in organizational leadership.
Established in 2001, FEACC was originally mandated to run the gamut of prevention, investigation and prosecution of all forms of corruption in Ethiopia.
At the beginning, it adopted (Hong Kong-style) a three-pronged approach to fighting corruption, viz., investigation, prosecution and prevention (ethics education). However, the entity has virtually become toothless pursuant to the advent of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in 2016.
Currently, only ethics, educational and promotional activities as well as research are under the purview of the commission.
