In an unprecedented move, the Executive Committee of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) announced yesterday that Bereket Simon and Abadula Gemeda, two veteran politicians who have opted to leave their government positions some two months ago, will be back in scene and will assume roles as per the assignment that will be handed down to them by their respective parties.
Source in the Executive Committee of the party confirmed to the Reporter that EPRDF has completed its intensive high-level meeting as of yesterday, having been held for the past 18 days in a very secretive fashion.
It is yet unclear if Bereket and Abadulla from Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organizations (OPDO), respectively, will assume their previous positions or will be assigned to a new one.
The same source also disclosed to The Reporter that the two veterans have expressed their willingness to continue working with their respective parties.
It is to be recalled that, in October 2017, Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, in his address to the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR), said that his administration has accepted the resignation of Bereket.
Bereket was serving as deputy head of Policy Studies and Research Centre, an institution set up to aid the PM in high-level policy issues. He was also board chairman of the state owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, which he vacated when he resigned from all of his government responsibilities.
In the same day, the PM told MP’s that Abdualla’s resignation from his position as Speaker of the House, on the other hand, was still under consideration.
The Executive Committee has said to have passed decisions on a number of issues where the EPRDF secretariat is expected to hold a press brief today.
It is to be recalled that, two weeks ago, EPRDF issued a communiqué criticizing itself and blaming leadership for the bloody conflicts in different parts of the country. It also stated that the party’s leadership weakness has played a major role in most of the problems the country has faced in the past couple of years.
“The leadership’s weakness immensely contributed to the current precarious situation in the country,” the statement acknowledged.
Moreover, it emphasized on the growing mistrust among the member parties of the Front and the fact that the deep renewal process that the party was going through for the past two years was not deep enough to effect change.
