borkena Ethiopian News
February 8,2016
Toronto – Gambella regional state announced that it sacked nine senior level government officials are sacked over what is said to be forged educational credentials, state media reported.
Apparently, and on surface, it is the region’s ethics and anti-corruption commission that identified the nine officials who are now sacked.
Umod Ujulu, the region’s head of ethics and anti-corruption, is cited by the state media, EBC, as saying the measure is taken as part of Gambella Democratic Movement “revival movement.”
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It is to be recalled that the ruling party commenced rhetoric which is meant to be, from the point of view of government, a response to anti-government protest in most parts of Ethiopia.
Sacked government officials are Deputy auditor of the audit bureau, head of construction bureau, director of mass media freedom agency, social affair adviser of the region’s administration, regional administration adviser on infrastructure, head of Education bureau, health and women health affair unit coordinator, Gambella city administration women affair unit head, and transport and road development head.
The report by state media added that the regional state disclosed that the officials will be held responsible legally which suggests that there is a possibility for them to be charged in a court.
Possible political motive?
No indication if the indictment of officials on alleged forgery of educational credential is motivated by politics in relation to resistance to Tigray People’s Liberation Front manipulation of regional government. However, forged educational credential has become not uncommon practice under the current government.
Most recently, the struggle between the two entities manifested itself in agricultural investment in the region. A group of investors from Tigray region, ethnic base of TPLF, complained about mistreatment by the regional administration. On the other hand, Development Bank of Ethiopia and commercial bank of Ethiopia disclosed that of the nearly 5 billion Ethiopian birr loan issued to agricultural investors, mostly from Tigray region, in Gambella region, well over four billion birr is wasted and spent for purposes not related to agricultural investment.
The region is one of the areas where there is serious political tension in Ethiopia. Recently, there was attack that claimed the lives of passengers in a public transport.