IS TPLF LEADING THE COUNTRY OR EXPANDING IT’S BUSSINESS EMPIRE?

Firehiwot Guluma Tezera

Firehiwot Guluma | Sept 4, 2013

Since the dictator TPLF seized power, it has been clearly engaged in massive corruption and unethical business practices by national or international business rules. As a ruling party, it not only owns strategic sectors of the economy and engages in commercial and trading activities, it also puts competing private sectors in a hopeless no-win situation. This preponderant economic dominance is also used as a political weapon to harass, incarcerate, dominate, weaken and control opposition forces in order to stay in power indefinitely.

The TPLF, the core political power of Ethiopian government, has transformed the Ethiopian economy from State ownership to the private ownership by political parties, mainly the TPLF, by buying investment assets formerly owned by the government of Ethiopia, as prescribed by the World Bank Report and political coercion by the United States Government. At the same time, the TPLF has also started a huge investment program of its own through sham corporate structures. For example, the TPLF controlled Endowment Fund of Rehabilitation of Tygrai (EFFORT) is a conglomerate with an asset estimated well over a billion Ethiopian Birr involved in business investment in all aspect of the Ethiopian economy.

It was established by expropriating capital equipment from different parts of the country and by the infamous defaulted bank debts. Currently there is no business sector that is free from the involvement of EFFORT. It stretched from production to distribution, from finance to insurance, from wholesale to retail, from real-estate to horticulture, from mining to IT. Peculiarly, this trade empire hasn’t ever been audited by external auditor nor repays the loan it borrowed periodically.

Surprisingly, almost 99.9% of the employees in these innumerable companies of EFFORT are Tigrian; which means that majority of the economy is occupied by either the Tigrian private companies or by the extractive trade empire called EFFORT; and they primarily privileged job opportunity for Tigrians. As the complete cycle of economic dominance and privileged labour market portrays, we are under a severe economic genocide. The following tables show TPLF companies under EFFORT.

Companies with investment capital of < 20,000,000 Million Ethiopian Birr

Company Name	Yr.Est(EC)	HQ	Capital	Board chairman
Selam Transport	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	Arkebe Ekubay
Segel Construction	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	Araya Zerihun
Mega Net Corp	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	Alemseged Gebreamlak
Hitech Park Axion Association	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	Shimels kinde
Fana Democracy plc	1995	Mekele	6,000,000birr	Negash Haile
Express Transit	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	G/selassie Gidey
Ethio Rental Axion Association	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	Atikilt Kiros
Dilate Brewery	1995	Mekele	15,000,000irr	Kahsay Tewolde Tedla
Dessalegn Caterinary	1995	Mekele	15,000,000birr	Dr.Maru Erdaw
Addis Consultancy House	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	Sibhat Nega
Birhane Building Construction	1995	Mekele	10,000,000birr	Bereket Mazengiy
Total Capital			116,000,000birr

Companies with investment capital between 20-49 Million Ethiopian Birr

Company Name	Year Est (EC)	Capital	HQ	Board Chairman
Sheba Tannery Factory Axion Assoc	1995	40,000,000	WUKRO	Abadi Zemu
Meskerem Investment	1995	40,000,000	Axum	Tewodros Ayes
Africa Insurance Axion Association	1995	30,000,000	A.Ababa	Yohannes Ekubay
Global Auto Sparepart	1995	26,000,000	A.Ababa	Teklebirhan Habtu
Experience Ethiopia Travel	1995	26,000,000	Mekele	Tony Hiki
Addis Engineering consultancy	1995	25,000,000	A.Ababa	Arkebe Ekubay
Hiwot Agricultural Mechanization	1995	25,000,000	Mekele	Yohannes Kidane
Berhe chemical Axion	1995	25,000,000	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Rahwa Yibenal Fiyel Export	1995	25,000,000	Mekele	Yassin Abdurahman
Star Pharmaceuticals	1995	25,000,000	Mekele	Arkebe Ekubay
Tesfa Livestock	1995	20,000,000	Mekele	Yohannes Kidane
Total Capital		307,000,000 Birr

Companies with a paid-up capital of >50.000.000 Million Ethiopian Birr

Company Name	Year Esr(Ec)	Capital	HQ	Board chairman
Almedan Garment Factory	1995	660,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Mesfin Industrial Company	1995	500,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Arkebe Ekubay
Mesob Cement Factory	1995	240,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Almeda Textile Factory	1995	180,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Abadi Zemu
Sur Construction	1995	150,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Arkebe Ekubay
Trans Ethiopia	1995	100,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Shimelis Kinde
Dedebit Saving & Loan	1995	60,000,000 Birr	Mekele	Atkilit Kiros
Ezana Mining Development	1995	55,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Tewodros H. Berhe
Addis PharmaceuticalsProduction	1995	53,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Abadi Zemu
Tana Trading House Axion Association	1995	50,000,000 Birr	A.Ababa	Sibhat Nega
Total Capital		1,868,000,000 Birr

Companies that did not make their paid-up capital public.

Ambassel Commerce	Dinsho Share Company	Tigrai Tagai Association	Brook Chemical Share Company
Dashen Beer Factory	Express Ethio Travel Service	Tigrai Development PLC	Computer Networking Technology
Amhara Meleso MaquaQuam	Berhan Building Construction	Star Pharmaceutical Importers	National Electromechanical
Saba Emnebered	Guna Trade Services	Biftu Dinsho	Oromia Credit Bank
Adwa Flour Factory	Wendo Trading	Shala Advertisement	National Geo-Textile
Trans Ethiopia	Tikal Agri Tigrai	Walta Industry	Alage Forest Products
Sebhat Nega PLC	Addis Transport	Tikur Abbay Transport	Martha poultry
Dima Honey Processinf plant	Zeleke Agricultural Mechanization PLC		Beruk Tesfa Plastic Factory
Aberdele Animal Export Company	Maichew Particle Board

*Some Board Chairmen might have moved within the parastatals.

*The amount shown on the tables above are initial start-up capitals. The total net worth of the parastatals has quadrupled.

 Table Source:Ginbot 7