Foreign

Over 1m residents of Ethiopian capital to get housing benefits

September 15, 2017

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ETHIOPIA-RELIGION-RIOT — Residents of Bishoftu crossed their wrists above their heads as a symbol for the Oromo anti-government protesting movement during the Oromo new year holiday Irreechaa in Bishoftu on October 2, 2016. Several people were killed in a stampede near the Ethiopian capital on October 2 after police fired tear gas at protesters during a religious festival, according to an AFP photographer at the scene. Several thousand people had gathered at a sacred lake to take part in the Irreecha ceremony, in which the Oromo community marks the end of the rainy season, where participants crossed their wrists above their heads, a gesture that has become a symbol of Oromo anti-government protests. The event quickly degenerated, with protesters throwing stones and bottles and security forces responding with baton charges and then tear gas grenades. / AFP / Zacharias ABUBEKER (Photo credit should read ZACHARIAS ABUBEKER/AFP/Getty Images)

The Ethiopian government announced plans on Thursday to give housing benefits to 1.1 million residents of Ethiopia’s capital city Addis Ababa.

Ambachew Mekonen, Minister of Ethiopian Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MoUDH), said the Ethiopian government will invest 860 million U.S. dollars to ease the capital city’s housing shortages.

The money in particular would be used to complete 132,000 unfinished houses in the current Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2017/18 that started July 9.

The Ethiopian government has in the past 12 years constructed and transferred 175,000 houses to Addis Ababa residents in a bid to keep up with the housing needs of a rapidly growing urban population.

The government has identified meeting the housing needs of its population as part of good governance pledge it made to bring long-term prosperity and stability to one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.