The Auditor General is investigating a case after finding that 30 condominium houses were given to Meles Zenawi Leadership Academy’s Lectures who were also receiving more than 5,000 birr for housing allowances.
The condominium houses that are located at Bole Bulbula, South East of Addis Ababa were given to the lecturers by the Addis Ababa Administration for 500 birr rental fee.
A source close to the issue told Capital that the academy made a mistake by giving both condos and a housing allowance to the lectures.
“As far as we know a housing allowance is an amount of money in compensation for basic living expenses for employment situations and is not given if the government or the company gives a house to the employees. In the case of the Meles Zenawi Leadership Academy’s Lectures, they are getting both which is illegal and I believe the Auditor General will take action” the source said.
The academy was established as an autonomous federal government organization having its own legal personality at the Council of Ministers and was under the direct supervision of the PM office.
Dawit Legesse, secretary of the academy’s president said that the allowance is given to the lectures to retain them for longer periods.
“They have PhDs so they are wanted by many universities and colleges and if we don’t offer a better benefit for them they will leave us. So to reduce such challenges we gave them both the allowance and the house at a very small rental fee.’’
Capital asked Dawit Legesse about the fairness of giving both allowance and house.
“It is not only in our case, if you go around many universities they are doing what we do, although the housing allowance is much smaller in our case. What we do now was approved by the board of the academy and we clarified it to the Auditor General.’’
Currently the academy gives MA courses in leadership, peace and conflict, and media among others to 100 government officials at a campus located in Sululta. It has provided short and long term trainings for 8,000 people so far.