The well-known business people’s court case dates back to its beginnings when the Federal High Court’s 3rd Tax and Customs Crime Bench of Lideta Division rendered a decision on the matter to be heard by three judges.

Recall that on the charges of money laundering and illegal money transfer, the Federal Prosecutor General filed a criminal charge against Azeb Mihretab as the primary defendant and Temesgen Yilma, Adefris Habte, JJ Properties Management PLC, TTH Trading PLC, Boston Real Estate, and Mesfin Asmamaw as defendants, ranked second through seventh, respectively. The prosecution stated in its filing that the first two defendants were each accused of four out of the five crimes.

Some of these illicit activities involved the firms associated with them. According to the filing, the people and businesses were involved in abusing the power of attorney they had obtained to manage Cosmo Trading PLC.

It stated that the first and second defendants, who were authorized to manage Cosmo Trading’s assets, took advantage of this privilege and obtained a long-term loan of 61 million birr from Awash Bank.

The explanation stated, “The lender used 21 million birr from the stated amount to settle Cosmo’s debt with Hibret Bank, and the remaining 40 million birr were transferred to the company’s account at Awash.”

In addition to the 61 million birr, Awash Bank also approved and provided an overdraft of 10 million birr to Cosmo Trading PLC for working capital.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor maintained that the defendants did not use the money for the company’s profit, but rather for their own or others’ gain.

Furthermore, the prosecutor asserted that in addition to breaching trust, the accused individuals and businesses were involved in money laundering and illicit financial activities, including illegal remittance activity.

In addition to 59 testimony papers, the prosecutor included 35 witnesses, some of whom are prominent individuals, to testify in court.

The 3rd Tax and Customs Crime Bench stated in its most recent verdict that the case could result in a sentence of up to 15 years in jail.

As a result, the case will be reviewed by three judges, as decided on Monday, July 15.

The case will be heard at the Federal Higher Court at Lideta Division on July 25.

The disagreement began between the first defendant and Cosmo Trading PLC, led by Haileyesus Mengistu, significant shareholders of the firm, and has been in court for over four years.

Since the Federal Supreme Court overturned the Federal High Court’s ruling in April, they also have another civil lawsuit pending at the Cassation Bench.

The Federal Supreme Court overturned a definitive ruling in favor of Cosmo Trading that had been rendered by the Federal High Court Civil Bench.

The business has filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court’s Cassation Bench, which has been deferred until November 5.

A little over four years ago, the first and second plaintiffs, JJ Property Management PLC and Azeb Mihretab, a significant shareholder and general manager of JJ Property, filed a case in the high court against Haileyesus Mengistu, the first defendant and major shareholder of Cosmo Trading, to settle a dispute in which the first defendant had promised to transfer 19.9 million birr worth of company shares to the second plaintiff but had not followed through on the agreement.

The first defendant argued in his defense that he was coerced into signing the contract against his will.

He claimed that when he signed the agreement, he was being held captive and facing threats to his life, as he had received 50 million birr as collateral from people connected to the plaintiffs through a seven-story building in the Wolo Sefer neighborhood of Bole that is registered under the Cosmo name.

The Addis Ababa City Administration received 97 percent of the revenue generated in the last budget year of 2023/24.

In the financial year that ended on July 7, 2024, the municipal administration collected 146.8 billion birr, falling short of its target of 151.7 billion birr.

According to the report presented at the annual city council meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, this performance amounted to 96.8 percent of the objective.

Abdulkadir Redwan, the head of the city government’s Finance Bureau, claims that the administration spent 139.2 billion birr during the budget year, accounting for 97 percent of the allocated amount.

The report reveals that about 88 billion birr was allocated for capital expenditures during the period, while 51.3 billion birr, or 37 percent, was earmarked for the recurrent budget.

Compared to the previous budget year of 2022/23, spending increased by 37.2 billion birr, or 36.5 percent.

For the 2024/25 budget year, the city administration’s goal is to complete development projects in line with the 10-year strategic plan.

According to the bureau head, “Some of the priority areas include the corridor project, completion of condo housing projects, improvement of the water and sewerage system, road sector development, and tourism projects.”

Budget allocations also prioritize improving access to public transportation, reducing poverty, and creating jobs.

Abdulkadir further stated that in order to meet the planned expenditures, the city administration focused on improving tax collection and other income streams during the budget year.

Increasing the tax base and coordinating efforts, along with digitization and enhanced law enforcement activities, are crucial areas mentioned to boost local revenue.

Additionally, the city administration plans to increase non-tax sources of income to fund initiatives through land leases and other means.

Regarding municipal revenue, tariff adjustments, service modernization, car park income reform, and property tax updates are anticipated.

The city government has approved a budget of 230.4 billion birr for the 2024/25 budget year, a 42 percent increase of 68.3 billion birr from the previous year.

The city government states that the majority of the budget’s revenue for the year will come from local sources, with 226.5 billion birr, or 98.3 percent, and the remaining 3.8 billion birr coming from overseas loans and aid, as announced by the bureau head at the municipal council meeting on Thursday, June 18.Tax income will provide 150.9 billion birr, or 66.3 percent, of the specified local source generation. There will be a 48.8 billion birr, or 48 percent, increase in tax revenue compared to the previous year. The capital city administration aims to accumulate 43.5 billion birr from non-tax sources, primarily from public office services, government investment, and other sources. This represents a 20 billion birr or 116% increase from the same period last year.

The head of the Finance Bureau claims that municipal services will contribute 31.5 billion birr in the 2024/25 budget year. It is anticipated that municipal revenue will increase by 5.3 billion birr, or 22.5 percent.

In the year, 74.5 billion birr, or 32 percent of the budget, is allocated for the recurrent budget, with the remaining 147 billion birr going toward the capital budget.

According to the ratified budget, 75.6 percent, or 174.2 billion birr, of the entire budget is allocated for sectoral offices within the city government. The bureau head said, “Of the stated amount, the recurrent share is 18.8% and more than four-fifths, or 132 billion birr, is allocated for capital expenditures.”

The construction sector is expected to receive 38.7 billion birr from the allocated capital expenditure, with the water and sewerage, education, road development, and health sectors receiving allocations of 18.3 billion, 18 billion, 17.9 billion, and 12 billion birr, respectively.

The budgetary allocation for sectoral offices has increased by 56.3 billion birr, or 48 percent, compared to the fiscal year 2023/24. Additionally, the 11 subcities are allocated 56.6 billion birr, a rise of more than 25% compared to the same time last year.

Abdulkadir emphasized that the municipal administration’s goal is to obtain the necessary funds from tax sources. Mayor Adanech Abiebie stated, “Different initiatives, including strong law enforcement and modernization schemes, will be applied during the year to expand tax collection.” She added, “This is because the city administration’s revenue generation is significantly below its capacity.”

In its latest flagship report, the pan-African research network Afrobarometer paints a concerning picture of the state of democracy across the African continent. The report, titled “African Insights 2024: Democracy at Risk – the People’s Perspective”, draws on over 385,000 interviews conducted in 42 African countries to provide a citizen-based assessment of the health of democracy in Africa.

The report opens with a stark warning: “Democracy in Africa is at risk.” It notes a troubling decline in popular satisfaction with the way democracy is working, as well as waning support for democratic values and institutions among African citizens.

“For years, Afrobarometer has been the gold standard for understanding African citizens’ perspectives on governance and democracy. This report should serve as a wake-up call,” said E. Gyimah-Boadi, Afrobarometer’s co-founder and executive director. “African democracies are facing significant headwinds, and urgent action is needed to address the concerns expressed by the people.”

Some of the key findings from the 2024 report include, declining satisfaction with democracy: Across the 39 countries surveyed, only 47% of Africans say they are “fairly” or “very” satisfied with the way democracy is working in their countries, down from 55% in the previous round of surveys.

Weakening support for democracy: Just 56% of Africans say democracy is preferable to any other kind of government, a drop from 62% in the prior round. Support for authoritarian alternatives, such as one-party rule or military rule, is on the rise.

Concerns over election quality: Africans are increasingly concerned about the integrity of elections, with only 54% saying their most recent national election was “completely free and fair” or “free and fair with minor problems.”

Corruption remains a major obstacle: A majority of Africans (56%) say corruption is “somewhat” or “very” high in their country, up from 52% previously. Corruption is seen as a key barrier to the effective delivery of democracy.

The report also highlights concerning gender gaps, with women demonstrating lower levels of political participation and trust in democratic institutions compared to men.

“This report underscores the fragility of democracy in Africa and the urgent need for concerted efforts to shore up democratic institutions and processes,” said Gyimah-Boadi. “Citizen voices must be at the center of these efforts if we are to strengthen democracy and deliver on the aspirations of the African people.”