ESAT News (May 13, 2016)
The Ethiopian government pays 8 million dollars a month to employees of sugar factories even when the construction of these factories have not yet been completed and none of the factories have begun production due to a corrupt contractor with direct ties to the government.
The contractor, the Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC), was awarded the contract to build 10 sugar factories 6 years ago but it has completed none of the projects. The government meanwhile paid over 3.5 billion dollars to METEC, which is run by an army general of the ruling Tigrayan minority government, Kinfe Dagnew.
On top of the salaries being paid every month to employees of the nonexistent factories who never have to report to work since the factories have not been built yet, the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation went ahead with the plantation of sugarcane, only to set it on fire at the time of harvest since there is no functional sugar factory to process the canes. The CEO of the Sugar Corporation, Endawek Habte put the blame on METEC, saying they have planted the sugarcane on the advice of the contractor which promised to complete the construction of the factories in due time.
METEC is awarded almost all mega projects in the country but has failed to complete any. Having no capacity to undertake the project, it has recently transferred to a third party contractor the electro mechanical works of the Abay Dam, boastfully referred by the corrupt government as the “Renaissance Dam.”