As a long-time defender of Ethiopian Airlines against defamation and slander, I’m compelled to write this open letter. My previous articles, such as “Disrupting Safety: Unruly Behavior on Ethiopian Airlines Flight Unacceptable” (August 25, 2024) and “Bloomberg, You Owe Ethiopian Airlines an Apology: How Your Article Contradicts the Facts and Spreads Misinformation” (September 2, 2023), demonstrate my commitment to accuracy and truth.
However, my attention has shifted to a more pressing issue: the secrecy surrounding Ethiopian Airlines’ privatization. As a supporter of the airline, I’m shocked and concerned by the lack of transparency. Why is Ethiopian Airlines hiding its privatization?
I’m curious about the claims made by Zemedeneh Negatu, CPA, Global Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, and frequent guest on the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) as an expert advisor on PM Abiy’s new national economy reform, regarding his involvement in your privatization and restructuring. According to an article titled “Zemedeneh Negatu: The Strategic Leader Behind Africa’s Aviation Success and Investment Growth” published on August 1, 2024, on “Empower Africa’s news website”, Zemedeneh claims that under his guidance, Ethiopian Airlines has transformed into one of Africa’s most successful and profitable carriers. Impressive! Yet, this “privatization” remains undisclosed to the public.
As a state-owned airline, transparency and accountability are crucial. I’m concerned that hiding this information misleads the public and stakeholders. I’d love to hear your side of the story and clarify the situation. Are you indeed privatized? If so, why the secrecy?
Looking forward to your response!
The writer, LJDemissie, can be reached at LJDemissie@yahoo.com or @LJDemissie (Twitter).
Most people failed to heed the message of the “Min Litazez” drama series.
The satire of this very insightful drama was revealed in painstaking detail by the BBC. This fails to surprise one when one considers that British companies were the ones getting ready to gobble up the lucrative and virgin Ethio-telecom business through various African-sounding guises (such as Safaricom etc). Of course the BBC is a British Government Owned enterprise. The fact of the matter is that the “Min LItazez” drama, discontinued soon after it was exposed by the BBC as a satiric comedy exposing the government, clearly depicted the government treasonously and discreetly selling out Ethiopia’s strategic interests to agents of foreign corporations.
That was four years ago, when most people were still euphoric in their blind support of Mammush.
Kudos to the writer of the “Min Litazez” drama!
Privatization at a local level can be beneficial in specific sectors, but it is not essential to privatize everything. For instance, major airline operators, electric power, and telephone operators in Canada are Canadian-owned. It is crucial not to be swayed by the privatization rhetoric.