By LDemissie
September 18, 2025
“Leveraging authority or wealth to scramble assets through informal channels—while exploiting institutional weaknesses—is a deliberate strategy to capture the state and fulfill personal ambitions.” — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Medemer State (translated from Amharic by LJDemissie)
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s speeches pulse with optimism and reformist zeal. I’ve watched nearly all of them and supported his ideas—critically, including Medemer—even after he blocked me on X (@AbiyAhmedAli). That support, however, does not extend to the institutional silence surrounding Zemedeneh Negatu’s unverified assertions. Ethiopian Airlines, among others, has remained silent as overstated credentials and proximity-based roles are amplified as fact. Silence in the face of spectacle risks undermining reform.
The Spectacle of Expertise
Zemedeneh Negatu, an accountant by training and EY Ethiopia’s Managing Partner, routinely portrays himself as a global managing partner overseeing EY’s 300,000 employees across 150+ countries—a claim that conflates local leadership with global authority. This narrative, amplified across state media and private platforms, exemplifies reputational inflation by proximity. For a deeper analysis of his overstated role, see “The Proxy Economist: Zemedeneh’s Role in Ethiopia’s Economic Spectacle for context on his overstated role.” His projections—most infamously the $472 billion GDP fantasy from 2012 (Ethiopia: From Bankrupt to Middle-Income in 2025)—have collapsed under scrutiny.
While silencing credentialed economists, state media outlets such as EBC, Fana Television, and the Ethiopian News Agency have consistently presented him as a leading economist, a narrative sustained across three regimes since the Meles era. This elevation by proximity—rather than by verifiable institutional role—reflects a broader pattern of reputational inflation and symbolic spectacle. This isn’t just a media failure. It’s a systemic endorsement of spectacle over substance. When the same outlets that promote anti-corruption and educational reform also manufacture economic authority, the contradiction becomes institutional.
Medemer’s Contradictions
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed champions an uncorrupted Medemer State—an ideal rooted in unity, humility, and reform. His candid admission at the Medemer book launch, acknowledging that neither he nor the book is “whole,” was a moment of philosophical honesty worth noting.
Yet contradictions persist.
If the Medemer State includes institutions that amplify unverified voices, then corruption may not be an exception—it may be systemic. Consider the spectacle: over one hundred mini-stadiums constructed in Addis Ababa in recent years—an achievement that reflects real investment and visible progress. Yet in parallel, institutions continue to elevate voices without verification. Zemedeneh Negatu, whose economic claims remain unsubstantiated and whose credentials are inflated by proximity, continues to be positioned as a prominent narrator of Ethiopia’s economic future across state media, and a spokesperson for Ethiopian Airlines, even after publicly spreading disinformation that he led, restructured, and sold the airline to unidentified buyers.
Economic Optimism and Public Risk
Zemedeneh Negatu’s promotion of 15% return Treasury Bills as wealth distribution (CBE Capital, 2025)—while overlooking the 14% inflation rates published by the National Bank of Ethiopia—reflects strategic optimism detached from verified data. His self-appointed role as Global Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, claiming $17 billion in deals (self-reported, unverified; fairfaxafrica.com, 2024), further amplifies this pattern. When institutions elevate such narratives without scrutiny, the public bears the risk—not just financially, but symbolically.
Undermining Educational Integrity
While Ministry of Education Ethiopia works to restore trust in its education system, the state continues to elevate Zemedeneh Negatu—an accountant turned proxy-economist—despite his unverified credentials and a trail of unfulfilled ventures. These include the $4.56 billion wealth building claim tied to Selam Bank (Capital Ethiopia, 2021), the $4 billion refinery project for Ethiopia (shelved in 2018, re-hyped in 2023 via Institutional Real Estate, Inc), and failed economic forecasts such as Ethiopia becoming a middle-class nation by 2025. These inflated narratives stand in stark contrast to the country’s efforts toward merit-based reform, risking public trust in institutional credibility.
The Cost of Silence
Ethiopian Airlines, rightly celebrated as a national success story, hasn’t refuted Zemedeneh’s unverified claims—that he guided, restructured, and sold the airline. These assertions, amplified by outlets like Empower Africa under titles such as “The Strategic Leader Behind Africa’s Aviation Success”, pose reputational challenges. When institutions fail to address unverified narratives, they become complicit in its spread. Notably, Zemedeneh was prominently seated beside Chief Commercial Officer Lemma Megersa at the $8 billion Bishoftu Airport loan ceremony (ethiopianairlines.com, 2024)—a symbolic moment that blurs credibility lines.
Reform Requires Reckoning
I support Abiy’s reforms: eliminating exam fraud, building schools, reforming the economy, and reconciling the nation. But reform without reckoning is hollow. If Medemer is to mean unity and transparency, it must confront the spectacle that undermines it. That reckoning begins with naming Zemedeneh—the prominent proxy-economist—and demanding accountability from the institutions that made him prominent.
Contact: LJDemissie@yahoo.com | @LJDemissie on X.