Responding to damning reports of the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives last Wednesday, Kinfe Dagnew, head of the state-owned Metal and Engineering Corporation (METEC), also a military general, spent much of his time on the defensive. His corporation ventures in the construction of numerous multi-billion sugar factories, securing them without any competitive bidding. Kinfe sees METEC’s role as an economical solution to the government’s plan to transform the country from a sugar importer to one of the top exporters in the world. However, it is increasingly becoming clear it is only a fantasy and questions are being raised about METEC’s capacity to execute such projects. So far, none of those projects have been completed, though the project deadlines were long overdue. The government Development Affairs Standing Committee of the House heard last week the two big projects Tana Beles I, Tana Beles II for which the state pumped billions of dollars are lagging, with only 77 percent executed for the first one and 25 percent for the second one. The deadline for the completion of the projects was 2013. Another project, Omo Kuraz sugar project was planned to be completed by 2015 is at 93 percent completion, according to reports from the the project owner, Ethiopian Sugar Corporation.
METEC is criticized for project completion delays, breaches of rules and regulations, manipulating corporate and finance policies, violating its procurement guidelines. Kinfe sounded defensive, saying he doesn’t regret a thing. “I believe that we are working hard to realize the projects, against all odds and making sacrifices for the development of the country,” he said.“We have done our best to speed up the projects. The work on the ground speaks for itself,” he said. Yet, he also listed foreign currency shortages, regular power cuts, METEC’s administrative problems as reasons for poor performance and delays. He also blamed last year’s political unrest for impeding the progress of those projects.
“If anyone is to be held responsible, it is only me,” he told members of the House.
METEC was established in 2010 as a military-industrial complex by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, “to provide impetus to lifting the Ethiopian economy and achieving progress.” It incorporates close to 70 enterprises in the engineering sector, and it is getting notoriety for taking the state’s megaprojects, despite poor execution so far. Some see this as a dangerous trend of the military getting involved in the country’s private enterprise and strengthening its economic power. One of the regime’s powerful politicians, Abay Tsehay defended METCE saying that though it is owned by the military, it operates as a civilian enterprise.