Ethiopia’s Metal & Engineering Corporation (MetEC) has been the subject of an investigation into allegation of corrupt conduct and embezzlement of public funds. Another report alludes it might also have been engaged in an illicit arms trade, in a blatant breach of international law.
MetEC-operated vessel, Abay flying an Ethiopian flag, has made seven routes from the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran to Port of Berbera, from Berbera to India’s Port of Mundra, from Mundra to Dubai’s Port of Khalid, from Khalid to Iran’s Bandar Abbas, from Bandar Abbas to Berbera, from Berbera to India, then to Doha Qatar, carrying unknown goods, most of the areas subject to stringent of sanctions, the state-controlled Fana Broadcasting Corporate documentary aired last night revealed.
Colonel Getu Tayu, head of METEC’s maritime affairs and one of the persons interviewed for the documentary, said that a shadowy company based in Pakistan was managing the vessel and Ethiopian military officers were assigned to overseeing the ship. “Looking at the routes, it was crystal clear the ship was used for contraband commerce and covert lines of supply,” Getu, said.
In addition to that, the revenue amounting to $ 543, 750 was supposed to enter into MetEC’s coffer but that amount remain untraceable, he said.
Getu’s version of events is supported by Suleiman Dedefo Weshe, the former Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, another official featured in the documentary who implicated MetEC in secret involvement in an illegal transport of arms using two ships that it bought from the Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE).
The ships, named ‘Abay Wonz’ and ‘Abyot’ were sold and transferred to METEC in 2012 to be scrapped for a source of parts and reuse, following a viability assessment that took into account their life cycle cost, which was more than 28 years. At the time another foreign company, Global Marketing Systems offered 3,300,000 dollars to buy the ships but the idea was dropped on grounds that the offer was low; METEC was chosen to demolish the ships and use them for raw materials, it was revealed in the documentary.
However, METEC had its own plan, deciding to return the two vessels to service, claiming they could still be in service for at least five more years on condition of providing additional repair and maintenance. The vessels were kept anchored in the Port of Djibouti for more than six months, costing the Ethiopian government more than 1 million dollar bill in port fees, generator fuel, services and employee salaries, Ambassador Suleiman said.
On February 2016 Suleiman wrote a letter to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tedros Adhanom to bring the matter into attention but it fell on deaf ears, according to the documentary. The Ambassador said the vessels had moved to a port near Dubai for repair six months later, using a licence from the Ethiopian government. Though the licence was granted only for repair purpose, but METEC used it to do commercial activities unscrupulously. He said he heard repeatedly that the vessels were involved in shady or illicit activities. “This was a crime. First thing, the vessels were not legal as they were not seaworthy by the standards International Maritime law,” he said. “Then engaging in transportation of arms and ammunition, in violation of the arms embargo would put the country in red line,” he said.
When protests mounted from the Ethiopian shipping Lines, METEC officials sought to find another flag from Trinidad or Tobago, through the intervention of the Pakistani firm. “That really shows the greediness and moral lowness of METEC,” Ambassador Suleiman said. But that plan was never materialized. The ships were sold for roughly $3 million for a bidder chosen by a man handpicked by the Maj. Gen. Kinfe Dagnew, the former director of (MetEC), even though more than $ 25 million was spent on them, Colonel Getu Tayu said.
The 45-minute documentary, “Minabawi” (literally mean ‘illusion’) dives deep into the activities of MetEC to expose the corruption, waste and a pattern of unethical and illegal conduct in advance of the trial of around 30 MeTEC officials who were arrested on allegations of corruption over the weekend.
This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. Please cite Ethiopia Observer prominently and link clearly to the original article if you republish. If you have any queries, please contact us at ethiopiaobserver@protonmail.com. Check individual images for licensing details.
METEC Purchased Aircraft for commercial purpose take Av-gas fuel which is not available in Ethiopia. Those METEC officials were illiterates and never learned what is an aircraft and its component. The super fuel is obsolete that has been used by DC 3 and light aircraft used for training. We are very sad with what happened in general. It has been informed that Ethiopian CAA must be consulted a head of any purchasing process taking place.
“MetEC-operated vessel, Abay flying an Ethiopian flag, has made seven routes from the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran to Port of Berbera to India’s Port of Mundra to Dubai’s Port of Khalid to Iran’s Bandar Abbas … a shadowy company based in Pakistan was managing the vessel and Ethiopian military officers were assigned to overseeing the ship. “Looking at the routes, it was crystal clear the ship was used for contraband commerce and covert lines of supply.”
Dear Aref,
This is VERY VERY SERIOUS! BTW, this was going on even as Meles Zenawi used “key ally” to market himself to the West. Prime Minister Abiy’s government must invite international investigative journalists from NYT, LAT, The Guardian, etc, to help out.
Another matter is the way Tigray Front used money, sex, and threats to corrupt, blackmail, torture, and kidnap citizens and expats to either do its bidding or to neutralize. In the case of expats, gifts (gold, etc) to State Department officials, to influential foreign correspondents, academes, British politicians, and philanthropists and their wives needs scrutiny. If you think I am dreaming, then you need to read Tplf founding members Dr. Aregawi Berhe’s A Political History of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and articles by Gebremedhin Araya (the former back in Ethiopia two moths ago, the latter lives in Peth, Australia). In fact, what we are witnessing today is what Gebremedhin was telling us a decade and a half ago!! With the way things are unraveling many individuals who served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Ethiopian Airlines, Defense, Revenue, Banking will be implicated, if not directly involved.
I have been hearing loads of about METEC. What I read from the writings of Ato Girma Siefu Maru, the former sole opposition in Ethiopian parliament, is one that left speechless. METEC used to gather vehicle wreck form government offices to recycle the steel and raw materials. Later it was revealed that it was in fact illegally selling gray cards of the cars. This continued for years until it was stopped by stern warning by then Minister of Finance, Sofian Ahmed, Girma wrote. METC was also engaged in organized looting of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation’s steel stored particularly in Dire Dawa railway station, again from Ato Girma’s writings. The transformers METC provided to the Ethiopian electric corporation were below standards, causing constant power cut. This is real devastating.
Weyanys, on one- to- ten scale are horrific Neanderthals not mention they are scavengers, to an a degree that would make a corrupted Nigerian blush. Now I am tired of viscerally commenting TPLF but I will leave a blank space for the readers to go on a bashing spree… please go ahead.
I don’t think the documentary was fair. It was done to criminalize the officials now in trial. This would obviously influence the judges and the courts hearings. This is what have been done in the past. I recall another documentary broadcasted some years ago on Ethiopian Television which associated local Muslim protesters with militant groups in other parts of Africa. Same documentary was done to criminalize Zone Nine bloggers. Now, under the new administration, this was supposed to change. But no, the same journalists have come up with another film before court hearing. The more it changes the more is the same.
Dear Selam Berhe,
The documentaries Meles Administration did on Muslims and Zone Nine Bloggers was made up because there was no evidence whatsoever the groups were engaged in acts of terrorism. Bribing and blackmailing citizens to bear false witness in a court of law and ordering judges to hand down decisions contrary to the Constitution has been the hallmark of Tigray Front leadership.
Evidence on crimes of METEC officials is so abundant they could take up several documentaries. I am not talking about what the public at large is aware of but what the Attorney General and the Parliament already has publicly acknowledged. I do understand your concerns though.
The documentary’s revelations about the vessels is not as explosive as they wanted us to believe. it was already reported at least by Addis Fortune and Esat.
https://addisfortune.net/columns/an-elephant-in-a-room/
https://ethsat.com/2017/07/ethiopia-old-ships-harbor-djibouti-costing-country-millions-dollars/