"Incompetent" Addis city council dissolved

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has dissolved the entire city council of Addis Ababa for incompetence and replaced it with a caretaker administration. The move follows increasing criticism of the capital’s ruling authority, which caters for around three million people living in the city. Elections for a new administration are expected to be held in three years. The caretaker administration will run day-to-day activities until then. The new transitional authority will be made up of 20 officials drawn from the four party ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The move comes as part of the “renewal” process - which plays a crucial part in EPRDF politics – whereby officials face public denouncement and criticism from their colleagues. According to Ethiopian government sources, city council officials were accused of “serious dereliction of duty and inefficiency”. Senior executives were also blamed for running a “headless administration”. At least 13 were sacked or demoted. One official told IRIN: “It had no direction. They [officials] did not seem to be doing anything while they were running the administration.