The Wegagen Bank S.C. Board of Directors has officially dismissed, Kidane Nikodemos, president of the Bank, after keeping him in suspense for four months.
 

The letter terminating his contract, which was written on September 15, 2006 and signed by the Chairman of the Board, Wendwossen Kebede, was received by Kidane on September 26.
 

The letter states, “I would like to indicate that your contract has been terminated as of September 11, 2006, and that you should return all properties of the Bank.” It does not specify reasons for the dismissal.
 

Although Kidane, who was Wegagen’s president for the past six years, was suspended by the Board in May 2006, he was able to keep a company car and continue to receive his salary. Due to this, many assumed that Kidane would eventually return to work.

“The decision has been shocking to us,” a Wegagen Bank employee told Fortune. “We had no idea he was fired, I thought he was a good leader to the Bank.”
 

The Bank’s shareholders who were concerned about Kidane’s situation had requested for an urgent meeting to be held between with the five-member Board of Directors; a meeting was held on September 8 in the Sheba Hall of the Ghion Hotel.
 

At the time, the Board only stated that it would relay its final decision to the shareholders as soon as one was reached; going by the date on the letter, the decision to dismiss him was made a week later.
 

Kidane was accused of corruption along with his former boss and former President of the Development Bank of Ethiopia, Moges Chemere, and was arrested on April 7, 2006. He was released after 46 days of imprisonment on May 24, 2006.

The day after his release, he went back to work only to be told that he was suspended until further notice.
 

“He played a great role in increasing the Bank’s capital,” a shareholder at Wegagen told Fortune. “This was a bank that was not capable of increasing its capital to the National Bank of Ethiopia requirement [of 85 million Br].”
 

Wegagen Bank was established in 1997, with a capital of 30 million Br by 17 shareholders. It now has a capital of 185 million Br and has 347 shareholders. When established, the majority of its shares were owned by the endowment companies, the Endowment for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) and the Amhara Development Association (ADA), both affiliated to the ruling party.

“EFFORT and ADA now only hold 40pc of the Bank’s capital and this was all done by Kidane,” another shareholder told Fortune.
 

According to him, Kidane went door-to-door in the Merkato to ask businessmen to become shareholders and sold 1,500 shares as a result.
 

Although Kidane’s contract is officially terminated, Wegagen has not announced a replacement; since June 2006, the Bank has been led by Araya GebreEiziabher, the vice-president.

A member of the Bank’s management staff told Fortune that many executive decisions have been left pending, needing the president’s approval.
 

“Although I am sad for the man’s dismissal, it nonetheless clears the pending matters at hand,” he said.

A banking expert said that there is a shortage of professionals in the field and that Wegagen will find it hard to find someone to replace Kidane.
 

“The country faces a shortage of professionals in the sector,” this expert said. “It is doubtful that the Bank will be able to find someone that qualifies.”

Requirements from the National Bank of Ethiopia establish that a bank president should have at least 10 years of experience in banking management.