From a selfish point of view, Ethiopia is not an ideal place for the media when juicy stories come out where those in the officialdom clean their linen in public. Hardly do you hear a certain official from a certain ministry publicly disagree or speak ill of his archrival from somewhere else.

This does not mean, however, there is none. As it is in human nature, Ethiopia’s officialdom is full of allies and rivals, hates and likings and trust and suspicions. Just go down to Bishoftu (Debre Zeit) where top brass of the Revolutionary Democrats are camped to go through a month long leadership training, and you will be exposed to who stays away from whom and who is close to whom.

Outside, when mingling with the public, they may as well strictly observe the cardinal rule of democratic centralism, a law that pretty much force them to follow an official line, although the public has every reason not to believe what they are being told.

Last Saturday, November 12, was an exception. Well protected from the watchful eyes of the media, senior officials from ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Water Resources Development, as well as the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) were down at the Koka River, escorting members of the diplomatic community and others from the UNDP.

The purpose was to have an ordinary visit to the community surrounding the dam there, although the whole thing turned later into a debacle of its own, according to gossip. UNDP has a new programme to assess how much dams built on rivers are of interest to the community around them. It reportedly picked Ethiopia from Africa, where the government has decided to showcase Koka Dam.

Members of the community came prepared, with muddy water on their hands to show what sort of water they are subjected to drink, to the great embarrassment of the Ethiopian officials present, claims gossip. To the shock of those present, members of the community around Koka Dam were blunt enough to tell the visiting dignitaries that Koka has hardly any value to them; even the wires that are passing by their roofs do not lighten up their huts, although the cities benefit most from the oldest dam in the country.

Gossip claims, it was here the squabble began between Asfaw Dingamo, minister of Water Resources Development, Abera Deriessa, state minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and Abdulhakim Mohamed, deputy general manager of EEPCo. The first pointed fingers at EEPCo, right in front of the visiting crowd, that it should have been EEPCo’s responsibility to ensure that the dam it has been operating for over 50 years has some relevance to the community around it.

Although the State Minister tried to remain conciliatory, according to gossip, the EEPCo lieutenant fired back that his company’s role is a business of generating and distribution of power; he insisted that in case the Minister forgot, it was his domain to provide clean and drinkable water to the Ethiopian public, wherever they are. Little were all prepared to stumble in such heated conversation, which, gossip claimed, stayed alive until 7:00pm. Nor were any of the adversaries of the night on speaking terms back in town, said gossip. The chief of EPPCo, Mehiret Debebe, seems to have a lot of politicking ahead of him when he comes back home, perhaps today. His style is, however, subtle and quiet, gossip corridor learned