Developers that requested plots through negotiation are stunned with the latest decision made following an agreement reached between the Addis Abeba Caretaker Administration and the Rented Houses Agency (RHA) which ruled that plots on which rest houses belonging to the latter would no longer be transferred to developers through negotiation.
 

Accordingly, close to 50 associations that requested plots through negotiation opening blocked accounts have been told to collect their money as of September 2007 as the plots can only be acquired through bids.
 

The agreement was signed by Wubishet Berhanu (PhD), general manager of the Caretaker Administration, and Enwey Gebremedhin, general manager of RHA with a state ministerial portfolio, on June 23, 2007.
 

The Agency was complaining about the Administration’s measures of clearing the Agency’s houses that lie on plots leased to developers. RHA accused the Administration of demolishing its holdings without paying compensation and without prior notification so that agreements with customers would be terminated.
 

In a meeting called by the Ministry of Works and Urban development (MoWUD), the two parties settled their differences following the Agency’s appeal to the Prime Ministers office.
 

The seven-page agreement they signed stipulates that any plot under the holdings of the Agency would only be leased through bids. It is based on this agreement that the City General Manager’s Office ordered the Land Development and Administration Authority to revise its service provision.

Associations and private investors are displeased with the latest decision.
 

Established four years ago, Piassa Firash Tera Businessmen SC, which has 15 members, had envisaged constructing a multipurpose building on the 1,200sqm plot it owns after demolishing the existing homes. It therefore had put 1.2 million Br in a blocked account in 2006/07 in compliance with the City Administration’s directive, which made opening a blocked account a requirement.
 

However, the fact that a house belonging to RHA rested on that plot of land caused them to suffer the consequences of the latest decision after a yearlong expectation and has angered the members, Alemu Legesse, general manager of the company, told Fortune.
 

“While we were hoping that we would secure the land, it is unfair to issue a directive, which lets other rivals compete with us,” he added.
 

An expert at the City Administration disclosed that the Administration has a directive which gives developers priority to develop plots they possess without any competition. However, the latest agreement repulses this situation and takes away the opportunity the possessors have.
 

“The benefits are unclear,” he told Fortune.
 

Kassa Hailu, general manager of the City Land Development and Administration Authority, was not available for comment.
 

Addis Abeba covers an area of 54,000hct, on 55pc of which rests constructions. Though there are 387,000 houses in the city, a study conducted by the Housing Development Agency in 2004 revealed that 150,000 of these houses are antiquated requiring complete renovation. These houses are mostly concentrated in Mercato, Piazza, Arat Kilo, Kazanchis and Legehar.
 

The Administration encourages the owners to reconstruct the houses, as it would not be required to pay compensations. It may face a stark challenge by those who tabled their requests earlier, however, an official at the Administration who worked in land related cases for 30 years told Fortune.