Forces behind the AA Master Plan other than the TPLF Agents: The French Development Agency, Grand Lyon Town Planning Agency

By Iddoosaa Ejjetaa | May 8, 2014

This paper presents a short extraction from the original document the Master Plan that was designed by French’s Grand Lyon Master Plan for Ethiopia’s City of Addis Ababa with no contribution of mine except some highlighting.

The Master Plan was started in 1999 and signed in May 2009. The AA high speed roads and housing construction such as condominium districts in Gofa Sefer, renewal of city center kazanchis and the growth of the has been implemented based on the this Master Plan, which seems they kept in secrete from the public. The regional planning has been a time bomb for the Master Plan that seems known to the designers who have moral and professional responsibilities to make the plan public and engage the stakeholders to have say about the plan that is considered by the Oromo public as a Grand Plan for destruction of Oromia, the Oromo culture and identity. Moreover, the French should have known the consequences of their Master Plan on internal social displacement and destruction of biodiversity and environment. In my view, the makers and supporters of the plan shall share the burden with the TPLF government of Ethiopia for the massacre committed against the Oromo Students in May 2014.

Finfinnee is a native culture relevant geographic for Addis Ababa. Finfinnee is part and parcel of Oromiyaa. Finfinnee’s future shall be determined by the Oromo people and peaceful residents not by former Africa’s colonial master’s plan that made by colluding with Abyssinian repressive elites without the owner, the Oromo public engagement. Historically, the Abyssinian well known by practicing cultural prejudices against the indigenous Oromo people and other oppressed people in the Ethiopian Empire.

Therefore, it must be clear to our friend and foes that we have had enough with the greedy, repressive and narrow minded TPLF lead government of Ethiopia. We the Oromo people demanding for the right to develop our land resources and standard of living with our culture and identity. Sooner or later, a free Oromia government and the Oromoo people have a full right to develop and let expand Finfinnee organically not forcefully by alien armed forces and massacring unarmed peaceful protesters in their homeland. In the end, justice shall be served and the Gadaa Republic of Oromia shall be free!

Below is the extracted-summary of the document-Master Plan for AA City. To see the whole document, please click on hyperlinks or cut and paste the link from the source provided at the end of the summary.

Mission Objective of the Master Plan

The mission’s objective is the transformation of a technical cooperation (that started 10 years ago) into an official city to city cooperation between the Grand Lyon and the City of Addis Ababa, with the aim of giving concrete form to agreements of this cooperation .

This cooperation should focus on the priority fields identified by both partners within the scope of the existing projects supported by the French ministry of foreign affairs,

AFD (French Development Agency) and LTPA ( Lyon Town Planning Agency): Public mass transport, urban and regional planning, and solid waste management.

The mission has been conducted through several meetings with officials and executive managers of AA city government to precise the scope of the cooperation.

The conclusion of the mission is the signature of a general agreement between Addis Ababa and Lyon and the signature of a new contract between Addis Ababa and Lyon Town Planning Agency, in the frame of the project supported by AFD on urban issues of Addis Ababa.

Historical background of the Master Plan

From 1999 to 2002 LTPA became involved to assist AA city government in the revision of the master plan through joint funding from the Grand Lyon and the French Embassy.

The aim was to support, in conjunction with the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), the city’s team of professionals responsible for revising the master plan.

Late 2002, the French and Ethiopian ministries of foreign affairs decided to establish an FSP cooperation project (FSP: French government’s priority solidarity fund) in order to help to implement the revised Master Plan (for pre-operational project preparation).

Funding was granted for a total of €1.5 million over 3 years, with a permanent French technical assistant posted in Addis Ababa city government, and the help of LTPA as a service provider.

The aim of the assistance to implement the master plan was to establish pre-operational project processes, particularly in areas which have strong effects of structuration of the city:

Public transport:

- Development of key public transport lines by creating dedicated transport corridors along the city’s main thoroughfares.

Local development plans:

- Improvement to the way in which urban projects are carried out, in terms of both urban regeneration and urban expansion.

Housing policy:

- Diversification of housing stock by means of a housing policy
- Creation of available land resources for housing low-income families, with, in particular, the creation of mixed projects to provide a balance between mid-range housing and the availability of basic land resources.

Solid waste management:

- Improvement of solid waste management
- Identification and feasibility study of a new landfill site.

Regional planning:

- The launch of a regional planning strategy with collaboration between Addis Ababa and the neighboring state of Oromia, into which the urban area is slowly spreading.

From 2003 to 2005, the FSP project was conducted by the French Embassy and its technical assistant, Pascal L’Huillier, former executive manager of Grand Lyon.

From 2006 to 2008 the FSP project was held by the City of Addis and AFD and its project manager Mr Wondimu Abeje.

The project has been extended to the end of 2010 on 3 issues: Solid Waste management, urban planning (including regional planning) and mass transport

This work over many years since 2000 was the opportunity of many technical exchanges, study tours, between the two cities, and gradually built efficient and confident links between the different partners.

The City government of Addis Ababa and the Grand Lyon want now to reinforce this partnership.

As far as master plan has to be revised every 10 years, the City government would like to formulate an assessment of the implementation of the master plan and expect some support on this issue as well.

Solid waste management: where the garbage go?

The solid waste collection is mainly based on 616 small and micro-scale enterprises that generate 10,000 employments. They collect and bring the wastes to secondary storage sites equipped by 2 or 3 skips.

The waste generation is currently 0.221Kg/capita, but this figure has to be updated.
The skips are evacuated by Sanitation Department to the Reppi landfill site which is now totally full.

The challenges of Sanitation Department for the next years are:
- The main objective is the construction of a new landfill site. The site of Bole Arabsa studied by AFD has been converted to an urban area. AFD agrees now to launch a new study on a site in Oromia region. The new site has been validated in mid-2009 by the 2 authorities (Oromya region and Addis Abeba)

- The development of SMEs is still necessary to improve the collection system.
- The existing landfill site of Reppi has to be closed and prepared in coordination with the opening of the new one.
- The staff skills have to be improved by training

The Ethio-French project supported by AFD to work on this issue, and precisely on:
- The new study of waste generation,
- The feasibility study of the new landfill site on Fincha in Oromya region,
- The detail design of Fincha site,
- The closure of Reppi landfill site.

AFD proposes to employ a consultant to coordinate these studies during this time.

The Grand Lyon could bring its help to Sanitation Department to follow the AFD project.

Agreements between Lyon and Addis Ababa

At the end of the mission, two agreements have been signed on 26th of May:

- The agreement between Addis Abeba city government and Lyon town Planning agency has been signed to implement the project supported by AFD until the end of

2010, specifically on planning issues (notably regional planning) and mass transport

BRT study on a secondary route.

- The MOU between Addis Ababa city Government and Grand Lyon has been signed to set up the basis of a sister cities relationship.

Signature of the LTPA agreement between Addis and Lyon town planning Agency Mr MEKURIA HALLE – City manager of Addis Abeba Mr. G. BUNA – President of Lyon Town Plan Agency- Deputy major of Lyon Mr. H.J. LAFFERIERE – Deputy Mayor of Lyon

Meeting and signature of the Memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mr KUMA DEMEKSA- Mayor of Addis Ababa H.J. LAFERRIERE – Deputy Mayor of Grand Lyon

Special thanks to everyone who help us in this mission, namely to Mrs Almaz MEKONNEN who organized the schedule of the mission and to Ali Said SHOKI who facilitate connections with the Embassy of Ethiopia and the Embassy of France.

Source: Full Text, 44 pages with pictures, can be found online at:http://www.urbalyon.org/AffichePDF/Addis_ababa-Lyon_-_City_to_city_cooperation_-2123