Ethiopia PM Hosts Special Fundraising Dinner to Beautify Its Capital Addis Ababa

More than 200 people paid $173,000 (150,000 euros) to attend a dinner hosted by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The dinner party was hosted with the objective to raise funds to maintain and beautify its capital Addis Ababa.

All the diners wearing tuxedos, set on a long rose covered banquet table and relished the expensive dinner with the Prime Minister. Individuals representing local and international organizations took part in the event.

The main objective behind the dinner was to raise funds for a three-year project initiated by Prime Minister Abiy to lift the image of the capital as a bustling, fast-changing city with modern buildings and amenities of life.

According to a video message by Abiy posted on his website said, “The rapid growth and expansion of the city over the past few years has not adequately utilized the natural resources and beautiful topography that the city is endowed with”.

In the video, it was also said that currently the green cover in Addis Ababa is only 0.3 square metres per capita and the project hopes to raise it to 7 square metres per capita in line with the average green coverage in Africa.

The project includes an area of 56 square kilometres, which is envisioned with parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the rivers of the capital, the planting of trees, and the development of urban farms. The estimated building cost will come around $1 billion.

Those who participated at the special dinner hosted by the Prime Minister is going to have a plaque with their name in scripted on it will be placed along the project route and they also have a private photo-op with the reformist Prime Minister. The pictures would also be compiled into an album of individuals, who changed the face of Addis Ababa.

Abiy’s dinner also drew criticism on social media with some citizen of the country questioning whether the project was really a priority for the country, which is also one of the poorest countries of the world, with the World Bank estimating average earnings of $783 per year.

Abiy Ahmed has won praise for his reformist agenda since he took office in April last year. Ethiopia also known as the ‘horn of Africa’ is home to more than 100 million people and is the second most populous country of the continent after Nigeria and its economy is regarded as the fastest growing in the region.