Ethiopia’s southern regional state convicts 413 of corruption
NAN-F-29
Corruption
Addis Ababa, Aug. 17, 2017 (Xinhua/NAN) Ethiopia’s southern regional state on Thursday convicted 413 individuals over corruption charges during the Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY) 2016/17 which ended on July 8.
Solomon Hailu, Head of Southern Regional State Communications Affairs Office made this known in Addis Ababa.
“The 413 convicts were given prison sentences ranging from three months to 17 years based on the gravity of their corruption crimes,’’ Hailu said.
Properties of the convicts including guesthouses, residential houses, high rise buildings and vehicles were also seized as part of the anti-corruption drive.
The Southern regional state Communications Affairs Office also said 14.5 million U.S. dollars of illicit cash were recovered from the convicts during the 2016/17 period.
Ethiopian government has identified corruption and rent seeking activities as among the reasons why Ethiopia was rocked by sweeping unrest in 2016.
The Ethiopian government has since then promised to crack down on grand scale corruption which has afflicted one of the world’s fastest growing economies. (Xinhua/NAN)
OYE/AFA
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Felix Ajide