The scale of corruption in Ethiopia is staggering!

(African corruption again today, I’m afraid. I wanted to do something else, but what I found about Ethiopia is so astounding, I thought it worth doing that instead)

Ethiopia and Ethiopian �poverty first became big news in Britain in 1984/5 when Michael Buerk did his report on the Ethiopian famine and then Saint Bob Geldorf launched his BandAid and LiveAid and got knighted. And in the famous Christmas song, the best line “tonight thank God it’s them and it’s not you” was warbled by the great philanthropist and reported tax avoider Bono – a man who seems keen that our tax money gets sent to Africa as long as he himself doesn’t have to contribute:

I’ve dealt with Ethiopia before and pointed out that there are a few things Buerk and Bob and Bono ‘forgot’ to mention. There’s the fact that there’s a drought (and thus famine) in the Horn of Africa every 7 to 10 years. There’s also the incredible speed at which Ethiopia’s population is increasing – doubling every 23 years or so:

Ethiopia’s problem is not a lack of food, it’s a lack of birth control. But, of course, nobody dares say that as Ethiopians are both black and M*sl*ms and are thus above any criticism. Anyone daring to mention ‘population control’ would immediately be branded as a bigot and a waaacccciiiissstttt!

Ethiopia already receives a massive $3.4bn a year in aid. But according to the Global Financial Integrity project, Ethiopia’s rulers steal at least $2bn a year from their impoverished country.

We’re constantly told how ‘poor’ Ethiopia is and therefore we need to keep on giving the country our money year after year after year forever. But not everyone in Ethiopia is totally impoverished. Below is a list of The 10 Richest Ethiopians. All are part of or closely connected with the ruling junta.

Some of these people are worth billions. In comparison, our great Tony Blair with a mere �50m to �60m is a penniless pauper.�You don’t need to read the whole list. Just looking at the top few will give you a flavour of the massive wealth being accumulated by Ethiopia’s elites – over $20bn – as their country starves.

You won’t find many of our sanctimonious politicians or politically-correct ‘opinion leaders’ in the mainstream media keen to mention the stupendous scale of looting by Ethiopia’s elites as they preach down to us about how we should pour ever more of our money into that blighted country.

The 10 Richest Ethiopians in 2013*

1. Mohammed Al Amoudi�� Controls gold mines and massive tracts of fertile lands that were handed to him by Meles Zenawi, after their owners were kicked out and displaced. Estimated net worth: $10bn.

2. Azeb Mesfin�� Widow of the late dictator Meles Zenawi, commonly known as the �mother of corruption� has ownership interests in many of the biggest companies in Ethiopia. Estimated net worth: $4bn.

3. mBerhane Gebrekiristos�� The closest and most trust friend of Meles and Azeb; launders their loot out of the country. Estimated net worth: $2bn.

4. Sebhat Nega�� His fortune has been declining after he was kicked out of the TPLF politburo and the Endowment Fund for the Relief of Tigray (EFFORT) by Meles and Azeb; he is currently rebounding. Estimated net worth $2bn.

5. Seyoum Mesfin�� Current Ethiopian ambassador to China, former foreign affairs minister, used his chairmanship of Ethiopian Airlines and diplomatic status to smuggle illegal drugs between Africa and Asia; he is perhaps the biggest drug trader in Africa. Estimated net worth: $1.8bn

6. Samuel Tafesse�� One of Azeb Mesfin�s business partners; their relationship has gone sour over the past couple of years, negatively affecting his construction business. Estimated net worth: $1.6bn

7. Abay Teshay�� A senior member of the ruling party, has blind partnerships with many of the big companies in Ethiopia. Net worth: $1.5bn

8. Omer Ali Shifaw � Owner of Nejat International, whose wealth has been declining after TPLF started to compete with his coffee exporting business. Estimated net worth: $500m

9. Eyob Mamo�� CEO and Chairman of Capitol Petroleum Group, Washington DC. Estimated worth: $500m.

10 . Suhura Ismail Khan�� She has become the biggest khat trader in East Africa by establishing partnerships with TPLF officials and forging a close friendship with the late dictator Meles Zenawi. The TPLF-occupied Ethiopian embassies around the world are her main khat export routes to the Diaspora. Estimated net worth: $200m

(*The list is copied from The Ethiopian Review. Apologies if there are any errors. Please get in touch if there are any errors and I will correct these immediately)