Scores of wealthy Ethiopians paid an eye-watering $173,000 to attend a dinner thrown by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, to raise funds to beautify the capital Addis Ababa, state media reported Monday.
The state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate published pictures of diners, some wearing tuxedos, seated at a long rose-covered banquet table.
“A seat at the event is valued at 5 million birr,” the report said.
The dinner was held to raise funds for a three-year project by Abiy to “lift the image” of the capital, a bustling, fast-changing city where modern buildings have shot up, construction is ever-present and greenery scarce.
“The rapid growth and expansion of the city over the past few years has not adequately utilised the natural resources and beautiful topography that the city is endowed with,” according to a video of the project posted on Abiy’s website.
The video said that currently, green cover is only 0.3 square metres per capita in Addis Ababa, and the project hopes to raise this to seven square metres per capita -in line with average green coverage in Africa.
The project along an area of 56 square kilometres (21 square miles) envisions parks, bicycle paths and walkways along the rivers of the capital, the planting of trees and the development of urban farms.
The project is estimated to cost $1 billion, according to Fana.
It was not known how many people attended the dinner, or who they were.
Abiy’s website said that those present would have a plaque with their name on it placed along the project route, and would have a private photo-op with the Prime Minister. The pictures would be compiled into “an album of individuals who changed the face of Addis Ababa.”
Abiy has won praise for his reformist agenda since taking office in April last year.
Ethiopia is home to over 100 million people, the second most populous country on the continent after Nigeria, and its economy is the fastest growing in the region.
