Board Members Seek Government Support in Access Debacle

Representatives of the central homebuyer’s committee are determined that ARE will carry through with its construction promises.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Board members and representatives from the central homebuyers committee of Access Real Estate (ARE) have jointly selected ASGB Chartered Accountants to re-audit the 2012 financial statements of the troubled company, for close to 640,000 Br.

The two parties have expressed discontent with the content of the initial 2012 audit report by Kokeb & Moges. This concluded that the company would face difficulty in continuing business, citing as major problems the demand by homebuyers for a refund of their money and the company’s severe capital shortage.

ARE has collected 1.3 billion Br from 2,500 homebuyers and 31.8 million Br from shareholders, but the company’s founder and CEO Ermias Amelga departed to the USA and then Dubai, leaving the company in a financial mess.

Shareholders and the homebuyers committee want to revive the company and make it deliver on its promises. This, according to the audit report, seems unlikely. According to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) they signed on July 16, 2013, the two parties want to start the restructuring by contributing an additional 5,000Br per shareholder. They also wanted a second opinion on the company’s financial standing, according to Acklog Seyoum, chairperson of the central homebuyers’s committee. Read more