By: Ahmed Mohammed
In its seemingly endless sweeping reforms, Addis Ababa today welcomed 100 smile-inducing, eco-friendly electric buses, further easing traffic flows and connecting Addis Ababa to its greener future—for the successive generations to come. After all, Addis Ababa has been a spotlight for years now, with development projects transcending to other African nations.
And the catalyst, the propelling engine? You see, behind such moving redevelopment projects and grand citywide initiatives, there are several diverse disciples, and all are spearheaded by Mayor Adanech Abeibie-the Iron Lady.
If I must speak my mind, with the most modest words possible, ever since she has kicked in, the long-sleeping city has woken and is shedding off its old skin, amidst critiques, many of which are ungrounded.
Her arrival, I think, is a rebirth for Addis Ababa. Slums have kept slowly fading, replaced by wide, tree-lined boulevards, sleek walkways, and buildings that harmonize modernity with echoes of the past. It was as if the city had shed its worn-out skin, revealing a newfound vibrancy. Addis Ababa, long a symbol of Africa’s political and cultural pulse, is undergoing a metamorphosis.
The project has reshaped Ethiopia’s faith in homegrown urban development. Local contractors and engineers, once sidelined for foreign firms, are now part of urban engineering. “We’re showing that Ethiopians, Africans entirely, can build a world-class city,” as is being proven across Ethiopia.
The city’s journey mirrors Africa’s broader urban revolution, where capitals like Kigali and Accra are redefining modernity on their own terms yet maintaining its distinct features.
Let me rephrase my talking point. When was the last time a high-profile personality moved you to “take off your hats” in admiration? Addis Ababa’s transformation relies on a woman who governs as much with her heart as her intellect. Weeks before the electric bus launch, Mayor Adanech was photographed kneeling in the dust of neighborhoods, handing liters of oil and flour to elderly women-—a kind gesture...
In many offices, as you may often come across, such tasks are often delegated to junior officials or NGOs, but her decision to engage directly with disadvantaged residents reflects her organic traits, which many fail to prove. In the most modest words possible, beyond her humanitarian efforts, the mayor strongly, soundly, and boldly redefines what it means to awaken a long unnoticed city that has inherited backlogs of problems. From the time she kicked in, Addis Ababa is shedding its skin with the “corridor development” initiative, which she aggressively introduces just the way Georges-Eugène Haussmann carved Paris into the “City of Light.”
As we come across while reading chronicles of how Paris was rebuilt, ordered by Napoleon Bonaparte, Hussmann built boulevards to control riots.” She, however, once remarked. “I build roads to connect to its future, to shake off dust which has clouded the face of Addis Ababa for decades… ”
Where Haussmann demolished medieval slums to impose order, Adanech dismantled substandard buildings , poorly connected neighborhoods, and long-neglected river sides , all aimed at realizing the rebirth of Addis Ababa. Her tenure as the mayor of the African capital seems on track, and if its tempo is kept, Addis Ababa, for sure, will be one of the finest, smartest, and most viable cities on the planet.
Only five years in office, her legacy, the corridor development, riverside projects, and public space redevelopments, some of which have already turned into spots for pairs to spend their honeymoon and elderlies to enjoy their time, have begun influencing mayors across Africa.
The corridor model, in particular, has self-evidently begun influencing neighboring Kenya and South Africa as well, who see it as a replicable framework for addressing their own respective urban challenges. By positioning Addis Ababa as a hub of innovation, Mayor Adanech Abeibie is not only elevating her city’s global profile but also fostering Pan-African collaboration.
In the age of ours, where African nations are often pitted against one another, her willingness to share knowledge and resources is a refreshing departure from the norm. Addis Ababa has now become a spotlight for many social media operators, such as vloggers, YouTubers, and travel story writers, producing pieces and clips saluting Addis Ababa almost on a daily basis.
For too long, Addis Ababa’s growth has been reactive—patchwork fixes that collapse faster than they’re built. The reforms you see—wider streets, green corridors—are not vanity. They are arteries to redirect opportunity, to prevent the next collapse.”
Piassa was our soul, but it was dying,” say many architects and residents who closely know the ancient neighborhoods. “The mayor didn’t just restore buildings; she reimagined their purpose. And what is being rebuilt right now is multipurpose.
