Ethiopia charged Azebe Asnake 2017 POWER-GEN Woman of the Year over corruption

Ethiopia charged on Friday Azeb Asnake, former head of state-owned Electric Power Generation firm, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation.

State-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) said she was charged in connection with the Deforestation project which was part of the preparation work for Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD).

She is charged with fifty other people including deputy director of METEC, state-owned Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC), Colonel Mulu Wolde-Gabriel.

She was terminated as Executive Director of Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation in August of 2018 without explanations.  But at the time, it was rumored that she was removed from her position in connection with corruption.

About a year before her termination, she was named as “the 2017 Power Generation Woman of the Year” POWER-GEN International event for “advancing power generation in Ethiopia.”  Under her watch, Ethiopia’s power generation capacity was transformed from 2,430 MW to 4,500 MW according to the report.

In her role as CEO of EEPC, she managed the construction and operation of transmission lines including the export of electricity to neighboring countries like Djibouti, Sudan, and Kenya.