The gridlock of Addis Abeba’s traffic is a gruelling experience on any ordinary day, but early last month the situation changed into a virtual nightmare. A sea of stopped and idling vehicles morphed the streets into one colossal parking lot.

Fuming travellers abandoned their buses and taxis and started to walk, outpacing the cars. Trips that usually take an hour in the morning rush hour saw stranded commuters sitting in traffic for two and three hours, still far from their destinations.

“It is the celebration of the nationalities and peoples day at Mesqel Square,” said a man in a taxi stuck behind a semi-truck on the old Asmara Road.

He was immediately corrected by another passenger who pointed out that there was a ceremony to be held on Thursday too. Alas, the authorities had switched the date.

"The city has finalised preparations of the 13th Ethiopian Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Day to be held on Saturday, December 8, 2018," read the announcement from the Ethiopian Press Agency. "The City’s Press Secretariat head, Feven Teshome, said, 'Addis Abeba is ready to receive the guests who come from all over the country,' continued the report.

Why there was a ceremony on Thursday, without prior announcement, was never explained. Or what preparations city had in mind to manage the event and the closure of one of the most important traffic arteries of the city, Mesqel Square, remains a mystery. But the end result was chaos, utter and unmitigated bedlam.

Regrettably, Addis Abeba city officials can only be expected to bluster and cover their tracks with pomposity. They are not expected to show care toward the pubic they serve or look after the interests of the citizenry.

Why should they, when the rest of the state machinery operates likewise?

Even issuing simple warnings, as a public service, of impending major road closures in the city is beyond them.

At the very least, the closing of roads leading to the International Airport; blocking the main hub of the north-south axis of the city; and denying vehicular access to the east-west connector of the business centres during rush hour, in the middle of the working week, requires the issuance of prior warnings to alert citizens.

But municipal authorities do not seem to be governed by a sense of duty to the public they serve. The result is that without any notice a completely cordoned off Mesqel Square greeted residents of the city on the morning of December 6.

It appears that a fanciful decision was made to hold a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony in the middle of Mesqel Square that day. The plan appears to have been made without consideration of the impact the closure of the main thoroughfare may have on the transportation system of the city.