The Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Association (Addis Chamber) has taken legal action against the Exhibition Centre & Market Development Enterprise and Addis Abeba City Administration over unpaid dividend payments. Through its legal representative, Addis Chamber pleaded to the court for profit earnings of 21.9 million Br from the Exhibition Centre it previously managed.

During the opening hearing at the Lideta Federal High Court Investment Bench last week, Yitayal Mekonen, representing the Chamber, argued that his client had been denied its rightful share of profits despite clear evidence of entitlement in the Exhibition Centre. He presented contracts demonstrating the City Administration outsourced management responsibilities to the Chamber while alleging withholding of two years of dividend shares.

"The City Administration assigns the board, shares in profits and is part owner," Yitayal stated.

However, Birhan Demeke, representing the City Administration, countered that there was no legally binding contract between the two parties. She pointed to a proclamation assigning responsibility for the Exhibition Centre to the Enterprise.

"The City Administration did not sign anything," Birhan said.

Yitayal strongly objected, arguing documents existed that outlined a contractual relationship with the City Administration through a designated board. He argued that profits were distributed through the Addis Abeba Finance Bureau, which operates under the City Administration, following external audits. Yitayal also said that the City Administration has a major stake in the Enterprise, to solidify his client's claim to profit sharing.

"It has a major stake in the Enterprise," Yitayal said.

The disagreement centres around profit sharing from the Exhibition Centre. The Chamber managed the four-decade-old facility, and all revenue went into a joint account with the Enterprise. Yitayal claimed the Enterprise withheld 13.7 million Br from the Chamber on top of only reimbursing 10 million Br of an earlier 18.2 million Br loan for renovations. The loan was taken from the joint account to finance the refurbishment of the Mesqel Square area. He argued that the Chamber was asking for its share of profits, while the Enterprise, claiming an empty bank account, placed the responsibility for collecting the loan on the Chamber.