Addis Abeba Mayor Adanech Abiebie has annulled the outcome of a lottery drawing for the transfer of condominium units that took place earlier this month. The decision came less than a week after the latest round of lottery draw for over 25,000 units. Officials say discrepancies in the digital drawing system and the lottery process were behind their decision to scrap the results. Less than 80,000 eligible individuals who have saved up the minimum downpayment for units built under the 20/80 and 40/60 housing programmes were entered into the lottery. Hundreds of thousands of hopefuls were left out. A committee comprising officers from the Information Network Security Agency (INSA) and the National Intelligence Service found that close to 100,000 people had illegally entered the draw by accessing the digital lottery system. It is the latest hiccup in the tumultuous saga of the city's low-cost housing scheme. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been waiting to receive units for over a decade after depositing down payments with the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).

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