City Turns to Paycheques, Water Bills to Fund Disaster Response

Feb 14 , 2026. By NAHOM AYELE ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

At the end of January, civil service employees across Addis Abeba noticed a change in their payslips. Half a percent of net salary had been deducted for a newly established emergency fund. For the city’s 168,000 public employees, the contribution appeared without prior explanation, officials calling it a step toward financing disaster response under a regulation issued in April 2025.

Civil servants in Addis Abeba discovered a burden when they opened payslips at the end of January this year. Half a percent of their net salary had been diverted to an emergency fund, city officials say, will finance disaster response.

For many of the 168,000 public service employees, the deduction, introduced without prior explanation, feels like one more levy on stretched incomes.

The decision by the Administration of Mayor Adanech Abiebie is grounded in a regulation issued in April 2025 that established a council and a fund for disaster risk management and emergency response. It designates the public service as a source of funds for a fund to be raised and managed by the Addis Abeba Fire & Disaster Risk Management Commission. Its officials hope the fund will reduce dependence on external aid and strengthen the ability to respond to fires and other disasters with its own resources, echoing federal efforts to finance disaster response through broad-based contributions.

At the federal level, amendments to the law governing disaster risk management, introduced last March, initially proposed salary deductions for both public- and private-sector employees. Public opposition forced federal lawmakers to remove that clause before Parliament ratified the law. However, Addis Abeba’s regulation keeps a similar idea at the city level and goes further by naming additional funding sources, including households, traders, the city budget office and public enterprises.

Residents are drawn in through their water bills. A flat fee of five Birr a month is to be added to household utility payments and channelled to the emergency fund. Every transfer of a fixed asset is expected to yield 0.1pc of the sale price from buyers and sellers. On the business side, contributions are tied to a tax category. Category A taxpayers would pay 2,400 Br; those in Category B 1,200 Br; and, Category C taxpayers are subjected to 600 Br.

Inside the city Administration, the Budget Office would contribute one percent of its operational budget, while public enterprises under the city Administration are ordered to pay two percent of theirs. The Emergency Fund Office under the Commission is tasked with collecting and managing the fund and reporting to the Commission under city financial laws through a committee chaired by the Mayor. Her Administration has a budget of 350.13 billion Br for the current fiscal year, of which 29pc goes to recurrent expenditures, including wages.

Tilahun Tola, deputy commissioner of the Addis Abeba Fire & Disaster Risk Management Commission, defended the scheme, arguing that the contribution required from each individual is marginal compared to the goal of responding quickly to disasters without waiting for outside help.

"The fund reflects a culture of collective contributions in Addis Abeba’s neighbourhoods during hard times and formalises that practice in a predictable system," he told Fortune.

Public service employees were not informed in advance that complaints were growing. Many say they never heard about the deduction until it appeared on their payslips.

Among them is Korma Asmare, who works at the Kolfe Qeranio District Land Administration Office. He earns a net salary of 14,000 Br, and 0.5pc was taken as a contribution to the emergency fund. He supports the idea of improving disaster response but feels overlapping deductions on tightly planned incomes should have been weighed and communicated more carefully. Losing even a small fraction means dropping some of the things he used to do.

"Every birr of my salary is planned for a specific purpose," he told Fortune. "Now, I'll have to stop doing some of the things I used to do."

Similar frustrations are surfacing among business owners, such as Semira Redwan, who runs a small retail shop near the 22-Mazoria area. She had no prior information, and no one discussed the issue with her. The charge is collected during the tax season, when she is already facing higher taxes and rising costs. She recalled mandatory health insurance payments and other obligations, and sees a pattern in which the state repeatedly turns to businesses.

The city Administration plans to raise 238 billion Br from taxes, covering 68pc of its budget for the year.

“Everything is expected from us,” she said. "What is the government’s role if it keeps collecting money under different names while businesses struggle?"

Organised business groups echo these concerns. The Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations has raised questions over the contribution. According to its President, Zahara Mohamed, mandatory fees add pressure on the business community in a difficult business environment. Zahara also questioned transparency, asking how contributors would know where the money goes.

"A lack of clarity weakens public trust and discourages willingness to contribute," she told Fortune.

Independent consultant and analyst Mikiyas Mulugeta (PhD) sees the model as part of a broader shift in which the government leans more on contributions while removing subsidies and opening new revenue channels. He warned that collecting additional fees from low-income earners who already face multiple obligations could have serious consequences if not handled carefully. He believes authorities should look for options beyond compulsory contributions and tighter budget controls.

City officials respond with risk figures. Over the past six months, Addis Abeba recorded 325 disaster incidents with estimated losses of around 240 million Br. According to Tilahun, who has worked at the Commission for nearly 12 years, the emergency fund will be administered in compliance with city financial laws and assures taxpayers that the money “will not be mismanaged”.

City authorities are asking households, workers and businesses to underwrite a standing disaster fund embedded in salaries, water bills, property transfers, business obligations and public budgets. Many of those now paying do not reject the need for a stronger disaster response. Their demand is for consent, clear communication and visible accountability.

However, the regulation does not specify how much money the fund aims to raise, how long contributions will continue, or whether other levies will be retired as the pool grows.

PUBLISHED ON Feb 14,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1346]