Council of Ministers forwards four bills to parliament

Addis Ababa, May 31, 2024 (FBC) – At its 32nd regular meeting on May 31st, the Ethiopian Council of Ministers passed decisions on four draft bills addressing political party registration and election ethics, asset recovery in criminal cases, preventing and controlling financial support for criminal activities and terrorism, and overseeing the petroleum market.

The Council first discussed the proposed proclamation to amend Ethiopia’s election, registration of political parties, and election ethics. Currently, there is no system in place to register entities that have been outside the framework of legal and peaceful political activity, even if they express interest in moving in a peaceful manner. This draft proclamation has been prepared with the objective of establishing a re-registration system when they show interest in moving peacefully and contributing to the building of a democratic system in the country.

The second agenda the Council deliberated on was property recovery bill. According to the Office of the Prime Minister, this bill was crafted to develop a clear and detailed legal framework to effectively capture, freeze, confiscate, or manage criminal assets and funds. Additionally, it aims to establish a system that is convenient for implementation by incorporating the property recovery and management provisions scattered in various decrees into a single law.

The third item on the agenda was the proposed decree on the legalization of illegally obtained money and the prevention and control of the crime of financial assistance to terrorism. Apart from being a security threat, the crime of money laundering and financing terrorism poses a threat to the stability, transparency, soundness, and efficiency of the financial system. Therefore, this draft bill has been prepared to prevent and control this crime.

The fourth and final item on the agenda was a bill related to the petroleum market. This bill was crafted with the aim of controlling supply, storage, distribution, price, quality, and safety of petroleum products, considering the social benefits of petroleum products. The draft bill pertaining to this matter was also prepared and submitted to establish a modern, efficient, transparent, fair, and accessible supply chain and operating system, from the importer to the consumers.

After extensive discussions on the aforementioned proposed bills, the Council unanimously forwarded them to the House of People’s Representatives for further deliberations and additional inputs.