SEATTLE – When beauty queens arrived in Addis in 2007, they had covered all their expenses, as instructed by their hosts who organized the Millennium Pageant, a cultural extravaganza planned to boost Ethiopia’s tiny tourism industry.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mohamuda Gaas was in command of getting the beauty queens not only in Ethiopia but also of their money, including any expenses incurred on their way to Ethiopia and during their stay in the country.
But 18 months later, Tourism Minister Mohamuda Gaas and his local partner, Aklilu Tewelde of Ezana Entertainments face a lawsuit action for failing to give prize money and reimburse expenses of the beauty queens who had come to Addis from countries as far away as in Latin America.
“Miss Venezuela, the winner, was never paid her token prize of just US$5000, nor was the runner-up Miss Costa Rica, Silvana Sánchez Jiménez, paid her prize of US$2000, Miss Tourism Congo, Katissa Kouta, Miss South Africa, Palesa Makwa, also did not get their US$1000 prizes,” says Miss Tourism of Millennium Organization, one that has been working tirelessly to bring the beauty pageant to Ethiopia.
Miss Tourism says Culture and Tourism Minister Mohamuda Gaas and local businessman Aklilu Tewelde are to blame for the mess.
“The two organizers deliberately delayed paying them in hard currency until the very last minute, and instead would try to give them about 9000 Birr instead of US$950, just a few hours before they were due to leave Ethiopia, knowing fully well they could not take Ethiopian currency out of the country,” the group accuses.
“Aklilu Tewelde of Ezana Entertainment would go AWOL and arrive hours after he thought the girls had left Ethiopia,” Miss Tourism said in a statement.
The whole project was disappointing that for instance, Gisselle Fuentes, Miss Argentina, had refused to leave Ethiopia until she got her money.
“Miss World and Miss Universe pageants have been successful for over 50 years,” says the disappointed side, “but the one time an international beauty pageant was held in Ethiopia for the first time in history it was killed of by a combination of greed, short-sightedness, deliberate financial mismanagement and gross incompetence” by the very government organ that was supposed to promote Ethiopian tourism.
Eighteen months have passed and appeals to the minister and his partner to live up to their obligations have so far fallen on deaf ears. But the group in charge of bringing the beauty pageant is threatening to take the minister and his partner to court. Several groups have lined up in support of the legal action, and the latest debutant to the legal wrangle is state-owned Ghion Hotels.
