Ethiopian government is planning to rein in powerful religious institutions. A legislation is under consideration to control the sway which these institutions hold in Ethiopia.
A bill has been prepared that stipulates that religious institutions must submit their financial audit reports to the Ministry of Peace. The bill called “Religious Affairs Proclamation” states that the religious institutions must establish an accounting and audit system and submit their audit report to the Ministry of Peace.
The institutions will have to use an accounting system containing a list of income, expenditure and total assets. Income received from abroad will have to be declared and the institutions will have to open bank accounts to raise money in the country. Financial aid, gift or other financial support sent from abroad will have to be declared as well.
For more than a year, a cold war has been ongoing between the Ethiopian federal government of the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) led by Patriarch Abune Mathias. EOTC is the most powerful and influential religious institution in Ethiopia.
The church has been accusing the govt of dividing the church and backing Prosperity Gospel. The federal government accuses Orthodox church leaders of supporting armed groups in the Amhara region where since last year an armed conflict has been ongoing. In February this year, Abune Petros, EOTC Synod Secretary General, was deported from Addis Ababa airport. He was returning to Ethiopia after visiting the US.
Another important religious institution in Ethiopia is Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, led by Sheikh Ibrahim Tufa who is generally seen as pro government. In 2022, Sheikh Ibrahim Tufa, who hails from the Oromia region of Ethiopia, replaced Mufti Haji Umar Idrees from the Amhara region. Back the Ethiopian government was blamed for supporting Ibrahim Tufa.
Ethiopian Prime Minister and his government are accused by Orthodox church leaders of promoting Prosperity Gospel.
It seems that the new bill is aimed at reining in religious institutions. It would be interesting to see how these institutions respond to the draft law which is yet to be debated and approved by the House of People’s Representatives.