Abiy Appoints Former Digital ID Official as State Minister

Abiy Appoints FormePrime Minister Abiy Ahmed has appointed Yodahe Arayasellassie, formerly the head of the National ID Program, as a state minister in the Ministry of Innovation and Technology as the government reshuffles senior positions across the federal administration.

The Office of the Prime Minister announced 62 state minister appointments across 22 ministries on Saturday, following changes to the structure of the federal government earlier in the week.

Yodahe’s appointment comes as Ethiopia’s national digital identity program, known as Fayda, expands. The program has registered 52 million people, printed 14.8 million identity cards and integrated 150 partners, according to the latest available figures. The reporting date for those figures was not specified.

The program has since been restructured as Faydaverse, a state-owned enterprise under Ethiopian Investment Holdings, the government’s investment holding company. The change places the digital identity initiative within a corporate structure as it expands its role in identity verification and access to services.

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology is now led by Frehiwot Tamiru, the former chief executive of Ethio Telecom, whom Abiy appointed earlier this week. Her appointment makes her the first woman to lead the ministry, according to local reports.

The reshuffle also moves officials between government portfolios.

Bareo Hassen, previously a state minister in the transport and logistics sector, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Youth and Sport. Sileshi Girma, formerly a state minister in the tourism sector, has also been appointed to the ministry.

The appointments follow a reorganization of federal ministries discussed in Parliament on October 7. Under the changes, the Ministry of Transport and Logistics was renamed the Ministry of Logistics, while the Ministry of Tourism was restored as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Ministry of Planning and Development was renamed the Ministry of National Strategy, and the former Ministry of Culture and Sports was reconstituted as the Ministry of Youth and Sport.