NEPOTISM REIGNS AT ASMARA PALACE HOTEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000047 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/AF, DS/TIA/ITA, DS/IP/SPC/SO, INR, AF/E, LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2030 TAGS: ASEC PGOV PHUM PREL PINS ER SUBJECT: NEPOTISM REIGNS AT ASMARA PALACE HOTEL Classified By: CDA Melinda Tabler-Stone for Reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) Management of the Eritrean government-owned Asmara Palace Hotel (formerly the Intercontinental Hotel) has started arresting employees for bad performance or because of favoritism, according to a reliable embassy source. The goverment (GSE) took over management of the Asmara Palace in October 2008 because the hotel was unprofitable under InterCon management. The GSE hired former fighters in the Eritrean war of independence as the new managers. Former fighters enjoy privileged status in Eritrean society, but few have any education or other skills. ¶2. (C) Over the last several months, these managers have hired their relatives to work in the hotel. These relatives are poor performers and have clashed with the other employees (who are mostly national service conscripts),according to the source. When confronted about their poor work performance, these employees tell their fighter relatives, who then have the accusing employees arrested. The embassy source stated in January a secretary who had worked at the hotel for over seven years was arrested and imprisoned when she changed jobs and removed some work-related documents and installed them on her computer in her new office. When management found out about this she was arrested and sent to the jail in downtown Asmara. (Note: Source has also approached post management for a job, saying she was desperate to leave the hotel because of the poor management). ¶2. (C) Comment: The quality of both the product and the service at the Asmara Palace has deteriorated over the last year. The former-fighter managers do not know how to run a hotel. Prices have increased to the point where the mediocre product is no longer good value. Post is not surprised to hear the former fighters are abusing their positions. Tabler-Stone