Are We Seeing the Limits of Tigray’s President Tadesse Worede?

About one-third of President Tadesse’s one-year mandate, 125 days, has passed. His record so far raises more questions than answers: can the remaining two-thirds deliver the change Tigray urgently needs? Patience is a virtue, but when it borders on paralysis, can Tigray afford to wait? With 125 days gone, is hope already fading?

Security in Mekelle remains fragile. Street attacks, unexplained disappearances, and ineffective law enforcement leave citizens vulnerable. If the government cannot ensure safety in the capital, what hope is there for rural areas or border towns? Security forces, consuming 8 billion birr annually, nearly two-thirds of Tigray’s budget, cannot even protect the public. Is such a heavy allocation justifiable when hunger plagues the region?

In his first cabinet meeting, President Tadesse pledged to return the displaced within his first 90 days. Four months later, thousands still languish in camps or precarious shelters, their lives suspended between hope and despair. If this most urgent promise remains unmet, what confidence can Tigrayans have in his longer-term commitments?

Illegal gold mining continues without effective oversight, and there is still no transparent mechanism to ensure that Tigray benefits from its mineral wealth. If the region’s most valuable resource cannot be brought under lawful control, how can the government claim to be safeguarding its future?

The cabinet’s inclusiveness—questioned from the outset—remains unresolved. If representation at the top is narrow, how can decisions at the bottom truly serve the public? And if the cabinet does not look like Tigray, how can communities feel it belongs to them?

As part of his first three months plan, the president promised to hold a public conference.. No national convention for reconciliation, negotiation, or unity has been convened. The political elite is as divided as before—perhaps more so. Without a forum for dialogue, how can Tigray regain unity, strengthen its leverage, or reclaim lost territory?

The Southern Tigray issue remains unsettled—armed confrontation has paused, but negotiations appear stalled. If left unresolved, will it re-emerge as a flashpoint for renewed conflict?

Rhetoric with the federal government has continued, but mediation has stalled—eroding hopes for constructive engagement. If this window of dialogue closes, what alternatives remain beyond confrontation?

To his credit, no large-scale war has erupted so far—either with Addis Ababa or within Tigray’s own army. But should the absence of war be considered an achievement in itself, or is it merely the preservation of a fragile calm?

At the outset, many elites extended the interim administration the benefit of the doubt. Over the last four months, some have likely abandoned that patience. I choose to remain optimistic and have not given up. In the coming weeks, I sincerely hope to see the administration shift into a higher gear. But if those weeks pass without decisive change, we will no longer be asking whether we are seeing the limits of this presidency—we will be living them.