I would have included this comment in my latest
(famous or infamous) Spring Commentary had I seen the documentary on the state
of Ethiopian military defence, posted on Aiga Forum and Ethiopia First sites.
Few would disagree that Ethiopia has a need to build a strong security
apparatus, because of internal security as well as Ethiopia’s international
obligation to share responsibility for public security in the Horn of Africa.
Yet, what prompted me to write this comment is my awareness of the experiences
of advanced industrialized countries like USA or newly industrialized countries
like China, whose defence industries drove technological innovation and
agricultural and industrial modernization. For instance, USA`s huge
military-industrial complex remains a major contributor of GDP (gross domestic
product) and a leader in technological research.
Starting in the 1950s, the Chinese were fully preoccupied with
achieving the goal of military self-reliance (given the Cold War climate) and
Chairman Mao also made sure that defence industries were located scattered
across the country, so that, should one part of the country be bombed by an
enemy, the other parts of the country would survive and continue to support the
military. Some say that this military strategy was a factor that set off a
process of industrial decentralization in China, avoiding the problem of
industrial concentration in one or two major towns, just as happed in countries
like Ethiopia. Later, the Community Party would order these industries to
design and produce tools and machineries for agriculture and small rural
industries.
It is
therefore interesting to hear from this documentary that Ethiopia’s infant
defence industry is already producing spare parts and providing repair services
for factory plants. The Ethiopian government should expand this capacity to
encourage the design and production of tools and industrial machines suitable
for small and medium industries. As the experience of huge agrarian countries
like China shows, rapid economic growth is possible when you have small and
medium industries creating jobs and transforming the economy.
Ethiopia needs to have hundreds of thousands of such industries to
achieve a middle-income country status. This means that Ethiopia also needs to
have heavy industries (military and civilian) that mass produce tools and
machines to equip small and medium industries; of course, training industrial
manpower is equally important. Acquiring rocket technology (mentioned in the
documentary) will be the first crucial step towards developing a technological
capacity for space technology that will one day enable Ethiopia to enter the
club of nations which have launched satellites into space.
Ethiopia has an opportunity to benefit from Diaspora skills and
knowledge transfers. Perhaps it is time that the Ethiopian government goes
beyond charity- and patriotic-like appeals for Diaspora participation to create
different incentives that encourage talented Diaspora people to help Ethiopia,
such as giving living allowances for time spent working in Ethiopia, giving out
company stocks free, free tourism packages, and so on. Than you.
Getachew Mequanent
Ottawa, Canada
April 18, 2009