Ethiopia: Forging Ahead On the Road Toward Meaningful Democracy and Development

By Tesfaye Habisso 10/02/09

Ethiopia’s long history as a feudal monarchy and its subsequent subjugation by a brutal and doctrinaire Marxist regime for almost two decades is well known to everyone. When the junta led by Col. Mengistu Haile Mariam was removed, principally, by the forces of the EPRDF liberation front in 1991, the new rulers faced, as Bruce Berman & colleagues succinctly put, “a quadruple transformation:  negotiating ethnic diversity at the same time as they were building state capacity, democratising political systems and liberalizing economic institutions.” [Bruce Berman et al., “Ethnicity & Democracy in Historical Perspective,” ETHNICITY& DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA, Ohio University Press, 2004, p. 15] In addition to the TPLF/EPRDF forces, there were around 17 other national liberation movements/fronts fighting against the Derg regime in their limited capacity and hailing from different regions of the country. It was necessary for the dominant EPRDF leadership to negotiate with these numerous movements to agree on a common minimum political programme—the Transitional Period Charter—that indeed averted the then looming danger of the country’s disintegration into its component parts. Many doomsayers ‘prophesied’ the fate of the former Yugoslavia or the Soviet Union was drawing nigh for Ethiopia. Most of all, the national economy was a complete shambles and the society was pitiably demoralized after 17 years of civil war and the trauma of the post-war and “red terror/white terror” years of the Derg era. There was an urgent need to build state capacity, so that the state could effectively secure public order, uphold the rule of law, and meet the basic needs of citizens. The new rulers also faced the critical challenges of ‘demobilizing’ most of the former security forces of the imperial and Derg era and ‘decamping’ the armed wings of the various national liberation movements that were fighting the military government in tandem with the EPRDF forces. In short, the formidable challenges that confronted the new rulers remained: doing away with authoritarian and repressive rule of the past and instituting a constitutionally guaranteed federal democratic political system in its place, on the one hand, and reversing the previous state dominated and underdeveloped command economy of the Derg regime and introducing a market-oriented economy in its place, on the other. For a liberation movement coming out of the throes of a long-drawn out civil war, and now political party and state, these challenges were tantamount to no less than a hopeless situation of ‘mission impossible’.

However, thanks to the strong political will and commitment of the new rulers and the peoples of Ethiopia and all political elites of the country that supported the political process to move on the road to democracy and development, and because of the helping hand extended by the international community and development partners to Ethiopia, the country has been able to register noteworthy achievements in a number of political, social and economic areas since 1991. A federal democratic political system was introduced by the 1994 FDRE Constitution; one central/federal government and nine regional states were formed; censorship was abolished for the first time in the country’s modern history and a vibrant private press mushroomed in the major urban areas, especially Addis Ababa; civil and political liberties, individual human rights and freedoms, freedom of the press, expression, belief, thought, association and assembly as well as collective/group rights were constitutionally guaranteed; Ethiopian peoples were able to freely elect their leaders and three national and regional parliamentary elections were held in 1995, 2000 & 2005; the struggle towards strengthening and consolidating our young and fragile federal democracy is continuing unabated, etc. These are achievements in the area of political governance.

 In the area of economic development, according to the World Bank, “there has been significant progress, [since 1991], in key human development indicators: Primary school enrolments have tripled, child mortality has almost been cut in half, and the number of people with access to clean water has more than doubled. More recently, poverty reduction has accelerated. The poverty headcount, which stood at 46 percent in 1995/96—and 44 percent in 2000/01, fell to 39 percent in 2005/06…Ethiopia is experiencing an unprecedented spell of economic growth. Ethiopia’s economy has averaged over 11 percent annual growth over the last four years, and growth of 8.8 percent is expected for 2007/8… These gains, together with more recent moves to strengthen the fight against malaria, paint a picture of improved well-being in Ethiopia.” [Country Brief-Development Progress, The World Bank, April 2008]

Ethiopia recently had one of the fastest growing economies of Africa [1]. The most significant reform regarding land use since the incumbent party and government took power in 1991 has been the release of rural farmers from the previously oppressive feudal system and assisting them by providing fertilisers, select seeds, extension service and other inputs deemed at boosting agricultural productivity. The outcome in this regard has been more than satisfactory: the material well-being and quality of life of the rural farmers has generally improved tremendously. Throughout its operation, the government has advocated “pro-poor” domestic policies [2]. According to the World Bank’s East African leadership, the Ethiopian government ranks number one in Africa on spending as a share of GDP going to pro-poor sectors [3]. Even though, the incumbent party and government inherited one of the worst, if not the lowest, economies in the world, the country’s economy has been growing steadily since 1991 [4]. The country was also in the top category for “policies of social inclusion and equity,” in the domain of “economic management” and Ethiopia did exceptionally well in the domain of “structural policies” and “public sector management and institutions.” [5] Gross primary enrolment rates, a standard indicator of investment in the poor, went up to 93 percent in 2004 from 72 percent in 1990, contributing to a rise in literacy rates from 50 percent in 1997 to 65 percent in 2002 [6]. African Development Bank [ADB] and the Paris-based OECD Development Center stated that Ethiopia has become one of the fastest growing countries in Africa [7]. The drastic development of most sectors in Ethiopia, including textiles, leather, garments, agriculture, beverages, construction, flower growing, and others have made Ethiopia to be labelled the “East African land of opportunity” by the World Investment News [8]

African Development Bank [ADB] claimed that Ethiopia “is registering a remarkable economic growth in recent years.” [9] Flower growers from other countries have also relocated, and still continue to relocate, to Ethiopia. Ethiopia recently became Africa’s second largest flower exporter after Kenya, with its export earnings growing by 500 percent over the past year. [10]

More colleges and universities, and I add highways, rural and urban roads, have been constructed during the last few years under the incumbent party and government than in the whole history of Ethiopia. [11] Sarcastically, one of our vocal compatriots in the Diaspora, Yared Tibebu (Getachew Jabesa of the former EPRP/Belesa Group) while acknowledging this achievement via the recent VOA radio debate programme, fretted to denigrate it by saying that it was due to foreign development assistance (ODA) and loans, and not because of money collected from local sources. We at home however are delighted to hear that the loan and grant funds were wisely utilized for the good of the country and not stashed away by our leaders in foreign banks for personal use and enrichment, as happens in many developing countries. At this juncture, I want to raise one disturbing outcome of the Yared Tibebu vs Shashu Habtu VOA debate: Shashu who was patriotically defending her country and its spectacular achievements in a very short period of just 18 years under the incumbent regime, as mentioned here above, was ridiculously labelled a “BANDA” (a traitor) by some website managers in the USA, Ethiopians of course, while those real BANDAs and traitors serving the agenda of foreign powers (this after all is the true meaning of the derogatory word or concept known as BANDA in Amharic) bent on destabilizing their own homeland are treated as patriots and heroes. Above all, it is indeed embarrassing for those who had lived under and tasted the fruits of FREEDOM in the land of Thomas Jefferson not to respect the freedom of others to express their opinion however much they may disagree to it. Doesn’t Shashu Habtu or any other human being have the freedom of expression, belief, thought, association, assembly, etc. as any other person, including Yared Tibebu? Why target her for attack on  expressing her independent views and beliefs? Why fret on unjustifiable and vicious ‘naming and shaming’ exercise? What a pathetic lot, indeed! What is more despicable than serving the agenda of others and selling away our national interest for personal gain and other selfish ends? May God have mercy on their soul! 

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, despite running a Third World country, has received various international awards, for setting up a good foundation for the development of Ethiopia. Even though Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, the near double digit annual economic growth recently are seen as the beginning of Ethiopia’s long marathon struggle to eliminate poverty.

Acknowledging the rapid GDP growth of the country, the UK newspaper THE ECONOMIST said in December 2007 that “Ethiopia’s economy has been growing at record speed in recent years.” In 2008, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) described the speed of Ethiopia’s economic growth in recent years as the “fastest for a non-oil exporting country in Sub-Saharan Africa,” with Ethiopia ranked as the second most attractive African country for investors. [12] Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has also won a number of prestigious international awards for his achievements in several fields:

·       The World Peace Prize for his contributions for global peace and his effort to stabilize the Horn of Africa through cooperation with Inter-Governmental Authority for Development [IGAD].

·       Tabor 100, an African-American entrepreneur’s organization, honoured PM Meles Zenawi for his big contribution toward economic and social transformation in Africa with its prestigious Crystal Eagle International Leadership Award in April 2005.

·       PM Meles Zenawi was also awarded the “Good Governance Award of the Global Coalition for Africa” in respect for leading Ethiopia in a democratic path during the challenging period of transition.

·       PM Meles Zenawi received the 2005 Yara Prize for Green Revolution for initiating a good foundation for economic progress in Ethiopia, particularly in the agricultural sector for the poor country that has doubled its food production. During the award ceremony held in the Norwegian capital Oslo on September 3, 2005, the director of the UN project for Africa said, “With our support, Ethiopia can lift itself from poverty and hunger. Under PM Meles Zenawi, the country has created the grassroots structure to enable this to happen.”

·       Meles Zenawi also received the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Gold Order of Merit award in February 2007. PM Meles Zenawi was given the CAF organization’s highest award for his services to the progress of African football. Ethiopia was one of founding countries of the CAF (1957) and the organization, with the dedication of AU leaders like PM Meles Zenawi, was celebrating the “International Year of African Football” in 2007.

·       Meles Zenawi was given the “Africa Political Leadership Award” of 2008 by the US-based newspaper AFRICA TIMES. Previous winners of the award include Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and others.

·       PM Meles Zenawi is also a Co-Chairperson of the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA). The Global Coalition for Africa brings together senior African policymakers and their partners to deepen dialogue and build consensus on Africa’s priority development.

·       The Prime Minister was the Co-Chairperson of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (November 2006). Ethiopia is the Forum’s Co-Chair country. It led to the adoption of the Beijing Action Plan (2007-2009) for partnership for economic progress and cultural exchanges. It also stated to support Africa’s “development [of] international political, economic, trade and financial systems.”

·       In 2004, PM Tony Blair of the United Kingdom appointed PM Meles Zenawi as one of the Commissioners taking part in the Commission for Africa.

·       PM Meles Zenawi served as the Chairman of the Organization for African Unity (OAU, now the African Union—AU) from June 1995 to June 1996. In 2007, the African Union  elected PM Meles Zenawi to chair the executive committee of the New Economic Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD).

·       Prime Minister Meles Zenawi acquired an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the Open University of the United Kingdom in 1995 and an MSC (Master of Science) in Economics from the Erasmus University of the Netherlands in 2004. Some University professors and renowned college administrators stated that Meles Zenawi was a very smart and gifted student. At a public speech in George Washington University, Vice Chancellor of the Open University said, President Meles Zenawi was a brilliant student who achieved distinctions on every course he took.” In July 2002, Meles has also received an honorary doctoral degree in political science from the Hannam University in South Korea.

·       PM Meles Zenawi was unanimously elected by African leaders to articulate and represent the interests of Africa on Climate Change on a global conference held in September 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Finally, the struggle for democracy, human rights and the rule of law and for free/fair market economy and economic development is bound to take a long time before it bears the desired results, as these “values” are still the hardest thing to import and to modify or to adapt. We can learn new techniques or acquire new knowledge, but it is notoriously difficult to adopt a behaviour that is based on values that are foreign to one’s society. Societies’ fundamental values evolve gradually, and the  introduction of new values is always faced by traditional reflexive actions. Ethiopia today finds itself in such a precarious situation; it faces a wide array of formidable challenges and opportunities. Be this as it may, Ethiopia is gradually and incrementally progressing on the road to democracy and development. As it prepares itself for the fourth national and regional parliamentary elections in May 2010, Ethiopia urgently and deservedly demands from all stakeholders at home and abroad, and from the international community a generous and sincere helping hand and not a crisis-craving invisible hand, as various self-appointed altruists—INGOs—and foreign scholars are tirelessly trying to whip up public opinion about the so-called “ looming crisis” in Ethiopia, allegedly because of “ethnic federalism”. If these forces somehow succeed in triggering a political crisis in the country during or before the upcoming national election through their vicious and endless propaganda campaign, it would create havoc and catastrophe for the country and the whole region, and this should be avoided at all costs. Any attempt at regime change through Machiavellian tactics, ‘colour-coded revolution’ via INGOs/NGOs or other subversive methods, as attempted during the post-2005 national elections, will never succeed in Ethiopia. We Ethiopians may be poor materially but we have very rich history and we cherish our sovereignty over all other considerations. We value our national pride very much and thus we will not allow any foreign powers or INGOs/NGOs to make or break public policies, programmes and decisions in our country. We want meaningful and fruitful partnership with all friends of Ethiopia, but partnership based on equality and not based on master-servant relationship. Let this be known to all friends and foes alike.