I will give up BEEF for Growth!

The latest news articles about the Ethiopian inflation carried by the Western Medias, as usual has a test of spectacular yellow journalism, with many ways trying to find a relevance or a twist to the uprising in the Arab world. That is why, the words "rebellion" and "authoritarianism" were sprinkled, about inflations. But lets address the issue of inflation. The cause of inflation is usually there is more demands than supply, and if what we read is correct, then there are many more people who want to buy Beef than ever before in Ethiopia. Twenty years ago, people were so poor, buying Beef was reserved only for the few rich people. Now, with the growing economy, Ethiopians of all walks of life have started to earn money, and started to demand access to items that use to be reserved only for the elites just twenty years ago. Beef, Sugar, Coffee are items in demand right now. The latest report from Washington Post, quotes IMF as saying “the government is causing inflation by borrowing and printing money to pay for infrastructure projects.” ethiopia-food-prices-spike-after-govt-lifts-price-caps-making-food-unaffordable-for-many

Hmm. Yep. You heard it right. IMF is complaining the Ethiopian government is borrowing money to pay for the infrastructure projects. Yes, the roads, the bridges, the schools, hospitals, the new Train Tracks, etc.. are the infstructure that IMF is refereeing to. During the Derg time, the government borrowed money to buy Weapons, and left Ethiopians one of the most indebedt countries in the world when it left in 1991. But EPRDF is borrowing money to build infstracture. Yes my people. The government is doing totally what people want. This my people, is a blessing; a blessing many countries are praying for. A blessing we Ethiopians have been praying for long time. We were asking who would be the next one to build a new Train Track, after Atse Menilik did it over a century ago? Even the Nay sayers are washing their eyes, and cannot deny the facts Ethiopia is developing. We Ethiopians seeing the various development, have no reservation to giving up Beef. I will give up Beef, Coffee and Sugar, so that the next generation in Ethiopia will have better schools, better roads, better hospitals, and better Electricity access. Many of our forefathers gave up their lives to protect our country from colonialism and foreign aggression, now it is our turn to pay, not with our life, but with simple sacrifice of Beef, Coffee, and Sugar. I hope the Ethiopian government doesn’t heed to the IMF call to slow down the growth of our country.

Building dams, roads, and hospitals, and creating job opportunity, are a priority to us Ethiopians, which in turns creates more job, and consumer base. That is what President Obama is trying to do in America. That is what EU is trying to do over Europe. For us Ethiopians, the new jobs that is being created by the growth is the root cause of our inflation. There are many people who for the first time are earning wages, and employments, and demanding many consumer products. So the Ethiopian government must address the supply side of our economics, in order to combat inflation. We need better and efficient mode of farming, and animal husbandry, and many more sugar mills, and coffee plantation, as well as modern technology to produce consumer goods. This is the way to address inflation, and not by slowing down our growth.

So my dear Ethiopians, don’t fret about Inflation, it is our growing pain to joining the world fastest developing nations. It is our footprint we are leaving for the betterment of the next generation. We will give up Beef, Coffee, and Sugar, so that the next generation will have access to better life. China did it, Brazil did it, India did it, now it is our turn.

Y Bekele
June 21, 2011