Tekle Haileselassie May 07 2010
In this piece I will try to illuminate the tremendous strides Ethiopia has
taken towards development through the socioeconomic and political programs laid
out by the EPRDF led by its wise and intelligent leader, Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi.
In spite of all the negative hot
air that is blown by the so-called "opposition" to pooh-pooh
Ethiopia's unprecedented progress, the country and its leader are getting the
most favorable press at the court of world opinion.
What, then, motivates the nay-Sayers
to plug their ears and close their eyes so they may not hear or see all that is
good about their country? The short and simple answer is that they do not want
the country to move forward under the leadership of the party and people in
power today.
They are simply bent on wresting power by any means necessary. One of
their tools is propagating bald faced lies. They are not unlike Rush Limbaugh,
the rabid and numb-skull radio talk show host in the United States who, after Barrack
Obama's election to the presidency, said "I hope he fails."! The
leaders of the opposition are former Dergists or cowards we did not hear from
during the Derg years because they were afraid of losing their necks to the
long arms the butcher of Addis Mengistu Hailemariam.
Now that there is so much freedom
of expression they have come out of the woodworks to abuse their newly-found
freedom. One need only see the Ethiopian parliament in action to witness the
hand full good-for-nothing members whose sole reason for existence seems to be
to look for lightening behind each rainbow. But even these idiots aren't able
to resist their instinctive urges to smile and even applause whenever the prime
minister appears to give speeches and to field questions from parliamentarians.
The prime minister's frequent, humorous and pithy remarks are most entertaining
and highly educational.
These occasions are always highly anticipated and not-to-be missed
events. One is tempted to think that Mr. Zenawi should charge tuition for his
virtuoso lectures. Thanks to the availability of satellite television worldwide
those of us in the Diaspora are able to see what is going on in Ethiopia with
our own eyes. We do not need second hand opinions of the doom Sayers and
merchants of gloom to tell us what is going on in the country. These idiots
remind me of Richard Pryor, the American icon of comedy, who, when caught by
his wife in a compromising situation in bed with another woman, swore "honey,
it is not what you think, believe me, I did not do anything-Do you believe me
or you believe your eyes?"
But the self-appointed know-it all at the Voice Of America and the
streets of Washington DC, the Ethiopian equivalents of a segment of American
talking heads a former vice president of the United states called "the
nattering nabobs of negativism", want us to believe the news according to
them instead of making our own judgments based on empirical evidence available
in the media and other more reliable sources. Joining the confederacy of such
dunces are a few of the prime minister's former comrades-in arms in the
struggle to dislodge the people of Ethiopia from the Derg's ever-so-tight jaws.
I am talking about individuals such as Siye Abrha, Aregawi Berhe and Gebru Asrat.
These guys had a falling out with the majority of their party especially
concerning how the conflict with Eritrea ought to be resolved.
I am given to understand that the
general that he was Siye Abrha wanted the party to be led by the military and
that Eritrea should be subdued by military means; whereas Mr. Zenawi along with
the majority of the party believed that the military should stay out of
politics and that civilians should be in charge of setting policy make
decisions regarding what wars the nation should be involved in. Mr. Zenawi and
company are supposed to have favored political and diplomatic means to deal with
the Eritrean situation over military means realizing the adverse consequences
of war which result in the unintended consequences of collateral damage to, and
alienation of, innocent civilians who have no say in what Isayas Afeworki and
his henchmen do in Eritrea.
Meles' calculus was to give
Isayas and his yes-men enough ropes with which to hang themselves eventually.
All indications to date are that this strategy has borne plenty of fruit. The
Eritrean regime is in a shambles, and Eritreans are fleeing their land in
droves to neighboring countries, including Ethiopia. There are plenty of signs
of an impending collapse of the Eritrean government. Perhaps, Ethiopians and
Eritreans will live together will live together harmoniously in the not too
distant future, when the strongman of Macaw and his posse are gotten rid of and
a democratic order takes root in Eritrea.
We might even come to entertain
the notion of Ethio-Eritrean political and economic integration once and for
all! Already there is a cynical movement afoot for the consideration of some
sort of federation/confederation on the part of opposition politicians on both
sides of the border. No doubt Ethiopia has a lot of issues on its plate to deal
with before the nascent democratic order matures. But the "unkindest cuts
of all", to borrow Shakespeare's language, is to learn that Mr. Aregawi
Berhe was quoted as telling a British journalist that the TPLF had, some
twenty-five years ago , diverted funds intended for famine relief.
The falsehood and illogic of this
accusation has been eloquently refuted by the now prime minister, Meles Zenawi
on one of his appearances in the Ethiopian parliament. But let us suppose, for
a second, that the accusation were true. How can food bring back to life
Ethiopians mowed down by the brutal campaign of the Derg's Red Terror? The
principle of medical triage dictates that you first stop the bleeding in order
to save life and limb and then worry about food, shelter or vacation in Hawaii.
If in the darkest days of the Derg-years money was diverted from anywhere else
to buy arms with which to stop the Derg's killing spree, so be it. It is
pathetic to see individuals like Aregawi Berhe and Gebru Asrat and Siye Abrha ,
who have sacrificed so much of themselves for the sake of the Ethiopian people
have now made about face and are spreading falsehoods about the government now
that they are no longer in its inner circle. They are like the proverbial ape
which pointed at those (unreachable) grapes are "sour", hence the
expression "sour grapes"! These individuals who are besmirching the
prime minister character no doubt have skeletons in their own closets and they
should heed to the advice that "those who live in glass houses should not
throw stones".
There is no end to the non-sense
the good-for-nothing opposition blurts spread, including that global warming, deforestation,
lack of roads, shortage of schools, clinics, food , electricity etc are caused by
the government! The truth of the matter is the current government has done
wonders for Ethiopia; and from now on I quote liberally from the internet and
its Wikipedia, and the magazine New African on their coverage of Ethiopian
affairs.
They all attest in one way or another that this government more than any
other in the history of Africa, has done more to plant trees and roll back
desertification throughout the country. What used to be barren land only a few
years ago has now turned green. And there is no more able advocate for Africa
in the campaign against global warming than Meles Zenawi.
The African Union selected him to lead an African Delegation to the
Global Warming Conference on Climate Change at Copenhagen in 2009. He was given
the Green Revolution award and a financial prize of $200,000 by the Norwegian
Yara Foundation in September 2005: ... in recognition of past accomplishments
and encouragement to achieve economic development for the people of
Ethiopia." He donated the entire $200,000 prize to Fre-Addis Ethiopia
Yesetoch Merja Mahber. On 31st of August Mr.Zenawi was appointed chair of the
African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC). In February 2010,
the UN named Meles Zenawi as co-chair of the Advisory Group on Climate Change
Financing along with England's Prime Minister, Mr.-Gordon Brown.
Mr. Zenawi's accomplishments are deep, varied and already legendary. In
its February 2010 issue, the magazine New African, under the title of "A
Rising Giant ", said “...outsiders may have their own perceptions,
sustained by media images of hunger and poverty, but investors are focusing on
Ethiopia's size and record of rapid and sustained growth. The country has
Africa's second biggest population...and five times the land area of the UK, including
extensive waters....Each month the skyline of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa
changes as cranes add new height to scores of office blocks, and hotels and
apartments sprout all over town. Two lane streets mushroom into six lanes and
fill with traffic.
Scarcely a month passes without announcement
new cement and other manufacturing plants or major infrastructure development,
including new electric power stations....Five years of an average double-digit
GDP growth has made Ethiopia Africa's fifth largest economy."It continues
to say that Ethiopia is expected to soon turn "from a country suffering
from crippling power cuts into a major electricity exporter."And according
to a Reuter’s quote of the IMF on March 24, 2010 "the economic outlook for
Ethiopia remains generally favorable with continuing strong growth
expected," Wait, there is more! Again New African says that "Ernest
and Young Ethiopia's managing partner, Zemedneh Negatu, promotes Ethiopia as
Africa's rising giant....he told a US business audience in October (2009) that
Ethiopia's GDP could soar from $70bn to $470bn by 2023,edging past Angola Sudan
to make Ethiopia Africa's third largest economy.
If recent trends continue, such
as attracting large volumes of foreign investment, evolving and adaptive
reforms in the business operating environment and a large investment in
infrastructure, Ethiopia's goal of joining the ranks of middle income emerging market
economies in the next 15-20 years is achievable."At this point I want to
give an honorable mention to Sheik Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi. Outside the
vision laid out by the EPRDF, Sheik Al Amoudi, more than any other individual,
is responsible for concretizing the visions of the government with his considerable
means of money and a kind heart. His creation of industry and employment is
equaled by none.
This man has made it possible for
potential entrepreneurs to visualize their dreams of success in industry as
they see the phenomenal number of successful projects undertaken by him. There
simply is no one else in Ethiopia today who is as equally talented in making
money and giving it away to a myriad of worthy causes as Sheik Al Amoudi!
Ethiopia's development trajectory is made apparent, for example, by the
establishment of the first car and bus factories, in addition to advances in textiles,
leather, garments, agriculture, beverages and construction. Consequently,
Ethiopia has been labeled "The East African land of opportunity “by World
Investment News.
In the area of education, Wikipedia points out that "in 1991 only 27
percent of Ethiopian children attended school, but in 2004 gross enrollment
rate was up to 77% and reached 85% in November 2006...."As of 2005, there
were 13,500 elementary schools 550 secondary schools...More colleges and
universities have been constructed and/or expanded during the last few years than
in the whole history of Ethiopia....In the last decade, more than 30 new
private colleges and universities have been created." And on the social
front, there is a big change in the state of women. "...The Ethiopian
leadership has made significant advances to protect women's rights in recent
years: its first Minister of Women's Affairs and overhauled legislation on rape,
female genital mutilation and other offenses.... And unlike prior governments,
the current government's development focus is heavily geared towards the rural
poor." "As markets get less and less centralized, and farmers become
more sophisticated and better informed the traders are starting to complain
about the market power of the farmers. So, farmers are now better off, and able
to wait and spread their grain sales through the year rather than having to
rush everything to market immediately after harvest. The UN report says that
grain prices in Ethiopia, however much they have risen, however unaffordable
they may be to the urban poor, are still below prices in most neighboring
countries,"
Notwithstanding the rosy economic picture of the country, some say 'man cannot
live by bread alone". What about the state of democracy?"Meles Zenawi
is the first Ethiopian leader in (Ethiopian) history to develop the structure
for multiparty system of governance with a multiparty parliament in
composition."Much nonsense is marketed concerning the ethnic federalism
the EPRDF put in place, but it defends the practice by saying that it was necessarily
"the only solution to the century old oppression under centralist
governments and one ethnic domination of culture, language, politics and
economy controlled by the Amhara ethnic group....Therefore, the policy's aim
was to empower ALL ethnicities and to develop their cultures and languages. Also
it was widely seen as a solution to the demands of governance preferred by the
ethnic based liberation front’s and parties that participated during the July
Convention of Nationalities in 1991." Meles is quoted as saying "the
ethnic basis of Ethiopian democracy stemmed from the government's fight against
poverty and the need for an equitable distribution of the nation's wealth. Peasants
must be enabled to make their own decisions in terms of their own culture.
Power must be devolved to them in ways that they understand, and they
understand ethnicity....Other approaches to development had been hegemonic and
exploitative and had led to an internecine strife and civil war." Meles
further states that there are two basic views about ethnic federalism: "if
you think it is a threat, it will be; if you think it a benefit, then it will be."
He concludes by pointing out that "ethnicity will become less an issue as
the economy grows and Ethiopia's process of (un coerced)
assimilation does its job." "Throughout its operation the government
and the prime minister have advocated 'pro-poor' domestic policies. According
to 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."
African Development Bank and the Paris based OECD Development Center
stated that "Ethiopia has become one of the fastest growing countries in
Africa." People of all faiths have much to celebrate the unprecedented freedom
of worship that exists in the country today. Same may be said about freedom of
speech. Contrary to the sanctimonious propaganda of the opposition lamenting
lack of freedom of expression, they in fact use their new-found freedom to spew
constant streams of venom directed at the government. The fact is "Meles
Zenawi's administration was the first to introduce private free press in
Ethiopia. As of 2009 there are 56 radio stations that are owned and operated by
regional governments, community organizations, and private companies. The
government has issued licenses for seven regional states' television
transmission agencies, but there are still no private broadcasts in the
country." As far as the use of languages is concerned, it should be noted that
"most Ethiopians are taught in their mother tongue in primary schools and
they are encouraged to develop their own language." Going back to the
government's emphasis on developing the rural sector it must be pointed out
that the overwhelming majority of the population, 85%, lives on working the
land. Ethiopia recently became Africa's second largest flower exporter, after Kenya,
with its export earnings growing by 500% over the past year....Wildlife conservation
has been an important concern of Meles Zenawi. "World Wildlife Fund
praised Ethiopian government's progress by saying "Ethiopia has set a fine
example for the other countries to emulate," and World Investment News
calls Ethiopia "East African and of opportunity."
Ethiopia's enviable progress would not have been possible were it not
for the able leadership of Meles Zenawi. This man's promising future was clear
as early as when he enrolled at the General Wingate High School for gifted
students from which he graduated with the highest honors possible. He was given
The Haileselassie I Prize Trust by Emperor Haileselassie. He then went on to
enroll at the Addis Ababa University's medical college where he stayed for two
years after which he chucked a lucrative future as a doctor for a hard life as
a liberation fighter that lasted for at least 15 years! After his victory over
the Derg he became prime minister.
Undaunted by the innumerable challenges of managing a most complicated
society, he managed to continue his education, and got his MBA degree from the
Open University of the United Kingdom in 1995 and a Master of Science degree in
economics from Erasmus University of the Netherlands in 2004. “Some university
professors and renowned college administrators have stated that Meles Zenawi
was a very smart and gifted student. At a public speech in George Washington
University (in the USA), the vice chancellor of Open University said 'president
Meles Zenawi was a brilliant student who achieved distinctions in every course
he took.' In JULY 2002, Meles has also received honorary doctoral degree in
political science from Hannam University of South Korea. Meles has represented
Africa in several international forums and summits. Diplomats say he is one of
the most intelligent, sharp and eloquent leaders in the continent.
A Somali analyst
who underlined Meles Zenawi's political, military and diplomatic maneuvering in
the Horn of Africa called Meles the greatest strategist of the 21st century in
Africa' Learning all this about Mr.Zenawi one is forced to lament by borrowing
an epigraph by Jonathan Swift, which goes: " When a true genius appears in
the world, you know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy
against him." This is similar to the one in the Bible:"But Jesus said
to them: a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household"-Mathew
13:57