As we all know the Ethiopian government and Ethiopian people are deeply engaged in the Transformation and Growth Plan. The plan calls for Ethiopia to be self sufficient in food with the Industry sector playing a leading role in the economy and surpassing the serv
ice sector by the end of the next five years.
As Prime Minister Meles pointed out in his latest Q&A session with Parliament, all Ethiopian Foreign Mission’s primarily role is to seek investors and promote investment.
The Diaspora Ethiopian community is huge in number and can play critical role in the Growth and Transformation plan. The government seems to have realized the potential the Diaspora community has in contributing to the Growth and Transformation plan. Foreign Minister Hailemariam Desalegn met Diaspora vacationers and investors in Addis Ababa recently and explained his government plan to engage the Diaspora. The question we have for you is what can Embassies around the world do to help facilitate so you could be an active contributor to the development of Ethiopia. What do you think their role should be to engage us in the Diaspora to make Ethiopia self sufficient in food as well as to develop the industry sector… Have Your Say!
@Tassew
It’s not exactly the same as Ethiopia, but it’s very close. If you look at the cantons closely, you would find all the cantons with the same language are in the same region . The region would be like Ethiopia’s KILLEL, and the Cantons will be like Ethiopia’s zones. The French Cantons are in one region, the German Cantons are in one region, and so on. Most – 80% – of the cantons are not of mixed languages. Of course like you said, people with different ethnic backgrounds can live in different cantons/zones just like Ethiopia, but the official language of the cantons is the predominant language spoken within the canton. Only about 20% of the cantons are of mixed languages of 2 or 3 languages, which are called half-cantons as they are of mixed languages. The half cantons are like our Debub Killel, where various languages are used for local administrations within a zone.
The only real difference between Ethiopia’s and Switzerland’s system is, in Switzerland’s case, the cantons/zones with the same language are not officially structured and put under one administrative linguistic region like Ethiopia’s Killel, though they are within same regions. Each Canton/Zone independently governs its canton/zone under a confederation system.
It is kind of odd GTP can transform ethiopia but there needs to be a third woyane revolution to remove some of the demogags that captivated the country and the regions from transforming utilizing the new breed and new generation. Long live woyane but enough is enough, most of them need to retire and allow the new generation to take over. Then you will have a real GTP with the rightful stake holders.
GROWTH. , TRANSFOMATION. And the DAISPORA !!!!!
Given ,the. TRADE defict and budget deficit of the country .It is absolutely essential to ENGAGE with DAISPORA for REMETTANCE. HARD cureencyu.
Can imagine the import is $9 BILLION. – the EXPORT IS. $2. BILLION. THE trade deficit is just ASTRONOMICAL .WE NEED a new policy to BOOST the REMETTANCE HARD CU.R RENCCY.
Yes the primary role has to be that. But are they? Please let us know about their role in doing that in the most imprtant possible investor originating countries and their capacities to do so. That is what we would like our embasies doing and give us information (tangilbe ) with what they have so far done,their future plans including the problems they encountered with how they plan to solve that. What I do not like to hear is a piece of information without evidence, Thanks
dear Aiga,
Thank you for erasing my comments because it teaches me that truth is not wanted to appear against your cronies and you have to delet it whan it appear in the web.
I have got two question to start first which diaspora are you talking about? secondly when your cronies need foreign exchange you twiddle to invite for it when people ask for their Godly given rights you bark that there is human rights in the country.
To enter to you have your say topic i will see it into different ways because i feel something is stinking between the lines.
Anyone living outside of Ethiopia belong to two catagories of groups namely those that flees slavery of TPLF (physical and mental) and others that need a better life in their future years. Among those who want to live a better life it is clear that if some incentives are put inline they are tempted to invest in the country but those that need their freedome from the tyrant need first and foremost their freedom and the other comes inline without any propagating ideas or invitation.
Then you have asked the participation of the diaspora to achieve the five year plan for transformation but first you ask one basic question where Ethiopians are called for discussion in distinct catagory (those that wine and dine with TPLF and other left out by embassies abroad) there is not such a thing what we call “sbaay fotiyene chihmen tseliyen”.
Let the government respect its hand written constitution and all Ethiopians are for Ethiopia unless and otherwise forget it.
first of all you might not post this comment, if you i keep writing hoping that you will post it.
eprdf has been working very good in some parts such as building roads and dams, other than i do not see much change.mind you we are still poorest country and dependent of aid for our people let alone the budget.
so it is not doubt that we all want to see transformed Ethiopia even you call extremist. the problem is freedom freedom , unless you give freedom and democracy to people all the transformation will be void in people mind.
deep down we know that the country has been controlled by eprdf. just look at Ethiopia tv propaganda and people immigrate to arba counties and recently to Sudan. so please don’t fool yourself let change for once and for all, adivce you eprdf to changed , it doesn’t work anymore as you see in egypt and tunisa …are we missing something
@taswe
Allowing people to immigrate legally to higher income countries to get jobs is good policy. It helps the person and his/her family improve their lives and thus Ethiopia as well.
Ethiopia is not the poorest country as you claimed. When Mengistu got deposed, Ethiopia was the poorest country, not any more. Ethiopia as of last year has moved up 11 spots, since the Mengistu days, and keeps going up every year.
Hi Aiga,
In order to involve the Diaspora in materializing the GTP, Embassies can do the following:
1. Create a member driven Association of GTP (GTP US, GTP Canada, GTP UK, GTP Sweden, etc.) with Golden Membership annual dues of $10,000; Silver Membership dues of $1,000; and Bronze Membership dues of $100. Though the exact number of Ethiopians living abroad is not certain, I believe there is at least 1,000,000 (one million) of us living in America, Europe, Middle East, etc. Since the first year is coming to an end, if for the following four years only 0.5% of one million individuals give $10,000 (ten thousand dollars) a year; 5% give $1,000 (one thousand dollars) a year; and if 10% give $100 (one hundred dollars) a year, we will have given a total of $110,000,000 (one hundred and ten million dollars) every year and a grand total of $440,000,000 (four hundred forty million dollars). How about that?
2. Create an expertise bank and compile names and addresses of volunteers who will contribute their expertise for two weeks annually. Even if only one percent of the one million individuals (10,000 persons) volunteer their time two weeks for the four years, at the end of the four years we will have given 800,000 hours of expertise.
Embassy staffs need to work their way to isolate the few extremist who are confusing the Ethiopian diaspora from the innocent Ethiopian community.
It is a struggle so you need to continue the struggle farther. You only defeate Dergists, EPRPists… & sent them here & you forget to work with us here in the diaspora as used to be! Then we will do as usual.
my friend weldai, believe it or not, you have worse enemy than a dead Derg or Dergist to worry about. the reality is, it is not the Dergist that are spreading the worst imaginable negative propaganda against the positive development that is taking place in ethiopia. it is the very people you mingle with in the name of ethnicity, it is the Amiches, the eritreans to be specific. Do you know how many years I personally was deceived not to go and see the change that is taking place in ethiopia? because I was told by your Amiche friends I could not travel one inch outside Addis cos there is so much ethnic tension…to those of you who live in London, I am talking from daily personal experience, it is Amiches whom you play pool with in Blue nile cafe who behind your back spread ant-ethiopian propaganda… Identify your enemy instead of barking at the wrong tree.. I know aiga doesn’t like such truth but, I can’t help feeling responsible about saying some thing about it…
Thank you for giving me a platform to say what bothers me the most. We all are Ethio-Americans, or Ethiopians. It is my honest assumption that we all like Ethiopia to succeed economically regardless of very antagonistic political convictions that we all may be tied to. Well the current regime has put out a very bold plan (GTP). And, the regime is creeping to tap the Diasporas wealth. As most of you already know it that we the diasporas generated more than 3 fold of what the COFFEE brought in to the regime’s coffer in 2010. That all go well with most of us, I guess. And, we expect the govt to listen to us and respond accordingly. The first & the most the embassies must be open and accessible to everybody without favoritism. It is very important to remind Aigaforum it self to review its postings in r/n to Ethiopian Embassies. As I am Aiga’s everyday site viewer, I was stunned by the postings like “ H.E. Dr. Tekeda meets with the Ethiopian Community in New York ’’. That was not true at all. His Excellency Dr. Tekeda probably met covertly with few cronies in a very and highly undisclosed location. So, please don’t misinform us. If you were honest you would not post s/thing you did not publicly announce before hand. If you really need our perspective about GTP, just try to reach us all not just very few. We are far too many and far too important than those cronies.
You know what amazed me most about the Diaspora:
The office of the Foreign Ministry arranged a meeting with them (the diaspora) by way of inroducing the 5 year Plan and Transformation program. These selfish people, instead of expressing their contribution to this grand program, consumed the time talking about
how they can get land for construction
why the gov. does not let them bring in cars free of tax
and a number of other private concerns.
Ay diaspora.
To: Henok: February 17, 2011 at 11:55 am
What is wrong asking legitimate questions?
How one can invest unless the necessities for investments are not met?
It is becoming easier & cheaper to invest in well developed western and other rich countries than in Ethiopia. Why?
Why the government evict the people from their residences without their consent?
Why not give alternatives for those who resides to invest, improve or transfer to get better benefits?
Is the country good enough for foreign investors only?
How is it possible if you can not afford to rent or a place to live or transportation to properly function?
There are many questions that need to be addressed.
No body would hate to see our country come out of poverity. The trouble is members of Eprdf, back home work to the best of their ability. However, most members of the police force, even Federal ones from the rank and file , trafic polices, custom officers , former so called enginers, most of the bureaucracts are corrubted beyond our imagination. I was back home for holiday and that is what I have observed.
Come to the diaspora, how can you ever blame them all for not paricipating in the development activities before the govrnment try to approach them in a more subtle way. If you call them names, they call you names too and tell you exactly what they saw back home. The magnitude of corruption is exteremly high so the diaspora is so scared not to emerse in that den and loose his or her hard earned money in the process. We need guaranty from the prime minister, Meles that we have enough protection. Sorry but I saw diasporas crying their eyes out through because of lack of accountability from some authorities. My suggestion is that Let the prime minister himself lead strong deligation in major parts of Europe and America. If we keep talking about embassies, we not going to go any where. They have limited resources intermes of man power, budget, experties and most of all confidence. If we want to see GTP to succeed, The government definitely need to engage with the diaspora regardels of his back ground. Let the government spend one or two months to plan as to how best to engage with the diaspora at large and not with the usual suspect only. With all this issues and more to deal, the government need to exploit the diasporas experties, money, energy, knowledge, communication skills e.t.c . Remember eprdf has only 5,000,000 members and our population is around 80,000,000. I am afraid, we need to engage all opposition at home and the diaspora inorder to meet GTP. How about the call for national consensus with all opposition groups home and abroad. This is my take on the issue of GTP.
” ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY” my country men and women- I don’t mean it but you have selective memory- Just remind yourself this famous speech by President JFK of the United States. To be honest with you it means a lot to me and I keep it dearly closely to my heart. You can argue and agree or disagree on anything – we live in post modernist society – so at the end of the day get closer to the point – commonsense prevails – if you can do if not shut up KABOOT ! too much talk – too much conspiracy – too much misinformation – dis information enough is enough draw the line on the sand and be be practical or rational mind.
You’ve a dictator that threatens merchants to cut their fingers. How is it
possible to participate in the development? I know I’m wasting my time
posing such a question to the AIGAs.
“Better late than never” they say. Too bust recently. For the success of the GTP, the implementers of the policy instruments need to pay serious attention to the three core macroeconomic policy success indicators.
* Sustainable economics growth (measured by real GDP or real GDP per capita)
* Price stabilization (tame inflation)
* Promote employment (expand the middle income)
Unless the three macroeconomic factors are pursued in unison, the long-term success of the GTP and economic growth in Ethiopia will be in doubt. This should be the realization of not only the government and its bodies but also the business community. Simply put, a country cannot grow by “killing the geese that lay the golden eggs”, which is expansion of the middle income. When crisis hits the west with the strong middle income, it bounces back on the shoulder of the strong base of the middle income. The government agents and the business community won’t lead to sustainable economic growth by killing the expansion of the middle income. The ensuing inflationary pressure is shrinking the middle income. Both the government agents and the business community need to work towards the long-term goal of sustainable growth.
The key in implementing the GTP goals lies in having skilled and trained manpower. Skilled manpower and entrepreneurship are the corners stones of economic growth. I think Ethiopia lacks them in a number of fronts. The Diaspora provides ample resources in that front.
However, there is too much politics in literally everything. There is a confusion between working for the government and working for Ethiopia at large. The Ethiopia embassies around the world need to build a bridge and end the impasse. And the government desperately needs skilled manpower to effect this. Political appointees do not necessarily have the skills that tough times require.
Attracting investment, be that from diaspora and foreigners, require a skilled salesmanship. I know that the government cannot export the skilled salesmen to man all the embassies around the world. They may be needed more in the home front. However, the government can send few and/or hire part-time workers from among the qualified diaspora. Of course, that works if the taboo ends and the bridge is built between the Diaspora and the Ethiopia embassies. Difficult it may sound but possible with keen intent and determination. And by putting less politics in everything that rotates around the economy. Both the government agents and the Diaspora vocals need to minimize politicizing every economic venture.
Dear Diaspora,
I’m eagerly trying to learn from the responses to Aiga’s very interesting question. Unfortunately, I read demands and conditions. There is no perfect government including the American. Ummmm, they are like us–imperfect. We cannot afford to hold back strategies to materialize the GTP when our country and our government call on us. If we wait for a perfect situation, we may die without making a difference. Besides, isn’t it great to have a visionary leader who has set clear achievable goals and a road map?
Dear Aiga,
It will be nice if you would have someone outline some of the suggested strategies and post a short document that guides us on how all can participate.
Most of all, it will be great if you would post our government’s suggestions of how we can do our share.
Thank you.
I am posting from addis ababa. I have been visiting for 2 months now. I was one of those Ill informed diaspora before. If you truly care to know what truly is going around this country you will all be shocked. This country is developing and growing crazy. Many people tell me a big change was coming since 2005 and it is going..
Before you condemn this government and system please visit and see it yourself. The only concern I have is in the so called oroomia. The so called intellectuals are breeding in peoples mind less of the Ethiopian identity. In the remaining part of the country the national feeling and dream is very strong
Have a good one, ciao