Ask PM Hailemariam Desalegn!

The government of Ethiopia is trying its best to accommodate the Diaspora Ethiopians in the development of the country even though some say the government PM-Hailemariam is not doing enough to reach the millions of Diaspora! As you know the government will be meeting with Diapsora Ethiopians this coming August starting from Aug 10 to 17. Those of you going to the event in person will have a chance to ask PM Hailemaraim in person but those of you unable to attend for many reasons can leave your questions here. The questions will be summarized and prepared for PM Hailemariam to answer by government officials. Use this chance to ask relevant and important questions so you are better informed about Ethiopia and the Prime Minister’s Government commitment to lead Ethiopia to become middle income country!

131 thoughts on “Ask PM Hailemariam Desalegn!

  1. Dear Aigaforum,
    Thank you for being the voice for the voiceless in Diaspora. I have few questions and I hope the PM will address at least one of them.

    1. PM Hailemariam first congratulation on a successful election. Your party has won convincingly but do you think the huge win was a win because EPRDF is doing great or the Opposition was weak and fragmented?

    2. As you are aware the Diaspora community is very much politicized. Regardless of the reasons why it is so much politicized what is your government plan to accomodate most if not all? I am asking this because many like me believe the effort from your government is not visible on this front.

    3. PM Hailemariam The Diaspora Policy is drafted and sanctioned now. What are the mechanism in place to follow it up and to evaluate if it is working as intended.

    4. PM Hailemariam, EPRDF is a front organizations. Except for the TPLF all others member organizations are weak in reaching out the Diaspora community from their respected regions/Kilils. As EPRDF chairman do you see the need for the member organization doubling their effort? If not How would you best organize the Diaspora to become a meaningful participant in the development of the country.

    5. PM Hailemariam, PM Meles died without seeing all Ethiopians eating three meals a day and the Eritrean issues unresolved. When do you think both issues will be resolved satisfactorily?

    Thank you for giving me this chance.
    Aigaforum Contributor, USA

    • Thank you for giving this opportunity. I would like to ask a question regarding Ethiopians who have Eritrean origin that they have been waiting for Ethiopian government to issue a decree regarding their Ethiopian nationality. There are people who grown up in Ethiopia and had nothing to do with Eritrea, they haven’t participated in the Eritrean referendum. We need clear Ethiopian policy regarding this issue, for example, I live in Europe and want to get Ethiopia origin id card. Second issue, to make things worst the foreign office issued new paper work for Eritreans to travel to Ethiopia. This hasn’t applied for any other nationalities except Eritreans. What is the Ethiopian government position on Eritreans. How the government can differentiate Eritrean people from Shabia. thanks

      • There is no such thing called Ethiopian of eritrean origin. Make peace with your new found
        (30 years war resulted) nationality. Where were you when shabia was fighting for you? If there is any remote chance for you to get Ethiopian nationality will be to buckle up and wage war with your fellow eritrean brothers and free the land and bring it to us “Show me the money”, then you can have the sweet nationality you want. Ethiopia is not going to be gamed by ascaris anymore. We know Eritrean origin Ethiopia is esayas back door entrance to Ethiopia. By the way let me ask you, is there anything called Ethiopian origin Eritrean?

        • I mean an Eritrean origin of Ethiopia? Is that your Presidente, Laughable terms. We are not America, Austeralia, South Africa where settlers created a nation. Keep your jokes to yourself.

          • Gidey, have read the title? It says, “ask PM Hailemariam Desalegn.” The individual is asking PM Hailemariam Desalegn not you. Don’t reflect your hate against people who are and want to be an Ethiopian. I, personally, will be glad if they ask him that question because I know a lot of Ethiopian who have Eritrean origin.

  2. Dear PM,

    1. Will you create a special office that will recruit and hire talented diaspora Ethiopians from all field to return and work in Ethiopia. Many Asian tiger countries success comes from their effective interaction with their diaspora communities.
    2. Now that the manufacturing hub initiative is in full swing I know there are many Ethiopians working in western manufacturing sectir with high technology companies, what effort is there to add such folks to the workers pool so the Chinese and other companies have easy initial setup cost?

    Than you

  3. I Like The idea to see The PM and the filling or doubt that Diaspora has to ask

    Although being able to be honest with

    everyone else

    • Dear Hadera,
      Don’t try to undo the noose, PFDJ is falling due to own miscalculations. What is needed is to further tighten the noose. For sure,It will buckle sooner than you think. Isolate, contain and let it vegetate!

  4. Your excellency pm hailmariam my name is Yonatan I reside in Washington, D.C. My question for you is are u still praying like you used to or u busy?by the way I admire you very much

  5. Thank you Aigaforum for giving us the chance to post our comments.

    EPRDF should govern the country with confidence not with fear. It should allow and take criticism and genuine feed back from the people. Ethiopians wishing democratic rule and economic progress for their country should be encouraged not discouraged or punished. Considering the present political scenarios, EPRDF as a ruling party and its government will be helped if it loosens it dictatorial methods, than stay the course of manipulating the Ethiopian people including the international communities, with evident tricks. If it loosens its reins the doomsday scenario predicted by many, might be changed to another reality of prosperous,united and stronger Ethiopia .

    The government should start with a promises that, almost all Ethiopian opposition fingers, journalists and bloggers are genuine Ethiopians who equally have good wishes and definitely also concern for a better Ethiopia. For the sake of uniting all Ethiopians, a superb moment would be, if the government releases all opposition political prisoners, bloggers , journalist and activist with out any condition. At the same time, pardon and invite all armed groups without any precondition. Inviting all political opposition forces including the ones who claim to struggle with arms, for peaceful genuine, and accommodated political participation will eliminate the interference of Shabia.

    Some within the government will think that this kind of move will weaken EPRDF and eventually will end its rule. On the contrary, the government being in absolute control at this time, will have to take such drastic peaceful gesture to embolden its legitimacy and deal with future challenges.

    If the government really wishes for the country to take a leap in development, and convert to a future democratic path, the next five years will be its last chance. If it changes course Its Image in the eyes of the Ethiopian people, foreign government, and all human right groups will be enhanced, resulting a cascade of good events happening for the country at the same time.

    The western countries including the US and their companies will flood the economy with FDI, tourists will flow in millions, Ethiopians in Diaspora will come back home unreserved bringing their skills and foreign earned money, countries like China, India, Turkey, south Korea, Japan etc. will invest fast and competitively with fear of loosing foothold, more WB, IMF credit and grant money will flow helping fast forwarding the started development projects and start new ones to create jobs for the restless youth.

    Mr. Prime minister
    Will your government commit to the things I mentioned in my comment above?

  6. Please PM HD make a peace with Eritrean ppl and Government for the sake of both countries.sometimes to make peace you have to extra miles. I hope you understand what I mean.
    Thank you sir.

  7. Pm hailmariam thanks for the work u do but what really frustrated me the level of corruption going on in the country recently a good friend of mine got back from Ethiopia he told that”every we’re he go to taking care of business authorities need something “did your government know this?when are we going to tackle corruption from the bottom up like poverty?thank you and God bless Ethiopia

  8. Congratulations on your election win. Here is my question.
    a) When are going to take action to show Shaebia and its messangers? Are you waiting until they invade Ethiopia again like the past? Ethiopia will not live in peace with Isayas at the helm.
    b) The Embassy staff in Canada is weak and in efficient. It is very difficult to get any information and it is also very difficult to speak to anyone.
    c) How can we open an account in Ethiopia from diaspora?

  9. First I want to thank Aigaforum for all the efforts of being ear and eye of the broad-mass of Ethiopians truly and timely.
    My question to the prime minister is what is the government doing to convince the campagn waged against Ethiopia by the Human rights,Amnsti international,Freedom house…which they hear and believe the toxic diaspora and DERG remenants.
    I know they are making bussiness by simply fabricating evil acts and lies.
    Is thre any way the government of Ethiopia invite all the evil organizations withe the presence of the United Nations to see or investigate ?
    Thank you
    Kahsay H.A
    Thank you.

  10. PM of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegne
    Few months ago your office guaranteed for the safe return of Ermias Amelga of Access Capitals with a promise to resolve (within one year) the fallout between Access Real Estate and hundreds of diasporas who gave away their hard earned savings to buy a house in their birth place Ethiopia. Most of these people have bought Bonds for GERD and have supported your party for the last two decades.
    Few months have passed by and the diaspora community haven’t heard anything but the usual hopeless…
    Is the committee set up by your office following up on this?
    Will the diasporas get their investment back or they will hear another hopeless promise on the eve of the one year deadline?

  11. PM Hailemariam,
    Since 1991, except for the brief interruption in 1998-2000, Ethiopia is registering a remarkable growth. However recently there are some uncomfortable news in the media that there might be a second round war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Although I do not have any doubt Ethiopia will win, this is sad news for me because for four reasons. First when you start a war it is difficult to end it. Second it will divert our resources, third it costs human life and fourth it may have unintended consequences. Hence:
    1. What do you think should be done to avoid this impending war at any cost?
    2. Ethiopia has done a good job with containing Isaias. But there are some people who believe that such action was not supported by an initiative to reconcile with Eritrea. As a result it made Isaias hopeless and put him in the mindset that he does not have anything to lose if a war starts. What do you say to such criticism?
    Thank you

  12. Thank you Mr. Prime minister! My question to you is prime minister yes our country is going in the right direction but corruption is every corner and is growing every day so do you have any plan to reduce corruption in the comming years? Also what is your government plan to avoid the shortages of water in Mekela Tigray. Thanks

  13. First of all, I would like to thank and appreciate aigaforum for accommodating this kind of platform so that we are able to forward our concerns.

    Your excellency PM Hailemariam ,let me first congratulate you on your amazing election victory over the opposition.

    Mr PM, as you know ever since the Ethio/Eritrea war broke out, the Shaebia regime has been doing everything it possibly could, to bring your regime to an end. One of its tactics famously used is to train and arm all kinds of so called opposition and allow them to use Eritrea as their launching ground.
    1/ I wonder why your government wouldn’t reciprocate the same way by training and arming the Eritreans to fight back for their Freedom?
    2/ Does all the suffering and oppression that our Eritrean people going through everyday mean anything to you at all?
    3/ If so, what is the problem for doing so when you country is accommodating close to half of a million Eritreans that fled the most disgusting and oppressive regime?
    Honestly speaking, your excellency we in the Eritrean community feel very much betrayed by our cousins (the Ethiopian people/government) for not being there for us through all these dark years when we need you most.
    Thank you for your time.

  14. I first appreciate you and your government for the job are to extricate our fellow citizens from deep rooted poverty and maintaining peace and security. Ethiopia is rising and keep the great work you are doing. I know the forum is to attract the diaspora to contribute to Ethiopian development that is well and good and I like to propose also the reverse migration of Ethiopian youth to seek knowledge.

    The expansion of higher education is phenomenal and I would like to applaud the far sighted courageous achievement of educating Ethiopian youths by your government Noted the need of advanced studies of these universities, please encourage the young graduates of these schools to pursue their studies to US and European higher learning to further their education. There should be a concerted effort by the higher education schools or government agency help the young and the bright to join western higher learning institutions specially science and engineering after their graduation.

    The reason is that this next step of technology transfer for the country to grow is when if not all, some of these young people return after study abroad. This is exactly what happened in India and China. Ethiopia will grow and will industrialize but to reach to ultimatum of high tech industrialization we need western education and this is one of the avenue to get highly skilled professionals for technology transfer.

    Thank you

  15. Thanking for arranging this channel,
    H.E PM Hailemariam Desalegn
    Qn.1 Do you think the current diaspora policy delivered the intended purpose? It’s outreach and timely addressing issues, ease of communication and follow-up.
    Qn. 2 how about celebrating diaspora day abroad, I believe this may facilitate and enhances our participation and will create much stronger bond among the communities
    Qn. 3 process of getting various services at an Ethiopian embassy is cumbersome and somehow out dated, do you think automating/ online services would reduce the processing time and encourage the diaspora to actively involved in the country’s development endeavors, I believe lack of information and access point hinders the diasporas in seeking information and
    informed individuals has a higher involvement.
    I would suggest the diaspora directorate office should have a dedicated office that provide reliable and up to date information, this can be facilitated through email listings, or dedicated hotline.

    Thanks again Estifanos from Boston

  16. Am proud for our government achievement on economic growth.My first question is why the government have a welfare program for elders and poor people specially for urban population? It always annoys me when coming to visit my family and home. My second question is for you is when i came for visit the infrastructure construction like roads,dams takes a long time.For example ,the road construction in a capital Asko to Piassa. My third question is at time late prime minister people who was in jail got mercy but not your time.Why?
    Alexandria,Virginia
    A

  17. 1. I just lost a sibling from a car accident in Addis. I was told the other driver was intoxicated. Is there a record of how many people are dying from a car accident in Addis Ababa or Ethiopia to that matter If there is, what is the government doing to minimize the loss of life from car accidents in the capital? It is affecting the life of families everyday and it looks like not enough steps are being taken by the authorities to curve this tragedy. We can’t just blame drivers for every accident. Penalties should be increased by ten fold for drivers that breaks established traffic rules. Repeat offenders should be suspended from driving before they take the life of someone’s mother, brother, Sister or father. Prime minister, I think this is a major issue and should be given a high priority by your government. After all we do not want our capital to be known as the capital with the highest car accident in Africa or the world.

  18. Dear Prime Minister,
    First of all, I would like to thank you for giving us this opportunity.My questions are below.
    Q1. Why are Ethiopians in Diaspora not allowed dual citizenship but Eritreans have/can get easily a resident and/or an Ethiopian passport? How does Ethiopian immigration process work to identify the real Ethiopians. Does the Ethiopian gov’t has any plan to give any unique number to each Ethiopian?Wouldn’t you think it is important to have proper identification for security and social benefit of Ethiopians.
    Q2. Recently, I read in the news that you were threatening Eritrea.Wouldn’t be an expensive to go to war? Wouldn’t be easier to protect our border than waging war? Can’t we use that money for development of our country than free other country which we will have no guarantee that the next gov’t of Eritrea will fullfill the interest of Ethiopia.
    Q3. When will Ethiopian government sweep all aid organizations out of the country and encourage foreign investors who will create job and pay taxes?
    Q4. Why can’t the Ethiopian gov’t hire highly talented Ethiopians from diaspora instead of hiring foreigners with the same salary you are hiring the ferenjis?
    Q5. Why does the Ethiopian gov’t has foreign divisors in its domestic and foreign policies? Aren’t Ethiopians talented enough to govern their country ?
    Q6. What it is the stand of Ethiopian government on use of genetically modified food/crops? Can Ethiopian gov’t encourage the invention of organic fertilizers than using those toxic fertilizers which might have a long term effect on the health of our population?
    Thank you!

  19. Thank You Aiga Forum For This Opportunity.
    1) እንደሚታወቀው በውጭ የምንኖር ኢትዮጵያውያን በየኣመቱ በቢልዮኖች የሚቆጠር የውጭ ምንዛሬ ከውጭ ንግድ (export) በበለጠ ለኣገሪቱ ኢኮኖሚ እናበረክታለ። ግን ዳያስፖራውን የሚያበራታቱ እንደ ዘመናዊ መንደር የመሳሰሉን ቦታ ደግሞ ከመንግስት ቢበረከትለት ድርሻው የበለጠ ያድግ ነበር። በመንግስት በኩል ይህንን ግምት ውስጥ ያስገባ የታሰበ ነገር አለን?
    እናመሰግናለን።

  20. Dear Mr.PM
    First I would like to congradulate you on your party’s win and on the successful hosting the world economic forum
    1.I am told that Djibouti has been eager to join with Ethiopia but the Ethiopian Government has resisted ? I am not sure if this is true but what is the possibility this happening ?and why is not Ethiopia not trying hard?. I read a report few years ago about economic growth without port is very difficult
    2. why cant Ethiopia allow second citizenship ?I think it would have been incentive to many diaspora to be involve in the country development
    3.Why aren’t you very successful in fighting corruption?
    4.What grade would give your self leading Ethiopia in the footstep of the most incredible man that ever lead Ethiopia?
    I am one of your admirer
    Thank you and good luck
    gw

  21. Dear H .E PM Hailemariam Desalegn,
    I wish you good health and long live. You are doing great job as PM. Keep it up and finish what is not finished. Ethiopian people living near the border with Eritrea are suffering and are being killed by the dictator in Eritrea. Which country is supporting the one man regime and putting pressure on us not remove him from power?

  22. My question to PM Hilemariam Desaleg is that, why is it expensive to import vehicle for personal use? Would it be easy to require newer model and condition?

  23. My question to the Ethiopian Minister would be:

    1. Why does not the EPRDF government try to reach out to the opposition parties in Ethiopia that are patriotic on national matters and are hate free in terms of their political approaches, but have different ideologies in their party programs? Do not you think such embankment will make EPRDF magnanimous, and set a new precedent in the country’s politics?

    2. Some say EPRDF is out maneuvered and outfoxed by the voiceforious voice the hostile part of the diaspora make. It is clear HGDF/Shabia and some of its tools are working hard in unity against Ethiopia. What are some of the public relation approaches EPRDF ought to take to show the true image of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the outside world including the diaspora?

    3. Shabia/HGDF’s hostile policy towards Ethiopia has not abated. We hear Ethiopian civilians are being abducted and taken into Eritrea. We also hear and read from HGDF/Shabia funded media terror groups that are based in Eritrea, funded, trained, supported by Eritrea have killed Ethiopians and burn properties. Do you believe the NO-WAR, NO-PEACE policy is serving Ethiopian interest at this time? EPRDF uses the “TEMETATAGN” word in describing the retaliatory action Ethiopia takes against HGDF led Eritrea. What exactly is “Temetatagn,” is there one policy that remains effective indeterminately?

    4. Some of the enemy collaborator Ethiopian nationals in the diaspora come to Ethiopia and own properties. Yet, they take part in harmful acts against the republic. Do you have mechanisms to identify such persons?

    AbelXYZ

  24. Thank you Aiga Forum.

    Dear PM;

    I have never lived in South Omo; but on December 27, 2004 E.C; I heard on the Ethiopian police TV news that a brave man named Mazengia Gizaw, was killed in Awassa while he was fighting corruption. My question is:
    1) As a government, what do you do to his kids when such a hero dies fighting corruption? I am asking this; because if a government does not appropriately handle such sensitive cases it may encourage or discourage people from fighting corruption. It also shows whether the government is weakly or strongly fighting corruption.
    2) Do you support erecting a living monument is worthy for this hero as a lesson for this generation and the generations to come? This is not my question only; it is the question of millions of people. This is not a case of an individual; it is the reflection of the system in the entire nation. We really need a genuine response from the government concerning this issue.

    Thank you

  25. Q1. I dont have any other question than why your government is passive when it comes to shabia? Ofcourse, all of us do not want war, but shabia has repeatedly proved dangerous to your government, and to Ethiopia. We know that whether you hand over Badme (as is) to shabia or not, shabia wont stop its obsession with Ethiopia. For how long shall the people of Ethiopia, and particularly of the people of Tigrai, being the border people with shabia, live in such state ?
    Thank you
    Daniel from Adeliade, Australia

  26. Dear Prime Minster,
    It’s an open secret that Ethiopia has gone a long way to press freedom. Often Ethiopian officials pride how they brought democracy in the country. However, after 24 years there is no a single private Television station in the country. If you administration claims that Ethiopia is democratic country, why is so hard to have free TV station?

    Thank you
    Khalid

  27. Dear PM Haliemariam Dessalgne

    My question is regarding food security in Ethiopia.
    There is an acute shortage of basic food items such as bread, cooking oil, sugar, Engera, pasta, mekoroni peas and beans (to make shuro wet) etc. the government is trying to use some kind of price control, but the basic problem is shortage of supply.
    The main source of inflation in the country is shortage of food items. What is the government doing to alivate this problem permanently? As we hear from media reports Ethiopian land is leased for foreign companies who produce crops and ship it to their countries. How come these foreign companies are not asked to sell a portion of their production to the local market? Russia, for example, has required South Korean agricultural investors in Russia to sell 66% of their production for the Russian market. Why doesn’t the government encourage Ethiopian agricultural investors who produce and sell agricultural crops for the domestic market? It is hard to imagine a country like Ethiopia growing by double digit is suffering from acute food shortage.

    Thank you,
    Tedi Abegaz
    Alberta, Canada

  28. Dear PM,
    First and foremost I would like to congradulate you on your party’s landslide victory and on the successful hosting of the world economic forum in Addis ababa,ethiopia
    , your government knows ethiopian tradition of grace and forgiveness, used these tradition to forgive the oppostion and journalist many times,in humanitarian gesture,
    My question is,why is that Ur gov,and the pardon board exclude the diaspora ethiopian,most of them they are getting old, sick, desprate and thier wrong deed is Old,
    Many governmnets around the world uses these pardon system wisely for diaspora community,why is that Ur gov, not giving the attention of doing so,
    Thank You
    Sincerly urs
    Addis

    Thank you in advance, (wish you 2 B the next PM again)

  29. Thanks Aiga for the opportunity.
    I’m asking why the government of Ethiopia is not supporting as much as Eritrea government doing?
    Second. Why not mentioned about the killed and abducted people in Tigard by Shaebia. ?
    3. Why never amendment the immigration law while Ethiopia is the first high refugees home in Africa according to the security?
    Thanks

  30. Sir,
    Dual nationality is common in many countries of the world. We know the benefits that will bring. Why not allow dual nationality in Ethiopia so that the diaspora community would be fully engage ? Forget the sham yellow card.

    Regards

    E Abebe

    • 2 million Diaspora x $1000 for dual nationality passport= 2 Billion dollar
      +
      This should fetch $ 500 Million revenue every five years for renewal of passports
      Decent revenue to Honorable Mr Sofian Ahmed to spend for building hospitals,Dams,and other critical infrastructure.

      Just do it!

      Regards

  31. Thank you Aiga Forum; I greatly appreciate your service.

    Dear prime minister; congratulations for the peaceful and successful Ethiopian election.

    We Ethiopian Diasporas are eager to invest in Ethiopia; no question about that. However, for Ethiopian diaspora’s the first bureaucratic obstacle starts in the Ethiopian embassy. What I am saying is let all the people in the embassy respect EPRDF’s policies, their own laws and deadlines. Many have been discouraged here before they go their homeland. Do you know that in the USA the only place where you are discouraged to ask a question is the Ethiopian embassy? Theoretically, you will be allowed to contact them; but practically they will discourage you. This reminds me what the late Prime Minister Meles had said in his speech, “We defeated the Derg; however the bureaucratic mechanisms of the Derg are not yet defeated.” Who are we going to blame now? Why EPRDF cannot try to clean the mess in the Embassy? We all remember how Dr. Arkebe Oqubay cleansed all the bureaucratic messes that were for decades in the Addis Ababa municipality. We remember when we were waiting for months or years just for a simple case. Cleaning the bureaucratic mess in the embassies is easier than cleaning the mess in Addis Ababa municipality. What is required is the political will. Here, they are not serving millions of people; Ethiopian’s in the USA are the minority of minorities.
    1) Does EPRDF has the poetical will to enable its civil servants to dignify its own policies and rectify the mismanagement in the embassies?
    2) Practically; can you enable them to properly implement the rapid transformation plan by serving the people the way they should?

    Thank you so much

  32. Dear AIGAFORUM STAFF
    Thank you for giving us the opportunity to discuss our views on the current and future of our country.
    I am not going to comment anything about the topic “Ask PM Hailemariam Desalegn” but rather on another topic you posted entitled “The World’s Most Optimistic People Live in Africa”

    Yes! Go for it Africa, go for it ETHIOPA!

    What will the toxic Diaspora say now? They may say those who made the survey are paid by Weyane? I am not surprised if they say so. But the Ethiopian people are telling them that they have it good now and see the future as bright as it possibly could be. In other words, the Ethiopian people are approving the way the country is being ruled by the EPRDF, rating the EPRDF by A++++++…..!
    I won’t wonder either if the messengers of death and destruction and the “telalakiwoch of the cancer called Shabia” say “look every Ethiopian is becoming Weyane, EPRDF. We condemn them as well as we have condemned Weyane, EPRDF. It is not now you have condemned the Ethiopian people but long ago when you collaborated with Shabia to cause havoc in Ethiopia.
    We at the Diaspora have known who you really are when you staged a demonstration together with the number two enemy of Ethiopia, Shabia (the number one enemy is poverty and backwardness) against the wellbeing of the people you say you represent, against the Ethiopian people. But now, you are totally naked. The survey is telling you the trust the Ethiopian people have on the government they chose recently. PERIOD!

    Sase, Sweden

  33. This is a life time chance and opportunity for the citzens to ask our doubts and give our comments to the highest office and authority.
    Your excelency! I think most Ethiopians share what I am feeling to be an Ethiopian at this historic time, I am feeling the ancient civilized Ethiopia is coming back again.It is because of the strong leadership of you and party. As Ethiopia has enherent serious and enormous problems, we need a serious and strong government. I hope you will continue to be. But I think you agree with me that your government and the party has also several problems too. If you remember ,right after the war with Eritrea your party identified 3 major dangers of the system those were the party lebeled itself as undemocratic(bonaparism), corruption became rampant and you also said you didn’t bring the intended development. After a decade how do you evaluate the system. The whole world agreed you did a cmmendable achievement in the economic development but it is safe to say that democratization and human rights are worsening. It is sad corruption still remains the number one danger of the system. Your excellency, yes democracy is a process as you always tell us but there is no excuse if it is a backward process. Do you think you did enough to get corruption into check, if we can’t see the urgency our vision to be a middle income country is going to be just a dream. I will just ask you to lead as to the vision s of our late PM Meles Zenawi.

  34. Mr. Prime Minister, here are my questions:
    1) What are the strategies, policies and incentives that your government will implement to accommodate and pave ways for the willing diaspora to help them participate in the growth and development of Ethiopia?
    2) On the education front, does the Ethiopian government have plans to better equip elementary to University students by upgrading higher the curriculum of all levels of eduction in Ethiopia(Example bring higher level Math, Science and Technology classes to Middle and High school students etc.) so Ethiopia can produce internationally recognized and high caliber engineers and Doctors in all levels?
    3) In the event that Ethiopian export industry booms greatly, while the international market demand for Ethiopian goods slows down, would you consider devaluation the Ethiopian Birr like Sweden in the late 1970s(Torbjorn Falldin’s Government) and 80s (Olof Palme’s Govenment), or that of the current China’s currency policies– in order to stimulate the Ethiopian export industry?
    4) How do you elucidate the late Prime Minister for those who never know who he was as a leader? What are his contributions to the current economic growth of Ethiopia? What are the recurrent issues that he fondly fought against?
    5) According to Mr. Thabo Mbeki, the Chairman of the High Level Panel on Illicit flows from Africa, Africa loses about $50 billion a year to other continents,What are the steps being taken to mitigate domestic and international corruption of that kind?

  35. Thank you for giving me the chansen.
    My question to Pm is as follows.
    1) The ethiopian diasporan are now adays not real ethiopians. We really have pure ethnic problem.
    How are you going to solve this?
    Our country is moving forward. Tnxs to you and EPRDF as a whole but as a country We ethiopians have to be United together otherwise the economy we get now Will not be sustainable.
    So my qurstion is how and when are you going to solve this problem.
    We love you our Pm.

  36. Dear PM
    congradulations for all the positive steps being taken by your government. Every great news from our country makes me very proud.

    I am women’s activist and thus I always follow the economic and political steps being taken by government to empower women which I think is going on the right direction. I heard in a meeting that 30% of the condos is allocated for single mums, if confirmed ,wonderful.
    On the other hand I observe male domination among the elites. 4 example
    while I see hard working , committed and knowlegable women in all fields, that can be appointed as ministers, commissioners, ambassadors etc. I have observed less qualified men are their bosses, Dear PM think about your children when you think about women….remove the obstacles for women to move forward.
    West USA

  37. Ethiopia is heading in the right direction in terms of economic development. Keep it up. One thing I would like to see is what has been started continue without any stumbling block. So please put a strategy to take measures on any entity that attempts to stop Ethiopia from development.
    Question: what is your vision for Ethiopia in 20, 50 or 100 years?
    God bless Ethiopia

  38. Dear PM, I have a feeling that you are a very ethical presumably religious person. As a concerned citizen of yours I always worry that your personal beliefs and religious ideals might compromise Ethiopia’s interest when it comes to dealing with the many unethical enemies such as Shabia…is there any assurance you can give us on that?

  39. first of all congratulation for successful election for all ethiopian.thanks aigaforum for doing this to ask pm Hailemariam desalegn a chance and apportunity thankes again.my question is her in USA and other part of the world some dispora communty they do not acknowledge the official flag of ethiopia.dont you think if somting gows wrong in the country because of G7 siting in asmer to distabilize the country like libya .becoause of the flag what do you think pm hailemariam ???

  40. Just one more question, everytime I travel home I sense an air of mistrust towrds Ethiopian diaspra by authorities and tendency to brush us all with the same brush..in fact to the contrary, Eritrean diasporas most of whom may be Shabia agents tent to enjoy the double life while genuine Ethiopians feel unwelcome in their own country..so how do you explain the level of insecurity Ethiopian authorities have towards Ethiopians diaspora and what do you suggest we should do more to win your hearts and minds..

  41. first of all congratulation for successful election for all ethiopian.thanks aigaforum for doing this to ask pm Hailemariam desalegn a chance and apportunity thankes again.my question is her in USA and other part of the world some dispora communty they do not acknowledge the official flag of ethiopia.dont you think if somting gows wrong in the country because of G7 siting in asmer to distabilize the country like libya .becoause of the flag what do you think pm hailemariam ??? alexandria va

  42. Thank you for this opportunity.

    Dear PM,

    First of all I appreciate, to the extent, the government’s achievement in the sphere of economic development. There are a number of issues one can raise regarding the pros-cons of economic policies and procedures followed by the government to get where we are be it from the perspective of long-term or short term effects of development on the people of Ethiopia or the dynamism of it with respect to risk-return trade-offs for the people of Ethiopia and Ethiopia as a country vis-a-vi other countries in terms of its negative or positive influence (preferably positive) on tactical and strategic politico-socio-economic issues either on regional or worldwide levels on other countries or other countries influence on Ethiopia. Whether the gaps between the expected or intended and actual outcomes are explainable in relation to the control variables are justifiable costs of the process of development or are exogenous beyond the realm of the policy makers influence to cost-in the factors properly in order to maximize outcome to efficiently and effectively direct the development process, we all agree that the process is far from perfection and we learn and adapt and ultimately adopt our circumstances to suit us best as we climb up the steep learning curve walking along the complex and intricate process of development. The question is how best are our guidance and policies to accommodate failurity and introduce corrective measures going forward. I presume regarding the achievement of the economic development, due to the very nature of its subjection to the influence of multitude of variables, any one can say volumes to justify or criticise the economic achievements ex-post either from hindsight or look back bias perspective or corrective factual based arguments perspective. Without further indulging into these issues my questions to you, your excellence PM are:

    1- As economics is a concentrated form of politics, to what extent do you think the highly ethnicised political orientation of the government has negatively or positively impacted the development process?
    2- Do you think the current ethnic based regionalization of Ethiopia lends itself to a well formed comparative advantage oriented economic zones? The case in point to a certain extent is may be the current conflicting and controversial Addis Ababa (Finfinne) master plan which is may be a best example of a conflict between comparative advantage economic zone and ethnicity based regionalization? or due think that the federal government can successfully orient comparative advantage based economic structuring or zoning hand in hand with its ethnicity based regionalization?
    3- Do you think the ethnicity based policies promoted by the government resulted in a fragmented sub-group or individual targeting policy to influence the diaspora community? if so is there any policy change to target the diaspora as Ethiopians without dividing them into ethnicity which according to my reading from a number of my colleagues is turn-off policy rather than a positive turn-on policy?
    4- From word of mouth, I hear that there is favouritism and corruption that turned-off many potential diaspora from making contribution to their country… this is particularly true that if some one is from Tigrie opportunities present themselves readily and conveniently while if you are from other ethnic origin let us say you will have a difficult time to go through the process to make your contribution by investing to benefit self country and self. Is there a transparent and accountable procedure to fight favouritism and corruption?

  43. Dear PM

    I like many things about you. I want you to be the next PM too.

    My questions:

    1) Do you agree with me or not that good teachers can significantly reverse the decaying education quality ?

    2) Make it or break it Ethiopia is trailing in democracy. Why don’t you go out of the box and put your own legacy on this area ?

    3) I just don’t see a single reason to prohibit those ethiopians who studied abroad to allow them a duty free car ?

    4) Would you please include a bicycle lanes as part of city transport dev’t ? This will be inline with the climate resilience program.

  44. Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

    Many positive things to talk about and my congratulations for your leadership and achievement so far.

    I recently read an article on the Reporter that three companies from India are going to supply text books worth $93 million Birr, to Ethiopia.

    For a country and government with very ambitious programs in education, a country with more than 20 million students, why is it that local publishing and printing companies could not produce text books?

    Does your government have a plan to promote local publishing and printing companies so that text books and all types of books can be produced locally?
    While importing text books may solve short term problems, the ambitious goals that your government have set to transform Ethiopia through education would be hard to achieve without a sustainable supply of books and educational materials at affordable price.

    I would like to know your take on this issue.

    Thank you.

  45. Hallo, thank you, to have a say at you!
    I have great appreciation of the overall directives and economic performance of the country under the leadership of Meles and you. Given these, I sense so much limitations and ill practices, especially in making the huge youth of our country to be fully involved in the development process of the country, implying that, developmental indoctrination of the Youth is not and well directed as an out come of our people´s revolution:a gap in vision and practices between the old and the new could lead to a contradictions of results; the second point I want to mention is which is the main agenda of our people in handling of missmanagement and corruption widly spread in the country and I think this is a good yardstick of your goverance quality. The third point is a few of our managing personalities are lagging behind the actual demand of our people, and tasks of our people are affcted so much and so this needs to be addressed in time and concurrently. And the last but not the least, needs to be mention is what you are informing us, should reflect in one way or the other what is being done in the ground. we consume at most practices fully, but not theories. Hope, the Track will keep on!!! Berhane, Hamburg

  46. 1. For better result Diaspora Bureau should have strength its staff in order to provide good service.
    2. Helping diaspora brilliant students to success on education, scholarship by all means.
    3. Organize based on their profession, to invest, volunteer, and other to strength institutes.
    4. sharing from every country new innovation, methods and so on ex media, security, social service, youth centers, saving system, extraordinary service of electric water library, sport activity.
    5. Orient how to approach foreigners on attract on tourism and investment.
    6. Distribute constitution and its implementation for diaspora to understand the process of democratic equality.
    7. Sharing within Ethiopian Embassies on different diaspora activity.
    MT

  47. የተከበሩ ውድ ጠቅላይ ሚንስተር ይህ ክፍት መድረክ አግኝተን ለመጠየቅ የተሰጠን እድል
    ከልብ ምስጋናየን አቀርባሎህ ለርስዎም ሙሉ ጠንነት በመመኝት ወደ ጥያቄው ልግባ
    የተከበሩ ጠ/ሚ የምጠይቀው ሰለ ሃገራችን ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ ሲሆን ሰለ ኢትዮ ኤርትራ
    ጉዳይ፤ መንግስታችን የያዘው አካሄድ የሚመሰገን ቢሆን እንኻን ከመጠን በላይ የተጋነነ ዝምታ ሆኖ
    እናየዋለን ከሬሳ ጋር መጣላት ጥቅም ባይኖሮው በድንበሩ አዋሳኝ የሚኖሩ ህዝቦቻችን ግን መቸ ይሆን የነጻነት አየር የሚያስተነፍሱ? ሁሌ በተጠንቀቅ ናችው ወደ ልማታቸው እንደ ሌላው ኢትዮጵያን ወገኖቻችው መች ይሆን በነጻነት ሚኖረው? ምንድነው ይህ ሁሉ ትግስት ከሁሉም በላይ የዜጎች ደህነነት ማይከበረው እስከመች ድረስ ነው እሽሩሩ ምንላቸው ?
    አምሰግናሎህ እ/ሄር ኢትዮጵያን ይባርክ
    አስገዶም ገ/ክርስቶስ ጣልያን ሚላኖ

  48. The govt’t of Ethiopia is not practicing what it is saying. They talk for the seek of talk , but when it comes to practice the gove’t is not there. They say inverst in Ethiopia but in reality it does not happen, especially in the region of Tigrai.Why is the gov’t afraid to say the border issue null and void? Eritrea has violated all the agreements. Is it because , of proEritrea group in eprdf?

  49. Africa is probably the richest continents in natural resources but is home to the world’s most miserably poor people. How are you and other current African leaders planning to change this rooted poverty in Africa?
    Thanks .

  50. PM of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegne
    The late PM Meles Zenawi’s approach to contain Shabiya’s aggression and advance peace and prosperity is no longer effective. Esayas is still arming and funding irritants and most importantly laughing at the idea of that EPRDF can’t get rid of him.

    1. Is your administration aware that Ethiopians are sick and tired of hearing the “endless” warning and threats you give out to Shabiya every six months or so?

    2. Isn’t your administration concerned that Shabiya pisses on your hard earned works and progress and sometimes costing us Ethiopian lives?

    3. Does your party benefits by keeping Shabiya in the picture?

    4. Is EPRDF concerned that it will become irrelevant post Eritrean politics?

    5. Post 2015 will we still hear your usual threats to Shabiya while the appeasement continues?

    6. The U.S. Anti terror law the financial flow of individuals and establishments that are considered terrorist. Does our anti terrorism law looks over the financial and property investments of individuals belongs to Ginbot 7 which is now listed as terror organization?
    7. As an ally to anti terrorism we all know that Ethiopia is paying dearly with its blood. Will the U.S. Acknowledge that and prevent any of G7’s activity in the U.S.?

  51. hallo äthiopien pm. äthiopien hat die letzten 10 jahre gute wirtschafts wachstum gehabt was tut die regierung das der wachstum nicht nur in addis sonderen in ganz äthiopien ankommt 90% der äthiopier sind bauern des wegen sind die haupt äthiopier bauer was tut die regierung das die bauern
    sich entwickeln unbd ihre ernte wächst das sie strom haben das sie unhabigäng von regen werden

  52. Dear PM HD,
    Is your government accountable to its constituents? If so, do you believe your party won 100 percent of the votes? If you do, why have we become the world’s laughing stock?

    Do you believe the house of representatives, not the eight representatves from each of EPRDF member fronts, particularly the TPLF wield power in Ethiopia?

    Why do you still have eight representatives from each of the four fronts that make up EPRDF? Shoudn’t this number reflect the size of the kilil’s they are suppsed to represent?

    If you are committed to fighting corruption why not start at the top?

  53. Please don’t put all Diasporas on the same page.some of us are supporting the development of our beloved Ethiopia. We all are not a toxic.And please don’t underestimate the G7 &it’s supporter & trainer Shabia.you have my ‘YES’ any thing against Shabia
    Thanks

  54. Thank you Mr. PM and AIGA

    What the silent majority of diaspora think about the state of Ethiopia and its government, personal and anecdotal observations.

    Positive

    – They appreciate the government’s effort to develop the county, especially the infrastructure and social programs such as education and health.
    – They appreciate the security and stability of the nation.
    – They appreciate the attempt by the government that all Ethiopians are beneficiaries of the gains of the development.
    – They appreciate that nations and nationalities are exercising their rights of self-administration, with all its flaws.
    – There are good and capable leaders at the top level of the government, who can bring Ethiopia out of its misery.

    Negative

    – They believe the government is authoritarian and the government cadres sound like the Derg era cadres.
    – They believe the government is restricting freedom of expression and silencing those who do have different opinion, as such they do not buy into the accusation of citizens as terrorists.
    – The government is systematically fragmenting and dividing oppositions to keep them weak.
    – The justice system is not independent and corrupt from top to the bottom.
    – Mid-level and lower level of leadership is incapable and corrupt.
    – Civil servants are poorly paid which feeds to the chronically corrupted civil service.

    Going forward:

    – Do not go to war with Eritrea, as tempting as it looks, keep the status quo, use only minimal force to defend the border. War is not a good image and it will destroy whatever is achieved.
    – Do something about the corruption before it is too late.
    – Reach out to all oppositions and include all Ethiopians in the development process, they have as much rights as you do and they will provide balance and check to the system.
    – Go easy on the propaganda and try to deliver results first, be humble and honest to your people.

    Good luck and thank you

  55. Mr. Prime minister, I know this has never been done in any country but why can’t we do it in Ethiopia. for the next 4 elections why not make it a mandatory to have 10% of the parliament occupied by the opposition. After the forth election, which is 2035 the mandatory 10% opposition will be scraped unless the parliament in 2035 decides to extend it. I think the parliament can accommodate extra 55 members of the opposition party. the fact is If any ruling party have at least 329 seats in the parliament let alone 547, the 55 opposition can not stop the ruling party from advancing the agenda it fought for. I believe it will make the parliament vibrant and more credible in the eyes of the Ethiopian people. No one should lose or give up a seat because of the 10% mandatory rule, the rule should allow the government to increase the number of parliamentarian seats from 547 to what ever is needed to meat the quota. for example if the opposition won 9% of the seat we only add 1% from the opposition. a fair system can be created to select the one percent from the opposition. Drawing a name will be a good way of doing it. since they have not won this 1% seat, any opposition can not claim or ask to be given more chance because they are bigger than the next opposition. any opposition party regardless of strength or popularity should have the same opportunity to be selected.

  56. Thanks Aiga!
    Selam! Mr. prime minister my first question, Ethiopia has saved a billion dollar due to the global oil price fall, on the other side the ruling party came up with the idea of selling “the 10 year bond priced to yield at least 7% and raised 1 billion us dollar”. What is happening with 1 billion dollar which is obtained from oil? Do not Ethiopia`s Euro bonds may lead to financial liberalization or to absorb Ethiopian airlines, mega projects in the future?
    My second question is our currency is not backed by gold.As you know the us dollar is in free fall and will never be used as international currency in the future.Some days ago BRICS bank has been launched which is also anti-IMF and world bank. Mr. prime minister where do your ruling party and Ethiopia stand???
    Peace!!

  57. Mr. Prime Minister:
    1. The current government is the most powerful Ethiopian government I have seen in my 40 plus years of existence, I am sure you would agree this applies in your life time too. My question to you is knowing this fact why are we afraid of the petty journalists and put them in jail and portray the good name of our country negatively around the world and create fear inside the country? is it worth it? is our government not as strong as we thought it is and need to arrest these people to keep our government from falling apart? I just need to know because I don’t understand it and it makes no sense and it accomplishes nothing but fear and distrust. Mengistu did that and I don’t want my party to do the same thing and make it hard for me to defend my party’s action among my peers.
    2. The last three years I feel like the action that was being taken to plant trees around the country has slowed down. is there a reason for that? I remember in elementary school we were thought that 30% of our land was covered by trees. Recently that coverage was less than 5%. The recent action by the government brought that coverage up to 9%. is there a plan for the government to curve or stop the deforestation in Ethiopia? is there also a plan for the government to declare more areas/land for conservation?

  58. Dear PM Hailemariam Desalegn, First of all I wish you good health and happiness to you and your family. My questions are 2

    1. How is the Ethiopian Government planning to use the diaspora’s potential as it does not know what potential is out there. I would think All the Ethiopian Embassies do their homework first, Find out who is there, what they do and how they can participate in their country’s endeavor. The Embassies are poorly staffed, do not service the diaspora on their duties. For example, in order to get an Ethiopian origin card it is taking me 8 months, and I still do not have it. In order for Ethiopian origin diaspora to invest, the government requires that we have the Ethiopian Origin Card. So please even-though it is a noble cause that you are doing to engage the diaspora, the staff at the embassies are crippling the interested. So please clean the Embassy staff and replace them with trained professionals that know what they are doing and value a customer service to their fellow citizens. The foreign affairs office need to do a better job at it and you as a PM need to see that this is done. Other wise, you efforts will not succeed. The bottlenecks need to cleared and if desired removed. Can you assure us all that this will happen ? if so, how do you envision fixing it ?

    2. Congratulations, on the first GTP’s accomplishments and now you are getting ready for the second GTP. But in opinion there needs to a modern way to communicate with Ethiopians at home and abroad. The government institutions need to utilize the technology to cut waste and eliminate corruption. Corruption is a disease that comes with backwardness and lack of education. Technology along with better processes and enforcement is the best cure. In my opinion, the second GTP need to include a standardization of Ethiopia and all its locals, innovations that costs less but produces positive and tangible results. In my opinion the authorities in Ethiopia (may be not all of them) are not welcoming for something like this and discourage the diaspora from participating in their country’s future. Will you be willing to listen to our input to help the government and our beloved citizens at home so as partners we can be all productive. If so how would you do it ?

    Nashville, TN USA

    By the way, Thanks Aigaforum for the opportunity.

  59. Dear Mr Prime Minister,

    1. Please do not interfere with the law. You have done so on repeated occasions. You have set set aside rulings by judges in the case of Ermias Amelga and owner of Holland Cars – both of them fugitives who returned on the suspension by your authority of court judgements imposed on them and the companies they owned and run. Both individuals are proven to have broken the law on several counts costing millions to their customers and investors/shareholders in their respectve companies.
    With all due respect to your good self and the office that you occupy, I would like to remind you that you do not have the powers vested in you by the federal constitution or any other law in the land to make decisions that contradict court judgements. Your decisions in the cases of these businessmen is in contempt of the courts and undermines the law in a big way. If you disrespect the law , you should not expect the rest of the population to respect it. Now that’s a fair point I am sure you’d agree.
    2. Please do not inflict suffering on people accused of crimes whatever the nature of their transgression by dragging the legal process beyond that guaranteed in the law. No one should be locked up and forgotten in jail while the prosecuting authorities gather evidence and demand to interrogate the accused for a whole year and in some cases longer. This is a blatant breach of their rights and the constitutional guarantees citizens have for a quick and fair trial. The police and prosecution cannot be guardians of the law when they are in open transgression of it. Please do not excuse such tactics of meeting out punishment before the accused are even proven guilty.

    Democracy cannot exist in a country where the executive arm of government is only accountable to itself and not the law. Respect the law. Respect the Ethiopian Constitution.

  60. Dear Mr PM ,

    I just want to add that while I admire your government’s efforts on the economic front , I am dismayed that you set out plans and make decisions with little to no participation by the public. Your style of government is hardly democratic. It is always top-down with the few monopolising plans and decisions without the mandate of the many. Holding elections every 5 years is not the be-all end-all of democratic governance. You have to take the country with you as you make life changing decisions that have direct bearing on the lives of communities across the country.
    By blocking the political opposition out of participation in what happens in the country , you have effectively shut down all platforms for the public to air their views on events in the country and the policies you adopt to rule the country. Ethiopia is a multiethnic nations with wide ranging views and aspirations. It is simply not possible to whittle down these diversities into one dominating narrative convenient to your party and government. The coalition you represent cannot possibly represent the range of opinion in such a large country. And this means you are ruling on behalf of some not the majority of the public.

    Ethiopia needs a free press to balance the disproportionate amount of power and influence in the hands of your government and party. No matter how well intentioned you can be , the gap left by the absence of a free and independent media in Ethiopia cannot be filled by the proliferation of private press outlets which cosy up to your government in stead of holding it to account in the court of public opinion.

    Now this much I have wanted to tell you. You could ignore any of these concerns. You choose what you want to do.

  61. Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

    I want to personally beg you to expedite legal system. My father is imprisoned corruption related charges,atleast that is what the government claims. It has been two years since they put him behind bars, is it fair to jail my old father without immediate justice or bail.

    Why the justice system is slow, my father is 71 years old, his healthy is deteriorating. Is it fair if he dies in prison without even knowing he is guilty or Innocent.
    I am not arguing here whether my father is guilty or innocent. I am talking about Justice on time specially when the law claims you don’t have the right for bail.
    There are many citizens that are released free after more than four years.
    How do you justify this?
    As the saying “Justice delayed is justice denied”

    Thank you
    Siham

  62. Thanks Aiga for the medium to contact the PM.

    Dear PM,
    Thank you for your hard work and leadership. I have known you since Arbaminch Water Technology (AWTI) and I have a huge confidence in your integrity and sincerity to help your people. I think you are the God given Shepherd at this juncture of Ethiopia’s transition to prosperity and democracy. My questions are:
    1. Why is the government in the business of censoring every citizen? Let the people say and write what the believe in. The government should accept the constructive criticism and ignore the nonsense.
    2. The government (EPRDF) has done a great job of raising the country from the ashes and is leading it to prosperity. It is time to transition the political system to accommodate everyone. EPRDF is too big to be challenged by any opposing party and that is not healthy for the country’s political system. Let the opposing parties have a breathing room so they can come up with alternative ideas that the people get to chose from. As much as you guys are doing a good job, don’t think that you always have the best ideas and policies. Listen to the people. That will lead to a prosperous, vibrant and patriotic society and stable country. Don’t you think?

    Thank you!

  63. corruption is seen extensively in Ethiopia ,but the government has not taken action .some times it seems like norm , I mean if you do not give bribe , your case does not finish on time .so wheather you like it or not , you are obliged to provide bribe.In some offices there are messengers who connect governmental officiasl and clients .I am not blame to all governmental officials , but specifically officialls working with land , some of them are very rich /fat/.unless you take action the governent life span will be eroded easily.

  64. Dear Prime Minister,
    First I would like to thank you for letting us to ask questions:
    1. What do you think about Ethiopia again being in a war mind set may be for years? How do you think this will affect Ethiopia’s Image again?
    2. How that fair out in addition to the war in Somalia. Yemen and Somalia and for that matter sudan?
    3. What about its implications on our relationship with Egypt and Soudi Arabaia?
    4. Although being weekend by sanctions, why does Isaias want war with Ethiopia now?
    5. There are some news that some Arab countries are using Assab to facilitate the war in Yemen. What does this mean to Ethiopia?
    6. What are Ethiopia’s justifications to go to war with Eritrea compared to making peace?
    7. It would have been easier 15 years ago to make peace with Eritrea than now. Things are getting complicated and it seems we are heading into a long war. Did the Ethiopian government follow these developments effectively?
    8. Although it might be difficult to avoid it, paying the ultimate price for peace might be a way to go. Do you think that is possible at this stage?

    Thank you

  65. Here is my list of questions for PM Hailemariam
    I was supporter of EPRDF before but now I am one of the silent majorities living in USA that stop supporting the government concerning where things are going in Ethiopia
    Three major issues

    1. EPRDF is too secretive and spreading confusing information’s
    This may work when you guys are at armed struggle but as government when you guys are giving information’s that are conflicting each other’s and improper you will lose trust among your supporters. Because of your countless conflicting information’s by your officials including Shimeles Kemal, Redwan , Bereket , Dr. Tewederos, PM hailemariam etc I lost my trust to EPRDF, a good example is PM HD recent interview with Aljazeera , he said government has enough evidence about zone9bloggers and after fifteen days they were released, did he gets a brief about human right issues of the country daily , weekly etc. or not? He needs to be informed and needs to be careful on his answer. The other issue is you guys are not addressing issues based on reality, you call Zone9bloggers, Eskinder etc terrorist and you look fool and joke. Especially using the word terrorist, you need to be careful. In Ethiopian mind now a terrorist is a hero thanks to EPRDF. Eskinder is terroris , Andualem is a terrorist , Bekel Gerba was a terroris , Reoit Alemu was a terrorist , what a Joke.

    2. Power and economy class
    Believe it or not you guys are creating first class, second class citizens. If you speak Tigrena or too loyal to EPRDF you are first class citizen if not second class citizen. Let’s take INSA a top security office ( I have very detailed information about that office including Dr. Debretsion – he is my class mate), why are not other Ethiopians like Amhara and Oromo’s excluded from top secret positions, because they are not trusted? How long it will continue like that? All the top, highly paid positions of the government offices (Military, Security even including Ethiopian Airlline etc.)Are now taken by Tigreans, do you think it will continue like that? I wish I am wrong on that but that is the reality now, if you are not Tigre , you are not trusted to get top positions of the country.

  66. First, thanks to Aigaforum for having such a kind of opinion or to addressing question.
    Second, Congratulation to Ruling party of Ethiopia for winning an election (it reveals the community is next to you). As a person and diaspora, I closely following things through websites (reliable ones) and I personally feel very comfortable with your progresses of the ruling party especially, how all Authorities coordinate each other to achieve one objective. It is amazing & I have never been observed such coordination since the last 2 Gov (of course every Gov has strong & weaknesses sides). When I try to analysis things, I would like to say this is ever the county had experienced such smooth coordination both national & International level before, but doesn’t mean is 100% & you have long journey to go . However, is a good start for our beloved country, no crakes for extenal especially. We are all together, if not recently or lately we shall be together for one country, one objective (development).

    To come to my point about Diaspora, I think there is a good start of organizing the Diaspora community…& should be strengthen. Of course, we are responsible for that not the country…..I hope communication continue to address countries need from time to time & people will come down from being either observer or radical or blindly opponent.

    In a way to bring together the diaspora community is good again (of course, I’m still not registered in Dias comm but I send my monthly salary home through proper channel) in a coordinated way.

    Excuse me, this is my personal opinion but what I don’t understand is what kind of special treatment for diaspora to offer & why? Is it to attract, because of what? If we argue that diaspora community lives in either better living condition than some one living in Eth or better educated or has better skill than some one in Ethiopia, why do we need special treatment? What is the reason behind it?
    I asked this questions not be unique but seeing other countries diaspora comm (from house maid up high personnel) leaving in the globe do a very strong system to boost their country……why not WE too!!!! thank you all+++

  67. Mr. PM
    First and foremost I would like to congratulate you on your party’s re-election with landslide victory and on the successful hosting of every international event in our country, Ethiopia. I also wish EPRDF and your government multiple successes going forward. I also wish that Ethiopia will uphold God’s law first and the Constitution of the country second. My question for you Mr. PM, where does your government stand in terms of same sex marriage? I hope Obama will not breathe a word about the rights of Gays. Please stand firm with the people of Ethiopia on this issue. Death to Gays.

    Long Live Ethiopia and the People of Ethiopia!!

  68. Dear PM H.Mariam
    Thx for Planning to listen. I do appreciate the amazing & unusual progress of our nation in many aspect Job well done to all involved. Thank you. My concern, why people are in jail without enough evidence. Sometimes 4-5yrs in prison and told to be free. Should be enough evidence before they are in jail? Please empower your justice system & let the nation feel better when it comes to the law. That’s human right issue.

  69. Thanks for the invite.

    A very simple question regarding the election.

    I will stop short of commenting regarding the just completed election where your party and your party family shamefully won 100%.

    Now you won, for the sake of peace and stability of the country would you;
    1. Release all political Prisoners?
    2. Ask all other party to join so you can create ‘Unity Government’

    Regards;

  70. I love my country more than any thing else.Not bragging.I like to some of the the EPRDF led government has been achieving. I have also a grave concern on how the Ethiopian government is handling democracy,justice and good governance. A 100 wining election will not by any means a healthy one.There is nothing to celebrate on this ‘victory’. Trust me it has been tested if you do not listen what your friends as well as you oppositions even adversaries what ever developmental goals you achieved, they are like sand buildings. Don’t go far look at the one time vibrant and sound full Egypt and the Syria.
    I am not hoping to happen this to my country but I believe there is no grantee not happen either if the government is not listening to its people.
    Thank you for giving me this opportunity.

  71. Dear PM please don’t fail western trap that will take us back generation, stick China. Western in the name of civilization, Democracy, Religion and Entertainment they will cripple us for ever. at list China they dont tell us how to live or breath or how to warship our religion. Our faith in God and our history important. We have to learn from history!

  72. Dear PM,
    I thank the dedicated hard workers in our embassies in the diaspora communities. However, the embassies are inefficient, and weakly staffed. How are the civil servants recruited in the embassies? Do you have a plan to fundamentally structure the embassies with highly competent, efficient, most of all dedicated civil servants? The diaspora communities need civil servants who serve the people diligently rather than those who serve themselves and their own personal interests.

  73. What the current government needs to do is reach out to young organizers and promoters to mobilize the diaspora. After all not only is this about loving your country but it’s business so they have to be able to approch people with business in mind… What can the diaspora benefit from going there aside from getting knowledge of the different investments that are going on in the country? Perhaps bringing famous Erhiopians to perform models acters singers. Have then indorse it. Have people that have influence indorse it. Advertise advertise advertise. Youtube diretube ethiotube nazret awramba tigraionline aiga EBS so on and so forth. And keep in mind the diaspora can bring more money than they are bringing today so they will need to convince them why Ethiopia is a better place for fun and vacation than any other places. Communication is the key.

  74. PM Hailemariam thanks for your new approach .my question is why your government ignored political reconcilation ? My view Ethiopian political divisions will require considerable efforts and better communication among the country political parties and ethics groups. currently our country suffer significant internal ethics and political division that should be change through dialogue and consensus.
    ክቡር፡ሚኒስተር
    የኢትዮጵያ ፡ህዝብ፡አሁንም፡ተስፋ፡ሳይቆርጥ፡መንግስት ፡እውነተኛ፡ዲሞክራሲ፡እንዲመሠረት፡በመጠበቅ፡ላይ፡ይገኛል፡፡መንግሥትም፡ዜጎች፡የተሠውበትን፡ድል፡ታሪካዊ፡ማድረግ፡ይገባዋል፡፡አመሠግናለሁ

  75. AiGA, I am sure you will not present this question to H/Mariam.

    1. The eviction of our people(Oromo) from their ancestral land begins during Menelik II, continue under H/Selassie and declined under Mengistu. It fastened under Meles and continue under you. When shall it stop?
    2. The government say it fights corruption but all officials and including yours, their kids are learning abroad. Is that really the salary of individuals can support family abroad? What about the 10,000 tonnes coffee lost during Meles? If such huge size lost without trace, how government claim fighting corruption?
    3. The atrocity of bad government under previous governments has resulted in confiscation and stagnation of the country for long times. Don`t you think that this bad policy of evicting people and salling for riches or distribution among loyals will not result as the same consequences as H/sellie falls?

  76. Your Honorable Prime Minster Desalegne,

    First kudos to Aiga Forum for hosting this endeavour. We hope the prime minister will take some of these discussions into consideration. I have three questions for his excellency:

    1. What have you been doing to encourage sincere opposition groups who cares for the unity and integrity of Ethiopia to participate in parliamentary elections? Ethiopia will benefit from diverse views and outlooks?

    2. What are you doing to bring peace to the Ethio-Eritrean dispute? War will only bring more destruction and poverty.

    3. I visited Addis a few years ago, and I am appalled by the level of corruption and traffic nightmare: people drink and drive and there are no traffic rules. In addition, roads that have built with millions of dollars show distress due to lack of maintenance and care. Thus, when are you planning to create a task force to look this?

    By the way, we are exited that our president, Barack Obama, is visiting Ethiopia.

    Ethiopia deserves the best.

    Thank you!

    Teshome

  77. Honorable PM please come to USA and have an open discussion with diaspora. You will win the mind and heart of many people by give them a chance to ask you and answer their questions. Please please please come

  78. Thanks your Prime Minister. Your government is doing great things to our country in all aspects. I congratulate you for that.

    My concern is corruption increased astronomically under your leadership, could you please comment on that.

  79. Dear PM,

    Could you please comment on our government’s policy on population growth? Is it a worry the current population growth rate? Would you say enough has been done?

    Thank you Prime Minister!

  80. When are you going to have a functioning democratic government system where power is delineated between the three government pillars (the executive, judiciary, and legislator) so that we can have a check and balance within the system? Some things don’t require 200 years to evolve, such as the respect to the rule of law (not to the rule of a politician), the respect to the ultimate power of the people (not to treat them as subjects), the respect to individuals freedom to make a choice in their personal matters. We had all these before, why should we lose them now?

  81. Dear Prime Minster.
    1. It is good to have as many Universities as possible. But, it shouldn’t be done at the expense of quality. What is the government’s plan to improve the quality of education in these institutions?
    2.EPRDF is a coalition of ethnic liberation fronts. Have these ethnic groups not liberated yet? The Front has been at the helm of power for 24 years. When will EPRDF become a single national party as it passed its use-by-date?
    3, parastatals owned by each members of the EPRDF (EFFORT, TIRET etc)are becoming parasites of the economy by getting favoritism over the private sector. When will these companies become nationalized and owned by the Ethiopian people (the legitimate owner)?
    4. Some organizations and agencies are dominated by a single ethnic group. Immigration office and internal revenue have been dominated by an ethnic group that represents 5% of the population for a long time. Now, INSA and METEC are disproportionally and unfairly represented by the same ethnic group. Don’t you think these things create tensions and mistrust among the population?

  82. There is no doubt that Ethiopia is progressing thanks to massive Chinese financial infusion. This said there are a lot of problems in the country which needs immediate remedy. I will pose the following questions 1. Ethiopian Airlines is competing on the World market and doing brisk business. If it can compete, why cant the corrupt, inefficient private banks, enriching their share holders and doing very little but building sky scrapers 2. Addis is the political capital of Africa and time to make it the fianancial one as well as New York. We need regulated and transparent financial market so that we invest in our country by dollar cost averaging as we do in the West. As it stands, Citi Bank and other major American banks are lending Indians, residing in the US a line of credit for business ventures in Inida based on their ‘ credit score’. Imagine half a million Ethiopians in America getting loans from US banks for economic ventures in Ethiopia, it will mean ten billion or more in the pipe line ready for the Nation. Ethiopians are good ‘ credit score’ and valuable contriubtors to the economic system in America and will do the same for their Nation if only the regulatory environment is existent 3. The telephone company is besiege by corruption and nepotism. Its managment was delegated to the French, with little tangible progress. Some have fleeced it to the tune of millions . The equipment is part Chinese and recently awarded to Ericson to be rescended. It is a coctail of incompetence. The beer companies, soon after they were sold, the price of beer came down and its availability and quality is superior. If the govt is worried about losing control, it can come up with a formula to sell half of the telephone company to a competent foreign company and retain the other half and see how fast things will turn around. Similar formula can work for all the utility companies whose performance is terrible and disappointing. The govt can have a clause to reverse it in say five years, it is dissatisfied. 4. We shoudnt invest a ‘ penny’ in the Lamu corridor in Kenya as that country is one of the most corrupt in the World. We shouldnt watch our wallet for they will take us to the cleaners. We better invest in Somalia ports like Berbera , Bossaso and Mogadisho, where we have leverage in the Shebele and Genale rivers. Not to mention every gainfully employed Somalian, dependent on Ethiopian transacation is less likely to be Shebab. The Kenyans drive on the Right and we on the left causing chaos and unimaginable tragedy on the highways wth khat addicted drivers 5. Ethiopia has massive gas in Ogaden soon to be developed for export. The fact is gas prices have tumbled and little can we earn after expense. On the other hand, if we were to convert all our vehicles on CNG like in PAKISTAN. We will be saving the two billion dollars we spend on oil imports. The infrastructure will cost us probably a couple of billions. Some of which we can get from the COP envrionmental funds. Imagine, buses, trucks, cars, taxis running on clean natural gas instead of enriching our arab ‘friends’. IT IS DOABLE, TRUST ME. IT AINT EASY. We will breathe fresh air in Addis as a result. Think about it please. 6. Allow Diaspora to establish a dedicated fund to usher modern farming. Ethiopia has some of the most fertile land anywhere in AFrica save South AFrica, according to a published report. The problem is we have farmers tilling the land using antiquidated means. It is not sustainable 7 Instead of leasing out massive fertile land to foreign companies, allow sophisticated farmers like those from Bangladesh who proposed to Uganda and other African NATIONS a formula, similar to share cropping. They will split fifty fifty with the govt and locals as well,while training the locals to eventually take over. That beats the fiasco with Karturi in Gambela, where Commercial Bank lent the company millions without even looking at the land which is swamp for much of the year, unsuitable for farming. No bank in the west would have done so. 8. We have to be careful with the just signed COMESA treaty, for Kenyan and UGANDAN TRADERS will fled the NATION WITH CHEAP MERCHANDISE. This merchants have the backing of power ful banks, stock market and foreign financing. Which we all lack. 9 English should be the lingua franca of the Nation like in India. I love Amharic but enough is towing along translator while doing business in Adama or Mekele. 10. Rule of law is extrmely important as is private property. Absent that, we are living in a jungle 11. Curb the noise pollution in Addis. 12. Corruption is unacceptable. But it is common knowledge that civil servants are not disciplined and waste their limited resource on vice and go to their offices on empty stomach. Free breakfast in all govt offices. 13 Ethiopia is voted the best country to visit in the World and tourism money adds a lot more money into the economy than manufacturing as it is hard to tackle the accuracy of various documentation. Import export is the largest source of corruption from traders colliding to influencing unduly govt employees, who should get ‘ living wages’ by the way, no ifs or buts. Good luck

  83. i think the no peace- no war formula for the last18 years had had little effect on Il Duce in Asmara. The suffering of Eritreans is unimaginable, They die in their thousands crossing the seas. Thousands have their organs stolen and left to die in Sinai and other places. What we have now is a Nation of bastards for much of the youth is voting with its feet. This is not good for either Ethiopia or Eritrea. Afewerki cares least about his people. To make matters worse, he is organising all sort of insurgents of various tribes and inclination. The latest meeting of Afewerki and Saudi Crown Prince, whose content is not known is troubling. Why shouldn’t we take the higher road and sign a ‘ peace treaty’ with Eritrea for the sake of the people of that troubled land. How can we benefit from another Somalia, if the current leader were to succumb to the cirrohsis of the liver….and all hell breaks loose. I think time to sign a peace treaty with this chap as the policy of Ethiopia has worked so far but if this goes on, we will have another Somalia or South Sudan. If we were to sign a ‘ peace treaty’ along the lines of agreed upon terms, the Eritrean govt will do the following 1. limit national service to 2 years 2. No women should be forced into conscritption 3. Ethiopia will use the ports of Assab and Massawa on previously agreed upon terms. 4. Eritrea will stop financing all insurgents . Eritrean suffering has compounded many times since the last war. If we cross the Mereb, we can overthrow this govt, but what follows suit is anyone’s guess. The mad man probably entered into an agreement to allow known enemies of Ethiopia to wreck the Dam, which is our most important ‘ Natural treasure’. Badame is a ‘small price’ to pay in the scale 1. unimaginable tragedy unfolding in Eritrea where every one is fleeing or enslaved 2. the risk to our dam, given massive weaponry, arabic written all over, reaching Arebegnoch Ginbar , TPDM, ONLF, Afar rebels etc 3. The dictator won’t last long once we sign this treaty for that is the only card he is carrying 4. We are stronger and proud country and we can live with out Badame, but the suffering of our brothers in Eritrea has reached biblical proportion and we will cede it if it turns that country around. 5. i came to this conclusion after a long reflection and having read what is brewing in our Afar region and Djibouti. We can’t afford to endanger the security of Djibouti. Long term, Eritrea will oblige to buy electricity at World spot price, if it were to regain Badame, making the transaction financially profitable for both parties.

    • The writer of this comment seems to undermine the people and government of Ethiopia.in other words what he is saying is “close your eyes let me fool you”.Ethiopia does not have any responsibility what so ever about Eritrea.it is only a neighbour like Sudan and Kenya unfortunately.what should matter to Ethiopia is only and only its national intrest.eritrea’s misery is none of Ethiopia’s busness.”no peace no war”policy of Ethiopia with Eritrea is working to prefaction and should continue for at least the next ten years.

      • Next call,

        I srongly support your point. You hit the nail on the head, when you said that Eritreans are our brothers and Ethiopia has the responsibility of standing by their side. What is going on in Eritrea is genocide. No country in the world cares for Eritreans, but Ethiopians do because they are intertwined with blood.

        • One of the inherent problems of our leaders is they think they are invincible when things start to fall apart the learn their mistakes. This government should not miss any opportunity to avert war. The Ethio-Eritrean problem should have been solved long time ago before Eritrea became hopeless and started training many opposition groups. The Ethiopian government missed opportunity created a fertile ground for the armed groups to proflerate in Eritrea. Does the Ethiopian government think this is a good opportunity to annex Eritrea? I am confused. Please explain?

          • Abraha, i couldn’t agree with you more. This policy is playing into the hands of the leader of that country at the expense of the people of Eritrea. If you watch any broadcast of Erirean tv, all meetings are full of women and hardly any men around. This my friend is serious problem on the brewing. it reminds me of the lives of many African American families ,headed by women while their men are languishing in jail. In the case of Eritrea, they are either serving in Sawa, langushing in Sinai, Europe or have died en route to. Eritreans are considered evil by some in this forum, i beg to differ. Those who say so are mistaken for we have many Eritreans or half Eritreans serving honorably in our country. If i am not mistaken Bereket Simon, considered to be one of the top leaders is of Eritrean origin. So buyer be ware.

      • Axumawit, trust me, it wasn’t easy by any stretch. The last straw came, soon after i saw the Despot invited to the Kingdom, soon after the death of the last King. The details of the agreement are not published, but my suspicion is the Saudis and Eritreans have signed a ‘ secret pact’ allowing the former to overflight etc etc. As we know a coalition of Arab countries are engaged in bombing Yemen, a friendly country which handed a known terrorist. My guess is they are training on a terrain similar to Ethiopia for what ever purpose. The Dam issue is still not agreed upon and the latest meeting in Khartoum was a disaster as Egypt brought up a number of issues related to it, to which the Ethiopian party couldn’t agree. Lately, Elias Kifle confessed that all financing of rebels in Ethiopia and overseas are supported by Qatar and Egypt through Eritrea. The last straw for me was the threat to the rail track connecting Ethiopia and Djibouti by Eritrea based Afar insurgency, whose members attempted to assasinate the President of that friendly country. Any threat to Djibouti and our only outlet to the sea is potent, to say the least. Knowing well that the capacity of the ONLF, which is assisted by Eritrea, it will only compound our problem in Afar where we had tourists killed, many drivers shot point blank for the hostile reigon is difficult to control without outside interference.

        The hitherto policy has resulted in excruciating pain for the Eritrean people, whom i consider brotherly, but had little effect on the behaviour of the Dictator, whose only card is Badame. If we were to let him have it, he will be naked. He won’t have reason to enslave his people and they will rise to get rid of him. Above all, i am afraid, with the massive exodus underway in Eritrea, where the young and abled are fleeing, the Nation will be a ‘ failed state’ which is not to our benefit. We got enough problems in South Somalia and lately in South Sudan. Eritrea’s security is controlled by TPDM and various war lords according to published reports, We know well how war lords turned Somalia into a chaotic state. We need not have a failing or a failed state on our border. If you think Eritrea’s problem is not ours, explain to me how come there are ten or so armed organisations, financed by that country actively propogating to overthrow the EPRDF……..

        • To be honest I do not care about Eritrea at all. But if you have a neighbor that waged war on you for fifty years and made you hungry and backward that country should your number one priority. Our leaders always taught weakening Isaias is to Ethiopia’s advantage because that makes Ethiopia undisputed leader. I disagree. With the culture of war in Eritrea any destabilization will have a big consequence to Ethiopia. Here are some of them:
          1. Creates a fertile ground for Egypt to destabilize Ethiopia.
          2. Sudan is not reliable and can change its position.
          3. An Islamist government may come to power. They already tried to overthrow Isaias.
          4. TPLF-EPLF kind of cooperation could emerge in Eritrea to attack Ethiopia in all sides.
          5. Opposition groups like TPDM and Arbenoch could get ground and destabilize Ethiopia effectively.
          6. Isaias could be indicted by the ICC. This simply gives a card or excuse for PFDJ to govern Eritrea for life. Look what Albeshir is doing now.
          Why the Ethiopian government didn’t see all these problems coming? Ethiopia should have accepted the EEBC ruing, established full diplomatic relationship and worked to heal the wounds of war. Any bad developments in Eritrea will give Ethiopia nor sea outlet or economic progress. I remember when the wise Sebhat Nega said to Gebru let’s stop the “Gembale culture”. Can we repair it now even we want to honer the EEBC 100% I do not think so. Just a missed opportunity. Sorry for telling the hard truth.

  84. First Congratulations for winning the 2015 election. I am happy that no social unrest was noticed in Ethiopia as the result of the election. I always trust and have full confidence with EPRDF on the implementation of the developmental plan of the nation. It is belived by many nations that you as a party walked extra miles to bring the Ethiopia to the present status. My question is this. As a person who lives away from my home country, am gratly concerned about the negative impact of the war that Ethiopia will be forcefully involved with the oppositions and the country that supports them (Eritrea). This War will have tremendous human and financial costs that could negetivly impact the developmental goals of the nation. So have you anticipated qwhat is going to come following the act of war and how long are we going to involve before it is finished? Or do you have any other options to stop the unrest? Are we expecting the kind of conflict we are observing in the middle east to happen in our cities? Are we expecting the same wave that destroyed the middle east countries? .
    Please let me hear your analitical words on the issue
    thank you

  85. I would like an answer to the following: Who in the government is seeing a Ghost, that never disappears?

    NBE is breaching proclamation 270/2002 that provides foreign Nationals of Ethiopian Origin with certain Rights to be exercised in their Country of Origin. This is dully hampering from Money flow from the named subjects to their mother land, there by both parts missing huge opportunities.
    Despite the fact that this proclamation dose not hinder Ethiopians with the Yellow ID-card to invest in the finance sector (exceptions are expressed in paragraph 6 of the proclamation), NBE follows adamantly the old policy and proclamation that talks about foreigners in general. This is a breach of named proclamation and defiance towards government order for all authorities to adapt to the new proclamation.
    This has also created huge confusion to the Banks and Insurance companies who have registered a number of Ethiopians with Yellow ID cards as shareholders. In fact some are advised to have illegal IDs in order to satisfy the wrong laws and directions from NBE. I am hoping you can guide this message to a concerned and proper department and thereby get the right side of it. Ethiopia might be losing foreign currency in millions due to this mismatch.

  86. My question is…
    for Ethiopia to develop fast, loan from China and infrastructure is not enough. The country is bleeding with talented minds moving in mass out, instead of returning back to their land. I personally want to go back and work in my own country and invest and contribute to its development. But, am afraid that in Ethiopia, success requires that you are connected to the ruling elite or speak a certain language. White lie to say that is not true is not a good answer, because it hasn’t been very long since I left the country testing that, and I know it is worth because I have brothers and sisters who struggle on daily basis with this to run a business.
    What steps is this government prepared to take to ensure transparency in taxation, business, government contracts etc. for all Ethiopian to feel at home? What steps is this government prepared to take to make professional work in Ethiopia (such as Universities, gov’t bureaucracy, etc) are not managed by party politics and membership, but with competence and ability? You are a TPLF webesite so I don’t even expect you to post this let along to ask him… you keep denying these issues exist in the country while all government bureaucracies are run only with party members, even the academic institutions are extremely politicized… any ways that is my question

  87. Thank you Aiga for this opportunity.
    Dear P.M Hailemariam,
    There are many positive things happening and let me share my concerns,
    1. Do you believe there is any degree of separation of powers ( executive, judicial, and legislative branches) in your government? How can democracy flourish where all branches are controlled by one party?
    2. Political parties own companies including banks in Ethiopia. Is that legal? Don’t you think that corrupts the system?
    3. Has there been any independent audit done on EPRDF owned companies? Do think that is corruption?
    Thank You

  88. Your Excellency PM Hailemariam,
    First of all let me take this opportunity to congratulate the people of Ethiopia, the NEBE, contesting political parties, the government and you for the peaceful and orderly 5th national election. I just wanted to vent some issues of concern for your consideration and possible discussions with the U.S. President to pursue his support.

    1) I am happy with the outcomes of the popular election and I believe that an EPRDF led government is currently the only viable option for Ethiopia. However, I would have been happier had some other contesting parties were also able to win some seats in the house. I believe that the presence of other parties in the house would only further strengthen EPRDF and the democratic culture in our society. I know that this is not your or your parties fault but I think that the EPRDF, as a matured political front, is the only party that can play a critical role in flourishing the political culture and landscape in our country. In this regard, asking the U.S. President as to what he can offer to help EPRDF to promote matured political alternatives in Ethiopia would be relevant.

    2) I would also like to appreciate the excellent developments in the areas of press and press freedom. However, I am afraid that there is still serious intentional and/or unintentional errors in the ethical practice of the press and journalism in Ethiopia. Contrary to this, Ethiopia is continuously blamed by many for clamping down press freedom. I believe that those who blame Ethiopia do not seem to be aware of the misconduct of some of the press and journalists in Ethiopia.
    In this case asking the U.S. As to what he can offer to help build ethical journalism and press freedom in Ethiopia and what press law enforcement capabilities can the U.S. provide to Ethiopia.

    3) The Eritrean issue is another elephant in the room. So far, I believe that Ethiopia has defended itself from the direct and in direct acts of aggression by Eritrea et al, effectively. The diplomatic efforts are also exerting significant pressure on the government in Asmara. It may take some time but the Asmara government surely is going down the hill. Please proceed along this line of legal action; diplomatic pressure and proportional defensive military counter attack right at the border. Ethiopia should not be bothered to wage any large scale military offensive or regime change in Eritrea. The regime change in Eritrea, if it doesn’t come through its own natural course and driven by the Eritreans, other short-cut approaches may bring unexpected challenges and obstacles to Ethiopia’s development agenda. Please allow the UN process to continue. Ethiopia should not take a penny, a minute or one person away from the fight against poverty. In this case, asking the U.S. to offer help to accelerate a UN decision towards an ICC led legal actions against the Eritrean government would be wise.

    I strongly believe that discussing these issues with the U.S. President will put Ethiopia in equal terms and as a real partner of the U.S. Ethiopia should not stand to defend blames and accusations but to boldly present the problems and actions pursued so far and challenge others if they have a contextualised advice and help to offer on how best to address the problems we have. That way, Ethiopia can win the hearts and minds of those who can help.

    Sincerely
    Yohannes

  89. I remember almost ten years ago AAU alumuni group had created an association with a holy objective that is to reverse the brain-drain to brain-gain. But as usual we did not united because of the tribal political system culture of our country. We have discussed different models of diaspora like of the South Korea, which supported their country in every aspect political, cultural, and economical. I suggest you just apply these models by focusing our Ethiopian culture and engage the diaspora, and be more focused on development especially in technology transfer.

    • I think you need to understand what “tribal politics” means. Tribes are subgroups of a bigger parent group. People who speak different languages who have different cultural and social practices are not tribes. A political system that recognises such differences in order to promote equal rights for all can’t be critisized for tribalism. Equal rights for all builds confidence, mutual respect and unity. Narrow nationalism and chauvinism are the main threats to Ethiopian unity. These evils can only be solved through a federal system of self administration and not through dictatorship. I guess alumini are not immune from the evils I mentioned. Big hearts and minds are always needed on how best to ensure unity by respecting diversity.

  90. My Question to PM Hailemariam Desalegn is as follows:

    Why hasn’t Ethiopia brought a case against Dr. Berhanu Nega, a fugitive, who has been sentenced to Death by the Ethiopian court for his terrorist activities in Ethiopia. Would a terrorist person wanted by the US Gov allowed to live in Ethiopia peacefully? Why is then this man continue to live freely and openly campaigning to distabilize Ethiopia and the Ethiopian community?

    Now that this man has finaly joined the fellow gangs in Eritrea, would this make it easier for the Ethiopian Law Enforcement folks to execute the court’s dicession?

    The Prime Minister should seek assurance from the President Obama that unlawfull activities in the US to distabilize Ethiopia will not be tolerated.

    Kokeb

  91. Your excellency PM Haile Mariam,
    Thank you for giving us the opportunity to ask you questions. We are glad that our country Ethiopia has wise, resourceful, young and intelligent leaders like you. We expect more and more economic progress in the years to come.
    My question is: Do you say there is an alternative party to EPRDF in Ethiopia other than the Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP)? Whenever I try to see the members or leaders of the so called the Ethiopian opposition parties, most of them were (are) criminals. They were directly or indirectly affiliated with the past Military dictator regime (Derg) and the present enemies of Ethiopia. In order to hide themselves form their crimes, they constantly change the names of their criminal organizations like a chameleon.
    Now, they try to tell us that they are human right activists, journalists, freedom fighters, opposition parties etc. Why the government does not make it clear to the general public and other concerned bodies that these people established organizations so as to hide themselves from their past and present crimes under the umbrella of the political parties? Why the government does not make it clear that there is no true cave where criminals hide? Why other aliens who want to impose their own political system in Ethiopia, tell us about our own criminals as innocent political party members? Don’t you say a criminal is a criminal and Justice must be served? Do you think young and progressive alternative parties will be formed in the near future; other than the past regimes’ power-thirsty people that we always see? What will be the governments support?

  92. Dear prime minister,
    I was so surprised when I see foreign Journalist and the so called a human right activist were prophesying about the probable re-imprisonment of one Ethiopian blogger after he was set free. However, these people or broadcasting services did not even mention a word about the meeting of about 50 heads of states in Addis Ababa Ethiopia during the Third International Conference on Financing for Development ? Is this a propaganda war against a sovereign land? What is your comment on this issue?

  93. Sorry, one more question: is Albania still our model to build a democratic country? I am asking this because I am noticing Ethiopians even not believing their shadows to speak what they feel about their country.

    • I think the current government system in Ethiopia is not copied from Albania. There is no federal government system in Albania. Albania is not a strategic partner of China and the USA while Ethiopia is. I advise you to read more and be analytical and evidence based in your conclusion. In present day Ethiopia, only violent and people with criminal minds should fear the current Ethiopian government, EPRDF or WEYIN . Honest and firm individuals who stand for what they believe and fight for it in a peaceful and legal manner should not fear any one. As the saying goes “fear the fear itself”. The problem in Ethiopia today is there are still some die-hard narrow nationalists and chauvinists who stand against the constitution and federal system in Ethiopia. These jerks use their constitutional rights to achieve illegal and unconstitutional objectives. They should fear; so do you, if you are one.

  94. Thank you Aiga for this opportunity.
    Dear H.E PM Hailemariam Desalegn.
    First I will congradulate you on Your party’s win and work done to eradicate poverty.
    The big problem which is becoming many ethiopian’s head ache is the Ethio-Eritrean unsolved problem. I am against war but believe shaebia needs Kurkumit. What many ethiopians are worried about is the mass flow of eritreans to ethiopia. Because
    -Many of these are the same eritreans who has been thrown out of ethiopia
    because these were the ones who were contributing millions of dollars to shabea.
    -These are the same eritreans, according to some eritreans who has been training how to use mashine guns, revolvers……..to attack ethiopia.
    – These are the same eritreans who has been putting acids n their house holds
    so that ethiopians would not use them when they left.
    -These are the same eritreans who has been killing and torturing many ethiopians in Eritrea.
    -These are the same eritreans who are getting condominiums equally With ethiopians.
    -These are the same eritreans who are getting ethiopian ID Cards by returning
    from abroad ,by the help of some corrupted kebele workers.
    -These are the same eritreans who are still having “Eritrea is mine but Ethiopia
    is ours attitude”
    Therefor Mr. prime minister the corruption + eritrean issue is the biggest security isssue which does not need to wait.
    Thanks

  95. ውድ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስቴር
    በመጀመርያ የከበረ ሠላምታዬን አቀርብሎታለሁ። የተረከቡት ከፍተኛ ኃላፊነትም በመልካም እንዲተገበርልዎ በዚሁ አጋጣሚ ምኞቴን እገልፃለሁኝ።
    መንግሥት መልካም እየተገበረ ቢሆንም ቅሉ ድክመቶችንም አዝሏል። ከዚህ ቀደም ሙስና ሃፍረት ነበር። ዛሬ ደግሞ ሊያድግ ነው። ዲያስፖራው የራሱን አስተዋጾ ሊያደርግ ሲሞክር ሙስናውን ይፈራል። አብዛኛው ዲያስፖራ በፖለቲካው ውስጥ መሳተፍ ባይፈልግም እንኳን ሃገሪቱን ከድህነት እንድትወጣ ይመኛል። ይህም መንግስትንና ዲያስፖራውን በዓላማ ያስተሳስራቸዋል። ዲያስፖራው እንደ እስያ ሃገር ዜጎች ለሃገሪቱ የልማትና የሳይንስ እገዛ እንዲያደርግ መንግሥት መንገዱን ማመቻቸት ይኖርበታል። የገጠሩ ሕዝብ ጤናው እንዲሻሻል፣ የሃይጂን አጠቃቀምን እንዲማር ሙያውን ባካበቱ ዲያስፖራዎች ቢታገዝ መልካም ነው። ይህም ብቻ አይደለም። ጥቂትም ቢሆኑ የተማሩ ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያውያን አሜሪካም ይሁን በሌሎች ክፍለ ዓለማት በታላላቅ ቦታዎች ማለትም በባንክና ፋይናንስ ሴክተሮች፣ በሳይንስና ቴክኖሎጂ መምርያዎች፣ በመንግሥታዊ ዘርፍ ከፍተኛ ቦታዎች፣ በከፍተኛ ምርምር ተቋማት፣ በዩኒቨርሲቲዎች እንዲሁም በዱር አራዊት ጥበቃ፣ እርሻና ግብርና ጣብያዎች እየሰሩ ከፍተኛ ልምድን አካብተዋል። እነዚሁ ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያውያኖች ያገኙትን ልምድ እንዲያካፍሉ መንግሥት ጥረት ማድረግ ይገባዋል። ለነዚሁ ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያውያን ልዩ ልዩ የማስተማርያና የማወያያ መድረኮች ቢዘጋጁ፣ መንግሥት የቀረጸውን የልማትና ድህነቱን የመቅረፍ መርሃግብርን ስኬታማ ከማድረግ አኳያ እገዛ ወይም አስተዋጾ ያደርጋል የሚል እምነት አለኝ።
    እግዚአብሄር ያክብርልኝ።
    ወሠ

  96. The overall progress made so far across all sectors is commendable. My question is related to the alarming environmental pollution (exhaust fumes from old vehicles and waste disposed by processing plants) facing the residents of Addis Abeba and more so children and the elderly. The country has become a dumping ground for old and used cars from other countries mainly because of the high taxes imposed by the government and this has become a major source of pollution in Addis. Aside from pollution, these old and used (2nd / 3rd hand) cars contribute significantly to an unwise use of foreign currency (unnecessary purchase of spare parts & fuel). It is high time for the government to look in to these serious issues of pollution and unnecessary wastage of foreign currency by lowering the 150 – 200% tax on new cars so that some of the old cars (polluters and users of excess gas and spare parts) can be retired for good and contribute to better environment for the children of the country.

  97. To start with, I would like to extend my thanks to Aiga Forum for giving us ,Ethiopia Diaspora, this chance to express our concerns as well as our views with regard to the EPRDF lead Federal Government of Ethiopia. In this short comment writing, I would like to raise two points which I believe are pertinent to support the ongoing development and democratization of the country. So, the first one is that I wonder when the federal government will implement and respect the basic principles of federalism, I’m sorry to say that, but the fact is conspicuous which is very clearly seen to anyone who live within the country and outside. Despite the constitution of the country stipulates all basic and fundamental principles of federalism, but in practice the federal government is leading the country in a very centralized manner like China. This in itself violating the country’s constitution for which thousands of precious young Ethiopians from all walks of live spill their blood and sacrifice the lives of theirs. And also prolong the benefits of federalism from which the country was supposed to enjoy. As the result, the existing political system especially the system of registering political parties is absolutely erroneous which does not consider the right of the regional states to have their own board of electoral and law of political party registration and running elections. I believe that the regional should be independent to undertake their own politics and thus politics has to be decentralized and serve the local people. To the contrary, in a country that claiming as one of the vibrant Africa’s federal states the opposite is true. In one word, the current political system is totally centralized which is serving as the hotbed for chauvinists to grow and create havoc in the country. The past and present political turmoils that the country has encountered and is facing is that the result of the existing political system which favors chauvinists to play as much as they want to do and becoming main hindrances of development and democratization. Therefore; in order to bring to an end such weakness in political parties registration and requirements policy or policies the EPRDF lead government should take the courageous initiative to decentralize politics to the grassroots level where it would serve the people. Thus, the regional governments must undertake their own independent political system which suits to their own existing circumstances and decide their own political destiny. This the conventional and regular practice in any developed federal nations such as USA, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland.
    The second point that I would like to raise is that the worrisome existing lack of good governance and prevalent corruption. I think many commenters touch these issues in many ways and thus I don’t want say much in these matters that is vis-a-vis to the problems, but I want to throw some points with regards to possible remedies that the federal government should consider curbing these worrisome challenges. First of all, the government has to involve all stakeholders such as the civil society organizations, professional associations, institutions and others to combat the setbacks of which the country is suffering. So, to build and maintan good governance the federal government should take lessons from other developed countries who have the best record with is regard. The government should stop disseminating propagand and take action to learn best practices from other states around the world who have tremendous experiences with such matters.
    In summary, here are my questions to excellence prime minister:
    1. Politics should be decentrarlzed like any other rights.
    2. The government has to take initiative to learn important lessons about how to build and maintain good governance and fight corruption from other developed nations for this purpose the government should engage the diaspora communities to play their own role and contribute to the effort.

    Finally, Once I gain I would like to thank Aiga Form for this wonderful opportunity to forward my feelings to the PM.

    From Canada:

  98. My question to honorable PM
    The government electric authority is performing poorly even by third world standards. There is adequate power but poor distribution and unacceptable blackouts. For me, it looks the new and old management is busy looking shoddy dealings especially with Indian companies who repeatedly sold substandard transformers. We remember Ethio Telecom had such problems in the past.
    From my past knowledge and exprience in East Africa, Indian companies are known to swindle governments and people of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda.
    How are planning stop from happening again? I believe we should block Indian companies from participating from government contracts. Do you?

  99. Dear Aigaform,
    Thank you for the opportunity. I am not sure if similar question as mine below was asked earlier in the post. I tried to look few at the top, but didn’t check all.

    It is well known that the Ethiopian government has been working hard for the diaspora Ethiopians to get back to Ethiopia and contribute in the development process. So far what I have been observing was encouragements given for the diaspora in the investment area that requires some capital. I agree that this will have an immediate impact in job creation and and generating revenue to the government that will in return help develop the infrastructure and the whole development process.

    What is the government stance when coming to the diaspora Ethiopian knowledge base? We know that the government is encouraging foreign investors mainly to enable in the knowledge transfer and developing the basic infrastructure. Although there isn’t as such a study, but in my opinion the population of diaspora Ethiopians that are highly educated is quite significant. The highly educated community of the diaspora Ethiopians can be exploited and be a genuine resource for critical knowledge transfer. What is the government doing or planning to exploit this wealth of diaspora Ethiopian knowledge base to assist in the knowledge transfer and in the ongoing development process.
    Thank you
    Wondwosen

  100. My question to honorable PM
    The government electric authority is performing poorly even by third world standards. There is adequate power but poor distribution and unacceptable blackouts. For me, it looks the new and old management is busy looking shoddy dealings especially with Indian companies who repeatedly sold substandard transformers. We remember Ethio Telecom had such problems in the past.
    From my past knowledge and exprience in East Africa, Indian companies are known to swindle governments and people of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda.
    How is your administration planning stop to stop it from happening again? I believe we should block Indian companies from participating in government contracts. Do you?

  101. ለተከበሩ ዓይጋፎረሞች
    ይህ አሁን እያደረጋችሁ ያለው ነገር የሚያሳየው በመጠኑም ቢሆን ኬንኪያ ሰላምታ ወጣ ብላችሁ ወደ ቁም ነገር እየገባችሁ መሆኑን ያሳያል። ይህ ደግሞ በዜጎች መካከል ሊኖር የሚገባውን ጤናማ የውይይት መድረክ ይከፍታል፤፡
    ለተከበሩት ጠቅላይ ምንስትር ያለኝ ጥያቄ ይህ ነው።
    1. የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲ ለምን አስፈለገ?
    2. ጥምር ዜግኔት ለምን አይፈቀድም?
    3. ህገ መንግታዊነት በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ተከበረ ስንል ምን ማለታችን ነው?
    4. አለምም የመንግስት ተቃዋሚዎች ማፈኛ ናቸው የሚሉዋቸው የጸረ ሽብር ና የ ቻሪቲ ህጎች መቼ ነው የሚወድቁት ወይም የሚሻሻሉት?
    5. እርስዎ እንደ አቶ መለስ ሙሉ ስልጣን የሎትም እየታባለ ይወራል። እንዲያውም የህሐዋት ጠንካራ ሰዎች ናቸው ከህላ ሆነው እርሶን የሚመሩት ይባላል፤ እርሶ ምን ይላሉ?
    6. የአዲስ አበባ ማስተር ፕላን አቶ አባይ ጸሃይ እንዳሉት ስራ ላይ ይውላል ወይስ የአካባቢው ህዝብና መንግስት ውሳኔ ቅድሚያ ይሰጠዋል?
    7. ቢጫ ካርድ በአምባሲዎች ለማሳደስ አሸራ መውሰድ ለምን አስፈለገ? የተሰጠውስ አሸራ ለክፉ ነገር አለመዋሉን እንዴት ማረጋገጥ ይቻላል?
    8. ከውጪ በሚገቡ መኪናዎች ላይ ከ150% በላይ ታክስ ለምን ተጫነ? ይህንን ታክስ በመቀነስ ዘመናዊና ነዳጅ ቆጣቢ መኪናዎች እንዲገቡ ነምን አይደረግም? የአዲስ አበባን አየር እርስዎም ከህዝቡ ጋር የሚተነፍሱት ነው፡ የሚያሳምም አየር ነው።
    9. መንግስት፤ ነጻ ገበያና በኢሃዴግ ቁጥጥር ስር ያሉ ግዙፍ የኢኮኖሚ ተቃማት ን እንዴት ማስታረቅ ይቻላል። ለሙስና ትልቁ በር ከፋች ይህ ያልተቀደሰ ግንኙነት አይመስሎትም? በኔ ግምት ለዴሞክራሲ ምህዳሩም መጥበብ ትልቁ እንቅፋት ይህ ነው።
    10. በመጨራሻም፤ እርስዎ እስከ ስንት ተርም መጠቅላይ ሚኒስትርነት የሚቆዩ ይመስሎታ? ከአቶ መለስ በዚህ ጉዳይ ዙሪያ የሚማሩት ምን ነገር ምን አለ

    ኣመሰግናለኡ

  102. Dear Aiga:
    I am elated the president of the USA visited Kenya and Ethiopia, and returned peacefully and fruitfully. Although the US government has many resources at its disposal to understand the overall circumstances in Ethiopia, the visit has given Mr. Obama ample opportunity to personally witness the state of the country.
    While I acknowledge, admire and appreciate to the leaders of the country for identifying the exact causes of the problems the country had faced and craft specific policies and priorities to fast address them, I would like to respectfully make the following comment.
    Having effective communication is an essential tool for all people, but especially for political leaders, including cabinet ministers, and higher officials. When an official possesses adequate communication skills in major foreign language (in this case English), the person can effectively convey messages, answer questions – explaining in ways that persuade the audience. In the diplomatic arena, the competency and proficiency of an official to effectively and efficiently articulate contents plays a significant role. It helps to explain the subject in fitting ways, coax friends, persuade doubters and compel neutrals. When the interview or debate is especially against a political foe, the mastery of communication of the person can be the difference.
    I think some of our political leaders should consider taking content focus speech classes. Online speech classes are given anonymously focusing – among others – on law, economics and diplomacy. These courses are given in the form of persuasive and informative speeches to help individuals to enhance confidence and attain important skills relevant to the specific profession.
    I hope young people that are aspiring for higher public services prepare themselves to acquire those qualities
    .
    Respectfully,
    Gemechu

    • I do not disagree with what you said. But in my opinion the effective way to communicate for our leaders should be by displaying what they lay on the ground. Their action to fight poverty, build infrastructure, enable education for all, improve health standards, etc. There is that saying; ” Action speaks louder than words”.

      The articulation of language might matter for Obama. But in third world society, for leaders to have their articulated language listened by westerners, they have to prove that they are worth to be listened.
      I am also just wondering how articulate in English they are, those leaders from China, Japan, Germany, and France .

  103. Dear Prime minister

    Living standard is getting high every year. What is your gov. Is doing to tackle this problem? Back in a days the government was subsidise the diesel in order to put the commodity price down. Why can it be done again?

  104. 1. የኢት/ያ ፀረ ሰላም ሃይሎች እንደ ጉንቦት 7 ደምሂት በኤረትራ መንግስት ኣጋዝነት እየተንቀሳቀሱ ይገኛሉ: የነዚህ እንቅስቃሴ ሊገታ እንደሚገባ ግልፅ ነው ታድያ መች እና እንዴት መግታት እያሰቡ ነው?
    2. በመዋቅር ተሰግስገው የሚገኙ ክራይ ሰብሳቢ ኣመራር ለመታገል የተለየ መንገድ ይከተሉ ይሁን በተለይ በግንባታ ዘርፍ ያለ..? የኔ ኣመለካከት በግንባታ ዙርያ ያሉ መምርያዎች እና ኣሰራሮች ለክፍተቱ ዋንኛ ነው ብየ ስለማምን ነው::
    3. በኣሁኑ ግዜ የገበሬው የኣፈፃፀም ብቃቱ ምን ላይ ይገኛል ድርቅ ቢያጋጥም ይህንን ሊታገልበት የሚችል ኣቅም እየፈጠረ ነው ወይ?
    4. በሃገር ውስጥ ያሉ ተቃዋሚ የሚጠቀሙበት ስትራተጂ ህዝቡን በማሳመን ላይ ያነጣጠረ ሳይሆን የውጭ ኣገር ርእዮተ ኣለም ሊያምኑበት የሚችሉ መንገድ ተከትለው እየሄዱ ይገኛሉ:በተለይ ኣባሎቻቸው ጋዜጠኛ እንዲሆኑ በማድረግ ወይም ጋዜጠኞች በጎናቸው በማሰለፍ ጋዜጠኝነት እንደ መሳርያ በሚገባ እየተጠቀሙበት ነው:: ይህንን የተቃዋሚ ስትራተጂ ለኢህኣዴግ መንግስት ፈተና ይሆናል ብለው ኣይገምቱም ? መፍትሄው ምንድነው ይላሉ?
    5. ኢህኣዴግ እንደ ፓርቲ ከ 2005 ዓ/ም ወዲህ በርእዮተ ኣለም ግንባታ ኣቅሙ እየጨመረ ነው ወይስ..?
    6. ኢትዮ/ያ ኣሁን ባለው ሁኔታ እድገትዋ ከቀጠለ መካከለኛ ገቢ ካላቸው ኣገሮች መድረስ የምትችልበት መች ሊሆን ይችላል ?
    7. ምስራቅ ኣፍሪቃ በኢኮኖሚ መተሳሰር ጀምራለች: የመወሃሄድ እድል ሊኖራት ይችላል በተለይ ጅቡቲ ኢትዮ/ያ

  105. Eritrea is busy in trying to interconnect with Sudan power grid , but Sudan does not have excess power to sell, in fact they are buying from us. This implies we are selling power to Eritrea. Do you Allow this to happen?

  106. I want to ask PM Hailemariam Desalegn:

    How much is today’s Ethiopia accomplished and ready for a:
    -Computerized network
    -Telephone bill pay
    -Single window service for all major offices
    -Electronic services including nation-wide cash register network for tax audits,
    -And many other systems that would ease the life of inverters and ordinary Ethiopians in this aspect.
    I’m asking this because, these things could be either main Saboteurs or motivators for any development and progress the country is wishing to achieve.

    Thank you
    Shalom

  107. Dear Prime Minister
    I know your government is trying to accommodate the Diaspora for the sake of country and also the benefit of members of the Diaspora.
    But often this does not translate to tangible issues. For example a friend of mine, a highly experienced lawyer in the United States went to Ethiopia to open a small business and also do legal work. After he arrived in Ethiopia the Ministry of Justice issued a law prohibiting any foreigner, including Ethiopian born, to practice law. Well I understand for done officials improving the legal system is not development like agriculture or health. It is wrong. On the other hand other Ethiopian born accountants, doctors or other professionals can work in Ethiopia but not lawyers? Well lawyers are professionals too in the modern world who play an important role in investment and trading etc. Some officials have been heard saying that law is related to government and should be left to citizens. Any government job should be left to citizens but not private practice. At least it should be allowed to Ethiopian born lawyers. At minimum you can limit them to non crime cases. Otherwise you are alienating lawyers only from returning home. It is very sad that such policies are determined by the bias of some narrow minded security officials rather than by deliberate discussion at the highest level.

  108. ዲያስፖራን በተመለከተ ጥያቄ ሳይሆን ለክቡር ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ የሚከተለውን ሃሳብ ለማቅረብ እንፈልጋለን።
    የዲያስፖራ አስተባባሪ ጽህፈት ቤት ቢቋቋም ዲያስፖራዎችን እያስተባበረ በሚያጋጥመን ችግር ሁሉ መፍትሄ ከማቅረብና አገራችን የተያያዘችውን የልማት እንቅስቃሴ የበኩላችንን አስተዋጽኦ እንድናበረክት ያግዛል።
    ሆኖም አስተባባሪው ጽ/ቤት በቀጥታ በመንግሥት ቁጥጥር ሥር ከዋለ አሁን በሥልጣን ላይ ያለውን ፖርቲ የማይደግፉትን የዲያስፖራ አባላትን ሊያስበረግግና ለኢንቨስትመንት በተፈጠረው ዕድል ሙሉ ተሳትፎ እንዳያደርጉ ሊገድባቸው ይችላል።
    ጽ/ቤቱ በመንግሥትና በዲያስፖራው ተአማኒነት እንዲኖረውና ሙሉ ተቀባይነት እንዲያገኝ ከተፈለገ መንግሥት ፖሊሲ ከማውጣትና ለጽ/ቤቱ በጀት ከመመደብ ውጭ በጽሕፈት ቤቱ የዕለት ተዕለት ሥራ በቀጥታ ጣልቃ ሳይገባ (at arm’s length ቢሆን)፡ ጽ/ቤቱ ከመንግሥት የሚመደቡና ከዲያስፖራው የሚወከሉ ሰዎች በመተባበር እንዲያካሂዱት ተደርጎ ቢዋቀርና በአገርና ውስጥና በውጭ እንዳስፈላጊነቱ ቅርንጫፎች ቢኖሩት፡ በመንግሥትም ሆነ በዲያስፖራው ተቀባይነትና ተአማኒነት ሊያገኝ ይችላል።
    ጽ/ቤቱ ዲያስፖራው ባገሪቱ የልማትና የኢንቨስትመንት አውታሮች ሙሉ በሙሉ ለመሳተፍ የሚያስችለው ወገናዊ (baised) ያልሆነ መረጃ እንዲደርሰው ሊረዳ ይችላል። የድጋፍና የትብብር አገልግሎትም ለመስጠት ይችላል። እንደዚሁም ዲያስፖራውን የሚመለከቱ ፖሊሲዎች ሲቀረጹ ይህ ጽ/ቤት የዲያስፖራውን ጥቅም ለማስጠበቅ ሎቢ (lobby)የሚያደርግ ይሆናል። በዚህ አሳብ ላይ ያለዎትን አስተያየት እንዲገልጹልን በትህትና እንጠይቃለን።

  109. Dear PM,
    Thank you for giving us this chance.
    1) We are former political rivals of EPRDF. Among us there are former OLF, ONLF or Kinijit/G7, …etc. Almost 10 years ago we were accused by the Ethiopian court. Even though we have never been a terrorist, the Ethiopian court accused us as such. So, we were forced to exile to escape the Ethiopian Prison.
    Now my question is, are you ready to cancel those false accusations against us so that we can go back home to Ethiopia and invest in the country?
    Is Ethiopian gouvernment ready to appologise for the abuses we suffered from by the gouvernment security agents?
    Are you ready for a national reconciliation so that exiled intellectuals and investors go back to Ethiopia?
    2) How can we trust you? Give us your guarantee that the past EPRDF/GoE practices have changed.

    Thank you

  110. ብዙሃኑ ዲያስፖራ ኢትዮጵያን ከድኅነት መንጋጋ ፈልቅቆ ለማውጣትና ድህነትን ታሪክ አድርጎ ለማስቀረት የሚደረገውን ትንቅንቅ ማድነቅ ብቻ ሳይሆን በዚህ ታሪካዊ የሀገር ግንባታ የበኩሉን እያበረከተ ይገኛል።
    ነገር ግን ቁጥራቸው አነስተኛ የሆነ ብሩህ ተስፋ የማይታያቸውና የሚደረገውን ትግል ጥላሸት ለመቀባት እንቅልፍ አጥተው የሚባዝኑ ጨለምተኞች አሁንም በየምዕራቡ ከተሞች ሰልፍ እየወጡ “ኢትዮጵያ አትሂዱ/አትርዱ/ኢንቨስት አታድርጉ” በማለት ይማጸናሉ።
    እነዚህ ሰዎች ባንድ ይሁን በሌላ መልኩ ከደርግና ከኢሕአፓ ጋር ወግነው እጃቸውን በኢትዮጵያውያን ደም የታጠቡ በመሆናቸው፣ በሠሩት ወንጀል እንጠየቃለን ብለው በመፍራት ያችን አገር ተመልሰው ሊሄዱባት የማይችሉና አራሙቻ እንዲበቅልባት የሚመኙ ናቸው። የጀሌዎቻቸው ቁጥር ከቀን ወደ ቀን እየተመናመነ የመጣ ቢሆንም ፈጽሞ ተከታይ እንዳያገኙ ለማድረግ የሚቻለው ማንነታቸውና የወንጀል ታሪካቸው ለዲያስፖራው ግልጽ ሲደረግለት ብቻ ነው።
    ስለዚህም እነዚህ የደርግና የኢሕአፖ ወንጀለኞችን እንቅስቃሴ ለመግታት መንግሥት በወንጀለኞቹ ላይ የሰበሰበውን መረጃ በተጠየቀ ጊዜ ለዲያስፖራውና ላስጠጋቸው መንግሥት ቢያቀርብና ወንጀለኞቹን በማጋለጥ በኩል እገዛ ቢያደርግ ውጤት ያለው ሥራ መሥራት ይቻላል። በዚህ ጉዳይ ላይ በመንግሥት በኩል የታሰበ ነገር አለ ወይ?

  111. hi. first of all I would like to say thanks to Aiga forum gave the access to ask the prime minister.As citizen I realized all EPRDFled government economic and political achievements and I strongly opposed to those undermined the remarkable change. however there are some unsolved issues regarding good governance. now what mechanisms your government designed to bring radical change on this?

  112. Dear Mr. PM Hailemariam,
    So many people are discouraged by the implementation of the new policy of renewing the Ethiopian Origin ID. It is a long process and in some instances very difficult to get the required documents such as birth certificates. Few weeks ago applicants have been asked as high as 32,000.00 bir to renew their expired ID. They were shocked and decided not to renew their ID. No hope, no desire of investing in our motherland.

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