Some Observations from Ethiopia

I am pleased to share some observations from Ethiopia. These observations were made in my own time including during a family visit to Gondar.

1. I begin with rural development, an issues that is important to me. There are noticeable fundamental social and economic changes in rural areas. For example, the qebela (wedding) season (in the month of February) has been effectively cancelled, because the government has enforced a law prohibiting marrying girls or boys below the age of 18 (?). There are still weddings, but they happen when people (adults) fall in love with each other and decided to marry. And parents no longer feel responsible for the wedding of adults. My father-in law helped me initiate a “discussion” on this issue while we were on the bus. People said that they had moved on and were not feeling bad about abandoning the qebela tradition. More important, many farmers have realized that everything in the countryside has an economic (monetary) value. For example, a farmer gets cash by selling stones (used to build houses) on his/her land plot; in fact, demand for stones is high as small town expand in size. My young nephew got up in the morning, sought the help of his friends to carry maize ageda (straw) on his family farm to the nearest town and sold the ageda for 51 Birr (this plus the 50 Birr I had given him would made him better off than his urban cohorts). Cash crops such as fruits, garlic and onions are hot commodities, thanks to the Sudanese market. If you sell five or six thousands eucalyptus trees, you may be able to buy a mini-bus. Some people can afford to buy television if they have access to electricity. When I tried to provoke a discussion among young people (students), it was clear that they still remained obsessed with urban life plus getting government jobs (after finishing school), but they also realized that there were economic opportunities in rural areas. Of course, all households do not have the same income earning capacity: some still rely on crop production while others have planted valuable cash crops; some have land plots nearer to springs and rivers and so they have an advantage to produce vegetable and other cash crops during the dry season; some have re-invested their money on themselves vs others who have spent it on drinking; and finally, there are households headed by widowed and single women. But, overall, the state of rural society is good, compared with urban areas where people have been affected by the rising cost of living.

However, I was concerned that some farmers were spending more time in the cities and spending their money on drinking. I heard that there were times when they shot at each other on the streets. Here is then a need for government intervention through tough penalties for unwanted behaviour and educating people to use their newly acquired economic power for developmental purposes, such as keeping money in the bank, building houses that meet modern standards, eating three times a day, feeding children adequately, purchasing sanitation material, investment in local economy, and so on. Otherwise the money will continue to get into the hands of merchants, hence, perpetuating historical rural-urban inequalities.

2. Meles Zenawi is perhaps at the highest time of his political career. All the sensitivity about the length of his stay in power is absolutely nonsense at time when Ethiopia needs effective national leadership. The West has increased trade with China and I presume Americans recently dropped human rights issues from their agenda (with China), all this because Chinese communist leaders have been very successful in promoting economic growth and technological innovation. This is a lesson for Prime Minister Meles and other EPRDF leaders; they should simply focus on their work. But they should also learn to turn their heads 320 degrees and examine what is happening around them. They went to the 2005 election with “development agenda” and did not do well. I am going to list examples of issues that can cause political frustrations and EPRDF must appreciate my openness:

• Religious competition in Ethiopian society (among the Orthodox Church, Muslims, Pentecostal and other groups) will getting out of control unless the government intervenes. It is particularly important to stop the flow of money from the Middle East which is used to spread the radical version of Islam called Wahabism. The Ethiopian government must ensure the preservation of the history and heritage of Ethiopian Muslims. Our generation has also paid a high price to destroy feudalism and secularize Ethiopian society. Interestingly, other Muslim countries are going forward and, in Turkey, the military is even authorized by the country’s constitution to overthrow any government that promotes state religion. Religious practice should be confined to either one’s home or church and mosque grounds. The government should therefore shut down all those noisy microphones on the rooftops of churches and mosques in Addis Ababa and other cities. It is also time that the government sets up a task force to develop a strategy on how to educate Orthodox Christian farmers to abandon monthly religious holidays (which amount to a lose of over 100 working days a year); these are also the days that young farmers go to the cities to waste their money on drinking.

• When I was in Addis, the Reporter wrote an angry editorial criticizing the government for not doing enough to curb corruption. Ethiopians are also feed up and angry by the slow progress to get rid of deeply entrenched culture of corruption within the Ethiopian civil service. They also feel that the law is soft on corrupt officials, although this does not mean sending them to a shooting squad (there are countries that do this. The Chinese are famous). In addition to severely punishing corrupt officials, the government should examine whether the UN conventions on corruption and other international legal instruments can be used to seek the cooperation of foreign governments to arrest and return officials who escape to the West. For example, sometime ago, one Diaspora writer found that a former Ethiopian Telecommunication Commission official (a thief) was living comfortably in Germany. In short, how soon EPRDF curbs corruption will prove its effectiveness as a government.

• It is sad to see the continued aglicalization of the Amharic language, which is the official language of the federal government, four regional states (Amhara, Benshangul-Gumus, Gambella and Southern Nation, Nationalities and Peoples) and many large and small cities across Ethiopia. In one office, I looked over a letterhead that has two versions: one version written in English and another version has all those English words written in Amharic. A hypothetical example: I got to school will be written as, አይ ጎ ቱ ስኩል, instead of ትምህርት ቤት እሄዳለሁ። Going around Addis Ababa and regional cities, you will find English business names and English billboard advertising signs written in Amharic (without translation). This was supposed to be a country that likes to present itself as a symbol of African independence. The amazing thing is also that over 90% of Ethiopians do not understand English. Go to East Africa and you will see how responsible elites have worked hard to promote Kswahilii as a national language and identity. It is clear that many Ethiopian political, bureaucratic and commercial elites resent the Amhara culture and language and one way to express their resentment is to anglicize it. In line with its mandate to protect Ethiopian national identity, history and culture, the EPRDF government has a responsibility to issue directives to require immediately every public, private and non-governmental organization to translate its English business into good and proper Amharic. For example:

Awash International Bank (አዋሽ ኢንተርናሽናል ባንክ)= አዋሽ አለም አቀፍ ባንክ

Agency (ኤጀንሲ) = ወኪል

Business and Construction Bank (ቢዚነስና ኮንስትራክሽን ባንክ) = የስራና ግንባታ ባንክ

Grocery (ግሮሰሪ) = የምግብ መደብር

Salon (ሳሎን) = ጸጉር ቤት

Restaurant (ሬስቶራንት) = ምግብ ቤት

Mass media (ማስ ሚዲያ) = ብዙሃን የዜና ማሰራጫ

Press release (ፕረስ ሪሊዝ) = መግለጫ

St. Mary University (?) (ሴንት ሜሪ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) = ቅድስት ማሪያም ዩኒቨርሲቲ

Doing this is not difficult unless there is some kind of conspiracy by the current political, bureaucratic and commercial elites. Trust me, this can be a serious political issue. EPRDF cannot afford to ignore it.

· The urban youth is not happy. There are complaints about lack of jobs and cost of living. As I walk around downtown Gondar, not only was I surprised to see a large number of teenagers – so much that I felt that I was the only older person walking on the street – but I kept wondering how many of them were dissatisfied with the status quo. The solution lies in the growth and expansion of the Ethiopian economy, which creates jobs and secures livelihoods. But EPRDF has also some work to do to reach out to the urban youth including expanding programs that encourage volunteer work. Young people who do volunteer work will have a better understanding of societal reality and will be less vulnerable to the influence of negative politics. Moreover, the flooding by teenagers of streets would encourage socially unwanted behaviour, such as increased early sexual activities. One solution for this can be keeping young people at home by developing TV and radio talk shows, dramas, sitcoms, etc, that appeal to youth audience.

· By choosing to work with younger generation, EPRDF might have alienated the most influential members of society, elders. This was evident from the elders who came to greet me. They feel totally abandoned. I had found a similar trend when I did my dissertation research in 1996. It will be worthy for Prime Minister Meles to go around the country, under a certain theme such as “conversation with elders”, to hold an honest and a sincere dialogue with elders. EPRDF needs elders’ support.

These are examples of potential political issues. EPRDF leaders better turn their heads 320 degrees to identify and deal with important societal issues.

3. The government should oversee how things are working in the foreign aid sector which mainly consists of international NGOs and multilateral organizations. As a lucrative sector (good pay and opportunities for professional training), the foreign aid sector could be controlled by a network of elites which then denies others access to employment and participation. I met elites who were very frustrated with a lack of access to such opportunities. When I was in Gondar in 1996, the two NGOs that I visited had brought their staff including guards and drivers from Addis Ababa. And this is a problem everywhere. According to one global survey which I believe was conducted by an organization called CIVICUS, NGO elites living in capital cities often reap the benefits of international assistance. You will be amazed how the international foreign aid sector has advanced in thinking, one of the most important advancement being the idea that foreign aid programs must promote local ownership. This means not only the conventional (otherwise methodologically modified) local participation, but also the practice of hiring people who have in-depth understandings of local social, cultural, economic and environmental systems. Although international organizations in Ethiopia can try their best to ensure equal opportunities by advertise job opening, the information does not reach many regions. Without interfering in their decisions, the Ethiopian government can provide international organizations with information and advice on recruitment and hiring activities in project regions, such as helping to identify qualified people in the regions and giving these people employment and contract priorities. These people not only have superior knowledge of local project environments, but they also take their responsibilities very seriously. Their involvement in aid projects will make the work of international organizations more relevant for Ethiopia’s development.

4. One night, I sat down in my hotel room and began watching the Ethiopian television evening news. Two reports covered Meles tour of Gondar. But six reports were devoted to the President of Austria and his wife (who were visiting Addis). I am not kidding! Six reporters reported on the activities (for one day) of a symbolic president of Austria. There was nothing about burning social, economic, political or environmental issues. This is not the end of my story. After the news came the televised election debate, organized by the Ethiopian television and Ethiopian Press Agency. So, the hosts would tell opposition representatives to hurry up and do quick speeches (in two to three minutes). Then came the turn of EPRDF officials (four or five of them), who appeared very relaxed and took as much time as they wanted to make long rhetoric. The setting did not provide and equal opportunity and I did not have a good impression of that public debate. If I were to rate the performance of the Ethiopian Television, I would give it a failing grade.

5. I heard good things about Bereket Simon including his ability as an effective party (EPRDF) manager and strategist and his increasing commitment to the development of Gondar. But Bereket is not a communications person. What EPRDF needs is someone who can effectively communicate its policies, programs and what it has achieved. You will be surprised to know that even junior civil servants, let alone ordinary people, have little idea of what the government does and what it has achieved. The fact of the matter is that, historically, the Ethiopian Ministry of Information does nothing except ensuring that the news always reflects the government’s version of events and stories. It is time to dismantle this department and create an effective communication strategy for the federal government. In Canada, for example, each federal government department has a communication department headed by director general or even assistant deputy ministry, thus, allowing each department to communicate its work to national and international public. A similar approach will allow the Ethiopian government to decentralize communication activities and do better public relations work.

6. If you go to Gondar and return to Addis to find hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, etc., full of people (spending hundreds or thousands of Birr a night), you are very likely to wonder what exactly is happening in Ethiopian society. And who are those people drinking at Hilton or Sheraton? Good question! But I don’t think they are EPRDF elites. In fact, when I went to the home of the MP from my area, I found his living standard too modest.

7. EPRDF should allocate sufficient budget to allow MPs keep in touch with their constituents. Allowing them to travel once a year is not enough. I challenged the young MP from my area to post his address and telephone number on big billboards on town entrances or along major rural roads, so that people can contact him easily whenever they have problems with the local bureaucracy. He liked the idea but appeared hesitant. This was not only a new way of doing business (politics) in Ethiopia, but he also knew that there would be resource issues.

8. Ethiopian opposition parties are faced with challenges. The most important challenge is to establish their presence on the ground (in regions, Woredas and Kebeles). They always complain about harassment by the ruling party officials and my experience in Gondar suggests that this can be true. EPRDF in no way controls the behaviour of Woreda and Kebele officials across the country, who also number in tens of thousands. But this is the only problem. The political environment is the major problem. If the information I had is correct, opposition members have been very passive, their activities confined to, say, sitting in cafes or restaurants to speculate about unfolding political crisis, criticize government or spread rumours of an insurgent group in lowland areas destroying a government military garrison, all of which makes Woreda and Keble officials angry. The fact of the matter is that opposition parties in Addis Ababa can complain in public about harassment (hoping that EPRDF can be pressured to do something about it), but EPRDF has a problem of controlling the behaviour of its own federal bureaucracy, let alone telling Kebele and Woreda officials in remote areas of Gondar, for example, to behave properly. The best way is all parties to working together to create a positive political environment. If opposition members or supporters go around Woreda offices and Kebeles during special occasions (New Year, for example) to thank EPRDF officials for their hard work (many work hard) and say good wishes, this will do a lot to influence the political environment (positively). If you are in Gondar, Afar, Gamballa or anywhere, you better adopt your own style of politics. Beyene Petros, Lidetu Ayalew and others can yell at Meles Zenawi in the parliament. If you imitate this (yell at Woreda officials), your will be in big trouble. You may find my explanations here too elementary, but they are practical.

At the macro level, Ethiopian opposition parties can better articulate democracy in the context of development and not appear to be used by central elites to come back to power. Previous political development models concentrated power in the hands of a network of central elites who engaged in competitions to serve self-interests. They destroyed the country. It should be the responsibility of every sector of Ethiopian society to help opposition parties build their organizational strengths and ensure that they develop values and behaviours that are developmental.

Getachew Mequanent

Ottawa, Canada

March 2008