False Dawn for Saboteurs

Amen Teferi

Some monstrously disposed compatriots in the Diasporas are fancying their chances and now acting in aggressive manner, of course, without intending to follow this with actual aggression. They have steadfastly been engaged in disparaging everything that EPDRF touches and now are perching on the “cyber trees” chanting an old cliché dirge in the middle of a night that would never see a dawn ever again. These groups usually claim to have love for Ethiopia and express their freaky infatuation for it in such a way that would put all other fellow citizens as uncaring their beloved nation.

This time around, these bigoted groups have let down their proverbial political position that had so far been their trademark by taking sides and concluding a political marriage with the narrow-minded nationalists groups who cannot stand even the discussion on democratic unity, but secession. Hence, we are now condemned to see flying birds with incompatible political feathers together.

With a clear danger of mentioning an obvious fact, I hereby reiterate the truth that friendships or political associations can only be sustainable where the relationship is based on some core principles that would never be compromised under any circumstances. Friendships or associations without principles are only meant to corrupt the relationship we sought to establish both on personal or organizational levels.

Hence, principles are sanitizing tools that would protect us from infectious personal relationships and distractive political association, which sooner or later would corrupt our personal or political identities. Let this be as it may, but our absurd current political “short story” never ends here. Therefore, you must be ready for yet another twist in the current political “short story.” A short story authored by short-sighted alliance of groups who entertain and advance such antagonistic political goals that would only be a short-lived narrative with tragic ending. 

This “short story” (short for all senses and purposes) also tells us that some extremist Diasporas have shown the willingness to ally with foreign political forces who vowed to destruct Ethiopia by shedding the blood of its sons and daughters in civil strives, which they  are pushing to initiate and organize along ethnic lines. Alas, just to make things more unpalatable than imagined they have also chosen to support terrorist political groups that are acting as clowns in the court of governments reckoned as archenemies of Ethiopia as they are unflinchingly conspiring to see it disintegrated and changed into thin air.

As the premier has declared it on his latest press conference, these wicked extremist Diasporas are enjoying lavish financial support from those who wrongly presumed that any natural resource development project that Ethiopia undertakes would adversely affect their national interest.      

Now, without any intention of being offensive, I would like to designate my compatriots who live abroad and often speak about Ethiopia adoringly while they are engaged in subverting all its developmental effort, as moths. These moths are forcefully flying around the flickering light of the candle of hope that Ethiopia has caringly holding in her hands now. These insidious Diasporas are persistently stirring the gullible youth and others who harbor genuine dissatisfactions that are breeding with the rampant and unbridled practices of corruption and maladministration.

However, the more these moths keep threateningly flying around the flame of our candle of hope, the more vigilant and energized we become to ensure the safety of the flame that has begun to brightly light our “federal house” and we would always be on guard to protect the this candle of optimism from extinguishing. 

As we speak they are still trying to use the youth as their cannon-fodder and wanted them to follow their foolish dictates blindly. They are unceasingly knocking at our doors and seem to have no rest until they make sure that we are plunged into the pitfalls of hate and be trapped there in damnable meshes woven out of some transient and parochial interests.

See they are holding high the placards with slogans carrying some legitimate local agendas along with other alarming messages that would disrupt the time-tested unity of the peoples of Ethiopia who have, against all odds, managed to keep their bond secured over the historical trajectories of centuries sailing unaffected through a number of tumultuous circumstances in the past.

They have shown unshakable stand in defense of their unity and made bold steps that could further strengthen their union by adopting a democratic constitution that lay solid foundation for a federal arrangement that would allow them to exercise both self and shared rule of governance. Therefore, they commit themselves to the promotion of their common interests, while at the same time aptly applying their energy to their local issues. Put another way, they focus on their respective regional matters without losing sight of the greater picture displayed in the federal framework.

Now I would say, despite the challenges and nagging hiccups that are arising at every turn of the road, we are confident enough to trample over every stumbling-blocks we may face on our path to development and take sure steps to achieve the goals we set in GTP II. We resolve to solve problems that are popping-up from within and without and continue to keep moving along the developmental road we have charted.

Ethiopia has unswervingly been facing the ugliest beast we call poverty for the last two decades now. It is indeed resolutely trying to evict this brutal monster that has so far managed to get a solid trench in the lives of the citizens of Ethiopia. The ruling party has named poverty as the archenemy of our nation that has relentlessly been menacing the livelihood of its people. Thus, Ethiopia vowed to march to prosperity giving deaf ear to all unwarranted outcries that may come from every corner and is now propelling forward with its own vision that it sets in the second GTP, and eventually it will join the clubs of the lower middle income countries by 2020.

The development projects that we are undertaking in the second GTP are nothing but lighthouses, which would help us to ignite the candle of hope in our heart and dispel the domineering presence of poverty we see all around us. These lighthouses will give us not only the direction but also the stamina to take another bold step to go nearer to the club of prosperity.

As the renowned historian W.E.B. BuBois has once said, Ethiopia is a good example and best signifier of the promise of what a native people, untouched by modern exploitations and race prejudice, might do. What Ethiopia envisaged in its GTP II has triggered in me a kind of prognosis that could rightly be referred to as “Africa’s land of prosperity” This, I think, is a legitimate complimenting statement that the present Ethiopia really deserves.

We know that Ethiopia has preserved her political autonomy for millennia, and thus comparatively kept herself free from the irksome liabilities of the colonial rule. Consequently, many had perceived Ethiopia as the last Blackman’s citadel. Hence, during the transgression of Italy, in 1935, many Blacks that are living in Asia and Latin America were shocked by that incident.

That was the prelude to the rise of modern Black internationalism that arise a combination of intellectual and political protest and lobbying on the ambivalence of the global powers to the plight of black man’s citadel in the face of Italian transgression. Ethiopia thus became the triggering factor for a modern black political tradition, which combined political activism with trade unionism and anti-colonialism with early civil rights initiatives.       

Since 1991 the ruling party EPRDF has repeatedly defied many predictions of its demise that had been presumed as impending. The key to EPRDF’s success that have continued to register sustained, accelerated and inclusive double-digit growth lies in its policy independence and the ability to rebound from serious crisis that had engulfed it.

After the demise of the Derg regime Ethiopia had reorganized its economic policy and created suitable conditions that had enabled her to register remarkable economic achievements and notable progress in many sectors. The economic policy reforms Ethiopia had designed were meant to transform all the sectors of the economy with particular attention to its agriculture for that is the abundant resource that the country has.

This policy has also unleashed entrepreneurial gift of its hardworking citizens and has registered many successes in many fronts while ensuring the sovereignty of the people of Ethiopia through increasing popular participation and taking decisive steps that deepens democracy.

After Ethiopia had officially enshrined market economy policy it had embarked on privatizing and reforming state-owned enterprises in a measured steps as is befitting to its objective conditions and the reform in this regard was meant to ensure the social security of the labor force without compromising efficiency and productivity of the enterprises concerned.

In fact, many international agencies were expecting such sweeping reforms in liberalizing the financial sectors. However, Ethiopia chose to take measured steps in its liberalization and privatization ventures. The need for further reforms may still exists, but reforms will be introduced with prudent and due consideration of the objective reality of the country. Now Ethiopia is on the march to prosperity by designing and implementing its second five-year plan to keep the momentum of growth and effect transformation.

The second GTP is a dominant development project that reflects Ethiopia’s commitment to augment and sustain its achievements in economic, social and political sectors. Ethiopia took the second GTP as a matter of life and death project, for the plan will allow it to register more achievements and realize economic transformation.

Ethiopia’s growth and transformation program of course is not exclusively production oriented. It seeks to promote social equity for traditionally underprivileged groups like women, greater equality of economic opportunity and incomes, a reduction in the country’s massive unemployment and underemployment, and adherence to constitutional processes of social change.

Most directly, the strategy that has been adopted for the second GTP period (2015-2020) is aimed at the following main goals, of these, the first one is speeding up the country’s march on the road leading up to its transformation and renaissance envisaging the joining up of the club of lower-middle-income country by the year 2025. 

Ethiopia proposes to achieve average 11 % annual growth rate and ensure increase in real income (and output) per capita, where citizens have equal opportunity to participate and reap fair share from the country’s economic growth, and thereby establish developmental politico-economic system that foster a single political community.

No doubt, we are troubled by rent-seeking practices, maladministration and other organizational deficiencies, but based on the prescription of the constitution the government will maintain the political stability and the sign the saboteurs are seeing now is a false dawn that will remain illusory.