Critique
and Reflection on EPRDF’s Policies and Practices
Ghelawdewos
Araia
August 28, 2015
This
essay is intended to critically examine the
policies and practices of the Ethiopian Peoples’
Revolutionary Party (EPRDF), the ruling party of
Ethiopia, but before I delve into the main corpus
of this paper, at the outset, I like to make
crystal clear that ‘critique’ is not
synonymous with ‘oppose’, although the latter
is also perfectly healthy and should be tolerated
as such in a democratic political system. Thus,
‘critique’ means analyses of an objective
reality critically examined in order to influence
public policy and consequently implement doable
development programs that, in turn, would
transform the Ethiopian society.
Let
me first begin with the politics of ethnicity in
Ethiopia, a topic which is central to the current
affairs in Ethiopia and one that has stirred
controversy and widely discussed in Ethiopian
circles. It looks that now the controversy of
ethnic politics has surfaced within the leadership
of the EPRDF, as poignantly pointed out by Prime
Minister HaileMariam. In the EPRDF conferences of
the four organizations that makeup the party and
that were held at Awassa, Adama, Bahir Dar, and
Mekelle, policy and development issues were
thoroughly discussed and dissected, but the one
comment that caught off guard Ethiopian observers
was Prime Minister HaileMariam’s remark on the
politics of ethnicity. The PM candidly criticized
the discrimination of some ethnic groups that
encountered negative attitudes in some regional
states other than their own state. He also
emphasized on the dangers of narrow nationalism
that has afflicted even university students and
professors. This danger, if it goes out of
control, could put Ethiopia in major crisis, he
concluded.
HaileMariam
Dessalegn said that “some ethnic groups are
viewed as thieves in other regional states”, but
he rationalized that ethnic animosities are
individual quarrels and do not necessarily reflect
skirmishes between nationalities. I personally
have no violent objection to this kind of
rationalization, but the question that could occur
to any Ethiopian at this juncture is: What does
the Prime Minister mean, when in fact it is
EPRDF’s ethnic policy and the subsequent
establishment of the nine regional states,
strictly structured on the basis of ethnicity and
language, that may have resulted in ethnic
nationalism as opposed to Ethiopian nationalism?
The EPRDF actually is responsible for the current
political climate of ethnic nationalism, but we
cannot squarely blame the ruling party for the
culprit ethnic politics. To begin with, ethnic
nationalism is universal and while gravitating
toward ones ethnic group is natural and
acceptable, ethnic animosity, on the other hand,
is the most dangerous political bomb upon which
modern nation-states rest. I believe, this problem
did not emanate from the EPRDF policy of ethnic
federalism including the right of nationalities to
secede from the Ethiopian body politic because the
original sin comes from the Ethiopian student
movement to which I was a part. We Ethiopian
students at Haile Selassie University (now Addis
Ababa University), though sincere in our support
for the rights of all oppressed Ethiopian
nationalities, had gone too far on the rights of
nations and nationalities and by default (not by
design) emasculated our common Ethiopian identity.
It is this legacy that the EPRDF adopted as its
policy and literally implemented it in the
formation of regional states. But what might look
paradoxical is that the opposition parties in
Ethiopia and the Diaspora Ethiopians are now
organized along ethnic lines and have virtually
undermined Ethiopian patriotic nationalism while
the EPRDF seems to carry on a fragile but united
Ethiopia.
In
a similar vein to that of HaileMariam Dessalegn,
Demeke Mekonnen, the Deputy Prime Minister, in an
interview with a TV Journalist, has admitted that
members of the Amhara nationality were attacked in
the Gambella and Beni Shangul Gumuz regional
states. The fact that these two high ranking EPRDF
officials openly talked about the problem of
ethnic politics in Ethiopia could be a reflection
of a much more serious problem that may have come
to haunt the EPRDF itself, or the EPRDF officials
may have sincerely considered to bring the problem
of ethnicity in an open forum. But since it is
very hard to fathom the inner dynamics of the
EPRDF, it is the party itself that should present
its intentions to the Ethiopian people. In the
final analysis, however, it is the duty of
progressive Ethiopian intellectuals (including
myself) to come up with a strategy that could
emancipate the collective Ethiopian psychology
from the shackles of sectarian ethnic politics.
The
Prime Minister also mentioned the current drought
that has loomed over the Afar and other regional
states. This natural calamity though exacerbated
by man-made outdated agricultural techniques and
also by negligence of local and national
government officials, cannot be attributed to
EPRDF’s failures. The present El Nino effect has
created hitherto unknown heat wave and drought in
parts of California and other states like Idaho,
Wyoming, and Washington while it has created
deluges in other parts of the world. But PM
Hailemariam’s comparison of the drought of
California and Australia to that of Ethiopia would
not be helpful because the technological
capability of California and Australia could
simply overcome water shortage by even converting
ocean salt water into pure potable water. Ethiopia
does not have such a technology but it could
mitigate water shortage and famine by increasing
irrigation canals, basins, and dams that are
already serving the public and some are under
construction.
Other
important points raised by the PM are the problem
of democracy, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and
corruption. With respect to democracy, it is
understandable that we Ethiopians have yet to
embrace it as part of our culture. We simply
don’t have it and the EPRDF alone cannot be
blamed for the democracy deficit in Ethiopia.
However, compared to the opposition parties and
the Ethiopian people at large, it is the EPRDF
that must shoulder responsibility by demonstrating
an exemplar role in laying the cornerstone of
democratic culture in Ethiopia, or it should allow
democratic forces to find democratic institutions
in the country of their birth. And in order for
democratic institutions and culture to flourish,
freedom of speech and press and other fundamental
rights, as enshrined in the Ethiopian
constitution, must be guaranteed to all
Ethiopians, not only for propaganda purposes but
also as part of way of life of Ethiopians. It thus
logically follows that journalists, authors,
writers, filmmakers, play right artists,
academicians, and political activists must not be
subjected to unnecessary scrutiny and
imprisonment. I must salute the EPRDF for recently
releasing some journalists and opposition party
members, but the Party’s policy of democracy
contradicts its practice of intolerance to the
opposition and must show a will to change in this
regard.
The
bureaucratic bottlenecks and inefficiency as well
as endemic corruption in Ethiopia are not unique
to the country; it is in fact a universal problem.
But since the EPRDF considers itself a
revolutionary party, it ought to take
revolutionary measures to tackle the twin major
problems, and if the ruling party is serious about
finding a panacea to red tapes and corruption, it
should begin within itself, that is, within the
government bureaucratic apparatuses. It seems to
me the EPRDF should prune itself by gradually
replacing the old cadres by educated
professionals. I understand that the old cadres
paid dearly in the protracted struggle against the
Derg and they deserve to be rewarded, but a
quarter of century of special privilege is good
enough especially if priority is given to the
welfare of the Ethiopian people. Moreover, if
Ethiopia’s development is going to be meaningful
and this poor country must catch up in the 21st
century and compete in the global economy, it can
be done only by the leadership of intellectuals
and entrepreneur professionals, and this brings me
to another relevant theme pertinent to Ethiopian
intellectuals.
The
EPRDF policy-planning spectrum should genuinely
and seriously consider the inclusion of various
policy-related issues initiated or proposed by
Ethiopian intellectuals outside the Government and
opposition parties whose agenda could benefit
Ethiopia. In regards to the inclusion of Ethiopian
intellectuals as catalysts in the transformation
process that Professor Teodros Kiros touched upon
by directly appealing to the Ethiopian officials,
and a noble idea that I endorse fully, I like to
use this opportunity to tell my own experience so
that the reader could have a full grasp and flavor
of the impediments that Ethiopian intellectuals
have encountered in the past two decades. I
personally have made several attempts to bridge
the link between Ethiopia and Diaspora Ethiopians
and I have been trying this for the last two
decades and half in an effort to realize our
contributions to Ethiopia’s development. This is
the story in brief: it is common knowledge that a
decade and half ago I founded an organization
known as Rehab ENATFFA and I managed to attract
some wonderful Ethiopian intellectuals and
professionals who were willing to dedicate their
time to conquer and eliminate famine in Ethiopia
once and for all, but this dream of mine never
materialized. However there were also other
initiatives that I undertook but I never intended
to make them public until the writing of this
essay. Long before the Ethiopian-Eritrean war
erupted, I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Seyoum
Mesfin, former Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, and
proposed to him that I would like to organize
Ethiopian intellectuals and professionals who
could volunteer to contribute in the
transformation of Ethiopia. He supported my idea
and was even enthusiastic about it, but this
initiative too did not materialize, and I tried to
follow it up by writing a letter to Ato Seyoum
(sent by a personal courier) and a friend
delivered the letter on my behalf. There was no
response to the letter. In the middle of all these
attempted but failed initiatives, I was involved
in the finding of a higher institution of learning
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This initiative was not
mine. It was in fact the initiative of Dr. Dan
Johnson, former professor and founder of the
Gondar Public Health College, which was part of
Haile Selassie I University. Dr. Johnson was a
retiree from California State University at
Stanislaus and I met him through Dr. Beyene Negewo,
once Ethiopian ambassador to the UK. The two
intellectuals and I were going to find Ethiopian
African American University (EAAU) and Dr. Johnson
did the preliminary job of funding from world
institutions, contacting Ethiopian authorities,
and the granting of land, and he told us he was
successful in finding a campus space in the Kotebe
area, near the Civil Service College. The three of
us were elated by the initial promise and we were
ready to do our job as educators and leaders of a
new university by a unique name. The promise faded
gradually and EAAU never saw the light of the day.
Finally,
in the last three to four years, I resorted to
another route and began to have a talk with Dr.
Tekeda Alemu (New York UN Mission) and Ambassador
Girma Biru (Ethiopian Ambassador to the US). I
have clearly presented to them that “we are a
group of Ethiopian intellectuals and professionals
who wish to make input in the transformation of
the Ethiopian society and they to serve as a
go-between the Government and us.” They were
cooperative, but this last resort also vanished
before it even took off.
Now,
like most Diaspora Ethiopians, I have learned that
a new Diaspora Ethiopian Association has been
established and some intellectuals have been going
back and forth to Ethiopia. Whether these new
sojourners to Ethiopia have established good
relations with the Government of Ethiopia or were
recruited by some low profile exhibiting forces,
or they have a mission of their own and utilize it
to promote their interests could be known only if
the Government tells us why it favors them and why
it denies other Diaspora intellectuals.
If
indeed some intellectuals have enjoyed the
collaboration of the EPRDF and the latter has
indeed advisors and consultants who could
formulate and polish policies, why do I then want
to underscore the significance of the hundreds and
upon hundreds of Diaspora intellectuals who were
unable to work in Ethiopia and yet appeal to the
EPRDF for cooperation? The answer is simple: 1)
Ethiopia is a big developing country with big
population and potential and the current number of
Ethiopian intellectuals would be a drop in the
bucket in the transformation of the country; 2) I
see major intellectual deficit in the Ethiopian
government bureaucracies and even in the academia
that are presently suffering from lack of quality
education. Despite EPRDF’s major contribution in
the foundational economy and consequent economic
growth, Ethiopia still needs the help of Diaspora
intellectuals who wish to work in Ethiopia.
One
other issue we need to address is, of course, the
concept and practice of the developmental state
(DS), which is the number one guiding economic
policy of the EPRDF. I have discussed this
important issue in detail in my book, ‘Ethiopia:
Democracy,
Devolution of Power, and the Developmental State’, but I will
briefly address it here.
I
am in favor of the DS, both as a conceptual
methodology and development strategy and have
suggested in the book mentioned above that
Ethiopia should garner lessons from other
developmental states like Japan, the Asian Tigers,
China, Brazil, India, and Botswana. The DS is
problematic with respect to democracy because it
precludes democratic practices, although countries
like Japan, India, and Botswana are exception to
the DS autocracy. I therefore suggested that
Ethiopia must follow the Japanese way in order for
democracy to flourish and Ethiopians enjoy
fundamental rights. The DS, thus, can become
democratic but only when the policy and practice
coincide.
In
order for the DS to become democratic and
meaningfully realize its development agenda,
however, Ethiopian intellectuals and professionals
must be involved at all levels, and in the absence
of the latter, the policies and practices of the
Government (any government for that matter) would
remain rigid and redundant. Put otherwise, the
DS-led economy requires what is popularly known
today the ‘knowledge economy’. It does not
have to be well-synchronized knowledge, but the
EPRDF leaders at least need to have compatible
knowledge relevant to respective policies (foreign
policy, education, agriculture etc.) The EPRDF
leaders should either equip themselves with
political economy theories ala John Maynard Keynes
or have a good grasp of various economic
strategies including the monetarist, the open
economy, the redistributive economy, the Chicago
School, and the present challenge of Transnational
Corporations. The latter are a formidable
challenge to the DS and Ethiopian leaders ought to
know well the complexity of the global economy and
fashion policies accordingly.
By
way of concluding this essay, I like to go back to
the politics of ethnicity and suggest the
following immediate tasks to be met by the EPRDF:
1.
The ruling party should encourage
wide open forums in the universities to revisit
the current federal structure of Ethiopia and
allow debates of pros and cons pertaining to
ethnic federation.
2.
The Ethiopian Parliament, which is
essentially an EPRDF legislative body, should
initiate a new debate whether to repeal Article 39
of the Constitution, which allows the regional
states to secede from the Ethiopian body politic,
or vote in favor of it. The principle of secession
is an outmoded policy and to date no country has
adopted it, and I personally am in favor of its
repeal.
3.
The Prime Minister office must
establish a new task force that would be assigned
to study the politics of ethnicity and practically
gather data in relation to the dangers associated
with ethnic animosity that PM HaileMariam
underscored in his speech.
4.
The Ethiopian Government should
order the state and federal police to protect all
Ethiopian nationalities from any physical and
mental attack by any nationality group in any part
of Ethiopia. If the Government could prevent
external terrorist threats, it can do so to
completely secure Ethiopian nationals in their
respective regional states. Members of the Amhara
nationality who reside outside the Amhara regional
state especially are vulnerable due to unfortunate
bias and they must be given special protection.
5.
The Ethiopian Government should
adopt an open door policy (not on paper but in
deeds) for Ethiopian intellectuals who are willing
to make a difference for the country they love.
6.
The investment policy of Ethiopia
should be equipped with redistributive justice, in
which all regional states equally benefit and also
exploit their potential resources. The TPLF
leaders, in particular, should explain why it is
so difficult for Ethiopians and foreigners alike
to invest in Tigray while they are pouring to
other regional states like Oromia, Amhara, and
Gambella.
7.
The ruling party should initiate a
national reconciliation policy, a policy overdue
now, and an issue that I have discussed many times
in the past, and iron out its differences with the
opposition parties.
8.
The Ethiopian opposition parties
also have an obligation to reconcile their
differences with the ruling party and should
exhibit courage to recognize the development
initiatives the Government has taken so far. Rigid
politics is a sign of immaturity and the
opposition needs to elevate itself beyond the
clamor of “Woyane” to an all-Ethiopia agenda.
All Rights Reserved. Copyright © IDEA, Inc. 2015. Dr. Ghelawdewos Araia
can be contacted for educational and constructive
feedback via dr.garaia@africanidea.org
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