Other Columnists

The Nile River and the history of men and women of North and East Africa have been intertwined since the beginnings of recorded time. The pharaohs of Lower Egypt (closest to the Nile river/Mediterranean Sea delta), were always concerned that the pharaohs of Upper Egypt, based in the South near Aswan would divert the Nile River and thus cause havoc to the economy of Lower Egypt. The diverting of the Nile was unrealistic but this fear was utilized for political reasons to polarize the people of Lower Egypt. History has revealed to us that when the land along the Nile was united and Upper and Lower Egypt had one ruler, uncertainty existed but it was related to the inundation of the Nile and concern around the amount of alluvial soil that would be deposited on the banks of the Nile and if it would be normal, greater than normal (resulting in flooding) or less than normal (resulting in draught). The above scenario has been replicated on numerous occasions. For example, there is an island on the Nile known as Elephantine Island where a temple was built for the purpose of worship. In addition to the sanctuary there was also a section of the temple where the priest could actually measure the height of the Nile. The priest used this information to determine if the Nile inundation would be normal, below normal or above normal. When religious and political leaders disputed, the priests on the island threatened to cease the flow of the Nile. Again, the Nile was used in a political sense to apply pressure to leverage support for policies of interest. In our Common Era, history is repeating itself in terms of unfair and unequal policies with respect to the Nile River, water rights and access. Of note is the Renaissance Dam Project that Ethiopia, one of the Northeast African riparian countries, has begun construction. The knowledge of Ethiopia that many in the West have lodged into their psyche is that of drought and famine. The fact that Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian nations in the world where Christianity was accepted as the state religion in the year 337 during the 4th Century of the Common Era is not well known. Judaism and Islam have a long history with Ethiopia. In 985 B.C., the Queen of Sheba, also known as Queen Makada, traveled to Jerusalem to meet with King Solomon. As a result of this visit, the practice of Judaism came to Ethiopia. During the early stages of Islam in the 7th Century, the followers of the Prophet Mohammed were being persecuted. The King of Ethiopia/Axum at the time, Ella Seham, welcomed the Prophet’s followers and said that Ethiopia could be their haven. In addition to the practice of these three religions, there are many other highlights or “firsts” that have occurred in Ethiopia, such as the unearthing of the fossils Lucy or Dinkenesh and the development of coffee. Many of these Ethiopian firsts are not well known. The completion of the Dam will usher in a renaissance for Ethiopia and make affordable electricity available to many more Ethiopians and to countries surrounding Ethiopia. The completion of the Dam will increase food security and effectively reduce or even potentially eliminate the tragedies that result from droughts and famine. It will lead to food production and stabilization. This is one of the main benefits of the Dam. The Dam will lead to a reduction of poverty by providing irrigation for crops and a reservoir for fishing. As with any large engineering project, Ethiopia has completed its due diligence in the planning phase for the Renaissance Dam. Most of Ethiopia’s rivers are in deep canyons and the Ethiopia Blue Nile, also known as Abay, is no exception. The Dam will be built in a deep gorge that is inhospitable and inaccessible to people so there is no need to move people, villages or historical monuments as was necessary with previous dams on the Nile River. The Renaissance Dam will assist and resolve in part the issue of the excessive alluvial soil buildup that is currently occurring in downstream dams. Additionally as a result of Ethiopia’s altitude, there will be less evaporation of water, resulting in more water being available for all the stakeholders. Since many of the other dams on the Nile are located in a desert environment, the annual water evaporation rate is high. For example the annual evaporation rate of the Aswan High Dam is 14.3 billion cubic meters. The water evaporation rate of the Renaissance Dam is predicted to be no more than 400 million cubic meters annually. Studies performed demonstrate that the building of the Renaissance Dam will not affect the downstream dams. In fact, it will benefit the downstream dams through control of the excessive alluvial soil contamination that currently plague the downstream dams. So, one has to ask the question, Why are lending institutions of the international community reluctant to provide loans for the Dam? Again, we go back to the topic discussed earlier. There is a fear promulgated by the powers of some downstream countries that those who will oversee the construction of the Dam would intentionally choke the flow of the Nile. Ethiopia has firsthand experience with the tragedy that results from lack of water and droughts and therefore does not want to see this happen in the downstream countries or anyplace in the world. Millions of Ethiopians have suffered and died due to droughts and famine. Additionally there are regional governmental bodies and agreements that Ethiopia is signature to which oversees the establishment of rules governing water resources which Ethiopia abides by. Let us not allow this 3000 year old fear of choking off the Nile to resurface in our Common Era. It is imperative that the implementation of positive and sustainable development which will assist in providing stable food and electricity production to Ethiopia and other countries in the region move forward. Ethiopia is going forward with the project, but it will be a strain on the country to foot the entire cost of the Dam. If you have the ear of the international funding community, ask those leaders to consider the whole picture, review Ethiopia’s request and provide support for the Renaissance Dam, a renaissance of Ethiopia and the entire Nile Valley that stretches from Ethiopia, through both Sudan’s and into Egypt. Yaw Kwakye Davis Engineer and Historian November 12, 2011

The Nile River and the history of men and women of North and East Africa have been intertwined since the beginnings of recorded time. The pharaohs of Lower Egypt (closest to the Nile river/Mediterranean Sea delta), were always concerned that the pharaohs of Upper Egypt, based in the South near Aswan would divert the Nile River and thus cause havoc to the economy of Lower Egypt. The diverting of the Nile was unrealistic but this fear was utilized for political reasons to polarize the people of Lower Egypt. History has revealed to us that when the land along the Nile was united and Upper and Lower Egypt had one ruler, uncertainty existed but it was related to the inundation of the Nile and concern around the amount of alluvial soil that would be deposited on the banks of the Nile and if it would be normal, greater than normal (resulting in flooding) or less than normal (resulting in draught).

The above scenario has been replicated on numerous occasions. For example, there is an island on the Nile known as Elephantine Island where a temple was built for the purpose of worship. In addition to the sanctuary there was also a section of the temple where the priest could actually measure the height of the Nile. The priest used this information to determine if the Nile inundation would be normal, below normal or above normal. When religious and political leaders disputed, the priests on the island threatened to cease the flow of the Nile. Again, the Nile was used in a political sense to apply pressure to leverage support for policies of interest.

In our Common Era, history is repeating itself in terms of unfair and unequal policies with respect to the Nile River, water rights and access. Of note is the Renaissance Dam Project that Ethiopia, one of the Northeast African riparian countries, has begun construction. The knowledge of Ethiopia that many in the West have lodged into their psyche is that of drought and famine. The fact that Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian nations in the world where Christianity was accepted as the state religion in the year 337 during the 4th Century of the Common Era is not well known.

Judaism and Islam have a long history with Ethiopia. In 985 B.C., the Queen of Sheba, also known as Queen Makada, traveled to Jerusalem to meet with King Solomon. As a result of this visit, the practice of Judaism came to Ethiopia. During the early stages of Islam in the 7th Century, the followers of the Prophet Mohammed were being persecuted. The King of Ethiopia/Axum at the time, Ella Seham, welcomed the Prophet’s followers and said that Ethiopia could be their haven.

In addition to the practice of these three religions, there are many other highlights or “firsts” that have occurred in Ethiopia, such as the unearthing of the fossils Lucy or Dinkenesh and the development of coffee. Many of these Ethiopian firsts are not well known.

The completion of the Dam will usher in a renaissance for Ethiopia and make affordable electricity available to many more Ethiopians and to countries surrounding Ethiopia. The completion of the Dam will increase food security and effectively reduce or even potentially eliminate the tragedies that result from droughts and famine. It will lead to food production and stabilization. This is one of the main benefits of the Dam. The Dam will lead to a reduction of poverty by providing irrigation for crops and a reservoir for fishing. As with any large engineering project, Ethiopia has completed its due diligence in the planning phase for the Renaissance Dam. Most of Ethiopia’s rivers are in deep canyons and the Ethiopia Blue Nile, also known as Abay, is no exception.

The Dam will be built in a deep gorge that is inhospitable and inaccessible to people so there is no need to move people, villages or historical monuments as was necessary with previous dams on the Nile River. The Renaissance Dam will assist and resolve in part the issue of the excessive alluvial soil buildup that is currently occurring in downstream dams.

Additionally as a result of Ethiopia’s altitude, there will be less evaporation of water, resulting in more water being available for all the stakeholders. Since many of the other dams on the Nile are located in a desert environment, the annual water evaporation rate is high. For example the annual evaporation rate of the Aswan High Dam is 14.3 billion cubic meters. The water evaporation rate of the Renaissance Dam is predicted to be no more than 400 million cubic meters annually.

Studies performed demonstrate that the building of the Renaissance Dam will not affect the downstream dams. In fact, it will benefit the downstream dams through control of the excessive alluvial soil contamination that currently plague the downstream dams. So, one has to ask the question, Why are lending institutions of the international community reluctant to provide loans for the Dam? Again, we go back to the topic discussed earlier. There is a fear promulgated by the powers of some downstream countries that those who will oversee the construction of the Dam would intentionally choke the flow of the Nile.

Ethiopia has firsthand experience with the tragedy that results from lack of water and droughts and therefore does not want to see this happen in the downstream countries or anyplace in the world. Millions of Ethiopians have suffered and died due to droughts and famine. Additionally there are regional governmental bodies and agreements that Ethiopia is signature to which oversees the establishment of rules governing water resources which Ethiopia abides by. Let us not allow this 3000 year old fear of choking off the Nile to resurface in our Common Era. It is imperative that the implementation of positive and sustainable development which will assist in providing stable food and electricity production to Ethiopia and other countries in the region move forward. Ethiopia is going forward with the project, but it will be a strain on the country to foot the entire cost of the Dam. If you have the ear of the international funding community, ask those leaders to consider the whole picture, review Ethiopia’s request and provide support for the Renaissance Dam, a renaissance of Ethiopia and the entire Nile Valley that stretches from Ethiopia, through both Sudan’s and into Egypt.

Yaw Kwakye Davis
Engineer and Historian
November 12, 2011

To keep on modernizing the country, the government had decided to focus on the development of infrastructures and of telecom in general. Ethio Telecom was born from this desire to provide the country with an internationally recognized company that will implement state-of-the-art processes and methods in order to offer the best network and the best quality of services to customers. As such, the arrival of the France-based telecom giant was welcomed by many with a sigh of relief, especially for a country whose Internet connectivity has been very poor. Users of the fixed line broadband and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) have both been having trouble getting quality services for which they paid. Yet one year in office, Ethio Telecom has yet to improve the telecom service while at times the service is getting weaker and poorer, according to customers. “Although there are certainly improvements in areas such as pricing, customer care and sales, it is obvious that no one is currently satisfied with the quality of the service (i.e. network quality) whether it's the consumer, government, Ethio Telecom's staff, the network vendors or the private sector,” says Seyoum Bereded, president of the recently established IT association in the country, ICT-ET. “We unfortunately do not have sufficient information to specifically point to one thing or another as accountable for telecom sector [failure] but we do believe that one fundamental issue may be the lack of choice whether that comes from the private or public sectors. Imagine if Ethiopian Airlines or the CBE were the only service providers in their respective industries?” Since ICT-ET exists to expose, engage and enable the private sector within ICT, we want to ensure that the telecom network is sufficiently robust and reliable to support the ongoing development of the ICT ecosystem in Ethiopia, Seyoum says. It comes as no surprise that the minister of Information and Communication Technology, Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), himself admits that the speed and quality of the telecom infrastructure is not to the satisfactions of customers, as the ICT professionals asserts. He says one of the major hiccups for the limitations in the telecom service is the fact that the USD 1.5 billion network expansion undertaken by ZTE is not yet integrated with the existing network. He implies that when the expanded network is fully integrated with the current network, the service would improve. According to the minister, the prevailing incidents of the cutting of fiber optics lines is another major problem attributable to the [inefficient] internet service for which Ethio Telecom has to come up with a solution as this problem is there to stay. He says the recurrent power problem is another challenging factor contributing to the slowdown in telecom service While admitting that the telecom service is not satisfactory, the minister says that the quality of the network infrastructure being built by the Chinese ZTE will not be compromised, opposing the point that some professionals make that the quality of the infrastructure being installed by the Chinese company is questionable. “Each component of the project will be and is being tested before it is made to be integrated with the existing telecom infrastructure. If it failed the test, it will not be accepted.” According to the minister, when the USD 1.5 billion dollar next generation network (NGN) is fully integrated with the existing telecom infrastructure, the mobile network coverage will have an installed capacity of 23 million while the quality of broadband and other related telecom services will improve. Yet that alone will not improve the service Ethio Telecom renders, according to experts in the telecom sector. “We believe the most important long-term solution is the need for choice while ensuring universal access, whether that comes from the private or public sectors,” says Seyoum, ICT-ET. “It could also come in different forms such as BOT, where service providers build network, operate it for some time, say ten years, and transfer it to the government, or MVNO, mobile virtual network operator, where there will be one network operator entirely responsible for the network and one or more service providers where Ethio Telecom may partially or fully liberalize the sector.” Source: The Reporter.

To keep on modernizing the country, the government had decided to focus on the development of infrastructures and of telecom in general. Ethio Telecom was born from this desire to provide the country with an internationally recognized company that will implement state-of-the-art processes and methods in order to offer the best network and the best quality of services to customers.

As such, the arrival of the France-based telecom giant was welcomed by many with a sigh of relief, especially for a country whose Internet connectivity has been very poor. Users of the fixed line broadband and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) have both been having trouble getting quality services for which they paid.

Yet one year in office, Ethio Telecom has yet to improve the telecom service while at times the service is getting weaker and poorer, according to customers.

“Although there are certainly improvements in areas such as pricing, customer care and sales, it is obvious that no one is currently satisfied with the quality of the service (i.e. network quality) whether it's the consumer, government, Ethio Telecom's staff, the network vendors or the private sector,” says Seyoum Bereded, president of the recently established IT association in the country, ICT-ET. “We unfortunately do not have sufficient information to specifically point to one thing or another as accountable for telecom sector [failure] but we do believe that one fundamental issue may be the lack of choice whether that comes from the private or public sectors. Imagine if Ethiopian Airlines or the CBE were the only service providers in their respective industries?”

Since ICT-ET exists to expose, engage and enable the private sector within ICT, we want to ensure that the telecom network is sufficiently robust and reliable to support the ongoing development of the ICT ecosystem in Ethiopia, Seyoum says.

It comes as no surprise that the minister of Information and Communication Technology, Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), himself admits that the speed and quality of the telecom infrastructure is not to the satisfactions of customers, as the ICT professionals asserts.

He says one of the major hiccups for the limitations in the telecom service is the fact that the USD 1.5 billion network expansion undertaken by ZTE is not yet integrated with the existing network. He implies that when the expanded network is fully integrated with the current network, the service would improve. According to the minister, the prevailing incidents of the cutting of fiber optics lines is another major problem attributable to the [inefficient] internet service for which Ethio Telecom has to come up with a solution as this problem is there to stay. He says the recurrent power problem is another challenging factor contributing to the slowdown in telecom service

While admitting that the telecom service is not satisfactory, the minister says that the quality of the network infrastructure being built by the Chinese ZTE will not be compromised, opposing the point that some professionals make that the quality of the infrastructure being installed by the Chinese company is questionable. “Each component of the project will be and is being tested before it is made to be integrated with the existing telecom infrastructure. If it failed the test, it will not be accepted.”

According to the minister, when the USD 1.5 billion dollar next generation network (NGN) is fully integrated with the existing telecom infrastructure, the mobile network coverage will have an installed capacity of 23 million while the quality of broadband and other related telecom services will improve.

Yet that alone will not improve the service Ethio Telecom renders, according to experts in the telecom sector. “We believe the most important long-term solution is the need for choice while ensuring universal access, whether that comes from the private or public sectors,” says Seyoum, ICT-ET. “It could also come in different forms such as BOT, where service providers build network, operate it for some time, say ten years, and transfer it to the government, or MVNO, mobile virtual network operator, where there will be one network operator entirely responsible for the network and one or more service providers where Ethio Telecom may partially or fully liberalize the sector.”

Source: The Reporter.

One morning upon turning on the morning news, all that was available to watch was updates concerning the ruling party, who own the only TV channel in the small village of Legehida (Woin Amba), where I was spending my vacation. Far away as it might be from the country’s capital, information with political overtones reaches it daily, both from around the world and inside Ethiopia. Most of the community in Legehida is agrarian and relatively amateur. In every aspect the community watches and is bombarded with the propaganda of the ruling party through its agents; the Woreda elites. The vast majority of the people in this area are entirely or at least in part reliant on government food aid packages for their livelihood. Due to this dependency and the hegemony of the government over local news channels, the local people generally believe the word of the elite to be bona fide. The news channel is clearly pressurized by the ruling elite to inform the audience solely on the reverie over current ‘Ethiopian development,’ and to enlighten in ways in which they can help people starving in Somalia. Somalia and Ethiopia around the border between the two countries are in many ways difficult to differentiate between. These are nations that were under a single government a few years back, and the so-called Somalis, who reside in the south-eastern part of Ethiopia and the whole of Somalia and Somali land, have no real border to divide themselves, as they are largely nomads, with Muslim foundation, and divided by clans. It is therefore difficult to distinguish the difference between an Ethiopian Somali and a Somali in Mogadishu. The channel’s anchorman does not make it clear whether the people who are suffering are Ethiopian Somalis or the Somalis in Somali, as geographically it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. But the TV channel is making the impression that the drought and all the tragedies of this event are happening in Somalia, and that mothers are waiting there to bury their children and their relatives, and that the youths awaiting the Red Cross and Save the Children’s cars for bread are not Ethiopian Somalis. According to official reports, in every minute, one child is dying in the area due to shortage of food. This figure extends also to southern areas such as Hadya, Wolaita and Kambata. Alongside many Ethiopians, I continually suffer when hearing false propaganda from the incumbent party; particularly over the professed Ethiopian development on a channel for which we all pay tax. Ethiopian Television (ETV), for many citizens, is a fool-proof apparatus for the ruling party to broadcast anything they like and in turn, to conceal everything that might be against the government or other worldwide news which may have a negative attitude towards the regime. This was evident during the North African and Arab revolutions. Arab-Sat was the only mode of obtaining news on these issues at the time. Sometimes it comes across as confusing as to whether the news of development in Ethiopia is directed at Ethiopian people or to the rest of the world. If we think of the rural community which according to the ruling party is the aficionado of the government policy, almost 99 percent of it has no access to broadcasting which prearranges on paper the ‘incredible’ Ethiopian development and inversely the American economic crisis by which the country under the ruling of EPRDF have noticed. Almost all the rural populace in Ethiopia is illiterate, have no access to modern technology and cannot easily comprehend the fabricated Ethiopian ‘growth’ which is now competing the members of the Security Council, as alleged by ETV. The urban dwellers, on the other hand are left with no choice but to watch the BBC or Aljazeera, in order to search for the truth. In consequence, Aljazeera is a must in order to keep updated over the Somalia crisis. Surprisingly, a correspondent for the channel recently reported live from Korahe (a district in Ethiopian Somali region), amongst images of children crying for bread and mothers attempting to soothe them with their naked but drained breasts. Subsequently from the BBC, CNN and Algezzira, it can be inferred that the drought and all its catastrophes are occurring not only in Ethiopia’s neighboring Somalia, but also in Sigege, Kebridar, Warder, Wolwol, Gode, Jeldessa, Koboby, and even in Negele Borena: all of which are different districts of the Ethiopian Somali Region. A BBC News night documentary also shows the shocking images of Ethiopia’s southern brothers and sisters lying on the floor, too exhausted to speak or stand, bloated in the stomach due to famine. And all the time worsening matters is the EPRDF’s response to the people who are surviving only under the hands of God. The party has denied the emergency food aid to those who are suspected of not supporting the regime in the last election. This inhuman act is tantamount to torture and may be equated with the red terror mayhem. It seems the government have forgotten that these starving people are Ethiopians, and amongst those that have lived together under a single administration for more than 3000 years; together when the colonizers were defeated in Adwa; together when the northern part of Ethiopia was liberated from the Eritrean force; and continually united in the future, since we are one and the same in the name of Ethiopia. Did a reasonable government, whatever its agenda, which professes democracy and human rights, ever adopt an ethnic-oriented federation disavowal upon its own citizens, considering and treating them as aliens? In today’s modern markets, the population of a country is the source of the stamina of the economy. In contemporary politics, the people are the source of power. But to the Ethiopian politicians, the people are the source of danger, and a constant threat to their power. Perhaps our apparent ‘emperors’ think that Ethiopian citizens have no source of information apart from that which is available on ETV and Addis Zemen (the EPRDF’s news paper). Thanks to modern technology and globalization, we are able to find any news from around the world. Even if the right to hear and watch Ethiopia’s current affairs is deprived by ETV, we are thankfully able to access BBC and CNN. The most scandalous thing observed from the political elites and the ETV officials is that they fabricate a program that will, according to their level of understanding, counter the reality transmitted by those internationally distinguished TV channels. For Ethiopian officials, anything broadcasted by BBC or CNN about Ethiopia’s failure is false, fictitious and aimed at meddling the development strategies of the government. Ethiopia’s only TV channel even once claimed that Ethiopia’s economy is growing more than the USA’s and Germany’s. Inversely, if the BBC or CNN said anything that epitomizes Ethiopia, it will be translated to its citizens to give the sense that Ethiopia is the first among the world in terms of development or manpower or even democracy and good governance which all may not be the agendas of the speaker. And all scandals are not only limited to ETV and Addis Zemen, but also to other EPRDF sponsored programs and blogs such as Ethiopian First, Aiga Forum and EBS (an American-based Television company alleged to have the footage of the Ethiopian ruling elites). All Ethiopians in major cities are shocked and irritated by a thoughtless and shameful program, Ethiopian First, which attempted to defend the BBC report on the Ethiopian government misuse of the food aid to oppress opposing political camps. Was it defending the government from global blame, or claiming the BBC is not a valid channel to inform citizens of the truth as opposed to Ethiopian First? According to personal experience and observation, the entire rural and urban situation in Ethiopia when contrasted by someone that grew up in a remote agrarian family and then studied in cities and abroad, is in a curious situation. The economy is decidedly deteriorating, the people are denied of the right even to hear what is happening in their realm; the elites in a University are coerced to become members of the ruling party if they wish to advance their studies or to be promoted; the youth have no right to gather in conferences organized by oppositions (which are on the verge of disappearing from the political realm altogether); neither can they organize peaceful protests, rallies or strikes; and civil servants are forced to contribute their salary for proposed yet unfeasible projects. And what of Ethiopia’s Somali brothers and sisters? According to Angus Stickler’s reports for the BBC, the government is using the international food aid for its own political interest despite the death of children from food shortage. This is not a mere allegation, but rather an empirical study made by a group of prominent journalists around the world. To the surprise of several international actors such as Amnesty International, and International Crisis Group, those opposition leaders are now hurling into prison those that are disclosing corruption of the government including, but not limited to, the prevalent famine in Somali region and the rest of the provinces of Ethiopia. Amongst others, Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelissa, both chairmen’s of Oromo based opposition political parties, can be mentioned. Others, such as Professor Beyene Petros and Dr. Merera Gudina are under a stern follow-up of the government security forces. Needless to say, both are a veteran opposition leaders and MPs prior to the EPRDFs control of all the political spaces and reveal what they have seen in various regions of the country to the BBC and Amnesty International). What is happening in the South and Somali region is exemplary of much corruption occurring in Ethiopia. The harshest scenario is the government response to this nightmare. We are currently witnessing the fall of untouchable regimes like Gadaffi. Ethiopia must be open to its people, and people should have the right to be aware of the political truth of their country. And it would also be nice to watch the truth on the country’s own television stations. Ed's Note: The writer is currently a lecturer in public law at Mizan Tepi University and can be reached at kal.law2001@gmail. Source: Reporter. All Rights Reserved,The Reporter.

One morning upon turning on the morning news, all that was available to watch was updates concerning the ruling party, who own the only TV channel in the small village of Legehida (Woin Amba), where I was spending my vacation. Far away as it might be from the country’s capital, information with political overtones reaches it daily, both from around the world and inside Ethiopia. Most of the community in Legehida is agrarian and relatively amateur. In every aspect the community watches and is bombarded with the propaganda of the ruling party through its agents; the Woreda elites. The vast majority of the people in this area are entirely or at least in part reliant on government food aid packages for their livelihood. Due to this dependency and the hegemony of the government over local news channels, the local people generally believe the word of the elite to be bona fide.

The news channel is clearly pressurized by the ruling elite to inform the audience solely on the reverie over current ‘Ethiopian development,’ and to enlighten in ways in which they can help people starving in Somalia.

Somalia and Ethiopia around the border between the two countries are in many ways difficult to differentiate between. These are nations that were under a single government a few years back, and the so-called Somalis, who reside in the south-eastern part of Ethiopia and the whole of Somalia and Somali land, have no real border to divide themselves, as they are largely nomads, with Muslim foundation, and divided by clans. It is therefore difficult to distinguish the difference between an Ethiopian Somali and a Somali in Mogadishu.

The channel’s anchorman does not make it clear whether the people who are suffering are Ethiopian Somalis or the Somalis in Somali, as geographically it can be difficult to distinguish between the two. But the TV channel is making the impression that the drought and all the tragedies of this event are happening in Somalia, and that mothers are waiting there to bury their children and their relatives, and that the youths awaiting the Red Cross and Save the Children’s cars for bread are not Ethiopian Somalis. According to official reports, in every minute, one child is dying in the area due to shortage of food. This figure extends also to southern areas such as Hadya, Wolaita and Kambata.

Alongside many Ethiopians, I continually suffer when hearing false propaganda from the incumbent party; particularly over the professed Ethiopian development on a channel for which we all pay tax. Ethiopian Television (ETV), for many citizens, is a fool-proof apparatus for the ruling party to broadcast anything they like and in turn, to conceal everything that might be against the government or other worldwide news which may have a negative attitude towards the regime. This was evident during the North African and Arab revolutions. Arab-Sat was the only mode of obtaining news on these issues at the time.

Sometimes it comes across as confusing as to whether the news of development in Ethiopia is directed at Ethiopian people or to the rest of the world. If we think of the rural community which according to the ruling party is the aficionado of the government policy, almost 99 percent of it has no access to broadcasting which prearranges on paper the ‘incredible’ Ethiopian development and inversely the American economic crisis by which the country under the ruling of EPRDF have noticed. Almost all the rural populace in Ethiopia is illiterate, have no access to modern technology and cannot easily comprehend the fabricated Ethiopian ‘growth’ which is now competing the members of the Security Council, as alleged by ETV. The urban dwellers, on the other hand are left with no choice but to watch the BBC or Aljazeera, in order to search for the truth.

In consequence, Aljazeera is a must in order to keep updated over the Somalia crisis. Surprisingly, a correspondent for the channel recently reported live from Korahe (a district in Ethiopian Somali region), amongst images of children crying for bread and mothers attempting to soothe them with their naked but drained breasts. Subsequently from the BBC, CNN and Algezzira, it can be inferred that the drought and all its catastrophes are occurring not only in Ethiopia’s neighboring Somalia, but also in Sigege, Kebridar, Warder, Wolwol, Gode, Jeldessa, Koboby, and even in Negele Borena: all of which are different districts of the Ethiopian Somali Region. A BBC News night documentary also shows the shocking images of Ethiopia’s southern brothers and sisters lying on the floor, too exhausted to speak or stand, bloated in the stomach due to famine.
And all the time worsening matters is the EPRDF’s response to the people who are surviving only under the hands of God. The party has denied the emergency food aid to those who are suspected of not supporting the regime in the last election. This inhuman act is tantamount to torture and may be equated with the red terror mayhem.

It seems the government have forgotten that these starving people are Ethiopians, and amongst those that have lived together under a single administration for more than 3000 years; together when the colonizers were defeated in Adwa; together when the northern part of Ethiopia was liberated from the Eritrean force; and continually united in the future, since we are one and the same in the name of Ethiopia. Did a reasonable government, whatever its agenda, which professes democracy and human rights, ever adopt an ethnic-oriented federation disavowal upon its own citizens, considering and treating them as aliens?

In today’s modern markets, the population of a country is the source of the stamina of the economy. In contemporary politics, the people are the source of power. But to the Ethiopian politicians, the people are the source of danger, and a constant threat to their power. Perhaps our apparent ‘emperors’ think that Ethiopian citizens have no source of information apart from that which is available on ETV and Addis Zemen (the EPRDF’s news paper). Thanks to modern technology and globalization, we are able to find any news from around the world. Even if the right to hear and watch Ethiopia’s current affairs is deprived by ETV, we are thankfully able to access BBC and CNN.

The most scandalous thing observed from the political elites and the ETV officials is that they fabricate a program that will, according to their level of understanding, counter the reality transmitted by those internationally distinguished TV channels. For Ethiopian officials, anything broadcasted by BBC or CNN about Ethiopia’s failure is false, fictitious and aimed at meddling the development strategies of the government. Ethiopia’s only TV channel even once claimed that Ethiopia’s economy is growing more than the USA’s and Germany’s. Inversely, if the BBC or CNN said anything that epitomizes Ethiopia, it will be translated to its citizens to give the sense that Ethiopia is the first among the world in terms of development or manpower or even democracy and good governance which all may not be the agendas of the speaker.

And all scandals are not only limited to ETV and Addis Zemen, but also to other EPRDF sponsored programs and blogs such as Ethiopian First, Aiga Forum and EBS (an American-based Television company alleged to have the footage of the Ethiopian ruling elites). All Ethiopians in major cities are shocked and irritated by a thoughtless and shameful program, Ethiopian First, which attempted to defend the BBC report on the Ethiopian government misuse of the food aid to oppress opposing political camps. Was it defending the government from global blame, or claiming the BBC is not a valid channel to inform citizens of the truth as opposed to Ethiopian First?

According to personal experience and observation, the entire rural and urban situation in Ethiopia when contrasted by someone that grew up in a remote agrarian family and then studied in cities and abroad, is in a curious situation. The economy is decidedly deteriorating, the people are denied of the right even to hear what is happening in their realm; the elites in a University are coerced to become members of the ruling party if they wish to advance their studies or to be promoted; the youth have no right to gather in conferences organized by oppositions (which are on the verge of disappearing from the political realm altogether); neither can they organize peaceful protests, rallies or strikes; and civil servants are forced to contribute their salary for proposed yet unfeasible projects.

And what of Ethiopia’s Somali brothers and sisters? According to Angus Stickler’s reports for the BBC, the government is using the international food aid for its own political interest despite the death of children from food shortage. This is not a mere allegation, but rather an empirical study made by a group of prominent journalists around the world.

To the surprise of several international actors such as Amnesty International, and International Crisis Group, those opposition leaders are now hurling into prison those that are disclosing corruption of the government including, but not limited to, the prevalent famine in Somali region and the rest of the provinces of Ethiopia. Amongst others, Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelissa, both chairmen’s of Oromo based opposition political parties, can be mentioned. Others, such as Professor Beyene Petros and Dr. Merera Gudina are under a stern follow-up of the government security forces. Needless to say, both are a veteran opposition leaders and MPs prior to the EPRDFs control of all the political spaces and reveal what they have seen in various regions of the country to the BBC and Amnesty International).

What is happening in the South and Somali region is exemplary of much corruption occurring in Ethiopia. The harshest scenario is the government response to this nightmare. We are currently witnessing the fall of untouchable regimes like Gadaffi. Ethiopia must be open to its people, and people should have the right to be aware of the political truth of their country. And it would also be nice to watch the truth on the country’s own television stations.

Ed's Note: The writer is currently a lecturer in public law at Mizan Tepi University and can be reached at kal.law2001@gmail.

Source: Reporter. All Rights Reserved,The Reporter.

Once again what has been the single most dominant issue in the Ethiopian economic dialogue, during the past five years, inflation, seems to be keeping up its track record. It would only be fair to say that the discussion surrounding this variable has always been colorful and contentious. As the macroeconomic managers tried to give various explanations as to where the inflation has sourced and what factors added the fuel on the fire, both local and international professionals and institutions held different opinions on the matter. More or less, out of the international institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seems to be hands-on when it comes to inflation debate in Ethiopia: hence, yet again another country report from IMF on the Ethiopia economy has surfaced recently. Unlike the previous reports, this one was not fortunate enough to see the light of day, however. According to sources close to the matter, the strongly-worded report, which voiced serious concern over the macroeconomic environment in Ethiopia due mainly to the wrenching inflation, is not going to appear on the fund’s website, media outlets or be made public in any form. It has been blocked as result of a serious protest from Ethiopia, said sources. “Macroeconomic performance has deteriorated markedly,” read the report. And the primary premise behind this conclusion, as stated by the sources, is the loose monetary policy pursued by the government. Back in May the team, led by Paul Martin ex-Canadian PM and finance minister, has been in Ethiopia for close to three weeks talking to various stakeholders. Unlike the full report, which was rejected by the government, the preliminary findings of the team were, in fact, made public. As opposed to the Fund’s conclusion that Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan economies pulled through the 2008/09 crisis with minimum damage due mostly to the macroeconomic prudency at the time, the conclusion this time around seems to take 180 degrees turn. According to sources, the inflationary pressure in the country and weak management of monetary policy are sending the overall macroeconomic framework of the country into disarray. As one of the member countries, Ethiopia has the mandate to check the release of any report on its economy (if unacceptable), according to experience. IMF’s policy on transparency also says that ‘as long as the member country is willing and voluntary to discharge such information’, according to professionals familiar with the matter. Nevertheless, countries like Brazil, China, Venezuela and others have done the same in the past (block a report). It is not without reason though, explains professionals. One of the primary concerns is its negative effect on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow to the country. Countries which fear that the release of the report could jeopardies investors’ confidence, affect their exchange rate policy or stock markets operation could take the move to suspend the announcement of the report. Apart from the overall concern about the countries’ macroeconomic imbalance, the report touched upon competitiveness in the financial sector and crowded out private investment on the economy. Crude aggregation According to the data released by the Central Statistical Authority (CSA), the level of inflation in July stocked 39.2 percent over its counterpart last year. According to the experience of other countries the rate of inflation comes to be known as a hyper-inflation, if it exceeds a monthly rate of 50 percent and above. Though inflation has been growing steadily, the numbers show that the current figures in the Ethiopia economy are not quite there yet. Nevertheless, it has been a while since the alarm level on the run-away inflation rate was raised. Still, the question remains at the moment: can we infer that the overall macro economy environment in Ethiopia is in imbalance? Eyob Tesfaye (PhD), a prominent macroeconomist, disagrees. He says that to draw conclusion about the overall macroeconomic framework one should not rely on the monetary policy side alone. “Budget policy, balance of payment, foreign exchange policy and others have to be put into consideration,” he explains. With respect to the budget policy, it has one of the lowest deficit levels in the world, he says. “And, on the other hand, the exchange rate and balance of payments components as well seem to be prudent since both export earnings and the foreign currency reserves at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) are at a better position,” he argues. However, he admits that monetary policy gears are the ones at fault. “But the recent sincere admission by the government about the excessive money growth causing the inflation and planed measures which aim to restrict borrowing from the central bank to curb the situation are steps in the right direction.” Nevertheless, Eyob is not alone in this. An anonymous macroeconomist told The Reporter that the current inflation rate in the economy, though alarming, is not a reason enough to conclude that the economy is in problems. “If one wants to infer about the overall economic condition, the vital sign to check is the real output,” he argues, and it can be seen that for years output has been registering a strong growth. For what it is worth, the inflation sourced from monetary expansion is a mere policy management issue, according to him, but this cannot imply that the overall economy is ailing. Politics of inflation On the other hand, a cluster of commentators seem to have a different idea as to the extent of the actual damage caused by inflation. According to the professionals in this category, inflation, not peculiar to Ethiopia, has always been an indicator on the spotlight both from the side of the public and politicians. They say that governments get toppled, face riot or get grilled over inflation around the world. However, the phenomenon of politicizing inflation does have well-founded reasons. For instance, in a country where income is not keeping with the rate of inflation, people see their purchasing power eroded through time, they argue. Hence, the issue itself tends to be very sensitive, making it easy for politics. According to Michael Melaku, an economist by profession, inflation has always been exaggerated in any economy. However, in terms of real impact, provided that the economy is growing, it should not have been something of a headache. Michael says that inflation is a phenomenon that comes with the employment of money as the facilitator of transaction. As a result, the impact of inflation is presented a bit exaggerated, which is what we are observing in the Ethiopian economy at the moment, he states. “Formerly, we used the barter system, where products were says for one another,” he says, the value of the products were expressed in terms of one another. As the inflation (average price increase) is all about the products, sometimes inflation should be viewed from the point of view of the barter system. “If relative prices of the products have increased, in fact price levels could be alarming,” he argues. The anonymous respondent as well seems to agree with the above assessment. “If we take a look at the production this year, preliminary results suggest hopeful harvest,” he opines. Once again eliminating the effect of money from the market and going back to the barter system, higher output means more income for the population. So, what is the point of inflation if income increased as well, he argues. On the other hand, the Ethiopian economy is not an economy that is highly monetized as the products still occupy equivalent places in the rural areas. Since, inflation is associated with using the money (monetization), it should not be considered as a serious threat in Ethiopia, he argues. Others as well point to the fact that the Ethiopian economy is still not connected to the world through the financial system. “This is a blessing in disguise,” they continue explaining. As mobility of capital is not open in Ethiopia, the impact of inflation has been greatly reduced, further, he told The Reporter. Had there been capital mobility and other currencies available in the country, the smallest of inflation rates would tempt the consumers to shift to another currency as a better store of value. In this regard, the experience of Argentinian inflation and associated great loss is a case in point, they argue. Nonetheless, both say that short-term impacts of inflation mainly due to the politics of inflation above the real impact could spiral out of control. “One of the problems with inflation is negatively affecting the investors’ confidence,” the anonymous economist explains. No one wants to invest in the a country where the macro economy shows instability, he keeps explaining. If the inflation persists for long, however, at the end of the day the real sector would also share the burden. But for Eyob, at a time the quantity of money supply in the economy should not be more than the output can carry. “To some extent the money supply could be slightly higher so that there could be an acceptable inflation level which is good to incentivize investors.” Nevertheless, he does not fully agree with the above notion that inflation in a growing economy would not really matter, had it not been for the politics. No matter how consistent the growth might have been, as along as more money in the economy is left to chase fewer products, the ultimate result would be diminishing the output. This is where the monetary policy intervention is required, he explains. Nevertheless, he says that the short-term imbalances in the two can be tolerated. Until gustation period for long-term investments arrive, inflation is purely understandable, says Eyob. “But as it persists, it requires policy adjustment.”

Once again what has been the single most dominant issue in the Ethiopian economic dialogue, during the past five years, inflation, seems to be keeping up its track record. It would only be fair to say that the discussion surrounding this variable has always been colorful and contentious.

As the macroeconomic managers tried to give various explanations as to where the inflation has sourced and what factors added the fuel on the fire, both local and international professionals and institutions held different opinions on the matter. More or less, out of the international institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) seems to be hands-on when it comes to inflation debate in Ethiopia: hence, yet again another country report from IMF on the Ethiopia economy has surfaced recently.

Unlike the previous reports, this one was not fortunate enough to see the light of day, however. According to sources close to the matter, the strongly-worded report, which voiced serious concern over the macroeconomic environment in Ethiopia due mainly to the wrenching inflation, is not going to appear on the fund’s website, media outlets or be made public in any form. It has been blocked as result of a serious protest from Ethiopia, said sources.

“Macroeconomic performance has deteriorated markedly,” read the report. And the primary premise behind this conclusion, as stated by the sources, is the loose monetary policy pursued by the government. Back in May the team, led by Paul Martin ex-Canadian PM and finance minister, has been in Ethiopia for close to three weeks talking to various stakeholders. Unlike the full report, which was rejected by the government, the preliminary findings of the team were, in fact, made public.

As opposed to the Fund’s conclusion that Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan economies pulled through the 2008/09 crisis with minimum damage due mostly to the macroeconomic prudency at the time, the conclusion this time around seems to take 180 degrees turn. According to sources, the inflationary pressure in the country and weak management of monetary policy are sending the overall macroeconomic framework of the country into disarray.

As one of the member countries, Ethiopia has the mandate to check the release of any report on its economy (if unacceptable), according to experience. IMF’s policy on transparency also says that ‘as long as the member country is willing and voluntary to discharge such information’, according to professionals familiar with the matter. Nevertheless, countries like Brazil, China, Venezuela and others have done the same in the past (block a report). It is not without reason though, explains professionals. One of the primary concerns is its negative effect on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow to the country. Countries which fear that the release of the report could jeopardies investors’ confidence, affect their exchange rate policy or stock markets operation could take the move to suspend the announcement of the report.

Apart from the overall concern about the countries’ macroeconomic imbalance, the report touched upon competitiveness in the financial sector and crowded out private investment on the economy.

Crude aggregation

According to the data released by the Central Statistical Authority (CSA), the level of inflation in July stocked 39.2 percent over its counterpart last year. According to the experience of other countries the rate of inflation comes to be known as a hyper-inflation, if it exceeds a monthly rate of 50 percent and above. Though inflation has been growing steadily, the numbers show that the current figures in the Ethiopia economy are not quite there yet. Nevertheless, it has been a while since the alarm level on the run-away inflation rate was raised.

Still, the question remains at the moment: can we infer that the overall macro economy environment in Ethiopia is in imbalance?

Eyob Tesfaye (PhD), a prominent macroeconomist, disagrees. He says that to draw conclusion about the overall macroeconomic framework one should not rely on the monetary policy side alone. “Budget policy, balance of payment, foreign exchange policy and others have to be put into consideration,” he explains.

With respect to the budget policy, it has one of the lowest deficit levels in the world, he says. “And, on the other hand, the exchange rate and balance of payments components as well seem to be prudent since both export earnings and the foreign currency reserves at the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) are at a better position,” he argues. However, he admits that monetary policy gears are the ones at fault. “But the recent sincere admission by the government about the excessive money growth causing the inflation and planed measures which aim to restrict borrowing from the central bank to curb the situation are steps in the right direction.”

Nevertheless, Eyob is not alone in this. An anonymous macroeconomist told The Reporter that the current inflation rate in the economy, though alarming, is not a reason enough to conclude that the economy is in problems. “If one wants to infer about the overall economic condition, the vital sign to check is the real output,” he argues, and it can be seen that for years output has been registering a strong growth. For what it is worth, the inflation sourced from monetary expansion is a mere policy management issue, according to him, but this cannot imply that the overall economy is ailing.

Politics of inflation

On the other hand, a cluster of commentators seem to have a different idea as to the extent of the actual damage caused by inflation. According to the professionals in this category, inflation, not peculiar to Ethiopia, has always been an indicator on the spotlight both from the side of the public and politicians. They say that governments get toppled, face riot or get grilled over inflation around the world. However, the phenomenon of politicizing inflation does have well-founded reasons. For instance, in a country where income is not keeping with the rate of inflation, people see their purchasing power eroded through time, they argue. Hence, the issue itself tends to be very sensitive, making it easy for politics.

According to Michael Melaku, an economist by profession, inflation has always been exaggerated in any economy. However, in terms of real impact, provided that the economy is growing, it should not have been something of a headache.

Michael says that inflation is a phenomenon that comes with the employment of money as the facilitator of transaction. As a result, the impact of inflation is presented a bit exaggerated, which is what we are observing in the Ethiopian economy at the moment, he states. “Formerly, we used the barter system, where products were says for one another,” he says, the value of the products were expressed in terms of one another. As the inflation (average price increase) is all about the products, sometimes inflation should be viewed from the point of view of the barter system. “If relative prices of the products have increased, in fact price levels could be alarming,” he argues.

The anonymous respondent as well seems to agree with the above assessment. “If we take a look at the production this year, preliminary results suggest hopeful harvest,” he opines. Once again eliminating the effect of money from the market and going back to the barter system, higher output means more income for the population. So, what is the point of inflation if income increased as well, he argues. On the other hand, the Ethiopian economy is not an economy that is highly monetized as the products still occupy equivalent places in the rural areas. Since, inflation is associated with using the money (monetization), it should not be considered as a serious threat in Ethiopia, he argues.

Others as well point to the fact that the Ethiopian economy is still not connected to the world through the financial system. “This is a blessing in disguise,” they continue explaining. As mobility of capital is not open in Ethiopia, the impact of inflation has been greatly reduced, further, he told The Reporter. Had there been capital mobility and other currencies available in the country, the smallest of inflation rates would tempt the consumers to shift to another currency as a better store of value. In this regard, the experience of Argentinian inflation and associated great loss is a case in point, they argue.

Nonetheless, both say that short-term impacts of inflation mainly due to the politics of inflation above the real impact could spiral out of control. “One of the problems with inflation is negatively affecting the investors’ confidence,” the anonymous economist explains. No one wants to invest in the a country where the macro economy shows instability, he keeps explaining. If the inflation persists for long, however, at the end of the day the real sector would also share the burden.

But for Eyob, at a time the quantity of money supply in the economy should not be more than the output can carry. “To some extent the money supply could be slightly higher so that there could be an acceptable inflation level which is good to incentivize investors.” Nevertheless, he does not fully agree with the above notion that inflation in a growing economy would not really matter, had it not been for the politics. No matter how consistent the growth might have been, as along as more money in the economy is left to chase fewer products, the ultimate result would be diminishing the output. This is where the monetary policy intervention is required, he explains. Nevertheless, he says that the short-term imbalances in the two can be tolerated. Until gustation period for long-term investments arrive, inflation is purely understandable, says Eyob. “But as it persists, it requires policy adjustment.”