The 2nd National Ethiopian Diaspora Festival Wraps Up

The 2nd National Ethiopian Diaspora Festival (EDC) wrapped up on 2 August 2016 in the presence of PM H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, various other ministers, high level government as well as members of the Ethiopian Diaspora Community.
The closing ceremony included Prime Minister H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn’s answers to various questions from participants to the festival. PM Hailemariam opened his address by thanking the EDC for having participated in the NEDF by sacrificing their valuable time. During his concluding remarks PM Hailemariam stated “Ethiopia is a country that has started to emerge out of the swamp of poverty very recently. And that’s because of the development policies and strategies of the government.” He further added that “In the last 25 years Ethiopia has registered a rapid and sustainable economic development.”

Referring to recurrent global challenges to development, PM Hailemariam said that, “global challenges that face developing countries face Ethiopia too which is why the government is paying special attention to human resources development.”

In the same accord PM Hailemariam has stated that “If we cannot commonly fight against rent-seeking and chauvinism, we might not be able to relish our developmental achievements or else realize our aspirations for prosperity.” He has also called upon the EDC to invest in the Information and Technology (ICT) sector in Ethiopia.

Speaking of the problem of human trafficking, PM Hailemariam stated that, “even if we have worked very hard to minimize the phenomenon people who don’t have jobs will still be tempted to move out of the country under illegal circumstances.” To curb the problem, he remarked that, “We should work towards the creation of more jobs if we are to stop human trafficking on a long-lasting basis.”

In addition, PM Hailemariam ha reiterated the fact that “it is with the active participation of the people – citizen activism – that rent-seeking and corruption could effectively be abated. The gov’t should create a platform in which citizens could participate freely.”

“We have a moral as well as spiritual obligation to invest in and develop Ethiopia. I appeal to you to continue your support to Ethiopia”, the Premier added.

In a related development the City of Hawassa, the capital of the Southern Nations’, Nationalities’ and Peoples’ Regional State is the host earmarked to host the upcoming 3rd NEDF, it was learned. (MFA Ethiopia)

EU, Ethiopia, Germany Launch 3.8 Million Euro Project to Support Agricultural Investments in Ethiopia

On 15 July 2016, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources with support from the European Union and Germany launched a 3.8 million euro project to support responsible agricultural investment in Ethiopia.

According to a statement from the European Union office in Addis Abeba, the project will contribute to establish an accountable, conducive and transparent framework for socially and environmentally responsible and productive agricultural investments benefiting local communities and economies. The project will also support the development of a regulatory framework for equitable access to land and secure land tenure for all segments of Ethiopian society while establishing mechanisms to facilitate productive investments in agriculture by national and international private investors. (Allafrica)

Read more

Dr. Tedros bids farewell to the outgoing Dutch Ambassador

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tedros Adhanom bids farewell to the outgoing Ambassador of the Netherlands, Ambassador Mrs. Lidi Remmezwaal today (July 27, 2016). Ambassador Mrs. Lidi Remmezwaal noted that relations between Ethiopia and the Netherlands have shown a positive trajectory over the years, adding that the bilateral ties should further be strengthened in the years to come.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tedros Adhanom commended Ambassador Mrs. Lidi Remmezwaal for the unreserved efforts and hard work she dedicated for enhanced bilateral ties between Ethiopia and the Netherlands. “During you tenure,” the Minister added “the bilateral relation between Ethiopia and the Netherlands has achieved strong and admirable progress.” (MFA Ethiopia)

EU grants 20 Million Euros to Ethiopia

The European Union (EU) granted 20-million Euros to Ethiopia on Thursday. At the grant agreement on Thursday (July 28) EU Ambassador to Ethiopia Chantal Hebberecht said the program will help create jobs and improve the livelihoods of women and youth in Ethiopia. Ms Hebbrechted noted that Ethiopia is an important player in the Horn of Africa and a key partner of the EU in migration management. Hebberecht recalled that the agreement is part of the Stemming Irregular Migration from Northern and Central Ethiopia (SINCE) Project launched in November 2015 in Valletta summit to strengthen cooperation between EU and Africa on migration.

Italy’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Giuseppe Mistretta, on his part noted that Italy reaffirms its commitment to support the Ethiopian government to address the root cause of migration. According to the ambassador, the agreement is necessary to reduce irregular migration in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ of Ethiopia regional states. (MFA Ethiopia)

Inside the Issue Special: Ambassador’s Talk with H.E. Teshome Toga

Welcome to a special edition of Inside the Issue show – Ambassador’s Talk! Where we speak to African ambassadors about the state of EU-African relations with a focus on their national relationship with the EU. This time around Ethiopian Ambassador, Teshome Toga talks to What’s in it for Africa about the African economy, EU-Ethiopia and EU-Africa relations, Trade and Migration.

 

Interview with Mr Kibret Abebe

Kibret Abebe Tuffa is the founder and owner of Tebita Ambulance Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Service, a social enterprise that developed the first private ambulance service in Ethiopia. He was also a panelist at the 2016 European Development Days in Brussels in the debate “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: How can we make business more social?” hosted by the British Council in partnership with the World Bank.

Learn More

Press Release on debate at the European Development Days

Press Kit on Tebita Ambulance Service

 

“Ethiopia will continue to invest heavily in agriculture”

The Ambassador of Ethiopia to the Benelux, Baltic States and EU, H.E. Mr Teshome Toga, visited CTA on 20 July 2016.

During his visit, H.E. Teshome Toga highlighted the significant role that agriculture plays in Ethiopia’s economy, not only as a source of livelihood for over 80% of the population but also as the main engine for the country’s impressive economic growth in the last decade.

Read more on CTA’s website.

25 Years of Hard Work and Determination to Ensure Ethiopia’s Renaissance

Run
The Great Ethiopian Run is taking place every year in Addis Ababa with 10,000 participants © Afrotourism

This article was originally published in The Ethiopian Messenger, the quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.

Since the downfall of the Derg regime in 1991, Ethiopia has achieved impressive results in terms of living conditions of its people. This was only possible after a decade devoted to reconstruction of the country and stabilization of its institutions and another fifteen years during which sectors such as education and health were dramatically developed.

When the military dictatorship of the Derg was overthrown on 28 May 1991, many saw this day as the beginning of the end. Several politicians and political analysts, both in Ethiopia and around the globe, expressed their deep concerns that the country, sooner or later, would balkanize and disintegrate into several smaller States. Such conclusions did not come from nowhere. The country was in predicament: Ethiopia was one of the poorest countries in the world, had experienced almost 50 years of protracted civil war and had never implemented democratic values for several years, resulting in tensions between its various ethnic groups. Those factors, coupled with the existence of armed groups and the proximity of the ever turbulent Horn of Africa region made many assumed that Ethiopia would not be able to escape disintegration.

Despite these hardships, the ruling coalition party EPRDF and most importantly, the majority of the Ethiopian people shared the vision of a better and prosperous Ethiopia ahead of them and worked hard to make it a reality. The challenges and achievements of the past 25 years can be divided into two periods: the first 10 years (1991-2001) and the last 15 years (2002-2015).

1991-2001

The first 10 post-war years were devoted to the reconstruction and stability of the country, by rehabilitating the huge dismantled army personnel of both the military regime and of the incumbent Government-EPRDF; negotiating with the various armed and non-armed political parties, negotiating a new form of government; drafting and ratifying the Constitution, implementing the peaceful secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia and later, defending the sovereignty of the country against the aggression of the Eritrean military on Ethiopia in 1998. Alongside those essential activities, two main economic policy papers namely ‘Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program (SDPRP, 1995-1997) and Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development Program (PASDEP, 1998-2002) were issued to fix the dwindling economy and reduce poverty.

2002-2015

The beginning of this period was full of challenges. The central committee of one of the founding members of the ruling party, the TPLF, divided in two and many amongst the faction group turned against the ruling party. On the other hand, this situation gave the ruling party an opportunity to establish clear policies and strategies on important issues, such as its political ideology (the revolutionary democracy) its economic philosophy (the developmental democratic State), on foreign relations and security, agricultural and industrial development, good governance, education and health and many other areas.

Discussions and consultations on those policies and strategies were held at all levels of the society. The results registered in different sectors were miraculous.

Political Achievements

The main cause behind the protracted civil war that shake Ethiopia for the last centuries, and specially from 1900 onwards, was the lack of acknowledgment of Ethiopia’s ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious diversity. Several attempts to create a ‘one language, one people of Ethiopia’ had failed consistently because the existing reality in the country does not allow to do so. Regrettably, such attempts not only caused the country to sink deep into poverty and backwardness, but also claimed the lives of many precious sons and daughters of Ethiopia. The ruling party realized early that any governing institution committed to bring sustainable peace and stability to the country had to accept this diverse reality and create a political system able to accommodate the different ethnicities, give equal opportunity to all to decide on the issues of the country and, most importantly, leave the free choice to become ‘Ethiopian’ to each and every ethnic groups in the country.

Another important issue worth mentioning here is that, throughout the country’s history, the Ethiopian people has believed, and some still believe, that power comes from heaven, which pushed the people to blame themselves for any fault committed by their leaders. If a ruthless king or leader reigned on the country, the people concluded that the almighty God had punished them for their sins by giving them such a brutal ruler. In consequence, instead of joining forces to topple such leader, they only prayed for a divine intervention.

Until 1991, Ethiopia had never experienced a popular election to choose a leader, nor had there been the possibility of forming political parties to advance the people’s diverse opinions. In fact, at some point, Emperor Haileselassie had even decreed that “the people and land of Ethiopia belongs to the king”. One of the tasks of the EPRDF, the incumbent ruling party was therefore, to sensitize and create awareness that power is not coming from heaven, and that the people is the real owner of power. This was a revolution compared to what the people used to believe in.

In view of giving the free choice to the people of Ethiopia, the EPRDF adopted a federal democratic system that enabled each region and ethnic group to freely elect their leaders in their respective administrations, send their representatives to the National Parliament and the House of Federation, give them the right to assume responsibility in the federal structures, and to decide on the matters of their country alongside their fellow Ethiopians.

Today, there are 79 regional and nationwide political parties legally registered in Ethiopia. Out of them, 57 have participated in the last national election in 2015. Despite the lack of coherence, perseverance, seriousness and the mixing of legal and illegal activities by some members of opposition parties, (in my opinion, only one party is in a serious business of politics) in 2005, the opposition managed to gain nearly 1⁄4 of the seats within the National Parliament. Since 1991, Ethiopia has conducted five national and several regional elections in a peaceful, free and transparent manner. Knowing that power is now in the hands of the people, millions are coming out to cast their votes. Unlike before 1991, Ethiopians are now freely airing their opinions and disagreements through different means.

Alex De Waal, in his article “Is the era of great famines over?” published on 8 May 2016 in the New York times, summarized the political achievements of the country as follows: “famine isn’t caused by overpopulation, and as Ethiopia’s experience shows, it’s not a necessary consequence of drought. Politics creates famine, and politics can stop it.”

Foreign Relations

Ethiopia is currently the largest contributor of peacekeeping troops in the world. © UN/Christopher Herwig
Ethiopia is currently the largest contributor of peacekeeping troops in the world. © UN/Christopher Herwig

Today, Ethiopia enjoys a very positive and solid relation with all countries without distinction from North to South and East to West. It has ensured its stability and has become a regional peace anchor in terms of peace negotiations, notably in Somalia and South Sudan, and in peacekeeping missions. It has participated in eight UN peacekeeping missions since 1991, is currently serving in four missions and is the largest contributor of peacekeeping troops in the world. Ethiopia is actively playing its role in international fora, notably in the area of climate change, migration and on the fight against terrorism. Ethiopia is also home to more than 800,000 refugees.

The Economic sector

New World Encyclopedia had described Ethiopia in 1991 as follows “in this ancient land, with a proud history, the real challenge now that a cruel and despotic regime has been overthrown is to feed, educate and house the people including those displaced by the Eritrean-Ethiopian War. This may qualify as a war that had to be waged, to overthrow a cruel regime.”

Indeed, the Ethiopian Government had to wage a war to dismantle the deeply rooted poverty and backwardness from the country. The popular slogan of the Ethiopian Government since then is that “The number one, number two and number three enemy of Ethiopia is poverty”. The fight against poverty was a monumental challenge. Not only the physical poverty was immense, but also the perception that the people had of poverty had to be transformed, as most of the people were living in agreement with poverty. A revolution of mentality had to take place in order to create the required change. The Government opened discussion forums, “Ethiopian Renaissance” being at the center of all the discussions both at the leadership level and the population at large.

Those consecutive discussions have helped the Ethiopian population to look back to their proud history, to compare it with the current despicable situation of poverty and provoked them to revolt against poverty. It helped them to understand that they deserved a better life than what they were actually in. The late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi owes us honor for his invaluable role in shaping the ideas, and provoking the people and his administration to revolt against poverty. At some point, he described the poverty in Ethiopia as a big rolling stone descending from a very high mountain in a very high speed. Those who fail to run faster than the rolling stone get destroyed by it. He urged that the leadership and the people should run faster than the monster (the poverty) to rescue the country and the people from failure. And it worked: Ethiopia has a totally different image today.

According to the World Bank report on Ethiopia, “Ethiopia’s Great Run: The Great Acceleration and How to Pace It” published in February 2016, economic growth increased from 0.5% in 1981-92 to 4.5% in 1993-2004 to an average of 10.9 from 2004-2014. Those tangible performances have been achieved through the adoption and implementation of a series of structural economic reforms. The report went on saying that poverty declined substantially from

55.3% in 2000 to 33.5% in 2011. The recent performance assessment of the Growth and Transformation Plan I indicated that poverty had declined to nearly 22% at the end of 2015. Despite this rapid growth, Ethiopia managed to remain one of the most equal countries in the world with a Gini coefficient of consumption of 0.3 in 2015. The report acknowledged that progress went beyond monetary dimensions. Life expectancy had been increasing by about one year annually since 2000 and is now higher than in the low income countries and Sub-Saharan African averages. According to the report, Ethiopia has surpassed many of the Sub-Saharan African countries in several other key development indicators, including child and infant mortality, and as a result, Ethiopia has attained most of the Millennium Development Goals, the report ascertained.

Ethiopia has witnessed a complete transformation of the structure of its economy. As in many developing countries, agriculture previously had dominant role in the economy, but today the service sector dominates the economy with 46% of GDP as compared to 40% for agriculture. Tax to GDP ratio has reached 13% from almost none in 1991. Domestic saving showed an amazing increase to reach around 22%. The total road coverage has reached 120,000 km. 70% of the Ethiopian villages have connected with roads and 96% of the country is covered with telephone network.

The country has also registered commendable achievements in the field of energy production, infrastructure, housing program and employment opportunity among others. Energy production has increased to more than 3870 MW at the end of 2015 from less than 200 MW in 1991. Five hydroelectric dams and two wind energy fields were constructed in the past 25 years, and an expansion on the wind energy, new projects in the thermal and solar energy and more dams are underway.

Education

Under the “Education for all” moto, each kebele in Ethiopia is now entitled to one primary school, two to three secondary schools and at least to one preparatory school in each woreda (district). Overall, there are 42,330 elementary-secondary schools (from only 4,278 primary and secondary schools in 1991) and more than 26 million students in school in the country (compared to 2 million out of a population of 48 million in 1991). Primary school coverage has reached 96%, and 41% of secondary school age students are in school. As the reader might be aware of, only South Africa and Egypt have achieved 100% primary school coverage in Africa. The two countries took 40-50 years to reach that level. But according to the current performances, Ethiopia could reach the same level in only 27 years: the Ethiopian Ministry of Education projects to reach 100% primary school coverage by 2018. Most importantly, Ethiopian children are today studying in their mother tongue, and 51 different languages are used as mediums of instruction in primary schools.

Today, more than 26 million students are enrolled in schools and universities in Ethiopia © The Ethiopian Herald
Today, more than 26 million students are enrolled in schools and universities in Ethiopia © The Ethiopian Herald

In 1991, there were only two universities in Ethiopia. Today, there are 36 public universities and this number will increase to 44 at the end of the second Growth and Transformation Plan (2015-2020). Private higher education has also increased as part of the general liberalization of the economy. There are now approximately 66, starting from no single one in 1991. Private institutions offering undergraduate degree programs in Ethiopia and the private sector accounts for approximately 25 percent of the country’s undergraduate enrollments.

As part of the 70/30 strategy, (70% natural science and 30% social sciences) the Government has established 10 technology institutes and two science and technology universities. All in all, there are more than 600,000 students in the Ethiopian universities today.

On the other hand, in view of educating youths who fail to pass to higher educations with different skills and techniques, 324 public and 516 private Technical and Vocational Education Training institutions (TVET) have been created, which enroll 288,000 students.

Health

Health
While the health coverage was 38% in 1991, it has now reached 99% © Ethiopian Ministry of Health

Ethiopia’s health policy is focused on prevention. With the moto of “1 for 25,000”, one health center for twenty- five thousand residents, Ethiopia has achieved incredible results in the health sector in the past 25 years. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in 1991, the country’s health coverage was 38% and has now reached 99%. The death rate due to communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV and yellow fever has been reduced substantially. The following table presents key indicators of the achievements in the last 25 years.

Source: - Ethiopian Ministry of Health, Federal Gov. Communication’s Affairs office.
Source: – Ethiopian Ministry of Health, Federal Gov. Communication’s Affairs office.

Furthermore, the number of mothers’ death during labor has dropped to 353/100,000 from 1400/100,000 and child & infant mortality has reduced by 70%.

Those are some of the main achievements accomplished in the past 25 years. They have not only changed the image and wellbeing of Ethiopia and its people, but most importantly, they have inspired youngsters to revolt against poverty and to commit themselves to do whatever is necessary to win against it. But this doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. There are still immense challenges to be overcome. 22% of the population is still living under poverty and nearly 80% of the population are living in rural areas mostly depending on rain fed agriculture. The ever increasing demand of the society for improved good governance, increased supply of energy and potable water, will require immediate and accelerated actions. But again, when looking at the recently launched fight against corruption and maladministration coupled with the commitment and determination of the Ethiopian people and leadership; it appears clearly that Ethiopia has a very bright future ahead to live and to enjoy its Renaissance.

Beyond the Master Plan

This article was originally published in The Ethiopian Messenger, the quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.

The cancelation of the Addis Ababa Master Plan following demonstrations in the Oromia region should not prevent us from loosing sight of the broader picture. The region of Oromia is the master of its own path and has the necessary tools to accelerate its own development.

Following the collapse of the military regime in 1991, the Oromia Regional State was established as one of the federal states constituting Ethiopia. Since then, the Regional Government of Oromia has been striving to carry out a rapid and sustainable development throughout the region. A strong foundation of democracy was built by the Regional Government in order to create conducive environment for its people. Moreover, promoting the culture, the language and the history of the people has been one of its fundamental objectives. Nowadays in Ethiopia, the Oromo people has unconditional right to self- determination, the right to speak, write, and to develop its own language.

Map blank
The regions of Ethiopia. © Wikipedia Commons. This map is given for information purpose only and does not represent the views of the Ethiopian government.

As enshrined in the Article 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the people have the right to preserve their history and to express, develop, and promote their culture. Under the incumbent government, the region is administered by its own inhabitants. Similarly, the Afaan Oromo language, which was only confined to private use during both the past imperial and military regime, is currently the official working language of the region. The remarkable progress made in the region’s social, economic and political sectors in the last 25 years is due to unwavering commitments of Oromia Regional government and the contribution of the public at large.

One of the main reasons for the major achievements over the years is the introduction of clear policies and strategies aiming at enabling the rapid socio-economic transformation of the society. Tremendous achievement has been registered through rural and urban development strategies. Due to these and other efforts of the Government, notable changes can be seen in the lives of the population and promising results are regularly registered in terms of economic development. But the introduction of clear policies and strategies is not the sole cause of this impressive progress. Without public participation and the domestication of development programs, all the aforementioned results would not have been achieved. The ruling party has been well aware of this from the first day in the office. Since then, the intention and will of the Government is to ensure that all Ethiopians get equal opportunity to improve their economic situation and to promote equitable distribution of wealth among them and finally to bring consensus and building a political and economic community by ensuring lasting peace, guarantying a democratic order, and advancing economic and social development as stipulated in the Constitution. For instance, the Addis Ababa-Oromia integrated master plan is a good example of the attention paid to the socio-political and economic development of the people. According to Article 89/6 of the Federal Government Constitution Economic objectives, “Government shall at all times promote the participation of the people in the formulation of national development policies and programs; it shall also have the duty to support the initiative of the people in their development endeavors.”

The Addis Ababa-Oromia integrated master plan aligns with the context of the Constitution. Thus, this article is indicative of the emphasis given by the government to people’s right to get access to information which basically emanates from developmental governments firms, as provided by the Constitution. The Addis Ababa integrated master plan was a work in progress and at its initial stage when the peaceful demonstration against the master plan started in 13 Nov 2016 near to Ambo city and its surroundings. However, the demonstration gradually changed its form and led to the destruction of public and private properties and loss of human life.

From 23 to 27 February 2016, following the violent demonstration in some parts of Oromia regional state of Ethiopia, the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), one of the coalition member of the ruling party, held thorough discussions in the city of Adama. The main points of discussion included the situation of the Oromia region, good governance, democratization, rent seeking practices and issues related to unemployment of young generation. The OPDO has renewed its commitments for its people to solve the challenges raised during the discussion. In addition to this, the ruling party has also taken actions on corrupt officials in the region. More than eight hundred officials were dismissed and will be held accountable for their wrongdoings.

Memorial in Adama, Oromia region.
Memorial in Adama, Oromia region.

Currently, the Oromia Regional State has unveiled a project worth 2.4 billion birr (about 100 million euros) to fight unemployment in the State. Out of this, a project worth 300 million birr (about 12 million euros) that could create jobs for 832,000 young people will be implemented within the coming months. The project will help to consistently alleviate unemployment in the State on the short and long term. During the announcement of the project, Redwan Hussein, Minister for Youth and Sports, said that the National Council, which was established by encompassing 17 institutions to assist job creation activities, will offer support for the success of the project. The discourse and speeches of officials of the region also indicate that while they take pride in the progress that has been made, they are acutely aware of the massive challenges that lay ahead.

Today, after a long struggle, the Oromo people who were coerced and denied their right under past regimes have obtained justice under the current Constitution. As a consequence, the current major issues are economic and not political, especially for the younger generation. As a nation, the Oromo

people have came a long way in the last 25 years, yet it has some unfinished businesses to realize. But a better future cannot be achieved if the current stability is lost. More than anyone else in the region, the Oromia region has learned from its own history how peace and stability are essential. The people has to maintain, nurture and develop the peace and security that it has in its hand. There is no development without peace and there is no lasting peace without development. The people is a master of its destiny; and to chart its future.