By Belete Etana Disassa
I am a member of parliament (MP) and deputy chairman of Public Account Standing Committee (PAC) of the House of Peoples’ Representatives of Ethiopia, elected as a representative of Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) from Limu Kossa District, Jimma zone, Oromia region.
I want to give my honest and sincere testimony of the conditions currently prevailing in Ethiopia. This testimony is in no way intended to defame the ruling party and its cohorts. The main purpose of this letter is to expose the hidden facts in Ethiopia.
Today in Ethiopia there is no democracy, rule of law, respect for human and civil rights. The judiciary system in totally under the control of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). There is no justice and independent court proceeding.
If you are an MP, you are duty bound to ask questions. But if you ask questions, you are branded as OLF and you are a terrorist and a criminal. Article 54(5) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Constitution, states that “No member of the House may be prosecuted on account of any vote he cats or opinion he expresses in the House, nor shall any administrative action be taken against any member on such grounds.” But the person who asks the democratic and human rights of the people to be respected is automatically branded as OLF member, and I am one of the victim.
The EPRDF/TPLF regime is simply a dictatorship. It does not respect its own constitution. It murders, detains, tortures and arbitrary arrests innocent citizens. The regime is particularly on a campaign of detaining Oromo nationalists. Human rights abuses are common and a day to day activity of the regime, particularly in Oromia. Authorities imposed the new structures the “Garee” and “Goxii” system to monitor the speech and personal lives of the rural population, to restrict and control the movement of residents. If you oppose the system, you are thrown in prison to stay there for years without appearing before court.
Article 12 (1) and (2) of the FDRE constitution requires transparency and accountability but on the ground the fact is different. In 2008, from the 20 Federal Government Institutions, over 192.5 million birr was detected as deficit (misuse). From this money, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia account for the biggest share of improperly spent money. Expenditures of 560 million birr by Revenue Authority and 121.9 million birr by the Ethiopian Customs Authority have not been backed up by any document.
The Ethiopian Mapping Agency and Ministry of Mines and Energy billing customers without the proper tariff has been approved by the Council of Ministers. Furthermore, the former Ministry of Infrastructure has collected over 47.2 million birr annual fee with out any approved tariff.
Our finding also reveals that over 226.5 million birr worth of purchase by six institutions were not in accordance with the purchase manual of the government. The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia has paid 98,000 birr to its former head as salary and allowance when the head was not at his position for 27 months.
The National Bank of Ethiopia on the recent gold scam reveals that contrary to the bank procedure, one individual has been supplying gold to the bank without registering. Package that contains the brick of gold has not been properly inspected after it was certified it was gold by the Ethiopian Geological Survey office. The bank has also paid the gold value without properly weighing it and has accepted 38 similar gold bricks that weigh the same and with equal carat levels.
The finding revealed illegal procurements, unlawful payments, spending beyond the allocated budget, and expenditure that could not be accounted for, amounting to more than 2.5 billion Birr. Also the government of improperly borrowing an extra 3.3 billion birr from banks. This borrowing has contributed to the inflation rate in the country.
Corruption remains a serious problem in the country. As to our responsibility to investigate this fact, the response of the government is to disparage and disqualify the activity. On the other hand, the government officials appeared to manipulate the privatization process, state and party owned businesses received preferential access and misuse of public funds.
Such misdeeds and crimes were causing me mental anguish for the last three years. I have been receiving death threats for speaking up against the wanton disregard for the rule of law. My conscience could no longer allow me to continue to be a member of the party, an MP and deputy hairman of PAC of the House. I have chosen to resign from the regime and its rubber stamp parliament.
17 thoughts on “Ethiopia Member of Parliament resigns in disgust”
good jbb
Are you telling the public that Meles is a dictator? Is that starting the date you left the Parliament? Was he a democrat when you joined the Parliament. You and similar hodams are prolonging the reign of state terror in Ethiopia. I hope those who are still not unaware of the dictatorship of Meles wake up before it is too late.
You are asking the man not to participate in Ethiopia’ issue despite under EPRDF or not. Are you asking him then to be loyal to Meles? Despite lack of democracy, you have to participate for the people’s sake and in order to survive. That is what u people don’t seem to understand. You sit down here in the democractic Western nations and expect the people in Ethiopia to act accordingly under repressive regime.
yes this is the only solution, everybody has to fight for his freedom woyane is ethiopians enemy so we must fight woyane . the guy who resigns did good job instead of a ruberstam better to resign
First of all you are not telling us something we do not know. our question is why did you join this parliament at first place? meles and his party are known to be blood suckers from the beginning. Are you telling this now because things did not work out for you the way you wanted it? what responsibility do you take for all of your participation in prolonging our people suffering? i think it is just too late to dissociate yourself from woyanes now because our eyes are open and we can’t be fooled anymore.
Meles and his TPLF terrorists have been conducting the country’s business right from get go as you are descrbing now and you happily participated in it all alone for 19 long years.
Now after being used and re-used and have probably become not useful for them any longer and being tossed out, you have the audacity of coming out and complain about it as if Meles has been a democrat and respected human rights in the past and all of a sudden turned un-democrat and looter.
You have no and never had the interest of the Oromos and Ethiopians in your heart. You are simply as much a criminal and gangster as Meles and co. and when they made sure that you have enough skeletons in your closet and blood in your hand, they cut you off and refused you to have your ususal share of the cake. You keep pretending to have a clean conscience for as long as you want but no one will listen to you.
The game is over. You can live with your earlier loot if they have not already stripped it from you.
So, it took you 3 years to learn the tplf is a brutal dictatorship. Or you just realized the end of the road for the tplf is nearer than ever before. Any how, it is a good move, and I hope others may follow your foot steps.
I wonder how on earth people like you live with guilt on that land,woyane was robbing our people day and night under your watch,it took you so long to wakeup,shame on you and your likes,I dont have sympathy for you.you are as guilty as woyane period !!!
Well said, koster
“Are you telling the public that Meles is a dictator? Is that starting the date you left the Parliament? Was he a democrat when you joined the Parliament. You and similar hodams are prolonging the reign of state terror in Ethiopia. I hope those who are still not unaware of the dictatorship of Meles wake up before it is too late.”
EXCELLENT JOB!
THANKS! :)
I have a feeling that the writer is about to apply for asylum somewhere and this posting is for the sole purpose of his/her case nothing to do with standing for truth and justice.
Only hodam joins the weyane parlament to start with. But good for you to wake up finally.
I never knew there were no democracy, human right, rule of law etc in Ethiopia. Never knew Meles has been a bloody dictator and killer!
Thanks, Mr.MP for exposing such top secret!
KKKKK or HAHAHA
Aye yegna neger!
Poor guy, leave him alone. He has family, he has kids to take care of. You know he has get a visa to the US before he says anything or leaves the country. My friend has put it so nicely up there. Those guys at home are blood suckers and you are one of them. We will ask you for the murders you have committed. What we want is a SOB who stands out in the parliament and tell Meles that he is wrong right there when it is being broadcasted live. You tell him he is wrong and that you can’t continue working with him or the party and tell them you have resigned. Do you remember what Mr. Negaso did? Something like that but bigger.
I know he will put you to jail if you do so reason “your concience is not really clean”. You have done something bad and they have a record of it to be played when you defect the party. You are not clean and that is the most important reason that took you 19yrs to realise these blood suckers are eating ethiopia piece by piece. But there will come a time that they will bite more than what they can chew and choke and die.
So Sad!!! It has been recently, especially after may 2005, that most Oromo youths (OPDO members), like Belete Ittana have understood the real nature of Woyanne — as it has been sucking the blood of 75 million Ethiopians for the benefit of the minority Tigray. We hope that Abadula Gemeda (Minasse) will leave soon too from his role of being slave for Meles and move to Arssi (Boru Jawi Kebele) to cultivate his fathers’ farm accompanied with one other ox.
Most of you harhely critical guys on this forum seem to be suffering from double standardism and behave just like Wayane itself.
What is wrong if an individual who have been serving the dictator for bread now finds a chance to repent and run away for purifying his conscience. Assylum seeking and minding his business is his right.
“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.”
~George Bernard Shaw :)
Great and courageous! I really appreciate your move.
But some of you comm enters, including Koster,are so unwise and silly. Please think through deeply before you write anything rubbish. This man’s resign shows that he is a man of integrity and principle. Think what is sacrificing and rather thanks him so that others may follow the same path.