George Ayittey, the distinguished Ghanaian economist, and arguably one of the “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” (a person of ideas who stands for things far larger than one’s academic discipline) worldwide who “are shaping the tenor of our time” has been at war with Africa’s tin pot dictators and their lackeys for at least two decades. In 1996, he told African intellectuals exactly what he thought of them: “Hordes of politicians, lecturers, professionals, lawyers, and doctors sell themselves off into prostitution and voluntary bondage to serve the dictates of military vagabonds with half their intelligence. And time and time again, after being raped, abused, and defiled, they are tossed out like rubbish — or worse. Yet more intellectual prostitutes stampede to take their places…”
No one tells the truth about Africa’s dictators or their Western sugar daddies better than Ayittey. Recently, he was in Oslo at the World Freedom Forum skewering African dictators and mapping out battle plans. He reminded his audience:
In the 1960s, we got rid of the white colonialists, but we did not dissemble the oppressive colonial state. We removed the white colonialist and replaced him by black neocolonialists, Swiss bank socialists, crocodile liberators, quack revolutionaries and briefcase bandits. Africans will tell you, we remove one cockroach and the next rat comes to do the same exact thing.
Africa’s “briefcase bandits” run full-fledged criminal enterprises. Sani Abacha of Nigeria amassed $5 billion, and the Swiss Supreme Court in 2005 declared the Abacha family a “criminal enterprise”. Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan has stashed away $7 billion while Hosni Mubarak is reputed to have piled a fortune of $40 billion. In comparison, Ayittey says, “The net worth of 43 U.S. presidents from Washington to Obama amounts to 2.5 billion.”
How Do You Fight and Win Against African Dictators?
Ayittey’s “law” of African dictatorship says African dictators cannot be defeated through “rah-rah street demonstrations alone.” To purge Africa from the scourge of dictatorships, Ayittey says three things are required:
First, it takes a coalition to organize and coordinate the activities of the various opposition groups. It is imperative that you have a small group of people– call them an elders’ council to coordinate the activities– [composed] of eminent and respectable personalities who have no political baggage. They must be able to reach out to all the opposition groups. We formed one in Ghana called the Alliance for Change… Second, you got to know the enemy, his modus operandi, his strengths and weaknesses… You find his weaknesses and exploit it…. All dictators [operate] by seiz[ing] the civil service, media, judiciary, security forces, election commission and control the bank. They pack these institutions with their cronies and subvert them to serve their interests. For a revolution to succeed, you have to wrest control of one of more of these institutions. Third, you have to get the sequence of reform correct…
Last year, there were ten elections in Africa. The dictators won all ten… Why? Because the opposition was divided. In Ethiopia, for example, there were 92 political parties running to challenge the dictator Meles Zenawi… It shouldn’t be this way. The council should bring all of the opposition into an alliance…
What Can Ethiopians Learn from Ayittey?
Is Ayittey right in his assertion that “dictator Meles Zenawi” keeps winning “elections” because the opposition is divided? Why is there not a “coalition to organize and coordinate the activities of the various Ethiopian opposition groups”? Is it possible to set up an “Ethiopian Alliance for Change”? What are the weaknesses of the dictator? These are questions that need to be discussed and debated by Ethiopians in Ethiopia and in the Diaspora.
Looking Through the Dictators’ Lenses
Ayittey is absolutely right in his prescriptions on how to remove dictators. In understanding the modus operandi of African dictators, one must necessarily go beyond an examination of the dictators’ actions, decision-making processes and command-and-control relationships and try to see the world through the dictators’ lenses. I believe it is equally important to have a sophisticated understanding of the mindset of African dictators, the motivations that drive them to commit unimaginable acts of cruelty, the perverted logic of their thought processes and why they cling to power when they are totally rejected by the people.
Analysis of the psychodynamics (mental, emotional, or motivational forces especially at the unconscious levels) of African dictators shows some act out of hate and others from greed and the need to dominate. Still others act from painful early childhood impressions which “tend to coalesce into a natural view of the world”. They spend the rest of their lives trying to get even against those who may have slighted them. All of Africa’s dictators are sociopaths. They have no empathy (no emotional capacity for the suffering of others) towards others. They are devoid of ethical and moral standards. For them it is normal to lie, steal, cheat, kill, torture and violate the rights of others. It is vitally important to have a clear and objective understanding of the mindset of African dictators to anticipate their likely responses in a variety of situations and their tactical adaptations to actions taken against them by their pro-democracy opponents.
My view is that “if you have seen one African dictator, you have seen them all”. African dictators manifest three basic traits: 1) denial of reality, 2) narcissism and 3) paranoia (fear). African dictators have difficulty accepting reality, that is, the world as it objectively manifests itself. They see only what they want to see; and to avoid what they don’t want to see, they manufacture their own convenient world of illusions out of the whole cloth of their personal beliefs, opinions and fantasies. When they win elections, they win by 99.6 percent. When unemployment and inflation are skyrocketing, they see annual economic growth of 15 percent. When people are starving, they see “pockets of severe malnutrition”. As they continue to abuse power without any legal restraints and convince themselves that they are above the law and accountable to no one but themselves, they transform their world of illusion into a world of delusion where they become both the “lone rangers” of the old American West and the sole custodians of the Holy Grail, with miraculous powers to save their nation.
African dictators are narcissistic. They believe they are the center of the universe and everything revolves around them. Because they are narcissistic, they are limited in their thinking, selective in their views, narrow in their vision, intolerant of dissent, solicitous of praise and adulation often surrounding themselves with yes-men, distrustful of everyone (except those in the small close group of people who feed them only the information they want to hear). They remain rigid and inflexible and their approach and attitude towards their opposition is never to compromise or negotiate. At best, they see their opposition as wayward children who need constant supervision, discipline and punishment to keep them in line. Their mantra is: “It’s my way which is the only way, or the highway, ain’t no way or you-are-on-your-way-to-jail!” To their way of thinking, conciliation and reconciliation with their opposition is humiliation, and a deep wound on their pride.
African dictators rule by fear, yet they and their henchmen and cronies live in a state of fear. It is true that those who are feared by the people in turn fear the people who fear them. They are afraid of their own shadows. They are afraid of criticism, and most of all they are afraid of the truth. They interact only with those in their inner circle (the “state within the state”, the “knights of the roundtable”). They often find out that their trusted and loyal lackeys have little real understanding of the outside world or the complex domestic issues and problems. Even when there are a few in the inner circle who might have some sophisticated understanding, they are often afraid to tell the dictators the truth.
Coalition Against African Dictatorships
Unless pro-democracy elements understand the psychodynamics of African dictators, they will likely remain on the defensive and inherently reactive mode. The fact of the matter is that African dictators study and know their opposition better than the opposition knows itself. They know how their opponents think, at what price they can be bought and sold and that many of them would rather join them to rip off the people than fight them. As Ayittey observed, they know even Africa’s best and brightest can be bought and sold like those in the world’s oldest profession. African dictators are always making psychological assessments of their opposition. They know what to do to exploit the smallest disagreements among their opposition. They know the leadership of their opposition is fixated on strategies that will bring quick results and avoid tactics that will work but take longer time to produce results. They know their opposition cannot prevail because they do not have the youth on their side, or have the willingness, readiness and capacity to mobilize and engage the youth. African dictators know the meaning of the statement made by their patron saint: “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”
Know Thyself, Not Just the Dictators
To defeat African dictators, pro-democracy forces must do a great deal of self-introspection. Why do many in the African opposition do things that will help dictators become stronger? Opposition infighting is the greatest source of strength to African dictators. Why can’t opposition leaders get along with each other if they are irrevocably committed to the causes of freedom, democracy and human rights? Often opposition leaders can’t see the forest for the trees. Why don’t opposition leaders actively work to build trust, cooperation and camaraderie across party, ideological, ethnic, religious lines? Perhaps a code of conduct for opposition groups is needed to promote a culture of truth-telling, fair and ethical dealing, tolerance and loyalty to principles and causes than individuals regardless of their leadership role.
A couple of years ago, I wrote a commentary complaining about the disarray in the Ethiopian opposition and pleading with opposition elements to put the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights above partisan or individual interests.
Those genuinely in the opposition must accept responsibility for their inability to come together and articulate a vision for the country. They deserve blame for squandering valuable opportunities to build organizational alliances, develop alternative policies and train young leaders… But that is no excuse for not closing ranks against dictatorship now, and presenting a united front in support of democracy, freedom and human rights.
When we understand the dictators and ourselves, we can devise strategies and tactics to replace the “vampire African states” that Ayittey often speaks about with democratic governments that operate under the rule of law and with the consent of the people. Ayittey said, “Africa is poor because she is not free.” I say Africa remains under the boots of ruthless dictators because her best and brightest children are the shoe-shiners of the dictators. It is time to close ranks against African dictators.
Syria plunged deeper into chaos and bloodshed Friday as adamant pro-democracy protesters took to the streets across the country in cities and towns including Homs, Lattakia, Amouda, Izram, Dara, Der Ezzor and Qamishli in mass protests that mark what protestors have called “Friday of Tribes.”
The theme of Friday’s protests means, “The clan is with every rebel,” activists explained. According to reports of eyewitnesses and activists, as well as video footage, harsh security measures have been taken to put a lid on the voice of dissent emanating from the streets Friday.
According to an activist in Homs, throngs of peaceful protesters were met with live ammunition by a security force that has remained by and large loyal to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Tanks began to take position Wednesday night, preparing to stage mass arrests and assaults on thousands of demonstrators Friday, he said.
“It is unacceptable. I ask the Arab army of Syria to take a good look at what’s going on. They want to kill off their own people? Our army is supposed to protect us. Even animals have never been treated this brutally,” he said.
Security forces appear to be growing more brazen. In the video above, Syrian soldiers kick and stomp a blindfolded victim who is crying for help and wailing in pain in Bab Amr in the province of Homs a day earlier. Afterward the soldiers take a group picture standing on the backs of their victims.
“This is for asking for freedom,” said the soldier as he beat the victim. “You want to topple the regime? Here the regime is down. What else do you want? Tell me what freedom means to you?” asked the soldier.
Pan-Arab Qatari news station Al-Jazeera reported the death of two protesters in the southern town of Bousra al Harir, citing Reuters. As many as eight others were injured by live ammunition in the opposition stronghold of Dara, the scene of some of the most widely attended demonstrations on Friday.
The death toll is expected to rise as protests continue throughout the day.
In the video above, hundreds of pro-democracy protesters march through the streets of the northern town of Amouda, carrying banners and large Syrian flags.
“When the day comes and the people demand freedom, then their fate is to be free,” reads one banner, quoting a well-known Arab proverb that has become the motto of an uprising which has sent shockwaves through the region.
In another video, residents of the Damascus suburb of Kiswa huddle under fluttering Syrian flags demanding the end of the four-decade rule of the Assad family.
“We are not afraid anymore. This is our right. We have the right to demand democracy. If we can’t live a life where we can ask for basic human rights then what good is this life?” said an activist in Der Ezzor, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.
Despite the lack of restraint Syrian security forces have demonstrated while dealing with protestors — captured in a series of recent incriminating videos — these rounds of Friday protests have swept across Syria.
Videos: Syrian soldiers assault civilian in Bab Amr; protesters take to the street in Amouda to participate in mass demonstrations Friday; anti-regime demonstrators march through the town of Kiswa. Credit: YouTube.
This is an installment in the CBS WorldWatch series, “The world’s enduring dictators,” inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, in which CBSNews.com takes a look at the men who continue to rule their lands unimpeded by law. See a complete explanation of the series and a list of others profiled here.
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia
Length of rule: 16 years. Zenawi helped lead the rebel movement that overthrew a brutal military dictatorship in 1991, and in 1995 was elected prime minister, a post he still holds. After heavily disputed elections in 2005 that featured his ruling party announcing victory in a close election before the votes were counted, Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and a small coalition of affiliated parties won 99.6 percent of all parliamentary seats in May elections this year which “fell short of international commitments,” Amnesty International writes.
Feature page: The world’s enduring dictators
Most despotic acts: While Eritrea was officially blamed for starting its infamous war with Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000, Zenawi did little to prevent the escalation of what many described as a pointless conflict that left at least 70,000 dead on both sides and cost two of the world’s poorest countries hundreds of millions of dollars. Zenawi has centralized control of many state functions within his political party, and while that has led to impressive economic growth, it has also spawned numerous reports of politically motivated killings, mass repression of freedoms and torture by state security services, which is saying nothing of the exclusion of non-party members from government services. After the disputed 2005 elections, security forces killed 200 protesters. Many claimed there was a clear victory for opposition politicians in 2005, but the ruling party said it won before results were announced, and it has maintained power since.
Outlook for change: In 2009, Zenawi indicated he was ready to step down, but his party “convinced” him to stay on to ease any potential transition. As many as 200 people in the political opposition have been arrested in recent months, apparently in reaction to the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Zenawi has faced several insurrections and secessionist movements within Ethiopia in his time as ruler, but it is unclear whether he will step down willingly or be forced to step down any time soon. That said, dissatisfaction with the Zenawi regime must exist as, yet again, swaths of Ethiopia are facing a critical food shortage.
Ethiopia’s khat-addicted, bleached skin Yemeni dictator Meles Zenawi has ordered 200 tanks from Ukraine at the cost of USD$100 million, according to a Ukraine newspaper (read here).
Who are the tanks going to protect? The answer is obvious. They are being purchased to protect Meles and his vampire Woyanne junta from the people of Ethiopia.
When millions of children in Ethiopia have nothing to eat, and some eat out of trash dumps, for the ruling party to spend $100 million on military tanks is an act of atrocious crime.
I am not making this up You can follow the link below and watch the four part video of the leader for life meeting with Ethiopian business leaders. It is a very interesting video. The video is edited and posted on You Tube by Ethiopian TV. I am very grateful. They should be commended for spending all the time and effort to inform the Diaspora. It is true due to censorship, lack of broadband capability, absence of electricity, and computer the Ethiopian people will not be able to access and watch this revealing video anytime they like. I have taken the time and effort and watched it twice.
I wanted to make sure that I stay true to the discussion. Based on that video it is not correct to call it a discussion. It is more like a monologue. It is presented in four parts. Each part is fourteen minutes for a total of fifty-three minutes and fifty-four seconds. In part one a questioner took five minutes and three seconds and a second one was done in one minute and thirty-six seconds. Forty-seven minutes and fifteen seconds are the musings of the great leader for life.
The meeting was a perfect example of what is wrong with our country. It is a big mirror held in front of us so we can really see ourselves. They say ‘you deserve the leaders you get’. That statement is a poster child for Ethiopia. Our tolerance of injustice has bestowed on us a very unjust situation. What happened in that video is acceptable in a Monarchy. It is the rule under Communism. It is normal in a military dictatorship. Ethiopia is none of those. It is billed as a Federal Democratic Republic. The leaders are elected to serve the people. They serve at the will of the people. The question is why is the Ethiopian leader threatening, scolding and demeaning the people he serves?
That is Ethiopia in a nutshell. We got rid of a Monarchy to replace it with a brutal military dictatorship. After considerable loss of life the military Junta was replaced by the victors organized under TPLF. We were told a new era begun. The democratic way was ushered with much fanfare. That was twenty years ago. That video makes it clear that there was a peaceful transition from Mengistu to Meles. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Ato Meles spoke a lot in that meeting. He revealed to us how his brain is wired. He wanted to make it clear to the merchants and thru that meeting to all Ethiopians that not accepting the decree of the great leader for life have consequences. He expressed it beautifully in Amharic. (Beklo maserewan qoretch bilu, lerasua asterech). He actually said that. We are the Beklo and he is the one with the leash or lasso. A very interesting mind set.
I found it very difficult to decide where to start. You see the one-hour video is mostly lies, misinformation and full of distortions. It is not difficult to refute. Thanks to Google you can search any assertion if true or false. Democratic Ethiopia is built on false premises. It is a house built on sand. This time for added measure he brought out two cadres to set the stage for his conclusion. Both made wrong misinformed statements as a foundation and he built his house of cards on that unstable footing.
The first questioner was a perfect specimen of a self-loathing; clueless and void of self esteem Ethiopian. He spoke good Amharic, was dressed perfectly with his matching suit and ties and can BS like no one. He started by insulting our past sprinkling his language with English words for added measure. Unfortunately a lie is a lie uttered in Amharic or English. After degrading our past he concluded by saying the concept of modernism (zemenawi) and free enterprise came with TPLF. He looks like he is in his thirties so he must be a product of the Derg era and came into maturity with the reign of Emperor Meles. He is excused for his ignorance regarding the history of his country and proud ancestors.
To set the record straight free enterprise means the existence of the freedom of private businesses to operate competitively for profit with minimal government regulation. During the Emperors reign I witnessed the practice of incipient free enterprise system in our country. There was a problem of fair distribution of resources but I assure you land was private, supply and demand were at work and the government generally followed hands off approach. The questioner’s Ethiopia is different. The current TPLF regime is the main engine of the economic system. The regime owns all land and leases it to the citizen, controls all major industries outright or using proxies such as EFFORT and is the biggest and baddest employer in the land.
Our questioner is also fond of misinformation knowing that the citizens have no way of verifying his distortion. He said he belongs to the camp that advocates the government’s intervention in price control for basic items such as oil, sugar, soap etc. and mentioned Thailand as an example of a country with such practice. So I Googled Thailand and price control to check his assertion. He did not disappoint me. He was following the good old Ethiopian habit of concluding without facts and using a broad brush to justify saying anything.
You see Thailand used price control on basic items like sugar, rice and oil. That much is true. That is the only thing common with our country. The control in Thailand is to set the price of sugar below international prices. Thailand is the second largest exporter of sugar in the world after Brazil. The government has a quota for internal consumption and export. The problem faced by the Thais is that some exporters cheat and export sugar allocated for the domestic market thus creating shortage. Now the problem faced with our country is a little different. There is no sugar, oil, and wheat because there is not enough internal production. Also we do not have enough foreign reserve to supply the population to meet its basic needs. Furthermore the TPLF regime is using this opportunity to break the back of the small merchants in its attempt to control the market from above. When he waded into pointing out the futility of the regimes attempt to set artificial prices he was cut off.
The second questioner is a rare breed. I have no idea what he was doing there passing himself as a businessman. He is a typical Woyane sitting as a civilian. But he was there and he asked a question. A little bizarre if you ask me. He was asking his boss to please do something because some merchants are insisting on making a maximum profit. Here is what he said:
We fully support the government’s action regarding wheat this past week. The idea that the government is going to distribute 450 thousand quintal of wheat at $490bir per quintal to us and set the price we sell it to the consumer, I am sure will stabilize the price of flour from today on. I guarantee that. What I would like to tell the government is I am sure many of the mills were hording wheat and some who bought it at $400bir are waiting to sell when it hits $900bir and some even stock it for six seven months and we appeal to the government to create a central trading like ECX (commodity exchange) for wheat …… I am sure there is over a million quintal in stock horded by the Flour mills etc…
There you have it the private entrepreneur begging the state to put him on a leash. Only in Revolutionary Democracy Ethiopia can such a theatre take place. And where he got that million quintal only God knows. It is also possible it is a veiled threat to remind them the calamity that has befallen coffee merchants. All this excitement and it is only six minutes into a one-hour presentation.
As I said before The Leader spoke forty-seven minutes and fifteen seconds, at least according to this edited presentation. I believe it will be fair to divide it into two sections and learn from it. The first part will be where The Leader speaks about the failure of the Ethiopian people to grow the economy. The second part will be where he explains the further fine-tuning of the Capitalist system being built by the Government of Ethiopia. This is definitely a first. All eyes are on Ethiopia and The Leader.
I noticed that he speaks very slow and deliberate. Either he wants to make it very clear or he has a very low opinion of his listeners. That is the way most people speak to two year olds. The tone shows that it was more like a lecture than a discussion. It was an upside down situation in that room. They pay his salary and he is threatening them. You would think that he would be nice to them since he wants to be re-elected. He wants their support and cooperation doesn’t he? That is the way it should work in a Democratic setting. You know like employer and employee. If the employee does not like the employer the only option is quitting. On the other hand if the employer does not like the employee firing is best for everybody. In Ethiopia the employee is firing the employer. Go figure that.
Here is Ato Meles in his own words:
The Government is concerned because beyond loss of income it has further meaning. If looked from tax income perspective collected into the National treasury Ethiopia is ranked with Somalia, one cannot compare us with any African country Kenya collects 25% whereas we are less than 10% (pause) under this circumstances the government can only live on alms (pause) this is a big disadvantage (long pause) on the other hand if the issue was just about collecting tax personally I wouldn’t have gotten into this hassle (neterek) I would have no problem in accepting being compared to Somalia. Beyond loss of revenue this has two major consequences. First it negatively affects capital allocation. There are ways of getting out of paying taxes. Manufacturing is one activity where avoiding paying tax is difficult. Even our blind and toothless system will find it by feel. On the other hand businesses like services and construction where taxpaying is lax capital will flow to that. Not getting revenue is a burden we can carry but capital is flowing no growth-oriented direction. Look at Addis. Due to the many buildings people are partying and dancing, they think that is growth and progress on the other hand if only one third has gone to manufacturing it is not difficult to imagine the effect on the country’s growth. Only the Indians, Chinese and Turks are involved in manufacturing. We cannot count on borrowed capital outside capital is not substitute. Unless the pillar of our economy is not ours we will end up being outsiders in our own country. If you ask why more capital is invested in services and construction it is because land is held using bribes and illegal means. If you have enough land you can be very rich if you have buildings you don’t pay rent. If you rent it to the foreigners including Embassy’s you can collect rent outside. Ethiopians hold over $2billion dollars in foreign banks. The burden we can not carry is we are losing the future economic power because our capital is flowing not into growth oriented but to areas that can help avoid paying taxes and the important economy branches are taken over by foreign capitalist. To hide your wealth you involve in high consumption activities Ethiopian Easter, vast amounts spent in big hotels, Ethiopian weddings, Ethiopian memorial services Ethiopian tidbits is comparable to highly developed countries. To save and invest it one thing but money hidden from paying taxes is like gambling money. We are not using our wealth to bring growth. The second thing we are worried about is you can operate like this in the forest. One cannot steal in broad daylight. When there is a forest you not only find Rats and Snakes all kinds of creatures in the forest including Elephants can hide. The forest is black hole to hide wealth. It is difficult to know ownership. Some officials’ steal and when confronted claim the money came from their aunt’s son in America. If we know each individuals income we can get rid of the forest. You can tell who is snake and who is human. In the old system individuals posses more than one business license. Some even register their dogs. Due to these revenue-hiding schemes our corrupt officials were hiding in this big forest thus we cannot cleanse ourselves. If this continues it is only a matter of time before we turn on each other. Where authority is the only means to be wealthy there will no be lasting peace. We can only get rid of corruption when we know each individuals income. The thief will be left naked for all to see. We do not want to involve in search and destroy. Knowing everyone’s income is a solution. Concerning taxes it is a rare exception where correct invoices are submitted. The receipts you submit are automatically suspect. You bring us proof on CD’s. Everybody knows that you can never avoid mistakes when you create CD. No matter how diligent. Our people have a saying. If the Mule cuts off its lasso, it only shortened it for it self. Your cutting the lasso made it shorter for you. We are all hurting.
Let us get something straight before anything is said. The speaker Ato Meles Zenawi has been in charge of the country since 1992. He has never allowed or tolerated any outside party other than TPLF and its creation EPDRF. It has been Ato Meles and his TPLF partners that have been making all major and minor decisions in the name of Ethiopia. Since the split in TPLF after the war with their Eritrean partners Ato Meles was able to vanquish his opponents and enter the one-man rule era. For all practical purposes Ato Meles is Ethiopia and Ethiopia is Ato Meles. The Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is known to have said “Not a leaf moves in Chile if I don’t know about it” You can say the same thing about Ato Meles and Ethiopia.
The question I have is why is The Leader singing the blues now after he has been the main architect of this 12% growth we have been hearing about for the last few years? He was the first to take credit when the news was all about this unheard of growth and peace under his able and smart stewardship. Why talk about the impending loss of sovereignty and specter of disintegration now?
He started by moaning the problem of raising revenues and compared our country to Somalia and Kenya. I have no idea where he got his facts regarding a non-country like Somalia. But his take on Kenya is definitely wrong. Kenya has a highly developed economy than ours. Look at the chart.
Country Population GDP/Capita Budget
Ethiopia 90.8 900 4.3billion
Kenya 41.0 1600 7.01billion
Looks like the only place where we are ahead is in procreating. Is it possible Ethiopia collects less because our people live on subsistence level? The comparison is invalid and misleading.
I am surprised to hear the head of the government saying that it is ok with him if people do not pay their fare share of break the law of the land. I did not know obeying the law was an option. It is a very curious statement to say the least.
Ato Meles seems to have a different understanding of the workings of a free enterprise system. I fail to understand where the confusion is if capital moves where more money is to be made. It is every capitalist’s interest to find a legal way to reduce his/her tax burden. Like any human enterprise there are a few that will find a way to avoid paying their share. His government followed on the footsteps of the Derg and kept all land in the hands of the government. He has been selling it to the highest bidder since coming to power. His family and friends are the premier owners of choice property. His government has been working overtime in the Diaspora arranging land sale gatherings. Constructing what is commonly referred to as ground plus condominiums and office space has been the talk of all Ethiopia. There is not a town not affected by this national madness of concrete and glass in the middle of nowhere.
Wasn’t it true that the construction outfits and banks organized around EFFORT were the number one beneficiary of the Diaspora’s investment in the 12% growth we have been hearing about? Today The Leader tells us that is the wrong road. Did he apologize for this royal screw up? No sir, he is blaming the investor. His theory is that folks are attracted to housing investment to avoid paying taxes. It is a very difficult to understand his assertion. I believe a vast majority invest in building housing because they believe the will come out ahead. It is normally a good investment. Most in the Diaspora invest in Ethiopia for various reasons. Some invest to have a place for retirement, a few to make money and others because it is cheaper and easier than in most foreign lands. I have not met anyone investing large amounts to avoid Ethiopian taxes. Ato Meles mocks people’s patriotism. He even blames people for enjoying their money on lavish weddings and hotel expenses. I thought under capitalism one is free to do what he wants with his earned income.
His preference seems to be manufacturing. He wants Ethiopians to put their money into the manufacturing industry. Again it is a very curious statement coming from the head of the state. There is no need to wish it or complain about its absence. It is in his power to gear the economy towards the direction he wants. From what I understand Governments use various incentives to direct the orientation of the economy where it is most beneficial to the country. Tax incentives, land give a ways; subsidies are but a few methods. Before such methods are tried there is usually groundwork to be done. A few question a capitalist interested in setting up a manufacturing enterprise will ask will go something like is there infrastructure to support the enterprise? This will include things like roads, power and communication. Having an educated work force is plus. So before the invitation is printed is Ethiopia ready to welcome investors? The answer is no. Power is in short supply and the education level is below par. His condemnation of the hand that feeds him is rude and unacceptable.
The talk about the forest Rats, Snakes and Elephants is where he lost me. This is where his imagination kicked in and the talk regarding snakes and humans started to cloud the monologue. I have no idea why he conjured up all these animals when the point he wanted to make was he wants to have a record of every Ethiopian income. It is a very interesting situation we got here. One of the poorest countries wants to invest in building a sophisticated database on it citizens. A country that is looking at over seven million people in a state of famine wants to spend billions on book keeping. It was very interesting to see The Leader telling his tax paying citizen that they are not trust worthy and that they are guilty until proven innocent.
I believe he should be man enough to accept his mistakes. The polices he is putting down and making fun of are none other than his very own. He is the owner the current economic and political policy in place. Starting with his back door deal with Eritrea, the land as government property, the division of our country on ethnic lines, the war with Somalia, the lack of healthy political environment, the suffocating security setup is all the work of Ato Meles and his TPLF partners. Real men accept responsibility for their deeds. The Ethiopian people cannot take the blame for decision they were not consulted or agreed upon. Even as parents we make sure our children understand the value of ‘thank you’ and ‘I am sorry’ early in their developmental stage.
I fully understand The Leader is under tremendous strain. The people’s uprising in the neighborhood is freaking out his outfit. They are coming out with different approaches to bully, frighten and intimidate the population. The fate of Ato Meles is similar to that of Mubarak, Gaddafi, Saleh and Assad. There is no easy way out. So much crime has been done there is no way of whitewashing and going back to the beginning. There is no reset button on governance. Ato Meles and the Ethiopian people are dancing around each other waiting to see who is going to fall first. This sort of situation does not favor tyrants. They are edgy and prone to make irrational and sudden moves that jar the equilibrium. Everyday sees the advent of a new crisis. If it is not inflation it is Kilil revolt. If it is not scarcity of basic items it is fire in Gondar or transformer blow up in Arsi.
It is a shame to see a leader bully his people and distributes the video to show his shameful behavior. Even after editing it does not present a smart picture. Those in the room were grown up people trying to survive in such an environment unsure of what tomorrow will bring. It is a sad scene. The second part will be on the wonderful explanation of how the Ethiopian Government is reinventing itself as Wall Mart, wholesale distributor of oil, bread and sugar. It did not work for Mengistu, no reason to think it will work this time around. Pray for Ethiopia.
George Ayittey, the distinguished Ghanaian economist, and arguably one of the “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” (a person of ideas who stands for things far larger than one’s academic discipline) worldwide who “are shaping the tenor of our time” has been at war with Africa’s tin pot dictators and their lackeys for at least two decades. In 1996, he told African intellectuals exactly what he thought of them: “Hordes of politicians, lecturers, professionals, lawyers, and doctors sell themselves off into prostitution and voluntary bondage to serve the dictates of military vagabonds with half their intelligence. And time and time again, after being raped, abused, and defiled, they are tossed out like rubbish — or worse. Yet more intellectual prostitutes stampede to take their places…”
