They drag the Ethiopian girl by the hair in broad daylight in front of the Ethiopian embassy on a major street full of people, throw her in a car and take off. This is a great shame on us Ethiopians more so than on the Lebanese thugs. We should ask ourselves, once a proud people, what we have become to allow such indignity and brutality against our women and children. The incident happened in front of the Ethiopian embassy and no one from the embassy staff bothered to save the girl. Saudi agents Al Amoudi and Meles Zenawi are currently exporting 25,000 Ethiopian girls to Saudi Arabia, as reported here. Those girls are facing similar terror in the streets, neighborhoods and jails of Saudi Arabia cities.
Those of us who enjoy freedom from constant purges, harassment, intimidation and fear need to remind ourselves each day that the Ethiopian people continue to suffer from poor and repressive governance-induced hyperinflation, hunger and malnourishment that is legendary, growing unemployment that drives thousands out of the country each month, glaring wealth and income inequality, pervasive corruption and illicit outflow of resources, dispossession and dislocation of hundreds of thousands from their homes and ancestral lands and massive transfer of the pillars of the Ethiopian economy to foreigners and a selected few ethnic elites. The dispossession of the Ethiopian people from sources of livelihood: urban and rural lands, waters, minerals and other critical assets, is the core issue of the day.
The thesis in this commentary is that TPLF Inc. has lost the trust and confidence of the Ethiopian people. There is very little evidence to show that it is ready or willing to reform itself. Nor is there any indication that the donor and diplomatic community appreciate the dangers the country faces in terms of its long-term stability and security and the welfare of its people. What could be more dangerous than the wholesale transfer of the pillars of the economy to foreigners and ethnic allies? What could be more telling than the continued purging and removal of patriotic and democratic leaning Ethiopians from their work? Accordingly, the task of supporting the Ethiopian people in their time of need is urgent; and rests with all who accept the dangers ahead and are ready, committed and willing to sacrifice time, resources and creativity. We cannot afford to wait until things fall apart completely and irreversibly. We need to move from talk to action. Action must be rooted in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian people who bear the brunt of repressive governance and economic mismanagement.
It is up to us
The outside world is unlikely to respond to us until we lead the effort. In commentary nine of this series, I showed how aid has done little to boost the capabilities of the Ethiopian people including smallholders. Close to 13 million Ethiopians depend on some form of international emergency food aid. A World Bank study last year showed that more than 5 million Ethiopians depend entirely on remittances. Thus, at minimum, 20 percent of 90 million Ethiopians depend entirely on some form of assistance from outside. Nationally, 21 percent are chronically unemployed. It means that growth has benefitted the few; but has not produced employment for most. At minimum 41 percent of the population is not part of the development process. With per capita income of $350 and with 46 percent wishing to immigrate, it is not hard to suggest that the mythical growth propagated by TPLF Inc. is not meaningful to most Ethiopians. It will not be until and unless Ethiopians enjoy a semblance of freedom to hold their government officials accountable.
I and many others who care deeply about the future of the country have provided analytical tools showing the dangers of the current system for all Ethiopians regardless of ethnic or religious or demographic affiliation. The mess affects each and every one of us, and future generations. A classified piece written from former Ambassador to Ethiopia, Donald Yamamoto, to his government, entitled “US knew but ignored abuses by Ethiopia’s Zenawi,” released by Wiki-leaks reinforces the depth of dispossession and disempowerment that defies the imagination on which I have written as have others. Although the leak refers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where “hacks” of TPLF Inc. dominate policies and programs everywhere, the problem of purging and replacing those purged by ethnic and party loyalists has been standard practice for 21 years. It is part of systemic dispossession and dismantlement of anything and everything that is Ethiopian or national.
In February 2009, Ambassador Yamamoto confirmed and questioned the recruitment and staffing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—one of the most corruption-ridden institutions of the country—by “230 new trainees,” as part of TPLF Inc. capacity” building process. “Of the 230 new hires, all are party officials, and receive Ministry financed housing and salaries at levels double the prevailing rates of current Ministry of Foreign Affairs officers.” This practice is the norm and has been the norm for several years, especially in most sensitive institutions such as Defense, Intelligence and Police. How else would a general afford a mansion or luxury building that costs 45 to 90 million Birr in Bole?
The undermining of Ethiopia’s national cadre of competent and meritorious civil servants that Robert Calderisi identified in his book, “The Trouble with Africa,” 3 years ago is now complete. It is done systematically and deliberately to rob the country of public service oriented individuals and replace them with party hacks. TPLF Inc. does this through the Business Practices-Reengineering (BPR) process. It may as well be called a cleansing process, a system designed to purge those whose tribal and party loyalty is questionable. Its discriminatory nature is obvious not only to former Ambassador Yamamoto but also other foreigners who work in Ethiopia and with Ethiopians. BPR grades officers on the basis of ethnic and party loyalty, with “members of the ruling party and are fully loyal receiving an “A” automatically regardless of qualification, merit and competency. In contrast, “Those perceived to oppose the ruling party or its platform are given a “D” and terminated from their jobs.”
Dispossession and alienation from private assets such as homes, lands and other personal properties, and assessments (gimigema) that lead to purges from jobs amount to the same thing. Simply put, they erode Ethiopian citizenship. They lead to poverty and immigration. Donors and the diplomatic community observe these travesties; and occasionally critique TPLF Inc. But, they do not dare to challenge TPLF Inc. to change its ways. As explained in the previous commentary, donors and the diplomatic cannot change the policies or programs of the regime. Only Ethiopians can change the system; and they can if they pull their resources together.
What conclusion did Ambassador Yamamoto reach?
The former Ambassador concludes that, “While the US government may have had influence over the Ethiopian government to induce positive reform up until, and soon after, the 2005 elections, it has lost all such influence since then.” If this is the case, why continue to offer the repressive regime with close to $1 billion per year. The bottom line is this. Long-term, the US shoots itself in the foot by ignoring an unfolding human tragedy that may lead to civil conflict and instability if it does not take bold steps now and pressure TPLF Inc. to entertain a peaceful transition. We are thus left with the only viable option that will compel the US and others to stand firmly on the side of the Ethiopian people.
This option is to set aside minor and non-strategic differences and take collective and practical action on the diplomatic front while supporting those who struggle for justice, the rule of law and representative governance within the country. Both are essential. The more we do this, the more likely it is that we will win friends. It is fear of the alternative that compelled Ambassador Yamamoto to warn, “We must remain mindful to explain our common stability objectives (the premium donors and the diplomatic community use as rationale in support of dictators) clearly to the Government of Ethiopia and EPRDF and to avoid overreaching for too drastic of reforms lest the ruling party opt to choose survival over engagement.” It is the same reasoning the US and others deploy in Syria where close to 10,000 innocent people have been massacred by their own government.
It does not take much to conclude that the country is under more stress than ever before in its history. Dispossession is now universal. The Ethiopian people have less say and power compared to foreigners who own a large chunk of the pillars of the economy and ethnic elite that plunders the society each day. Equally unprecedented is gaping inequality, corruption and illicit outflow. All these and more are linked together and are indicators of repressive and corrupt-ridden governance that will let at our own peril.
Anchor the struggle in Ethiopia and embolden Ethiopians
It is the above reality that leads me to suggest again and again that the vast majority of the Ethiopian people reject TPLF Inc. It is also this that prompts me to argue that any struggle for a better future for the Ethiopian people must be anchored in and led by civil society and political groups within Ethiopia. Those of us who sit on the sidelines must be persuaded that we are losing a country and all that this implies. The purging of Ethiopians from their jobs is symbolically the purging of competent and meritorious persons from any segment of the society. In the area of land giveaway and transfers of wealth, no amount of wealth would recompense such a loss for generations to come. TPLF Inc. is now in the business of mortgaging the entire country in the name of development. Even the last forested and treed places in the country such as churches and monasteries are no longer sacrosanct.
It happens to Waldiba
What responsible government would allow or encourage the deforestation and desecration of lands around churches and monasteries such as Waldiba in the name of development and transfers lands and forests to investors? What is happening in Waldiba, Gambella, Ogaden, Afar and others erode trust and confidence in the regime. It does not seem to care. A recent example on corruption shows that confidence and trust in TPLF Inc. and its associates is practically zero.
I should like to remind the reader that graft, bribery, mispricing, embezzlement and illicit outflow are possible in the absence of oversight. Independent oversight is virtually impossible when there are no nationally-oriented opposition parties, independent civil society organizations, academics and journalists. For this reason, TPLF Inc. does anything it wishes and gets away with ‘murder.” Here is the truth. “In Ethiopia today, it is argued, all civil society organizations, opposition political parties, individuals and groups in private enterprise, and other groups are described as rent-seeking, while in contrast, EPDRDF (run by TPLF Inc.), the ruling party, is claimed to be the only one which has developmental credentials.”
This attribution of “rent-seeking” to all opponents is granted to deceive, and establish grounds for harassment, intimidation and fear; and to ensure that there is no competition. Here is part of the menu of evidence that says it all. In its seminal report last year, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) lamented that “The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit leakage.” The reader will recall that, in 2009 alone, Ethiopia lost “US$3.26 billion in illicit outflow, exceeding both the value of its total exports and the total development aid it received that year.” You will agree with me that it is not leaders or members of “civil society organizations, opposition political parties” academics, journalists or other persons who did this. Critics are in jail or have been forced out of the country. Opposition political parties do not have the freedom to operate in the country let alone own businesses and steal from the society.
Top leaders and supporters of TPLF Inc. do not like people with integrity. Anyone who speaks the truth against the system is an enemy of the party and state and goes to jail if not worse. Truth and patriotism, justice and freedom and other indicators of good governance are inimical to TPLF Inc. This is why competent people are purged from universities and ministries all the time. As a result, TPLF Inc. puts the argument upside down and accuses opponents of “rent-seeking.” The greatest “rent-seekers” are those who run the merged state—ethnicity, party and government. It is they who have perfected political capture and made it an instrument in the accumulation of incomes and wealth nationally. It is a business; and businesses will do anything and everything to thwart competition. At least, there is some form of regulation and ethic that guides and governs private businesses. In the case of TPLF Inc. there is nothing that contests it. Any contest or any telling of the truth will land you in jail unless you flee for your life. This cannot go on.
Fabricated growth data
In “A Climate of Corruption: Ethiopian edition,” Janice Winter of Investigative Journalism captured mistrust and lack of confidence in the Meles Government when she said this. “Conveniently for Meles, no independent institutions in Ethiopia exists, to check the veracity” of anything, including “of government high growth rates” or corruption or gross human rights violations including killings and rapes. She continues to suggest that, “Indeed, the average growth for Meles’ entire 20 year rule is less than 5 percent (below the African average of 6 percent.” Ordinary Ethiopians know this better than Diaspora tourists who see glitz and accept it as structural change in the economy. Each and every day, Ethiopians live with “hyperinflation, widespread unemployment, a stagnant private sector and corruption.”
Here is one critical point that I would like the reader to take. One of the casualties in Ethiopia today is the truth. Top officials of TPLF Inc. fabricate untruth like General Motors fabricates cars. The TPLF Inc. high growth phenomenon is part of the untruth factory; as is the fabrication that anyone who dissents is a terrorist. In 2005, the regime stole the election after it lost decisively and explained to the world that it had won. By any definition, fraudulent electoral outcomes are an outcome of corruption and lies.
Security, police and defense forces are deployed in parts of the country where there is potential dissent and threat with little or no differentiation. The Anuak killed or massacred in Gambella, Somali girls and women raped, indigenous people forced from their ancestral homes in the Lower Omo Valley, Tigreans kept numb and silent in Mekele and elsewhere, Amhara speaking residents in the Southern part of the country forced to leave their homes and property and Christian churches razed to the ground, Oromo students harassed, jailed and killed for seeking fair treatment and justice—these and more violations are justified by TPLF Inc. in the name of peace, security and the constitution. For almost 21 years, it has gone uncontested in pitying one group against another; in assaulting one group in isolation from the other and so on. The rest of us watch a dishonest and dishonorable group do this day after day. My question is simple. Don’t you find these as elements of justifiable cause for principled unity and action in unison? I do. They actions by TPLF Inc. erode public confidence and trust in their government and its officials at any level and in any region.
On Yekatit 1, 2004 Ethiopian calendar, Shiferaw Shigute, President of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), was accused of corruption and embezzlement. This is not surprising as such occurrences from urban and rural land sales and leases, permits and trade are routine. What is stunning is what he said. He admitted that he and Azeb, Meles Zenawi’s spouse and one of the wealthiest persons in Ethiopia today, colluded and stole millions of dollars in illegal trade of coffee, Ethiopia’s main export. Mispricing of coffee and illegal trafficking and trade in coffee and other commodities are among the major sources of illicit outflow. Meles Zenawi was forced to reverse the decision against Shiferaw. Family comes first; and not justice or the rule of law. The law and constitution are manipulated to serve an unjust and corrupt system.
In a similar vein, Mr. Omet Obang, Regional President, Gambella, was accused of ‘murders and massacres’ of his own people. He said, “If I go to jail for crimes against humanity, Meles Zenawi should to. It is he who gave me weapons and orders.” Obang did not go to jail and Meles remains in power. This is how the system works; and how corrupt it is.
Reports of endemic corruption and recurring illicit outflow of funds and other resources by UNDP, Transparency International and most prominently, GFI prompted global outrage and concern among donors and diplomats in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian government was forced to hire an outside firm to conduct investigations of corruption. The country’s so-called Anti-Corruption Commission that has absolutely no teeth hired a Tanzanian firm, Kilimanjaro International, to investigate corruption, a cancer that has infected the entire system. The firm was financed by the World Bank and cost almost half a million dollars. The firm interviewed and surveyed 6,500 persons and institutions. To the dismay of TPLF Inc. officials but not to Ethiopian society, the investigation concluded five of 27 government institutions are the most corrupt across the entire country.
I should like the reader to remember that all state institutions cannot be alike. They play different roles. Some possess authority and power that allow them access to resources; and others not. Some have direct effect on the day to day lives of people and others do not. The five most corrupt institutions of government identified are the following:
1. Courts. In a country bound by laws and not political allegiance, courts adjudicate matters fairly, justly, impartially and with the highest level of integrity. The institutions that adjudicate the law and regulatory system are, themselves, soiled in corrupt practices. Officials have been reduced to rationalizing and defending a tainted system that cannot be saved without radical reform. Impartiality and justice are only dreams in Ethiopia today.
2. Police. In countries where institutions are de-politicized and de-ethnicized, public service and security are fundamental and observed by police. This is not the case in Ethiopia today. The police serve as instruments of harassment, intimidation and fear. They do what they are told regardless of innocence.
3. Customs. Licenses, import and export permits duties, trade transactions, fees and so on depend on ethnic and party affiliation. Thus, customs officials and their allies at the top have unlimited opportunities to game the system. It is who you know and who you ally with that matters most. No wonder that customs is one the most corrupt institutions in Ethiopia today.
4. Local and Regional Administration. Urban and rural lands, commodity marketing, the provision of services such as seeds and fertilizers are among the major sources of corruption and abuse of public trust. The SNNP and Gambella offer examples of massive collusion. Nothing worthwhile occurs without some insider deals in local and regional administration in Ethiopia today.
5. Municipalities. Does anyone know any urban place in the country where permits to acquire a piece of land, build something of value and licenses to operate something, to initiate a business and so does not require some form of bribe. This is why Freedom House and the Wall Street Journal concluded last year that the cost of doing business in Ethiopia is among the highest in the world today.
Are there institutions that are relatively free of corruption? Yes; they include Ethiopian Airlines, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the National Bank of Ethiopia and the Postal service. I should caution that it is not easy to steal from an airline. Is it? It is not easy to steal from a commercial bank at least directly unless you rob it. By the way, the government robs banks by forcing them to lend to it. The National Bank has become a piggy bank that prints money and contributes to hyperinflation and the erosion of the Birr everywhere in the country. These relatively corruption-free institutions are not the real service interface between the government and its citizens. The five are. So, it really does not make sense to compare apples and oranges.
Given the mix of the survey, the Tanzanian outfit concludes wrongly that corruption is 78th in the hierarchy of national crisis. In my assessment, corruption that leads directly to illicit outflow is at the top of national crisis. Further, it is not sufficient to confine investigation on corruption to money and related concerns. Equally important is political corruption that has led and continues to lead to the rigging of elections. TPLF Inc. ‘won 99.6 percent’ of the votes in 2010 by barring others from competition; and purges. The ‘silent violence’ against dissidents, opposition political parties, civic organizations, teachers, students and others is a form of corruption.
The forced relocation of 1.5 million Ethiopians from their ancestral lands by 2015 is an abusive of authority and therefore a form of corruption. TPLF Inc. does not allow opponents to offer viable options; affected citizens have no say in the matter. Continued exodus of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians from their country in search of alternatives abroad emanates from a corrupt and repressive system that does not allow them to prosper within their own homeland. More directly, corruption and illicit outflow of massive amounts of resources out of the country deprives communities, the society and the country the investment capital they need to expand productive capacity and capabilities: build quality schools, health facilities, safe drinking water, and access roads to rural communities, factories that produce fertilizers, basic consumer goods and so on. It is when the structure of the economy changes dramatically that hyperinflation can be contained Corruption and illicit outflow is therefore a tax on this and the coming generation. It is principally the system that produces and tolerates it.
Given the above, how and why would people trust the TPLF Inc. government, its officials and institutions that are corrupt and tolerate corruption; that lie to them that they are better off today than before it took power 21 years ago while compelling them to accept lies as truths; and that repress them while telling the world that these are done in the name of peace, national security, anti-terrorism and development? I am convinced that lies are an integral part of the ethos of TPLF Inc. and will not change until the entire system changes.
Governments with moral and ethical leadership change when they lose the confidence and trust of their citizens. TPLF Inc. and its civil servants seem to be both arrogant and oblivious or are in complete denial that they are unloved and unwanted. Berhanu Kifetew, the head of the Anti-corruption Commission confirmed this when he dismissed the modest findings and conclusions by the firm he helped hire. He said the study lacked “analytical and statistical depth.” This is a pattern. TPLF Inc. reached the same conclusion on killings and massacres following the 2005 elections; the same conclusions following the massacres in Gambella and the Ogaden.
The reader should never doubt that Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people are hurting big time from corruption and recurring illicit outflow of resources. The reader should not doubt that the beneficiaries of the system cannot possibly change the corrupt and repressive system that keeps them employed. The reader should not doubt for a second that corruption and illicit outflow undermine public trust and confidence in the government, its institutions and officials.
It is up to those—within and outside the country–who love the country and respect the hopes and aspirations of all of the Ethiopian people, to work in unison and to leave a legacy of peaceful transformation anchored in Ethiopia and owned by the Ethiopian people that future generations would recite and the world would admire.
Al-Amoudi targets expansion of his companies’ presence in agricultural, mining sectors
By Elleni Araya | Addis Fortune
Companies under the umbrella of Mohammed International Development Research and Organisation Companies (MIDROC) Ethiopia and its affiliates appear to have thrived at the opening of a public tender to privatise close to eight state-owned firms, after they made offers to acquire more than half of the firms up for a sale.
The Privatisation & Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) had offered Ethiopian Marble Enterprise; Coffee Processing & Warehouse Enterprise; Kality Metal Products Factory; Upper Awash Agro Industry Enterprise; Awash Winery SC; and Gojeb, Abobo, & Bilito Siraro farms up for privatisation through a public tender issued on January 9, 2012.
When the bid was opened on Thursday, February 23, 2012, MIDROC and its affiliates made an aggregate of 1.3 billion Br in offers to acquire five of the eight enterprises. MIDROC Ethiopia extended the highest offer of 860 million Br for Upper Awash Agro Industry Enterprise. It was the only offer that came for the enterprise.
The Enterprise is involved in the production and export of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables from its four farms located in Oromia and Afar regional states. Originally developed by a joint venture of domestic and foreign investors during the Emperor’s time, these farms lie on an aggregate land area of 7,049ht. It was nationalised in the late 1970s by the military regime.
Another subsidiary company of MIDROC that stood tall at the bid opening last week was National Mining Corporation (NMiC), managed since its foundation by Melaku Beza, a Russian-trained mining engineer. It offered 110 million Br, and an upfront payment settlement to acquire the Ethiopian Marble Enterprise (EME).
NMiC is not new to dealing with the Agency. It launched its operations in 1993, with a registered capital of 43 million Br, after acquiring Awash Marble Factory from the Agency for 45 million Br. The Factory had the capacity to produce 300,000tn of marble, limestone, and granite for export to the Middle East and Europe.
NMiC’s biggest prize came four years later, when it triumphed over a bidder from South Africa in acquiring the nation’s lone goldmine, Lega Dembi, in Shakiso Wereda, Borena Zone, Oromia Regional State, for 172 million dollars. With the government retaining a two per cent share, the goldmine was granted to NMiC as a concession for 20 years.
The concession coming to an end in five years, NMiC has positive prospects after its geologists discovered the largest gold reserves ever found in the country, in Tigray and Oromia regional states, two months ago. Managers of NMiC announced their plans to start production in three years, in hopes of raising total revenues of four billion dollars within 20 years of exploitation.
Its latest bid to acquire the Ethiopian Marble Enterprise, established by Italian investors in 1963 and nationalised in the late 1970s by the military regime, will bring it additional quarries located in Benishangul Gumuz and Harari regional states. The Enterprise has three branches in Nifas Silk, Bole, and Gulelle districts and made a gross profit of 3.3 million Br from its operations last year.
“There is a big gap between the demand and supply of marble in the country. We are trying to narrow this gap by further expanding our company,” Melaku Beza CEO of the corporation told Fortune. “Ethiopian Marble has a lot of resources that we can use,” Melaku Beza CEO of the corporation told Fortune.
Melaku also affirms that MIDROC is undergoing expansion plans, which explains its numerous bids that it had placed on Thursday.
“MIDROC is always on the move,” says Melaku, explaining that all its subsidiaries are undergoing expansion plans.
National Mining for example is considering opening a large marble factory, once it has finished conducting a feasibility study.
Two MIDROC-affiliated companies, largely owned by the Saudi tycoon Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, are Saudi Star Agricultural Plc and Horizon Plantations Plc. Both offered tens of millions of Birr to acquire state-owned plantations, last week, as well.
Saudi Star, incorporated in 2009 with a capital of 500 million Br, offered 90 million Br to acquire Abebo Farms, located in Gambella Regional State, with 3,000ht of land and a cotton processing plant with a 65,000sqm premises.
If it succeeds in its bid, it will add to Saudi Star’s already vast holdings in the regional state, where it currently holds 10,000ht of land in Alwero area, for growing rice. Saudi Star, now managed by Fikru Desalegn, former state minister of Capacity Building, has pledged to pay 45pc of the payment upfront and settle the balance within four years.
Horizon Plantations Ethiopia Plc, run by Jemal Ahmed, as a deputy to Al-Amoudi, was the lone bidder for two of the other enterprises that the Agency offered for sale.
Horizon Plantations, owned by Al-Amoudi and Jemal, also a prominent edible oil importer, was established in 2008, with a registered capital of 190 million Br. It is not new in acquiring properties from the state, as it bought Bebeka Rubber Plantation, located in Southern and Gambella regional states. Its main farm stretches from Addis Abeba to Dukem and employees 5,000 with a resident population of 28,000. It also acquired a 60pc share in a tyre factory, Addis Matador, and has been granted 85,000ht of land in Bench Maji Zone for a, Southern regional state in February of 2011.
Horizon offered 35.1 million Br, last week, to buy Gojeb Agricultural Development, a private farm during the Emperor’s time, which grows maize, banana, and pineapple on 1,400ht of the 1,800ht of land it owns near the border between Oromia and Southern regional states.
Horizon Plantations is also interested in acquiring the Coffee Processing & Warehouse Enterprise from Agency, offering to pay 228.2 million Br, out of which half is pledged to be paid upfront and the balance to be settled within two years.
The deal, if successful, could put Horizon in a better position than the other bidder, Ambassel Trade Works Enterprise, which has made an offer of 135 million Br, proposing to pay the amount in five years.
However, the bids will have to go through a review process before winners are selected, according to Brehane Gebremadhin, the agency’s director and bid committee chairman.
“The bid committee will review both the technical and financial proposals, which all bidders have submitted, and shortlist winners to the board of directors,” said Brehane.
The Agency’s board is chaired by Tadelech Dalecho, former sate minister of Culture and Tourism (MoCT).
“It is true that MIDROC is undergoing an expansion plan, as it explained during the inauguration of Derba MIDROC Cement Factory,” Jemal told Fortune.
This is part of Al-Amoudi’s commitment to help achieve the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) in the shortest possible time, according to Jemal.
“We bid on the Coffee Processing & Warehouse Enterprise from the Agency so that we could have our own sorting, preening, and polishing facility to produce export-standard coffee.”
The company has pledged to invest an additional half billion Br in Upper Awash, according to its technical proposal, Jemal revealed, speaking for MIDROC.
“We plan to use the farms to grow cash crops through irrigation,” he said.
It is a good expansion strategy that MIDROC is following if they manage to win the bids, according to Henock Assefa, consulting expert and managing director at Precise Consult International.
“Mining and agriculture are very profitable investments,” according to the expert. “You cannot go wrong with such investments, even if you have your eyes closed.”
Other bidders who appeared at the floor of the Agency, located on African Avenue, last week, were Ques Industrial SC, Morel Agro Industry Plc, and individual bidders, such as Mulugeta Tesfakiros and Tigist Deneke. They submitted offers for the acquisition of Kaliti Metal Factory, Bilito Siraro Farm Development, and Awash Winery SC, respectively.
Morell Agro Industry, a foreign company established in 2008, made an offer of six million Birr to buy Billito Siraro Farm in Oromia Regional State. The Farm harvests maize, haricot beans, and sunflower seeds on 3,270ht of land. The company has 10,000ht of land around the border of Somalia.
Mulugeta, who bought Langano Bekele Molla Hotel from the state for 80 million Br, in June 2011, after the original owners defaulted on a Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) loan, was seen last week bidding jointly with Tigist Deneke to acquire Awash Winery SC, offering 202 million Br.
The Winery, up for auction for the second time, has been in business since 1943, with brands such as Axumite, Guder, and Awash. It had been the lone operator in the domestic market up until competition knocked on its door, in the form of Castel Winery, a sister company of BGI Ethiopia, brewer of St George, Bati, and Castel beers.
The results of the current bid will be announced in less than a month’s time, according to Berhane.
Did you see what was coming out of North Korea this week? Someone referred to it as the ‘world’s largest display of uncontrollable grief.’ Kim Jung un ‘the Brilliant Comrade’ succeeded his father Kim Jung il ‘the Dear Leader’ who took over from his Grand Father the ‘Great Leader.’ The Korean people are celebrating sixty years under the stewardship of the Kim family? Do you wonder why? How is that possible in this day and age that one family can control a whole nation?
The Korean people are no different than the rest of humanity. There is no outward sign that sets them apart from the rest of us except the system they live under. That is the key to their dilemma. The Kim family and the system they perpetuate is the cause of all this freaky display being beamed out.
The Korean people are kept in ignorance by design. The Kim family motto is ‘Military first.’ It is not because North Koreans have enemies ready to conquer them. In fact North Korea have no enemies other than the Kim family and those aligned with them. The military ‘s mission is to bully, frighten and intimidate the Korean people into submission. The people are the enemy.
There is no independent Television broadcaster, no independent Radio station, no independent Newspaper and no independent Internet provider in the Kingdom of Korea. The Kim family and friends control all of the communications media. They figure that ignorant people are easier to control. You can’t argue with sixty years of success. I was looking and marveling at this phenomenon when I heard the news that Ato Bereket has written a book. You know me I was delirious with joy with the news. I have found my own Kim in my backyard. For some reason Kim of Korea and Meles of Ethiopia converged.
Mind you Ato Bereket have no compelling reason to stick his neck out and display his normal unfamiliarity with rational thought process and his utter contempt for facts and put all that down on paper for all to see. The only explanation I have is this disease of contempt for truth, self-aggrandizement, ego trip and simple garden-variety madness.
I have not read the book yet. To tell you the truth, I have no intention of reading it either. Judging from the inaugural ceremony when the book was made public I figured reading is not a requirement to talk or write about it. I am not going against convention here and read the damn book. My sincere hope is Ato Bereket himself has read the book.
The setting for the unveiling (Addis Sheraton, Lalibela Room) more than made up for the pedestrian quality of the content. It is reported that ‘who is who’ of the Ruling Party was present. The most esteemed benefactor of our motherland, Dr. Sheik Al Amoudi was there. The report does not say if Ato Meles was present or was watching from a remote site. I know from sources that videotaping is standard procedure. The First lady was not present either. I assume they were watching from their bunker.
The book is titled ‘A tale of the two elections.’ The dilemma faced by librarians all over is which category to file the book under. Fact or fiction is a valid question. It purports to be based on facts but from the reviews I get the feeling there is no research and data to support the thesis presented but rather it is a matter of taking the authors assertion as facts. Simple faith is what is called for.
Dr. Sheik Al Amoudi paid for the printing that was done in Kenya for quality purpose. According to the Dr. Sheik who confessed that he has not read the book it is a work of such importance that he recommended it as a ‘must reading’ for our youth. Judging by the glossy cover, beautiful fonts and pretty soft paper its function, as a doorstop will be invaluable. I know I am hating but deservingly.
Next to give his lofty recommendation was none other than Ato Demeke Mekonen, Minster of Education. Unfortunately he has not read the book either but it did not stop him from offering his praise and opinion. In fact he went a step further and added stuff that was not even in the book. Ato Demeke was glad and praised the author for dedicating the book to his comrades from the liberation movement when the reality is that Ato Bereket dedicated his book to his brother. Needless to say the Minster is in favor of adapting it as a textbook for our children.
I knew my friends at Aiga would add their share of cheerleading to this work of historic proportion. I am grateful to Ato Reta Sisay for his blind review. No adjective was spared in his haste to pile the accolades. He boldly compares and equates the book to the work of the celebrated English author Charles Dickens. I have no idea how and why. The only reason why Charles Dickens would be mentioned can only be due to the similarity of the title because the two works have nothing in common what so ever. The Englishman’s book is a work of fiction while Ato Bereket’s book purports to be a historical analysis of what happened yesterday in front of all of us. Ato Reta got carried away.
In my opinion the best un read review is done by none other than Ben of Ethiopia First. He wanted to stay true to the theme of fiction and continued to weave his own tale. When the book was unveiled in Addis, Ben said he was visiting the Great Wall of China. We are grateful he stopped his tourist activity and stayed in his room to write his Blog. How he got hold of the book in China is not clear and to top it all he was writing a testimonial before he even finished reading the book. He said so himself. Ben, Ben, Ben, how many times have you been told to not make shit up!
I found the review written by an individual named Daniel Berhane to be mildly interesting. He seems to be a Party functionary and goes out of his way to show Ato Bereket in a good light despite his failings as the ‘main strategist’ for the 2005 elections. Daniel seems to take advantage of his ethnic affiliation and gives us inside information regarding the Prime Minster’s plan to be called Doctor and the many fiction he has written and are awaiting publication. Ato Daniel states that there was no need for Ato Meles to review the work since Bereket is a premier ‘spin doctor’ in his own right. It is a little confusing when Bereket claims that Ato Meles is the busiest person in the service of his country and Ato Daniel asserts that the PM is busy studying for his PHD. We got a part time student and Prime Minster, and a part time spin-doctor and historian author.
May be I should also mention the write up by Addis Fortune newspaper ‘gossip’ columnist. We are after all in Ethiopia where a few papers are allowed to function pretending all is honky dory and normal while some are hounded out of existence. Our Columnist took a different take on the whole issue. The concern was not what was in the book but rather the perception. It boldly claims the ‘recently released book, the launch of which, at Sheraton Addis, caused so much furor among members of the public.’ Over the top statement considering ‘members of the public’ are eighty million of which seventy nine million nine hundred thousand are not aware of the book nor do they give a damn. Furthermore the Columnist was ticked off and wrote ‘there has been a passionate disapproval by many after seeing a well-heeled businessman speak of a senior government official in a manner that was distasteful, if not repulsive.’ I am sure this disapproval was not followed by not eating the lavish dinner, not drinking the free booze and not lining up to buy an autographed copy. A room full of spineless sycophants is what it looks like. A little harsh but you know what I mean.
The following paragraph from the Fortune article I would like to leave it intact and you the reader be the judge of this madness:
‘Equally, he has been criticised for reaching out to a businessman while his own party, the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM), could have paid for the printing of the book. He could have received the services of Mega Printing, a subsidiary of the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), a party-affiliated company, others criticised.’ I have nothing to add to this crap.
It will be considered rude to finish without saying something about our dear friend, newly minted author and Head of Government Communications Minster good old Bereket Semeon. I will start from the beginning and rely on Ato Tesfaye Gebreab’s first hand description of the times and events. I have no reason to doubt Ato Tesfaye’s meticulous research and incredible memory. We are lucky.
Ato Bereket was born in Gondar to Aboy Gebrehiwot and Weizero Werknesh. He was named Mebrehatu Gebrehiwot. He came of age when our country was in turmoil. Like the youth of his time he joined the struggle to topple the Military regime or Derg. He has an older brother named Kasahune and the book is dedicated to him. Kasahune was born in the province of Eritrea and grew up in Gondar. He joined the EPRP to liberate his country. In my opinion history will show EPRP to be the first modern multi national movement that understood the richness, diversity and strength of the new Ethiopia to be built. Ato Mebrehatu died in a battle between EPRP (EPRF) militia and TPLF army.
History will also show TPLF was established, formed and founded to liberate the province of Tigrai. George Orwell wrote ‘to see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.’ The folks of TPLF have the whole of Ethiopia under their nose but they choose to liberate a small sliver of land. This myopic vision never left our fearless leaders.
Back to our tale, upon joining TPLF Mebrehatu changed his name to Bereket. This was a common practice at the time but Mebrehatu went a step further and changed his fathers name too. He wanted a complete transformation I guess. He choose the name of an EPRP combatant from Eritrea that has mysteriously disappeared. It was normal to assume that he might have been killed in battle. It is good to know that the real Ato Bereket Semeone is still alive and was even the Ambassador to France representing the State of Eritrea. Not even Hollywood can dream of such a tale.
Ato Bereket/Mebrehatu did not bother to go into these matters. His book is about the 2005 election and the 2010 Coronation. It is very strange that TPLF folks are trying hard to revise history right under our nose. They have this guilt feeling if at all possible mixed with real fear and are constantly working hard to make us believe they were the victims. I have this strange notion this fiction is authored by none other than Ato Meles/Legesse Zenawi. I consider myself a skilled observer of The TPLF in general and the Politburo in particular. In fact I specialize on three and half individuals as my object of interest.
Based on extensive review of the reviews I have concluded Ato Meles to be the author. The tone and language is vintage Meles. The length (over 300 pages) is standard Meles diatribe and the evil ways he attacks perceived opponents is familiar to us. The book was written to whitewash the crimes of 2005 settle scores with ‘enemies’ and gauge the reception from the one percent. The 99 percent are not part of the equation. I believe Ato Bereket is not wired to come up with such absurd tale and commit it to paper. It requires someone with a lot of time in his hands and the expertise to think smart and act damn. It is a worthy digression from the current malaise. But it is temporary. The economy is stuck, the remittances are still anemic, the constant jabbering of “Spring” is unnerving and the Gadaffi picture is difficult to shake. Most of all I truly enjoy their paranoia regarding Dr. Berhanu. They imprisoned him again and again, they exiled him and they still obsess about him. The more you hate him the more I love him. Bring it baby let us have some more fiction.
I have a few suggestions to our authors. It is easy to talk trash when you are the only one allowed to speak. I will fight for your right to write any book you want but please let others tell their side of the story too. You see your denial of the same rights to others cheapens your work. No one will believe it. What is the point of writing it if it doesn’t shed some light? You might think forcing schools, work places and associations to buy it might give you boasting rights but what is the point if everyone knew it is fake. It will be like your Tehadso project. You call a meeting of the faithful you give them money to donate and you shout how successful it was. This Mamo Kilo moment is not a wining strategy. I will read Ato Bereket’s fiction when he allows others to write their version of reality.
Let Eskinder out of prison, he will show you how to write. Let Reiyot Alemu and Zerihune Gegziabeher out your dungeon and they will show you how to publish using their sweat. Let Andualem Arage out of his confinement and he will teach you how to organize without using force and bribery. This trash publishing business using welfare is not the way of the Ethiopia we envision. I suggest Ato Bereket read his book if nothing else to know what is being said in his name.
Author and journalist Tesfaye Gebreab has written a review of Woyanne propaganda chief Bereket Simon’s new book that was financed by Saudi-Ethiopia billionaire Al Amoudi. In the book review, Tesfaye points out several falsehoods and exposes the writer for what he is — a {www:charlatan}. Read the review here.
In famine-stricken Ethiopia, a Saudi company leases land to grow and export rice
By Public Radio International
Famine has swept through much of Ethiopia in the past year, but a new project will see a Saudi Arabian country convert one of the most fertile areas to produce rice for export. The idea is it’s better to have people employed and making money.
Gambella in western Ethiopia is one of the most fertile places in the mostly drought- and famine-stricken Eastern Africa country, with thick forests, scorching heat and abundant rains.
But now Gambella, home to five rivers and a National Park, is also home to large-scale agricultural investments. A Saudi billionaire has leased 25,000 acres from the Ethiopian government to grow rice and this summer planted its first commercial crop. The company, Saudi Star, plans to expand that to nearly 500,000 acres within 10 years.
Saudi Star plans to add hundreds of miles of irrigation canals and pipes to bring water from the Alwero Dam to its thirsty rice crop. Ethiopians don’t typically grow or eat rice, so most of the crop will be exported to the Middle East. But Muhammad Manzoor Khan, a Pakistani consultant for Saudi Star, said the rice will still help Ethiopia feed its people.
“This kind of project can really bring a revolution in food production as well as uplifting the social conditions of the people around,” Khan said, standing in front of rice paddies.
Ethiopia is a fast-developing nation, but it’s struggling with severe drought and skyrocketing food prices. The Ethiopian government estimates 4.5 million people in the country need emergency food aid.
In the past few years, Ethiopia has developed a comprehensive agricultural plan that relies on foreign investment, and much-needed foreign currency to move forward.
Saudi Star predicts its massive rice project will generate $1 billion in revenue for Ethiopia and create tens of thousands of jobs. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Esayas Kebede said that means increased food security for Ethiopians – if people have jobs they can buy food, even if there is a drought.
“If you increase the purchasing power of the people, the people can easily get their own food by their own cash,” Kebede said.
But many of the local Anuak tribe say the rice farm is not providing jobs for their people. They worry the rice will dry up the water they rely on for their own farming and fishing. And they say, after years of hostility from the government, they are now being forced off their land to make way for investors.
One local woman from the Anuak tribe said the government told them they’re moving them to a better place where they can get government assistance.
“There are no farms here and no food. Now we’re living like refugees in our own country,” she said.
The Ethiopian government admits it moved people from rural settlements to villages, but not because of the Saudi Star project, they say. Kebede said it was to provide them with better services and aid. According to Human Rights Watch, however, many of Anuak are being relocated to parts of Gambella that already have insufficient food for the local population.
“This large scale investment program has nothing to do with food security concerns in the country,” said Desalegn Rahmeto, a senior research fellow at the Forum for Social Studies in Addis Ababa. “If you export all the food items and earn foreign currency, but people in the communities don’t have access to food, that is counter productive. And this is happening, this is not hypothetical situation, this is actually happening.”
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