ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s main opposition coalition said on Wednesday that some of its candidates were being prevented at gunpoint from registering for national elections in May.
The eight-party coalition, Medrek, also said it had obtained a ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) newsletter calling on party officials to follow, photograph and document the movements ofopposition members.
“In a lot of areas we have faced serious problems,” Medrek spokesman Merera Gudina told a news conference.
“In some areas our candidates were turned back at gunpoint. A candidate’s driver was told to leave town immediately or his car would be burned,” he said.
The Horn of Africa country’s election will be the first since a government victory in 2005 was disputed by the opposition. About 200 street protesters were killed by security forces and the main opposition leaders imprisoned.
Analysts say Medrek is the main threat to the 18-year-old government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, but the ruling party is still expected to win the May 23 poll. [ID:nL1641132]
The opposition says this is because they are harassed and jailed. The government says the opposition is trying to discredit the poll because it has no chance of winning.
Meles was hailed as part of a new generation of democratic African leaders in the 1990s but rights groups have increasingly criticised him for cracking down onopposition in sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous nation.
GATHERING EVIDENCE
Meles has agreed an electoral code of conduct with three opposition parties — two of which are dismissed by opponents as EPRDF aligned. Medrek refused to take part in talks saying crucial issues such as electoral board reform were left out.
Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal told Reuters the code outlined complaint procedures but the opposition had not yet used it to make allegations about being threatened at gunpoint.
“If they want to make the complaints officially they can, and they will be investigated,” Shimeles said. “Why haven’t they? Most of the complaints theopposition have made publicly so far have been proven to be false.”
Medrek described the EPRDF members newsletter it had obtained as an “election manual”.
“It describes us as anti-Ethiopia, anti-people, anti-peace, anti-development, all kinds of anti,” Merera said, showing the document in Amharic to the media.
Former Ethiopian President Negaso Gidada, who joined the opposition after falling out with Meles, said the newsletter tells ruling party officials to track opposition members.
“It tells them to get any kind of document in your hand from opposition parties in your area,” Negaso told Reuters. “And these documents could serve as evidence to be used against opposition leaders to accuse them and bring them to court.”
Ruling party spokesman, Hailemariam Desalegn, acknowledged that EPRDF members had been told to observe opposition members, but only to ensure they were not violating the code of conduct or provoking civil disobedience.
“The opposition always makes unfounded allegations against us,” Hailemariam told Reuters. “We need to ensure that if we accuse them, we have evidence.”
Candidates have five more days to register for the poll.
A couple of days ago, I came across postings of some self-indulgent exercises by “scholars and prominent individuals” and very many readers/visitors of Ethiopian Review Website. It seems to me that the ever enterprising Editor of the Ethiopian Review had sent out questions to Ethiopian “scholars and prominent individuals” and posted the same question sometimes last Week to the general reader, probably the 11th of February 2010 or there about. The invitation reads as follows: “Ethiopian Review invites readers to share with us what 10 things you will do immediately if you are elected as the president or prime minister of Ethiopia. Your ideas will help parties to formulate their political program in line with what the people want. We are also asking Ethiopian scholars and prominent individuals the same question.”
This form of invitation reminds of the type of questions one asks grade school children. And the purpose in such types of questions is not aimed to gather wisdom from the children, but to stimulate the imagination and cognition of children at that tender age, children who have very limited knowledge or experience of the world around them. I find it insulting to ask such questions of adult Ethiopians let alone Ethiopian “scholars and prominent individuals.” I am even more disappointed in the responses I read posted in that popular Website, even if there were some competent and less polarizing answers, such as that of Engineer Sioum Gebeyehou. The views of the “scholars and prominent individuals” thus posted did address in very superficial manner specific problems the state of Ethiopia and the Citizens of Ethiopia are facing currently. They also attempted to deal, rather clumsily, with problems that were historic problems that had emasculated a people for generations. It seems to me in reading such comments, one cannot avoid the haunting and nagging feeling that no one had really grasped the extent and form of real problems in Ethiopia, which seems to me ever to require a leader to implement very drastic and revolutionary solutions.
To begin with, the question is misleading in the sense that it leaves it to the reader to construct context for it. If one considers the current Ethiopian Government power structure, the “President” has no executive “power” to initiate or execute Governmental policies. He is just a figurehead, and thequestion should be reframed to reflect that existing constitutional reality and the response need be limited to the office of the Prime Minister and his power. The more appropriate question would have been a conditional premised question: “If you have leadership power, what ten things you will do immediately in Ethiopia?” We must understand that the current situation of Ethiopia is not limited to the inadequacy of the current Government or that of the immediate past, but the culmination of poor governance, decomposing culture, atrophying and ever dysfunctional familial relationship of centuries. The inertia that ever pulls us back every time we make some forward stride is enormous and overwhelming.
The way to fulfill our individual aspiration and our collective human purpose is to recognize and guarantee human rights universally not in its reduced form as an aspect of particular culture or as a reward for performance or as a privilege but as an inherent and fundamental attribute of being a person — a human being. A poignant observation by a great scholar of constitutional law succinctly illustrated the paradox between fundamental rights and guaranteed rights. Corwin, writing about the Constitution of the United States, stated that “the course of our constitutional development has been to reduce fundamental rights to rights guaranteed by the sovereign from the natural rights that they once were.” The concentration on ethics brings forth the correct state of mind of universalism without having to forgo our identity and our search for justice for a particular group of people.
Some of the scholars suggested some form of blanket amnesty to criminals that smells of the stench of protecting their own friends and maybe themselves from being tried for crimes committed during past governments or in the workings ofpolitical parties. As far as I am concerned, those who ask or suggest such solutions do not seem to respect individual lives of those who were victimized bypolitical leaders like Mengistu Hailemariam, Meles Zenawi et cetera. The first duty of every Ethiopian is to identify and bring to some form of formal process those leaders who had committed serious crimes of murder, torture, detention of Ethiopians due topolitical differences and struggle for power. In fact, I will include on that long list of offenders military commanders who sent their troops into battle without proper preparation and logistic support resulting in the unnecessary death and destruction of thousands of brave soldiers and weapon.
The model I would use would be a cross between the governmental structures and the relationship with the respective armies of the two countries namely Turkey and South Korea that I believe would serve my purpose, with adaptation to the unique culture andpolitical history of Ethiopia. I would implement the following ten policies vigorously, not just as Prime Minister but also as a “dictator” if need be willing to use force with full support of committed military forces.
1. Establish and enforce the ownership of land and also allow all forms of ownership of property based on freedom of individual rights of free trade. Property and wealth is the biological and moral foundation of all individual rights. Without the right to private property and private ownership of land there can be no solid respect for and safeguard of individualpolitical , civil and fundamental rights. Void all lease of Ethiopian land to foreigners (individuals or nations) for farming and mining purposes. No private ownership of Gold mines in Ethiopia by foreign interests.
2. Remove all international organizations such as the African Union, United Nations’ Agencies, and other international organizations, with the exception of medical missions, from Ethiopia. Reduce drastically the number of Embassies. Declare the Algiers Agreement of December 12, 2000, null and void. Withdraw any recognition of an independent Eritrea. Promote strong ties with selected foreign countries on mutual respect and benefits of trade and cultural exchanges. [The State of Israel should be on that list no matter what other countries would be involved in close relationships with Ethiopia.] Reviewall international relationships and international agreements. It is unconscionable for a poor country with extremely polarized social and economic structure in the local population to host very expensive international institutions and personnel. It is worse than being colonized having such international presence in an utterly poor country where no less than five million of its population are permanently in famine conditions year after year for more than thirty years, and whose budgetary expense is more than by half subsidized by foreign aid. No one denies the fact that there are very many honorable international civil servants working to help disadvantaged populations around the world and in Ethiopia, but they are wasting their good will and hard work on bad policies that had never worked since the establishment of theUnited Nations nearly seventy years ago.
3. Charge Meles Zenawi and his close associate with treason against the state of Ethiopia and for violations of the Constitutional rights of Ethiopians (who were murdered, incarcerated or tortured) under their supervision and power, and for allowing and participating in international conspiracy to destroy Ethiopia by landlocking it and ceding Ethiopian controlled territories to the Sudan and other neighboring states. Establish a Tribune to try especially all pastpolitical leaders in political parties and those individuals involved in both Red and White Terror during the reign of terror of Mengistu Hailemariam. Additional civilian process should be initiated to recover the hundreds of millions of dollars and other hard currencies and Gold stashed around the World by Officials who run REST and later EFFORT. Meles Zenawi, Azeb Mesfin, Abadi Zemu, Sebhat Nega, Mohammed Al’moudi and others being the primary targets of such investigation and court proceedings.
4. Initiate foundational “Cultural Revolution” that promotes personal hygiene. Force equality within inter-family relationships of members, respect and freedom of children, respect and equality of females. Ban all forms of corporal punishment to children whether by parents, guardians, or teachers. Implement forcefully through education and demonstration, and with the assistance of religious leaders, to reverse the population explosion by allowing only two children per married couple.
5. Arm each Ethiopian Family with weapon for defense, at least with a modern gun. The Husband and Wife team is of equal status and with equal access to the family gun. Every Ethiopian shall be trained in self-defense and the use of weapon starting at a young age. There is a risk in that a well armed population may resist drastic changes in its established ways and entrenched interests. Nevertheless, it is the measure of a popular government to be able to implement highly revolutionary but extremely important and necessary changes.
6. Outlaw all forms of sex based trades, trafficking in female and male children, prostitution, pimping et cetera, and close all brothels, bars and camouflaged sex industries. Sexual contact can only be allowed through legitimate marriage. Rape and all other crimes of fornication and adultery will be severely punished. The main reason for the population explosion and moral deterioration in Ethiopia is due to the fact that the Ethiopian family has lost control of the sexuality of its members. In turn the community has turned a blind eye to the unrestricted sexual indulgence of its members. Access to Ethiopian females has become dirt cheap; the Ethiopian male has lost his initiative to upgrade his worth in order to be attractive to the female, for he can now buy sex cheaply because of loose communal control of the sexuality of the members of such communities. No marriage under the age of eighteen will be allowed for both sexes. Modesty in dress and purity in body and soul is the moral guide for all Ethiopians.
7. No Ethiopian female will be given an Ethiopian exit visa to work in Arab Countries or in the Middle East in general as domestic worker. All Ethiopian females in the Middle East will be removed and brought back to their home and provided with adequate means of living. It is established beyond any doubt that Arabs in general are the worst abusers of immigrant workers in the World. Especially the brutality and degenerate sexuality and misogynous culture of Arabs in general is horrendous and an affront to the decency of all Ethiopians Moslems and Christians alike, as was clearly recorded by the number of suicides and beheading or execution of Ethiopian females in the last twenty years.
8. Establish two new Capital Cities one in Northern Ethiopia (Bahr Dar or Gondar) and another in Southern Ethiopia (Assela or Bale). Addis Ababa will be considered as a “Historic City” and Free Trade Zone. The population of the City will be reduced to no more than half a million people, and the rest would have to be resettled elsewhere in Ethiopia. All of the Ministries and other Government Offices will be equally divided into two and removed and reestablished in the two New Capital Cities. I need not remind you the documented fact that Addis Ababa has underdeveloped the rest of Ethiopia because it had sucked over eighty percent of all available funding from international organizations and other nations, leaving next to nothing development funding to the rest of Ethiopia, for the last fifty years. It is immoral to have all the wealth poured in to developing Addis Ababa when Ethiopians within a stone throw are drinking bacteria infested muddy water, starving, and dying of treatable disease, and living in horribly unhygienic huts in shanty towns, no better than the congested nests of the colony of weaver birds.
9. Dissolve the current Killel system and ethnic language based “federal” political organization of the state of Ethiopia. I will enforce a new administrative structure that will be organized based on the small Woreda sized local administration structure. Ethiopia will have a unitary administrative internal structure. Ethnicity will have no role in such administration, and will only be recognized as a social and cultural reality. To date all of our leaders, past and present, bite more than they could chew, and as result we are now in such a state where we are writing self-indulgent elementary wishful thinking. Historically, Ethiopian administrators and civil servants may have succeeded in preserving the State of Ethiopia in an independent existence, but they failed miserably to develop the economic and civil involvement of the people of Ethiopia. Ethiopia remains the most primitive state in the World even though it had the luxury of never having been colonized and mostly left alone to its devices. It is incompetence and narrow vision, and fearful relationships of individual Ethiopians that led to our national sever stagnation.
10. Taking as model for excellence both the Continental and British (American) systems of education, establish and promote a new education system for Ethiopia by empowering communities to create and regulate their schools with close supervision of the Central Government’s Ministry of Education. Education will emphasize science and technology. Primary education up to Eighth grade will provide adequate and nutritious lunch services to all students.
There are several more policies that need be implemented by a responsible Ethiopian Leader and Government. I have only indicated in my ten points the most drastic but also the most needed policies.
CBS News presents a special report about the adoption scam in Ethiopia. The scam is being perpetrated by businesses affiliated with the ruling Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne). The adoption agencies pay hefty commissions to the notorious female gangster Azeb Mesfin, who is the wife of Ethiopia’s genocidal dictator Meles Zenawi. Watch below:
It has been said that Africa’s natural resources — oil, diamonds, minerals — have often proven to be sources of woe, suffering and misery than wealth, prosperity and progress for the people of the continent. What should have been a blessing for Africa’s poor has become a curse of corruption, malfeasance and bad governance. Could Africa’s new found wealth in farmlands prove to be a curse once again? If so, how could it be averted?
Last week, Ghanaian Vice President John Mahama contended that transparency, public accountability and scrutiny are necessary to ensure the proper use of natural resources in Africa. Speaking to an international conference in Accra on the public’s right of access to official information, Mahama announced that “information on all contracts on the oil find [in Ghana] would be made known to the citizenry for public scrutiny.” He explained that “Lack of access to information will create a gulf of confidence between government and the governed, breed mistrust, suspicion, corruption and lack of faith in the building blocks of democracy… It is against this background that the government of Ghana has started publishing all information on contracts on our oil find.” Mahama praised Ghana’s media for its dogged investigative role in promoting transparency and accountability in government contracting. He topped off his speech by declaring that “legitimate governments would not withhold information from the citizenry.” Ex-President Jimmy Carter praised Ghana’s effort at transparency, and reported that “President Mills also told [him] a third of the [oil] revenue will be put away for posterity, a third will be invested into education to benefit future leaders and a third will go directly into national treasury for current expenses.”
Recent oil and gas exploration deals in Ghana have been mired in serious allegations of corruption and criminality. In 2007, Ghana announced it had discovered offshore oil reserves with the potential to produce more than 2 billion barrels of oil by 2030. In 2004, the Ghanaian government signed an oil exploration agreement with various companies whose activities are now under official scrutiny. Last March, the newly-elected President John Evans Atta Mills pledged to make public all past and future gas and oil exploration agreements.
There are many disturbing questions surrounding the 2004 oil exploration agreements. The fact that the government concluded the complex agreements with the companies in weeks has raised questions about the thoroughness of the negotiating process. The agreements, concluded without parliamentary approval or formal cabinet-level review, have led to allegations of cover-ups. More red flags were raised when it came to public light that certain key players in the oil deals had close association with the former president John Kufuor, but little or not prior experience in the oil business. One of the co-owners of the company awarded an exploration contract was a physician in the U.S. who was later appointed ambassador in various European capitals by Kufuor. Little is known about the identities of the individuals or the financial backers of the companies who received the sole-source exploration contracts. Few details are available to the public on production and distribution rights, payments to the government and share transfer agreements between investors and the various companies involved. One of Ghana’s leading media outlets commented: “The sweetheart deals in the oil sector, which spotted powerful oil barons, whose footprints leads to the office of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, is about to turn sour… with the ‘Kufour boys’ about to face 25 criminal charges, [for actions] bordering on criminality [including] blatant falsification of public records in a mad rush to control Ghana’s black gold…”
Transparency and effective public access to information on official decisions and the decision-making processes used to reach them are cornerstones of international law and the constitutions of most countries. Article 13 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003) [ratified by Ethiopia on November 27, 2007] requires signatories to ensure “transparency and effective publicaccess to information”. Article IV of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Resolution on the Adoption of Principles on Freedom of Expression (2002), provides that “Public bodies hold information not for themselves but as custodians of the public good and everyone has a right to access this information, subject only to clearly defined rules established by law.” Article 29 (3) (b) of the “Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia” guarantees an all-inclusive duty of disclosure of official information that meets the test of “public interest”: “Freedom of the press shall specifically include the following… (b) access to information of public interest.” Article 29 is bolstered by Article 12 (“Functions and Accountability of Government”), which sweepingly mandates: “The activities of government shall be undertaken in a manner which is open and transparent to the public…”
For the past couple of years, there have been many questions raised concerning the Ethiopian dictatorship’s numerous foreign “investment” deals involving millions of hectares of farmland[1] and a border agreement with the Sudan[2]. Except for those who secretly concluded the so-called farmland “leases” or sales, or signed the border “demarcation” agreement with the Sudan, the negotiation processes and the complete text of the agreements remain shrouded in a veil of secrecy behind a dense fog of official cover-ups, hush-ups and whitewashes. None of the deals and agreements have been subject to public scrutiny. However, there is sufficient evidence gathered by independent sources which raises many disturbing questions about the negotiation process and the terms and conditions of the farmland and borderland deals.
According to a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the official reports of the dictatorship with respect to the magnitude of the land deals lacks credibility[3]:
In Ethiopia, for example, enquiries at the state-level Oromia investment promotion agency found evidence of some 22 proposed or actual land deals, of which 9 were over 1,000 ha, in addition to the 148 recorded at the national investment promotion agency. It is possible to speculate that state-level agencies in other Ethiopian states may also have records of additional projects, and that some land acquisitions may not have been recorded at all…. For example, in Ethiopia information about the land size of many deals proposed or concluded in 2008 was missing….
There is further evidence to suggest official under-recording and misclassification to conceal the true nature and scope of the land “leases” or sales. The FAO/IFAD report states: “An investment by German company Flora EcoPower in Ethiopia was reported to involve 13,000 ha (hectare), while it is recorded at the Ethiopian investment promotion agency for 3,800 ha only.” Moreover, the dictatorship intentionally misclassifies the lands “leased” or sold to the foreign “investors” as vacant “wastelands” (that is unoccupied by anyone or just wilderness) in an effort to conceal the fact that inhabited lands are part of a grand land giveaway scheme to foreign “investors”. The FAO/IFAD report specifically points out:
In Ethiopia, for example, all land allocations recorded at the national investment promotion agency are classified as involving “wastelands” with no pre-existing users. But this formal classification is open to question, in a country with a population of about 75 million, the vast majority of whom live in rural areas. Evidence collected by in-country research suggests that at least some of the lands allocated to investors in the Benishangul Gumuz and Afar regions were previously being used for shifting cultivation and dry-season grazing, respectively.
On May 21, 2008, Meles Zenawi publicly described his agreement with Omar al-Bashir as follows:
We, Ethiopia and Sudan, have signed an agreement not to displace any single individual from both sides to whom the demarcation benefits…We have given back this land, which was occupied in 1996. This land before 1996 belonged to Sudanese farmers. There is no single individual displaced at the border as it is being reported by some media.
Zenawi insists on keeping the actual Agreement shrouded in absolute secrecy. There is no reason whatsoever why the border Agreement should not be made public in its entirety. If the Agreement is made public, it will either provide support to Zenawi’s claims or negate them, demonstrating that he is misrepresenting facts. The cloak of secrecy surrounding this Agreement raises many questions: Why isn’t the text of the formal Agreement between the two countries available for public scrutiny? What are the specific terms and conditions concerning the border demarcation lines and the rights of individuals living along the border made public since that would be the best evidence of the vicarious representation of them made by Zenawi? Why wasn’t the Agreement ratified by the “House of Peoples’ Representatives” as mandated by the Article 55, section 12 (“House of Peoples’ Representatives… shall ratify international agreements concluded by the executive.”) of the “Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia”? What conceivable “national security” exceptions apply to an Agreement which has been a subject of public commentary and explanation by the head of the dictatorship? What conceivable justification exists to keep secret an Agreement that merely marks the international borders of the two countries and protects the rights of the population in the border?
The simple point is that the runaway farmland and borderland giveaway deals need to be publicly scrutinized to ensure transparency (detect corruption and criminality) and to make certain that private interests (sweetheart deals) have not overtaken the public interest, or secret deals are not made to harm the Ethiopian national interest.
Mr. Zenawi: TEAR DOWN THE STONEWALL OF SECRECY AROUND YOUR FARMLAND AND BORDERLAND DEALS!” The Ethiopian people have a right to know, and you have a compulsory legal duty to ensure that they have “access to information of public interest.” (See, “Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,” Article 29 (3) (b) and Article 12, section (1) (“government activities must be open and transparent to the public); Article 13 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003) [ratified by Ethiopia on November 27, 2007].)
“Legitimate governments would not withhold information from their citizenry.” Ghanaian Vice President John Mahama
(Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney based in Los Angeles. He writes a regular blog on The Huffington Post, huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ and his commentaries appear regularly on pambazuka.org, allafrica.com, newamericamedia.org and other sites.)
Ethiopian Review has asked scholars and prominent individuals what 10 things they would do immediately if they are elected president or prime minister of Ethiopia. The following is by Dr Gabe Hamda. (Click here to read what others wrote.)
Top 10 actions I would immediately take if I were to be elected president of Ethiopia.
1. If the presidency was not through election, decree a fair and free election to elect president.
2. Decree an executive order of amnesty to all former leaders including Meles Zenawi, Mengistu HM and all political prisoners.
3. Decree term limits of president to no more than two terms.
4. Engage Ethiopians in the Diaspora to return on full time or part-time to actively participate in national development.
5. Engage ethnic leaders toward cultivating an environment of inclusion for all people.
6. Initiate a national campaign of education for all.
7. Form and cultivate a transparent government.
8. Establish public servant and civic servant code of ethics.
9. Campaign to create a healthy environment.
10. Initiate a public health campaign.
(Dr Gabe Hamda is an IT consultant and CEO of ICATT Consulting, Inc., which has offices in Florida, Washington DC, and Minnesota. He can be reached at [email protected])
It is an old expression meaning waiting for something bad to happen. We Ethiopians are familiar with that expression. Yes sir, nobody can take that away from us. We are unsurpassed in the art of moving ከድ ጡ ወደ ማጡ or from bad to ugly. No question we will walk away with the gold.
This past week our illustrious government dropped a few shoes. The teflon coated regime did not even flinch. We the recipients didn’t flinch either. The bully and the victim are in accord. That is what is beautiful about nature, balance reigns supreme. They kick and we absorb.
So what is all this rant about? Well I can say ‘go ask your tormentor’ , but I wouldn’t. You knew I wouldn’t say that. As a fellow victim I will recount our collective humiliation. አህያውን ፈርቶ ዳውላውንis a nice saying but I am just a recounter so let us leave me out of it. Ok?
Gilgel Gibe II was our first unbecoming. Our 420 megawatt was gone in a poff. Just like that! Ceased to exist! Believe me that is not good. It is only last month the symbolic button was pushed to usher the dream of selling power to Africa. That does sound good don’t it? Ethiopia exporing power to Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti etc. There is a little probllem with this senario. Just look at the following chart.
Country Ethiopia Kenya Sudan
Population 85 Million 39 Million 41 Million
Electricity production 3.46 Billion Kwh 5.23 Billion Kwh 4.34 Billion Kwh
See what I mean? Does the facts on the ground justify such a conclusion. When you divide production by poulation we are history. We will let this madness go. Fine anyway how does a brand new dam stop production? Even my toaster comes with a 30 days return policy. That noise you heard is the other shoe falling. You know what there is no return policy attached to this billion dollar elephant. The whole affair of Gilgel Gibe is Ethiopia in a nutshell. Don’t look no further. We don’t need no freaking enemies. We are the enemy!
The Gibe affair has preplexed both Ethiopinas, Europeans and Kenyans too. The Gibe Project is the face of Ethiopia emasculated.
In a report in 2008 a CEE Bankwatch report stated (www.bankwatch.org/newsroom/documents.shtml?x=2078791)
Overall, the study illustrates the dangers that accompany large energy infrastructure
projects whenever the interests of a major private company coincide not only with weak
governance in the host country but also very clear willingness from financial institutions
to provide funding, in spite of alarming project oversights and impacts. The study shows
how goals to eradicate poverty and support local communities can be easily compromised
when major corporations and/or political elites are intent on maximising profits.
We would like to warmly thank all the people who contributed to this study, often challenging
non-transparent and repressive institutions in Ethiopia, as well as in Italy. Without
them this work would not have been possible.
The report is full of horror stories. It is a finacial report. It is a sociological report. It is a report that should have been written by Ethiopians defending their soverignity. It is bold enough to talk about the element of fear permeating society. It is an ethipian euology. Regarding this report please notice the key words ‘a major private company’ and a ‘weak governace”. In this scenario Ethiopia does not exist. The italian super company Salini Costruttori S.p.A. is bigger than Ethiopia and TPLF is definitely smaller than Ethiopia. Unequal relationship if you ask me.
Are you sitting down? Good, Salini was awarded a ‘no bid contract’ back in 2004. It means it was a closed bid. The Italians and the Europeans called it a ‘public-private partnership’. Salini was the private and EEPC (Ethiopian Power and Electric Corporation) is the supposedly public entity. Please note the Ethiopian Government under TPLF owns EEPC. Even the Italian government started a criminal investigation regarding the Gibe II project. I guess they felt sorry for us.
Thus this wonder of the world dam collapsed ten days after the button pushing ceremony. According to Salini web site 15 meters of the tunnel collapsed. Bottom line is it collapsed. In a tunnel even a crack is not acceptable. A collapse is a disaster. Naturally EEPC is mum on the matter. Since Salini have already handed the keys why they tell us about the problem is not clear. Salini called it ‘an unforeseen geological event.’ Skeptics will point out the tunnel is in the Great Rift Valley that is the mother of all faults what exactly did you expect for a no bid contract with inadequate environmental and seismic studies. Duh.
Of course Salini is fixing the collapse and EEPC is footing the bill and the Ethiopian people and their children will be paying for the foreseeable future. Haile Sellasie got Koka our new leaders paid with Gibe II. Benito is smiling in his grave. Don’t forget Gibe III is coming.
Next was the proclamation on The Reporter regarding ‘code of conduct’ for election observers. We seem to have code of conduct for everything except the government. This one is a winner. Observers are not allowed tape recorders, video equipment, camera and phone cameras. Furthermore foreign observers cannot comment on election procedures and the maximum number allowed is four observers per site. Mute, deaf and blind is the qualification for this job. You know what? The ferenjis will go along with this cockamamie idea too. Did you hear another thump! That is the other shoe dropping.
So you thought it is safe to go back into the water? Not so fast my friend Jaws II is coming? Remember that summer? Same with the TPLF regime. They are full of drama. I doubt they can top this story from London. It is unique. One of a kind. I don’t need to tell you to sit down do I? Any ways please do sit down. A while back the Ethiopian government was contemplating about selling the Embassy in London. It looks like due to our country being ancient and prominent a long time ago we have acquired a property in a very desirable neighborhood. US $38 million dollars worth. Our fearless government saw a profit to be made. As they say ‘birds of a feather’ the regime picked a ‘gangster’ policeman to facilitate the deal. The Daily Mail News revealed the scandal from a government-sanctioned wiretap on the Police gangster. All the Ethiopian Embassy can do was issue a ‘limp denial’ that the building was not for sale. The Ethiopian government sells maids to the Middle East. Sells children to the West. Leases virgin land to the highest bidder anywhere, why are we surprised it is in the market to sell sovereign property?
I am sure you heard another thump. Well it is the third shoe dropping. Wait a minute a third shoe? Hey we are talking of Ethiopians here, anything is possible.
