Ethiopian political news and discussions

[Ras Siyan]

Originally Posted by Yoniii

Is Ismael popular in Djibouti, or are most people against him?

I can't say for sure if the majority supports him or not as independent samples never took place. But I'll tell you my views about him.

Ismael Omar Guelleh (IOG) got the presidency because he was the protegé of former president Hassan Gouled, when after 24 years Hassan Gouled was leaving, he took the necessary steps to ensure IOG wins the elections. By the way, the ruling party RPP never lost any election.

I agree with IOG's policies in a lot of areas. He signed a final peace deal with the FRUD rebels (mainly Afars), restored macroeconomic stability, and mainly opened Djibouti to foreign investments and you see all the billions invested these last few years. Good.

I disagree with him on the fact that corruption, tribalism, favoritism, mismanagement of public funds are the norms among the RPP élite.
When you work, you pay one third (1/3) of your salary in taxes and you're supposed to get a health coverage, retirement, allocations in case you lose your jobs. You go to public hospitals, they're free, good, but there is no medicine there. There is no allocations in case you lose your job and the retirement haven't increased for the last 2 decades even though the cost of living increased significantly... Where do our taxes go then?

We have an official unemployment figure of 59%! How come a 800 000 people country has an unemployment rate of close to 60%? Can't they provide jobs for the people? If not, leave the place to people who can!

Corruption is everywhere. From top to bottom. You see the Finance Minister building a huge mansion after only 9 months in office! Monopoly is given to companies operated by people close to those in power. The family of the President has huge businesses in Djibouti and the world and we all know where the money comes. The elite in power goes in Paris and Bruxelles for their shopping while people don't have access to basic utilities ect...Huge amounts are stolen from public funds and the criminals don't go to jail because of the tribes' pressures. What kind of country does that?

The Cost of living are by far the highest in Djibouti in our region. Electricity for example, is Africa's most expensive. In my house, we pay close to 600 USD for the electricity bill a month! And in the same time, all the government officials (ministers, MPs, RPP members, soldiers etc...) get the electricity, water, phone bills for free. And we pay for them!

If you dare criticize the regime, you lose your jobs, you and your family are financially destroyed, sent to jail. The TV, newspapers are all owned by the state and private media doesn't even get authorization to operate. No fucking freedom of speech!

100% of our parliament is controlled by the coalition in power even though they won 47% of votes in the last legislative elections. Because the laws are rewritten so that the party who wins by even "a percentage" gets all seats. And of course, they make sure they win.

And now even the photos of IOG are displayed in the streets with stupid statements like: "A man with a vision" or "We believe in you". He is transforming my Djibouti into North Korea!

I'm not even gonna talk about the environment, national heritage, use of scarce resources, ect...

And on top of that, IOG amended the constitution to allow him a third term!


You know what Yoniii, I can continue all night...let's just say I don't support IOG.

[Ras Siyan]

See what you asked me Yoniii, sorry for that long post, I couldn't stop typing!

[abesha]

I'd be very frustrated too. I don't understand what is the appeal of stealing and living in luxury when everyone around you is destitute. Don't these people want to leave a positive legacy? Don't they want to be remembered generations into the future as the greats of the nation?
If I were a politician, that would be much more appealing to me than a mansion.

[Yoniii]

I feel your frustration Ras, specially with a little population of only 800 000. It could easily been the Singapore of Africa.

[Ras Siyan]

Originally Posted by abesha

I'd be very frustrated too. I don't understand what is the appeal of stealing and living in luxury when everyone around you is destitute. Don't these people want to leave a positive legacy? Don't they want to be remembered generations into the future as the greats of the nation?
If I were a politician, that would be much more appealing to me than a mansion.

Perfectly right! You know what abesha, we are minorities in our own countries

I wonder if it is the politicians or the society who produced them that is to blame.

[Simfan34]

Originally Posted by Yoniii

I feel your frustration Ras, specially with a little population of only 800 000. It could easily been the Singapore of Africa.

I still think it could... and a great deal of what Ras listed applies to Ethiopia as well.

[abesha]

Ethiopian PM names new cabinet

APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Barely a day after his re-election to a third term as Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi has appointed his new cabinet with several major changes in the line up.

1. Foreign Minister and deputy Prime Minister - Hailemariam Desalegn

2. Minister of Defence - Siraj Fergesa

3. Federal Affairs Minister -Shiferaw Teklemariam

4. Minister of Justice -Birhan Hailu

5. Civil Service Minister - Junedin Sado (new ministry)

6. Ministry of Finance and Economic Development - Sofian Ahmed

7. Minister of Agriculture -Tefera Derbew (new ministry)

8. Minister of Industry -Mekonnen Manyazewal

9. Trade Minister -Abdurahman Sheik Ahmed

10. Science and Technology Minister - Desse Delke

11. Minister of Transport - Diriba Kuma

12. Minister of Communication and Information Technology - Debretsion Gebremickael

13. Minister of Urban Construction -Mekuria Haile

14. Minister of Water and Energy - Alemayehu Tegenu

15. Minister of Mines - Sinkinesh Ejigu

16. Minister of Education -Demeke Mekonnen

17. Minister of Health -Tewodrose Adhanom

18. Minister of Labour and Social Affairs - Abdulfeta Abdul Ahmed

19. Minister of Culture and Tourism - Aman Abdulkedir

20. Minister of Women, Children and Youth Affair - Zenebu Taddesse

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi also re-appointed Bereket Simon as Minister for the Government Communication Affairs Office and Melaku Fente as General Manager for the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority as well as Aster Mamo as government whip to the parliament.

The three officials are included in the cabinet.

http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=...article=133032

[Yoniii]

I like the new ministry posts.

[abesha]

I think I read somewhere that the new Minister of Industry is actually from the opposition. I'm surprised that such an important post was given to someone not affiliated with EPRDF. They have explicitly stated that they aim to turn industry into the most important sector of the economy (in terms of GDP contribution) by 2015.

[Yoniii]

October 5th, 2010 | | 3 Comments

A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow by Prof. Ephraim Isaac and other members of the elders committee regarding the release of Birtukan Mideksa, a political prisoner and chairperson of the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ) of Ethiopia.

Sources in Addis Ababa have confirmed to Ethiopian Review that Birtukan’s family have picked up her belongings from Kality prison today. The family is also preparing a welcoming ceremony. A lot of people are seen today going in and out of her family residence.

Stay tune for more details.

AddisNegerOnline has more details here.

Source

One day after they secured their positions in the parliament, aye Melese, he is running the country like a soap opera.

It would be interesting to see the terms they agreed to.

I'm really happy for her daughter and mother though.

[Simfan34]

Finally!!! Of course it's become meaningless now, but at least she's free!

[Ahadu]

Why everybody is in love with this lady? Is it because she once let free the notorious TPLF bully? I just don't get it. What exactly makes her unique that she has the miracle to librate us out from poverty and take us to the promise land? Has she got a dream to begin with? – I doubt it!!

What I see is that she is immature young and naive surrounded by old die hard DERGUE vultures.

[abesha]

Weyche gud! This is like an ETV drama!

Meches inkuan fetwat. She needs to be back with her little girl.

[Ahadu]

Originally Posted by abesha

1. Foreign Minister and deputy Prime Minister - Hailemariam Desalegn

2. Minister of Defence - Siraj Fergesa

3. Federal Affairs Minister -Shiferaw Teklemariam

4. Minister of Justice -Birhan Hailu

5. Civil Service Minister - Junedin Sado (new ministry)

6. Ministry of Finance and Economic Development - Sofian Ahmed

7. Minister of Agriculture -Tefera Derbew (new ministry)

8. Minister of Industry -Mekonnen Manyazewal

9. Trade Minister -Abdurahman Sheik Ahmed

10. Science and Technology Minister - Desse Delke

11. Minister of Transport - Diriba Kuma

12. Minister of Communication and Information Technology - Debretsion Gebremickael

13. Minister of Urban Construction -Mekuria Haile

14. Minister of Water and Energy - Alemayehu Tegenu

15. Minister of Mines - Sinkinesh Ejigu

16. Minister of Education -Demeke Mekonnen

17. Minister of Health -Tewodrose Adhanom

18. Minister of Labour and Social Affairs - Abdulfeta Abdul Ahmed

19. Minister of Culture and Tourism - Aman Abdulkedir

20. Minister of Women, Children and Youth Affair - Zenebu Taddesse

Too many minsters!
Better if, for example,
-- Number 18 and 20 merged as one - Social Affairs
-- 11 and 12 simply under communication minister
-- 14 and 15 Minister of Water, mines and Energy

[Yoniii]

By SAMSON HAILEYESUS (AP) – 51 minutes ago

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopian officials on Wednesday released an opposition leader who had been sentenced to life in prison after the government said she had violated a pardon agreement and sent her back to jail in late 2008.

An Associated Press reporter saw Birtukan Medeksa arrive at her Addis Ababa home Wednesday morning. The single mother and former judge was one of 100 opposition politicians and activists jailed after the 2005 election and charged with treason, but she was later pardoned after signing an agreement.

Officials say she violated the pardon agreement by claiming in a 2008 speech in Sweden that it was politically engineered.

Birtukan's release comes just days after the swearing in of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for his fourth five-year term. Meles seized control of the Horn of Africa country in a 1991 coup.

The prime minister's party won an overwhelming victory in May 2010 elections knocking out many seasoned opposition legislatures who had represented Birtukan's party.

The U.S. and European Union expressed concern over the fairness of the election. Opposition leaders also called for a rerun of the elections over claims that opposition observers were turned away and that voters and candidates were intimidated.

Ethiopian election officials said they witnessed no irregularities. Since the last violent elections in 2005, some critics say the government has systematically stifled the competition.

Ethiopia is frequently criticized for its human rights record, including by the U.S. State Department, which in a March report cited reports of "unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity."
Still, the U.S. considers Ethiopia an ally and provides foreign aid. Both countries want to curb Islamist extremism in Somalia, Ethiopia's unstable neighbor to the east.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Ahadu, if she's "nothing", why are the TPLF so scared of her?

It's more obvious now than ever to why she actually were locked up.

ETV Report

[Ahadu]

Didn't know that the second new dude in town is from Wollayta.

Time for Minorities to shine. We had enough of the three BIG!

Not sure tho, but pssssst gossip has it that he never missed a church (Pentecostal) service. True?

Haile Mariam Desalegne

Haile-Mariam Desalegne is an Ethiopian politician and academic. He was premier of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) between November 2001 and March 2006.

Haile Mariam obtained a bachelor degree in civil engineering with distinctions from Addis Ababa University in 1988. He was employed as a graduate assistant in the Arba Minch Water Technology Insititute (now Arba Minch University). Ethiopian universities have a tradition of employing fresh graduates with good academic standing as graduate assistants (unlike graduate assistants in the US, the Ethiopian ones are not graduate students but just employees helping senior staff in the undergraduate education).

After two years of working in this capacity, he won a scholarship to Tampere University of Technology in Finland and obtained a masters degree in sanitation engineering. Upon his return to Ethiopia he served in different academic and administrative capacities including the dean of the Technology Institute in Arba Minch. In his six years tenure as dean, he earned a reputation as being a hard worker, a visionary, and listening to the concerns of others, especially students. Fact|date=February 2007

In the late 90s and early 2000s, he became seriously involved in politics as member of the EPRDF (Ethiopia's ruling party) and soon catapulted to becoming the deputy president of SNNPR. His predecessor, Abate Kisho, was removed from power on corruption charges widely believed to be politically motivated. Many allege that although Abate Kisho had in fact committed corruption, which is not a new phenomena to the poor East African nation, he was demoted for supporting the anti-Meles Zenawi faction when the TPLF (the core of the EPRDF) split in 2000. At this point, Haile Mariam assumed presidency.

During his tenure, Haile Mariam managed to garner his people's respect - which is something scarce in Ethiopian politics. many hold the view that he is free of corruption. A black spot in his other wise good tenure was the massacre of dozens of ethnic Sidamas during a controversy related to ownership of Awassa - the capital of the region. When the Sidamas demonstrated opposing the regional government's decision to take offices of the sidama zone out of Awassa, police shot live bullets into the demonstrators and many lost their lives. It is rumored that Haile Mariam offered to resign after that incident but stayed on because of pressure from the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi.

In March 2006, after a controversial parliamentary election which took place in May 2005, Haile Mariam resigned from his post. Although the official explanation was poor health, critics of the regime say he was removed from power to make way for an ethnic Sidama; Haile Mariam belongs to the Wolayta people. The SNNPR comprises over 40 ethnic groups and power struggle along ethnic lines is not uncommon.

After handing over the regional presidency to Shiferaw Shigute, a Sidama, Haile Mariam took up a post in the office of the prime minister. Ethiopia watchers say he sacrificed his other wise bright academic career for joining the EPRDF.

Source:Academic dictionaries and encyclopedias http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/2691199

[Yoniii]

Originally Posted by Ahadu

A black spot in his other wise good tenure was the massacre of dozens of ethnic Sidamas during a controversy related to ownership of Awassa - the capital of the region. When the Sidamas demonstrated opposing the regional government's decision to take offices of the sidama zone out of Awassa, police shot live bullets into the demonstrators and many lost their lives.

These animals would had disappeared so fast in an honest and free election.

[abesha]

I think he's the one who's going to take over in 2015.

Btw, I think the PC word is Wolayta not Wolamo. I think that's considered derogatory.

[Simfan34]

Shortsighted relations with China?
By Binyam Tamene

The Ethiopian government is becoming shortsighted in its relationship with Chinese companies, reveals a new study that analyzed the impact of Chinese investment in Ethiopia.
Taking the Telecommunication Corporation sector as a focal point, the study conducted by the Addis Ababa University’s Department of Economics, claims that government officials are concerned about the expansion of projects only, without considering their quality.
Thus, it said there is an urgent need to match Chinese companies’ skill of negotiation when new projects are drafted in the future.
“It seems that Ethiopian government officials are only concerned with short run issues related to expansion of the telecommunication infrastructure without worrying about the long-run operational costs, quality and related issues,” it said.
The Chinese are well organized, with skilled personnel and skilled negotiators while the Ethiopians are in bad shape in all these areas
of expertise when such deals are negotiated and agreed upon, it said adding “not to mention the political muscle of the Chinese over the Ethiopian telecom experts owing to their connection with top Ethiopian government officials.”
Dr. Alemayehu Geda from the Department of Economics at Addis Ababa University says, the level of skill and expert difference between Ethiopian and Chinese counterparts in negotiation and investment engagement might be working against the interest of Ethiopia in the short run and both countries in the long run.
To tackle this, Dr. Alemayehu recommends Ethiopia needs to upgrade the skill of its work force, bureaucrats/experts in the long run.
In the short run, however, he said it may need to use qualified consultants (from its Diaspora or the private sector) with adequate knowledge to deal with Chinese negotiators in all areas of investment and new projects.
‘Training ground’
Related to the recent trend of Chinese contribution to the telecom sector, the study indicates that both in quality and quantity Ethiopia’s telecommunication utility is going to depend on China’s technology in the future.
This is because once the existing telecommunications equipment is replaced by Chinese equipment at cheaper prices, as the nature of the technology from China is such that it is not easily compatible with others, it cannot be retrofitted to other technologies easily during operations.
By necessity, the study said China will have the monopoly position to deliver spare parts and related after sale services for the years to come, perhaps at a price much higher than the market supply price for similar quality product.
“The venture is also a good training ground for Chinese firms to work in other African/developing countries,” the study added.
Chinese telecom company, ZTE, which is owned by the Chinese government has offered the Ethiopian telecom a credit (vendor financing) to the tune of USD 1.5 billion. This offer is conditional on ZTE doing the job without bidding. This credit is perhaps equivalent to the total current worth of the Ethiopian telecom monopoly, which is also publicly owned.
The study claims that it is “fair to infer” that what is happening in Ethiopian telecom could be found in all big projects that Chinese firms run in collaboration with the Ethiopian government.
Meanwhile, along with India, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in his opening speech at the ruling party’s 8th congress in mid-September called China ‘dependable allies’ for its growing cooperation.
The prime minister praised China in the presence of the Communist Party of China’s delegation led by Zhang Xuan, an alternate member of CPC central committee and deputy secretary of CPC’s Chongqing Municipal Committee. The delegation also vowed to intensify China’s cooperation with Ethiopia.
The Chinese investment in Ethiopia has been growing since the year 2000 and takes two modalities of investment: joint venture and wholly Chinese owned investment.
‘Amazing growth’
These firms are participating in major investment activities that are being carried out by the government of Ethiopia, especially in infrastructure, at an amazing rate in the last decade.
The companies are involved nearly in all power generation projects. except some handled by the Italian firm: Salini, irrespective of the financier of the project.
In sum, the value of the power generation in which the Chinese companies involve is estimated at about USD 1.7 billion; in power transmission about USD 350 million and in the governments universal access program USD 23 million.
Similarly Chinese firms are dominating in winning large projects in Ethiopia. There are about ten Chinese firms engaged in some 60 percent of the road works currently being carried out in the country with four of the firms holding nearly 70 per cent of the Chinese engagement in the sector.
The study observes: “this dominance is partly due to low bid prices offered by the Chinese firms and partly owing to the diplomatic and political ties the Chinese government has made with the Ethiopian government”. Provision of financing by the Chinese government for its firms in Africa, which Chinese’s firms in turn offer as credit in the form of vendor financing during the bidding process, is another reason for this success of Chinese firms in Ethiopia.
Complaints on quality, low labor wage
However, these high Chinese involvements are not going without complaint. Some of the complaints are, according to the study, related to the quality of the construction undertaken, and the remuneration to the local labor which is far below the standard expected from such construction work.
In addition, the study indicates equipments and machineries imported duty free owing to the incentive scheme the government set out to develop infrastructure are “technically outdated equipment which after the projects in Ethiopia are completed, invariably does not give significant service.”
Regarding the Chinese projects, it is reported that the standard of the Chinese labor (and also products) is by far below the international standard (for example, in terms of sanitation, and water supply facilities).
“The Chinese are using their connection with top government official - political muscle - to crowd out domestic firms (perhaps the authorities may prefers to deal with the Chinese than domestic firms to get unnoticed in whatever they are doing – this however, hampers technology transfer from Chinese to African firms),” the study concluded.
Urging for Quality Standard Authority to focus on Chinese goods produced and imported, experts calls for continuous scanning through research and evidence based policy in the future relationship of the two countries.
The study entitled: Impact of China-Africa Investment Relations: Case Study of Ethiopia was presented at the African Economic Research Consortium’s International Conference on China-Africa Economic relations from September 28 to 30, 2010.

..

[Yoniii]

I was thinking of these latest peace deals with Ogaden groups...

Has anyone asked; What exactly did the government agree to, except for releasing a couple of prisoners?