How much proven natural resources does really Ethiopia have? 100s of billions USD??

For not using our natural resources who is to blame?

For not using our natural resources who do you think is to blame?

coastline said:

So many of us say that Ethiopia has so much natural resources, but how many of us do we know the exact proven resources we have in terms of quantity and value in USD?

Just for knowledge I compiled the following informations from different sources

From Minerals and Hydroelectricity

*Recently there is a 1 billion tons potash discovery in Dallol, which is worth over 500 billion USD. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...racting-ethiopian-potash-deposit-in-2013.html



From Agriculture
There are 75 million hectares of Arable Land which is fertile and the climate is suitable for cultivation of different kinds of food crops and cash crops. But unfortunately today it is 15 millions of these fertile land that is being cultivated.

If we assume half of the 60 million not yet cultivated is really good for crops, then there is a free available land of 30 million hectares for rain fed and 4.2 million for irrigation totaling 34.2 million hectares. See below what will happen if we put this land into use

When we add the total annual yearly income we find that it is 71.19 Billion USD that is almost twice what Nigeria (world top 6th oil exporter) and Egypt exports and it is even more than what south Africa (the richest country in Africa and top diamond exporter in the world) exports. In 2009 south Africa exported 67.93 Billion USD http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_South_Africa .

And when we compare this potential with ourself, we find that we only export 2.8 % of this potential, which is super low by any standard. Ethiopia exported 2 billion USD in 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Ethiopia


So now the question is if we have all these resources and have been proven so many years ago then why are we still one of the poorest countries in the world? I am sure Israel, created some 60 years ago, does not even have 5% of this resources yet there economy is 10 times bigger and their per capital is almost 100 times bigger than ours.

For not using our resources who is to blame? is it our people in general (lack of education, being conservative, low motive for work)? our kings, presidents & prime minister's lack of leadership skill? foreign countries interference like Egypt, Italy, Eritrea? the diaspora in general for not promoting our country, for not coming to Ethiopia to play thire role? Former Derg cadres scattered all over the world? EPRDF Cadres sctattred all over the country? Ethnic tensions? economic policy? Civil war? international donors and financiers like IMF and world bank? Developed countries? too much aid or too low aid?

Sources

www.gzccpit.org.cn/userfiles/201004/file/a58efa16-b290-4739-b2f8-e902e2ab1da4.doc

http://www.mome.gov.et/mineral.html

About Potash
http://www.chinamining.org/Investment/2010-03-26/1269573707d34968.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potash

About Gold
http://news.za.msn.com/african/article.aspx?cp-documentid=150805724

About soda ash
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Abijatta
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fmc-increases-soda-ash-prices-103319694.html

About natural gas
http://en.ethiopianreporter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1419&Itemid=26
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas_prices

About Agriculture
http://www.ethemb.se/ee_investment_...ment potential of Ethiopia[1].ppt amended.ppt

About Sugar and Ethanol
http://www.etheja.com/index.php?opt...pia&catid=34:environmental-news-cat&Itemid=57

http://www.sugartech.co.za/sugarprice/index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fermentation

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http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=64901763&highlight=#post64901763

I blame myself!

As far as I know, there is no government policy that prohibits or discourages Ethiopians to go and invest (as long as they are avoiding politics). We can list plenty of people doing well and helping the people quietly and intelligently without messing up with Zenawi's Revolutionary Democracy.

-- Building 25 universities + countless schools (Education)

-- Building massive Hydroelectric dams (Energy)

-- Building more than 40,000 Km roads (Road). done in less than ten years - King Minlike, Haileselasie and Mengistu miserably failed to do it in over 100 years.

^^ These are keys for Nation Building & strictly government's responsibilities. Under immense financial stress and political pressure, the government is doing it admirably.

If we are blaming Zenawi for chicken egg/ Ye EnQulal shortage- may be time for us to check in a mental hospital.

Politics can't feed!

Most of the reasons in that poll apply.

Ultimately, the fault lies with us Ethiopians. Look at the so-called opposition in the diaspora.
Everyone is lamenting the government no matter what is done. They always ALWAYS find a negative in development. Look at that idiot Tewodros who posted here when the tunnel collapse happened in Gibe II. The freak was HAPPY and somehow tied it in to the government. What kind of mentality is that???

Look at how many people complain that foreigners are investing in farming. Did they make an effort to go to Ethiopia and apply for land? NO. They don't plan on ever doing it either. Their attitude is "I will not invest there, and I don't want anyone else to do so either." WTF is our problem?
We are so mikegna. We have a terrible "crabs in a bucket" mentality. We are always so negative and mean to each other.

Ultimately, our problem is our CULTURE. We need to kill this cancer in our society.
How? I have no idea. hno:

The Investment Dilemma

At home, we often times discuss investment ideas and general business opportunities as a way of polishing our ideas and creating a collective knowledge pool and ensure we always stay ahead of the curve.

Last night we went out to eat dinner and discussed, as we commonly do, the countless things we could invest tens of millions dollars on back home, but also the utter disappointment in knowing we could never do anything without getting in-bed with the government. That's just something, as a matter of principle, we simply can't do. So for the time being, all we could agree on doing is to continue to support foundations and give out scholarships.

There was a relative of one of us who was, I think, the biggest importer of Honda or Hyndai products to the country who, given his influence, was asked to join, promote, and promulgate the Weyane and its policies in ways his conscience would never let him. His cover for staying out of politics is a proclamation of being "pente." It is widely known that one of the unwritten tenants of being pente is to not involve one's self in politics. They were furious with him and in their frustration, like many business owners I've known or heard about, they decided to use the typical "failure to print receipt" trick. They found a way to put him to jail for $35 dollars. It took him 300k to get out.

That's the kind of environment you are dealing with.

So with all the talk about 'whose fault is it' that Ethiopia has so much natural resources and so little has done about it, consider the ways of the government. How can one maintain his principle and still help develop the country? It's near impossible.

Simfan34 said:

I'd suggest principles be put aside, get into that bed, and after a while, complain. If the business community began complaining, we could bring change.
Of course, one could try to market themselves as foreigners and avoid the politics...

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Simfan,
I just can't believe what you've just said - excellent!. Going to bed without condom is only for those fool Catholics. Forget Ethiopia, even here in the Western world no one is clean.

I've been thinking about this post since I first read it, but I wasn't sure what to write.

My perspective is that we should go back and invest anyway. The reason is, if we sit and wait until a fully democratic, non-corrupt government comes along, we'll be waiting a very very very long time. I can't think of a country where the business community is not in bed with the government.

Look at western countries, you see corporations donating to government candidates and parties. You see government candidates who were previously part of the business world. For instance, Dick Cheney and Halliburton. Halliburton was given a no-bid contract in Iraq around the time of invasion. Cheney was its CEO before he ran as VP, but maybe it was just a coincidence :shifty:

Other examples of cozy relationships between governments and business (i.e. the chaebol) are Japan (nicknamed Japan, Inc) and South Korea. Much has been written for instance about the cronyism and supposed corruption in South Korea because the government was everywhere. But none of us can dispute that both those nations is where we want Ethiopia to be.

The point is, we have to be realistic and coldly pragmatic.

If we sit and wait for that utopia to arrive, it will be too late. We will end up completely out of the loop in our own country, because foreign investors are not going to have those qualms. They will go in (as they're doing now), and invest so much that a huge portion of the formal economy will end up controlled by foreigners.

All this, not because Ethiopians lack business acumen (we know we don't, in fact, we are probably among the most business astute people in Africa), but because we were too full of misguided morality.

I find that if we want to be true to our principles as Ethiopians and as individuals, we have to see the huge benefit of investing for our country as the reason to do it, even if it contradicts what we wish would happen.

The resulting job creations can catapult millions out of poverty. I believe I read somewhere that each job created in an African country can spur an average of about 3 additional jobs (for example, you hire one woman to work in a coffee shop, she can hire a housekeeper and a ሞግዚት , etc) which is much more than aid can ever do. Our positive moral contribution can be that: giving people a source of income. If your company is located in a remote area, you can build the infrastructure in that area: a school, clinic, clean water, roads, etc, can go a long way.

So yes, I say go back home and get under the ብርድ ልብስ with Meles and Co. Our country will thank us for it in the future.

abesha, I see everything you're saying and frankly that's the exact same thing I've been saying, for the most part. But it should be noted that businesses influencing political matters is wholly different from politicians controlling business. Such things are diametrically opposed to the fundamental tenants of Capitalism. It should also be noted that America is a democracy, so it makes little sense to use it as an analogy against the Ethiopian regime.

That said, the part I particularly couldn't swallow, however, was what I was later led to understand. It's one thing to turn a blind eye to injustice, it's completely another thing to actively promote it.

If it wasn't clear from what I wrote, the problem isn't simply doing work while in the stewardship of the current government, it's the requirement that is made upon you as a prominent investor to fully embrace and support the government in its efforts to ensure permanence in the political dominance of the country for the foreseeable future.

It's as Obama pointed out in his September address to the UN General Assembly:

Today, as in the past times of downturn, some put human rights aside for the promise of short term stability, or the false notion that economic growth can come at the expense of freedom. We see leaders abolishing term limits. We see crackdowns on civil society.

The strongest foundation for human progress lies in open economies, open societies, and open governments.

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It's as if he was talking about Meles specifically lol

I think many of us on this forum have gradually come to accept the notion that freedom and open governance come at the expense of economic progress---and we have taken that and some of the positive economic developments as a means of justifying the injustices of the Weyane regime.


I have known far too many perish at the hands of the Weyane and even my father persecuted and in imprisoned by them under a false pretext, to all of the sudden get into bed with them and promote them as saviors of the country.

If their policies are as sound as they'd like us to think, then let them be recognized by their merits and results rather than by putting a gun to people's heads and telling them to lie for the sake of some nefarious "greater good." Injustice is like a red paint in white laundry, that no matter how many clean sheets you put in, it will never drown out the stain.

I dislike the Woyane as much as you, but what exactly would we do? We tried voting, and Ethiopians were shot in the streets. Then the leaders were forced out of the country, and then the opposition was incompetent.

Not only does the opposition provide no real alternative, I see no way to dislodge the current government without serious economic repercussions.

yosef, I don't like that you have combined these two threads. I realize I rehashed the this topic as a relevant issue at the end of the post, but I feel my main topic is an important and independent topic that needs to be addressed separately. Combining it will have an effect of diluting it.

Please consider breaking it up.

Thank you