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LET THE PRIME MINISTER
STEPS DAWN ON GOOD PHASE!
BY: BERHANE
EYASU
It is my belief
that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi (PMMZ) has to step down!
The sooner he does the better both for his party and
for the country. I am afraid, I wanted PMMZ to step dawn because the
longer he stays, the more a liability he gets for his party and the
country. It is also my strong observation and belief that he had moved the
country in the right trend of development by placing it in an
insurmountable advantage in Education, Transport, Health and Power
Infrastructures to a possible standard which will give the country in a
better comparative advantage that will be a catalyst for a big push
towards attaining a place of Middle income countries for years to come.
Likewise, The prime Minister, has miserably failed to
make and install an independent judicial system which was a mushrooming
practice on his guerrilla days to properly function after eighteen years
of practising state power and use of an abundance resource at its disposal
as yet .I believe there is no an apparent Judicial system bound to
function which will uphold the rule of law and the there by protecting the
right of individuals to the extent of safeguarding the constitution that
was built for it.
His approach to dismember Eritrea and
subsequently adopting a fallacious system to stopping the war, having paid
extraordinarily huge cost both human and material was still one of the
most ambivalence stances that the incumbent Prime Minister chose to manage
in secrecy for which,I am afraid, will haunt him and his party for a long
time to come. Even though the people deserve to know better, god knows why
mostly the cause of the Algeris agreement has been accepted while
Ethiopia, being not the aggressor party, with such a strong Military
position at that particular moment was succumbed and arm twisted by his
utter abrupt decision !
Furthermore, a fictitious analysis whereby The
Prime Minister has pursued that Ethiopia was the first black colonizer
over Eritrea and hence single-handedly and indeed precariously has
arranged to land lock the Country with out neither any reasonable
influence or participation of the Ethiopian mass to have a say from inside
nor a due application of International Maritime law in lieu of preserving
the National Interest of the country was a highly belligerent stand and
was proven futile and costly!
Unlike hotel service, usually portrayed
and obnoxiously asserted to have claimed by PMMZ, which he would like us
to blindly believe his Mercantile philosophy where ports are just like a
mere hotel service which ideally can be bought from any provider is a mere
an under statement given the country �s
position of struggling to suffice the export and import service
requirements.
Failing by self aggrandizement,
and deliberate glossing over policy of EPRDF of denying of owning a
country�s ports
designed by the prime minister, we have seen enough for the last eighteen
solid years that Ports are not a mere export import presumptuous places
per se as he has out rightly claimed to be rather it has unbearable cost
which ransacked the country billions of dollars which could have been
channelled towards other development efforts. Not enough of that it has
brought inestimable instability to the country to say the least.
His illogical approach to land lock the country by
sidelining those who happen to strongly argue and favour for the right
ownership of ports as Extreme Dergists and former government proponents
and threatening their very idea did not held water and was also a hard act
to follow which has not only endangered the National Security which we
have witnessed for decades but was indeed also tantamount to failure which
can not be sustained to adopt without a string attached to it.
Above all, it is the country�s
life line denied to uphold its security and could inhibit the
sustainability of its development and viable strategy for generations to
come and is a major policy failure whether to bring forth the country out
of real poverty or keep in the vicious trap for once and for all. For
Ethiopia, ports are not a matter of choice; it is an ample means of
survival. Ethiopia�s
peculiar position and sensitive internal dynamism specific to the horn
necessitates to the prevalence and the effective ownership and use of its
ports as a security precondition.
It is my simple observation that we are having a progressive
population with the huge populace (Africa�s
second at the moment) and with its alarming growth rate. How often are we
to mitigate the vulnerability to draught prevalence, leaving aside the
foreign currency disbursement that we are paying to the use of third
countries ports? Eprdf under the guidance of PMMZ completely lost the plot
out here. The prime minister�s
specific adherence to the use of port services of third countries is
shabby, scruffy and dilapidated approach to say the least and looks Penny
wise and POUND Foolish and has taken the country on stand still.
The good performance of the country is nullified here.
What percentage of our GDP are we paying for the port service? How is it
really suffocating the banking reserves of the country apart from other
testimonials? What is its effect on our foreign reserve? What is the
significance relation to foreign investment of the country then?
HOW IS DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY AFFECTING TO THE NATURE,
MAGNITUDE AND SOURCE OF GOODS AND SERVICE PRODUCED IN THE COUNTRY? What is
the significance relation to our defence strategy considering the pirates
and other terrorist activities in the world and mushrooming around us? The
good prime minister does know the inconceivable consequences very well but
chose to gloss it over.
With or without the presence of the PMMZ these are the
few vital policy frameworks which will have a significant effect of
redressing our National development in addition to our national security
which is non negotiable. To
address this mess, I think PMMZ has to step down because these are very
vital interference that may need new policy formulations or a change of
new government approach and tactics to bring forth real development
endeavour that is compatible and compassionate enough to maintain normalcy
that I believe will not be done on his watch.
I am not concerned at all who replaces him. Some one
able enough to look these into perspective, irrespective of his ethnicity,
has to indeed to replace the Prime minister as soon as possible for the
interest of the country.
It does not really matter which Ethnicity is he from
really? Does it? I am not fixing my argument of his stepping dawn to the
port issue merely. I am aware of some websites are utterly supporting for
his term to be even expanded and begging like approach to keep him for
other unspecified term in office. I respect their position; however, I
strongly oppose their approach because it is not that I am personally at
logger heads or is it not down to my liking or disliking to some or all
his policies at all.
It is because; I believe Ethiopia at this age in time
can not afford to be lead by one person however competent a leader or a
prime minister might be. What ever good or otherwise his intention and
approach might be, an absolute power corrupts absolutely and we shall not
get any excuses for it or any nostalgic hostage for any other any longer!
We need to think outside the box and see what is better
for the country and focus on strengthening public institutions and
institutional capacities. Strengthening vibrant oppositions, better free
press laws, broadening parliamentary discussion forums and instilling
transparent culture to the good phase will be second to none to the
development of the country instead of sticking on a powerful Prime
Minister!
Further more. other substitutive issues like The Prime
minister �s
inability to adopt a very transparent policy to advocate and install a
progressive, prospective and well defined system of using national
resources in all the regional and intra regional estates to ameliorate a
vibrant political culture is a BIG miss in his CV.I am afraid, the fact
that we have not got an open and transparent system has induced a system
prone to corruption, ill efficiency, favouritism and nepotism. Above all
the inability to divide party and government structure at the moment has
rendered to concentrate power in few hands and corrupts absolutely.
The fact that people who are installed
for power are mainly attributed on mere language in spite of perspective
knowledge, meritocracy and achievement has slowed down the robustness,
tenderness and flexibility to adopt the already existing party or
government policy readily to be ineffective and left it in taters
.Therefore people resort to forsake or worship who claimed to be seniors
but have not usually had adequate know how or knowledge to formulate
policies or adopt new ones. Because of these tendencies Eprdf led by PMMZ
has lost a very viable political resource of producing young Eprdf people
for over eighteen solid years that could have been competent choice to
replace him and the likes of him are wasted. Having said that no one
denies PMMZ�s
outstanding elegance of his question/answer time on ETV and international
arena.
It is common knowledge that his shrewd theatrical approach to swart party
members and machining political opponents including his friends is well
recorded. In a country like Ethiopia, where the prevalence of Draught is
quite common, there is no universally adopted policy as to how food
security at house hold level is to be attained and when? There is still no
clear Land use and land reclamation policy despite the fact that Eprdf�s
policy is nurtured on Agricultural development Lead Industrialisation
(ADLI).
I wander a couple of days ago, the hard working Zeru
Hagos was wondering why his Excellency the prime minister was asked to
step dawn�He even tried to like us to believe that there is no any body
like to replace him. I am afraid; facts on the ground do not testify that
understanding.
PMMZ is replaceable. I do not know and nothing personal
like but to continue the development of the country unabated it is safe to
argue that the PMMZ is stepping dawn. The sooner he steps dawn, the
better! If he does, it will be the best historical perspective that
Ethiopia like Ghana has to once again usher to African politics!
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