The Need for Paradigm Change - I

By G. E. Gorfu

It has now been some seventeen years since a rag-tag TPLF army overthrew the then most powerful army in black Africa, entered Addis Ababa, and took control of the nation. Having known the brutality of the Derg Regime for seventeen years prior to that, I was very cautious on what that change of government was going to mean for Ethiopia.

In my heart of hearts, I was fearful and said to myself, �If a military government with some structure and discipline was unable to bring any measure of peace and stability to Ethiopia, how could a guerrilla force coming from the jungles do it? The worst scenario imaginable was that of Cambodia�s Pol Pot who took out millions of city dwellers into the countryside forcing them to become peasants, resulting in a catastrophic disaster.

Fortunately for Ethiopia, what replaced the Derg was a pretty benign force which has given the nation not only a measure of peace and stability, but an era of unprecedented progress and development where significant infrastructures were laid down. Major roads have spread into many rural areas, air-strips were paved and many airports built, more than a dozen universities sprouted throughout Ethiopia, several large dams, some with hydroelectricity power generation, have been built, and a brisk pace in housing and construction can be seen in Addis Ababa and in other large and small towns throughout the land. So in many ways, I have been pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

All these are great, but there still is a long way to go and it is ripe for a paradigm change in the way the people in government function. Some of the most important are:-

a) The highly secretive nature of government and the lack of transparency.

b) The siege mentality of those in government.

A high level of secrecy is important when one is a guerrilla force operating in the jungle, but once that force takes the reins of government, a great deal of transparency and accountability to the people it governs is paramount. The lack of transparency and secrecy readily lend themselves to corruption. Though the government goes through daily condemnations of mussena/corruption, the problem is far from solved. Corruption has now become rampant and almost a norm in many levels of government. That is sad and needs to change, but before any change takes place, a paradigm change is needed first.

Furthermore, why does the TPLF (Tigray Peoples Liberation Front) still need to carry such a name? Are the people of Tigray in a liberation struggle? And do they need a front? Why then does the organization still keep the name? At one time the name might have been appropriate but not any more. So, here too a paradigm change is needed.

Most of those who came to power seventeen years ago are still in office today and have not prepared a peaceful exit strategy to leave the stage. Seventeen years is a lifetime in politics. If those in leadership are unable, or unwilling to train capable people that would replace them it could be seen as a sign of failure. Leadership in government is not much different from leadership in an organization. An organization that wants to out-survive its founders needs to have a vigorous program of training many people for leadership. But the Ethiopian government still has the old guards in place, without much in integration or in the infusion of new blood. Here too a paradigm change is needed. To be continued�

Sometime back we wrote on the important changes Ethiopia needs to implement in order to be more effective in solving its serious problems. One of these was infusing new blood into politics, and it appears steps have now been taken to form a Youth League. This is a first step in the right direction. Kudos! To continue on the need for paradigm change:-

One serious issue is making sure Ethiopia is free from hunger and poverty. In spite of the many years the government worked hard to eliminate poverty, Ethiopia still seems to be a long way from self sufficiency in food production and is dependent on food aid from abroad. Many farmers have become dependent on imported fertilizers which may be subsidized, but do not seem to solve the problem of low food production. There are those who are advocating the return to traditional farming techniques and crop rotation rather than the dependence on fertilizers. They may have a point, and it may be wise to look at that option seriously. Not everything we copy from the west is good, or to our advantage.

While we are looking at agriculture, a paradigm change is also needed for farmers to be encouraged to focus on food production for the local markets first and foremost and the growing of coffee, flowers, chat, and other similar crops to take second and third places. Cash crops are important for export which brings in foreign currency, but at what cost? It is for buying cars and other imported items. But if the people do not have enough to eat, what good is it? Gas, cars, and other imported items are luxury, but food is essential.

Another serious problem is the ever growing population which the government does not seem to have a handle on. The mindset of our peasants is still in producing as many children as possible since every child is potentially seen as an additional farm hand to help, as well as an insurance policy for old age to support the parents. It is still common for girls to marry at very young ages of ten and eleven in various parts of Ethiopia, and the Fistula Hospital can attest to this fact with all the new young girls that continue to come for treatment. Early marriage is a major contributing factor in population growth.

To give the Ethiopian government its due credit, there have been a measure of Family Planning programs over the last few years in many parts of the country, but these do not seem to affect the population growth. If China can declare �A Cultural Revolution� and stop the �Feet-Binding� of young women which was traditional for hundreds of years, why can�t the government take the leadership and with the help of enlightened religious leaders teach our people to limit the number of children to a maximum of two or three, and effect a real mind change? Ethiopia�s population is approaching eighty million, and except for the few at the very top, there is a serious poverty all around the country, and even malnutrition and hunger in many parts, even in the streets of Addis Ababa. For how long are we going to depend on donor food aid from western countries? And what are we waiting for before we fight population growth tooth and nail, and put it under control?

Unless serious steps are quickly taken to curb population growth which appears to have gone totally out of control, there is little doubt what the outcome will be. Big population means a much higher death toll in times of drought and famine. We saw it twice in our own lifetime and God forbid that we should see it again. It can be prevented!