Vision for a Prosperous Ethiopia; An Alternative Agenda for May 2005 Elections

 By Belai Habte-Jesus

Objective:  To design an alternative paradigm for a prosperous Ethiopia based on private ownership, transparency, accountability and good governance.  To change the election paradigm towards real choice of direction for change.

Approach:  Setting the agenda for 2005 elections by focusing on investment, ownership to eradicate poverty via change in policy and electoral system.  The elections should be about choice. 

Choosing change in direction.  The elections should be about choice in direction.  The current series of political arrangement be it fronts or coalitions both in government and opposition are leftovers of the Marxist Leninist left who do not have alternative vision from disaggregating the nations resources into ethnic, racial and linguistic differentiations that lead into poverty and dictatorship.  The choice is between investment and poverty.  This paper advocates for private ownership, rule of law, transparency, accountability and good governance as an alternative to the current scenario of all of the same old Marxism, Terror and Poverty all over again.  Change is what is needed and all competition should about offering change.

Expected outcome:  Vigorous discussion at intellectual, policy and political campaign towards rejecting poverty for ownership and investment.  Challenging the current poverty ridden ideology and policy that does not trust nor respect its own citizens.  Take back what are your land, property and citizenship into your hands for prosperity and good governance.  Change from poverty, aid and hopelessness towards productivity, business and enterprises that attracts local and foreign investment.

Discussion:  The left ideology of distributing poverty has reached its zenith of incompetence and need to be challenged once for all by productivity and competency.  The political elites and cadres of the past 30 years have focused on ethnic based geographical localization that reminds one of the Apartheid eras of homelands of genocide and poverty. 

Empowerment of the people.  The current trend of dictatorship and outright terror of the fabric of our society has crippled the economy as well as the fabric of society towards hopelessness, crime and terror under the guise of liberation fronts of all sorts.  All resources continue to be in the hands of few people in authority who do not know how to use the resources themselves nor allow others to utilize it.  Instead, they continue to beg for IMF, World Bank and Bilateral donations while impoverishing their own citizens.  Once land and resources are returned back to the people and are transacted with clear-cut legal process, the citizens can put them forward as collaterals for investment and development purposes. 

Government and Business should be separated.  The current conflict of interest where a party owns the whole country and behaves, as the landlord and tenant at the same time, denying citizens from productivity or legal competition will be changed as the good governance will demand transparency and accountability at all levels.  The current poverty among plenty due to incompetent leadership will change as even the role of governance will be challenged and competent people will compete for every position in the country.

Conclusion

This paper looks at age-old patriotism, enterprise, productivity based competitiveness under the rule of law as the only option for a vision of prosperous Ethiopia.  The notion that the farmer will sell all the land and migrate to the cities is a myth created to blunder the wealth of the nation towards both material and spiritual poverty.  Who is really selling Badme and Ethiopian Red Sea Coast, the farmer or misguided communists?  

Empowering the youth and our future.  The youth who are not educated cannot be productively engaged.  The fountain of the future are kept prisoners in their own homes and made criminals by a shortsighted philosophy of poverty.  One can only get rid of poverty by productivity and investment.  Land ownership and the ability to use it as collateral for business enterprises is the only solution of the current crisis. The May 2005 election should be about choice, poverty or prosperity, ownership or tenancy that leads to economic slavery.

   
Belai FM Habte-Jesus, MD, MPH

15 January 2005