Grilled by the legislature

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www.thereporterethiopia.com

The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1012

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1 Vol. XX No. 1012 | January 30, 2016 | ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA www.thereporterethiopia.com

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By Yonas Abiye

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) expressed concerns over the safety and security of the country’s indigenous genetic resources especially

in connection with some foreign organizations and individuals who are active in research and related activities. According to Abiy Ahmed, minister of MoST, the government has set up a special committee following the

proposal of his ministry to strengthen oversight with regards to the indigenous resources of the country. After presenting his six-month report to the Science Communication and Technology Standing Committee of

the House of Peoples Representatives (HPR), Abiy faced question from MPs as to what his ministry is doing to protect the indigenous genetic and other related resources.

Science ministry raises concern on

international orgs activities

Minister says IRLI is one example

IRLI says not aware of the allegation

Grilled by the legislature

*HPHFKX'XELVR5DXGLWRUJHQHUDOEHUDWLQJRIʏFLDOVRIWKH0LQLVWU\RI0LQHV3HWUROHXPDQG1DWXUDO*DVLQGXFLQJWakgari Furi (PhD), state minister, (second from right). SEE THE FULL STORY ON PAGE 36

By Kaleyesus Bekele

The management and board of RwandAir, the national carrier of Rwanda, has selected Ethiopian Airlines as a strategic partner. RwandAir has been looking for a strategic partner that would own a 49 percent stake on the fledgling East African airline. The strategic partner will invest in RwandAir, represented in the management and provide technical assistance. Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airways are among the list

RwandAir

selects

Ethiopian

as strategic

partner

RwandAir selects... page 32

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1012

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General Manager Amare Aregawi Managing Editor Bruh Yihunbelay Editor-in-Chief Asrat Seyoum Sub city: N.lafto, K. 10/18, H.No. 614

Senior Editors Yacob Wolde-Mariam Dibaba Amensisa Mikias Sebsibe Editors Kaleyesus Bekele Yonas Abiye Assistant Editor Tibebeselassie Tigabu Neamin AshenaÀ Senior Reporters Henok Reta Reporter Dawit Tolesa Columnist Leyou Tameru

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Tewodros Kebkab Graphic Designers Tsehay Tadesse Fasika Balcha Semenh Sisay Netsanet Yacob Bezaye Tewodros Head of Photography Nahom Tesfaye Photographers Tamrat Getachew Mesfen Solomon Website Bezawit Tesfaye Binyam Hailu Cartoonist Elias Areda Fasil W/giorgis

Building an effective disaster preparedness and management capacity is an essential task of any government. The absence of such capacity makes it difficult to respond quickly and at the required level to both natural and man-made disasters is bound to exact a heavy humanitarian and material toll from which it will take a long time to recover. Let’s dwell on some fundamental issues in this regard.

This week Hawassa, the capital of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region, was hit by an earthquake. Though the tremor was minor and did not entail the loss of life or property damage, it terrified the city’s residents. And even if it did not seriously test the country’s disaster preparedness and prevention capacity, it laid bare the woeful state of the disaster early warning system. Had the system taken into account the fact that Hawassa is prone to earthquakes because it is located in the Great Rift Valley, such precautionary measures as sensitizing its inhabitants about the possibility of the occurrence of the danger as well as designing and enforcing appropriate building codes would have been taken. Hence, the quake should serve as a lesson learnt to ramp up the national disaster management capability in view of future eventualities.

There used to exist a robust government agency called the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (RRC), later renamed the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC), that did exemplary work in response to drought and other disasters. This huge institution, which had massive grain warehouses, auto workshops, thousands of aid workers and hundreds of transport vehicles and planes, did a lot in terms of providing invaluable assistance to those affected by calamities. Recently though it was downgraded to a department under the Ministry of Agriculture with its purview limited to administrative duties. If the agency is to be revived and vested with a stronger mandate which allows it to put in place an active early warning system, it would be possible to avert or manage effectively any disaster.

Following the formation by the Council of Ministers of the National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission, which is accountable to the Prime Minister, a month ago work has begun to operationalize the Commission. Though the decision to establish the Commission, albeit belated, is commendable, it needs to be implemented promptly with an eye to international best practices. It has to have a competent staff as well as the necessary budget, technologically advanced instruments and other inputs.

As anywhere in the world the exigency to enhance the national disaster prevention and preparedness capacity is informed by the imperative to forestall and where this is impossible to respond properly to catastrophes. This capacity can be built mainly through the instrumentality of a government agency expressly mandated with such acommission. If the agency is to develop a solid early warning mechanism and the capability to conduct crucial emergency response trainings aimed at minimizing if not eliminating the costly humanitarian, economic, social and psychological impacts of tragedies, it should be able to formulate and execute comprehensiveplans that must be applied in a coordinated manner. Then any disaster that may trigger dire consequences can be dealt with relative ease.

Presently, over 10.2 million people are in need of emergency food assistance in Ethiopia due to one of the biggest drought in its history. The international community is not providing the required level of assistance to ensure that no one dies from and is displaced from their villages at the hand of the drought. Unless the assistance financed thus far largely by the government is supplemented by international donors and aid organizations, the problem is liable to become even more worrying. An all-out effort is mandatory in order to avoid a loss of life induced by the failure in rains that is unprecedented in the last fifty years. This renders the commencement of operations by the commission under formation posthaste absolutely vital. Should the alarming drought be compounded by another disaster, the ensuing humanitarian crisis will be unimaginable. Aside from engendering various health problems including epidemics and weakening the resistance of children and pregnant women to opportunistic disease, it leads to the death of cattle detrimentally affecting the livelihood of a large number of communities. If the country’s weak disaster prevention and preparedness capacity is not beefed up immediately, the grave situation it currently finds itself in may well prompt the death of citizens that all of us dread. Therefore, we cannot afford to waste time in beefing up emergency management capabilities.

The responsibility of building a robust disaster response capacity does not lie on the shoulders of the government alone. It is also borne by all stakeholders. Even as competent and diligent personnel, a large budget and technology are availed for the purpose of strengthening early warning as well as prevention and preparedness mechanisms, it is important to adopt best practices and coordinate with international partners. A feeling of shame and remorse will hang over the entire nation if it incurs a terrible cost as a result of failure to take these critical measures. This is precisely why it is obligatory to enhance the national disaster prevention and preparedness capacity.

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1012

HEADLINES

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1012

IN-DEPTH

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The Ethiopian government has embarked on the implementation of the country’s development roadmap – the second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II). Like all policy documents the GTP-II identiÀes the pros and cons of the Àrst phase of the GTP claiming that the groundwork has been Ànali]ed and the road has been paved for the next Àve years. 1ow strong emphases have been given to ensuring good governance

Àghting rent-seeking behavior and corruption. This is considered by some as a mountain too steep to climb, writes Solomon

Goshu.

“Unless there is a strategic leadership capacity for implementation, having the policies right does not lead anywhere. We already have the right policies but we are still a long way from having the required strategic leadership capacity in place.”

GTP-I made efforts to weaken rent-seeking and reali]e developmental political economy so as to achieve the developmental and good governance goals. Priority was given to works that increase the capacity building of the government political leadership, civil service, and justice sector.

“We need to develop the culture of enforcing our _rights.” “If there is a governmental system that should qualify as a state (under any definition) in sub-Saharan Africa, it is Ethiopia. It has both the history and ambition to rank as a state. The Ethiopian state, however, tends to diminish on close approach. For every assertion about the continuity, legitimacy and order of Ethiopian governance, there is a counter-claim.” These are words of Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and a Research Professor at The Fletcher School. Considered one of the foremost experts on Sudan and the Horn of Africa, Alex de Waal is also a keen observant of the Ethiopian state. He devoted a chapter on Ethiopia in his latest book The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power

.

As Alex de Waal rightly expresses it, claims and counter-claims are the main characteristics of the Ethiopian political life. Recently, Transparency International, an international non-governmental organization working on corruption, released its 2015 Corruption Perception Index which places Ethiopia in 103 out of 168 countries. For a government that prides itself representing the best interests of the great majority of the citizens, the stand is not good by any account. Back in 2012, the World Bank report indicated that even if the perception is high, the level of corruption in the country is not that big. This is just another indication that despite all efforts of the government, public trust and confidence is waning in the country. The Ethiopian developmental state model as articulated well through the writings of the late Meles Zenawi highlights ways of maximizing growth and minimizing abuse of power and corruption. Alex de Waal being one of his closest friends, this is what he has said about the challenge of Meles’s growth model. “Ultimately, Meles’s democratic developmentalism was more personal than a collective exercise, and the outcome was intellectually rigorous but organizationally dysfunctional. Everyday governmental issues were neglected. Meles’s challenge was the practice.” For Alex de Waal, while Meles and his closest associates were obsessed with developmentalism, other Ethiopians were not. The project for a developmental state was not becoming hegemonic and Meles knew it, he writes. Alex de Waal also quotes a memorandum Meles had written three months before his death. It reads: “Unless there is a strategic leadership

Proposals on democracy and good governancecapacity for implementation, having the

policies right does not lead anywhere. We already have the right policies but we are still a long way from having the required strategic leadership capacity in place.” Alex de Waal said that Meles frankly identified the party leadership as the strategic weakness of the project. While admitting the fact that members of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) leadership in general have a modest life-style and have devoted their efforts to the interests of the party and the nation, Alex de Waal expresses his concern on the expansion of corrupt practices to the highest order. “The immediate challenge for Ethiopia is the nature of competition within the political leadership of EPRDF and the security services and the army. Control over state rents is distributed among this elite, whose members have the power to appropriate those rents for personal enrichment, for factional political budgets, or for both. Domestically, this system is sufficiently entrenched that it can deter new entrants,” he states. Alex de Waal is not alone in fearing that corruption is risking the health of the country. Many Ethiopians believe that the few innocent and committed servants are swallowed by corrupt and incapable ones in the bureaucracy. They are not also demonstrating their confidence on the justice system as they are doubtful if the corrupt and faulty parties are being held accountable when found themselves at the wrong end of the game. On the other hand, the government is saying that it is strengthening transparency and accountability focusing on registration of property of government officials, and giving special attention to corruption prone areas such as procurement, revenue collection, financial administration and others. This seems to imply that on the most important aspects of governance the public and the government are not on the same boat. Then again, the government insists that national consensus on the core values are in the making. The second Growth and Transformation Plan

(GTP-II) reads: “National consensus has been created on the basic principles of the Constitutional order, on the implementation of the vision of anti-poverty struggle and realizing accelerated development, on ensuring sustainable peace, on the firm commitment of respecting diversity, on the initial results of the road to renaissance, on the changes of the image of the country,

www.thereportereth s and n nd n evenue and ost the public he same nt insists core values Growth P-II) reads: n created on nstitutional n of the gle and opment, on e, on the firm diversity, on t he to renaissance, age of the count ry,

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1012

INTERVIBeyene Petros (Prof.) is the president of the Ethiopian Federalist Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek), one of the EW major opposition political parties in Ethiopia which is also a front made up of six parties. Originally, Beyene was president of the Ethiopian Social Democrat (ESD), a party that later merged with the South Ethiopian Unity party (SEUP) to form ESD-SEUP, which, in turn, is part of the larger front: Medrek. Beyene, a familiar face in Ethiopian politics since the transition period following the fall of the Derg , is also a biology professor at the Addis Ababa University Faculty of Science. Since the victory of the ruling front Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) during the last election, which was held in May 2015 in which the front and its affiliates managed to take 100 percent of the seats in parliament, Beyene and his fellow opposition politicians have become more scarce on the public platform. Hence, Neamin Ashenafi of The Reporter paid the professor a visit in his office located around Sidit Kilo near the Addis Ababa University main campus to sit down with him and reflect on the current political landscape in Ethiopia and on other pertinent issues such as drought. Excerpts:

Photo By: Reporter /Mesfen Solomon

The Reporter: You have participated in the Ethiopian politics since the transitional government and if there is anyone who can analyze the country’s politics in the past 25 years it is you. What are the successes and challenges of the Ethiopian political landscape in the stated period? Professor Beyene:

This question requires a complex answer. First of all, there is no government or political party in this country that commands a political clout which enables it to bring about a change in way that satisfies or is agreeable to the majority. By bringing change I mean a favorable and democratic political environment which is based on trust for various interest groups and political forces in the nation. This is the mother of all problems. Since the politics lacks trust, what we have witnessed on the political landscape of the country in the past 25 years seriously lacks positive mentality. Since politics is mainly associated with the struggle for power, it is construed as sheer naivety or innocence for a politician to speak about positive attitude. However, based on my experience, one thing I am certain about is that the ruling party EPRDF is leading the country by the politics of rigging, pretending and shrewdness. Apart from that, they have their own dreams and illusions which they developed during their gorilla fighting days. I can say they were very committed to this dream and were unwilling to entertain any other suggestion or comment other than theirs. In my opinion, this was the biggest challenge. For me, the root cause of this is the way the Derg was overthrown; it was via force. For me, it would have been better had the Derg transferred power via discussions. You see, there is a trend here. The Derg overthrew the imperial regime by force. Although many people advised the emperor to reform the political landscape at the time, he refused to do so and as a result the monster Derg assumed power. By the same token, had the ruling party (EPRDF) shown little willingness to discuss with the various groups and individuals about the future of the country and valued these suggestions, things might have been much better today. The victory comes without proper consultation and discussion with all the concerned bodies in the country; hence what we have noticed since then is sheer domination of the winner which is the ruling party. As the saying goes it takes two to tango; the ruling party should be willing to accommodate other voices in the country. However, the ruling party espouses a mentality that dictates whoever paid the most sacrifice by defeating the Derg should impose its ideology and the rest should accept all political prescriptions. By doing so, they have closed the doors on further discussion and discourse. On the contrary, we kept saying no; we said starting from the charter we have not been fully convinced and that there is no agreement. Then, many groups other than the ruling party decided to embark on their own movement. We had a series of discussions with the ruling party after that and even met the late Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, several times. However, the strategy of the ruling party from the beginning was mainly aimed at dividing the opposition camp. Another thing that should be raised here is that EPRDF assumes that since it chased out the Derg, the entire public is thankful and that this achievement is highly revered. However, the fact on the ground suggests otherwise. The public wanted to be listened to; it is good that the Derg is overthrown, but the public also needs to be consulted when it comes to the future of the nation. As a result, the country witnessed many clashes here and there. If you take the election history of the country, before the first election which was held in 1992, there was a snap election which was aimed at creating a favourable environment to hold the first general election. This election was all about determining who will administer the process and who will be running and the like; and in that election EPRDF got only 20 percent of the votes in Addis Ababa and heavily lost in the Oromia region. Another challenge was the ruling party’s mindset of being the only political force that truly cares for the nation; they always thought their way is the only way and all the other voices are detractors at best. Honestly speaking, is there any Ethiopian who is against the development and the growth of their nation? Is there anybody who opposes the equality of nations and nationalities in Ethiopia? It is hard to imagine that there is. The only concern here is that of administering properly, in a way that includes all groups and individuals in the country. EPRDF assumes that if they lost grip of power just once, the country will be in utter chaos. However, this is an obsession.

That is largely what you thought to be problems associated with the ruling party. However, the opposition camp also seems to have problems of its own; especially

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hat you thought ssociated with y. However, the p also seems to have own; especially

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1012

LIVING & THE ARTS

Ð

Hip-hop, as music and culture was formed during the 1970s when block parties became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African-American youth residing in the Bronx. Block parties incorporated DJs, who played popular genres of music, especially funk and soul music. The music later on gave rise to phenomenal artistes like Tupac, Snoop Dogg and Eminem. In Ethiopia the music became popular among the urban youth from the mid-1990s and the early 2000s. And now a few Ethiopian rappers are trying to make it in the Ethiopian music charts, writes

Tibebeselassie Tigabu.

The well-known feud in hip-hop history caused the tragic death of two American hip-hop giants; Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. The prolific rappers were born less than a year apart. Tupac was based in Los Angeles on the west coast, while Biggie is a rapper from New York in the east. The vendetta between the east and west coast factions was raised by lyrical provocations from Biggie entitled “Who Shot Ya?” and Tupac’s “Hit Em’ Up”. Eventually, the antagonistic musical back and forth emerged and gradually escalated. The media became heavily involved in their spat, labeling it a coastal rap war and reporting on it continuously, which in turn caused fans to take sides. Matters really intensified once Tupac was shot and killed in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Notorious B.I.G. was also fatally shot, which resulted in the escalation of the east coast and west coast feud. This phenomenon changed the hip-hop industry. Thousands of miles away from the east vs. west coast hip-hop scene there was a surprising dispute between Tupac and B.I.G. Supporters in Addis Ababa. One of the incidents was at Cotton Club found in Ghion Hotel. Lij Michael, a rapper formerly known as “Crazy”, was present when the incident happened. According to Lij Michael, hip-hop fans were divided among the east and west line. It was common to see rappers gesticulate west coast and east coast signs or say “east coast for life”. They are attired in glittery wrist wears, neck chains and baggy pants. The west coast fans reveled when the DJ played Tupac’s “California Love” while the east coast supporters stood on the side, circling them. Lij Michael remembers the scene when the venue changed into a battlefield when Biggie’s music “Who Shot Ya?” was played. They rushed to the dance floor shoving Tupac’s fans. The dancing scene

completely turned into a fight. The bouncers had to intervene to break the fight, “We were teenagers and it was easy to control the situation,” Lij Michael says. With hip-hop getting millions of new fans from all over the world, Addis hip-hop lovers are also swayed by the wave of the genre. This led to the establishment of hip-hop groups such as Mad Boyz, Habesha Phenomenon and ABC. One of the founders of ABC, Lij Michael, recalls the outset of Ethiopian hip-hop. His love for rap came while listening to the beats of Tupac Shakur, B.I.G., Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Dr. Dre, Kurupt and Puff Daddy (P-Diddy). Lij Michael’s rapping career started with MCing and playing famous tunes. Though there were no big venues, they were fortunate enough to perform at school carnivals and day parties that were held at Lion and You Go clubs.

Ethiopian hip-hop at

a crossroad

Jukebox Lij Michael as d chael, hop. ing G., re, y). arted us tunes. ues, they form at ties that o clubs. www.thereporterethiopia.com 34|

The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016 Vol. XX No. 1012 #REPORTERBOOK

R

#MarryMoreThanOneWife Meme excitement over

Eritrea ‘marriage law’ story

)DFHERRNLVÀQDOO\EULQJLQJOLYH streaming to everyone

fe

Facebook just flipped the switch on its live streaming feature in its iOS app.

The social network is expanding its live streaming capabilities to all of its iOS users in the US. The company first began experimenting with live video last year but Thursday’s update marks the first time

Facebook has made the feature widely available. The new feature, which Facebook is calling “Live,” now appears in the “update status” menu next to the check-in pin that allows you to share your location. Live videos on Facebook work similarly to Periscope broadcasts: you can begin a live stream with a brief description, and once you’re live, viewers can comment on streams in real time. When you’re finished, you have the option to save the video and share it on your timeline. Additionally, you can subscribe to a person or Page’s live videos so you can get a notification each time they start a new broadcast. Facebook’s Vadim Lavrusik said the company is working to bring the features to Android users “soon” and the the rest of the world “in the coming weeks.” The company first began experimenting with live video

in August,

but the feature was limited to to people who use Mentions, Facebook’s app for celebrities and other public figures. Facebook has been ramping up its video efforts over the last year, and bringing live streaming to everyone could help the social network see even more engagement with its video features. According to the company, users are already watching upwards of 3 billion videos a day — a number that will likely only increase as the social network makes videos, including live streams, increasingly prominent on its app and website. (Mashable) It was a hoax, like many others on the Internet in this digital media age, but nothing has ever been received with much verve by men all over the world than this piece of news. Various websites have reported that “activists have posted a memo allegedly by the Government of Eritrea asking men to marry at least two wives due to acute shortage of men occasioned by casualties during the civil war with Ethiopia.” No sooner had the social media corridors received this news had memes sprouted all over with some men clearly saying the Eritrean visa was a prerequisite. The satirical story, which has been shared across Africa, has upset Eritrean officials. “Even a madman in Asmara would know that this story was not true,” an Eritrean official told the BBC. The hoax was first published online on a Kenyan news site called Crazy Monday. It has been trending on Twitter in Nigeria, and other countries, for several days with people sharing links to the Eritrea’s visa application documents.

On the right Here are some of the memes that went viral.

INSIDE

By Asrat Seyoum

The de facto state of Somaliland has opted to explore legal options to gain their long-awaited international recognition as an independent sovereign state which includes taking their case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the primary judicial body of the United Nations (UN) headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.

The court settles legal disputes submitted to it by states and provides advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. Somaliland’s

quest for recognition is a quarter-of-a-century old; and these days the government of the small nation looks to be tired of waiting for the international community to recognize it as sovereign state and have decided to push matter to the legal arena.

In his address to the joint session of parliament at the beginning of the year, President Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo told lawmakers in Somaliland that his administration was prepared to pursue legal remedies to his countries long-awaited international recognition. The Somalilanders believe that they have a good legal case and that it would benefit them to seek international legal arbitration.

The history of Somaliland is rather complicated. According to local elders, the nation has always been an independent entity in the Greater Somalia Region. For one, Somaliland or the British Somalia as it was once called was never a full colonial state for the British, they argue. They underscore that the country was under British protectorate, an arrangement where a dependent territory is granted, some degree of autonomy and independence to run its local affairs save foreign policy and international relation matters.

Regardless, the territory gained its independence in June 26, 1960 under the assumption that it will join the Italian Somalia to the South. Somaliland

preceded Italian Somalia in gaining independence. For brief stay, around 5 days, the territory existed as the state of Somaliland there by making the union with Somalia a union of two sovereign states. This appears to be the basis of Somaliland’s drive to explore the legal option since the territory has to establish that it is a state to even have the ICJ consider its request and the legal substance that is right to self-determine.

Saad Ali Shire (PhD), Foreign Minister of Somaliland, told The Reporter in an exclusive interview that his government has good legal case for

Somaliland to seek statehood via

legal arbitration

Somaliland... page 31

By Neamin Ashenafi

The Executive Council of the All-Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) has banned Abebaw Mehari, president of the party, and decided that the deputy president continue the day-to-day activities of the party on his behalf until the next general assembly. The deputy president, Enderyas Ero, chaired the Executive Council extraordinary meeting on Monday outside the office of the party in the absence of the president.

“Though members of the Executive Council repeatedly requested the president to call a general assembly to deliberate on the overall activities of the party and other major political issues, the president refused to do so and wanted to purge the members of the party who requested the calling of the general assembly,” Enderyas told

The Reporter.

“The major reason that forced us to reach this decision is the reluctant nature of the president to call a regular meeting of the general assembly, and hence decided unanimously to ban the president till the next general assembly, which is going to be held after six months,” the deputy president added.

He added that their decision is in accordance with the bylaws of the party and one-third of the Executive Council was part of the decision. “Though his term has expired and he has been banned, the president should deliver a full report as well both internal and external audit reports at the next general assembly meeting. The deputy president also stated that although the party had faced various challenges from the ruling party, the

challenge by very few individuals within the rank and file of the party is also another challenge.

It is to be recalled that the party had passed through similar problem on the eve of the 2015 general election when Mamushet Amare and Abebaw Mehari were in a stiff squabble by claiming the leadership of the party. That bickering had forced the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) to interfere.

According to the decision made by the NEBE, Abebaw Mehari was recognized, as the president of the party and took part in the 2015 election when the ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), won all the parliamentary seats.

Executive Council bans

AEUP president

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1012

HEADLINES

NEWS IN BRIEF

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AU leadership academy to be opened

in Addis Ababa

Japan pledges to provide USD 21.7

mln for drought affected Ethiopians

The Administration and Human Resources Management Directorate (AHRMD) of the African Union Commission (AUC) launched the African Union Leadership Academy project yesterday, 28th January, 2016 at the AU in Addis Ababa Ethiopia under the theme: Driving the Africa We Want.

The launch was attended by Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma (PhD), Chairperson of the Commission, Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, Ibrahim Mayaki (PhD), CEO of NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency, Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary of UN Economic Commission for Africa (PhD), AUC Commissioners, staff and invited guests.

The Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, in her opening remarks expressed gratitude towards directors, partners and the entire AUC team who foresaw the success of the launch of the AU leadership academy project.

She further went on to stress the goal of the academy which is to provide a systematic way of training towards the implementation of Agenda 2063. “This project lies at the heart of the priorities and flagship projects of Agenda 2063: The Africa we want” Dlamini Zuma said. (AU)

Japan has pledged to provide 21.7 million US dollars for people affected by drought in Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn held talks with Japanese, Italian and Chinese delegations here at his office.

Special advisor to Prime Minister of Japan and head of the delegation, Katsuyuki KAWAI, said his county will offer a 21.7 million US dollars support for Ethiopians affected by the drought.

Japan will deepen its support to Ethiopia in the areas of power development, policy dialogue and industrial parks, the advisor said. Efforts will also be made to boost Japanese investors’ participations in Ethiopia’s ample investment opportunities and growing economy, KAWAI added.

Prime Minister Hailemariam said the government would provide support for Japanese investors who are keen to invest in Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Hailemariam added Ethiopia will do all it can for the success of the Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) to be held in Kenya this in the summer of this year. (From News Agencies)

AU endorses... page 31

By Yohannes Anberbir

The African Union Executive Council on its meeting held on Friday endorsed the candidature of Ethiopian foreign minister Tedros Adhanom (PhD) for the post of WHO director general. Only Senegal voted against Tedros’s candidature while the rest member states represented in the executive council by their foreign ministers have voted for the Ethiopian minister to represent Africa as director general of the global organization WHO. According to reliable sources the AU heads of state summit that will kick off today in the Addis Ababa is expected to adopt the executive council endorsement of Tedros as a candidate

AU endorses Tedros Adhanom for

WHO top job

for WHO.

The election of the WHO director general is scheduled to be held in May 2017.

According to diplomatic sources, the US and the UK have revealed their support to Ethiopia and are going to vote for Tedros in the upcoming election. However, among the western powers, France is suspected to vote against Tedros.

The unexpected candidature of Tedros is a surprise for many Ethiopians who knows him with his successful achievement in the health sector while he was a health minister before joining the diplomacy sector three years ago

Tedros Adhanom (PhD)

By Asrat Seyoum

The draft directive that National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) circulated among commercial banks for feedback around the end of last week is seeking to bring about greater transparency in the foreign exchange trade and transaction activities by setting the priorities and instituting “first come, first served” rule which should be adhered to by banks when allocating hard currency to their customers.

The major departure point in the draft directive was the institution of the “first come, first served” rule while allocating foreign exchange to bank customers.

According to an industry player, although many banks prioritize forex request based on first come, first served rule, the practice of offering special treatment for high-value customers and exporters is widespread in the banking sector. “High-value customers are always prioritized by banks in their forex allocation and this would greatly even the playing field for forex trade industry,” he told The Reporter. However, the draft directive also states that apart from fairness in processing forex requests, banks should also observe certain priorities while apportioning their forex resources among their clients. Priority number

one, according to the draft directive, is fuel. Fuel and fertilizer imports make up a line of priorities in forex allocation followed by pharmaceuticals, machineries, raw materials, spare-parts and the like. Apart from that, payments are approved by NBE such as loan, interet, profit, dividend and excess sales of foreign airlines and salary transfer of foreign employees. According to the banking professional who doesn’t want to be named, banks should first exercise the sector priorities before allocating their hard currency to customers on the basis of ‘whoever comes first’.

Directive targets

transparency in forex trade

Directive targets.... page 31 Delonex Energy.... page 31

A new UK-based company, Delonex Energy Limited, has launched an oil exploration project in the Ogaden basin, south-east Ethiopia. sources at the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas told The Reporter that Delonex Energy is currently collecting seismic data from its exploration blocks in the Ogaden basin. Sources said the company has already acquired seismic data on more than 1000 km line. According to sources, based on the seismic data the company would identify drilling sites. The company hopes to drill at least two oil exploration wells in its concession.

Officials of the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas told The Reporter that they are happy with the progress Delonex is making on the oil exploration project.

Delonex Energy is an oil and gas exploration company focused on Sub Saharan Africa. In August 2014, the then Ministry of Mines awarded Delonex an exploration license in the Ogaden basin. The license area covers blocks 18, 19, and 21 located in the Abred-Ferfer area with a total area of 29, 865 sq km. The license covers an initial exploration period of three years with a provision for two extensions of two years each. The exploration areas were previously held by Pexco Explorations (East Africa), a Malaysian oil and gas company whose exploration license was terminated in July 2013.

Delonex Energy said it is leveraging its technical expertise, proven project execution skills and strong balance sheet to fast-track the exploration and

Delonex Energy

launches oil

exploration

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1012

HEADLINES

|

5 US funded new outpatient center opens at

Gondar University

Eritrean rebels raid military base, kill

intelligence agents

The US government, through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), handed over a newly built comprehensive outpatient facility that improves the quality of comprehensive outpatient services and education at Gondar University.

The United States has provided 9.1 million US dollars through the US President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for the construction of the new facility.

The facility, which was inaugurated by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn and US Ambassador to Ethiopia Patricia Haslach in July 2014, is a new Comprehensive Outpatient Center (COC) located at the Gondar University Hospital.

Dr. Jeff Hanson, Director of the CDC program in Ethiopia, said, “This newly constructed building will allow Gondar University Hospital to offer more comprehensive and integrated HIV clinical services and create a conducive environment for clinical teaching.”

He added that PEPFAR’s investment on infrastructure development at the national level has brought a significant improvement in the quality of HIV treatment and care services and diagnostic capacities. (Press Release)

An Eritrean rebel group known as the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) claimed on Thursday that it killed six government intelligence agents in an early morning strike on forces loyal to President Isaias Afeworki.

The rebel group’s leader, Ibrahim Haron told Sudan Tribune that the attack was carried out against a military garrison within the northern Red Sea region.

Ibrahim, the commander in chief of the RSADO forces, said the military camp belonged to the 15th sub-division’s third battalion intelligence unit. He said many other intelligence personnel were allegedly also wounded during the strike and various types of military hardware were captured. “Our gallant forces have completely destroyed the military camp”, said Ibrahim. After the “surprise” attack, the rebel leader claimed the remaining dozens of Eritrean soldiers “went in disarray leaving behind their weapons”.

The latest assault was reportedly in retaliation to the 15th sub-division intelligence unit’s different forms of oppression against ethnic Afar minorities residing around Alhan area. (Sudan Tribune)

New TV channel .... page 31

By Birhanu Fikade

The newly-established Kana Television

is set to introduce new features in the Ethiopian entertainment and broadcast industry by way of hosting standardized dubbing and production techniques. Zeresenay Berhane Mehari – known for his award-winning feature film

Difret – and Elias Schulze, an American entrepreneur, are among the co-founders of Kana TV. The duo gave a rare access to their six studios to reporters on Wednesday. Stationed near the residence of the Embassy of Japan, off Africa Avenue, Kana TV is said to broadcast contents only in local languages.

Planned to launch broadcasting in March Kana TV is geared to channel eight shows for twenty-four hours out of which time, five hours of fresh production are to be channeled, both Zeresenay and Schulze explained. Music and other entertainment contents will also be considered. Hence, Kana TV, as an international entity, is to be compared to the likes of MBC, Dubai One or National Geographic channels.

New TV channel to revolutionize

entertainment industry

By Yonas Abiye

The unexpected series of earthquakes that has rocked the town of Hawassa, 275km South of Addis Ababa, has tormented residents of the town and forced the closure of Hawassa University for not less than two weeks. The earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 on the Richter scale hit Hawassa and its environs first on Sunday 24 January 2016 around 9:33 local time. The earthquake happened 20km far from Hawassa in the south-west direction and some towns located in the surrounding of Hawassa.

Although no loss of life was reported so far, around 100 students sustained mild injuries which in turn forced the university administration to suspend regular classes and close down the facility at least for two weeks. Earlier this week, Yosef Mamo (Prof.), President of Hawassa University, told The Reporter that when the first incident took place, many students were inside the library preparing for their first semester finals, which was scheduled for Monday January 25. That contributed to most of the damages on the students, according to the president; there was a stampede in the library when panic broke out among students who were attempting to leave. Some even tried to jump out the window, Yosef said.

In another shocking incident, five students of Hawassa University, who

The President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu (PhD), is visiting Ethiopia.

Accompanied by Zaid Woldegebreil, Ethiopia’s permanent representative at the ICAO, and ICAO’s regional directors Barry Kashambo, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Mam Sait Jallow, Western and Central Africa, Aliu arrived in

Addis Ababa last Tuesday to attend the African Union Summit.

On Tuesday, Aliu visited the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA), the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) and Ethiopian Airlines. The ICAO delegation visited the training center of ECAA and officials of ECAA made a briefing about the authority’s effort in ensuring safe and reliable air transport in Ethiopia. The officials explained how the authority was cooperating with neighboring and other African

countries in the areas of training and information sharing.

The delegation visited the headquarters of the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) and the massive expansion project the enterprise is undertaking at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Officials of EAE made a presentation about the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport passenger

Series of

earthquakes

traumatize

Hawassa

Incidence led to closure of the

university

Series of earthquakes.... page 32 ICAO president... page 32

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1012

IN-DEPTH

Ð

The Ethiopian government

has embarked on the

implementation of the

country’s development

roadmap – the

second Growth and

Transformation Plan

(GTP-II). Like all policy

documents the GTP-II

identi

À

es the pros and

cons of the

À

rst phase of

the GTP claiming that

the groundwork has

been

À

nali

]

ed and the

road has been paved for

the next

À

ve years.

1 ow

strong emphases have

been given to ensuring

good governance,

À

ghting

rent-seeking behavior

and corruption. This is

considered by some as

a mountain too steep to

climb, writes

Solomon

Goshu.

“Unless there is a strategic leadership

capacity for implementation, having the

policies right does not lead anywhere. We

already have the right policies but we are

still a long way from having the required

strategic leadership capacity in place.”

GTP-I made efforts to weaken rent-seeking and

reali

]

e developmental political economy so as to

achieve the developmental and good governance

goals. Priority was given to works that increase

the capacity building of the government political

leadership, civil service, and justice sector.

“We need to

develop the

culture of

enforcing our

rights.”

“If there is a governmental system that

should qualify as a state (under any definition) in sub-Saharan Africa, it is Ethiopia. It has both the history and ambition to rank as a state. The Ethiopian state, however, tends to diminish on close approach. For every assertion about the continuity, legitimacy and order of Ethiopian governance, there is a counter-claim.”

These are words of Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and a Research Professor at The Fletcher School. Considered one of the foremost experts on Sudan and the Horn of Africa, Alex de Waal is also a keen observant of the Ethiopian state. He devoted a chapter on Ethiopia in his latest book The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power. As Alex de Waal rightly expresses it, claims and counter-claims are the main characteristics of the Ethiopian political life. Recently, Transparency International, an international non-governmental organization working on corruption, released its 2015 Corruption Perception Index which places Ethiopia in 103 out of 168 countries. For a government that prides itself representing the best interests of the great majority of the citizens, the stand is not good by any account. Back in 2012, the World Bank report indicated that even if the perception is high, the level of corruption in the country is not that big. This is just another indication that despite all efforts of the government, public trust and confidence is waning in the country. The Ethiopian developmental state model as articulated well through the writings of the late Meles Zenawi highlights ways of maximizing growth and minimizing abuse of power and corruption. Alex de Waal being one of his closest friends, this is what he has said about the challenge of Meles’s growth model. “Ultimately, Meles’s democratic developmentalism was more personal than a collective exercise, and the outcome was intellectually rigorous but organizationally dysfunctional. Everyday governmental issues were neglected. Meles’s challenge was the practice.” For Alex de Waal, while Meles and his closest associates were obsessed with developmentalism, other Ethiopians were not. The project for a developmental state was not becoming hegemonic and Meles knew it, he writes. Alex de Waal also quotes a memorandum Meles had written three months before his death. It reads: “Unless there is a strategic leadership

Proposals on democracy

and good governance

capacity for implementation, having the policies right does not lead anywhere. We already have the right policies but we are still a long way from having the required strategic leadership capacity in place.” Alex de Waal said that Meles frankly identified the party leadership as the strategic weakness of the project. While admitting the fact that members of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) leadership in general have a modest life-style and have devoted their efforts to the interests of the party and the nation, Alex de Waal expresses his concern on the expansion of corrupt practices to the highest order. “The immediate challenge for Ethiopia is the nature of competition within the political leadership of EPRDF and the security services and the army. Control over state rents is distributed among this elite, whose members have the power to appropriate those rents for personal enrichment, for factional political budgets, or for both. Domestically, this system is sufficiently entrenched that it can deter new entrants,” he states.

Alex de Waal is not alone in fearing that corruption is risking the health of the country. Many Ethiopians believe that the few innocent and committed servants are swallowed by corrupt and incapable ones in the bureaucracy. They are not also demonstrating their confidence on the justice system as they are doubtful if the corrupt and faulty parties are being held accountable when found themselves at the wrong end of the game. On the other hand, the government is saying that it is strengthening transparency and accountability focusing on registration of property of government officials, and giving special attention to corruption prone areas such as procurement, revenue collection, financial administration and others.

This seems to imply that on the most important aspects of governance the public and the government are not on the same boat. Then again, the government insists that national consensus on the core values are in the making. The second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II) reads: “National consensus has been created on the basic principles of the Constitutional order, on the implementation of the vision of anti-poverty struggle and realizing accelerated development, on ensuring sustainable peace, on the firm commitment of respecting diversity, on the initial results of the road to renaissance, on the changes of the image of the country,

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

Vol. XX No. 1012

|

7

and results on education, health, and infrastructure.” Moreover, GTP-II also provides the detailed roadmap to address key issues on democracy and good governance including corruption.

Another EPRDF rhetoric or a genuine promise?

After the first phase of the GTP-I is completed in 2015, Ethiopia has recently started to implement GTP-II as it was endorsed by the House of Peoples Representatives. It is the vision of Ethiopia that by 2025 it would be a country where civil and democratic rights are respected, rule of law and good governance are ensured, citizens’ safety and security is guaranteed and the society is ethical and free from corruption. Thus, one can safely assume that there will be GTP-III after 5 years. For now, the focus is on the major plans of the GTP-II on democracy and good governance. Just like the previous one, the Plan incorporates the ideals of democracy. However, the issue is particularly treated in the context of good governance. As per this plan, actions will be taken to ensuring good governance, strengthening system of transparency and accountability and combating corruption and rent-seeking through enhanced capacity of the civil service and citizen engagement at all levels of Government administration. The foundation for these activities is already done in the last five years through GTP-I, the document reads.

This foundation is assessed in terms of capacity building, developmental good governance, democracy, and public participation. The encouraging results and achievements in these areas is hoped to roll GTP-II in a much better grounds.

In the context of implementing capacity building, GTP-I made efforts to weaken rent-seeking and realize developmental political economy so as to achieve the developmental and good governance goals. Priority was given to works that increase the capacity building of the government political leadership, civil service, and justice sector through short and medium term trainings, and new recruits. Attempts were also made to raise developmental capacity of the public including farmers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the private sector. Efforts were exerted to make the operation of the government open and transparent, and accountable. Organized public mobilization and participation on rural areas was successful. The documents states that, in the last five years, the encouraging results on social and economic fields show that the capacity of the government and the public is consolidated. However, it concedes that a lot still needs to be done.

Similarly, the government also admits that even if the level of public participation and mobilization is encouraging, serious challenges have been observed in delivering government

services in an open, accountable and fair manner. Particularly, gaps in good governance on land administration and justice sector were serious. Moreover, rent-seeking political economy were rampant on customs and tax administration system, land administration system, government budget and procurement administration system, the market system,

infrastructure supply and service delivery.

It is also the assessment of the government that in GTP-I, to strengthen Ethiopia’s efforts of building the democratic system, activities related with public participation, multi-party system, national consensus and capacity of the media, have been performed. In the process, different forums that have enhanced the direct participation of the public organized. The public also participated in local, regional and general elections to help establish councils at different levels. The document also indicates that the role of Parliament, Ombudsman, Human Rights Commission and Auditor General improved. Participations of different sections of the society, mass and professional associations such as women and youth organizations, academics, and the private sector, encouraged. Activities of different charities and societies supported. The creation of national consensus, the emergence of mass and professional

associations, the existence of over 70 legally registered opposition parties, discussions on national issues with willing opposition, building the capacity and accessibility of the media through human resource development, legal framework, organization, new technologies and working procedures are all mentioned as some of the activities performed by the government to strengthen the democratic system in the country.

In light of this background, GTP-II focus areas have not been changed. The main assumption of GTP-II is the fact that in the urban areas, rent-seeking political economy is still dominant. Thus, the plan is, at the end of the next five years, to eradicate rent-seeking from its source. Capacity building program, active public participation on developmental and political affairs, and strengthening the works of Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission are identified as the key strategies to achieve the goal.

Major goals of GTP-II includes building developmental and efficient political leadership and bureaucracy,making the public the owner of the development by consolidating its capacity, realizing good governance, making the justice system efficient and free from corruption and discrimination, and consolidating the democratic system.

IN-DEPTH

However, many are pessimistic if the government in

power is human rights friendly. Local and foreign

commentators contend that concrete measures have

not been taken to consolidate democracy in the country

except using the concept as rhetoric when it suits the

purposes of the ruling party.

However, even in this encouraging context,

the issue of ensuring the fair distribution

of the wealth created as an outcome of the

development project is mentioned as a

challenge. Despite high rate of economic

growth, who are the bene

À

ciaries of this

economic growth is questionable.

Proposals.... page 9

Alex de Waal Yibekal Gizaw

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Vol. XX No. 1012

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The Reporter, Saturday, January 30, 2016

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CONT`D FROM PAGE 7

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The plan promises citizens to work on corruption and rent-seeking as they are the major dangers of the transformation process. Building the capacity of the political leadership and the bureaucracywillbeperformed mainly through merit-based appointment and recruitment.

Making the civil service to be a reflection of the diversity in the country by representing all sections of the society particularly the youth and women is given a priority. Implementing citizens’ charter to ensure transparent and accountable government operation and ensuring public satisfaction and credibility is another priority area.

At the center of GTP-II, one finds public participation and good governance. It asserts that building sustainable democratic system is only possible when putting the public at the center. The assumption is if the attitude of the public towards rent-seeking, backward and anti-development thinking is shaped in line with the grand policies, the wishes of the public will dictate over governance as opposed to the whims and caprices of the office holders. The government promises to give special attention to address the good governance question of the public. Special mechanisms will be designed to supervise and oversee land administration, tax and customs administration, government finance and procurement administration, and

market competition system. Here again, public mobilization and transparency and accountability in government decision-making are identified as a means to tackle the problem. Consolidating the democratic system and democratic institutions, including the HPR, HoF, different lower level councils, National Election Board, Institute of the Ombudsman, Auditor General, is yet another focus area for GTP-II. In this context, increasing the institutional quality of government institutions (efficiency and effectiveness) and ensure institutional sustainability, strengthening democratic institutions through capacity building in information management, access and participation, taking actions to strengthen the parliamentary system of the Government, such as the House of Peoples Representative and House of Federation through training, are all parts of the plan. These democratic institutions and schools are also expected to play a key role to consolidate the democratic culture of the public.

Generally, it is the proposal of GTP-II to organize continued public consultations on good governance issues, to strengthen the role of civil societies and other stakeholders in ensuring good governance, supporting mass-based societies to ensure the benefits of their members, working for women economic empowerment and ensuring

their participation in the civil service and other areas, to build the capacity of media broadcast and communication for national consensus building on constitutional principles, national poverty eradication agenda, the national vision of becoming a middle income economy by 2025, national image building, the ongoing success of Ethiopia’s renaissance and respect for diversity.

At least in theory, the Ethiopian governance model upholds the ideals of democracy. According to official government reports and party reports, the government of Ethiopia is determined to accelerate and maintain development while strengthening its democratic agenda. The ruling party ideologue the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi once argued that democracy is so important that if the price to be paid for having it is a limited reduction in growth, it is not too much of a price. The reading of the FDRE Constitution also implies that governance in Ethiopia is not devoid of democracy in general and freedom of expression in particular. As a result, it is normal to expect an environment of governance in Ethiopia where the civil society, the current government, the various opposition groups, and the population in general advance their enlightened self-interests. Moreover, independent scholars, civil society, and opposition groups can discharge their responsibilities by providing critical

input and offer alternative suggestions on important matters of public policy including development in Ethiopia using such a forum.

Despite constitutional safeguards, some argue that the democratization process has a high ingredient of rhetoric not backed by practice. For EPRDF, democracy is a tool to reach development, rather than an objective in itself. For EPRDF, democracy is a key instrument in promoting the struggle of putting in place the developmental political economy, and removing the rent-seeking political economy. As a result, the ruling party is accused of imprisoning the leaders and supporters of the opposition, and cracked down on pro-democracy militants, the press, and human-rights activists in the past two decades. Maimire Mennasemay (PhD) argues that if democracy is the way for extricating Ethiopians from the present abyss, then one must take democracy seriously-which means going beyond the ritual of elections and tackling the political, social, and economic totality of the Ethiopian experience of destitution.

For the government of Ethiopia, every culture will have its distinctive ways of formulating and supporting human rights and democracy and that is exactly what the country is doing. In relation to the issue, Arkebe Okubay (PhD), in his book Industrial Policy in Ethiopia states: “There seems to be disagreement among external observers about whether, for instance, the ruling coalition is really in favor of