What’s dragging Ethiopia’s democratic governance?

One of the most enduring features of the political system run by the ruling party in Ethiopia is the chronic problem of good governance. The rhetoric to achieve good governance in numerous variables has failed to match the reality on the ground.
When the EPRDF regime took power in 1991, it adopted different legal reforms essential to realize good governance. These reforms included, but not limited to, the participation of opposition parties in the political discourse, the introduction of independent media, and decentralization and adoption of the federal and parliamentary system of government. Furthermore, periodic general elections have taken place for four times in the past (1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010). From formal perspectives, it seems Ethiopia is an emerging democracy and departing from its authoritarian past. Impressed by such rhetoric, many international organizations such as Freedom House and most western states (at least until recently) referred to the country as an ‘emerging democracy’.
Nevertheless, the reality on the ground remains diametrically opposed from the formal rhetoric provided under official documents. In light of major variables of good governance such as legitimacy, accountability, transparency of government activities, and respect for the rule of law, the Ethiopian governance performance stays at a dismal bottom of almost every index even by some African countries’ standard known for their authoritarianism. According to the 2013 Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, Ethiopia ranked 33rd out of the 53 African countries surveyed. Ethiopia also ranked 111th out of 177 countries in Transparency International’s 2013 corruption index.

We Need freedom and Justice!

One too many to count
The factors that are dragging the progress of good governance in the country are structural and ideological in nature. First, what could be considered as one of the major structural problems is the absence of democratic culture in the country’s political history. The considerable part of the country’s political history had undergone through traditional feudal rule that was characterized by absolute loyalty that legitimized the exploitation of the poor. And in the last four decades the repressive political culture has been manifested under the banner of promoting the rights of nations and nationalities and ensuring socio-economic advancement through communist revolutionary polices. Despite the claim by both the communist Derg and the current regime of enjoying popular support, the old patriarchal top-down power relations have been systematically and firmly maintained in a harsh manner, if not harsher than it was during the imperial period.
The second is ideological - the adoption of leftist Marxist ideology into the country’s political discourse and its undeniable implications on the policies of the powers that be. As is known globally, it is an ideology strictly attached to undemocratic practices such as extreme loyalty to party discipline, restricting rights of citizens and economic freedoms, and the enriching of a few party elites who are more powerful than formal governmental institutions. In such controlled system of governance run by the few decision making process is secretive and there is total absence of effective mechanism to hold government officials accountable. At present, the ruling party in Ethiopia is governing the country in asoviet-style system of democratic centralism that continues to seriously undermine the progress of democratic institutions.

Oromo-American Citizens Council (OACC) on Amnesty’s “Because I Am Oromo”

Oromo-American Citizens Council (OACC) is a Minnesota based, non-profit organization set up, among others, to expose human rights violations against the Oromo people and influence the policy of the U.S. towards Ethiopia. Minnesota is a state with the highest population of Oromos outside Africa.

OACC collaborated with the Advocates for Human Rights in the 96-page report issued in 2009 under the title, “Human Rights in Ethiopia: Through the Eyes of The Oromo Diaspora.” That Report documented the experiences Oromos in Diaspora faced when they lived in Ethiopia. In May 2005, theHuman Rights Watch also issued a report entitled, “Suppressing Dissent: Human rights Abuses and Political Repression in Ethiopia’s Oromia Region.” This report, for the first time, exposed the mechanisms used the Ethiopian government to control rural communities in Oromia through theGott and Garee Systems. Furthermore, the periodic U.S. State Department’s own annual reports have documented rampant human rights violations against the Oromos over the years.

Amnesty International’s report, ETHIOPIA: BECAUSE I AM OROMO: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA REGION OF ETHIOPIA, is the most researched and the most comprehensive report ever conducted about human rights violation against the Oromos. The vivid descriptions of tortures conducted against Oromos, the long imprisonment without trial, the murders by security forces, the harsh actions taken against peaceful protests are all well documented with irrefutable evidences. The report further disclosed that any act of Oromo nationalism that is not controlled by the government, such as the Oromo language and the culture development movement, results in detentions and tortures. For that, we want to take this opportunity and congratulate and thank Amnesty International.

Amnesty report,,,Because i am Oromo part 7 OROMO ARTISTS AND OTHERS CELEBRATING OROMO CULTURE

Under Ethiopian and international law everyone has the right to enjoy, develop and promote
their own culture and therefore no-one may be arrested for the expression of their cultural
identity.107
Nevertheless, hundreds of people have been arrested in recent years because of their
involvement in expressions of Oromo culture. The government has exhibited hostility to
displays of Oromo cultural heritage. Oromo artists, including writers and singers, have been
harassed, arrested and tortured. In a number of incidents, the government has shown signs of
equating Oromo cultural expression with anti-government sentiment and fearing cultural
expression as a potential catalyst for political opposition to the government. A former student
told Amnesty International:
“If you talk about your rights, culture and identity as an Oromo, you
must be a supporter of OLF.”108
More than 10 people interviewed by Amnesty International said they had been arrested for
some form of cultural expression, in addition to students interviewed by Amnesty
International who were harassed or arrested for their involvement with student cultural
societies, as documented above. The organization also received information from a number of
sources about large numbers of arrests at Oromo traditional festivals and several other cases
of singers and artists arrested since 2011.

More than 200 people were reported to have been arrested at the 2012 celebration of the
traditional festival of Irreecha, celebrated in Debre Zeit (which the Oromo call Bishoftu).
Some were reportedly arrested in several locations including Guder, Ambo and Shashemene
on 29 September 2012 as they were on their way to the festival and further arrests were
reported to have taken place at the festival itself on 30 September 2012. Some of those
arrested were reportedly transferred to Maikelawi. Reported reasons for arrests included
wearing clothes in colours considered as symbols of Oromo resistance – red and green – or
alleged chanting of political slogans during the festival.
Several people reported to Amnesty International they had been arrested because of their
participation in or promotion of the Oromo traditional religion Waaqeffannaa or the traditional
governance system of Gadaa. Over 150 people were reportedly arrested on 23 August 2011,
after the ceremony in the Gadaa tradition when leadership is handed over to the next
generation. One of those arrested, a young man who had been a student at Adama University,
told Amnesty International he had been travelling around the region to document the
ceremony but was arrested on the accusation he had being trying to incite people to rebel
against the government. He was arrested and transferred to Maikelawi, along with six other
Adama University students who belonged to the same cultural society. In Maikelawi, he
encountered 20 other students from Adama University arrested over the same period of a few
days.109
In addition to those arrested for wearing green and red clothing at the 2012 celebration of
Irreechaa, other people have been arrested for wearing or selling Oromo traditional clothing:
“There was a public holiday and some students wore their traditional
clothes to express their culture. The authorities said that we were
expressing a political opinion. Eleven of us were arrested and detained
at the police station for five days, beaten and interrogated. They asked
us which political organization was behind us, who we were supporting.
They said I was opposing the government and was inciting the other
students against the government.”110
Amnesty International interviewed five Oromo artists – singers and writers – who were
subjected to harassment, arrest and torture. The organization also received information from
other sources about the cases of two other singers. Writing or singing about Oromo history,
including the perception of a history of oppression many Oromos hold, or expressing criticism
of the government’s treatment of Oromos, are met with hostility by the government as
expressions of dissent and perceived to have the intention of inciting others against the
government.

Without energy could Africa’s growth run out of steam?

Despite vast natural reserves, the average African accesses less electricity than is needed to power a 50-watt light bulb.

The transformation – and the profits – that could come from ‘powering Africa’ have caught the imagination of the donor community, private investors and African governments alike.

After all, Africa’s energy sources are many and diverse. From natural gas to coal, renewables or even diesel, there are more than sufficient local sources to meet the continent’s needs.

And as the continent experiences the kind of economic growth that G7 nations like France and Germany can only dream about, to fully realise its growth potential Africa needs energy much more of it – and the infrastructure to ensure that it is delivered affordably, safely and consistently to households as well as industry.

At the moment, however, the infrastructure is not fit-for-purpose. “Across Africa investors joke about living in a ‘bring-your-own-infrastructure’ continent,” says an article in the Economist. “Firms must provide independent generators, water purification and even sewage treatment when building a factory or hotel. Of these the costliest is often power.”

And the amount of power generated also falls woefully short of what is needed. The 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa (with a total population of 800 million) generated 90GW in 2012; that’s roughly the same amount of power as Spain, a country of 45 million. Two-thirds of the sub-Saharan population live with electricity, and the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Africa Outlook reports that “electricity consumption per capita is, on average, less than that needed to power a 50-watt light bulb continuously.”

The social and economic costs of these failures are high. Introducing its Africa report last month, IEA’s executive director, Maria van der Hoven said: “A major crisis continues within our global system; it’s an energy poverty crisis. At [its] epicentre is sub-Saharan Africa.”

Advertisement

But now that may all be about to change. A 2010 report (pdf) from the African Development Bank states: “The pipeline of clean energy projects is long and growing – hydro, wind, solar, even geothermal. All sources of energy have to be tapped, doing it right of course, ensuring all safeguards, social and environmental are respected.” And in 2013, the US became the highest profile donor partner, when President Barack Obama unveiled the Power Africa project that aims to “double the number of people with access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.”

ያጣነውን መብትና ነጻነታችንን በእጃችን ለማስገባት ዛሬውኑ እንነሳ

በዳንኤል ታደሰ*

ሃገራችንና ወገኖቻችን ለኢኮኖሚና ማሕበራዊ ችግሮች ከመጋለጥ አልፈው አደገኛ አጣብቂኝ ውስጥ ናቸው፡፡ ለሕዝቡና ለሀገሪቱ ጥቅም የሚቆም ብቃት ያለው አስተዳደር የለም፡፡ ህግ አለ፣ ህገ መንግስት አለ፣ ቢባልም ተገቢ ያልሆኑና ከሕገ-መንግሥቱ ጋር የሚቃረኑ አፋኝ፣ አስደንጋጭ እና ኢሰብአዊ ሕጐችና ደንቦች በተከታታይ ይወጣሉ፡፡ እነኚህም ሕዝቡን በተደራራቢነት እያስጨነቁት ይገኛሉ፡፡ ህጐችና ደንቦች ሲወጡ ሕዝብ መወያየትና መምከር ሲገባው፣ ውይይት ሳይደረግባቸው በዘፈቀደ እና ባልሰለጠኑ የመንግስት ካድሬዎች ተግባራዊ ሲሆኑ ይታያል፡፡

የወጡና የፀደቁ ሕጐች ላይም ሆነ በአፈፃፀም ላይ ችግሮች ሲፈጠሩ ማየት የሚኖርበት ፍርድ ቤት ነበር፤ ነገር ግን በሚወጡ ሕጐች የፍ/ቤት ሥልጣን ተነጥቆ ለኤጀንሲዎችና ለባለስልጣናት እንዲሁም ለሌሎች ባልበሰሉ ካድሬዎች ለተሞሉ መስሪያ ቤቶች እንዲሰጥ ተደርጓል፡፡ ከዚህ አኳያ ስናይ ሕገ-መንግሥታዊ ሥርዓት ህዝባችን አግኝቷል ወይ? የሚል ጥያቄን አስነስቶ ከመሰላቸታችን የተነሳ በኢትዮጵያ ሕግና መንግስት እንደሌለ ለማንም ግልጽ ነው።

ባለፉት 23 ዓመታት የኦሮሞ ነፃነት ግንባር (ኦነግ) አባላት ናችሁ በሚል እጅግ በጣም ብዙ ኦሮሞዎች ታስረዋል፣ ተሰደዋል ወይም ተገድለዋል። ይህ ሁኔታ አሁንም በሰፊው ቀጥሏል። የአሁኑን ለየት የሚያደርገው ክሱ “ራሱን ኦነግ ብሎ ከሚጠራው ‘አሸባሪ’ ድርጅት ውስጥ አባል በመሆን …” ወደሚል በመቀየሩ ለነጻነታችን የምናደርገውን ትግል ሲያጣጥለው ይታያል።

ቀደም ብሎ በመሰረቱት ክሶች ደልዴሳ ዋቆ ጃርሶ፥ ገልገሎ ጉዮ ቦሩ እና ዋርዮ ጣጤሳ ጉዮ የተባሉ ግለሰቦች የኦነግ አባል በመሆናቸው ‘የሽብርተኝነት ድርጊቶችን’ ሲፈፅሙ ይዣቸዋለሁ’ በማለት የፀረ-ሽብርተኝነት ሕጉን በመጥቀስ ክስ መስርቷል። በተመሳሳይ ሁኔታ የፌደራል ዓቃቢ ሕግ ባቀረበው ‘የሽብር ወንጀል’ ክስ የድሬዳዋ ዩኒቨርስቲ ተማሪዎች የነበሩት አብዲ ከማል የሱፍና ቶፊቅ ረሽድ ዩያ ‘የአሸባሪው’ ድርጅት የኦነግ አባላት በመሆን የሽብር ተግባራትን ልትፈፅሙ ስትሉ ተይዛችኋል’ ተብለው የፀረ-ሽብርተኝነት ሕጉ አንቀፅ ተጠቅሶባቸው ክሳቸውን

ኤሌክትሪክ በየሰዓቱ ይጠፋል “የእጃችንን አገኘን” -10 ቢ.ብር ሲባክን ዝም ብለናል

15 ቢ. ብር የፈጁትን የነፋስ ተርባይኖች፤ በ5 ቢ.ብር የውሃ ግድብ መተካት ይቻላል
ከ10 ቢ. ብር በላይ ሃብት በከንቱ ባከነ፤ እንደ ዘበት በነፋስ ተወሰደ ማለት ነው
በረሃብተኛ ድሃ አገር፣ ይሄ ሁሉ ብክነት እብደት ነው? ወንጀል ነው? ወይስ ምን?
ግን፤ ወይ ነገሬ አላልነውም፤ ወይ አብረን አጨብጭበናል፤ ወይ በዝምታ ፈቅደናል
የግድብ ግንባታን የሚቃወሙ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ቡድኖች፣ መጫወቻቸው አድርገውናል
ጠ/ሚ መለስ ዜናዊ፤ የአካባቢ ጥበቃ ቡድኖችን፤ “የድህነት ጠበቃ” ብለዋቸው ነበር

አገር    አመት    የነፋስ ተርባይኖች አቅም (ሺሜዋ)    በአመት ያመነጩት ሃይል (ሺ ጊዋሃ)    የተርባይኖቹ ብቃት
ጀርመን    2005    31    50    18%
ፈረንሳይ    2005    7.6    15    22%
ፖላንድ    2005    2.5    5.6    25%
ብሪታኒያ    2005    8.7    19    25%
ስፔን    2005    23    49    24%
ጣሊያን    2005    8    13.6    19%
አሜሪካ    2001    4    6.7    19%

በውሃ ግድብ የኤሌክትሪክ ሃይል የሚያመነጩ ጣቢያዎች ብቃትስ?    ከ40 – 50%
መንግስት ባለፈው ወር የተፈራረመውን ውል ጨምሮ፣ በነፋስ ተርባይን ኤሌክትሪክ የሚያመነጩ ሶስት ጣቢያዎችን ለማቋቋም 770 ሚሊዮን ዶላር ገደማ ሃብት አፍስሷል። ቀላል ገንዘብ አይደለም። ከ15.4 ቢሊዮን ብር በላይ ነው። የሶስቱ ጣቢያዎች ኤሌክትሪክ የማመንጨት አቅም ተደማምሮ ስንት እንደሆነ ደግሞ ተመልከቱ - 325 ሜጋዋት ብቻ ነው። በቃ፡፡ እና …ለዚህ ነው ያ ሁሉ ገንዘብ እየፈሰሰ ያለው? በገንዘብ መጫወት ይሉሃል፣ ይሄ ነው። 

ለንፅፅር ያህል የህዳሴ ግድብ፤ ከነፋስ ተርባይኖቹ ጋር የሚመጣጠን የማመንጨት “አቅም” ለመፍጠር ምን ያህል ገንዘብ እንደሚፈጅበት ማስላት እንችላለን። ከግልገል ጊቤ ጣቢያዎች ጋር፣ አልያም ከተከዜ ወይም ከጣና በለስ ግድቦች ጋርም ማነፃፀር ይቻላል። የግድቦቹ አማካይ የግንባታ ወጪ፣ ዝቅተኛ ነው፡፡ ለአንድ ሜጋዋት 1.2 ሚሊዮን ዶላር አይደርስም። በዚህ ሂሳብ፣ ባለ 325 ሜጋዋት ማመንጫ ግድብ ለመገንባት፣ ቢበዛ ቢበዛ በአማካይ 390 ሚሊዮን ዶላር ቢፈጅ ነው (ማለትም፣ ከስምንት ቢሊዮን ብር በታች)። ለነፋስ ተርባይ ሲሆን ግን፣ ከ15 ቢሊዮን ብር በላይ! 
ታዲያ፤ በአነስተኛ ወጪ፣ ከውሃ ሃይል ኤሌክትሪክ የሚያመነጩ ግድቦችንና ጣቢያዎችን መገንባት እየተቻለ፣ ያ ሁሉ ገንዘብ ለምን በነፋስ ተርባይን ይባክናል? እንዴ! ከሰባት ቢሊዮን ብር የሚበልጥ ልዩነትኮ፣ በጣም በጣም ብዙ ነው። በየእለቱና በየሰዓቱ መብራት እየተቋረጠ ስራ የሚስተጓጎለው፣ ፋብሪካዎች የሚከስሩት፣ ጨለማ ውስጥ የምናድረው፤ የኤሌክትሪክ ማሰራጫና ማከፋፈያ ተቋማት በማርጀታቸውና በማነሳቸው ነው ተብሎ የለ! በከንቱ የሚባክነውን ገንዘብ፣ ለዚህ ለዚህ ማዋል ይቻል ነበር።

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ምርጫውን እንደማይታዘብ ታወቀ

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎችን በምርጫው ጉዳይ አነጋገረ

• ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩንም ምሽቱን ያነጋግራል ተብሎ ይጠበቃል

• ህብረቱ ምርጫውን አይታዘብም ተብሏል

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ልዑክ ህዳር 11/2007 ዓ.ም ሶስት የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች መሪዎችን ያነጋገረ ሲሆን፣ በኢህአዴግ በኩል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ኃይለማርያም ደሳለኝን ለማነጋገር ምሽቱን ቀጠሮ መያዙን ለማወቅ ተችሏል፡፡

በአውሮፓ ህብረት የልዑል መሪ ሻንታል ሔቤሬት የተመራው የልዑካን ቡድን የሰማያዊ ፓርቲና የ9ኙ ፓርቲዎች ትብብር ሊቀመንበር ኢንጅነር ይልቃል ጌትነትን፣ እንዲሁም የመኢአድና የመድረክን አመራሮች ማነጋገራቸው ታውቋል፡፡

የአውሮፓ ህብረት ሶስቱን ተቃዋሚ ፓርቲዎች ያነጋገረበት ዋነኛው አላማ ከምርጫ 2007 በፊት ያሉትን ችግሮች ለማወቅ የሚል ሲሆን በተቃዋሚዎቹ በኩል ያሉትን ችግሮች ለጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ እንደሚያቀርቡ ገልፀዋል፡፡

የሰማያዊና የ9ኙ ፓርቲዎች ትብብር ሊቀመንበር ኢ/ር ይልቃል የአውሮፓ ህብረት ላቀረበው ጥያቄ በርካታ ችግሮች መኖራቸውን በማመልከት፣ ‹‹የምርጫው ችግር ከአጠቃላይ የኢትዮጵያ ችግር የመነጨ ነው፡፡ በተለይ ከ1997 ዓ.ም በኋላ ሚዲያውን፣ ሲቪክ ተቋማቱንና ተቃዋሚዎችን ለማፈን መሳሪያ የሆኑ አዋጆች የአገሪቱን ፖለቲካ አበላሽተዋል፡፡ በምርጫው ላይ የተፈጠረው ችግር የዚህ ሁሉ ድምር ነው›› በማለት መሰረታዊ የአገሪቱ ችግሮች ካልተፈቱ ምርጫው ላይ የተደቀነው ችግርም ሊፈታ እንደማይችል እንደገለጹላቸው ለነገረ ኢትዮጵያ ገልጸዋል፡፡

በሌላ በኩል ከአሁን ቀደም የተደረጉትን ምርጫዎች የታዘበውና በምርጫዎች ሂደት ነበሩ የተባሉትን ችግሮች በሪፖርቱ በማካተት የሚታወቀው የአውሮፓ ህብረት ስለ ምርጫው ሁኔታ በቅርቡ ስላወቀና ቀድሞ ስላልተጋበዘ ምርጫውን እንደማይታዘብ የተቃወቀ ሲሆን በአንጻሩ የአፍሪካ