PM Abiy Ahmed Needs To Reconsider His Priorities

Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com

By Addissu Admas

It has been just a little over 8 years since PM Abiy Ahmed came to power. To say that many things have happened since would be an understatement. These past 8 years in fact can only be compared to the 8 years following the Revolution of 1974. They have indeed been as consequential. The question is, are we heading in the right direction? Are the priorities of the nation being addressed properly and in the right order? Or are we dealing with misplaced priorities? I contend here, as I have previously in this same forum, that the PM, who was chosen to lead the country in the right direction, appears to be lost in getting his priorities wrong. 

PM Abiy’s dedication to bettering the country is not here in question. What is in question is the way and the order in which he is dealing with our fundamental problems and concerns. A nation that has been constantly one step away from dire famine, and in fact maintains a dedicated agency for its prevention, is now in the process of building one of the largest palaces in the world covering some 503 hectares (15 gasha) of land and costing billions of US dollars. There is not a single good reason for such a palace to be built when we are one of the poorest countries in the world. Not only that, the Jubilee Palace, which was built by Atse Haile Selassie I, and which now has been incongruously turned into a museum, could have continued to serve as our State House more than adequately. Indeed, the whole Sheger City development and the Chaka National Palace projects are the most quixotic ventures ever conceived. They remind one of the mega-projects funded and realized by totalitarian autocrats. Thus, equally inopportune and vain. 

With some exception, the same can be said of PM Abiy’s massive demolitions of urban centers taking place right now especially in Addis Ababa, and is referred to as the Addis Ababa Corridor Project. That Addis Ababa needed substantial urban restructuring has never been in doubt. What most urban planners and concerned citizens have always lamented were rather the lack of a complete sewer system, public restrooms, reliable water and electrical systems. Since the overwhelming majority of the city’s inhabitants do not own cars, there has always been an acute need for spacious and well-built sidewalks. To be fair, the Project has delivered on this last item to a considerable extent. But much remains to be done. Unfortunately, it has also directed its focus and resources on very superficial and often unnecessary things that I believe could have been addressed after the completion of foundational infrastructures.

There has never been a time, except perhaps during the wars in Eritrea in the late seventies and early eighties, that the regular Ethiopian military has been this large. According to available resources, Ethiopia is currently employing more than half a million active military personnel and over 130 thousand reserve personnel. It may appear reasonable to criticize the government of Abiy Ahmed for using up so much human and financial resources. However, to be fair, in the current situation, can Ethiopia continue as a unitary state and function as such without the kind of military force we have? The question in fact is not or should not be why the ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Force) is so large, but what led to it becoming so large.

The answer is quite obvious and does not require much speculation. Since his ascent to power, the PM has sought to resolve most of his disagreements and conflicts not through compromise or dialogue but through intimidation and force. This has led to his creating more enemies than he could deal with at the same time. Had he chosen the peaceful way as he did initially with Eritrea, and for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he could have managed with a far smaller, but well-selected and well-trained defense force. As things stand, it is doubtful that the PM can stay one day longer in power without a vast and well-armed military and security force. It would have been far more practical, not to say economical or even virtuous, if the PM had continued to resolve his personal and political conflicts in the spirit of his evangelical faith. 

Eight years ago, Ethiopians from all walks of life were delirious with optimism about the future of the country. They believed very much that finally a new dawn was about to break over their country. They put all their trust in the new, young and charismatic leader to rectify all that had gone wrong in the previous few decades. They felt sure that their new leader would usher a time of democratic rule and prosperity. Alas, we are back to hoping again!

After initially emptying the prisons of protesters, dissidents and journalists, the Prime Minister is repopulating them with these same people. Let’s not forget that the PM has spent a good portion of his public service career as a security professional. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that it is second nature to him to continue to rely on the secrete service’s surveillance not only to exact compliance in the country, but most importantly to remain in power. This, instead of endearing him to the people, it has alienated him.

One could reasonably contend that the current economic downturn in Ethiopia is due mainly to the war of 2020-2022 against the TPLF. There is no question that this war has been a massive drain on Ethiopia’s resources. However, it is by no means the only cause of her current economic distress. The ill-advised economic actions taken by the PM have been no less damaging. Apart from the already mentioned unnecessary urban projects, he has made inadvisable compromises with the IMF and World Bank, which any economist worth his or her salt would have deemed damaging. Today Ethiopia is suffering the worst inflation of her history, increase in the rate of poverty, massive debts, etc.…It is doubtful that she will be able to solve all these problems in the foreseeable future. The Prime Minister has taken a huge gamble for very uncertain outcomes. And we may be here for a very long time!

If the Prime Minister is in any way concerned about his legacy beyond his tenure; if he is really filled with the desire to make Ethiopia a country that all her citizens can be proud of; if indeed Ethiopia is to remain united and peaceable, he needs to invest his energy and goodwill in the following foundational issues. 

The first order of the day is of course the restoration of peace by peaceful means in the country. No amount of military force can ever guarantee peace. This means, PM Abiy must use diplomacy, dialogue and the assistance of the African Union to end ALL conflicts that are being waged in Ethiopia today or appear to break out soon. This may or may not involve the so-called “Ethiopian Reconciliation Commission”, which in its more than seven years of existence has still to show what it has accomplished. However, the fact remains that Ethiopia cannot and should not remain united by military force, but by the general will of her citizens. Only a unity achieved through mutual agreement has any chance of preserving the country as a unitary state. When this is hopefully achieved, the PM could focus in short order on the second important issue: institutional strengthening. 

To be exact, the question is not about creating democratic and republican institutions. They already exist, but nominally so. This has indeed been the case since Atse Haile Selassie I. Whether we are speaking of our past or present legislative or judiciary branches of government, it is doubtful that they have ever enacted a single law of some consequence or adjudged a case of some relevance without the interference and involvement of the executive in chief. In other words, all decisions emanate from the Man at the Top, as they did during all the previous regimes. And these two branches of government are quite simply executors of the will of the Chief Executive rather than being co-equal and balancing bodies of government with their own designated powers. We in Ethiopia have never known or experienced how democracy functions. Perhaps what is even worse is that we continue to hope that someday an enlightened leader will emerge to rectify everything for us, to give us democracy. We need to realize, once and for all, that no salvation comes from one person. This is an illusion we need to bury. What we must realize finally is that above everything else we need strong democratic institutions that could sustain any crisis that may come our way. The Prime Minister’s mission is to invigorate the other branches of government by allowing them to conduct their own affairs rather than constantly interfering with their agenda. Or worse, by lecturing the House members as if they are his students. An odious practice that Meles Zenawi had perfected and has been taken up by our current prime minister.

Strong institutions can function properly and last only if aided by a well-chosen, trained and compensated public service. Ethiopian public servants have never been compensated adequately, at least since the Revolution. It was inevitable that corruption has always been pervasive at every level of the bureaucracy. Ethiopia’s government bureaucracy has been large and has consumed much of the country’s revenue as scanty as this latter has been. Without an economic system (or at least economic policies) that allows the national economy to expand and thrive, thereby allowing more taxes to be collected, public servants will continue to be ill-compensated and chronically exposed to being corrupted. The lack of clear economic direction and objectives in the country is not attracting native investors, let alone foreign ones. The status of private property and land ownership is so uncertain and marred by so many misdirections that most investors who do not have close relationship with the political ruling cadre are unwilling to take chances. The PM needs to commit, together with the other bodies of government, to create clear economic guidelines on private property and land ownership, not to mention in banking and investments, so that serious economic activity can finally begin in earnest. 

The current protests by our young medical professionals concerning inadequate pay are of course more than justified. And imprisoning them not only violates their constitutional rights but is a blot on the prime minister’s already tarnished reputation. Nevertheless, physicians in Ethiopia are not the only class of professionals that are being compensated very badly. Apart from the already mentioned public servants employed in the various government ministries and agencies, it should not be forgotten that Ethiopia’s university lecturers and professors are among the lowest salaried professionals on the continent. Most of them are forced to constantly engage their time away from the lecture halls in the pursuit of supplemental income, instead of dedicating their time to scholarly research. The government of Abiy Ahmed has done everything it can, as it should, to prevent Ethiopian Airline pilots from migrating to other airlines by paying them princely salaries by our country’s standard. If it plans on preventing massive brain drain, his government needs to come up with ways to incentivize the not so large pool of physicians, academics and other professionals to remain in the country to provide their invaluable services. If the government tries to strong-arm, or worse, make light of their demands, it is going to be the people who are going to suffer the most. The PM should not forget to thank Ethiopia’s professionals instead of hectoring them. He should know better than ridiculing them as he did recently. He is a highly credentialed person, and I believe that he values the contribution of the professional class. I also think that he values education. Alienating our professionals will not serve any of his agenda. Not only that but added to the instability that we are now living through, letting our professionals flee to better pastures will condemn the country to perennial under-development. 

In closing, I fervently hope that PM Abiy’s focus is directed towards these fundamental pressing issues, instead of the less urgent ones I have described above. I hope that he reconsiders his legacy not in terms of how many urban projects he has undertaken and completed, but how well he has nurtured and solidified our most fundamental institutions for the future generation.

Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com

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