“Where there is corruption, there is more poverty.” — Robert Klitgaard, one of the world’s authorities on corruption
Those of
us who enjoy freedom from constant harassment, intimidation and fear need to
remind ourselves each day that the Ethiopian people continue to suffer from
poor, corruption-ridden and repressive governance-induced hyperinflation, hunger
and malnourishment that is legendary, growing unemployment that drives
thousands out of the country each month, glaring wealth and income inequality, pervasive
corruption and illicit outflow of resources, dispossession and dislocation of
hundreds of thousands from their homes and ancestral lands, and massive
transfer of the pillars of the Ethiopian economy to foreigners and a selected
few ethnic elites.
The thesis
in this commentary is that TPLF Inc. has lost the trust and confidence of the
Ethiopian people. There is very little evidence to show that it is ready or
willing to reform itself. Nor is there any indication that the donor and
diplomatic community appreciate the dangers the country faces in terms of its
long-term stability and security and the welfare of its people. What could be
more dangerous than the wholesale transfer of the pillars of the economy to
foreigners and ethnic allies? The task to support the Ethiopian people rests
with all who accept the dangers ahead and are ready, committed and willing to
sacrifice time, resources and creativity now and not when things fall apart. We
need to move from talk to action; and action is not overseas. It must be rooted
in Ethiopia with the Ethiopian people who bear the brunt of repressive
governance and economic mismanagement.
In
commentary nine of this series, I showed how aid has done little to boost the
capabilities of the Ethiopian people including smallholders. Close to 13
million Ethiopians depend on some form of international emergency food aid. A
World Bank study last year showed that more than 5 million Ethiopians depend
entirely on remittances. Thus, at
minimum, 20 percent of 90 million Ethiopians depend entirely on some form of
assistance from outside. Nationally, 21 percent are chronically unemployed. It
means that growth has benefitted the few; but has not produced employment for
most. At minimum 41 percent of the population is not part of the development
process. With per capita income of $350 and with 46 percent wishing to
immigrate, it is not hard to suggest that the mythical growth propagated by
TPLF Inc. is not meaningful to most Ethiopians. It will not be until and unless
Ethiopians enjoy a semblance of freedom to hold their government officials
accountable.
In light
of this, it does not take much to conclude that the country is more dependent now
than ever before in its history. The Ethiopian people have less say and power
compared to foreigners who own a large chunk of the pillars of the economy.
Equally unprecedented is gaping inequality, corruption and illicit outflow. All
these and more are indicators of repressive and corruption-ridden governance.
Anchor the
struggle in Ethiopia and embolden Ethiopians
It is the
above reality that leads me to suggest again and again that the vast majority
of the Ethiopian people reject TPLF Inc. It is also this that prompts me to
argue that any struggle for a better future for the Ethiopian people must be anchored
in and led by civil society and political groups within Ethiopia. Those of us
who sit on the sidelines must be persuaded that we are losing a country and all
that this implies. No amount of wealth would recompense such a loss for
generations to come. TPLF Inc. is now in the business of mortgaging the entire
country in the name of development. What responsible government would allow or
encourage the deforestation and desecration of lands around churches and
monasteries such as Waldiba in the name of development? What is happening in
Waldiba, Gambella, Ogaden, Afar and others erode trust and confidence in the
regime. It does not seem to care. A recent example on corruption shows that
confidence and trust in TPLF Inc. and its associates is practically zero.
I should
like to remind the reader that graft, bribery, mispricing, jaded procurement, embezzlement
and illicit outflow are possible in the absence of oversight. Independent
oversight is virtually impossible when there are no nationally-oriented
opposition parties, independent civil society organizations, academics and
journalists. For this reason, TPLF Inc. does anything it wishes and gets away
with ‘murder.” Here is the truth. “In Ethiopia today, it is argued, all civil
society organizations, opposition political parties, individuals and groups in
private enterprise, and other groups are described as rent-seeking, while in
contrast, EPDRDF (run by TPLF Inc.), the ruling party, is claimed to be the
only one which has developmental credentials.”
This
attribution of “rent-seeking” to all opponents is granted to deceive and
establish grounds for harassment, intimidation and fear; and to ensure that
there is no competition. Here is part of the menu of evidence that says it all.
In its seminal report last year, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) lamented that
“The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to
fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming
upstream against the current of illicit leakage.” The reader will recall that,
in 2009 alone, Ethiopia lost “US$3.26 billion in illicit outflow, exceeding
both the value of its total exports and the total development aid it received
that year.” You will agree with me that it is not leaders or members of “civil
society organizations, opposition political parties” academics, journalists or
other persons who did this. Critics are in jail or have been forced out of the
country. Opposition political parties do not have the freedom to operate in the
country let alone own businesses and steal from the society.
Top
leaders and supporters of TPLF Inc. do not like people with integrity. Anyone
who speaks the truth against the system is an enemy of the party and state and
goes to jail if not worse. Truth and patriotism, justice and freedom and other
indicators of good governance are inimical to TPLF Inc. As a result, it puts
the argument upside down and accuses opponents of “rent-seeking.” The greatest
“rent-seekers” are those who run the merged state—ethnicity, party and government.
It is they who have perfected political capture and made it an instrument in
the accumulation of incomes and wealth nationally. Governance is a business;
and businesses will do anything and everything to thwart competition. At least,
in the business world, there is some form of regulation and ethic that guides
and governs them. In the case of TPLF Inc. there is nothing that contests it.
Any contest or any telling of the truth will land you in jail unless you flee
for your life. This cannot go on.
In “A Climate
of Corruption: Ethiopian edition,” Janice Winter of Investigative Journalism
captured mistrust and lack of confidence in the Meles Government when she said
this. “Conveniently for Meles, no independent institutions in Ethiopia exists,
to check the veracity” of anything, including “of government high growth rates”
or corruption or gross human rights violations including killings and rapes.
She continues to suggest that, “Indeed, the average growth for Meles’ entire 20
year rule is less than 5 percent (below the African average of 6 percent.” Ordinary
Ethiopians know this better than Diaspora tourists who see glitz and accept it
as structural change in the economy. Each and every day, Ethiopians live with “hyperinflation,
widespread unemployment, a stagnant private sector and corruption.” Here is one
critical point that I would like the reader to take. One of the casualties in
Ethiopia today is the truth. Top officials of TPLF Inc. fabricate untruth like
General Motors fabricates cars. The high growth phenomenon is part of the
untruth factory; as is the fabrication that anyone who dissents is a terrorist.
In 2005, the regime stole the election after it lost decisively and explained
to the world that it had won. By any definition, fraudulent electoral outcomes
emanate from corruption and lies.
Security,
police and defense forces are deployed in parts of the country where there is
potential dissent and threat with little or no differentiation. The Anuak
killed or massacred in Gambella, Somali girls and women raped, indigenous
people forced from their ancestral homes in the Lower Omo Valley, Tigreans kept
numb and silent in Mekele and elsewhere, Amhara speaking residents in the
Southern part of the country forced to leave their homes and property and Christian
churches razed to the ground, Oromo students harassed, jailed and killed for
seeking fair treatment and justice—these and more violations are justified by
TPLF Inc. in the name of peace, security and the constitution. For almost 21
years, it has gone uncontested in pitying one group against another; in
assaulting one group in isolation from the other and so on. The rest of us
watch an untruthful group do this day after day. My question is simple. Don’t you
find these as elements of justifiable cause for principled unity and action in
unison? I do. These actions by TPLF Inc. erode public confidence and trust in
their government and its officials at any level and in any region.
On Yekatit 1, 2004 Ethiopian calendar,
Shiferaw Shigute, President of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples
(SNNP), was accused of corruption and embezzlement. This is not surprising as
such occurrences from urban and rural land sales and leases, permits and trade
are routine. What is stunning is what he said. He admitted that he and Azeb,
Meles Zenawi’s spouse and one of the wealthiest persons in Ethiopia today,
colluded and stole millions of dollars in illegal trade of coffee, Ethiopia’s
main export. Mispricing of coffee and illegal trafficking and trade in coffee and
other commodities are among the major sources of illicit outflow. Meles Zenawi
was forced to reverse the decision against Shiferaw. Family comes first; and
not justice or the rule of law. The law and constitution are manipulated to
serve an unjust and corrupt system.
In a
similar vein, Mr. Omet Obang, Regional President, Gambella, was accused of
‘murders and massacres’ of his own people. He said, “If I go to jail for crimes
against humanity, Meles Zenawi should to. It is he who gave me weapons and
orders.” Obang did not go to jail and Meles remains in power. This is how the
system works; and how corrupt it is.
Reports of
endemic corruption and recurring illicit outflow of funds and other resources
by UNDP, Transparency International and most prominently, GFI prompted global
outrage and concern among donors and diplomats in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian
government was forced to hire an outside firm to conduct investigations of
corruption. The country’s so-called Anti-Corruption Commission that has
absolutely no teeth hired a Tanzanian firm, Kilimanjaro International to
investigate corruption, a cancer that has infected the entire system. The firm
was financed by the World Bank and cost almost half a million dollars. The firm
interviewed and surveyed 6,500 persons and institutions. To the dismay of TPLF
Inc. officials but not to Ethiopian society, the investigation concluded that five
of 27 government institutions are the most corrupt across the entire country.
I should
like the reader to remember that all state institutions cannot be alike. They
play different roles. Some possess authority and power that allow them access
to resources; and others not. Some have direct effect on the day to day lives
of people and others do not. The five most corrupt institutions of government
identified are the following:
Courts. In
a country bound by laws and not political allegiance, courts adjudicate matters
fairly, justly, impartially and with the highest level of integrity. The
institutions that adjudicate the law and regulatory system are, themselves,
soiled in corrupt practices. Officials have been reduced to rationalizing and
defending a tainted system that cannot be saved without radical reform.
Impartiality and justice are only dreams in Ethiopia today.
Police. In
countries where institutions are de-politicized and de-ethnicized, public
service and security are fundamental and observed by police. This is not the
case in Ethiopia today. The police serve as instruments of harassment,
intimidation and fear. They do what they are told regardless of innocence.
Customs. Licenses,
import and export permits duties, trade transactions, fees and so on depend on
ethnic and party affiliation. Thus, customs officials and their allies at the
top have unlimited opportunities to game the system. It is who you know and who
you ally with that matters most. No wonder that customs is one the most corrupt
institutions in Ethiopia today.
Local and
Regional Administration. Urban and rural lands, commodity marketing, the
provision of services such as seeds and fertilizers are among the major sources
of corruption and abuse of public trust. The SNNP and Gambella examples offer a
glimpse of massive collusion. Nothing worthwhile occurs without some insider
deals in local and regional administration in Ethiopia today. Now, global
finance capital is in the act.
Municipalities.
Does anyone know any urban place in the country where permits to acquire a
piece of land, build something of value and licenses to operate something, to
initiate a business and so does not require some form of bribe. This is why
Freedom House and the Wall Street Journal concluded last year that the cost of
doing business in Ethiopia is among the highest in the world today. It is “one
of Un-freest countries in the world.”
Are there
institutions that are relatively free of corruption? Yes; they include Ethiopian
Airlines, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, the National Bank of Ethiopia and
the Postal service. I should caution that it is not easy to steal from an
airline. Is it? It is not easy to steal from a commercial bank at least
directly unless you rob it. By the way, the government robs banks by forcing
them to lend to it. The National Bank has become a piggy bank that prints money
and contributes to hyperinflation and the erosion of the Birr everywhere in the
country. These relatively corruption-free institutions are not the real service
interface between the government and its citizens. The five are. So, it really
does not make sense to compare apples and oranges as the Tanzanian firm has
done.
Given the
mix of the survey, the Tanzanian outfit concludes wrongly that corruption is 78th
in the hierarchy of national crises.In
my assessment, corruption that leads directly to illicit outflow is at the top
of national crisis. Further, it is not sufficient to confine investigation on
corruption to money and related concerns. Equally important is political
corruption that has led and continues to lead to the rigging of elections. TPLF
Inc. ‘won 99.6 percent’ of the votes in 2010 by barring others from
competition. The ‘silent violence’ against dissidents, opposition political
parties, civic organizations, teachers, students and others is a form of
corruption.
The forced
relocation of 1.5 million Ethiopians from their ancestral lands by 2015 is an
abusive of authority and therefore a form of corruption. TPLF Inc. does not
allow opponents to offer viable options; affected citizens have no say in the
matter. Continued exodus of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians from their
country in search of alternatives abroad emanates from a corrupt and repressive
system that does not allow them to prosper within their own homeland. More
directly, corruption and illicit outflow of massive amounts of resources out of
the country deprives communities, the society and the country the investment
capital they need to expand productive capacity and capabilities: build quality
schools, health facilities, safe drinking water, and access roads to rural
communities, factories that produce fertilizers, basic consumer goods and so
on. It is when the structure of the economy changes dramatically that
hyperinflation can be contained Corruption and illicit outflow is therefore a
tax on this and the coming generation. It is principally the system that
produces and tolerates it.
Given the
above, how and why would people trust the TPLF Inc. government, its officials
and institutions that are corrupt and tolerate corruption; that lie to them that
they are better off today than before it took power 21 years ago while
compelling them to accept lies as truths; and that repress them while telling the
world that these are done in the name of peace, national security,
anti-terrorism and development? I am convinced that lies are an integral part
of the ethos of TPLF Inc. and will not change until the entire system changes.
Governments
with moral and ethical leadership change when they lose the confidence and
trust of their citizens. TPLF Inc. and its civil servants seem to be both
arrogant and oblivious or are in complete denial that they are unloved and
unwanted. Berhanu Kifetew, the head of the Anti-corruption Commission confirmed
this when he dismissed the modest findings and conclusions by the firm he
helped hire. He said the study lacked “analytical and statistical depth.” This
is a pattern. TPLF Inc. reached the same conclusion on killings and massacres
following the 2005 elections; the same conclusions following the massacres in
Gambella and the Ogaden.
The reader
should never doubt that Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people are hurting big time
from corruption and recurring illicit outflow of resources. The reader should
not doubt that the beneficiaries of the system cannot possibly change the
corrupt and repressive system that keeps them employed. The reader should not
doubt for a second that corruption and illicit outflow undermine public trust and
confidence in the government, its institutions and officials. Corruption will
keep Ethiopia poor and push millions more into poverty.
What can
we do?
We can do
a great deal. It is up to those—within and outside the country–who love the
country and respect the hopes and aspirations of all of the Ethiopian people,
to work in unison and leave a legacy of peaceful transformation anchored in
Ethiopia and owned by the Ethiopian people that future generations would recite
and the world would admire. The key is to decide that change will only come if
we support the Ethiopian people, civil society organizations, youth, opposition
political parties and others in the country. The anchor is Ethiopia; and the
social forces are the Ethiopian people. It is they who should guide our
thinking and our actions.
