The selling of Ethiopia

By Yilma Bekele; March 18, 2013

Actually
that statement might not be true. We do know our country is being sold but we
have no idea if the bidding has been open or closed. We have sold almost all of
Gambella, we have leased half of Afar and Oromia has been parceled out bit by
bit. Our Beer factories are under new owners, our gold mines belong to the fake
Ethiopian sheik, Telephone is under the Chinese and our Airlines is looking for a suitor. Have we always looked for outsiders
to own us?

Not really
when you consider that we celebrated the victory at the battle of Adwa a few
weeks back and that was the mother of all wars that made it clear this African
country is not for sale.  We might not
have contributed much to the industrial revolution but we did manage to rely on
our own ingenuity to follow along and do things our own way. You might not
believe this but there was a time when Ethiopians actually used to be involved
in making stuff from scratch. You think I am making things up don’t you? I
don’t blame you because today you cannot even come up with one name that stands
out as an Ethiopian entrepreneur, go getter 
or  someone that shines like the
north star based solely on his own sweat and blood.

The things
that were accomplished by earlier Ethiopians are all around us but we don’t see
them.  All the things the current
government brags about have their roots in the yester years they so much
condemn and brush off. I don’t know where to start but here we go. Let us start
with hospitals.  Bella Haile Selassie (Bella),
Leelt Tshay (armed Forces),  Paulos, Haile Selassie Hospital (Yekati 12), Balcha,
Ghandi, Tikur Anbessa, Ras Desta, Minilik etc.  The vast majority of the doctors were
Ethiopians, the hospitals were clean, well equipped and you don’t even have to
take your own sheets and blankets.

How about
Hotels? Ethiopia, Ghion, Wabi Shebele, Ras, Bekele Molla were the premier
destinations. They were owned and operated by Ethiopians. When it comes to
Ethiopian Airlines the Pilots were proud Ethiopians and the technicians were
the envy of Africa. The Imperial government built the Airlines from scratch.
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a partner until we were able to train and staff
our own and we did manage to do that.

If we talk
about agriculture we did manage to establish the Sugar estates of Metehara and
Wonji not to mention Setit Humera, the wheat and corn fields of Arsi, the fiber
plants of Sidama and the cotton fields of Awash Valley are testimonial to our
ingenuity. The sixties saw the emergence of the new educated Ethiopians that
raised the bar of excellence.   

The
establishment of Africa Hall was how Africans showed respect to our Emperor and
our old history when they choose Addis Abeba as the head quarter for the
continent. The University at sadist Kilo was a gift to his people by the
Emperor and it was a spectacular success. All the teachers were highly educated
Ethiopians and the graduates were the pride of our country.

Why am I
discussing such subject today? It is because two items reported by the media
caught my eye a few days back. Both are an assault on our sovereignty and our
ability to grow our own economy by Ethiopians for Ethiopians. Heineken a Dutch conglomerate
is building the biggest brewery in Ethiopia and Guangdong Chuan Hui Group from China is given 41,000 Sq.
meter of land to construct hotel and industrial complex. The way the story is
being reported we should be jumping with joy. What could be better than those
two benevolent multi nationals investing so much in our poor destitute country?

Is that how we should look at it?  Is there another aspect to this story? In
order to see the pros and con of the question posed In front of us it would
have been nice if there has been a nationwide discussion to see if the plan
makes sense when it comes to our homeland. That is how smart decisions are
made. Open and vibrant nationwide discussion regarding such important issues
that impact our national economy and our people’s well-being assures a better
outcome.

That
usually is not the case in our country. There are no checks and balances. There
is no independent legislative body and the judiciary is a government tool. A
single party the TPLF controls all and everything in the country. Our political
leaders have no faith in the ability of the people to know what is good for
them. That is why they approach their job as being a ‘baby sitter’ and are
constantly fretting about what the people hear and read. Decisions are made by
a few TPLF politburo members to be approved by the rubber stamp Parliament.
Anyone that questions such a decision is branded as enemy of the people and
dealt with.

Let us
start with our beer story. You know beer is nothing but European Tella. It is
bottled fancy and costs a little bit more. How long ago do you think we
acquired the idea of brewing for a larger crowd? Eighty years ago my friend! St
George brewery was started in 1922. Meta Abo Brewery was founded in 1963. Meta
Abo was a partnership between government and private capital and started with a
base capital of 2million Birr. The military junta nationalized both and the
current TPLF Woyane regime inherited them with the rest of Ethiopia. What do
you think these successive regimes did with our own old industry and land? Did
they build on what was started? Did they reinvest the profit to make the
enterprises bigger and better? Did they run our industries, enterprises and
farms in a responsible and judicious manner?

Both St.
George and Meta Abo are no more Ethiopian enterprises. BGI (an internationally acclaimed Brewing Company that operates
in many countries.??)
bought St George in 1998 for US 10 million ‘through foreign direct
investment’(??)  Meta Ambo was sold to
Diego Industries-a British congalmorate for US 225 million. Heineken a Dutch
multi-national acquired 18% of Bedele and Harar breweries for US 163 million in
2011.  Raya Brewery an idea that has not
materialized yet but promoted by Lt. General Tsadkan W.Tensai and investors
such as  Yemane
(Jamaica) Kidane and other TPLF officials sold 25% interest to BGI for 650
million Br and invited Brewtech a German company as a partner.

As you can
see the TPLF regime collected close to US 400 million from the sale of our home
grown breweries. By all imagination that is chump change when you consider the
ownership is lost and the profit for eternity belongs to the foreigners. Is
this a good way to grow a national economy? Has it been done before or is this
another of that failed ‘revolutionary democracy’ pipe dream?

BGI, Diego
or Heineken are investing in our country to realize profit for their shareholders.
What is our country getting out of this? The beer manufacturing business is a
highly automated enterprise so it is not about job creation. Most if not all of
the high paying managerial jobs will be occupied by the parent company. The
malt, barley and other ingredients are imported and are considered a trade secret.
We all know about creative accounting thus I am sure our country does not even
benefit from the profit because the bookkeeping is rigged to minimize taxes.     

Let us not
even think of technology transfer since we cannot learn what we have already
mastered. Remember we have been brewing beer since 1922. I will tell you what
we got out of this unequal relationship. We as a people got royally screwed.
The TPLF party officials got paid plenty for their pimping effort. The regime
in its insatiable appetite for foreign currency bought a few months of respite
to purchase oil, wheat, cooking oil etc. to postpone its inevitable collapse.

There are
certain things we know how a growing economy with a nationalist government
operates. We have seen how China, India, Malaysia, Brazil and other emerging economies
handled their growth potential. They use what is known as subsidy to protect
their infant industries from foreign predators. They allowed investment where
technology transfer will bring benefit to their people but shielded their home
grown industries from foreign competition.

Why do you
think the TPLF bosses are interested in selling our sovereignty?  I doubt it is because they are anti-Ethiopian
even though the late evil PM used to suffer from inferiority complex when it
comes to central highlanders. I believe it is because of their ‘get rich quick’
philosophy. They are in a hurry to accumulate before their Ponzi scheme comes
crashing down. According to the UN billions of dollars are leaving our country.
They are buying properties in the US and Europe, sending their children to
expensive schools abroad and vacationing in exotic places with the money they
steal from our country.

What are
we the victims doing about this rape and pillage of our resources and the degradation
of our national pride?  I am afraid other
than insistently talking there is nothing more most of us are doing about it.
Why do you think that is so? I could think of a few things but ignorance comes
to mind first and foremost. Our ignorance prevents us from connecting the dots
and looking at the bigger picture. Our misplaced pride does not allow us to
listen to others and learn to be able to formulate better solutions to our
problems.  

Today we
have a population that is not familiar with its history. Sixty four percent
(64%) of our people are under twenty five years old while twenty nine percent
(29%) are under the age of 54 years. We have a toxic population on our hands.
Those under twenty five grew up under the Woyane regime where being an
Ethiopian is taken as a liability. While those under fifty four are the result
of the Derge era of undermining religion, family, and stability. Ninety three
(93%) of our population is a fertile ground for evil Woyane to plant shame,
doubt and insecurity about being Ethiopian.

It is this
population that is sitting on the side and cheering the selling of their
country. For most people what bothers them is not what is lost but they spend
endless energy to get a piece of the action. In Ethiopia stealing, lying, being
part of a criminal enterprise is encouraged by the regime. When the recently
dead Meles Zenawi said ‘even being a thief requires being smart’ he was giving
a green light to his cadres and the population at large. The so called Diaspora
is the number one enabler of the criminal Woyane machine. They use their new
found riches to bribe Woyane so they could acquire stolen land to build their
flimsy unsustainable condominiums and spend endless nights worrying if the next
highest bidder will in turn take it away in broad day light.

This is
exactly the reason we are having a problem forming a united front to get rid of
this cancerous body in our midst. This is the reason even in exile we are
unable to form a democratic, inclusive and worthy association that will benefit
the many. The ninety three percent are in need of education in civic affairs
and a dose of what it means to love your neighbor as you would love yourself.

May be it
is the lords way of teaching us little humility and humbleness as he did with the
children of Israel when he left them to wonder for forty years in the
wilderness so they know what is in their heart. It is a choice we have-to be
humble or perish due to pride.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107051138.html?page=2

http://www.diageo.com/en-ie/newsmedia/pages/resource.aspx?resourceid=1168

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/03/07/heineken-to-build-ethiopias-biggest-beer-factory/#axzz2MxqCwlH1

http://allafrica.com/stories/201107051138.html