I wanted to make sure that I stay true to the
discussion. Based on that video it is not correct to call it
a discussion. It is more like a monologue. It is presented in
four parts. Each part is fourteen minutes for a total of fifty-three minutes
and fifty-four seconds. In part one a questioner took five minutes and three
seconds and a second one was done in one minute and thirty-six seconds.
Forty-seven minutes and fifteen seconds are the musings of the great leader for
life.
The
meeting was a perfect example of what is wrong with our country. It is a big
mirror held in front of us so we can really see ourselves. They say ‘you
deserve the leaders you get’. That statement is a poster child for Ethiopia.
Our tolerance of injustice has bestowed on us a very unjust situation. What
happened in that video is acceptable in a Monarchy. It
is the rule under Communism. It is normal in a military dictatorship. Ethiopia
is none of those. It is billed as a Federal Democratic Republic. The leaders
are elected to serve the people. They serve at the will of the people. The
question is why is the Ethiopian leader threatening, scolding and demeaning the
people he serves?
That
is Ethiopia in a nutshell. We got rid of a Monarchy to replace it with a brutal
military dictatorship. After considerable loss of life the military Junta was
replaced by the victors organized under TPLF. We were told a new era begun. The
democratic way was ushered with much fanfare. That was twenty years ago. That
video makes it clear that there was a peaceful transition from Mengistu to
Meles. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Meles
spoke a lot in that meeting. He revealed to us how his brain is wired. He
wanted to make it clear to the merchants and thru that meeting to all
Ethiopians that not accepting the decree of the great leader for life have
consequences. He expressed it beautifully in Amharic. (Beklomaserewan qoretch bilu, lerasua
asterech). He actually said that. We are the Beklo and he is the one with the
leash or lasso. A very interesting mind set.
I
found it very difficult to decide where to start. You see the one-hour video is
mostly lies, misinformation and full of distortions. It is not difficult to
refute. Thanks to Google you can search any assertion if true or false.
Democratic Ethiopia is built on false premises. It is a house built on sand.
This time for added measure he brought out two cadres to set the stage for his
conclusion. Both made wrong misinformed statements as a foundation and he built
his house of cards on that unstable footing.
The
first questioner was a perfect specimen of a self-loathing; clueless and void
of self esteem Ethiopian. He spoke good Amharic, was dressed perfectly with his
matching suit and ties and can BS like no one. He started by insulting our past
sprinkling his language with English words for added measure. Unfortunately a
lie is a lie uttered in Amharic or English. After degrading our past he
concluded by saying the concept of modernism (zemenawi) and free enterprise
came with TPLF. He looks like he is in his thirties so he must be a product of
the Derg era and came into maturity with the reign of Emperor Meles. He is
excused for his ignorance regarding the history of his country and proud
ancestors.
To
set the record straight free enterprise means the existence of the freedom of
private businesses to operate competitively for profit with minimal government
regulation. During the Emperors reign I witnessed the practice of incipient
free enterprise system in our country. There was a problem of fair distribution
of resources but I assure you land was private, supply and demand were at work
and the government generally followed hands off approach. The questioner’s
Ethiopia is different. The current TPLF regime is the main engine of the
economic system. The regime owns all land and leases it to the citizen,
controls all major industries outright or using proxies such as EFFORT and is
the biggest and baddest employer in the land.
Our
questioner is also fond of misinformation knowing that the citizens have no way
of verifying his distortion. He said he belongs to the camp that advocates the
government’s intervention in price control for basic items such as oil, sugar,
soap etc. and mentioned Thailand as an example of a country with such practice.
So I Googled Thailand and price control to check his assertion. He did not
disappoint me. He was following the good old Ethiopian habit of concluding
without facts and using a broad brush to justify saying anything.
You
see Thailand used price control on basic items like sugar, rice and oil. That
much is true. That is the only thing common with our country. The control in
Thailand is to set the price of sugar below international prices. Thailand is
the second largest exporter of sugar in the world after Brazil.[ii]
The government has a quota for internal consumption and export. The problem
faced by the Thais is that some exporters cheat and export sugar allocated for
the domestic market thus creating shortage. Now the problem faced with our
country is a little different. There is no sugar, oil, and wheat because there
is not enough internal production. Also we do not have enough foreign reserve
to supply the population to meet its basic needs. Furthermore the TPLF regime
is using this opportunity to break the back of the small merchants in its
attempt to control the market from above. When he waded into pointing out the
futility of the regimes attempt to set artificial prices he was cut off.
The
second questioner is a rare breed. I have no idea what he was doing there
passing himself as a businessman. He is a typical Woyane sitting as a civilian.
But he was there and he asked a question. A little bizarre if you ask me. He
was asking his boss to please do something because some merchants are insisting
on making a maximum profit. Here is what he said:
We
fully support the government’s action regarding wheat this past week. The idea
that the government is going to distribute 450 thousand quintal of wheat at
$490bir per quintal to us and set the price we sell it to the consumer, I am
sure will stabilize the price of flour from today on. I guarantee that. What I
would like to tell the government is I am sure many of the mills were hording
wheat and some who bought it at $400bir are waiting to sell when it hits
$900bir and some even stock it for six seven months and we appeal to the
government to create a central trading like ECX (commodity exchange) for wheat
…… I am sure there is over a million quintal in stock horded by the Flour
mills etc…
There
you have it the private entrepreneur begging the state to put him on a leash.
Only in Revolutionary Democracy Ethiopia can such a theatre take place. And where he got that million quintal only God knows. It is
also possible it is a veiled threat to remind them the calamity that has
befallen coffee merchants. All this excitement and it is only six minutes into
a one-hour presentation.
As
I said before The Leader spoke forty-seven minutes and fifteen seconds, at
least according to this edited presentation. I believe it will be fair to
divide it into two sections and learn from it. The first part will be where The
Leader speaks about the failure of the Ethiopian people to grow the economy.
The second part will be where he explains the further fine-tuning of the
Capitalist system being built by the Government of Ethiopia. This is definitely
a first. All eyes are on Ethiopia and The Leader.
I
noticed that he speaks very slow and deliberate. Either he wants to make it
very clear or he has a very low opinion of his listeners. That is the way most
people speak to two year olds. The tone shows that it was more like a lecture
than a discussion. It was an upside down situation in that room. They pay his
salary and he is threatening them. You would think that he would be nice to
them since he wants to be re-elected. He wants their support and cooperation
doesn’t he? That is the way it should work in a
Democratic setting. You know like employer and employee. If the employee does
not like the employer the only option is quitting. On the other hand if the
employer does not like the employee firing is best for everybody. In Ethiopia
the employee is firing the employer. Go figure that.
Here
is Meles in his own words:
The Government is concerned because beyond loss of
income it has further meaning. If looked from tax income perspective collected
into the National treasury Ethiopia is ranked with Somalia, one cannot compare
us with any African country Kenya collects 25% whereas we are less than
10%(pause) under this circumstances the
government can only live on alms (pause) this is a big disadvantage (long
pause) on the other hand if the issue was just about collecting tax personally
I wouldn’t have gotten into this hassle (neterek) I would have no problem in
accepting being compared to Somalia. Beyond loss of revenue this has two major
consequences. First it negatively affects capital allocation. There are ways of
getting out of paying taxes. Manufacturing is one activity where avoiding
paying tax is difficult. Even our blind and toothless system will find it by
feel. On the other hand businesses like services and construction where
taxpaying is lax capital will flow to that. Not getting revenue is a burden we
can carry but capital is flowing no growth-oriented
direction. Look at Addis. Due to the many buildings people are partying and
dancing, they think that is growth and progress on the other hand if only one
third has gone to manufacturing it is not difficult to imagine the effect on
the country’s growth. Only the Indians, Chinese and Turks are involved in
manufacturing. We cannot count on borrowed capital outside capital is not
substitute. Unless the pillar of our economy is not ours we will end up being
outsiders in our own country. If you ask why more capital is invested in
services and construction it is because land is held using bribes and illegal
means. If you have enough land you can be very rich if you have buildings you
don’t pay rent. If you rent it to the foreigners including Embassy’s you can
collect rent outside.Ethiopians hold
over $2billion dollars in foreign banks. The burden we can not carry is we are
losing the future economic power because our capital is flowing not into growth
oriented but to areas that can help avoid paying taxes and the important
economy branches are taken over by foreign capitalist. To hide your wealth you
involve in high consumption activities Ethiopian Easter, vast amounts spent in
big hotels, Ethiopian weddings, Ethiopian memorial
services Ethiopian tidbits is comparable to highly developed countries. To save
and invest it one thing but money hidden from paying taxes is like gambling
money. We are not using our wealth to bring growth. The second thing we are
worried about is you can operate like this in the forest. One cannot steal in
broad daylight. When there is a forest you not only find Rats and Snakes all
kinds of creatures in the forest including Elephants can hide. The forest is
black hole to hide wealth. It is difficult to know ownership. Some officials’
steal and when confronted claim the money came from their aunt’s son in
America. If we know each individuals income we can get rid of the forest. You
can tell who is snake and who is human. In the old system
individuals posses more than one business license. Some even register
their dogs. Due to these revenue-hiding schemes our corrupt officials were
hiding in this big forest thus we cannot cleanse ourselves. If this continues
it is only a matter of time before we turn on each other. Where authority is
the only means to be wealthy there will no be lasting peace. We can only get
rid of corruption when we know each individuals income. The thief will be left naked
for all to see. We do not want to involve in search and destroy. Knowing
everyone’s income is a solution. Concerning taxes it is a rare exception where
correct invoices are submitted. The receipts you submit are automatically
suspect. You bring us proof on CD’s. Everybody knows that you can never avoid
mistakes when you create CD. No matter how diligent. Our people have a saying.
If the Mule cuts off its lasso, it only shortened it for it self. Your cutting
the lasso made it shorter for you. We are all hurting.
Let
us get something straight before anything is said. The speaker Ato Meles Zenawi
has been in charge of the country since 1992. He has never allowed or tolerated
any outside party other than TPLF and its creation EPDRF. It has been Meles and his TPLF partners that have been making all major
and minor decisions in the name of Ethiopia. Since the split in TPLF after the
war with their Eritrean partners Ato Meles was able to vanquish his opponents
and enter the one-man rule era. For all practical purposes Ato Meles is
Ethiopia and Ethiopia is Meles. The Chilean dictator
General Augusto Pinochet is known to have said “Not a leaf moves in Chile
if I don’t know about it” You can say the same thing about Ato Meles and
Ethiopia.
The
question I have is why is The Leader singing the blues now after he has been
the main architect of this 12% growth we have been hearing about for the last
few years? He was the first to take credit when the news was all about this
unheard of growth and peace under his able and smart stewardship. Why talk
about the impending loss of sovereignty and specter of disintegration now?
He
started by moaning the problem of raising revenues and compared our country to
Somalia and Kenya. I have no idea where he got his facts regarding a
non-country like Somalia. But his take on Kenya is definitely wrong. Kenya has
a highly developed economy than ours. Look at the chart.
Country
Population
GDP/Capita
Budget
Ethiopia
90.8
900
4.3billion
Kenya
41.0
1600
7.01billion
Looks
like the only place where we are ahead is in procreating. Is it possible
Ethiopia collects less because our people live on subsistence level? The
comparison is invalid and misleading.
I
am surprised to hear the head of the government saying that it is ok with him if
people do not pay their fare share of break the law of the land. I did not know
obeying the law was an option. It is a very curious statement to say the least.
Ato
Meles seems to have a different understanding of the workings of a free
enterprise system. I fail to understand where the confusion is if capital moves
where more money is to be made. It is every capitalist’s interest to find a
legal way to reduce his/her tax burden. Like any human enterprise there are a
few that will find a way to avoid paying their share. His government followed
on the footsteps of the Derg and kept all land in the hands of the government.
He has been selling it to the highest bidder since coming to power. His family
and friends are the premier owners of choice property. His government has been
working overtime in the Diaspora arranging land sale gatherings. Constructing
what is commonly referred to as ground plus condominiums and office space has
been the talk of all Ethiopia. There is not a town not affected by this national
madness of concrete and glass in the middle of nowhere.
Wasn’t
it true that the construction outfits and banks organized around EFFORT were
the number one beneficiary of the Diaspora’s investment in the 12% growth we
have been hearing about? Today The Leader tells us that is the wrong road. Did
he apologize for this royal screw up? No sir, he is blaming the investor. His
theory is that folks are attracted to housing investment to avoid paying taxes.
It is a very difficult to understand his assertion. I believe a vast majority
invest in building housing because they believe the will come out ahead. It is
normally a good investment. Most in the Diaspora invest in Ethiopia for various
reasons. Some invest to have a place for retirement, a few to make money and
others because it is cheaper and easier than in most foreign lands. I have not
met anyone investing large amounts to avoid Ethiopian taxes. Ato Meles mocks
people’s patriotism. He even blames people for enjoying their money on lavish
weddings and hotel expenses. I thought under capitalism one is free to do what
he wants with his earned income.
His
preference seems to be manufacturing. He wants Ethiopians to put their money
into the manufacturing industry. Again it is a very curious statement coming from
the head of the state. There is no need to wish it or complain about its
absence. It is in his power to gear the economy towards the direction he wants.
From what I understand Governments use various incentives to direct the
orientation of the economy where it is most beneficial to the country. Tax
incentives, land give a ways; subsidies are but a few methods. Before such
methods are tried there is usually groundwork to be done. A few question a capitalist interested in setting up a
manufacturing enterprise will ask will go something like is there
infrastructure to support the enterprise? This will include things like roads,
power and communication. Having an educated work force is plus. So before the
invitation is printed is Ethiopia ready to welcome investors? The answer is no.
Power is in short supply and the education level is below par. His condemnation
of the hand that feeds him is rude and unacceptable.
The
talk about the forest Rats, Snakes and Elephants is where he lost me. This is
where his imagination kicked in and the talk regarding snakes and humans
started to cloud the monologue. I have no idea why he conjured up all these
animals when the point he wanted to make was he wants to have a record of every
Ethiopian income. It is a very interesting situation we got here. One of the
poorest countries wants to invest in building a sophisticated database on it
citizens. A country that is looking at over seven million people in a state of
famine wants to spend billions on book keeping. It was very interesting to see
The Leader telling his tax paying citizen that they are not trust worthy and
that they are guilty until proven innocent.
I
believe he should be man enough to accept his mistakes. The
polices he is putting down and making fun of are none other than his
very own. He is the owner the current economic and political policy in place.
Starting with his back door deal with Eritrea, the land as government property,
the division of our country on ethnic lines, the war with Somalia, the lack of
healthy political environment, the suffocating security setup is all the work
of Meles and his TPLF partners. Real men accept
responsibility for their deeds.The
Ethiopian people cannot take the blame for decision they were not consulted or
agreed upon. Even as parents we make sure our children understand the value of
‘thank you’ and ‘I am sorry’ early in their developmental stage.
I
fully understand The Leader is under tremendous strain. The people’s uprising
in the neighborhood is freaking out his outfit. They are coming out with
different approaches to bully, frighten and intimidate the population. The fate
of Meles is similar to that of Mubarak, Gaddafi,
Saleh and Assad. There is no easy way out. So much crime has been done there is
no way of whitewashing and going back to the beginning. There is no reset
button on governance. Ato Meles and the Ethiopian people are dancing around
each other waiting to see who is going to fall first. This sort of situation
does not favor tyrants. They are edgy and prone to make irrational and sudden
moves that jar the equilibrium. Everyday sees the advent of a new crisis. If it
is not inflation it is Kilil revolt. If it is not scarcity of basic items it is
fire in Gondar or transformer blow up in Arsi.
It
is a shame to see a leader bully his people and distributes the video to show
his shameful behavior. Even after editing it does not present a smart picture.
Those in the room were grown up people trying to survive in such an environment
unsure of what tomorrow will bring. It is a sad scene.The second part will be on the wonderful
explanation of how the Ethiopian Government is reinventing itself as Wall Mart,
wholesale distributor of oil, bread and sugar. It did not work for Mengistu, no
reason to think it will work this time around. Pray for Ethiopia.
