By any standards of intellectual discourse or analysis, only a person suffering from the Okungu syndrome would jump to a conclusion that Ethiopia’s current prime minister (per force) “knows what the people want” and that he is a leader to emulate, by only observing some buildings and roads constructed in Addis Ababa.
If Mr. Okungu were really interested in finding out the truth about Ethiopia’s current reality, he would have discovered that what Melles Zenawi knows and does is, in fact, what the Ethiopian people do NOT want. As a valid proof for this statement, consider the following facts:
According to the UNDP human development index, Ethiopia is ranked 270th out of 277 countries.
Ethiopia has had the distinction (notoriety) of being the worst country for children.
Despite Melles Zenawi’s leadership for the last 18 years, Ethiopia is still one of the very least developed countries in the world.
Thanks to Melles Zenawi, Ethiopia has lost its outlets to the sea.
Melles Zenawi has continued his policy of handing over Ethiopian territory to others with his recent cession of fertile Ethiopian land to the Sudan.
Melles Zenawi is still bogged down in Somalia despite his initial promise that the incursion into that country would be for a brief period of a few weeks. The ill-advised invasion of a neighboring country is likely to bring about serious consequences for future generations of Ethiopians and Somalis.
Melles Zenawi’s socialist land use policy has resulted in making 85% of Ethiopia’s population serfs under a brutal dictatorship resulting in a continued extremely poor performance of the agricultural sector.
The availability of potable water and sanitation especially in the rural areas where 85% of Ethiopia’s population reside, is one of the lowest in the whole wide world. Corruption in Ethiopia is rampant. TPLF, the governing party, directly owns over 35 companies which operate without paying any tax and using tax-payers’ money without any control. Another serious symptom of a gross level of corruption is the recent occurrence of significant quantities of gold which were later discovered to have been replaced by cheap metal!
Reliable international institutions including the US State Department and Amnesty International have published conclusive reports that under Melles’ leadership Ethiopia is a country where gross human rights abuses occur routinely and where there is no respect for the law.
Melles’ ethnic policy has become one of the worst and most unpopular forms of governance ever experienced in Ethiopia. That was one of the main reasons why EPRDF was trounced conclusively during the 2005 elections which Melles rigged.
The fact that the Ethiopian judiciary as well as the Election Board are mere puppets of the Melles regime is well documented.
The developments in Addis Ababa are most probably a reflection of private investment of ill-gained funds by the very people who engage in the on-going corruption. There will come a day when an investigation will be carried out as to the sources of funds used for the construction of buildings that are changing Addis Ababa’s skyline. Then, the truth will come out how much Melles really knows what his (cronies) people wanted.
What those who suffer from the Okungu syndrome need is medical not any serious consideration.
