የመንግስት ጉዳዮች ኮሙኒኬሽን ሚኒስትር አቶ በረከት ስምዖን ዛሬም እንደወትሮው ብልሀት እና መረጃ ያልጎበኘውን ዲስኩር ከማሰማት አልሰነፉም፡፡ በቱኒዚያ እና በግብፅ አደባባዮች የተስተዋለውን የሕዝብ አብዮት መነሾ ከኢትዮጵያ ኹኔታ ጋር በማነጻጸር የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ከሁለቱ አገሮች ሕዝቦች “በተሻለ የኢኮኖሚ እድገትና ሽግግርን እያጣጣመ ነገንም በተስፋ እየጠበቀ መኾኑን” ሲገልጹ የተለመደው የአቶ በረከት ማስተዋል የራቀው ድፍረት አብሯቸው ነበር፡፡ ለአቶ በረከት አሁን በሰሜን [...]

As more reports of foreign land leases in Ethiopia surface, the GoE continues to insist local farmers will not be adversely affected by its land deals. Regarding agricultural investment, the GoE views foreign investor involvement as key to the country’s move from subsistence to commercial farming (reftel). On top of any potential damage to local farmers, international and political opposition party critics cite concerns over exporting food from a country that relies so heavily on imported food aid and the perceived low wages that foreign investors pay its employees. Merara Gudina, Chairman of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (a coalition of political opposition parties), accused the GoE of using its land “giveaway” policy to hold on to power and to buy diplomatic support. U.S.-based GoE opposition movement Ginbot 7 stated in a January editorial that the GoE needs to change its communist land policy and empower local farmers, who have the potential to produce a marketable surplus. The editorial further noted that any land deal that has not been agreed to by the Ethiopian people will not be honored by future elected governments. http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10ADDISABABA247.html

But the problem with DFID in Ethiopia is not just being non-judgmental about the political situation. DFID is often non-judgmental only when that position serves the regime in power. As HRW’s report shows, it does not shy away from displaying its enthusiasm for EPRDF in other situations. In that sense, it is making British foreign policy by stealth.

In a country where 80 percent of jobs for youth are within the informal sector, as the formal sector has not been a dynamic engine for growth, creating more jobs should be the first among the many government priority lists. Unfortunately, the opposite has been happening in Ethiopia, and many believe that the MEPO plan will be another factor negatively affecting the labour market–creating further job insecurity in an already weak economy. Recent studies by the World Bank estimate urban unemployment rates at around 21 percent, based on the population age 10+. The rates vary in different urban setups. In Addis Ababa, for instance, the unemployment rate is 24 percent. This rate is even higher for woman, at 34 percent.

The latest currency devaluation reveals one of the many strategies by which traders inflate the market to set a new false price. As sources from Addis Ababa disclosed to Addis Neger Online, major wholesalers were able to convince retailers to adjust new prices almost immediately upon verifying that the devaluation of the Birr was true.

It has been over two years since the ECX missed its target and moved towards a monopoly-like market structure. The first commodity exchange was established in the country in April 2008, with a capital investment of Birr 194 million. At the time of its establishment, many hoped that it would take little time to transform from an era of weak agricultural marketing to one of efficient exchange.

Evidence clearly suggests that the economy is failing to provide basic necessities to the Ethiopian people, despite the government claims of economic growth. Officials need to examine and discuss the quality of life beyond the GDP growth.

Had Friedman been the adviser to Meles Zenawi, he likely would have argued the importance of a balanced budget for Ethiopia, one of the poorest nations in the world. Such an ‘outdated’ hypothesis simply does not hold true for this nation.
For the last forty years, the economy has experienced huge budget deficits accompanied by sluggish economic growth. Under the two most recent regimes-the Derg and now the EPRDF-expenditures have reached their maximum, to little public benefit.

ባለፉት አራት ዓመታት ኢትዮጵያ “ከኋላ ቀር የግብርና ኢኮኖሚ ወደ ሞደርን ኢኮኖሚ” ሽግግር በማድረግ ላይ ትገኛለች የሚለውን ዜና ሰምተዋል? የእንደራሴዎቿ የምርጫ እንቅስቃሴ እና ውጤት ትንፋሽ ያሳጣት አገር ከምርጫ ወሬ ባሻገር የሚነገር ነገር የሌላት አይደለችም። በምርጫው ዜናዎች ሽፋን በቅርቡ የተሰማው ኢኮኖሚያዊ “ወግ” ሌላ ቀልብ የሚስብ ጉዳይ ነው። አገሪቷም ገና ብዙ እንዲወራላት የሚያደርግ አስገራሚ መረጃዎች እንዳሏት አልሸሸገችም። ከ1998 ዓ.ም ጀምሮ ሲተገበር የነበረው የፈጣንና ዘላቂ ልማት የአምስት ዓመት ዕቅድ (Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty-PASDEP) ውጤት ይፋ ኾኗል። እቅዱ የምዕተ ዓመቱን የልማት ግቦች(MDGs) ለማሳካት ይረዳ ዘንድ በመንግስት ከተወጠኑ ጥቅል ፖለቲካዊ፣ ማህበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ የልማት እቅዶች መካከል ትልቁን ድርሻ የሚይዝ ነው። የልማት እቅዱን ውጤቶች ይፋ ያደረገው የገንዘብ እና ኢኮኖሚ ልማት ሚኒስቴር ከተለመዱት “ድንቅ” ኢኮኖሚያዊ ምጣኔዎች ወግ ባሻገር አዲስ የሚባል ጉዳይ ወደ መድረኩ አምጥቷል። እንደ ሚኒስቴር መሥሪያ ቤቱ ከኾነ ባለፉት አራት ዓመታት ውስጥ አገሪቷ “ከኋላ ቀር የግብርና ኢኮኖሚ ወደ ሞደርን ኢኮኖሚ” ሽግግር በማድረግ ላይ ትገኛለች። ለ“ዘመናዊ ኢኮኖሚው” ሽግግር ምክንያት የኾኑ ለውጦች በዝርዝር ተጠቅሰዋል። ሙሉውን ለማንበብ የአማርኛውን ክፍል ያንብቡ።

ባለፈው የካቲት ወር 2001 ዓ.ም የብር የምንዛሬ ምጣኔን በ22 በመቶ ዝቅ እንዲል መመሪያ አስተላልፎ የነበረው የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ባንክ በቅርቡም ተመሳሳይ እርምጃ ሊወስድ እንደሚችል ምንጮች ገለጹ፡፡ በአዲሱ የምንዛሬ ማስተካከያም በሕጋዊው የምንዛሬ ገበያ አንድ የአሜሪካን ዶላር በ14 ብር ሊመነዘር ይችላል፡፡
እንደምንጮች ገለጻ ከኾነ የዶላር እጥረቱ ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እየተባባሰ በመምጣቱ ምክንያት በመደበኛው እና በኢመደበኛው (Parallel Exchange Market) ገበያዎች መካከል ያለው የምንዛሬ ምጣኔ ልዩነት እየሰፋ ሄዷል፡፡ በሣምንቱ የምንዛሬ ገበያ አንድ ዶላር በመደበኛው ገበያ በአማካይ በ13.40 ብር የሚመነዘር ሲኾን በድብቅ በሚካሄደው ኢመደበኛ ገበያ ግን አስከ 14 ብር ድረስ ይመነዘራል፡፡ ይህም በሁለቱ የምንዛሬ ገበያዎች ያለውን ልዩነት (premium) እንዲሰፋ አድርጎታለ፡፡ በውጭ ምንዛሬ እጥረቱ ምክንያት ንግድ ባንኮች በወጪ እና ገቢ ንግድ የተሰማሩ ደንበኞቻቸውን በአግባቡ ማስተናገድ እየተሳናቸው እንደኾነም መረጃዎቹ ይገለጻሉ፡፡ ሙሉውን ጽሑፍ ለማንበብ እዚህ ይጫኑ ወይም ወደ አማርኛው ክፍል ይሂዱ።

የመንግስት ጉዳዮች ኮሙኒኬሽን ሚኒስትር አቶ በረከት ስምዖን ዛሬም እንደወትሮው ብልሀት እና መረጃ ያልጎበኘውን ዲስኩር ከማሰማት አልሰነፉም፡፡ በቱኒዚያ እና በግብፅ አደባባዮች የተስተዋለውን የሕዝብ አብዮት መነሾ ከኢትዮጵያ ኹኔታ ጋር በማነጻጸር የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ከሁለቱ አገሮች ሕዝቦች “በተሻለ የኢኮኖሚ እድገትና ሽግግርን እያጣጣመ ነገንም በተስፋ እየጠበቀ መኾኑን” ሲገልጹ የተለመደው የአቶ በረከት ማስተዋል የራቀው ድፍረት አብሯቸው ነበር፡፡ ለአቶ በረከት አሁን በሰሜን [...]

As more reports of foreign land leases in Ethiopia surface, the GoE continues to insist local farmers will not be adversely affected by its land deals. Regarding agricultural investment, the GoE views foreign investor involvement as key to the country’s move from subsistence to commercial farming (reftel). On top of any potential damage to local farmers, international and political opposition party critics cite concerns over exporting food from a country that relies so heavily on imported food aid and the perceived low wages that foreign investors pay its employees. Merara Gudina, Chairman of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (a coalition of political opposition parties), accused the GoE of using its land “giveaway” policy to hold on to power and to buy diplomatic support. U.S.-based GoE opposition movement Ginbot 7 stated in a January editorial that the GoE needs to change its communist land policy and empower local farmers, who have the potential to produce a marketable surplus. The editorial further noted that any land deal that has not been agreed to by the Ethiopian people will not be honored by future elected governments. http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10ADDISABABA247.html

But the problem with DFID in Ethiopia is not just being non-judgmental about the political situation. DFID is often non-judgmental only when that position serves the regime in power. As HRW’s report shows, it does not shy away from displaying its enthusiasm for EPRDF in other situations. In that sense, it is making British foreign policy by stealth.

In a country where 80 percent of jobs for youth are within the informal sector, as the formal sector has not been a dynamic engine for growth, creating more jobs should be the first among the many government priority lists. Unfortunately, the opposite has been happening in Ethiopia, and many believe that the MEPO plan will be another factor negatively affecting the labour market–creating further job insecurity in an already weak economy. Recent studies by the World Bank estimate urban unemployment rates at around 21 percent, based on the population age 10+. The rates vary in different urban setups. In Addis Ababa, for instance, the unemployment rate is 24 percent. This rate is even higher for woman, at 34 percent.

The latest currency devaluation reveals one of the many strategies by which traders inflate the market to set a new false price. As sources from Addis Ababa disclosed to Addis Neger Online, major wholesalers were able to convince retailers to adjust new prices almost immediately upon verifying that the devaluation of the Birr was true.

It has been over two years since the ECX missed its target and moved towards a monopoly-like market structure. The first commodity exchange was established in the country in April 2008, with a capital investment of Birr 194 million. At the time of its establishment, many hoped that it would take little time to transform from an era of weak agricultural marketing to one of efficient exchange.

Evidence clearly suggests that the economy is failing to provide basic necessities to the Ethiopian people, despite the government claims of economic growth. Officials need to examine and discuss the quality of life beyond the GDP growth.

Had Friedman been the adviser to Meles Zenawi, he likely would have argued the importance of a balanced budget for Ethiopia, one of the poorest nations in the world. Such an ‘outdated’ hypothesis simply does not hold true for this nation.
For the last forty years, the economy has experienced huge budget deficits accompanied by sluggish economic growth. Under the two most recent regimes-the Derg and now the EPRDF-expenditures have reached their maximum, to little public benefit.

ባለፉት አራት ዓመታት ኢትዮጵያ “ከኋላ ቀር የግብርና ኢኮኖሚ ወደ ሞደርን ኢኮኖሚ” ሽግግር በማድረግ ላይ ትገኛለች የሚለውን ዜና ሰምተዋል? የእንደራሴዎቿ የምርጫ እንቅስቃሴ እና ውጤት ትንፋሽ ያሳጣት አገር ከምርጫ ወሬ ባሻገር የሚነገር ነገር የሌላት አይደለችም። በምርጫው ዜናዎች ሽፋን በቅርቡ የተሰማው ኢኮኖሚያዊ “ወግ” ሌላ ቀልብ የሚስብ ጉዳይ ነው። አገሪቷም ገና ብዙ እንዲወራላት የሚያደርግ አስገራሚ መረጃዎች እንዳሏት አልሸሸገችም። ከ1998 ዓ.ም ጀምሮ ሲተገበር የነበረው የፈጣንና ዘላቂ ልማት የአምስት ዓመት ዕቅድ (Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty-PASDEP) ውጤት ይፋ ኾኗል። እቅዱ የምዕተ ዓመቱን የልማት ግቦች(MDGs) ለማሳካት ይረዳ ዘንድ በመንግስት ከተወጠኑ ጥቅል ፖለቲካዊ፣ ማህበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ የልማት እቅዶች መካከል ትልቁን ድርሻ የሚይዝ ነው። የልማት እቅዱን ውጤቶች ይፋ ያደረገው የገንዘብ እና ኢኮኖሚ ልማት ሚኒስቴር ከተለመዱት “ድንቅ” ኢኮኖሚያዊ ምጣኔዎች ወግ ባሻገር አዲስ የሚባል ጉዳይ ወደ መድረኩ አምጥቷል። እንደ ሚኒስቴር መሥሪያ ቤቱ ከኾነ ባለፉት አራት ዓመታት ውስጥ አገሪቷ “ከኋላ ቀር የግብርና ኢኮኖሚ ወደ ሞደርን ኢኮኖሚ” ሽግግር በማድረግ ላይ ትገኛለች። ለ“ዘመናዊ ኢኮኖሚው” ሽግግር ምክንያት የኾኑ ለውጦች በዝርዝር ተጠቅሰዋል። ሙሉውን ለማንበብ የአማርኛውን ክፍል ያንብቡ።

ባለፈው የካቲት ወር 2001 ዓ.ም የብር የምንዛሬ ምጣኔን በ22 በመቶ ዝቅ እንዲል መመሪያ አስተላልፎ የነበረው የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ባንክ በቅርቡም ተመሳሳይ እርምጃ ሊወስድ እንደሚችል ምንጮች ገለጹ፡፡ በአዲሱ የምንዛሬ ማስተካከያም በሕጋዊው የምንዛሬ ገበያ አንድ የአሜሪካን ዶላር በ14 ብር ሊመነዘር ይችላል፡፡
እንደምንጮች ገለጻ ከኾነ የዶላር እጥረቱ ከጊዜ ወደ ጊዜ እየተባባሰ በመምጣቱ ምክንያት በመደበኛው እና በኢመደበኛው (Parallel Exchange Market) ገበያዎች መካከል ያለው የምንዛሬ ምጣኔ ልዩነት እየሰፋ ሄዷል፡፡ በሣምንቱ የምንዛሬ ገበያ አንድ ዶላር በመደበኛው ገበያ በአማካይ በ13.40 ብር የሚመነዘር ሲኾን በድብቅ በሚካሄደው ኢመደበኛ ገበያ ግን አስከ 14 ብር ድረስ ይመነዘራል፡፡ ይህም በሁለቱ የምንዛሬ ገበያዎች ያለውን ልዩነት (premium) እንዲሰፋ አድርጎታለ፡፡ በውጭ ምንዛሬ እጥረቱ ምክንያት ንግድ ባንኮች በወጪ እና ገቢ ንግድ የተሰማሩ ደንበኞቻቸውን በአግባቡ ማስተናገድ እየተሳናቸው እንደኾነም መረጃዎቹ ይገለጻሉ፡፡ ሙሉውን ጽሑፍ ለማንበብ እዚህ ይጫኑ ወይም ወደ አማርኛው ክፍል ይሂዱ።