The Ethiopian New Year is a source of inspiration for all Ethiopians. Farmers in the rural areas tend their farms expecting a bumper harvest in the next season for food stuff. School children are getting ready for the new academic year while university students throughout the country are preparing themselves for yet another year in college.
Despite some challenges that it faced in different places the country is now enjoying good rainy season and there is a relative stability in most of the areas in the country. Ethiopia conducted a promising level of diplomatic activities in terms of climate, diplomacy and successfully conducted the first part of the second phase of National Green Legacy Initiative by planting more than 30 billion trees to date since 2019. After painstaking and rigorous negotiations, the nation was able to secure more than 27 billion USD in foreign loan and grants which set the cornerstone for the implementation of Ethiopia’s Macroeconomic Policy.
Rehabilitation of the war devastated areas in northern Ethiopia is going on along with attempts being made to distribute relief food to the needy. Despite huge economic challenges, the country has been able to register economic growth exceeding 7%.
Ethiopia has now ceased to import wheat and is also looking forward to be self-sufficient in rice and other food items through the Basket Bounty Program. The country expects more FDI for the years 2017 propelling more progress in better performance at Ten Years Perspective Plan and Digital Ethiopia by 2025.
Accordingly, more focus is to be made on improving the entire education system in the country through the participation of major stakeholders and the public at large.
Traditionally Enkutatash is an annual celebration of peace and tranquility among all the people of Ethiopia and is also a season of optimism and hope for better life.
The author hopes that the year 2017 could be a year of peace given the following conditions.
Any political organization or group that has outstanding issues should be ready to resolve them only and only in a round table situation and not through war in which there would be no winner. War always results in loss of humans and property that the country and its population have earned through hard work over time.
There must be a total respect for the rule of law, order and ENDF which is protecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and which is already contributing its part in the national development program of the country. Attempting to tarnish the image of the defense forces is no less than a total betrayal on the country.
Second, the nauseating false propaganda based on ethnic empty glorification needs to stop and the people of Ethiopia must make a direct participation in the promotion of peace in the country through effective participation in the National Dialogue and Options for the implementation of Transitional Justice instead of waiting only on the government. This is important because peace is of critical importance for the nation.
The new sub-culture of hatred and multiplication of historical biases must be stopped through meaningful and purposeful national dialogue.
Third, all armed persons must give in their weapons and only the security forces should be allowed to carry firearms. The peace and stability of Ethiopia is always threatened by gun tottering groups and individuals who are not being controlled by the laws of the country. It is not enough to promulgate laws on guns but strict strategies must be put in place for their implementation.
For a country like Ethiopia that has been plagued by internal and external wars. The quest for peace is not a matter of priority only for governments that come and go, the public needs peace more than anything else but is not doing enough to secure it in a more effective way by cooperating with the government.
September is a month in which the Ethiopian academic year starts and schools and higher institutes of learning must ensure that school and university campuses are used only for academic purposes and for promoting peaceful and quality education and not centers for ethnocentric politicking.
The New Year celebration is a historically handed down cultural bond that kept together the diverse people of the country. Moreover, the New Year is expected to be a year of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and respect for each other. This is necessary because the people of Ethiopia have suffered a lot from hate politics and groundless hypocrisies.
To date, Enkutatash has not been properly advertised and promoted with the purpose of luring tourists into the country who could stay in Ethiopia right up to the Meskel Festival that is celebrate two weeks after the Ethiopian New Year. All line ministries and private tour operators must work in unison to maximize the benefits that the country can receive from tourism.
Enkutatash is an excellent occasion for promoting and marketing traditional cuisines in Culinary Tourism or Food Tourism which is composed of activities that provide experiences of consumption and appreciation of food and beverages, presented in such a way that values the history, the culture, and the environment of a particular region.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 22 AUGUST 2024
