Ethiopia will welcome its unique new year of 2017 by the end of its exclusive thirteenth month: Pagumiene; this week. Pagumiene; the Ethiopian thirteenth month is the last and shortest month of the Ethiopian calendar. Usually,, Pagumiene is described as a month of mercy, transition, and preparation for a new year. The unique month is said to be the result of the Ethiopian Calendar; a combined effort of ancient Ethiopian astronomers to fit the bill for seasonal changes.
Ethiopia as a Nation has been through several multifaceted reforms over the past six years and the thirteenth-month Pagumiene is chosen to give a taste of the practical reforms that the country is trying to achieve, by naming each day of the Pagumiene after positive themes that will inspire citizens, during the past six months.
On this passing Ethiopian year of 2016, the first day of Pagumiene is dedicated to transition, day two is devoted to the day of reform for excellent service the third is Sovereignty Day the Fourth is the day of Unity and finally the fifth is the day of commitment.
Tilahun Gugsa is one of the prominent popular Ethiopian artists and the Director General of Tilahun Gugsa Advertising and Artistic Promotion PLC. He is a writer, director, and actor in various plays and TV dramas. According to him Pagumiene, which mostly consists of five days and becomes six every four years, is a month that doesn’t exist in any of the calendars around the world. In his understanding, the new tradition of dedicating each day of Pagumiene to positive themes is crucial in terms of reminding society of what achievements could have been made during the passing year and could also be achieved in the coming New Year.
Tilahun describes the socioeconomic and political journey of Ethiopia during the passing year as a tough one with several plausible successes and tragic events. “The country of course has achieved so much during this year. What we have seen in Addis Ababa with the City and Corridor development, riverside projects, and other ecotourism projects in different parts of the country, such as the Wanchi and Gorgora, was a remarkable developmental achievement. However, there are fearful symptoms of alien practices sneaking into our descent cultures and harming children and women in particular. That is the tragic challenge we faced during the year”, he says.
According to him, positive and tangible national achievements should be shaped in a way that could build the future hopes of generations. In this case, all the peoples of Ethiopia are expected to stand for one another, stand together for constructive causes and against those, which threaten their unity and peace. “That is the only way we can achieve national reforms and surpass together”.
Meanwhile, Tilahun stress that the dedications given to the days of Pagumiene must be deeply considered by the mass public because the themes are not merely words. “If today is dedicated as a day of “Reform for excellent” service, it doesn’t mean to give excellent service today and forget it tomorrow. It is our homework that we should start doing today and continue during the New Year. Most of all it is a reminder that we should make reform for excellent service. This should be a core of our culture”, he adds.
He also underlines that, while working on developmental activities ensuring peace and stability is also a major issue of concern that both the government and the public itself has to take seriously in order to surpass together.
During the transitional period between the passing and coming years, several cultural events have been taking place in different parts of the Country. The Buhe, Ahenda, Solel, Ashendiye etc were the famous ones. In addition to their religious and cultural values, their contribution to the development of art is significant. In this case, Tilahun strongly believes that people in the world of art are responsible in promoting their cultural values. He also notes that promoting tangible developmental achievements and pointing out the challenges through honest creative works of art is mandatory. “As a professional artist, I believe that artists should always be ahead of every socioeconomic and political activity. Negligence or ignorance cannot be characteristics of art. We should always play crucial role through our works of art and guide both government and public”.
The unique thirteenth month Pagumiene of the 2016 has already started and today is dedicated for a day of reform for excellent service. Services from public to private sectors could be given with traditional trends. For the fact that excellent services have never been strongly promoted, the socioeconomic and political reforms in Ethiopia during the past regimes faced good governance problems. According to Tilahun, the reforms that have been witnessed during the past six years are manifestations of a good step towards an excellent service. “I have witnessed so many things that used to be bad images of the City changed during the past few years. There are developments which the whole world is witnessing, and I can say that they are elements of our leaders’ good start to excellent service.”
As per Tilahun if one can witness a great deal of developmental achievement in such a short time, it is a must to learn from the executors of the projects and start a reform of one. It is not only the daily service they give on a routine trend people have to care about, but also being creative and bringing it to an excellent level, according to him.
Since the service sector is one of the leading sectors in the Ethiopian economy, reforms are mandatory to bring it to an excellent level. The reform for an excellent service is also homework for all Ethiopians who are awaiting the New Year with greater hopes. In this case, everyone is expected to start the reform from his/ herself. If changes need to positively address the people’s quests all must work as one. “To expand the positive developments in Addis Ababa to other cities in the Country, ensuring peace is inevitable. To ensure peace, the people and government must work together”, says Tilahun.
BY NAOL GIRMA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2024
