Ethiopia has charted out a comprehensive national reform program that is geared towards successfully ensuring the ultimate prosperity of the country. As the peoples of Ethiopia are close to celebrating the New Year, each day of the 13th month which is composed of six days in the leap year, popularly known as Pagumen, is celebrated on one of the major themes that depict the optimism and aspirations of the country. September 6 is therefore dedicated to the prosperity of the country.
On the 6th of September, the peoples of Ethiopia commit themselves to strive for the ultimate prosperity of the country over the coming New Year and beyond. The country is not wishing for prosperity in vacuum. Over the last one year, the government introduced reform programs that specifically touched upon the political, economic, social and legal dimensions which are the major preconditions for establishing peaceful and prosperous country in which the needs of the citizens are adequately met.
Among other things, facilitating partial privatization of key economic sectors including Ethio-telecom., maritime and logistics enterprise, railways, sugar factories and a number of other public enterprises, devising home grown economic restructuring, expanded level of foreign direct investment, paving the way for the promotion of human rights by pardoning those who trespassed the law by releasing tens of thousands of prisoners, promoting unprecedented parity in the Council of Ministers, promulgating new civil society law to ensure the participation of the CSOs in the development program of the country, issuing new election law may be mentioned as measures taken by the government to ensure future prosperity of the country.
In a popular parlance prosperity is understood as a quantitative increment of a country’s financial and monitory status or the expansion of a nation’s material resources. This is only partially true and is limited only to the dictionary definition of the term prosperity. In fact, the prosperity of a country is also explained through the extent to which the country has progressed in terms of promoting its national interests at country and international levels through viable international economic, cultural and diplomatic relations.
On the other hand, Ethiopia’s quest for prosperity was not an isolated national undertaking because the peoples of Ethiopia cannot attain the prosperity the desire in isolation from the rest of Africa and the entire world.
Remaining cognizant of this fact, over the last several years, Ethiopia was preparing the ground for regional economic integration by spearheading the development of regional infrastructural development through the construction of Ethio-Djbouti Railway and linking Africa with ultramodern aviation services through the Ethiopian Airlines Groups and a number of road transport networks that link the country with the nearby neighboring countries.
Ethiopia is conducting other austerity programs to ensure the wellbeing of citizens by launching massive income generating projects to reduce unemployment particularly among the youth. Gender parity and attention to the needs of the youth are strategies that clear the way towards the ultimate prosperity of the nation.
Ethiopia has already started to share its hydropower resources with Sudan, Djibouti and expects to do the same for Kenya and other African countries. This indicates that Ethiopia’s plan for national prosperity is closely linked with the socio-economic development of other partner countries near and afar.
Ethiopia’s role in the effective implementation of the Continental Free Trade Area emanates from the country’s foreign policy element of ascertaining mutually benefiting continental development and trade relations. Ethiopia’s foreign policy objectives tally with the strategic objective that the country envisages in creating united, peaceful and prosperous nation.
Ethiopia is currently engaged in agricultural modernization programs as a means of increasing agricultural productivity and production in the sector. Of particular importance is the strategy developed in establishing industrial parks with more emphasis on agriculture based manufacturing sector, particularly on textiles and apparel.
For a country like Ethiopia, prosperity also implies to producing highly qualified manpower that would be able to provide administrative and technical management for the country’s industries.
Trained manpower with highest level of national consciousness on the development needs of the country is of critical because building a prosperous country heavily depends upon the contributions to be made by those professionals who could lead their teams towards the fulfillment of the strategic development objectives of their country.
It is to be noted that the country is grappling with a number of socio-economic problems that are further complicated by the proliferation of conflicts over the previous year. Even then, Ethiopia has managed to conduct a steady economic growth that is showing a prospect for brighter future for national prosperity.
Ethiopia is endowed with multiple natural resources, tangible and intangible heritages that can be skillfully used to promote tourism and investments in mining and other sectors. These resources, if effectively utilized can accelerate the prosperity of the country at a larger scale.
Ethiopians and citizens of Ethiopian origin in the Diaspora have shown that they can contribute to the prosperity of the country with better facilitation and organization.
It is to be noted that Ethiopia’s prosperity to a greater degree depends up hard work not only on the part of the government but also all who are concerned with the rapid development of this country.
Prosperity for Ethiopia is not accomplished on a smooth path. Already there are challenges that the nation is facing in conducting the reform programs. Sporadic ethnic conflicts and the resultant displacements, challenges in the shortage of foreign exchange earnings, human trafficking contraband, illegal financial transfers, foreign debt to mention only some.
These challenges are not unique to Ethiopia as many developing countries throughout the world and in Africa face similar challenges.
Here it is also very important to realize that for a country like Ethiopia, prosperity is attained through time and not in a single season or year. This would mean that various measures that are currently conducted in the reform programs need to be accelerated to give a better life and prosperous life for the peoples of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has to grapple with manmade and natural disasters that would retard the socio-economic progress of the country. These conditions might temporarily retard the road to prosperity and they are challenges that are to be resolved through development activities that could help the country to face any level of challenges be it natural or manmade.
In Ethiopia, national prosperity is possible but strategies and programs set by the government to promote national prosperity can be achieved when every citizen is ready to contribute his/her part towards the battle against poverty which would lead to the sustained path towards national prosperity.
Prosperity in Ethiopia also presupposes equity in wealth distribution. Prosperity sets in when the vast majority of the Ethiopian population is provided with opportunities to have a reasonable share in the wealth of the country while also contributing to the national wealth. Prosperity sets in when the gap between the rich and the poor is minimized. That is why Ethiopia had devised pro-poor economic strategies that can benefit the most marginalized section of the society.
On the sixth of September, the peoples and government of Ethiopia are renewing their commitment towards working on the prosperity of the country in the coming New Year. This national optimism should be shared and mainstreamed in all the institutional, group and individual visions of citizens.
The Ethiopian Herald September 6, 2019
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
