Recently, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) held discussions with members of the House of Peoples’ Representatives on the occasion of the endorsement of the proposed national budget for the upcoming fiscal year. As it is done every year before the end of the year, the premier was expected to explain the rationale of the budget and how it has been appropriated.
On the same occasion, he was asked many questions by the MPs. Many of the questions were of national concern, but there were also specific issues that have been raised by the MPs calling on questions regarding their particular regional and zonal issues, such as the lack of infrastructure in their Woreda, the delay in terminating certain projects underway in their localities of origin, etc.
Most of the issues were, however, directed to the economic situation of the country and the peace and security issues that the country is facing. The premier was asked how his government was planning to address these burning issues and how soon. The spiraling cost of living was very much a concern for mostly the low-income communities, the MPs underlined. The issues about the security and peace of the country, and the policies and progress regarding its relations with its neighbors, were also another concern for the MPs.
Given the rumors that Ethiopia’s relations with its neighbors, particularly with Eritrea, were spreading, how the government was dealing with these issues, the MPs went on to ask the premier. What is more, the situation in Tigray and Amhara Regions was also their focus, connecting it with the fulfillment of the terms of the Pretoria peace accords.
The premier substantiated on the entire major issues, particularly on those which concerned the Federal Government, leaving aside those which belonged to the jurisdiction of the regional states. He dwelt at length on what achievements his government recorded during the year, specifically but also in general terms, what it achieved during the past seven reformative years, mentioning those that remained to be finished.
The premier did not deny the dire economic conditions of the lower class of society, but he also made it clear that his government was doing all it could within the country’s economic capacity and in a strategic manner. He reminded the public that the government earmarked almost half of its budget to support the disadvantaged sector of the population in various moves, which, however, also indirectly reaches the rest of the population.
The premier mentioned the subsidies of various types, such as fertilizers, medicines, fuel, safety net, and other services, to address particularly the inflationary tendency in the country. This is a way of battling the cost of living, but he also explained that whatever difficulties may have been created due to the economic reforms adopted by the government, he said there was no choice because the alternative would have been the bankruptcy of the country.
Such inability would result in being denied loans by international financial institutions and even well-meaning traditional friends because of a lack of trust in our economic performance. This is an alarming danger to our economic growth and ultimately to our stability. It should be noted that most of this is a result of the previous government’s mismanagement of money that was even taken as a loan to finance certain failed and ill-planned projects.
The premier, however, didn’t exclude that there could be individuals who are corrupt or try to use their authority in government offices to take advantage of the public by conspiring with some members of the business community. That would result in harm to citizens and could end up hurting the economically vulnerable section of society. He said there is a ministerial committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and that the matter is considered with maximum care and focus.
Corruption is clearly one of the reasons why the country is not advancing. Corruption is an international sickness, but it varies from country to country, and normally, in countries with strong democratic institutions, the problem is better addressed, and there is more transparency and accountability of governments and their allies. In many cases, much of the financial capital of the less democratic countries is either mishandled or squandered without transparency and accountability.
In the case of Ethiopia, the premier mentioned as instances the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and all of the sugar mega projects, including the various industrial parks. He said most of these projects were delayed with extremely high losses, and when they were completed, they never functioned properly and efficiently.
This meant that project funds were easily looted or squandered without any accountability. The population was subjected to lies about the stage of completion of these projects. The sugar projects, for instance, the premier noted, could not even pay the salaries of the employees, let alone earn a profit and pay their debts. That showed how the projects were not studied well before investing huge amounts of money, which were acquired from commercial loans. Because of that, the economy was in great danger of collapsing, and this was one of the major problems the new government had to resolve immediately, according to the premier.
Today, a typical demonstration of how public money is used now is the way the corridor development project is carried out. We do not use the public money to enrich ourselves or buy property or build huge complexes abroad, the premier underlined. Unfortunately, the records show that a lot of the riches of this country have been consistently and systematically abused by former officials of the past government.
This reformed administration will never do that, and that is why you see so many development initiatives succeeding. The rest of the money is being used to finance a number of other projects. Resort areas built in several locations outside Addis and even in Addis were built thanks to the generosity of well-meaning people such as the well-off in the business community and other philanthropists, including those from the diaspora, in cooperation with the government and its conception and subsequent oversight of the projects.
The premier added that he followed these projects very closely. The message is simple, he said: if we work together, if we pool our resources together, Ethiopia can do wonders and achieve its objective of prosperity in the not-too-distant future.
But in the meantime, there have also arisen so many issues of security and peace in several areas in the country. Several MPs asked the premier about how the government intended to resolve these issues of the peace and security situation of the country, as it has continued to be a major concern for many people. They said that in several places in the Amhara Region, in Tigray and even in Oromia and Benishangul areas, there are concerns about peace and security, and communities are forced to live in uncertain circumstances. This has become a cause of anxiety in families. Certain MPs insisted that children were prevented from going to school freely because of fears of danger they might encounter along the roads.
Certain products originating from the regions do not come to the urban areas because of the risks of armed people who present a danger to the vehicles that transport the goods. This situation has pushed people working in the logistics sector to abandon their work because of the pending threats of ambushes by armed groups.
The premier has underlined that the quest for peace and the disarmament of certain forces and rehabilitating them so that they join the community have had certain relatively positive results. In many places, the displaced people have returned to their original habitat. But he added there was still a lot to be done and not by the government alone, but with all stakeholders, such as MPs themselves, religious leaders, and the elderly who have a major influence in their communities.
However, he said, no matter how engaged the government may be and no matter how much it tries to crave peace and presents all the conditions for peace, we are in a condition where there are still many armed groups who still believe that they can come to power and rule this country by force. We have repeatedly said, the premier underlined that in Ethiopia, there is no chance of taking power by force, and it would just be a waste of time and energy to try to seize power by force.
In other words, the premier was confidently stressing that the military apparatus is so big and well-armed with all the necessary armaments and ammunition that there would be no match for not only the various armed groups that try to destabilize the country from within, but also for foreign nations who might fancy invading us or in some way try to disrupt the peace and stability of the country using these armed groups as covers for their true intentions. He stressed Ethiopia knows exactly who its enemies are and is ready to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and that is what its long history tells us.
Asked specifically about the diplomatic situation of the country with regard to the neighboring nations and particularly Eritrea, Abiy said Ethiopia has no intention whatsoever to pull the trigger against Eritrea, which it believes is a brotherly country. There are no issues that we cannot resolve in a civilized manner by sitting around a table and ironing out any potential misunderstandings. What Ethiopia asks is only its legitimate need for access to the sea lawfully and diplomatically, peacefully, and based on the principle of give and take, based on general international practice.
Ethiopia believes that it cannot survive as a landlocked country any longer, and this issue must be addressed sooner rather than later. This situation harms not only Ethiopia but also its neighbors because problems in Ethiopia could hurt its neighbors. After all, our relations are close, and our people interact a lot, particularly in the border areas. With all the economic potential Ethiopia has, including a very large population and huge resources, its role in the sub region cannot be undermined or dismissed.
The premier underlined that the peace and stability of Ethiopia is a source of peace and stability even for its neighbors. If there is no peace in Ethiopia, the situation could hurt its neighbors as well. That is why Ethiopia advises its neighbors around the Red Sea area to consider this win-win situation and take advantage of their strategic position by opening up all doors for Ethiopia. They do not lose anything if they ‘grant’ Ethiopia access to the sea in a peaceful and negotiated manner, in a way that they can, in turn, benefit their people as well. There are so many advantages for both parties if they reach a deal instead of beating the drum of war and creating another crisis in the sub-region.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 17, July 2025
