BY MENGESHA AMARE
Following the law enforcement operation, the arrogant junta members were done away with and an interim regional government was recently set up and started carrying out a range of activities up until elected state government will take over the office. Today’s guest column of the paper presents the idea of the Mayor of Mekele City under the interim administration of the Tigray State named Atakilti Haileselassie. He touched upon a range of activities revolving around the all-encompassing actions the mayor of the interim government is carrying out.
Excerpts
It is obvious that the newly structured interim government has planned to carry out a multitude of activities in Mekele City. What are the priority areas of the interim government set up in the state and the office of the mayor?
It is obviously recognized that a lot of things were destroyed as a result of the law enforcement operation. Yes, whenever a war broke out, people lose a range of properties above and beyond losing life. Apart from the huge destruction, the majority of the state community has fled from the cities to rural localities as a result of the misinformation and disinformation widely disseminated by the junta members of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF).
Especially when I am talking about the mishaps centering Mekele City, a number of people have left the city and gone to the rural parts of the nation. Some 46 days have lapsed since the city was made devoid of any kind of communication and other significant utilities such as electricity, water, telephone and other crucial services. There has not been banking service, too.
There was also safety problem as security forces were not on duty. There was no marketing service in the city in particular and in the state in general as the provision of basic commodities was highly rampant.
Due to all these challenges, the public has passed very tight and trying time then. Besides, there was a serious attempt of theft as a number of prisoners were taken from different detention centers and released at Mekele.
After the defense force put the city under control, we discussed a range of issues about what has to be prioritized and what should come next sitting together with defense and interim government officials. We are now dealing with as per our scheme of priority.
As a result of the relentless effort exerted by the interim government along with the federal government and defense officials, Mekele city has now been provided with electricity, water and electricity. Telephone is partially functioning. The taxi service and other sector offices are also commencing providing the public with appropriate services. Almost all public serving market centers are also open.
The first activities we have carried out after securing the security are adjusting infrastructure and other important inputs for rehabilitation process.
Hand in hand with doing all the necessary works, we have capitalized on safety net provision of the poor. They have suffered from a range of challenges and the conflict added fuel to fire there. However, we have well focused on the support and managed to stabilize situations as we are now in a position to properly provide the destitute with the aid deployed for this purpose.
In order to facilitate conditions and running activities at ease as well as precisely forward supports, we called upon woreda and kebele council representatives at each sub-city to resume their office works. However, some declined to come and start working with us as there were a range of falsehood fabrications and disinformation released everywhere in the city.
There are indicators to do a lot of things as some fled from the city in connection with the security problem and some would like to come back and work with us despite fearfulness.
As they have developed sense of fear and intimidated before, they could hardly get back to work easily. So we have devised mechanisms to prepare the people to elect those whom they believe represent them, and representatives are chosen from the kebele and come to the sub-city as well as a council is going to set up at sub-city level and elect executives. We are aggressively working towards that end.
In due course of running such a decisive activity, senior officials at regional level, defense force leaders and federal police officials have daily assisted us supervising all the activities we have been carrying out. The general public of the city has also developed trust and started supporting us since there are a number of promising movements beneficial to all walks of life. The attempts of plundering exhibited from the very beginning are now dwindled and the city has turned out to be peaceful and stable.
By the way, the acts of looting properties can be observed into ways: a number of public offices have been deliberately looted so as to demolish the documents, hide them out as they would make them liable.
What does it mean when you say the properties have been deliberately plundered, does this idea have a direct bearing with the order of the junta members?
Yes, absolutely. Many major sector offices have intentionally been looted and a number of crucial documents and files are taken away by those who were working there.
Is there anything that can be cited as a testimony?
For example, the city administration mayor office is entirely devoid of public service utility equipment, justice office, municipality, all the things used to provide the public with comprehensive service have been made ill-gotten gains. They left the office open to pretend that all the materials in the offices were stolen.
Some irresponsible individuals also used the gap to take away some computers and other important materials. It was planned and purposely stolen.
Courts are other main targets. When we see the nature of the offices looted they are the major areas particularly great crimes have been committed. The action targeted at getting evidences destroyed in various areas in order not to be accountable for the mess they have long been committed against the general public.
Besides, as a number of individuals who were accused of committing a range of crimes and were in prison were released at Meklele, theft was widely witnessed against private shops and supermarkets as well as public offices, but the intensity has declined.
Since the public was in a state of stress and fear, they have warmly welcome the defense force and tried to support them as much as possible. However, when the theft and plundering property continued, for short period of time of course, the people were threatened.
The good thing is, now things are relatively stabilize and the public has commenced to run their respective regular activities as problems are well addressed.
As the city is now gradually becoming a quiet and inviting, people are happily working here and there.
Let me go to the next question. You said earlier that you have given the opportunity to the public to elect representatives in each woreda. Since there are organized contestant parties, in what way are you acting in this regard? Are they given the opportunity to participate in various activities at city level?
Yes. We are working right now to make many political parties officials and members participants in a number of offices at the state level. The engagement of Arena, Tigray Democtratic Party and Asimba is a case in point in this regard.
In the council due to be established, there is a room in which people individually acting to be representatives are also included. Now the condition is made all inclusive and those who are ethically role models, capable and well accepted among the community can participate in all aspects of the interim government structure so long as they are committed to serve the public and preferred by the society and push the state and the public to a better step irrespective of their political stance and party affiliation.
It is inevitable that the presence of trauma is obvious as the mere and trivial propaganda has been well disseminated among the society. As mentioned earlier, there is a threat among the society. Have you device a special approach to get the public relieved from such a tumultuous scenario?
Yes, we have devised range of mechanisms to deal with the challenges. As I said earlier, there are well-rotted problems as many of the officials centered Mekele as soon as they left for federal offices. What makes the situation difficult is they were economically, financially and network wise very strong. We are working in a tough condition resisting many ups and downs.
However, things are run smoothly and improvements are witnessed as the leadership is working in a much harmonized manner. For these junta members, the very suitable condition to disseminate their propaganda was the absence of light.
For example, it was very difficult for the public to listen to what was happening in Addis Ababa and know the reality on the ground as listening to radio or watching television was not possible. It was quite difficult to inform the public about the level of the law enforcement operation.
There was no print media outlets accessibility, too. Hence, the general public solely listened to the mere propaganda of the junta officials and the corridor hearsays, which are very trivial and unnecessary full of lies.
To the surprise of everyone, the way of divide and rule was extended up to the kebele level organizing people into one to five and one to three and practiced up to intimidating and kidnaping people.
There were people who deliberately disseminated terror among the society. In such a way, there were very organized and highly networked activities with a view to disturbing the people not to lead a stabilized and comfortable life. This approach took time to come back.
Their wide and devilish movement has given the community hard time to lead a regular life. What is practically done by the government to change the state fulfilling basic utilities such as electricity, water provision and telecom service can reduce many mishaps and encourage people to accept the reform.
Getting infrastructure back to service would be of paramount importance in minimizing tensions as people can confirm conditions calling to friends, family and other pertinent individuals. The media have a great role in this regard. Officials and concerned sector offices are working hard to commence the radio and television service.
We are now organizing forums to discuss a number of social, economic and political issues with the general public. Prior to getting to election of individuals, we vividly explain about the situation to the society.
It is important to make conditions clear in terms of politics too. Such a systematic move helps foster public stabilization as practical activities win public confidence. Since there are many broken networks, we are expected to work hard to seize the normal track and help the public lead a stable life. To get the society rightly tracked needs the combined effort of all. All Ethiopians need to understand all this fact.
The propaganda stating that Tigraways have been benefited out of the economic, social and political system before is not working at all. The society even could hardly resist the sufferings for thirty and forty days. It is not a matter of comparing situations from that of yesterday and last year. Even there are problems in producing news.
However, it is important to understand that Tigraways are Ethiopians who have been devoid of fair and democratic administration, economically dwindled and oppressed very much, sacrificed and lack of freedom and liberty. This bad time needs to be passed in cooperation and unity; and revealing the reality should be underscored.
Yes, individuals can be beneficiaries of all things, but they could by means represent the general public. Though there are some aspects that need to be researched and verified, the public is well devastated. It is not right as well as illegitimate to judge all Tigraways following the evil acts of finger counted cruel individuals.
What you have cited earlier about election could be related to state council. When is it going to be held?
It is carried out right now. It is city council. City council members are elected at kebele level. These elected ones in turn send their representatives to sub-city level. Chief executives are elected as at sub-city level. So, what is being carried out right now is at the wereda level, not zonal and state level.
There is some reporting produced by foreign media houses. Do you attend them? What kind of feeling do they create in your mind? What do you want to say in this regard?
I don’t have ample evidence to say so much about this idea. No matter how short my coming here, I do have the information as they have disseminated distorted and imbalance information, but I am busy as bee following a series of assignments and duties.
There are baseless and unacceptable allegations and propagandas against of the government such as huge infrastructures are deliberately attacked by the government, no medicinal provision, lack of food supply, transportation problems, Ayder Hospital was destroyed, the public was displaced etc. Is it true?
Ayder Hospital is not attacked. It is providing the public with appropriate services; even it didn’t stop serving people. Yes, it is well recognized that services can quit following lack of electricity, but it is not possible to say that the service was quit due to lack of electricity.
This is given priority and is being functional now. There is no infrastructure damaged by the government. Simply there was lack of diesel following black out. These are not regarded as problems as it is inevitable to happen.
All these issues are given political interpretation and mended as promptly as possible.
Can we say that basic necessities and other important provisions are now in a position to be fulfilled as required?
In the first place, aids and supports have widely come from the center. The next is distribution. To do this, creating a structure was prioritized. As I told you earlier, many employees absence in a range of public offices and leaving the city were widely witnessed.
There was some sort of delay to deliver aids to these people. Now we are distributing the supports to the needy via the elected officials following the set sub-city structures. Hence, medication, transportation, power supply, security have been given priority, and well dealt with. If there are scarcities, we are consulting with hospitals and fulfilling all the required materials.
Since the state was in a state of conflict, what matters here is prioritizing activities. What is being done to address the problems needs to be underscored.
It is very important to acknowledge what the telecoms service, electricity and security personnel as they have been doing a lot to get the state stabilized as it is part of our common country—Ethiopia, common city ad common people. Talking about solely problems doesn’t bear fruits as the golden Chinese saying, “Talk doesn’t cook rice.”
It is time to pull all Tigraways in particular and Ethiopians in general from the problems they have long been suffering practically via working hard not talking about irrelevant details.
Thank you very much for giving me the interview.
Take it easy
The Ethiopian herald December 22/2020
