BY SOLOMON WASSIHUN
Three years ago, following the tumult of series of public unrest across the country especially in Oromia and Amhara regions, the endless chains of ‘renewal and ‘deep renewal conferences and power frictions within the then ruling party, EPRDF, a little known junior minister called Abiy suddenly stood at the limelight of the Ethiopian politics. It was at the unusually very late-night breaking news of April 27, 2018, that we learned Ethiopia was about to get a new prime minister.
When Abiy was sworn in as the new prime minister on 2 April of that year before the parliamentarians, Ethiopia was in a state of emergency, declared by his predecessor to quell the rising tides of political unrest. Besides the volatile political conditions, the economic situation was almost in shambles to the point where the government was struggling to pay the salary of civil servants.
Determined to steer the nation away from the deteriorating economic and political crisis, Abiy unveiled his vision for Ethiopia’s future and the philosophy of his leadership in the historical inaugural speech he made at the parliament. In that speech, he made also a bold move to ask the Ethiopian people for forgiveness for all the crimes committed by the government institutions during the dark periods of the TPLF-led EPRDF rule.
The speech has galvanized the nation to stand behind Abiy’s vision for a prosperous, democratic, and strong Ethiopia, where citizens co-exist peacefully and enjoy equal opportunities irrespective of their ethnic, or religious identity.
Ethiopians both home and abroad welcomed the new leadership and its reform agenda, except for those elements who were the beneficiaries of the malpolitics and grand corruption schemes of the previous regime as well as the extremist groups backed by Ethiopia’s adversaries who want to derail the reform plan that would enable Ethiopia to transit the troubled times to become a stable strong nation. Even there were a few senior and local officials of the newly organized ruling party that were plotting to jeopardize the reform agenda, a situation that led to a power struggle behind the curtain until it culminated with the triumph of the reformists. The victory did not come easily. There were cases where reformists paid the ultimate price.
Before Abiy’s take over, the power and position of the prime minister under his predecessor’s administration was compromised by the limitless power of the security forces which have a direct line of command with TPLF leaders. So Abiy’s first challenge was to liberate his position from ‘a state -within-a state’ domination.-a struggle that almost cost him his life.
In June 2018, a few months after taking office, he narrowly escaped an attempt on his life which he described as an “unsuccessful attempt by forces who do not want to see Ethiopia united”. Then 4 months later another attempt was made on life through a foiled plot of insurrection at the National Palace by several hundreds of armed soldiers. “The march of some members of the army to the National Palace was not only unlawful but very dangerous because the intention was to abort the ongoing reforms.”, commented Abiy on the situation few days after the incident that could have terminated the reform process.
Among the swift political reform measures taken by the reformist leadership include the release of thousands of political prisoners, while political organizations previously outlawed were allowed to operate and exiled dissidents were welcomed back to their homeland to engage in a peaceful struggle to build a democratic culture. Mainstream and social media outlets that were blocked and on the blacklist of the security forces under the TPLF administration were allowed to work freely.
The emergence of a unified party, Prosperity Party, PP from the ashes of the defunct ruling coalition, EPRDF, was by far one of the major steps of the political reform process. At that time, some analysts have commented that many Ethiopians welcomed the emergence of the multi- ethenic pan-Ethiopian party [PP], seeing it as an opportunity to unite the country and resolve its many deep-rooted challenges like the growing ethnic polarization and violence.
Apart from politics, the economy was also the other major area that saw drastic changes with the advent of the reform. The economic reform was led by a 10 billion dollar program meticulously devised by Ethiopians themselves, Home Grown Economic Reform. The economic reform agenda structured with three pillars namely macroeconomics, structural and sectoral reforms, was intended to bring about a robust economy with the private sector as its engine.
It targeted the chronic macroeconomic imbalances the country‘s economy has been facing. It sought the remedy for the country’s struggle with macro-financial instability, debt burden, inflation, and hard currency shortages. Beyond fixing and sustaining through these hectic situations. To curb the hemorrhaging of the economy due to, among other things, the illegal circulation of money and counterfeiting, illicit trade, the reformists have implemented the arduous task of currency note change.
Successful debt relief negotiations, the rearrangement of commercial loans into concessional, heavyweight investments deals, the acquisition of aid of multi-million dollars in grant and long term loans, mobilizing the Diaspora for development are some of the related economic activities carried out by the reformist government over the last 3 years.it was during the reform periods that Ethiopia became the top-ranking East- African nation in attracting FDI.
During the reform, the government carried out multi-sectored activities like reforming laws and procedures, making the bureaucracy leaner, pushing for transparency, and devising new and hi –tech based working systems, opening opportunities for all citizens to share their ideas and experiences to bring change for the better.
The government has established an independent National Council of Economic Advisors that regularly provides the government with “evidence-based policy advice” promoting inclusive economic development, and ensuring the continuity and success of HGER as well as improves the transparency of economic policy in Ethiopia.
The reform period also saw the formulation of a 10-year perspective plan that envisions the rise of Ethiopia as an African beacon of prosperity by 2030. the plan, unanimously approved a few days ago by the parliament, will serve Ethiopia as a Pathway to Prosperity starting from the current up to 2029/30 fiscal year. It aims to bring quality-based economic growth; increase production and competitiveness; build a green and climate-resilient economy; bring about institutional transformation; ensure fair and equitable opportunities for women and youth, and guarantee private sector-led growth.
With regards to foreign policy and diplomacy, one of the great achievements in the reform period was the swift breakthrough in ending the two-decade animosity the Ethiopian government had with the neighboring state of Eritrea. It was a diplomatic victory for the reformist government that took the international community by total surprise and astonishment and enabled Abiy to won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
The other major diplomatic victory during the three-year reform period was Ethiopia’s handling of the GERD negotiations. The principled Ethiopian diplomacy has sustained the intense diplomatic pressures and arm twisting by foreign powers and defended Ethiopia’s sovereign rights to get a fair share of the Nile waters.
3 years on, the reform process is now undergoing a decisive stage of forming a democratically elected government with free, fair, and transparent elections. Despite the persistent security issues in various parts of the country and the continued public health threat of Coronavirus, the National elections Board of Ethiopia appears to be ready to run the general election after 2 months.
Most analysts agree that the 6th general election would be the most contested and democratic one since Election 2005. This election is crucial in that it would usher in an elected government with a constitutional mandate to lead the country for the next five years. We expect that the federal parliament would be politically diverse comprising voices from different political parties as opposed to the present one which is entirely composed of members of the ruling party.
In a nutshell, no one can deny the impressive positive multifaceted stride Ethiopia made during the past three years of reform. Had it not been for the continued relentless destructive plots of anti-Ethiopia forces [like the TPLF and foreign adversaries], and the unforeseen devastating effect of the Corona pandemic, the reform would have propelled Ethiopia much further than where it brought her today. Nevertheless, no matter what assassinations and massacres they mastermind, or no matter how many booby traps they place in Ethiopia’s way to democracy and prosperity, her enemies will never succeed to stop her from reaching her destination.
The Ethiopian Herald 4 April 2021
