Undoubtedly, the #NoMore movement has brought a lot of advantages for the nations’ diplomatic and other achievements. Therefore, scholars agreed that if this movement can be explicitly expanded for further campaigns, it will also bring economic benefits for the country in addition to its societal and political contribution.
Apart from this, the Ethiopian government is undertaking meticulous activities to ensure the resilience of the economy and tackle the pressing challenge of food insecurity across the country. Scholars also suggested that the government should strengthen its activity to tackle the economic war ignited by the terrorist TPLF and Shene groups.
Recently, a renowned journalist Hermela Aregawi disclosed that the #NoMore Global Movement will expand to other economic development issues particularly the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to counter the coordinated and well-funded propaganda of some interest groups.
In a press conference she gave here last week, Hermela, known for being one of the initiators of the #NoMore movement, said that there is a great commitment and desire to strengthen and expand the activity to other issues of national importance. Accordingly, various activities are underway to this end.
As to her, the #NoMore movement conversation has moved to other economic development matters as they have paramount importance in changing the livelihoods of the public. Subsequently this movement will have a major economic importance for Ethiopia, she added.
“Economic development is a big agenda. Explaining the multifaceted value of the GERD is actually undergoing. As it changes the lives of more than 100 million people, journalists must pay attention to it. They can probably produce a million stories on GERD and we need to start now as entire propaganda coming from the outside.”
“As #NoMore Global Movement’s one-year anniversary is coming, we will do the same about GERD’s propaganda. It will be opened in the near future. We can go on the offensive. We can focus on people working on the areas of job creation, energy and how it can change the lives of women and other communities,” she added.
Noting the #NoMore Global Movement is a way of thinking and doing something different to bring a change or improvement, the journalist should note that the movement will be expanded to a high level in development arenas. “There are opportunities to tell the real stories about Ethiopia for the world community. I am ready to make any kind of contribution for Ethiopia at a maximum effort by strengthening the movement and participating in any kind of activities,” Hermela expressed.
Meanwhile over the past year, the Ethiopian government has done meticulous jobs to ensure the resilience of the economy and tackle the pressing challenge of food insecurity, the Prime Minister Office Press Secretary said.
The Prime Minister Office Press Secretary Billene Seyoum on her part stated that there are different measures that the government is going to be putting in place to end poverty and ensure food security. Many parts of the country are food insecure not because of lack of land and ability for farming, but because the sector has been rain fed and subsistence farming for far too long.
Billene further noted that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) and his administration have been greatly committed to modernizing the sector, launching different initiatives. In the past three years, the key measures that have been taken for modernizing the sector are waiving fees and taxes on machinery and spare parts to be used in the sector and providing modern equipment to farmers, enhancing productivity and replacing ox driven farming by modern one.
As to her, the other key initiative spearheaded by the prime minister to ensure food security is the introduction of wheat farming in lowland areas through irrigation to replicate the practice which has been carried out in the highland areas for long. The winter irrigation enables producing twice a year. The low land irrigation proved enhancing productivity and great success has been witnessed in the past two years.
The Green Legacy initiative, which was introduced by Premier Abiy in 2019 and planned to plant 20 billion tree seedlings within four-year periods, has made a progress in balancing the ecosystem and preventing drought. Tree planting continues not just for reforestation and afforestation purposes, but also as part of ensuring food security because some of these seedlings that are being planted are fruits.
The Press Secretary pointed out that, the key hallmark of the current administration championed by the prime minister is to uplift the living standard of citizens and to end widespread poverty. The administration also has been trying its level best to ensure inclusive, equitable and sustainable development.
Supporting some sectors to boost the economy is also undergoing and among others the mining sector can be mentioned here. As the result, the export earnings from gold boosted. On the other hand, measure has taken on some mining companies which fail to be operational as per the time schedule and their license is cancelled.
One of the objectives of the government gold mining development is to make the endeavor a community-based development program where the grass roots become direct beneficiaries.
Resources are being utilized in an equitable manner nationally and such practices indicate that the government is performing its economic activities in line with the 10 years perspective reform program. Commenting on Ethiopia’s revocation from AGOA, Billene highlighted that the removal directly affects low-income citizens primarily women who have no relations with the northern conflict.
“I personally believe that sanctions are an outdated mode of engagement, particularly as countries like Ethiopia are developing and growing its economy in many aspects. The engagement should be constructive and not to hurt the innocent arbitrarily, because it directly affects the most vulnerable segment of the society.”
Sharing the aforementioned ideas, an Economist Mekonen Abera told to The Ethiopian Herald that, Ethiopia and Ethiopians have to take over lots of activities in order to assure the prosperity of the country. As to him, expanding the #NoMore activity in a way to support the nation’s economy has paramount importance for poverty reduction and attaining economic stability.
Appreciating the Journalist Hermela’s motive in expanding the #NoMore movement to campaign economic development, he underscored that every Ethiopians in general and the diaspora community in particular should support this movement. As a matter of fact the terrorist TPLF and its elites have made economic destruction across the country; Ethiopians at every corner should stand in unison to counter this problem.
According to him, building resilient economy coupled with striving to ensure food security should not be the government’s responsibility only. Therefore, every Ethiopian like that of Hermela Aregawi and many others should come up with significant activities for the national economic growth.
In this case; Ethiopians, diaspora and friends of Ethiopians shall strive in supporting the campaign for better national prosperity. Additionally the campaign will have significance in countering the western pressure against Ethiopia including the U.S. government’s decision in revocation Ethiopia from AGOA, he expressed.
BY HIZKEL HAILU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 30 JANUARY 2022
