BY FITSUM GETACHEW
The eleventh regular session of the House of Peoples Representatives was held a few days ago with the six month report of the premier presented for discussion. Accordingly the MPs were allowed to ask for explanations on the report and clarifications of the executive branch are certain activities carried out and shortcomings recorded as well as the challenges faced during the stated period.
The premier thus had to face scores of questions on the policies of his government and party. The members of parliament also asked him about the rationale of some of the policy decisions taken during the six months included in the report.
The MPs posed questions that ranged from the security situation of the country, the peace talks with the various armed groups including the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Deal, the huge impact that inflation is posing on the lives of ordinary people in the country and the various economic challenges of the country, the problems facing the health, and education sectors, infrastructure shortcomings in various parts of the country as well as other social issues of significant interest to citizens in general. Issues of diplomacy and relations with neighboring countries were also raised by the MPs and addressed by the premier.
In what took more than two hours the premier answered to the questions with his usual confidence and eloquence. Many observers were heard stating that his answers had the effect of giving the impression that the country is not in such a huge crisis as many would like to depict it and the sentiment of despair expressed by many regarding the security situation was not that alarming. Rather the premier said there were remarkable improvements in the security situation of the country.
He began by stating that peace was a relative concept and there can never be absolute peace in a dynamic country such as Ethiopia where there are contrasting interests and the political situation is work in progress with attempts to democratize the country and that there have been so many problems that have been rolling down the decades that it would not be possible to attain total peace at once.
He however said that for instance there was more peace now than six months ago and this process would continue if we continue to work hard to engage all those forces who have been creating problems by using weapons and attacking communities in various parts of the country.
The premier said there are forces who believe that if we simultaneously attack the state in various localities at the same time, the government would give in to the pressure and may be resign or abandon its authority and then these forces would have the chance to come to power. The premier however has retorted that they have under estimated the force and resilience of the
government and how ready and prepared it is to foil any attacks that come not only from inside but also from outside. He noted the risks for this government to fall or the state to disintegrate are now all gone because Ethiopia has passed its worst days during the past few years when it had to face practically the entire world against it with several types of propaganda and campaign as well as various forms of economic and diplomatic pressure imposed on it.
The premier said that it is now fully engaged in the attainment of total peace with all warring factions in the country and even in the diplomatic sphere it has gained ground as now much of the pressure against his government is easing gradually. Beside the peace and security efforts now underway where his government is fully engaged, it is also working round the clock to come out of the cycle of inflation caused not only by internal forces but also by external forces.
He said that the world economic and diplomatic situation has severely affected countries such as Ethiopia who rely mostly on foreign cooperation and support and now that the world is completely interdependent whatever happens somewhere outside Ethiopia will end up having negative consequences on countries such as Ethiopia and he mentioned as an example the Russia-Ukraine war that has a huge impact on all economies of the world.
The economy is hence a huge homework for the government he said and maximum efforts are being exerted to increase production so that the demand of the population can be met without costing them too much. In this domain various alternatives have been tried
to subsidize the poorer part of the population and relieve them of the big increments in prices of commodities. This has begun with subsidies for farmers so that cost of food does not skyrocket. Substitution of imports with local products is another way of decreasing the deficit between exports and imports and this has its own impact on the debt burden of the country.
In this respect the premier said progress has been made because the country has not taken commercial loans for years now and its commitment to alleviate the debt burden is having success Asked about the national security situation of the country particularly with respect to neighboring countries such as Sudan and South Sudan, the premier said it is true there have been skirmishes on the borders due to various reasons but that it was not unheard of even in past years.
The issue of demarcation of the border with Sudan is there and the government has formed a ministerial commission to try to iron out the differences and reach an agreement. Similar arrangements are being fixed with regards the hundreds of South Sudanese who got into Ethiopian sovereign territory with their cattle and this has created anxiety on the local population but this is not to say that South Sudan has invaded Ethiopia as some MPs put it. The premier rejected such claim
The premier and his party were also accused by some opposition MPs for failing to protect the citizens of the country and that innocent people have been killed by not only these armed groups with their own political agenda such as Shene, but also the government forces themselves and that hence he should admit failure and consider leaving office so that someone else could take his place and solve the problems of the country which his government could not. One MP even accused the Prosperity Party of trying to destroy Ethiopia even if the premier continues to assert that Ethiopia would never disintegrate even if its enemies have this illusive hope.
The premier answered that his party has been fully engaged in saving the integrity and unity of the country especially when many were making declarations of the fall of his government and that the capital city was under siege and about to fall. All these dangers perceived and real were foiled by his government and the sacrifices necessary were made to keep intact the nation and that has demonstrated how strong the defense and security forces of the nation and this issue of destroying Ethiopia can never be raised again.
The premier underlined that the risk of vulnerability is now gone for good and what we now need to do is consolidate the peace and build up a resilient economy that can face the pressure of foreign influences and this has been at the center of the home grown economic reform underway, the premier noted.
Peace is the priority of his government the premier underlined but it cannot be achieved
overnight. It is inevitable that there will still be collateral damages while we go in search of peace. What we need to do is embrace all warring factions towards the cause of the country, forget what has happened up to now, pardon the forces involved for the good of every one because any sacrifice paid for peace is worth it. The premier said as bravery and courage is needed to combat in war in defense of the nation, the same courage and resoluteness is needed to make sacrifices for peace.
Talking about the influence of the media in the affairs of the nation and how it can have a huge role in the positive and negative image of the country and how it can damage the morale of the people, the premier advised that as his government wants democracy and freedom of expression to flourish he has been hesitant from taking hard measures against certain media which however have been disseminating false and fabricated, very dangerous news affecting seriously the efforts of his government as well as the peace and stability of the nation.
Commenting on the question raised by one Member of Parliament why his government was not taking the necessary measures against such media, he said we are living in a world where there are a plethora of news outlets and media and many of them disseminate unfounded news, exaggerating at best on whatever is happening. He said followers of the media have the responsibility to listen to those which are truthful, reliable and objective rather than those who try to poison the people with their false propaganda.
These media invent clashes where there are none and exaggerate the numbers of causalities where there are a few. If they do not find any trace of conflict they bring about some story that happened five, six decades ago and try to antagonize one ethnic group with another.
Hence, the audience should deprive these media attention and by not heeding them so that they go out of business. This means the audience as well has the duty to combat such sources in order to protect our nation. In the meantime the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority also has the responsibility of monitoring these fake media outlets and takes the necessary legal measures in the interest of citizens.
As we are an emerging democracy there are bound to be failures here and there and we must try to fill in the vacuums together rather than focus only on the weaknesses. Shortcomings are unavoidable as we work in progress but we can overcome these gaps if we all work to the same objective of keeping the country peaceful and strong and stop fuelling conflicts rather than encouraging peace moves.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 7 APRIL 2023
