He wasn’t perfect but he was what Ethiopia needed at the time. The brutal wars late in the previous century left the country devastated and it was time for someone to step in-pick up the pieces-and begin the healing process. Meles Zenawi was the right man for the job.
Zenawi was the prime minister of Ethiopia from 1995 till his death in 2012. Prior to becoming pm, he was head of the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front since its inception in 1991. He was a fighter for Ethiopian unity, and he fully understood that in order to have unity you must acquire peace. But peace didn’t come easily as he fought to overthrow Mengistu Haile Mariam head of the brutal Derg Regime, and led his country to a small victory (demarcation line redrawn) in the Ethiopia-Eritrean War from 1998-2000.
Not only did the war leave his country landlocked but there were more pressing issues like poor infrastructure, (roads, airports, railroads) and a lack of electricity. On top of that Ethiopia was a poor and illiterate nation with a large population steep in agriculture that would take years to industrialize in order for development to occur.
From war to nation building Zenawi placed Ethiopia on the right path to recovery.
He knew his country needed to eradicate poverty and improve education in order to move forward. His plan was to have Ethiopia become a middle income country by 2025 with the help of the (GTP) Growth and Transformation Plan. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam or GERD was his ace in the hole that would electrify the country and sell power too his neighbors. Even with a price tag of $4 billion assisted by generous donations from Ethiopians all over the world, the GERD may not become an energy export like coffee, gold, flowers or cattle.
Let’s face it, Ethiopia is not a democracy. The government owns the land and lease it out to foreign countries for agriculture and other commercial investments, without having to reimburse ethnic groups like the Oromo and Amhara who have lived on the land for centuries, and now under a federated system. But they invested heavily in road projects, industrial parks, hospitals and education which improve the GDP from 3.4% in 2003 to 10% in 2010. Economic progress was evident under Zenawi’s watch, and is the case today under Hailemariam Desalegn who succeeded him after his death and led the country to 15% GDP in 2015.
Zenawi was not without his critics who chastised him for being an authoritarian. But western governments loved him to the tune of nearly $4 billion a year in aid for serving as the neighborhood cop with troops in Somalia and Sudan. During the 2005 elections he put some of the opposition party in jail and others fled the country, for claiming they had won the elections. He fixed that by making his Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) the only viable party.
The opposition rallied in protest the following year claiming election fraud and the government security forces killed nearly 200 during the rally. Although he was suppressing democratic reforms Ethiopia stayed united and economic progress was steadily improving. The GDP kept improving under Zenawi and western leaders kept giving him aid.
Fast track to 2010 and it was deja vous all over again this time claiming more that 90% of the seats and warning the opposition of serious consequences if protest ensued. Even with the opposition totally incensed with the EPRDF which hails from the Tigray ethnic group, and make up only 6% of the population, the country stayed united. They stayed together because economic development was steadily on the rise in lieu of his repressive regime. The reasons Zenawi kept the country together were due to a strong security force and economic progress.
His critics including the Oromos accused his government of taking prime, fertile land and leasing it out to foreign countries without payment. And they are correct in that argument. But when you look at the overall picture in the region, the Ethiopian economy was making great progress. They reside in a pretty tough neighborhood, facing darts coming in from all directions. The Egyptians want to control the Nile and are against the large GERD Dam, claiming it will shrink its share of the Nile. They are trying to destabilize Ethiopia by supporting the Oromo Liberation Front.
It’s hard for me to understand why the OLF would want to protest in front of Egyptians about how bad they are being treated by the Ethiopian Government. The Egyptian Government don’t really care about their own people let alone Oromos. They pretend they care by supporting OLF so they can go back and destabilize Ethiopia. In the process if the country is divided and the GERD is destroyed they are satisfied. If you want to know how the Egyptians treat their own, ask the Nubians? They built a huge dam called Aswan and now their great culture and history is under water.
In order for Ethiopia to thrive Peace Must Exist. Take a look at Eritrea! In order to stay afloat they are at the mercy of not only Egypt but the United Arab Emirates as well. They’ve invested heavily in the Assab Port and they are building a military base nearby. The Emiratis have the money and the Eritrean Government needs the cash to make ends meet. In case you haven’t notice there is a war going on in nearby Yemen. It’s a sectarian divide. Its Sunni vs Shia; with several Arab countries supporting the Sunni Government and Iran supporting Houthi Shia rebels.
The Emirates will use Assab Port to attack Yemen with its frigates and the new military base for jets to drop bombs on Shia rebels and return to Eritrea. Pretty soon the rebels in Yemen are going to catch on and send suicide bombers to Eritrea and Somaliland. And maybe Ethiopia if you’re not united.
Ethiopia sorta remind me of China several decades ago, when the western world said they would fail because of its authoritarian government and rigid one party system. But they have made remarkable progress through development and providing jobs for its citizens.
Zenawi said he wants Ethiopia to be a middle income country by 2025. In order to accomplish that you must build infrastructure and provide jobs for your citizens. Desalegn you must keep Ethiopia at peace and you will be judged on results.
hubiejones.com 