All their stories and news glorifies Meles and his government. Their advertisement is again limited to their little tent. In general it is a  sickening piece of tripe. The distortions and contortions the authors of have to go through to try to paint a positive light of Meles and his regime are shameful.

I have my own objection to seeing food as a commodity, and not as a right especially in poor countries such as Ethiopia. The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange as an exchange sees food as a commodity so much so that only those who can afford to buy can eat. Moreover, the heavy reliance on commodities as the main export items will not help the country at all.  

Empirical investigation has shown that the persistent downward trend in real commodity prices has resulted in significant foreign exchange losses for many commodity-dependent poor countries. Ethiopia is no exception as evidenced by the sharp decline in coffee earnings.  

The long-term solution to declining commodity prices lies in export diversification and changes in the production structure. Yet, efforts towards export diversification will have to be complemented by domestic policies aimed at the development of human resources, creation of a hospitable investment climate, institutional capacity building and poverty alleviation to achieve a sustainable solution. This in turn needs a positive political climate to thrive. I just don’t see this will easily happen in Ethiopia given the current political climate.

 In the investing world, whence I borrowed the term vote renting, there is a process, not supported by many, by which an investor borrows shares in order to vote on a transaction to secure a desired outcome.

 My fear is that in the 2010 election the EPRDF-led Ethiopian government will employ a deliberate scheme to ‘rent out’ the unexercised votes of millions of disgruntled citizens and declare EPRDF a winner.  

 But, for democracy to work, the consent of the governed is a must. As the most fundamental concept of democracy, it means that citizens have the right to choose their leaders in free, fair, and regular elections. Other rights are fundamental to democracy too. Yet the right to elect one’s representatives and to influence the political direction of one’s government is democracy’s indispensable political foundation.

 Without free elections, citizens cannot express their will and thus do not have the opportunity to change their leaders, address wrongs, or protest the limitation of their rights. Free elections establish the citizenry’s and the individual’s political rights.

 That is why world history is replete with stories of millions of people braving violence, intimidation, and other obstacles to demand the right to express their will through the ballot box.

 For democracy to work, however, everyone must agree to accept the results of freely held elections. The people and parties, who have lost power, must be willing to accept electoral defeat. If the loser refuses to accept the result of the election, the election’s legitimacy is diminished and the political system may be marked by conflict and instability. A key test for a democracy is the successful and peaceful transfer of power from one party to another. Indeed, this is a continuous test for any democracy, even established ones. Note the 2000 US presidential elections.

 So, handing political power to one of your protégé does not really count as passing the key test. Notwithstanding their frequent abuse of the term “elections”, though, sometimes dictators wrongly assess their own popularity and allow a relatively free vote to be held, believing that they cannot lose. Through voter mobilization and vigilant oversight, citizens have used such opportunities to make democratic breakthroughs. Many dictators, however, respond to public dissatisfaction by strengthening their control. That is exactly what has happened in the 2005 Ethiopian election.

 There is a greater chance EPRDF will attempt to repeat the result of the 2005 elections only this time it will not take any chance by allowing a free elections.

True, Ethiopia has never had a woman leader in its long existence as a nation. With its complete lack of sense, though, no one should be surprised if EPRDF were to see Madam Azeb as an acceptable compromise choice to the core circles of front runners.

The equation is not: Our future is our collective responsibility, so let others do it. Nay, it is rather: The future is our collective responsibility, so I must do it. That is not recklessness or intemperance. That is being responsible in the extreme, seeing the task at hand not as somebody else’s business but one’s own. That is not looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. That is looking at the world with clarity of vision, seeing the world not just for what it is but for what it can be.

Despair and hopelessness has been a staple in the life banquet of Ethiopians for generations. It takes idealism of colossal proportions, which Ethiopians of all stripes must display, to not despair in the face of all these adversity.

The awe-inspiring characteristic of our idealism ought to be its unfettered optimism, its sense that life will turn out for the better. But that optimism does not merely come from the blind belief that things will turn out well by themselves, it comes from the belief that people can work together to make things better. It does not owe to resignation, but owes to glimpsing the possibilities of the human potential, with grace from the Lord, to recognizing that there is nothing we cannot do if we put our minds, and hearts, to it.

So, my fellow Ethiopians don’t despair; hang on to your idealism which must anchor on the Lord’s promise. That is the one thing I would beg you to cling to with the passion of a lover, or the desperation of a drowning man. God willing, we will march to victory despite the multitude of obstacles.

Despite the decency of Ethiopians, the cause of freedom is always under attack on all sides: the Zenawian cabal cries foul play in the name of ethnic hatred every time Ethiopians get together to expose the cruelty of the government and demand their God given freedom and liberty.

The Zenawi political machine continuously engages in churning out character assassination to foil any popular movement that threatened their political existence. The weakness of the opposition and the lack of inspiring leader have in fact made their task easier.

So all compatriots, lovers of freedom, young and old, men and women, come let us rally around the banner of hope and fly it high. Let us not be complacent and allow the forces of despair to prevail.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Why are we devaluing the birr? Accoring to Prime Minister Meles, “As a condition of getting IMF financing, we are asked to devalue the birr.”  But, we must know that in the current global economic down turn, many countries are devaluing their currencies. For Ethiopia, devaluation is an inevitable option in today’s uncertain economic climate. My fear is that the devaluation may aso lead to inflation and higher interest rates.

The currency devaluation statistics is alarming. There are dozens of resource-rich countries that have seen their currencies fall against the dollar over the last several months. These countries include Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Russia and Belarus. 

Armenia weakened its currency by 22% against the dollar. The bank of Kazakhstan devalued the tenge by 18%. India, Malaysia and Taiwan have let their currencies fall after South Korea weakened it currency by 19% against the dollar.

Read the recent piece by Andrew Cawthorne in which he reported what Meles has said “The party is in the process of dialogue, and sooner or later it will make its decision, and that will be it, …adding he was unlikely to act without EPRDF blessing. We have a large leadership pool, any one of whom could take the mantle”.

Did you notice for Meles it is a foregone conclusion that either he or one of his buddies and no one else will be the leader of Ethiopia notwithstanding the 2010 election? Everybody pretty much expects this to be the case. In fact Andrew reported, “Diplomats expect the EPRDF to win the 2010 election, and for one of Meles’ senior Cabinet members to take over.”

These tyrannical rulers, besides ruling now, want to perpetuate their stranglehold on the populace even after their ´death´ by putting their sycophant heirs on the seat from where political and economic power is exercised. Building a ruling dynasty for the successors to continue the savagery of their masters is a perverse form of immortality Meles and Co., are actively seeking in Ethiopia now. What might the roughly 80 million people want in their leaders even did not cross Meles´s and his cohorts mind? Journalists kept asking him “will you step down?” on every turn. And, Meles kept answering “may be or may be not. The party will decide.” Why should the party decide? The Ethiopian people care less who will be the leader of EPRDF. Meles and his friends can decide that day long. But when it comes to the question who replaces this tyrant? The decision must be made by the Ethiopian people. There should not be ifs and buts on this question.

Yet, all over the media the question of succession is being discussed to death but in a shameful manner. Some would say Ato A or Ato B or Ato C should succeed him and others would say no competent person can be found et cetera. What a disgrace to the nation? What about the voice of Ethiopians? Ok, the dictators have a stake on who should succeed Meles but why do the rest of us trumpeting this sham instead of exposing it for what it is? Meles and his cohorts are busy grooming another dictator in Meles’s image to continue their stranglehold.

Once tyranny is established in a nation, how does it perpetuate itself? It perpetuates itself by no other means but by grooming a similar breed. This is not new. It has been so since time immemorial. Let us use Biblical references for a foundation to find the answer to this question. In John 8:44 Jesus says, “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” In John 10:10a Jesus tells us, “The thief comes not, but for to steal, to kill and to destroy.

The first tyrant was the devil. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us his tactics as stated above. First, the devil is “a murderer.” He steals kills and destroys. Next, the devil is “a liar.” Have not Ethiopia witnessed this in the last 18 years? Murders (nearly 200 were killed in 2005), and lies after lies (while millions are drowning in abject poverty Meles unashamedly asserts that the economy of the country is growing at 10% annually).

Meles and his friends tacitly and at times explicitly encourage public bickering on the basis of race and language; they censor anyone who disagreed with them and most of the times just throw them in jail. They have destroyed national values by ridiculing patriotism and honesty. All these are but diabolical works.

When you see an organization or government doing the things listed above, you are looking at a system that rules by the brute force of a tyrant. The only way tyranny can perpetuate itself is to constantly keep the people in a state of confusion with a well organized war against their unity and that is exactly what Meles is doing.

Sooner or later God would bring judgment and Ethiopia will be free of such a horrible yoke.

By many reports the death toll has mounted to over 300 hundred. The catalyst to the ensuing violence is the just concluded Presidential election. The incumbent, President Mwai Kibaki, is accused of stealing the election by the opposition. To shade a good deal of doubt on the fairness of the election, the Chairman of the election commission made a startling admission that he was under duress to prematurely release the results of the election.

300 hundred people, unique and peculiar people, people created in the image of God, have lost their lives while a 76 years old man, who by Kenya’s standard of living could well be argued living in a borrowed time to the tune of over 30 years, will not budge. In Africa, where accountability to the electorate is almost a foreign concept, to expect President Mwai Kibaki to discharge his day to day functions ably is an illusion. Of course, that does not matter a bit. In fact, so long as the sycophants in his inner circle and the Police and the Military do ably conspire and willing to squash any opposition, President Mwai Kibaki can continue to be President until he dies, why not? Many have done it before him and others are doing it too.

Do you recall what has happened in Ethiopia in 2005? Over 198 people have lost their lives. The Ethiopian and Kenyan situations are very similar. In both cases the incumbents did not want to relinquish power. Instead they have chosen to squash any opposition in the name of protecting peace and controlling unruly and unemployed youth rioters. And, they are comfortable; it seems to me, that many lives were lost in the process of ensuring their continued ride on the backs of their poverty stricken citizens. What a tortured reasoning?

Who should be responsible for Kenya and Ethiopia for creating millions of unemployed youth?  None other than the governments respectively of President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minster Meles Zenawi. So, what is wrong for these ‘unemployed and unruly’ youth to demand a change of government? What is wrong for them and the people at large to demand their voice as expressed in the ballot box be respected?

The similarities are even striking when you analyze how the incumbents strive to resolve the impasse. ‘The judicial process will resolve the disputes’ so the people were told. This would have been the only preferred avenue to resolve disputes of such magnitude and nature if there really is an independent judiciary. However, it would be misleading to assert that both countries have an independent judiciary in the real sense of the term. In a country where corruption is rampant, it is too much to ask the people to put their trust on a broken institution.

No amount of dressing would erase the fact that the people knew in their hearts of hearts all the talk is baloney.  In Kenya corruption is a public secret. In Ethiopia corruption and outright embezzlement are public secrets.

A few days ago, the Ethiopian Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission announced that it is drafting a law requiring governmental and public institutions officials to basically declare their financial worth. On the surface this is a good step in the right direction. However, the real question is whether the Commission is independent and has real legal teeth to hold accountable public officials who profited from the public trust. Holding accountable the mini officials although still important should not be seen as a successful endeavor in combating corruption. How about the grandiose officials who immensely profited from behind the scene dealing with businessmen or out rightly embezzle? It is a known fact that many children of these public officials are attending schools in Europe and N America. Does anyone have a problem with this? Does the Commission care to ask the officials to explain how they can afford to pay tuition in private boarding schools in the amount of up wards of $20,000/year?  We will sit and see. When in fact the Commission does inquire to such actions of the officials and hold them accountable, then and only then the public trust will start to develop. Until then Africa will continue to be ruled by shameful dictators who are barely educated and have no sense of decency.

On the days following the pardon of the Kinjit leaders, many Diaspora politicians were understandably positively giddy with euphoric joy. I certainly was much happier than I’d been in years, but not so much from the stunning pardon process itself as from a feeling that some light finally had made its way into a very dark cave. That, in and of itself, was worth celebrating.

Yet, it would be simple-minded to think that the pardoned Kinjit leaders would forthwith bring about a much-awaited change to the political discourse of Ethiopia. A careful glimpse of their actions (leaving aside the structural shortcomings of the current government) following the 2005 elections would show self-centeredness and political immaturity.

Barely a month after their release, the wave of euphoria came crashing down when humanity made contact with REALITY. Bickering, double-crossing, and back-biting (sadly an entrenched Ethiopian culture) have become the staples in the banquet of Diaspora politics. Of course, the first fatal error in moral and political judgment was made when these so-called ‘sage’ leaders have decided they have to pay homage to the Diaspora politicians; totally discounting the home front they so desperately ‘crave’ to lead.

How about paying a visit to the families of those who have lost their lives in the aftermath of the 2005 election? How about celebrating the dawn of the millennium with the people who had voted en masse for them? Here in lies, brothers and sisters, the lack of political astuteness and judgment of a historic proportion on the part of Kinjit leaders.

It is a sad state of affair to witness a crumbling of a major political party which a few years back had a promising future. Oh, yes, it would have been a much needed impetus to the democratic struggle in Ethiopia had Kinjit succeeded as a formidable alternative opposition political party. But it is no more! So, new leaders must arise, who can read the situation with all its limitations, but who nonetheless look beyond, forming a national strategy that can bring political transformation.

The real issues confronting the nation are obvious and many. Aside from all the talk and the visible skewed growth, the government has not delivered the goods, the goods that matters to ordinary citizens. The government knows it and the citizens know it too. It is indeed true that the resemblance of democratic activity has been widely observed in the Ethiopian political map for quite some time now. Yet, the most frequent encounter that the ordinary citizen has with democracy is not through political activity. Rather, it is in day to day contact with public administrations at local, regional and federal levels where that encounter gives evidence of efficiency, responsiveness and accountability resulting in the confidence in the democratic process as a means of service as well as a political and ethical system.

To the people’s utter dismay, the public is experiencing opaqueness, insularity, inefficiency and arrogance resulting in almost zero confidence in the government (and now in the current leadership of the opposition parties), and thus in the ideal of a democratic system in general.

The government, to its credit, is scrabbling to introduce administrative changes at all levels. But, administrative reform does not simply mean a quest for professional excellence, or efficiency, or customer satisfaction, essential though those qualities are; it is in fact very vital to strengthening public confidence in democracy as an answerable system for delivering many of the essentials of life, for helping to advance freedom, social and economic progress and security, and lifting up the people from abject poverty.

It is hard to effect a lasting and durable change with the same old methods with the same old functionaries who are too invested in the status quo, which is what EPRDF is trying to do. The Bible teaches a great wisdom on this point. Let us read it together. “Nobody sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on to an old coat, for the patch will pull away from the coat and the hole will be worse than ever. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins – otherwise the skins burst, the wine is spilt and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into new skins and both are preserved.” (Matthews 9:17).

The rise of a new leadership is thus a necessity for Ethiopia. It is therefore incumbent upon the current leaders both in government and the opposition parties to recognize this truth and courageously choose to ‘die’ rather than to let the country ‘die’. They both need to work together to pave the way for new generation of leaders to blossom. My call to all the young generation of Ethiopians is to rise with determination to radically change the course of Ethiopian history.