Under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali’s Prosperity Gospel, the socioeconomic reality on the ground is bleaker today than it was when Abiy took power.
- Close to 31 million Ethiopians suffer from hunger; one millipon of these face starvation.
- More than five million Ethiopians are internally dispalced, one of the largest in the world.
- A repeat of the 1984 Great Famine is on the horizon, with drought induced starvation in the Amhara region affecting one million lives.
- Bribery, corruption and nepotism are widespread, eclipsing similar indices under the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.
- Abiy’s system is a blend of plutocracy, that is, a society ruled by a few people of ill-gained wealth and political power ; and oligarcy, that is, a power structure in which power resides in a self-selected few ethnic elites. The Prosperity Gospel in Ethiopia enriches the few and traps the majority of the population into a cycle of poverty and destitution.
What is the solution?
Peace, human security and political stability and an accountable government free of tribalism, nepotism, bribery, corruption and exclusivism supported by people-centered and integrated development will do wonders for Ethiopia.
The best illustrative example of a poor, aid depedent and food insecure country that has transfored itself for the better over the past three decades is Bangladesh. Today, Bangladesh is a rising star in development. Its GDP is projected to become 34th in the world by 2030 and 25th by 2035.
Instead of boosting productivity, food self-sufficiency and employment generation for at least 2 million young people per year, Prime Minister Abiy is squandering $15 billlion in luxury projects includinng palaces that only elites and wealthy foreign tourists can enjoy. I urge you to watch the below video and assess the siuation for yourself.
Dr. Aklog Birara