Adane Atnafu, (PhD)
In every measure, the government of Ethiopia in handling human resources has miserably failed to meet international standards. This is partly because competent and responsible individuals do not take the government positions. Rather, most positions are filled by what we call pseudo supporters. Supporters of the present political party could be classified into three; real, forced and pseudo. Real supporters are those who support the political system from the bottom of their hearts (they are very few in numbers), forced supporters are those who do not really want the political system but they support the system because they feel that they will lose their jobs (they are few in numbers) and pseudo supporters (they are many). Thus, I would like to say a few points about the pseudo supporters based on my long years of personal observation. I closely observed them; I even brought the case to the attention of my friends, working in various governmental organizations. And they also confirmed me that these types of individuals are found in every public organization in Ethiopia like common cold. Who are actually these supporters?
Pseudo supporters are weak individuals; these people cover up their weaknesses by being a political member. They are opportunist; these supporters do not have faith in self abilities; they are academically and politically immature; they do not have recognition of spiritual maturity, proven character, and reputation; these supporters do not have confidence and zeal to work without being a political member; they are not mentally strong and firm in decisions; they could not use and trust their brain; they hide themselves in the shadow of politics. They gather every week for seemingly trivial points and they have a deep and uncompromising commitment to their political meeting rather than their institutional task. They believe in ethnic grouping like dogs. If there is a person who has the experience, skill, responsibility and intelligence, he/she might be a point of attack. I feel that employees who do not lean on the ruling political party’s arm do not have a place to land in the Ethiopia’s public organizations. If a new government, contrary to the present government is in place, these pseudo supporters who waver in their personality show support to the new government too. They think about themselves and their life; the life of others and the fate of the country do not matter to them. In short, these people are ruminants of history.
By supporting the ruling party and by favouring ethnic dictatorship, the pseudo supporters could yield rich dividends. They feel that they are well-protected; they feel that they cannot exist without leaning the government’s elbows. If there is a dispute among the employees, decisions would be made in the best interest of the pseudo supporters. Moreover, leftovers are thrown to them like village dogs and they also hunt it out like scavengers.
Similarly the head of the organizations who become members of the political system give an atmosphere of assurance to the pseudo supporters. This in turn provides them pride among the followers. In terms of the organizational psychology, employees could not get satisfaction if their bosses are less competent and inconsiderate. In most public organizations in Ethiopia, bosses are assigned based on their political stand, without considering their competence and capability. This mode of administration has got two embarrassing consequences. One thing, the job cannot be done properly since the subordinates are dissatisfied by the head. It is quite natural that no subordinates would like to be dominated by a leader who lacks self-confidence, courage and wisdom. On top of this, the bosses do not feel at ease; they could not impress their followers with their authorities. Some of them may feel inferiority complex since they are assigned without the consent of those being governed.
The government knows the wicked personality of these people; but like the pseudo supporters, the government does not bother about the fate of the country. Our government politicians do not want to think out of their authority. If they are told, they do not want to admit mistakes and find ways to correct them. Rather they have uncivilized courage to turn a blind eye to their mistakes and pretend that nothing happened. It has been long that sense of fairness and justice has lost their true meanings in the Ethiopia political system.
Unequal distribution of wealth and opportunities, numbers of educated but unemployed urban youth, discriminatory practices, impartiality, illegitimate and unjust conditions all these create grievance and the system would not longer be sustainable. In the mean time, reasonable and conscious supporters of the ruling party would question the system. I just want to inform you that, in the course of time, EPRDF or TPLF supporters who are privileged in the current political system will be at each other’s throat when that inevitable time comes.
Had pseudo supporters been committed and intelligent, the government would have shown a real progress that is positively felt by the majority of its people. A government committed to its people continually adjusts itself to the conditions called so that dedicated and insightful individuals working to the real development of the country will be attracted.