The human world is currently wallowing in a reality, which is fragile as well as suicidal. The mode of collective human existence that obtains all over the world assumes many things that are not real, i.e. unreal. For a start, the system behaves as if the planetary resources that have made existence tolerable, if not comfortable to the dominant species will still be available for posterity. Obviously, this is a very unrealistic assumption and it is such faulty models that are at the heart of the current global problematic. On the other hand, the parasitic ruling elites of the global order (instead of being creative), it seems, would like to pursue the same old path that only leads to planetary destruction, not excluding human lives itself!
Who is to defend planetary life and life support systems against these well armed, in more ways than one, vicious destroyers? Why do they want to destroy non-replaceable species and the ecosystems that sustain them? These are questions that are not as profound as the followings. What is life all about? What is the very purpose of human society? Enduring and intractable as these queries are, any healthy human being, without trying to be unduly philosophical, still has some inkling about the worth of life. To the majority of humans these inquiries are part of the human spirit and the essence of life, whether one believes in creation or evolution. As a result, the large majority of humanity considers life as sacrosanct, but there are very few individuals who think life is only a means, a mere tool and not an end onto itself! Crass idiots from the ruling elites are increasingly inclined to think that life is something that can potentially be borne of capital and its cohort-the technosphere! Therefore, it is very difficult to debate/discuss spiritual, philosophical, etc., issues with these pathetically demented souls. Therein lies one of the thorny problems of the prevailing world order!
Organized by these callous manipulators and their self-destructive ideology, late modernity is spiraling towards its demise. We admit, life has always been a challenge, since time immemorial. Those concerned with the well being of humanity have always exerted their energy to acquire knowledge and wisdom to help pacify the struggle for survival. Once this was achieved, (at least to a large extent) the parasites/psychopaths moved in to dismantle long established human communities based on shared values that allowed healthy societies to emerge and flourish. The immense achievements that were made possible by the sweats, tears and blood of humane souls have been undermined and hijacked by the selfish breathing beasts of capital! This incursion is more pronounced in the sphere of social existence. Unless the ambition of capital and its wagging tail that goes by the name technosphere is severely constrained, there won’t be much hope about harmonious collective existence. Luckily, some anti-systemic articulators, without the usual mind cluttering biases of the establishment, are coming to the fore. Brian Davey is one of those anti-systemic sensitive souls with formidable analytical prowess who has been diligently deconstructing; we might say rather successfully, the inner workings of the existing predatorily inclined global order. We have tried to serialize a portion of his revealing book ‘Credo: Economic Beliefs in a World in Crisis’ in the recent past.
In our modern world system, systemic thinking is discouraged in favor of ‘specialist’s tinkering’. After all, when someone is initiated to think holistically/universally, one is bound to put things together in a realistic manner. The proverbial phrase ‘connecting the dots’, is used to reveal what is made intentionally obscure and fragmented. Since clarity reveals the 500 lbs. gorilla in the room, with all its glories or shall we say with all its goriest, the unreal narratives that used to dominate discourse eventually give way to the hidden gem- reality! Consequently, reflections and critical introspections about general human predicament end up becoming daily routines of the initiated. Of course, the institutions of the status quo (universities, etc.,) are there to produce capable specialists in the various vocations, so that these individuals will become, once again, cogs in the wheel, so to speak. By and large, these individual are absolute morons when it comes to most things outside of their narrow expertise/preoccupation. Reality is; our planet, water, air, viruses, iron, mountains, women, monkeys, trees, airplanes, tables, bombs, races, beers,…. We hope you got the point. Reality is the amalgam of everything, with no exception! It is not as circumscribed by capital and its human caricatures! Hence, all life and non-life forms need to be respected for what they are, period, nothing more nothing less! The hubris of psychopathic elements is to encourage fragmentation and disassociation within the human family and the reason is quite clear. Once a person’s psyche is closed to reasoning and enlightenment, on the account of systemic disassociation/alienation, he/she becomes a mere pawn in the hands of the powerful!
Morally bankrupt system that is only interested in the now and now, continues to promote a culture of gangsterism rather than a creed of communal renewal, i.e., community based problem solving. One of the nightmare scenarios for the world system rulers is when individuals come together to articulate problems with a view to finding potential solutions within the framework of essential humanity, i.e. addressing everything under the sky; racism, inequality, sustainability, etc. It is not for idle reason ‘surveillance capitalism’ is now all the rage in the circle of global dominant interests. Note; it is not ‘physical distancing’ but social distancing, with all its insinuations that is asked of the global sheeple (human mass) on the account of the declared pandemic. Take notice; tech is now put on a pedestal higher than the almighty!
This editorial was first published in October 2020
UNREAL TO REAL
Where are our leaders of tomorrow?
The Government of Ethiopia has banned the import of all non-essential luxury goods in a bid to stabilize the economy, so it says. No more jam, no more chocolate, whisky or vodka, not even calendars… (or is it caviars?)
Why such measures?
Consider Ethiopia’s trade deficit, it has been on an upward trajectory for many years owing to the liberalization of the import regime, while exports continue to remain stagnant. In 2021 Ethiopia imported USD18 billion in goods and exported around USD 3.95 billion in commodities and agricultural products. With the ban, the Central Bank of Ethiopia assumes that there will be saving close to 100 million dollar per year. Compare this to the country’s official import bill, the 100 million dollar saving is peanut.
In any case, how effective is banning consumer goods like hairdryers and cornflakes, while ignoring the elephant in the room? Indeed, consumer goods, excluding automobiles, comprise a fraction of the total imports, and aren’t even in the top 10 list of imports. By far the biggest imports of Ethiopia are fossil fuels, industrial goods, and in the past 3 or 4 years defense related imports. Yet there is not a peep about reducing any of these.
Surprisingly, the ban excludes electric vehicles. I ask why, when the cheapest Tesla Model 3 starts now at $46,990 in the U.S., whereas in Europe, it can cost as much as 54,990 euros ($59,000). Keeping with the U.S. statistic, the average electric vehicle price was $51,532 in April 2021 (Kelley Blue Book). This was before recent price hikes, inflation, and raw materials scarcity came into play, so it may be at least 10% higher now. Obviously, this will be done by spending more money, not less.
Anyway the jury is still out on how clean or dirty or cheap or expensive electric vehicles are. Different studies reveal different findings. Assuming electric vehicles are allowed in, is this going to help the country’s balance of payment? Is this going to increase workers access to transport? Sadly, this is a policy that naively ignores the lives and needs of real Ethiopians.
Insofar as the ban on electronic devices is concerned, it is unclear if this includes laptops and PCs. This will be a big setback for the local tech industry. It’s also not clever to ban smartphones which increasingly enable access to training and information. Instead of adding even more hurdles, this sector should have been assisted, which not only has the potential of exponentially increasing exports, but will simultaneously reduce fuel imports, and make better use of our human capital.
Anyway, the great majority of Ethiopians will not be concerned by the ban. Only the rich and the elites would feel personally ruined. These groups don’t realize the most important component of our economy (or any economy for that matter) – energy – has become scarce and costly, they don’t realize that economies that can only function if energy is cheap break down. That’s why we need to reflect on a new economic model that reduces dependence on goods and services (luxury or not) sourced from thousands of miles to markets near us. We need to ponder over an economic model that favors local producers and consumers, an economic model that encourages less consumption and waste. The fruit juice flown in from thousands of miles away require jet fuel, air or ship cargo containers, refrigerants and spare parts for jet or ship engines. Surely, we (as a community and as individuals) should embrace a new paradigm of self-reliance to reduce our dependence on long supply chains and build an economy tailored to our unique circumstances. This should be one of our major projects of the 21st century.
Can we count on this government to move our precarious economy to self-reliance? The answer for now is no…. just look at the government’s “Homegrown Economic Reform” agenda. An agenda that pushes the country into the discredited liberal democracy process, an agenda that promotes the endearing fantasy of infinite expansion of consumption. An agenda that does not take into account that globalization has not been win-win; but win-lose: the reality is the benefits flowed to the few multi-national and large corporations at the expense of the many. But more importantly it’s an agenda that does not recognize the foundation of the global economy – cheap energy – has reached an inflection point: from now on, energy will become more expensive. The idea that cheap, easy-to-get resources will remain abundant is not realistic. What’s realistic is to start reducing our dependence on long supply chains by relocalizing our production of life’s essentials. In short globalization is no longer a solution; it is the problem.
So you see it’s essential that we navigate intelligently the unprecedented transition from excess consumption to securing essentials by increasing self-reliance. Today we have an opportunity to redraw Ethiopia’s grand strategy from the ground up. Fortunately, our country is well placed to meet these challenges, if for no other reason than the public will demand it and that the great majority is already operating in a localized economy.
Are our leaders ready for tomorrow?
Global exhibitors flock in Addis for the Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week
The 8th edition of the Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week (ASFW), Africa’s largest meeting for fashion, sustainability, and innovation, opens its doors from November 4 – 7, 2022 at the Skylight Hotel.
The event attracted different exhibitors from Africa, Asia and Europe drawing in over 5,000 international trade visitors.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Industry (MoI) and the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) joined forces with GIZ to support 11 Ethiopia-based companies under the theme of ‘Ethiopia Tamrit’ to catalyze and sustain stronger business linkages between local companies and international buyers, in the framework of the Sustainable Industrial Clusters project.
In his opening remarks, Melaku Alebel, the Minister of Industry, noted that, “The Government of Ethiopia has engaged in prominent reforms and demonstrated its support to textile and garment companies. Despite the challenges, Ethiopia acquired a favorable position in the global value chain, and remains one of the African countries offering the largest production capacities, which could match with buyers’ requirements. We wish to channel the driving forces to increase exports to international markets both in quality and quantity.”
Complementing the Minister’s remarks, Daniel Teresa, Deputy Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission added, “Our ambition is to build on previous fair operations and show that Ethiopian institutions and private sector are committed to join forces, hence, to promote the ‘Ethiopia Tamrit’ in Africa and beyond. Ease of doing business, legal and sectorial reform works and opening the economy to Foreign Direct Investors depicts commitment of the government to attract more investment and private sector led growth.”
The visitors in the fashion and manufacturing industry, including international investors, brands, wholesale, and retail will have further opportunity to attend a series of ASFW conferences gathering over 100 experts in the field with over 800 participants.
Trade ministry re-instates price caps to tame hikes
The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MoTRI) re-imposes a price cap on sesame seeds trading at the electronic trading floor after only a few weeks of its public market debut. The ministry has strongly underlined that it will closely monitor contract farming trading as some experts express concerns over scheme abuse by illegal actors.
It can be recalled that the ministry had lifted the price cap a few weeks back for commodity trades at the Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECX). At the time, it was stated that it lifted the cap due to the decline in hoarding.
However, at the time experts had raised concerns that the decision would have an effect on the export business.
They said that when the government applied the cap about a year ago it was aimed to harmonize the local trading with international markets and in making sure the export business remained profitable rather than targeting to generate foreign currency.
The government similarly bashed exporters citing their involvement on the export business was on the motive of supporting their major business, which is import.
Before the application of price caps, exporters offered high values, much higher than the global market at the trading floor to get the commodity and export it at lesser rates, while using the foreign currency they secured to import commodities that would cover their loss on the export.
Experts said that the hard currency shortage for accessing the letter of credit was the reason that attracted traders to be involved in the export business which allowed them to use the foreign currency to import whatever they wanted.
Following the introduction of the caps, the ministry in consideration of the international market has been providing weekly upper caps on the prices for major export commodities such as oil seeds and pulses trading.
Experts recall that price caps were rolled out because exporters were aggressively focused on the foreign currency that they were earning without really paying attention to the market.
“Exporters were giving their own prices left right and center against the international market to get the foreign currency which has affected the market expanding unethical practice on the export business,” experts said, adding, “They exported at lesser prices than they paid at the local market. Exporters major goal was securing hard currency for their import business.”
Experts opined that such erratic practices had contributed to value loss and hoarding, “the export business has not been profitable because of exporters shipping their commodity at lesser price points than they paid at the trading floor, but the cap has been changing this narrative.”
Experts told Capital that ever since the government lifted the caps, the price at the trading floor has shown a spike on some commodities.
Mid October Kassahun Gofe, State Minister of MoTRI, told Capital that the government introduced the price cap when hoarding was taking place at its peak, “we lifted the caps since the hoarding behavior was eroded.”
On Friday November 4, he told Capital that now the ministry reinstated the price cap on sesame seeds due to price hike occurring in the local trading against the global market.
When the cap was lifted the price of sesame seeds reached up to 2,500 birr per quintal while it was 1,700 birr for Humera and 1,600 birr for Welega types of sesame seeds at the global market.
“The difference of the local market price is very wide compared with global rate due to that we re-imposed the cap,” the minister cited.
“Exporters must not trade on loss, therefore the cap has been re-applied to the seeds,” Kassahun added.
However some experts claimed that other commodities price is also showing an increment at the local market, however the State Minister, who is responsible on the follow up of the export sector, said that other commodities’ trading is pushing on accordingly.
“We have 16 oilseeds and pulses that trade at ECX, the trading of pulses is run as per the demand and supply driven scheme,” he added.
“The price cap is a policy instrument that the government can impose at any time if price hikes occur on other commodities,” he added.
Regarding the contract farming trading scheme some experts and market players expressed their concern that illegal traders and lower government officers may abuse the system.
However, Kassahun said that the ministry has concluded its preparation to manage the scheme smoothly.
“On Thursday November 3, we concluded the registration of contracts that buyers got with farmers. On the registration process, significant number of contracts has been registered by the ministry,” he said, adding, “the registration will allow for the control and supervision of buyers using source-able commodities.”
Besides that he said that 25 ECX facilities will manage the calibration and quality measurement, while additional facilities are also being opened.
