The early years of the 21st century have been witnessing uncoordinated resistance arising from diverse groups of humanity. Unlike the late years of the 20th century, the core countries of the system are also embroiled in these uprisings. Globalization of capital (transnational capital), which is free to roam the whole planet, has leveraged the global labor arbitrage to flood the world with relatively cheap products/services, bringing some benefit to humanity. Nevertheless, there are consequences associated with this phase of globalization. Unlike capital, global labor is not free to move around and find a better place to ‘invest’ itself, thereby making ‘profits’, to use the analogy of capital. This truncated globalization (in terms of factors of production) is the source of continuous polarization. That is why radical economists call the current system a polarizing globalization (Samir Amin)!
Today we will look at situations from the perspective of global labor. First of all; labor in the core countries (OECD) is severely undermined, as it has lost its bargaining power to mobile capital. At the same time, the obvious decline in the standard of living of labor is being rejected, in one form or another. The increase in all sorts of low intensity disturbances in the West is a signal to the coming labor insurrection. To be sure, ‘welfarism’ is still in play, but only helps with the bare minimum of life needs. In addition to the arbitrage played by capital, (from the global south) labor in the North is also facing the onslaughts of automation, informatics and robotics! No wonder, the old Marxian slogan ‘workers of the world, unite’ is now cynically rehabilitated to ‘workers of the world, forget it’! Democratic political power might play a significant role in countering the excesses of crony capitalism in countries where genuine democratic processes are still upheld. In fact, it is this resurgence of tangible democracy that is driving old political parties away from political governance! Examples abound. Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, France, etc.! See the article next column.
In countries where some democratic venues are still available, the populous is showing the propensity to go for the jugular. The US sheeple (human mass) elected a president who is a political outsider who seems to be at a loss when it comes to the intricate functions of state and government. Unfortunately, he also seems to lack basic grounding on many important matters, including diplomacy and global governance. Nonetheless, his very election is a sign of a growing refusal by the sheeple. The Brits decided to leave the EU, thinking they will fare better if they go it alone. Outsiders from center left and center right, are jointly running Italy. The old parties in Germany are also in trouble. Refusal is clearly displayed in Ukraine’s new election. Ukraine now has a comedian as its head of state! However, many of the old European parties don’t seem to understand what is unfolding in front of their eyes. EU has lost a good portion of its credibility, as it is put securely in the pocket of capital. In the current crisis, EU seems to only advocate various austerity measures proposed by the moneyed. Even though the European parliament is an institution without teeth, it is being challenged by the emerging sentiment of the European popular movements or the ‘populists’ as the establishment would like to call them. Be prepared for surprises in next months’ European parliament election. In places where the deep state is very active, there can be dangerous scenarios playing out. Building border walls or sanctioning governments/individuals or changing regimes, etc., etc. will not rectify, but will only aggravate the deeply flawed globalization of our time.
The fate of labor in the global south remains precarious, to say the least. Given advances in technology (labor saving) and the prevailing outmoded economic arrangement between fragmented wage labor and dominant capital, the sheeple in the global south is going to lose out big time! Having sensed the impending unappetizing reality (in the various countries) some members of the sheeple are braving migration, both legal (migrant labor) and illegal (refugees crossing oceans). The majority stuck in their countries of birth, is becoming restless. See the article on Algeria on page 41. Rioting, insurrection, strikes, etc., usually leveraging identity politics, has become the order of the day, particularly in the less advanced industrial countries. Neoliberalism pursued by the compromised states of the south, along with their ‘belly thinkers’, will not secure the future for the sheeple of the global south, including that of Africa! If anything, the far-fetched and unsustainable policies of global dominant interests, far from creating a decent livelihood, will only exasperate the sheeple’s increased pauperization.
As if the above are not challenging enough, the south is now devoid of capable leadership with the wherewithal to understand the various versions of history and economics, let alone the hard sciences, which are the foundations of our lopsided modernity! History, it is said, is written by the winners: so are the dominant economic theories, we would like to add! Today economic narratives are dictated by vulgar capital (oligarchs), not labor (Marx). In the medium and long run, the lack of quality leadership in the south will bring untold damage that might not be readily rectified, without resorting to extreme violence, i.e. revolution! “Education is not a way to escape poverty. It is a way to fight it.” Julius Nyerere. Good Day!
REJECTING THE SYSTEM
New Commission to improve government standards
Ethiopia’s Planning and Development Commission is preparing the nation’s first ever, ten-year, Perspective Development Plan to assess the country’s economic and social development in order to help medium level plans like the GTP to become successful.
The ten year plan will focus on eight pillars including: macro-economic, agriculture transformation, expansion of manufacturing, transport infrastructure, urban housing, hydro economics and human resource development.
According to Fitsum Asefa, Commissioner Planning and Development, the absence of a long term national plan, cast a shadow on the success of the GTP and other development strategies, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The plan will help us improve key economic sectors while taking into account our country’s limited resources,” she said.
To get information the commission will take a bottom-up approach and talk to stakeholders like investors and civic society organizations. They want to get as many segments of society involved in the process and have prepared manuals to help accomplish this. They will help implement the directive ratified by the Council of Ministers back in October 2018.
In Ethiopia, billions of USD have been wasted in government projects due to inefficient and unprofessional management, corruption and nepotism.
“The finance ministry is getting ready to establish a new directorate responsible for supervising and evaluating Maga and other projects,” said Hajji Ebssa, who handles communication for the Ministry of Finance.
The commission plans to implement measurable criteria to hold executives accountable.
According to Fitsum lack of accountability in government projects costs the nation and contributes to political, social and economic instability.
The Ethiopian government established a National Planning Commission in 2013 in an attempt to make sure its agencies improved the way they served people.
“The commission is also preparing directives to improve the way government projects are implemented,” Fitsum adds.
JV cable company triples production
Euro Cable plc, a pioneer in wire manufacturing in Ethiopia, inaugurates a new expansion that will triple its production by introducing new product lines.
The new factory located in the southeast outskirts of Addis Ababa around Gelan Industrial Area was officially inaugurated in the presence of federal and regional government officials.
Simge Yuksel, Business Development Manager at Demes Cable, who is one of the two partners that formed Euro Cable and is based in Turkey, said that the facility has a covered area of 10,500 square meters in a compound of 20,000 square meters.
Euro Cable PLC, a joint Ethio-Turkish venture, was the first private enterprise to start manufacturing electrical cables in Ethiopia. The venture began with a starting capital of 55 million USD ten years ago and this latest major expansion will bring the estimated market value of its investments to over 1.2 billion USD, according to the Turkish partner representative.
Saad Ibrahim, General Manager of Euro Cable, told Capital that his company Glorious plc, the well know electronic and equipment supplying company in Ethiopia, has been importing Demes products from Turkey for several years before extending their relationship.
“Even though Demes’ products are high quality with a good reputation, fake products imported by unscrupulous businesspeople have affected the local market, our business and even international clients who produce and supply the product up to standards,” he said, explaining how the two partners teamed up to establish the industry in Ethiopia.
“The fake products are very cheap but very dangerous since they are electric cables. Their reduced price has affected our business and such kind of products are still imported,” Saad added.
In his speech, Saad stressed that the government has to work strongly to stop the importation of fake and dangerous electric cables. He also said that his company is working with relevant government bodies to tackle this challenge.
Teka Gebreyesus, State Minister of Trade and Industry, told Capital that this type of partnership is a good lesson for Ethiopian investors and the business community. It demonstrates a way that business can be undertaken jointly with a strong capacity. “Working together in Ethiopia is not common but if it is expanded the private sector will be more capable, intelligent and profitable,” he said.
“This partnership is also good experience for importers. The government wants the private sector to start producing products currently being imported,” he added. The factory soon will expand again so they can make additional things to export to regional markets.
“We have a plan to produce high and medium voltage cables and even satellite and fiber optics,” Saad explained.
In his opening speech the General Manager expressed his company’s desire that the Oromia region provide an additional plot at the same area for the massive expansion.
The expansion which was done without a bank loan has also increased the number of employees to 200 that was about 30 when it started operation ten years ago. Demes Cable has been in the Turkish cable sector for over 30 years.
Fake news killing turtles
For the last three months, Tortoises have been sold for 60,000 birr to 400,000 birr at local markets. Rumors have spread, falsely claiming that their shells consist of mercury and that this could block phone and Internet networks.
What are commonly named leopard tortoises are being sold in Debre Birhan, Gonder, Addis Ababa, Awash and along the borders of Djibouti. According to the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) there is no tangible evidence that these turtles have the uses they are being sold for.
Daniel Pawlos, EWCA Wild Life Traffic Director responded to the problem saying “we are telling people not to be misled by cheaters who tell them to buy tortoises for profit. There are no scientific results indicating that tortoise shells have mercury used for blocking networks and we are expressing this fact to the public.’’
“There are no foreign or local buyers who want the shells of these animals. We have observed people dropping tortoises on the road after they purchase them for a huge sum of money based on false information.’’
“All living creatures in Ethiopia have the right to life and protection. We decisively warn against hunting tortoises,” he added. Daniel said the only legal way to sell leopard tortoises is by exporting them to the Asian market for medicine.
Currently an estimated 200,000 leopard tortoises are found in the low land areas of Ethiopia. The leopard tortoise species has been listed in Appendix II of CITES since 1975 in which trade must be controlled to protect it from extinction. Small Leopard Tortoises are occasionally killed and eaten by pastoralists in southern Ethiopia and their empty shells are used as cowbells. While in Somalia Leopard Tortoises are collected mainly for medicinal purposes and considered an aphrodisiac and the turtle-derived medicines are specially used to treat lung diseases such as tuberculosis, asthma and cough. Declines in some areas of East Africa have been attributed to unsustainable harvest for the pet trade. Some tortoises in East African counties including Ethiopia have also been known to be killed by frequent fires common in this region, although the species is perceived to hold stable overall. In South Sudan, habitat burning impacts may be sufficiently widespread to have impacted populations.
