Today the topic is tribalism.
It is not news to anyone that Ethiopia is being torn apart by ‘tribalism’…
250,000 years or so later people are still seduced by the idea that one group is “undeserving” and “evil” while our own group is “correct” and “good.” Not since the Zemene Mesafint (Era of the Princes) has Ethiopia been as polarized as it is today, where people seek comfort and security within their ethnic groupings – Amhara, Tigray, Oromo, whatever.
I always wondered if Oromo groups that seek to reinstall an Oromia state they can fully control can be labeled ‘tribal’; these groups definitely aspire to a form of dominion that would undo the current national order. Journalists and opinion makers, however, describe them out to represent a backward, irrelevant form of existence, while THEY seem to hold down the citadel of reason and progress. And yet, since the early twentieth century, those accused of Oromo tribalism have often been guilty only of trying to remain themselves, of resisting the encroaches of more powerful empires and ideologies, of preserving in beings.
What is dreadful is the type of tribalism that is narrow-minded, hopelessly obsolete, and serving the interests of a clique. What I would call the “Jawarists” discourse of ‘tribalism’: chauvinistic and mainly based on belligerence. The type of tribalism that brought us the Biafra war, the Rwanda genocide, the Burundi genocide of 1972 and 1988, many other civil wars, the endless tribal fighting in the Congo, the senseless xenophobic killings in South Africa, and of late the meaningless slaughters of innocents in various parts of our country. We should fight and reject such kind of tribalism!
The tested, centuries-old clans that are woven to form strong tribes can be adopted to build an Ethiopia of many interdependent tribes or nationalities. There is nothing wrong with ‘positive’ tribalism if it goes hand-in -hand with the universal values of constitutionalism, democracy, justice, transparency, equity and respect for each other. Indeed, most people, left on their own, have simple tribal hearts but they are not averse to other communities.
Yes, dear readers, it will take an inspired ruling party and leader, an imaginatively bold step to deal effectively with our ethnic challenges, and even more with our other much serious problems we seem to disregard: global warming, excessive population growth, water shortages, famine, desertification, Aids, poverty, growth of slums, and more.
We Are Many We Are One
Gov’t repossesses MIDROC land in Piassa, Mexico
Addis Ababa’s new Deputy Mayor, Takele Uma ordered the City Land Management Bureau to confiscate 11 fenced plots of land owned by MIDROC and put them into the land bank. Limited construction had been ongoing on those plots over the past two decades.
Included in this were three hectares of fended land in Piassa. Twenty years ago MIDROC agreed to build and 40 floor building in Piassa but changed their mind and decided to build two G+4 buildings.
The city had been criticized for allowing MIDROC to hold on to idle land for such a long time, and since they failed to start construction the government took the land and plans to re-sell it via tender.
The fenced land in Mexico Square was planned for a business building. Another plot next to the Sheraton Addis Hotel were taken away from MIDROC even though they had paid 87 million birr to relocate people who lived on that land. The company says they plan to appeal. In total MIDROC lost 250,413 square meters of land.
Capital asked Beyen Amdissa, Lease Land Supervision officer at the Land Management Bureau why land was taken from some investors when they had started digging holes for the foundation of their building. He responded by saying.
“We have put up with a lot so this is the right time to action. If a building has some columns and floors we can at least consider that there is some work going on there but a majority of the lands we took away are empty lands and buildings with stalk foundations.”
A week ago, Takele Uma told the press that they snatched 412 hectares of land from developers and out of it 138 hectares of land were given via a lease land tender. In total the city administration has placed 154 plots of land back into land banks.
The land bank also took over 95 pieces of land measuring 456,428sqm held by government institutions, as well as 11 other plots of land acquired by Ethio- Telecom, the Defense Minister and Federal Ministries measuring 2,743, 200sqm. Some of the repossessed land will be used to build condominium housing on the outskirts of the city. Currently the administration is auditing city buildings. If plots remain empty and construction doesn’t start in some areas the land will be returned to land banks.
MIDROC is owned by the billionaire Sheikh Mohammed Hussein al-Amoudi who is currently in custody in Saudi Arabia.
Fifty nine schools closed for poor facilities, unqualified teachers
The Addis Ababa Education Bureau which supervises private schools to Capital it has closed 59 schools due to violations like unqualified teachers, not having a library, laboratory, sport fields, or unsanitary toilets and dilapidated sleeping areas for children.
Thirty four of the closed schools are kindergartens, 14 primary schools and nine are high schools. Four high schools received a final warning and will have to be evaluated at the end of this fiscal year in order to continue operating.
Last year the Bureau revoked licenses for 35 schools.
The Bureau found that the school owners were more interested in making money than maintaining standards in schools.
Students from these schools were advised to enroll elsewhere before the start of the school year, which began last week.
Primary and High Schools are supposed to have a standard classroom and a sports field where kids can play basketball and volleyball. The KG must have a neat and a comfortable teaching classroom and sleeping room for the children.
Fikerte Abera, Deputy Director of Education Relevance and Quality at the Bureau told Capital that the supervision was performed with a strict checklist and the schools are being closed to improve the quality of education.
She added that although private schools are contributing to the educational development of the state, they must operate within the law.
She said that the government took action after several warnings by the inspectorate unit of the Bureau for the proprietors meet the set standards
“The decision to embark on the closure of poor schools across our capital city is a deliberate step towards improving the standards of quality education in Addis, we will not tolerate schools operating without a laboratory, toilet and library,” she said.
Fikerte said the schools also failed to scale through the verification carried out by the task force set up by the Bureau. She said that supervision will be a continuous exercise and any school that fails to meet the requirements at any point will be shut down, until such school does what is expected.
Currently 1,631 private schools are operating in Addis Ababa among these 919 are Kindergartens, 569 primary schools and 143 high schools.
Ethiopian tax experts form new association
Ethiopian Tax experts gathered to form an Association to develop the field and to solve the problems of improper tax management in the nation. Former ERCA employees, academicians, tax lawyers, and auditors will be members.
The association is in the final stages of finalizing an articles and memorandums of the association which should be finished in a month.
Yohannes Woldegbrel, a well-known tax lawyer, is among the committee members working on the association and he believes lack of knowledge and experience affects tax revenue.
“The ERCA has a high retention rate and but lack of skills has become a major point of contention,” he said. “We want to be part of the solution, he added.”
The Association may take over some monitoring responsibilities in the form of a delegation.
Yohannes hopes the new tax agency directive will be approved. This way they will be able to help tax payers with more issues and provide better services.
“We are also planning to advise the authority as many respected professionals are members,” he said.
About 60 tax professionals attended the summit held at Jupiter hotel.
