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ውድ አንባብያን የመጀመርያው የመልእክተ ኢትዮጵያ እትማችን በአንባቢዎች ዘንድ ጥሩ ተቀባይነት ማግኘቱ ከደረሱን መልእክቶች ማረጋገጥ የቻልን ሲሆን፣ 2ኛው እትም ስናቀርብላችሁም የመረጥናቸው ርእሰ ጉዳዮች እንደምትወዱዋቸው በመተማመን ነው፡፡ በዚህ እትም በኢትዮጵያ እና አውሮፓ ህብረት መካከል እየተጠናከረ ስለመጣው ግንኙነት፣ በቅርቡ የተመሰረተው የአትዮጵያ አውሮፓ ፓርላማ የወዳጅነት ቡድን ሊቀመንበር ከተከበሩ ሊዊ ሚሸል ጋር ያደረግነው ቃለ ምልልስ፣ አገራችን የተባበሩት መንግስታት የጸጥታው ምክር ቤት ተለዋጭ አባል እጩነት እና በቅርቡ በአንዳንድ የኦሮምያ አካባቢዎች ስለተከሰተው ግጭት ትንተና አቅርበናል፡፡ በተመሳሳይ የአገራችንን የኢንዱስትሪ እቅዶች ከማሳካት አኳያ ከፍተኛ ሚና ያላቸው የኢንዱስትሪ ፓርኮች ምስረታ፣ በአገራችን ስለተከሰተው ድርቅ፣ የአገራችን የቱሪስት መስህቦች እንዲሁም በኢትዮጵያ እና ቤልጅየም ከፍተኛ ትምህርት ተቋማት መካከል ስላለው ትብብር የሚዳስሱ ጽሑፎች አቅርበንላቹሃል፡፡ መልካም ንባብ እንዲሆንላችሁ እየተመኘን፣ በእትሞቻችን ላይ ያላችሁን አስተያየት፣ በመጽሔታችን ጽሑፎች እና መልእክቶች ማውጣት የምትፈልጉ እንደተለመደው በኤምባሲያችን አድራሻ እንድታደርሱን እንጋብዛለን፡፡ የአርትኦት ኮሚቴ
Dear Reader, We are happy to print this second issue of our Embassy’s magazine. The first issue has raised a lot of interest among our readers. We are happy and proud that our “Ethiopian Messenger”, which is bringing news to Europe about the fast-developing Ethiopia, has accomplished its task. In this issue, you will read about the continuing momentum between the European Union and Ethiopia with the launching of the Ethiopia-European Parliament Friendship group which will, as H.E. Louis Michel said, help a lot for the relations between the two partners. You will also have background insights on different topics: Ethiopia’s candidacy to the UNSC, recent events in the Oromia region, the drought situation of Ethiopia, the development of industrial parks, the tourism potential of the Simien Mountain National Park as well as the cooperation between Ethiopia and Belgium in the field of higher education. We hope you will enjoy reading this magazine. Please contact us to contribute to the next issue! We are also looking forward to receive your feedback.
Content Forging Dialogue Between Ethiopia & the European Parliament 4
Interview with H.E. Louis Michel
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Ethiopia’s Candidacy to the UNSC 6
The Demonstrations in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia 9
Ethiopia’s Diversified Climates 12
Industrial Parks Development in Ethiopia 15
Ethio-Belgian Collaboration in Higher Education
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A visit to the Simien Mountains National Park
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የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲ 24
The Editorial Team
Quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels. Editor: Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels, Avenue de Tervuren 62, 1040 Etterbeek, Belgium. info@ethiopianembassy.be +32 2 771 32 94. On the cover: Launching of the Ethiopia-European Parliament Friendship Group on 3 March 2016. From left to right: Mrs Claudia Wiedey-Nippold, Head of Division Horn of Africa, East Africa and Indian Ocean at the EEAS, Mr. Tesfaye Daba Wakjira, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the House of Peoples’ Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, MEP Louis Michel, Co-Chair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and H.E. Ambassador Teshome Toga.
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Launching of the Ethiopia-EP Friendship Group
Forging Dialogue and Understanding Between Ethiopia and the European Parliament On 3 March 2016, the EP-Ethiopia Friendship Group was officially launched at the European Parliament in the presence of about 30 guests, including Members of the European Parliament, officials from the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS), as well as diplomats from several neighboring countries, ACP Secretariat and friends of Ethiopia. This event was organized by the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels, in collaboration with the office of MEP Louis Michel, CoChair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
opportunity to share concerns and opinions with them about different issues, even the most difficult ones, such as human rights, fight against terrorism, peace and security, economic development, climate change and participation of civil society. It is our firm believe that the launching of the friendship group will pave the way to a continuous dialogue between Ethiopia and representatives of the European people through regular meetings, exchange of information and visits in order to enhance people to people relations.
“This launching comes at a critical time, as the European Union and Ethiopia just celebrated the 40th anniversary of their cooperation and partnership”
This launching comes at a critical time, as the European Union and Ethiopia just celebrated the 40th anniversary of their cooperation and partnership. The past months were marked by significant initiatives: on 11 November 2015, both partners signed a joint Declaration for a Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility (CAMM), reflecting the importance of Ethiopia as a key country to tackle irregular migration to Europe; EU High Representative for Peace and Security and Vice-president of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini visited Ethiopia for the first time in October 2015, and Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom, in turn, visited Brussels in January 2016. Moreover, both parties agreed to elevate the level of their relation to a “Strategic Engagement”.
The aim of this friendship group is to maintain close cooperation and constructive dialogue with the European parliamentarians, to forge understandings and build consensus. In doing so, the European Parliament would accompany Ethiopia constructively on its way towards strengthening of democracy and a better understanding of its endeavors and challenges. There would also be an
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The initiative was warmly welcomed by participants attending the event, who expressed their congratulations and stated that the group will page the way to implement a fruitful and respectful dialogue and cooperation between the European Parliament and Ethiopia. In his concluding remarks, MEP Louis Michel assured the participants that the group will certainly achieve its goals, evolve and develop in the future. The people and Government of Ethiopia seize this opportunity to thank the true friendship and support of Honorable Louis Michel to Ethiopia in particular and to Africa in general.
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Interview with Hon. Louis Michel
“A Group of Friends in the European Parliament Can Help a Lot” Louis Michel is chair of the newly established Ethiopia-European Parliament Friendship Group. We interviewed him on the occasion of the launching ceremony. Ethiopian Messenger: When did your particular interest for Ethiopia start?
LM: Ethiopia is the most important beneficiary of the public aid of the European Union, so the European Union is a main partner on development issues and also in economic issues, and I am even dreaming about a cultural relation with Ethiopia. You know that Ethiopia is a very rich country in the cultural field. We have to improve all this. We will have meetings together, we will invite them, they will invite us, we will try to work together, and we will try to pass ideas. We have to speak about democracy, but there is really a very important progress that was made on all these issues.
Louis Michel: I felt [late Ethiopian Prime Minister] Meles Zenawi had a vision, he was a Statesman who wanted to be very ambitious for his country. Very often in the [European] Parliament some voices are very strongly criticizing the system there. Of course, there is a lot to do to make progress. But all in all, when you see the particular difficulties, EM: There have w h e r e been some sharp [Ethiopia] is, critiques towards and also its Ethiopia coming role for the from the European stability in Parliament… the region, Hon. Louis Michel on 3 March 2016 at the European Parliament. © Embassy it’s important of Ethiopia in Brussels to help them, LM: Sometimes and not just people are speaking very well about things they don’t know criticizing them, but also understand them. There is a at all. When you want to give an opinion, a judgment, the reason why a group of friends in the European Parliament first thing to do is of course to listen to the people, to can help a lot, because we can speak frankly to them, we learn [about] the situation, to see with your own eyes. can speak in a very open-minded atmosphere, and we Just having a kind of sensitivity, a kind of feeling with no can listen to them, and they can listen to us. Of course arguments, based on rumors [is not enough]. Of course, there will be no subject, no issue, no topic which will there are things which are not acceptable but life is not be discussed. We have just to listen, to see, and to [about] correcting and making progresses, and they have try to convince. I remember, when I discussed with Meles made a lot of progresses [in Ethiopia]. Zenawi, and now with the Prime minister, I can speak in a very open way with these people, and they can listen EM: What is the overall aim of this friendship group? to our arguments. And we have also to listen to their arguments. But all in all, when you see the progress that was made in this country the last years, I believe it is LM: We have now to have an agenda, to regularly to impressive, and we have to recognize that. meet together with topics on the agenda and with a real objective which is to have a mutual understanding, to be effective in our relations, and also to meet together, to EM: What are the potentials of the relation between discuss, to dialogue, to help them to make progress. Ethiopia and the European Union?
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Ethiopia’s Candidacy to the UN Security Council: a Voice for Africa on the International Stage
As a founding member of the United Nations, Ethiopia signed the Chart in 1945. © United Nations
Ethiopia has officially launched its campaign to secure a non-permanent seat in the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) for the period of 2017-2018. The African
“The African Union unanimously supports Ethiopia’s bid to represent the continent” Union unanimously supports Ethiopia’s bid to represent the continent in the key international institution for worldwide security.
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At a time where global security challenges abound and where the UN, and particularly the UNSC, needs structural reforms, Ethiopia’s solid record of continued contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security will certainly make a valuable addition to the Council and give a stronger voice to Africa on the world stage.
Commitment to multilateralism Ethiopia’s belief in multilateralism is as old as the concept itself: as early as 1923, Ethiopia became a member of the League of Nations and was one of the 51 pioneer countries that founded the United Nations in 1945, at a time where the vast majority of African countries were still subjugated by colonial powers.
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On the continent level, Ethiopia has always been a firm believer in bringing African countries together to guarantee peace on the continent. In 1963, Ethiopia played a critical role in the establishment of the Organization of African Unity, today the African Union, and has been hosting the African organization for more than 50 years. Moreover, Ethiopia more than fulfills one of the most important criteria for non-permanent seat in the Security Council stated in Article 23(1) of the Charter
“Throughout the years, Ethiopia has indeed demonstrated an unshakable commitment to collective security” of the United Nations, which stipulates that “due regard should specifically be given, in the first instance, to the contribution of member states of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security”.
though the country was abandoned by the Leagues of Nations when attacked by fascist’s Italy in 1935, the country has always responded to UN calls for collective action. Since the creation of the UN, Ethiopia has participated in dangerous missions, often taking the lead when other countries did not dare sending their soldiers. For example, Ethiopia sent peacekeeping troops in the civil war of Liberia, for which Ethiopian troops serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) were presented with UN Peacekeeping medals for their “invaluable contribution to the peace process” in November 2007. The country also deployed a battalion in Rwanda from August 1994 to July 1995, in the immediate aftermath of the genocide, to help bringing peace and stability in the devastated country. Ethiopia’s most recent peacekeeping deployments have all been in the Sudans: to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), the UN-AU Hybrid Mission to Darfur (UNAMID), the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). Outside of the UN, Ethiopia’s major significant deployment is in Somalia, where it maintains troops supporting Somali Government in the framework of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Ethiopia’s involvement in UN peacekeeping missions includes Ivory Coast, Burundi, Sierra Leone, and the list goes on.
Throughout the years, Ethiopia has indeed demonstrated an unshakable commitment to collective security. Even
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meeting with H.E. Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia in July 2015. © Third International Conference on Financing for Development
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Since the time of its first participations in the Korea war (1950-1953), Ethiopia involvement has deepened and improved. With a total of 8,326 peace-keepers deployed in some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts, Ethiopia currently ranks first in Africa and second in the world for its contributions to UN peacekeeping operations.
“Ethiopia will spare no efforts to promote world peace and security through dialogue and peaceful settlements of disputes” But the country’s involvement in peace and security goes beyond contributing troops. For years, Ethiopia has played a constructive role in the search for peaceful resolution of the conflicts that have affected the Horn of Africa, by making every effort to help restore peace and promote stability in Somalia and fighting terrorism in the region within the framework of the African Union. As Chair of the IGAD, Ethiopia was highly involved in the mediation efforts between the rival parties in South Sudan, which led to the signing of a peace agreement in August 2015.
A voice for Africa The UNSC has fifteen members consisting of the five permanent members with veto power and 10 nonpermanent members, which are elected every two years and still yield important powers, as they get to vote, and have a say in major worldwide security issues. Thanks to the AU’s enforcement, Ethiopia is running on a clean slate for the one seat allocated to the African Group in June 2016, and if elected, the country will certainly live up to African expectations. Ethiopia has been a constant advocate for Africa, consistently making sure the continent’s interests would be taken into account on the international stage on important issues such as migration, counter terrorism, climate change, sustainable development and poverty reduction. Ethiopia’s participation would also help to fix the fundamental imbalance of the world’s security architecture: whereas some countries have spent several
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years in the UNSC, more than 60 United Nations Member States have never been Members of the Security Council. Although a founding member of the United Nations, it should be noted that Ethiopia has served in the Council only twice in 70 years: the first time, in 1967-1968, at the time of the Empire, and the second time in 1989-1990, during the last years of the Derg’s regime. This means that despite its efforts and commitment, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was not yet involved in the key decision processes of worldwide security. Beyond questions of international balance or fairness, an Ethiopian participation at the UNSC would also prove that the concept of “African solutions to African problems”, promoted by the African Union and supported by the United States and the UN, is more than just a slogan. As a country which managed to rebuild itself after a civil war and years of military rule, located in one of the most versatile regions of Africa, Ethiopia has against all odds successfully maintained its peace and stability. It is a country whose actions are turned inward as well as outward: its leadership knows very well that no country is an island, and that its own stability is intertwined with that of other countries of the region and of the world. By voting in favor of Ethiopia, the member states of the United Nations would put on the Council a dedicated member of the international community which has both the strength and the know-how to be an advocate for panAfricanism and multilateralism, and an international actor with a model and a vision. Ethiopia will spare no efforts to promote world peace and security through dialogue and peaceful settlements of disputes and advocate the prevention of conflicts by strengthening all tools available at the UN, while promoting greater cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations. Faithful to its decades-long principles, the country will also enhance the role of regional and sub-regional institutions in improving collective security and contribute to the strengthening of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations by addressing the many challenges they face in our ever-changing global security environment. This is important to consider in these trouble times, as the question of a transformation of multilateral institution is becoming increasingly important and that security challenges become more and more global, as proved by the rise of the Islamic State and the spillovers of regional crises.
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An analysis on the demonstrations in Oromia region
How to Turn a Peaceful Demonstration into a Violent One. The Case of Oromia Region of Ethiopia The past decade and half are regarded as years of bonheur for the Ethiopian people, its Government, the Horn of Africa and the continent in general. The country has consistently been registering double digit GDP growth, built huge infrastructures, created a demanding society, dollar millionaires, and many mega projects, including the renaissance dam, are undergoing. It has demonstrated its role as an anchor of stability in the Horn region and play
“In Ethiopia, the criminal code clearly describes what constitute violence. In this regard, there is no confusion that the acts of violence we have seen in some parts of Oromia are illegitimate” an important role in the international fora. By any rational standard, the achievements registered in the country in the past 15 years are beyond the imagination of many in the country and outside. On the other hand, the violent demonstration that started in November 2016 in some parts of the Oromia region of Ethiopia clearly shows that something important is missed out there. The peaceful demonstration against the Addis AbabaOromia integrated master plan started in Ambo city changed its form and turned swiftly into violent attacks on the police personnel, destructions of public and
private properties and attacks on public and Government institutions. One may argue that the demonstrations were not violent, or that these violent actions were legitimate. In Ethiopia, since our childhood, we have grown up hearing that violence in street demonstrations, attacks on civilians, private and public properties etc. are all acts of violence. However, when it comes to politics, there is always a disagreement between the Government and the opposition parties on whether these acts are legitimate or not. When these and similar acts occur, some people may respond with approval, others with disapproval and still others may make no overt response. When legitimacy is ambiguous, it is difficult for people to know how to react to violent acts, and for violent actors to evaluate themselves or predict how others will evaluate them. Violent actors are likely to see to resolve ambiguity by offering justifications for their behavior which are intended to convince themselves and others that their actions are legitimate. Resolution may entail rejection or acceptance of justifications offered by the actors or the reactor formulating his own justification for deciding that the violent act should be regarded as legitimate or illegitimate. When an act of violence consensually regarded as illegitimate takes place, persons or groups who committed the act often attempt to justify their behavior. Violent actors who have been caught red-handed in such behavior may offer justifications aimed at gaining sympathy or understanding. But in Ethiopia, the criminal code clearly describes what constitute violence. In this regard, there is no confusion that the acts of violence we have seen in some parts of Oromia are illegitimate. In everyday language, violence typically refers to “illegitimate or undesirable forms of activity”. The social force of labeling actions as violent or nonviolent goes deep in to the structure of the Ethiopian society. Individuals who went out to the streets with wood and metal bars
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dedicated to destroy everything in front of them, should be labeled nothing but violent! In the political realm, the use of coercive power by the State and its representatives constitutes legitimate violence. These representatives can legitimately employ physical force to protect and maintain peace, order and public institutions, while those who seek power or who want to attack public institutions may not legitimately use physical force. But what happened in Oromia region is the exact opposite of the traditional knowledge of using power. Police and security forces deployed to maintain peace and security were killed in day light by violent demonstrators.
“The ruling party has decided to hold an overall and thorough study in four of the largest regions administered by the coalition of EPRDF to identify areas of dissatisfaction of the people” If the main reason of the demonstration really was to stop the Addis Ababa-Oromia integrated master plan, then, the protests should have stopped after the announcement of the Government to stop the plan. Any action that took after that announcement cannot be justified by an opposition to the plan. If that really is the case, why has the peaceful demonstration turned into violence? There are several factors which fueled these violence protests, including the high rate of unemployed youth, misunderstanding and so on, here are the two major causes.
1. Fighting the fight against lack of good governance Ethiopians, Africans and other eminent individuals and institutions around the globe agree on one issue: that there is an incredible economic growth in Ethiopia. In the area of good governance however, many, including the ruling party, admits that there is a long way to go to amend the problems. It is to be recalled that one of the hot issues of debate and disagreement between the ruling party EPRDF and the Ethiopian people during the 2015 election was the issues of good governance. Acknowledging this
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potential threat to the stability of the country, the ruling party has decided to hold an overall and thorough study in four of the largest regions administered by the coalition of EPRDF to identify areas of dissatisfaction of the people. Accordingly, the policy advisory team of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Public Service & Human Resource Development (MoPSHRD) have hold a survey where they discussed with residents of almost each and every towns and villages in those four regions namely Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and South Nations, Nationalities and People’s. The team of survey have come up with findings that confirm the dissatisfaction of the people due to petty corruption, nepotism and poor delivery of public services, opportunism and rent seeking. Based on the result of the survey, the ruling party started to take corrective measures, beyond affiliation and interest including training, local level reshuffling, dismissal and in the worst case scenario, make the corrupt ones accountable. It is clear that corrupted officials at all levels will do whatever in their reach to hide themselves from being engulfed by the flood of corrective measures. The peaceful demonstration against the Addis Ababa-Oromia integrated plan created a ‘not to be missed’ opportunity for some of them. Being corrupt, they joined forces and pushed the peaceful demonstrators to upscale the demonstration into violence. They believe that the Government, overwhelmed by the wave of violent demonstrations, will pause or suspend the campaign launched against corruption.
2. The act of irresponsible “opposition” elements Advocates of violence, whether they are members of opposition political parties, national leaders, political theorists or medias, have played significant roles in the genesis, maintenance, and ideological justification of violent behavior. Nazi officials, or the perpetrators of the Rwandan massacre have provided ideological justifications for violence. Needless to mention the invisible hands of external forces to fuel the violent acts of demonstrators in the Oromia region; it is a public knowledge that some of the opposition parties both residing in the country and living in Europe and the United States have poured fuel into the fire. This could be expected! Opposition elements who abandoned peaceful struggle such as Ginbot 7 have waited for long looking such opportunities to advance their unpopular agendas. These “opposition” groups or rather power mongers, have launched a campaign in different fronts to propagate the situation in the Oromia region, and here also turn the peaceful demonstrations into violent ones.
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The leader of Ginbot 7, Dr. Berhanu Nega held several meetings in the United States to express his joy that his supporters (the violent demonstrators in Oromia) are destroying Government institutions and public & private enterprises and he even collected money for this operation. The satellite television channel, ESAT, owned and operated by Ginbot 7 was, and is disseminating fabricated news, showing pictures of dead persons and violence’s filmed in other African countries to convince their audiences that these atrocities took place in Ethiopia; hence, provoking and pushing the youngsters to join the violent demonstration. Members and supporters of OLF living in the Netherlands have also been busy feeding fabricated information to some members of the European Parliament to put pressure on the Ethiopian Government, thereby to send a message to the violent demonstrators that the world (Europe) is supporting their cause and encouraging them to continue with their violent actions. A so-called Oromo activist, Jawar Mohamed has continued to send divisive messages and working hard to raise funds to help the violence back home.
“The Government has applied a two-way approach to deal with the situation: rewarding legitimate demands of the society, in this case by suspending the implementation of the integrated master plan until a consensus is reached, and making accountable those who are involved in corruption and denying the provision of legitimate public services”
Fighting against corruption is a priority of the Government Those are the main reasons behind the deadly violence which claims lives of innocent civilians and police officers and destroyed hard brought development achievements.
A way forward The Government has applied a two-way approach to deal with the situation, the first being rewarding legitimate demands of the society, in this case by suspending the implementation of the integrated master plan until a consensus is reached, (although the cancellation of a development plan is by definition a drawback for development) and making accountable those who are involved in corruption and denying the provision of legitimate public services. Addressing issues of unemployment and improving the overall wellbeing of the Ethiopian society has already been included in the second Growth and Transformation Plan. On the other hand, the Government is moving without any compromise to punish those who bypass the established rule of law, destroy the hard brought public and private assets and those who disturb the peaceful life of residents. The Government will continue its approach to use the social control mechanisms to discuss with the concerned public leaders and at the same time apply its bureaucratic and administrative arms to maintain peace and stability. It is obvious that the most pressing need is to restore order in the region.
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Climate
The Drought in Ethiopia: Climatic and Historic Perspectives
Falls of the Blue Nile, Northern Ethiopia © Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels
Ethiopia’s diversified climates Located in the heart of the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia has more than ninety-five million habitants which makes it the second most populous country in the continent. Geographically speaking, the country is endowed with varied topographies that range from high mountains (Mt. Ras Dashen, 4533m) to the lowest land on earth (Danakil Depression, 125m below sea level) and is the origin of major rivers such as the Blue Nile, Tekeze, Atbara, Awash,
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or Shebelle. Thanks to its natural resources, including many lakes, it is also referred as a the “water tower of Africa”. Ethiopia’s total area comprises of 1,127,127 km², including 15.35% of arable land and 2,896 km² of irrigated land with various agro-ecological zones which is an advantage for agricultural practices. The tropical monsoon climate varies from temperate in the plateau and desert to semidesert in the eastern parts of the country including Afar
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History of the droughts in Ethiopia Ethiopia has been stricken by drought since the beginning of the 20th century. The 1983-1985 drought which provoked famine is considered to be the worst in the history of the country, where hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. In 1973, more than 80.000 peoples perished in the northern part of the country in Wollo and Tigray regions due to drought. The Emperor tried to hide the fact, but it was publicized by international news agencies, affecting the legitimacy of the government and image of the country. In 1975 the military regime introduced reforms of Agricultural Marketing Corporation (AMC), designed to extract food from rural peasantry at low price to placate the urban populations. The farmers were denied their right to benefit from their agricultural products, and the low fixed price of grain set by the Government served as a disincentive for peasant productivity. The poor utilization and management of factors of production, coupled with the very tight command system and poor rains exposed many to famine, whereby the Government responded with forced displacement and villagization. Since 1991, the Agricultural Led Industrialization Policy has been put in place to address the challenge of agriculture. As a matter of fact, agriculture continues to play a crucial role in the economic development of
and Somali regions. The rainfall varies from 200 cm in western regions to 10 cm in Ogaden. Even though Ethiopia has such important climate diversity, the country has been affected by recurrent droughts in 1982–84, 1987–88, 1991 and 2015. The Eastern belt of the country is highly vulnerable due to its climatic conditions and lack of rain which particularly affects agriculture.
“As soon as the possible effects of El Niño were predicted last year, the government established a National Committee chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister” the country. Agriculture is a source of employment for around 85 percent of the rural community. It is the supplier of food and raw materials for the industries. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the sector growth in these decades was around seven percent on average. There are lots of modernization projects of the agricultural sector in the country such as the introduction of better quality seeds, high breeding animals and technical extension workers to support
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the farmers. Because of this, considerable number of farmers changed their way of life and production. As soon as the possible effects of El Niño were predicted last year, the government established a National Committee chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister. The National Committee made intensive studies in the affected regions in collaboration with international organizations and the civil society. The studies confirmed that this round of drought is caused by the El Niño warming phenomenon over the Pacific Ocean, a cyclical phenomenon that many
“The commitment of the government and its management of the drought was appreciated by the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon. During his visit to the affected areas, the Secretary General has said the commitment of the government to mitigate the drought by studying and assisting drought affected citizens can be considered as a model to other countries” scientists say has intensified in recent years because of global climate change. It has disrupted rains in different parts of the continent, among others in the Horn of Africa region, in Lesotho, in South Africa and Zimbabwe. According to the latest assessment, 10.2 million people are exposed to food and water shortages and that the government of Ethiopia has announced the extent of the drought to the international community, that it needs 1.4 billion USD to mitigate the effects of the drought. Up to now, the government has disbursed 381 million USD from its own reserve.
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The commitment of the government and its management of the drought was appreciated by the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon. During his visit to the affected areas, the Secretary General has said the commitment of the government to mitigate the drought by studying and assisting drought affected citizens can be considered as a model to other countries. The government appealed to the international community for support to contain the drought, which otherwise may cause a humanitarian crisis, not only in Ethiopia but in the region at large. The government of Ethiopia further expressed its commitment to protect the lives of its citizens by all means. According to the government Communications office, the drought which affected 10.2 million people is the worst the country has seen in the last fifty years. Despite the lack of satisfactory assistance from the international donor’s , the government of Ethiopia has bought and delivered food and water to the affected ones . There has been no loss of human lives because of the drought, only cattle’s death has to be deplored. The government has continued to deliver food and water to the animals and has started a school feeding programs to the children as well as coordinated efforts with the Health ministry to reduce the impact of the drought on pregnant and breast feeding mothers. Moreover, in order to mitigate effects of droughts in the long term, the government has launched huge irrigation projects in the wet regions of the country. On 31 January 2016, Vice President of the European Commission Kristalina Georgieva announced the EU has pledged €170 million to support Ethiopia in the fight against the El-Niño effect. During a highlevel humanitarian round table discussion with Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen and other international donors, she said that Ethiopian government is making enormous effort to tackle the impact of one of the worst drought ever witnessed and is showing strong leadership and will to protect its population.
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Business
Industrial Parks Development in Ethiopia Much has been said about the success story of the Ethiopian economy. The country registered a doubledigit economic growth in the past decade and this is expected to continue in the years to come. This success can be attributed to many factors, amongst which is the development policy and strategy of the government which has very clear national vision aiming to achieve middleincome status by 2025 while developing climate resilient economy. The lion’s share of this economic growth goes to agriculture which accounted, in 2014-2015, for about 38.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 90 percent of the foreign currency earnings, and 85 percent of employment. In the same fiscal year, the industrial sector, which mainly comprises SMEs, accounts for about 15.2 percent of the GDP. The service sector comprising social services, trade and real estate among others accounts for about 46 percent of the GDP in the same fiscal year.
“The role of agriculture should be reduced and more labor should move to the industry for the sustainable development of the country� The Government of Ethiopia has given due emphasis to the agricultural sector through its successive policies and strategies such as RDPS, PASDEP, ADLI and the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP). However, as clearly indicated in the policies and strategies and the GTP II, the manufacturing sector must achieve annual growth of 24 percent and increase its contribution to export revenues from the current 10 percent to 25 percent. The export revenues of the whole economy should register an annual growth of 29 percent. The role of agriculture should be reduced and more labor should move to the
industry for the sustainable development of the country. In order to realize this, the government created enabling conditions to encourage both domestic and foreign private investment and has been heavily investing on infrastructure, energy, rural finance, research, access to improved technology and information, market development, agricultural extension services, promotion of cooperatives, among others.
What is the need for industrial parks development? To realize the ambitious development plan of the country aiming to rapid industrialization to nurture manufacturing and agro-processing industries, to accelerate economic transformation, and promote and attract both domestic and foreign direct investment, the Ethiopian government came up with the decision to develop industrial parks providing the necessary services and facilities for industries. Thus, Ethiopia begun developing two kinds of industrial parks: large, medium and light scale industrial parks on the one hand, integrated agro-industrial parks on the other hand. Thus, the Ethiopian Government, for the proper management of the industrial parks, came up with the Industrial Parks proclamation 886/2015. In accordance to the proclamation, industrial parks can be developed by any profit making public, public-private or private developer including the Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), which is in charge of managing the development of large, medium and light industrial parks and the industry and agriculture ministries which are responsible for the integrated agro-industrial parks development. The investment is open to national, domestic and foreign investors. The industrial parks developers are entitled to develop their own industrial parks, either independently or through public-private partnership with IPDC. With regard to large, medium and light industrial parks, IPDC is mandated as a facilitator of land bank and main infrastructure provider for private industrial park developers so as to realize the national industrialization agenda of the country in the coming years.
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1. Large, medium and light scale industrial parks The Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) was established in 2014 by the Council of Ministers (Regulation 326/2014), with a mandate to develop, operate and administer wide ranges of industrial parks in the country through lease developed land and lease and transfer, sale and constructions. The IDPC is designated to prepare a detailed national industrial parks master plan based on the national master plan of the Regional States or the two City Administrations (Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa). The Corporation is also empowered to serve as industrial land bank in accordance with the agreement concluded with Regional States and the City Administrations. Sisay Gemechu, the CEO of the IPDC, with the rank of State Minister, explained the vision of the Ethiopian Government as follows:
‘Today is an exciting juncture in our country’s history. It is the time that Ethiopia strives to be the hub of light manufacturing industries in Africa, placing an ambitious plan to develop world class industrial parks with fascinating hard and soft infrastructure’. According to Arkebe Oqubay, Special Advisor to Ethiopian Prime Minister and Board Chairman of the Industrial Parks Corporation, the country is targeting USD 1 billion of annual investment in industrial parks over the next decade to boost exports and make it Africa’s top manufacturer. The government has plan to invest half of the USD 10 billion needed for zones across the country that will house textile, leather, agro-processing and other labor intensive factories in the parks. He further said that Ethiopia had failed to reach the targeted a 15-fold increase in textile and leather exports to USD 1.5 billion in the First GTP Plan that ended in “because of lack of specialized parks with services including utilities, banks, customs and transport links”.
Existing and future Industrial Parks in Ethiopia
Source: IPDC
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The large, medium and light scale industrial parks are expected to facilitate the situation for the planned transition to the industry led economy which would accelerate the manufacturing sector and contribute to job creation, import substitution, strengthening export, and creating chance for innovation. Thus, IPDC is vigorously working to develop 100,000 ha of land between 2016 and 2025, for a total factory floor area of 20 million m2. The below are industrial parks operated or owned by IPDC in the country.
Addis Industrial Village Addis Industrial Village, dating back to the 1980s, was the first ever industrial park established in Ethiopia , and it is currently undergoing heavy modernization. Geared towards domestic exporters, it comprises ten governmentbuilt factory buildings (11,000 m2) rented to investors, and nine privately-built factory buildings developed on leased land. Covering 88 hectares of land, it is today operated at full capacity.
Kilinto
“The Industrial Parks Development Corporation was established in 2014 by the Council of Ministers with a mandate to develop, operate and administer wide ranges of industrial parks in the country through lease developed land and lease and transfer, sale and constructions” Bole Lemi Already operational, Bole Lemi is Ethiopia’s first industrial park developed by IPDC with a focus on exports. Upon completion, it will comprise more than 30 hectares of green. Bole Lemi Phase 1 (156 hectares) has started operations in 2014, with all pre-erected factories already rented-out to more than 12 different corporations including several investors from Taiwan, China, India and South Korea in sectors such as textile, garment and shoe production, creating about 10,000 jobs. According to the agreement with the investors, almost 95 percent of the products are supplied to foreign market, and thereby enhance the nation’s currency earning capacity. Moreover, the firms use local raw materials such as skin and hides as an input for their products. Bole Lemi Phase 2 (186 hectares) is currently being developed in collaboration with the World Bank Group.
Located in the south of Addis Ababa, Kilinto is currently being developed as IPDC’s second park in Ethiopia’s lively, cosmopolitan capital. With a total size of 337 Ha, Kilinto will be a mixed-use park and the number one destination for manufacturers in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, electric and electronics products, wood and furniture, both for export and to serve local consumers. Serviced land in Kilinto will be available from early 2016, with pre-erected factory sheds available from the 4th quarter of 2016.
Hawassa Industrial Park IPDC’s flagship project, Hawassa Industrial Park, is located 275 km from Addis in proximity to one of Ethiopia’s premium holiday destination, Lake Hawassa. Upon completion, it will be a 300 ha Eco-Park, centered on textile and garment products, and fully integrated to the city, in collaboration with the newly built Hawassa University, and will be mostly powered by renewable hydro-electriciy. The design and construction of Hawassa will be conceived around energy and water conservation principles – including maximization of natural lightning and natural ventilation, fitting of low consumption bulbs, recycling of rain water, and solar powered LED street lights - making it Ethiopia’s most important eco-friendly site. In Phase 1 cycle 1, 100 hectares of land were developed. In parallel, the Government is improving Hawassa’s connectivity with the extension of the Addis-Adama highway to Hawassa, the construction of a domestic airport, and the extension of the Addis-Modjo-Djibouti railway to Hawassa
Other parks Starting from this year, IPC will develop additional parks in Dire Dawa, Mekelle, Kombolcha, Adama, Bahir Dar and Jimma. With a final size ranging from 500 to 2000
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Industrial Parks operated/owned by IPDC
Source: IPDC hectares, each park will be developed in phases of 75-200 hectares, and will have its own specificities. Dire Dawa is being developed as an integrated zone on the model of an international Special Economic Zone, and will be easily accessible from Djibouti by road and train and from Addis Ababa with daily flights. Mekelle benefits from an already established industrial fabric – notably in textiles, leather and pharmaceuticals, and from a particularly dynamic economic environment. A railway line linking Mekelle to Awash (located on the Addis-Djibouti railway) is currently being designed. Kombolcha is located at a cross-road equidistant of major Ethiopian cities, making it an ideal destination for manufactured product for the domestic market. Adama is one of the biggest cities of the Oromia region, currently a preferred destination for investors in medium and heavy manufacturing. Adama boosts excellent facilities for foreigners, including high quality hotels, and is already served by an express way (toll-way) to Addis. The planned railway Hawassa-Mojo-Addis will also stop in Adama. Bahir Dar is a major domestic and international tourism destination and the capital of the Amhara region, and is served by a domestic airport (daily flights to Addis Ababa). In 2002 it was awarded the UNESCO Cities for Peace Prize for addressing the challenges of rapid urbanization.
Jimma is the largest city in south-western Ethiopia. Logistics connections to the rest of the country are currently being upgraded. The CEO of the IPDC said, upon going operational, these industrial parks will help attract more foreign direct investment, stimulate export trade and create jobs for 10 million citizens and they are expected to return the construction cost within 20 years. The operational industrial parks, Bole Lemi and Kilinto, are helping the nation earn 20 million USD annually. In addition, some foreign companies have started developing their own industrial parks among which are Eastern Industrial Zone (Chinese), George Shoes cluster industrial park (Chinese/Taiwan) and Huajian Group shoes cluster Industrial Parks (Chinese).
2. Integrated Agro-Industrial Park The second type of industrial park establishment in the country is Integrated Agro-Industrial Park (IAIP) aiming at transforming the agriculture sector. IAIP is a geographic cluster of firms grouped together to share different infrastructure and to exploit the opportunities for joint buying, selling, training, extension services and other synergies. The business model of the IAIPs promotes efficiency of the commercial food supply chain. It is an end to end approach: from production to market linkage. The agro-industrial parks will be established within a 100 kilometer radius from input source and output market. So far, 17 areas with agro-industrial potential (AgroIndustrial Growth Corridors-AIGCs) are identified across the country. Feasibility studies for the four pilot IAIPs
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Site Features of Identified Integrated Agro-Industrial Parks
Source: Ethiopian Ministry of Industry are done, commodities for processing in the IAIPs are identified (coffee, livestock, cereals, sesame, pulses, honey, fruit and vegetable), value chain analysis have
“Having in mind the major benefits and incentives linked to this sector, the Ethiopian Government highly encourages and welcomes the Ethiopian diaspora and foreign investors to invest and develop industrial parks in Ethiopia, either independently or through public-private partnerships”
investments, will create over 400 business opportunities and over 400,000 direct employments. They will be finalized within four years.
Incentives According to the Amended Investment Incentives Regulation No. 312/2014, the following income tax exemption for industrial park developer are guaranteed: •
10 years for parks located in and around Addis Ababa
•
15 years for other areas
•
An investor who invested within industrial zone is entitled to an additional period of two to four years.
Having in mind the major benefits and incentives linked to this sector, the Ethiopian Government highly encourages and welcomes the Ethiopian diaspora and foreign investors to invest and develop industrial parks in Ethiopia, either independently or through public-private partnerships.
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Further references: www.ipdc.gov.et
been done and land size of 1000 ha. Four of the AIGCs selected for pilot development are Oromiya, Gende Arba (Bulbula) site, Southwest Amhara, Bure site, Eastern SNNP (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples) site, Weynenata site and Western Tigray, Baeker site. According to Ahmed Abetew, Ethiopian Minister of Industry, the parks will incorporate companies engaged in exporting value-added agricultural products to the world market in addition to domestic companies, farmers and the youth which are epicenter of agricultural commercialization. Upon completion the agro-industrial parks will represent over 30 billion ETB (1.5 billion USD)
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Education
A True North-South Cooperation with a Positive Impact on Development: Ethio-Belgian Collaboration in Higher Education Introduction Ethiopia and Belgium have enjoyed long-standing political and diplomatic relations since 1906. However, despite this old relation that lasted for over a century, their economic ties are not as vibrant as one could expect. The business relation vis-à-vis trade exchange and investment flow is below their potential. For example, the capital flow of business between the two countries is estimated to be not more than 20 million Euro. Belgium mostly imports coffee, cut flowers, grains and horticultural products from Ethiopia, while Ethiopia imports mainly consist in agricultural chemicals and machinery. Similarly, Belgian investments in Ethiopia fall short when compared with flow of investment from countries like the Netherlands, China or the United Kingdom. But recently some promising signs have started to appear, indicating that this situation is gradually changing. As Ethiopia’s economic growth is now one of the fastest in the world and, as a result, the country has slowly began to catch the eyes of Belgian investors. In contrast, the bilateral relation of the two countries in development cooperation tells a different, noticeable story. Until 2003, Ethiopia used to be on the Belgian list of bilateral partner countries. This changed in 2003, when Belgium reformulated its cooperation policy after the Paris Declaration on Aid effectiveness. Since then, Belgium’s primary focus in Ethiopia has mainly shifted to higher education and to a lesser extent to food security and agriculture. This change in policy resulted in the reduction of the total amount of financial support, but also started a successful academic collaboration between Ethiopian and Belgian Universities and has since become one of the most valuable, effective, sustainable and visible development cooperation instrument in the two countries’ age old relation.
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A True North-South Cooperation with a visible and positive impact on development Belgium implements its cooperation programs through the framework of the inter-university partnership, in collaboration with Flemish and French speaking universities. In the case of Ethiopia, a substantial amount of the institutionalized academic collaboration between the two countries is expedited through the Flemish inter-university umbrella organization for development cooperation, VLIR-UOS. This public institution was founded by the Flemish Interuniversity Council (VLIR). The cooperation framework of VLIR-UOS with its Southern partners includes the provision of a generous scholarship scheme and the implementation of interuniversity projects formulated to develop the teaching, research, institutional management and community service of partner country universities, such as in Ethiopia. This cooperation between a group of Belgian Universities and Ethiopian universities resulted in the development of a high-level scientific knowledge and skills in Ethiopia. This unique arrangement has enabled universities like Ghent University and KU Leuven to transfer and share their expertise, experience and know-how in the fields of agricultural technology, public health, water and sanitation sciences and natural resource conservation among others, with the two Ethiopian Universities, Jimma and Mekelle, which were the main beneficiaries under the first cooperation framework. Other universities such as Addis Ababa Science and Technology University and school of Veterinary Medicine, Bahir Dar, Arba Minch, Ambo, Gondar university and Dire Dawa have partnered with the Belgian universities and colleges on an individual project basis. The other Belgian universities are Hasselt University, VUB and institutes such as Institute of Tropical Medicine and the Institute of
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focus on capacity building programs in the form of the highest academic level; PhD programs.
VLIR-UOS cooperation Framework Development Policy and Management (IOB) of Antwerp. There is also the Group-T University college, which under special circumstances trains selected Ethiopian university lecturers in various engineering fields on its own budget. As stated earlier, VLIR-UOS has made a significant amount of investment in Ethiopia over the last decade through various capacity building programs. To date, VLIR-UOS has channelled 16 million Euros to finance about fifty academic cooperation projects, and more than 12.5 million Euros in scholarships for the training of 900 masters and PhDs students. This amounts to 29 million Euros in academic cooperation with Ethiopia since 2003 and makes Ethiopia number one beneficiary country where VLIRUOS is active. Furthermore, the partnership has resulted in many high level research works that brought a direct benefit to the society at large and practical application in Ethiopia’s development efforts. These include research on important issues such as eliminating the negative impact of the Gilgel Gibe dam on malaria, where the dam has increased the likelihood of mosquitoes breeding, identifying ways to help cattle breeders to protect their cattle from the Sleeping sickness disease, increasing soil and water conservation in the northern part of Ethiopia and Lake Tana basin, etc. Overall, the Ethiopian case is viewed as a good example that demonstrates that university cooperation for development makes a real difference and has convinced academicians and policy makers alike that this should be a key element of the Belgian development policy. Likewise, Ethiopian stakeholders regard the partnership as an effective investment in terms of value for money and the government of Ethiopia attaches great value and appreciation for the partnership.
Conclusion and way forward The cooperation between Belgium academic institutions and its southern partner has proven to be an effective one and is a good example of successful North-South partnerships. The program is unique in so far it is based on a partnership, expertise and convergence of field interest between Belgian and Ethiopian universities. The VLIRUOS’ program was conceived at a time when the main modality of aid delivery was through stand-alone projects and even today this accounts for the delivery of over 60% of international development. The decision that was made then allowed to put together a unique arrangement that
This will have a long term positive impact on Ethiopia’s development by allowing the country to retain its highly trained personnel while providing research and internship opportunities for Belgian universities and competent Ethiopian students that enrich the competitiveness of Belgian universities. Moreover, VLIR-UOS’ development funding is mainly used directly by the partner institutions in Ethiopia. Therefore, under this framework, Belgian universities are not eligible to obtain direct funding, except for the cost incurred as a result of their operational support provided to their counterparts. Despite the 2008 financial crisis and the following austerity measures, Belgium has shown its commitment to contribute to a sustainable development in countries
“The Ethiopian case demonstrates that university cooperation makes a real difference” like Ethiopia. It is therefore reasonable to think that the partnership between Ethiopian and Belgian universities will continue for some time. In a conference organized on the 5th of November 2014 by VLIR-UOS about Ethiopia, the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Development Cooperation, H.E. Mr De Croo, underlined that the current Belgian government fully supports the cooperation due to its proven effectiveness. Later, on the 2nd of July 2015, a call for IUC and NETWORKs was launched and six institutions including the Ethiopian universities of Arba Minch and Bahir Dar were selected while Jimma University was included under the networking program for the second round of the VLIRUOS program. Opening branches or faculties in one or couple of Ethiopian Universities will not only train more students: it can foster the transfer of knowledge, know-how and technology more easily. The other interesting issues the Belgian Universities could possibly look into is the possibility of availing funds to help students pursue their MA or PHD programs in Belgian Universities to implement their research in Ethiopia. This will encourage students to return to Ethiopia after they finalize their study and resolve the financial limitations to implement their research results.
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Tourism
A Visit to the Simien Mountain National Park Throughout its vast territory, Ethiopia is endowed with 15 national parks that combine different types of climates, geology, flora and fauna. Among those parks, the Simien National Park, established in 1969, has the peculiarity of being protected by the UNESCO since 1979 due to its “global significance for biodiversity conservation�. The Simien mountains, together with its highest peak Ras Dashen (4550m above sea level ), are often referred to as the roof of Africa. Despite the overall high altitude of Ethiopia, the Simen array is the only place in the Ethiopia to be regularly snow-covered mainly in winter. It hosts several endangered and species including the Walia Ibex, the Simien Fox and the Gelada Baboon as well hundreds of species of birds and plants merely exists in Ethiopia. In collaboration with UNESCO, the government of Ethiopia is taking several action plans to guarantee a long-term
conservation of the geological and natural resources of the area, which will in turn offer a secure and lasting home for the endangered species. These action plans include the removal of any disturbing infrastructure such as large roads and power transmission lines which are constant dangers for endemic birds and also harm the visual quality of the landscape for the visitors of the park. To enter the park, you have to be escorted by a local guide who will not only avoid that you lose yourself, but will also lead you to the best spots to observe wild animals and give you plenty of information about the local plants as well as background updates about the developments of the Park. You will also be accompanied by a local ranger that will guarantee your safety during your hike.
Meeting the friendly Gelada Baboons Š Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels
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Simien Mountains © wanderlustdiscovery.com When you reach on the top of the Simien you will be welcomed with the astonishing viewpoint, the breadth of the panorama unrolling before your eyes can make you think you are sitting on a plane. In fact, the Simien mountain peaks top at more than 4,000 meters above sea level, and dramatic cliffs sometimes reach 1,500 meters of vertical descent. This rugged landscape, as a result of 40 million years of erosion, offers you unparalleled views. Some of the local accommodation facilities, including the Simien Lodge and the Limalimo Lodge (to be opened soon) take advantage of these unique viewpoints. Book a room in one of these lodges, and you will enjoy unforgettable sunrises on this landscape while sitting at your breakfast table. After enjoying the view, the next surprise on your visit to the park might well be your first encounter with the Gelada Baboon, the only grazing monkeys in the world that can be found only in Ethiopia. While the population was reduced to a few thousands after being hunted down for decades, the recent protection policy of the National Park made it possible to re-increase the population to about 30,000 only in the area of the Park. Though they hide during the night in caves and cliffs to avoid being attacked by predators, the Gelada are not afraid of human, this gives you the possibility to get very close to observe them grazing, playing or quarreling. The immediate
proximity with these wild animals is very entertaining and will particularly be enchanting for children. If you are lucky, you can further observe the very typical Ethiopian Wolf, and the Walia Ibex, which population grew from 150 to 900 in the last years. If you are a bird lover, you will also enjoy observing the 180 species living in the park, among others the lammergeier, a 2-meter wingspan vulture that is the only bird in the world with a specialized diet of bone marrow. You will absolutely enjoy the breath taking natural landscapes scenery when you pack up for hiking and see the wild life. If want to have an unforgettable experience that remains in your memory forever, don’t miss the Simien Mountain national park the next time you visit Ethiopia!
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የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲ 1.3 የሃብት አጠቃቀም (Resources Utilization)
ክቡራን አንባብያን በመጀመሪያው እትማችን ዳያስፖራው በተመለከተ የወጡ ፖሊሲዎችና መመሪያዎች በተከታታይ በዝርዝር እንደምናቀርብ ቃል መግባታችን ይታወሳል ፡፡ በዚሁ መሰረት የዳያስፖራ ተሳትፎ ወደ ላቀ ደረጃ ለማድረስ የተዘጋጀው የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲ፣ የፖሊሲው መሰረታዊ መርሆዎችና ዋና ዋና ግቦች እንደሚከተለው ለንባብ ቀርቧል፣
የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲውን ለማስፈፀም የምንከተላቸው ስትራቴጂዎች በሙሉ ካለን ውሱን ሃብትና ንብረት አቅም ጋር ተገናዝቦ መታየት ይኖርበታል፡፡ስለሆነም የፖሊሲው ተፈፃሚነት እንደሃገሪቱ የእድገት ደረጃ እየታየ የሃብትና ንብረት አጠቃቀም ሥርዓት ጋር ተጣጥሞ የሚከናወን ይሆናል፡፡
1. የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲ መሰረታዊ መርሆዎች
1.4 ተደጋጋፊነት (Complementarity )
በዳያስፖራው ዘርፍ ልዩ ትኩረት የሚሰጣቸው ዓበይት ጉዳዮች በፖሊሲው ተለይተዋል፡፡ በእነዚህ ላይ ብቃት ያለው ስራ በመስራት የኢትዮጵያ ዳያስፖራ አባላት ከትውልድ አገራቸው ጋር ያላቸውን አጋርነት ማጎልበት እንደሚቻል ታምኖበታል፡፡ ይህ አጋርነት ሁሉም ወገኖች በሚጋሩት አገራዊ ጥቅም ላይ የሚመሰረትና በአገሪቱ የፖሊሲ አቅጣጫዎች የሚመራ በመሆኑ በብሄራዊ ጥቅም ዙሪያ መታየት ባለባቸው መርሆዎች ይመሰረታል፡፡እነዚህም
የዳያስራ ፖሊሲው ከሌሎች ብሄራዊ የልማት ፖሊሲዎች፣ ስትራቴጂዎችና ፕሮግራሞች የምእተ ዓመት የልማት ግቦች አንዱ ከሌላው ጋር ተደጋግፎ እንደሚካሄድ ታሳቢ ያደርጋል፡፡
1.1 ሴክተር Approach)
አቀፋዊነት (A Sector wide
የዳያስፖራ ጉዳይ በአንድ ሴክተር ብቻ ያልታጠረ ከብዙ ሴክተሮች ጋር ተያያዥነት ያለው በመሆኑ ፖሊሲውን ለማሳካት የሚከናወኑ ተግባራት ከሌሎች ተጓዳኝ ሴክተሮች እንቅስቃሴ ጋር ተጣጥመው ይከናወናሉ፣ 1.2 ውጤታማነት (Effectiveness) የጥረታችን ሁሉ የመጨረሻ ግብ ድህነትን ማስወገድ እንደመሆኑ መጠን ይህ የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲ ድህነት ለማስወገድ የሚደረገውን ትግል ለማሳካት ወይም በውጤት ለማጠናቀቅ በሚያስችል መልኩ ተፈፃሚ ይሆናል፣
1.5 አሳታፊነት (Participatory) የዳያስፖራ ፖሊሲው መንግስታዊና መንግስታዊ ያልሆኑ አካላት፣ የዳያስፖራውን ህጋዊ እንዲሁም የሴቶችን ተሳትፎ በሚያረጋግጥ መንገድ የሚፈፀም ይሆናል፣ 1.6 ግልፅነት (Transparency) የዳያስፖራን ፖሊሲ በማስፈፀም ሂደት የሚከናወኑ ተግባራት ግልፅነት ያለውን አሰራር የተከተሉ ይሆናል፣ 1.7 አጋርነት (Partnership) የዳያስፖራውን ሁለንተናዊ አገራዊ ተሳትፎ ለማጎልበትና በውጭ አገራት የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያንን መብትና ጥቅም ለማስጠበቅ ፖሊሲው በአገር ውስጥ ከሚገኙ ከተለያዩ ባለድርሻ አካላትና ዳያስፖራው ከሚኖርባቸው አገራት ጋር በአጋርነት የሚፈፀም ይሆናል፣ 2. የፖሊሲው ዋና ዋና ግቦች
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The Ethiopian Messenger
April-May-June 2016
2.1 በውጭ የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን መብትና ጥቅም ማስጠበቅ በውጭ አገራት ኢትዮጵያውያን የምዝገባ ስርዓት ይዘረጋል፣ በኤምባሲዎች፣ ቆንስላ ፅ/ቤቶች እና ንግድ ፅ/ቤቶች የሚሰጡ አገልግሎቶች በውጭ አገራት የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን በሚገባ እንዲያውቋቸው ለማድረግ የሚያስችሉ ወቅታዊ አገራዊ መረጃዎችንና ፖሊሲዎችን የማስተዋወቅ ስራዎች የካሄዳሉ፣ በውጭ አገር የመኖሪያ ፈቃድ የሌላቸው ኢትዮጵያውያን በአደጋ ጊዜ ማንነታቸውን በመለየት ድጋፍ ለመስጠት በሚስዮኖቻችን በኩል የቆንስላ መታወቂያ ካርድ እንዲሰጥ ይደረጋል፣ ኢትዮጵያውያንን በሚኖሩባቸው አገሮች በሚከሰቱ ድንገተኛ አደጋዎችና አለመረጋጋቶች ሳቢያ ከሚፈጠሩ ችግሮች ለመታደግ የሚደረጉ የክትትልና ድጋፍ ስራዎች ተጠናክረው ይቀጥላሉ፣ 2.2 የኢንቨስትመንት፣ ተሳትፎን ማጎልበት
ንግድና
ቱሪዝም
2.2.1 ኢንቨስትመንት በውጭ የሚገኙ ሚስዮኖቻችን ወቅታዊ የኢንቨስትመንት መረጃዎችን በማሰባሰብና በማጠናቀር በዳያስፖራው ላይ ያተኮረ የማስተዋወቅ ስራዎች እንዲካሄዱ ይደረጋል፣ ማንኛውም በውጭ የሚኖር የዳያስፖራ አባል አግባብነት ባላቸው የኢንቨስትመንት መስኮች መዋእለ ንዋዩን በግል ወይም ከሀገር ውስጥና ከውጭ ሀገራት ባለሀብቶች ጋር በሽርክና ኢንቨስት እንዲያደርግ ይበረታታል፡፡ የፌደራልና የክልል ኢንቨስትመንት ፅ/ቤቶችና ጉዳዩ የሚመለከታቸው ባለድርሻ አካላት ዳያስፖራው በኢንቨስትመንት መስክ ለመሰማራት የሚያደርጋቸውን ጥረቶችና የሚያቀርባቸውን
ፕሮጀክቶች በግንባር ቀደምትነት እንዲያበረታቱና እንዲተባበሩ ይደረጋል፣የአንድ ማእከል አገልግሎት ይሰጣል፣ በአገሪቱ የኢንቨስትመንት ደንብና መመሪያ መሰረት የመሬት አቅርቦትን ቀልጣፋ ለማድረግ በሚዘጋጁ የኢንዱስትሪ ዞኖች እና የኢንፎርሜሽን ኮሚኒኬሽን ፓርኮች ውስጥ ዳያስፖራው በመሳተፍ ኢንቨስት እንዲያደርግ ይበረታታል፡፡ ኢትዮጵያውያን ዳያስፖራዎች በትውልድ አገራቸው በኢንቨስትመንት መስክ ለመሳተፍ ከሚኖሩባቸው ሀገሮች ብድር ወይም የብድር ዋስትና እድል ሲያገኙ መንግስት በአገሪቱ የብድር ፖሊሲ መርሆዎች ላይ ተመስርቶ አስፈላጊውን መረጃ በመስጠት ድጋፍ ያደርግላቸዋል፣ የዳያስፖራ አባላት በቅድሚያ ትኩረት በሚሰጧቸው የኢንቨስትመንት መስኮች በግል ወይም በጋራ ኢንቨስት እንዲያደርጉ መንግስት የፕሮጀክት ፕሮፋይል በመቅረፅ ወደ ስራ የሚገቡበት ሁኔታ ያመቻቻል፣ በውጭ አገራት የሚኖሩ የዳያስፖራ አባላት በትውልድ አገራቸው ውስጥ ለሚሰሩት ስራ የሚያቋቁሙትን ንግድ አክሲዮን በየአካባቢያቸው በሚገኙ ሚስዮኖች አማካኝነት ህጋዊ በማድረግ በአገር ውስጥ ለማስመዝገብ የሚቻልበት አሰራር ይዘረጋል፣ 2.2.2 ንግድና ቱሪዝም የዳያስፖራ አባላት ንግድን በሚያስፋፉ መንግስታዊ ተቋማት ውስጥ በክህሎታቸው እንዲሳተፉና ተጠቃሚ እንዲሆኑ ያበረታታል፣ ዳያስፖራው በአገር ውስጥ ለሚገኙ አስመጪና ላኪዎች እንዲሁም አስጎብኚ ድርጅቶች በገበያ ኢንተለጀንስ ዘርፍ ፣በአገናኝነትና በሽያጭ ሰራተኝነት የዳበረ ልምዱን በማካፈል ራሱንና ድርጅቶቹን ተጠቃሚ እንዲያደርግ ይበረታታል ፣ The Ethiopian Messenger
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ዳያስፖራው ለሀገራችን ዋና ዋና ምርቶች ሰፊ ገበያ በማፈላለግና የንግድ ሸሪክ በመሆን ራሱንና ላኪዎችን ተጠቃሚ እንዲያደርግ ሁኔታዎች እንዲመቻቹለት ይደረጋል፣ ከአገራችን ምርቶች በተለይም ባህላዊ የእደ-ጥበብ ውጤቶች መካከል የማህበረሰቡ አባላት በብዛት በሚኖሩባቸው አገሮች ገበያ ሊያገኙ የሚችሉትን በመለየት ምርቶችን ለሚያመርቱና ለሚያከፋፍሉ ልዩ የፕሮሞሽን ፓኬጅ ይዘጋጃል፣ የዳያስፖራ አባላትና ለአጭር ጊዜ የትምህርትና የስልጠና ቆይታ ወደ ውጭ የሚሄዱ ኢትዮጵያውያን ቱሪዝምን በማስፋፋት ስራ ላይ እንዲሳተፉ ይበረታታሉ፣ ኢትዮጵያውያን ህፃናትን በጉዲፈቻ ወስደው የሚያሳድጉ ቤተሰቦችና ታዳጊ ህፃናት የኢትዮጵያ ታሪካዊና ተፈጥሯዊ መስህቦችና ቦታዎችን እንዲጎበኙና የቱሪዝም ሀብቶቻችንን እንዲያስተዋውቁ የጉብኝት ፓኬጅ ይዘጋጃል፣ 2.3 የእውቀትና ቴክኖሎጂ ሽግግር የዳያስፖራ አባላት አግባብነት ባላቸው የመንግስት መ/ቤቶችና ተቋማት ወዘተ ውስጥ በሙያቸውና በልምዳቸው በጊዚያዊነት ወይም በቋሚነት ለማገልገል ከጠየቁ ባለው የመንግስት መመሪያ መሰረት የስራ እድል እንዲመቻችላቸው ይደረጋል፣ ከፍተኛ የትምህርት ዝግጅትና ልምድ ያካበቱ ተመላሽ የዳያፖራ አባላት በሀገር ውስጥ በከፍተኛ ትምህርትና በቴክኒክና ሙያ ማሰልጠኛ ተቋማት ውስጥ የሚያስተምሩበትና የሚመራመሩበት መንገድ ይመቻቻል፣ በዕውቀታቸውና በልምዳቸው አገራቸውን ለማገልገል ለሚመጡ ከፍተኛ ባለሙያዎች የአገሪቱ አቅም በሚፈቀደው መጠን ማበረታቻ ይደረግላቸዋል፣
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The Ethiopian Messenger
መንግስት ትኩረት በሚሰጣቸው የምርምር መስኮች ውስጥ ልዩ ክህሎት ያላቸው ባለሙያዎች ጥናቶችን እንዲያካሂዱና እንዲያማክሩ ይበረታታሉ፣ ወደ አገራቸው ገብተው ልዩ ክህሎት በሚጠይቁ (የትምህርት፣ የጤና፣ የኢንፎርሜሽን ቴክኖሎጂ ወዘተ ) መስኮች በመስራት ላይ ያሉ የዳያስፖራ አባላትን በተጠናከረ መልኩ ለመጠቀም የሚያስችል ሁኔታ ይመቻቻል፣ በውጭ ሀገር በሚገኙ የከፍተኛ ትምህርት ተቋማት ውስጥ የሚማሩ ወጣት ዳያስፖራዎች በአገር ውስጥ በሚገኙ የመንግስትና የግል ተቋማት ውስጥ የስራ ልምምድ የሚያደርጉበት ፕሮግራም ይመቻቻል፣ ወደ አገር ቤት መጥተው እውቀታቸውና ክህሎታቸውን ለማስተላለፍ ፍላጎት ያላቸውን የበጎ ፈቃድ አገልግሎት ሰጪዎች ያበረታታል፣ በእውቀትና ቴክኖሎጂ ሽግግር ዘርፍ ከዳያስፖራው በእርዳታ የተገኙ ቁሳቁሶች በአፋጣኝ ወደ ሀገር ውስጥ የሚገቡበትና ጥቅም ላይ የሚውሉበት መንገድ ይመቻቻል፣ 2.4 የውጭ ምንዛሬ ማስገቢያ መንገዶችና ተሳትፎን ማሳደግ ወደ አገር ቤት ጠቅልለው የሚመለሱ ኢትዮጵያውያን ዳያስፖራዎች በውጭ ያፈሩትን የውጭ ምንዛሪና በአገልግሎት ያገኙትን የጡረታ አበል ገቢያቸው ወደ አገር ቤት ይዘው እንዲመጡ የሚያበረታታ አሰራር ይዘረጋል በውጭ የሚኖሩ የዳያስፖራ አባላት ለልዩ ልዩ አገልግሎቶች (ለቤተሰብ፣ ለኢንቨስትመንት ወዘተ ) ወደ ሃገር የሚልኩት የውጭ ምንዛሪ ገንዘብ በህጋዊ መንገድ እንዲሆን የሚያበረታታ አሰራር ይዘረጋል፣ ሚስዮኖቻችን ከሀገር ውስጥ የኢትዮጵያ ባንኮች ጋር በመተባበር በየተወከሉባቸው አገሮች በመደበኛ መንገድ ገንዘብ ወደ አገር ቤት የማስተላለፍ
April-May-June 2016
አገልግሎት ከሚሰጡ ባንኮች /ድርጅቶች ጋር በመደራደር ዳያስፖራው የተቀላጠፈ አገልግሎት እንዲያገኝ ጥረት ይደረጋል፣ ዳያስፖራው በትውልድ ሀገሩ ለሚካሄደው ኢንቨስትመንቶችና የልማት ተግባራት ከአገር ውስጥ ባንኮች ለወሰዱት የብር ብድር እንዲሁም ለሚገዟቸው የፌደራልና የክልል ቦንዶች በውጭ ምንዛሪ የሚከፍሉበት አሰራር ይቀየሳል፣ 2.5 ባህላዊ እሴቶችን ማዳበርና ገፅታ ግንባታን ማትጋት በርካታ የኮሚኒቲ ማህበራት ባሉባቸው አገሮች የባህል ማእከላትን በመክፈት ዳያስፖራው ከሀገሩ ባህል ,፣ ታሪክና ቋንቋ ጋር እንዲተሳሰር ይደረጋል፣ የዳያስፖራ አባላት በትውልድ አከባቢያቸው የባህል ማእከላትና ሙዚየሞች በመገንባት ታሪካቸውንና ባህላቸውን እንዲጠብቁ ይበረታታሉ፣አስፈላጊው ድጋፍም ይሰጣል፣ የዳያስፖራ አባላት በሚኖሩባቸው አካባቢዎች ለሚያዘጋጇቸው የባህልና የኪነት ትርዒቶች እንዲሁም የስፖርት በዓላት አስፈላጊው ማበረታቻና ድጋፍ ይሰጣቸዋል፣ ወጣቶች እንዲሁም ከኢትዮጵያ በጉዲፈቻ የሄዱትን ዳያስፖራዎች ከትውልድ ሀገራቸው ጋር ያላቸውን ትስስር ለማጠናከር የተደራጀ የሀገርህን እወቅ የጉብኝት፣የቋንቋዎችና ትምህርትና የባህል ትውውቅ ፕሮግራሞች ይቀረፃሉ፣ 2.6 በዴሞክራሲያዊ ሂደት የሚኖረው ተሳትፎ ማሳደግ የምርጫ ህጉ በሚፈቅደው መሰረት በውጭ የሚገኙ የኢትዮጵያ ዜጎች በምርጫ እንዲካፈሉ የምርጫ ቦርድ ከኢትዮጵያ ዳያስፖራ ጋር በመተባበር የአሰራር ስርዓት የሚዘረጋበትን መንገድ ያጠናል፣ የሌላ አገር ቋሚ የመኖሪያ ፈቃድ ያላቸውና ኑሯቸው በወሳኝነት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የሆኑትን ዜጎች የምርጫ
ህጉ በሚፈቅደው መሰረት በሚኖሩበት አካባቢ በምርጫ ለማሳተፍ ሁኔታዎች ይመቻቻሉ፣ በአገር ውስጥ በሚከናወኑ የፖሊሲ ጥናቶችና ቀረፃዎች የዳያስፖራ አባላት እንዲሳተፉ ሁኔታዎች ይመቻቻል፣ 2.7 የግብረ ማትጋት
ሰናይና
የልማት
ማህበራትን
በዳያስፖራ የሚደረግ የግብረ ሰናይ መዋጮ ከማንኛውም ሀይማኖታዊና የፖለቲካ ግንኙነቶች የተላቀቀ መሆኑን በማረጋገጥና ስርአት ባለው መንገድ እንዲገባ በማድረግ ይስተናገዳል፣ የተደራጁ በጎ ፈቃደኞችን አስተዋፅኦ በማትጋት ተደራጅተው የነፃ አገልግሎት የሚሰጡበት አሰራር ይዘረጋል፣ ዳያስፖራው በአገሩ ለሚያከናውናቸው የግብረሰናይ ስራዎች እንዲውሉ ለሚያስመጣቸው ቁሳቁሶች አቅምን ያገናዘበና ተመጣጣኝ የሆነ ማበረታቻ የሚደረግበት አሰራር ይዘረጋል፣ በውጭ አገራት የተቋቋሙ የልማት ማህበራት በአገር ቤት ከእናት የልማት ማህበራት ጋር የሚገናኙበትና ትስስራቸው የሚጠናከርበት መንገድ ይመቻቻል፣ ከውጭ የሚደረገው የልማት መዋጮ ማሳደግ የሚያስችልና ገንዘቡን አግባብ ባለው መንገድ በፍጥነት ወደ ልማት ማስገባት የሚያስችል አሰራር ይጎለብታል፣ 2.8 የኢትዮጵያ ገጽታ በሚገነቡ ጉዳዮች ላይ ማሳተፍ የኢትዮጵያ ምርቶች፣ ባህል፣ ታሪክ፣ በአገራችን እየተካሄዱ የሚገኙ ማህበራዊ ኢኮኖሚያዊና ፖለቲካዊ ለውጦችን በሚያስተዋውቁ በውጭ አገራት በሚዘጋጁ መድረኮች እንዲሳተፉ ይደረጋል፣ ወቅታዊ አገራዊ ሁኔታዎችን እንዲከታተሉ በማድረግ የኢትዮጵያን ብሄራዊ ጥቅምና ገፅታ በሚገነቡ ተግባራት ላይ እንዲሳተፉ ይደረጋል፣ ■ The Ethiopian Messenger
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