የኃይል መቋረጥ እያሰከተለ ያለው ቀውስ

ተሻለ መንግሥቱ

ይህን ጦማር የምጽፈው፣ እንደልዩ ዕድል ወይም አጋጣሚ ሆኖ ከንፍሮ ውስጥ ጥሬ እንደሚገኝ ሁሉ በወያኔ መንደር ውስጥ ስለሀገራቸው የሚጨነቁ በጣት የሚቆጠሩ ባለሥልጣናትና የሥራ ኃላፊዎች ቢኖሩ “ሕዝቦቻቸው” በምን ዓይነት ችግር ውስጥ እንደሚገኙ ተረድተው ችግሩን ለመቅረፍ የተቻላቸውን ሁሉ እንዲያደርጉ ለመማጸን ነው፡፡ የገባንበት የችግር አዘቅት ተነግሮ የማያልቅ ቢሆንም በኤሌክትሪክ ኃይል ረገድ እየደረሰብን ያለው ጭቆናም ልበለው ረገጣ እጅግ የሚዘገንን ነው፡፡ እርግጥ ነው - ይህ ችግር የ‹ቅንጦተኞቹ› የከተማ ነዋሪዎችና መብራትና የኮረንቲ ኃይል በወሳኝነት ደረጃ ለሚያስፈልገን ዜጎች እንጂ አብዛኛውና ሌላውማ ዛሬ የሚቀምሳትን እንጂ የሚበራለትን መሻት ካቆመ ቆይቷል፡፡ ክትክታና ችቦም ቢሆን እያበራ የሚቀምሳት ቁራሽ እንጀራ ቢያገኝ - ያ ነው የጊዜው አንገብጋቢ ፍላጎቱ፡፡ ለብዙው ዜጋ የሚላስ የሚቀመስ ነገር ማግኘት ነው፡፡ ዱሮ በ‹ክፉው› ዘመን ኩንታል በቆሎ ከአምስት ብር በታች በሆነ ዋጋ እንዳልተሸመተ ዛሬ በ‹ፀሐዩ› የወያኔ ‹ደግ› ዘመን አንዲት የተጠበሰች በቆሎ በአምስት ብር ተገዝታ ወስፋት የሚሸነገልባት ሀገር ተፈጥራለች፡፡

“በሃያ ምናምን ዓመታት ውስጥ አንድ መንግሥት ከዚህም በላይ ሊሠራ ይችል ነበር፤ በዚህን ጊዜ ውስጥ ቢያንስ ረሀብን ማስወገድና ዴሞክራሲን ማስፈን ይቻል ነበር፤ ቅድሚያ ይህና ያ ቢሠራ ይበጅ ነበር፤…” የሚሉት ምናልባትም በተገቢነት ሊወሰዱ የሚችሉ አስተያየቶች እንደተጠበቁ ሆነው ባለፉት ሁለት አሠርት የወያኔ አገዛዝ ውስጥ በሀገራችን የታዩ የዕድገት ምልክቶች በቀላል የሚታዩ እንዳልሆኑ አፍ ቢክድ ኅሊና አይክድም፡፡ መከናወን ከሚገባው ይልቅ መሠራት የማይገባው እጅግ ብዙ መጥፎ ነገር በመታየቱ እንጂ ለተራበ አንጀት ብዙም ፋይዳ የማይሠጡ ለታይታዊ የዕድገት ፈለግ ግን የማይናቅ እመርታን የፈነጠቁ በርካታ የመንገድና የታህታይ መዋቅር ግንባታዎች ተካሂደዋል፡፡ ይህን መመስከር ግን የወያኔን ዘረኛነትና በተለይም አንድን የሕዝብ አካል በሌሎች በማስጠላትና በግልጽም ሆነ በሥውር በማሰጨፍጨፍ ረገድ የተፈጸመውንና እየተፈጸመ ያለውን ታሪክ ይቅር የማይለው ደባ መካድ ማለት እንዳልሆነ መታወቅ ይኖርበታል፡፡ ለዚህ ነው ወያኔ ምንም ቢሠራ እጁ ዐመድ አፋሽ እንደሆነ ወደማይቀርለት የታሪክ ጉድጓድ ከመውረድ የማይድነው፤ ለዚህ ነው ወያኔ ከነዘረኛና ከፋፋይ ማፊያዊ ሥርዓቱ ከመንኮታኮት የማይተርፈው፡፡ በመግቢያነት ይህችን ያህል ከተነፈስኩ ወደርዕሴ ልግባ፡፡

የኃይል አቅርቦት በአብዛኛው ከኤሌክትሪክ ጋር ይገናኛል፡፡ ሀገራችን በኤሌክትሪክ ኃይል አቅርቦት በተለይ ከቅርብ ጊዜያት ወዲህ እየተሻሻለች እንደመጣች ይነገራል፡፡ ዱሮ ስንት ሜጋዋት ታመነጭ ነበር፣ አሁን ስንት ደርሳለች፣ የኤሌክትሪክ ተጠቃሚው ሕዝብስ በምን ያህል ምጣኔ አድጓል… የሚሉትን ጥያቄዎች ለባለሙያዎች ትነተና እንተወው፡፡ ግን አሁን ያለን ኃይል እንደሚባለው ለጎረቤት ሀገራት እስከመሸጥም ይድረስ ወይም በሺዎች የሚገመት ሜጋዋት ኮረንቲ በመጠባበቂያነት በየስቶሩ ይቀመጥ ዋናው ነገር ግና በ21ኛው መቶ ክፍለ ዘመን ዜጎቿ በጨለማ ውስጥ የሚዳክሩባት ብቸኛ ሀገር ብትኖር ኢትዮጵያ ናት፡፡

አዲስ አበባም ሆነ የትም የኢትዮጵያ ክፍል በአሁኑ ወቅት መብራት የማይቋረጥበት ቦታ እንደሌለ ይታወቃል፡፡ መቋረጥ ሲባል ደግሞ ዓይትነና መጠን አለው፡፡ የኛ መቋረጥ በርካታ ሰዓቶችን አልፎ ሣምንታትንና ወራትንም ሊዘልቅ ይችላል፡፡ ይህ ደግሞ መቋረጥ ሳይሆን ሌላ ተስማሚ ቃል ሊፈለግለት ይገባል ባይ ነኝ፡፡ መቋረጥ ሲባል ለተወሰነ አጭር ጊዜና የተወሰነ ብልሽት ሲያጋጥም ያ እስኪስተካከል ድረስ እንጂ አንድን አካባቢ ለቀናት ዳፍንት ውስጥ መክተት የመብራት መቋረጥ በሚል የቁልምጫ ቃል ሊጠራ አይገባውም፡፡

ለምን ይቋረጣል? ብለን መጠየቃችን አልቀረም፡፡ ለዚህ ጥያቄ ትክክለኛ መልስ ሊሰጠን የሚችል “ሕዝቤ ለሚጠይቀው ሕጋዊና ተገቢ ጥያቄ ተገቢና ትክክለኛ መልስ ያስፈልገዋል” ብሎ የሚያምን አገዛዝ ስለሌለን መልሶቻችን በአብዛኛው መላምቶችና ከውስጥ ዐዋቂ ሾልከው የሚወጡ ፍንጮች ናቸው፡፡ ከዚህ አኳያ መብራት የሚቋረጠው፡-

1. ወደሀገር የሚገባው ዕቃ ከቻይናና ቻይናን ከመሰሉ ዓለምን በተለይም ኋላቀር የአፍሪካና መሰል ሀገሮችን ቆረጣጥመው ለመብላት ቆርጠው ከተነሱ ጅቦችና ዓሣማዎች በሻጥረኛ የዕቃ ግዢ ባለሥልጣናት አማካይነት በእከክልኝ ልከክልህ ተመሣጥሮ በመሆኑ የተቀየረው ዕቃ መብራት ከመለቀቁ ይፈነዳል ወይ ይቀልጣል፤ አካባቢውን ሳይቀር የጦርነት ቀጣና እያስመሰለ ሕዝብን ያስደነግጣል፡፡ አንድ ፊውዝ ከመቀየሩ በሴከንዶች ውስጥ የሚፈነዳው በኛዋ ምሥኪን ሀገር ነው፡፡ የሀገር ሀብት የውጪዎቹን ተባባሪ መዝባሪዎች ጨምሮ የማንም ወለፈንዴና ብሔራዊም ይሁን ሰብኣዊ ስሜት የሌለው ጋጠወጥ ዜጋ መቀለጃና መጫወቻ ሆኗል፡፡ የሚገዛው ዕቃ ፎርጅድ ነው - ጀንዩን ዕቃ ወደኢትዮጵያ ከመጣ ሀገሪቱ በዕድገት የምትጎተት ይመስላቸዋል - ባለሥልጣኖቻችን፡፡ በሻጥር የዕቃ ግዢና ያም በሚያስከትለው የሥራ ውጥረት ምክንያት የተሠላቹት ሠራተኞች የመብራትን መቋረጥ ወዲያው ደርሰው ለመጠገን ወኔያቸው እንደሞተ ይነገራል፤ ‹ብንጠግነውም ወዲያው ይቃጠላል ወይ ይፈነዳል› ከሚል ትክክለኛ የሚመስለኝ ስሜት፡፡ ሰው ናቸውና ይሰለቻሉ መቼም፡፡ መፍትሔው ይህን የሙስና አሠራር በሀገር ወዳድ ዜጎች መተካትና ትክክለኛ አሠራርን መዘርጋ ነው፡፡

2. የመሥሪያ ቤቱ ዕውቅ ሠራተኞችና ባለሙያዎች በግል ሥራ እየያዙና በጡረታ እየተገለሉ በአሁኑ ወቅት ያለው ሠራተኛ በአብዛኛው ለማጅና በቂ ዕውቀት የሌለው ነው ይባላል፤ ስለሆነም የባለሙያ ዕጥረት በመኖሩ ሥራው ከመብራት ኃይል መሥሪያ ቤት አቅም እየወጣ እንደሆነ ይወራል፡፡ ሠራተኛን በደንብ ተከባክቦ መያዝ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ እንደነውርና ኃጢኣት ስለሚቆጠር ባልረባ ኑሮ በችግር እየኮደኮዱ የሚያኖሩት ሠራተኛ የመንግሥትን ሥራ እየናቀ ወደግሉ ቢያማትር አይፈረድበትም፡፡ ሥራ ላይ ያለው ራሱም አብዛኛውን የሥራ ጊዜውን እየሠረቀ ከፍተኛ ጥቅም ለሚያስገኝለት የግል ሥራው ቢያውለውና ሲያውለው ቢገኝ ተቆጣጣሪ ያለው አይመስልም፡፡ ሙስና እንደባህልበሚቆጠርባት ሀገር ውስጥ መብትን በገንዘብ እንጂ በመብት ማግኘት አይታሰብምና መብራት ሲቋረጥብህ ወይም ሆን ተብሎ እንዲቋረጥብህ ሲደረግ በእጅ መሄድ የግድ ይሆንብሃል - አንዱን ሲጠግኑ ሌላውንና በ‹እጅ› እንደሚመጣ የሚገምቱትን ሰው ወይም ኬክ ቤትና ወፍጮ ቤት መስመር አበላሽተው እንደሚሄዱ ይታማሉ - ለምሣ ዕረፍት ወደአንድ ሆቴል የገቡ ለቀስተኞች የመኪናቸው ዕቃ መጫኛ ላይ በክብር ያስቀመጡትን ለቀብር የሚጠበቅ ሬሣ ሠርቀው ‹የወሰደውን እናፈላልግላቸሁና እናስመልስላችሁ - ሦስት ሺህ ብር ክፈሉን› ብለው ለ‹አመርማሪ› የሚጠይቁና የተሰረቀን ሬሣ በውድ ዋጋ የሚሸጡ ዜጎች በሚኖሩባት ሀገር ይህ ዓይነቱ የኤልፓና የቴሌ ሠራተኞች ሻጥር እውነት አይሆንም አይባልም፡፡ ያም ሆነ ይህ የባለሙያ ዕጥረትና የደመወዝ ክፍያ ከሥራና ከኑሮ ውድነት ጋር አለመመጣጠንም አንዱ ችግር እንደሆነ በስፋት ይነገራል፡፡ ለዚህ መፍትሔው ሠራተኛን በበቂ ማሠልጠን፣ ክፍያንም ከወቅቱ ገበያ ጋር ማመጣጠን ይገባል፤ ‹እኔን ካልቸገረኝ ሌላው የራሱ ጉዳይ› ማለትም ከጤናማ አሠሪ አይጠበቅም፡፡ ችግር መጥፎ ነው፡፡ ብዙው ሰው በመኖርና አለመኖር አጣብቂኝ ውስጥ ሲገባ ‹ከነችግሬ እሞታለሁ› ብሎ እስከህቅታው ይጸናል ተብሎ አይገመትም - ወደስርቆትና ማጭበርበር ይገባል እንጂ፡፡

3. በተለያዩ ቦታዎች የሚመረቱ የኃይል አቅርቦቶችን ወደማዕከላዊ የማዘዣ ጣቢያ ለማምጣት በሚደረግ ጥረት የኃይል መቋረጥ ይደርሳል፡፡ ይህ ችግር የዕውቀት ዕጥረት ጋር ሲደረብ የችግሩ ደረጃ ይወሳሰብና ምስቅልቅሉ ይወጣል፡፡ የትኛው ከየትኛው ጋር እንደሚቀላቀል በቅጡ የማያውቅ ሠራተኛ ሥራውን ከያዘው መስመሮች ሁሉ ይቀላቀሉና ብዙ አካባቢዎች ድንገት ወደተኩስ ወረዳነት ሊለወጡ ይችላሉ፡፡ በዚህ ሂደት ከጥቅም ውጭ የሆኑ ዕቃዎችን ለመቀየር በሚወስደው ጊዜ አንድ ክልል ወይ ከተማ ለሣምንታት ብቻ ሳይሆን ለወራትም መብራት ላያገኝ ይችላል፡፡ መፍትሔው ተገቢውን ሥራ ለተገቢው ሰው መስጠት፡፡

4. የወያኔ መንግሥት አንዱ መገለጫው ሀገሩን የማያውቅ ሌባና አጭበርባሪ ማፍራት በመሆኑ ብዙው ሌባ ምን ከማን መስረቅ ወይ መዝረፍ እንዳለበት አያውቅም፡፡ እርግጥ ነው - አንድን ሌባ “ይህን ስረቅ፤ ያን ግን አትስረቅ” ብሎ ሥልጠና መስጠት በኛ ሀገር አልተለመደም - (ዩጎዝላቪያ ውስጥ አንድ ዕውቅ የሥርቆት ማሰልጠኛ ተቋም እንዳለ ሰምቻለሁ)፡፡ የኛ ሀገር ሌቦች ግን በተለይ ቀደምቱ ‹ፈሪሃ እግዚአብሄር ወባህል› ስለነበራቸው የሚሰረቅን ከማይሰረቅ ይለዩ እንደነበር የቅርብ ጊዜ ትዝታችን ነው፡፡ ለምሳሌ አእሩግን፣ ቤተ ክርስቲያንንና ካህናትን፣ የስልክና የመብራት ዕቃዎችን የመሰሉ የሀገር ሀብቶችን … አይሰርቁም ነበር፤ እንደነውር ይቆጠር ነበርና፡፡ ዛሬ ግን ዕድሜ ለሁሉንም ዘራፊ ወያኔ የሀገርም የሃይማኖትም ጽንሰ ሃሳቦች በመውደማቸው የቄሱን መስቀል ከእጁ ልፈው ሲሮጡ ብታይ በቄሱ ከርፋፋነት ከመሣቅ ውጪ የምትለው ወይ የምታደርገው ነገር የለም፡፡ ወያ መጥቶ ከጽላት ስርቆት እስከ ቅርስ ዘረፋና ሽያጭ በማኅበረሱ ውስጥ በማስተዋወቁ በሀገራችን ስርቆትና ውንብድና የደረሰበትን የሥልጣኔ ደረጃ ለመገመት ይከብዳል፡፡ ዛሬ ዛሬ ሌብነት ቅጡን አጥቷል፤ ወግ ማዕረጉንም ተገፍፏል፡፡ ሌብነት ተልከሰከሰ፡፡ ሙያውን የሚያስንቁና የሚያዋርዱ ልክስክስ ዜጎች በመብዛታቸው ይሄውና ዛሬ የመብራት ሽቦና የስልክ ገመድ የሚሰርቁ ባለጌዎች ሞሉ፡፡ የተቀበረም ይሁን በአየር ላይ የተንጠለጠለና የቆመ የሕዝብ ንብረት በጠራራ ፀሐይ በግልም በቡድንም ይሰረቃል፡፡ የሬሣ ሣጥን ለቀስተኞች ቤት ከመድረሳቸው ይመነተፋል - ቆንጆ የአበባ ጉንጉን ጭምር፡፡ ከዚህ የባሰ የሞራልና የስርቆታዊ ግብረ ገብነት ውድቀት የለም፡፡ በዚህ ሳቢያ የመብራትና የስልክ ምሰሶዎች፣ ገመዶችና የፋይበር ግላስ ውድ የመገናኛ ዕቃዎች የሌብነት ሀሁ በማያውቁ ልቅላቂ ዜጎች እየተመነተፉ ብዙ ችግር እየተፈጠረ ነው፡፡ የሌቦ ሣህሉን ገድል ባጭሩ ላስታውሳችሁ ይሆን? ሌቦ ሣህሉ ታዋቂና ዝነኛ ሌባ ነበር - ማርካቶ ውስጥ፡፡

አንዲት ሴት ዕቃ ረስተው ኖሮ ‹እስክመለስ ድረስ እባክህን ይህን ዕቃ ጠብቅልኝ› ብለውት አንድ ገረወይና ቅቤ ፊቱ ላይ አስቀምጣው ይሄዳሉ፡፡ ሌቦ ሣህሉ ቢጠብቅ ቢጠብቅ ምሽቱ ለዐይን እስኪይዝ ሴትዮዋን ጠበላ ጅብ አልጮህ ይለዋል፡፡ እንደጠፉ አልቀሩም - መጡ፡፡ ‹ጎሽ ልጄ! አቆየሁህ አይደል?› ብለው አመስግነው ሊሄዱ ሲሉ ሌቦ ሣህሉ ቀበል አደረገና ‹ለመሆኑ እኔን አውቀውኛል? › ሲል ይጠይቃቸዋል - ፈገግ እያለ፡፡ እንደማያውቁት ይገልጻሉ፡፡

ቀጠለናም ‹ እኔ ሌቦ ሣህሉ እምባለው ነኝ፤ ግን ታማኝ ሌባ ነኝ› ሲላቸው በዝናው ያውቁት ስለነበር በድንጋጤ ምድር ተሰንጥቃ ብትውጣቸው ወደዱ፡፡ የዱሮ ሌባ ሩህሩህና ደርዝ ያለው፣ ሀገሩን እሚወድና ሙያውን የሚያከብር ነበር - ነገር በደረቁ ጥሩ አይደለም ብዬ ነው በቀልድ እያዋዛሁ እምጥፍላችሁ እንጂ አደራችሁን ሌላ ምስል እንዳትቀርጡብኝ፡፡ (ወያኔ ሥራየን ተሸማህ ብሎ ካልተቆጣ የሌብነት ኮሌጅ ልክፈት ይሆን? የሚያዋጣ ቢስነስ መሆኑ መቼም አያጠራጥርም፡፡ ) ለማንኛውም ይህን ችግር ለማስወገድ በወያኔ ጊዜ የሚቻል አይመስለኝም እንጂ ብሔራዊ ስሜትን መፍጠር፣ በዚህ ዓይነቱ ወንጀል የሚያዙ ሰዎችን አይቀጡ ቅጣት መቅጣትና ተጠርጣሪ ቦታዎችን በየጊዜውና በአሳቻ ወቅት መቃኘት… ለውጥ ሊያመጡ ይችላሉ፡፡

መብራት በምንም ይቋረጥ በምንም አሉታዊ ውጤቱ ግን የሀገር ኅልውናን እስከመፈታተን የሚደርስ ነው፡፡ ሆስፒታሎች፣ ክሊኒኮች፣ ፋርማሲዎች፣ ሆቴሎች፣ ሱፐርማርኬቶች፣ ቢሮዎች፣ መኖሪያ ቤቶች፣… ካለመብራት ብዙም ዋጋ የላቸውም ቢባል እውነት ነው፡፡ ይታያችሁ - ቀድዶ ህክምና እየተደረገለት ያለ ሰው ላልተወሰነ ረጂም ጊዜ መብራት ‹ቢ› ሳይሆን ‹ሲ›ቋረጥበት ምን ይፈጠራል? ‹ቢ›ን ያልተጠቀምኩት መቋረጡ እርግጠኛ ስለሆነ ነው፡፡ ቢቋረጥ ብሎ ነገር አሁን አሁን የለም - በየቀኑ የማይቋረጥበት አካባቢ ከስንት አንድ ነውና፡፡ ምናልባት ከ‹ኃይል አሰላለፍ› አኳያ ቤተ መንግሥት፣ የጦሩ አካላት፣ የፖሊስና ደኅንነት ማዕከላት በኃይላቸው መብራት እንዳይቋረጥባቸው ያደርጉ ከሆነ አላውቅም፡፡ አለበለዚያ በየቀኑ ይቋረጣል፡፡እርግጥ ነው አንዳንድ ተቋማት የራሳቸው ጄኔሬተር አላቸው፡፡ አዲስ አበባን ብትዞሩ በብዙ ቦታዎች በየደጁ ትናንሽ ጄኔሬተሮች ሲንደቀደቁና በኅብረት በሚያቀናጁት የድምፅ ሁከት አካባቢን ሲበክሉ ታያላችሁ፤ ይህ ዓይነቱ የድምፅና የጪስ ብክለትም አንዱ የመብራት መቋረጥ ጉዳት ነው፡፡(ይህችን ጽሑፍ በማዘጋጅበት በዚህች ዕለት ግን ቢያንስ ከጧት አሁን ደረስ - አምስት ሰዓት ሊጠጋ ነው- አልጠፋብኝም፤ ተመስገን ነው፡፡ ሌላ ጊዜ ግን እስካሁን ቢያንስ አራቴ ተቋርጧል፡፡) በእውነት ፀጉር የሚያስነጭ ሁኔታ ውስጥ ነው ያለነው፤ አንድ ነገር በስሜት እየሠራህ ምናልባትም ‹ሴቭ› ሳታደርግ ድርግም ይልብሃል፤ “ድርግም ያድርጋችሁ!” የሚለው ስድብ ያኔ አያረካህም፡፡ አግንተሃቸው በካልቾ ብትላቸው ነው ደስ የሚልህ - መልሱን ከቻልከው፡፡

ፍሪጅ ውስጥ መቀመጥ የሚገባቸው ብዙ መድሓኒቶች አሉ፡፡ ምን ይሁኑ? ፍሪጅ ውስጥ መቀመጥ የሚገባቸው የበሰሉም ሆኑ ያልበሰሉ፣ የታሸጉም ሆኑ ያልታሸጉ ብዙ ምግቦች አሉ፡፡ ምን ይብቃቸው? ለሠራተኛ ደመወዝ፣ ለቤት ኪራይ፣ ለግብር፣ ለዕቃ ዲፕሪሼሽን፣ ለቀረጥ፣ ለኅልውና … ብዙ ወጪ ዐይኑን እያጉረጠረጠ የሚጠብቃቸው ሥራቸው በኤሌክትሪክ ፍጆታ ላይ የተመሠረተ ፋብሪካዎችና ኢንዱስትሪዎች፣ ኢንተርኔት ቤቶችና የጽሕፈት አገልግሎት የሚሰጡ ድርጅቶች፣ የኮምፒውተር ማስተማርያ ድርጅቶች፣ የማታ ትምህርት የሚያካሂዱ የትምህርት ተቋማት፣ ባንኮችና ኢንሹራንሶች፣ ምኖችና ምናምኖች ባጠቃላይ ምን ይዋጣቸው? ለችግር ሲሆን በተለይ ወሩ ዕለት ነው - ወዲያው ከች ይላል፡፡ ምን ከየት አምጥተው ይክፈሉ?

ቴክሎጂ እንደምታውቁት አስናፊ ነው - ያማርጣል ማለትም ያሰንፋል -‹ማ›ን አላሏት፡፡ ዛሬ ዛሬ ከኤሌክትሪክ ርዳታ ውጪ የሚከናወን ነገር ብዙም የለም፡፡ አደጉ በተባሉ ሀገሮችማ ከገበታ አንስቶ ወደአፍ የሚያጎርሰውም ኮረንቲው ራሱ ሳይሆን አይቀርም፡፡ እነሱ ከኛ በባሰ ሳይማርጡ አይቀሩም፡፡ በነገራችን ላይ ባደጉ ሀገሮች ለሴከንዶች ኤሌክትሪክ ቢቋረጥ በሣተና የሕግ ጠበቃቸው አማካኝነት ተከራክረው በዚያች ቅጽበት ለደረሰባቸው ማንኛውም ዓይነት ኪሣራና የደንበኞቻቸው መጉላላት የሞራል ካሣ ጭምር የመብራት አከፋፋዩን ብዙ ገንዘብ ያስቆነድዱታል አሉ፤ እሰይ! እንዲህ ነው የዜግነት መብት መከበር ማለት፡፡ እንዲህ ነው እንደሰው መቆጠርና እንደሰው መታየት ማለት፡፡ በዚህን ዓይነት ማኅበረሰብ ውስጥ መፈጠር መታደል ነው፡፡ እኛ እኮ አይደለም ይህን መሰል የቅንጦት ኪሣራ መጠየቅና በፍርድ ቤት ማስፈረድ፣ የተገደልንበትን ጥይት ዋጋ በወቅቱ ገበያ ተተምኖ እንድንከፍል እንገደዳለን፡፡ እኛ እኮ ሃያ ዓመት ያለጥፋት ታስረን ስናበቃ ጥፋት አለመፈጸማችን ሲታወቅ ይቅርታ ጠይቁና እንፍታችሁ የምንባል ከዐይጥና ከዕንቁራሪት የማንሻል ፍጡራን ነን፡፡ እኛ እኮ ‹አንገታችሁ ተነቀሰ፣ ግንባራችሁ ተከሰከሰ› ተብለን ካለምንም ጥፋት የምንታሰርና የምንገደል አሳዛኝ ፍጡራን ነን፡፡ በአውሮፓና አሜሪካ እባብና እንሽላሊት የእንስሳነት መብታቸው ተጠብቆ ማንም እንዳያንገላታቸው በሕገ መንግሥት ሳይቀር ሲደነገግላቸው፣ የእንስሳት መብት አስጠባቂ ድርጅትም ሲቋቋምላቸው በእኛ ሀገር እኮ ምግብ ሊያቃምሰን የሚቋቋም የረድኤት ድርጅት ሳይቀር በአሸባሪነት እየተከሰሰ እንዲፈርስ ይደረጋል፡፡ በእኛ ሀገር እኮ … ኤዲያ የመርገምት ሀገር፡፡ ለምን አንድያውን እሳቱን አያነድባትም፡፡ ሰብኣዊነት የሌላቸው አውሬዎች ሥልጣን እየያዙ ሚሊዮኖችን እንዲህ በምድራዊ ገሃነም የተንተረከከ የእሳት ፍም ላይ ጥደው ከሚያንጨረጭሩን ሁላችንም እንጥፋና ምድሪቱ የአውሬ መፍንጪያ ትሁን፤ ወደምድረ በዳነትም ትለወጥ፤ ፈቃዱ ከሆነም አዲስ የሰው ፍል አፍልቶ በተሻለ ስብዕና እንደሰው የሚንቀሳቀስ ትውልድ ከእንደገና ያብቅልባት፡፡ እግዚአብሔር በመንበሩ ካለ ይህን ጸሎቴን ይስማ፡፡ የሀገራችንን ነገር ቁጭ ብላቸሁ ስታስቡት ይህ እርግማን በጣም ትንሽ ነው፡፡ ሰው መሆን ካቃተን የሚቀረን ብቸኛ ምርጫ ሰው አለመሆን ነውና ኢትዮጵያ ሰው ማፍራት እንደተሳናት የምትቀጥል ከሆነ መጥፋት በርሷ አልተጀመረምና ለይቶላት ትጥፋ፡፡ ወደውጭ ስደት፣ የውስጥ ፍልሰትና እንግልት፣ ሞትና መከራ፣ እሥራትና ግርፋት፣ ጭቆናና ብዝበዛ፣ ዘረኝነትና ጎጠኝነት፣ በይና ተበይ፣ በላተኛና የበይ ተመልካች፣ ሻጭና ተሻጭ… ዕጣ ክፍላችን ሆነው እስከወዲያኛው የሚቀሩ ከሆነ አሁኑኑ ኢትዮጵያ የምትባል ሀገር ከምድረ ገጽ ትጥፋ፡፡ በቃ፡፡ መግቢያየና መውጫየ በመለያየቱ አዝናለሁ - የተነሱበትን ሃሳብ ተከትሎ መጨረስ ዱሮ ቀረ፤ አሁን ሁሉም ነገር ተመሰቃቅሎ ሀገርና ሕዝብ ጣር ላይ እያሉ በሥርዓቱ መጻፍ ይቅርና በወጉ መኖርም አልተቻለም - ከሁሉም ሰብኣዊ ሥርዓት ወጥተን አየር ላይ እየተንሳፍፈን የምንገኝ ሕዝብና ሀገር ሆነናል፡፡ ያልተነካ ግልግል ያውቃል ይባላል፤ በዚህች ሀገር ላይ እየወረደ ባለው ሁለንተናዊ ግፍና በደል ስሜታችሁ ያልተነካ ወገኖች በዚህ ደብዳቤ ልባችሁ ሊነካ እንደሚችል ይገባኛል፤ እርግማናችሁን እንደምታወርዱብኝም ይሰማኛል - ማንኛውንም በፀጋ ለመቀበል ዝግጁ ነኝ፡፡ ቢሆንም ከሁልጊዜ ምንትስ የአንድ ቀን ምንትስ ይሻላል እንላለንና እንዲህ አንዳችን አንዳችንን እያረድንና እየበለትን በአንድ ኢትዮጵያዊ ዓለም ውስጥ የገነትና የሲዖል ተምሣሌት የሆኑ ሁለት ተቃራኒ ዓለማትን ፈጥረን አልቃሽና አስለቃሽ ከምንሆን ሁላችንም እኩል የምንሆንበት የመከራ ዐውድማ ይለቅለቅና ሁላችንም እኩል እየተወቃን እናልቅስ፤ ምቀኝነት አይደለም - ለሁሉም የምትሆን ኢትዮጵያን መፍጠር ካልቻልን ለሁሉም የሚሆን አንድ ዓይነት ሁኔታ እንዲመቻች ካለኝ በጎ ምኞት እንጂ፤ ደግሞም ሞኝ አንሁን - ክርስቶስ ራሱ በመሣም አሣልፎ የሚሠጠውን የወፍጮ መጅ በአንገቱ ታስሮ ወደጥልቁ ባህር ቢወረወር እንደሚሻለው ተናግሯልና እንኳንስ ደካማው እኔን መሰሉ ሰው አንድያው የአምላክ ልጅም በጨካኞች ላይ ቆራጥ ብያኔውን ሰጥቷል፡፡ ሰውማ ጠላቱን እንዴቱን ያህል አስበልጦ አይራገም? እናም እላለሁ - እኔም የምመኘው ይሁንልኝ፤ አብረን መኖር ካቃተን፣ አንዳችን የአንዳችንን ጉድጓድ የምንቆፍር ከሆነ፣ በጌቶች ጉሮሮ ጠጅ በድሆች ጉሮሮ መርዝ የሚንቆረቆር ከሆነ - አትታዘቡኝ - አብረን ድራሻችን ይጥፋ፤ ሃሌ ሉያ፡፡

The Humanitarian Aid-Corruption Nexus in Ethiopia

Seid Hassan- Murray State University

June 24, 2013

A.          Introduction

The Amharic version of the Voice of America (journalist Solomon Abate serving as moderator) entertained a discussion on corruption which was broadcast on May 17 and 18, 2013. Participants included Messrs. Mulugeta Aragawi of Addis Ababa University, Abebe Gutta (attorney at law in Addis Ababa), Berhanu Assefa (Ethical Education and Communication Affairs Director of the Federal Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission-FEACC) and I. The first two gentlemen who really knew the sources, extent and potential solution to the rampant Ethiopian corruption politely provided their views, including the approaches that the government has to take to fight the corruption that the government has admitted to be rampant. As expected and is customary of the members of the EPRDF, Mr. Berhanu Assefa of the FEACC was on the defensive and mostly on the attack mode, instead of listening to the complaints and suggestions of the two citizens.  As those who listened to the debate can easily attest, Mr. Assefa spent most of his time talking about unrelated to the topic of discussion –yes, you guessed it right: the same old and tired double digit growth rates that all EPRDFits like to parrot each other ad nauseam.  He also suggested that the current decision to fight against corruption is for real and the arrest of Minister Melaku Fenta, director general of the revenue and customs authority and his deputy Gebrewahed Woldegiorgis along with several officials and businessmen merchants should serve as proof and we ought not to discourage it.  I partially agreed with Mr. Assefa’s suggestion in that all of us have to encourage the fight against corruption, if indeed it is for real while at the same time expressing my serious doubts.

I will perhaps address this issue (whether Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s government is both serious and capable of fighting the rampant corruption in the country) with a separate short write-up. Delay such a commentary also allow us to give the current authorities a little more time and the benefits of doubt to show it to the world, as promised, that they have ended embarked on fighting against the debilitating corruption in the country. This and the next two (probably more) series of short commentaries instead focus on my soon to be published research findings related to the foreign-aid–corruption-nexus as applied to Ethiopia. These two forthcoming articles are included in the upcoming Ethiopian e-Journal for Research and Innovation Foresight-Vol.5, no.1-Special issue on the Ethiopian Economy which incorporates seven professionally written manuscripts. The contributors include Professors Abu Girma Moges (two articles: one on federalism and the second one on the extent of and the sham nature of calculating and indexing of poverty in the country), Minga Negash (on the peculiar nature of corporate governance in Ethiopia and the way forward), Getachew Begashaw (on the effects of landlockedness), Zeleke Worku (on Traditional Financial Structures such as Iqub, etc.) and I (two articles on the foreign aid-corruption nexus).  Both of my research articles are related but the first one tries to exclusively focus on the humanitarian aid-corruption nexus (that is, corruption when the TPLF was a rebel front) while the second one focuses on the development aid-corruption nexus (that is, corruption after the TPLF seized political power). They both are by-products of many years of my extensive research and fact documentations regarding the nature and causes of corruption in Ethiopia. I expect readers of these articles to find the extensive literature, testimonials and interviews that I consulted to be highly beneficial to them.

B.     The State Capture Onset in Ethiopia: Humanitarian Aid and Corruption. Forthcoming:   Ethiopian e-Journal for Research and Innovation Foresight-Vol.5, no.1-Special issue on the Ethiopian Economy.

1.            Abstract:

The first part of this paper shows that a substantial part of the money that aid agencies gave to feed the 1984-5 Ethiopian famine victims, including those raised by Band Aid and Live Aid were siphoned off by the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) to buy military weapons. I also use newly found evidences, interviews and testimonials accumulated over many years to show that famine aid scamming by the TPLF had gone beyond using humanitarian aid to purchase military weapons and feed the rebel Front’s red army. I show how humanitarian aid, as a resource in the midst of extreme scarcity, has enriched some quarters, fuelled corruption and intensified and prolonged conflicts among the warring factions of Ethiopia and legitimized the rebel fronts’ operations. Humanitarian aid lured the Fronts, particularly the TPLF, to parade hundreds of thousands of peasants to Sudan, which led to the deaths of tens of thousands of them (due to overcrowding, disease epidemics, lack of regular food supplies, poor water and sanitation problems, and from being exposed to targets for bombing). The documents I examined, the interviews that I conducted and the testimonials I have gathered over many years indicate that the refugees were abused by the TPLF both during their trek to the Ethio-Sudanese border which took 4-6 weeks and within the refugee camps. According to some ex-TPLF veterans, (and their claims to be indirectly proved by the written work of foreign nationals), a good portion of the humanitarian food aid was not made available to the starving peasants of Tigray. Their statements regarding this issue are indirectly corroborated by the field and research work of foreign nationals. By all these three counts, according to them, the TPLF has committed crimes against humanity (and, the International Committee of the Red Cross –ICRC agrees with them on this front). The documents I examined and the interviews and testimonials I gathered indicate that donors and aid agencies knew that the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) was the flip-side of the same coin- the TPLF and aid agency personnel knew a portion of the humanitarian aid that they were providing was being diverted for military purposes by the Fronts, indicating a violation of the principle of neutrality and impartiality on the part of aid agencies. There are also indications suggesting that the cross-border interventions by donors and aid agencies were against the multilateral agreements such as the Lomé conventions (Duffield and Prendergast, 1994).  This shows that the provisions and delivery of humanitarian aid have been used to violate and perhaps diminish the sovereignty of Ethiopia. Looked in a different way, a good portion of the humanitarian aid provided by donor countries to the TPLF and other fronts fighting the Derg regime was in part for the advancement of the diplomatic and foreign policy goals as well as political and military tools of donor nations and aid agencies.  It may be for this reason why they cared less about how humanitarian aid was spent or abused.  The literature that I examined also provides reasons why the abuse of humanitarian aid would be inevitable in conflict ridden countries such as Ethiopia. The evidence gathered have allowed me to inductively test one of my fundamental hypotheses: that humanitarian aid resources were and still are the sources of predation and capture in Ethiopia and that the culture of corruption and political malaise that we observe in today’s Ethiopia is a by-product of what the TPLF/EPRDF learned and adopted when it was a rebel front and such a culture of corruption was aided and abetted by humanitarian aid.

2.              Summary, Implication and Conclusion (abridged)  

The accounts of several donor agency personnel and the testimonials of ex-TPLF combatants indicate that humanitarian aid has showered the TPLF with more hard currency than the $100 million it received from Band Aid and similar activities. They include, for example, the millions of dollars that REST and its “employees” and supporters received for providing their services (transporting the donated food and related aid, as guides, etc.), from selling of “excess” humanitarian aid into the Sudanese and Middle Eastern markets, from scamming and defrauding humanitarian agencies such as  the $500,000 that Mr. Max Peberdy of Christian Aid was seen passing to Mr. Araya and others and the $2 million the Australians gave in cash to purchase food from local merchants, etc.)  However, my investigation is unable to determine the exact amount of money that the TPLF made from selling humanitarian aid. Both the fungibles of funds and the secretive nature of the Front also played and would continue to play as huge obstacles in ascertaining if and how much of those funds which have been allocated as described and as decided by the Front’s leadership were actually implemented I am further convinced that no one, including top leaders of the TPLF would be able to ascertain the exact allocations, expenditures and conversions of humanitarian aid for military purposes.

The second part of this article presented an abridged version of both the theoretical and practical case for aid to be a source for corruption and for prolonging conflicts among warring nations. I examined documents and the information obtained from various credible voices already aired by ex-TPLF veterans. I cross-examined previous testimonies provided by high level donor aid officials and aid agencies’ personnel who were deeply involved in the delivery of humanitarian aid at the time. I also sought out and investigated documents written by journalists who happen to report the extent of donor aid flow and to whom they were given. This led me to uncover one of the hard to find non-classified CIA documents, thanks to Google’s search engine, which in turn reinforced the claims made by donor aid officials and aid agency personnel who attested that humanitarian aid was indeed siphoned off to military uses by the TPLF.  The examination of the facts also indicates that both donor nations and aid agencies took a blind eye to the misuse and diversion of humanitarian aid to military uses. Some attribute this to the fact of channelling of humanitarian assistance along the Ethio-Sudanese border in the 1980s being partly political (see, Evil Days, pp. 356-62, for example).

The cross-examination of the documents that I gathered along with the testimonials of individuals also indicates that the TPLF skilfully captured humanitarian aid resources, with full intent. The desire to capture and use humanitarian aid resources motivated the Front to (in large part forcefully) parade already weakened peasants to trek to Sudan, which led to the death of tens of thousands of them (to the tune of 25,000 by some humanitarian agencies’ estimates and calculations and a lot more by ex-TPLF combatants) and to their increased suffering. This article has also presented the case in which the provision of humanitarian aid could have the opposite and damaging (largely unintended) effects on the recipient country and its people using Ethiopia as an example. To the extent that the desire to access humanitarian aid resources lured organized groups such as the TPLF to commit crimes against humanity, and to the extent that these same resources have benefited the elites and have enabled the TPLF establish a highly corruptive and oligarchic system that we observe in today’s Ethiopia, we conclude that humanitarian aid resources were the basis for the onset of state capture that reigns supreme currently in Ethiopia.

The Woyane Fan Club in Diaspora: Fools, ignorant and the corrupt

By Teshome Debalke

In the wake of the news this week EPRDF/TPLF stooges in Diaspora are on the way to Addis Ababa to rescue the brazen Ethiopian ethnic tyranny from taking beatings from Ethiopians in Diaspora I can’t help but want to tell them how stupid can they be to even entertain the idea of meeting the regime let alone waste time and money to travel to help preserve a pathetic ethnic Apartheid tyranny.

It struck me; what happened to some of us Ethiopians we are willing voluntarily sell our soul for brazen ethnic tyranny for cheap? What happen to our dignity, pride and all to stoop below a regime that can’t tell; Ethiopians aren’t a collection of ethnicities and religions for the benefit of ethnic warlords’ corruption. But again, since they are stupid enough not to understand it for 22 long years I figured I will share it with the rest of my fellow Ethiopians how being stupid, ignorant and corrupt can delay our people’s freedom and democracy and costs lives and resources.

First of all, there is no whatsoever excuse for anyone that tasted freedom and democracy to voluntarily go back into servitude of tyranny. Therefore, Woyane stooges in Diaspora broke the record of stupidity, ignorance and corruption of the millennium. That isn’t all; they willingly insult the people of free world that gave them the privilege to be free they don’t deserve. I can only say stupidity, ignorance and corruption isn’t a virtue; as the Woyane stooges think.

My fear is, they are stupid, ignorant and corrupt enough to comeback and demand to dissolve the US voting right, reinstate slavery, strip freedom of speech as luxury they can’t stand and insist one government run Media is sufficient to tell us growth and development. Also, don’t be surprise if they demand the US Election Commission select the US President and the Representatives by 99.9% to bring about Revolutionary Democracy in the free world. Oh yes, I forgot the main reason they travelled; the US government to label the ‘extremist Diaspora’ terrorists and lock them up.

Seriously, the stooges in Diaspora honestly believe Woyane brought good governance and democracy. Haven’t you noticed some of the stooges in the Diaspora comparing Woyane rule with the US?  I vividly remember a few years back a stooge that came on Voice of America claiming the 99.64% selection of Woyane in the 2010 election as ‘the people has spoken’. I was stunned with the statement of the individual the reporter referred as Doctor… mad at the reporter not to follow up-asking him what kind of Doctor he was to accept such statistic.

Why would stooges go through self humiliation in the service of tyranny? Why would individuals privileged to exercise their freedom and liberty in the free world travel across the world to talk about how to preserve ethnic tyranny in their birth place to comeback against freedom of their fellow Ethiopians in Diaspora. Frankly, it defies all human logic.

Don’t get me wrong, given a choice, I never heard humans giving up their freedom for anything except Woyane stooges in the Diaspora. It gets worst, they actually spent money and time to travel to handover their freedom and liberty in a hand basket for a corrupt small time ethnic tyranny. Talk about hitting the bottom of humanity.

Before you make up your mind one way or another about stooges of tyranny I want to clearly show ‘the fact on the ground’ as the stooges like to put it’. Voluntarily giving up freedom and liberty for anything can’t happen unless one is complete fool, ignorant or corrupt to sell it for whatever it worth.  I can’t think of other explanation other than, may be being a jackass. Therefore, I am not in a liberty to accuse the stooges in Diaspora, particularly those that travelled across the world to rescue Woyane jackasses but everything else. But, if they insist to act like one I wouldn’t hesitate to call them as I see it i.e. if the shoe fit wears it.

Quite frankly, if you think about it, it is more a mental state with three possibilities where free person[s] would voluntarily take tremendous effort wanting to be servitude of ethnic tyranny, for that matter any tyranny. Stupidity, ignorance or corruptions are the only three possibilities I can think of. If there are other reasons I will stand corrected.

Stupidity is a state of mind where due to absence of mental capacity a person[s] does stupid things. Since it is a natural phenomenon it is understandable when person does thing out of the ordinary because of lack of mental capacity or disorder. Often societies understand the disorder and provide medical attention and overlook their action. The law also recognizes the mental capacity of stupidity not to punish the offender harshly if any at all.

The other possibility is Ignorance; ‘a state of being uninformed (lack of knowledge). The word ignorant is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult to describe individuals who deliberately ignore or disregard important information or facts.’ Therefore, lack of knowledge sometime put people in situations where they don’t know by following the misinformed crowed i.e. the blind leading the blind without questioning.  Though ignorance is not a defence unless one is under age or mentally incapable it is not a crime until one act on it.

The last possibility is Corruption; ‘spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. Corruption may include many activities including briber and embezzlement. Government, or ‘political’, corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts in an official capacity for his or her own personal gain, according Wikipedia.

Obviously, corruption is an act of deliberate criminality with serious character flaws that can suck an individual’s sprit to do unspeakable offence, in some cases unimaginable crimes against humanity in the service of individual, group or regimes.

Under the three traits and character flaws are where the Woyane stooges in Diaspora can be judged. What ever category they fall, they are refugees from freedom; seeking mental and physical or both shelters in tyranny, in this case ethnic tyranny. Though stupidity and ignorance isn’t a crime until one act upon them the stooges in Diaspora have lots of explaining to do for their stupidity and ignorance sustaining a corrupt ethnic tyranny for too long. At the meantime, the corrupt stooges are common criminals that belong in jail. The lack of institutions to follow up on their criminality keeps them out of jail roaming the street free harassing the innocent.  As deadly, at the meantime comical as the stooges’ behaviour in Diaspora may be it is unheard of in the human experience.

Of course, the news the stooges travelled to give comfort to ethnic tyranny may have shocked but not surprised many Ethiopians; knowing their behaviour in the past. Twenty two years of voluntary servitude for ethnic tyranny residing in the free world is not record freemen will be proud and speaks volumes to the character flaws of Woyane stooges in Diaspora. Therefore, it is hard to comprehend such out of the ordinary behaviour can happen in free society with one free will to explain it by stupidity, ignorance or corruption. What is astounding is some of them hold responsible positions in free societies but act as stupid and ignorant as a layman at onetime or another.

This brings to mind the possibility of what is referred as Dissocialise identity disorder (DID), previously known as multiple personality disorder (MPD); a disorder characterized by at least two distinct and relatively enduring identities. It isn’t unusual well educated stooges in Diaspora to have multiple personalities; speaking on important issue. Such characteristic is deviate enough to force them live double lives where; even their closest person[s] might not know their identity. Absence of any other explanation with their complex behaviour we can only conclude; some disorder or criminality explains the behaviour of the stooges in Diaspora when they freely and willingly want to be servitudes of tyranny.

The good news is, the era of stupidity, ignorance, corruption or multiple personality is over and done with; thanks for information technology that put everything out in the open.   The stooges in Diaspora will be forced to live as refugees under tyranny or free under democracy or must seek medical attention for their disorder. Either way, there is no safe heaven for them to hide in free society where they can eat their cake and have it too.

That said, the few time the clandestine stooges in Diaspora came out in public to show their support for Woyane tyranny shows they fall in one of the four categories. Though we can clearly see most if not all fall in the two categories (Stupidity and Ignorance) while the leaders fall in the other two (corrupt and multiple personality). Therefore, bunching all Woyane stooges in Diaspora with the corrupt or multiple personality might not be wise decision. Even though they are adults willingly to exhibit stupidity and ignorant for whatever reason they are not necessarily corrupt or have multiple personality disorder as the ringleaders.

As far as democratic movements are concerned the corrupt stooges in Diaspora must be the target not the stupid and ignorant that follows them blindly. The question is who are the corrupt stooges in Diaspora causing havoc? Starting with the delegates that travel on Woyane rescue mission on their free will leads to the rest of the stooges that are waiting their instructions.

The flip side of the other question is; where are the institutions that follow them up until they face raw justices? Naturally, political parties aren’t considered impartial to bring criminals to justice. Therefore, where are the civic institutions that put a stop to the criminality of the stooges in Diaspora?

We can’t let criminals or mentally deranged stooges in Diaspora roam the street free for too long and expect freedom and democracy here and at home. That is the honest truth Ethiopians will be free and the stooges will be imprisoned, it is a matter of time

This article is dedicated for Ethiopians in Diaspora that are chasseing the stooges to face justice