Federalism firmly coalescing Ethiopia
Fekadu W.
Residents of Assosa town, Benishangul Gumuz State, on September 2, 2017 stated that observance of day of peace in the region may enhance prevalence of peace and urge citizens to strive for the flourishing of development. They confirmed that sustainable peace in the region has been ensuring sustainable development and burgeoning democracy.
They confirmed that the current system of federalism being practiced in Ethiopia has enabled the region to enjoy self-rule and self determination. The system has enabled to thrive development of the region which had been neglected by previous tyrants and dictators known for their ruthless governance.
Needless to state, the nascent system of federalism has answered the question of indigenous peoples of the region including Shinasha, Berta, Gumuz, Mao and Komo. It even enabled to amply satisfy the demand of armed forces that used to vie as insurgents. Now, these forces had ditched their guns and started civilian life without any coercion from outside, but only the far-reaching federalism.
In this regard, Benishangul Peoples Liberation Movement (BPLM) has become the most credible witness to the accommodating federalism. Earlier, it used to strive to materialize its own goals of independence and justice. But, currently, it has shunned armed struggle and rejoined its people to contribute its own in the fight against poverty.
Peoples living in the region believe that BPLM returning to peaceful civilian life enables to sustain the stability and tranquility of the region and strengthen development. Now, decommissioned members have become vanguards of peace, democracy and development.
People and late BPLM members said they regret the time they spent in vain and insurgence, respectively. There is no agenda of peace, democracy and development that has not been entertained by the Constitution and Ethiopian federalism. They stressed erroneous attitude, ignorance and bigotry had driven them to take arms and rebel earlier.
Now they are the first beneficiaries of peace and development blooming in the region. They believe, henceforth, no day should be spent in vain for the country has started its combat with monstrous poverty. This country has no enemy as abominable and grinding as poverty.
Everybody should lend a hand to the development endeavor of the country. Time for fighting and armed struggle had long gone since people had liberated the country from the oppressive regime of derg(spearheaded by EPRDF).Currently, the country is enjoying peace and stability. It is on the right track of development that enables to tangibly emancipate millions out of the mire of poverty.
People are witnessing the very fact that the changes that have been taking place in Ethiopia since the advent of federalism are commendable. The change includes double-digit growth unseen in the previous regimes of Ethiopia. The reason for the country’s progress is its peace and stability that in turn helps develop resilience and resistance to drought, boost agricultural and industrial productivity and implement pro-poor policies and strategies; the comprehensive booming and mushrooming of federalism has enabled to answer questions of development and good governance which had been unthinkable were it in the era of derg known for its tyranny and strangulation of dissident voices.
Above all, as a source of lasting peace, the Constitution of the country ratified and implemented since 1995 has laid solid foundation to federalism burgeoning with time. The Constitution has become a guarantor document to the prevalence of peace and stability and it introduced devolution of power to all regions by abolishing tyranny and inequality.
Prevalence of peace and stability has enabled to further catalyze development of all regions. Fortunately, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD) is located in Guba area of Benishangul Gumuz State. And hence, peace and stability of the region is serving as firm foundation for the development of the country (for it enables to speed up construction of GERD and finalize it on time).
Tangibly, the Constitution endorsed by the consent of all citizens of Ethiopia in 1995 has enabled to build lasting peace. It also strengthened peaceful-coexistence among the nations, nationalities and peoples of the country. Besides, it has been playing pivotal role to rectify the previous injustice, inequality and brutal oppression, which the nations, nationalities and peoples were forced to accept painfully.
The incumbent federal system of administration, though fledgling compared to the history and application of federalism in other countries, has enabled to answer the long-sought questions of people regarding equality, self-identity, rule of law and development. It also enabled the country to abolish oppression once and for all and establish federal system of administration that introduces devolution of power to states.
However, the implementation of federalism in Ethiopia is not free of any challenges. It has faced many limitations related to execution, clarity, legal interpretation. The inherently undemocratic culture and submissive behavior of people inherited from past autocratic regimes could also be cited as major obstacle.
In this regard, the government is striving to the top of its capacity to crusade commonly appreciated and accepted legacies. Some tailored efforts are also being exerted to enhance consensus and unity in diversity around positive historic legacies.
Since the abolition of tyranny and injustice, the country is opening tantalizing window of opportunity which is spurring development. As a result, today’s Ethiopia has been lauded as one of the fastest growing economies. In the past fifteen years, the country has achieved major economic transformations that evidenced constructions of mega projects such as the GERD and Ethio-Djibouti Railway projects.
Robust federalism has enabled to formulate enviable Ethiopia which is the most stable and peaceful country in the sub-Saharan Africa. The attention-grabbing economic transformation being observed in Ethiopia has been effected by the prevalence of relative peace and stability for over the past two decades, which in turn has burgeoned Ethiopia’s quintessence as vibrant democracy and burgeoning federalism.
The current federal system of administration has also played a pivotal role to materialize Ethiopia’s economic success by empowering every citizen to contribute to the nation’s development and to benefit from it in fair and equitable manner.
Federal system of administration has enabled people to join hands in rebuilding the nation. This in turn has been buttressing nation’s allocation of more than 70 per cent of its national budget to developmental sectors of the economy, such as agriculture, education and health that favor poorer people, due to formulation and implementation of equitable resource distribution.
Implementing federalism for Ethiopia has been all about building unity in diversity that further scales up to accommodating multicultural state. It is for this reason that federalism as an ideology and federation as a political institution (incorporating both unity and diversity) has become workable to properly administer citizens of Ethiopia and equally entertain their needs.
Multicultural federalism remains the only tenable option and reasonable solution to hold Ethiopia together. It has permitted not only the existence of multiple identities under a single political union but also transcends the fixation with the nation-state and its limits in dealing with diversity. This system also quashed the politics of exclusion, as power sharing is inherent to it thereby creating opportunities for absorbing the contenders for power into the political process (as it did to afore mentioned BPLM).
It could be said that the prospect and implementation of federalism is going in an encouraging manner. Application of multinational federalism is strengthening the unity of the country through diversity. Seeing its acceptable and enjoyable fruits, Ethiopia is committed to exist under the system of federalism and sustain its unity, as it favors consensus of citizens.
Federalism has firmly coalesced Ethiopia. The basic questions of equality, identity and self-governance have been answered unequivocally through implementation of federalism. Evidentially, armed forces and secessionist movements that had stood for these causes had died out two decades ago. Ethiopia has not disintegrated as many feared when the idea of self-determination and federalism was introduced.
Interrelations between the federal government and regional governments and among regional governments are going on smoothly. This system of administration being pursued by the government has served as a fertile ground for the unity of nations, nationalities and the peoples of Ethiopia. It has created conducive environment, where all citizens can participate and benefit from the rapid economic growth of the country.
As an effort to sustain the current federalism, the government has expressed commitment to sustain the effort of strengthening good governance, building democracy and reinvigorating change. Currently, the government said it is ferociously fighting corruption and rent seeking acts being committed by anti-development agents. Accordingly, it is calling for citizens to whistle blow intensely and back the efforts of the government to eradicate corruption.