What matters most
ETHIOPIANS must as one urge the government to come clean, for they are starved of information that provides an accurate picture of the state of the union.
The president delivered a wide-ranging speech at the opening of the joint session of the House of Peoples’ Representative and the House of the Federation at the opening of their annual sessions. It was anticipated to address topical issues of critical national importance.
The increasingly perplexing relationship between the federal regional governments is a case in point. In particular the bloody clashes that saw scores die and tens of thousands displaced in the Oromia and Ethiopia-Somali regions was just a footnote in the speech. The conflict between the two bordering communities constitutes one of the issues – if not the most pressing – that comes to mind when saying we need to talk about what really matters.
Admittedly the president’s speech laid out a road map for the nation’s legislative and development agendas for the fiscal year. However, the public is not that into hearing a technical analysis of muchtouted economic growth; it is more interested to know how each household stands to benefit fairly from the growth.
The protection of basic liberties, not improved year after year, is still of grave concern. Much can be said about the ordeal citizens yearning for justice are forced to undergo. The abridgement of the constitutionally guaranteed right to engage freely in economic activity and to pursue a livelihood of choice anywhere is a troubling matter.
The inability to negotiate and forge a consensus on shared goals remains a national malaise. In a country beset by all these problems the people and the government cannot listen to each other, let alone sing from the same song sheet. Transparency and accountability cease to be cherished values as the government oversteps the limits to its authority and acts with impunity.
The obsession with secrecy and reluctance to uphold the rule of law earn one only rebuke, not praise. Let’s talk about what really matters.