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Why is Ethiopia the second poorest country on the planet?


Ethiopians in Addis Ababa queuing in line to be fed by NGOs 


Why is Ethiopia the second poorest country on the planet?

By Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam,

Recently, a well-known correspondent for one of the major American media outlets stationed in Ethiopia sent me an email grousing about my article urging boycott of Coca Cola in Ethiopia. He wrote, “I’m sorry to be blunt, but I don’t understand the thrust of this article [on boycotting Coca Cola]. You seem intent on misleading at least some of your ‘millions’ of readers that Ethiopian politics is simply evil regime vs angelic (and united) opponents.”

My response to the befuddled foreign correspondent was terse, swift and unapologetic. “It is. Deal with it! I am not sorry to be blunt. It is your right to mindlessly parrot the regime’s line!!!” When one’s journalistic accreditation and privileged existence in Ethiopia depends on one’s choice of words and reportorial insipidity, timidity masquerading as integrity and neutrality becomes a journalistic virtue.

I suspect this commentary on the question of poverty in Ethiopia will befuddle the ruling regime in Ethiopia, its cronies, supporters and domestic and foreign apologists. They will all say, “Here he goes again rootin’ and tootin’ for  ‘angelic (and united) opponents’ and ‘demonizing’ an ‘evil regime.’” I never give the regime a “fair shake” and will never recognize “anything good they have ever done.” They will all bellyache about how I will go out of my way to discredit the galloping “economic growth the country has registered over the past decade.” They will whine about how I never miss the opportunity to paint the regime a darker shade of evil every Monday.

The fact of the matter is that I let the chips fall where they may. I pride myself in being blunt and not hiding behind a façade of moral relativism and self-serving, convenient and faux journalistic probity.  I do not believe in “angelicizing” demons nor demonizing “angels”. I tell it like I see it. I am a straight talker of truth to abusers of power; and those who can’t handle straight talk can walk.

I am also an unrepentant partisan.  I am 100 percent partial to the cause of human rights, the principle of rule of law and the practice of due process. I offer a personal point of view on a variety of issues. I analyze things happening in Ethiopia first through the lens of a constitutional lawyer and second as a political scientist. I moralize and pontificate from time to time because I am outraged by the evil that men and women do.  I believe poverty is the root of all evil. I believe the late Meles Zenawi left a dismal and bleak legacy of moral, physical and metaphysical evil in Ethiopia that will last for a generation. Shakespeare understood evil, and through Antony in Julius Caesar spoke: “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar.” I hasten to add, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women) to do nothing” and to say nothing. Thus, I must speak out against poverty – the poverty spawned by poverty profiteers and poverty pimps -- as the root of all evil in Ethiopia.

The evil that survives evil men keeps Ethiopia as the second poorest country in the world  

Last week, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHDI) Multidimensional Poverty Index (formerly annual U.N.D.P. Human Poverty Index) reported for the fourth successive year that Ethiopia is ranked as the second poorest country on the planet. Over the years, numerous other international organizations have ranked Ethiopia among the bottom five worst countries in the world not only on poverty bust also on human righst and other measures.  In 2010, OPHDI reported that the percentage of the Ethiopian population in “severe poverty” (living on less than USD$1 a day) was 72.3%.  The OPHDI 2014 poverty statistics are even more shocking.  In rural Ethiopia, 82 % of the population struggles “in severe poverty” compared to 18% in the urban areas.  The highest incidences of “severe poverty” in Ethiopia in 2014 are found in the following regions: Somali (93% ), Oromiya (91.2%), Afar (90.9%),  Amhara (90.1%) and Tigray (85.4%). By OPHDI measures, poverty is not simply lack of money. It is  quintessentially about bad health, bad education, bad nutrition, bad child mortality, bad water supply, bad electricity supply, bad housing and bad sanitation. Ethiopia is in very bad shape; and that is how she got to be ranked the second poorest country on the planet!

The regime in Ethiopia tirelessly vociferates to project itself as a band of enlightened  “renaissance” leaders on a mission of transforming Ethiopia into a utopia. In September 2012, the ceremonial “prime minister” of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, in his funeral oration proclaimed:  “Our great leader Meles Zenawi has been the chief architect of our country’s renaissance, which has been assured by double-digit growth over the last eight years.” A few weeks ago,  Hailemariam proudly told  The Africa Report: “Everyone is now talking about the Ethiopian renaissance”. (No kidding!?)

Last September, Tedros Adhanom, the malaria-researcher-turned-instant-foreign-minister and the man being groomed to become  “prime minister” in 2015 after Hailemariam is unceremoniously shooed out the door, went to the Golden Citizen Festival in New York City and crowed about “the success of Ethiopia and Africa”. He said, “Ethiopia has done lots of strides in economic, social and political fronts… In economic growth, it has registered more than 10% for the last ten years… Ethiopia is on the rise…”

If Ethiopia is in a “renaissance and on the rise”, how is that she is the second poorest country on the planet? Why is it that Ethiopia has been unable to rejuvenate herself in her “renaissance” and rise up on the global poverty scale? Why is 82 % of rural population in Ethiopia “in severe poverty” in 2014? Why is it that nearly 60% of Ethiopia’s 90 plus million population struggling with an income below US$1.25 per day?  Why is it that over 60% of the Ethiopian population chronically or at least periodically food insecure?

The fact of the matter is that poverty, disease, illiteracy, corruption and human rights violations are the only things that are on the rise in Ethiopia. If there is a “renaissance” going on in Ethiopia, it is a renaissance of corruption, human rights deprivation and violation. Ethiopia has made backslides, not “strides in economic, social and political fronts.” But in the regime’s echo chamber of  “revolutionary democracy” and “developmental state”, (better known as Denial-istan), everything is hunky-dory. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong, misguided or ill-intentioned.

The Pollyannaish regime leaders in Ethiopia are very much like climate change deniers who refuse to accept irrefutable evidence of man-made global warming. The regime refuses to accept the fact that the vast majority of the people of Ethiopia live in abject poverty and that the regime itself is singularly responsible for the persistence of poverty in that country. But they would rather talk about an imaginary renaissance wonderland they have created!

The facts speak for themselves. In 2011, Global finacnial Integrity (GFI) reported,  “The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit capital leakage.”

The GFI report further documented that “Ethiopia, which has a per-capita GDP of just US$365,  lost US$11.7 billion to illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009. In 2009, illicit money leaving the economy totaled US$3.26 billion, which is double the amount in each of the two previous years… In 2008, Ethiopia received US$829 million  in official development assistance, but this was swamped by the massive illicit outflows.  The scope of Ethiopia’s capital flight is so severe that our conservative US$3.26 billion estimate greatly exceeds the  US$2 billion value of Ethiopia’s total exports in 2009.”

Why is Ethiopia the second poorest country in the world in 2014? 

The principal reasons for the triumph of the evil of poverty in Ethiopia have a lot to do with the ineptitude, incompetence, ignorance, arrogance and corruption of the ruling regime and its late “chief architect” Meles Zenawi. Meles fancied himself as an economist among many other things. Steeped in his youth in the bush in the half-baked  political economy of Marxism, Meles tried to redeem and rhetorically reinvent himself as the “chief architect” of  “revolutionary democracy” and the “developmental state” in Ethiopia. However, neither Meles nor his witless acolytes have taken the opportunity to articulate the theory and practice of  revolutionary democracy or the developmental state. Instead, they have chosen to mount a babbling rhetorical attack on “neoliberalism” while stretching out cupped palms for alms to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In a “scholarly” article in a volume edited by the old anti-neoliberal war horse Joe Stiglitz, Meles proclaimed, “The neo-liberal paradigm is a dead end incapable of bringing about the African renaissance, and that a fundamental shift in paradigm is required to effect a revival.”

Meles “shift in paradigm” was a fanciful “Growth and Transformation Plan”, not unlike the centralized five-year economic plans of the now forgotten Soviet Union. As I have demonstrated on a number of previous occasions, Meles did not have a growth and transformation plan; he had delusional plans of economic growth and transformation.

In my commentary “The Fakeonomics of Meles Zenawi”, I demonstrated that Meles’ “growth and transformation plan” is nothing more than a make-a-wish list of stuff. It purports to be based on a ‘long-term vision’ of making Ethiopia ‘a country where democratic rule, good-governance and social justice reigns.’ It aims to ‘build an economy which has a modern and productive agricultural sector with enhanced technology and an industrial sector’ and ‘increase per capita income of citizens so that it reaches at the level of those in middle-income countries.’ It boasts of ‘pillar strategies’ to ‘sustain faster and equitable economic growth’, ‘maintain agriculture as a major source of economic growth,’ ‘create favorable conditions for the industry to play key role in the economy,’ ‘expand infrastructure and social development,’ ‘build capacity and deepen good governance’ and ‘promote women and youth empowerment and equitable benefit.’
Stripped of its collection of hollow economic slogans, clichés, buzzwords and catchphrases, Meles’ growth and  transformation plan is plain sham-o-nomics.

In my commentary, “The Voodoo Economics  of Meles Zenawi”, I demonstrated that Meles has been making hyperbolic claims of economic growth in Ethiopia based on purely fabricated economic statistics. For a number of years, Meles and his regime have been pulling a public relations sleight-of-hand by using the IMF as a front to channel bogus economic statistics to prove their economic prowess and unrivalled success to the world.

I am certainly not the first one to expose the economic and political ineptitude, incompetence and corruption of the ruling regime in Ethiopia. In its November 7, 2006 editorial, the Economist Magazine described “the Ethiopian government as one of the most economically illiterate in the modern world.”

On November 3, 2007, the Economist magazine reported, “The fact is that for all the aid money and Chinese loans coming in, Ethiopia's economy is neither growing fast enough nor producing enough jobs. The number of jobs created by flowers is insignificant beside an increase in population of about 2m a year, one of the fastest rates in Africa.... The government claims that the economy has been growing at an impressive 10% a year since 2003-04, but the real figure is probably more like 5-6%, which is little more than the average for sub-Saharan Africa. And even that modestly improved rate, with a small building boom in Addis Ababa, for instance, has led to the overheating of the economy, with inflation moving up to 19% earlier this year before the government took remedial action. The reasons for this economic crawl are not hard to find. Beyond the government-directed state, funded substantially by foreign aid, there is--almost uniquely in Africa--virtually no private-sector business at all.” In 2009 at a high level meeting of Western donor policy makers in Berlin, a German diplomat suggested that Ethiopia’s economic woes could be traced to “Meles’ poor understanding of economics”.

Crony capitalism as the root cause of poverty in Ethiopia 

The root cause of poverty in Ethiopia is not “neoliberalism”. It is “crony capitalism”, the “capitalism” of the “chief architect” of “revolutionary democracy” and the “developmental state” in Ethiopia. Crony capitalism is a system in which economic activity and success depends almost entirely on political connections. Stated simply, one must be an insider (a crony) with political and ethnic connections to get the lion’s share of economic benefits and avoid punitve consequences. In the argot of economists, such economic activity is sometimes described as “rent seeking” in which  “individuals or groups lobby government for taxing, spending and regulatory policies that confer financial benefits or other special advantages upon them at the expense of the taxpayers or of consumers or of other groups or individuals with which the beneficiaries may be in economic competition.”

Meles' crony capitalism is a mutual support system where cronies support Meles and his party the TPLF (and handmaiden EPDRF) in exchange for a variety of  benefits and favors ranging from the creation of a favorable regulatory environment to direct subsidies and public procurement contracts. Insiders gain at the expense of outsiders, and therefore  everyone wants to become a crony for the money. Even entrepreneurial individuals are situationally compelled to submit to the predatory crony system just to survive.

In Meles’ crony capitalism, the “government” has total control of the economy and its cronies maintain a total chokehold on all productive sectors. The Meles regime maintains a stranglehold on the economy through regulation, taxation, public expenditures and subsidies of economic activities. They have the unbridled power to benefit their cronies and fatally cripple their enemies, or at least deal significant setbacks to those who are not willing to pay to play. As a result, economic activity, entrepreneurial viability and business success depends almost entirely on the whims and fancies of those who control the levers of political power.  Such is the incestuous process of “wealth creation” and "double-digit economic growth"  in Ethiopia’s crony capitalism.

Very few have been able to succeed as independent entrepreneurs in Meles’ crony capitalism. Those who succeed are eventually swallowed by Meles' crocodilian cronies. Economic success in large measure depends on the level of political activity and support of the regime. If independent entrepreneurs want to survive, they must participate in crony capitalism even though they may prefer to avoid it. The Meles regime has used its regulatory power, taxing authority, and expenditures on transfers and subsidies, to favor its cronies and debilitate those who are not willing to pay to play. This has caused a run among entrepreneurs of all kinds to seek favorable “government” treatment and protect themselves from regulations, expenditures and consequences that will put them at a competitive disadvantage.

The evidence on the Meles’ regime’s crony capitalism is uncontested and manifest. Human rights groups, analysts and commentators have been reporting for years that the Meles regime frequently denies the benefits of foreign aid programs including food, fertilizers, training, etc., to known opposition supporters. I have commented on the subject in a number of my weekly commentaries. According to the World Bank, roughly half of the Ethiopian national economy is accounted for by companies held by a regime-affiliated business group called the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT).  EFFORT’s freight transport, construction, pharmaceutical, and cement firms receive lucrative foreign aid contracts and highly favorable terms on loans from government banks. An exhaustive 2011 study by Sarah Vaughan and  Mesfin Gebremichael entitled,  “Rethinking business and politics in Ethiopia The role of EFFORT, the Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray” provides ample data and analysis on the incestuous relationship between the regime and that organization.

The World Bank’s massive 2012 study entitled, “Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia” and my own serialized commentaries on the findings of that study demonstrate the manner in which crony capitalism has triumphed in Ethiopia. (Those commentaries are available on my open salon blogsite Al Mariam’s Commentaries.) Crony capitalism in Ethiopia is perhaps most palpable and visible in the mining sector. The World Bank study showed the inner working of Meles' crony capitalism:

A mining company could be required to pay a large premium in return for a mining license. Senior officials and the mining company could keep this premium secret, and the officials could receive payment in offshore bank accounts.

An official may require the mining company to make a large donation to a charity if it wants the license to be issued more quickly. Although the charity may appear to be genuine, it may in fact be a front for a political party or for the official’s personal or family gain.

Officials collude with mining companies to grant subcontracts to relatives. The licensing authority could, as a condition of the license award or social development plan, require the mining company to undertake a large amount of additional infrastructure works at the mining company’s own cost.

A mining company may submit an environmental management plan for a mining license that will inadequately control the leaching of poisonous chemicals into the water supply. Proper controls would [be costly]. The mining company may pay the official responsible for approving the license a bribe to approve the deficient conditions.

Officials may demand a share in the profits of a mining company. A mining company may agree to give an official’s relative a free share in the profits of the mining project if it receives a license on beneficial terms.

Officials grant licenses to companies secretly owned by them.

Officials secretly acquire land that is subject to a license application.

An official who is aware that mining may take place on an area of land may lease the land in advance of the mine licensing. Once the license is granted, the value of the land may materially increase. The official thereby profits from his or her inside knowledge by selling or licensing his or her rights to the land to the mining company.

Officials manipulate license registration.

An official in the department that issues mining licenses may hear that a mining company wishes to apply for a license. The official may alert a businessperson with whom he or she has connections, and the businessperson may quickly apply for a license over the same area. The official grants the license to the businessperson. The mining company then has to purchase the license from the businessperson, and the businessperson shares the profit with the official.

A prospector may discover minerals, mark the area, and contact the relevant licensing authority to receive a discovery certificate. A corrupt official may not register the discovery in that person’s name but instead notify a business colleague and register the discovery in the colleague’s name. The corrupt official may then falsely inform the discoverer that someone else had previously discovered the minerals.
Contractors and suppliers may engage in fraudulent transactions in  tendering, submitting claims, and concealing or approval of defective works.

Mining companies may commit fraud by making false declarations about the identity and quality of minerals or by bribing certifiers to approve false declarations.  

When will Ethiopia rise from its ignoble position as a second poorest nation on the planet? 

As long as political connections are more important than entrepreneurial ability and drive, Ethiopia shall remain the second poorest country on the planet.

As long as a few elites at the very top are favored in the legal system and given first class citizenship simply because of their ethnicity and allowed to prosper by sapping the productivity of the most dynamic sectors of the society, Ethiopia will remain the second poorest country on the planet.

As long as individuals and groups gain more wealth through political connections than through productive activity, Ethiopia will remain the second poorest country on the planet.

As long as a predator  “government” preys on a disempowered population and saps the entrepreneurial drive of its young and restless, Ethiopia shall remain the second poorest country on the planet.

As long as personal and political connections to the powers that be trump the rule of law, Ethiopia shall remain at the tail end of nations.

Poverty is root of all evil in Ethiopia. But who (what) is at the root of poverty in Ethiopia?

-------------------------------------------------------
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino and is a practicing defense lawyer.   

Previous commentaries by the author are available at:

http://open.salon.com/blog/almariam/
www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/

Related reading: Is Ethiopia really ahead of Eritrea?



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Why is Ethiopia the second poorest country on the planet? Reviewed by Admin on 10:59 AM Rating: 5

73 comments:

  1. MADOTE ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!! Why do you keep posting about Ethiopia! First of all, let me add that the study you are referring to was only out of 100 nations, and we were not included. Second,ERITREA is OUR country. We have so many problems that we need to fix and you are here playing games with us. If you post Ethiopia all the time, it must mean maybe you want Eritrea to turn back and rejoin Ethiopia as a regional state

    ReplyDelete
  2. 3000 years of famineJuly 1, 2014 at 11:43 AM

    Weyane is bleeding the country dry. That’s why! Ethiopians claim they have been civilized for 3000 years but in those 3000 years funny how they never learned how to feed themselves. They still rely on NGOs and the West to feed them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Actually, the Ethiopian claim that there has been 3,000 years of civilization in their country is a myth.

    The oldest civilization discovered in the Horn of Africa was found in the Sembel district of Asmara. And that civilization, which is named the "Ona" sites (Ona means ruins in Tigrinya and Tigre), has been carbon dated to 2,800 years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loooool yacob wake up man, stop sleep walking! !!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Answer is Simple:
    Woyane (a.k.a. Ethiopia's Leaders) are second to none worst leaders of the planet. Knowing Ethiopia is rich country in all aspects, except in wisdom of their Woyane Leaders, the title of the article should have been: Which "leaders" have drugged "their" nation to the poorest in the world. I am hopeful, with few visionary leaders, our neighbor Ethiopia will be one of the best places in Africa.

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  6. yacob:

    its' meant to divert attention from our problems. Heck, I don't care about Ethiopia this Ethiopia that. They have their own issues, let them deal with it.

    One thing I know is they still are occupying our land, Badime.

    As to our Eritrea, look what's taking place in Bologna. We haven't even given the proper burial to our bothers and sisters who perished at the sea and here are hgdef and its' supporters ready to dance...

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  7. Please do not tell wizee ( wizc) about tis facts coming from ethiopia by ethiopians; this may upset him greatly.

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  8. What a reason! Don't go there. You just found a pretext to oppose everything Eritreans do!

    Another thing is that we do not have problems, we have CHALLENGES--challenges put by our enemies to hold us back, to frustrate our people. . . They are envious of any progress others make because that would make them look bad. Why don't you ask them to leave us alone and see what we can do? Your friends are busy undermining your country and you are busy destroying hard won independence for them. Why, because you hate--hgdef--as you call them. Do you thing they or even the powerful countries that use them are our saviors? Think again, unless you are an Ethiopian yourself. You may insist you are Eritrean, but then anyone whose actions are beneficial to the Weyane but is harmful to Eritrea is a Weyane even if he is Eritrean.

    To help you see the point, ok, let's say what you are saying is true. What do you want people to do? Overthrow their government??? To whose benefit, not to Eritrea but to the Weyane! Any Eritrean knows what they would do if they get the chance for they have given us a preview. We expect the worst. You see why I call you a Weyane?

    So, instead unite and defend your country's sovereignty and Independence. I am sure things will be better after that as we will be in a better position to deal with internal matters later.

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  9. The only thing I agree with you is to leave Ethiopia alone unless it is a topic which exposes their hypocracy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Didn't your boses went to that tigray danced and dined at the grave of our beloved martyrs? Either you are suffering from delusional phycosis or are you subliminally telling us that you are a recent woyane tec worrior? Stop shadding corrocodile tears!

    ReplyDelete
  11. this strategy will not work.....

    the strategy to report over other coutries problems, speciality ethiopia will not work- our misery and the hopeless situation in eritrea is not better. by the way, you should link this article with the double standard report.

    of course, some PIA fanatics love it, because in their small world is it the evidence that eritrea is a "better place"....

    but you all should ask yourself, where is eritrea in this statistic/study and which rank has it?

    fact is: we belong to the poorest nation on earth. but, in according to the simple minded, welfare recipient, ethiopia obsessive PIA hardcore fans- those are all located in europe/america, eritrea is the place to be lol....

    you earn my contempt

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  12. For my iunderstanding,

    you honor our great martyrs from struggle

    and in the same time, you spit on the eritrean death from lampedusa.

    have you no shame

    ReplyDelete
  13. @Gasha

    in your opinion we have not a single problem, but we have "CHALLENGES"......

    so, what kind of "CHALLENGES" are that....name few

    ReplyDelete
  14. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 1, 2014 at 2:48 PM

    Kkkk madote deleted my message
    Let me write it down again

    Similarities between Erithiopia and Eritrea is both are under brutal, corrupt and bad administration.

    The mani difference between us and Ethiopia is our culture. We are unique people when it comes helping our family. This as a fact, we should also not forget, for every family in Eritrea there is atleast one overseas that send remittance. Without this remittance and with the government we have, we would starv to death. Another fact you don't mention is also, Ethiopia has 90 million people vs. Eritrea 3-4 million people inside Eritrea. Providing service for 90 million is much much harder than 4 million people. Look at it this way- if you have 90 kids vs your neighbor 4 kids, you need 90 bread for just breakfast to feed your kids vs. your neighbor 4 bread.

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  15. Begging and commiting a Crime.July 1, 2014 at 2:53 PM

    Poverty is root of all evil in Ethiopia. But who (what) is at the root of poverty in Ethiopia?
    Which one is bad. Begging or committing a Crime?

    Well Ethiopia is poor, it even declared war on poverty for it is really the main enemy of Ethiopia.

    As an Eritrean, sometimes I feel proud when I hear someone begging me in my frequent visits there .... Sile Mariam ... sile Mariam ... sile michael amne aregawie , maryam tistachu ... and all the Mirikat or Mireka :) but then I stop being a hypocrite and get swallowed with pity.

    Well, then I had and have moments when the so called ....Eritreans stealing in Addis , in Europe and breaking houses in asmara, selling the body organs of their people and committing all kinds of crimes, then I appreciate begging.

    Well I hope you get me.... I do differentiate between Crime and begging.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You have said it all brother. We all know the challenges we have come from south of the border yet non of the people claiming to be opposition (opportuniest) try to acknowledge it. If you see carefully any fault that is posted about the regime in Ethiopia they disregard or downplay it . well this tells me more about them.

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  17. Is it because I did not shade a croc tears like you doing? No I have no shame to celebrate my beloved Eritrea's culture, mingling with my people and there is no shame in that, what is shameful is your betrayal to my beloved Eritrea!!!

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  18. Where is Z cursed, your analysis is typical woyane analysis imported from Albania!!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. To dog shit Alex or alemayehu,
    how many times Do I have to tell you that, Are you stupid or what. Check every studies and statistics from Un to International organizations your ethiopia is ranked far behind eritrea. If it wasn't for your shanty towns mekele. adi grat, shire, adwa,....Ethiopia would have fared much better.
    Understand agamino.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Correction I mean yacob. Not brother Alex.

    ReplyDelete
  21. @Where Is Z Cruise

    Bro, you are so right....

    For PIA and his Government is the diaspora just a CASH COW.... which they can milk.....The more young eritrean leaving their country to live free abroad, the more money they
    will receive from this guys. The more young eritrean living abroad, the
    less they have to take care (Food, Water, Housing, Jobs, Opportunities)
    on people which is still living in eritrea.


    PIA FANS, LIKE IT OR NOT, YOU (DIASPORA) ARE FOR THEM THEM JUST AN ASSET TO GET FOREIGN CURRENCY .....YEB.....DUDES,
    YOU ARE NOT MORE THAN A BANK-ACCOUNT -;)


    The big different is, ethiopia can handle it, even if 10 million leave the country, they still are 70 or 80 Million.


    Eritrea on the otherside, have much more to loose, Some people say, they are already more than one-third of the population living abroad. If now more of the young, hard working eritrean will leave: who will develop the country....


    If you ever visited eritrea, asmara outside the holliday season- you will know, how empty the streets are....


    Bless you, for trying to convince the pigheads, that they are wrong

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  22. so, where is Eritrea ranked

    ReplyDelete
  23. so in your logic, you have no problem to celebrate your birthday, neither your mother died one day before.....


    you are a shameless parasite

    ReplyDelete
  24. The don't believe on self-reliance practice..rather handouts, inferiority complex ect..that's what cripple most african nations. Feel sorry

    ReplyDelete
  25. I thought Ethiopia is the first poorest country in the world. This is big achievement for Ethiopia to be the second poorest.LOL

    ReplyDelete
  26. You love your mama Ethiopia. You don't want to accept the reality. Shame on you.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wizee, however hard you try you give yourselve away as Ethiopian or someone that has Ethiopia's interest at heart. You may have noticed its just you yourself and your mirror reflection barking like a mad dog, or chiuau. Majority rules is the basics of people cracy, but in woyaneland and its handlers white is black, night-a day. The 90million bread you talked about is yet to be harvested let alone baking in the oven. EPLF on the other hand had not only baked the bread but has opted for healthy and nutritional alternatives by providing an array of grains and cereals as well as dairy and meat produces to its citizens. Anyways even Wendimu wont buy your logic.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Where Is Z CrusieJuly 1, 2014 at 5:54 PM

    Only you, HIGDEF supporters, are denial mode. The rest of us know the reality. The nations economy is solely based on remittance. I have never seen other people that sends food such as rice, spaghetti, powder milk with cargo ship. Every 3 month a cargo ship leaves from here to Eritrea loaded with food in blue drums. There is nothing in Eritrea except beer and AREKI so people will die drinking. This is the reality. Every night young people as well as old are in bars drinking so they will forget their miserable life. There is no productivity at all. All this crap they talk about Bisho mining, no body knows where the money goes. Some people says it under Hagos Kishas account, and some people say it is in Issayas account in China. One thing all agrees is, the money is going some where.
    People like you are - reiki'ska baraa.
    You can insult me as much as you want but tomorrow you will cry.

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  29. ha ha, you wannabe patriot...


    its fact, that eritrea lives on the financial payment of the diaspora.....



    anyway, yourself have no idea what happend with the mining money, or do you have some insider information lol


    why has the government a problem to publish a state budget, so everbody knows what happend with the mining money + tax money, and we all know in which situation the economy is?



    ....and the speculation will end....

    ReplyDelete
  30. The problem people like you is that you don't deffernciate between your country and the government you oppose. for Eritreans our home our contry is the best place to be! as it is the same even for a Somalian, Ethiopian or Sudanees etc....I don't claim Eritrea is without its own problesm and challenges to overcome over the next two three decades, but still there is no place like home for person like me. offcourse for some including you "home is where you heart is" i don't blame you for that, but stop trying to tell people they are wrong for believeing in Eritrea and for believeing theat the current GOE is the power that can transform the country to the next level again GOE is not perfect, infact far frmo it, but in the right path to take our country to a sustanable economic growth.
    P.S for that many including me are happy to be a cashcow! it is the belief that this will pass and we will achieve our goal, which is to keep on building a decent country for the next generation.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hint. Ariel likes water very much.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Where Is Z CrusieJuly 1, 2014 at 9:16 PM

    Ranked #1 lol

    ReplyDelete
  33. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 1, 2014 at 9:29 PM

    YACOB CALI
    Have you heard the saying "amed be' duqwet yskal" lol
    Honestly what do we have please tell me! I don't know if there is another Eritrea in other planet, but if you talking about Eritrea that you and I know.... Please tell me what we have that others don't have. At least the Japanese could say - we make best cars (toyota, Honda, nissan....), the Chinese could brag "we have the biggest economy in the world", Americans could say " we have the best tech companies in the world (APPLE, Google, Boeing, GE...), the Norwigian could say " we have the best social system in the world". The Finnish could say "we rank number 1 in education". The Costa Rican could say "we are the only nation without millitary and we are among the top in Eco tourism"........
    What do we have to brag about?

    ReplyDelete
  34. I think so Amanuel Meles brainwashed you. I saw that bogus story about PIA account in China four years ago. Please, don't waste your time to recycle an outdated and fake story. I don't know which Eritrea are you talking about. I visited Eritrea last year and I'm the living witness. Shops and markets are full. My mission in Madote forum is to defend my country and its leadership against sell-outs. If you don't want to see people to drink at their leisure, you might be one off those disgruntled secret religious group. Your mission is to see Eritrea as a failed state by any means necessary. Sorry, you have a pie in the sky.

    ReplyDelete
  35. To the fellow from the poorest country in the world .
    Check who rank better on life expectancy, child and maternal mortality, check who is doing better on health care services per population, education, etc....despite the sanctions eritrea is ranked better than your poor ethiopia.

    ReplyDelete
  36. You have Munchausen's Syndrom. MS is a psychological and behavioral illness where someone (like you) to be ill or induces symptoms of illness in himself. That's why you are accusing Madote off deleting your mumbo- jumbo analysis in order innocent people in the forum to sympathize with you. Anafafira Qoqah Zeyfelit si Ayhadanayin.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Dumb ass, why do you have to undermine our independence that we paid heavy price. That alone would make us unique nation.And for all the things you mention, you would get there sooner if your likes would leave us alone to march toward nation building buda.

    ReplyDelete
  38. The Ethiopian could say
    1. We are the 2nd poorest country in the world
    2. we are food aid addict people.
    3. we are servants of the evil power.
    4. we are the only nation in the horn accepting hand=outs.
    5. We are the only beggar nation in the horn.
    6. We are the only warmonger nation in the horn.


    The Eritrean could say
    1. We have the fast growing economy in Africa.
    2. We are the only nation in Africa pro self-reliance.
    3. We are the only nation against modern slavery.
    4. We are the only nation in Africa don't accept hand-outs.
    5. We are the only nation believe in hard working.
    By the way, I didn't get it "amed be" duqwet yscal. Is this a spiritual tongue of the secret religious group.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Because it hosts refuges more than 80k from Eritrea,400k from south Sudan,500k from Somalia.In short because it is surrounded by failed states.That is why.Ethiopia is a country of tomorrow not dream like you but evident from from its huge projects.Enemy hear.

    ReplyDelete
  40. "" yeQotun awerd bla yebibitwan Talech"" - is the retoric of Ethiopia failure. They never been thankful for what they have but always look at others blessing and been the cause of all neighbors suffering for their greedy and ugly nature. The cause of their suffering is home-made self-destruction. Ethios are a loughing stock of the whole world, who stretch their hands for leftovers and enslave their masters, while Indians, Saudis, Chinese enjoy their green-gold in exchange to cheap aid. Their love of being used and abused is deeply rooted in their DNA.

    ReplyDelete
  41. You are not welcome to Eritrea, not even your dead body. All who disrespect the people and the country will end-up abroad. Enjoy your new land and leave the "lawless"Eritrea alone.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Do not policise my brothers graves. They died because they had personal dream like you and me. They wanted to be rich fast. You keep abusing my brothers graves for your personal/political gain and I am disgusted of your action.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Not 1st or 2nd even 10th... But somewhere with all the other dignified nations, you know that list no ethiopian knows in "3000 yes" :)

    ReplyDelete
  44. All countries you mentioned above luckied to free themselves from colonialists and for their creative nature they reached that level and Eritrea is on her way, building brick by brick and it is human to err when trying to make all ends meet. But how about Ethiopia? Being free for 3000 years have still difficulties to stand on her own. Always look with her BUDDA eyes towards others blessings and never use what she has in between her fingers properly.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Our martyrs gave their life for me and you, unlikely those who died in lampedusa betrayed our martyrs promise and left the country. To Err is human but I do not think that they are on comparison to our martyrs. You need to learn to differentiate the cause young lady/boy.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I think the answer to the questions the Author asks on the end of his analysis, is that the ethiopians need a different governance than that one they had for the last 20 years that makes superficial/artificial socio economical growth. They need someone who loves the people, country first than him/themselves, altruistic mentality. I know some business men who works in ethiopia, according their point of view, "ethiopia is a country were you can make many easily, cause you can do every thing, as long as you bribe any official". It's really sad, not different from other african nations, except very few model states "like Eritrea" that has vision of shared prosperity and this can be seen in the main indicators of civil society.

    ReplyDelete
  47. racist much

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2av9SQsMIi8

    ReplyDelete
  48. Well said brother....izi kei dekeska helmi nai selati kentu mkhuanu kfeltuo alewom...

    ReplyDelete
  49. instead of opening your ass, open your eyes and it's there to be seen for everyone....

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  50. you stupid...there's also a saying in your own language" Be ij yazu, inde mda ykoteral"...

    ReplyDelete
  51. @forto sawa,



    I see, you have nothing to say on my arguments....just empty words, only chracterless rhetoric....

    ReplyDelete
  52. @Eritrea forever,



    you are just writing in general terms...


    wyh are you not able to call the specific problems what Eritrea have- instead you are using now a new definition: challenges


    ...name some....I would like to hear it....., name few "CHALLENGES" which Eritrea is facing now?


    in addition, you write GOE is not perfect, what exactly is not perfect on GOE? Can you specify it?


    thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete
  53. @golden nation


    but where we are in the ranking....name a number

    ReplyDelete
  54. @really,

    no words for you. you never took a gun in your hand to defend your country, you never serve for your country....

    .....but for the guys, who died in front of lampedusa you has only contempt, although this guys served for their country, and I am sure the one or other fought in last borderwar against ethiopia

    you are not only wrong and a shame, you are also coward...

    ReplyDelete
  55. bread for thoughtsJuly 2, 2014 at 7:07 AM

    What a joke! I must say i am impressed with your 90 v 4 breads economics theory.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Gasha:
    Like I stated, I could care less about Ethiopia.....let them deal with their issue and let us deal with our own issues. After all aren't Ethiopia and Eritrea two independent countries?

    Ethiopia is poor, yea let's go dance in the streets....Heck, their are poor people from Ethiopia all the way to the United States of American.

    Back to the country that you and I love, Eritrea. As an Eritrea citizen you have the right to know if the president dies today who will be the next president. Do you know? Don't go in circles of name calling, just answer my question.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Qomal sahsah resah hizbi tigray always begging the Amhara must wipe Them from the face of the world.

    ReplyDelete
  58. @forto sawa,



    thank you very much for your meaningless answer...


    yeb, you are right, you could say a lot, but you will not do it......


    may I put some words into your mouth: you know what ariel, you are right. actually the people in eritrea and the people in the diaspora have no Idea, what happen with the money or in which condition the state and economy are.....but as a lemming, our obligation is to follow not to question something....

    ReplyDelete
  59. Ariel is our popular Rora in new dress :)

    ReplyDelete
  60. ....rejoin Ethiopia as a regional state......???? Kidding me??
    I afraid you want to mean ....Tgray .. woyane dreamland:)

    ReplyDelete
  61. The architect of Eritrean movement,the brain of Issayass Afiworki ,and vanguard of eritrean struggle,Dr.Bereket expressed his wish before he dies.That is seeing both people be one nation.In reaction "vice president" (she act like )

    of Eritrea,I forgot her name, lambasted him at Woodrow Wilson center.

    "In a letter to Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, IPI also urged the Eritrean leader to publish the location and health status of all the imprisoned journalists, some of whom are feared dead or victims of torture. Since more than a dozen journalists were first jailed in a crackdown on independent media in 2001, IPI has repeatedly called for the government in Asmara to free the reporters and editors who have been confined in appalling conditions without access to their families or lawyers."

    "In addition to Isaac, the jailed journalists include Mattewos Habteab, Dawit Habtemichael, Temesken Ghebreyesus, Emanuel Asrat, Seyoum Tsehaye, Hamid Mohammed Said, Saleh Al Jezaeeri (Al-Jezaeri), Fitzum Wedi Ade, Selamyinghes Beyene, Zemenfes Haile, Ghebrehiwet (Gebrehiwot) Keleta, Daniel Mussie, and Tura Kubaba."

    IPI Wednesday, 2 July 2014

    Dear madote readers,the time is near.Both people will leave in harmony.The Eritrean govt.is under pressure from all corners.Besides ,Prof.Al is as guilty as Issayass.He can not show both people the realty on the ground.Both people are battered. Suffering must stop.

    ReplyDelete
  62. 1. Fastest growing economy is Africa, but we haven’t developed a single industry after independence.
    2. Fastest growing economy but our people don’t have enough drinking water and electricity
    3. Fastest growing economy, but the whole nation depends on remittance.
    4. Fastest growing economy in Africa but you refuse to move back and on the flip side Every Eritrean in on the move to leave the country.
    Prove me wrong Yacob Cali

    ReplyDelete
  63. To dog shit ariel , (from the poorest country in the world. )
    Once again eritrea is ranked much better than ethiopia.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 2, 2014 at 4:18 PM

    Denkoro, that kid's picture you posted, he/she has a mother that loved him. There is no reason to make fun of starving people.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 2, 2014 at 4:22 PM

    Mchiwti why dont you change your name/?

    FYI, I was in my beloved country Eritrea a year ago and I am soon going to Eritrea. What are you going to do???? You are not in position to welcome or reject any Eritrean. Know your position!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  66. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 2, 2014 at 4:31 PM

    kkkk You don't know me Dr Yacob. I don't need any sympathy from no body. I am strong, confident and above all, I think with my brain and stand on what I believe . If I am wrong, I admit my mistake, learn from it and move forward.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 2, 2014 at 4:39 PM

    If you visit Eritrea a year ago, then you might have seen me cruising in Asmara or Massawa. I was laughing when you said the shops and markets were full. Let me ask you one question, what did people you know or your family members asked you to do whenyou arrived at the airport???? Do you went through that little duty free shop on the left hand side of the exit door???? Did you see people almost fight to buy spagetti oil and other stuff from that shop??? Why is that??? What about the cargo ship that come with those blue drums full with rice, pasta. sugar.... that people overseas ships to their families??? No connect the dots that the few shops are full with items that is sold by the people to the shop owners.
    Man dont make me start...... it is good to know you and I were there at the same time.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 2, 2014 at 4:42 PM

    that is a very simple logical theory. You can call it a joke but I see you have not come with something that counter it.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Where Is Z CruiseJuly 2, 2014 at 4:52 PM

    you don't get the point Mr empty pride!
    If we had a good government we could say
    We defeated the biggest army in black Africa and brought Democracy, justice and freedom to our people.
    We made Eritrea the country of education, small industry, economical hub of East Africa.

    but look at us- we are a nation that losses 3000 people every month.
    If you are proud of that, I am not going to stop you.

    ReplyDelete
  70. What about us?

    Which rank do we have?

    ReplyDelete
  71. All of you who are here are HYPOCRITES. Are fucking stupid. Mind your own businesses and stop running away from the facts. And also those who are eritreans mind about Eritrea and be honest with yourselves and the same to ethiopians . come on how old are you? You people to talk bullshit that does no solve any problems and does not benefit the two countries. You guys needs to grow up and face the reality. Stop playing this false pride ness game.
    And for you the guy who posted this please post something that is right and true. Use your time and ability to produce facts and also grow up act like you age.
    You are the kind people giving the two cointries dificulties to deal with.

    ReplyDelete
  72. For the person who posted this I feel sorry for you because you filled with jealousy,envy and hatred towards Ethiopia and its people. Man come on haven't you got more important things to do or talk about than spray gossip and rummers that does not exist in any world records. Instead to be the real eritrean who loves his country and people talk about the real issues we eritreans are facing. Let the Ethiopians crtisize their own country. I am sorry what you are doing is really obvious bruv- It is your real personal attitude towards them that is shown here
    . May God help you! .

    ReplyDelete
  73. I didn't see any woyane cruising in Asmara or Massawa. Nobody asked me to buy them something from the airport duty free shop. When you arrived in the middle of night with your kids you cannot find open shops at that odd time, and therefore you have to buy something for the kids from the duty free shop. The blue drums are good for making siwa during holidays and weddings. By the way, did you hear that the GOE will build technical school in Mai Nefhi. Please, don't forget your high blood pressure medicine.

    ReplyDelete

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