Calling a Spade a Spade
This blog could be winding down toward its end because, similar to what is happening to OLF its usefulness might be overdue since the effort to nurture grassroots opposition parties had proven to be a difficult task. The difference between to what might happen to OLF and to this blog is that OLF will be survived by OLA whose members are still out in the woods according to a recent video release. The reality might be that even if OLF claims to be still in charge if those who are direct participants of OLA could easily take charge of their own affair in their own hands since there are only a few things they need to accomplish at the outset. One of them is to be familiar with the time we are in where it is an ethnic group that had been marginalized itself that is in charge of the national affairs. That would mean that the nature of the struggle would be different from yesteryears and it is up to them to decide which route to take. The second important thing is whatever route they decided to take, either they have to have the support of the Oromo public or in the absence of that and they are very determined that what they are doing is important for the Oromo public, they have to take charge of their own affair by soliciting support from wherever it is going to be available. They can learn lesson from TPLF and EPLF/ELF that were determined no matter how the support they were getting form their respective public had been wavering and have finished on top.
The other thing that might need addressing is that they might not need the support of any elite group such as OLF at the outset per se since they can do the soliciting of the support by themselves, by electing a handful of committees that will go out and talk with the Oromo public to see if they will support their effort and are willing to help them in whatever way is possible. Probably that is one good way of starting a grassroots movement that can grow into anything, because as such groups gain success, they will be in a position to recruit educated experts who are willing to work for the cause espoused or once they are established, similar to what had been witnessed from TPLF and EPLF, educated Oromos who might be tired of what they are encountering wherever they are living, if such a problem is prevalent in the country, or by using other pretexts could join the movement once they are convinced about its usefulness, similar to what happened to the above mentioned two movements that were attracting many promising young and educated people that included both current leaders of the parties.
The advantage of managing their own affair like this is their effort will not be hijacked by any interest group that might have an ax to grind and they will continue to call the shots or have equal say in the decision process even if they interact and surround themselves with topnotch elite. This will eliminate interest groups that will only want to take advantage of the fruit of their effort and will disappear once they lined up their pocket. Therefore, even if they fail to generate enough support locally they can continue to solicit help from outside of the country and at one point if their vision is found to be very useful for the Oromo public they will be in a position to put it to work showing that it is not impossible to nurture political parties that have their base entrenched deep into the grassroots. The reason for that seems to be change had been introduced on their behalf and had started with slogans such as "land to the tiller" and if there is anyone this freedom will mean a lot to, it is to them. Because of that it is only them that should protect the attained freedom as they see it fit.
That is why we might have no choice other than calling a spade a spade because what is taking place in the country is a struggle of oppressed people who should do everything they can not to lose the freedom they got because, as stated many times, there are interest groups that still believe that they are living in the old Africa we used to know where some powerful people who were representing powerful interest groups have caused a lot of collateral damage and had passed away or could still be around living off what they misappropriated, while a few might still be in a position of power. TPLF/EPRDF are running the nation at a time where there is pressure on governments to be transparent in order to be able to get the next grant, aid, loan etc. and if they fail to do so they know what the consequence will be where whatever channels that are opened could disappear. However, it is difficult to put a cap on what takes place in a market driven economy similar to a market that is controlled centrally since that is what the current system is trying to transform itself into from where it was stagnating at the time of the Derg. Everyone can prosper in the private sector as long as there is a rule of law where no one group has to take advantage of others by the virtue of being connected to governmental bodies or officials or for being in charge of the government. This by itself is much easier said than done because anything goes in the private sector where the only exception being that there are certain overt unfair advantages that are prohibited by law and for the most part the law spells them out clearly. Other than that since the main driver of the private sector is profit, if any group sacrifices its own interest by giving others unfair advantage it will not be around for long.
It is not also difficult to catch the government while breaking the rules and there are abundant measures to take even in an environment where the legal system could be forced to be pro government. The government will find it difficult to break the rules continuously, the reason why in the long run, having a level playing field will be advantageous for everyone. At the same time the nation has learned a bad lesson from the regime that was in charge of the country before the Derg where they were amassing unfair advantage to their own ethnic group only, by marginalizing the rest of the nation including the disadvantaged members of their own ethnic group and when there was enough opposition to what they were doing, toppling them was not difficult. There is no reason why the same should not happen to the current regime if it is taking advantage of situations by giving undue advantage to its members only, which might not be acceptable in the private sector, unlike the public sector where certain key positions should be in the hands of certain people because of the security threat that is in existence. But in the private sector there must be fair competition and it is the job of the government to oversee that by using the judiciary system, in addition to other governmental offices whose job is to avail a fair advantage to everyone without being too keen to punish success or taking sides.
Establishments such as banks cannot create a two tier system where they can charge a certain group a lower interest rate and it is up to the legal system to prohibit such actions in spite of the fact that banks are free to charge whatever interest rate they want, although they cannot discriminate. Other than that, as it had been said many times, the private sector is a jungle where it is only the fittest that can survive in it, although everyone might have to abide by certain laws and regulations similar to what is happening in the advanced regions where the most powerful corporations can be dragged into a courtroom despite the fact it could cost arms and legs to do so, but no matter what justice will be served. In fact, governments could also be taken to court and it happens many times. Therefore, all interest groups who are claiming to have all the outstanding ability to do wonders for the nation are welcome to sweat it out in the private sector and compensate themselves for their hard work by exploiting what the country laws allow instead of eyeing the monies coming into the country to serve specific purposes that require a lot of sacrificing and in the absence of strict adherence to the rules, this seed capital could melt into thin air and it is difficult to say what will happen to the nation that seems to be headed to the right direction.
The other thing that might need addressing is that they might not need the support of any elite group such as OLF at the outset per se since they can do the soliciting of the support by themselves, by electing a handful of committees that will go out and talk with the Oromo public to see if they will support their effort and are willing to help them in whatever way is possible. Probably that is one good way of starting a grassroots movement that can grow into anything, because as such groups gain success, they will be in a position to recruit educated experts who are willing to work for the cause espoused or once they are established, similar to what had been witnessed from TPLF and EPLF, educated Oromos who might be tired of what they are encountering wherever they are living, if such a problem is prevalent in the country, or by using other pretexts could join the movement once they are convinced about its usefulness, similar to what happened to the above mentioned two movements that were attracting many promising young and educated people that included both current leaders of the parties.
The advantage of managing their own affair like this is their effort will not be hijacked by any interest group that might have an ax to grind and they will continue to call the shots or have equal say in the decision process even if they interact and surround themselves with topnotch elite. This will eliminate interest groups that will only want to take advantage of the fruit of their effort and will disappear once they lined up their pocket. Therefore, even if they fail to generate enough support locally they can continue to solicit help from outside of the country and at one point if their vision is found to be very useful for the Oromo public they will be in a position to put it to work showing that it is not impossible to nurture political parties that have their base entrenched deep into the grassroots. The reason for that seems to be change had been introduced on their behalf and had started with slogans such as "land to the tiller" and if there is anyone this freedom will mean a lot to, it is to them. Because of that it is only them that should protect the attained freedom as they see it fit.
That is why we might have no choice other than calling a spade a spade because what is taking place in the country is a struggle of oppressed people who should do everything they can not to lose the freedom they got because, as stated many times, there are interest groups that still believe that they are living in the old Africa we used to know where some powerful people who were representing powerful interest groups have caused a lot of collateral damage and had passed away or could still be around living off what they misappropriated, while a few might still be in a position of power. TPLF/EPRDF are running the nation at a time where there is pressure on governments to be transparent in order to be able to get the next grant, aid, loan etc. and if they fail to do so they know what the consequence will be where whatever channels that are opened could disappear. However, it is difficult to put a cap on what takes place in a market driven economy similar to a market that is controlled centrally since that is what the current system is trying to transform itself into from where it was stagnating at the time of the Derg. Everyone can prosper in the private sector as long as there is a rule of law where no one group has to take advantage of others by the virtue of being connected to governmental bodies or officials or for being in charge of the government. This by itself is much easier said than done because anything goes in the private sector where the only exception being that there are certain overt unfair advantages that are prohibited by law and for the most part the law spells them out clearly. Other than that since the main driver of the private sector is profit, if any group sacrifices its own interest by giving others unfair advantage it will not be around for long.
It is not also difficult to catch the government while breaking the rules and there are abundant measures to take even in an environment where the legal system could be forced to be pro government. The government will find it difficult to break the rules continuously, the reason why in the long run, having a level playing field will be advantageous for everyone. At the same time the nation has learned a bad lesson from the regime that was in charge of the country before the Derg where they were amassing unfair advantage to their own ethnic group only, by marginalizing the rest of the nation including the disadvantaged members of their own ethnic group and when there was enough opposition to what they were doing, toppling them was not difficult. There is no reason why the same should not happen to the current regime if it is taking advantage of situations by giving undue advantage to its members only, which might not be acceptable in the private sector, unlike the public sector where certain key positions should be in the hands of certain people because of the security threat that is in existence. But in the private sector there must be fair competition and it is the job of the government to oversee that by using the judiciary system, in addition to other governmental offices whose job is to avail a fair advantage to everyone without being too keen to punish success or taking sides.
Establishments such as banks cannot create a two tier system where they can charge a certain group a lower interest rate and it is up to the legal system to prohibit such actions in spite of the fact that banks are free to charge whatever interest rate they want, although they cannot discriminate. Other than that, as it had been said many times, the private sector is a jungle where it is only the fittest that can survive in it, although everyone might have to abide by certain laws and regulations similar to what is happening in the advanced regions where the most powerful corporations can be dragged into a courtroom despite the fact it could cost arms and legs to do so, but no matter what justice will be served. In fact, governments could also be taken to court and it happens many times. Therefore, all interest groups who are claiming to have all the outstanding ability to do wonders for the nation are welcome to sweat it out in the private sector and compensate themselves for their hard work by exploiting what the country laws allow instead of eyeing the monies coming into the country to serve specific purposes that require a lot of sacrificing and in the absence of strict adherence to the rules, this seed capital could melt into thin air and it is difficult to say what will happen to the nation that seems to be headed to the right direction.
posted by Ethio-Probe @ 8:03 AM
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