Suchergebnisse

Over the past forty years, we have been hearing and reading a lot about the Tigrai People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which dismantled the inhuman and atrocious Military dictatorship that ruled Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991. It was not only highly skilled in military operations but was visionary. The impression that was widely circulated was that when the TPLF came to power it would protect Ethiopia's sovereignty, adhere to the rules of law and ensure that equity and social justice would prevail , and above all democracy would be the norm of Ethiopian society. Contrary to these assertions, Gebru Asrat (hereafter referred to as Gebru), in his book entitled "Sovereignty and Democracy," published by the Signature Book Printing Press in 2014, gives us a u-turn with his depiction of the history of the TPLF.

Over the years, either self-initiated or by funding from development agencies, a number of developing countries have implemented various programs to tackle poverty. This case study was inspired by the One Village One Product (OVOP) movement initiated in the Oita Prefecture region of Japan. Given the positive aspects of the OVOP, the purpose of the study is to transfer some aspects of the OVOP movement in order to revitalize the town of Adwa, Tigrai, Ethiopia. The case study therefore suggests some possible community-based endogenous projects that could revitalize the town of Adwa, Tigrai, Ethiopia. As a result of the initiative of local talents, the emancipation of local wisdom, the participation of local people and the rediscovering of indigenous products (services or history, it is expected that local communities in Adwa would be able to create job opportunities and generate income to improve the livelihoods of the poor segments of their population.

Using the conceptual framework of a developmental state, forwarded by the Economic Commission for Africa, it was found that Ethiopia's democratic developmental state is unique and operates differently from the Malaysian developmental state model. Economically, Ethiopia has recorded staggering economic growth since it adopted the developmental state. The Malaysian developmental state was developed to be market-oriented and as a result Malaysia's GDP grew at 5.23 percent from 2005-2011. Malaysia's incidence of poverty declined from 49% in 1970 to less than 5% in 2000. Ethiopia has focused on a planned developmental state, without speeding the direction of industrialization, and has achieved an average 9.9 percent growth rate in GDP from 2005-2011. With economic growth, the poverty reduction measured by poverty head count in Ethiopia has declined from 41.9 in 2005 to 29.6 percent in 2011. Although Ethiopia's Human Development Index (HDI) has increased by 16% from 2005 to 2011, its HDI score is about 22% less than the average score of sub-Saharan countries. The poverty ratio of people living on less than $1.25 a day in Ethiopia is very close to about 30 percent. It means that those with low incomes have not benefitted from the staggering economic growth that much of the country has achieved in the last seven years. The theory of a developmental state model proposes that professional bureaucratic elites design, manage, and run autonomously the short and long range plans of a country. In the Ethiopian "Democratic Developmental State" the short and long term plans are controlled by the ruling party, EPRD. The public and private sectors are minimally involved in the planning process. The economic growth rate which Ethiopia achieved from 2005 to 2011 doesn't operate in a fully market-friendly environment. Far from operating in a developmental state, Ethiopia operates under a centralized system. Also, in an era of economic globalism, the Malaysian type of developmental state model is outdated and is no longer relevant for Ethiopia. Therefore, to achieve optimal sustainable development, and thereby feed its people, Ethiopia must focus on an integrated, environmentally sensitive, and cooperative agriculturally-based type of development model.

Over the last twenty years, in quantitative terms, Ethiopia has expanded and universalized the enrolment of school aged children in primary schools in line the International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural rights in order to minimize the irregularities that have existed over the years. However, when the existing primary schooling is visualized in terms of quality and equity, it is sad to observe that privately run-ultra-modern primary schools seem to be mushrooming in Ethiopia in order to serve the sons and daughters of a newly emerging privileged class. On the other hand, the sons and daughters of the poor and disadvantaged are confined to over crowded classes manned by semi-qualified teachers and equipped with inadequate teaching materials. Stated differently, it is unbelievable to observe that primary schools in Ethiopia are sliding into a class-based education. Thus, if the government believes in equity and fairness, it needs to completely redesign and better equip the public primary school.

Using the conceptual framework of a developmental state, forwarded by the Economic Commission for Africa, it was found that Ethiopia's democratic developmental state is unique and operates differently from the Malaysian developmental state model. Economically, Ethiopia has recorded staggering economic growth since it adopted the developmental state. The Malaysian developmental state was developed to be market-oriented and as a result Malaysia's GDP grew at 5.23 percent from 2005-2011. Malaysia's incidence of poverty declined from 49% in 1970 to less than 5% in 2000. Ethiopia has focused on a planned developmental state, without speeding the direction of industrialization, and has achieved an average 9.9 percent growth rate in GDP from 2005-2011. With economic growth, the poverty reduction measured by poverty head count in Ethiopia has declined from 41.9 in 2005 to 29.6 percent in 2011. Although Ethiopia's Human Development Index (HDI) has increased by 16% from 2005 to 2011, its HDI score is about 22% less than the average score of sub-Saharan countries. The poverty ratio of people living on less than $1.25 a day in Ethiopia is very close to about 30 percent. It means that those with low incomes have not benefitted from the staggering economic growth that much of the country has achieved in the last seven years.