A Day Light Robbery in Ethiopia: “Doing Business With African dictators ”

Statement by Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of the SMNE, on Understanding Land Investment in East Africa, at  the Seminar Hall II, India International Centre, Max Muller Marg, New Delhi

Organized by: Centre For Social Development (CSD) in association with Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), New Delhi; Kalpavriksh, Pune; Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE), New Delhi and The Oakland Institute, Oakland, USA 

February 5, 2013

Africa has emerged as the premiere frontier market in the world for vast agricultural land acquisitions, often called “land

Obang Metho

grabs” due to widespread evidence that the land being acquired is not “free and clear” of inhabitants. Instead, repressive African governments, like in Ethiopia, are forcing some of the poorest people in the world from their homes and land without consultation or compensation, leaving most of them more destitute than before. Those who resist have faced arbitrary arrests, beatings, rape, torture, and death.

In Ethiopia, huge swathes of fertile, well-watered agricultural land are being leased for up to 99 years and for negligible amounts to foreign countries, foreign multinational companies and private investors. At the forefront of these mostly secretive deals are investors from India, China and Saudi Arabia.

Africa has a history of being abused, whether through the trafficking of human beings during slavery, during the centuries of colonialism or through the more modern-day exploitation of its diamonds, oil, gold or some other natural resource; however, the expropriation of land in a country where nearly 80% of the people depend on subsistence farming may threaten African life at its roots. 

Indian companies’ investments in Ethiopia displace people: Activists

Indian companies that have invested in agriculture in Ethiopia are under fire from civil society groups. The companies have been accused of large-scale land grabbing, which has led to displacement of the tribal population there.

About 8,000 people have been displaced in the Gambella region, where Indian firms have bought land in deals with the Ethiopian government, according to Nyikaw Ochalla, director of Anywaa Survival Organisation (ASO). Speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by the Oakland Institute, a California-based think tank, along with ASO and Indian NGOs such as Kalpavriksh, Ochalla warned the conflict between the natives and investors, as seen in India, could become widespread in Ethiopia, too.

He alleged the Indian companies had been offered land at almost no cost by the Ethiopian government. “Our backwardness is the only guarantee for the future of the government. But should the Indian government or industry close its eyes to this reality and join the Ethiopian government in exploitation of the people there?” he asked.

He urged the Indian government and industry associations to review the trade policy with a country, which was “ruled by an undemocratic government”.

Indian, Chinese and Saudi Arabian companies are the leading investors in Ethiopia’s farm lands. These companies produced crops such as roses and maize, which were of little food value to the local population, said Ochalla.

Anuradha Mittal, a researcher with the Oakland Institute, alleged these land deals could not be traced on government records, as there was no transparency on these. “These are dealings that the government would not talk about openly,” she said.

Source: Business Standard

የቀድሞው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ ፎቶግራፎችና ፖስተሮች ይነሱ!

 

06 February 2013 ተጻፈ በ  በጋዜጣው ሪፖርተር

የኢትዮጵያ መሪ የነበሩት የቀድሞው ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ ሲያርፉ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ታሪክ ሠርቷል፡፡ በጋራ አዝኗል፣ አልቅሷል፣ ሸኝቷል፡፡ ዓለምም ተገርሟል፡፡ ተደንቋል፡፡

ሕዝብ ጨዋ መሆኑን አስመስክሯል፡፡ ማንም ሳያስገድደውና ማንም ሳይገፋው ከልብ ያደረገው ሽኝት ነውና፡፡

ሐዘኑንና ሽኝቱን በከፍተኛ ደረጃ ለማድመቅም እጅግ በጣም በርካታና ትላልቅ ፎቶግራፎችና ፖስተሮች በከተማው በርካታ ሥፍራዎች ተሰቅለዋል፡፡ የክቡር ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ ፎቶግራፍ ያልተሰቀለበት ጎዳና በአዲስ አበባ የለም ማለት ይቻላል፡፡ በሁሉም ሥፍራ አለ፡፡

አሁን ግን ይብቃ! ፎቶግራፎቹና ፖስተሮቹ ይነሱ እንላለን፡፡ ሊያስተላልፉት የሚገባቸውን መልዕክት አስተላልፈዋል፡፡ ከአሁን በኋላ ግን በክብር እንደተሰቀሉ በክብር ይነሱ፡፡ ፖስተሮቹ ዝናብ፣ ንፋስና ፀሐይ እስኪያወርዳቸው፣ እስኪቀዳድዳቸውና እስኪጥላቸው መጠበቅ የለበትም፡፡ ዘላዓለማዊ ፖስተሮች ተደርገውም መወሰድ የለባቸውም፡፡ የተሰጣቸውን መልዕክት  ፈጽመዋል፡፡ ከአሁን በኋላ እንደተሰቀሉ ማቆየት ማቆሸሽና ትርጉሙን ማሳጣት ነው፡፡

በክቡር አቶ መለስ ዜናዊ ሕልፈት ከልብ ያዘነው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ ከፎቶግራፎቹና ከፖስተሮቹ በላይ ልባዊ ሐዘኑን በበቂ አስተላልፏል፡፡ ከልብ ስለታዘነ እስካሁን ድረስ ተሰቅለው የቆዩበት ጊዜ በቂ ነው፡፡ በፖስተሮቹና በፎቶግራፎቹ መሰቀል ለመነገድ፣ ለማስመሰልና ለማጭበርበር የሚፈልግ ሰው ካለም በቃህ ሊባል ይገባል፡፡ በጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር መለስ ዜናዊ ስም አትነግድ፣ አታጭበርብር፣ አታታል ሊባል ይገባዋል፡፡