A Once Promising but Now Wounded Nation: A Review of Dr. Bereket Habte Selassie\u27s Book on Eritrea

It was so vulgar that even those of us who are opposed to his (Isaias Afewerki’s) dictatorialrule are ashamed of him because he is Eritrean (Bereket Habte Selassie, 2010, p. 60)

Sovereignty and Democracy in Ethiopia: A Reflection on Gebru Asrat\u27s Book

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

Why Self-proclaimed Kaizen Management is becoming very fashionable in Ethiopia? An Observation

Despite the current economic slowdown in Japan (for example, according to Global competitiveness, , Japan\u27s stance has declined from 8 in 2009/10 to 9 in 2011/12, see for example, Kitaw, 2013, it is very interesting to note that a number of public and private enterprises in contemporary Ethiopia are proclaiming that the Japanese kaizen management strategy (meaning change for better or continuous improvement involving everyone in the organization) would restore for them the quality and quantity of their products. It is generally assumed that implementing the kaizen management technique in Ethiopian firms would create competitive products (i.e., products with lowest price, highest quality, and with the best services) for their domestic and international customers. Through a continuing teamwork approach with interactive communications, kaizen would improve their organizational capacity, empower employees, improve the quality of workers, and add value to their products. Ethiopian manufacturers are currently at a disadvantage. The manufacturing sector is less than 5.0 % of its Gross Domestic Product due to lack of highly skilled human resources, differentiated managerial tools, and a technological gap. A different management strategy would significantly improve their future (See Kitaw, D. 2013)

Reversing Ethiopia\u27s Intellectual Capital Flight

Recently, the Ethiopian Government drafted a five year plan (2010 to 2015) to achieve the country’s economic growth. When Ethiopia’s Growth and Transformation plan was analyzed in light of the new growth theory and traced historically in terms of the push and pull factors that contributed to the flight of skilled Ethiopians to more advanced countries, it was found that over the years Ethiopia has funded the education of its nationals only to see them contributing to the growth of developed countries. Being stripped of skilled human capital, leaving it ill prepared to face globalization and survive in the new global economic order, it was concluded that Ethiopia will be unable to achieve its economic growth and transformation plan by 2015. Given the outcome of the analysis, it was proposed that to ensure a longterm sustainable macroeconomic growth pattern, the Ethiopian Government must establish a welldeveloped infrastructure base and have a reserve of highly talented human capital, in order to grow in global knowledge. In addition, to innovate effectively, Ethiopia needs to form links with well-known global universities, international consultants, and other friendly overseas organizations. If these types of friendly environmental factors are integrated systematically and harmoniously, with pertinent human rights policies, there is no doubt that Ethiopia can entice the Ethiopian Diaspora to return to their motherland. The ability to harness the intellectual capital of the returnees with their contacts from the outside world would bring about very competitive ventures. Ethiopia therefore would achieve its Medium Growth and Transformation plan but also in the long run endure sustainable development

The Emergence of a Dual-System of Primary Schooling in Ethiopia and Its Impact

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

Sustainable Local Development. The Revitalization of the Town of Adwa (Ethiopia) through Community-Based Endogenous Projects

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

The Art of the Kaizen Approach for Sugar Production in Ethiopia: Lessons from the Methara Sugar Factory

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) deals with fundamental organizational change, or is the great-leap approach to redesigning and retooling. It seeks to bring a radical approach to creating a breakthrough in organizations trapped in outmoded and outdated business processes. Top managers and consultants design new ways of doing things and force companies to go beyond continuous improvement of existing products, services, and processes. Though innovative, BPR is being challenged by some companies looking for a strategic remedy that will contribute to the sustainable improvement of their performance and quality, add value for their customers while minimizing cost and eliminating waste. To counteract the expensive and technology-intensive strategy proposed by BPR, many managers and policymakers have embraced the Japanese management philosophy of Kaizen. For incremental change of productivity and addition of value, Kaizen uses a gradual approach using existing technology, training work teams, humanizing the workplace, and liberating the thinking of top management and employees at all levels. Since Kaizen requires the use of existing technology and the retraining of existing workers, many poor countries that lack capital embrace Kaizen management practices for improving their enterprises. A case in point is the Methara Sugar Company in Ethiopia where the production of sugar declined substantially. This was because of mismanagement of the company, disregarding juice leakage, repetitive loss of electrodes, and the outright stealing of sugar and spare parts. More importantly, the cane cutters negligently left uncut 4cm to 22cm of the canes still containing sucrose. In addition, when machines broke down, there were lengthy delays for repairs and servicing while waiting for outside technicians rather than using in-house technicians. With the anticipation that the Kaizen management technique would enable it to increase the quantity of sugar, meet the needs of consumers and be globally competitive, the Methara Sugar Factory adopted the Kaizen management technique in 2013. As a result of pursuing Kaizen standards, the Methara Sugar Factory has presently achieved the best yield in the world (that is about 126.93 tons per hectare.) Both the size of the plantation and sugar production have increased by 35% and 37% respectively. The production cost of producing one unit quintal of sugar has decreased by about 23 Ethiopian birr. The overall time efficiency has increased by about 20%. In addition, since a sugar cane crop is very sensitive to climate, soil type, irrigation, fertilizers, and insects, instead of growing sugar cane year in and out on the same land, the company is growing peas in between the sugar cane plantations to replenish soil nutrients and to minimize the vulnerability of sugar cane to insects

The Continuing Saga of Globalism: Comparing Ethiopia’s Developmental State Strategies to those of Malaysia

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

Banking Sector Reform in Ethiopia

The fragile and inefficient state-dominated banking sector that existed in Ethiopia during the military government (1974-1991) was a major hindrance to economic growth. Since it took power in 1991, the current government has implemented a number of reforms. For instance, in 1994, the government legalized domestic private investment in the banking industry. In addition, it restructured the two development banks as commercial banks, and introduced a new Banking and Monetary Proclamation that gave more autonomy and further clarified the National Bank of Ethiopia’s activities as the regulator and supervisor of the banking sector. Although these measures have led to marginal improvements in efficiency and competition, there is a great need for additional market oriented reforms to further enhance the sector’s role in mobilizing savings and allocating funds to their optimum usage. The purpose of this paper was to analyze additional market-based policy initiatives undertaken by the government to determine if they would further enhance the efficiency of the banking sector in Ethiopia. Based on the results of the data analysis it may be concluded that the Ethiopian government needs to further strategize and take the following steps: a) reverse the decision prohibiting foreign banks from investing in the country, b) fully privatize the state-owned commercial banks, c) allow market forces to determine interest rates and the exchange rate of the Ethiopian currency, Birr (ETB), and d) upgrade the regulatory and supervisory capacity of the National Bank of Ethiopia to facilitate efficiency in the banking market