Ethiopia’s
new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is moving quickly to open up the
strategic Horn of Africa country to Western capital. But far from the
move being seen as a progressive reform, many Ethiopians and observers
are concerned that the new direction is leading the nation into “debt
slavery”.
That
is particularly poignant for Ethiopia which stands alone as the one
African nation never historically colonized by foreign powers. Such
proud history of independence could be soon lost.
In a long-overdue press conference earlier this week, premier Abiy trumpeted with self-congratulation that the East Africa nation was to receive a $1 billion loan from the US-dominated World Bank.
Abiy
(42), who took office five months ago, didn’t specify what the money
would be invested in. He claimed it would be used to facilitate
“reforms”. Previously, the prime minister has vowed to open up
state-owned companies to foreign investors. Those companies include
telecoms, the national airline, electricity and water-supply utilities.
Only two days after the World Bank news, Abiy then announced that the state-owned company involved in the construction of a flagship hydroelectric dam is to have its contract terminated.
He cited “delays” in operations by the Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC) as the reason for the abrupt sacking.
However,
the official complaint of inefficiency and delays seems questionable,
since the dam’s construction was, according to its former chief
engineer, going forward on schedule, being 60 per cent complete, seven
years from its inception. The $4 billion dam will be Africa’s largest
hydroelectric scheme. Up to now, it has been self-financed by the
Ethiopian state relying solely on public savings from its 100 million
population.
METEC
reportedly said that it was not aware of any complaint from the prime
minister’s office until the contract was suddenly terminated this week.
Given that the firm is state-owned and unique, the suggestion now is
that the contract will be awarded to a foreign engineering company. The
dam already has an Italian firm, Salini, as the leading project
management. But the question is: who will be the replacement for the
Ethiopian METEC firm?
This
is where the timing of the new World Bank funds earmarked for Ethiopia
is suspicious. Those funds are likely to go into the coffers of a
foreign contractor appointed to replace METEC. But it will be the
Ethiopian nation that is saddled with paying off the “loan” – a debt
which up to this juncture it has not had to contend with.
Former
World Bank economist Peter Koenig, who has since become an ardent
critic of the institution and how it operates, says that the $1 billion
figure for a developing economy like Ethiopia is “astronomical”. The
country’s gross domestic product is around $80 billion.
“This
will lead to debt slavery,” said Koenig. “All money from
Western-controlled financial institutions like the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund is to be avoided at all costs. Their lending
of money is simply a cynical way for Western capital to gain control
over national economies.”
He
added that this is no doubt why premier Abiy is given glowing coverage
by Western news media. “He’s a willing accomplice to Western financial
takeover,” says Koenig.
By
contrast, critical Ethiopian political sources say that it was for this
very reason that the former leadership of the country under the late
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi sought to block Western capital gaining
access to its development plans. Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam was up
to now totally financed by national savings, while other major
infrastructure projects, such as telecoms and transport, were partnered
with China through soft loans and grants.
Since
Abiy Ahmed took over as prime minister in April this year, the former
ruling coalition government of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary
Democrat Front has undergone a radical shift in
terms of moving from its previous policy of national independence to
one of welcoming Western capital. Also part of that shift is that the
new prime minister has embraced Washington’s Arab allies in the region,
in particular Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
This
geopolitical shift is happening without a national consensus or even
debate, and is causing sharp ethnic tensions in widespread parts of
Ethiopia, with dozens of deaths from violent clashes in recent weeks.
Western
media typically report that Premier Ahmed is meeting resistance to his
supposed “liberal reforms”. But there are also suspicions that the
violence has been instigated by the new ruling faction dominated by the
PM’s Oromo ethnic group, as a way to justify security crackdowns and to
install regional administrations amenable to the political objectives of
the central authorities in the capital Addis Ababa under the prime
minister’s control.
A sinister sign of this shift-by-stealth came with the shocking assassination on
July 26 of the chief engineer responsible for overseeing the Grand
Renaissance Dam. Simegnew Bekele (53) was shot dead with a bullet wound
to his head, apparently while sitting in his parked car in Addis. There
are strong indications that his murder was a political assassination.
Engineer Bekele was a consummate professional who was widely revered for
his dedication to the dam. He was also committed to the original vision
of the project being completed without foreign investment. Bekele was
appointed by the former PM Meles Zenawi in 2011 to see the project
through to completion.
The
dam has long been protested by Egypt, which fears that it may reduce
the flow of water in the Blue Nile that is critical for its agriculture.
For years, Egypt has been bickering with Ethiopia about the dam.
In June, Ethiopia’s Abiy made his first foreign trip to Cairo where he was warmly received by
President Abdel Fattah el Sisi. There was a remarkable change of
position, with the Ethiopian leader giving assurances that the dam would
be delayed to suit Egypt’s interests. Ethiopian sources noted how the
PM recited a Muslim prayer to the Egyptian leader by way of giving
assurance.
For
a project that was viewed by many Ethiopians as a source of immense
national pride, the seeming capitulation to Egyptian concerns caused
much consternation. The project manager Simegnew Bekele in particular
was said to be perplexed by the abrupt interference in his technical
authority, according to sources.
The
assassination of Bekele can therefore be plausibly seen as the
elimination of a difficult political obstacle to those who want to see
the dam delayed or its strategic financing altered.
On
the morning that the engineer was killed, Prime Minister Abiy flew out
of Addis for a week-long trip to the US. Social media posts from the
delegation on board the Ethiopian Airlines plane showed people
celebrating. News of the engineer’s death would have no doubt been known
by that time. Incongruously, it was later said the celebrations were
for a birthday party for somebody among the premier’s delegation to the
US.
The
shocking murder of a beloved national figure was compounded with the
seeming insensitivity of the prime minister. He ignored a public outcry
in Ethiopia for him to return immediately from the US to condole with
the nation on the barbaric slaying of chief engineer Bekele. The prime
minister did not even return for the funeral which was held in Addis on
July 29 in what was a day of national mourning.
Bizarrely,
Abiy Ahmed has since shown little concern about apprehending the
perpetrators of the murder. His public comments are markedly rambling
and vague. The Addis police chiefs appointed by the PM also seem grossly
incompetent and indifferent.
During his week-long tour of the US, Abiy was greeted by Vice President Mike Pence and high officials belonging to the World Bank and IMF, including Christine Lagarde.
The latest announcement of a $1 billion loan from the World Bank also preceded the visit to
Addis Ababa this week by the Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry
and his country’s head of intelligence Abbas Kamel. The visit was openly
reported as being for the purpose of talks specifically about the dam
project. It was the next day that premier Abiy announced that the
contract for the state-owned Ethiopian firm involved in the dam’s
construction was to be terminated.
What
Ethiopian political sources say is that the country is undergoing a
long-held plan for a geopolitical takeover. The nation, which was seen
up to now as an African role model for independent development, is being
shifted from its erstwhile independence and partnership with China to
become a client of Western capital and Washington’s regional allies
among the Arab states.
The
country is being subjected to a coup in all but name. Abiy Ahmed who
has a background in military intelligence is suspected of being a CIA
asset, having worked secretly in the past with Eritrea and Ethiopian
dissident groups such as the Oromo Liberation Front based in the
Eritrean capital, Asmara.
His
stellar rise to power was not through election but rather through
opaque parliamentary maneuvering. Having gained power, Abiy has rapidly
directed the country towards serving the strategic interests of
Washington and Arab clients. He and his new ruling faction are opening
the dam gates for Western financial subjugation – euphemistically hailed
as “reforms” in the Western news media.
( Source: Strategic Culture Foundation)
