Can Ethiopia Grow? Interview with Hailemariam Desalegn

Can Ethiopia Grow? Interview with Hailemariam Desalegn. Since the death of Meles Zenawi in August 2012, the world has been closely watching how Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is moving his predecessor’s vision of growth and development forward. Zenawi was broadly credited for the country’s growing economic success, particularly in the last decade of his rule when, according to the World Bank, Ethiopia experienced 9.9 per cent growth per year (between 2004 and 2012), compared to the regional average of 5.4 per cent. How is the new prime minister faring? He spoke to New African’s Darren Moore in the capital, Addis Ababa.
New African | When you came to office you had to walk in the footsteps of a political giant. What were some of your thoughts when you assumed the role of prime minister?
You know, the whole issue is that it is a responsibility that is bestowed upon me by my party. It’s a very difficult job that I assumed after [there was] such a great leader but the main legacy of our late prime minister, Meles Zenawi, was his dedicated work to establish institutions in this country. We are a strong party and we have strong government institutions, so it’s easy for me to follow his example. On the other hand, there are lots of changing situations that we have to accommodate and work with, and for that we have clear policies and strategies.  Yes, I am the leader but I am working collectively with my colleagues and comrades.  It is challenging but rewarding. There is  the opportunity to pursue and continue the  [Zenawi] legacy.
NA| You came from a foreign affairs background. How has that underpinned your outlook and policies here in the prime minister’s office.
The foreign affairs job was my last post but I was also governing the southern region, and advisor to the prime minister in social affairs too, so I do have a diverse background, which includes academia – I was a dean of the water technology institute. So I have an all-round background as far as my career is concerned. As far as the foreign affairs role and its implications for my current role, our foreign policy is based upon internal vulnerability that has to be settled, and we focus foremost on poverty eradication and having economic diplomacy at the centre of foreign policy, as well as security issues, which are of utmost importance for the Horn of Africa region and the country in specific terms. So I think that this is the basis of the foreign policy and that has helped me a lot in continuing with the policy that has been set by the government.
NA| Poverty eradication and development was one of Prime Minister Zenawi’s rallying calls and all the figures point to Ethiopia being one of the fastest growing economies. What specific fundamental policies are you trying to put in place to ensure that this growth is sustainable?
I think as far as the sustainability of our policies and the results we have achieved over the last 10 years, we have succeeded in achieving fast economic growth and we will continue with this growth as our policy is focused on the transformation of our economy. We have subsistence agriculture and that’s now changing into commercial agriculture. This sector has the potential to continue to drive the growth of the economy. We have to close the productivity gap and ensure the continuous growth of the economy, because the agricultural potential is huge.
And when agriculture grows, it becomes a driver for agro-processing and other industries, so our policy is to focus on the light manufacturing side, which is mainly based on textiles, garments, leather and leather products and food and beverage production. All these are agro-based and they continue to grow very fast. That shows that there is a growth momentum that is sustainable. Had that growth just relied on the extractive sectors, that would have resulted in a downturn. But our growth [strategy] is focusing on the productive sector – in agriculture, manufacturing and the whole industrial sector.
NA | There has been some controversy that large tracts of land have been leased to foreign commercial interests. How do you balance the needs of Ethiopia’s indigenous rural communities and the new wave of large-scale commercial farming?
Actually the figures show the contrary. If you take smallholding farming, that constitutes about 80 per cent of agricultural production, and this involves around three million hectares of land. We have only provided around 400,000 hectares of land for foreign investors. Our people should not be so worried about this issue from what they read in the foreign media, who have put it high on their agenda.
This land is open savannah that is not utilised by farmers, but land has to be productive for the betterment of this country. I think large-scale farming is to be found everywhere in the West and in Asia. It’s one of the components of development, and it is no different in Ethiopia.
NA | Ethiopia will evidently need to keep much of this land for commercial farming as the population continues to grow. How will the growing demographic affect your policies?
It depends on how you see it and how you implement it, and if you use this demographic dividend in a manner that will be of benefit to Africa and specifically, in Ethiopia. We have a huge youth population, maybe 60 per cent are below 15 years of age, which can be a very important asset if you use it properly. So we try to engage this youthful population in technical and vocational training and university education. If this capital is well-trained then it is an asset. Government also has to create the jobs for this huge youth population. If we do, then it’s a potential benefit to the country, but if we don’t, it’s a threat.
NA| On the issue of diversity, how has Ethiopia tailored its unique brand of federalism and the integration of its many different ethnic groups?
Actually our federalism is not entirely ethnic. If you take the southern states, there are 56 different ethnic groups in one region, one state, and similarly in the Gambella region we have six, and also if you take the Amhara region we have three or four; and I think [there are] three from the Tigray region. There is no state where there is only one ethnic group; we are multi-ethnic. But whether multi-ethnic or not, the nations and nationalities are given the right to administer themselves.
NA | How do you see the current economic uncertainty that is affecting  some parts of Europe and America, impacting on Ethiopia’s future?
Actually it somehow affects us, but it also provides an opportunity. In developing countries, the slowing of the economy in the US and other western countries in general, could create lots of problems. For example, coffee prices have gone down and the gold price has fallen. Were have flori-culture products, and these have dropped so the economy is slowing down, and this hurts us.
But there are opportunities as well as threats within the slowdown. If you take the growth that is generated in many African countries as domestic growth, that has not been so much affected and Africa still continues to grow at 5 per cent or beyond, so I think that’s the way we have to see it.
NA | There is greater integration through the East African Union, but Ethiopia has always appeared to take regional integration more cautiously. Is this more cautious policy something you will continue to pursue?
I think our foreign policy focuses on neighbouring countries and the East African region. We see that the future of Africa is where Africa becomes integrated economically and ultimately, politically. So with that vision, we do not see the differences culturally, and historical differences within individual countries shouldn’t hamper this economic and political integration process. Diversity should be seen as a positive and strength and shouldn’t be seen as a threat – even within Ethiopia we have diverse culture and different groups and nationalities. But as a nation, we have common values that we follow: like fighting colonialism – and as you know, we have never been colonised, that also brings some differences in terms
of thinking, and in terms of the way you see things globally. But given all this, we also have African culture, with similarities in many ways, but some differences as well. However, I think this can be a source of unity that can help us in terms of economic integration, which can later mushroom into political integration. Ethiopia is already connecting with other East African countries, through roads, railways, power, trade and people integration.
NA| On a wider level, how are you managing to transform your political relationship with your neighbours for democratisation, developmental growth and eradicating poverty?
You know, this country can only thrive if we manage to eradicate poverty. That’s the main issue. In Ethiopia, accelerated economic growth cannot come without a democratic process. The only government system that a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation can accommodate is a democratic system. One simple example is that we have more than a million students in higher education and technical and vocational colleges. If we don’t accommodate their interest democratically, trouble will flare up and we will not be able to sustain this country’s integrity.
We are also situated in the volatile Horn of Africa region where we are always prone to attacks from terrorists, as happened in Nairobi’s Westgate mall and was also attempted in Addis Ababa recently.
Therefore on the one hand we have to be very cautious and make our country stable, and on the other hand we shouldn’t hamper the human rights and freedom of our people. So we have to see how to walk very clearly and cautiously to balance these issues.
NA | Do you think it likely we might see a similar Arab Spring in Africa, or do you think sub-Saharan Africa has already been down this road?
I think each specific country’s situation is different, and as stated earlier, if we do not take care of our youth in a proper manner, then that could lead to Arab Spring-like uprisings. But again, on the other hand, if you look at what the Arab Spring uprisings [led to, they have] resulted in extremist and terrorists groups taking over. We therefore have to be very careful how we handle these kinds of issue. People should not only look at one side of the story.
NA | Earlier this year, the AU celebrated 50 years of the founding of its predecessors the OAU. Is the AU living up to its mandate? Critics consistently point to the issue of  failure of  leadership among its member states, what are your views?
I don’t think the AU has failed. If you take the OAU, it played a major role in achieving the decolonisation of Africa. The OAU played a major role in the abolition of apartheid in South Africa, and the AU has shifted its strategies.  For example, the AU can now intervene if there are any human rights violations or crimes against humanity on the continent. African member states agreed to this. There has been a huge improvement in the AU’s stance on, for example, the situation in Somalia, which was a failed state and is improving. Conflicts within Africa are diminishing. African states are witnessing growth. In all these scenarios the AU is leading the process, through different initiatives, including the NEPAD. But that doesn’t mean that the AU has achieved all its goals. Being a multinational and multi-lateral organisation, the chemistry is always difficult and therefore challenges still remain.
NA | The International Criminal Court in the Hague is always a hot issue in Africa. What are your thoughts on the ICC being a good barometer of social and political justice in Africa?
I think we have to understand the principles of the ICC and how they are implemented.  As far as the principles are concerned, we know what they are and there is no argument about that: it is there to fight impunity and crimes against humanity and genocide. These are important principles that are set out by African leaders themselves in the legislation of the AU and also in the respective constitutions of African countries. There is no fight on the principles of ICC. But how the ICC has implemented these principles in the recent past, that is where the major problem lies. We have not said that all that the ICC has implemented is wrong, but there are some issues that cannot be justified. We have seen some double standards by the ICC and what we are saying is that the ICC should be an organisation that helps bring justice to the entire global community [not just Africa].
We  also [in the same vein] believe Africa should be given the chance to have a veto on the UN Security Council, as we are a continent with a 1.2 billion population. If the Security Council is leading the ICC, we need to have a voice there.
I am speaking here as an AU member, not specifically as Ethiopia because [we are] not a member of the ICC. In fact more than half the members of the international community are not members of the ICC. Twenty members of African Union states are not members of the ICC. Africa should really have its own judicial system, as clearly you cannot say Africa is independent if we cannot take care of our own continental issues and continental affairs.
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