sOME POLICY MATTERS COMMENT ON dr TEWOLDES OPINION

On January 8, 2009 at 12:13 pm BERHANU(corrected version) Said:

Dear Adis Aleme

It is a nice anylysis of what Dr.Tewolde has described but the root cause of Environmental degradation of pollution is the reflection of the over all National policy of the country. When we say that since the economy is intemingled with the political as well the social aspect of a country this intemingled situation needs a sound policy formulation.

Due to the above conditions the outcome of the regimes policy which is ill thought and harshly implemented can bring more disaster than the guns they used to rule the country.

Environmental degradation is sometimes the manifestation of refutance to the national policy of a country because every person looses the belongingness of the country due repression,not having forum to express ideas and their mentality will focus only how to survive today than tommorow or stop to think about the comming genaration so the result will be devatsting.

Let i give some example which encountered in my life.

I was working in Bale region in 1971/72 (Ethiopian calender) where the first settlment was launched in Harewa Bale administrative region,the place was cleared for farming but the surrounding was densley forested but since the people who came there were forcifully brought they start cutting trees when ever they go to pee or sanitat and the result was total devastation.

Why i brought this experience is that to show that one needs belongingness to the society,vicinity as well to the state of art of administration prevailing in the surrounding if not could not contribute to the protection of nature surrounding him.

This leads us to the main question what to do next? We have to revisite our policy basically the Agricultural policy which is the mainstay of the population and is directly related to the environmental issues. But EPRDF and its stooges do not care about the future generation as well the environment and they try to sell (lease their words)lands to stash some money to feed their military an put in banks outside of the country.

First and foremost they have(but have not the minds)to think over their agricultural policy (not one fits all)in collaboration to environmntal policies and launch a sound and uncontroversial soulutions to this problem.
The second issue which we have to consider next to the policy have to be the structural organisations of the agricultural sector(this is true to all service sectors) to be a normal pyramid rather than inverted pyramid situation which is now available. For example Dr.Tewolde has three cars(one 4-WD,Tow sedan plus another car for his aid,fax,internet,radio,three or more line of telephone,two secretaries and an office girl only to bring files and coffe) which accounts minimum the salary of 6 proffessionals while the respective Development agent do not have a single bicycle to accomplish his errand(buy supplies if budgeted at all).

Besides as well the office have the best experts of the country with rich experiences are only just to prepare and submit papers at different forums /conferences around the world writing sometimes some fictious sceneries which have not been excercised in the country.

Besides all these Ethiopia is one of the countries which is pporly use allegaed money from donors for envirnmental protction since the government never scrutnize the terms in the document before signing which include a prolonged system of reinbursment and contractual procedures because the eyes of our officials+ is only thinking securing the number to tell the public we have earmarked a budget of such amount which goes from one physical year to another as AIDS not aid.

I wish Dr.Tewolde comment on this issues because it is nice to see his reaction.

FOR ANY suggestion you can adress me at Ethiopia at A crossroad orCHILLALO@GMAIL.COM