By Kebour Ghenna
As Ethiopia faces a temporary freeze on USAID assistance, one can almost hear the government counting the days, anxiously awaiting the resumption of foreign aid. But here’s the truth: counting the days until aid is reinstated is the weak government’s approach. A strong government, one with a sense of nationalism and self-determination, would see this 90-day pause as an opportunity—a pivotal moment to stop relying on others and begin rebuilding Ethiopia from within.
Let’s be clear, though: the freeze on USAID’s activities isn’t the real crisis. We’re wasting our time debating how the US could have handled the USAID’s problems. For us Mr. Trump’s reforms are a distraction from our real crises – the ones we created and continue to create, year after year. The majority of Ethiopian commentators look at Ethiopia’s financial, political, geopolitical, and environmental challenges as the sources of national crisis. But let’s be honest: the crisis is far deeper than that. It’s an internal crisis of abandonment.
The reality is brutal. Our economy has effectively abandoned the bottom 70% of the population. A vast majority of Ethiopians no longer have the means to feed themselves or provide basic shelter. While our media glorifies the elites in finance and tech, the social fabric of our nation is slowly unraveling. And USAID is not the cure – let’s be real. This is a deeper issue. It’s the ongoing war on the poor, and unless we restructure the distribution of wealth, the abandonment will continue, escalating to the point of social dissolution.
Yes, our mainstream economists will continue to preach about arcane economic theories that mask this reality. They’ ll, pretend things are fine, and explain away uncomfortable truths. But this reality – the one that leaves millions starving, disconnected from the fruits of progress – is something the top 5% of society is desperate to ignore. They’ll tell you it’s “complicated” or “too difficult,” but the fact is, they’re not interested in facing the storm that is brewing over the horizon.
This is where the 90-day freeze comes in. Instead of waiting for USAID to come back with its aid, we should use these 90 days as an opportunity to reflect on how to create wealth and redistribute power and resources. If we stop looking for external validation, we can begin looking inward – and what we’ll see is an Ethiopia that can and should be self-reliant. These 90 days are not just a countdown to the return of USAID. They can be a countdown to Ethiopia’s rebirth – one where we take charge of our own fate.
A nationalist government – one that takes pride in self-determination and national strength – would see the USAID freeze not as a setback but as an invitation to act.. The real crisis we face is the widening gap between the haves and have-nots, and unless we confront that, no amount of foreign assistance will heal the fractures in our society.
Editor’s note : The article appeared first on personal social media page of Kebour Ghenna
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This is when ” ignorance is a bliss” comes to pay…
Apparently many ‘organizations’ ( NGOs, Civils Societies, News media, Aid-groups… etc.) that were presented a benevolent players are not only their ‘hidden evil schemes’ are exposed, but are in danger of becoming extinct as their source of funding that was USAID is DEAD.
For those who chose to see, It was obvious the recent war in Tigray was fully funded , supported & run by USAID, its ex director Samantha Power was stopping by for inspection time and again…
The concern in Ethiopia ( as stated in this article) and many other places globally the mourning for the death of USAID is reverberating… ( I am shocked Ethiopia is among them, who knew?)
It is like a herd of sheep (supposedly) protected by a wolf appear to be mourning their loss after hearing its sudden death hit by a hunter’s bullet; how sad!
Link = youtube.com/watch?v=e4NCir8tiMc
Well we send our condolences to those who thrived & prospered from USAID’s operation, but the world is better off that this evil outfit that has been an instigator of bloodsheds all around the world along with it’s sister outfits like CIA, MI6, NED, WEF ( Abiy’s sponsor)… CIA staff are also on notice given an ultimatum to resign. It is good for the world as a whole.
Be well.
I agree that Ethiopia must own her problems and resolve them to the best of her abilities. Yes, it is well past the time that instead of fighting we put our energy to solve the question of recurrent famine, disease, and natural disasters. But how can we do that when we can’t even run the country, when we can’t even agree on the basics of rule of law? Ethiopia for now is one slight step away from becoming a failed state. It is not shameful to accept aid when we need it. It is shameful to normalize it. Even the most advanced nation in Europe and Asia have been the beneficiaries of American aid. We don’t hear about it, because they did not build their economies by depending on it. The sudden scrapping of USAID will result in the death of countless Ethiopians who received retroviral medications, 1.5 million undernourished children and 600K pregnant women. In addition. all the agricultural aid and the millions displaced persons will suffer as a result. I fully empathize with the author’s point of view, but I cannot hope against hope that this Ethiopian government or another will be able to solve these problems on its own, now or in the near future.
The wolf is no longer alive, but there is a chance it will reanimate. Fortunately, the sheep are currently safe. No more sickness in exchange for foreign assistance. Thanks, President Trump and Elon Musk. USA-AID fills the coffers and pockets of mafias who profit off sick and people affected by famine.