የኢትዮዽያውያን ዴሞክራቶች ድረ-ገፅEthiopian Democrats' Website

Source: Reporter;

Any government that takes hold of the reins of power through the ballot box owes a duty to discharge, to the best of its ability, the responsibility to serve the public when latter votes it into office. The major aspects of this responsibility, of course, include ensuring peace and security, democracy, justice and the rule of law as well as the development of the country and the prosperity of its people.

This is how an honest, a pro-people and a government of the people functions.

How about in Ethiopia?

The government presently in power in Ethiopia cannot be faulted for lacking the desire to serve the people of Ethiopia. However, owing to the flawed attitudes of a segment of those among its ranks, the prevalence of corruption and other deplorable practices as well as operational problems and lack of the required capacity, the public is not getting the service it deserves and, on some occasions, is being subjected to various acts of injustice.

In fact, different government agencies and public officials entrusted with serving the public are failing to do their jobs in accordance with the constitution and the laws of the land; they are allowing certain individuals and groups to put themselves above the law and the government itself and paving the way for them to play a decisive role in the affairs of citizens.

These individuals and groups, who are referred to as “the facilitators” by the public, can have anything done. They have spread their tentacles to all institutions, be these public or private. They do not hesitate to intimidate or lure anyone, including government officials, to achieve their goals. They have become so powerful and their influence pervasive that citizens who are denied justice are nowadays being advised to turn to them to obtain the redress they seek.

This state of affairs is both saddening and alarming for it not only breeds lawlessness but also erodes trust in the system and leaves the public at the mercy of “the facilitators”.

It is not only the local population which falls victim to the organized or otherwise criminal activities of these mafia-like thugs, though. Foreign investors are dissuaded from choosing Ethiopia as a trusted investment destination in which they can operate with a degree of confidence. “The facilitators” make a beeline for foreign investors when they arrive here and after they ensnare them with promises that they can facilitate everything for them, they leave them in the lurch having entangled them in their web of corruption and other illicit activities. This damages the country’s image and is bound to detrimentally affect the foreign investment that can potentially flow to it.

The government needs to root out “the facilitators”. It has to introduce a system which enables it to communicate and interact directly with the public.

“The facilitators” pose a greater danger than anyone can imagine. The recent phone-hacking scandal that has rocked the UK serves to illustrate this point. The News of the World, one of the British newspapers owned by the media mogul Rupert Murdock, was found to have made a mockery of the trust British officials placed in its owner and executives by hacking the phones of government officials and ordinary British citizens. Any complaint regarding the hacking was either hushed up or thrown out. Though questions about this shocking affair have been raised for some time now, no answer came forth until this week.

It has been revealed that police officials who had sworn to protect and to serve the public failed in their duties and were, in fact, Rupert Murdock’s “facilitators”. As a result, three senior police officials have resigned and are expected to face prosecution.

The Ethiopian government should draw a lesson from this sordid affair. There is no government structure which “the facilitators” cannot infiltrate. They are capable of perpetrating all kinds of injustices and have no qualms to abuse the public’s trust.

Therefore, it is high time that the government took decisive measures to root out “the facilitators”. This calls for government officials at all levels to do their share in this endeavor. Failure to do so will have dire consequences for both the country and its people.