Archive for March, 2010
Forget About Democracy
From The Economist print edition
THE United States, the richest and most powerful nation on earth, is also the most generous donor to one of the poorest, Ethiopia. America says it gives $1 billion in aid every year to Africa’s second-most-populous country, which also happens to host the African Union’s headquarters.
Yet Barack Obama’s administration has barely stirred itself to protest against recent attempts by Ethiopia to jam programmes in Amharic, the country’s main language, beamed by the Voice of America, a respected state-funded broadcaster. Ethiopia’s prime minister, Meles Zenawi, brazenly says he will continue to jam the signal for as long as it incites what he calls hatred. He has compared the Amharic service to the hate speech spewing from Radio Mille Collines, which helped provoke Rwanda’s genocide in 1994. The State Department called the comment inflammatory but seems loth to make Mr Zenawi suffer for it.
One reason is that the Pentagon needs Ethiopia and its bare-knuckle intelligence service to help keep al-Qaeda fighters in neighbouring Somalia at bay. Many of Washington’s aid people argue that, though Mr Zenawi is no saint, he still offers the best chance of keeping Ethiopia together; even now, as one of the world’s least developed countries, it cannot feed itself.
Human-rights campaigners think the limpness of America and European Union countries, especially Britain, in the face of Mr Zenawi gives him a free rein to abuse his own people. This week’s report by Human Rights Watch, a New York-based lobby, claims that, after 20 years in power, Mr Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has “total control of local and district administrations to monitor and intimidate individuals at a household level.” With a general election due on May 23rd, opposition supporters, says the report, are often castigated as subversives by the government, denied the right to assembly, and harassed. The press has been “stifled”. Newspapers avoid writing about opposition parties or people the government says have terrorist links.
Furthermore, says Ben Rawlence, who wrote the report, “Meles is using aid to build a single-party state.” Foreign governments, he says, have colluded in eroding civil liberties and democracy by letting their aid be manipulated by Mr Zenawi. Because of his party’s stranglehold at village level, its members can decide on entitlements such as places for children in school and the distribution of food handouts. Peasants who back the opposition get less. Farmers complain they are denied fertiliser for the same reason.
The Ethiopian government has denounced the report as outrageous and ridiculous. Mr Zenawi says that groups such as Human Rights Watch interpret human rights too narrowly. The only way to guarantee Ethiopia a free future, he argues, is to keep it stable while it continues to develop. His political calculations are straightforward. He reckons, for instance, that reporting by the Voice of America does more harm inside the country than outside criticism of his censorship.
In any case, Mr Zenawi has signed up for a code of electoral conduct and invited foreign election observers in. He still has time to win over critics before the election, for instance by freeing an imprisoned opposition leader, Birtukan Mideksa, as a goodwill gesture.
Aid-giving governments, for their part, are unlikely to change their minds. Even after hundreds of protesters were shot dead by the police after the last elections in 2005, aid to Ethiopia was only repackaged in different forms, not suspended. Besides, foreign politicians have promised their own voters that they will dish out large amounts of aid and argue that at least Ethiopia is less corrupt than many other African countries. Mr Zenawi understands this well—and exploits it.
Ten Things the IRS Wants You to Know About Identity Theft
Your Identity
Criminals use many methods to steal personal information from taxpayers. They can use your information to steal your identity and file a tax return in order to receive a refund. Here are 10 things the IRS wants you to know about identity theft so you can avoid becoming the victim of a scam artist.
1. Identity thieves get your personal information by many different means, including stealing a wallet or purse or accessing information you provide to an unsecured Internet site. They even look for personal information in your trash. They also pose as someone who needs information through a phone call or e-mail
2. The IRS does not initiate contact with a taxpayer by e-mail.
If you receive an e-mail scam, forward it to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
3. If you receive a letter from the IRS leading you to believe your identity has been stolen, respond immediately to the name, address or phone number on the IRS notice.
4. Your identity may be stolen if a letter from the IRS indicates more than one tax return was filed for you or the letter states you received wages from an employer you don’t know.
5. If your Social Security number is stolen, it may be used by another individual to get a job. That person’s employer would report income earned to the IRS using your Social Security number, making it appear that you did not report all of your income on your tax return.
6. If your tax records are not currently affected by identity theft, but you believe you may be at risk due to a lost wallet, questionable credit card activity, or credit report, you need to provide the IRS with proof of your identity. You should submit a copy of your valid government-issued identification – such as a Social Security card, driver’s license, or passport – along with a copy of a police report and/or a completed Form 14039, IRS Identity Theft Affidavit.
7. Show your Social Security card to your employer when you start a job or to your financial institution for tax reporting purposes.
8. Do not routinely carry your card or other documents that display your SSN.
9. If you have previously been in contact with the IRS and have not achieved a resolution, please contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit, toll-free at 1-800-908-4490.
10. For more information about identity theft – including information about how to report identity theft, phishing and related fraudulent activity – visit the IRS Identity Theft Resource Page, which you can find by typing “Identity Theft” in the search box on the IRS.gov home page.
Source: IRS
How to View your Annual free credit Report
In the past, not everybody was entitled to a free credit report. Instead, consumers had to pay or qualify based on certain activity within the credit report. Some states required that residents periodically be entitled to a free credit report, but it is now nationwide.
How do I Get my Free Credit Report?
The nation’s credit reporting agencies have teamed up and built a website that you should use to get your free credit report. The site is www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also call them at 877-322-8228 and request your free credit report.
Contacting the Credit Agencies Directly
You can also call the major credit agencies directly and ask about a free credit report. However, the FCRA-mandated “Annual Free Credit Reports” are only available through the website and phone number above. In other words, you might have to pay if you contact a credit agency directly.
I cannot overemphasize that the only way to get your annual free credit report is by using the organization above. If you go any other route, you may have to pay or subscribe to a private service.
What Information do I Need for a Free Credit Report?
You’ll need to be prepared with your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. You’ll also need any prior addresses from the past few years. Finally, you’ll be asked to disclose something that only you know (like the amount of a given payment, for example) as a security measure.
When Can I See my Free Credit Report?
In order to manage the process, availability is only available to certain regions at certain times. As of September 1st, 2005, the entire nation has access to a free credit report.
If your region is up and running, you can see your free credit report instantly online (at www.annualcreditreport.com). If you use the toll-free number, it may be 15 days or so until you receive the report.
What Else Should I Know About Free Credit Reports?
The regulations only entitle you to get a free credit report – not a free score or any other service. As you order your reports, watch out for sneaky attempts to sell additional items that cost money.
Discover Great new Ethiopian writers
Beneath the lion gaze
Maaza Mengiste
Maaza Mengiste
Addis Ababa, September 12, 1974: a date few Americans remember, but for Ethiopians it was the first day of a new year and the last day of Emperor Haile Selassie’s long reign. As the public discontent intensified, Selassie-blamed for decades of famine and coraption-is abandoned by his servants and cabinet members.
While the emperor quietly reflects upon his final moments in power, the struggle for new Ethiopia arrives swiftly and without mercy. Hundreds of protesters take to the streets, demanding foods and people’s government for all. Focusing on the lives of three determined members of one family, Mengiste’s gripping debut novel looks closely at the ties that bind family and country, and the sacrifices made in pursuit of justice and a life of dignity. An important work of literature, it is both timely and unforgettable. Illustrating the lengths each member is willing to go, the loyalties they must betray, and the hardships they must endure to ensure their country’s freedom from oppression, beneath the lion’s gaze is a dramatic and tragic story that is ultimately inspirational.
“An extraordinary novel that tells stories that nobody can want to hear, in such a way that we cannot stop listening.” - Bookforum
What is T-bill anyway?
By Getachew Teklu 
Do you know what it means?
A short-term debt obligation backed by the U.S government with maturity of less than one year. T-bills are sold in denominations of $1,000 up to a maximum purchase of $5 million and commonly have maturity of one month (four weeks), three months (13 weeks) or six months (26 weeks).
T-bills are issued through a competitive bidding process at a discount from par, which means that rather than paying fixed interest payments like conventional bonds, the appreciation of the bond provides the return to the holder.
The smallest face value for a T-Bill is $1,000 US Dollars (USD). The T-Bill is sold at a discount, which is determined by the Bureau of Public Debt, but the Treasury pays the full face value when it is redeemed. For example, an investor might purchase a 90-day T-Bill for $900 USD, and earn a $100 USD return on the investment when the T-Bill is redeemed. Unlike many other securities, a T-Bill does not bear interest, but the return on a T-Bill is highly predictable and very stable, barring complete financial collapse of the United States Treasury.
Investors may choose to include T-Bills in their profiles because they are highly stable investments with a pre-set time to maturity and a dependable return. Unlike more risky investments, a T-Bill is unlikely to return a substantial sum, but when they are traded on large volume, they can represent a substantial return. Investors can potentially purchase millions of dollars worth of T-Bills, assuming that they possess the available capital. They are also extremely liquid assets making them a versatile and useful addition to a diverse investment portfolio.
While private investors can and do purchase T-Bills, banks and other financial institutions are capable of purchasing them on a much larger scale, and thus make up the bulk of the trade in T-Bills on the day of the initial offering. Once purchased from the Treasury, a T-Bill can be sold or traded before it matures and is ready to be redeemed, and many individuals purchase T-Bills on the secondary market, from banks and institutions which purchased the bills from the Treasury. As compared with other Treasury securities, the T-Bill matures much more quickly, creating a rapid turnover investment, as opposed to the Treasury note, which matures in two to 10 years, or Treasury Bonds, which take 10-30 years to mature.
T-bill are backed by the full taxing power of the US government and therefore the risk of default is essentially zero. However they are subject to interest rate risk. As interest rates rise the value of the portfolio will go down and as interest rates fall the value of the portfolio goes up. If you hold the portfolio to maturity you eliminate the interest rate risk. I have no idea how the Ethiopian T-bill is backed by in case of default. More info needed.
Ethiopia May Start Regular T-Bill Auctions, Capital Reports
T-Bill
By Jason McLure
March 22 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia is considering starting fortnightly treasury bill auctions in an effort to stem monetary growth in the Horn of Africa nation, Capital said.
Officials at the central bank and finance ministry have met with experts from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to design an auction method, the report said, citing an unidentified central bank official.
The new system would replace the current, irregular system of auctions and increase yields on treasury bills, the report said.
Ethiopia’s government said it was “committed to active use of Treasury bill auctions” in an Aug. 7 letter to the IMF that was part of a $240.6 million financing package from the Washington-based lender.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg on pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
Nine Things You Should Know about Penalties
April-15
The tax filing deadline is approaching. If you don’t file your return and pay your tax by the due date you may have to pay a penalty. Here are nine things the IRS wants you to know about the two different penalties you may face if you do not pay or file on time.
1. If you do not file by the deadline, you might face a failure-to-file penalty.
2. If you do not pay by the due date, you could face a failure-to-pay penalty.
3. The failure-to-file penalty is generally more than the failure-to-pay penalty. So if you cannot pay all the taxes you owe, you should still file your tax return and explore other payment options in the meantime.
4. The penalty for filing late is usually 5 percent of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month that a return is late. This penalty will not exceed 25 percent of your unpaid taxes.
5. If you file your return more than 60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty is the smaller of $135 or 100 percent of the unpaid tax.
6. You will have to pay a failure-to-pay penalty of ½ of 1 percent of your unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month after the due date that the taxes are not paid. This penalty can be as much as 25 percent of your unpaid taxes.
7. If you filed an extension and you paid at least 90 percent of your actual tax liability by the due date, you will not be faced with a failure-to-pay penalty if the remaining balance is paid by the extended due date.
8. If both the failure-to-file penalty and the failure-to-pay penalty apply in any month, the 5 percent failure-to-file penalty is reduced by the failure-to-pay penalty. However, if you file your return more than 60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty is the smaller of $135 or 100% of the unpaid tax.
9. You will not have to pay a failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalty if you can show that you failed to file or pay on time because of reasonable cause and not because of willful neglect.
Source IRS
The warning sign of Earthquakes in Ethiopia
Earthquake in Ethiopia: Chile or Haiti?
Samson Tesfaye
Earthquakes occur in Ethiopia along the Rift Valley and its surroundings. A few notable past earthquakes include Kara Kore in the 1961, Serdo in 1969, and Dobe (Afar) in 1989.
The level of destruction of an earthquake, among other things, is a function of its magnitude and proximity to built-up areas. If an earthquake strikes a remote place, its impact would be negligible. However, if it strikes close to densely populated areas the impact could be catastrophic.
In recent weeks, the world has witnessed two major earthquakes – in Haiti (January 12, 2010) and in Chile, on February 27, 2010 – with totally different outcomes in terms of human and economic loss. The Chilean earthquake was a much stronger magnitude 8.8, while the Haitian earthquake was a magnitude seven.
However, the magnitude of destruction is significantly less in Chile than it was in Haiti. The number of lives lost in Chile is estimated to be in the hundreds whereas in Haiti it is in the hundreds of thousands.
Why such a disparity?
The answer is in the earthquake preparedness. Chile is a country that has been hit by major earthquakes in the past and has adopted strict building codes that would withstand a certain level of ground shaking, while Haiti did not. Unfortunately, the effect is reflected in the level of destruction and number of lives lost.
Earthquakes have happened in Ethiopia and will happen in the future, that is a given. The magnitude of the earthquakes, however, should not be as big as the ones in Chile or Haiti.
How prepared is the country in the event of an earthquake?
The recent construction boom in the country has seen the erection of high-rise buildings in Addis Abeba and other cities.
Do we have building codes suitable for earthquake prone areas? How strictly are these building codes enforced?
Earthquake preparedness also involves raising public awareness of the potential problem. It would be wonderful to hear from the appropriate government officials on the issue of earthquake preparedness in the country.
Which scenario will play out in the event of an earthquake striking a populated area in Ethiopia – Chile or Haiti?
Know the Basics
What is HIV and how can I get it?
HIV – the human immunodeficiency virus – is a virus that kills your body’s “CD4 cells.” CD4 cells (also called T-helper cells) help your body fight off infection and disease. HIV can be passed from person to person if someone with HIV infection has sex with or shares drug injection needles with another person. It also can be passed from a mother to her baby when she is pregnant, when she delivers the baby, or if she breastfeeds her baby.
What is AIDS?
AIDS – the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome – is a disease you get when HIV destroys your body’s immune system. Normally, your immune system helps you fight off illness. When your immune system fails you can become very sick and can die.
What do I need to know about HIV?
The first cases of AIDS were identified in the United States in 1981, but AIDS most likely existed here and in other parts of the world for many years before that time. In 1984 scientists proved that HIV causes AIDS.Anyone can get HIV. The most important thing to know is how you can get the virus.You can get HIV:
- By having unprotected sex- sex without a condom- with someone who has HIV. The virus can be in an infected person’s blood, semen, or vaginal secretions and can enter your body through tiny cuts or sores in your skin, or in the lining of your vagina, penis, rectum, or mouth.
- By sharing a needle and syringe to inject drugs or sharing drug equipment used to prepare drugs for injection with someone who has HIV.
- From a blood transfusion or blood clotting factor that you got before 1985. (But today it is unlikely you could get infected that way because all blood in the United States has been tested for HIV since 1985.)
Babies born to women with HIV also can become infected during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding.You cannot get HIV:
- By working with or being around someone who has HIV.
- From sweat, spit, tears, clothes, drinking fountains, phones, toilet seats, or through everyday things like sharing a meal.
- From insect bites or stings.
- From donating blood.
- From a closed-mouth kiss (but there is a very small chance of getting it from open-mouthed or “French” kissing with an infected person because of possible blood contact).
How can I protect myself?
KNOW THE Basics
- Don’t share needles and syringes used to inject drugs, steroids, vitamins, or for tattooing or body piercing. Also, don’t share equipment (“works”) used to prepare drugs to be injected. Many people have been infected with HIV, hepatitis, and other germs this way. Germs from an infected person can stay in a needle and then be injected directly into the next person who uses the needle.
- The surest way to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases is to abstain from sexual intercourse, or to be in a longterm mutually monogamous relationship with a partner who has been tested and you know is uninfected.
- For persons whose sexual behaviors place them at risk for STDs, correct and consistent use of the male latex condom can reduce the risk of STD transmission. However, no protective method is 100 percent effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD. The more sex partners you have, the greater your chances are of getting HIV or other diseases passed through sex.
- Condoms used with a lubricant are less likely to break. However, condoms with the spermicide nonoxynol-9 are not recommended for STD/HIV prevention. Condoms must be used correctly and consistently to be effective and protective. Incorrect use can lead to condom slippage or breakage, thus diminishing the protective effect. Inconsistent use, e.g., failure to use condoms with every act of intercourse, can result in STD transmission because transmission can occur with a single act of intercourse.
- Don’t share razors or toothbrushes because of they may have the blood of another person on them.
- If you are pregnant or think you might be soon, talk to a doctor or your local health department about being tested for HIV. If you share HIV, drug treatments are available to help you and they can reduce the chance of passing HIV to your baby.
How do I know if I have HIV or AIDS?
You might have HIV and still feel perfectly healthy. The only way to know for sure if you are infected or not is to be tested. Talk with a knowledgeable health care provider or counselor both before and after you are tested. You can go to your doctor or health department for testing. To find out where to go in your area for HIV counseling and testing, call your local health department or the CDC INFO, at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636).
Your doctor or health care provider can give you a confidential HIV test. The information on your HIV test and test results are confidential, as is your other medical information. This means it can be shared only with people authorized to see your medical records. You can ask your doctor, health care provider, or HIV counselor at the place you are tested to explain who can obtain this information. For example, you may want to ask whether your insurance company could find out your HIV status if you make a claim for health insurance benefits or apply for life insurance or disability insurance.
CDC recommends that everyone know their HIV status. How often you should an HIV test depends on your circumstances. If you have never been tested for HIV, you should be tested. CDC recommends being tested at least once a year if you do things that can transmit HIV infection, such as:
- injecting drugs or steroids with used injection equipment
- having sex for money or drugs
- having sex with an HIV infected person
- having more than one sex partner since your HIV test
- having a sex partner who has had other sex partners since your last HIV test.
If you have been tested for HIV and the result is negative and you never do things that might transmit
In many states, you can be tested anonymously. These tests are usually given at special places known as anonymous testing sites. When you get an anonymous HIV test, the testing site records only a number or code with the test result, not your name. A counselor gives you this number at the time your blood, saliva, or urine is taken for the test, then you return to the testing site (or perhaps call the testing site, for example with home collection kits) and give them your number or code to learn the results of your test.
If you have been tested for HIV and the result is negative and you never do things that might transmit HIV infection, then you and your health care provider can decide whether you need to get tested again.
You are more likely to test positive for (be infected with) HIV if you
- Have ever shared injection drug needles and syringes or “works.”
- Have ever had sex without a condom with someone who had HIV.
- Have ever had a sexually transmitted disease, like chlamydia or gonorrhea.
- Received a blood transfusion or a blood clotting factor between 1978 and 1985.
- Have ever had sex with someone who has done any of those things
What can I do if the test shows I have HIV?
Although HIV is a very serious infection, many people with HIV and AIDS are living longer, healthier lives today, thanks to new and effective treatments. It is very important to make sure you have a doctor who knows how to treat HIV. If you don’t know which doctor to use, talk with a health care professional or trained HIV counselor. If you are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant, this is especially important.There also are other things you can do for yourself to stay healthy. Here are a few
- Follow your doctor’s instructions. Keep your appointments. Your doctor may prescribe medicine for you. Take the medicine just the way he or she tells you to because taking only some of your medicine gives your HIV infection more chance to grow.
- Get immunizations (shots) to prevent infections such as pneumonia and flu. Your doctor will tell you when to get these shots.
- If you smoke or if you use drugs not prescribed by your doctor, quit.
- Eat healthy foods. This will help keep you strong, keep your energy and weight up, and help your body protect itself.
- Exercise regularly to stay strong and fit.
- Get enough sleep and rest.
How can I find out more about HIV and AIDS?
You can call CDC-INFO at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636); TTY access 1-888-232-6348. CDC-INFO is staffed with people trained to answer your questions about HIV and AIDS in a prompt and confidential manner in English or Spanish, 24 hours per day. Staff at CDC-INFO can offer you a wide variety of written materials and put you in touch with organizations in your area that deal with HIV and AIDS.On the Internet, you can get information on HIV and AIDS from www.AIDS.gov or www.cdc.gov/hiv.
The BBC’s allegations over Ethiopian aid: what is the truth?
by Nicholas Winer
Aid workers must be pragmatic – if food was getting to people, then the money was doing its job.
The food shortage in Ethiopia is still on-going. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesI have followed, with a certain incredulity, the recent story put out by the BBC that 95 per cent of the aid to the Tigrayean rebels was diverted. I mean, 95 per cent is a vast amount of money, and why, I ask myself, would any group of self respecting conmen steal it all? Surely they would need to show that enough good was being done, so that the cash cow would come back again and again and again. The cross-border aid process ran from 1984 to the fall of Mengistu’s regime in Addis. This was no one-off smash and grab.
Initially, the TPLF simply sent people from Tigray to Sudan to be fed and housed by the UN and the international NGO community. It seemed a cheap and efficient way to manage a famine in Tigray. But the horrific sight of 300,000 people arriving en masse was overwhelming. The Sudanese camps suddenly turned into a second Korem, until enough aid could be delivered to reduce the death toll. The TPLF consistently deny that this was what they had done. I, and others, couldn’t conceive how such a vast sea of people could have moved through such tightly controlled rebel territory without the active guidance of the TPLF.
What happened next is the crux of the BBC’s story and of Paul Vallely’s refutation in the Independent. There had been a good harvest in western Tigray, but the poor had no money to buy it. The TPLF, through their civilian wing REST, determined sensibly that buying from the producers to feed the consumers was better for all than dumping food aid into the market. Why, they argued, suppress the price of food for the few who had managed to grow enough to sell? This impeccable free trade logic from hardline Marxists won immediate sympathy. And so began the process of meeting merchants, handing out cash, and checking on both food distribution and nutritional levels.
Khartoum, before Sharia law and the “Courts of prompt and Instant Justice”, was a vibrant, dusty and chaotic city. TPLF soldiers swaggered around with gold cigarette lighters, and Johnnie Walker Black Label was their favourite tipple. REST had a large house in an expensive suburb, where rents were too high for us Oxfam types. It was a friendly house, with an endless flow of people coming and going. As foreigners, we never knew who was who, but no one was turned away, and the atmosphere was beguilingly appropriate for beginning a relationship of trust.
The recent angry response to the BBC by aging colleagues that every effort was made to build checks and balances into the purchase and distribution process speaks volumes about their real anxiety that many things could’ve gone wrong. They wanted to be sure that if food or money did go astray, it wouldn’t be because they’d been negligent. On that basis — and the detailed explanations of Paul Vallely — the more extreme claims made by the BBC must be discounted. But for the very same reason, so too must any outright denial that anything did go astray.
The truth, I think, lies somewhere between the two positions. The proud young TPLF fighters in Khartoum and the earnest workers of REST intermingled, working for the same cause, under the same authority. There was much we were never privy to as aid workers (and the same applied to journalists), and so it would be foolish to state anything too categorically. It was in the interests of both REST and the TPLF to ensure a continued supply of resources to them and their people. This they did by providing a satisfactory level of access. That was smart and logical thinking.
Had they not been of a Marxist orientation they would have had an easier time of it from the USA, and perhaps would not have needed to be so accommodating: they could have done with their own Charlie Wilson. As it was, the best they could have hoped for was to be considered the good ‘commies’, as opposed to the bad ones of Mengistu’s regime. The verdict too has to be out on what the CIA in Sudan did and didn’t know. At the time it seemed not enough, given their boringly incessant attempts to question aid workers coming out of Tigray, and yet rather a lot, given their involvement in the highly complex evacuation of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel.
The people they seemed most interested in were often the health workers who travelled widely, witnessed bombing raids by the Ethiopians, and saw where TPLF fighters were based. This was precisely what the spooks wanted to know about. The health workers, on the other hand, weren’t too pleased with these extra attentions, but they were the ones who knew whether the process was working or not. If the people weren’t hungry, then that was what counted. That was, after all, what the grain buying programme was for. That was what determined whether the money was well spent. Counting bags of grain was never going to be a fool-proof process, nor could it have been a guarantee of success. The process did work. The flood of refugees into the border camps slowed to a trickle, and health levels improved in Tigray. That’s what people gave Sir Bob their money for and, by and large, it did what was expected of it.
It was always evident that greater access, and thus greater accountability, was mroe possible with the structures established by the Tigrayeans than with those of the Eritreans. That this was so is still reflected in the different political realities of the two countries. So, I ask myself if the story even has the right focus. What happened to aid to the Eritrean rebels, where accountability was much harder to establish? What of the tales of an underground TPLF political prison in Gondar, to which no aid worker was ever granted access? No surprise there. This wasn’t just famine, but a nasty and brutal war zone. To suggest that the TPLF never pulled a fast one and took their share would be a very foolish and naive assertion.
Today the TPLF — sorry, government of Ethiopia — own vast tracks of sorghum-growing estates on the Sudan border, right next to Western Tigray where this all began. In a land where private property is illegal, these (ad)venture capitalists are a real success story. As ever, someone else is paying the price.
Nicholas Winer is the former director of Oxfam in Sudan and Ethiopia. He is also the author of “The Tethered Goat” a political thriller set in Mengistu’s Ethiopia.
