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A. The demand for Statehood in Ethiopia
The government of Ethiopia under the
Premiership of Abiy Ahmed has recorded outstanding achievements and faced
multiple political challenges. One of the most memorable political events that
occurred under Abiy Ahmed’s premiership is the conceding of statehood to the
people of Sidama Zone in 2019, in response to a decades-long sustained
struggle.
The granting of statehood to Sidama
Zone has opened a Pandora’s box of political conundrums and a potential for
instability in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR).
As Hawassa city, which has been the administrative capital of the SNNPR,
becomes the administrative capital of Sidama State, other Zones are in the
process of determining a new administrative capital. This process has a disproportionate
impact on the South Omo Zone, which is located in the southern periphery of the
SNNPR.
Due to a combination of historical,
socio-political, economic, and cultural reasons, the people of South Omo have
continually demanded statehood for some time now. The government of Ethiopia,
in a typical fashion, has delayed tackling the question through
condescending political discussions.
If the federal government does not address the demand for statehood from one of
the most peaceful zones in the whole country, the consequences may be far
greater than one might imagine. There will be a sense of marginalization, lack
of belongingness and possibly sustained protests and violence all of which are
inimical to economic development and prosperity.
B. Five Reasons in Support of South
Omo’s Statehood
Today it appears that reasoned
political discourse has no place in the current political environment of
Ethiopia. Legitimate pleas for a better and more efficient governance structure
are conveniently branded as ethno-nationalism. For three decades, under the
government of Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPRDF), run by
the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), demanding statehood was labelled
as an attempt to disintegrate the country. Now, this political strategy of
misbranding, aimed at suppressing legitimate popular demand is still prevalent
among political elites who over-zealously want to create a large government
wherever it is possible. They ignore historical, socio-economic, cultural and
local political contexts to achieve their ambition of big, corrupt and
inefficient government structures. The time has come to reject such
anachronistic political strategy and to examine alternative political ideas
with reasonable and civil discourse.
In that spirit, this short memorandum
invites the federal government to closely examine South Omo Zone’s demand for
statehood rather than arrogantly dismissing it. The zone’s plea for statehood
is a measured and appropriate response to an unjust political system and
decades of marginalization. It is aimed at creating a more stable and
sustainable self-administration. The memorandum provides five key reasons why
South Omo Zone’s demand for statehood warrants an affirmative response from the
federal government.
1. Historically,
South Omo has been a State
South Omo was directly accountable to
the central government from 1891 to 1937 E.C. From 1938 to 1979 E.C, it was
under the administration of Gamo Gofa Region (Kifle Hager). After the
establishment of the Southern Region in 1980 E.C, it was renamed Region 10
(Kilil 10), when it resumed its status as a regional state. Subsequent to the
1984 regional council election, the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples
Region (SNNPR) was formed with the merger of Regions 7-11(Kilil 7-11) including
South Omo (Kilil 10).
The historical evidence suggests that
South Omo witnessed stronger economic development and prosperity when it
enjoyed the status of state. On the contrary, it witnessed significant economic
disadvantages and marginalization under the SNNPR. The people of South Omo
should not be denied their historical right to self-administration recognized
by the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. According
to Article 47(3), any Ethiopian Nation, Nationality or People has the right to
form its own state. This right of the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of
South Omo that has existed throughout history and is recognized by the
constitution should be restored to them.
2.
Unproductive Cycles of State
Restructuring
When South Omo Zone became a part of
Gamo Gofa Region, its people made significant contributions to the development
of the city of Arbaminch and its surrounding areas. Subsequent to the
restructuring, which made South Omo part of SNNPR, South Omo integrated with
SSNPR, yet its investment of resources into the development of Arbaminch have
not been recognized.
Over the past several decades, the
people of South Omo have similarly contributed massively to the development and
prosperity of Hawassa. Hawassa, as the administrative capital of SNNPR, has for
decades been a symbol of hope and unity for the people of South Omo. Subsequent
to the granting of statehood to Sidama Zone, South Omo is once again on the
verge of losing its hope and access to invaluable infrastructure in which it
has invested for decades.
During these cycles of state
restructuring, Jinka, the administrative capital of South Omo, has suffered
from severe economic disadvantages as resources were directed to building the
capacity of the regional capitals. Universities, technical training
institutions, regional government offices, private investments, were all
concentrated in those cities.
South Omo should no longer be
required to endure this cycle of unproductive state restructuring that unfairly
consumes its resources while undermining the people’s historical and
constitutional right to self governance and economic prosperity.
3.
Lack of Strong Cultural Ties with the
Rest of Nations and Nationalities in the Region
The various ethnicities in South Omo
Zone do not share linguistic and cultural similarities with Gamo Gofa, Konso
and other ethnicities in the Sothern region. They also do not share common
cultural heritage and psychological makeup with these neighboring nations and
nationalities. In
terms of economic development, South Omo is one of the Zones that still lags
behind. The people of South Omo legitimately believe that it is unfair to
organize people with significant differences in language, culture,
psychological makeup, and economic development under the same state structure.
The current state structure will perpetuate the existing gap in the
distribution of infrastructure and overall economic development and perpetuate
South Omo’s slow economic development.
4.
Robust Capacity to Self-Administer
South Omo Zone is endowed with
natural resources including minerals, agricultural and grazing lands, water
resources, forests, national parks, fisheries, and a young labor force. The
Zone is also one of the top tourist destinations in the country. The efficient
and sustainable utilization of these
resources for local and national development and prosperity requires a strong
state of self-governing nations, nationalities, and peoples. The granting of
statehood to South Omo would ensure that a relatively smaller regional
government mobilizes these resources without mismanagement and
maladministration.
South Omo zone is well situated to be a state in terms of population size
(estimated to be over 1 Million People), natural resources, a strong sense of
patriotism and Ethiopianism, history of longstanding peaceful co-existence of
various ethnicities and commitment to local and national development.
5. Unfair Distribution of
infrastructure and Public Services
In South Omo Zone, youth unemployment
is increasing at an alarming rate due to the lack of specialized training
institutions for youth who drop out of school or who are unable to attend
universities and thus seek vocational training. This has created a gap in
employability where new job posts are filled by youths coming from other
regions while those born and raised in South Omo are considered unqualified and
remain unemployed. In addition to the above challenges, the zone has generally
poor infrastructure and public services including electricity, road, health
services, financial services, roads and many other essential services. The
granting of statehood to South Omo would create an opportunity to invest in
various infrastructure and youth employment programs.
C. A Call for More Transparent and
All-inclusive Dialogue
South Omo peoples’ demand for statehood should not be easily dismissed. The
question is raised by the younger generation. It will define the future of
politics in the Southern region. It is a justifiable demand, not only from the
perspective of the right to self-administration but also from the standpoint of
efficient administration of natural resources, good governance and democracy.
It is proven in other countries that smaller governments manage their resources better fight
against corruption more effectively and deliver public services, including
responding to epidemics, more quickly and effectively.
South Omo Zone can be considered one
of the most peaceful zones in Ethiopia where different ethnic groups co-exist.
It has also had a long- standing friendly relationship with neighboring zones.
The Zone will continue to represent modern Ethiopia for centuries to come. It
will continue to demonstrate the strength that lies in diversity in its
quintessential form. However, all of these will happen only if its nations,
nationalities, and peoples are given back their historical and constitutional
right to self-governance and prosperity. South Omo must regain its statehood
for the good of its people and the people of Ethiopia and it should regain it
now.
If the government continues to treat
the people with condescension and engage in opaque behind-closed-door dialogues
with selected individuals, it will be a consequential mistake that the
government would regret in the future. True democracy, sustainable development,
and prosperity cannot be achieved by arbitrary decision-making in government
structure and over-centralized government.
This article was first published on
Ethiopia Observer.
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