
Covid-19 | Mar 28,2020
Aug 10 , 2019
There is something eerie about the meeting that started late last week by members of the EPRDF Executive Committee. Not only was it the first to be held since the multiple political assassinations here in Addis Abeba and Bahir Dar, unprecedented in the way that high ranking political and military leaders got killed by the very people who were entrusted with their security. Some of the leaders of the parties in the coalition had to face each other after they had exchanged public recriminations in the aftermath.
Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), chairman of the TPLF, was not in attendance, at least on the opening day, while the majority of his comrades in the TPLF political bureau were there, as attentively as perhaps they had never followed the EPRDF’s proceedings before. Crammed into a smaller meeting room inside the Prime Minister’s Office on Lorenzo Te`azaz Road, they had to endure the presence of Demeke Mekonnen, deputy chairman of the EPRDF, who they have come to abhor lately. He leads a party, the ADP, that minced no words in response to their demand for public apologies.
However, the temper tantrum between leaders of the oldest parties in the governing coalition was not on the agenda. It appears that both sides remain patient, waiting to strike when the time seems right. That may come in the next two days when the Executive Committee resumes after the brief break over the weekend, gossip disclosed.
Two documents prepared by the EPRDF Secretariat, under the supervision of its chairman, Abiy Ahmed (PhD), were presented for discussion, gossip reveals. The first document reports on the state of affairs in the ruling party, in particular, and the country in broader terms. On both counts, the picture portrayed is grim, if not alarming, reveals gossip.
The sense of urgency and the potential for risk, extensively elaborated in the report, was echoed in a rather firm tone by Lemma Megersa, a once strong ally of Abiy, but reportedly has distanced himself lately, claims gossip. Lemma, now serving as minister of Defense, appears to be frustrated with the lack of coherence in the leadership of the EPRDF to the point that it is difficult to claim the ruling party functions beyond appearances, according to gossip. Its leadership is divided, and factionalism is rampant, weakening the Front’s ability to govern the country as it should have, claims gossip. He was vocal in sounding the alarm to the extent the country faces risks, gossip claims.
There seems to be a broader consensus among many of the Executive Committee members over the danger their Front and the country may find themselves in, according to gossip. None among them tried to argue otherwise, says gossip. Where there exists sharp divergence is over the causes of current crises and the prescription they should take for the remedy, disclosed gossip.
The TPLFites are adamant in blaming it on the betrayal of Revolutionary Democracy as a guiding ideology and the Developmental State as the state’s policy, according to gossip. Most other leaders in the coalition, particularly from the ADP and ODP, have had enough doses of Leninist mantras, although they may want to toy with the developmental state growth model, claims gossip.
The TPLFites see the way forward in the reaffirmation of the ideological status quo, exposing how intellectually barren they have become in reinventing their party and the coalition Front, gossip claims. They may have little to be pleased about with the second document either, as they debate about it in the coming days, says gossip.
The document sees salvation for the party and the country in the merger of the EPRDF as a united party, reveals gossip. For the first time in its 30-year existence, the EPRDF will have its top leadership discuss on a paper authored to persuade the indispensability of union in the face of degeneration and political ebb, gossip says.
In a way, this week’s meeting by the EPRDF is a precursor to the things that are yet to unfold, gossip foresees.
PUBLISHED ON
Aug 10,2019 [ VOL
20 , NO
1006]
Editorial | Nov 23,2019
Verbatim | Sep 14,2019
Editorial | Nov 30,2019
Fortune News | Dec 26,2020
Fineline | Jan 15,2020
Photo Gallery | 64602 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 56448 Views | Apr 26,2019
Fortune News | 51131 Views | Jul 18,2020
Fortune News | 50746 Views | Sep 01,2021
Dec 24 , 2022
Biniam Mikru heads the department of cabinet affairs under Mayor Adanech Abiebie. But...
Jul 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE
On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality District was abuzz with activ...
Nov 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
Nov 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
Feb 4 , 2023
Rene Lefort is a French journalist with a keen interest in Ethiopia, spanning over ha...
Jan 28 , 2023
It is not common to see an appointment for a senior federal government office stir de...
Jan 21 , 2023
Eyob Tekalign, state minister for Finance, took to social media platforms last week t...
Jan 14 , 2023
The longing for normalcy and a semblance of individual and collective security in Eth...
Feb 4 , 2023
Officials are toiling to radically overhaul the education system after experiencing a...
Feb 4 , 2023 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
The auto market foresees changes as a draft proclamation of excise tax on imported ve...
A ship carrying half a million quintals of urea arrived at the Djibouti ports last w...
Feb 4 , 2023 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
For thousands of Hibret Bank's shareholders who congregated at the Inter-luxury Hotel...