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The impediments to both economic progress and access
to information in Ethiopia are numerous, some quite
obvious, others more subtle. An overbearing state
that has its hands too deep in a variety of sectors
hinders free market development, while the limited
choice when it comes to reliable knowledge makes
assurance on facts illusive.
The few sources for news and facts about the country
have a number of causes, economic and political, but
in turn prevent a number of opportunities to be
realised for lack of understanding of potential in a
variety of sectors. These difficulties are apparent.
Under the surface of many facets of life here is an
over-reliance on individuals and status to get
things done or to rely on for information of
importance. This mentality manifests itself in a
number of ways.
When conducting business and working in or with
domestic companies, achieving goals often requires
sifting through bureaucracy. It can be a mysterious
experience entering an office as no one seems to be
the right person to make a decision or give the
pertinent information.
It is almost as if employees are afraid to construct
opinions or judgements on matters for fear that the
individual who has the power to be authoritative,
apparently inaccessible when needed, will come down
with wrath when the boss learns a decision was made
without her knowledge.
Business structure is either non-existent or simply
created to function only at the behest of the boss.
While this may grant a feeling of importance to
those at the top, it hinders the efficiency of
business and in some cases, when the person in
charge is not available, completely disables the
institution.
It is not limited to the private sector as the
variety of forms that must be tediously filled to
get the necessary permit or license at government
agencies often gets passed around from office to
office collecting a variety of signatures. The civil
servants seem comfortable to simply forward the
document to the next person with the knowledge that
their lack of action is safer than doing anything
that would help the person seeking services to
achieve their goal.
This red tape makes dealing with public institutions
nightmarish and can often hinder the efficiency of
those with business ideas.
Internally, employees often cannot accomplish their
jobs due to lack of resources or the absence of
approval for mundane tasks from above. Both the
client and the staff suffer.
Information dissemination is also hindered by this
mentality. Everyday, the media, especially
state-run, is saturated with reports on meetings in
various high-class hotels and what wealthy persons
or top brass bureaucrats have said. The substance to
both the reporting and the content of the workshops
or press conferences is dry and uninformative about
what is actually happening that affects people's
lives.
Politicians will always be masters of talking a lot
without saying anything and businesses thrive on
free publicity, but the reasons for the media to
focus on high-profile people and places are
baffling. Of course these big names grab attention
and events are easy enough to cover as they are
structured and organised just for this purpose. But
this does not mean the press is doing its job.
Unfortunately, the choices are slim when consuming
this current event information as the media plays it
safe and sticks to what the important people say
without regard to the substance of their statements
or how it will impact the population. Reporting that
gets to the core of the story and unveils the issues
dear to the population is glaringly absent.
In-depth media coverage can often reveal events that
those powerful people whose glossy words can pass
over the real issues would rather not hear. However,
this is the type of information diffusion that
reveals problems and can create pressure on
government to address them or some enterprising
entrepreneur to create a market-based solution.
Moreover, informed citizens will make better choices
in both the private and public realms.
Attacks on actions or statements fall under the same
category. It is not what the person has said or done
that is most important, but rather who they are or
their background. Explanations for why the ideas
presented should be ignored are often centred on the
perceived shortcomings of that particular individual
rather than a rational engagement with what has been
said. The incorrectness of a statement is assumed on
the basis of its origin before the specific points
are examined.
By focusing on the character, opinions are discarded
that should not be and attacks appear transparent
and defensive. It hinders constructive discourse.
The post-modern school of thought in academia seeks
to deconstruct arguments by tracing the origin of
ideas and biases of the author; in essence, it
places a lot of weight on who is saying what.
However, its starting point is always the argument
itself rather than the person. Too often in this
country the idea is forgotten in favour of the
individual.
While it is always important to know the source of
information or to have an individual at the top of
an organisation, the underlying structures or core
of the statements must not be lost in this
dissection. When this mentality is changed the
result will be informed citizens and more productive
dialogue that can unveil society's core issues for
active engagement. |
