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Whatever skeletons of economic concepts that I may
have come across in my school days are now as
foreign to me as the nations I have not visited.
Yet, regardless of whether I am oblivious to the
theory, the economy and its menopause-like mood
swings affect me daily and severely, especially
these days in Addis Abeba.
Being a resident of the metropolis, one cannot help
but notice the increase in the gap between rich and
poor. I cannot give you the technical reasons as to
why this is happening and when it is likely to
decrease or increase for that matter. But being a
part of society, you cannot avoid seeing the
extremely different manner in which the two halves
are living.
Take a drive through practically any existing
residential neighbourhood and you will encounter the
expansive disparity, without a strong middle class
to fill the holes. There are shantytowns adjacent to
mansions and five star hotels. People with jacuzzis
are living next to children with no running water
who go to the bathroom on side streets or at the
closest neighbourhood pothole.
We have been told time and again, in report after
report, that there is a significant improvement in
the living conditions in the country and the overall
growth of the economy. I am in no position to
analyse the numbers and tell you if the figures we
have been given are consistent with the reality, but
what I have witnessed first hand is that none of
this growth has trickled down to any tangible
measure.
It would be foolish of anyone, including one such as
myself that pleads ignorance to a measure, to not
admit that there is palpable growth, although it has
been limited to a certain few in relation to the
population of both the capital and the country as a
whole. Wealth, as far as this writer's eye can see,
has been garnered by only a very, very select few,
and they have managed to maintain it well. There are
plenty of rich people floating around, earning good
money and being able to provide a comfortable life
for themselves and their wards.
If things were different, this paragraph could have
expressed some other generalisation about the
growing middle class becoming the sustenance and the
crutch of our city, but sadly, there is no middle
class. Even middle-income earners can no longer
provide the amenities for their families that they
used to because of the drastically sharp increase in
the price of everything, particularly imported
goods. But the fact remains that the poor remain
devastatingly so, and residing in urban conditions
has not made their predicament any easier.
Those on the lowest socio-economic rung are not the
only ones affected; everyone is. Even people that
are very well off and able to afford just about any
whim their heart desires are having their pockets
hit with the overall increase in the cost of living
that we have all had to deal with.
The surtax, which was implemented by the government
in order to subsidise its campaign of injecting
grain into the market, has been added to things that
are fundamental to family life but that ostensibly
fall into the luxury goods category.
Take for example baby food, diapers, condensed milk,
first aide kits, pastas intended for diabetics, the
list is endless. People have to pay more money for
things that use to be more reasonable in their
pricing. And they have to also curb their taste for
the things that they had grown accustomed to with
their income.
It is becoming practically ridiculous to own a car.
Granted that it is a luxury, people that choose to
spend their money on such luxuries can no longer
afford to maintain them. Spare parts have shot
through the roof, I hope that people with those
beautiful luxury cars weaving across town are paying
attention to their driving because I would hate to
think how much money they are going to have to spend
for repairs, servicing, parts and labour; it is a
veritable cash wormhole, sucking and sucking away
earnings.
Even cooking gas prices are steadily on the rise,
and people forced to resort to kerosene for cooking
ultimately have to pay about the same price over the
course of time. With current conditions, forget
having two or three different sorts of cooking
options in the house, as was a custom of the past.
Whether it is the high-flying or the low-scraping,
every urban Ethiopian has felt their pockets hit
with the recent changes. But what worries me more is
where all this is going.
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