Should industry leaders and interest groups lobby governments, it is hardly a surprise. In fact, many pressure groups are created for the sole purpose of courting policymakers. Thus, for anyone interested in lobbying Ethiopian authorities, both federal and regional, travelling today to Awassa, seat of the Southern Regional State 276Km south of Addis Abeba, is wise.

Almost anyone of the “who-is-who” in officialdom descends on Awassa today, December 9, in order to commemorate the 13th Anniversary of the ratification of the current Constitution that has granted unprecedented rights to groups such as nations and nationalities. Nevertheless, it was only a year ago that the day the Constitution was ratified in Addis Abeba by a constitutional assembly was marked as “Day of Nations and Nationalities”.

Being home to close to 80pc of these nations and nationalities, little wonder then that the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State was selected to host the second year anniversary, where the high priests of Revolutionary Democracy will be in attendance. According to gossip, the Regional Administration is spending over 20 million Br from its budget for the festivity. Hmmmm, an impressive amount, gossip in Awassa baffled.

What is not advisable, however, is to dare to drive down to Awassa before making reservations to hotel rooms. Never mind that no one, no matter how self-important one might feel, is immune from being arbitrarily kickedout or having a reservation cancelled, so long as the guest is not formally invited by the Regional State.

Unable to find accommodations for all the guests, local authorities have resorted to keeping over 600 rooms all under their whims. Gossip disclosed, a few weeks ago local authorities have gone around hotels and surveyed the number of rooms each hotel in town has. Latter on, letters issued in the first week of December 2007, signed by the Deputy Speaker of the Regional Council, firmly ordered the managements of hotels to make the rooms prepared and available to the State’s guests for three days - between Friday and Sunday.

Alas! The owners of the hotels were too terrified not to submit to such an order, claims gossip. Some of them even kicked their regular guests out, informing them to move out of town or go elsewhere if they preferred. Gossip claims only one foreigner involved in some kind of filming project in the region was given the exceptional privilege of staying in Pina, one of the good hotels there, while every other guest who has had a prior reservation or long-term stay was told to move out.

In this small lodging called Lakeside Motel, where there are only 10 rooms, three German nationals and another of African nationality - people who are hired by MOHA Soft Drinks Industries to work on Pepsi’s Awassa plant - were told in no uncertain terms by the management to move out on Friday midday, perhaps to camp themselves somewhere in Langano, gossip said.

Little should these people be surprised about their ordeals. In a way, the incident exposes the ideological debate Revolutionary Democrats have been waging against their critics over the past decade. The Constitution grants groups identifying themselves as nations and nationalities an overriding right over individuals. When it comes to groups’ entitlement, individuals have no place as it was perfectly demonstrated in Awassa, despite the fact that the individuals may enter into a contractually enforceable deal.

Maybe the rank and file of the Revolutionary Democrats down in Awassa are not fully conversant to the idea that when the state claims rights from individuals for common good, it ought to be done in due process and, the individuals should be compensated. The guests in Awassa were told simply to move out, no ifs, ands or buts.