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ABSTRACT
This paper challenges the commonplace characterisation of Ethiopia as a developmental state, by stressing that the Ethiopian model, which heavily relies on political control of the rent process at the expense of the bureaucratic knowledge/expertise, is not conducive for industrial policy implementation. We show that this approach worked fine at early stages of growth, however with the increasing complexity, knowledge- and capital-intensive nature of industrial policy-making and implementation, the crucial role to be played by a capable bureaucracy becomes more evident. This argument is based on the avoidable failures of sugar industrialisation visions, mainly due to the inimical view of the existing sugar bureaucracy in the old sugar factories. Drawing on long-term case study research on state-led sugar industrialisation, this article illustrates that if the Ethiopian state is to become truly ‘developmental’ the need of building a capable bureaucracy as an integral part of the model should be recognised and worked towards.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Ian Taylor and Andreas Mehler for critical comments on earlier versions of this paper as well as the anonymous reviewers for constructive recommendations. Various people at ESC, working in KSDP, and veteran staffs of Metehara and Finchaa factories provided invaluable insights into the workings of Ethiopia's sugar industry.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Fana Gebresenbet Assistant Professor at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS), Addis Ababa University. E-mail: [email protected]
Benedikt Kamski: Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institute (ABI), University of Freiburg. E-mail: [email protected]
Correction Statement
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Notes
1 The first version of this article was submitted for review in October 2017, before the major changes in Ethiopia commenced in 2018. This is a revised version submitted in March 2019 according to comments given on the version submitted in June 2018.
2 Her argument is based on an interview with the late PM Meles Zenawi who argued that ‘[i]n agricultural areas we do not make coalitions with elites: the only coalition we want to make is with the people’ (622).
3 Alex de Waal responded to such critic from Lefort (Citation2013) by stating that he ‘would be surprised if Meles had not addressed this’ (De Waal Citation2013b, 475). Merkeb Negash argues that this gave Meles’ ‘critics a rare chance of attacking him on a theoretical battlefield they usually do not dare pick’ (see https://hornaffairs.com/2017/07/03/unraveling-meles-zenawi-concept-of-developmental-state/).
4 Ex-ESC staff member, Finchaa Sugar Estate, Agricultural Engineer, interview, 22 April 2018.
5 ESC staff member, Irrigation & Housing Infrastructure Directorate, interview, 3 July 2014.
6 ESC staff member, Irrigation & Housing Infrastructure Directorate, interview, 16 February 2016.
7 The project will stretch along the lower banks of the Omo River in South Omo, Keffa, and Benj Maji Zone of the Southern Region.
8 The number of people employed in KSDP nearly tripled between 2016 and mid-2017, given the commissioning of Kuarz II factory (see Kamski Citation2016a).
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 ESC staff member, Irrigation & Housing Infrastructure Directorate, interview, 16 February 2016.
12 Ex-ESC staff member, Senior Political Leadership, interview, 5 April 2018.
13 Ex-ESC staff member, Metehara Estate, interview, 14 April 2018.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Gim gema, a Leninist-inspired self-criticism practice is common place in Ethiopia's public administration. The process of evaluation can take various forms, as described by Labzaé (Citation2015), but generally includes a detailed activity report on one's own tasks followed by top-down evaluations and official self-criticism meetings.
17 Independent Analyst, interview, 6 April 2017; see also FDRE Citation2010b.
18 In April 2018, Major General Kinfe resigned and a civilian, Bekele Bulado, was assigned as Director-General of MetEC and the rigorous prosecution on corruption allegations against high-level MetEC officials following the incoming of Abiy Ahmed.
19 Independent Analyst, interview, 6 April 2017; see also Kamski Citation2016b.
20 Ex-ESC staff member, Senior Expert, interview, 19 April 2018.
21 Ex-ESC staff member, Finchaa Sugar Estate, Agricultural Engineer, interview, 22 April 2018; Ex-ESC staff member, Metehara Estate, interview, 14 April 2018.
22 Ex-ESC staff members: Agricultural Engineers, Metehara Estate (interview, 14 April 2018); Finchaa Estate (interview, 22 April 2018) and Senior Expert, Head Quarters, 19 April 2018.
23 ESC staff member, Kuraz Sugar Development Project, interview, March 2017 (multiple conversations).
24 Ex-ESC staff member, Senior Expert, interview, 19 April 2018.
25 Ex-ESC staff members, Agricultural Engineers, Metehara Estate (interview, 14 April 2018) and Finchaa Estate (interview, 22 April 2018).
26 Ex-ESC staff members: Agricultural Engineers, Metehara Estate (interview, 14 April 2018); Finchaa Estate (interview, 22 April 2018) and Senior Expert, Head Quarters, 19 April 2018.
27 A case in point for this is the new CEO of the Industrial Parks Development Corporation, a key SoE to the EDS project, 24-year old Ms. Lelise Neme. Similarly, the appointment of Fitsum Assefa, straight from an academic setting, to lead the Plan and Development Commission, which coordinates planning and implementation of key economic policies is another case.