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Ethiopia’s largest export is becoming people

Posted on , Updated on by EthiopianReview.com

In a recently published book, World Bank economist Dr Aklog Birara explains that Ethiopia’s largest export has become educated citizens. Ethiopia’s highly educated people are leaving the country in staggering numbers, depriving the country the social capital that is required for development.

The estimated annual income of Ethiopians in the Diaspora has reached $20 billion and they remit over a billion dollars in hard currency. The ruling junta in Ethiopia is happy with that since the hard currency is its life blood. Dr Aklog writes:

Officials of the ruling-party find Ethiopia’s largest export defensible. Remittances exceed foreign aid and FDI combined. The government is happy as long as immigrants send money and stay out of the political process. Ironically, the donor community continues to identify institutional and technical capacity constraints as bottlenecks in advancing the national economy. The cadres of people who have left the country are among the most experienced and integrative. The ruling-party has been deliberate in uprooting the country’s integrative and nationally-oriented elites on which the donor community is silent. Instead, it has instituted an educational system that puts a premium on quantity, mediocrity and loyalty.

Dr Aklog’s 512-page book titled Ethiopia’s Endemic Poverty that Globalization Will not Tackle, but Ethiopians can is rich with hard facts and analysis about the current economic, social and political conditions facing Ethiopia. It also offers a wealth of ideas and solutions on how to develop Ethiopia. To obtain a copy of the book, write to [email protected].

10 thoughts on “Ethiopia’s largest export is becoming people”

  1. if u kill the head the body will follow…What woyane cancer is doing to Ethiopia by draining here educated leaders. the more educated Ethiopian are living the country in drove that is the head and mind of Ethiopia,the remaining Ethiopian will be body with out head,no one to lead them out of this woyane created problem.in other word woyane is benefiting from this mind Drain in creating headless woyane followers.and the true ethiopian with out leaders and a sad sad truth to swallow.

  3. Before the Whites were buying slaves but now we just pay our own transport to enslave ourselves. Whether one is a Doctor or Professor, one who is not serving his people is a slave regardless of the payment he/she is getting for her service.

  7. Our people leave the country, 5,000 Philipinos laborers are on their way to Ethiopia. What a miserable Government that could not prtoect its own people from foreigners taking their job.

  8. The brain drain problem is not Woyane created only. It’s seen in other African countries as well where wage is much lower than in the west.
    However, the TPLF regime should/could have done much to reverse the trend – just like Ghana did. I know many Ghanaians who finished higher education in the US and returned back home due to opportunities, political/economic stability and also the rule of law which is exemplary to the rest of Africa.

  9. #8 Selamu
    in Ethiopia we don’t have a government for Ethiopian ,by Ethiopian.and to Ethiopians.
    TPLF it dos not want any one other than there Owen tribe so why do they care and revers the trend?or u just want to tel us u are Woyane just come out and say it.

  10. All the higher education instituions in Ethiopia are so corrupt they are enrolling students who donot meet the set criteria and they also graduate students who have not even attended school basically they sell degrees and diplomas for a high price. Some professors claim to teach two or three higher institutions ,so both the students and the professor donot see each other until the end of the semester . By the end of the semester all the students get a passing grade for not reporting the professor who didnot show up to class.

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