Dr Kefale Gebregiorgis and Neamin Zeleke debated on the Amharic Crossfire whether Ethiopia’s ruling Ethiopian People’s revolutionary Democratic Party should engage in private enterprise. The party and the State run many major businesses including some that eye greater coffee export share, according to news reports carried by international news agencies in recent weeks.
Dr Kefale Gebregiorgis argues that the investments in those businesses, which according to him came from the days of the armed struggle and turned themselves in to private are benefitting Ethiopia and receive no special favors from government officials and leaders of the ruling party.
Neamin says many of these companies are very large and charges that they have bankrupted the state-owned banks. He adds that some of them, "such as one run by the wife of the prime minister are hugely favored by EPRDF leaders of the government officials."
Click on the links on the side to listen to the three parts debate.
