(Zerihun Getachew)
The May 28 victory has brought success in development and democracy in Ethiopia, said a statement by Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
As Ethiopia marks Derg Downfall Day, it is worth recognizing some of the impressive achievements made during the past 23 years, says the statement.
It is also indicated that Ethiopia ranks among the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world, averaging over 10% GDP growth over the last five years.
Ethiopia has already attained the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for child mortality and is on track for achieving them in gender parity in education, HIV/AIDS, and malaria.
Much of this economic success is directly due to the firm hand of the late leader Meles Zenawi who is considered the main architect of the drive to modernize this country of 90 million people.
His determination is best reflected in the ambitious Renaissance hydro-electric dam project that ultimately will make Ethiopia a regional power exporter by the turn of the decade.
His successor, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is continuing along the same lines. The government’s current five-year development plan (2010/11-2014/15), the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), is geared towards fostering broad-based development in a sustainable manner to achieve all the MDGs.
The GTP also envisions a major leap in terms of not only economic structure and income levels, but also the level of social indicators.
The current annual GDP growth rate of 11% is being benchmarked as a base figure, but plans are to double the size of the economy by 2015, with GDP per capita expected to reach $698 by 2015.
The Derg, (basically a military junta), came to power after ousting, Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974.
On May 28, 1991, the Derg, led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, was finally toppled by a coalition of forces under the umbrella of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
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Source: ERTA, May 27, 2014, titled “May 28 victory brings development and democracy to Ethiopia”.
