Leaders of opposition political parties urged Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) to turn his words in to action.
The statement came after Abiy delivered his inaugural speech before the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) on Monday April 2, 2018, which many said generated hope among Ethiopians.
The speech, which touched numerous issues, focused on unity and called upon all Ethiopians to stand together to defeat challenges the country faces currently.
In this regard, president of the All Ethiopian Union Party (AEUP), Bezabih Demissie (PhD), praised the newly appointed PM for his interesting and motivational speech and emphasized on the implementation of the promises in the speech into reality.
“Majority of the points raised by the PM in his speech are the major issues AEUP had fought for in the past 27 years, while we persisted on the issues relating to unity of the country, we were mocked and were regarded as being fond of previous regimes. However, now the PM clearly stated the relevance of unity in his speech as we were insisting in the past and this is hopeful.” The president further stated.
“If the PM really wants to bring change, it requires the implementation and the promise should be changed into action, if at least half of the issues addressed in the speech would be changed into reality, it would be very good for the country, but if he fails to fulfill, it would be problematic for the country,” Bexabih said.
Similarly, president of Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), Tigistu Awelu, welcomed the speech with great expectation.
“Generally speaking, the speech is so motivational and different from the speech delivered so far by the leaders of the government,” the president said.
“The speech is so powerful that it can motivate the feeling of the public at large and paves the way for better hopes and changes. The speech indicates that the PM is ready to work hard to change the existing narrative,” the president emphasized.
Tigistu also said that the PM should work as a lubricant to smoothen the problems within his own party so as to get support from within and to change his words into actions.
Chairman of Blue Party (Blue), Yeshiwas Assefa on his part also praised the speech and identified some issues that are not included in the speech.
“Though many of the issues addressed in the speech bring hope to the country, the issue of establishing and strengthening strong and vibrant institutions is missed, the death of many citizens was not to change individuals rather it was for regime change, and regime change is possible when there are strong institutions. These points should have been included in the speech,” Yeshiwas.
Moreover, what the people need currently is a swift, courageous and tangible action that can address the multifaceted problems in the country, Yeshiwas concluded.
Similarly, chairman of the Ethiopian Socialist Democratic Party (ESDP), Beyene Petros (Prof.) also outlined issues that are not incorporated in the PM’s speech. “The speech is flawless but it should have incorporated issues such as revoking the state of emergency, bringing to the court of justice those perpetrators who killed civilians in the past couple of years and rehabilitating the internally displaced persons from Oromia and Ethio-Somali regional states due to the border conflict.”
According to Beyene, the speech is just a statement. “I am not making a judgment that the PM’s capability and willingness; however, his speech should be escorted with policies. The PM is assigned to implement the policies of the ruling party, which is revolutionary democracy. I think that needs to be reconsidered,” Beyene said.
