Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed yesterday held discussion with over 3,000 community members, religious leaders, and elders from Harari, Gambella, Beninshangul Gumuz, Afar and Somali regional states.
The Premier on the occasion highlighted that “our age old structural problems cannot be changed overnight. It requires time to build institutional capacity that can carry the reforms by the government.”
And it also requires the will and commitment of the people to engage actively and proactively in the democratization process, he added.
“Manifesting the Ethiopia we want requires everyone’s effort,” he stated.
The Premier stressed the need to move past age-old grievance narratives, develop a forward looking perspective, and manifest the MEDEMER philosophy to sustain the judicial, political, economic and institutional reforms undertaken over the past few months.
The Prime Minister also responded to various questions raised by participants of the discussion.
In his response, the Premier stressed the need to have ownership of problems instead of externalizing to other regions and cultivating a collaborative solution seeking culture.
He further stressed the importance of understanding that rule of law cannot be brought by the barrel of a gun but through people who understand the value of peace and believe in themselves as the custodians of peace and the rule of law.
He highlighted the need to fostering the habit of listening to people’s concerns in each region as it’s the task of leaders to do so.
He further said reforms that are being undertaken to revitalize the economy will start addressing unemployment concerns through the government’s priority in increasing irrigation projects.
In addition to concerns that not all political parties are equal, the Premier indicated that the process of integrating the affiliate parties into the coalition is in the pipeline.
He concluded the discussion platform by calling upon all to play the key role of cultivating positive and progressive mindsets in their respective regions, according to Office of the Prime Minister.