EPRDF going bankrupt due to few readerships: Document

ESAT News    June 3, 2013
  
The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has said that it was going bankrupt due to lack of readership of its Party Organ newspapers and magazines.

 Although the Front attempted to change the contents of its Abiyotawi Democracy newspaper and Addis Raeye magazine, both the leadership and members are not willing to read. Abiyotawi Democracy is mainly produced for farmers and those with primary education while Addis Raeye is prepared for members with advanced education.

This was revealed in a document that ANDM, member party of the EPRDF, prepared for its senior and mid level leadership titled “the evaluations of the 10^th Organizational Congress: Decisions and Future Directions”. The 43 page document explains the problems that both ANDM and EPRDF have faced.

The document states that many members join the ruling party with the aim of finding jobs and other benefits but as they fail to succeed in that, they leave the party. Although many members have been recruited in the rural areas, they are only good at helping themselves than leading, supporting and empowering others. In cities, the document states, very few people working in small and micro business, the civil service and educational institutions have been recruited and those few have many limitations in their allegiances.

It stated that although Abiyotawi Democracy offers analytical articles few members pay attention to it, feel unhappy to purchase copies and deliberate on them. Similarly, the report said little attention has been given to the biannual magazine, Addis Raeye. The main problem, the report said, is within “the leadership”. Problems in distribution, participation and quality were mentioned as the shortcomings of the magazine.

The document said that the leadership and members of the Front seriously lack theoretical, reading culture, political and ideological knowledge.

According to the report, poor leadership is the basic cause of poverty, bad governance and social problems in the Amhara region particularly