Outgoing Opposition MP Decries Unresolved Conflicts, Unbearable Cost of Living

Protracted conflict in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Gambella, and other parts of the country is inflicting a heavy toll on public safety and national stability, Desalegn Chane (PhD), opposition leader and outgoing MP, said today as the Prime Minister appeared before Parliament to answer questions from lawmakers.

Desalegn, a senior figure from the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA) party, warned that rising tensions with Eritrea risk dragging the country into another war, and attributed the problems of the past five years to shortcomings on the side of the ruling Prosperity Party.

The MP cited the rising cost of living, debt distress, failures in education, frequent reports of kidnapping and insecurity, and widening ethnic and religious tensions as problems emanating from what he described as the incumbent’s inability to see out its administrative duties.

“Ninety-two percent of students who sat for national exams failed. This indicates the Ministry of Education has failed. Political, media, and civic spaces have shrunk,” said Desalegn. The lawmaker also accused the Prosperity Party of intentionally hiding the scale of Ethiopia’s debts from the public.

In response, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) said the party he chairs is working to right decades-old wrongs.

“We [Prosperity Party] did not create much of the problems facing the country. We inherited them [from previous regimes]. But we’ve established the National Dialogue to right the problems we’ve inherited,” said the PM.