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Welcome to Tigrai

We welcome you in anticipation that you are coming home for the Millennium celebration. Come with an open mind to see the changes that have taken place in the sixteen years since the fall of the Derg regime. Come and celebrate this unique Millennium with your people and the rest of Africa. You do know that the Africa people have adopted the Ethiopia Millennium as their own.

Let me, if I may, give you a glimpse, a birds eye view of the situation in Tigrai to day compared to the situation that prevailed at the time of change in government. Ethiopia is changing and changing fast. change is seen in all corners of the country and Tigrai is no exception.

Tigrai with an area of 56,638 square kilometers and a population of 4.5 million people is administratively divided in to seven zones, 47 weredas and 673 Tabias or Kebeles. The administrative responsibility has been devolved into the weredas. Each wereda is responsible for local administration and also has budgetary responsibility. The Regional budget is divided between the HQ and the Woredas according to a set formula.

Tigrai which had been deliberately kept behind by past regimes has made great strides in the past sixteen years like the rest of the country. Social service, basic infrastructures and the economy has growing significantly and are continuing to grow. Let us have a quick glimpse of development in Tigrai sector by sector.

1.   The social Services

As you know Tigrai was purposely denied equal service in the social sector compared with much of the country. As the educational sector review shown the provision of education in Tigrai was far below the national average. There was no development during the time of the derg. In fact what little existed by way of educational infrastructure was purposely destroyed. Many schools were closed down as a result of the civil war. Had it not been for the work of the TPLF there would have been no education to speak of.

Today education as the key to development and change is given top priority country wide and Tigrai is benefiting from the new policy. As a result education has shown phenomenal growth in the last 16 years. In 1984 E.C, there were 532 primary schools almost all the results of the fronts work and 14 secondary schools. The total students population was 209,512 of these 199,867 were in primary school and 9,045 in secondary schools. This academic year 1999 E.C the total number of schools has risen to 1,725 of which 1,598 are public primary schools, 64 secondary schools. The private and church schools are 51 primary and 13 secondary. Student enrollment in grades 1-8 is 902,679 of which 446,343 or 49.45% are girls. The total enrollment in grades 9-12 is 108,147 of which 47,681 or 44.1% are girls. You can see that the rate of growth in enrollment has been a phenomenal 482.6%. What is more many places have in actual fact attained universal primary education. Tigrai together with the rest of the country is making preparations to accept all seven year old children in grade one at the beginning of the academic year 2000 E.C.

As stated private institutions are growing. Today there are 18 private colleges with campuses in different cities and giving course from one to three years. There are also 4 institutions providing short courses of 6 months duration.

In 1983/84 when the Derg fell there were 4 hospitals, 9 health stations and 17 clinics. These were by and large under staffed and did not have the necessary equipments and services. The picture has changed drastically since. Today there are 14 hospitals, 42 health centers, 109 nucleus health centers and 621 health posts. The nucleus health center will be up-date to a full health centers as soon the necessary personnel and equipments are available .Working in these health facilities are 1,913 health personnel of diverse qualifications.

Preventive health care is also being undertaken side by side. The antenatal care which was about 10% in 1984 E.C has risen to 82% in 1998 E.C delivery service from 2% to 32% family planning from 1% to 33%, DPT3 from 7% to 85%, measles treatment from 8% to 80%, TT2t pregnant from zero to 36% and TT2t of non pregnant from 4% to 35%. The household latrine which was almost nil then has attained 28% coverage.

What is more realizing that great many health problems could be avoided when the public is informed, health extension workers are deployed. These workers teach the people appropriate health practices. Pure potable is being made available and this reduces the spread of water born disease. The provision of clean water has reached 42% region wide, or 40.6% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas.

2.   Basic infrastructure

The development of the basic infrastructure of road, electricity supply, telephone, etc is vital for economic and social growth and transformation is any country. Ethiopia has over the last 16 years given special attention to the development of basic infrastructures and has literarily invested billions of Birr and is continuing to invest more.

Telephone service was confined to a few major towns. To day there are 29 towns with automatic exchange and a capacity of 56,566 lines. Each exchange is being expanded and another 16 towns will get automatic exchange installed. What is more telephone service has so far been introduced in 618 Tabias or Kebeles. To day no matter where one is, one is not away from the telephone. Further more the major towns and villages have mobile phone connection and service is constantly being expanded and extended.

The provision of electricity is another area of infrastructure expanding at a fast rate Ethiopia has a very high potential of hydropower. Already development is underway. The capacity is such that Ethiopia will provide power to its neighbors. Soon Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan will be supplied with electricity. The national coverage which was not more than 2% is being extended far with the aim of attaining 50% coverage over five years. To day the coverage has reached 18% and is growing. In Tigrai 41 towns get 24 hrs electric supply and four towns get 10 hrs/day. The immediate plan is to provide all Wereda capitals and towns along the road with electric supply.

Road is vital to economic development. It is this realization that has motivated the Ethiopian government to invest literarily billions of dollars on road construction. No matter which direction in the country you travel you will come across a road project in progress. Tigrai has its share of the federal investment in roads. There is 339 Km asphalt and 885 Km of gravel federal highway. All interstate and trunk roads are federal responsibility. What is more than regions rural roads department has built 1,487 Km of gravel roads and some 5,800 Km of dry weathers roads. All the wereda capitals and 90% of the Tabia or Kebele towns are to day accessible by road. Further more in keep with the national programme some 1,015 Km of trunk roads will be asphalted in the next few years. Work on the108 Km Adigrat –Adi-Abun road has started and contract has been awarded on the Adi Abun-Shire and Shire-Humera road. We are awaiting the contracting out of asphalting Wukro-Zalambessa, Debark-Shire and Adi-Abun-Mereb river. Compare this with what existed when the EPRDF come to power which was 906 gravel road about 2,000 Km of dry weather road, and you realize the extent of change.

3.   Investment and other things

Tigrai had no investment to speak of. This was purposely done during the time of Haile Silassie and continued during the days of the Derg. The only functionally factory was a flour mill in Mekele(Kuha). That factory was the cause of derision against the people and the region. Today things have changed. Some 822 people have registered as investors with total declare capital of Birr 6,520,004,178.43. So far 431 of have already gone operational and create a new employment for more than 30,000 people on a permanent basis. The investment that have gone operational 233 are in agriculture, 106 in manufacturing, 44 in social services, 20 in hotels, 16 in construction 4 in mining , 2 in Real Estate, 5 in trade and one in transport. What is more these investors are spread across the Region. Tigrai produces the best sesame seed, and sesame export is on the rise.

The people of Tigrai are by and large peasant farmers practicing subsistent farming. The Tigrian farmer like his fellow farmers in the rest of the country was until recent times dependent on rain water. Rain in Tigrai is erratic and the region was exposed to the vagaries of nature. Tigrai together with Wollo and some other areas suffered from periodic famine. To day things are changing. The Tigrian farmers are moving away from total dependence on rain, and are beginning to practice irrigation. So far 23,136 hectares are being irrigated and as a result harvest has risen. Water from rivers, wells and pounds is used. And water harvesting is beginning to be an important aspect of a farmers work, what is more he/she is moving away from subsistent farming to growing cash crops such as vegetables, spices and legume and/or raising animals or keeping bees. Fruit trees are also widely planted.

Agricultural productivity is on the rise. The harvest which was about 7 quintals per hectare has risen 11.5 quintal and the total harvest from less than 7 million to 13.6 million quintals.

In a bid to ensure household level food security diverse package are being introduced and in 1998 E.C 36,199 families were involved.

The work on soil and water conservation which started during the struggle has continued and a large part of Tigrai country side is terraced. Gully control is also carried out and results so far are encouraging.

Banking and insurance business had been state monopoly both during the time of Haile Silassie and the Derg. Since Ethiopia has moved to liberalize business introducing market economy and allow private entrepreneurs to have a share. As a result private banks and insurance companies are booming. Today there are seven banks all formed as share companies and they have sister insurance companies. Two more banks are under formation and selling shares. This will bring the total number of banks including the commercial bank of Ethiopia to twelve. All the banks are owned by Ethiopians and all are doing a roaring business in the fast expanding Ethiopia economy. There are 14 banks in Meklle town 3 commercial, the development bank of Ethiopia and the construction and Business Bank ,2 Wegagen, 2 Dashen and one each of the other seven banks. There are also 16 banks operating in the rest of Tigrai of which 10 are commercial bank, 5 Wegagne and one Dashen. Then there is Dedebit micro finance department. Dedebit give loan to farmers and urban poor who want to engage in small business. This has enables many people to be self-reliant and to grow. Last year Dedebit gave out loans for a total sum of birr 749,491,631.41. What is more it is encouraging people to save and the total saving deposit is 201,043,693.81 Birr.

A fever that has caught Ethiopia is the construction boom. Tigrian towns are witnessing the same growth phenomena in the building industry. Towns are changing with the construction of private residential quarter, hotel, business centers and office. The first Woyane Business Center under construction in Mekelle, will with its nearly 1000 shops be the largest shopping center in the country.

The building fever is discernible even in small towns. What is more Tigrai is being urbanized. New settlement, which are the nucleus of new towns are emerging on road side all over Tigrai. Some have in fact grown to be small towns what is more all towns, small or big are growing. This could be the harbinger of urbanization.

Come and visit Tigrai during the millennium celebration and be part of the bright future.