Government defends resettlement scheme

The Ethiopian government has said that a scheme which provides for the resettlement of some two million people over the next three years, but has faced criticism from the international community, is necessary if Ethiopia is to stave off future food emergencies. It has also said it will not shy away from the scheme and has urged the international community to support it fully. Pilot programmes to resettle some 40,000 farmers have already been launched in at least three of the country’s 11 regions and more are expected to begin. In a statement released on Monday by the Ministry of Information, the government acknowledged that some mistakes had been made. “It must not be expected that the implementation of the current and future large-scale resettlement programmes are or will be without any drawbacks or difficulties,” it said. “It must be borne in mind that the resettlement programmes and other related schemes, meant to ensure food security, may sometimes pose temporary setbacks which would need to be mitigated through serious and relentless efforts.” The statement added: “The endeavours underway to ensure food security, however, will not be altered for another option. All concerned must adhere to achieve the set goal.” The scheme has been criticised by the UN’s Emergency Unit for Ethiopia (EUE) and the international non-governmental organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). MSF issued a complaint after some 15,000 people were, it said, “dumped” in Bale Zone in Oromiya without being given support. Questions have also been asked by the EUE, donors and NGOs over a reported lack of services in resettlements in Tigray and Amhara and over who would feed families until they could harvest their own food. According to the federal government’s own poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP), resettlement is a key weapon in combating the country’s long-term dependency on food aid. But under the PRSP, resettlement must be well planned and voluntary, the government says in the document. “If settlement is to be a positive force for rural development it should be conducted according to a well conceived plan and well coordinated government support,” it adds in the poverty reduction blueprint.