Ethiopia’s opposition Enat Party has issued a scathing critique of the federal government’s handling of the economy, warning that the country’s working population is facing a dire livelihood crisis, worsened by inflation, low wages, and deteriorating public services.
In a strongly worded statement issued Wednesday, the party described the current living conditions of Ethiopian workers as “intolerable,” citing widespread inability to cover basic expenses such as rent, food, and healthcare. Enat called on the government to act immediately to ease the burden on more than four million public sector employees and their families.
The party warned that the government’s policies are contributing to a “worsening human crisis,” with working professionals such as doctors and teachers struggling to survive. According to the statement, doctors who recently mobilized for better pay have faced political persecution and imprisonment, while teachers are being placated with empty gestures rather than meaningful reform.
“Teachers who couldn’t feed their children were met not with solutions, but with flattery and ridicule. Dressing them in graduation gowns and calling it a ‘worthy program’ is a mockery,” the statement read.
Enat further cited official reports of workers relying on religious charities and leftover hotel food to survive—evidence, the party said, of deep systemic failure. It accused the ruling Prosperity Party of misallocating national resources, prioritizing extravagant spending on parks, palaces, and drones instead of basic needs.
“Instead of addressing hunger, the government is spending billions on aesthetics and surveillance. Even a quarter of that budget could change lives,” the statement said.
The party also condemned the government’s growing dependence on international loans, including from the World Bank and IMF, claiming such borrowing is “mortgaging the nation’s future to sustain a failing regime.” The impact of debt, it argued, is being felt most acutely by vulnerable social groups who are left out of economic recovery efforts.
Citing the 2024 UNDP report, the statement noted that 68.8% of Ethiopians are living in multidimensional poverty. It also highlighted the IMF’s 2024 estimate that 21.4 million Ethiopians—one in five—require humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs.
Enat outlined a series of grievances contributing to the current crisis, including high inflation, insecurity, over-taxation of small businesses, and enforced financial contributions to infrastructure projects such as the national corridor initiative.
“The worker has become a political pawn,” the statement warned, stressing that workers are being pushed toward desperation without state support or policy interventions.
Five Urgent Proposals
Enat concluded its statement with five key policy demands:
- Worker Mobilization – It called on Ethiopian workers to continue their peaceful and lawful struggle for economic rights and dignity.
- Revised Tax Thresholds – The party urged Parliament to raise the proposed tax-exempt monthly income to reflect inflation and offer tax relief to workers earning less than 14,000 Birr.
- Immediate Salary Increase – Enat called for an urgent pay raise for all civil servants, citing the collapse in purchasing power.
- Sustainable Economic Policies – The party demanded long-term strategies to tackle inflation and stabilize the cost of living, rather than short-term appeasements.
- Opposition to Layoffs – It rejected the Federal Civil Service Commission’s proposed reduction in government staff, labeling it a form of “mass destruction” that must be reversed.
The statement signals increasing pressure on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, which is facing growing discontent over economic management, public sector cuts, and lack of institutional accountability.
