MODERN ETHIOPIANISM
….. Annually, on this day, when We celebrate the
Anniversary of Our Coronation, We have convened the Senate and the Chamber of
Deputies, assembled in joint session, as they take up their work for the coming
year. Today, there are gathered together before Us the members of the second
Parliament convened since the Revised Consti-tution was promulgated six years
ago. Included among you are the newly-elected Deputies, chosen by the people in
free elections held during the past months. Those men who preceded you have set
a high example. Recorded on the statute books of the Empire are the Penal,
Civil, Commercial and Maritime Codes, each a monumental work in its right, all
promulgated after careful study by them. During their term of office, over a
score of major laws, touching all aspects of Ethiopia’s affairs, have been
enacted. Take up where they left off, emulate them, build on the foundation
which they have laid down, that your nation may advance in progress and
enlightenment …..
Programme
….. The programmes of the
Government for the present year have already been placed into force at the
beginning of the fiscal year on 1st Hamle last. They were studied and approved
by the Parliament which completed its session four months ago, and the budget
required to imple-ment them has been enacted into law. It is the Government’s
intention that increased publicity be given to its programmes in order that the
public may know not only their broad out- lines but their details as well. A
well-informed public opinion is essential to the growth of political and social
awareness. Only he who is informed can comment intelligently on his nation’s
development and only by such comment can errors be corrected and progress
stimulated …..
….. When, decades ago, We turned Ethiopia’s face in
the direction of progress and modernity, We were secure in the knowledge that
in so doing We best served Our country and its people. We recognized then, as
We do today, that once embarked upon this course there could be no turning
back. Ethiopia was committed to the future and to whatever it might bring. Man
may, at the outset, control the direction which events take, but once his
choice is made, events soon escape his control and history proceeds by its own
force and momentum. When We promulgated Ethiopia’s first Constitution thirty
years ago, over the determined oppo-sition of many who were close to Us, We
realized, and it was Our intention, that the political development of Our
nation would be accelerated. We knew that Ethiopia would soon outgrow the
limited confines of that document. At that time, Ethiopia’s government was
simple and uncomplicated, but We knew that as Our nation emerged into the
modern world, its governmental framework would inevitably be transformed into a
complex and intricate structure. We were prepared for and We sought to speed
that transformation.
Modern System
Following
the liberation of Our nation in 1941, We created a coherent and modern system
of government. Government departments were established, each with its defined
sphere of jurisdiction. A sound provincial adminis-tration was formed, in order
that Ethiopia might become a more closely knit and unified entity. As the
nation develop-ed and grew, We endeavoured to assure that the organization and
pattern of government kept pace. The full extent of the nation’s achievements
during these years will be apparent to all who, objectively and honestly,
survey their history …..
….. The ultimate resource of a nation is its people.
Unless this resource is employed for the benefit of the nation, unless the
latent good which it represents is exploited to the maximum extent for the
common good, the nation will languish, poor in spirit, lacking in achievement.
But no people can make their full contribution to the life of the nation to
which they owe allegiance unless they possess and enjoy those few fundamental
prerequisites indispensable to rendering their participation in the affairs of
their country both possible and significant. The growth of a people is complex
and inter-related. Man must be educated: he can-not come to grips with or cope
with or understand the modern world unless he has been taught about it. He must
be assured of a minimum economic security: he cannot con-cern himself with
matters going beyond the day-to-day satis-faction of his physical needs unless
he is fed and clothed and sheltered, nor can he acquire a sufficient degree of
social consciousness to be able to subordinate his own personal interests to
the good of the nation and the development of its society. Freedom, Liberty,
the rights of man – these mean little to the ignorant, the hungry, the
ill-clothed, the badly-housed.
True representatives
All
of this We have, from Our earliest days, recognized, and in the years during
which We have guided and directed the destinies of the Ethiopian people and
nation, We have endeavoured to accommodate and give due consideration to this
basic truth. To you, the legislators of the Empire, has been confided the high
responsibility of ensuring that the needs and the desires of those who chose
you as their repre-sentatives are well and truly served in the legislative
pro-grammes which will be placed before you. You must ensure that in your
desire to achieve, immediate goals, long-term considerations of equal or
greater importance are not ignored or irrevocably prejudiced. Those who will
prepare your Government’s programmes will do so honestly and sincerely, seeking
thereby to secure the further progress of Ethiopia and her people. But you, as
well as they, share in the res-ponsibility for guaranteeing that this progress
is not only apparent but real, and that each step forward paves the way for the
next. May Almighty God grant you wisdom, under-standing and judgment ....
NOVEMBER 2, 1961.
NOVEMBER 2, 1961.
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