Damage
Assessment Project: A commendable jump-start towards sustainable postwar
restoration and development
Kalayu Abrha
10-16-21
In the middle of a decisive final engagement of the TDF, in all fronts against the evil force, the Government of Tigray has launched a Project of great value, with the characteristic courage and optimism inherent in the Tigrayan psyche. Diagnosis is the key first step for successful treatment or cure. It is dangerous to make the slightest error in diagnosis because wrong treatment on the basis of wrong diagnosis could lead to death or permanent physical and psychological damage. That is the fundamental reason why inventions and innovations of diagnostic tools, in the medical sciences, are advancing much faster than in other fields. Precision in diagnosis is what is normally aspired for to save human lives and ensure healthy living thereafter. Similar to physical ills social ills require advanced tools for diagnosis and the right institutional arrangement if they are to be effectively alleviated or eradicated. The calamities that have befallen Tigray have become beyond what the human brain can accommodate. In order to understand what happened and decide on temporary and permanent solutions to the physical, economic, social, and psychological damage an appropriately high level of tools and institutions must be designed in order to avoid costly pitfalls. To craft such tools and design the best possible institutional arrangements for the diagnosis of the damage a sense of sacrifice, perseverance, sensitivity, courage, and foresight are indispensable preconditions for success. The Damage Assessment Project (DAP) needs as much selflessness as there is in the battle fronts because victories in the battle fronts can have a lasting value only if Tigray could stand again on its two feet and march happily forward into eternity.
Setting up the DAP is a vital move at the right time; but it must be kept in mind that it is not a transitory arrangement to solve a specific problem as most projects are conceived to be. DAP must be only a tip of the iceberg, which is a huge edifice of policy, strategy, and institution building. Very soon after the Government of Tigray was reinstated, I posted an article on Aiga Forum proposing to the government that it has to issue a well-studied proclamation for launching the postwar restoration of Tigray. I had the optimism and trust for the TDF, I share with all Tegaru, that the victory is sustainable and Tigray will never be reoccupied by the enemy. The proclamation I proposed was meant to be an umbrella for all activities for the restoration and beyond of Tigray. As it is/was a war economy it is expected to be a restoration economy in the short-term and a vibrant developing economy in the longer term. Hence, no part of its political, economic, and social activities can lie outside the inclusive domain of restoration. Restoration does not mean only putting back schools, health facilities, and factories; it also vitally includes the restoration of damaged livelihoods and the dignity of our mothers and sisters through local and/or international legal action. DAP, of course, is a step number one leading to effective remedial action in the political, economic, social, and psychological spheres. However, a standalone and single-task project cannot accomplish the massive and multi-faceted transition from data collection to sustainable action. It is not wise and may face severe shortcomings to think that the Government of Tigray will take the huge burden of data collection and action only through its sectoral bureaus.
This is a postwar era for Tigray. It is a time that was never seen and heard of before. Uniqueness calls for uniqueness. It is difficult if not impossible to solve new problems with old solutions. Of course, I don't mean we don't take lessons from them, but we cannot depend entirely on them. Under normal circumstance, routine is taken care of by elected governments and their state apparatus. It is unquestionable that Tigray has a legitimate government the people elected in a landslide. No one in a normal mind should be challenging this as it would be a disrespect for the people of Tigray who elected the government. The point I am trying to make very strongly is that postwar Tigray is not a routine! Its restoration from the enormous damage it sustained cannot be successfully accomplished by the conventional bureaucratic channels setup to last the period of elected tenure of the government. By restoration we mean building into the future. With the future in mind what we do now must include the future generation. Hence, any move by the Government of Tigray towards restoration, which includes DAP, must be participatory. All political parties, all scholars of Tigrayan origin with different areas of expertise, and all ordinary people with something to contribute must be involved at all levels from planning, decision making, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. After the restoration phase is over, and Tigray enters into the age of routine, elected governments will have the unchallenged prerogative to run routine affairs of the state. By the way restoration very critically requires a clear and firm decision on the political future of Tigray. Political context determines what kinds of tools are used and what direction is taken for restoration. Restoration is not just an emergency measure. It is a phased effort that has to flow seamlessly into the future. You cannot run a successful restoration under different contexts and expect success. It is futile to paint different and contradictory political scenarios and start restoration. It is a totally different matter to start restoration of Tigray within the political context of Ethiopia from a scenario of an independent Tigray. This very important and decisive issue has to be resolved before any decision to launch restoration which includes DAP.
