Worse, the government purposely limits migration to cities. Why? The government claims it is concerned about “chaotic” urban growth. But the real fear is that more people in Addis Ababa might make it harder for the government to squelch protest and retain political power. However, when countrypeople are prohibited from moving to towns, they are also prohibited from seeking economic opportunities and using their entrepreneurial talents — the very thing people need when they can no longer support themselves and their families by farming.
Forcing people to remain smallholder farmers, denying them opportunities in cities, compelling them to migrate and making them ruin the land through subdivision are bad government policies, not bad weather.
This year’s tragedy could have been avoided by different policies, transferring government-owned land to those who till it and eliminating restrictions on trade and migration. Now is the time to empower the poor and prevent future tragedies.
Julian Morris is executive director of International Policy Network. Karol Boudreaux is senior research fellow and lead researcher of the Enterprise Africa! Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Virginia.
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