This is part two of the fascinating article that was published on BBC–Tigrinya Service on 30 Sep 2024.

Part one dealt with how the Eritrean Cabinet of Ministers came about, and how it furtively disappeared from Eritrean politics over the last six years.

The last time the cabinet met was on 29 Sep 2018, according to former ambassador Abdella Adem. According to him, Abraham, the president’s son, attended the meeting which caused tension among the ministers.

Abdella Adem said he had “reliable information” that some ministers, who were angered by the situation, opposed the participation of the president’s son in their session.

Around that time, Abraham had become the subject of the country’s gossip because he was seen with his father and other government officials at the official ceremony of the signing of the Eritrea-Ethiopia peace agreement in Saudi Arabia, and at the official opening of the Ethiopia/Eritrea border.

Eritrea Profile, the regime’s English newspaper, which did not mention the participation of Abraham in the meeting, stated that the “the Cabinet of Ministers conducted extensive discussions regarding strengthening of internal capacity to implement established development programmes and concluded its half day meeting.” It did not indicate the institution was in any danger of dissolution.

“If the members say Abraham’s presence is not the reason why Cabinet meetings stopped, then let them speak for themselves. In fact, let the president provide his version of the ‘truth’ to explain the situation,” Abdella added.

“Essentially, the immobilisation of cabinet meeting is indicative of the president’s authoritarian behaviour and the helplessness of the incumbent ministers” stated Abdella.

Furthermore, he added, “members of the cabinet members are used to the president’s authoritarian and ad-hoc ways of managing government business.”

“Now, at this very hour, they’re totally exhausted; it has been too long for them without work, and they are not young anymore. Actually, they should have introduced new blood to the institution during the last ten years”, he mused.

“But they are simply sitting in their designated seats without any plan of transition.  Now they realise they are a bunch of demoralised individuals who are regarded as decrepit.  They have eventually ended up paralysing their own existence. In fact, one can say that people have forgotten them,” said Ambassador Abdullah.

Dr. Adan, arguing rather sympathetically, said “attacking these heroic individuals who spent their youth in the armed struggle as cowards is not fair.”  

“If you look at each of them and study their backgrounds carefully, you cannot miss the profundity of their patriotism and care for their people.”

“On the other hand,” explains Dr. Adan, “President Isaias is the one who should take full responsibility for the dissolution of the cabinet.”

“In fact,” he added, “the reason President Isaias paralysed the cabinet and other important institutional structures of the country, is to deliberately evade accountability.” He is of the opinion the ministers know too much about his questionable ways.

What is the status of ministers and ministries?

The judiciary, after being effectively dissolved without any official proclamation in 2002, the only remaining government authority was the Cabinet. The judiciary, which was supposed to be “independent” of the executive and legislative bodies, had previously been stripped of its independence by the president leaving the nation with a biased and unfair justice. The detention of thousands of Eritreans without trial was the outcome.

There are currently 17 ministries: Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Land, Water and Environment, Information, Health, Transportation and Communications, Energy and Minerals, Education, National Development and Finance, Justice, Labour and Human Security, Trade, Construction, Tourism, Fisheries , Regional Administration and Defence.

For example, the Defence Ministry, which used to be headed by Gen. Sibhat Efrem, is without a minister to run it.   It is to be recalled that during the 2013 attempted coup, he was transferred to Ministry of Energy and Minerals without any explanation. Since then Eritrea does not have an officially appointed minister of defence.  

Besides, no one has been appointed to fill the vacancy at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals after Gen. Sibhat Efrem sustained an attack which left him impaired. 

Education Minister Semere Rusom, who also held the post of ambassador to Ethiopia, has also been absent since Mar 2022. The important ministry is currently administered by a group of individuals of lower rank.

The Ministry of Regional Administration faces the same fate. This ministry is of the utmost importance as it is responsible for internal public and geographical administration and coordination. As such, the agency’s minister has been serving as the ‘vice’ president.

However, minister Woldemikael Abraha, the oldest minister of them all, has not been seen in public and official meetings for years.

Ambassador Abdella, argues that the ministers are simply figureheads, as the president has absolute power over them; so their absence is immaterial to him.

Most of the ministers are old men, in their late 70s and 80s.

Even the age of President Isaiah, who is approaching 80, is beginning to raise concerns in the country.

Some of them have been ministers since 1993 – in office for more than 30 years. They include Construction Minister Abrha Asfaha, Land, Water and Environment Minister Tesfay Gebreselassie, Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Justice Minister Fowzia Hashim.

The remaining long-serving ministers are Arefaine Berhe (Agriculture), Dr. Gergis Teklemichael (Finance and National Development), Askalu Menkerios (Tourism), Amna Nurhussein (Health), Tesfaselassie Berhane (Transport and Communications) and Leul Gebreab (Labour and Human Welfare), Nasreddin Saleh (Trade and Industry), and Yemane Gebremeskel (Information).

Are successors being coached?

Another issue of major concern is how to create a new generation of leaders to replace the deceased, those in poor health, incapacitated and ageing ministers.

In 1993, Isaias Afewerki, then secretary-general of the EPLF and the interim government, pushed hard, arguing that the party’s top leadership was “decaying” and that “new blood” was needed.

He proceeded to replace the leadership which he said had “lost sight” with a new generation of leaders during the 3^rd EPLF Congress. Accordingly, new leaders such as Yemane Gebreab, the PFDJ’s political affairs chief and presidential advisor, Hagos Gebrehiwot, the PFDJ’s economic affairs chief, and Hamid Hemid and Abdella Jabir, who are now held incommunicado, came into the executive.

Ironically, those who were replaced at the time, the ones Isaias referred to as ‘the decaying lot’, were only in their forties.

Ambassador Abdella Adem and Dr. Adan agree that the ‘the new blood’(the substitutes) were intended to consolidate Isaias’ personal power. It was aimed at removing the top leaders of the EPLF (members of the political bureau) who could have challenged him.

“It’s true that there were weaknesses everywhere, starting with me, but including the rest. On one hand there was limited political maturity, on the other, I would say; we are combatants. All of this combined, he then took advantage of the situation.”

“It was then that Isaias accused the leadership of being rotten; everyone knew [the facts that surrounded the situation at the time.] Interestingly, he was the one who guided the leadership. But he was not ‘degenerated’ as the colleagues he had openly accused. Had he been a strong and [visionary] leader the leadership would have emulated him. Normally that is how things work,” Abdella argued.  

Dr. Adan, who says substituting [lethargic] leaders is good in principle, the changes of that time were not expedient.  “Bringing in ‘new blood’ is good in principle. Had it been implemented appropriately, we would have witnessed the replacement of Isaias himself.  He and the ones he had replaced (his age group) would have retired and ended up as advisers. But the reality showed otherwise,” he said.

Transition

Thirty years later, the question of transferring power to a new generation has become a timely and realistic challenge.

Moreover, the current political reality of Eritrea is that the term of office of these incumbent leaders alone requires a transfer of power.

Ambassador Abdella said there is no transition plan or initiative on the part of President Isaias to bring in ‘new blood’. As a result, if the country fails to make adjustments, or remains on the existing trajectory, the country is likely to face a political vacuum.

“One hears rumours that a summit meeting will be held, changes will come, new personnel will be brought in.   But this has not been officially announced by the Isaias government.

“The people who should be in power today are those of the next generation.  But that is not the case, or that is not on the horizon yet. Isaias, from the information we gather here and there, doesn’t seem to care much about the necessity of transition. But the danger is evident around us – in our neighbourhood. We see what is happening in Ethiopia or Sudan, for instance. In fact, we are not different from them in terms of societal structure.”

“So if reforms are not introduced properly in Eritrea, danger awaits us around the corner. And if you consider the [situation] that prevails around us, it’s quite frightening,” he warns.

“If we, those of us who seek to introduce change in Eritrea, work hard on this issue, maybe we have a chance to see real change come to Eritrea in the next two years; but of the coming years pass in vain, then the future will simply dissipate even if we come up with a golden idea” Abdella said.

Dr. Adane, who is not totally disheartened by the prevailing condition, reiterates the fact that Eritreans living abroad are seriously discussing what is in store for Eritrea. “If we are to effect change then we should act on the dreams we have for our country. But in doing so, we must not lose sight of the bigger picture,” he said.

“Yes, in the last two decades, many who had the capability and potential to take on the responsibility of leading the country have left Eritrea and are living in exile. However, there are many more patriots who are making sacrifices at various government institutions in the country.

“Some are being insulted as if they are serving the PFDJ. In fact, just because they have not joined their brethren abroad they are considered as PFDJ supporters or they are being likened to the PFDJ.  We do not fully realise the situation they find themselves in” said Dr Adane.

“Over the past 20 years, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans of various levels of education have left the country” said Dr Adane.  “Establishment of the rule of law is fundamental” he added.

He is of the opinion that “the government should endeavour not to create any vacuum within leadership” he said, urging all stakeholders to act responsibly.

Appointment, removal and change of ministers

Since the 1994 proclamation, the number and responsibilities of ministries have been going up and down. The cabinet which was headed by the president would draft changes and the transitional National Assembly (when it was active) would approve the changes. .

The president, who has the power to appoint ministers and heads the cabinet, has been rotating ministers at various times.

The first major shift followed the EPLF’s third congress in March 1994 and was approved by the National Assembly. Some of the ministers who were changed were Petros Solomon, who moved from defence to foreign affairs, and Mahmoud Ahmed Shariffo, who moved from foreign affairs to the regional administration ministry and acted as president in the absence of Isaias. Both are former EPLF leaders and have been held incommunicado since 2001.

Mesfin Hagos, who is now living in exile and was one of the leaders of the opposition, was also appointed as defence minister at the time. However, he was forced to resign after serving a year due to a disagreement with the president.

The second biggest change took place in 1997. Here, too, Foreign Minister Petros Solomon, who was dissatisfied with the president’s interferences, was moved to fisheries.

Former Minister of Finance and National Development, Haile Woldetensae, was also transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked until 2000. He is best remembered for his intense diplomatic activities during the Ethiopian-Eritrean border war. He is also one of the eleven individuals (the G-15 group) who wrote an open letter – a letter that criticised the president for mismanaging the country). Now his whereabouts have been unknown since September 2001.

Gebreselassie Yosief, who is now living in exile abroad, succeeded Haile as finance minister in 1997; but he soon resigned.

The changes that took place in the historic year of 2001 in connection with the G-15 protests were also of great importance.

Some of the changes then included the transfer of former Foreign Minister Haile ‘Dru’ to Trade and Industry, and Ali Sayed Abdella, who died in 2005, to Foreign Affairs.

Regional Administration Minister Mahmoud Ahmed Sharifo, who was the vice president, was also relieved of his post and his government vehicle was seized by the government.

In 2009, another significant change took place. At the time, former fisheries minister Ahmed Haji Ali, who is currently in custody (accused of taking part in the 2013 coup attempt) was transferred to energy and minerals, while Tesfaye Gebreselassie, who has held the post since 1993, was transferred to land, water and environment.

Askalu Menkerios, former Labour and Human welfare Minister, had to hand over her position to Salma Hassen, and then moved to tourism, while Amna Nurhussein moved from tourism to health.

Periodic changes, removals and appointments of ministers continued in the years that followed.

For example, Osman Saleh, who retired in 2007 was brought back to replace former Foreign Minister Ali Sayed Abdullah, who died in 2005.

The former Finance Minister Berhane Abreha, who died in prison this year, was replaced by Berhane Habtemariam in 2012. The 2013 transfer of General Sibhat Efrem from defence to energy and minerals, and from trade and industry, opened the opportunity for Dr. Gergis Teklemichael to assume two positions –  finance and national development.

And so goes life within the Eritrean government.