G - 11 Civic Text Book-1

1
Civics and Ethical Education Grade 11
Contents
Introduction 4
Building a Democratic System 5
1. Basic Principles of the Ethiopian Contitution 6
2. Human and Democratic Rights and the Ethiopian
Constitution 9
3. Citizens Obligations/ Duties 11
4. Features of a Democratic System 13
5. Federalism 15
6. Ethiopia and International Relations 18
Rule of Law 24
1. Rule of Law and Constitution 25
2. The Necessity of the Rule of Law 27
3. Limited and Unlimited Governments 30
4. The Rule of Law and Combating Corruption 32
Equality 36
1. The Importance of Equality among the Nations,
Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia 37
2. The Individual and the Public Interest 38
3. Gender Issues and Socially Discriminated Groups 40
4. The Tendency to Negate Unity in Diversity 42
Justice 46
1. Fairness 47
2. Analysis of Equitability 50
3. Components of the Justice System 52
4. The Workings of the Court 55
5. Fairness in Taxation 58
Patriotism 61
1. The Bases of Patriotism 62
2. Responsibilities required from a Patriotic Citizen 65
3. Issues of Development 67
4. Voluntarism on a National Basis 70
Responsibility 75
1. Citizens’ Obligations in Society 76
2. Being responsible for the Consequences of one’s own Actions 78
3. Responsibility to respect Moral and Legal Obligations in
Society 80
4. Responsibility to Protect the Environment 82
5. Responsibility to Overcome Wastage of Public Property 86
6. Responsible Behaviour against HIV/AIDS 88
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Civics and Ethical Education Grade 11
Contents continued
Industriousness 92
1. Respect for Work 93
2. Ethical Work Conduct 95
3. Hard work and Development 97
4. Policies and Strategies for Development 100
Self-Reliance 103
1. Attributes of Self-reliance 104
2. Dependency and its Consequences 109
3. Self reliance and Decision making 111
Saving 115
1. The Need for New Thinking in Saving 116
2. Ways of Improving the Habit of Saving 117
3. Traditional and Modern Institutions of Saving in Ethiopia 119
4. Saving as an Instrument of Investment and Development 121
Active Community Participation 124
1. Civic Participation 125
2. Monitoring and Influencing Actions of Government Bodies 128
The Pursuit of Wisdom 132
1. The Significance of Knowledge 133
2. Knowledge and Data 134
3. Reading for more Knowledge 135
4. Truth versus Myth 137
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Civics and Ethical Studies Grade 11
Introduction
This book is written for students studying Civics and Ethical Education in Grade 11.
It will guide you through the eleven values with readings, case studies, questions and
illustrations to support the text. Each unit begins with an introduction and states the
lessons and the outcomes. It also provides a list of the key words and concepts you
will meet in the unit
At the end of each unit there is a summary of what you have read. There is also
a glossary of some terms or words which you have been introduced to in the unit.
Finally there are unit review exercises to enable you to test your knowledge and
understanding of the unit content.
Each unit is set out in the same way with unit title and number at the top of the page.
The title is in large The lesson number is

type on each page in the top right corner
The objectives of the Case studies are la-

lesson are listed here: belled and have a pink
background. They pro-
A starter activity is in a vide real or simulated
blue box. This is to intro- examples of the con-
duce you to the lesson. cept you are studying.
Readings have a blue back- On many pages you will

ground. They provide in- find photographs or pic-
formation which explains tures which illustrate the
the lesson objectives. topic you are studying.
Each lesson has at least At the end of each les-

one set of questions son you will find a list
linked to a reading or of points to remem-
case study. Look for ber in a red box. This
the red question mark. will help you to revise.
This book is just one resource which you and your fellow students will use to learn
about Civics and Ethical Education at this level. Information to support this book will
be located with your teacher, on the Plasma programs, in other books and documents
and with people in your communities.
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Civics and Ethical Studies Grade 11 Unit 1
Building a Democratic System

Introduction
In this unit you will study the basic principles of the FDRE Constitution. This will
help you to understand more about your rights and duties. This unit is going to ex-
pand your knowledge of democracy so that you benefit from it. It will help you to de-
velop the culture of democracy and to make your own contribution. You will learn how
federalism works in Ethiopia and examine the role Ethiopia has in regional and inter-
national relations.
Lessons Key Words and Concepts

1. Basic Principles of the Ethiopian Con-
titution • Accountability
2. Human and Democratic Rights and • Devolution of Power
the Ethiopian Constitution • Features of Democratic system
3. Citizens Obligations/ Duties • People’s Sovereignty
4. Features of a Democratic System • Religion
5. Federalism • Secularism
6. Ethiopia and International Relations • Supremacy of the Constitution
• Unitary in spirit
What you will learn
You will:
• Recognize the value of the principle of
the FDRE Constitution.
• Realize features of democratic sys-
tems.
• Appreciate the foreign policy of Ethio-
pia.
Voting in elections - one of the pillars of democracy
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Unit 1 Building a Democratic System Lesson 1
Basic Principles of the Ethiopian Constitution

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Article 8, sub-articles 1,2 and 3 of the
• Describe the basic principles of the FDRE Constitution express the sovereignty of
Constitution
the people as follows:
1. All sovereign power resides in the
List 3 key things you already know about
Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of
the FDRE Constitution? Share your ideas
Ethiopia.
with your neighbor.
2. This Constitution is an expression of
In this lesson you are going to examine their sovereignty.
the basic principles of the FDRE Consti- 3. Their sovereignty shall be expressed
tution. The knowledge you have obtained through their representatives elected in
about democracy in Grade 9 and 10 will accordance with this Constitution and
help you to understand how the Constitu- through their direct democratic partici-
tion has been formed. pation.
The Ethiopian Constitution has the fol- Another principle is the supremacy of the
lowing basic principles: Constitution. Accordingly, all other laws
• The sovereignty of the people; have to conform to the Constitution.
• The supremacy of the Constitution;
• The respect of human and democratic Article 9, sub-articles 1 and 2 express
rights; what the supremacy of the Constitution
• The separation of state and religion; means:
• Conduct and accountability of the gov- 1. The Constitution is the supreme law of
ernment. the land. Any law, customary practice
or a decision of an organ of state or a
The Ethiopian Constitution is an ex public official which contravenes this
pression of peoples’ sovereignty. The Constitution shall be of no effect.
sources of power in the country are the 2. All citizens, organs of state, political
Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of organizations, other associations as
Ethiopia. This means that elected officials well as their officials have the duty to
are given their power by the citizens of ensure observance of the Constitution
the country. and to obey it.
Waiting to vote in Ethiopian election

6
?
In groups discuss and fill in the table with what you understand by the sovereignty of
the people and the supremacy of the Constitution. Group leaders should present your
ideas to the class for more discussion.
Sovereignty of the people Supremacy of the Constitution
1 Power emanates from the people The Constitution is above all other laws
2
3
4
5
6
Respecting the Constitution is the founda- Another fundamental principle of the

tion for the prevalence of the rule of law Ethiopian Constitution is the separation
in the country. When the Constitution of state and religion. Separation of state
is respected and the rule of law prevails, and religion is essential for a democratic
then the human and democratic rights of state. This makes Ethiopia a secular
citizens are respected. state. A secular state is one that sepa-
rates state and religion as two independ-
Respect to human and democratic rights ent institutions with different objectives.
is one of the principles of the Constitu- Article 27, sub-article 5 of the Constitu-
tion. So, citizens have the right to exercise tion declares the Ethiopian state as a
their human and democratic rights. These secular state.
rights are expressed in the Constitution.
Article 10, states the following: However, in the past, Ethiopia was not
a secular state because the state and the
1. Human rights and freedoms, emanat- church worked together. We now live in a
ing from the nature of mankind, are secular state. The separation is necessary
inviolable and inalienable. because state and religion have different
missions, objectives and values to promote
2. Human and democratic rights of citi- and thus cannot function as one. The act
zens and peoples shall be respected. of the separation of the state and religion
created the condition for religions to be
equal. Equality of religions is part of the
human and democratic rights of citizens.
7

Finally, the Constitution underlines the
conduct and accountablity of government.
This makes public officials and elected Remember
representatives accountable for any fail- • The Ethiopian Constitution is an ex-
ures in their duties. As a citizen you have pression of peoples’ sovereignty.
the right to be informed and the right to • All sovereign power resides in the
criticize the wrong doings of officials in Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of
your kebele. The Constitution, under Arti- Ethiopia.
cle 12, states the conduct and accountabil- • The Constitution is the supreme law of
ity of government: the country.
1. The conduct of affairs of government • The act of separation of state and re-
shall be transparent. ligion creates a condition for all reli-
2. Any public official or an elected repre- gions to be equal.
sentative is accountable for any failure • Human and democratic rights are re-
in official duties. spected through the Constitution.
3. In case of loss of confidence, the people • The government and its officials are
may recall an elected representative. accountable to the people.
The particulars of recall shall be deter-
mined by law.
?
Form groups to discuss and fill in what
you understand in the table. Group lead-
ers should present your ideas to the class
for discussion.
Respect for human and Separation of state and Accountability of the gov-
democratic rights religion ernment
1 Inalienable rights No state religion Answerable to actions

2
3
4
5
8
Human and Democratic Rights and the Ethiopian

Constitution
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: The rights of women and children and
• Enumerate the human and democratic rights the right of access to justice are part of
of citizens as stated in the Federal Constitu- your democratic rights. The rights to vote
tion of Ethiopia. and be elected are within the democratic
rights you will fully enjoy in the future.
List some of the human and democratic Citizens have many democratic rights to
rights that are included in the Federal benefit from. Obviously at present you
Constitution? partly enjoy these rights. As you grow up
and start to fully participate in public life,
you will make use of all your democratic
In a democracy there are fundamental rights.
rights and freedoms that citizens enjoy.
The Ethiopian Constitution lists these Active public participation is the key to a
rights and freedoms in two categories. democratic system. Without public par-
They are human rights and democratic ticipation there cannot be democracy. It
rights. Human rights and democratic occurs when citizens participate during
rights do not exist in separation; rather elections and debate on public issues and
they form a whole. Every person has the policies to influence government decisions.
right to life, liberty and security. These Public participation could take place at a
rights are part of human rights. These local level, such as kebele. In the kebele
rights are neither given to you, nor should your parents elect local officials through
you be denied them. direct democracy. In regional elections,
citizens participate to elect members of
Citizens in a democracy have many demo- the State Council through indirect democ-
cratic rights to enjoy. These include the racy. At the federal level representatives
rights of thought, opinion and expression. are elected by the people to be members of
These rights are the foundation of a dem- parliament. The elected officials formulate
ocratic system. They are essential to cre- and enact laws on behalf of the people
ate free, inspired and motivated citizens. who elected them. This is what represen-
tative or indirect democracy means. These
Freedom of association and movement are the different ways in which participa-
form part of such rights. You have the tory democracy operates.
right to join and contribute to any club in
school. When you grow up you have the
?
In groups discuss why we have human
right to join a political party. When you and democratic rights. Group leaders
do so, you make your own choices and should present the ideas to the class for
your choice has to be respected by others. further discussion.
9
Human and Democratic Rights and the Ethiopian

Constitution
?
The Ethiopian Constitution has details of From each category take three rights to
human and democratic rights that citi- discuss and describe how they might be
zens enjoy. Some of these rights are pre- used in school and in your community?
sented in the table given for your inspec- Group leaders should present your ideas
tion. for more discussion.
Human Rights Democratic Rights
1 Right to Life 1 The Right of Assembly, Demonstra-
2 Right to Liberty tion and Petition
3 Right of Persons Arrested 2 Freedom of Association
4 Right of Persons Accused 3 Freedom of Movement
5 Right to Honour and Reputation 4 Rights of Nationality
6 Right to Equality 5 Marital, Personal and Family Rights
7 Right to Privacy 6 Rights of Women
8 The Right of the Security of Person 7 Rights of Children
9 The Rights of Persons Held in Cus- 8 Right of Access to Justice
tody and Convicted Prisoners 9 The Right to Vote and to be elected
10 Prohibition against Inhuman 10 Rights of Nations, Nationalities, and
Treatment Peoples
11 Non-retroactivity of Criminal Law 11 The Right to Property
12 Prohibition of Double-Jeopardy 12 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
13 Freedom of Religion, Belief and 13 Rights of Labour
Opinion 14 The Right to Development
14 Crimes Against Humanity 15 Environmental Rights
Remember
• In a democracy there are fundamental rights and freedoms that citizens enjoy.
• Human rights and democratic rights do not exist in separation, they form a whole.
• Every person has the right to life, liberty and security.
• Citizens under a democracy have rights of thought, opinion and expression.
• Active public participation is at the heart of a democratic system.
• At the federal level, representatives are elected by the people to be members of
parliament.
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Citizens’ Obligations/ Duties
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: You do what is required in respect to the
• Describe what follows when one fails to prop- Constitution and laws of the country.
erly carry out obligations.
When citizens act in this way, democracy
• Execute your obligations in a proper manner.
holds and democratic culture flourishes in
society.
What are some of the obligations you have
If you fail to perform your constitutional
to school and society?
obligations, then you create a situation
where you will not be able to use your
Your obligations arise from the rights constitutional rights. This would have a
you enjoy. You are given rights, but with negative impact on the development of
these come duties. The Ethiopian Consti- democracy in society. The law punishes
tution entitles you to use your rights. The you if you do not fulfil your constitutional
Constitution details the list of rights you obligations, such as obeying the law . This
enjoy. It also states your obligations as a again brings about an adverse effect on
citizen. As you have rights to enjoy, you your life. It is in your interest to execute
have obligations to fulfill. Your obliga- your obligations so that you enjoy your
tions include respecting the rights of fel- constitutional rights.
low Ethiopians, and defending your coun-
?
Form groups to discuss and list some of
try in times of war and invasion. Failure the constitutional obligations you have
to respect constitutional obligations is and why you have them and should exe-
punishable by law. cute them properly? Group leaders should
present your ideas to the class for further
There are many obligations that citizens discussion.
have; they include the following:
• respect for religious equality;
• respect for gender equality;
• respect for the rights of others;
• respect for the national flag.
In a democracy your obligations and

rights are kept in balance. For example
you have the right to freedom of thought,
opinion and expression. Using these
rights you can stage demonstrations. To
participate and organize demonstrations
is part of your democratic rights. Howev-
er, the use of this right requires an obliga-
tion to fulfill. You are obliged to apply for
permission from the government office. Respect for the national flag is one
of our obligations
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Citizens’ Obligations/ Duties

Case Study
Staging a Demonstration
Students from a sub-city in Addis Ababa
staged a demonstration. They organized
the demonstration in collaboration with
their schools’ administrators. Three days
before, the organizers of the demonstra-
tion submitted an application to the body
in charge and obtained permission to hold
the demonstration.
On the day the demonstrators carried

slogans that read ‘Stop Female Genital
Mutilation’, ‘Stop Early Marriage’, ‘Stop Demonstrations being staged
HIV/AIDS’, ‘Stop Rape’ and ‘Stop Domes-
?
tic Violence on Women’. On their way Form groups and discuss the following:
to the demonstration venue they were 1. Why did the students need permission
shouting loudly to attract lots of atten- to hold the demonstration?
tion. When the demonstrators arrived at 2. Was the demonstration legal? Why?
Meskel Square more people joined them 3. Why might you stage a demonstration
and it became a big demonstration. Mem- and how would you do it?
bers of the organizing committee made
speeches. After the speeches, the commit-
tee head submitted their demands to an
official who was there as a representative
of government. The official promised them
that the government would give due at-
tention to their demands.
Remember
• Your constitutional obligations include respecting the rights of fellow Ethiopians.
• As you have rights to enjoy, so you have constitutional obligations to fulfill.
• In a democracy your obligations and freedoms are kept in balance.
• Rights are given, but they come with duties.
• A failure to respect constitutional obligations is punishable by law.
• You should fulfill your obligations in respect to the Constitution and laws of the
country.
12
Features of a Democratic System

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Article 12 of the Constitution requires
• Describe what is meant by transparency and the government to conduct its affairs in a
accountability.
transparent way. The Constitution states
• Explain the importance of tolerance of diver-
sity for peace. that public officials and elected represen-
• Be tolerant of differences within the limits of tatives are accountable for any failure in
your capacity. official duties. A transparent and account-
able government contributes to the devel-
opment of democracy. These features are
State some of the features of a democratic
part of the requirements for a democratic
system?
system. It is the right of citizens to see
their government operating in a trans-
parent and accountable manner. On the
The features of a democratic system are
other hand, it is the obligation of those in
based on many fundamental principles.
government to be transparent and ac-
In this lesson, you will focus on transpar-
countable to the people on whose behalf
ency and accountability, two features of a
they govern. Through transparency and
democratic system.
accountability, abuse of power and cor-
ruption can be checked and development
In a democracy political power resides in
can be achieved.
the people. Because the people are the
source of power, elected officials are ac-
Another feature of a democratic system
countable to those who have elected them;
is the promotion of political tolerance.
and the people have access to inspect
This can be realized when individuals are
what they do. Transparency prevails
able to express their different viewpoints
when the people and the media have free
freely. Tolerance helps unify differences
access to know what officials do and why.
among ethnic, religious, linguistic and
In a democracy, the people and the media
political groups.
have the right to information on how gov-
ernment officials exercise their power and
perform their duties.
Transparency and accountability aim to

prevent an abuse of power by government.
In a democracy officials have an obliga-
tion to be transparent and accountable for
what they do. Limiting transparency may
be necessary during national emergencies
like wars and invasions.
The work of government officials

must be transparent
13
Features of a Democratic System

People who are able to handle diversity Case Study
help to create national unity. When citi- Transparent officials
zens learn how to be tolerant it will help There are transparent officials whose of-
us live together in peace and dignity. You fices are open to the public. They accept
should learn to be tolerant at home, in complaints and help people with solu-
school and in the community. You must tions. These officials are well informed as
respect others’ viewpoints, listen to them to how their employees do their job. They
and share ideas in a polite way. You must conduct surprise visits to offices to check
realize that in school and in the commu- how work is being done. They have suc-
nity you live with people who come from ceeded in creating a culture that supports
different backgrounds. transparency and accountability. Indi-
viduals who have cases in such offices are
It is your obligation to respect their val- treated with respect and are pleased with
ues and norms in order to live in harmony the prompt service they get. One such
with them. You should appreciate that place is the Immigration and Visa Office.
the independence of the country
?
has been preserved through the contribu- Form groups to find out and evaluate how
tion of its many varied people; you should transparent your school is.
realize the need to respect the rights and • What information do you want to know
equality of the nations, nationalities and about your school?
peoples of Ethiopia. This is essential for • Where can you get this information?
democracy to take hold in society. • What can you conclude from this?
?
• Why is it important for the govern- Transparency is an essential ingredient
ment to be transparent and account- for good governance which strengthens
able? the democratic system and increases the
• How might you show tolerance to confidence of people in their country.
people around you? Give examples to Good governance also promotes the politi-
show your point. cal, social and economic development of
the country.
Remember
• In a democracy, power resides in the people.
• Abuse of power in government can be checked through transparency and account-
ability.
• Government officials have an obligation to be transparent and accountable for what
they do.
• Another feature of a democratic system is to promote political tolerance among
groups holding different viewpoints.
• People who are able to handle diversity help create a strong national unity.
14
Federalism
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: the federal and regional governments.
• Distinguish between the authority of the fed- The power of the federal and regional gov-
eral and regional governments of Ethiopia.
ernments is clearly stated in the Federal
Identify the distinguishing features and Constitution. Some powers exclusively
differences between the federal and re- reside in the federal government, and
gional governments in Ethiopia? some other powers reside in the regional
states. There are areas in which both gov-
Federalism is a system of government ernments exercise concurrent power. For
where power is divided between federal example, the collection of revenue and tax
and regional governments. Devolution, is the area where the two governments
the principle of federalism, means to exercise power at the same time.
transfer power to the regions that con-
stitute the federation. The devolution of The Federal Government has the power
power makes neither the federal nor the to conduct foreign policy matters, national
regional governments supreme. Instead, defense and security. The regional gov-
power is coordinated between the center ernments are in charge of local adminis-
and regions. This arrangement could be tration. Their jurisdiction includes man-
one of the mechanisms to help to avoid a aging education, health and the police
monopoly of power. force within their respective territories.
As a system, federalism in Ethiopia re- Federalism is an incentive to empower

quired many years of struggle against the citizens at all levels to exercise power
autocratic and dictatorial rulers. In this within their own area. It builds confi-
struggle many patriotic citizens, particu- dence among people when they are able
larly the youth, paid dearly and sacrificed to manage their own affairs. It also helps
their lives. Particularly in the 17 year war to create a sense of responsibility among
against the military government, many citizens to respect each others rights in
lost their lives for the cause of democracy order to live in peace and dignity.
and federalism. Following the fall of the
Derg, Ethiopia became a federal demo- In other words, federalism paves the way
cratic republic. for a unity that arises from diversity.
Unity in a multi-cultural setting can be
Under the Federal Democratic Repub- nurtured when you are able to appreciate
lic of Ethiopia (FDRE), power is divided diversity in a positive way.
between the federal and the nine regional
?
states. The Federal Constitution outlines • What are the advantages of federalism
the fundamental principles in which the for Ethiopia?
regional states function. Regional govern- • On the basis of the Constitution, iden-
ments have their own respective constitu- tify the powers that the federal and
tions that address the specific conditions regional states possess.
for each state. The federal and the region-
al constitutions define the relationship
and the power division existing between
15
Federalism
To accommodate the diversity that is
prevalent in Ethiopia the Federal Con-
stitution has set in place a bicameral
parliament i.e. the House of Peoples’
Representatives (HPR) and the House of
Federation (HF). The HPR is a law-mak-
ing body whose members are elected by
universal suffrage. The HF is the organ
that nations, nationalities and peoples of
Ethiopia are
represented by virtue of their identities.
The House of Federation
The appreciation of diversity is related to Discuss the following:
the value of tolerance. It helps us to ac- 1. What is the advantage of having over
cept others; to be able to work and live
with them. When you are able to manage
80 different ethnic groups represented
in the House of Federation? ?
diversity in a productive way, peace and 2. The Hamer, Bana and Kwego are
development can be achieved. In this way groups of people living in South West-
Ethiopia, while retaining its federal struc- ern Ethiopia having a population of
ture, can remain unitary in spirit. between 10-20 thousand, 2-5 thousand
and 5-10 thousand people respectively.
The Federal Constitution states the com- How many representatives can each of
position of the members of the HF as them have in the House of Federation?
follows:
The House of the Federation Article 61
1. The House of the Federation is com-
posed of representatives of Nations,
Nationalities and Peoples.
2. Each Nation, Nationality and People
shall be represented in the House of
the Federation by at least one member.
Each Nation or Nationality shall be
represented by one additional repre-
sentative for each one million of its
population.
3. Members of the House of Federation
shall be elected by the State Councils.
The State Councils may themselves
elect representatives to the House of the
Federation, or they may hold elections
to have the representatives elected by
the people directly.
Hamer woman and child
16
Federalism
affected by the flood. Individuals, orga-
nizations and religious establishments
extended their help to the victims. In this
national effort, the regional governments
also mobilized and channeled resources to
help the victims. This instance shows the
coordinated effort between the federal and
regional government to solve problems. It
also shows a spirit of unity and care for
humans in Ethiopia.
Form groups to discuss the significance

of federal and regional governments
cooperation in times of natural disaster.
Can you think of other examples when ?
this has happened? Group leaders should
present ideas to the class for further dis-
cussions.
Bana youth Remember

• Federalism is a system of government
where power is divided between fed-
Case Study eral and regional governments.
Flood victims of the Omo Basin • The principle of federalism is to de-
People living in the lower Omo Basin volve power to regions that constitute
were victims of floods some years back. the federation.
Due to heavy rain on the highland sur- • The devolution of power makes neither
rounding it, the Omo River burst its the central nor the regional govern-
banks and flooded villages and farmland. ments supreme.
Many cattle died and thousands were • Following the downfall of the Derg,
made homeless. Ethiopia became a federal democratic
republic.
Confronting such a challenge was beyond • Federalism creates a sense of respon-
the capacity of the regional state. The sibility among its citizens to respect
federal government stepped in to help the each others rights in order to live in
victims. Ethiopians from different back- peace and dignity.
grounds responded promptly to help those • Retaining its federal structure, Ethio-
pia remains unitary in spirit.
17
Ethiopia and International Relations

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: When the Second World War ended in
• Explain the active role Ethiopia played in the 1945, the need to establish a new inter-
formation of global organizations. national organization to maintain world
peace and security became a necessity.
Give examples of the work of the United
The UN was born out of the debris of the
Nations (UN) and African Union(AU) in
Second World War and Ethiopia became
Ethiopia?
one of its founding members.
Ethiopia is the only country in Africa Ethiopia contributed quite a lot to the
that was never colonized. It fought many cause of the UN - far more than any other
wars to maintain its independence and African country could do then. Ethiopia
had interaction with the outside world contributed peacekeeping forces to UN
for a long time. The victory of Adwa was missions in Korea and Congo in the early
coupled with the formation of a strong years of the existence of the organization.
central government in the country. After An Ethiopian General led the peacekeep-
the Battle of Adwa, Ethiopia entered into ing mission in the Congo, a privilege
formal modern international relations. which was rare as they usually came from
Following this victory Ethiopia and Italy countries in the developed world.
signed a treaty to formally end the Italian
colonial claim over Ethiopia. As a result, The good image that the country estab-
Italy became the first European country lished with the UN peacekeeping mis-
to recognize Ethiopia as an independent sions enabled it to play more roles for
and sovereign state. Consequently, other world peace. In recent years, Ethiopian
European countries followed suit in rec- peacekeeping forces under the UN have
ognizing Ethiopia’s independence. Diplo- served in Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia and
matic legations were established in Addis Darfur to maintain peace and help the lo-
Ababa. cal people.
Ethiopia joined the League of Nations in In 1963, after the decolonization of Af-
1923, three years after its establishment. rica, independent countries established
However, the League of Nations failed their continental organization. Ethiopia
Ethiopia when it was unable to stop the pioneered the establishment of the Or-
Italian invasion of the country in 1935. ganization of African Unity (OAU), now
Following the five-year guerrilla war, the African Union (AU), and Addis Ababa
after defeating Italy, Ethiopia once again became its head quarters.
asserted its independence.
18

Ethiopia played commendable role to end
the last vestiges of colonialism in Angola,
Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Guinea Bis-
sau and Namibia. It also played a part in
bringing an end to the racist apartheid
rule in South Africa.
Ethiopia is also one of the pioneers in

creating the Non-Aligned Movement. The
objective of the movement was to be non-
partisan in the Cold War politics of East
and West.
Moreover, Ethiopia contributed to the ECA Hall - Addis Ababa

formation of sub-regional organizations
such as COMESA (Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa) and IGAD
(Intergovernmental Authority for Devel-
opment). The purpose of these regional
organizations is to promote peace through
economic integration in East and Central
Africa. These organizations have played
roles to try to bring peace to South Sudan.
Ethiopia has a long established tradi-

tion in foreign relations. At present Addis
Ababa is one of the diplomatic hubs of
the world. It is home to the UN Economic
Commission for Africa (ECA) and over one
hundred diplomatic missions of govern-
ments. Ethiopia will continue to attract African Union buildings - Addis Ababa
the attention of the world community of
?
In groups discuss, examine and evaluate
nations and peoples to play a more con-
Ethiopia’s roles in international relations.
structive role in world politics in the years
Group leaders should present your ideas
ahead.
to the class for further discussions.
19

Case Study Case Study
Ethiopia and the League of Nations Ethiopia’s role in the transformation
The League of Nations was an interna- of the OAU to the AU
tional organization established for world During the colonial era, Africa was called
peace by sovereign states in 1920. Its ‘The Dark Continent’. The only indepen-
founding members were Europeans led dent country in Africa at the turn of the
by the victors of the First World War. 20th century was Ethiopia. Its indepen-
Ethiopia joined the League of Nations dence was hard-won. Ethiopia became an
in September 1923 and became one of inspirational force for the decolonization
the League’s African members. Ethiopia of Africa.
joined the League even though it faced
opposition. Ethiopia’s membership in the From the mid 1950’s through to the early
League continued until it was invaded by 1960’s, most British and French colonies
Italy. Emperor Haile Selassie went to Ge- gained formal independence in the conti-
neva to appeal to governments to help his nent. In 1963, independent African coun-
country but the League failed to respond tries met to establish the Organization of
to protect its member state. Subsequent- the African Unity (OAU) in Addis Ababa.
ly, its inability to deliver justice and stop The OAU became the collective voice of
this invasion showed its weaknesses and the Africans for equity and justice in in-
contributed to its collapse in 1939. ternational politics.
After decades of existence and a com-

mendable role in dismantling the last
?
Form groups and discuss what the pur- vestiges of colonialism, the OAU joined
pose of the League of Nations was. Why with the African Economic Commission
did the League fail in 1939? Group lead- (AEC) to become the AU. Once again,
ers should present your ideas to the class Africans agreed to place the new African
for further discussion. Union in its natural home – Ethiopia. So,
Addis Ababa continues to be the focus for
African unity.
?
Form groups to discuss the relevance of
the transformation of the OAU to the AU
for Africans and Ethiopians. Group lead-
for further discussion.
Emperor Haile Selassie at the
League of Nations Conference in Geneva
20
Remember
• Ethiopia is the only country that was never colonized.
• Ethiopia joined the League of Nations in 1923.
• Ethiopia entered into formal and modern international relations after the Battle of
Adwa.
• The United Nations was born out of the debris of the Second World War and Ethio-
pia became one of its founding members.
• Ethiopia pioneered the establishment of the Organization of the African Unity
(OAU), later the AU, and Addis Ababa became its headquarters.
• Ethiopia contributed to the formation of sub-regional organizations such as COME-
SA and IGAD.
• Ethiopia played a role as a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
• Ethiopia contributed peacekeeping forces to the UN missions to Korea, Rwanda,
Burundi, Liberia, Congo and Darfur.
Foreign Ministry in Addis Ababa
21
Unit 1 Building a Democratic System
Unit Summary
In this unit you have explored a wide range of topics. You have examined the basic
principles of the Ethiopian Constitution as an expression of the sovereignty of the
people. You have seen the democratic rights that the Constitution has given to the
people of Ethiopia. The Constitution also underlines the obligations that citizens have
to enrich and enhance democratic rule in the country. You have learnt how federalism
works in Ethiopia, helping to promote mutual respect among people, and looked at the
contributions Ethiopia has made to international relations. You have investigated the
remarkable roles this country has played as a member of the League of Nations, the
UN, OAU (AU), Non-Aligned Movement and regional organizations. Its contributions
to UN Peacekeeping missions in Asia and Africa are some of the greatest achieve-
ments of the country.
Glossary
Accountability: Officials responsibility to show their actions and decisions to their
citizens.
Devolution of Power: The practice of assigning power to the lower levels of govern-
ment administrative hierarchies.
Features of Democratic system: Characteristics that a democratic system embraces
Secularism: The separation of state and religion.
Supremacy of the Constitution: The Constitution being above all laws.
Unitary in spirit: The condition where people in a given country develop the feeling
of oneness.
22
Unit 1 Building a Democratic System
Unit Review Exercises

Part I –Multiple choice Part II – True or false
1. In what ways is building a demo- 1. The Ethiopian constitution makes
cratic system important for Ethio- officials accountable to the people.
pia? 2. Transparency and accountability
a to treat its people equally in government are not features of
b to have peace and stability in democracy.
the country 3. Ethiopia has a long tradition in
c to create conditions for international relations.
development 4. Ethiopia has contributed greatly to
d all the decolonization of Africa.
2. Supremacy of the Constitution
means: Part III – Short answers
a the Constitution and other laws 1. What is accountability?
have equal weight 2. What do you understand by the
b other laws are above the consti- term peoples’ sovereignty?
tution 3. Explain in your own words what
c the law of the land and other secularism is?
laws are subordinated to it 4. Evaluate Ethiopia’s contribution to
d all international relations.
3. What is a possible benefit of feder-
alism?
a unity
b development
c empowerment of people
d all
23
The Rule of Law

Introduction
In Grade 10 you studied how rule of law limits the power of the government. You also
examined the breakdown of the rule of law and its impacts. In this unit you will distin-
guish the similarities and differences between the federal and regional states constitu-
tions. Furthermore, you will see how rule of law is important in conflict management
and combating corruption.
Lessons Key words and concepts
1. Rule of Law and Constitution
2. The Necessity of the Rule of Law • Arbitrariness • Dictatorship
3. Limited and Unlimited Governments • Basic rights of • Ethics
4. The Rule of Law and Combating Cor- citizens • Inequality
ruption • Common good • Judiciary
• Conflict • Limited govern-
What you will learn • Constitutional- ment
You will: ism • Unlimited gov-
• Recognize the relation between a con- • Constitutional ernment
stitution and rule of law. principles • Values
• Realize the nature of limited and un- • Corruption
limited government.
• Appreciate the necessity of combating
corruption.
24
Unit 2 The Rule of Law Lesson 1
Rule of Law and Constitution

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
• Distinguish the differences between the consti-
tutions of the federal and regional states.
The federal and regional states’ constitu-
What do you think about the relationship tions prohibit government officials from
between the federal and regional states’ violating the laws of the country. Obliga-
constitutions? tions are imposed on them to respect the
basic rights of citizens.
In Grade 10 you discussed rule of law,
constitution and their relationships. Rule The constitutions do not give way to
of law prevails under a democratic gov- arbitrary rule of individuals but enhance
ernment with a democratic constitution. rule of law at all levels of the administra-
The previous Constitutions of Ethiopia tion structure. The federal and regional
adapted a unitary system of government, state constitutions underline the need
but the FDRE Constitution set a federal to promote democracy and a democratic
system of government. That means in system in the country. The constitutions
Ethiopia there are federal and regional set the objectives to safeguard citizen’s
states’ constitutions. fundamental freedom and rights. The con-
stitutions also work to bring about social,
The Federal Constitution established the political, economic and cultural justice
Federal Government that exercises pow- throughout the country.
ers over the entire country. The constitu-
tions of the regional states have estab- These are some of the similarities be-
lished governments at the regional level. tween the two sets of constitutions. It is
As a result, the regional governments also important to know the differences
(states) have their own respective legisla- between these constitutions. The Fed-
ture, executive and judiciary bodies. eral Constitution is the supreme law of
the land and forms an umbrella law that
Both the FDRE Constitution and the con- gives shelter to all regional state constitu-
stitutions of the regional states provide tions.
that:
• Power can only be assumed according The constitutions of the regional states
to the law stated in the Constitution. follow the pattern and fundamental prin-
• Everyone is subject to the law and ciples enshrined in the federal constitu-
jurisdiction of the courts. tion. In effect they derive from and are
• Both the government and the citizens subordinated to it. The regional state con-
act only in accordance with the Consti- stitutions work only within the territory
tution. of the state and not beyond. The Federal
• The basic rights of citizens are respect- Constitution works across all regional
ed. states.
25
Rule of Law and Constitution

In this regard the constitution of the
?
In groups of six, divide your group into
two. One group will take the Federal Con- SNNPRS has stipulated the formation of
stitution and the other group will take the council of Nations, Nationalities and
the Regional Constitution. Compare and Peoples at regional level. This council is
contrast the two constitutions. the equivalent of the House of Federation.
No other regional state has such a type of
council. The SNNPRS has a unique fea-
The Federal Government of Ethiopia is ture because it is composed of over fifty
constituted of the nine regional states. ethno-cultural groups within its territo-
This arrangement has established dif- ries. The formation of such a council is in
ferent power centers in the country. The line with the fundamental principles of
federal government at the national level the Federal Constitution. All constitutions
forms one of the centers of power and has in the country, whether federal or region-
a constitution that functions throughout al, promote democracy and the democratic
the country. system and the fundamental rights and
freedoms of citizens. They are dedicated
The Federal Constitution sets limits and to ensure rapid economic, social, political
provides direction for the administrative and cultural development.
activities of regional states. The regional
states form the other centers of power and The Federal Constitution is exclusively
operate based on their constitution but in charge of finance, defense and interna-
not disregarding the federal constitution. tional relations. In such matters the
Their constitutions are designed to meet regional states are not involved, as the
the specific circumstances of their own Federal Government is not involved in
regions. matters of the regional states.
Remember
• Rule of law prevails under a democratic government with a democratic constitu-
tion.
• The previous constitutions of Ethiopia adapted a unitary system of government.
• The FDRE Constitution adopted a federal system of government.
• The regional governments (states) have their own constitutions and establish the
legislature, executive and judiciary at the regional level.
• Both the federal and the regional constitutions prohibit government officials at
all levels from violating the laws of the land and acting against the basic rights of
citizens.
• The regional states constitutions are always subordinate to the federal constitu-
tion.
26
The Necessity of the Rule of Law

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Since individuals live in society, they
• Explain the importance of rule of law. have to respect and work for the common
• Describe what follows when rule of law breaks
good of society. As a citizen, you have lots
down.
of needs and wants to satisfy. However,
• Explain how to prevent and manage conflict.
there are conditions that compel you to
How might you find a solution when your sacrifice part of them for the interest of
interests and the interests of your friends promoting the common good.
conflict? Use an example to make your
point. The absence of the rule of law implies
the existence of unlimited power that can
Constitutions of democratic countries are put citizens in danger. Where there is no
the bases for the prevalence of rule of law. rule of law, there will not be justice. The
Rule of law establishes restrictions both absence of justice weakens the authority
on the governor and the governed. This of government and the people will not feel
means the government officials who are secure. Absence of rule of law is charac-
elected and hold offices must respect the terized by anarchy and arbitrary rule.
basic rights of citizens. Their activities
shall be in accordance with the law of the Anarchy means a situation in a society
land. Rule of law prohibits people from vi- whereby there is no supreme power or
olating the rights of others. The governed law which will result in political and
or the citizens’ basic rights and freedoms social disorder. In the absence of rule of
must be respected by the government offi- law justice suffers, peace and stability
cials. Rule of law also imposes restrictions are threatened and the strong may take
on citizens to act only according to the advantage of the weak.
law. Every citizen, irrespective of social
status, ethnic or religious back ground, is Therefore, the absence of rule of law can
subject to the laws of the county. be characterized by arbitrariness, lawless-
ness, disorder, destruction, insecurity,
Where there is rule of law, the rights of and conflicts. The absence of rule law
individuals and groups will be respected. makes society permanently enter into mu-
Nobody has the right to go against the tual destruction and annihilation. In such
well-being of individuals and groups of circumstances people lose their lives and
people. In addition to this, the right ex- those who survive for a while lose their
tends to the protection of their property. hope for the present and future.
?
Form groups in a class and list indica-
tions of the absence of rule of law and
discuss in a group their impact on indi-
viduals and society. Present the summary
of your discussion to the class.
27
An absence of rule of law means there is Furthermore, identifying the commonly
no legally established and fair procedure shared values, interests and goals are also
to take action to resolve conflicts or regu- a means of conflict prevention and resolu-
late social relations. It can also create tion. Therefore, it is important to identify
inequality and an absence of the equal these commonly shared values, interests
protection of the law. and goals, which are quite useful to bring
about national consensus and create sta-
Conflicts happen in the normal course of bility. These can be done through encour-
social interaction. Conflict means disa- aging communication among different
greement that arises due to differences groups and through cultural exchanges
that can result from divergences of inter- such as festivals, Nations and Nation-
ests in a society. A number of different alities days, National Flag days, sport
conflicting interests can arise between events and similar communal activities.
individuals and groups.
Case study
Rule of law helps to prevent and manage The Youth Peace Building Effort
conflict through legal means and estab- in South Omo
lished procedures. This means, before the On August 14, 2007, a caravan of forty
conflict turns into violence and anarchy, youths, representing the Hamer, Karo,
rule of law attempts to prevent its occur- Nyangatom and Dessanech pastoralist
rence and manage it using the appropri- ethnic groups of South Omo Zone, set out
ate mechanisms. to tour one another’s villages for the pur-
pose of cultural exchange. For ten days,
Conflicts on the use of natural resources the youths travelled, danced, decorated
and regarding personal interests can be one another, played sports, slept and ate
resolved when we respect and obey the together. They spent two days in the host-
values and principles stated in the con- ing village of each ethnic group, before
stitution and laws of the country. For moving on to the next. These seemingly
example, conflicts on boundaries, grazing simple social interactions had a profound
land, water and other resources may arise
symbolic meaning for each of these local
between different groups. If these con-
cultures, instilling bonds of deep kinship
flicts are to be resolved legally, we have to
and peace between the groups. The event
adhere to the values and principles of the
was the first of its kind in South Omo
Constitution.
Zone, and was immediately recognized by
all stakeholders as an unprecedented, in-
Working together on common problems is
novative move towards peace in the area.
another peaceful means of resolving con-
flict. For example, where there is a con-
?
What can other communities learn from
flict on drinking water, the people from
South Omo Youth efforts to resolve the
both sides can come together and discuss
conflicts that may arise in their region?
how to get another water resource or ar- Discuss this in groups and present to a
range a program. class.
28
Karo man Dessanech youngsters
Peoples of the South Omo Zone
Remember:
• Rule of law establishes restrictions for both those who govern and the governed.
• Everyone, irrespective of wealth, rank or condition, is subject to law and jurisdic-
tion of the courts.
• Where there is rule of law, the rights of individuals and groups will be respected.
• Conflict means disagreement that arises due to differences that can result from
divergences of interest in society.
• Conflicts can be legally resolved by adhering to the values and principles of the
Constitution, by working together on common problems and identifying the com-
monly shared values, interests and goals.
29
Limited and Unlimited Governments

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: In Ethiopia, the 1995 Constitution has
• Describe the nature of limited and unlimited created a favorable condition to control
governments.
power abuse by any branches of govern-
How much power does the government in ment. Political parties and individuals
Ethiopia have? can assume state power only through
democratic, free and fair election; authori-
Limited government is a government
ties cannot violate the basic freedom of
whose power is restricted constitution-
the people and the power of the govern-
ally. An absence of arbitrary power and
ment is decentralized. This has brought
protection of basic rights and freedoms of
a new condition in the country where the
citizens characterize such governments.
government’s power is legally limited.
A country with limited government exer-
cises constitutionalism. Constitutionalism
Unlimited government is associated with
is a political doctrine that indicates state
authoritarianism and totalitarianism;
ideology to uphold rule of law in an envi-
it is undemocratic and includes monar-
ronment of democratic governance; that
chies and dictatorships. Examples of such
means the strict observance of the consti-
types of governments include Fascist
tution by the government.
Italy under Benito Mussolini’s rule, Nazi
Germany under Adolph Hitler and Spain
Accountability, transparency, protection
under General Franco. The government of
of rights and freedoms of citizens, the
Nazi Germany had absolute power to do
mechanisms of checks and balances be-
anything against the basic rights of the
tween the organs of government are ways
people. Adolph Hitler massacred Jews.
in which government power in democratic
Courts ignored the rule of law whenever
countries is limited. Every democratic
they deemed it necessary.
government is characterized by limit-
ing the powers of officials. The role of the
Mussolini also crushed the opposition of
people to limit the power of government is
Italy and transformed the government
the cornerstone of a democratic system.
into a dictatorship supported by a secret
police. He dissolved the parliament and
The governments of USA and Great Brit-
formed his own Chamber of Fascist rule.
ain have limited power because, conceptu-
He strengthened Italy’s ties with Nazi
ally, power emanates from the people and
Germany and invaded Albania and other
they have strong mechanisms to check
neighboring countries.
and control the powers of state organs
and officials. The US congress, the White
?
Form groups to discuss the characteristics
House and the judiciary systems work in of limited and unlimited governments.
such a way that no one body is able to mo- In what ways do you relate underdevel-
nopolize power. In Britain, the parliament opment and government with unlimited
and the judiciary body work together to power. Group leaders should present your
avoid any of the two becoming dominant ideas to the class for more discussion.
on the other.
30
Limited and Unlimited Governments

Case Study
Apartheid in South Africa
Apartheid was a policy of racial segrega-
tion formerly followed in South Africa.
The word apartheid means “separate-
ness” in the Afrikaans language and it
described the rigid racial division between
the governing white minority population
and the nonwhite majority population.
This meant that non-whites were denied
many of their basic human rights. The
National Party introduced apartheid as
part of their campaign in the 1948 elec-
tions and, with the National Party vic-
tory, apartheid became the governing
political policy for South Africa until the
early 1990s. Although there is no longer a
legal basis for apartheid, the social, eco-
nomic, and political inequalities between
white and black South Africans continue
to exist.
?
Form three groups. Look at the photo-
graph and discuss the impact that unlim-
ited power of the govenment had on citi-
zens. Present your ideas to the class.
Remember Apartheid tensions - white killings of the blacks
• Limited government means decen- for their demonstration against apartheid in
tralized power; imposition of other South Africa- the case of Soweto.
restraints on the power of the govern-
ment
• Unlimited government can be ex-
pressed through authoritarianism and
totalitarianism
• Constitutionalism means a limited
government as the result of strict
observance of the constitution by the
government
• Unlimited government is undemocrat-
ic, for example a dictatorship.
31
Rule of Law and Combating Corruption

• Explain the role of individuals and institution
in the fight against corruption.
In pairs discuss three different types of

corruption that can occur. Why are they
corrupt activities? Share these examples
with the rest of the class.
Corruption is morally wrong and one of

the ways of breaking rule of law. It is a
serious problem that countries are suf-
fering from and a setback to the develop-
ment efforts of a nation. Thus, countries
are fighting to do away with corruption.
In Ethiopia, the Ethics and Anti-Corrup-
tion Commission was established in 2001
and the government calls on the public at
large to play its role in combating corrup-
tion and abuse of power.
Individuals must be honest and truth-

ful in their day-to-day activities in order
to combat corruption. This means they
should have respect for rules and regula- All citizens have a duty to fight against corruption
tions of the country and decide to fight
corruption by every legal means. Through
honesty and truthfulness we can expose
corrupt people and turn away from cor- institution. In keeping with the Consti-
rupt practices. tution, government officers must make
their activities transparent to the public.
The fight against corruption requires the Moreover, officials must be held account-
active and full participation of the pub- able for any fault they commit. Transpar-
lic and the unreserved commitment of, ency and accountability play a great role
among others, each and every government in combating corruption.
32
Rule of Law and Combating Corruption

Case Study
President Nixon and
The Watergate Scandal
Nixon was President of the USA and un-
der his presidency he did many great
things for America. He was the first presi-
dent of the USA to visit China and estab-
lish closer relations with the communist
country. He also took the Middle East
politics in a new direction.
Though the president had remarkable

achievements, the media in America
exposed corruption in which he was in-
volved. The corruption is known as ‘The
Watergate Scandal’. In 1973 some of the
President’s staff were charged with break-
ing into the opposition party’s headquar-
ters in the Watergate Building in Wash-
ington. They had tapped telephones,
planted electronic listening devices and
taken copies of documents.
The Supreme Court of the USA im-

peached (accused) him and he was found
guilty of the crime. As a result he was
forced to resign as the President of USA
in 1974 and is now better known for the
corruption in which he was involved.
President Nixon on a visit to Ethiopia
?
Form groups to discuss what you learn
from an American president who lost his Remember
office due to corruption. Group leaders • Corruption is morally wrong and
should present your ideas to the class for breaks rule of law
more discussion. • Individuals must be honest and truth-
ful in order to combat corruption.
• Transparency and accountability in
government institutions play a great
role in combating corruption.
• Active and full participation of the
public and unreserved commitment is
required to fight corruption
33
Unit 2 The Rule of Law
Unit Summary
Ethiopia, as a federal state, has two levels of government. The federal government has
overall jurisdiction across the country; and jurisdiction of the states is limited to their
respective regions. Both the federal government and the states have their own consti-
tutions. These constitutions have similarities and differences.
The prevalence of the rule of law requires a democratic constitution. In democratic

countries there is constitutionalism which means the strict observance of the constitu-
tion. In these countries the principle of rule of law is respected and human and demo-
cratic rights are guaranteed.
The rule of law is very important to restrict the powers of both those who govern and
the governed. It also helps protect and respect the rights of individuals and groups. An
absence of rule of law means arbitrary rule, disorder and destruction that can lead to
conflict.
A government whose power is restricted constitutionally is called limited government.

The action taken, the decisions passed, and the laws and rules issued by limited gov-
ernment are in accordance with the principles and values set by law. If there is no
limitation or restraint upon the power of the government, then that government is an
unlimited government. An unlimited government expresses itself through authoritari-
anism and totalitarianism.
Corruption is a serious problem from which the whole world is suffering. It is a threat
and sets back the development effort of a nation. Therefore, in the fight against cor-
ruption both individual citizens and institutions must contribute. The most important
factor in the fight against corruption is the prevalence of the rule of law in everyday
life.
Glossary
Constitutionalism: Belief in the idea of a constitution.
Dictatorship: A dictator’s power or authority, or the period of time during which a
dictator rules and exercises absolute power or authority
34
Unit 2 The Rule of Law
Unit Review Questions

Part I - True or false Part III - Multiple choice
1. The regional governments of Ethio- 1. The prevalence of the rule of law
pia do not have their own legisla- indicates:
ture, executives and judiciaries. a the existence of democratic
2. The constitutions of the regional government
states are subordinate to FDRE Con- b the government is limited
stitution. c the government is unlimited
3. Rule of law shall not impose restric- d a and b are both correct
tion on a citizen. 2. We can say that the power of
4. A country with limited govern- government is limited when there is/
ment does not necessarily have are:
constitutionalism. a accountability and transparency
b check-and-balance between three
Part II - Fill in the blank spaces organs of government
1. In a limited government, the c constitution and constitutionalism
government officials at all lev- d decentralization of power
els are prohibited from violating e all of the above
the laws of the land and against 3. Which one of the following is true?
the basic rights of citizens by the a adhering to the values and princi-
_________________________. ples of the laws of a country does
2. The contributions of not have any contribution in re-
________________________ and solving conflicts.
_____________________ are essential b identifying the commonly shared
in fighting against corruption. values, interests and goals is im-
3. The commission established in Ethio- portant for conflict resolution.
pia to combat corruption and power c as it has been observed in
abuse is known as_________________ reality the rule of law cannot
__________________. resolve conflict.
d all of the above
4. The fight against corruption involves:
a participation of the public
b commitment of government
institutions
c honesty and truthfulness of
individuals
d all
35
Civics and Ethical Stuies Grade 11 Unit 3
Equality
Introduction
In this unit you will learn why you need to treat the nations, nationalities and peoples
of Ethiopia equally. You will see that equality is expressed in political, economic, social
and cultural ways. You will also learn that equality requires treating females and
males as equals. You will realize the necessity of equality for peace and the develop-
ment of the country.
Lessons Key Words and Concepts

1. The Importance of Equality among the • Affirmative action
Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of • Disabled group
Ethiopia • Equality
2. The Individual and the Public Interest • Gender
3. Gender Issues and Socially Discrimi- • Gender issues
nated Groups • Individual rights
4. The Tendency to Negate Unity in • Socially discriminated groups
Diversity • Unity in diversity
What you will learn

You will:
• Realize the notions of equality, ben-
efits and burden.
• Be aware of gender issues.
Taking equal responsibility for household chores
36
Unit 3 Equality Lesson 1
The Importance of Equality among Nations,

Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia
Form groups to discuss the ways in which
?
• Describe what kinds of equality and burdens the equality of nations, nationalities and
the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethio- peoples of Ethiopia can be maintained.
pia enjoy. In what ways are peace and development
related to equality? Group leaders should
Give an example of a person who has been present your ideas to the class for more
treated unequally. Why were they treated discussion.
in this way?
Equality is the right not to be treated Case study

differently because of age, race, sex, abil- The Bale and Gedeo
ity, political views or any other status; Peasants uprisings
it means being treated the same as oth- During the time of Haile Selassie millions
ers. It is a broad concept that involves of Ethiopians were landless while very
economic political, social and cultural few were owners of most of the land. This
considerations. Equality can be a form created economic, social, cultural and po-
of remedial or restorative justice to re- litical inequality. As a result of this, there
pair damages done in the past. Equality were peasant’s uprisings in many parts
can be seen as a process of undoing past of the country. The Bale and Gedeo peas-
inequalities or injustices. This could lead ant’s uprisings were among those revolts
to greater uniformity among members of against the regime. These uprisings were
society in terms of equality. brutally crushed by the government forc-
es. However, Haile Selassie’s government
In today’s world, the issue of equality has could not continue for long. The resistance
gained huge political importance. It has of the people against inequality and injus-
attracted the attention of governments as tice ended the feudal system. After years
a key to ensuring internal stability, peace of fighting, the peasants got their land.
and development. In the broader sense,
equality means to extend equal opportuni-
?
ties for members of society. Equality, in Form groups to discuss how the inequali-
the main refers to opportunities that the ties in the past, led to the peasants upris-
state extends to its people. It also means ings. Group’s leaders should present your
equal protection and the rights given to ideas to the class for more discussion.
all citizens.
Remember
• Equality refers to the state of being treated the same as others.
• In the broader sense, equality means extending equal opportunities for members of
society.
• In today’s world, the issue of equality has gained huge political importance.
• The federal structure of government helps to address the problem of equality?
• People who are treated equally will be more inspired to do their part for nation
building. 37
The Individual and the Public Interest

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Your performance may not be up to the
• Describe the differences between individual standard to be selected. If you still insist
and public interests.
that you have an equal right to be ac-
cepted, then your understanding of the
Why might you be treated unequally at
essence of equality is wrong. After all,
times?
equality must be viewed in terms of ex-
Equality means treating people as equals tending equal opportunity to compete, but
regardless of sex, race, religion, culture, not deserving whatever you wish.
nationality or occupation. Equality is
related to rights. Your rights entitle you You have equal opportunities with others
to be treated equally to others. However, to become a medical doctor. But, you can
exercising your equality has limitations not join the Faculty of Medicine simply
as the use of your rights can be condi- because you have the desire. You will be
tioned by your obligations. As expressed accepted when you have met all the crite-
in the Constitution, you have freedom of ria required to join the faculty.
speech, and expressions. But, your free-
doms of expression do not include the Your family might own a house, however,
right to verbally abuse or insult someone due to the construction of a road, it could
you hate. This is a violation of the rights be marked for removal. Certainly, this
of others. You are not denied any of your would be a sad story for the whole fam-
rights when you are not allowed to abuse ily. Still, your parents cannot argue that
others. their right to own property is violated so
long as they are compensated for the loss.
You have equal rights to participate in What justifies the government to take this
the extracurricular activities in your action is the desire to promote the public
school. You might want to join the schools interest more than that of the individual.
basketball and football teams, but you
may have to pass a physical examination Your personal interests are protected
first. only to the extent that the interest of the
public is not adversely affected. There-
fore, you might have to give up some of
your individual rights in order to promote
what benefits society. Generally speaking,
public interests should precede individual
rights.
?
Form groups to discuss how limiting
individual rights is a necessity in order to
promote the interests of society. Is it fair
to give up some of your rights for the sake
of society? Group’s leaders should present
your ideas to the class for more discus-
Medical student working in laboratory
sion.
38
The Individual and the Public Interest
?
Case study Form groups to produce a justification
The Tekeze Hydroelectric for resettling people from this area in the
Power Plant interest of national development. Group
Today Ethiopia has launched the con- leaders should present your ideas to the
struction of a number of hydroelectric class for discussion and debate.
power plants in different parts of the
country. The total number of power
plants constructed over the last ten years
is greater than those constructed previ-
ously. The output has more than doubled.
The Tekeze Hydroelectric power plant is
currently the biggest power plant near
completion with the capacity of more than
300 megawatt.
Hydroelectric power plants’ construc-

tion is necessary for the accelerated de-
velopment of the country. However, the
construction of the power plants was not
without problems as it dislodges people
living in those areas. People who lived in
the area for many years were moved out
and resettled elsewhere. It might not be
pleasing to them, but it is a necessary
action to take for the sake of promoting
national development.
Building an Ethiopian hydroelectric power plant
Remember
• Equality means treating people as equals regardless of sex, race, religion, culture,
nationality, or occupation.
• Exercising your right to equality has limitations, as the use of your rights can be
conditioned by your obligation to others.
• As expressed in the Constitution, you have freedom of speech and expressions; but
your freedom of expression does not allow you to verbally abuse or insult others.
• Your personal interests are protected only to the extent that the interest of the
public is not adversely affected.
• It is right to promote the individual interest so long as the outcome does not affect
the common good.
• Public interests should precede individual rights.
39
Gender Issues and Socially Discriminated Groups

• Explain how women and the socially discrimi-
nated groups are treated unfairly in society.
Through affirmative action, today women
in Ethiopia are enjoying many advantag-
Give an example of a group that experi- es. This helped women to experience posi-
ences social discrimination. Why are they tive discrimination to compensate them
sometimes not treated equally? for past injustices. In this regard, female
and male students can join universities
with different cumulative grade point
Gender issues, in the main, refer to deter- average requirements. Like in education,
mined patterns of behavior in relation to some jobs, through affirmative action,
rights, duties, obligations and responsibil- give priority to females.
ities assigned to females and males in so-
ciety. The cultural differences in a society A new family law has been issued to
shape how gender issues are viewed and protect women’s rights in marriage and
handled. The history of human society, for divorce. These are positive developments
the most part, is marked by unfair treat- that have empowered women. Empower-
ment for women. ing women means empowering society
as a whole. Women are the backbone of
Women in Ethiopia are often denied the society and women’s empowerment is
same rights that men enjoy. In the past one of the cornerstones of social justice.
women were denied the right to own and The development of a country is achieved
inherit land and other properties. Thus, when all women are treated fairly and
they were subordinate to men. They had equally to men.
no right to decide who to marry and live
with. They were subject to circumcision, The development of Ethiopia requires ad-
early marriage, abduction and domestic dressing the equality of disabled groups
violence. as much as gender issues. These are
citizens who are physically and mentally
At present, women have the same legal impaired and who need special treatment.
rights as men. They have constitutional- Schools, workplaces, shops, hotels, trans-
protection to enjoy their rights. They have portation services and even roads need to
equal access to education, jobs and health be constructed to handle them. Communi-
care and also have freedom of expression ties should give attention to the disabled
and the right to form an association. More members to support them. They deserve
female students are in schools and uni- special attention because they are part of
versities now than in the past. They are the society to be sympathized and cared
assuming ministerial positions; and given for. They have a right to be able to access
the opportunity, they can make higher de- the same things as those who are able
cisions, alongside their male counterparts. bodied.
40
Gender Issues and Socially Discriminated Groups

Create a list of similarities and differ- Remember
? ences between male and female students.
Examine why these exist and consider
• Gender issues, in the main, refer to
determined patterns of behavior in re-
what effect they may have on society. lation to rights, duties, obligations and
responsibilities assigned to females
Case Study and males in society.
Women’s achievements • The cultural differences in society
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Tirunesh shape how the different gender issues
Dibaba set a new world record in the are viewed and handled.
10,000 meters women competition. She • The history of human society, for the
performed this great feat in the face of most part, is marked by unfair treat-
very tough competition. Her achievement of women.
ment is a pride for the Ethiopians. She • In Ethiopia, most women were denied
displayed a great deal of determination the same rights that men enjoyed.
to translate what she promised to the • At present, women have the same le-
Ethiopians into practice. She set a new gal rights as men.
world record in an environment that was • Empowering women means empower-
hot and humid. She is one of the icons of ing society as a whole.
Ethiopia and a role model for Ethiopian • The development of Ethiopia requires
girls. addressing the equality of disabled
groups as much as gender issues.
?
Form groups to discuss whether women
can do more if given the opportunity and
treated equally. Group leaders should
present your ideas to the class for more
discussion.
Female Ethiopian athlete The disabled can be productive
41
The Tendency to Negate Unity in Diversity
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Ethiopia is a multicultural and multi-
• Describe the negative impact of failing to ac- ethnic country with over seventy ethnic
knowledge unity in diversity. groups inhabiting its territories. Today
they are classified as nations, nationali-
ties and peoples. They have constitution-
Describe one cultural event or activity you ally protected rights of equality. No one
really enjoy to your neighbour. group is superior, as no group is inferior.
All, big or small, have equal rights to
protect, advance and promote the de-
Unity in diversity is all about the mutual
velopment of their cultural distinctions.
existence of different cultural groups.
Ethiopia is as different as its cultural and
Societies, having such diversity, are called
ethnic groups are different. Its unity can
multicultural societies and countries
be expressed through the unity that its
consisting of such compositions are mul-
ethno-cultural groups forge among them-
ticultural nations. The political doctrine
selves with a shared purpose and objec-
that upholds this way of life is termed
tives.
multiculturalism. It means living together
to respect others’ languages, religions and
When we are united as a nation, we are
ways of life. This is based on the belief
strong, but if we lose what unites us, we
that all cultures, religions and languages
will be weak. The roles you play should
are equal, thus everyone deserves to be
bring the nations, nationalities and peo-
treated equally. A multicultural society
ples of the country together. To do this
exists in peace as long as all its members
you have to respect the cultures, languag-
display mutual respect for one another.
es and religions of others.
Failure to do so can easily jeopardize the
?
social peace and the ability to live as one Form groups to discuss the positive and
community. negative activities that can affect the
unity of the peoples of Ethiopia and list
them.
The Afar people

42
Unit 3 Equality
The Tendency to Negate Unity in Diversity
?
Case Study What enables the Hamer to live in har-
The Hamer of South West Ethiopia mony with others? Discuss in groups.
The Hamer lives in the South Nations,
Nationalities, and Peoples Regional State. Remember
They inhabit the area around the town • Unity in diversity is all about the
of Jinka. They are herdsmen combining mutual existance of different cultural
some agriculture for their living. They groups.
have their own language, belief system • A multicultural society exists in peace
and other cultural traits that they are as long as all its members show mu-
proud of. They share the same rights as tual respect for one another.
the people of the rest of Ethiopia to devel- • Ethiopia is as different as its cultural
op and promote themselves. Many anthro- and ethnic groups are different.
pologists have studied their way of life for • When we are united as a nation, we
many years. The Hamers live with others are strong, but if we lose what unites
with respect, dignity and harmony. us, we will be weak.
Hamer family group

43
Unit 3 Equality
Unit Summary
In this unit you have learnt the importance of equality manifesting itself in the politi-
cal, economic, social and cultural aspects. You have seen the need to treat the nations,
nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia as equals to preserve its unity, and achieve de-
velopment to live a better life. It is important for you to develop the capacity to treat
males and females as equals. The development of Ethiopia can be achieved when you
support women’s empowerment in the country as a whole. You should help the dis-
abled and treat them as equals because they are citizens.
Glossary
Affirmative action: Positive actions taken to address socially disfavored groups in
order to compensate past injustices.
Disabled group: A group which comprises of individuals who are mentally or physi-
cal impaired.
Equality: Is a political doctrine that rests on the belief that citizens of a country
should enjoy the same and equal rights in economic, political, social and cultural ar-
eas.
Gender: Is a concept pertaining to the relationship between men and women.
Gender issues: Issues related to the relationship between men and women.
Individual rights: Is a political thinking that refers to rights that every individual
enjoys in society.
Socially discriminated groups: Are members of society who are discriminated
against due to ethnic, religious, sexual, cultural or physical disability or occupation.
Unity in diversity: Is the mutual existance of different cultural groups.
44
Unit 3 Equality
Part I –Multiple choice Part II – True or false

1. Which one of the following groups do 1. Disabled groups in society need special
not demand equal treatment with oth- attention.
ers? 2. Equality means to demand anything
a nations and get it.
b nationalities 3. Ethiopia is a country where there are
c people no gender issues.
d none 4. Gender equality means replacing male
2. Affirmative action may not be needed dominance by female dominance.
in Ethiopia only for one of the follow- 5. Socially discriminated groups have the
ing. same rights as others.
a women
b minority groups Part III – Short answers
c groups whose language is on the 1. What is equality?
verge of vanishing 2. What do you understand by affirma-
d none tive actions? Give examples.
3. Unity in diversity does not mean 3. What are your individual rights? State
one of the following: some?
a treating ethnic groups equality 4. Describe one gender issue you see in
b treating all regions as equals society. How can things be improved?
c be willing to work with others
having different viewpoints
d to accept that some societies are
superior to others
45
Justice
Introduction
In Grade 10 you studied the basic ideas of justice and equity. Here you will further
discuss equity from the perspective of benefits and burdens. You will also look at the
historical background of equitability in Ethiopia. With regards to justice you will
examine the components of the justice system where you will learn to appreciate the
working of the courts in Ethiopia.

1. Fairness • Benefits
2. Analysis of Equitability • Burdens
3. Components of the Justice System • Courts
4. The Workings of the Court • Judges
5. Fairness in Taxation • Law
• National Resources
What you will learn • Non-partisanship
You will: • Social Services
• Realize the essence of equity of ben- • Stereotyping
efits and burdens.
• Recognize the history of equitability in
Ethiopia.
• Understand the components of the
justice system.
• Appreciate the working of the courts in
Ethiopia.
46
Unit 4 Justice Lesson 1
Fairness
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Apart from this, people engage in most
• Explain what is meant by equity of benefits activities because they have a benefit.
and burdens
Also if the activity involves more than one
person it involves dividing the benefits
What do you think are some of the among all who are involved in the activity
benefits and burdens for an individual? so everybody benefits. It is important to
acknowledge that these benefits should be
You have learned in Grade 10 that justice distributed fairly.
should prevail in the distribution of social
services. You have also seen how social
services are provided by the government
for the benefit of the society. Here you
will discuss more about what benefits and Case Study
burdens an individual has and how these Teshome’s Share
may be fairly allocated to people. Teshome and Abdi are very good friends.
One Saturday while they were out play-
In order to understand fairness in the ing, Ato Gadissa came and asked them to
distribution of benefits and burdens, it is clean his compound. Teshome and Abdi
important to understand what benefits are very respectful and hardworking boys,
and burdens are. Benefits are services or so they immediately agreed to clean the
commodities that are believed to be good compound. Ato Gadissa’s compound is a
for an individual or group. Sometimes big compound so the boys divided it in two
benefits are provided by the government and started cleaning. It took them half
to help the people. These kinds of benefits the day to complete the work.
include welfare payments paid to people
who don’t have a job or welfare activities Finally the compound became so beauti-
done for street children. ful that Ato Gadissa was very happy.
He cooked some food and called Abdi to
People also do things that are beneficial his home. He gave Abdi some food to eat
for themselves. When you work hard but said that he didn’t like Teshome and
you know that it benefits you by making didn’t want to give him any food. But
you happy and earning you money. So Abdi felt sad because he knew that he and
the word benefit has a broader meaning. his friend had both worked hard and they
However, in most countries it is a service both deserved to get some food.
that supports those people in need and
usually the government provides these
benefits. In the United Kingdom, for ex-
ample, the word ‘benefit’ refers to welfare
payments from the government to the
Was Ato Gadissa fair in his treatment of
Teshome? If you were Abdi how might you
respond to this situation?
?
people.
47
Fairness
Burdens are the responsibilities that you If there are four people involved in an
have. In order to get benefits, there are activity and only two of these four bear
expectations that are required of you. 90 percent of the burden, they should be
Activities that require more than one entitled to 90 percent of the benefits. It is
person, involve sharing the responsibil- usually good to contribute equally to any
ity when undertaking the activities. This activity and share the benefits equally.
means people are sharing the burden in
order to achieve something. This idea also works at a national level.
The distribution of benefits and burdens
A burden could also be seen as the contri- should be fair across the country. This
bution of each individual in the achieve- means people from every part of the
ment of something. If only certain people country should feel the responsibility of
are doing everything yet everybody is development equally and should make
sharing the benefits, it is not fair. The their best effort. Similarly everyone in the
people shouldering the entire burden will country should share the benefits accord-
be exploited and the people who didn’t ing to his/her effort to promote the devel-
participate are unfairly being benefited. opment of the country. If there are only
Everybody should benefit according to his/ certain parts of society shouldering the
her contribution to an activity. The excep- burdens while others reap the benefits,
tions should be those people who are un- the people shouldering the burden will get
able to contribute like the elderly and sick angry. This may cause instability.
or disabled people.
If the burden falls on just a few people or

one person, they may get fed up of benefit-
ing others and there won’t be a harmoni-
ous relationship among the people in-
volved. Therefore, all the people involved
should take the responsibility.
The fair distribution of benefits and

burdens can be fair only if a person or a
group could earn according to their contri-
bution in an activity that brings benefits.
Two boys cleaning a compound
48
Fairness
Case Study
The Benefits Principle of Taxation
The benefits principle of taxation states
that the beneficiaries of a particular gov-
ernment program should pay for it. This
is a good example of how benefits and
burdens should match. Sometimes there
are special programs intended to benefit
certain section of the society. In order to
pay for these programs the government
collects a specific type of tax. This tax will
only apply to those people who are to ben-
efit from the program.
For example, the government charges fuel

tax for diesel and petrol. The burden of
this tax is carried by people who use this
type of fuel for their vehicles. The govern-
ment collects tax on fuel and this is then
used towards constructing the roads.
Therefore, the benefit primarily goes
to those people who use vehicles on the
roads.
A fuel station
? Where else does the benefits principle of

taxation exist? Where could it be used?
Remember
• Benefits are material or non-material advantages that are given to an individual or
group.
• Burdens are requirements or responsibilities undertaken in order to gain benefits.
• Both benefits and burdens should be distributed and shouldered fairly.
49
Analysis of Equitability
By the end of this lesson you should be able to Ethiopian history is also filled with such
• Describe the history of distribution of social type of events. As you have discussed in
service and national resources in the country. Grade 9 and 10, the country was ruled
by a monarchy before 1974. The mon-
archy controlled all resources and the
people had very little chance of benefit-
• What are social services? Give exam- ing from them. The distribution of social
ples. services was biased towards close family
• What are national resources? Give and friends of the monarch. In addition,
examples. there was an imbalance in the distribu-
tion of social services between the differ-
ent regions of the country. Some regions
were very much neglected while other
regions enjoyed many benefits. For this
reason the deprived regions remained
In Grade 10 you discussed justice in the backward and could not develop. There
distribution of social services. You know was also an imbalance among the differ-
that the distribution of social services ent social groups. The monarch and fam-
should be fair within a country and every- ily, who were believed to have absolute
one deserves equal services. This comes power vested in them by God, enjoyed the
from the idea that all people are equal produce of the poor farmers. There was no
and deserve the same treatment from equitable distribution of resources at that
the government. Therefore, the provision time.
of social services, including education,
health and public administration, should After 1974 the Derg came to power over-
be fairly distributed. In the absence of fair throwing Haile Selassie I’s monarchy.
distribution of social service some parts of This government was totalitarian with a
society would be benefit more than others. socialist ideology. Although the govern-
ment claimed that all the people own the
National resources are the wealth of a na- national resources, the few people who
tion. These resources are owned by all the were in power engaged in corruption and
people and everyone should benefit from amassed great wealth. This resulted in
them. These include both natural and the misuse of resources and the people
other resources. So using these resources and country remained poor. Therefore,
for the benefit of the people should be the efforts of a lot of people went into a
done in such a way that everyone can ben- few peoples’ pockets. During this period
efit. In order to have a stable and peaceful the distribution of social services was
country, people should feel that the use also not fair. Again some regions got the
and distribution of national resources is chance to benefit from the resources while
done fairly. other regions didn’t.
50
Analysis of Equitability
Case Study
Landlords and Tenants
During the time of Haile Selassie I, the
landlords owned huge areas of land and
exploited the tenants who were working
on the land. They took most of the crops
produced and left a very small amount for
the farmers to feed their families. Because
of this the landlords became richer and
richer while the farmers became poorer
and poorer. In this system the people who
worked hard did not get the worth of their
efforts while people who did not work took
most of the benefits. Here the benefits
didn’t match the burdens.
• How do you think the landlords felt in

? this situation?
• Do you think that the system today is Emperor Haile Selassie I with one of his subjects
fair? Explain your answer
Remember
• Social services should be fairly distrib-
uted.
• National resources are the wealth of
all the nation.
• Historically the distribution of social
services and national resources were
not fair in Ethiopia.
A landlord’s family and tenant
51
Components of the Justice System
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: with the existing law of the country and
• Explain the agencies of justice. argue that they are acting in accordance
with the law. The courts then examine
What is justice? Have you ever seen jus- both sides and study the facts so they are
tice in action? as objective as possible to give a verdict
on who has acted in accordance with the
law.
In Grade 9 you discussed the legal and
traditional instruments of justice. You Judges are well trained in interpreting
saw that legal instruments of justice and understanding the law. After review-
include courts, ombudsman and human ing the facts presented on both sides they
rights commissions. In Grade 10 you saw interpret it according to the law and make
the structure and functions of the judi- a judgment. The House of Peoples’ Rep-
ciary. resentatives appoint judges to the Fed-
eral courts after being recommended by
In this lesson you will discuss the agen- the Prime Minister. Similarly, the state
cies of justice. You already know that council appoints judges in the state courts
courts are places where the law is inter- after being recommended by the state
preted and judges are the people who judicial administration council.
administer the law in the courts. You
have examined the sources of law in Unit
2 and know that the law emanates from
the Constitution and international con-
ventions that the country signs. There are
?
principles that are universally followed Judges are appointed by the House of
like the principles of human rights that Peoples’ Representatives. In view of this
are enacted as law in a country. The laws appointment, are judges free from influ-
are enacted for the protection of human ence by the government? Explain your
rights and for the benefit of everyone in answer.
the country. Based on these laws, it is
easier to ensure the existence of justice
since we can all refer to the law when You have seen above that judges inter-
there is some kind of disagreement. pret the law. In order for the law to be the
governing body of the country it has to be
Courts are agencies that interpret law. properly interpreted without interference.
When people disagree on issues related Sometimes people interfere in the process
to law, they go to court and present their of law and try to win decisions through
cases. They try to show the facts along different measures.
52
For this reason the judiciary system Case Study
should be independent from all interfer- Summary Execution during
ence. Sometimes government officials the Red Terror
who have violated the law want to avoid In the early 1970s during the Derg re-
punishment. They may try to interfere gime, there was a massacre by the gov-
in the fair judgment of the courts. This ernment of people whom it considered
interference goes against the prevalence “Anti-revolutionary”. These summary
of justice. Therefore, the judiciary should executions occurred without any court
be independent of the government or any procedings. The people who ordered the
other interference so that justice can be killings and those who executed the order
served. were not tried in a court. The court was
not independent of the government and
In a totalitarian government the judiciary was a means to implement what the gov-
is not independent; it is controlled by the ernment wanted.
government. It becomes easier for govern-
ment officials to abuse the legal system.
?
Why should what happened during the
When they commit a crime they could
Red Terror not be able to happen in Ethi-
abuse the system so that they will not go
opia today?
to prison. To avoid these types of interfer-
ence the judiciary system has to be inde-
pendent.
To this effect the FDRE Constitution,

Article 78, states:
1. An independent judiciary is estab-
lished by this Constitution
and Article 79:
2. Courts of any level shall be free from
any interference of influence of any
governmental body, government official
or from any other source.
3. Judges shall exercise their functions in
full independence and shall be directed
solely by the law.
Red Terror victims
53

In your Grade 9 studies you saw what tra-
?
Divide yourselves into two groups in the
ditional and legal instruments of justice class. One group will go and visit a tradi-
are. Here you will see the major similari- tional court. The other group will go and
ties and differences of the courts in these visit a conventional court. Present what
two instruments of justice. you have observed in the class. After the
presentation, point out the similarities
Traditional courts are those instruments and differences between the two types of
of justice that are locally established by courts.
the people and are different from place to
place. These courts function side by side
with conventional courts. The values and
norms of society are reflected in these
courts. Usually elders, who are considered
to know the values and norms of society, Remember
are trusted to make the right decision. • Courts make judgment after examin-
Some of the traditional courts operate ing both sides of a case.
based on their religion. For example, Sha- • The judiciary system should be inde-
ria courts operate based on the principles pendent of all interference.
of Islam and decisions are made based on • Conventional courts are established by
the Holy Qu’ran and Hadith. However, the Constitution.
in other traditional courts the elders or • Traditional courts are those instru-
respected people are trusted to make the ments of justice that are traditionally
right decision without any written docu- established by the people and are dif-
mentation. ferent from place to place.
54
The Workings of the Court

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: The Constitution is the only guarantee in-
• Describe the duties of courts. dividuals have that protects their rights.
The Constitution clearly states the differ-
What are the duties of courts? ent rights of individuals such as the right
to life and right to privacy. The courts
are there to see that these rights are re-
You have seen in the previous lesson that spected. In the event of violations of these
courts are agencies of the law and they rights of individuals, the courts have a
should be independent without any in- stated system by which they will correct
terference. It is when the courts perform the injustice.
their duties independently that they could
truly serve justice. In this lesson you will
discuss the judicial protection of human
rights.
Case Study
It is only when there is an independent The Case of Ato Worku
and properly functioning judiciary that Ato Worku works at a government of-
the rights of individuals can be protected. fice as a store manager. His boss wanted
This is because it is primarily the law to give the job to his relative and with-
that guarantees human rights. This law out proper reason he fired Ato Worku.
can be properly implemented when there Ato Worku then appealed to the general
is an effective institution to interpret the manager but couldn’t get any response.
law in day-to-day lives of individuals. If After a month, he sued the office at a local
the right of an individual is violated that court. The court carefully viewed his case
individual has no other legal choice than and after two months gave the verdict
to come to court for justice. If the courts that he should be reinstated in his job
are doing their work properly he or she and that the office should pay his salary
will be able to get a fair judgment and for the past months along with the pay-
justice will be served. ment he made to his lawyer. His boss was
sentenced to pay for the damages that
FDRE Constitution Article 37 occurred.
1. Everyone has the right to bring a justi-
ciable matter to, and to obtain a deci-
sion or judgment by, a court of law or
?
Was this a good verdict? Explain your
any other competent body with judicial
answer.
power.
55

In the absence of the judicial protection of The protection of human rights by the
human rights, there may be human rights judiciary is very important. There are
abuses. Big institutions or people in gov- other elements that are required from
ernment offices could abuse the rights of the courts in order for them to function
others and injustice would prevail. properly. One of the requirements is that
the courts should treat every person as an
Human rights’ abuses take place in differ- individual and provide equal treatment.
ent forms. In some cases government offi- This means they have to be impartial and
cials become corrupt using their positions non-discriminating.
for their own benefit. They could also use
military power to take advantage of indi- One way to avoid discrimination is to
viduals or groups without the presence of become non-partisan. Non-partisanship
judicial protection. means being objective. The courts and
public officials should provide services
Individuals could abuse the rights of oth- free of any political, racial, ethnic, reli-
ers by using their money or power. In the gious or any other prejudice. This means
absence of an effective juducial system the courts and public offices should not
there is no guarantee that human rights represent any political views and people
will be respected. Under these conditions who have different opinions should be
people feel insecure about their lives and treated equally in these places. Similarly
property. Those who are capable may pro- people from different races and religious
tect themselves with their power. beliefs should be treated equally. This
further ensures equality of the people
Case Study and guarantees that the law treats people
Looting During the equally.
Change of Government
During 1991 the government changed
and, for a small period of time, the courts
and police were not functioning. Because
of this the rights of people were not pro-
tected. There was a lot of looting and
stealing from people’s houses. The thieves
felt confident that they would not be tried
so they took the opportunity to have what
they wanted. The streets were not safe.
There were many crimes and human
rights abuses during that time. Once the
new government was established then
many of the criminals were brought to
account and forced to return the property
that they stole.
56

Another requirement is for the courts and
public servants to be objective and not
stereotype citizens. Stereotyping is based
Write down ways in which you might be
stereotyped.
Why might people say these things sbout
?
on a set of factual and fictional beliefs, you?
about a certain group. It assumes that all Would it be fair for people to say these
members of a certain group will possess things about you before they got to know
certain traits, often negative. Stereotyp- you?
ing leads to a bias against a certain group
and their members. Bias leads to injustice
Remember
and brings anger, frustration and hatred.
• In the presence of a properly function-
ing judiciary the rights of individuals
FDRE Constitution
will be protected
Article 33
• In a society where there is no judi-
2. Every Ethiopian national has the right
cial protection of rights of individuals
to enjoyment of all the rights, protection
there can not be peace and stability.
and benefits derived from Ethiopian
• The courts should be free of partisan-
nationality as prescribed by law.
ships and stereotyping to make fair
judgments.
A court in session
57
Fairness in Taxation
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Just as tax payers have rights they also
• Explain the rights and duties of tax payers.
have duties. The primary and major duty
• Describe methods of tax assessment in Ethio-
pia. of tax payers is to pay taxes. In doing so
there are other duties they have to ful-
What rights and duties do you think tax fill. First of all they have to honestly and
payers have? exhaustively give all the necessary infor-
Discuss this issue in the class. mation for the finance authority. They
have to explain what type of work they
You have seen the different types of taxes do, their income, who their employer is
in Grade 10. Here you will discuss the and how frequently they are paid. This
rights and duties of tax payers. As dis- enables the finance authority to levy the
cussed in Grade 9 and 10, the government appropriate tax that should go to the gov-
requires money to provide different ser- ernment.
vices to its people. They have to pay their
dues and demand that social services be Some people do not disclose their income
provided for them from the government. and so pay a smaller amount of tax. This
Hence, citizens have a number of rights is both illegal and unethical. They are
and responsibilities as tax payers. denying the government the financial
resources it needs for various activities.
The services that citizens demand from Evasion of tax means citizens are not
their government include education, fulfilling their civic responsibilities and
health and other services such as licenses, are stealing from the government. There-
identification cards, security services from fore, one of the duties of tax payers is to
the police and fire department etc. In ad- reveal their proper income. The other
dition to demanding these services, tax duty of a tax payer is to pay the appro-
payers also have the right to information priate amount promptly. It is important
on the government budget. Annually the that the government gets the tax on time
government presents a budget to the leg- to engage in development activities and
islative body. After careful deliberation, provide public services as planned.
the legislative body improves the budget
and approves it. Since all citizens benefit from the activi-
ties of the government, they should pay
This information and process has to be ac- tax. Of course there are international
cessible to the public since the tax payer principles that guide the collection of tax.
has the right to understand and comment
on the budget. Similarly, at the end of the 1. The “ability to pay” principle. This
fiscal year, the government presents the principle says that payment of taxes
performance of the different government should be based on people’s ability
institutions. The government also reports to pay. It is only when a person has
on how it spent the money it collected the capacity that he or she has to pay
from tax payers. taxes. Those who do not have any
income will not be able to pay taxes. In
58
Fairness in Taxation
a small income up to a certain thresh- Case Study
old do not pay any tax. Value Added Tax System (VAT)
2. The ‘Horizontal Equity’ principle. This Value added tax is a consumption tax as-
principle says that people earning the sessed on all kinds of business activities
same amount of income should pay the including the production and distribu-
same amount of tax. For instance, two tion of goods and services. It is a modern
people earning 5000 Birr each should system of levying taxes on consumers for
pay the same amount of tax. This prin- their purchases. It avoids double taxation
ciple is put in place to preserve fair- so it preserves fairness. This is because
ness. the service giver only pays the tax once to
3. The ‘Vertical Equity’ principle says the government; that money is then reim-
people who earn different amounts bursed by the consumers in the tax they
should be taxed differently. This pay on the service or product. VAT was
means people earning more income first introduced in France in 1955 and to-
should be taxed more than people who day about 128 countries use this system.
earn less. In Ethiopia the progressive
?
taxation system follows this principle. Debate
Maintaining the above mentioned fairness Horizontal Equity: Mr.X and Mr. Y both
principles is very important. If the taxa- earn 4000 Birr. Mr. X has to support a
tion system is not fair people will want family of 7 with his income while Mr. Y
to avoid paying taxes and will engage in doesn’t have any family. In addition Mr.
contraband and similar tax fraud. As you X has a serious illness that requires ex-
have discussed in Grade 9 contraband is a pensive treatment that he pays from his
case where people cheat the government income. Monthly both Mr. X and Mr. Y
and avoid paying trade taxes. This harms pay the same amount of tax to the govern-
the country in many ways. First of all it ment.
denies the government of money it needs Divide yourselves into two groups.
for the provision of different services. Also • One group will argue it is fair that
the government will not be able to finance they pay the same amount of tax.
development activities without the proper • The other will argue that it is not fair
collection of taxes. that they pay the same amount of tax.
Remember
• Taxpayers have rights they could exercise with regards to the actions of the govern-
ment.
• The primary and major duty of tax payers is to pay taxes.
• Ability to pay principle says that payment of taxes should be based on people’s
capacity to pay.
• Horizontal Equity principle says that people earning the same amount of income
should pay the same amount of tax.
• Vertical Equity principle says that people who earn different amounts should be
taxed differently.
59
Unit 4 Justice
Unit Summary
In this unit you have focused on many ideas regarding justice. You saw the meanings
of benefits and burdens and how they should be distributed fairly. You explored justice
in the distribution of social services and national resources. The components of the
justice system, courts, laws and judges, were also discussed. You looked at the work-
ing of the courts and saw how they are essential for the protection of human rights.
Finally you have seen the purpose and the principles of levying taxation.
Glossary
Benefit: A service that supports those people in need.
Burden: The contribution of each individual in the achievement of something.
Court: An institution where the law is interpreted.
Judges: People who administer the courts.
National Resources: The wealth of a nation.
Non-partisanship: Being free from political, racial, ethnic, religious or any other
leanings.
Social Services: Those services provided by the government for the benefit of the
people.
Stereotyping: A combination of factual and fictional beliefs about a certain group.

Part I - Multiple choice 4. Stereotyping:
1. Which of the following is a national a is a combination of factual and
resource? fictional beliefs about a member
a gold and minerals of a group
b the money in the Bank b leads to bias
c the people c leads to frustration and violence
d all d all
2. Which of the following is a benefit
for an individual? Part II - True or false
a welfare payments by a 1. Non-partisan means discriminat-
government ing based on political, racial and
b earnings from doing work religious views.
c doing house work 2. A person should be benefited
d a and b according to the burdens he or she is
3. In Ethiopia the appointment of shouldering
judges for the Federal Supreme 3. The courts should have non-parti-
Court is made by: san belief but should use stereotyp-
a the Prime Minister ing in their decision-making.
b the State Judicial Council 4. Without judicial protection the rights
c the House of Peoples’ of individuals could be guaranteed.
Representatives 5. Progressive taxation is part of the
d all principle of vertical equity.
60
Patriotism
Introduction
You looked at many areas regarding patriotism in Grades 9 and 10. You also learnt
about a new dimension of patriotism that includes fighting poverty, terrorism and
working for the public interest on voluntary basis. There will be more discussion in
this unit on these and other topics related to national issues, including development
and voluntarism.

1. The Bases of Patriotism • Development
2. Responsibilities required from a Patri- • Ethics
otic Citizen • Historical account
3. Issues of Development • Mortality rate
4. Voluntarism on a National Basis • Prejudice
• Primary sources
What you will learn • Secondary sources
You will: • Voluntary organization
• Recognize the new dimension of pa-
triotism in contemporary Ethiopia.
• Understand the basic historical devel-
opments of the Ethiopian flag.
• Recognize the issues of development.
• Appreciate the role of voluntarism on A sign of patriotism - Tirunesh Dibaba
winning an Olympic gold medal
national issues.
61
Unit 5 Patriotism Lesson 1
The Bases of Patriotism

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: History can be distorted because histori-
• Enumerate the factors that contribute to the ans have different world views, political
building of a sense of patriotism. interests and motives. So there may be bi-
ased and exaggerated historical accounts
Why is it important to learn the history of to create a false impression and mislead
Ethiopia? people. You need to avoid these kinds of
problems to know more about the history
of your country. How can you do this?
History is a narration about the past
based on facts. Every historian should use • You can do this by reading a variety of
facts to write history. Even though most historical accounts written by different
historical accounts are based on evidence, historians. By doing this you can com-
some of them can be misleading and far pare and contrast different historical
from the truth. This is because some perspectives and have a broad under-
writers use certain facts and even create standing of the past.
evidences to construct history that is not
true for whatever reasons. • You have to examine the sources, facts
and evidence historians use to write
It is important to understand history in history. Historians may use some
order to understand the present. Know- sources that are less reliable. Histories
ing what has happened in the past can written based on primary sources and
help us to understand and solve current other objective secondary sources are
problems. True history teaches us values more reliable than histories distorted
whereas fabricated history creates false by personal views.
impressions that are used to mislead us.
This means that the history you learn History of the Ethiopian Flag
plays an important role in shaping your Knowledge of your flag is one aspect of
values and beliefs. This is why we say knowing your history. The flag in Ethio-
that understanding the true history is pia has a long history. It extends well over
important in order to develop a sense of a thousand years. Some give a religious
patriotic feeling towards our country. interpretation and trace the origin of the
You have to search for the true history of existing flag to a rainbow which appeared
Ethiopia to have clear understanding of after the biblical flood.
the past and develop the sense of patrio-
tism. Traditionally there was a tendency to
relate the different colors of the flag with
The role of a historian is to get closer and different regions: for example, red repre-
closer to the truth of the past. This re- senting Tigrai, green for Shoa and yellow
quires gathering facts and evidence from for Amhara. It is said that, during the
reliable sources then refining and inter- tenth century A.D., a blue flag was in use
preting them with care. in the country which was believed to have
62
?
been changed to yellow during the time of In groups, gather data from other stu-
Yodit’s rule. Under the Zagwe Dynasty, it dents and staff in your school on how the
was assumed to have been replaced by a national and regional flags are perceived.
red flag. During the Gondarine period, es- Share this information with the rest of
pecially at the time of Emperor Susenios, the class.
a multiple colored flag appeared with an
emblem on its top.
During the period of Emperor Tewdros

II, a multi-colored flag with an emblem of
the Lion of Judah was raised close to the
Emperor’s tent. When Emperor Yohannes
IV came to power it is said that there was
a flag in red, white and green. Likewise,
Emperor Menelik was believed to have
used a flag in green, red and yellow. The
present flag in green, yellow and red,
however, probably became the national
flag of Ethiopia during the time of Em-
press Zewditu Menelik in 1918.
The 1931 constitution of Ethiopia did not

mention the national flag, but the revised
constitution of 1955 stated the national
flag should have horizontally arranged
stripes of green, yellow and red. The em-
blem on the Ethiopian flag during Haile
Selassie’s rule was the crowned Lion
of Judah. The constitution of the Derg
changed the emblem to show the state
ideology of socialism. With the transi-
tion to democracy, the 1995 Constitution
maintained the flag of Ethiopia with the-
same colours but with a different em-
blem. The green indicates prosperity; the
yellow, hope; and the red symbolizes the
sacrifices to be made for the sovereignty of
Ethiopia. The star with equidistant rays
represents equality of all nations, nation-
alities and peoples as well as religions The Ethiopian flag from the Imperial time up to
and gender. the present.
63

?
Respecting differences Read the following quotes and discuss
You discussed tolerance in the previous their meanings. You can do it in groups or
grades. You need to use your knowledge pairs.
to treat people with tolerance. Tolerance
refers to an attitude of openness and re- “The problem to be faced is how to com-
spect for the differences that exist among bine loyalty to one’s own tradition with
people. Originally tolerance was used to reverence for different traditions.”
refer to acceptance of ethnic and religious Abraham Joshua Heschel
differences but now concepts of diversity
and tolerance can be also applied to differ- “The only way to make sure people you
ences such as gender and disability. agree with can speak is to support the
Tolerance means accepting and valu- rights of people you don’t agree with.”
ing differences, bridging cultural gaps Eleanor Holmes Norton
and discovering common grounds. It also
means rejecting stereotypes and creating “I disapprove of what you say, but I will
new relationships with people who differ defend to the death your rights to say it.”
from us. Tolerance is accepting equality of Evelyn Beatrice Hall
citizens despite different backgrounds. It
is about accepting and respecting people “The price of democratic way of life is a
for who they are. It is not being tolerant growing appreciation of people’s differ-
of bad behaviours, because bad behaviour ences, not merely as tolerable, but as the
shows a lack of respect and care for oth- essence of a rich and rewarding human
ers. Behaviours that disrespect or hurt experience.” Jerome Nathason
others, such as lying and stealing, break-
ing social rules and laws, should not be
tolerated.
Remember
• A good knowledge of history helps us to understand the present, solve current prob-
lems and develop patriotic feeling.
• The major goal of a genuine historian is to get closer and closer to the truth; to col-
lect reliable data from different sources and interpret this data objectively.
• You get good values from true history; exaggerated and falsified history influences
us to develop negative and biased attitudes.
• The present flag in green, yellow and red probably became the national flag of
Ethiopia during the time of Empress Zewditu Menelik in 1918.
• The 1955 Constitution recognized, for the first time, the present colours of the
Ethiopian flag.
• You have to use your knowledge of the past to understand differences and to treat
people with tolerance.
64
Responsibilities Required from Patriotic Citizens

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: acceptable and unacceptable before mak-
• Explain what the responsibilities of a patriot ing a decision. We deal with ethical deci-
citizen are.
sions in our everyday lives. Most people
• Be patriotic citizens.
do not steal because it is not morally right
to take what does not belong to you, most
How do you know whether something is
do not lie because lying often hurts oth-
right?
ers. Social harmony is maintained when
Do you think that fighting to defend your
the majority hold the same set of moral
country is right?
standards. Therefore, as a patriotic citi-
zen you have to act ethically.
You learnt that patriotism has many
meanings and dimensions. The tradi-
?
tional meaning of patriotism focuses on What might you have to consider before
defending your country in times of war. making a moral decision?
It is mainly related to military engage-
ments when your country is invaded. This
is not the only expression of patriotism.
For example when you are concerned for
the wellbeing of your community, or your Case study
country, you are being a patriotic citizen. Chaltu is a nurse working at a govern-
Patriotic citizens not only think about ment hospital in Ethiopia. Many patients
the wellbeing of their country but they come to the hospital from far away places
also act ethically. You have come across because the hospital is a referral hospital.
the word ethics and ethical in the previ- There are many patients on the wait-
ous textbooks. You have to get the clear ing list as it provides good care. Some
meaning of the words. patients have chronic diseases such as
diabetes and cancer; they have to wait for
The term ethics can be defined as the several days in order to get treatment. A
rules or standards governing the behav- person offers Chaltu 500 Birr to get jump
iour of a person or member of a profes- the queue and get treatment prior to all
sion. For example, different professions other patients on the waiting list.
have their own ethics such as medical
ethics or ethics of journalism. Ethics is a
system of beliefs that deals with what is
morally right and wrong. Human societ-
?
ies have common values that govern their • Do you think it would be ethical for
behaviours and actions. Our upbringing Chaltu to accept the offer and give
and religion are the main sources of our that person service prior to other pa-
values, moral rules and norms that con- tients? Explain your answer.
trol our behaviour. Since we have values • What would happen if many other
and moral norms we can evaluate what is nurses working at the same hospital
right and wrong and then decide what is did the same for other people?
65
Responsibilities Required from Patriotic Citizens

Case study Case study
Aster is working in a government orga- Drunk drivers in a city in Ethiopia have
nization. She is working as a clerk in the recently killed six people. The police chief
Purchasing Department. Her boss contin- of the city ordered the police to arrest
uously asks her for a date but she always drivers who are drunk. One night a police-
refuses politely. He soon threatens that man found a man who was driving at high
she could lose her job at any time. This speed. When he stopped the car he found
makes Aster deeply uncomfortable and that the driver had been drinking heavily.
unhappy in her work. She spends much The policeman identified the driver as his
of the day avoiding her boss and is not friend. If he arrested his friend for drunk
able to get on with her work properly. She driving, the man may be sent into prison
has spoken to other female members of for at least a year and his family would
the organization and has found that she suffer. The policeman was faced with a
is not the only person who he harasses. conflict. His duty was to arrest the driver
These other members of staff have started and protect the citizens of the town but he
to gather evidence (dates and what was also felt loyalty to his friend.
done) against her boss.
?
Discuss the following in groups.
In groups of five, discuss the following • How do you feel towards the driver?
? questions and let your group leader sum-
marize your points to the class.
What is the impact of these kinds of
actions on the lives of individuals,
• Why is what Aster’s boss is doing, families and the country as a whole?
morally wrong? • Do you think that the policeman
• What advice would you give Aster? should arrest the driver? Give reasons
• What do you think would happen to for your answer.
Aster if she exposed the wrong deeds • Should a person’s actions be dictated
of her boss? by their duty as a patriotic citizen or
• What might be the benefit of ‘whistle their feelings at the time?
blowing’ in these kinds of situations? Remember
• Patriotic citizens have many responsi-
bilities including working for the well-
Citizenship allows people to take part
being of their community and promot-
in society as active participants. To be a
ing the interest of their country.
good citizen includes doing your part for
• Our everyday activities involve ethical
the public interest, serving your commu-
decisions because we assess what is
nity and promoting the development of
right and wrong before we take action.
democracy in your country. The contribu-
• Sometimes our private interests and
tion of every citizen can make a difference
the common good come into conflict.
in promoting harmony and equality. We
• As patriotic citizens you are respon-
can promote peace, democracy and de-
sible to promote the public interest,
velopment when each citizen upholds the
serve your community and contribute
Constitution, carrying out personal and
to the development of democracy in
civic responsibilities.
your country.
66
Issues of Development
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: We have mentioned that the major goal
• Explain what development means of development is to reduce or eradicate
• Explain Ethiopia’s potential for development
poverty. The Millennium Development
Goals is a global campaign that aims to
How do you define the word development? improve the living conditions of people in
How developed do you think Ethiopia is? poor countries. To achieve its goal it fo-
cuses on tackling the problems of poverty.
The term development has several mean- The following are some of the Millennium
ings. Development can be defined as Development Goals that are targeted to
growth, or reducing poverty and gaining- be achieved by 2015.
more advanced and better living condi-
tions. Therefore, fighting poverty pro- • Reducing by two-thirds the mortality
motes development. You learnt some of rate of children under the age of five;
the indicators of poverty in Grade 10. It is • Eradicating gender inequality in ac-
important to remember the indicators of cess to education; this means elimi-
poverty to understand universal indica- nating gender disparity in primary
tors of development. and secondary education by 2015, and
eradicating gender inequality in edu-
There are several indicators of poverty: cation;
a high infant mortality rate, a very low- • Increasing the income of poor people
income level (for example below one US and reducing people who suffer from
dollar per day), a low average life expec- poverty and hunger; this includes re-
tancy and a low literacy rate. The major ducing by 50 percent the proportion of
aims of development are to reverse these people whose income is below one US
problems and increase the quality of life dollar per day;
for people in low-income countries. When • Ensuring that all children in all coun-
people in a country earn more money, tries are able to complete primary edu-
fewer babies die, people live longer and all cation; this means enabling all boys
receive a good education, they can be said and girls in the world to get primary
to live in a developed country. education.
Case study
Development indicators related to five countries
Indicators Ethiopia Tanzania Ghana Kenya Norway
Literacy rate 45.1% 80.5% 76.9% 86.9% 99%
Infant mortality rate 92 95 59 57 4
Life expectancy 49.2 46 59.1 55.3 79.7
Average income
per person/GDP (US$) 156.80 316 484.8 546.80 3,918.10
Population per
Physician/doctors 34,988 44,133 11,111 7576 281
Source: Encarta 2008
67
?
Examine the figures in the table on the
people. Ethiopia also has many tourist at-
previous page and compare and contrast
tractions. Harar, Tiya, Gonder and Axum
the similarities and differences between
are examples of popular historic sites.
the five countries.
There are natural tourist attractions
• Which of the five countries is most
including the Bale and Semien Mountains
developed? Why?
that have beautiful scenery as well as
• Which country is least developed?
endemic animals and birds. The people
Why?
of Ethiopia, with their different cultures,
• How does Ethiopia compare to the
clothing, music, dances, houses and craft
other less developed countries?
products, appeal to tourists.
• What do you think is the role of Ethio-
pians to help meet the development Case study
goals? Agricultural potential of Ethiopia
Discuss your answers in groups. Ethiopia has a very high potential in the
agricultural sector. For example it has
Case Study the greatest number of livestock in Africa,
Rates of infant mortality are one of the tenth in the world. Ethiopia also exports
indicators of poverty as well as develop- the most livestock in Africa. According to
ment. Child mortality rates are high in a sample census in 2001 and 2003, Ethio-
poor countries while the rates are low pia has:
in developed countries. For example, • 40 million cattle
deaths of infants under the age of five • 25.5 million sheep
per thousand live births in Sub-Saharan • 23.4 million goats
Africa is 160; in South Asia it is 83; in the • 2.3 million camels
Middle East and North Africa it is 46; for In addition, Ethiopia has a suitable cli-
East Asia and the Pacific it is 29; and for mate and type of soil for producing high
Latin America and the Caribbean it is 27. quality tea, coffee, fruit, vegetables, flow-
Source: Encarta 2008 ers, cotton, oilseeds and pulses.
?
Discuss the following questions based on
? Can you explain why infant mortality is the case study.

higher in undeveloped countries? • Do you think that Ethiopia really has
a high potential in the agricultural
sector? Why?
• Do you think that we are getting
We have recognised that Ethiopia is one maximum benefit from our livestock
of the poorest countries in the world; but resources? Explain your answer.
this does not mean that Ethiopia is poor • Do you think Ethiopia has any other
in all aspects. It is rich in natural resourc- agricultural potential to promote its
es such as rivers, wide areas of cultivable development?
land and has a large amount of livestock. • Why do you think Ethiopia remains
It is also rich in human resources since poor if it has a high potential for
Ethiopia has large number of working development?
68
?
Rivers of Ethiopia • Some people say Ethiopia is the water
Several rivers originate from the Ethio- tower of Africa. What is your opinion
pian highlands and flow to the lowlands on this?
then on to other countries. They include • Do you think that we are maximising
the Abay (Blue Nile), Awash, Genale and the potential of our rivers to promote
Wabe Sebelle. Ethiopian rivers have very Ethiopia’s development? Explain your
high potential for hydroelectric power de- answer.
velopment and irrigation for agriculture. • Ethiopia has many small rivers in ad-
The Abay contributes more that 85% of dition to the big ones. How can we use
the Nile water that reaches Egypt. Sudan them to promote the development of
produces about 80% of its electric power our country?
from the Nile River through its big dams
called Roseires and Sennar. These dams
also serve for irrigation to produce wheat
and high quality cotton.
Awash River Abay River
Remember
• Development can be defined as growth or change from poverty into more advanced
and better living conditions.
• Indicators of poverty help you to understand universal indicators of development.
• The Millennium Development Goals focus on eradicating poverty; reducing infant
mortality, increasing the incomes of poor people and providing a primary education
for all.
• Though Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world, it is not poor in natu-
ral resources such as rivers, wide areas of cultivable land, a large amount of live-
stock wealth and tourist attractions.
69
Voluntarism on a National Basis

Volunteers contribute to the wellbeing of
• Explain voluntarism and its importance for
addressing national problems. others at various levels: local, national
and international. There are millions of
What is the role of volunteering in pro- volunteers all over the world who work
moting the national interest? for the betterment of communities and
You discussed issues related to volun- nations. There are several thousand in-
tarism in Grade 9 and 10. Voluntarism ternational volunteers who move outside
is contributing one’s time or talent for their countries to provide voluntary ser-
educational, social, charitable and other vices. For example many volunteers have
purposes, freely without expectation of come from the United States, the United
compensation. People in many countries Kingdom and other countries to teach in
contribute to the community through vol- schools, colleges, universities and hospi-
untary efforts. They do this by providing tals and to provide services in Ethiopia.
services such as caring for the poor, pro-
viding education and by involving them- Case Study
selves in various community development Tolosa is a teacher in one of the primary
activities. schools in Oromia Region. He was a stu-
dent of the same school. The school lacks
Though voluntary services can be pro- many facilities, including desks, and the
vided on an individual basis, in most building has not been maintained for
cases people with similar purposes form years. Some of the doors and windows are
or join voluntary organizations to achieve broken.
common goals. There are many voluntary
organizations that focus on different so- Tolosa decided to do something by mo-
cial, economic and environmental issues. bilizing the local people and former
Voluntary organizations are different students of the school. First he went to
from other organizations in some ways. the elders in the village and persuaded
For example: them to support him. He told them his
• They are different from purely social plan was to collect money from the vil-
groupings because they have some lage people and ex-students of the school.
degree of formal organizational exis- They agreed. He sent messages to former
tence. students of the school who live in differ-
• They are non-profit making organiza- ent parts of the country. Then he formed
tions. a committee that included people from the
• They are independent of government village and teachers of the school.
or other public authorities and are free
to govern themselves without interfer- The committee managed to collect 48,013
ence. Birr. Some people donated furniture and
• They are often active in the public equipment for the school. The school
arena and their activities are aimed at ended up with new desks and chairs, the
contributing to the common good. broken doors and windows were fixed and
the walls were decorated.
70
?
• Do you know people like Tolosa who the enemy, nursing wounded patriots,
take the initiative for these kinds of providing food and comfort and working
voluntary activities? as spies. Those Ethiopian patriots contin-
• What is the significance of such volun- ued their struggle until the Italian forces
tary activities in promoting national were pushed out of the country. They did
development? this without the expectation of pay or
• List problems that might be solved other material gains.
through these kinds of voluntary ac-
tivities at a community level. Citizens can involve themselves in many
activities to promote national interests.
In our society there are many areas
Voluntary activities or organizations at
where help is required to support the
community, national or international
members of our community and to benefit
levels share a common goal: they aim
our society as a whole. Any activity you
to promote the well-being of people. But
can involve yourself in that is of benefit
they differ from each other based on
in an area that requires assistance will
their focus. Some voluntary activities
be a positive advantage in the long run.
focus on local and community problems
For example our environment needs to
such as water shortages, school or health
be cared for, this could include removing
problems. Other voluntary organizations
rubbish from an area of beauty or plant-
focus on national issues such as fighting
ing trees in a place of deforestation. There
against HIV/AIDS, gender inequality and
are many poor members of our society
poverty.
who could benefit from help, such as the
elderly and street children. Giving your
People participate in voluntary activities
time to help to raise awareness on the is-
to promote the interest of their country in
sue of HIV can save the lives of others in
many ways. They contribute their money,
the future. Your voluntary activities can
talent and time for the sake of the nation-
change the lives of others and support the
al interest. Voluntary efforts have served
development of Ethiopia.
many purposes in the time of peace and
war. For example thousands of Ethio-
Through volunteering you are not only
pians have contributed their efforts and
supporting your country but may also
lives to defend the freedom and indepen-
gain valuable skills and experience. Many
dence of their country. During the period
volunteers feel great personal satisfaction
of the Italian invasion (1936-1941) Ethio-
when they give their time to serve wor-
pians offered strong resistance organizing
thy causes. They often meet new people
themselves into patriotic groups. They
and make new friends. Volunteering has
formed secret groups to spy on enemy po-
also been a way for many people to move
sitions and they created war plans. They
into new careers, by volunteering first to
attacked the convoys of the enemy, pris-
get into an organization. There are many
ons and camps. Women patriots contrib-
benefits to volunteering both personally
uted by taking part in the fight against
and for society.
71
? ?
• Identify areas in the Ethiopian Con- What do you think of Dr Belay’s voluntary
stitution where voluntary services work?
may be required in order to uphold the How can he be seen as a role model for
rights of citizens. others?
• Choose one that interests you and Do you know other volunteers? What do
identify what voluntary activities they do and why do they do it?
could support this right.
Case Study
Since there is no modern health institu-
tion for heart surgery in Ethiopia, people
Remember
with heart problems have to go to Europe
• Voluntarism is contributing one’s time
or America to get medical treatment.
or talent to help others in the commu-
Most of the people, including children
nity and to promote the national inter-
with chronic heart problems, lead painful
est without regard for compensation.
and hopeless lives because they are not
• Though voluntary services can be
able to travel abroad due to the cost of the
provided on individual basis, in most
treatment.
cases people with similar purposes
form or join voluntary organizations to
Belay Abegaz is a medical doctor who
achieve their common goals.
has lived abroad for many years. He
• Volunteers contribute to the well-being
came back to this country, volunteering
of others at different levels: local, na-
to help his people. He quit his job and
tional and international.
attractive income because of his dream
• A patriotic citizen participates in vol-
of saving the lives of children suffering
untary activities to promote the inter-
from heart diseases. He came to Ethio-
est of her/his country by defending
pia aiming to help children who suffer
sovereignty, promoting development
from chronic heart problems. To achieve
and defending the rights of citizens
this he founded Children`s Heart Fund
enshrined in the Constitution.
of Ethiopia (CHFE). With the help of his
friends, the people and the government,
he started the construction of the building
for the Cardiac Center. He gained support
to get medical equipment and profession-
als from abroad. Belay always says that
he is happy to come to this country to help
children suffering from heart diseases.
Source: adapted from Kum Neger. Amharic
Magazine, Volume 5, Number 58, November 2006,
Addis Ababa
72
Unit 5 Patriotism
Unit Summary
A good knowledge of history helps us to understand and solve current problems and
develop patriotic feelings. Citizens have a responsibility to work to promote the inter-
ests of their country. You have to know that our actions and decisions are related to
ethical questions because we assess what is right and wrong before we do something.
We are responsible for promoting the public interest but sometimes our personal inter-
ests and the common good come into conflict.
Promoting development is one of the main responsibilities of patriotic citizens. There

are universal indicators of development. Some of them are income level, average life
expectancy, infant mortality and literacy rates. The Millennium Development Goals
include reducing infant mortality rates, eradicating poverty and eradicating gender
inequality in education. Though Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world,
it is rich in natural resources such as rivers, wide areas of cultivable land, livestock
and tourist attractions.
Volunteering is an important way of contributing for the development of the country.

People who share similar purposes form voluntary organizations to achieve common
goals. Volunteers contribute for the wellbeing of others at the local, national and inter-
national levels. A patriotic citizen has a responsibility to promote the interests of their
country, defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, promote its development,
defend the Constitution and maintain domestic peace.
Glossary
Ethics: A system of accepted beliefs which control behaviour.
Historical account: A description of a historical event.
Infant Mortality Rate: The number of child deaths (under 5 years) within a particu-
lar country per 1000 live births.
Prejudice: The unfair and unreasonable opinion or feeling, especially often based on
a stereotype.
Primary sources: Sources which are first hand and more reliable sources of history.
Secondary sources: Sources which are not products of the period and place of a his-
torical event.
73
Unit 5 Patriotism

Part I - True or false
1. Historical accounts written by profes- 2. Which of the following is false about
sional historians always reflect the the Millennium Development Goals?
truth so there is no need to question a eradicating gender inequality in
their reliability. education
2. All sources of history are equally im- b reducing infant mortality by
portant in terms of their reliability. ninety percent
3. Voluntary organizations can influence c making poor people rich
the development of Ethiopia. d providing primary education for
4. Voluntary organizations should be in- all children of the world
dependent of government but obey the e none of the above
laws of the country where they work. 3. Which part of the world has the
highest infant mortality rates?
Part II - Short answers a North Africa
1. Why is history important for develop- b Sub-Saharan Africa
ment? c Latin America
2. What is development? d South Asia
3. Does Ethiopia have high potential for e East Asia
development? 4. Which of the following is true about
4. Why is volunteering necessary for pro- voluntary organizations?
moting national development? a they are non profit making
organizations
Part III - Multiple choice b they are independent of
1. Which of the following does not go government
with primary sources of history? c they contribute to promote the
a a history book written by common good
professional historians d they often work with the
b written materials such as letters, government and other
diaries, coins and ornaments. organizations to solve common
c statues and ancient buildings problems
d inscriptions and wall paintings e all of the above
e a and d
74
Responsibility
Introduction
In this unit you will learn more about your responsibilities. As a member of society,
you have certain moral and legal obligations to observe. Your existence is intimately
linked with your environment and you have a responsibility to protect it. Both as a
citizen, and as a human being, you have the responsibility to help combat the spread
of HIV/AIDS. When you fulfill your responsibilities you are contributing to the devel-
opment of the country.
Lessons: Key words and concepts
1. Citizens’ Obligations in Society • Citizen’s obligations
2. Being responsible for the Consequenc- • Environmental responsibility
es of one’s own Actions • Environmentalist
3. Responsibility to respect Moral and • Legal obligations
Legal Obligations in Society • Moral obligations
4. Responsibility to Protect the Environ- • Upholding the Constitution
ment
5. Responsibility to Overcome Wastage of
Public Property
6. Responsible Behaviour against HIV/
AIDS
What you will learn
You will:
• Understand the responsibilities of
citizens in society.
• Appreciate the responsibilities of
citizens to protect the environment.
• Recognize the responsible behavior
expected of citizens to stop HIV/AIDS.
75
Mother having responsibility for a growing family
Unit 6 Responsibility Lesson 1
Citizens’ Obligations in Society

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Negotiate and compromise to resolve
• Explain what responsibilities citizens have conflicts
towards their society. Individuals and groups may have conflicts
• Perform your duties in society responsibly. or misunderstandings on issues but, what
is important, is to be able to solve them.
Conflicts occur for many reasons but all
What are some of the obligations you have
should be settled peacefully. When parties
in society?
in conflict agree to give up some of their
Every person in society has some obliga- demands and accept the rights of others,
tions to undertake. Fulfilling obligations a compromise may be reached. Negotia-
is the basis of social life and allows you to tion and compromise are key to resolving
use your rights. Some of the obligations conflicts. You have to be able to develop
citizens have in society include the follow- an ability to negotiate and compromise in
ing: order to live in peace.
Participation in the political process

In a democracy, citizens have the right to
participate to make their own life better.
Thus, as a citizen, you have the right to
debate on public issues so as to influence
What political issues are of great impor-
tance to you? Do your friends and fam-
ily agree and hold the same position on
?
government policy makers. Also, you have
these issues? How do you make your point
the right to take part in elections, and
heard when others do not agree?
contribute to the development of your
community and the country. If you fail to
exercise this right, you may make your
life worse as your view might not be put
forward.
Public participation Traditional way of conflict resolution

76
Citizens’ Obligations in Society

Case study and gain better ideas to share. You have
There are instances of conflicts in the to develop a culture of appreciating indi-
regional states arising from claims of ter- vidual and group differences. This helps
ritory among peoples who share borders. create a good environment in which you
Such claims exist between the regional can work together with others.
governments of Oromia, Somalia, the
SNNPR, etc. The regional governments Paying fair taxes
are not expected to resort to the use of Social development can be achieved when
force to settle such conflicts. Instead, a government has money to invest in its
what the regional governments do is to development. Most of the money is ob-
try to solve the problem through negotia- tained from taxes that citizens pay from
tion and compromise. They are expected their earnings and when they buy goods.
to build on this tradition whenever con- You are required to pay tax proportional
flicts arise. Once conflicts are resolved to the income you generate. The tax you
this creates a favorable condition to work pay is invested in places like schools, hos-
together for common objectives. pitals and health care centers. The money
benefits you and society.
?
Discuss how you resolve conflicts that
As a citizen, you are required to perform
may appear in your life. Use examples to
activities that give you a sense of respon-
explain your method.
sibility. Any duty you have to undertake
may require time to accomplish. Time is
Appreciating individual and group
an important factor in your daily activity.
differences
Thus, you have to take responsibility to
Individuals are different both physically
finish the activities that you are commit-
and in their ideas. For example, you
ted to within the time set.
might be tall or short, fat or thin. When it
?
comes to viewpoints you can be different Form groups to discuss the ways in which
from your friends. Differences in opin- appreciating differences, paying tax and
ions and viewpoints among individuals or performing responsibilities, help society
groups create the opportunity to develop to develop.
Remember
• Fulfilling obligations is the basis for social life.
• You have to develop the culture of appreciating individual and group differences.
• Every person living in society has some obligations to undertake.
• In a democracy, citizens have the obligation to be active participants in the political
life of society.
• Individuals and groups could develop conflict or misunderstanding, but the point is
to be able to solve it.
• Differences in opinions and viewpoints among individuals or groups could create an
opportunity to debate and get better ideas to understand each other better.
• Citizens have an obligation to pay money to the government as tax.
77
Responsibility for the Consequences of one’s own
Actions
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: For example, in school there are many
• Explain what is meant by ‘promise’ in a social ways that you can prove that you are a
context. responsible student. These could include
• Describe how executing responsibilities have
always completing your homework on
either rewarding or punishing consequences.
time, offering to help when the teacher
Give an example of a time that you have requires an assistant and volunteering
made a promise? Did you keep that prom- to perform tasks outside of the class. If
ise? What were the consequences? you take on the responsibility of running
a club in school you may be asked to help
run an important function where you are
Promises are frequently kept and broken well rewarded for your efforts.
by people all over society. You may make
?
a promise to your friend, or to a member Give an example of a time when you took
of your family. For example you may have on a responsibility. What was it, and how
been asked to keep a secret or perform a did you respond to the situation? Were
task. Whether or not you keep the prom- there any consequences to your actions?
ise is up to you, however, there will be
consequences either way.
Breaking promises can lead to serious

problems both at the time and in the fu-
ture. The immediate effect will instantly
be apparent, however, the long term
result may be far worse. A politician who
breaks a promise is unikely to be respect-
ed and re-elected in the future. A friend
who tells a secret is unlikely to be trusted
and told other secrets later on. Through
breaking promises you break the bond of
trust.
In society we have many different respon-

sibilities that we are expected to take on
throughout our lives. If we behave in a
responsible way then we are likely to be
rewarded for our actions. If you take on
responsibility well, then you may be given
greater responsibility in the future, often
with greater reward. Failing to be respon-
sible will often lead to a person missing
out on future opportunities, though some-
times they may be punished as well. A court of law in session
78
Responsibility for the Consequences of one’s own Actions

Case study
?
Form groups to discuss what lessons you
The consequences of failing to
can draw from this case. Group leaders
undertake responsibilities
should present your ideas to the class for
During a community election there were
more discussion.
two groups campaigning for office. Con-
sequently, the group that succeeded in
having its candidate elected were happy.
Members of the groups that lost the cam-
paign decided not to participate in future
elections. They argued that the person
elected was not capable of doing good for
the community.
In the next election they were onlookers

and the same person was elected again.
They discussed among themselves and re-
alized that it was a mistake on their part
to boycott the second election.
In the third election, they participated

and succeeded in having the person of
their choice win. They were happy to see
their participation had made a difference.
Active citizen’s participation during an election
Remember
• Promises are frequently kept and broken by people all over society.
• Whether or not you keep the promise is up to you, there will be consequences either
way.
• While living in society, there are many responsibilities that you have to fulfill.
• During national elections, you have the responsibility, and at the same time the
right, to actively participate.
• Failing to contribute to enhance democracy could give way to dictatorship.
• If we behave in a responsible way then we are likely to be rewarded for our actions.
• Failing to be responsible will often lead to a person missing out on future opportu-
nities.
• The democratic process in the country can be strengthened when every citizen has
a role to play.
79
Responsibility in respecting Moral and Legal

Obligations in Society
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Legal obligation means respecting the
• Describe citizens’ moral and legal obligations Constitution and all others laws of the
in society. country. To respect the Constitution
means to respect all its provisions and
other laws that are derived from it. Re-
List five responsibilities you have in specting the rights and equality of na-
society. tions, nationalities and peoples of Ethio-
pia is underlined in the Constitution.
Thus, you have the legal obligation to
treat all Ethiopians as equals. Without re-
There is a very telling famous old say- specting the Constitution and other laws
ing -“When you are in Rome, live like the of the land, as legal foundations, peace
Romans.” This is to mean that people and stability cannot be maintained and
who live in a given society should live development achieved.
respecting the moral and legal systems
of the society. Social morality is built on
the norms, values and ethical standards
?
Form groups to discuss and list some of
of people who live in it. The legal system your moral and legal obligations.
in society is based on morality. When you
live in any society, it is necessary to learn
about its norms and values in order to fit
in. If you change your place of work and
live elsewhere, you have to learn about
the legal system and the norms and val-
ues of the new society you live in as they
may differ slightly from your own.
Knowledge about the moral standards of

a society is important because there are
expectations that you may discover to be
different from your own.
You have a moral obligation to respect in-

dividual and group rights. You are obliged
to respect the differences between people Pedestrians walking on zebra-crossing
that exist in society.
80
Responsibility in respecting Moral and Legal

Obligations in Society
Case study He feels an obligation to repay them for
Abebe is a successful artist. He enjoys the their kind deeds in the past and to share
rewards of his success and produces many in his own success. If he did not fulfill this
works that are popular with both Ethiopi- duty then it would be likely that these
ans and tourists. He is also a popular fig- people would suffer.
ure in his community as he takes time to
look out for the elder members there. He As a responsible citizen, he not only helps
lost his parents at a young age and was people in the community, but he also pays
taken care of by many of these people. He taxes.
now takes the responsibility to support
?
What is a moral and legal obligation?
them with what they need.
What kind of person do you think Abebe
is?
What moral obligations do you fulfill in
your community?
The elderly given privilege and respect
Remember
• Social morality is built on the norms, values and ethical standards of society.
• The legal system in any society is based on morality.
• You have a moral obligation to respect the rights of individuals and groups.
• You have the moral obligation to respect differences in people
• Legal obligations means respecting the Constitution and other laws of the country.
81
Responsibility for Protecting the Environment

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Your responsibility extends far beyond
• Explain the necessity of protecting the envi- preserving the natural environment. It in-
ronment. cludes caring for the cultural and histori-
• Refrain from damaging the environment. cal heritage. Preserving the cultural and
historical heritages means protecting the
Give one example of how you can help to achievements of generations of the past.
protect the environment. Cultural artifacts and historical heritag-
es, such as obelisks and monuments have
The environment is the area that you live to be preserved as these are links between
in and the natural world around you. Our the generations of the past, present and
environment is the source of life and its future. They are living testimonies to the
very foundation. It is shared by all that history and culture of the people who had
exists in it. It is the responsibility of every once lived on the land. Preserving them
human being to protect the environment has rewards for people who are living
for a better life. You have a role to protect now and those in the future. One of the
and preserve the environment to make it rewards is the income generated through
a place comfortable to live in. The preser- tourism. Eco-tourism in the country will
vation and protection of trees, vegetations be able to generate income to promote de-
and wildlife is needed. We have to keep velopment. This will contribute to improv-
the land, air and water clean and free ing the living standards of the people.
from destruction and pollution.
There are different types of vegetation

and wildlife in the different parts of the
world. There are plants and animals
found only in Ethiopia. For example, the
Walia Ibex in the Semien Mountains Na-
tional Park and the Red Fox in the Bale
Mountains National Park are found only
in this country. It is in the best interest
of Ethiopians to protect this wildlife. It
is also important to protect the forests
of the country where the wildlife lives.
Citizens have a responsibility to replant
trees where they are sparse or destroyed.
Protecting the natural vegetation enrich-
es the topsoil and maintains its fertility.
This in turn helps develop agriculture in
order to feed people. Mismanagement of
the environment poses health risks and
brings about ecological crisis.
Semien Mountains National Park
82
?
Form groups to discuss what you can do to preserve and protect your environment, the
wildlife and historical heritages of the country. Fill in the table. Examples are given.
What you can do to preserve/ What you can do to preserve/ What you can do to preserve/
protect the environment? protect the wildlife? protect the historical heritages?
1 Do not drop litter Stop unlawful hunting Learn more about the sites
2
3
The Tiya stones -historical heritages
Yellow billed and Maribou storks

Zebra in Nech Sar National Park at Arba Minch
in the lakes region
83

Case study
Wangari Mahtay
An environmental activist
Wangari Mahtay is a Kenyan who is well
known for her campaign to protect envi-
ronment. She worked hard to raise public
awareness and influenced government
policies through demonstrations and pub-
lic speeches. She has said, “The genera-
tion that destroys the environment is not
the generation that pays the price.” Her
good example is an encouragement for all
Africans to do the same to protect their
environment. Her untiring campaign led
to her receiving the Nobel Prize.
Ways to protect the environment include Case study

planting trees and keeping areas free Red Fox: an endangered species
from litter. Rubbish needs to be reduced The Bale Mountains National Park is
and dealt with properly, not dumped into home to the Red Fox. This is a wild ani-
our waterways and common areas. Goods mal found only in Ethiopia. Those that
should be bought as locally as possible to have settled in the park threaten the
reduce pollution from transporation, and existence of the wildlife there. The new
they should be looked after properly to re- settlers have started farming and cul-
duce waste. Water and electricity should tivating crops by removing the forests.
be used carefully as their wastage leads to Their domestic dogs have started mixing
wastage of our natural resources that is with the Red Fox and some instances of
also harmful to the environment. Travel cross-breeding have already taken place.
by car causes harmful air pollution that Rabies, transmitted from the dogs, has
chokes cities and makes people ill; short killed many Red Foxes.
journeys should be done on foot where
possible. This is a clear case of an alarming situ-
ation that calls for action to stop the
danger. Unless prompt action is taken,
the Red Foxes are going to disappear for
?
Are there any ideas from this case study good. This story appeared in the national
and the next one, that you could use to media some years ago. It is the responsi-
help protect the environment that you live bility of everyone to play a role to protect
in? How can you put them into action? the Red Fox from extinction. If we fail to
preserve the wild life in the park, genera-
tions to come will blame us for destroying
the Red Fox and for failing to do the right
thing.
84

Case study
Susenios Castle
A cultural heritage to be saved
On the western side of Lake Tana there
is a big castle similar to those found in
Gondar. It is named Susenios Castle after
one of the emperors of Gondar. It has the
potential to be a significant tourist attrac-
tion.
This castle is located a long way from the

main road to Gondar. Because there is no Yeha
road to access it, a four wheeled vehicle
is necessary to reach it. Due to its inac-
cessibility, many Ethiopians do not know
about it. Unfortunately, at present, the
castle is in a very bad shape, and may
even collapse in a few years to come. Part
of its structure has already been out of
shape, like some similar castles on the
road to Gondar.
Such priceless historical heritages must

not disappear due to neglect. The federal
and regional governments and the people
have a responsibility to unite and act fast
in order to save Susenios Castle and simi-
lar sites. A church in Lalibela
?
Are there any cultural heritage sites near
There are many architectural remains that
where you live? Do they need help to be
reflect the history of the country
saved?
Remember
• The environment is the area that you live in and the natural world around you.
• Our environment is the source of life and its very foundation.
• It is the responsibility of every human being to protect the environment.
• There are many ways to help protect the environment and we must be aware how
to improve things.
• Preserving the cultural and historical heritage is important for attracting visitors
and creating pride in our history.
85
Responsibility to Overcome Wastage of Public

Property
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: You have a part to play in caring for
• Understand what public properties are. public property, starting with your own
• Explain how to avoid wastage of public prop-
erty.
family and school property. Public schools
are run with the taxpayers’ money. Every
What places do you know of that are not citizen who earns an income must pay
looked after properly? some tax to support him or her. The tax
collected in the country is allotted to con-
Public property is land or buildings that struct schools, hospitals, roads, airports,
are for the use of everyone. This may telecommunication networks, hydroelec-
include all those properties in your school, tric power plants, universities, research
public toilets in your surroundings and centers and other institutions. At present
others. Public properties also include you are using the facilities of your school.
those owned by government like power If you join a university you will use the
generating plants, electric power trans- facilities there. At home you may have
mition towers across the country, roads, electricity, running water and telephone
telecommunication networks and hospi- services. These services continue to reach
tals. These are public property and are every household when you play a role to
important for citizens who require their protect them from those who cause de-
services. As a citizen, you have the re- struction.
sponsibility to protect such properties for
future use. Strong legal action is taken against those
who are found destroying and misusing
You might have heard that some individu- public property. You have to be part of the
als dismantle high-tension transmition process to make the legal system work
towers for their selfish interests. This act to check and control those who destroy
causes power disruption. Factories on the public property. You should have pride in
same network are forced to stop produc- protecting your surroundings. Certainly,
tion. This in turn damages the national for example, you want your schools to look
economy. You have a responsibility to good and be a pleasant environment. In
protect public property from destruction doing so you contribute to the national
and expose those who are involved in such cause to stop wastage of public property
a harmful activity. and promote development.
High voltage power lines and pylons

86
Responsibility to Overcome Wastage of Public Property
? ?
Form groups to discuss how you can pro- Form groups to discuss the case study.
tect public property from destruction and What lessons do you learn from it? Could
damage. you do the same in your school? Would
You should come up with a plan for pro- this really encourage a sense of respect
tecting school property. How can you for property? Explain your answer.
encourage other students to respect your
learning envoronment?
Case study
In a school, students and staff organized
a competition to identify which grade
section would become the best keepers of
school property. Each grade section, and
its members, who performed best, were
awarded a certificate.
The selected sections from each grade

level were further screened to choose the
one that was the best in the whole school,
taking into account its additional contri-
butions to look after the school property.
The winning section got the ‘best section
certificate’ which was posted on the school
notice board. Damaged school property
Remember
• You have a responsibility to protect public property from destruction.
• As a student, your part in caring for public property starts with taking care of
school property.
• Legal punishment is enforced on those who destroy and misuse public property.
• Public property is land or buildings used by citizens.
• You should have pride in protecting your surroundings.
87
Responsible Behavior against HIV/AIDS
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: The risk of conracting HIV in Ethiopia is
• Explain the history of HIV/AIDS. high and, due to its rapid spread across
• Describe how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. the country, we have to take great care to
• Protect yourself from HIV/AIDS.
aviod infections. One way to help protect
ourselves is by using a condom when hav-
List three ways a person can contract
ing sex as this creates a barrier between
HIV.
body fluids. Another way is to make sure
There are different viewpoints surround- that equipment used to cut the body is
ing the rise and development of HIV/ properly sterilised.
AIDS. So far, the origins of HIV and first
cases of AIDS are not clear. The illness It is advisable to have a HIV test. If you
first came to be known in the early 1980’s are an expectant mother who has HIV
in the USA. Some would like to push the then your baby does not necessarily have
origin of HIV as far back as the 1940’s but to contract the virus. Most babies become
there is no solid evidence for this. There infected during birth, however this risk
are a number of theories on the origin of can be reduced if a woman takes action
AIDS. soon enough. She needs treatment dur-
ing her pregnancy and her baby should be
HIV is a virus that is contracted through treated at birth and over the first 7 days.
the exchange of body fluids. It weakens
an infected person’s immune system so Another reason you should be tested for
that, when they contract an illness, their HIV is because you need to start treat-
body is not able to fight to get better. This ment as soon as possible. If you wait to
means that the person is likely to die of see symptoms, then it may be too late for
the illness, such as TB or bronchitis. The you to receive treatment.
person would then be said to have had
AIDS.
It is important for you, and the people

around you, to be aware of how you can
contract HIV. An exchange of body fluid
can occur in many different ways; here
are some of the most common in Ethiopia:
• Unprotected sex.
• From mother to baby during birth.
• Fron mother to baby while breastfeed-
ing.
• Through unsterilised equipment when
tattooing, scarring, circumcising or
during female genital mutilation.
Children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS
88
Responsible Behavior against HIV/AIDS
We need to make sure we take every
precaution to protect ourselves, and those
around us, from contracting the virus. It
is important that we are tested for the
virus so that we can get treatment if we
have it and protect others from getting it.
?
Form groups to discuss on the develop-
ment of HIV/AIDS, ways of transmi-
tion and the challenges HIV/AIDS poses
against humanity in general. Group lead-
for more discussions.
Children born with HIV/AIDS

Case study
The story of Berehane Kelkay
Married at age 16, Berehane from Awassa Remember
became an AIDS widow and mother of • There are different viewpoints sur-
three. In 1998 she was the first person to rounding the rise and development of
publicly reveal her HIV positive status. HIV/AIDS.
• It is difficult to determine how, where
Five years after her diagnosis, she set up and when AIDS and HIV started in
the Awassa branch of Dawn of Hope in the world.
1998. Then, in response to the problems • HIV is a virus which leads people to
that HIV positive women were facing, she die from AIDS related illness.
initiated and established an association of • Unless people throughout the world
HIV positive women called Tila Associa- develop the awareness to stop it, the
tion of Women Living with HIV/AIDS. disease is going to be a serious threat
Source: United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) to the very existence of the human spe-
Ethiopian Millennium Edition. 2007/2008 cies.
• At present, more than 10,000 new in-
fections take place in the world every-
day.
• HIV/AIDS poses a serious health prob-
?
Why are women at a higher risk of becom-
ing HIV positive than men? What steps lem because it attacks the most active
can be taken in your school to help reduce section of the population.
the risk to girls? • The illness first came to be known in
the early 1980’s in the USA.
89
Unit 6 Responsibility
Unit Summary
In this unit, you learnt about the obligations you have in society. You have realized
that you have many responsibilities. When failing your responsibility as a citizen, you
will face many problems. You are taught that your responsibility extends to include
protecting your environment and historical heritages. Protecting public property and
playing a role to combat HIV/AIDS are part of the responsibilities you have. Fulfilling
your responsibilities gives you the freedom to use your rights.
Glossary
Citizens Obligations: The range of obligations that citizens of a country have.
Environmental Responsibility: The responsibility people have to protect the envi-
ronment they live in.
Environmentalist: One who is actively engaged to protect the environment.
Legal Obligations: The obligations citizens have as required in the legal system of a
country.
Moral obligations: The obligations individuals have related to the moral require-
ments of a society.
Taxes: The revenue that government collects from citizens who earn some income.
90
Unit 6 Responsibility

Part I – Multiple choice Part II – True or false
1. For which one of the following do you 1. Responsibility implies important roles
not have any responsibility? for you to do or not do.
a when dealing with friends and 2. You have a responsibility toward oth-
classmates ers but not yourself.
b when dealing with family 3. Moral and legal responsibilities sup-
members port each other.
c when cutting flowers from your 4. It is necessary to protect the environ-
school garden ment from those who advance selfish
d none interests.
2. Which one of the following is your obli- 5. HIV/AIDS is not a disease to be fright-
gation as a citizen? ened of.
a respecting the cultures of others
b considering others religion as
good as yours
c contributing to protect the school Part III – Short answers
property 1. State some of the responsibilities you
d all have to protect the environment?
3. What do you understand by the term 2. How do you combat HIV/AIDS?
wildlife? 3. What are your responsibilities at
a the cats and the dogs you see school?
around 4. In what ways do you contribute to pro-
b the animals which help men to tect historical/ cultural heritages?
do work 5. How do you care for public property?
c the birds, reptiles and animals
who live in the forests, lakes and
rivers
d none
91
Civis and Ethical Studies Grade 11 Unit 7
Industriousness
Introduction
In this unit we will be exploring the respect that different types of work deserve. You
will examine work ethics more deeply. You will also see the relationship between work
and economic development.

1. Respect for Work • Labor Discipline
2. Ethical Work Conduct • Policies
3. Hard-work and Development • Professional Skills
4. Policies and Strategies for Develop- • Punctuality
ment • Strategies
What you will learn

You will:
• Recognize the respect to be given to
work.
• Realize the relation between work and
development.
• Appreciate the necessity of policies
and strategies for development.
Shoeshine boy earning money for his family

92
Unit 7 Industriousness Lesson 1
Respect for Work

• Realize that any work is to be honored.
Discuss the professions that are respected

in your area. Explain why they deserve
respect.
In this lesson you will focus on respecting

all types of work. In order for people to get
what they need and want, they have to di-
vide work. That means some people might
be engaged in building houses and others All work deserves respect
in making cars. Some could be engaged
in making clothes and others in produc-
ing food. The house builder might eat the
?
food that the farmer has produced and Divide yourselves into groups and select a
build a house for the farmer. In this way profession that you think is not respected.
everybody can enjoy the results of each Explain to the class why it is not respect-
other’s work. This shows that all work is ed and what would happen if we did not
important. It is just a matter of choosing have members of that profession.
what you are going to engage in. We need
each and every profession in order to live You know that work has benefits for the
a happy and comfortable life. individual. The benefit of work to the
individual is, not only the production of
This means we have to respect every useful goods or needed services, but also
profession and realize that, without these the earning of income. If you work hard
professions, our lives will not be fulfilled. you might get a good income. But this
When we see a person whose job involves will depend on the type of job that you
manual labor, we have to respect that he do. This is often connected to your level of
or she is creating something useful for us. education and skills. You may be able to
If you, for example, collect some wood in use the income you get to buy and build
your neighborhood and make a table, then the things you want and need. You may
it means you are making something use- be able to build a house, buy a car, pur-
ful. So you have to respect the woodwork chase the food you eat and pay for your
profession. entertainment.
93
Respect for Work

You have to realize that you must work Case Study
hard in school to earn a good income in Tirualem’s Story
the future. This is because a good educa- Tirualem grew up in a small town. Her
tion makes you more employable. parents sent her to school from a young
age and she worked hard both in primary
If society believes the goods or service and secondary school. Unfortunately her
you provide are of a high value, then it parents died while she was at school. But,
will pay a good price. For example, if supported by her remaining family, she
your community has a problem that no- managed to get a degree in Economics
body can solve and you are able to find a from a university.
solution, there may be a reward for this.
Working hard is the only respectable and After she had completed her degree, she
legal way to earn money. In order to get was given a job at one of the new uni-
the best job possible you should make the versities where she became head of her
department, the gender officer and a
most of your education.
member of the HIV/AIDS committee. Be-
cause of her hard work and dedication she
Some people resort to other means of
enjoys a good quality of life and is able to
getting money like cheating and stealing
support her family in their lives as they
from people. This is not a legal way of get-
supported her.
ting money. This way is hurtful to other
people. It involves hurting others. Others
?
What do you think might have happened
look for easy ways to make a lot of money to Tirualem if she had not worked hard at
without giving anything back to society. school?
This is the wrong way of getting money. What do you think the future might hold
for Tirualem?
Remember
• There are different types of professions.
• All types of work should be respected.
• Hard work is the only respectable and legal way to earn income.
94
Ethical Work Conduct

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: You also need to respect the closing hours
• Explain the professional ethics required from of the work place. Some workers leave
a worker.
before the end of the working day. This
What work ethics do you think are also negatively affects the work to be
important? done. You have seen in the previous les-
son that one of the reasons for the success
of the developed countries is their hard
Here we will look at different manifesta-
work. We all have to go to work on time
tions of work ethics. When you under-
and work efficiently so that our country
stand work ethics more clearly you will be
can develop. Included in work ethics is
able to follow them from a more informed
the correct use of instruments in the work
position
place. People who work in offices may
have computers, stationary and differ-
An important part of work ethics is main-
ent materials that they use. Using these
taining labor discipline. Labor discipline
instruments and materials properly is
means obeying the rules and guidelines
very important. We should avoid wastage
of the work place. These rules and guide-
in the work place as this reduces the cost
lines are usually designed to facilitate
for the work place and is better for the
efficient working. For example, if there
environment.
is a dress code given in an institution, it
is important to obey the rule because it
Case Study
shows respect. Proper dressing helps to
Dress Code in Banks
build the image of the company. It is part
In Commercial Bank of Ethiopia there is
of the responsibilities of the workers to
a dress code, as in all banks. Men are ex-
help build the image of their organization.
pected to wear a suit and tie. It is obliga-
Not smoking in the work place is another
tory for staff to wear clean clothes. The
labor discipline. Smoking may disturb
reason banks have this dress code is so
co-workers so a person shouldn’t smoke in
that people who come to the bank are eas-
the work place.
ily able to identify the staff, and to create
a good image. The dress code is designed
A related work ethic is punctuality and
to increase the confidence of customers
proper utilization of instruments of la-
in the staff. Whenever you see a well-
bor. This means you should always be on
dressed person who is neat and clean,
time for work. If you don’t come to work
you expect these people to be careful with
on time, the work won’t be finished dur-
other details.
ing the required period. In addition, your
clients or customers won’t be able to get
proper service. Therefore, an important
work ethic is to be on time for work.
How do you feel when you put on clean,
smart clothes? Does it change your behav-
ior in any way?
?
95
Ethical Work Conduct

The other important part of work ethics is the time allotted to work for the purpose
working in harmony and cooperation with of work only. There are many people who
your fellow workers. If you build a good waste office hours by talking to their co-
relationship with your co-workers, it be- workers and not concentrating on their
comes a pleasure to go to work and work work. It is important to take breaks and
will often be finished efficiently. If there is these are the times for socializing, not
good working relationship you will be able during working time.
to help and support each other around the
?
work place. Helping each other enables Your teacher has many professional
work to be finished on time and solves skills. Try to list five of them. How might
work related problems more quickly. A your teacher improve two of these?
poor relationship with work colleagues
may cause many problems, including
anxiety and not wanting to be in the work
place. This is often bad for customer rela-
tions and for business.
When there is a harmonious relationship

with co-workers, it can be easier to learn
from each other. Learning from each
other improves professional skills. This in
turn helps us to work better. Improving
professional skills is another work ethic.
It is important to try to improve your
professional skills. Improving professional
skills is beneficial both personally and for
the work place. It helps the person by in-
creasing his/her ability to do a better job
in the future. For the work place it helps A teacher with her class
to get the job done faster and better. It
can also lead to promotion, a more satisfy- Remember
ing job and an increase in salary. • Labor discipline is a very important
part of work ethics.
Proper execution of professional duties is • Punctuality and proper use of instru-
also part of work ethics. This means that ments of labor are also essential in
when you work you have to do so accord- increasing work efficiency.
ing to the agreed guidelines and in the • It is important to maintain a good
best possible way. It also means utilizing working relationship with co-workers.
96
Hard Work and Development
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Therefore, with a combined effort, we
• Explain work as an instrument to develop- should struggle to fight poverty by work-
ment. ing hard and developing the skills and
opportunities in the country.
Discuss in the class how you think work
and development are related. On the other hand, there are also people
who work very hard in Ethiopia but, be-
cause of economic circumstances and poor
We need to work because we need to sat- skill levels, they are not rewarded well for
isfy our needs and wants. You have basic their efforts. We need to change this situ-
needs like food, clothing and shelter. You ation by making the most of every oppor-
also have wants, for example playing and tunity that is given to us.
entertainment. Human wants are unlim-
ited and, when a person gets something, Case Study
he or she tends to want more. Chinese development - a big take off
One of the most surprising growth trends
In poor countries most people don’t in the world is that of the Chinese. China
even have their basic needs satisfied. was a very poor country in the 1950s and
They need to change the situation to get 60s. Within only three decades they have
themselves out of poverty, but we need transformed from one of the poorest coun-
to support people to acquire their basic tries in the world to one of the richest
needs. One way to get these basic needs is and most powerful nations in the world.
through working hard. By working hard it Within a short period of time it has suc-
is possible to produce the goods and ser- ceeded in providing the necessities to the
vices that are needed to get out of poverty. majority of its people, and produced more
We need to develop the skills and provide to export to the rest of the world.
opportunities so that everyone can work
their way out of poverty. The country has been able to use its huge
labor force and resources effectively be-
Ethiopia is a very poor country. Almost cause of the hard working culture of its
half of the people in the country are be- people. The Chinese are not only hard
low the absolute poverty line. This means working in their own country, they also
they don’t eat three meals a day, the go to other countries where they are seen
minimum requirement for a person. Part to have a strong attitude towards work.
of the reason we are poor is because many This is not to say that the Chinese have
do not work hard enough and, therefore, reached the final stage of growth. They
do not have the opportunities to lead a still need to work hard as there are still
better life. People who live in poverty people living in poverty in China.
could be taken out of their misery if they
?
were able to work hard to satisfy their What do you learn from the Chinese
basic needs. experience of growth?
97

Some countries have been successful in Case Study
providing all their citizens with their Poverty Level in Ethiopia
needs. These countries are called devel- Close to 50 percent of the Ethiopian popu-
oped countries. In developed countries lation lives below the absolute poverty
the people have access to education and line. The economy is highly vulnerable
health care. They get to choose from dif- since, whenever the weather is bad, many
ferent types of goods and services they people are exposed to hunger. It is impor-
want to consume. Other countries are not tant to establish a way for the poor people
able to provide their people with their to become food secure. Not only this, the
basic needs. These are the less developed health care services are expensive and
countries. not sufficient to cover the whole country.
Because of this, many infants die.
Many people in developed countries work
very hard. Because of this they are able This is worsened by the fact that the
to produce more goods and services to education level is still not up to the stan-
consume. When you are able to produce dard in terms of access, quality etc. Many
more, then you have more choice. After people do not have a basic education. This
producing more you are more likely to leaves the country as one of the poorest
satisfy your needs and want. Similarly, in the world. It is essential to work hard
if a country produces more than it needs, if we want to change the situation. The
it could sell the surplus to other coun- effort and the work that has been done so
tries and earn more money. For example, far is not enough. We have to come to-
Ethiopia is well known for the coffee it gether to work even harder to change our
produces and sells to other countries. situation.
Coffee producers are now starting to get
?
a good price for their coffee having made What do you feel about the poverty level
deals with companies in the West. in Ethiopia? Do you think hard work
could change anything?
Chinese worker involved in the Ethiopian road building program
98

When you work hard there is another
benefit; that is, you get an increased
production of goods and services. When
you spend more time on a job you start
to know the job very well and to think of
new and better ways of doing it. This en-
hances your creativity, productivity and/
or quality of your work.
Creativity can lead to the invention of

new things such as technological develop-
ment. When people spend more time on
their work they become more productive
and find better methods. When you find
a better way of doing things, you may
produce more with the given time and
resources.
Technological development helps coun-

tries to develop and grow. Within a small
period of time countries, like China, came
up with new ways of producing goods and
services through enhanced technology.
The new goods and services produced
helped to reduce poverty in these coun- It is important to update your IT skills
tries. China produces many goods and
services and sells them to the rest of the
world. Today almost all countries import
or buy many goods from China. Remember
• Hard work can help reduce poverty.
Technological development is important • Hard work also results in develop-
for the productivity of a nation and en- ment.
hancement of the quality of life for its • Hard work also helps you to become
people. more creative.
• Hard work is not enough, we need to
?
What could your role be in the technologi- be educated and skilled in order to
cal development of Ethiopia? move towards development.
99
Policies and Strategies for Development

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: and then, from the development of the
• Describe the various policies and strategies agricultural sector, the industrial sector
designed by the Ethiopian government to ac-
could develop
celerate economic development in the country.
Under ADLI each economic sector has

What kind of policies do you think are its own detailed development strategy.
important for development? The government has a rural development
strategy that is focused on the enhance-
ment of production and marketing of ag-
In the previous lesson you recognized that ricultural produce. This strategy is based
it is important to work in order to acceler- on the idea that, if the poor farmers in
ate development in a country. Effective the countryside could produce more and
policies and strategies are also necessary sell more, then they could increase their
for the acceleration of economic growth income and live a better life.
and development.
Ethiopia also has an industrialization
An economic policy is a statement indicat- strategy that is dependent on what hap-
ing the economic direction that the coun- pens in the agricultural sector. This is
try is going in. The economic policy of the because industrialization requires a lot
country usually targets economic growth of capital. In order to get this capital the
and development. The specific ways strategy says that, first the agricultural
through which the policy is implemented sector must develop, and then the addi-
are called strategies. Devising policies tional output in agriculture will be sold
and strategies has to be done carefully to generate the capital for the industrial
after a lot of research and study on the sector. It will then be possible to develop
existing situation of the country. This is the industrial sector.
because good policies and strategies are
ones that are based on the individual cir- The other important economic sector
cumstances of a country. which the government is concentrating on
is capacity building. Capacity building is
The Ethiopian government has devised increasing the ability of implementing a
different policies and strategies that it desired activity. This means that, if you
believes will help towards the develop- plan to perform something, you need to
ment of the country. These different poli- have the capacity to actually implement
cies and strategies relate to the different it. In Ethiopia the capacity to implement
economic sectors. The main strategy that is relatively weak and it is important to
the country uses for development today is strengthen it. In order to build capacity
called the Agricultural Development Led the country needs an educated work force.
Industrialization (ADLI). This develop- Therefore, education is an important way
ment strategy is based on the idea that, of enhancing the country’s capacity to
first the agricultural sector must develop, perform towards development.
100
Policies and Strategies for Development
?
There are three documents describing the
government’s strategy to develop the ru-
ral sector, the industrial sector and capac-
ity building. Try to find these documents
and identify the specific strategies which
are being used to develop each sector. Dis-
cuss how you see some of these strategies
being used.
Globalization has had an impact on all

countries of the world and in many sec-
tors of our communities. Here you will
relate globalization to the Ethiopian
economy. Economic globalization is the
sharing of economic ideas between coun-
tries. Economic globalization includes the
sharing of technologies and goods between
countries.
The Ethiopian economy is also very much

affected by globalization. This effect is
both positive and negative. The positive
effects include: an increased inflow of
goods and services, more goods to choose
from, more sharing of ideas and policies,
and closer relationships with other coun-
tries. Goods imported from other nations
Of the negative effects the major one

is an increased dependency on cheaper
goods and services from other countries.
Therefore, we may stop producing them Remember
in our own country since they are cheaper • The Economic Policy states the main
from other countries. This increases the direction of the economy.
country’s dependency on other countries • The specific ways through which the
and has a negative impact on economic policy is implemented are called strat-
growth. egies.
• The Ethiopian government has devised
different policies and strategies that it
?
List some of the other positive and nega-
believes will help the development of
tive effects of globalization.
the country.
101
Unit 7 Industriousness
Unit Summary
In this unit you have seen the importance of work in relation to poverty reduction
and economic development. Respecting all kinds of work is important. You have also
explored work ethics. We also dealt with how hard work is essential for poverty reduc-
tion. Finally you discussed the different development policies and strategies of the
country and how globalization affects the Ethiopian economy.
Glossary
Labor Discipline: Following the basic rules and guidelines of the work place.
Policies: Plans showing the general direction to be taken.
Professional Skills: The ability of a person to perform work duties.
Punctuality: Being on time.
Strategies: Specific plans to implement policies.

Part I - Multiple choice
1. You should respect: 3. Creativity:
a only white collar works a leads to development
b only blue collar works b leads to the production of new
c people who work in the house things
d. a and b c comes with hard work
e all d all
2. Countries should reduce poverty 4. Economic Policy is:
by: a a specific way of implementing a
a waiting for aid from other plan
countries b the same as strategy
b working hard c a general direction for the
c by migrating to rich countries economy of a country
d all d all
102
Self- Reliance
Introduction
In Grade 10 you discussed the significance of self-reliance, examples of dependency
and decision making. In this unit you will discuss the same issues in more detail. Self-
reliance is being dependent on one’s own power, resources and judgments. It is an at-
tribute shared by both individuals and communities. Individuals or communities that
lack self-reliance are dependent on others to satisfy their needs.

1. Attributes of Self-reliance • Assertiveness
2. Dependency and its Consequences • Flexibility
3. Self reliance and Decision making • National development
• Public welfare
What you will learn • Rational decision
You will: • Rightful perception
• Explain attributes of self-reliance.
• Discuss dependency and its conse-
quences.
• Analyze the importance of self-reliance
for decision making.
A self-reliant disabled person

103
Unit 8 Self-Reliance Lesson 1
Attributes of Self-reliance
By the end of the lesson you should be able to: Self-awareness has many benefits. Know-
• Define rightful perception about oneself or
ing yourself includes being aware of your
self-awareness.
• Explain some features of assertiveness. strengths. When we know what we are
• Consider the outcomes when we rely on good at, then we can make the most of
others. these abilities in order to help both our-
• Describe the advantages of not being domi- selves and others. The better you under-
nated by others. stand yourself, the better you are able to
• What are the main characteristics of accept or change who you are. If you fail
assertive person? to know yourself, you will be influenced,
• How can individuals free themselves and possibly dominated, by others. As
from being dominated by others? we move through the 21st century, the
Self-reliance knowledge-based economy demands that
As individuals it is important that we we upgrade our knowledge and skills to
all develop the ability to be self-reliant. keep up with an ever-changing society.
We all have to make our own way in the However, the starting point should be the
world and cannot expect others to carry knowledge of oneself as a unique indi-
us through this life. It is necessary for us vidual and how one relates to this new
to develop the skills to be independent economy. Try to answer these questions:
both in our thinking and in the way that Who am I? Where have I been? Where
we live. am I going? Explore your capability to
chart your own destiny and realize your
Self-awareness includes recognition of potentials.
our abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
Developing self-awareness can help us to In your quest to know yourself, do not
recognize when we are stressed or under think of yourself more highly than you
pressure. It is also often a prerequisite should. In other words, do not have a su-
for effective communication and interper- periority attitude. Rather have a moder-
sonal relations, as well as for developing ate view of your strengths. On the other
empathy for others. Some people are not hand do not exaggerate your weaknesses
prepared to face the truth about them- and look down on yourself, but do not
selves. For example, a student may use excuse your weaknesses. You need to be
his perceived self-image as a fun-loving realistic about both your strengths and
person as an excuse for doing poorly in weaknesses if you are to know your true
his school grades. In reality, he does not self and develop as a person.
like working hard, doing his homework or
studying for the exams. When you know
?
who you are, you may have to change Identify two strengths and one weakness
things about yourself. Some people do not that you have.
want to change because change demands How do you think your friends describe
effort. Self-awareness demands honesty you?
and courage to get in touch with what we What are your plans for the future? What
are thinking and feeling in order to face steps do you need to take to achieve your
the truth about ourselves. dreams?
104
Assertiveness Many people are concerned that if they
To assert means to state an opinion and assert themselves others will think of
claim a rights. If you assert yourself, you their behavior as aggressive. But there is
behave in a way that expresses your con- a difference between being assertive and
fidence, presence and power to earn you aggressive. Assertive people state their
recognition. Assertiveness is standing up opinions, while still being respectful of
for yourself and making your voice heard. others. Aggressive people attack or ig-
It is expressing your opinions, needs and nore others’ opinions in favor of their own
feelings, without ignoring the needs of while passive people do not state their
others. Assertiveness is necessary for opinions at all.
making yourself noticed and getting
people to listen to you.
Assertive behavior includes:

?
The table below shows the differences
• Taking a positive role in conversations
between passive, assertive and aggres-
• Sharing feelings, opinions and experi-
sive behavior. From these descriptions,
ences with others;
identify what your characteristics are.
• Making requests and asking for favors
How do you think you can improve your
• Refusing others’ requests if they are
behaviour? Share your ideas with your
too demanding;
neighbor.
• Questioning rules or traditions that do
not make sense or do not seem fair;
• Addressing issues that bother you.
Passive Person Assertive Person Aggressive Person

Is afraid to speak up Speaks openly Interrupts - ‘talks over’ others
Speaks softly Uses a conversational tone with Speaks loudly
confidence
Looks down or away Maintains good eye contact Glares and stares at others
Shows little or no expression Shows expressions that match Shows aggressive/threatening
the message expressions
Slouches and withdraws Relaxes and adopts an open Stands rigidly, crosses arms,
posture and expressions invades others’ personal space
Isolates self from groups Mixes well with groups Controls groups
Agrees with others, despite feel- Speaks to the point, agrees when Disagrees and does not listen to
ings ideas of others are convincing the points of others
Sees self as inferior Values self equal to others Looks down on others
Hurts self to avoid hurting oth- Values feelings of others Ignores the feelings of others
ers
Does not reach goals and may Balances achievement of goals Reaches goals but hurts others
not have a set goal with relationships with others in the process.
105
How Assertiveness Can Change Your Case study
Life Tolla finds the clock, that he has just
Being assertive can lead to a more re- bought, is broken. He and his friend go to
warding life. For example, it can improve the store to return the broken clock. After
your relationships with friends and fam- being turned away by the clerk, Tolla
ily, and introduce you to new personal or asks to speak to the manager and con-
career opportunities. While the decision to vinces him that the store should return
develop your assertiveness is a personal his money. Finally Tolla manages to get
one, the rewards can be much greater his money back. At the same time he feels
than personal satisfaction. Being asser- good about standing up for his rights and
tive not only improves your self-respect, his friend is impressed with the way Tolla
but also earns you respect from others. handled the situation.
The change in your behavior can posi-
tively influence those around you, both in The next day, Tolla feels more confident
their behavior toward you and towards at work and suggests an idea for a new
others. project. His boss likes the suggestion and
asks Tolla to oversee it.
How people deal with personal boundar-
ies, their own and those of other people, is Meanwhile, Tolla`s friend, who doesn’t
important for getting on in life. understand an electricity bill she has
• Passive communicators do not defend received, remembers how he handled the
their own personal boundaries. They situation in the store yesterday and calls
allow other people to harm or unduly the billing company for an explanation.
influence them. They are unlikely to She feels better about herself when she
risk trying to influence anyone else. get an answer and more confident about
• Aggressive people do not respect the speaking up.
personal boundaries of others and thus
are liable to harm others while isolat-
?
ing themselves as a consequence. Is Tolla a good example of an assertive
• When assertive people communicate, person?
they speak their minds to influence Why is it important to be assertive when
others, but they do it in a way that your rights, or the rights of others, are
respects the personal boundaries of violated?
others. They also defend themselves What is the difference between being po-
against aggressive incursions and lite and being passive?
may try to include the views of passive
group members.
106
Avoid the tendency to live on others • desire to earn their living from their
An independent life is one that is lived at own efforts and expect to be rewarded
a pace and in a place of your own choice. for them. They do not desire a subsidy,
It is a life where you are rewarded for the unwarranted payment or handouts.
work that you do. You also are responsible They will plan for their future by sav-
for risks that you take. You are free to ing.
choose what you want after careful con- • value achievement and do not seek
siderations. You recognize that you have power over others; they recognize that
rights that are inherent and not depen- the purpose of life is to realize one’s
dent on the recognition of others. In short, own potential.
you live your own life. • choose their own lifestyle. They seek
an existence that provides adequate
Most importantly, living an independent time for relaxation and enjoyment of
life means living on your own terms, not life, not rushing through life, or work-
subject to others. Being subject to others ing like a slave.
is a result of not making decisions of your
own, but passively accepting the decisions
of others. We are not anyone’s subject,
and should avoid being taken advantage
of without good reason. A subjected hu-
Case Study
man is someone who can never achieve a
Atitegeb is a widow living in a rural area.
free and prosperous life. It is a life lived
She has two sons and a daughter. After
for someone else rather than for yourself.
the death of her husband she made an
We have responsibilities towards others
effort to bring up her children and to
and need to consider our role in society.
improve her economic status. She knows,
However, being independent means that
from previous experience, the fertility of
we can choose the direction our life takes.
her land and how to irrigate it.
Characteristics of an independent
She is polite and disciplined as well as
person
being very strong at convincing others,
Independent people:
including the agricultural development
• have their own views, explore differ-
workers and other farmers. They are
ent options, for example in listening
always surprised by her agricultural
to music, reading books and meeting
knowledge and skills as well as her confi-
people. They do this because they are
dence in using them. She is always ready
hungry for new ideas and want to un-
to learn new farming methods from other
derstand, explore and appreciate the
farmers and development workers.
richness of life.
107
The productivity of her land has increased Self-confidence
from season to season and she has become If you find yourself satisfying your own
one of the few surplus producers of her needs, this would definitely develop self-
locality. She sends her children to school confidence. It could be said that self-confi-
because she knows the value of education. dence and self- reliance are complimenta-
Her children are among the best students ry. Self-confidence is essentially a trust in
of the school. From time to time Atitegeb yourself and your inherent competences,
diversifies her agriculture beyond culti- which result in a high level of security.
vation. With the help of her children she Self-confident people believe in helping
begins to fatten sheep and oxen. Atitegeb themselves.
is one of the Ethiopian farmers who was
given an award by the government be-
cause of her effort in increasing agricul-
tural productivity.
?
Which quality of Atitegeb do you value
the most? Why?
What do you imagine Atitegeb’s life was
like before of the death of her husband?
How does this compare to the present?
What are the advantages of Atitegeb’s
interactions with the other farmers and
development workers?
What can you learn from the life story of A productive farmer
Atitegeb?
Remember
• Rightful perception includes recognition of our personality, strengths and weak-
nesses, likes and dislikes. The better you understand yourself, the better you are
able to accept and develop yourself as a person.
• Assertiveness is standing up for your right to be treated fairly. It is expressing your
opinions, needs, and feelings, without ignoring or hurting the opinions, needs and
feelings of others.
• An independent life is one that is lived at a pace and in a place of your own choice.
• Self-confidence is trust in oneself and one’s competence that results in a high level
of security.
108
Dependency and its Consequences

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: • culture, sport and all aspects of human
• Explain how dependency resulted in risks to resource development (including re-
public welfare. cruitment and training of workers).
• Explain how dependent nations are subjected
to interference from outside.
• Argue how dependency retarded national
Dependency also results in being suscep-
development. tible to interference from outside in the
following ways:
How do you know whether a country is de- • financial and technological penetration
pendent or self-reliant? by the developed capitalist countries.
What are the consequences of dependency • producing an unbalanced economic
at country level? relationship within the poor countries
How does dependency affect the decision and between them and the wealthy
making of a country in its domestic affairs? nations.
• limitations on self-sustained growth of
poor countries.
Dependency is the notion that a country
fully relies on the support of other coun- Due to the way the world economy works
tries and international organizations in these days, poor countries become sub-
many different ways. They may rely on ject to the will of rich countries and are
them for food donations, financial dona- frequently exploited. This increases the
tions and skill support. This increases stagnation of their economy and, as a con-
the risk that the dependent country will sequence, the social welfare of the people
not develop the ability to support itself suffers. This in turn increases the depen-
and may even become lazy and not want dency of the country as they then need
to support itself. This can also create a more support in order to look after their
power imbalance between the dependent people.
country and donor states.
There are many different and conflicting
Dependency results in risks to public wel- ideas on how developing countries can al-
fare for the following major reasons: leviate the effects of this system. Several
• Poor nations provide free market ac- protectionist or nationalist practices were
cess to wealthy nations. This means adopted at one time or another by such
people in poor countries buy manu- countries. Some of are listed below:
factured goods, obsolete or used goods • Promoting domestic industry and
from wealthy nations. From these manufactured goods. By providing
trade relations, rich nations make subsidies to protect domestic indus-
profit and enjoy a high standard of liv- tries, poor countries can sell their own
ing. products rather than simply exporting
• Wealthy nations actively perpetuate a raw materials.
state of dependence by various means. • Limiting the importation of luxury
This influence may be multifaceted in- items and manufactured goods that
volving economics, the media, politics, can be produced within the country,
banking and finance, education, the country can reduce its spending.
109
Dependency and its Consequences

• Taking steps to keep foreign compa- The consumption of imported items began
nies and individuals from operating to be considered as an indication of mo-
businesses that draw on the resources dernity. Ethiopian local drinks remained
of the country with the money being as they were or were replaced by imports.
channeled out of the country. The same is true of Ethiopian weaving.
• Forcibly taking over foreign-owned The present textile factories are not the
companies on behalf of the state, in or- results of local evolution, rather they were
der to keep profits within the country. directly introduced from abroad. These
factors led to the Ethiopian producers and
consumers being dependent on foreign
?
Read the previous list of protectionist imports, thus weakening the local indus-
practices and discuss the following ques- tries.
tions:
• Do you think that they help to mini-
How did this experience affect the local
?
mize dependency of poor countries on
wealthy countries? economic interdependence?
• Do you think any of the practices are Has this economic system resulted in de-
helpful to promote the development of pendency? Explain your answer.
poor countries like Ethiopia? Explain If you had been an economic advisor for
your answer. Emperor Menilek what would you have
• Is there an alternative? recommended regarding his attempts at
modernization?
Case study
A Lesson from History
Emperor Menilek wanted to modernize
the country. He attempted to introduce Remember
modern systems and import goods from • Developing countries are highly depen-
abroad. He introduced new transportation dent on rich nations and international
and communication systems, clothing, organizations.
tools, fire arms and drinks. No attempt • Dependency results in risks to public
was made to develop or modernize prac- welfare and leads to interference from
tices and industries within the country. outside.
The indigenous way of producing crafts, • Dependency will also lead to a tenden-
weaving, plowing, even cooking and brew- cy to work for the will of others, which
ing were not modified or encouraged, results in backwardness, stagnation
rather they either continued as they were, of the economy and social welfare in
or gave way to imported materials. developing nations.
110
Self-Reliance and Decision Making

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: of risk. Risk and uncertainty can create
• Explain what making decisions by oneself is. anxiety, yet they are necessary compo-
• Discuss the main features of rational and
nents for an active life.
informed decisions.
• Show how flexibility is important for decision
making. Sometimes you come across situations
that need immediate decisions with lim-
When was the last time you had to make
ited options. In these kinds of situations
an important decision?
you have to try and make the best deci-
How did you decide what to do?
sion.
You studied the relationship between self- Case study
reliance and decision making in Grade One day Lambebo was walking down the
10. Decision-making needs different pre- street when he came across a briefcase.
conditions. One of them is self-reliance He looked around to see whether or not
that can be manifested in the form of self- anyone was there. There was no one.
confidence and positive perceptions about When he opened the briefcase he found
oneself. Decision-making helps us to deal money and a mobile phone. He also found
constructively with decisions about our a business card with a name and tele-
lives, assessing the different options and phone number.
reflecting on the consequences of our deci-
?
sions. Decision making can be regarded as Discuss the following questions in groups
a thought process leading to the selection • What choices does Lambebo have?
of a course of action. Decisions may be • What will be the consequence of each
made based on facts, opinions and feel- decision?
ings. Making a decision implies that there • What would you choose to do?
are alternative choices to be considered,
and in such cases we want not only to When making a decision you have to
identify as many of these alternatives as be sure that this is going to be the best
possible but to choose the one that best decision in the given situation. In order
fits with our goals, desires, lifestyle, val- to make the most of your situation, you
ues and so on. should find out as much information as
possible. It is important to be informed of
Decision making is the process of suf- what choices you have and consider the
ficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt consequences of each choice. From this
about alternatives to allow a reasonable information you should then be able to
choice to be made from among them. This decide the best course of action, taking
definition stresses the information gather- into consideration the risks. When mak-
ing function of decision-making. It should ing decisions there are times when you
be noted here that uncertainty is reduced will need to take risks and often you will
rather than eliminated. Very few deci- reap the rewards. However, there may be
sions are made with absolute certainty consequences when the risk is high; it is
because complete knowledge about all up to you to decide. Often taking a risk
the alternatives is seldom possible. Thus, is better than not making any decision at
every decision involves a certain amount all.
111
Self-Reliance and Decision Making
?
Flexibility is often key to making effec- • What are Shmebo’s choices?
tive decisions. When we are faced with • What might be the outcome of each?
a choice we are often restrained by the • What are the risks and will he need to
amount of time that we have to gather be flexible about anything?
knowledge and become informed. We may • If you were one of Shmebo’s friends
also be faced with other limitations on re- what advice would you give him?
sources in which case what we want may
not be available or practical. As we are
rarely the only people to be affected by a
decision, it is important to consider the
impact that it will have on those around.
Flexibility is an important attribute of a
good decision maker.
Case study
An Interesting Ambition
Shmebo is a preparatory school student
who scored a very good GPA in his tenth
grade matriculation. He wants to be an
outstanding individual who has a great
respect among his community. He has
an ambition to alleviate the problem in
his community. He is in a dilemma as to Students discussing their future plans
whether he will study for a long time at
university or take a short-term placement Remember
in vocational training; both will enable • Decision-making involves identifying
him to begin working for improving social and choosing alternatives based on the
and economic conditions. He is not sure values and preferences of the decision
whether the short-term training would maker.
enable him to overcome all the challenges • Sufficiently reducing uncertainty and
he will face while working. He also needs doubt about alternatives will allow a
social prestige which, most of the time, reasonable choice to be made.
comes after university studies. He raises • Every decision involves a certain
the issue with his friends at different amount of risk but it can be reduced.
times and gets different ideas and advice • It is better to take a risk than not
that made him even more confused. make any decision at all.
112
Unit 8 Self-Reliance
Unit Summary
Rightful perception includes recognition of our personality, strengths and weaknesses.
The better you understand yourself, the better you are able to accept or change who
you are. Assertiveness means standing up for your right to be treated fairly. It is about
expressing your opinions, needs and feelings, without hurting others. An independent
life is one that is lived at a pace and in a place of your own choice. Self-confidence is
trust in oneself and one’s competence which results in a high level of security.
Developing countries are highly dependent on rich nations and international organiza-
tions. This results in a risk to public welfare and being susceptible to interference from
outside. It also results in a tendency to work for the will of others, which results in
backwardness, stagnation of the economy and social welfare in developing nations.
Decision-making is about identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values

and preferences of the decision maker. Sufficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt
about alternatives will allow a reasonable choice to be made. Every decision involves a
certain amount of risk but it can be reduced. It is better to take a risk than not make
any decision at all.
Glossary
Assertiveness: The quality of behaving confidently and without being frightened to
say what is wanted or believed.
Flexibility: Is being able to change one’s mind or decision according to situations.
National development: The economic, cultural and social development of a country.
Public welfare: The wellbeing of the people in general rather than being limited to a
particular individual or group of people.
Rational decision: A decision based on reason rather than emotion.
Rightful perception: A belief or opinion based on facts and evidence.
113
Unit 8 Self-Reliance

Part I - Multiple choice Part II - Short answers
1. Which of the following goes with 1. Why is it important to be assertive?
assertiveness? 2. Some people have a tendency to live off
a maintaining good eye contact others. What might be the impact of
while speaking this tendency?
b considering feelings of others 3. What is the relationship between self-
c hurting oneself to make others confidence and self-reliance?
happy 4. Some scholars argue that there is a
d accepting ideas of others when dependency relation between poor and
they are convincing rich countries of the world. Do you
e all of the above agree? Explain your answer.
2. Which of the following are not
characteristic of a passive person?
a ignoring feelings of others
b mixing well with other people
c speaking openly and firmly
d looking down on others
e considering self as inferior
114
Civic and Ethical Studies Grade 11 Unit 9
Saving
Introduction
In Unit 9 of your Grade 10 study you discussed the traditional practices that affect
saving and saw the importance of planning and setting goals. In addition to this you
have seen how you could choose careers. Here you will discuss how to improve your
saving habits and compare the traditional and conventional institutions of saving.
Finally you will look at how saving is important for investment and development.

1. The Need for New Thinking in Saving • Banks
2. Ways of Improving the Habit of Saving • Capital Accumulation
3. Traditional and Modern Institutions of • Depositors
Saving in Ethiopia • Deposits
4. Saving as an Instrument of Invest- • Equb
ment and Development • Iddir
What you will learn • Insurance Companies
You will: • Local Products
• Realize how to improve saving habits.
• Understand the necessity of new
thinking to improve saving habits. National bank of Ethiopia
• Recognize the traditional and modern
institutions of saving.
• Appreciate the importance of saving as
an instrument of investment.
115
Unit 9 Saving Lesson 1
The Need for New Thinking in Saving

Case Study
• Describe the necessity of a new perspective of
saving. Export Standard Shoes
Produced in Ethiopia
Do you prefer locally produced clothes or There are many shoe manufacturing
imported clothes? Why? enterprises in Ethiopia. They produce dif-
ferent types of shoes that are reasonably
One way to help develop the habit of priced. These shoes are of good quality.
saving is to transform the way you think However, some people choose shoes with
about spending. This may be related to lower quality and a higher price, because
the way you consume things. they are from abroad.
In Ethiopia there is a common think- Another challenge is how to avoid wast-

ing that is bad for saving. Many people age during production. To produce goods
avoid locally produced items. Because of and services, we use many inputs, which
this they spend a lot of money on expen- are those items required for their produc-
sive imported products. It is important tion. We have to use these inputs properly
to change this type of mentality. There in order to reduce our costs. For example,
is a need for a new way of thinking that in the production of shoes we use leather
favors locally produced goods. Like people as an input. We should be careful when
in other countries, who are very proud of using leather so as not to waste it. Wast-
their own products, we have to learn to age of inputs is a major cause of in-
live on our resources and appreciate our creased cost of production. If there is a lot
produce. of wastage of inputs, the cost of producing
one item becomes high. If the cost rises,
Buying more locally produced goods is then the selling price of that product has
more profitable for local industry and to increase. This makes the products
therefore good for development. If we do more expensive and less desirable. It also
not support our manufacturers it may harms the development of the country.
lead to local industries going out of busi- Therefore, it is important to be conscious
ness. At present, many foreign companies while using production inputs and use
are profiting because we do not buy the them carefully so as to avoid waste.
goods made in our own country. The lo-
cally produced items are often cheaper
?
Where can you practice reducing
and of just as good quality. We all need wastage? Could you encourage anyone
to appreciate locally produced goods, buy you know to follow this idea?
and use them reguarly.
Remember
?
Look at the case study. Where do the • We should buy more locally produced
products you buy come from? See if you products.
can identify their origin. How far have • Avoidance of wastage while producing
they travelled to get to you? and consuming is important.
116
Ways of Improving the Habit of Saving
?
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Write a list of those things you might
• Explain the mechanism for improving the old want to save for in the future.
tradition of saving.
Have you ever saved? If so why did you In developing the habit of saving there
save and how did you start? are two issues that you need to consider:
the avoidance of extravagance and living
within your means. A person who avoids
You have seen in previous grades, saving extravagant purchases will not be pres-
is very important in many respects. In surised to pay out unnecessarily. If you
this lesson you will see ways to develop limit your interests to your income, you
the habit of saving. should be able to sustain savings.
Saving is an activity that very much In order to avoid wasting your money
depends on income. Income is money that on an extravagant purchase, you should
you receive. From the income that you get consider your reasons for wanting the
you may use part of it and keep any extra item and judge whether it is really neces-
as savings. You are saving because you sary. Would you be better putting your
want to use it in the future. When you money towards something else or saving
get an income it is important to believe it? There are many necessary purchases
that you should not consume all of it at in life. You need to spend your money
once. This means you have to try to al- wisely.
locate some of it for saving. The first step
to start saving is to decide what you have Another important skill to develop is the
to spend. You should not waste money ability to live within your means. You
on items that you do not need. You have have to learn to understand what your
to understand that your income will only income can purchase including assigning
buy a certain amount of things to con- a certain amount for savings. You have to
sume. After spending on what you need, know how much your needs cost and limit
the rest can be saved. You should balance these to the value of your income. Some
your needs and wants with savings. people desire things and start spending a
lot of money on impulsive purchases. This
One factor that works against saving is type of behavior is bad because it results
doing things without planning. When you in unplanned expenditures that discour-
are planning, you need to think about age savings. It could also lead to debt,
your future. For example, it is important where you are spending more money than
that you consider how you are going to you earn – a big problem in developed
live when you get to old age. Also, what countries.
would happen if there was an emergency?
What if you would like to purchase some- Try to list all the things you spend money
thing in the future? We need to make sure
that we do not just live in the present.
on during a month and add up how much
you spend.
?
117
Ways of Improving the Habit of Saving
?
Case Study What do you think of Ato Molla’s behav-
Impulsive Purchases iour? What advice would you give him?
Molla is a government employee with What do you learn from this case study?
two sons studying in private schools.
He is proud of his own appearance and,
Remember
whenever he sees clothes and shoes that
• It is important to develop the habit of
he likes, he buys them. He also likes to
saving.
socialize with his friends on a weekly ba-
• It is possible to develop the habit of
sis. His income does not match his expen-
saving by avoiding extravagance.
diture so he resorts to borrowing money
• It is possible to develop the habit of
from his friends.
saving by limiting our interests to the
level of our earnings.
Shop selling luxury items
118
Traditional and Modern Institutions of Saving in

Ethiopia
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: will be given to the next person. This
• Identify traditional and modern institutions of continues until all members of the group
saving. receive the amount. The person who re-
• Explain the effects of saving on the individual ceives first is considered to be borrowing
and society at large.
because he or she gets a total amount first
What are some of the traditional and continues to pay the amount over a
institutions of saving? certain period of time in equal install-
ments. On the other hand, the person who
receives the money last is considered to
You have seen in the previous two lessons be saving because he or she pays a small
the ways of improving your saving hab- amount every month and receives the to-
its and changing your thinking. You will tal amount at the end of the cycle. This is
now see the different institutions through considered a forced saving since, once you
which you can save. These institutions are involved in it, it is difficult to get out
are divided into two: traditional and as other people’s interests are involved.
modern. The traditional institutions for
saving are those established by the com- Iddir is another traditional saving where
munity in order to save. Modern institu- people living in a community contribute a
tions are similar to everywhere else in the fixed amount every month so that when a
world. The main modern institution for family member dies the Iddir gives servic-
saving is a bank, while traditional institu- es and items, like tents, for the ceremony.
tions vary in different places. This is a kind of saving because it con-
tributes money for future use. These two
In Ethiopia there are both traditional and saving methods contribute to alleviating
modern institutions for saving and people social problems.
use both. Examples of traditional saving
institutions in Ethiopia are Equb and Id- Other than the traditional ways of saving
dir. Also the modern institutions of saving there are modern institutions like banks
like the banks and insurance companies and insurance companies. Banks are fi-
are widely used, especially in the urban nancial institutions that are used for sav-
areas. ing and borrowing money. People put part
of their income in the bank and in return
Equb and Iddir are traditional saving infor keeping it there for a certain period
stitutions in Ethiopia. Both are examples of time they get paid interest in addition
of what is called forced saving whereby, to the money they have. The money that
if you choose to engage in it, you have to is kept with the banks is called a deposit
contribute a fixed amount. Equb works and the person depositing is called a de-
where a group of people come together positor. The banks then lend this money
and decide to contribute an equal amount to people who need money and charge the
of money every month. The total amount borrower a higher interest rate. So the
collected in one month is given to one per- working of the banks is similar to that of
son, then the following amount collected Equb.
119
Traditional and Modern Institutions of Saving in

Ethiopia
?
Another modern institution of saving is Do you think that an Iddir is a good orga-
an insurance company. Insurance compa- nization to invest in?
nies are places where you pay out a cer- Should Iddir give services only for funer-
tain amount of money called a premium als? Give reasons for your answer and
every year. The insurance company will consider different view points.
cover your expenses in case of an emer-
gency according to the initial agreement.
Usually you have insurance for your You can see from this that you can use
property, like your house or car, in case both the traditional and modern institu-
of theft or fire. The working of insurance tions for saving. By using these institu-
companies is similar to that of Iddir since tions it is possible to meet the needs of
you get the services in case of emergen- your family. In addition you can also
cies. Banks and insurance companies benefit society by engaging in these insti-
contribute to the economic development of tutions with other people.
the country.
Saving is also beneficial for the society
Case Study by providing financial resources for those
Metebaber Meredaja Iddir people who want loans. Engaging in these
Metebaber Meredaja Iddir has 130 mem- institutions could help other people to
bers. The Iddir has its own chairman. save. This all contributes to the develop-
It also has a store, a storekeeper and ment of our country.
items that are needed for funerals. These
items include a big tent, metal chairs and
?
In what ways does saving benefit society?
tables, dish and bowls for serving food in- Present your ideas to the class.
cluding plates and cups. It also has cook-
ing equipment. Whenever a relative of a
member passes away, the storekeeper or-
ganizes people and erects the tent around Remember
the neighborhood of the member whose • There are both traditional and modern
relative passed away. Also selected mem- institutions of saving.
bers of Iddir come to the member’s house • Traditional saving institutions vary in
to help cook food and console the member. different places.
However, the Iddir gives these services • Traditional saving institutions in
only when there is a death. It doesn’t pro- Ethiopia include Equb and Iddir.
vide these services for weddings or other • Modern institutions of saving include
events. banks and insurance companies.
120
Saving as an Instrument of Investment and

Development
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: You saw in the previous lesson that banks
• Explain the relationship between saving and receive people’s savings and lend money
development. to others. In this lesson we will discuss
• Describe the role that national and interna- how savings made in banks serve as a
tional monetary institutions are playing in
development.
source of capital.
What role do you think saving has in Banks play a significant role in the accu-
development? mulation of capital. This is because they
are instruments through which funds are
made available for investment. Banks
make funds available by collecting from
those people who save. The source of the
funds that banks lend, mostly comes from
depositors. The more money people and
businesses deposit with banks, the more
money they are able to lend for invest-
ment. The more people realize the impor-
tance of saving, the more money they will
save in banks. When people save more
money in banks then banks have more
Ethiopian Airlines facilitates investment money to lend to investors. Not only that,
people who save their income also can en-
gage in investment activities themselves.
If you save enough money you may be

able to invest in business opportunities.
This would make you a business person.
Investment is essential in the process of
development. When people invest, usually
their production increases and they need
to hire more staff. Because of this more
people will have jobs and more goods and
services will be available. This leads to
a growth in income and development.
National Bank - another symbol of investment
Therefore, saving is important.
121
Saving as an Instrument of Investment and

Development
Case Study There are other sources of funding that
The Ethiopian Banking System can be used for development. There are
The Ethiopian banking system is made international financial institutions that
up of ten banks, called commercial banks. give out loans and grants for their devel-
All, except one, the Development Bank of opment efforts.
Ethiopia, give services and accept depos-
its from the public. Most of these banks The well-known big international institu-
have branches in cities and towns. These tions that give such kind of services are
ten banks also give loans to investors. In the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
2005/06 the banks gave 5.5 billion Birr and the World Bank. These international
worth of loans to the private sector. At financial institutions are established to
the same time these banks also collected provide funding for global development.
around 5.7 billion Birr worth of deposits. They study the direction of development
in different countries and advise them.
In addition to this, the international
institutions provide financial resources
?
What kind of investment would you like to support the development efforts in
to be involved in? Explain why you have these countries. Since 1991 Ethiopia has
chosen to spend your money in this way. had very close relationship with IMF and
World Bank.
Remember
• Saving is very important for the accumulation of capital.
• Capital accumulation is very important for development.
• There are also international financial institutions that are involved in providing
financial resources for less developed countries.
122
Unit 9 Saving
Unit Summary
In this unit you have seen many dimensions of saving. You have discussed the need for
a new thinking regarding saving by using local products where possible and becoming
more efficient in consumption and production. The ways to improve your saving habit
by avoiding wastages and limiting one’s interests to one’s income has been explored.
We have examined traditional and modern institutions of saving, with their similari-
ties and differences. Finally you looked at the importance of saving with respect to
capital accumulation and development.
Glossary
Banks: An institution that keeps people’s money and gives out loans.
Capital Accumulation: The accumulation of financial resources for investment.
Depositor: A person or institution who keeps money in a bank.
Deposit: Money kept in the bank.
Equb: The traditional institutions that serve as forced saving instruments.
Iddir: The traditional saving institutions that give services in case of emergencies.
Insurance: The institutions that cover risk against accidents.

Part I - Multiple choice b being extravagant
1. Which of the following is the way to c planning consumption with the
improve saving habits? income left after saving
a avoidance of wastages d all
b using local products 4. Banks are:
c limiting one’s interest with a modern institutions that accept
one’s income contributions and give out money
d a and b in case of an emergency
e a, b and c b modern saving institutions that
2. Local products means: also give out loans
a goods locally produced by the c a good example of traditional
local industries saving institutions
b goods locally available that are d all
imported from other countries 5. Which of the following is not a
c goods produced at home tra ditional institution of saving?
d all a banks
3. Limiting one’s interest with one’s b Iddir
income means: c Equb
a developing the habit of using all d all
your income for your interests
123
Civic and Ethical Studies Grade 11 Unit 10
Active Community Participation

Introduction
In Grade 10, you studied different ways in which you can actively participate in your
community. You have also discussed political and social participation. In this unit you
will discus how civic participation can voluntarily enhance societal development and
support the democratic process. Furthermore, you will see how the active participation
of citizens can monitor and influence the actions of governments.

1. Civic Participation • Civic participation
2. Monitoring and Influencing Actions of • Election campaign
Government Bodies • Peaceful demonstration
What you will learn • Political participation
You will: • Public agenda
• Recognize the importance of monitor- • Public opinion
ing and influencing the actions of the • Voluntarism
government.
• Appreciate citizens civic participation. Citizens involved in community activities
124
Unit 10 Active Community Participation Lesson 1
Civic Participation
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Case study
• Describe the importance of civic participation. Ethiopian Women Lawyers’
• Participate in civic societies.
Association (EWLA)
The Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Asso-
Do you think a citizen should be forced ciation (EWLA) is a nonprofit and non-
to participate in civic activities? Explain partisan voluntary organization. It was
your answer using examples. founded by a group of Ethiopian women
lawyers in 1995 following the ratification
of the Constitution of the Federal Demo-
Civil means related to citizens or to the cratic Republic of Ethiopia.
public. Civil actions are outside of politics,
religion, military etc. Civil actions do not The association, at its onset, defined its
have any interest other than cooperating objectives in its Articles of Association.
and working to promote the common good EWLA’s specific objectives are:
and welfare of the people. • To eliminate all forms of legal and
traditionally sanctioned discrimination
Civil societies are formed by the free will against women.
of their members. Participating in civil • To ensure the equal treatment of
society is performed voluntarily in order women and men in education, employ-
to enhance social development and sup- ment and access to public services and
port the democratic process. Examples benefits.
from around the world indicate that civic • To advocate for remedial and affirma-
participation is one of the most significant tive measures for women to redress
efforts towards government reforms in the accumulated consequences of dis-
order to attain social development goals. crimination.
Therefore, citizens should be encouraged
to participate as they are better informed On October 3, 2002 the association lob-
about the needs and problems of members bied the House of Peoples’ Representative,
of their community. Citizens can exercise Office of the Speaker, Women’s Standing
their rights of participation in a demo- Committee, Legal Standing Committee
cratic system through civil societies which and the Women’s Affairs Office at the
empower them in various affairs. Prime Minister’s Office.
?
Form a group to discuss development ac- EWLA’s main concerns are on penal law.
tivities in your school What it advocates and lobbies for are:
• What is the role of civil societies in • The liberalization of the law on abor-
your school’s development activities? tion;
• Are you involved voluntarily in the • The outlawing of the practice of female
development activities of your school? genital mutilation (FGM) and domes-
Let the group leader present the ideas to tic violence;
a class for further discussion.
125
Civic Participation
• The revision of the provisions dealing Commitment and dedication mean hav-
with rape, abduction and other sexual ing the strength to maintain the effort to
offences; achieve certain goals. When you do your
• The repeal of provisions with regard to studies you have to have the commitment
the non-prosecution of crimes in cases to accomplish the tasks required to enable
of subsequent marriage after rape and you to become successful in your exams,
abduction; and the same is true for public participa-
• The amendment of the criminal pro- tion. You need the commitment to par-
cedure code so as to review the proce- ticipate in public and civic issues until
dures and put criminal liability on the they are solved and the commitment to
offenders of crimes such as rape and impress your ideas onto others.
domestic violence;
• The provision of a closed trial for cases While working together you also need to
that might have psychological impact understand that team spirit is very im-
on the victims, like child rape and do- portant. Team spirit is the belief that, in
mestic violence. working together for a common good, you
will be successful; by coming together you
will solve problems. Most of the problems
?
• Do you think that the work of organi- we are facing today are common prob-
zations like EWLA has had an impact lems, such as sanitation, crime and the
on the promotion of women’s rights? like. These can only be solved if there is
Explain your answer. a concerted effort that includes the par-
• Does your community need the sup- ticipation of community members. Some
port of a group like EWLA to help people just think about their own ben-
the rights of women? In which areas efits rather than the good of all, involving
might women in your community need themselves in activities that benefit them
support? but could hurt others. When a person
• Are there any other groups in your commits a crime, for example, he or she is
community who need civic participa- thinking of benefiting himself or herself
tion for support? through hurting others.
Finally, it is important to understand that

As you have seen, it is important to par- public or civic participation has to be in
ticipate in civic issues. Civic participation the framework of the Constitution and
requires a number of things: commitment, law of the land. Without respecting the
dedication, team spirit, readiness to work Constitution and law of the land, public
with others for the common good. Civic participation would not be helpful. This
participation should be performed within is because the Constitution and other
the framework of the Constitution and laws of the land set boundaries in order to
laws of the land. make public participation peaceful.
126
Civic Participation
?
Case Study In groups, discuss the issue of gender-
Campaign Rallies to Stop YAW based violence in relation to your school
The Gender-Based Violence Campaign and village.
in Ethiopia was established by ten dif- • What are the problems?
ferent civil society organizations and UN • What do you think your role is as a
agencies in October 2006. On March 24, student to reduce the problem?
the Campaign held a candlelight vigil to Present a summary of your ideas in class
draw public attention to stop the increas- for further discussion.
ing rate of violence against women. The
vigil was held at the Yekaktit 12 Hospital
where Kamilat Mehdi was receiving medi-
cal treatment for acid burns she suffered
in early January. Hundreds of people
gathered to show their solidarity to Kami-
lat and her family and to express their
opposition to gender-based violence. Remember
• Civil associations are interested in
On Ethiopian Christmas Eve, as Kamilat cooperating and working together to
and her two sisters were walking home, promote the common good and welfare
a stalker and his accomplices splashed of the people.
sulphuric acid on their bodies and faces. • Participating in civil society can be
Kamilat suffered life-threatening and done voluntarily to enhance social de-
disfiguring facial and chest burns. Though velopment and support the democratic
less severe compared to what Kamilat process.
suffered, her sisters also sustained burns • Through civil societies, citizens can
on their bodies. exercise their rights of participation in
a democratic system.
The vigil condemned attacks against • Commitment and dedication mean
young girls and women in general and the having the strength to maintain an ef-
campaign resolved to double its efforts in fort to achieve certain goals.
working against gender-based violence. In
addition, the campaign called on the gov-
ernment to “spell out directions for clear
legislative intervention and appropriate
punishment against sexual violence of-
fenders.”
127
Monitoring and Influencing Actions of Government

Bodies
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Such participation involves:
• Explain how to monitor and influence the • Voting in elections;
actions of the government.
• Encouraging citizens to become in-
volved in running for office;
Why do you need to monitor and influence • Financing campaigns;
the actions of government bodies? • Drafting and implementing election
laws;
• Taking part in political campaigning;
• Demonstrations and petitions.
During election campaigns you will be

Community participation is one of the able to establish the positions of political
keys to the empowerment of a community. parties on different issues. Clarity of the
It creates the conditions for success. Stud- party policy, their financial status and
ies have documented that communities other areas can make a significant contri-
that engage their citizens and partners in bution to their success or failure. Political
community development, raise more re- parties will have to spend large sums of
sources, achieve more results and develop money on organizing and publicizing their
in a more holistic and, ultimately, more programs and policies. They require good
beneficial way. Community participation financial backup in order to be competent
is crucial for community success. and successful.
Community participation requires the ac- Demonstrations are public displays by

tive involvement of citizens in the social, groups showing approval, sympathy or
economic and political realms at all levels disapproval towards a cause. When a
and in all forms. demonstration is performed legally it
follows the governing laws and is done
One example of community participa- without violence. For demonstrations
tions is political participation, by which to be legal they must be peaceful. When
citizens make their voices heard and get groups of people who have similar inter-
involved in political issues. Involvement est believe that they have to reflect their
in political parties is designed to influence concern or opinion on certain issues, a
elections and policy making. This has a peaceful demonstration is one activity
positive effect both for the people and the people can participate in. Responsible
government. Active community political citizens with active community participa-
participation serves as a bridge between tion become involved in demonstrations to
the people and the government. Inter- influence the political decisions of officials
est groups are usually formed to promote and, as a result, to protect their interests
specific public concern. and those of others.
128

Bodies
?
Democracy itself encourages people to dis- • Form your own discussion groups on
cuss the problems around them. This can one issue that is a concern in your
lead to the formation of discussion groups community, for example inflation, edu-
or interest groups, which examine differ- cation, health care, food, clean water,
ent issues. In the case of political issues, the treatment of women etc.
parties usually raise concerns and frame • How can you include the views of ev-
the agenda. These groups of common in- eryone? Does everyone care about the
terest, or political parties, decide the most issue?
important issues to be addressed. For • After you have identified the issue, you
instance, if the well-being of citizens is a then need to find out public opinion
prevailing problem, it should be framed by asking the views of others in your
and discussed in a way that promotes the class.
interests of the people. In framing a pub- • Feed this information back to the rest
lic agenda, these groups discuss the facts of the class.
at hand and decide how to deal with the
issue.
These framed agendas are then commu-

nicated to the public. Once a public issue Case study
is identified, certain groups of people will Barack Obama’s presidential
begin to form views on the subject. If the primary campaign 2008
attitudes expressed on the area under
discussion are strong, then public opinion In 2008, Barack Obama, a member of the
on the topic emerges. Not all people de- Democratic Party, campaigned to be elect-
velop strong views on public issues; some ed as the President of the United States.
may be interested and others not. The He made many speeches about his policies
attitudes and opinions that are formed and beliefs. On disabilities he stated:
are held for different reasons. Background “We must build a world free of unneces-
factors such as family, friends, neighbors, sary barriers, stereotypes, and discrimina-
work, religion, school and education, play tion .... policies must be developed, atti-
a significant role in forming individual tudes must be shaped, and buildings and
opinions. In order to let the public know of organizations must be designed to ensure
the issues and form opinions, the framed that everyone has a chance to get the edu-
agendas are communicated to them cation they need and live independently as
through mass media and word of mouth. full citizens in their communities.”
129

Bodies
He regarded education as the ... ‘vehicle
for social and economic mobility,
giving hope and opportunity to millions of
young people. Our schools must prepare
students not only to meet the demands of
the global economy, but also help students
take their place as committed and engaged
citizens. It must ensure that all students
have a quality education regardless of
race, class, or background.’
On women he says: “... ordinary women

have taken on extraordinary odds to give
their daughters the chance for something
else; for a life more equal, more free, and
?
filled with more opportunity than they ever What do citizens expect from the speeches
had. In so many ways we have succeeded, of an election campaign? Form groups to
but in so many areas we have much work discuss your expectations as a group and
left to do.” - Barack Obama, Speech in present your summary in a class.
Washington, DC, 11/10/05
Source: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/
Remember
• Community participation requires the active involvement of citizens in social, eco-
nomic and political spheres at all levels.
• Political participation is active participation whereby citizens make their voices
heard and get involved in political issues.
• Political parties’ positions on different matters will be known during an election
campaign.
• Demonstrations are public displays by groups showing approval, sympathy or dis-
approval towards a cause.
130
Unit 10 Active Community Participation
Unit Summary
Community participation is one of the key ingredients to an empowered community
and is a condition for success. Studies have documented that communities that engage
their citizens and partners fully in the work of the community, raise more resources,
achieve more results and develop in a more holistic, and ultimately, more beneficial
way. Community participation is crucial to community success.
Community participation requires the active involvement of citizens in the social,

economic and political spheres at all levels. One example of community participation
is political participation, by which citizens make their voices heard and get involved in
political issues.
Apart from political participation, citizens can engage in civic participation. Civil
actions are outside politics, religion, military etc. Civil associations do not have any
other interest than cooperating and working to promote the common good and welfare
of the people. Civil societies are formed by the free will of their members. Participating
in civil society can be performed voluntarily to enhance social development and sup-
port the democratic process.
Finally, it is important to understand that public or civic participation has to be in the

framework of the Constitution and law of the land. Without respecting these, public
participation would not work. This is because the Constitution and laws of the land set
boundaries to make public participation peaceful and successful.
Glossary
Civic participation: Civil actions outside politics, church, military etc.
Election campaign: Vote-seeking activities.
Peaceful demonstration: A gathering of people to protest, support or create aware-
ness of an issue.
Political Participation: Involvement in political issues.

Part I - True or false Part II - Short answers
1. A peaceful demonstration is the 1. Enumerate at least four methods of
process of lawfully expressing the political participation.
supporting views and encouragement 2. Explain the advantages of public
to the government. participation in terms of an individual
2. Civil societies help citizens to actively and of a community.
follow the political activities of the
government.
3. Public agendas enable citizens to
know the burning issues around
them. 131
Civic ans Ethical Education Grade 11 Unit 11
The Pursuit of Wisdom

Introduction
This unit will help you to understand the relevance of knowledge in life. It will expose
you to the role of data in knowledge and the need to read for more knowledge. You will
also be able to understand what myth means and its relationship with traditions.
1. The Significance of Knowledge • Data
2. Knowledge and Data • Information
3. Reading for more Knowledge • Knowledge
4. Truth versus Myth • Myth
• Reading
• Significance of Knowledge
What you will learn • Truth
You will: • Wisdom
• Recognize how knowledge is an instru-
ment for rational thinking.
• Realize the relationship between
knowledge and data.
• Appreciate reading as a means to the Young students involved in learning
development of knowledge.
132
Unit 11 The Pursuit of Wisdom Lesson 1
The Significance of Knowledge

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Democracy is based on citizens being
• Explain what reasoning and objectivity mean. knowledgable and informed. In order for
people to make good decisions, they need
to gather as much objective information
State one thing you believe to be true? on the issue as possible. Once you have
How do you know it is true? the knowledge, then you can use reason-
ing to make a sound judgement. Knowl-
edge gives you power in any given situa-
Humans have a natural tendency to want tion.When you are ignorant you become
to know more about the world. They have weak. The development of Ethiopia is
an instinctive thirst for knowledge. Hu- supported by the knowledge of its citizens.
mans require knowledge to harness and
reshape the environment they live in. It
?
Form two groups to discuss the relation-
has given them power on earth. Humans ship of knowledge, reason and objectivity.
improve actions of past generations to Group leaders should report your ideas to
make life better. The skills we have de- the class for further discussion.
veloped over the years have helped us to
become masters of nature. Today, humans Case study
are conquering outer space and have ex- Solar Eclipses
plored the moon. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon
moves between earth and the sun. If the
Knowledge has helped man develop the moon covers the disk of the sun com-
power of reasoning. Reasoning is a proc- pletely the eclipse is a total solar eclipse.
ess of thought that helps to make objec- If the moon covers only part of the sun,
tive judgment. Knowledge, reason and the eclipse is a partial solar eclipse. Dur-
objectivity are related. When knowledge, ing a solar eclipse, people in one place on
and reason are put together, they can give earth may see a total eclipse, while people
rise to objective judgment. So the basis only a few hundred kilometers away see a
of objective judgment is knowledge. With partial eclipse.
knowledge you make your life good. With Source: Michael A. Seeds. Foundations of Astrono-
my. Eighth Ed. 2005
knowledge you are powerful, but with
ignorance you are weak. A democratic
?
Is this knowledge objectively obtained?
system benefits from citizens’ knowledge, Can you deduce anything from this infor-
whereas ignorance weakens it. mation using reasoning?
Remember
• Humans have a natural tendency to want to know more about nature.
• Knowledge has given humans power on earth.
• When you make effort to get more knowledge, you will then become more reason-
able and objective in judgment.
• Humans desire for knowledge is expressed through an interest to know more about
their surroundings.
133
Knowledge and Data

By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Case study
• See the purpose of analzying data. Female students’ good
performance in school
What is the difference between informa- A sub-city administration organized a pro-
tion and data? gram to motivate students who achieved
good grades. The program was organized
Knowledge involves the gathering of for those students who were above a cer-
information and data. It is the sum total tain grade level. 800 students who stood
of what has been perceived, discovered, or between first and third in their sections,
inferred. It is about facts, ideas and skills were called in by the sub-city administra-
that are shared through generations. Spe- tion. The objective of the program was
cific knowledge can be obtained through to give prizes for their achievements and
analyzing and interpreting data. Data motivate them to work hard in the years
is figures obtained from observations or ahead. On this occasion, it was reported
surveys. They serve as a basis for making that, out of the total of 800 students, over
calculations and drawing conclusions. 70 % were female students. This was
news on the television and the national
The conclusions drawn from data about a radio programs.
specific area may become useful informa-
If you wanted more knowledge on these
tion. After sorting the raw data and ana-
lyzing it you can draw conclusions. The
information obtained can help you make
high achieving students, what raw data
might you want to collect? How could you
?
analyze this data? What purpose could it
an informed decision.
serve for the future?
As a citizen you need to make choices
from different viewpoints on public issues
based on knowledge. This knowledge ac-
celerates the development of the country.
?
Form groups to discuss in what ways
scientific knowledge accelerates the devel-
opment of Ethiopia. Group leaders should
present your ideas to the class for more
discussion.
Females are competitive in all walks of life
Remember
• Knowledge is the outcome of analysis of relevant data and information.
• Knowledge is the sum total of what has been perceived, discovered or inferred.
• Relevant data gives rise to relevant conclusions.
• Data are facts or figures obtained from experience or surveys.
• Information is knowledge acquired about a specific subject as a result of collected
facts.
134
Reading for more Knowledge
?
By the end of this lesson you should be able to: Form groups to discuss how reading
• Explain the purpose of reading. expands your knowledge. Group leaders
should present your views to the class for
When was the last time you read some- further discussion.
thing? What was it and why did you read
it?
One way of obtaining knowledge is When you read fiction you get pleasure
through reading. You can read for many and become more interested to read fur-
different reasons; it could be for enjoy- ther. When we find a subject matter that
ment, learning or understanding. You interests us we want to find out more
may read a Civics and Ethical Educa- about it, often through reading on the top-
tion textbook to learn about your rights, ic. When we find a fiction author whose
obligations and how democracy works in books we enjoy, we try to read all of their
Ethiopia. One of the objectives of reading books. Reading for pleasure develops our
is to get more knowledge. For instance, reading skills in other areas.
reading books about Mars will enable you
to know more about Earth’s neighbour. Developing a reading habit means to
march on the great highway of knowl-
In your Grade 7 chemistry textbook you edge. The habit of reading starts when
have would have learnt about atoms. you are committed to read and make it a
You have defined an atom as the small- culture. If you give more time to reading,
est piece of a simple substance or element then it indicates that you are on the right
that, when combined with other sub- course to developing the habit. The more
stances, forms molecules. You have also you read, the easier it gets.
learned that it is made up of electrons,
protons and neutrons. You can study it Reading is one of the cornerstones of for-
because scientists discovered the knowl- mal and informal learning. When you are
edge about atom. The many changes you able to cultivate the habit of reading you
see in the world and the development of will become an informed person. A great
technology are the results of efforts made reader is a person who does not waste his/
by scientists. Scientists discover new her time for no use but one who reads con-
knowledge because they are studying, tinuously to get ever new knowledge. Aim
observing and reading. Apart from what to be a great reader and aim to contribute
you read for knowledge, you should also to the development of Ethiopia.
read for pleasure.
135
Reading for more Knowledge
?
Case Study Discuss in class with your teacher the
Galileo significance of Galileo’s contribution to
Although Galileo is often associated with knowledge.
the telescope, he also made systematic
studies of the motion of falling bodies and
that led to the law of inertia. According to
tradition, Galileo demonstrated that the
acceleration of a falling body is indepen-
dent of its weight by dropping balls of iron
and wood from the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Source: Michael A. Seeds Foundations of Astrono-
my. Eighth Ed. 2005.
Galileo
Remember
• One way of obtaining knowledge is
through reading.
• A great reader is a person who does
not waste his/her time, but one who
reads continuously to get new knowl-
edge.
• When you read fiction you get pleasure
and become more interested in read-
ing.
• The habit of reading starts when you
Leaning Tower of Pisa are committed to read and make it a
culture.
136
Truth versus Myth
With knowledge, the world has trans-
• Explain the difference between myth and
truth.
formed a great deal. Knowledge is key to
• Be truthful in your dealings with others.improving the life of people. Knowledge,
wisdom and truth are tools to a good life.
What examples of myths can you think of? Today, governments are making use of
Tell your neighbor. knowledge to improve the living condi-
tions of people. Myths are unscientific
Human knowledge is built based on sci-
stories that people would like to tell and
entific facts. Facts reveal the true nature
believe. Knowledge is truth. Knowledge
of reality. Thus, knowledge is truth about
creates the force that changes society.
things in nature. Truth is the proven facts
about something rather than what people
?
Are there any other myths that you know
generally accept. Beliefs that are not true
of that have been disproven by science?
may be called myths. They are not proven
Share these with the rest of the class.
to be true through scientific methods of
investigation. The basis of a myth is often
Case Study
tradition.
Alexander the Great
Although Alexander was only 20 years
You should be able to differentiate myth
old, he was already an experienced sol-
from the truth. Cultures hold myths as
dier. As a boy, he heard tales of Achilles,
important though they may recognize
the mythical hero of the Iliad. Alexander
that they are not true. They may be used
saw himself as a second Achilles. This
for social unity and to help give an under-
shows how myths can inspire great peo-
standing of how society works.
ple. This confident young man earned the
title, Alexander the Great.
This is part of culture but it can not be
proved. Until the making of the globe and
His most lasting achievement was the
maps etc. there was a myth that the earth
was flat. But, after the Great Discovery spread of Greek culture. Gradually, a
of the 16th Century, it was proved wrong. blending of eastern and western cultures
Until then this myth had obstructed the occurred. Alexander supported and en-
expansion of navigation and trade. Al- couraged learning throughout his empire.
though myths are important, they should
?
not be a barrier to develop our culture. Are there any myths that have inspired
you or any people that you know of? What
were they and how did they inspire.
Remember
• Human knowledge is built on scientific facts.
• Truth is the actual fact or information about something, rather than what people
think, or accept.
• Myth can be defined as traditional cultural beliefs that are not based on emperical
evidence.
• Knowledge is truth about things in nature and society.
137
Unit 11 The Pursuit of Wisdom
Unit Summary
In this unit you have obtained knowledge on the pursuit of wisdom. The unit empha-
sized the significance of knowledge and the relationship between information and-
data. You have seen the importance of reading to acquire more knowledge. You have
also seen that in society people use myths as a tool but do not necessarily believe
them to be real.
Glossary
Data: Facts or figures obtained from experience or surveys to make calculations and
draw conclusions.
Information: Knowledge acquired about a specific subject as a result of collected
facts.
Myth: A belief related to tradition that is not based on empirical evidence and which

Part I – Multiple choice Part II – True or false
1. What do you understand by the 1. Reason is related to knowledge.
pursuit of wisdom? 2. Data helps to obtain knowledge.
a it means to be serious in life 3. There are myths that are important to
b it means to be able to guide life know.
on the basis of knowledge 4. The habit of reading is essential for
c it means not to be rational on all your life.
things 5. Man changed the world through
d it means to do good to others knowledge.
2. What are the components of
knowledge? Part III – Short answers
a information 1. What do you understand about
b data knowledge?
c truth 2. What is data?
d all 3. State three points you can get through
reading?
4. What is truth?
5. Do you believe in myths? Why?
138
139

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1

Civics and Ethical Education Grade 11

The title is in large The lesson number is

The objectives of the Case studies are la-

Readings have a blue back- On many pages you will

Each lesson has at least At the end of each les-

Building a Democratic System

Lessons Key Words and Concepts

Voting in elections - one of the pillars of democracy

Basic Principles of the Ethiopian Constitution

Waiting to vote in Ethiopian election

Basic Principles of the Ethiopian Constitution

Sovereignty of the people Supremacy of the Constitution

Respecting the Constitution is the founda- Another fundamental principle of the

Basic Principles of the Ethiopian Constitution

1 Inalienable rights No state religion Answerable to actions

Human and Democratic Rights and the Ethiopian

Human and Democratic Rights and the Ethiopian

In a democracy your obligations and

Citizens’ Obligations/ Duties

On the day the demonstrators carried

Features of a Democratic System

Transparency and accountability aim to

The work of government officials

Features of a Democratic System

As a system, federalism in Ethiopia re- Federalism is an incentive to empower

Form groups to discuss the significance

Bana youth Remember

Ethiopia and International Relations

Ethiopia and International Relations

Ethiopia is also one of the pioneers in

Moreover, Ethiopia contributed to the ECA Hall - Addis Ababa

Ethiopia has a long established tradi-

Ethiopia and International Relations

After decades of existence and a com-

Ethiopia and International Relations

Foreign Ministry in Addis Ababa

Unit Review Exercises

The Rule of Law

Rule of Law and Constitution

Rule of Law and Constitution

The Necessity of the Rule of Law

The Necessity of the Rule of Law

Karo man Dessanech youngsters

Peoples of the South Omo Zone

Limited and Unlimited Governments

Limited and Unlimited Governments

Rule of Law and Combating Corruption

In pairs discuss three different types of

Corruption is morally wrong and one of

Individuals must be honest and truth-

Rule of Law and Combating Corruption

Though the president had remarkable

The Supreme Court of the USA im-

President Nixon on a visit to Ethiopia

The prevalence of the rule of law requires a democratic constitution. In democratic

A government whose power is restricted constitutionally is called limited government.

Unit Review Questions

Lessons Key Words and Concepts

What you will learn