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| Selected Speeches |
| The Church of Haile Selassie I, Inc. |
| Chapter IX |
| Foreign Capital Participation Nov. 02, 1960 |
| Selected Speeches |
| Haile Selassie the First - November 2, 1960 |
... In Our efforts to improve the life of Our people, We have constantly
sought to attract private capital to Ethiopia for investment in both industrial
and agricultural undertakings. Our efforts have not, unfortunately, met
with the full measure of success which they warrant. But Our Empire's
development cannot be delayed because private capital is scarce or
unwilling to invest in Ethiopian enterprises, and We have been obliged to
initiate ourselves in past years a number of projects which could equally
well have been financed with private assistance. Today, however, fuller
recognition is being accorded to the importance of Africa in the world's
economic structure, and closer attention is being paid to the possibilities
for private capital investment here. Despite past disappointments, Ethiopia
continues to welcome private investment, and We are confident that it has
a vital role to play in Our country's continuing growth.
But it must be remembered that investment in any under-developed
country, be it Ethiopia or another, is in the nature of a partnership. We,
seeking to attract capital, must recognize that the investor is entitled to a
fair and reasonable profit, and we must be prepared to accord those
reasonable concessions which are necessary to meet the needs, the desires
and the fears of private investors. But, conversely, the investor must
recognize that he has certain obligations to fulfil to the country in which he
is investing. His investment must make a real contribution to the
development of the economy of that country. He must recognize that he
has obligations not only to the workers who labour for him, but, in a very
broad and general sense, to the entire population of that country. The
partner who places his own short-range ambitions ahead of the long-range
interests of the partnership has embarked on a course which will ultimately
result in the dissolution of the partnership itself...
sought to attract private capital to Ethiopia for investment in both industrial
and agricultural undertakings. Our efforts have not, unfortunately, met
with the full measure of success which they warrant. But Our Empire's
development cannot be delayed because private capital is scarce or
unwilling to invest in Ethiopian enterprises, and We have been obliged to
initiate ourselves in past years a number of projects which could equally
well have been financed with private assistance. Today, however, fuller
recognition is being accorded to the importance of Africa in the world's
economic structure, and closer attention is being paid to the possibilities
for private capital investment here. Despite past disappointments, Ethiopia
continues to welcome private investment, and We are confident that it has
a vital role to play in Our country's continuing growth.
But it must be remembered that investment in any under-developed
country, be it Ethiopia or another, is in the nature of a partnership. We,
seeking to attract capital, must recognize that the investor is entitled to a
fair and reasonable profit, and we must be prepared to accord those
reasonable concessions which are necessary to meet the needs, the desires
and the fears of private investors. But, conversely, the investor must
recognize that he has certain obligations to fulfil to the country in which he
is investing. His investment must make a real contribution to the
development of the economy of that country. He must recognize that he
has obligations not only to the workers who labour for him, but, in a very
broad and general sense, to the entire population of that country. The
partner who places his own short-range ambitions ahead of the long-range
interests of the partnership has embarked on a course which will ultimately
result in the dissolution of the partnership itself...
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| Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile Selassie I |