selam Sereke and dehai,
The 2% taxes are not trivial. They are important to the government. The
debate was that since we have been participating in the constitution-making
process
for two years, to demand a 2% tax payment as a condition to participation
(specifically to be elected) now at the end of the process trivializes the
effort and the process as a whole. That is what I meant and, I'm sure, many
others who opposed it also.
Dear Sereke, please understand that most of us are aware of the living situation
in Eritrea. We have families in similar conditions. And please understand
also,
it doesn't mean one isn't paying 2% tax if one opposed the restrictions,
conversely, it doesn't necessarily mean those who supported it have paid or
are paying the 2% tax.
The "high standard" I was talking about was this: some people argued the 2% tax
payment was necessary to accomplish the standard for elected
representatives. That is, we needed to elect those who have a higher
standard than the avarage person and
if they paid 2% tax that was considered so - meaning they are more
responsible. So we can trust them in even bigger task like the
constitution. But on the other hand when the current Eritrean leaders are
criticized those same folks in dehai don't think it fair and I was wondering
why we shouldn't require or demand an even higher standard for those leaders
right now. Why do we tend to be slack in our demand towards them? May be
it is because they were tegadelti. But the standard is important and we
should be consistent.
I hope that is clear.
Paulos.
P.S. Ephrem, you certainly never caught a fish from any lake let alone
the Red Sea. Otherwise, you would have known "stinking fish" is an oxy-moron.
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