Responding to questions raised by MPs at HPR based on President Taye Atskeselassie’s recent speech at the joint session of the two Houses, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reported that the national economy is expected to grow by 8.4% GDP.
He added that this year, the nation has completed multi-sectoral reform programs conducted over several years and has started the first chapter of the national resurgence program in the first quarter of this year.
The author believes that the quarter that has just ended clearly indicates that the pathway of national development strategy charted out in the macroeconomic reform program is bearing desired fruit. The positive results registered in the quarter were marred with challenges ranging from deeper internal conspiracy and a triangle of alliances to discourage Ethiopia from having access to Red Sea ports by using all kinds of propaganda and misinformation over official mainstream media outlets and social media.
As stated above, the nation has registered 8.1% economic growth over the previous fiscal year. This is one of the highest achievements by global standards. The country is expected to register 8.4% economic growth over the current fiscal year, with agriculture comprising 6.1% by cultivating 30 million hectares of land with a total yield of 1.4 billion quintals.
This indicates that measures taken in agricultural modernization, mechanization, cluster farming, and utilizing expanded irrigation potentials for bumper harvests in wheat and other crops have proved to be successful in contributing to faster growth in GDP. The achievements registered in Yelemat Trufat (Basket Bounty Campaign) indicate that the country can achieve mass participation in food security initiatives and provide raw materials for nascent agro-industrial development in the country.
The Prime Minister reported that the sector has produced promising results in a relatively short period of time with 5.4% growth over the current fiscal year. For instance, a production capacity has been achieved in the current fiscal year to produce 12 billion liters of milk, 8 billion eggs, 218 thousand tons of meat, and 297 tons of honey. The author is of the opinion that these promising achievements can be scaled up to increase export revenue over the current fiscal year.
Compared to previous years, the nation has managed to produce 1 million quintals of coffee beans. Efforts are underway to make Ethiopia the second global producer of coffee next to Brazil by conducting expansive pruning and utilization of modern packing and logistics services.
Over the last several years, a lot has been achieved in reinvigorating the industrial sector through the Made in Ethiopia Campaign. Improvements have been made to reduce the power outage encountered in the sector, which helped to upscale the output of the industrial sector to 67%. The industrial sector is expected to register 12.8% growth in the current fiscal year.
This optimism in the development of the manufacturing and other industrial sectors is based on ensuring efficient industrial management, safety, and planning. It is reported that 72 new factories will start operation during the current fiscal year. In terms of social services, 249,000 houses were renovated over the previous fiscal year to provide needy citizens with better living quarters. The number of citizens using smartphones has now reportedly reached 80 million.
Efforts are in progress to construct the biggest airport and air terminal in Africa with the capacity to transport from 100 million to 130 million passengers every year. Purchase orders have been placed to buy an additional 124 passenger planes. This will make Ethiopia not only the owner of a large fleet of carriers but also a custodian of the biggest airport in Africa. Recently, the Group has managed to secure the first ultramodern Airbus that will further boost the aviation sector with a huge contribution to the national economy.
The PM disclosed that our economic system was far more closed and congested. This has prevented Ethiopia from benefiting from foreign trade, import substitution, FDI, and other economic benefits. The introduction of the macroeconomic reform programs has helped catalyze the resurgence of Ethiopia’s national economy.
Moreover, the startup of the national macroeconomic reform program has contributed to a marked surge in the growth of public revenue. The government has managed to collect 180 billion in public revenue over the last quarter of the fiscal year, showing a marked increase over the same period of the previous fiscal year. In the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, only 109 billion birr in public revenue was collected. This indicates that the original plan to increase the financial bases of the macroeconomic reform is on the right track.
In the advent of the first quarter of the macroeconomic reform period, the country was able to siphon in 1.5 billion USD in export earnings. If further efforts are made in the fiscal year, the nation can earn up to 5 billion USD over the current fiscal year. This will be an increase of 1 billion USD compared to the earnings from the previous fiscal year.
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2024
