Part I
I am honored to be with you for the first time in the boss and I’m most grateful for the opportunity to share with you Ethiopia’s renewed vision and sustained commitment to positive reforms. Ethiopia is today among the fastest growing economies in the world consistently averaging over 9 percent growth in the last decade.
Ethiopia’s GDP has multiplied tenfold in 25 years and poverty has been halved and educational enrolment has markedly increased. Significant investment in infrastructure has contributed to the growth and attracted foreign direct investment making Ethiopia one of the leading foreign direct investment destinations in Africa.
This tremendous success reflects the real commitment of our government and our people to development and overcome our challenges. However, challenges remain formidable to reform and to enforce our upward trajectory and achieve even more rapid and sustainable growth Ethiopia has embarked on a comprehensive reform process since last April which cuts across politics, economics in the society. We aim to establish a virtuous cycle between these elements and among us and our partners to enable us to meet our challenges in a mutual manner.
This virtuous path of reform and our reform is deeply rooted in thephilosophy of medemer annum hurry court for coming together or synergy. Madamer is a historic reform to organic change and is building on the gains of the past while reminding us of our rich heritage. It also reflects on modern realities strengthening the synergy in politics, economics technology and society it appears indeed undergoing a period of political and economic Renaissance.
The medemer reform is people centered and are three interdependent pillars. The first pillar is a vibrant democracy. The second one is economic vitality and the third pillar is regional integration and openness to the world. Today we meet at a time of great opportunity for Ethiopia and for you and this spirit of partnership Please allow me to briefly address ,each of these aspects on the protocol.
Upfront we are working tirelessly to fulfill the constitutional promise of building a democratic and pluralistic political order based on our first pillar, a vibrant democracy. Guided by the public spirit support we have acted quickly and decisively in the past nine months alone, we have released all political prisoners in thousands; we have also invited individuals and groups based on abroad to return home and join us in a spirit of positive some not zerosum politics.
We escort license to independent media issued an amnesty law and repealed restrictive laws of the past. We will also have a revised civil society law very soon. We believe it is not possible to sustain growth to attract investment and allow all Ethiopians to benefit from the growth dividend without embracing democracy and persuading the world to invest in our economy. In sum we see democracy and development as interlinked and we have acted decisively on this understanding.
The second pillar of our reform is economic vitality. We are determined to bring it into the center of the international market. To do so, we will leverage the collective power of our people, especially woman and the youth, and build the private sector to drive more inclusive and socially sustainable growth. We cannot hope to progress as a nation and as an economy if we disqualify half of our population from full and equal participation.
Women are now taking key government positions including the Minister of Defense, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Transportation and the newly established Ministry of Peace. We have achieved gender parity in our cabinet. We now have the first woman as the President of the Federal Supreme Court. And recently our parliament has elected the First Woman Head Of State in Modern Ethiopia.
This is important progress but it is not enough. Ethiopia is a large market of over hundred million people of which 60 million are under the age of 24 with half a million school leavers annually. Our core objective is to sustain fastpaced economic growth and to create more and better jobs. We must create the condition to enable a demographic dividend and to harness the potential of our young and energetic population.
To do so, we have to invest in the aspirations of our youth by improving educational standards and create fresh opportunities through careful planning and strategic repositioning. This requires unleashing the potential of the private sector. Here are four steps that we are taking to make this not mere rhetoric but a firm reality. First we will make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow and flourish since they are the engine room of our economy.
We are reprioritizing access to credit for SMEs since 2/3 of our SMEs report not having access to finance. Second, we will instate mainstream regulations needed to start a business and provide a better policy environment. We will make it easier to do business for everyone who wished to invest in our country. Ethiopia is undergoing significant institutional reforms and is reviewing its investment policy, commercial code and other business regulations to enhance the ease of doing business in Ethiopia and increase our global competitiveness.
That will make the private sector an integral part of our economy. As it should be, Ethiopians are committed to reforming its state-owned enterprises and rewarding in more private capital. We are committed to opening up the economy to international investors in telecom, logistics, energy, aviation, railways and industrial parks. This has the added benefit of creating the space to reallocate government expenditure to social services.
We are confident that international capital and expertise will deliver significant value for each enterprise and contribute to our development agenda. Fourthly, we will continue to foster public/private partnerships as we see this as more than merely a business proposition and a deal to be struck. We see it the way to build balance a long-term entrepreneurship aimed at triggering faster economic growth and profits.
At the same time, we will ensure our citizens realize their full potential and live a prosperous healthy and safe life. We, therefore, look to the next generation of public-private partnerships to be more balanced in delivering growth and yield and representing a fresh way to contemplate the relationship between business and government and offering a shared formula for social and economic growth and inclusiveness.
The Ethiopian Herald January 25/2019
