Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda is a well-coordinated response and blueprint to propel the country’s economic progress. According to the information gained from the Office of the Prime Minister, this agenda, crafted through a process of taking stock of the country’s successes; an in-depth review of key bottlenecks and design of adequate remedies, outlines macro-economic, structural, and sectoral reforms that will pave the path for jobs and inclusive growth.
Improving Ethiopia’s investment climate is a key part of Ethiopia’s New Horizon of Hope Action plan for Jobs. Ethiopia has the demographic dividend, demand for a remarkably swift growth, and a committed government aspiring nothing less than the universal development of the country and wellbeing of its people. Recognizing as a fundamental element, the country has invested significantly in physical infrastructure in the past two decades.
Besides, a smart approach to regulation that balances efficiency and promotion of legitimate policy objectives believed to expand the horizon of possibilities for businesses. The Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda initiative will address prioritized policy, regulatory and administrative reforms that lower unjustified costs, increased investment, business formation and greater productivity.
The Agenda had got recognition and support from international institutions from the very beginning of its inception and keeping on to this day in supporting because it has promising hope to ensure the nation’s prosperity. For instance, World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved 500 million USD (312.2 million USD grant and 187.8 million USD credit) from the International Development Association (IDA) in continued support of the Government of Ethiopia’s Homegrown Reform Agenda. The Second Ethiopia Growth and Competitiveness Development Policy Operation (DPO) is intended to accelerate Ethiopia’s economic growth and achieve its vision of becoming a lower-middle-income country.
The financial support approved by the World Bank from International Development Association (IDA) credit to support Ethiopia’s goal of achieving universal electricity access by 2025. Over the past decade, the Government of Ethiopia has made encouraging progress on its electrification program and expanded the grid network coverage to nearly 60 percent of towns and villages. Despite this progress, Ethiopia has the third largest energy access deficit in Sub-Saharan Africa with more than half the population still without access to reliable electricity especially in deep-rural areas which are dependent on biomass and kerosene. The electricity deficit in Ethiopia continues to exacerbate the poverty situation, preventing far too many people from fulfilling their basic socio-economic needs and limiting access to opportunity.
The Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE) Project is an important component of Ethiopia’s National Electrification Program (NEP), which aims to strategically change direction from infrastructure development to the delivery of adequate, reliable and affordable electricity services with a vision to reach universal electrification by 2025. ADELE will focus on access to new and improved electricity services for households, smallholder farmers, commercial and industrial users, and social institutions in urban, peri-urban, rural, and deep-rural areas. The first phase of the NEP was supported by the World Bank-financed Ethiopia Electrification Program (ELEAP) approved in 2018.
“With a goal of providing electricity services for nearly 5 million people, 11,500 enterprises and 1,400 health and education facilities, the project represents the World Bank’s continued support to the Government of Ethiopia’s NEP and is aligned with our commitment to support Ethiopia’s resilient recovery from the COVID 19 pandemic. It is also an important step towards improving service delivery and addressing drivers of fragility and conflict,” Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Director for Ethiopia said.
An important feature of ADELE will be the deployment of innovative solutions such as decentralized renewable energy technologies, particularly solar photovoltaic (PV) mini-grids and individual solar system for both household and productive use, deployed through a combined approach of public and private delivery modalities that further enhance affordability and inclusion. The project also has a strong focus on closing the gender gap in the energy sector and increasing the percentage of women participating in the mini-grid sector and off-grid technology value chain.
“ADELE can contribute to achieving near universal electrification of secondary schools and health centers. Closing the energy gap and enabling the productive use of renewable energy in rural and deep-rural areas will be crucial in the post COVID-19 recovery phase,” Ricardo Puliti, World Bank Africa Regional Director for Infrastructure said.
As per the Agenda, “Homegrown Economic Reform Program” is aimed at unlocking the country’s development potentials designed to propel Ethiopia into becoming the African icon of prosperity by 2030. Trade and regional integration are given special emphasis in the roadmap as demonstrated in Ethiopia’s signing and subsequent ratification of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Ethiopia also resumed the WTO accession negotiations after eight years of a pause. Against this backdrop, Mamo Mihretu, Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chief Trade Negotiator provided a presentation on the role of trade integration, including its WTO membership goal, in Ethiopia’s flagship economic reform agenda.
He said that since mid-2018, the Ethiopian government has begun taking practical measures that would, in effect, result in the ultimate opening up of the country’s economy to the wider world.
The recently adopted homegrown economic reform aims at increasing the participation of the private sector into the previously prohibited segments of the economy such as telecom and power via the scheme of privatization and the opening up of the previously entirely prohibited segments of the economy to foreign investors, he added.
The government has issued various national and international bids in order to smoothly transfer crucial sectors of the country’s economy to the private sector of both national and international origin.
The Ethiopian government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, is forging a tangible economic policy of regional economic integration, with several countries of East Africa. The government has reached on mutual understanding and signed extensive economic, bilateral agreements with Kenya, Rwanda, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and even Eritrea, the former foe, he conveyed.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
The Ethiopian Herald May 5/2013
