BY HIZKEL HAILU
Undoubtedly Ethiopia is undergoing major reforms, especially in the economic sector that aims to improve the participation of the private sector. One of the goals of the reform is to create a favorable environment for the private sector to have an improved role in the economy.
The Ethiopian government is also putting a lot of effort to support the development of micro and small enterprises. Besides, the Ethiopian government has given due attention to job creation especially for the youth who are the majority in the society.
Job Creation Commission (JCC) Commissioner Nigussu Tilahun said that job creation for citizens is a major agenda of the government. He also stated his office in partnership with the public and development partners has done a promising work in creating jobs for citizens since its establishment a year ago.
Cognizant of this fact, JCC is applying strong follow up mechanism and supporting the performance of job creation in each regional states and city administrations. Aiming to create three million jobs in 2020/21, the nine month performance of federal and regional job creation offices have been presented for the council of Job Creation last month.
On the occasion, Commissioner Nigussu stated that it was able to create 2.8 million (64 percent permanent and 36 percent temporary) job opportunity during the past nine months. Of these, 29 percent were from the agricultural sector and 30 and 41 percent from the industry and service sectors respectively.
Applauding performance report of the federal and regional offices, Chairperson of the Council Demeke Mekonen pointed out some directions that must be done in order to curb joblessness across the nation. Shaping the work culture and attitudes towards the youth and creating awareness towards the society that everyone should be entrepreneur than expecting job opportunities only from the government side are the directions set among others, he added.
He further explained that efforts should be made to link job creation with green development agenda and to bring about a mutually favorable change, especially in strengthening the start-ups of entrepreneurs.
Taking this national aspiration into account, the Amhara Regional State is working to create fertile ground for the investment sector. The Regional State’s administration has come up with various plans to overcome challenges that hinder the private sector’s participation such as infrastructure, bureaucracy, lack of finance, market linkage and input along with land supply.
Unlike the TPLF period, the reformist government is seemingly undertaking substantial activity in a way to revamping investment potential and economic growth of the city of Gondar, the City’s mayor said.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Gondar City Mayor, Molla Melkamu said that the current city administration is working thoroughly in order to create suitable investment status quo in Gondar city jointly with the regional and federal stake holders.
Accordingly, Molla explained that the city administration has prepared 500 hectares of land for investors who would like to join in the manufacturing industry in the city. In addition, 90 hectares of land that has been prepared for real estate development and five ‘star hotels’ have recently been licensed, he said.
As to him, there is land to be handed over to investors through bidding in addition to the land to be allocated for investment, adding that land for the construction of three hotels has been auctioned off for investors. And more than 26 hectares of land has also been prepared for the service sector.
Noting that the city had not been able to keep up with its wealth and history, as it had been neglected and sometimes deliberately complicated during the period of TPLF, the mayor further pointed out that the current government, on the contrary, is working hard to solve the problems and accelerate its development.
While mentioning four industrial villages have been created so far and work is underway to create a fifth industrial village in the city, he underlined that the development of the city is showing a great change in its economy, particularly in the investment sector.
“Moreover, construction of 470 million birr infrastructure project is underway with the budget from the World Bank. We are working hard to complete and hand over infrastructure including land, road and electricity for investors who would like to take land through paying the compensation. Work is underway to install power lines, poles and transformers to reduce power break outs on the investment”.
The mayor said that the local administration is working hand in glove with the regional government and other local leaders to ensure the security of the city. He further said that they are working hard to ensure lasting peace in the city.
Explaining that the city administration is working admittedly to create a suitable destination for foreign and local investors, who are likely to invest in the city, he underlined that the city is working particularly to improve rural and urban land supply, as well as the security and infrastructure which are crucial of investors.
He further said that starting from the time when the reformist government has started to give equal opportunity for each region and city, the city Administration has been focusing on reforming structures to reinforce the city’s economy.
As to him, the City Administration, jointly with the city’s Industry and Investment Department, is working on strengthening the task of accurately identifying the potentials for various investment opportunities in the city.
Indicating that the instability in the area some years ago has affected negatively the flow of investment in the city, Gondar City Administration Industry and Investment Department Head Bayu Abuhai for his part pointed out the flow of investment has dramatically increased during the past three years.
According to the head, the city administration has been exerting efforts to promote the local potential and exploit it.
The availability of inputs for industrial raw materials in the area as well as the qualified manpower and the strategic location of the city have created favorable conditions for investment.
“More than 75 Investors with close to 3.8 billion Birr registered capital have obtained licenses to operate in Gondar city and the surroundings in agro-processing, large-scale farming, services, manufacturing, and others during the past nine months”.
He further noted that those opportunities have resulted in attracting local and foreign investors, and great interest is aroused in investing in the region during the past three years.
As to him, the investment promotion work carried out by the department has contributed a lot to attracting many local giant companies and investors from the Diaspora community. Adding, he said the city administration is reportedly working in collaboration with the federal and the Amhara Regional State to make Gondar a major investment destination.
While mentioning the city is making various arrangements to take advantage of its natural and man-made investment opportunities, Molla said one of the concerns of investors have been the issue of stability. In this regard, the city has shown significant improvement.
During the current fiscal year, a significant number of investments have come to the city though a lot of tasks remain ahead in facilitating their full implementation.
According to the officials, the city administration has been successful in attracting investors as it was managed to systematically identify the potential and profitable investment opportunities in the area.
The Ethiopian Herald July 17/2021
