BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU
Days before, Ethiopians and everyone who is concerned about Ethiopia heard the long waited news that the conflict burst in the northern part of the country that prolonged for about two years has become to an end. It is a fact that every conflict has the power to destroy infrastructures and put every person’s life in danger.
The conflict has made the people of Ethiopia pay lives in order to stand by the sovereignty of the nation. The blowing air of peace, however, has the potential to create more rooms to the upcoming developmental activities and movements of the nation.
In relation to peace and security, Ethiopia has left no stone unturned to put the nation’s peace and security anchors on a permanent foundation. It is a simple logic that when a nation is peaceful and secured, it will have the capacity to attract the possible opportunities of its citizens.
In the Ethiopian context, the Government of Ethiopia has been in active war in the northern part of the country. This conflict has put its own negative impact on the overall activities of the country by warding off the opportunities from different perspectives that citizens could harvest plenty from. Anyone can understand that investors and even citizens need some guarantee to invest their assets in a country.
During the conflict the Government of Ethiopia had not stopped to open doors for sustainable peace and created investment opportunities in order to create economic development for the citizens. Regardless of the challenges and pressures from both inside and outside, the government has registered fundamental and concrete achievements. Ethiopians, Ethiopian Diasporas, and friends of the nation have exerted their maximum effort to help the country in all endeavors.
Decades before, it was a pie in the sky for foreign companies to invest in Ethiopia due to its very tight bureaucratic rules. Following the reform, but, timely and radical decisions have been executed including liberalization of government- owned institutions.
As a result, numerous companies along with the local ones have been showing their interest to work in the country as the peace talk ended up with good results. The government of Ethiopia has recently declared that the financial sector would be open for the international banks to work in the country via multiple platforms.
Just before declaring the opening of the financial sector to international banks, the government has previously liberalized the telecommunication sector. Taking the decision as a green light, Safaricom has started its services in different parts of the country including the capital city as a competitive partner to Ethiotelecom. Such major decisions have the power to convince other international companies to think of investing in the hub of Africa, Ethiopia. Such movements are textbook examples to show government’s effort to keep the wheel of economic development rolling even though there are various hurdles.
The peace agreement reached between the Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF has the power to attract the opportunities that the nation has been searching for the past years. It is important to remember that when a nation is at war, most of the resources would be allocated for the military demands. In the current situation of the country i.e. after the peace agreement, however, those resources will be used for the development of the nation.
The above agenda is also supported by the senior economist and Global Chairperson of Fairfax Africa Fund Zemedeneh Nigatu as he was speaking to the Ethiopian Press Agency. The economist stated that the peace talk has the potential to solve the economic and social problems of the people that the war has caused. The peace agreement will pave ways to the nation’s economic development as the wealth and resources used for the war will be diverted to basic inputs for developing the country.
The senior economist added that it needs proper implementation of investment in order to rebuild the war-torn areas. Such movement will create ample advantages in relation to the economic growth of the nation.
“Because of the war, infrastructures worth billions of Birr have been destroyed, which may set back Ethiopia’s economic growth. On the other hand, as a result of the agreement, billions of funds intended to be given to the country in the form of loans, and aid can be released,” Zemedeneh said.
Due to the conflict, Ethiopia has been expelled from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which was a pressure on the Government of Ethiopia from outside. Most citizens especially women have suffered a lot for the particular reason for the circumstance that they have lost their jobs. It was reported that more than two hundred thousand people were affected by the irresponsible decisions from the US officials.
Likewise, the senior economist shed more light on the issue. He said that USA expelled Ethiopia from the AGOA agreement which lashed severely on huge factories including the Hawassa Industrial Park that generates considerable amount of foreign currency by exporting sizable quantities of items to the international markets. Zemedeneh also stated that the sanction has marked its negative impact on foreign investors to leave the country.
In a recent discussion with American investors, Zemedeneh noted that the investors reflected that if the nation restores its peace, they not only solve the inconvenience regarding the AGOA agreement but also show interest in investing in the country.
Nowadays, the world is hit by inflation. Almost every nation in the world, from rich to poor, is experiencing the challenge. Ethiopia is one of the most affected countries in the world regarding the inflation.
Regarding inflation and other global challenges, Zemedeneh elaborated that there are major global problems. Inflation and the high cost of living occurred by the global pandemic, COVID 19, coupled with the Russia- Ukraine war are the most influential factors for the challenges that the world is suffering from. In Ethiopian context, as to the senior economist, the problem is seen largely on the lack of foreign currency that is created from the war. He forecasted that, “The Ethiopian economy will grow twice as much next year as the pressure on the country will be reversed and the nation will turn its attention to development.”
Ethiopia has borrowed a billion Dollars Euro bond from international investors for the exact purpose of increasing the inflow of investors; however, it was largely declined because of the war. Since the day after the peace agreement, the price has risen sharply, senior economist explained.
Zemedeneh mentioned, “Ethiopia is a country with a population of nearly 120 million of which most of them are young people at the productive age, and because of its conducive climate, it is the preferred country for investors. Despite the scar caused by the lack of peace on the flow of investors, it was able to rank among countries that achieved good results in the flow of global businesses.”
The economist remarked that war is not the choice of any Ethiopian unless it is mandatory to achieve something important like upholding the nation’s sovereignty. But there is nothing more gratifying than a peaceful end to a war that has lasted for two years and has destroyed irreplaceable human lives and severely damaged the country’s economy.
To sum up that has been stated so far, though Ethiopia had been in active war for about two years, the nation and responsible stakeholders have not taken any rest to make sure that the nation keeps existing. Numerous opportunities are on the pipeline for Ethiopia to go forth and secure its prosperity in the coming years. The peace accord will create more chances for the people of Ethiopia to stand in solidarity for the development of their prosperous motherland.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 9 NOVEMBER 2022
