BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) attended the 6th round of the 4th regular session of the 2nd year of the House of People’s Representatives to respond to the questions raised by MPs. While responding to the questions, the Premier raised various issues on the overall achievements of the country. For instance, he discussed about the registered achievements in the economic and political issues of the nation coupled with ensuring its peace and security.
The House representatives have raised queries in relation to the economy and the nation’s achievements. According to the Prime Minister, the nation’s economy has been encountering numerous man made challenges in the past few years. The previous years could be remembered as one of the most challenging years. The internal conflicts along with the Russia-Ukraine war, drought, and the global pandemic COVID-19, have put their strong fists on the world economy. Despite all these tests, Ethiopia’s economy is so resilient that it cannot be broken easily. It is better to put the trajectory of the economy as it is crystal clear to both national and international economists. The economy has proved itself to the whole world.
The Ethiopian economy, in 2014 Ethiopian fiscal year, has reached to 3.16 trillion Birr which is equivalent to 126.7 billion USD. One can easily remember how hard it was for the country to reach 100 billion USD in the past. This time, the per capita income of Ethiopians reached to 1,212 USD, the Prime Minister added.
As to the Premier, Ethiopia has built East Africa’s giant and leading economy. According to the World Bank report, Ethiopia has the third giant economy in Sub Saharan Africa. The trend of forcing farmers to pay taxes in other African countries has been practiced and can be clear how much assent is transactional in a specific area. On the other hand, when it comes to Ethiopia, the practice is very low. This could not include the actions the government is taking this time. Therefore, it is expected more than the figure aforementioned.
Building a giant economy in Africa was the objective of the government and it is pursuing the achievement. The government used the challenges, internal conflict and the pandemic, as opportunities for change, and they made it stronger. It is persuasive that all Ethiopians need to work hard beyond their existing potential to achieve better than this, the Premier stressed.
Furthermore, with all those challenges, as to the Premier, the nation’s GDP raised by 6.4 percent last year. If the peace accord goes smoothly, it will project to 7.5 percent this year. It would be the right decision to stop dwelling on agriculture-led economy. Instead of staying limited on a single sector; it is prudent to try new development sectors as the nation has the potential to entertain those new sectors.
Likewise, the Premier also mentioned sectors’ contributions and their progress on last year’s GDP. He said that the agriculture sector scored 6.1 percent boost last year. Wheat production, for instance, has shown tangible progress in different parts of the country. Apart from wheat production, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that in the 2013 fiscal year, the country imported around 5 million quintals of rice. By expanding rice production in Amhara and other regions including Oromia and southern part of the country, around 8 million quintals of rice production is expected. Though it is very early to think of exporting rice like wheat, its exportation will take no longer time. Due to a number of reasons, Ethiopia shows its potential to export rice like wheat in the shortest possible time.
In line with the attention given to wheat production, maize production also hits better achievements. Besides, the nation’s fruit production has its own remark. Though its period is short, fruit production of the nation shows concrete output which shows the nation’s untapped potential in fruit production, the Premier stated. Not only fruit and maize registered better figures, but also coffee has put its mark on the nation’s progress. In the past four years, more than 4.7 billion coffee seedlings have been planted. This number excludes the seedlings planted in the green legacy initiative. In this fiscal year, more than 20 percent rise in coffee production is expected. Continuing to score with such better accomplishment via exploiting its potential, the country will become ‘the bread basket’ within shorter period of time. The development trajectory that has been started in agriculture sector needs to continue until Ethiopian farmers stop using their cattle for the purpose of farming.
The next point raised by the Prime Minister was about the industrial development. He disclosed that even if the sector shows little decrease compared to the previous year (2013), it registered a 4.5 percent increase. The reason behind the decrease is the challenges that the nation encountered regarding construction and shortage of cement supply. It is true that it has its own negative impact, but the manufacturing sector achieved better.
The third point raised by the Premier is the service sector. The sector scored a 7.6 percent growth. The sector’s contribution in the nation’s GDP is high. Nevertheless, there are number of sectors under the service sector, some contributed better. One of them is the Ethiopian Airlines. From the time of the global pandemic, the Ethiopian Airlines has carried all the pressures and become the pride for Ethiopia and Africa as well.
The other service sector is Ethio-telecom. When the reformist government assumed power, Ethio-telecom had around 37 million subscribers; however, at this time, the institution has 68.9 million subscribers. The increment is not only in the number of subscribers, but in its accessibility and profit making. Mobile banking service which was launched just last year is used by 25.5 million people who transact over 134 billion Birr. Ethio-telecom has provided automated service of around 20 public institutions and more than 40 service delivery institutions.
Moreover, the finance sector played a significant role for the development of other sectors. The finance sector advanced to 21 percent. The sector owns 2.3 trillion Birr overall. Over 80 million people become bank customers, and 1.6 trillion Birr is deposited. Besides, 353 billion Birr was loaned which registered 29 percent increase compared to the previous year. The financial sector put the foundation stone for the development of the aforementioned sectors.
In relation to price hike of basic commodities, the Prime Minister stressed that it has become the challenge of every single country in the world. Variation between supply with the demand and the conflict were some of the reasons for the inflation. However, it is important to notice that in the past four months the nation’s inflation is on decreasing rate. The other commendable deed that all should be proud of is students’ feeding. At this moment Ethiopia feeds 9.5 million students twice a day.
The government has been working on changing universities to become autonomous. In this regard, universities should stand by their own feet and be excluded from government’s budget list. Within short period of time, Addis Ababa University will be autonomous, and other advanced universities like Bahir Dar, Haromaya, Jimma, Mekelle, will follow its footsteps. Universities need to create citizens who can solve problems, Abiy stressed.
One thing everyone should know, as to the Premier, is that this must be the time to stop living with anti-pain. The country needs to search homemade solutions for its problems. Once the corner stone is laid for the solution of the problems, many of them will stay no longer being headache of the country. One of the solutions will also be avoiding dissipation. This surely brings changes.
The premier also focused on expanding the best practices throughout the country so that the nation’s prosperity will be imminent. “We Ethiopians have been experiencing better service provision. But it is the least compared to other countries. We must upgrade our way of giving services through trainings,” he underlined.
Nation’s mega projects are on the pipeline of completion as some of them are about to start. The government has been generating its own income from the previous projects such as the Unity Park to expand the good experience. For instance, the Unity Park has generated over 300 million Birr and reinvested it to construct the other palace which is located around the Unity Park. The palace will be a car exhibition center when it is finished. It is important to remember that the country has untapped resources regarding tourism. “As a result, stakeholders should work tirelessly as our economy will be built by the service sector in the coming years,” the premier urged.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2022
