BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU
Ethiopia is trying to be a beacon of prosperity and a role model for the rest African countries, the government and the people of the country have taken every possible way to achieve the set objectives.
Recently, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) gave response to questions raised by the members of the House of People’s Representatives. On the occasion, he stated that Ethiopia has left no stones unturned to stand on its feet in terms of economy. Stakeholders have answered the nation’s call to work for a unified agenda.
As it is vividly clear, currently, the nation faced various challenges posed by local and external forces. Nevertheless, the nation registered better economic growth in the 2021/22 fiscal year. To this end, as to the premier, agriculture, industry, and service sectors played their part to the total economic growth.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA), Minister of Industry, Melaku Alebel briefed the points raised by the Prime Minister and explained the actions taken by the industry and manufacturing sectors.
The Minister stated that the targeted objectives are cascaded from the 10- year perspective economic growth Plan. Last year, the nation’s economy was troubled in one way or another by the supply-chain disturbance on account of the Russia- Ukraine war.
Moreover, the nation’s expulsion from AGOA has severely harmed the export sector especially exportable textile and leather products. After all these challenges, it is understood that the nation’s economy is resilient and those upside downs served as a motive for the motto ‘we can’. The nation’s economy made itself better and strong amidst numerous challenges.
With a number of challenges and impacts, the manufacturing sector has registered promising growth. In the last budget year, for instance, the sector could attract new local and foreign investments, created new job opportunities, and scaled up the export sector, Melaku said.
In the sector, two thousand eight hundred thirty-eight small and medium enterprises and seventy-seven large scale industries have been operational. It has also created jobs for two hundred fifty-five thousand citizens. The sector generated five hundred million USD from export. Doing so, it contributed 4.9 percent growth to the GDP, Melaku mentioned.
Melaku further noted that the sole purpose of development is lifting up the lives of citizens. The nation’s economic endeavor should stick to human resource development. Inflation has been hitting the nation since 2011. The disparity between demand and supply is responsible to the witnessed economic turmoil. In order to meet the demand, the supply must be increased. Maximizing citizens’ ability to purchase also helps to withstand the economic crises.
There is also undeniable fact that the manufacturing sector has encountered a shortage of industrial input and technology as well as price hike of imported items. A better example could be the price of imported sugar, edible oil, and wheat. Not only that, the sector has been dealing with the inconveniences created by COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war. However, these challenges could not stop the nation from implementing import substitution worth two billion USD.
According to Melaku, the service sector also scored remarkable achievements during the past fiscal year. He said that service sectors should stick to the 10- year perspective economic growth plan and work tirelessly to ensure perpetual development. To this end, every sector should receive equal attention from the government so that the whole sectors contribute their share to the economy. Every sector has to play its own part to attain the intended growth.
As mentioned above, the manufacturing sector faced shortage of input which hiders its productivity. Hence sectors such as agriculture and mining should supply the necessary inputs to the manufacturing sector. “That’s why we need to work on promoting and maximizing the potential of every sector,” Melaku stressed.
In this course of time, the manufacturing sector is expected to be the development engine of the nation. By maximizing and integrating small and medium industries to bigger ones, it is planned to enhance their role in the economy.
Big industries also should look for boosting export. In order to achieve the objectives, Melaku mentioned that it is time to give response to the challenges related to infrastructure. It is pivotal to answer the queries of adequate power supply, finance, logistics, and skilled manpower that the manufacturing sector needs badly. In this regard, the government has been working on reforming the sectors.
He further said that the policy intervention will bring positive opportunities for the manufacturing sector. It will also provide additional incentives and support for specific focus areas of the sector. Those actions will make the sector drive attention towards economic progress.
Melaku also explained about the movement ‘Let Ethiopia produce’. As to him, the concept is very broad, and the objective is the matter of survival and sovereignty. To create a better and stronger Ethiopia, productivity must be enhanced. In addition to that, it needs to work together with other stakeholders for a unified goal and expanding industries.
Melaku added that the manufacturing industry has both international and local markets. One thing that is seen in the exported goods is that the nation is exporting primary goods without adding value. In order to reverse this trend and become competitive in both local and foreign markets, investors must use their potential. This will bring up the nation’s foreign currency earning capacity. Previously, the government strategy was focused on export-oriented, but this time, it becomes essential to work aggressively on both import substitution and maximizing export.
Melaku also disclosed that the absence of sound collaboration among sectors can be taken as the showcases for less competency of the economy. Most sectors work on their own without better vertical and horizontal relation with other sister sectors. This time, the government is working tirelessly to get rid of the weakness existing in this regard.
“With untapped potentials, it is hard for the nation to be poor than to be rich,” stressed Melaku. To make this idea real, it needs better leadership. So, sectors must work in collaboration with one another to brush off problems and put the nation where it deserves to be.
The Ethiopian Herald December 7/2022
