BY MENGESHA AMARE
Nothing is more interesting and gratified than being self-sufficient and proud of onself to lead a happy life. When such a majestic look and cordial status has stepped to a national level, it would be of a viable instrument in declaring independence and sovereiginty in which other countries could hardly interfere in the internal affairs of a given nation.
The best solution and attested remedy for all rounded problems and long heaped hurdles of the country is no doubt capitalizing on indigenous assets, very untapped belongings of course.
Sense of belongingeness for the country and its people, homegrown economy, homegrown knowledge, homegrown means of conflict resolution and the likes are undeniably viable means to see poverty off forever and get all potential sources of problems dried for good. These are realy absolute and workable pathways to prosperity and avenue for being champion over poverty.
Nurturing the Grand Abay Dam and other similar water resources and using all original assets as well as local belongings is of significantly useful in fostering the march against poverty. Taking the indescribalble contribution of homegrown aspects to the national economic growth thereby prettily curbing aid dependence and declaring financial freedom as a pillar for nation’s economic self reliance, this writer had a stay with Melkamu Limenih, who graduated in economics from Addis Ababa University.
Melkamu said, “The implementation of homegrown economic reform aiming at tapping Ethiopia’s development potentials, abundant and energetic labor force, exploiting a range of tangible and intangible heritages and you name it, have undeniable impact on stabilizing nation’s economy, amid bottlenecks of course, thereby seeing poverty and aid dependence forever.”
He further said that the implementation of the economic reform has to run well and responsibly so as to enable the country mitigate the effects of being dependent on aid and grant. It has indeed played a paramount role in managing debt stress, improving export performance and creating stability in the financial sector that a direct bearing with almost all activiites performed throughout the nation.
He said, “Apart from stabilizing the macro-economy, the reform has been quite essential in making structural changes in the national economy in a bid to create new opportunities in all aspects, be it economically, socially, politically and even culturally and religiously.”
Yes, he said ending poverty in all its forms throughout the countryhas to be the national slogan as Ethiopia is highly endowed with numerous viable means forcrushing this social menace accompanied with a range of pessimistic basics. It is also useful to assess the effectiveness of existing poverty alleviation approaches, including well exploiting homegrown economy and assets, community-based development undertakings, ensuring social security and good governance.
Poverty alleviation programs all over the nation have to predominantly aim at reducing the level of scarcity and shortage through various participatory and community-demand-driven angles.
“High public investments in infrastructure and human capital development fueled the country’s growth. These investments narrowed fundamental gaps in transport and energy infrastructure and human capital developments thereby laying the foundation for a sustained growth via exploiting homegrown economy and homegrown wisdom,” he said.
As to him, the fundamenatal objective of country’s agenda has to be to sustain the economic growth through creating an economic environment supportive of higher private investment and structural transformation through the channel attracting homegorwon economic schems.
Yes, he said macro-financial reforms aim to reduce the risks associated with public debt, lower external vulnerabilities, arrest inflation, and enhance growth, investment, and exports including strengthening public finances, privatization, consolidating the monetary policy framework with the objective to stabilize prices and support economic growth, enhancing financial sector development and developing capital markets.
The sectoral reforms aim to address market failures and address sectoral regulatory and investments constraints to promote investment in sectors including such as agriculture and manufacturing, and unleash new growth potentials in sectors such as tourism, mining, technology and the creative industries.
He said, “Efficacious economic reform and homegrown economic growth higly requires coordination and synchronization among forex, monetary, fiscal, financial, and capital market reforms. To balance the urgent need for addressing macroeconomic imbalances with the need to minimize potential economic costs of rapid reforms, the homegrown macroeconomic reform agenda will be implemented in the course of three to four years with careful calibration of the pacing, sequencing, and timing of specific reform measures.”
He added that upon effective implementation of myriads of reforms, Ethiopia would unequivolcally be a stable and economically, socially and politically sustained nation.
“A rapid and inclusive economic growth has been setting the country on a path to prosperity as it would for instance commence exporting wheat. The reform measures will set the foundation for a robust, resilient, and diversified middle income-level economy through the formation of a dynamic private sector and modern policy and institutional frameworks.”
Vibrant homegrown economy, he said, would definitely lead to local economic and financial prosperity. However, if local decision makers lose sight of the attributes of homegrown economy to success and prioritize the financial bottom line over the triple bottom line of sustainability, they will place the very characteristics leading to success at risk. This will ultimately undermines the community’s homegrown economy and economic vitality in the long term at national level.
He further elucidated that community engagement and empowerment are both driving forces within, and benefits of, the homegrown economy. As a result, communities are better able to cooperate and coordinate in efforts towards advancing a shared vision and accomplish shared goals.
Enhancing domestic revenue mobilization, particularly significant improvement in tax collection, coupled with external resource mobilization will be at the core of the reform agenda’s financing strategy and robusting homegrown economy schemes.
Citing the UN definition of extreme poverty reads, ‘a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and informantion,’ Limenih said that as lack of good jobs, good education, warfare/conflict, climate change impacts, social injustice, lack of access to food, water and other basic necessities and related infrastructure, lack of good governance and prevalence of high cost of living are arch enemies of social wellbeing and national security, the issue of promoting homegrown economy has to be top on agenda.
He said, “As food prices are very unpredictable in ceratin areas, so when they rise, the poor have to keep cutting out other essencials and housing is a trying scenario especially in urban areas, stringemnt measures have to be taken.”
Poverty does have, he satted, numerous roots that need to get uprooted. True, encouraging sectors, investors and business community to engage in nation building schemes and homegrown economy have to be prioritized and well embarked on as these are instrumental in fueling growth and prosperity as well as helping citizens promote livelihood ranging from securing daily bread.
Access to infrastructure such as clean water, road, electric power and telecommunication projects should also be significantly improved via well exploiting homegrown assets. Sizable investments should also be made by state owned enterprises, outside of the budget, on infrastructure, housing, and commercial activities such as sugar, cement, and fertilizer projects.
As to Melkamu, the investment boom that has fueled Ethiopia’s economic growth has been the outcome of the government’s deliberate policy to scale up the much-needed investment on human capital and infrastructure. This bold move copupled with well crafted homegrown economic project would be of a meaningful means in bringing abut ideal change in Ethiopia.
The investment has been financed through mobilization of domestic savings, reinvigorating homegrown economy, directing domestic credit to public sector projects and priority sectors, and working from dawn to dusk with a view to making new Ethiopia, he said.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 11 JANUARY 2023
