A change for the better could not crystalize unless a paradigm shift is effected, especially when things seem to have gone off the track.
For eons the mainstay of Ethiopia’s economy was agriculture, which still proves antediluvian. As such the country could not troubleshoot its food self-sufficiency debacle to say nothing about augmenting its hard currency reserve coming up with value-added commodities that sticks out penetrating the global market. This way, too much water had passed under the bridge.
Knowing full well the sad episode, the government is dead set at reversing the trend shifting focus to the manufacturing sector that churns out the sought-after export items as well us supplying products to local market which otherwise has to be imported.
As part of this bid, it has brought into being industrial parks that now dots the map of the country. Conducting feasibility studies it has also pressed ahead with seeing to the birth of additional parks.
Yielding to the allurement, foreign investors are vying for a foothold in the parks. Relatively speaking, local investors fight shy from having a niche in the parks. Hence, the task of recasting rules and regulations is underway to wide-open the door for domestic investors. Facilitating loans to them and easing tax-reduction related issues while importing machineries are entailed in the incentive package.
The country’s intends to catapult the economy to new heights. Taking into consideration the country’s bountiful resources in the agriculture sector, the government has opted to accord a preferential treatment to the agro-industrial parks that could help the country multiply over its foreign exchange earnings. The agro-industrial parks in the pipeline corroborate the thrust towards this end.
Here, it must be noted that such a move forward presuppose putting in place infrastructural facilities seen fit via the prism of quality and quantity. A task force armed with the required skill is obligatory.
Higher learning institutions are expected to step up market-oriented trainings simultaneously placing focus on apprenticeship and quality of education. University and industry linkage has to be there.
When we see things in the present day Ethiopia we notice that the service sector is tagging the agriculture-driven economy of the country, while the manufacturing sector is lagging behind.
As many economists put it, this growth is anomalous and out of fashion true to the saying the horse before the cart. According to the global trend, the economy has to pass through three phases namely agriculture, manufacturing and service.
In our country’s case the service sector has grown in the absence of the infrastructural facilities it needed. This has become reason enough for the anomaly in the structure.
There is a call for a strong industrial base that allows the agriculture sector to leapfrog levels of development. The industrial base must also spur the growth of the service sector.
The industry sector Ethiopia embarked on is duty bound to play additional role. Strengthening foreign investment plays quite a role in actualizing the looked forward response.
There is no gainsaying the agriculture and the industry sector play a role in buttressing the economy. Hence, letting the two feed on each other is crucial. This way the service sector will grow by itself. The intervention of the government in both sectors must be there.
Strengthening the manufacturing sector plays incalculable role in absorbing the unemployed segment of the society. Also, following population explosion the fragmentation and degradation of land could occur. Hence, the manufacturing sector could help in the absorption of the idle task force in the rural area.
There has to be a market or value chain from the farming land, industries to the service sector.
The Ethiopian Herald July7/2019
