ADDIS ABABA – Ministry of Finance announced that the national foreign currency reserve has hit 3.2 billion USD. This will cover the country’s demand of foreign currency for three months import trade.
During discussion with stakeholders about current macroeconomic issues, State Minister of Finance Dr. Eyob Tekelign said that the government is trying to address the widening of the gap between the government’s income and expenditure, saving and investment as well as import and export that will lead to a major macroeconomic crisis.
National Plan Commissioner Dr. Fitsum Assefa, for her part said that still there are disparities in the macro-economic indicators. The economic growth recorded over the last 15 years has its pros and cons.
Even though, investment growth created more job opportunities, improper utilization of poverty reduction focused loans have escalated the nation’s debt burden. Various efforts are underway to modernize and improve agricultural production and productivity, Fitsum added.
In particular, since 2008, there have been bottlenecks related to the taking of credit and projects performance. The assessment of the implementation of the Second Growth and Transformation Plan shows that the goals are not properly executed, Eyob noted.
According to him, the country’s macro economy is now recovering from crisis. Macroeconomic disorders will become a challenge when the country cannot boost domestic productivity and foreign exchange earnings. The ministry has given special emphasis to the private sector to address macroeconomic disorders, he underscored.
The Ethiopian Herald, July 18/2011
BY TSEGAYE TILAHUN
