borkena
November 27, 2019
Ethiopia’s skyrocketing cost of living not just in the capital Addis Ababa but in different parts of the country has become a talking point among Ethiopians for a long time now. And it is not showing a sign of improvement.
Budget and Finance Standing Committee in the Ethiopian House of People’s Representative said on Wednesday that rising inflation is negatively impacting citizens and the country’s economy too.
The Minister for Finance, Ahmed Shide, cited the country’s statistics department and said that the inflation rate for food items was 15.6 percent in September while the rate for other commodities is 13.6 percent.
The fix? He said implementing fiscal policies is a priority plan of action area so as to “stabilize prices.” And what fiscal policy is the minister talking about?
Structural reforms in agencies accountable to the ministry and transferring state-owned “development” agencies to the private sector (privatization) are areas where the government is working on “carefully,” the minister added.
Government strategy in place to arrest soaring food prices, which has become unbearable for millions of citizens, is “purchasing 400 metric tonnes of wheat from abroad.” Wheat is not a staple food for most Ethiopians.
Deputy chair of Budget and Finance Standing committee, Nafekush Dessie, has acknowledged the ministry’s coordination with the relevant departments to decrease the inflation rate during the first quarter of the fiscal year but she did not conceal that there is a limitation, on the part of the finance department apparently, in terms of the search for a durable solution for the rising price inflation.
Ethiopia’s Inflation rate for consumer goods hit 15 percent back in September 2019. Back then, the Ethiopian government admitted that rising inflation is partly a manufactured one related to an orchestrated shortage in the supply and illegal trade.
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The EPRDF aka Prosperity party growth and transformation plan transformed the price too high for the middle income to low income people.
IT HAD BEEN A TALK OF VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NEWS MEDIAS AND FAIR WAGE ADVOCATES THAT HAWASSA INDUSTRIAL PARK WORKERS DESERVE WAGES INCREASE, WITH NO AVAIL TO THEIR SITUATION UNTIL NOW.
HOPEFULLY THE NEW SIDAMA REGIONAL OFFICIALS WILL PUSH FOR WAGE INCREASES AT THE HAWASSA INDUSTRIAL PARK,WHERE WORKERS CURRENTLY ARE BEING PAID ONLY A MONTHLY SALARY OF TWENTY SIX US DOLLARS ( $26 USD) , NOT BEING ABLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET.
With the dellala/retailer Alibaba Group penetrating the Ethiopian market the whole Ethiopian public except the bandas are at a huge risk of loosing any last hope they had to prosper. Amara region officials need to pay attention and have a say about the federal government actions in regards to business Giants such as Alibaba Group.
All leaders starting from Tamrat Layne the “politician” until Abiy Ahmed the “politician”, they all worked for personal wealth accmulation by selling out national interests.
In Ethiopia Antitrust laws are not in existance not because the antitrust laws are not needed by the people, the antitrust laws do not exist just so the politicians keep selling out Ethiopia for international delalas monopolizers .
Now Alibaba Group the retail giant got the green light from PM Abiy to sell electronics in Ethiopia, soon Alibaba Group will sell all products putting Ethiopian retailers that are not into selling locally produced products(farm products) at a huge risk of being put out of work with their own government squeezing the people’s hand to resort into working for Industrial parks for monthly wages they can barely cover a price of one pair of lowest quality jeans pants.
It is so shocking how after 35+ billion dollars in foreign debt Ethiopia’s Human Developmental Index is only at 0.463 scoring 173 out of 189 countries.
On the other hand the country with no foreign debt war torn plus sanctioned neighbor country’ Etitrea’s Human Developmental Index HDI is at 0.440 scoring 179 out of the 189 countries.
http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/IHDI
$35 billions USD debt is bound to raise prices sky high .