The government of Ethiopia has launched a homegrown economic reform, which will propel the country to become Africa’s prosperity icon by 2030.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed today opened discussion session with development partners and the diplomatic community on the homegrown economic reforms.“Several months in the making and spearheaded by some of Ethiopia’s finest minds, our initiative aims to propel Ethiopia into becoming the African icon of prosperity by 2030,” said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia.
In the country with over 100 million people, currently one out of five Ethiopians lives below poverty line mostly dependent on foreign food aid. As its economic growth over the past decade failed to translate into sustainable job creation, the country is currently facing huge youth unemployment, rising cost of living along, widening trade deficit with poor performance of the manufacturing sector.
In addition, the total loan of the highly indebted east African country has also mounted to about $54 billion by June 2019. When divided to the people, currently every Ethiopian is carrying a debt burden of $500 to $550.
Commenting on the escalating debt of Ethiopia at this morning meeting in Addis Ababa, Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa said if Ethiopia’s foreign debt continues at the current rate, the country will encounter a debt distress. “Ethiopia’s aspiration to grow from 865 to 2219 GDP per capita was “very ambitious” but that it was doable, citing the success stories of China, Laos, and Vietnam,” she said.
To achieve his vision of making Ethiopia prosperity icon by 2030, Prime Minister Abiy today urged development partners to continue strengthening their support. Reports show that after the reformist Prime Minister Abiy came to power in April 2018, the country has been opening the political and economic landscape, which for decades have been dominated by the ruling coalition and its affiliate companies.
After he took office one of the major economic reforms the country has made includes launched the process of opening the telecom, energy and logistics sectors for foreign investors.
As the shortage of hard currency badly hit the country, the government has also vowed to sell partly or fully state enterprises such as, sugar factories, railway services to foreign investors and Ethiopian Airlines, among others.