Yonas Gebrekidan 38, whose name has been changed, is one of the printer cartridge importers in Addis Ababa. He has been doing this business for the past five years. As the business has been expanding, he has lately opened shops in regional towns. But recently, his business has been seriously challenged. “Business has come to a ground halt” he said. “The banks have not been allowing enough foreign currency to import the necessary materials we need.”
The direct relationship between export and country’s economic growth is apparent. Economists also insist that if export figures (quantity or earning) fluctuate year after year, uncertainties will emerge in the economy. In turn, these uncertainties build unfavourable pressure on investment. These might, in the end, have negative repercussions on overall growth. Balance of payment crisis also turns out to be the other effect.
For economists or others with related professional background, the accomplishment of the Ethiopian 2011/12 export does not seem to make them say wow; perhaps it would ignite several questions.
Ethiopian Revenues and Custom Authority (ERCA) is planning training of more than 1200 logistic operators in November, 2012 Ethiopian Business Review learned. Applicants have paid 6528.84 birr each to receive training. Upon completion, the trainees will receive certificate of competence which will make them eligible to get license for transit and logistics services.
The authority set the new training after considering repeated request by importers and exporters.
Ethiopia’s Major Tax Revenue Sources in 2011/12
Source:ERCA
Illustration by EBR
In mid February 2010, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) representatives attended a workshop in Mombasa, Kenya. The Workshop was about Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), which MoFED had planned months earlier.
IFMIS, which is expected to raise efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in financial sector has “successfully” finished its pilot phase, after two years. The pilot project, which consumed USD 19 million, had been running under close supervision of MoFED. Since last September, the project has been moving to implement the system in selected ministries, federal agencies and regional bureaus.
Ethiopian Airlines will extend the Addis Ababa - Bangkok route to Kuala Lumpur on October 31, 2012 with a frequency of three flights per week, the airline said in an email response to Ethiopian Business Review. The airline has also postponed the launching of flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil from its original schedule in December 2012 to March 2013. Ethiopian needs to finalize formalities with the Civil Aviation Authority of Brazil to get regular landing permission at Latin America’s busiest city.
Ethiopian Airlines will be the second African Airline to operate flights to both destinations after South African Airways.
Awash International Bank (AIB) has set a new organisational structure throughout its head and branch offices. The structure integrates job descriptions and specifications, job grades and titles, salary scale and benefits packages, Ethiopian Business Review learned. The bank has also started grading branches into four classes.
For fast growing economies like Ethiopia, economic forecasting is very crucial. Making strategic decisions with uncertainties means that nations are frequently in need of forecasts. This effort can be put into practice at the macro level for country’s GDP, inflation, unemployment or fiscal deficit. It can also be applied at the micro level for specific sectors in the economy or even specific firms. But doing this is not as such an easy task, especially, in developing countries. The lack of analytic forecasting experts of their own, forces least developed countries to rely on global institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Oromia Insurance Company (OIC) has recently launched a new product dubbed Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) for pastoralists in Borena Zone, Oromia National Regional State. For farmers and pastoralists in Ethiopia’s drought vulnerable zone, the launching of IBLI is very good news.
Borena has been affected by drought recurrently over the past couple of years. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in 2010 and 11, drought in Borena caused serious damage to the rich livestock resources of the region. As a result 412,000 out of a total of 1.29 million people in the region were receiving food assistance including aid provided under the Productive Safety Net Programme.
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