Abdulmenan Mohammed Hamza (PhD)One of the maladies the Ethiopian economy has battled over the past decade has been inflation. This economic ailment has created noticeable changes in the purchasing power of consumers. And though it was kept below double digits between July 2012 and June 2017, the past seven months has seen inflation hit the economy with renewed vigour. Headline inflation for January 2017 and February 2018 increased to 13.4Pct and 15.6Pct, respectively. To make matters worse, food price inflation soared to 18Pct in January 2017 and 20.9Pct in February 2018.
A chronic housing shortage is one of the grimiest realities in Addis Ababa. The problem is manifested in squatter settlements, living in squalid and overcrowded conditions without regard for health and safety, long commutes, abject poverty, and exorbitant rent with minimum rights for tenants. The capital has vast slums. The inner-city, which covers 12Pct of the land, of which 70Pct is comprised of government- owned mud houses, is home to 40Pct of the population, according to the Central Statistical Agency.
