Hunger Hovering By

A swarm of locusts is pushing millions in East Africa to the brink of food insecurity. In Ethiopia alone, over a million people have so far become food insecure and in need of urgent assistance. About 3.5 million quintals of crop has been destroyed by the locust that damaged state and private farms. With predictions the locust attack may increase 400 times in the times ahead, disastrous damages are expected unless preventive measures are taken in time. EBR’s Ashenafi Endale explores.

Gross domestic savings are generally very low in least developed countries such as Ethiopia. That paved the way for foreign investment to emerge as an alternative source of bridging the gap between savings and the required investment after 1992. Since foreign firms bring not only financial capital but also managerial techniques as well as entrepreneurial and technological skills, foreign direct investment (FDI) is regarded as one of the major components of Ethiopia’s economic growth over the past decade. However, it’s not all been rosy. Although initial investment by foreign firms improves the current and capital accounts of the host country, in the long run, repatriation of profit, interest, royalties and management fees may harm its foreign exchange position. This is exactly what is happening in Ethiopia. A minimum of USD1 billion is requested by locally operating foreign companies that repatriate profits annually. However, a fraction of this amount is availed by commercial banks operating in the country. This phenomenon traps foreign companies, forcing them either to wait for a long time to repatriate their profits or reinvest it as EBR’s Ashenafi Endale found out.

In the aftermath of free market policies and the subsequent lifting of price caps in Ethiopia, setting the price of commodities seems to be left solely to suppliers and traders. With barely any institutional set ups to protect the rights of consumers, the prices of goods and services has soared in folds with the trend showing no end in sight. The Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Authority established seven years ago seems to be a failure. EBR’s Ashenafi Endale looks into the problems in consumer protection and the road ahead.

Using plastic bags is a common practice in Ethiopia, a country that aspires to build a carbon free economy by 2025. Although Ethiopia declared producing plastic bags of below 0.03mm illegal long ago, the proclamation has not been put into practice. Retailers openly trade bags below the recommended amount throughout Ethiopia. With that precedent in mind, the government has drafted a new law that totally bans plastic bags. While this is expected to be legislated in the next three months, producers complain such a measure would put them in a precarious situation. EBR’s Ashenafi Endale explores.