Blog – Page 102 – Ethiopian Business Review

With its distinct ecoregions and vast range of fauna and flora, the area is home to Ethiopia’s second-highest peak as well as otherworldly landscapes—the Harenna Forest and Sanetti Plateau. Religious tourism, also present at Sof Omar and Sheik Hussein’s tomb, brings numerous Muslim pilgrims. With the recent advent of hiking groups making such travels more accessible to locals, the region stands to win if enabling infrastructures and sustainable development putting locals at the center are employed.

This month hosts both Abiy Tsom and Ramadan, the biggest fasting seasons for Christians and Muslims in Ethiopia. Thousands pray longer and harder every day in this season, more restrained from worldly activities and more in tune with the purification of the body, mind, and soul. This remains Ethiopia’s social capital for centuries gone and to come. Beyond a personal and spiritual experience, religion remains the frame embodying nationalism and a defining concept for unity, culture, art, and perseverance. Specially, the reputed St. Raguel Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Anwar Mosque, located next to each other in Mercato, Addis Ababa are symbols of harmony particularly in the crowded fasting seasons.

After so many years of trials and setbacks during revisions, the Commercial Code has finally crossed the last legislative milestone, an approval by the Parliament on March 25, 2021, repealing the old Commercial Code of Ethiopia, which was in service for the last six decades. The revision started three decades ago, but partly because of the lack of institutional will and political instability, it has taken decades to get past the Parliament. The last two years of Ethiopia’s political transition have seen a flurry of major legislative reforms, and it is perhaps no coincidence that the revision of the Commercial Code has been successful during this period. Now, Ethiopia has a new insolvency law.

Currently the Public Enterprise Holding and Administration (PEHA) is in the process to hire transaction advisors to privatize the ten sugar projects failed in the government hand.

Brook Taye (PhD), senior advisor to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance

The ministry, which is currently evaluating capital offered by two telecom operators who participated in an international bid Ethiopia floated months back to give license for two operators, is expected to announce the winner in two weeks maximum.

As covid19 restrict access to cash and financial institutions, number of mobile transaction users has grown by 13pct globally to over 1.2 billion in 2020, with over 300 million monthly active accounts, according to new report dubbed ‘State of the Industry Report of Mobile Money’, by Global System for Mobile Communication (GSMA). For the first time, the amount of remittance sent and received via mobile money has also surpassed USD1 billion, exponentially growing by 65pct.

After decades of indecisiveness and partiality, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) was seemingly returning to its senses as of the last two years. Close to 60 directives have been revised under reform initiatives of the current government, laxing its previous restrictive bars. Nonetheless, the last few months have proven that the central bank was only partially baptized.

According to the United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) 2021 Food Waste Index Report, a total of around 931 million tons of food is annually wasted globally, of which 61Pct is at the household, 26Pct at the food service, and 13Pct at the retail level. In fact, the report stated the veracity of global household estimates is medium to low. Food waste is food (including drink) and associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain in the following sectors: manufacturing of food products (under certain circumstances); food retail; food service; and households. “Removed from the human food supply chain” means one of the following end destinations: landfill, controlled combustion, sewer, litter/ discards/ refuse, co/ anaerobic digestion, compost / aerobic digestion or land application.

In the past, prices of commodities revert to reasonable levels after the end of the harvesting season. However, agricultural products are priced at new heights this year. In fact, the current inflation spike is the second highest after the record year of 2008. A major factor is the widespread instability affecting the mobility of commodities. Foreign currency scarcity and an increased money supply have also contributed. But the lifting of fuel subsidies by the government has brought the acceleration of prices to new levels. EBR’s Ashenafi Endale explores.

Atnafu Gebremeskel (PhD), is an Assistant Professor of economics at Addis Ababa University and an executive member of the Ethiopian Economics Association. In December 2020, he published a study entitled “Inflation Dynamics and Macroeconomic Stability in Ethiopia” in which he identified key sources of inflationary pressure in Ethiopia through the analysis of commodity price changes observed between 1997 and 2020. It became a timely reference and antidote as inflammatory inflation breaks loose since January.
Atnafu argues the actual permanent inflation rate in Ethiopia during the study time was 38.9Pct, driven by expansionary monetary phenomenon, though government has been underreporting inflation at 15Pct annual average. This problem of denial is keeping the solution at bay. Apart from the persistent as well as immediate causes, Atnafu stresses market responds by increasing price, whenever ineffective government is in charge. EBR sat down with the leading expert on Ethiopia’s inflation dynamism, conversing on his findings and its ramifications towards stabilizing current price hikes.

Bale Mountains The Height of Adventure

The Enduring Worth of National Prayer

A New Insolvency Law for Ethiopia

Sugar Privatization Garners Interest Ahead

“The telecom bid can be cancelled,”

Mobile Money Sprout as Pandemic Surge

Central Bank’s Haphazardness Costing the Economy

Top 10 Food Wasting Countries

Fueling Wild Inflation

“When Confidence in the Government is Lost, Price Hikes Become Normal.”