It has been one year since the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), labeled as a terrorist group by Parliament, attacked the National Defense Force stationed in Tigray Region. Ever since the attack and the ensuing military engagement and all its baggage, the state of the economy seems to have arguably missed the attention it deserves.

Starting a media organization, particularly in the print sector, and surfing the thorns for 100 editions takes nothing less than immense courage. But witnessing the thirst and trust of our readers and partners, carrying Sisyphus’ rock is worth the effort.

Throughout history, Ethiopians have fought with external enemies numerous times but also frequently with each other. Even after the birth of modern Ethiopia, war, insurrection, and rebellion has continued. This infighting has drained the nation’s resources and withheld it from development and progress. Not long ago, Ethiopia hosted one of the bloodiest civil wars in history. The military spending during in the 1970s and 1980s drained the national budget and left Ethiopians to crawl into the poverty trap.

During the 5th national election held in 2015, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its allies scored a landslide victory by winning all the seats in Parliament as well as in regional and city councils. A year after EPRDF achieved this clean sweep, however, a series of nonviolent protests sparked off in the nation, later turning deadly. Witnessing this in a country run by a government supposedly almost unanimously elected by voters just a year prior was surprising for Ethiopians and the international community alike.

Aiming to improve the stability of the banking industry by creating well capitalized banks that can mobilize massive financial resources that are needed to speed up economic growth, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) recently raised the minimum paid-up capital requirement for banks ten-fold to ETB5 billion with various grace periods.

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.

Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) seized power in April 2018, many political reforms targeting an improved human rights environment were introduced in Ethiopia. To this end, several oppressive laws, criticized for enabling human rights abuses in the past, have been revised.

Only few countries have endured continuous and crippling high inflation rates like Ethiopia has in the past 15 years. The average annual inflation rate in this period was 16.4Pct and peaked above 20Pct in 2008, 2011, and 2020. Recall that when inflation spiked in 2008, food prices in Ethiopia rose by a staggering 92Pct within a single year.
Over the last 12 months alone, general and food inflation rates rose by 20.4Pct and 23.1Pct, respectively, according to the Central Statistics Agency.

Ethiopia has been impelling for the expansion of Djiboutian ports to accommodate its mushrooming foreign trade on top of exploring alternative sea gates, including the purchase of a stake in Somalia’s Berbera port. The country is also under negotiations with Eritrea to develop the ports of Massawa and Assab. The recent establishment of a one-stop border post (OSBP) between Kenya and Ethiopia alongside the completion of the Hawassa-Moyale road project provides Ethiopia, with its heavy and increasing dependence on imports, another option with Lamu, Kenya’s second largest port after Mombasa.

Ending the conflict with Eritrea, as well as implementing reforms that strengthened public institutions and broadened the political space are among achievements of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) administration. In addition, the homegrown economic reform agenda that outlined macroeconomic, structural, and sectoral reforms is expected to pave the way for jobs creation, poverty reduction, and inclusive growth.