' Ethiopia 's economic progress good' - WB

By our staff reporter

Ethiopia is making good progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and has achieved remarkable results in key areas, according to the World Bank.

The World Bank's Africa Development Indicators 2006 report (ADI 2006) provides a detailed collection of data on 53 African countries using material from 1965 to 2004. It singles Ethiopia out for praise in key areas and gave the country a high overall rating.

Improvements in education indicators were also noted. In 1991 only 27% of Ethiopian children attended school, while the gross enrollment rate was up to 77% in 2004, and reached 85% this month said the report.

The ADI 2006 confirmed that 16 African countries have sustained annual GDP growth rates in excess of 4.5% since the mid-1990s. Ethiopia's recent progress in this domain was underrepresented as the country has shown about 9% growth rate for the past three years and was on course to increase this into double figures in the coming few years.

Ethiopia was ranked in the top category for “policies of social inclusion and equity” and also in the domain of “economic management.”

The report also stated that Ethiopia did exceptionally well in the domain of “structural policies” and “public sector management and institutions.”

In the section on “improving public sector management” the report stated that “the public sector is critical for good governance and development. To address existing dysfunctions in the civil service, countries are reforming the civil service with differing emphasis.” The report added that this included decentralization and capacity development programmes.

Regarding setting up a business in Ethiopia , it takes about 30 days to set up shop, but there have been vast improvements in the past two years since the report's research was concluded. Land for business use, for example, now takes hours to acquire rather than days or weeks as was previously the case.

"While economic outcomes are increasingly diverse, Africa has made near uniform progress in social outcomes, notably education and health," explained John Page, the World Bank's Chief Economist for Africa, adding that the per capita income of African countries were now increasing in tandem with other developing countries.

"Gross primary enrollment rates as a share of the relevant age group - a standard indicator of investment in the poor - shot up to 93 percent in 2004 from 72 percent in 1990, contributing to a rise in literacy rates from 50 percent in 1997 to 65 percent in 2002," said Page. He regretted that success increasing primary enrollments from 70 percent in 1991 to above 90 percent in 2004 has not been mirrored in secondary and tertiary education in Africa . ( Business in Africa Online)