Ethiopia’s Planning and Development Commission is preparing the nation’s first ever, ten-year, Perspective Development Plan to assess the country’s economic and social development in order to help medium level plans like the GTP to become successful.
The ten year plan will focus on eight pillars including: macro-economic, agriculture transformation, expansion of manufacturing, transport infrastructure, urban housing, hydro economics and human resource development.
According to Fitsum Asefa, Commissioner Planning and Development, the absence of a long term national plan, cast a shadow on the success of the GTP and other development strategies, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The plan will help us improve key economic sectors while taking into account our country’s limited resources,” she said.
To get information the commission will take a bottom-up approach and talk to stakeholders like investors and civic society organizations. They want to get as many segments of society involved in the process and have prepared manuals to help accomplish this. They will help implement the directive ratified by the Council of Ministers back in October 2018.
In Ethiopia, billions of USD have been wasted in government projects due to inefficient and unprofessional management, corruption and nepotism.
“The finance ministry is getting ready to establish a new directorate responsible for supervising and evaluating Maga and other projects,” said Hajji Ebssa, who handles communication for the Ministry of Finance.
The commission plans to implement measurable criteria to hold executives accountable.
According to Fitsum lack of accountability in government projects costs the nation and contributes to political, social and economic instability.
The Ethiopian government established a National Planning Commission in 2013 in an attempt to make sure its agencies improved the way they served people.
“The commission is also preparing directives to improve the way government projects are implemented,” Fitsum adds.
