The government announces that it will take more tightened measures on the monetary policy to curb illegal acts and sabotages on the economy. Taking action on the supply sides has been stated as a further instrument to tackling the price spike in the market.
On the latest ‘Addis Wog’, a dialogue hosted by the Office of the Prime Minister, under a title of ‘Endurance for National Existence’, speakers said that the country should use the current challenge, which is combined with security and other mischievous like economic sabotage, as an opportunity for victory.
One of the speakers Mamo Mihretu, Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister said that problems shall exist but the crucial thing is to avert the challenges to an opportunity to uplift the country.
He reminded in the past that the economy was in big trouble stemming from structural problems, which pushed the country for heavy debt distress, lack of productivity and existing the economy on foreign financing. He added that situational problems; COVID 19, locust menace, law enforcement and international pressure that started from suspending or lagging to release budget support were challenges occurred in the recent past.
“But in these whole problems, the country was able to see opportunities and attain considerable successes,” he amplified what the country saw in the past couple of years by mentioning the external debt distress which to reduce to 27 percent of the GDP from 37.6 percent of mid 2019.
He added that with all challenging years the country’s export stood at the highest and historic point in the 2020/21 budget year with 20 percent increment compared with the preceding year.
The foreign direct investment on the stated period has also expanded by 64 percent to USD 3.97 billion birr, whilst tax collection has achieved its plan by 19 percent increment and loan for the private sector has expanded almost by half compared with the preceding period.
Mamo added that at this challenging juncture several public projects including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance and Koysha Dams and sugar milling project s are running as per their target.

However he admitted that controlling inflation is the remaining challenge in the economy, “we are not successful with regards to managing the inflation that was pushed by the un-equilibrium of supply and demand, global price increment and other factors.”
He announced that further measures will be taken by the government to pull out the economy from inflationary behavior. To steady the consumer market the government has procured 400,000 metric tons of milling wheat and of this, the first batch which is 40,000 metric tons has arrived at the port while 18,000 tons have been transported to the country.
Similarly, 36.5 million liters of edible oils has been imported to the country to narrow the demand and supply.
He added that the government has been taking several measures on the monetary side and it will continue with the same to curb the inflation and illegal acts in the economy.
“One of the main reasons for the inflation is money circulation in economy;” he says, “further and taut monetary policy instruments will be imposed to manage the inflation.”
It is to be recalled that several measures have been taken by the government on the monetary industry to ease the challenges and curb sabotages in the economy.
He underlined that the country has to confront the problems and tap in to the opportunity for victory.
Mamo told Capital that the government is working further to elevate challenges in different instruments, “we will strongly focus to narrow the gap between the supply and demand side. Importing of basic commodities is part of that.”
At the dialogue he said that the government will continue on its attention to secure inclusive economic reforms and job creation by tapping in all the potential resource the country has.