Accounting and Audit Board of Ethiopia (ABBE) formed a media forum aiming at creating awareness in financial report preparation and presentation that will help them to produce knowledge based news and programs.
Close to 80 journalists from all corners of the country gathered in Adama last weekend and research papers were presented on the task of the ABBE and the importance of quality financial reporting and its contribution in improving businesses environment.
“The financial reporting framework of Ethiopia is the backbone to various reforms that the country has been undertaking and we cannot think of stock market operation without reliable accounting and auditing infrastructure of the country,” said Hikmet Abdella, Director General of AABE.
The media forum was established expecting the media to play fourth government role to bring about a holistic impact in producing quality news and production in a transparent manner for the socity.
Accounting and Audit Board of Ethiopia (ABBE)
Administration to assist private buildings under construction in the city
The Addis Ababa City Administration introduced a new scheme to support building owners in the capital city to finalize ongoing projects.
On the meeting held on January 12 at Sheraton Addis Takele Uma, Mayor of Addis Ababa, disclosed that the city administration has formed a taskforce to solve problem on going building projects.
He said that the taskforce comprised from different administration in the city that are related with the case and utility providers like telecom, electric and water would manage each site visit to identify each and every problems of the projects and solve the problems to finance projects as soon as possible.
He said that currently in the city from 10,000 to 15,000 building projects are under construction that face different problems including financial issues.
“Now we have decided to involve in private projects and provide support to finalize them,” Takele added that delights developers who participated in the meeting.
On the meeting several developers and consultants expressed their disappointment on the city administration on its inability to solve problems that they face.
“Different offices involved on our projects contributed for the delay,” they claimed.
The Mayor criticized the system that existed in the city. He said that the misdemeanor has been a serious challenge. He also criticized the investors for contributing to the illegal act and bribe.
“Now in the joint taskforce and direct communication that I might also involve on some issues,” he said.
“I assure you problems would be solved and projects will be accelerated,” he added. “We will show the real achievement on the joint work with the private sector that would be a lesson for other cities and regions,” he said.
Investors cry foul of new land allotments
Investors claims that after halting land lease bid the Addis Ababa City Administration is providing plots at major areas for selected individuals on the basis of negotiation.
Investors who are waiting the city administration to start the land lease bid told Capital the before starting the bid high value plots at the center of the city are provided for selected businesses or individuals without a clear or proper channel.
They said that plots that may attract more and generate high income if sold out on bid are now transferred without bid by the approval of the cabinet of the city.
Capital was able to see a copy of few land deeds that were issued in mid-November and up for sale; meanwhile sources said that issuing of land deeds has continued until recently.
Few of the land deeds that Capital observed are located in the heart of Bole area around what is commonly known as Edna Mall.
A report published on Friday by the state owned Amharic daily newspaper, Addis Zemen, quoting Beyene Ramso of Lease Follow up Director at the Addis Ababa City Administration Land Bank and Transfer Bureau, indicated that the lands are transferred under the decision of the city cabinet. He confirmed that the lease bid is not yet commenced but says it will be started soon.
Capital observed that the minimum land area allotted for these companies and individuals is 5,000 square meters.
Investors claimed that the bid should start as soon as possible otherwise such approach would affect the image of the city.
Sources said under the name of real estate companies’ plots are given saying it is a replacement of the plot that are repossessed in other areas of the city so many years back.
In the last budget year several lands including plots that were given for diplomatic purpose and were not developed for years has been returned to the land bank.
Sources said that these lands are now being transferred.
Land has been delivered on two ways; by bid and negotiation. The second option mainly targets to provide plots for social purpose like to develop education, health and similar facilities, and for mega projects.
Ethiopia’s external debt drops
The external debt of Ethiopia, which is in high risk, has shown a quarter billion dollar decrement for the first time in the last couple of years.
The budget year first quarter ‘Public Sector Debt Statistical Bulletin’ published by Debt Management Directorate, Ministry of Finance (MoF), stated the external public debt of the country has declined to USD 26.778 billion.
The report published indicates that the external debt under government guaranteed and non government guarantee have shown decrement compared with the figure sated at the end of the last budget year. Meanwhile the central government debts type shows minimal increment.
The report indicated that the total external debt at the end of 2018/19 budget year has been USD 27.029 billion but that is reduced to USD 26.778 million as of September 30, 2019, which is the end of the first quarter of the 2019/20 budget year.
Due to that the total debt has reduced by more than USD 251 million.
The bulletin indicated that the government guaranteed external debt that is mainly secured for public enterprises and sometimes called mega projects at the first quarter of the budget year that has stood at USD 7.169 billion from USD 7.285 billion in June 2019 that was USD 116 million higher than the latest figure. At the same time nongovernmental guaranteed debt has dropped to USD 3.671 billion by the reduction of USD 141 million from USD 3.812 billion at the end of the past budget year.
In the stated three months USD 395.6 million total principal was repaid and a total interest and commission of USD 152.7 million.
In the whole year of last budget year the country has paid USD 1.403 billion total principal.
Haji Ibsa, Public Relation Head of MoF, said that since the last budget year the government has fully stopped commercial loans.
Even though the country highly reduced commercial loans and only focuses on concessional loans for the past few years, some of the loan agreements that have been signed in the past will be disbursed in the period that the country stopped non concessional loans, according to the sector experts.
Haji also told Capital that meanwhile the country cut the non concessional loans based on the deals, the finances have been dispersed in different phases. “Due to that the external debt burden of the country was not reduced even in last budget year, a period that the country fully halts using commercial loans,” he explained. “But now the effect is seen,” he added.
Different international organization and partners indicated that Ethiopia’s debt burden remains at high risk which is 60 percent of the gross domestic product. Half of this rate is the external debt mainly that the government received.
In the past few years the government debt has been increased significantly every year. For instance the country external debt in 2015/16 budget year was stood at USD 21.3 billion that expanded to more than USD 27 billion in the 2018/19 budget year.
However the past couple of year’s decision has contributed to slow the growing trend and that this year becomes reduced. Haji forecasts the half year figure of the budget year that will be realized in the near future would be reduced more.
