The World Bank appears to have regained its confidence and restored its “trust” in the government of Ethiopia to resume direct budgetary support, after years of interruptions following electoral disputes.

It was in the 2005 national elections where the Bank and many other development partners switched their support from direct budget support to protection of basic services. Protesting the killing of many protestors and the arrest of opposition leaders, human rights advocates and journalists, the donor community had declared trust had been breached by the government to continue with the form of support that required a high degree of confidence.

“We now trust the government,” said Carolyn Turk, the Bank’s country director based in Addis Abeba. “Dialogue for significant reforms, the foundation for a functioning economy, is ongoing.”

She, alongside her colleagues, met members of the media on Wednesday, November 14, 2018, and said the Bank is impressed with the vision upheld by the administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) for the future of Ethiopia. They attributed the recent decision by the Bank’s board of directors to provide 1.2 billion dollars in direct budgetary support as a signal of “real support in the structural reform” the government wants to implement. Half of the amount is given in the form of a grant to help the economy recover from its debt distress. This came in addition to the eight billion dollars the Bank has committed to Ethiopia, paying for close to 29 projects.

The Bank’s experts portrayed a positive outlook for Ethiopia’s economy, projecting it to expand by 7.7pc in the current fiscal year. This makes the economy one of the fastest growing economies in the world, according to Bank officials.

The structure of the economy is changing with industry leading the rate of growth last year, followed by services and agriculture. With significant increase reported in the inflow of foreign direct investment, the nation’s current account has shown a moderate improvement, although the forex reserve sits at 2.8 billion dollars, only enough to cover imports of 1.6 months.