Customs Commission Clamps Down on Car Imports

Aug 21 , 2023


[ssba-buttons]

Importing vehicles under the guise of returning diaspora or Franco Valuta with extended letters of credit is prohibited, as a letter from Customs Commission Commissioner Debele Kebeta was sent out last week. The letter suggests that car importers have been exploiting the loopholes to bring vehicles into the country despite a restriction on their import imposed by the Ministry of Finance to contain the forex squeeze 10 months ago. The Ministry had prohibited the allotment of foreign exchange for an indefinite amount of time to a list of 38 items that included chocolate, cigarettes, carpets and vehicles. Despite the customs commission restricting the inflow of the stated items into the country, the new letter reads that vehicles are coming into the country at mass through gaps in implementation. While the initial decision by the Ministry of Finance was prompted amidst reports that the country had enough forex reserves to facilitate two weeks of imports, declining exports and a vast budget deficit have not resolved the issue quite yet. A decision last week by the central bank to decrease forex surrender requirements for exporters to 60pc has been indicated by certain economists as holding the promise of boosting exports next year.


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...