Minister of Industry, Melaku Alebel, reported that 369.11 million dollars in foreign exchange were availed to manufacturers by Ethiopian banks, achieving 79pc of the planned 468.42 million dollars. Last year, 274.1 million dollars was provisioned to the sector. During the Ministry's six-month report to Parliament, Melaku also revealed that 24.87 billion Br in loans were made available to large-scale manufacturers, a 4.9 percent increase from the previous year's 23.7 billion Birr. Banks now allocate 16.3 percent of their loans to the manufacturing sector. Members of Parliament raised several crucial issues. A representative from the Benishangul Gumuz Regional State pointed to the regional state’s lack of an industrial park, urging the government to address this concern. The minister responded that existing industrial parks are not operating at full capacity and therefore, the government has no immediate plans to construct new ones. Fathi Mahdi (PhD) (MP-PP), inquired about the government's plans for the manufacturing of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, aligning with the nation's transition to electric transportation. Melaku responded that negotiations are underway with companies involved in lithium mining, and EV battery manufacturing will follow. Another pressing issue raised by an MP concerned the minimum wage for industrial park workers. The minister emphasized the need to carefully analyse Ethiopia's bargaining power and the productivity of the workers. He suggested that a system of pay-for-performance would be the most effective solution.
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