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SURAFEL MULUGETA

FORTUNE STAFF WRITER

SURAFEL MULUGETA's Articles

Soaring Oil Prices Squeeze the Urban Poor

Jan 31 , 2026 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

At around 8:00pm last week, Saba Aschalew stood beside her frying pan near the Gotera...

Ministry Eyes Trust Fund to Reverse Education Finance Decline

Jan 24 , 2026 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

The education sector, battered by inflation, dwindling foreign aid, and declining pub...

Businesses Wait as Tax Rulings Lag in Addis Abeba

Jan 24 , 2026 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

Addis Abeba's Tax Appeal Commission is facing increasing pressure as a backlog of unr...

Choked by Costs, Furniture Makers Face a Slow Squeeze

Jan 17 , 2026 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

The furniture manufacturing industry in Addis Abeba, once seen as a steady if unspect...

Ethiopia’s Oilseed Exporters Face Off with State Over Hoarding Clampdown

Jan 7 , 2026 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

The once-thriving pulses and oil seeds export sector, long a pillar of foreign curren...

Disenchanted, Overcharged Holiday Bazaars Lose Their Spark

Jan 3 , 2026 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

Among the rows of decorated stalls at the Christmas holiday bazaar held at the Addis...

Ministry Digs Deep to Fix Farming While Fertiliser Costs Soar

Dec 27 , 2025 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

Officials at the Ministry of Agriculture are setting in motion a strategy to reverse...

Rising Fertiliser Prices Leave Farmers Counting the Cost

Dec 20 , 2025 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

Farmers are facing a sharp rise in the cost of imported fertilisers, with global pric...

National Theatre Tests Higher Prices as Audiences Drift Away

Dec 13 , 2025 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

The National Theatre, Addis Abeba's cultural and artistic landmark for seven decades...

Addis Abeba Taxi Fares Stay Frozen While Fuel Costs Soar

Dec 6 , 2025 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

A long-promised revision of transport fares in Addis Abeba remains in limbo, heighten...

Electric Vehicle Drive Jolts Importers with New Mandates

Dec 6 , 2025 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

Federal transport authorities are steering the vehicle import market into uncharted t...

In Cattle Markets, Old Rituals Buckle Under New Tax Demands

Nov 29 , 2025 . By SURAFEL MULUGETA

The Qera livestock market, on Alexander Pushkin St., wakes before sunrise. Beneath a...

Commentaries

The Geopolitical Battle Over Monetary Infrastructure

The development of payment infrastructure in emerging-market economies (EMEs), from i...

Making Roads Pathways of Progress, Not Corridors of Grief

For decades, Ethiopia's roads have been described through the language of fate. The d...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

Every Encounter with the State Should Not Become an Invoice

May 9 , 2026

The Ethiopian state appears to have discovered a fiscal instrument that is politicall...

National Dialogue Has Everything But the Trust It Needs

May 2 , 2026

By the time Ethiopia's National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) reached the end of its fir...

Addis Abeba's Roads Reveal a Country Where the Powerful Drive Through the Law

Apr 25 , 2026

In a political community, official speeches show what governments want their citizens...

Ethiopia's New Diplomacy Essence Could Be About Shielding Sovereignty

For much of the past three decades, Ethiopia occupied a familiar place in the Western...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

The Silence That Leadership Can't Keep

A few days ago, I attended a virtual conference in Canada that stayed with me, not be...

Development That Redraws the Rent Line

Urban renewal is often sold as a promise: cleaner streets, safer neighbourhoods, bett...

Life Matters

Motivation Drops as the Day Begins in Sleepwear

We have all seen the aesthetic. The “work from home” dream usually comes packaged...

The Final Exam No One Prepared For

The first time I heard about the “Mesob” one-stop service initiative, relief came quickly. It sounded like a promise to citizens worn do...