DAILY BREAD


DAILY BREAD

Youth around the Saris area weave bread baskets for sale in a losing battle against inflation. As the federal government aspires to become "self-sufficient", subsidised bakeries like Sheger Bread have ceased operation due to wheat supply hiccups. Well before the full brunt of an austere budget is felt by the citizenry, an uptick in conflict in regional states has cast a grim shadow over the lives of everyday people. The recent decision by the central bank to cap credit growth rates at 14pc for next year has served to exacerbate fears of falling living standards for a national economy accustomed to surplus credit.


Radar

Electricity Bills Get the VAT Jolt

The new Value Added Tax (VAT) has begun implementation on electricity consumption and various service fees affecting customers who use more than 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. Based on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, the tax will be applied to the excess amount of electricity consumption above 200 kilowatt hours. The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) began implementing the VAT on bills starting from November though both prepaid and postpaid customers will have to pay VAT a...


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World Bank Greases Financial Overhaul

The World Bank approved 700 million dollars in credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to scale up support for the financial sector. The funds are targeted at modernizing the regulatory and supervisory framework of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), supporting governance reforms, balance sheet restructuring, and recapitalization of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), and transforming the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) into a sustainable development finance institutio...


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Gadaa Bank Expands Reach, Faces Lending Constraints

Gadaa Bank closed its first full fiscal year of operations with a net profit of 90.2 million Br. The 18-month-old Bank held its annual general assembly at Millenium Hall on Africa Avenue last week where the board announced that during the year, the Bank opened 15 branches and now has 85 operational branches. “Due to recently enacted policy measures on credit by NBE and unmet resource mobilization during the fiscal year, the Bank was unable to make loan disbursements,” stated Wolde Bulto,...