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Dec 7 , 2024

Fueling Reform, the Petroleum Sector Caught Between Monopoly Missteps, Market Liberalisation

For decades the Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise (EPSE), a state-owned giant entrusted with importing and distributing fuel, dominated the energy sector. It administered 13 reserve depots spread across the country, maintaining emergency stocks to cushion against disruptions caused by natural or...

Nov 30 , 2024

Crafting Public Service Reward in a Cash-Strapped Economy

In the corridors of government offices worldwide, the question of how much to pay members of the public service is no longer a dry fiscal matter. It has become a defining test of leadership, fiscal discipline, and the ability to retain talent while avoiding the pitfalls of inefficiency and inequality. For policymakers, the question is no longer whether reform is necessary. It is how to craft it without igniting political and economic upheaval. The federal government has taken a step to rejuvenate its civil service, an army of nearly two million, announcing a wage increase for public servant...


Nov 23 , 2024

During Taxing Times, Tax Hunt Tests the Limits of an Unsteady Economy

The fiscal puzzle deepens as the Council of Ministers approved a supplementary budget of 581 billion Br last week, over half the federal budget ratified only months ago. Not even halfway through the fiscal year, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's (PhD) administration faces mounting pressure following the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, which triggered an unprecedented erosion of the Birr against major currencies. Despite government ambitions to raise 1.5 trillion Br in domestic revenues next year, the budget deficit is set to widen. Trying times loom for the government, and business...


Nov 16 , 2024

Bound by Debt, Government's Costly Love Affair with State Bloat

In the realm of public finance, balance sheets speak louder than rhetoric. In such domain, public enterprises are colossal monuments to misplaced confidence, harbouring debts that tower like unscalable peaks with implications rippling across generations. However, the illusion of their profitability persists despite the glaring red ink saturating their financial statements. Interestingly, it is not unusual to see Ethiopian leaders' grand economic ambitions colliding with such reality. Take the state-owned enterprises (SOEs), once heralded as the engines propelling the country's growth. They...

Editorials

Nov 9 , 2024

Policy Bargain in Franco Valuta a Double-Edged Sword in the Forex Debacle

Ethiopia's foreign exchange debacle resembles a tangled web of contradictions and constraints. The country's trade financing state remains besieged by systemic bottlenecks, escalating costs, and a wid...

Nov 2 , 2024

Addis Abeba Withering as Noise, Air Pollutions Choke the 'New Flower'

Addis Abeba, fondly dubbed a 'New Flower,' is wilting under the weight of unchecked urban growth. While the capital's main thoroughfares gleam with new infrastructure — separate lanes for pedestrian...

Oct 26 , 2024

Mercato Inferno Lays Bare Ethiopia's Vulnerabilities to Disasters

When flames devoured parts of Mercato, residents watched helplessly as decades of toil turned to ashes. The inferno, one of nearly 200 reported in the city this year, consumed more than stalls and mer...

Oct 20 , 2024

Floating the Birr Makes It Struggle to Keep Its Head Above Water

Central Bank authorities have unveiled no less than six new guidelines to fine-tune the foreign exchange market, following their bold decision in late July 2024 to liberalise the exchange regime. Aban...

Oct 12 , 2024

With the Horn Edging to the Brink, Regional Leaders Should Extol Trust

In his inaugural address on October 27, 2024, Taye Atseqesellasie, the fifth president since the 1995 constitution, extolled mutual trust as Ethiopia's most valuable legacy for future generations. Yet...

Oct 5 , 2024

Birr's Unmoored Descent Threatens to Drown an Economy Awash in Debt

Not long ago, the sight of exchange bureaus in Addis Abeba was as rare as a cloudless day in the rainy season. But a recent decision by the Central Bank to grant five non-bank entities permits to trad...

Sep 28 , 2024

Not to Turn the "Land of Origins" into a Land of Uneven Promises

In the early 2010s, Ethiopian authorities found themselves at odds with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Fund cautioned that the country's rapid economic expansion overheated the economy, ig...

Sep 21 , 2024

The Civil Service Gets a Pay Boost, But Inflation Laughs Last

A nurse in Addis Abeba shares a cramped one-room apartment with three colleagues. Her meagre salary barely covers food and transport. Like many employed by the public service sector, whose monthly ave...

Sep 14 , 2024

Drowning in Budget Gap, Universities Chase Autonomy. Can They Afford It?

Successive regimes share a common legacy: a deep-seated commitment to education as a vehicle for economic growth and social mobility. From the reign of Emperor Menelik II to the present day, each admi...

Sep 8 , 2024

The Road Ahead Remains Difficult. So Are Rewards for Getting It Right Profound

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's (PhD) visit to China last week could mark a watershed moment for his country, not only because he led a large delegation to Beijing, but due to the broader context of Afric...

Sep 1 , 2024

Addis Abeba's Gleaming Makeover Shouldn't Leave the Vulnerable Behind

Addis Abeba's skyline is being dramatically altered. Once characterised by unremarkable buildings and dusty roads, Africa's political and diplomatic capital now greets visitors with a spectacle of aff...

Aug 25 , 2024

Addis Abebas Light Rail Dream Turns into a Clunky Nightmare. It Shouldn't.

It may appear distasteful, unappealing and cumbersome to sight. But, the Addis Abeba Light Rail Transit (AA-LRT) stands as a concrete symbol of Ethiopia's ambitious attempt to shake off its image as a...

Aug 18 , 2024

Heavy-Handed Play to Tame Market 'Villains' in Reform's Name Hardly Works

The economy is in turmoil, and describing the situation as merely dire could be an understatement. The federal government's response to the unfolding crisis has been to clamp down on businesses, targe...

Aug 10 , 2024

Audacious Move Taken to Free an Economy Long Anchored in Captivity

The past few weeks have been anything but uneventful on the economic front. Across the board—from wage earners to business leaders and policymakers—there has been a discernible apprehension as eve...

Aug 3 , 2024

Will the Belated Baptism Float or Flounder the 'Brewed Buck'?

Much like the unpredictable brew of a strong coffee from the Ethiopian highlands, the Brewed Buck has experienced unprecedented fluctuations in over half a century. On Wednesday of last week, the rate...

Jul 27 , 2024

Birr's Leap of Faith Betting on a Dirham Deal

National Bank Governor Mamo Mehiretu recently etched his name in the annals of Ethiopia's central banking by signing a memorandum of understanding with Khaled Mohammed Balama, governor of the United A...


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Fueling Reform, the Petroleum Sector Caught Between Monopoly Missteps, Market Liberalisation


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Fueling Reform, the Petroleum Sector Caught Between Monopoly Missteps, Market Liberalisation

For decades the Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise (EPSE), a state-owned giant entruste...

Editorial | Dec 7 , 2024

Independent Forex Bureaus Offer Valued Choice

Waktole Abdulahi, a long-time resident of Norway, was relieved when he was able to secure...

Featured | Nov 16 , 2024 . By KALKIDAN NEGASH

National ID Footprint Stumbles Over Limited Acceptance, Printing Quality

Dawit Arega, a tourist guide for 14 years, has encountered difficulties with his National...

Agenda | Dec 8 , 2024 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

IN DIGITAL ID, PROMISE MEETS CHAOS

The National ID Program, a.k.a Fayda, has met citizens with the kind of contention that br...

Fortune News | Dec 8 , 2024

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