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Ministry Forges New Partnerships to Advance Policy Framework

Oct 28 , 2023

A policy oversight board meeting on persistent issues of health, sanitation and education sectors alongside significant progress in job creation was held between officials from the Ministry of Finance and the United Nations last week. The meeting was part of a review of the past United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and crafting plans for the upcoming period. Results from UN support were indicated as crucial in strengthening the institutional capacity of the National Election Board of Ethiopia and enhancing the government's role in ensuring peace and stability during the session. Semereta Sewasew, state minister for Finance, Ramiz Alakbarov, UN resident & humanitarian coordinator, and CSO representatives convened at Skylight Hotel on Airport Road. Plans for the following implementation framework of the ten-year national development plan were laid out, emphasising the period from 2025-30. The establishment of an independent evaluation of the current framework and help in implementing the preparation phases for the next period was endorsed by the attendees. The United Nations has been a longstanding partner of Ethiopia for the past five decades while making a 1.6 billion dollar investment last year to provide humanitarian support.

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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 V...

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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...

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Oromia Bank's Branch Expansion Weighs on Profits

Oromia Bank reported a 47pc decline in net profit to take in 840.9 million Br for the past fiscal year. Interest income grew by 21pc to reach 7.19 billion Br while personnel expense grew by 36pc to hit 3.16 billion Br. The opening of 72 new branches, bringing the total to 575, led to a four percent growth of deposits to 56.4 billion Br. The profits are “unsatisfactory against our ambitious moves,” said Assefa Seme (PhD), board chairperson. “The deviation is primarily attributed to our aggr...

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