Ministerial Forum Cites Stymies of Construction Investment

May 20 , 2023


Hundreds of international and local exhibitors, 600 industry players and 19,0000 visitors gathered to attend the three-day Exhibition held at the Millennium Hall last week. A ministerial forum between Finance, Mines, Industry, Planning & Development, Urban & Infrastructure ministries and Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) was held on the first day to discuss investment opportunities in construction. Unskilled human power, flawed project management, and deficient business linkage were cited as the major hurdles to the construction by Chaltu Sani, minister of Urban Development & Infrastructure. Although construction accounts for 19pc GDP, showing 11pc growth in the past few years, it has been plagued with intricate challenges that have bottlenecked its growth. Ahmed  Shide, minister of Finance, disclosed their plan to expand Public Private Partnerships (PPP) by structuring transferability and sustainability guarantees through incentives for domestic and international investors. He said insurmountable public spending on infrastructure has greatly contributed to the galloping inflation despite 60-65pc of the government's budget going to construction. State Minister for Planning & Development, Sandokan Debebe, announced the 10-year infrastructure, irrigation, and energy development plan. According to Sandokan, 224,000km of road will be built by 2033, doubling the current reality. The Ministry has plans to quadruple the energy output to 20,000MW by expanding transmission lines. "There are a lot of investment opportunities," he said.


Radar

Tech Ministry Falters as Audits Expose Mismanagement, Unmet Ambitions

The Ministry of Innovation & Technology is under scrutiny after an audit revealed lapses in project management and financial oversight. This raised questions about governance standards within a Ministry central to the country's tech-driven growth ambitions. According to the Federal Auditor General, the Ministry has completed only 11pc of its planned projects with its overall financial administration standing at 37.4pc for a year-long project that commenced in 2022. Budget mismanagement an...


Radar

Central Bank Keeps Lending Lid Tight as Inflation Squeezes Economy

The Central Bank has reaffirmed its decision to maintain an 18pc cap on credit growth, reinforcing a commitment to tighter monetary policy during persistent inflation and economic uncertainty. The National Bank of Ethiopia's (NBE) monetary policy committee cited ongoing concerns over inflation, which stood at 19.9pc year-on-year (YoY), and liquidity imbalances as reasons to uphold the restriction on lending. Bankers and analysts interpret this move as evidence of regulators' determination to...


Radar

Ethio Telecom Expands Services with DStv Streaming

Ethio telecom enters the entertainment pool with bundled DStv streaming services through high-speed broadband internet and mobile data packages. The partnership with MultiChoice Ethiopia aspires to merge the telecom's fiber broadband and mobile network with DStv's content. Subscribers can access DStv channels through mobile data or fiber broadband bundles, with discounts of up to 35pc through Telebirr or My Ethiotel (*999#) and up to 26.5pc at sales centers for fiber broadband bundles. Acc...