
My Opinion | Oct 02,2021
April 16 , 2022
By Eden Sahle ( Eden Sahle is founder and CEO of Yada Technology Plc. She has studied law with a focus on international economic law. She can be reached at edensah2000@gmail.com. )
Last week, as I was travelling to Frankfurt, Germany, my country sent me to a foreign nation empty-handed. I had a visa and a plane ticket, all the documents banks required to sell Euros to me. But none of the banks I was directed to had euros or dollars to sell. Some of the bank staff advised me to seek the black market instead of wasting my time with formal channels.
I was fortunate enough to have my hosts in Europe cover all my expenses abroad but such is not the case for all travellers. Both business and leisure travellers face this stubborn problem that has become entrenched. Citizens are denied a right to access foreign currency and then punished when they take matters into their own hands as a desperate measure to going empty-handed.
As I went through the security check to board the plane, a few passengers were weeping because some foreign currency was found in their luggage during the search. Their crime was that their passport did not have a bank stamp confirming they had gone through formal channels. Their foreign currency was confiscated and they were forced to pay a fine before being allowed to fly. Those who escaped the security check with foreign currency bought from the black market were vocal about their frustration with practices that consider this problem an acceptable norm. They told us the illegal things they do to bypass the security check working closely with the thriving and interlinked local and international black market and local officials.
Our own country makes our lives worse than it already is in so many ways when we obey the law. These travellers were denied access from banks. Without having someone supporting them abroad, they were expected to fly empty-handed and do business without cash. Their desperate decision to buy from the black market got them financially penalised.
In my travels abroad and meeting public officials on board, I have found that such things never bother them as they are supplied with per diems in foreign currency with public tax money. The outcry is a distant problem for them to understand.
This time, when I travelled to Frankfurt, boarding with us in economy class was Birtukan Mideksa, chairperson of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, as well as a former federal high court judge who is a favourite of mine and my father's. She was down to earth, a good sign from a public servant. But they also need to go through challenges like us to find solutions for everyone. A lack of foreign currency access should be their headache too, as it is for ordinary citizens who are contributing to the battement of the nation in their own ways. Change starts by appreciating the challenge the public faces.
Sometimes it is puzzling we face so many challenges in our own country than elsewhere. We are more ill-treated in our homeland than anywhere. In my experience of travelling to other continents, including other African countries, I have learned how much citizens are protected by their own governments. They are not left with no option as we are oftentimes. This might be one reason so many Ethiopians flee their country.
The foreign currency shortage crisis is not a headache for individuals only but companies and the nation at large and is a considerable challenge for the sustainable development of Ethiopia.
The foreign currency shortage is not new. It is no surprise that the Ethiopian Birr continues to be weaker against a basket of other major currencies. Structural deficiencies and the country’s weak export earnings capacity are the major contributing factors to the country’s never-ending foreign currency crises. The nation is spinning in circles with the same old problem. Decades later, little has changed.
Beyond the challenges, individuals and companies increasing exported goods can address much of Ethiopia’s hurdles in its growth path. The country will not grow by closing its doors and keeping its citizens from travelling. In the era of globalisation, learning from other nations’ experiences and interacting with the rest of the world is what can benefit Ethiopia and its struggling people, who are desperate for lasting and sustainable change.
Accepting problems as a norm never got the country anywhere. The country should feel its people’s pain and do something to change the undesirable realities dragging us deeper into disaster.
Solutions do not come by themselves. This is where our problem-solving skills and determination to bring practical changes will get tested. This will not just eradicate poverty but also encourage the public to play its role in this noble cause of achieving growth, if not for us but at least for the next generation. Official declarations mean little if nothing changes on the ground and the public's burden is eased.
PUBLISHED ON
Apr 16,2022 [ VOL
23 , NO
1146]
My Opinion | Oct 02,2021
Life Matters | Jun 20,2020
Radar | Jul 31,2021
View From Arada | Aug 24,2019
Covid-19 | Apr 08,2020
Radar | Jan 09,2021
View From Arada | Dec 11,2020
Radar | Mar 28,2020
Viewpoints | Oct 19,2019
Radar | Nov 29,2020
Photo Gallery | 52135 Views | May 06,2019
Fortune News | 45513 Views | Jul 18,2020
Photo Gallery | 43815 Views | Apr 26,2019
In-Picture | 42142 Views | Dec 14,2019
November 27 , 2021
Against my will, I have witnessed the most terrible defeat of reason and the most sa...
November 13 , 2021
Plans and reality do not always gel. They rarely do in a fast-moving world. Every act...
October 16 , 2021 . By HAWI DADHI
Residing in a country with no capital market, an organised marketplace for trading se...
August 28 , 2021 . By HAWI DADHI
The streets of Addis Abeba are as varied as they are many, although too many of them have yet to be named. From the narrow alleyways of the...
May 21 , 2022
There was a great deal of handshaking and patting each other on the back at the Hyatt...
May 14 , 2022
Diana Yohannes is one of those actively engaging in social media platforms with her T...
May 7 , 2022
The Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA) recently proposed the formation of a macroec...
April 30 , 2022
There is no ambiguity in the UNDP's assessment of Ethiopia’s economic performance a...
May 21 , 2022 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
Efforts to form the country's first-ever capital market took a meaningful step last...
May 21 , 2022 . By TSION HAILEMICHAEL
Trade regulators have warned exporters to immediately ship oilseeds and cash crops...
May 28 , 2022
Federal officials are moving forward with a belated initiative to form a regulatory...
May 21 , 2022 . By TSION HAILEMICHAEL
A consortium of agrochemical importers has pleaded with central bank authorities for...
Put your comments here