UK Pledges £105m for Land Mgmt, Industrialisation

Aug 1 , 2020


The government of the UK and Ethiopia have signed a grant agreement amounting to 105 million pounds to support land certification, improved rural land administration and industrialisation. Ahmed Shide, minister of Finance, and James Duddridge (MP), Minister for Africa of the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Department of International Development, signed the grant agreement on July 28, 2020. The grant will be used for the Land Investment for Transformation and the Accelerated Ethiopia Economics Transformation programmes. The programmes will be implemented in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and Southern Nations, Nationalities & People's regional states. The UK has pledged 60 million pounds for phase two of the Land Investment for Transformation programme, which is aimed at transforming the land certification and market system in the regional states. It incorporates second-level land certification for seven million parcels of land and computerisation of 103 weredas' land administration systems where the second-level land certification occur. The second part of the grant, with 45 million euros, will go toward the Accelerated Ethiopia Economics Transformation programme, designed to support industrialisation. It is expected to create 40,000 new jobs and generate 25 million pounds of private investment in four fully operational industrial parks. The initiative is also expected to strengthen federal and regional institutions and the regulatory and policy environment within which businesses operate.


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...