Persistence, Strict Discipline of Execution Key for Success of Reform, Says Finance State Minister

Addis Ababa December 27/2024 (ENA)—Ethiopia has been executing its macroeconomic reform with persistence and strict discipline of execution in order to realize the nation’s inclusive growth, Finance State Minister Eyob Tekalign said. 

In his latest interview with the Office of the Prime Minister, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to respond to generational aspiration.

Press Secretary Office of the Prime Minister, Billene Seyoum, interviewed the state minister,  who is also a member of the national macroeconomic committee.

The state minister stressed that the success of the reform registered in the various spheres is not only due to persistence and perseverance as well as the right idea and vision but also strict discipline of execution.

Prioritizing the private sector as one of key drivers of the economy, he affirmed what this reform did is rebalancing the role of the private and the public sectors and brought the private sector as the engine of the economic growth.

As an instance of the economic success in the country, Eyob cited the agriculture success. "We have managed to increase crop production by 200 million quintals. Now, Ethiopia is the number one wheat producer country in Africa.”

In manufacturing, the country has increased the utilization of productive capacity by 10 percent which has attracted significant investment.

Regarding tourism, "Ethiopia (has) now become an important tourism and conference destination. We organized 25 more events compared to the same period last year.” 

The state minister also commended the success in the digitization sector as the amount of digital transactions is now exceeding 9.7 trillion Birr.

Digital saving, digital credit and digitization also enable other sectors such as trade, agriculture, and manufacturing, among others.

Post-2018, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopians have imagined something big which completely changed the culture of economic management, political execution, planning and delivery, Eyob said.

Citing how projects are implemented, he noted that the corridor development is one of the manifestations of the new culture in executing projects.

The state minister also commended the Green Legacy initiative for planting 40 billion tree seedlings, which is impossible unless the mobilization of the entire public behind this vision.

Regarding the political commitment of the goverment, Eyob further said that the commitment of the government is to realize a lasting political settlement and create a unified, cohesive country where there is social cohesion, inclusive nation building and a collective drive for prosperity.

Recall that Ethiopia’s government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, has embarked on a sweeping reform for the last six years.