Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: The Ethiopian government on Monday announced an 8.3 percent economic growth projection for the next Ethiopian 2017 fiscal year.
The announcement was made by Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development, as she disclosed the country aims to achieve an 8.3 percent economic growth in the 2017 Ethiopian fiscal year, which starts on July 8th.
Speaking to state-news agency ENA, the plan minister said based on the main macroeconomic sector performances over the past 10 months, indicators suggest a 7.9 percent economic growth for the current fiscal year.
According Fitsum, the execution in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and other sectors is enabling the realization of the set economic growth targets.
She said in the manufacturing sector, productivity has been increasing following the implementation of ‘Made in Ethiopia’ campaign, which provides input and financial support to factories to operate at full capacity. The mining sector has seen improvements in gold and cement production, with cement output surpassing last year’s by over 1 million tons.
She further stressed that the country’s service sector has been also showing gradual improvement in the recent months.
Earlier this month, the Ethiopian Council of Ministers has endorsed a record budget of close to one trillion birrs for the upcoming 2017 Ethiopian fiscal year. The record budget of “close to one trillion birrs” (amounting to about 17.5 billion U.S. dollars) has been endorsed by Ethiopia’s executive body for the upcoming 2017 fiscal year, which is set to start early next month.
According to Ethiopia’s Finance Minister Ahmed Shide, the budget was prepared with an overarching goal of ensuring the continuity of ongoing and planned economic reforms, while also stabilizing the country’s macro-economy.
(PHOTO shows Fitsum Assefa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Planning and Development. Credit – ENA)
