The executive committee of the Prosperity Party (PP), the ruling party in Ethiopia, has forecasted a national economic growth of 8.4% for the current fiscal year, which ends on July 7.
This growth is attributed to strong performances in agriculture, industry, manufacturing, construction, and services, reports the Ethiopian News Agency.
The committee stated that the country has made encouraging progress in political, economic, social, and diplomatic areas.
Peace is gradually returning to previously unstable areas, with the government’s peace initiatives leading to the surrender of an increasing number of fighters, the committee noted.
Revenue generated from exports of key commodities such as wheat, rice, coffee, tea, and fruits also saw substantial growth, with increases ranging from 82% to 386%. Ethiopia’s total export revenues for the first nine months of the year surpassed 5 billion USD, marking a 150.39% increase, according to the PP.
In terms of employment, about 344,000 foreign jobs and more than 3 million domestic jobs were created over the past nine months. In the education sector, the "Education for Generations" initiative unlocked around 614 million USD for the construction of nearly 7,000 schools, particularly to assist in the rehabilitation of populations affected by conflicts.
As part of ongoing macroeconomic reforms, the government has also expanded social assistance programs aimed at protecting vulnerable populations, allocating 62 billion birr for fertilizer subsidies, 41.2 billion birr for the social safety net program, and 60 billion birr for fuel subsidies.
