Consulate General of the F. D. R. of Ethiopia in Saint Paul, Minnesota

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Ethiopia is Africa’s fastest-growing economy for 2019

According to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) Economic Outlook for Africa, Ethiopia’s economy is forecast to grow 8.5% this Ethiopian fiscal year, which ends on 7^th July 2019.

The report says Ethiopia will continue to be the fastest growing economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Rwanda with 7.8% and Senegal with 6.7% growth.

Deputy Director of the IMF Africa Department, David Robinson said Ethiopia’s growth was driven by the service sector and better domestic and foreign investment.

Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to be 3.1% in 2018, up by 0.4% from last year.

…IMF praises Ethiopia’s economic growth

The International Monetary Fund has praised Ethiopia’s remarkable progress over more than a decade, which has led to a significant reduction in poverty and improved living standards for many Ethiopians.

The country’s large infrastructure investments are beginning to bear fruit and the provision of public services such as education and health has increased dramatically. As a result, the population has enjoyed important welfare gains, the report said.

The number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births fell radically from 1,080 in 1995 to 353 in 2015 and the proportion of people living in poverty fell from over 45% in 1995 to around 23% in 2015.

In 2017-18, Ethiopia’s economic growth dipped to 7.7% due to reduced government public expenditure aimed at tackling the growing current account deficit and indebtedness. Political uncertainty and severe foreign exchange shortages also dampened growth.

As the political climate settles and investment recovers, growth is expected to recover to 8.5% this fiscal year, and the current account deficit should continue to narrow.

In their report, IMF staff said they expect inflation – which currently exceeds the single-digit target – to continue to fall due to an appropriately tight monetary policy.

Analysis carried out jointly by IMF staff and UN Women finds that the government’s agenda of promoting gender equality could yield large economic benefits over time. Closing gender gaps in educational attainment, formal labour force participation rates, and access to quality land and other resources are key to realizing these benefits.

The new government has made progress in this area. They have appointed a gender balanced cabinet, while women have been placed in key decision-making positions, including the presidency and the head of the Supreme Court.

Read the full report at http://bit.ly/IMFet

ለንግድ የማይውሉ የግል መገልገያ እቃዎችን በተመለከተ ወጥ የሆነ የታክስ አወሳሰን መመሪያ

የኢፌዲሪ ገንዘብና ኢኮኖሚ ትብብር ሚኒስቴር በጉምሩክ አዋጅ ቁጥር 859/2009 በተሰጠው ስልጣን መሰረት ለንግድ የማይውሉ የግል መገልገያ እቃዎችን በተመለከተ ወጥ የሆነ የታክስ አወሳሰን መመሪያ አውጥቷል፡፡ በመመሪያው አንቀጽ 2(4) መሰረት ከውጭ ተመላሽ ኢትዮጵያውያን ወይም ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያውያን ከቀረጥና ታክስ ነፃ እና ቀረጥና ታክስ ከፍለው ማስገባት እንዲችሉ ፈቅዷል፡፡ በዚሁ መሰረት
ቀረጥና ታክስ ነፃ ወይም/ እና ቀረጥና ታክስ ከፍለው የሚያስገቧቸው እቃዎች መጠንና ዝርዝር ከመመሪያው ጋር በተያያዘ ሰንጠረዥ “ሠ” እና “ረ” ክፍል ውስጥ ተዘርዝረዋል፡፡ በዚሁ ዝርዝር መሰረት ሊያስገቡ የፈለጉትን እቃ በመምረጥ የድጋፍ ደብዳቤ ከቆንስላ ጀኔራል ጽ/ቤቱ ሊወስዱ የሚችሉ መሆኑን እናሳውቃለን፡፡

Ethiopian Recognized as Company of the Year by All Africa Business Leaders Award Addis Ababa, 5 December 2018

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest Aviation Group in Africa and SKYTRAX Certified Four Star Global Airline is pleased to announce that it has been crowned Company of the Year by All Africa Business Leaders Award (AABLA) on 29 November 2018 in Sandton, Johannesburg. Ethiopian Group CEO, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, has also been listed among the finalist in the Business Leader of the Year category of the Award.

All Africa Business Leaders Award honors business excellence and leaders, who have made a considerable impact on their industry and community.

Regarding the award, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “We are honored to receive the prestigious award of Company of the Year by All Africa Business Leaders Award organized by CNBC. The award is yet another testimony of the success Ethiopian continues to register thanks to its Vision 2025 fast, profitable and sustainable growth roadmap. This award is first and foremost due to the dedication and commitment of my 16,000 colleagues who work day and night to make the airline successful.

Ethiopian now operates over 108 aircraft to 60 African and 117 international destinations covering 5 continents. Our extensive African and international network play a critical role in the integration and economic development of the continent by enabling the flow of tourism, trade and investment.”

It is to be recalled that recently Ethiopian also won 2018 Best Airlines in Africa Award for the 7^th year in a row from African Airlines Association (AFRAA).