Measures taken by government help withstand pressures, maintain economic growth

Addis Ababa, March 4, 2022 (FBC) – The State Minister of the Finance Ministry, Eyob Tekalign (PhD) said that the economic growth has shown remarkable progress withstanding pressures on account of measures taken by the government to tackle the problems.

In an exclusive interview with FBC, the State Minister stated that measurements indicate that Ethiopia has registered economic growth despite various challenges. He indicated that various measures taken by the government to mitigate the challenges have helped maintain the economic growth.

Regarding the agricultural sector, Eyob noted that Ethiopia has managed to cover 336,000 ha of land with irrigation surpassing the plan put in place to cover 300,000 ha of land during the current season.

“It doesn’t mean that the Coronavirus and the pandemic didn’t affect the economy of the country,” he stressed.

The COVID 19 pandemic has negatively affected the implementation of the homegrown economic reforms, according to Eyob. But, he said, the homegrown economic reform has helped the country mitigate the pressures.

It has been possible to enable industry sector operate with 45pct of its capacity, near to what was planned in this regard, the State Minister noted.

“Although it is difficult to fully substitute imported items with local products, the ongoing effort are bring about promising results to achieve the goal through time,”

Concerning the Russia-Ukraine situation, the crisis will impact Ethiopia for both countries are trade partners of Ethiopia, he said.