Addis Abeba – Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said decisive and swift action need to be taken against economic sabotage including hiding of products, illegal foreign exchange and land grabbing, which he said were “the main obstacles” challenging his administration’s journey towards realizing Ethiopia’s prosperity.
The statement highlighted that the country’s “journey to prosperity is best guided by our inner strength” by tapping into “the potential of our people, the natural and historical resources of our country, and the creative skills of the new generation.”
Despite difficult challenges, he said the government has managed to build “a resilient economy,” and that the main reason for this was the works to use internal capabilities to the fullest extent. “The support given to us from any side is an addition to our internal capacity and cannot be the main source of development.”
However, he indicated that the journey to prosperity by using this “inner potential is not without obstacles.” Economic sabotage, theft and hiding of products “have become our main challenges.”
“Hiding of products that should have been exported, illegal foreign exchange and land grabbing are the obstacles to prosperity that we need to take decisive and swift action against” PM Abiy said.
In order to be able to build an economy that will overcome the next challenges, we need two fold struggle: “destruction and development.”
“To destroy economic sabotages, theft and hiding of products requires the vital struggle by all of us,” while on the other hand, “we are expected to wage a fight for development by “increasing incomes and reducing expenditure significantly.”
According to PM Abiy, these two fold struggles “will allow us to develop our own policies and our own capabilities. The key to our development is in our hands.” AS
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