Ethiopia's State Minister for Finance, Eyob Tekalign, announced that the country's inflation rate has decreased to 15%, a significant drop from the previous 28%.
Responding to questions from citizens, State Minister Eyob acknowledged that the impact of the cost of living varies between rural and urban populations. He stated that the income of most farmers and pastoralists has increased by 18%, attributing this rise to the success of initiatives such as cluster farming and the "Bounty of Baskets" program implemented following reforms in the agricultural sector. "The surge in Ethiopia's agricultural productivity is remarkable, and it is positively impacting the living standards of farmers," he noted.
Referring to a recent survey on cluster farming, Eyob explained that agricultural productivity saw a 29 percent increase, leading to the 18 percent income growth for farmers. He clarified, "Therefore, pastoral and farming communities do not experience inflation in the same way as those in urban areas who rely on monthly salaries. The concerns raised by employees dependent on monthly salaries about the cost of living are understandable."
To address the disparity faced by salaried employees, the state minister highlighted that salary increases of up to 300% were implemented after the launch of macroeconomic reforms. However, he admitted, "This measure does not fully solve the problem. Government sector salaries remain insufficient. We need to make further adjustments after the civil service sector reform is complete, tax collection is optimized, and public service delivery is improved."
Eyob Tekalign emphasized the success of this aspect of the macroeconomic reform, stating, "It has successfully lowered the cost of living from 28% to 15%. However, we must not overlook the ongoing burden on our people, and we need to intensify our efforts in boosting production and productivity."
In a separate session focused on citizen engagement, Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Asefa, addressed public concerns regarding the availability of foreign currency for investments. Providing a detailed explanation, Minister Fitsum asserted that the current foreign currency reserves in banks are significantly better compared to previous years, a result of various measures undertaken over the past seven months.
"Banks have purchased USD5.1 billion in foreign currency from the National Bank of Ethiopia through two auction phases and have sold USD4.4 billion. This has enabled profitable investment projects to access the necessary funds," she stated.