Protest in Amhara, Oromo takes toll on economy

ESAT News (October 24, 2016)

The year long anti-government protest in the Oromo and Amhara regions is bearing negative impact on Ethiopia’s economy.

According to the Central Statistics Agency of Ethiopia, inflation has increased by 7% in September. The price of food items, which has increased by 4.4% in August, has shot up by 6% in September.

The Agency said the price of dairy products and meat have also shown a significant increase.

The worsening inflation and the increase in price in food have distressed the country’s economy, according to the Agency.

The news comes in sharp contrast to the rhetoric of economic success by the regime that has been claiming double digit growth for the past decade, But independent economists and think-tanks give the country a  six percent  growth rate at the most.

The shutting down and destruction of several businesses in the ongoing uprising, the monopolization of business by the oligarchic regime, which benefits only the selected few, as well as the drought affecting at least 15 million people have challenged the validity of the narrative by the regime and its allies that Ethiopia’s economy is rising.