General News

Ethiopia approves new finance minister to spur manufacturing

Date: Oct 7, 2015

Ethiopian lawmakers have approved a cabinet proposed by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, bringing in a new finance minister whose job will include attracting foreign investment and developing a manufacturing sector.

The ruling EPRDF coalition and allied parties swept all seats in the 547-member parliament three months ago.

On Monday, legislators unanimously endorsed Hailemariam, a former university dean, to serve his first full term since taking over as prime minister in 2012 after the death of long-serving leader Meles Zenawi.

Among few high-profile changes, Hailemariam appointed Abdulaziz Mohammed as Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation to replace long-serving Sufian Ahmed, who was a candidate for the African Development Bank presidency earlier this year.

Abdulaziz, who previously served as a mayor in eastern Ethiopia and deputy president of the Oromiya region, will now head a body crucial in implementing the five-year development plan set for parliamentary approval in the next few weeks.

Offering cheap labour and power supply in its industry parks, as well as improving transport, Ethiopia wants to be a hub for textiles and other industries by attracting investors who are moving some manufacturing plants from China and other Asian markets, where costs are rising.

The Growth and Transformation Plan II targets annual economic growth rates of around 11 percent for the next five years, and seeks to raise manufacturing output by up to 24 percent a year for that period.

The International Monetary Fund said gross domestic product GDP grew 8.7 percent in the fiscal year ending July 8. On Wednesday, 49-year-old Hailemariam appointed Abdulaziz's predecessor Sufian Ahmed as an advisor on fiscal policy.

Elsewhere, he retained Tedros Adhanom as Foreign Minister and Siraj Fegesa as Defense Minister in his appointments, while Demeke Mekonnen, Communications and Information Technology Minister Debretsion Gebremichael and Civil Service Minister Aster Mamo were re-appointed as Deputy Prime Ministers.

"I am nominating those we believe have the leadership and capacity required for the Growth and Transformation Plan II to be successfully implemented," Hailemariam said in a speech in parliament.

The prime minister's post runs for five years with the next election due in 2020. Four region-based parties make up the EPRDF - the TigrayanPeople's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Oromo People's Democratic Movement (OPDM), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and the Southern Ethiopian People's Democratic Movement (SEPDM).

With no opposition parties in parliament, the ruling coalition's opponents complain they are sidelined.

--reuters--

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