Corrupt governments such as the one in Ethiopia do not allow foreign and private investments in telecom and banking sectors of the economy for one one reason — to avoid accountability. The following is another disappointing economic news by Reuters about the insistence by Ethiopian government officials to keep those two industries for themselves, thereby keeping the Ethiopian economy starving for hard currency and efficient high tech infrastructure.
(Reuters) – Ethiopia is not yet ready for foreign investments in its telecoms and banking sectors, but is interested in developing its manufacturing, Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu said on Tuesday during a press conference with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda.
The country, which has one of the last state telecoms monopolies on the continent, has let foreign companies including fashion chain H&M set up factories in a decade-long push to change the economic focus from agriculture to manufacturing.
“Ethiopia is not ready yet for accepting investments in telecoms and finance,” Mulatu said during a joint news conference with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda.
“Our priority is manufacturing sector. Ethiopia opens door broadly for investments in manufacturing sectors such as textiles, skin products, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and agriculture,” Mulatu said.
