- Ethiopia puts forward a 15 billion birr as liquidity for private banks to support businesses
- State Minister of Finance announced plans for larger measures depending on the impact of the pandemic
The Ethiopian government is considering schemes to mitigate the economic impact in the face of a growing coronavirus epidemic, the country’s State Minister of Finance said.
Eyob Tekalign said in an interview with the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) on Tuesday that the government was discussing a package of measures to help sectors likely to be affected, should the country enters a complete lockdown.
‘The macroeconomic team led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been looking at two scenarios, a best-case scenario, and a worst-case scenario,’ the State Minister of Finance said. ‘The current situation is what we call the best-case scenario. Sectors such as tourism, the airline, hospitality, flower export are already suffering huge losses. If things take turn for the worse, and the country enters complete lockdown, various recovery packages would be applied,’ he said.
Such a move would address requests by the flower and tourism industries for a grace period to help them retain their employees for two or three months and working capital. ‘The main focus is on those sectors that have been affected more than others and to support people through these difficult times,’ Eyob said.
To address that the National Bank of Ethiopia would inject 15 billion Ethiopian birr as liquidity for private banks, he said. The State Minister said there are also plans for larger fiscal measures to support businesses and delivering food for those in need. The government would do its level best to prevent the temporary economic hit resulting from those costs having a permanent impact, he concluded.
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