Central Bank GovernorThe Governor of Ethiopia’s central bank pulled no punches in acknowledging citizens are struggling with an unrelenting cost of living surge, conceding “too high” inflation in the East African nation has climbed to unjustifiable highs. “We have a cost-of-living crisis,” Mamo Mihretu, governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), said in his speech at the opening of the 20th Ethiopian Economics Association International Conference on Ethiopia’s economy, laying bare that prices have skyrocketed for essentials like fuel, food and fertilizer, placing a heavy burden on household budgets. He noted that prices of essentials like fuel and food have nearly doubled in some cases in recent years. “Inflation has risen sharply here at home and elsewhere partly fueled by surging energy, food, and fertilizer prices,” Mamo said, citing fuel costs as an example. “Our priority for this new fiscal year is thus to reverse this state of affairs.”The Governor’s speech aligns with plans outlined in a Central Bank tweet from two months ago, on May 29, 2023.

Source: Ethiopian News July 22, 2023 10:23 UTC