The case for partial privatization of Ethio telecom - Ethiopia Insight

The case for partial privatization of Ethio telecom  - Ethiopia Insight

Ethio telecom is not a ‘cash cow’ as has often been claimed. It is an indebted malfunctioning liability holding back Ethiopia’s economy.
Last December, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a “homegrown” economic reform blueprint to further the ambitious initiative of making Ethiopia a middle-income country by 2025 and an “African Icon of Prosperity” by 2030.
The initiative, under the guidance of his hybrid Medemer philosophy, aims to overcome the structural and institutional hurdles facing Ethiopia through macroeconomic, structural, and sectoral reforms.  The “homegrown” design of the program is a shrewd move by the administration to disentangle itself from ideological attachments.
As with recent previous government economic blueprints, the Homegrown Economic Reform program was developed to accommodate both the opportunities of the free market and the role of the state to address the country’s economic challenges—although with a tilt towards the non-state sector.
It envisages boosting the private sector’s contribution to the overall economy by opening up major public enterprises (Ethiopian Airlines, Ethio telecom, Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, and Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprises) to private and foreign investment.
Ethio telecom is the first major enterprise to be put on the table and the process is now in its final stages.

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