The recently-restructured Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) is anticipated to oversee two essential government activities, industry zone management and export promotion, which are considered to be critical for the transformation of the country to industrialization.
According The Reporter’s sources, the commission is set to bring under its wings the industrial zones development corporation of the Ministry of Industry and Export Promotion Directorate General which was under the Ministry of Trade. Sources also said that these two government offices have been prioritized by the government to scale-up Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) activities and the export earnings of the country. Most of the FDIs coming to Ethiopia are preferred to be export-oriented. Hence, the Office of the Prime Minister is considering the commission to be best suited to manage these two governmental agencies, sources said.
Getahun Negash, public relations officer of the EIC, confirmed to the The Reporter that there are certain moves to muscle up EIC, but said that there are no official assignments given to the commission so far. Attempts made by The Reporter to get a response from the Office of the Prime Minister to further explain and comment as to why such the restructuring was required was unsuccessful.
The House of Peoples’ Representatives has amended the proclamation which constituted the EIC a few months back. The amended proclamation (Proclamation No. 849/2014) stated that Industrial Zone Development Corporation, a body that is assigned to oversee the development of industrial parks in Ethiopia, will be under the investment board, which is also a supervisory body to EIC and is chaired by Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn. However, the recent move, according to sources, is intended to give more functioning power to EIC.
Similarly, the Ministry of Trade, which three years ago was part and parcel of the Ministry of Industry, was heading the export promotion directorate general. Sisay Gemechu, state minister of Industry was appointed in 2013 to head the industrial zones development.
The definition of the industry zone further elaborated to include the development of urban centers, special economic zones, industrial parks, technology parks, export processing zones, free trade zones and the likes which are to be designated by the investment board. The previous proclamation was contained to define industrial development zone as it is “an area with distinct boundary designed by the appropriate organ to develop identical, similar and interrelated industries together or to develop multi-faceted industries based on a plan fulfilling infrastructures such as road, electric power, and water and having incentive schemes with purposes containing industrial development, mitigating the impacts of environmental pollution as administering urban areas with plan and system”, it stated. Besides the industrial development zones are to be developed either by the government, by the joint venture with the private sector or by the private sector alone.
The export promotion directorate general on the other hand, led by Assefa Mulugeta, has also been restructured recently to oversee both agricultural and manufactured commodities of the country and to seek ways which would promote the exports of the country.
The recent commitment of USD 250 by World Bank to finance the state-owned two-phased Bole Lemi Industrial zone has encouraged 22 factory units to come to Ethiopia. Among the stationed factories, the Taiwanese, Hong Kongese and South Koreans are some worth mentioning.
[TheReporterEthiopia]