Ethiopia’s Resilient Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) presents a clear way forward with a structure and a common response plan to effectively meet the critical recovery needs of the Ethiopian people, Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide said.

Ethiopia’s recovery and reconstruction conference was held today, which was aimed at discussing the recently completed Damage and Needs Assessment (DaNA) report and recovery plan for Ethiopia.

Higher government officials, chief administrators of regional states, diplomatic corps, representatives of development partners, among other pertinent stakeholders, attended the conference.

Speaking at the conference, Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide said following the peace agreement, Ethiopia is looking ahead to rebuild, rehabilitate and revitalize communities and economy across the whole nation.

Today’s launch of Ethiopia’s Resilient Recovery and Reconstruction Framework, referred as 3RF, reflects on what has been affected by the conflict, he stated.

He added: “it [3RF] presents a clear way forward with a structure and a common response plan to effectively meet with the critical recovery needs of the Ethiopian people.”

This recovery plan, which aimed to address the needs not just in the conflict affected regions but also the overall macroeconomic issues at large facing the country, according to the minister.

This will be implemented in tandem with Ethiopia’s Ten Year Development Plan as well as the second phase of the homegrown economic reform agenda, he added.

Early relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts are already undergoing in various parts of the country, he said, adding the government of Ethiopia has allocated a budget for this fiscal year dedicated for the reconstruction and recovery needs.

This is separate from the budget allocated for humanitarian response, while projects have been reprioritized to fulfill the current reconstruction needs. “Yet more needs to be done urgently and diligently,” the minister said.

He pointed out that good plan alone is not enough, for this reason significant emphasis is placed on how the reconstruction process is undertaken.

Accordingly, the 3RF has laid out clear guiding principles and mechanisms that promote, among others, transparency, inclusion as well as citizen engagement, he added.

Moreover, the minister stressed that Ethiopia will continue to implement reforms that focus on macro-economic growth and economic stabilization as well as enhancing the role of private sectors in the economy.

This includes removing macro-economic inbalances and creating sufficient physical space for the government to finance effective recovery, he elaborated.

Noting a strong recovery will also require a vibrant private sector, he said that Ethiopia will continue to work and to restore business confidence.

To this end, we are ready to take necessary steps to create an improved and enabling environment for investment and business.

The government is fully committed to implementing these reforms, but it requires support from our development partners, he stressed.

It also developed a recovery and reconstruction plan to lay the foundation for the reconstruction process, and established institutional arrangements to implement the recovery.

The DaNA quantifies the conflict’s direct damages to physical assets and economic losses on livelihoods, social, infrastructure, and productive sectors, as well as the macroeconomic and poverty impacts.

The report also identifies the total recovery needs, estimated at 20 billion USD over 5 years, it was indicated.

Ethiopia’s Resilient Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (2023-2028) is the overarching framework for use by the government and partners to plan, coordinate, finance, and manage the recovery through efficient, timely, and well-coordinated efforts with the involvement of all stakeholders and support from the international community.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency