The National Bank of Ethiopia will inject $90 million (about 83 million euros) into the Tigray region’s capital, Mekelle, to solve the cash crisis in the city, the former stronghold of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TFLP), in a further step towards reconciliation after two years of violent armed conflict.
The situation in the city has been relatively calm since the signing of the cessation of hostilities agreement in Pretoria (South Africa), but the lack of cash in circulation has greatly hindered the recovery of this town, a key trading center in the north of the country.
For this reason, the country’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has ordered to increase the liquidity with a provision that multiplies exponentially the initial amount (about 350,000 euros) destined to the local economy.
The statement of the National Bank of Ethiopia, picked up by the Ethiopian state broadcaster, FANA, confirms that the first batch of this new consignment will leave this coming Monday in the direction of the city.
Hours earlier, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education had announced the beginning of the reconstruction process of more than 70 schools destroyed by the war between the Ethiopian Army and the TPLF.
The reconstruction will be financed by the World Bank (WB), the German charity Menschen für Menschen and the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund (DTF), and will begin in the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, also affected by the conflict.
The Ethiopian Minister of Education, Professor Berhanu Nega, has assured that the schools will be built in compliance with the relevant standard and with the necessary infrastructure, according to statements reported by the ‘Addis Standard’.
The announcement follows the meeting held on Friday between the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and a delegation of the TPLF for the first time since the signing of the peace agreement in Pretoria (South Africa) in November last year, which set the guidelines for peace.
On the international front, the Somali government is also expected to approve shortly an expansion of direct flights from Mogadishu to Mekelle from three to five daily, Somalia’s national security advisor Redwan Hussien told Garowe on Line.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
