Saturday February 1, 2020
Ethiopian Parliament building
Ethiopian Parliament approved controversial investment law amendment which was tabled in the House in Decemeber 2019.
Ethiopian Parliament approved an amendment to the investment proclamation. The House passed it on Thursday during its 12th regular session, as reported by state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC).
Those who are in favor of it, seemingly prime minister Abiy Ahmed is the leading proponent of it, argues that the amendment will solve problems related to the investment climate in the country.
It also aims to increase revenue from foreign currency and create job opportunities for unemployed youth in the country.
The old investment law was in effect for seven years. The amended investment law approved as legislation 1180/2012, which means that the previous one (769/2005) will no longer work.
There was a heated debate when the amendment to the investment law was introduced in parliament in December 2019. A considerable number of Ethiopians opposed it too.
One of the controversial issues was that investors as set out in article 18 subsection 2 of the draft foreign investors in Ethiopia can get land to build a residential house.