Mayor Adanech Abiebie has announced that the city’s strategic plan to control the rising cost of living and curb attempts by merchants to pressure the community with price hikes has yielded positive results.
The Mayor acknowledged that traders had been imposing unnecessary financial stress on residents by artificially inflating prices, often citing various excuses, particularly around major holidays.
To counteract this inflation, the city implemented measures focused on reforming the supply chain. This included establishing special market centers where products are sourced directly from producers, effectively eliminating the broker chain and linking producers directly with consumers.
"We focused intensely on answering the public’s demands," the Mayor stated, adding that by establishing cooperative centers, the city created a system that allows consumers to purchase goods from these markets at both retail and wholesale prices.
Furthermore, Mayor Adanech disclosed that the city allocated a specific budget to enhance the efforts to stabilize living costs, enabling cooperative societies to bring products into the capital through robust supply chain partnerships.
In line with a directive from Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the city worked to significantly shorten the supply chain to facilitate the entry of essential goods from every region into Addis Ababa.
The city also intensified its focus on strengthening the established trade corporation, ensuring it can consistently supply products at reasonable prices, a move the Mayor credited with achieving "significant change."
In addressing the needs of the most vulnerable, the Mayor confirmed that the administration subsidized low-income residents who struggled to afford basic necessities. Specifically, through the holiday-focused "meal-sharing" initiative, subsidies were provided to over 500,000 low-income residents of the city.
Mayor Adanech concluded by urging the continuation of this charitable practice, which saw the participation of the city’s investors and is becoming a civic custom that reinforces community solidarity, unity, and mutual care.
