Rosy reports are typical under the rule of the Revolutionary Democrats. Institutions do their best to highlight their positive performances and get praised for them. This trend is so pervasive within the state structure that government reports are received with grains of suspicion in academic and international financial sectors.

It is therefore not surprising to see that the first six-month report of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), the ultimate monetary authority, paints a blissful image of the economy. Led by Teklewold Atnafu, a governor treated more as a politician than technocratic policymaker, the central bank departed from popular perception in its report which declares that the economy is stable. This stability, according to the report, comes as a result of the tight monetary policy stance being followed in the fiscal year.

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