It is not unprecedented for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to lend an amount much more substantial than what is prescribed in its members' quota. But it is rare for it to extend a generous loan 700pc larger than Ethiopia's quota under its Special Drawing Right (SDR). At 1,000pc more than its quota, it was Argentina that had received a larger loan than Ethiopia.
The IMF and other multilateral creditors are indeed showing their vote of confidence in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's (PhD) administration for its political opening up and economic policy liberalisation. The flow of cash in foreign exchange is a tap at the back for pursuing the economic reform agenda, designed to correct internal and external imbalances. Abiy's international supporters seem to realise that the stakes in Ethiopia have never been higher.
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