With a view to to ease challenges in the industry and improve the effectiveness of its service delivery, The Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas of Ethiopia is reorganizing itself and formulating new policies. Six committees, which will oversee the reform, will be set up from the Office of state ministers, the Ethiopian Geological Survey and the Ministry itself.

Outlining policy frameworks for the mining and natural gas industries, restructuring the human resources of the institution and enhancing the information and communication technologies at the Ministry are the main areas to be considered in the reforms.

The Ministry’s Public Relations and Communications Director, Ato Michael Mengesha, said the projects aim at alleviating the challenges that the industry faces adding that “The sector has been dealing with problems of illegal trading, information gap and poor technological advancements.”

The income generated from the industry is declining. In the 2016/17 year, the ministry aimed to get USD 780.87 million but only earned 27.4% of its goal showing a 31% decline from the previous year. In the 2017/18 fiscal year, USD 133.5 million was generated from the industry. The Ministry ascribes the revenue problem to illegal trading, political instability and a lack of new entrants.

The reorganization will establish offices of Mines, Petroleum & Natural Gas at regional levels. Unlike many federal institutions, the Ministry does not have its own structure at a regional level. Instead, it operates by merging with water, irrigation and electricity offices.

Source: Addis Fortune