Dokument #1125327
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
According to the president of the Ethiopian
Canadian Association of Ottawa, the Ethiopian government lacks and
needs foreign exchange. It is illegal for anyone to be in
possession of hard currency, especially US$, as all foreign
currency has to be declared upon entry into the country. At that
time each person will be given a document recording the amount of
foreign currency declared. The National Bank of Ethiopia is the
only institution permitted to trade in foreign currency. It is
necessary to show proof of legal foreign exchange where the
official bank stamp is evident on the foreign currency document
obtained on entry. At the same time, any foreign currency spent on
items in government operated hotel souvenir shops, must be
officially stamped in each individual foreign currency
document.
However, the government's attempts to
control the foreign exchange situation is evidenced by the thriving
black market. At the present time, the official exchange rate is
Eth. Birr $2.05 to the US$, while the black market rate is Eth.
Birr $5.00-6.00 to the US$.
No one is permitted to open a foreign bank
account in Ethiopia, at least until three years ago. It is also of
no consequence to the government what ethnic group a person belongs
to, regarding a private foreign bank account. Members of the
business community who have been granted "import and export
licences" are permitted to apply for foreign exchange to the
National Bank of Ethiopia. The rules are strict and one would have
to prove the necessity for the business venture, and the profit to
the country.
There is no corroborating information from
published sources, presently available to the IRBDC, regarding this
topic.