APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics on Tuesday announced that it will not allow vehicles to enter into the country unless they are electric ones.
The ministry made the announcement while it presented a six-month performance report to the Urban Development and Transport Standing Committee in the House of People’s Representatives (Ethiopian Parliament).
Alemu Sime, Minister of Transport and Logistics, announced the completion of Ethiopia’s Logistics Master Plan involving implementation of “Green Transport” in the east African nation.
“A decision has been made that automobiles cannot enter Ethiopia unless they are electric ones,” Sime stated.
However, the affordability of electric cars for a significant portion of the Ethiopian population poses a potential challenge while not forgetting the percentage of the population able to afford a car remains negligible.
He further explained that efforts to establish charging stations for electric cars are in progress. One of the reasons behind this decision is Ethiopia’s inability to afford importing gasoline due to limited foreign exchange resources – according to the minister.
Am assuming they fear of becoming a dumping ground for all the other countries once they start transitioning. I live in a country surrounded by EU members and similar thing happened few times. Once EU increases emission restrictions from EURO4 to EURO5, all the EURO4 engines get sold for dirt cheap to neighboring countries. Not a bad deal in general as you can get very cheap vehicles not older than 10 years with relatively low mileages in good condition.
Am not sure how people not realize that buying a new car is more polluting to the environment than just using what you currently have.