IS INFLATION OVER NOW?
Price rise has been a common practice for years. Many countries around the world have been affected by inflation since World War I and II and even before where the population had to face the rising cost of living with difficulties in earning a decent and sustainable living. Economists and experts in the financial sector are in a good position to identify the root cause of inflation and thus come up with constructive measures and solutions to alleviate the problem and relieve the financial struggle of most people as well as governments. Despite the continuous efforts made by these experts as well as others involved in macroeconomics, inflation continues to exist in the daily lives of people across the globe for decencies affecting their survival and daily living conditions. Although governmental and non-governmental institutions are working hard to overcome the existing economic challenges as well as the resulting negative consequences, they are not as strong as expected to manage the root cause of inflation and thus generate actions and good practices, including virtuous directions to overcome the resulting challenges. In writing this brief article, my intention is not to analyze the deep problem associated with high prices and inflation as economists and experts in the financial sector and macroeconomics would do, but simply to share with the public the experience I had last weekend when I went out shopping and having a coffee. I have background in social sciences and a few years of experience in the travel industry and customer service. As such, I would say my skills and knowledge in the financial sector are very limited to generate ideas or decrypt the problem related to inflation. The objective of my article is far from such expectations as the practice is outside my domain. Anyway, I noticed a very unusual practice last weekend and felt like sharing it with the public.
It was last weekend, a Sunday. I woke up in the morning with no major activity plan for the day. It was raining lightly, and I was between staying home and going out somewhere. I finally decided to go shopping, buy a traditional scarf and have a coffee outside. As it had stopped raining by the time I left home, I stopped around 22, on the main road towards Ayat and Gollagueal where I found a five-star hotel. I went through security and headed towards the inside outdoor area where I found swimmers with a few kids inside the pool floating on the water. Past the pool, I found a nice sports bar with different activities like billiards, darts, etc. and a DJ music player. There was oldies western music and jazz. The place is very cozy with a few tables and chairs for dining, near the open kitchen. The open bar is full of various liquors and the service is very friendly and cheerful. I don't really drink alcohol, so I opt for a smoothie. It was a mixture of banana, yogurt, vanilla and milk. The smoothie is named ''Bridge'' but I cannot tell why they gave it such a name. The waitress was very friendly and polite and took my order well. I could also see the kitchen staff making my cold drink in the glass-encased open kitchen. I was served my drink fine, but it tasted a bit warm for a smoothie. I made my comment to the other waitress who eventually brought some ice cubes to make it cooler. I finally had a good smoothie. While enjoying my drink, I loved the cozy environment with the oldies music and young men playing billiards and also looking at the photos I captured last week doing some editing and identifying the different locations. I don't know how to play billiards, but I have arranged with the hotel to take a few days of lessons in the coming weeks.
I had a lovely relaxing morning in a cheerful environment although I didn't take the chance to enjoy the alcoholic drinks the sports bar had to offer not only because it was early morning, but I don't also drink alcohol except to taste the flavor of light wines and very rarely the taste of dry gin with orange juice and that with great effort. I asked the waitress for the bill, and she brought a 178 birrs bill. I was a little surprised to see the note as I expected to pay a few birrs more. The price of the smoothie on the menu was 200 birrs including VAT and service charge. It was indeed for the first time that I had to pay an amount lower than the price appearing on the menu. On the contrary, what is very common to notice is that the price of the bill is generally higher than the price appearing on the menu but never the reverse. We are mostly used to seeing inflation, an increase in prices where suppliers of goods and services do not necessarily update the charges on the menu and instead request a higher amount due to increased costs and expenses. I paid nearly 20 birrs less for my drink compared to the price listed on the menu. After having a good time at the sports bar of a five-star hotel, I went to a traditional cloth store to buy a scarf where I had a similar experience. I found a classy beige silk scarf for a gift and decided to buy it. The price on the tag was 2,400 birrs but when I went to checkout, the payment system showed a different amount, a lesser amount, 200 birrs less than the price on the tag. It was a second experience on the same day. I was very surprised, and the experience made me wonder if there was not any price adjustment after experiencing huge price rises for consecutive years in Ethiopia as well as abroad, both in developed and developing countries. If my experience is also a reality with other services and goods, then it will be a relief for thousands of people as well as governments who have been expecting price adjustment to happen for many years. It would also be a great motivation for economists and experts in the financial sector as well as macro-economics who have gone to great lengths to allow adjustment in prices and see it happen in daily sales. In the event that the experience I had demonstrates price adjustment, it would be interesting to ask whether all service and good providers are honestly reducing the price deserved and not profiting excessively from a weakened monitoring system. Obviously, deflation is not seen positively as it may indicate downturn in an economy leading to a recession or depression. I am sure my experience is far from deflation and would instead enable moderate level of inflation with positive outcomes to the global economy.
The writer can be reached via tgstsolomon@gmail.com
'Eurika' Yebego Adragot Dirigit is a local Nongovernmental Organization registered with the Ethiopian Agency for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO) under certificate No. 4377. Our social purpose is to pursue any action seeking a sustainable progress of children’s rights & well-being through humanitarian and development projects.
Our organization is currently based in Arba Minch, Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples' Region and due to start shortly a new action in the Amhara region (Gondar city, Debre Berhan and surrounding areas). We are active in the fields of education, nutrition and child protection and actively work to tackle gender-based violence.
We hereby invite legally-constituted vendors of office furniture established in Addis Ababa to submit their bids in order to supply Eurika with the following items:
# Type of furniture Minimum technical specifications
Dimensions: 140 x 60 cm. With 3 lockable drawers and keyboard tray. Of black or white colour.
Dimensions: 90 x 185 cm. Swing glass. Door locks. Adjustable shelves. Of black or white colour.
6 or 8-seater. Sustainable material. Of natural wood or white colour. Rectangle, round or oval.