Mekelle shops reopen as Tigray faces economic struggles and funding delays

Shops and banks in Mekelle opened their doors on October 5, a day after Ethiopian federal troops and allied forces recaptured the Tigray regional capital on October 4. The return of civilian services was welcomed, but residents said the atmosphere remained tense as they wondered what the next weeks would bring.

Mekelle’s tentative return to normalcy comes after a two‑year war that devastated northern Ethiopia from 2020 to 2022. The conflict pitted federal forces against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, leaving the region’s infrastructure in ruins and its economy shattered. Aid flows have been slow, and the interim administration has struggled to rebuild schools, hospitals and roads while trying to restore basic public services.

Businesses are slowly reopening, yet many families cannot afford basic necessities. Public workers say salaries have been delayed for months, forcing them to choose between food, rent and school fees. Gebregziabher, a civil servant, told reporters, “Things may be reopening, but that does not mean our problems are over. We still have expenses every day, and without our salaries, it is difficult to know how we will manage.” In March, the interim administration announced it could not pay the monthly wages of roughly 137,000 civil servants because promised federal transfers had not arrived. In April, the regional finance bureau reported an 8.5‑billion‑birr (about $52 million) shortfall that threatens both salaries and development projects. Students share the anxiety. Shewit, a grade‑10 pupil in Adigrat, said he fears another school shutdown will erase the limited progress he has made since the war. More than 5,000 Tigrayan students have applied for temporary placements at universities outside the region, and some, like third‑year Axum University student Abel, have traveled to Addis Ababa seeking transfers.

The situation leaves the region poised on a fragile edge. Without reliable federal funding, public wages and essential services may stall, deepening hardship for households already depleted by years of conflict. Continued fighting could once again disrupt education, pushing a generation further behind. Observers say that the pace of reconstruction and the flow of money from Addis Ababa will determine whether Mekelle’s reopening marks a genuine recovery or a brief pause before another crisis.