Ethiopia Approves U.S. $ 12.57 bln Dollar Annual Budget
The Ethiopian parliament on Monday approved a total budget 274.3 Billion Birr ($ 12.57 billion) for the 2016/2017 fiscal year. The budget which was unanimously endorsed by lawmakers today has saw a 13.7 % rise compared to the previous year budget. Sudan Tribune has learnt that of the total budget $ 4.8 billion is allocated for capital expenses and $ 3.1 billion for regular expenditures.
Around $ 4 billion is allocated for subsidy to regional states, and $ 550 million for expenses of sustainable development. During today’s session, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Ethiopian industry and service sector have shown growth of 7%. The premier said the country was subjected to slow economic growth later this year due to impacts of El Nino which has significantly affected the agricultural sector.
Ethiopia is among some African countries which were severely hit by food insecurity which was caused by El Nino induced drought. The drought which is worst in decades led to sharp deterioration in food security and massive drop in agricultural and pastoral production forcing over 10 million Ethiopians to depend on food Aid. “The Ethiopian government has expended 800 million dollar to control the impacts of drought,” Hailemariam said.
The Premier said the country has performed good in growing its economy during this fiscal year (2015/216) and it was substantiated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Premier said the country’s economic growth for this year is expected to be 8.5%, lower than previous years when the country had been registering double digit economic growth. According to Hailemariam, the government has worked aggressively to curb hitches of good governance.
