Ethiopian federal government has allocated a budget of 1 trillion birr for the fiscal year 2024/25.The Council of Ministers prepared the draft budget during its 34th regular meeting.
The council announced that the 2024/25 federal budget is designed to implement the goals set in the 2023-2025 development and investment plan and the 2024-2029 medium-term macroeconomic and fiscal framework.
This framework is part of the ten-year leadership development plan. The budget preparation also considered the performance of the 2023/24 federal government program budget.
The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the budget was formulated by evaluating the government’s financial capacity, expected revenues, and the expenses required by executive offices to fulfill their mandates and responsibilities.
The proposed budget includes regular federal government expenses, capital expenses, support to states, funding for sustainable development goals, and reserve costs.
After discussing the proposed budget, the council unanimously decided to forward it to the House of Representatives with additional resources.
Ethiopia had allocated 801.65 billion birr for the 2023/24 fiscal year, which is set to end in a month.
In another development, the House of Ministers, in its regular meeting, discussed a bill for establishing and managing a special fund for rehabilitating green footprints and degraded land.
The Cabinet also reviewed proposed regulations to determine service fees for various services provided by the Oil and Energy Authority and the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority.
After extensive discussions, the council decided to add resources and make the regulations effective upon publication.
A month ago, the Minister of Finance announced that Ethiopia received $4.5 billion from loans and grants over the past nine months.
Of this amount, 54 percent were grants, and $849 million were loans. The World Bank invested $1 billion in Ethiopia from the received funds, underscoring the strong relationship between Ethiopia and the World Bank.
Furthermore, it was reported that 356.5 billion birr was planned to be collected domestically, with 338 billion birr already collected in the last nine months.
The Ministry of Finance also mentioned that it aimed to collect 760 million birr from current and arrears of government organizations that have been privatized, with 739 million birr collected so far.
The Ministry of Finance has disbursed 470 billion birr from the central treasury and paid 153.5 billion birr to national regional governments for the current fiscal year.
Ethiopia currently owes $29 billion in foreign loans, half of which is from China, and is seeking an extension of the loan repayment period.
