Ethiopia’s parliament, the House of People’s Representatives, approved a budget of 386.9 billion birr, which is close to $13.37 billion, for the fiscal year 2019/2020.

The budget, which was approved by the Council of Ministers and unanimously approved by the MPs, has increased by 12 percent from the previous, which amounted to 40 billion birr.

Out of the total, over 109.4 billion birr goes for recurrent budget, over 130.7 billion for capital expenditure, over 140.7 billion for budget subsidy to regional states, and 6 billion for the execution of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, responding to questions raised by the MPs, said his government, with a focus on creating more employment opportunities for the youth, has put aside a budget for labor-intensive agricultural, industry, mining and other related megaprojects. He also stressed the need to use local knowledge and address Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) barriers.

Prime Minister Abiy further noted ten billion birr has been allocated for the construction of a monumental library, Adwa Park, a vast park in the city of Addis Ababa, and other similar projects.

Source: Fana BC