The Ethiopian Council of Ministers on Saturday approved a record $14 billion as the country’s annual budget that will begin on July 8, 2020.
Of the total budget, more than $3.9 billion is for recurrent spending, over $4.7 billion for capital expenditure, more than $5.2 billion to subsidise regional states and $176 million for Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) projects.
The Council referred budget bill to the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) for approval, according to a statement released by the office of the Prime Minister.
The new budget has seen a nearly 17 percent rise compared to the budget allocated to this concluding year.
The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the nation’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP) to three percent from the forecast nine percent during this concluding budget year, the council said in a statement.
According to the statement, the declining growth rate can be even worse if the pandemic continues to prevail.
The increment on the new budget is to cope with the increasing economic crisis that COVID-19 pandemic can cause, it is noted.
The government envisages securing about 20 percent of the total budget from local and external loans amounting.
MG/abj/APA