The Ministry of Finance (MoF), which earlier this year signaled the ruthless focus of a budget that takes into account internal resources, has proposed a budget fairly close to last year, which has now been approved by the Council of Ministers (CoM), awaiting ratification from parliament.
As per the announcement of CoM, the 2023/24 budget will be 801.6 billion birr, which is about 1.9 percent higher in contrast to the approved budget for the 2022/23 budget year.
Unlike previous years, which spotted double digit increment, the new proposal is a bit leaner.
In consideration of foreign currency conversion, the latest budget proposal in comparison to the presiding one is lesser than the amount approved for the budget year that will end on July 7, 2023.
In different occasions, officials from MoF had been stating that the coming year’s budget allocation will mainly concentrate on local resources unlike the usual flow from international support and loans.
Prior to the budget proposal hearing, in a meeting with budgetary offices that was held on March 15, Finance Minister, Ahmed Shide, told participants that in the coming budget year, the government will focus on debt payment. He added that in the 2023/24 budget year, new capital projects will not be launched and strong controlling mechanism will be emplaced on the recurrent budget.
“In their budget preparation, the budgetary offices will consider the resource on hand rather than imagining foreign grants and loans,” he underlined.
From the proposed 801.6 billion birr, 369.6 billion birr will be recurrent budget that has slight increment compared with 347.1 billion birr that was allocated for the 2022/23 budget year.
However, the capital budget allocation has unusually reduced against the preceding year’s amount.
The capital budget expenditure proposal for the coming budget year is almost 204 billion birr that is about 14.2 billion birr lower than the amount ratified for the current budget year.
The subsidy appropriation to regions and support for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals is set to be 214 billion birr and 14 billion birr respectively.
In this ending 2022/23 budget year, the government approved 786.6 billion birr, while on his nine months report, Ahmed Shide, told parliament that some of the expected resources included on the budget document were not congruent as the resources that were expected from partners did not flow.
Thus, the government has been forced to reschedule some of the projects for coming years.
For this coming year, MoF informed budgetary offices to be vigilant on their budget request.
It is well known that following the deterioration of budgetary support from external partners in the last couple of years, the central government had resorted to alternative policies like using domestic sources to bridge its budget gap.
As the Finance Minister explained on his nine month report about a couple of weeks ago, despite relations with foreign partners now bouncing back owing to the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa between the government and TPLF, the external financial support is yet to improve.
Ahmed further cited that the financial support and credit from the World Bank is taking the biggest portion, while there are several agreements and commitments with partners to provide financial access.
In his address, the Minister applauded the support of the World Bank and highlighted that due to dry flow from external finance, the government had reluctantly resorted to using local sources like direct advance (DA) and Treasury bill (T-bill).
Cognizant of this, the Minister underscored that this year’s budget gave a priority for completion of projects, debt servicing, reconstruction of war damaged infrastructures and service facilities including aid, and fertilizer subsidy.
The budget allocation for defense has reduced by almost 40.5 percent or 34 billion birr compared with the 2022/23 budget allocation, perhaps in consideration of the peace agreement in connection with the northern conflict.
Debt servicing budget allocation on the other hand expanded by 26.3 percent or 33.2 billion birr compared with this year budget. The top budget allocation for central government goes to debt settlement with 159.2 billion birr or 27.8 percent of the total central government budget, road 68.4 billion birr with almost 12 percent share and education at 56 billion birr with 9.7 percent total share.
On the budget year, grants and soft loans from partners have been included with a small portion on the budget preparation.
Ahmed said that the budget deficit is largely filled by treasury bills and Treasury bond that is introduced in the mid of this budget year.
On his speech the Ministers said that in the coming year direct advance will have heavy reduction.
In the budget year, a total of 520.6 billion birr revenue that includes foreign grants is expected to be generated that would have about 28 percent increment with a tax share of 440.8 billion and a non-tax revenue of 38.7 billion birr. Both these figures are noted to have over 92 percent of the total revenue. For the year, 6.3 billion birr in direct budget support and 34.8 billion birr in project grants are expected to flow.
The gross budget deficit for the year will be 2.48 percent of the GDP coming in at 281 billion birr. The budget deficit has shown reduction in terms of the share of GDP when compared to the 2022/23 budget year of 3.4 percent, while the recommended share remains less than three percent.
For the budget deficit, 242 billion birr will be covered from domestic source while the remaining 39 billion birr is expected to be covered by foreign loans.
According to Ahmed, 53.7 billion birr of the gross budget deficit will be allocated for local and foreign debt settlement.
Regarding tax policy, reforms will be applied on VAT, excise tax proclamation, and introduction of excise tax stamp and social welfare development duty, which will be introduced on all import items.
According to his speech as of the end of the 2021/22 budget year the per capita income has reached USD 1,218 while efforts are still needed to expand the economic growth as per the ten year development plan. He added that different shocks that occurred in the past years have been the reason for to run beyond the development plan.
In the current 2022/23 budget year, the economy is expected to attain 7.5 percent growth while for the coming year 7.9 percent is projected.
Finance Ministry locks in a lean budget with self reliance at heart
Waves are being made to inculcate media in transitional justice
The inclusion of media on the transitional justice initiative has been stated as crucial.
In a recent panel discussion organized by the Editors Guild of Ethiopia (EGE) in collaboration with Ethiopian Broadcasting Cooperation with the aid of the International Media Support Ethiopia, it was stressed upon that media must be part and parcel of the transitional justice initiative.
In the interactive discussion that gathered pertinent stakeholders from different institutions including media, Abdissa Zeray, a Professor at Addis Ababa University, underscored that an initiative is under works for the come up of transitional justice media institutions as an entity, like any other arm, to address critical issues in this space.
According to Prof. Abdissa, the media sector in general needs a structural change from the current position and it is a necessity for it to be infused with the transitional justice process.
During the panel discussion which keenly observed the post 2018 media reform and its challenges, the recent conflict in the northern parts of Ethiopia and other issues including less effort by government were cited as challenges that required much needed attention. A reform was also deemed mandatory.
Although reform by its very nature is a process, with results expected in the future, it was opined that some expected laws have been delayed, which need to be amended with haste.
The EGE is a professional association for editors in Ethiopia working at print, broadcast and online media companies.
Hassan, Bol and Duplantis on show as strong fields get set for Hengelo
At an event named after a Dutch great, it’s appropriate that Sifan Hassan will take centre stage at this year’s FBK Games in Hengelo, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting, on Saturday (3) and Sunday (4).
Fanny Blankers-Koen famously won four gold medals – three individual, one relay – at the 1948 London Olympics, and while Hassan came up just shy of that at the Tokyo Games – winning two golds and one bronze – the 30-year-old distance star has etched her name alongside her predecessor as one of the all-time greats of Dutch sport.
Less than six weeks after taking victory at the London Marathon in her debut at the distance – an outing rife with the drama Hassan often brings to her races – she will be back on the line at 8:30pm local time on Saturday for the women’s 10,000m, the sole race that evening, before contesting the 1500m just 20 hours later.
“After the London Marathon it was of course a question of how my body would recover and respond to the track training,” said Hassan. “I would like to run a 10,000m to see how I am doing.”
Hassan ran a 10,000m world record of 29:06.82 at this event in 2021, which was broken by Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia with 29:01.03 just two days later. The 25-lap race in Hengelo sees Hassan, the reigning Olympic champion, take on a strong cast of East African athletes, including Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama, a silver medallist at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, earlier this year, who ran her PB of 30:06.01 behind Hassan in Hengelo two years ago. Next quickest on paper is Caroline Chepkoech Kipkirui, a former Kenyan now running for Kazakhstan, who ran her PB of 30:17.64 to finish seventh in last year’s World Championships.
Hassan’s speed will be put to the test on Sunday as she takes on a 1500m field that includes two sub-four-minute athletes: Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo and Australia’s Linden Hall.
Another Dutch star, Femke Bol, will draw huge support from the home crowd as she contests her first flat 400m of the outdoor season, having broken the indoor world record with 49.26 at the Dutch national championships in February. Belgium’s Cynthia Bolingo and USA’s Wadeline Jonathas are among her rivals.
The women’s 100m should prove a tight contest, featuring Britain’s Daryll Neita, US trio Morolake Akinosun, Teahna Daniels and Cambrea Sturgis, along with Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye and Switzerland’s Ajla Del Ponte.
There will be a strong Dutch presence in the women’s 200m through Jamile Samuel and Lieke Klaver, though they’ll have it all to do to beat USA’s Kayla White, who ran 22.38 into a slight headwind in Botswana last month.
The women’s 100m hurdles sees USA’s 2019 world champion Nia Ali take on Bahamian Devynne Charlton, with Ali the quicker this year with the 12.53 she ran in April. Home hopes will be carried by Nadine Visser, who will run her first hurdles race of the outdoor season. Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji and Denmark’s Mette Graversgaard are also in the field.
Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh is the star attraction in the women’s high jump. She remains the only athlete to go over two metres in the event this outdoor season, jumping 2.01m to take victory in Rabat last weekend. Her compatriots Yuliia Levchenko and Iryna Gerashchenko could prove her toughest opponents.
The women’s shot put will see Maggie Ewen square off against fellow US thrower and reigning world champion Chase Ealey. Ewen tops the world lists with the 20.45m she threw in Westwood, USA, last weekend, while Ealey is close behind with the 20.06m she threw in Halle, Germany, last month. Among their rivals, Jamaica’s Danniel Thomas-Dodd is next best this season with the national record of 19.77m she threw behind the US duo last week. Portugal’s Auriol Dongmo and Dutch athlete Jessica Schilder are also in the field.
On the men’s side, the undoubted star attraction is Mondo Duplantis, who’s looking for his third win at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadium, having bettered the meeting record with a 6.10m clearance in 2021. Duplantis soared to a world record of 6.22m indoors and he opened his outdoor season with victory last week at the Los Angeles Grand Prix, clearing 5.91m with room to spare.
He will take on an eight-strong field, all of whom have cleared 5.80m, with Australia’s Kurtis Marschall, a 5.85m vaulter this season, perhaps the leading candidate for the runner-up spot – which is all that’s usually left if the Swede brings his usual brilliance.
The long jump will see USA’s JuVaughn Harrison take on compatriot William Williams, with Harrison fresh off a 2.32m high jump victory at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha, though he was well off his long jump best of 8.47m in his sole outing in that event this year (7.62m).
Many will be keeping a close eye on rising star Mattia Furlani of Italy to see if the 18-year-old can reproduce the heroics he delivered in Savona, Italy, last week, where he jumped 8.44m with a 2.2m/s tailwind. Namibia’s Chenault Lionel Coetzee is also sure to feature, having jumped 8.27m in April.
The men’s javelin sees German trio Johannes Vetter, Julian Weber and Andreas Hofmann go up against Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott. Weber is the best of them this season via the 88.37m he threw in Rehlingen, Germany, last weekend. Belgium’s Timothy Herman should also feature based off the 87.35m PB he threw in Nairobi last month. Finnish duo Oliver Helander and Lassi Etelatalo are also in the field.
On the track, all eyes will be on Grant Holloway in the 110m hurdles to see if the two-time world champion can dip under 13 seconds for the first time this year. He tops the world lists with the 13.01 he ran in Atlanta last month. Fellow US hurdler Devon Allen will be looking to take a chunk off his season’s best of 13.25, which he ran to finish fourth last weekend in Rabat, while USA’s Freddie Crittenden should also go close given his season’s best of 13.19.
In the men’s 400m hurdles, USA’s CJ Allen should prove tough to stop given his recent victory at the Los Angeles Grand Prix in a PB of 47.91, while the next quickest this season is Pablo Andres Ibanez Guevara of El Salvador (48.56) and Dutch athlete Nick Smidt (48.70).
The men’s 100m sees USA’s Marvin Bracy-Williams arrive in fine form, having clocked 9.93 (0.8m/s) earlier this week in Montreuil, France. Fellow US sprinter Ronnie Baker, Britain’s Reece Prescod and Jamaica’s Yohan Blake are also in the field.
The men’s 400m sees USA’s Vernon Norwood head the entries based on season’s best with the 44.68 he ran in Nairobi in April. Also in the line-up are Dutch sprinter Liemarvin Bonevacia along with Botswana’s Busang Collen Kebinatshipi and Isaac Makwala.
The men’s 1500m will see Germany’s Robert Farken, a 3:32.10 performer this season, line up against Britain’s Elliot Giles, Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran and France’s Azeddine Habz in a field with no outstanding favourite, but considerable strength in depth.
(World Athletics)
Asmara Marathon to be held on 11 June
The Commission of Culture and Sports announced that the annual ‘Asmara Marathon’ will be held on 11 June.
Ambassador Zemede Tekle, Commissioner of Culture and Sports, said that the marathon will also include 10 km females’ race and athletes from six countries are expected to take part.
The event will also include mass sport.
According to Efrem Tekeste, athletes from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan are expected to arrive in Asmara on Friday and prices will be handed over to winners up to sixth positions.
Taddese Gebru, Secretary General of Athletics Federation, also said that the mass sport will be participated by Government officials, diplomats, students and Government employees as well as the public.
