Yesterday, the House of Peoples’ Representatives held the 36th regular session and the members raised various questions with regard to the social, economic, and political progress of the country.
Attending at the session, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD addressed a number of questions raised by members of the parliament.
The Premier also briefed parliamentarians regarding the concluding Ethiopian budget year performance report. As for Abiy, despite global scenarios, Ethiopia has registeredpromising results in every sector and achieved a very successful economic growth in the budget year. Mentioning the success stories witnessed in substituting imports, for instance, in wheat production, manufacturing pharmaceuticals products at home by local manufacturers, the Premier said that it was made possible to manufacture 40 percent of products by domestic industries. Import substitute products worth over two billion USD were also produced domestically. Following the ‘Made in Ethiopia’ initiative, over 390 industries have become operational and started manufacturing products, he added.
While responding to queries raised in relation to accessing and ensuring quality education, Prime Minister Abiy said that Ethiopia is a country of young people and equipping the young generation with the required knowledge and skills is of critical importance for the future of the country. To this effect, investing at grass root level is wise; and the government is working to ensure quality of education, paying due attention at the lower level of education. “If we invest and work on at the foundation, the challenge we may encounter at the higher level would be minimal; and even it won’t be as such difficult to address it.”
Accordingly, over 30 thousand new preschools have been built. Not only this,but thousands of students are also benefiting from the school feeding initiative. Equally important, following the drive to make the education system more inclusive and address the challenges of visually impaired children, the best ever school for the blind, Sebeta School for Blind Children, has been built and opened for service. He also revealed the publication of student textbooks worth 45 million Birr.
“However, concerning universities, following the national reform, no university has been constructed throughout the country. The reason for this is that now, what we are giving due attention to universities is ensuring quality,” Abiy added.
The Premier did not go without saying that the budget allocated for universities has augmented in the past years. According to him, six years ago, the total annual budget for universities was about 40 billion Birr, but now it has reached about 60 billion.
With regard to health, Abiy said that in this budget year, a total of 10 million vaccinations have been given nationwide to prevent cholera outbreaks. In the same way, measles vaccination was given in 58 districts to prevent the outbreak of measles. The distribution of insecticide treated nets was also carried out to minimize the burden of malaria.
Especially, as part of the effort carried out to substitute pharmaceuticals products domestically, it has been possible to increase the supply of medicines from 8 percent to 36 percent, he remarked.
On the other hand, concerning corruption, he said that theft is like cancer. It eats upon the country’s resources. No matter whether it is petty or grand, theft should be abolished. That is why the government is undertaking legislative reforms. The new Draft Asset Recovery bill would take this into consideration. There is no state-level corruption, but there have been instances of individuals involved in committing corruption.
In Ethiopia, a few individuals transact billions of Birr illegally. There was no law that implicated this. The proclamation by filling the gap and addressing the challenge, it will help to ensure legal accountability. However, some thieves who claim or fear that the proclamation may expose them, are already attempting to confuse people by spreading unsubstantiated information. To this end, every Ethiopian should stand together and act meticulously in fighting theft.
Addressing corruption requires a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach that tackles the issue at both the institutional and societal levels. At the governmental level, this means strengthening the independence of key entities, such as the judiciary, auditor general and anti-corruption commission. These institutions must be empowered to investigate allegations of wrongdoing without the interference of political powers to impose meaningful penalties on those found guilty. The government is working to strengthen these independent institutions, said the Premier.
Pertaining to peace and security matters, Prime Minister Abiy said, “Ethiopia has passed through a vicious circle of conflict and war for a long time. The history of killing one another should be stopped in our generation. The government is ready to pay any price for peace. In the previous years, the government, by prioritizing peace, has made more efforts and gone the extra mile. In Ethiopia, holding power through conflict and war is impossible. The most practicable way for Ethiopia is discussing differences, solving problems in a peaceful manner.
The Prime Minister also addressed the queries with regard to the ever increasing cost of living. “The cost of living has continued to be a challenge for many global countries. In some countries, the inflation rate is recorded as high as 60 percent. In Ethiopia, the government is working diligentlyto lessen the pressure by devising several initiatives.
Especially, Ye- LematTirufat is playing a crucial role in containing inflation. Increasing production and productivity is the other major undertaken for this same effect. And, this year, compared to the preceding year, it was possible to harvest more than 100 million quintals. What is more, the government, by leaving 10 billion Birr revenue, allowed basic goods to be imported duty-free. All these measures have been taken to lessen the burden of the cost of living on citizens. As a result, it was possible to lower the inflation rate from 30 percent in the previous year to 23 percent.
The Session was concluded by approving the 2024/25 (2017 E.C) fiscal year budget of the federal government as 971.2 billion Birr.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 5 JULY 2024
