Parliament on Thursday unanimously endorsed the record 1.93 trillion Birr budget proposed by officials at the Ministry of Finance for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
While the figure represents Ethiopia’s largest-ever federal budget, in real terms it reflects the
substantial depreciation the Birr has undergone over the past 11 months in connection to ongoing macroeconomic reforms.
Close to a third of the budget is earmarked for servicing Ethiopia’s foreign debt, fueling criticismover claims of it being a pro-poor budgetary allocation.
The average Ethiopian has been forced to tighten their purse strings due to the austerity beingexperienced as a result of the IMF-backed reforms.
The International Monetary Fund just greenlit a USD 262 million disbursement to Ethiopiafollowing the third review of the Horn of Africa country’s $3.4 billion loan program.
“The decision signals confidence in the nation’s economic reform efforts and comes amidcrucial progress on restructuring billions in debt,” reads an IMF press release.
