Ethiopia, ADB Signed a 125 Ml’n USD Grant Agreement

Addis Ababa November 23/2018 Ministry of Finance and African Development Bank (ADB) have signed a 125 million USD grant agreement today for financing Ethiopia’s Basic Service Transformation Program. The Basic Services Transformation Program Supplementary Financing (BSTP-SF) will be for the fiscal years 2018/19 to 2019/20, it was indicated. The Agreement was signed by Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance and Gabriel Nigatu, Director General of ADB’s East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office. The additional financial support is a continuation of the ADB’s commitment to deliver quality basic services in Ethiopia’s critical service sectors such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation. During the signing ceremony, Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide said ADB continues to be among the major players in the basic service delivery agenda in Ethiopia, for which the government is very grateful. He added that the Ethiopian government will be committed to use the grant resource for the intended purposes. The government will also continue to work towards enhanced accountability and transparency in public service delivery which strengthening the effectiveness of the program, he stated. “The government has identified equitable services as a priority area on ongoing GTP II for SDGs and has committed record financing to ensure its sustainability,” Ahmed Shide noted. Ahmed appreciated the ADB’s effort for its substantial financial support in development endeavors of Ethiopia and acknowledges the productive collaboration between Ethiopia and the bank. ADB’s General Director of East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office, Gabriel Nigatu said on his part that the bank appreciates and fully supports the government’s profound economic reforms. “This supplementary financing will expand the government’s fiscal space to accelerate improvements in human capital development, which is key enabler for the country’s industrialization,” Nigatu said. The complementary financing will also enhance citizen engagement in basic service delivery, and expand and deepen the provision of basic services with a focus on enhancing quality and equity mainly in health, education and sanitation, he noted. He added that ADB has shared commitment towards Ethiopia’s structural transformations that confirms the depth and breadth of partnership between the bank and the Ethiopia. Including the today’s grant agreement, ADB’s total ongoing commitment for Ethiopia’s transformation programs has risen to 1.74 million USD.