The African Development Bank approved a 251 million US dollar loan for Ethiopia. The two parties signed the loan agreement last Friday at a ceremony held at the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
The loan agreement was signed by Ahmed Shide, StateMinister for Finance and Economic Development
and Lamin Barrow, the African Bank’s country representative in Ethiopia.
The loan is intended to finance phase three of the ‘Promoting Basic Services’ program according to the AfDB. The fund will offer budget support to Ethiopia over three fiscal years, to offer block grants to regions in efforts to enhance access to decentralized service delivery in a range of sectors including agriculture, health and education as well supporting improvement to infrastructure such as sanitation, roads and water supply.
The services are important to improve the standards of living and will further the nation’s efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals according to the African Bank.The program is part of a multi donor effort launched in 2006 in support of the government’s pro-poor strategies in increasing access to basic services.
The Ethiopian government appreciates the Bank’s approval of the financing for the PBS program in a timely fashion and its support in various other projects that strive to enhance basic services and infrastructure said Ahmed.
The loan is a sign of the shared commitment to improve access to basic services in Ethiopian and the AfDB’s desire to support Ethiopia’s development efforts according to Barrow. The country representative for the African Bank expressed the institutions condolences on the loss of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the same time.
Source: The Daily Monitor
