Minister Ahmed Shide stated that the Ministry of Finance is properly fulfilling its responsibilities regarding the implementation of the macroeconomic reform program.
The House of Peoples' Representatives (HoPR) Standing Committee for Plan, Budget, and Finance Affairs visited the institution today to review the Ministry of Finance's 8-month performance and conduct a field observation.
As the minister stated on this occasion, the ministry is fulfilling its responsibilities by properly implementing fiscal policy, stabilizing inflation, implementing tax policy, providing over 300 billion Birr in subsidies for basic inputs, properly managing the budget deficit, enabling debt restructuring and relief, and mobilizing external resources more than ever before.
He also explained that the institution is fulfilling its responsibilities by increasing domestic revenue, managing overall government finances properly, and thereby making the macroeconomic reform program effective.
For his part, Minister of State for Finance Dr. Eyob Tekalign stated that in terms of implementing fiscal policy and government finance over the past 8 months, the institution has done extensive work in reducing the rate of increase in the cost of living, creating awareness on various tax policy laws, helping increase production and productivity, and, regarding cash management, ensuring the timely release of payments, especially to regions.
Mentioning that numerous actions have been taken regarding audit findings, he indicated that efforts will be made in the upcoming 2018 E.C. fiscal year to ensure the macroeconomic reform program continues in a strengthened manner and to further reduce the rate of inflation.
In his comments, the chairperson of the HoPR Standing Committee for Plan, Budget, and Finance Affairs, Honorable Desalegn Wodaje, expressed great satisfaction with the conducive working environment observed during their tour of the institution's compound and offices.
Information obtained from the Ministry indicates that the Committee provided feedback on issues requiring attention and improvement regarding government finance administration, including the performance of some projects, government asset management, electronic government procurement, cash flow for project implementation in regions, actions taken on audit findings, and other fiscal policy matters.
It was reported that Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide and State Minister Dr. Eyob Tekalign provided extensive explanations and responses to questions raised by the members of the HoPR Standing Committee for Plan, Budget, and Finance Affairs regarding the institution's 8-month work performance.