RESPONSE TO CONGRESSIONALLY-MANDATED REPORT ON FISCAL

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 000696

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EEB/IFD/OMA (SNOW AND FIGUEROA),AF/EPS (BREITER AND
REPKO)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON PREL ET
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO CONGRESSIONALLY-MANDATED REPORT ON FISCAL
TRANSPARENCY

Ref: State 16737


1. This cable presents post's response to questions on Ethiopia's
fiscal transparency.


2. While Ethiopia does not have specific laws or regulations
governing the pubic disclosure of revenues and expenditures in
national budgets, the information is regularly published and
disseminated at the direction of the government. The budget and its
details are available in hard copy in the newspaper Negaritte
Gazette and on the internet at the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Development (www.moafed.org/budget.asp).


3. The data published is accurate and all official revenues and
expenditures are included in the published budget. There are a
number of extra-budgetary and parastatal institutions, such as the
endowment companies formed when the current regime took power, whose
budgets are not included in the national budget. Additionally,
revenue-generating public institutions (such as state-owned
Ethiopian Airlines) are not included.


4. Ethiopia does not report to the IMF on their compliance with
standards and codes covering fiscal transparency.


5. The U.S Government has funded programs to improve fiscal
transparency. As the major donor in a multi-donor project, the U.S.
was a key part of a decade-long program to build a computerized,
decentralized budgetary and financial system from federal to woreda
level. The project was implemented by Harvard Institute of
International Development and has been highly acclaimed by the
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

YAMAMOTO