The House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR) has begun its 5th extraordinary session in the presence of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
The Prime Minister responded to questions from members of the House that focused on coronavirus pandemic, amnesty report on human rights violation, and the upcoming election, among others.
Responding to question regarding the effect of the coronavirus pandemic, he said, Ethiopia, like any other nation, will have its share from the humanitarian and economic impact of the virus.
The Prime Minister quoted IMF report as saying that global trade volume growth declined by 27% and 170 countries will register negative economic growth this fiscal year due to the pandemic.
About 350 million people have lost their jobs, tourism declined by 80%, and airlines forced to cut 90 % of their international flights because of the pandemic, he said.
According to the Prime Minister, Ethiopia will have its own share from all these impacts, including on its remittance and economic growth. The 9% projected economic growth for this fiscal year will decline to 6%.
Despite the pandemic, the country’s coffee export grew by 16% to $667 million and meat exports by 21% to $41 million during the past 10 months, the PM indicated.
Speaking about the current status of the virus in the country, he said, its spread is increasing from time to time. The number of confirmed cases now reached 2,020 with 27 deaths so far.
To build testing capacity, more than 31 laboratories were established in the past 3 months alone. Testing capacity will rise to 14,000 per day with the addition of other laboratories in June and July, he said.
The Prime Minister said the federal government has distributed a total of 400 million birr to regional states and city administrations to help them fight against the pandemic.
