The Head of the European Union Delegation to Ethiopia, Ambassador Hebberecht Chantal, has commended the Ethiopian Government for effectual use of its development aid, pointing out that “the Government of Ethiopia has been implementing effectively the development support it gets from the European Union”. Recalling that 80% of the aid goes through the government budget or Multi-donor Trust Fund, she said that the money was properly used for the planned projects. She said “we successfully implemented the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) in the past five years, 2009-2013”.
According to Ambassador Hebberecht, road infrastructure, agriculture, food security and good governance were some of the major areas of cooperation under the Fund. The original allocation was 634 million Euros but the amount was increased by an additional 45 million Euros for regional programs and another 40 million Euros for maternal health.
The Ambassador added that “the government had good achievements in Education, Health, Water Sanitation and Infrastructure which the European Union also supports.” She disclosed that at the completion of the 10th European Development Fund, the EU had pledged another 745 million Euros for the 11th EDF to be implemented from 2014 to 2020. This will be allocated to agriculture, and food security, incorporating productivity, as well as conservation and management of natural resources, health and the private sector. The pledges will also cover road infrastructure and renewable energy sectors, she added.
