By Staff Reporter
ADDIS ABABA – (BORKENA) – Members of the House of Peoples Representatives asked for the release of the budget for the Welkait area, which has long become a bone of contention between Amhara and Tigray Regional States, sources said. The Amharic Weekly Reporter said in its Sunday issue that the MPs raised the question while the Ministry of Finance presented the budget bill of the 2023/24 Ethiopian FY.
Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) declared annexation of the Welkait area some 30 years back upon its power seizure at the Federal level. Then, following the recently erupted civil war in the northern part of the country, the Amhara Region took possession of the Zone. Since then, the Amhara Region has been administering the area using its own budget, according to Reporter.
The 2023/24 budget bill tabled for approval at the Parliament indicates that the subsidies proposed to Tigray is 12.5 billion birr while Amhara is to receive 45.1 billion. The question is whether the budget for Welkait has been incorporated in one of the regions.
A Member of Parliament named Mesfin Erkabie said, “the people of Welkait have the desire to grow and develop like any other people”. He said that they have been contributing what is expected of Ethiopians. “However, they are currently asking the leadership of the Region why the budget for the area has not been released. They are asking if the budget was allocated through Amhara or Tigray Region. Or if there is any intention to earmark the budget directly under the name of the zone…”
Meanwhile, member of National Movement of Amhara and MP, Desalegn Chane (PhD), asked on his part if there is a special consideration of subsidy for the Amhara Regional State, which is shouldering emergency need for displaced people settled in the region and budgetary queries of Welkait-Tegede-Setit Humera.
Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide said regarding the issue of budgetary allotment for Welkait saying that he values the demand of the people and gives due respect. “The role of the Ministry of Finance, however, is to manage the budget approved by this House,” he said.
“We are not the authorised body. But we are working, mainly, based on the budgetary allotment proposed by the House of Federation for Tigray and Amhara,” he said.
Ahmed said that his ministry has not the authority to pass over the federal subsidies to Zones and Werads but to implement what has been decided by the parliament and apportioned accordingly to Regional States.
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