Military expenditure has no impact on Ethiopia’s economy – PM
By Tesfa-alem Tekle
December 3, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, denied that military expenditure affects the economic growth and development in the country.
According to Meles’s latest speech to the parliament, the defense budget increase was made taking the growth of its economy in to account.
“Ethiopia has increased its military budget by 16.7%, which is 1.7 % of the total national budget.” Meles further said “But the increase is below the international standard, that could affect an economic growth of any nation, above 2% of annual budget.”
Meles said Eritrea has repeatedly rejected the Ethiopia’s invitation for negotiation and threatened of opening war, “there fore we have to build our military capacities to defend ourselves.”
The current military boost of 500 million birr has made Ethiopia’s total defense budget 3.5billion birr.
Ethiopian’s number one threat and youngest nation in Africa, Eritrea has 5 million population compared to 80 million of Ethiopia but it is believed that Eritrea has the biggest number of soldiers in Africa.
The independent Eritrea Ethiopia boarder commission has dissolved itself on Friday with out setting any tangible agreement between the two arch-enemies, just leaving behind a big fear of a new war.
The 1998-2000 border war between Ethiopian and Eritrea has left some 70,000 people dead.
(ST)