July 8, 2026
Bishoftu, June 27/2018, (from Melmi)
The Federal Technical Committee of the Rural Connectivity and Access to Food Security Program held its annual meeting in Bishoftu town on the program’s performance in the 2018 budget year and the plan for the 2019 budget year.
The Minister of Urban Development and Infrastructure, Hon. Yetmegeta Asrat (Dr.), who chaired the forum, which was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Urban Development and Infrastructure, its responsible institutions, and institutions involved in implementing the program at the federal level, said that although the contract signed with the World Bank to complete the program was for 5 years in view of the overall national situation and development needs, we have planned and implemented it within that time frame, so when we evaluate the performance of our 2018 budget year and prepare our next plan, we should take a look back and examine the obstacles we faced in the implementation of the program and discuss the solution options in depth.
Following his speech, the performance report for the fiscal year and the 2019 budget year plan were presented by Atto Mohamed Amin Adem, Head of the Rural Connectivity and Accessibility Program Coordination Office.
According to Ato Mohamed Amin, capacity building trainings, vehicle, motorcycle and IT equipment support, and the work done by the institutions and organizations created to implement the program, one thousand kilometers of new roads and more than 3 thousand kilometers of road maintenance works were completed in 126 districts of the country during the fiscal year. He said that most of the rural community has been benefited, he said.
Regarding the benefits of the project, he said that it has made a significant contribution to delivering agricultural products to the market without spoiling; enabling families to reach health facilities quickly and students to reach their schools without being stranded; in addition to providing drinking water nearby and creating job opportunities for citizens.
A study document on the development of technological software that can connect the rural community to the market has also been submitted. It was stated that this will ensure the benefit of the rural community by shortening the marketing chain and creating market stability. Based on the documents presented, various questions and comments were raised and discussed.
Finally, in his summary, the Honorable Minister of State stated that since the project is new, it is necessary to focus on issues that need to be improved in the future in order to compensate for the time taken for the preparatory work. Since it requires continued and coordinated joint efforts, it was decided by the members to submit the report, including the amendments made, to the Steering Committee headed by the Honorable Minister, Ms. Chaltu Sani.
