Ethiopia, Uganda Ink Agreement to Cooperate in Military FieldEducation receives largest chunk of national budget

Ethiopia and Uganda have signed an agreement today that would help the two east African nations to work together in the military field. The Defense Minister of Uganda, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja and the country's defense forces Chief of Staff, General Wilson Mbasu Mbadi is in Addis Ababa for an official visit. The Uganda military officials were warmly welcomed by Minister of Defense, Abraham Belay and Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), Field Marshal Birhanu Jula at the headquarters of ENDF. Consequently, the defense ministers of the two countries signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding. Similarly, the chiefs of staff of the two countries signed a document that comprises a detailed plan to implement the Memorandum of Understanding, according the Ethiopian National Defense Forces. Speaking at the occasion, Minister of Defense Abraham Belay said that the agreement will further consolidate the relationship between Ethiopia and Uganda. The minister indicated that the tw o countries have signed this agreement in order to ensure their mutual benefits in terms of information exchange, military capacity building, peacekeeping, regional and other related issues. The Defense Minister of Uganda, Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja said on his part that Uganda is determined for the execution of the agreement. Uganda is a friendly country to Ethiopia and the two countries have also been working together on Pan-Africanism, said Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula. He also affirmed his country's commitment to implement the military agreements. Source: Ethiopian News Agency WINDHOEK: The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture received the largest allocation of nearly N.dollars 18.4 billion from the 2024/25 Financial Year (FY) National Budget tabled by Finance Minister Iipumbu Shiimi on Wednesday. This is about N.dollars 1.7 billion more than the amount allocated to the ministry in the 2023/24 budget. The Ministry of Health and Social Services received the second largest allocation of nearly N.dollars 10.9 billion; an increase of N.dollars 1.3 billion compared to the N.dollars 9.6 billion allocated last year. Following is a breakdown of all allocations per ministry for the 2024/2025 financial year. Office of the President: N.dollars 966 821 000 Office of the Prime Minister: N.dollars 1 104 281 000 National Assembly: N.dollars 196 050 000 Office of the Auditor-General: N.dollars 124 762 000 Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security: N.dollars 7 413 654 000 Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation: N.dollars 964 895 000 Ministry of Defence: N. dollars 6 743 897 000 Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprise: N.dollars 8 127 321 000 Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture: N.dollars 18 381 140 000 National Council: N.dollars 136 662 000 Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare: N.dollars 7 990 776 000 Ministry of Health and Social Services: N.dollars 10 891 017 000 Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation: N.dollars 222 382 000 Ministry of Mines and Energy: N.dollars 381 937 000 Ministry of Justice: N.dollars 674 318 000 Ministry of Urban and Rural Development: N.dollars 2 590 907 000 Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism: N.dollars 725 533 000 Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade: N.dollars 365 484 000 Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform: -Agriculture and Land Reform N.dollars 1 937 358 000 -Water: N.dollars 1 039 023 000 Judiciary: N.dollars 445 473 000 Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources: N.dollars 321 447 000 Ministry of Works and Transport: - Works: N.dollars 789 532 000 - Transport: N.dollars 3 249 854 000 National Planning Commission: N.dollars 232 488 000 Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service: N.dollars 679 399 000 Electoral Commission of Namibia: N.dollars 437 983 000 Ministry of Information and Communication Technology: N.dollars 702 993 000 Anti-Corruption Commission: N.dollars 105 992 000 Ministry of Veterans Affairs: N.dollars 1 409 516 000 Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation: N.dollars 4 750 022 000 Ministry of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare: N.dollars 7 990 776 000 Source: The Namibia Press Agency