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Defence spending trimmed

    NAIROBI
    Ugandan Finance Minister Gerald Ssendawula on Thursday announced a reduction in the defence budget to 177 billion shillings for the 1999-2000 fiscal year. This means the defence budget now accounts for two percent of Uganda’s GDP, compared to 2.4 per cent in the last fiscal year, media reports said. In his budget speech, broadcast on Radio Uganda, the minister said, however, that security issues must “continue to be accorded the highest priority in the budget”. The IMF’s Resident Representative in Uganda, Zia Ebrahim-Zadeh, on Friday described the announcement as a “positive move”. “It is in line with the level agreed for Uganda’s mid-term framework, it is quite impressive,” he told IRIN. “We are very happy about this.”

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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