The African Union (AU) has provided one million US dollar grant to support the Disarmament, Demobilization and Rehabilitation (DDR) efforts in Ethiopia today. The grant was signed by Commissioner of National Rehabilitation Commission,Teshome Toga and Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union Commission, Bankole Adeoye. During the signing ceremony, Teshoma said the grant will help to support efforts in the implementation of DDR. This AU's initiative would encourage other partners to provide resources in implementing DDR, he added. He assured that this resource will go directly to the beneficiaries and they will work together to maintain the cooperation. Commissioner Bankole on his part said "we are very pleased that today the commission has signed the grant agreement for the some of a million USD from the crisis reserve facility of the African Union Peace Fund, the first of its kind to member state." We are also very pleased that we can say charity begins at the headqu arters as the AU is here in Ethiopia, he said, adding the peace of Ethiopia is also the peace of the Union. This is the beginning of efforts to mobilize resources to mobilize partners for the success of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program of the entire Tigray region, he elaborated. He reiterated that AU is committed to working together with the government of Ethiopia. Source: Ethiopian News Agency The Finance and Budget Committee of the Assembly of the People's Representatives (ARP) held a hearing on Wednesday in the presence of the Minister of Education, Mohamed Ali Boughdiri. The session focused on a bill to approve a financing agreement signed on July 10, 2023 between Tunisia and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to contribute to the financing of the schools modernisation programme. This financing is part of the state's efforts to provide financial resources for the development of the education sector, the minister was quoted as saying in a parliamentary press release. He noted that this new funding would streamline the schools modernisation programme and cooperation with the EIB. Boughdiri pointed out that the promotion of the education sector through the rehabilitation of school infrastructure and teaching requires the involvement of all stakeholders in the sector. He underlined that the schools modernisation project is part of a national programme based on the principles of positive discri mination between regions. A representative of the Ministry of Education also gave an overview of the two phases of the School Modernisation Programme. He noted that this programme will result in the establishment of 80 new primary schools, the development and rehabilitation of priority primary schools, the purchase of computer equipment and 75 school buses. Technical assistance will be provided to monitor project studies under this programme, he added. At the end of the deliberations, the Committee decided to hear from the representative of the Ministry of Economy and Planning for more details on the financial conditions and interest rates of this loan. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse