| Britain
cuts aid to Uganda again |
| ELIAS
BIRYABAREMA |
KAMPALA
THE United Kingdom has decided to cut its budgetary support
to Uganda for the financial year 2006/07 by £20 million.
The move is a show of protest against bloated public administration
expenditures, governance and allocation of inadequate resources
towards the energy sector.
This is the second time, Britain, one of Uganda’s principal
donors is cutting aid to Uganda. The first was in December 2005.
According to a bilateral agreement between Uganda and UK in
December 2004, the latter was supposed to support Uganda’s
budget up to the tune of £40 million for the financial
year 2004/05 - £50 million in 2005/06 and £55 million
in 2006/07.
A press statement from Dfid said yesterday that Uganda would
now receive only £35 million for this financial year.
The development is expected to further strain the government’s
capacity which has already been weakened by the energy crisis
to fund some the priorities like constructing more power plants
and availing micro credit for poverty alleviation.
According to the statement, the government of UK will however,
spend the rest of the money on ameliorating the continuing humanitarian
catastrophe in Northern Uganda.
It is the second aid cut by the UK government, over its persisting
concerns on democracy and disagreements with the Ugandan government
on priority areas in the budgeting process.
Last December, UK announced that it was slashing the amount
it had committed itself to provide for the 2005/06 budget by
15 million pounds and withholding 5 million pounds pending the
outcome of presidential and parliamentary elections.
The UK’s Secretary for International Development, Mr Hilary
Benn, was quoted by the release as saying that the political
situation had improved markedly since the February presidential
and parliamentary elections, which has prompted a decision to
release the 5 million pounds withheld in December.
International observers, including those from the EU and Commonwealth,
determined that the elections passed generally peacefully, free
and fair.
The release said there was a high voter turn-out and voting
was generally well administered, transparent and competitive.
“All of the UK’s aid partnerships are based on a
shared commitment to reducing poverty, tackling corruption,
and respecting human rights.
The strength of our partnership with Uganda depends upon a shared
commitment to these principles,” Ben said.
Underlining the new focus on supporting Northern Uganda, he
said there was need to make adequate provision for the humanitarian
needs of those people in northern Uganda who have been forced
from their homes by the conflict.
But in what may be even more worrying for the Ugandan government,
UK said it has also decided to maintain its core budget support
allocation for both 2007/08 and 2008/09 at the level of £35
million.
Benn visited Uganda in May last year and spent a day in northern
Uganda .
He then visited Kampala where he met with President Museveni
to discuss the conflict and other critical issues in the two
governments’ relationship.
He got assurances from President Museveni that due process would
be followed in the High Court trial of Dr Kizza Besigye and
that rampant corruption in the government would be tackled.
- Monitor - |
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