CIVIL SOCIETY WARNS OF GRAVE IMPACT OF AID SUSPENSION
By Dramadri Federick
Arua City
Days after US President Donald Trump ordered halt in foreign aid for 90 days, civil societies in West Nile region have asked Uganda government to tighten on corruption for quicker recovery.
West Nile Regional Civil Society Network, the umbrella organization for the non-governmental organizations in the region says, despite Uganda’s potential to finance its budget through taxation and value addition on products, Normalization of the corruption in governance system is a blockage towards achieving the milestone.
Moses Oringi the Programs Manager West Nile Regional Civil Society Network said US had repeatedly threatened to suspend aid to Uganda after the passing of the anti-homosexuality law which would sound as a warning for the country to plan before this current pronouncements.
“The money that we lose to corruption is even bigger than the money we get from some of these partners so if we can make it tougher and stricter on those who are found to have stolen money, it will help us. Definitely it is going to affect us greatly if we leave the fight to eliminate corruption and yet aid has been cut,” Oringi revealed.
Annually US allocates 562 million dollars to support critical sectors of health, education and agriculture making it the largest donor to Uganda, however retired senior assistant secretary Martin Andua believes that the growing trend of looting money through corruption now at Shs10 trillion annually as per IGG’S 2023 report is not fought, Uganda will turn to be a failed state amidst huge resources.
“Our problem is not resources, our problem is how those resources have been put to use. There’s heavy corruption,” Andua noted.
United States has been heavily financing the fight against Malaria and HIV/AIDS which are the leading cause of death among Ugandans over the years, now with the suspension of aid for 90 days, Ugandans will have to pay the price.
The US President Donald Trump on Tuesday January 21, 2025 suspended aid to World Health Organization countries including Uganda, imposed visa restrictions and cancelled a regional military exercise in response to a Ugandan law that imposes harsh penalties on homosexuality.
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