THE GRANARY IS DOWN; PRIORITIZE BUDGET AND BE INNOVATIVE AS US CUTS FUNDS, WEST NILE STAKEHOLDERS APPEAL

By Morish Dramadri

Arua city

Stakeholders in West Nile have recommended the need for innovation and priority setting by the government of Uganda as a move to combat the impact of the US’s presidential executive order that has banned its aids to other countries.
 
US’s President Donald Trump mid this month announced a ban on all funding including her withdraw from the world health organization sparking controversies over the fate of all US funded activities and projects especially in Uganda as a refugee hosting country.
 
According to West Nile refugee desk officer in the office of the Prime Minister, Solomon Osakan, “USAID has been giving some support for food in the settlement if they have decided to cut food aid, may be other donor will step in, food which is there is just for the new arrivals and the most vulnerable, we have to strive and have our own funding, our budget should also take up the challenge,” Osakan said.
 
Equally, Twaib Feni the Executive Director of West Nile civil society Network (WESCINET) stressed that it’s now time for Africa to learn to survive on her own without donor funding.
 
“We need now to learn how to be innovative within our means and see how we can address our problem, all of us should know how to prioritize our basic things and invest money in them so that we have our programs move on smoothly, we should learn how to survive by our own after all the executive order is for America, so that is their money,” Feni recommended. 
 
Meanwhile Francis Ayume Simon the executive director for Refugee Empowerment and Development Network (REDNET) in West Nile, called on the South Sudanese government to reconsider peaceful co-existence in order to help her citizens affected by Trump’s decision as refugees.
 
“If our leaders of South Sudan continue bringing their differences on table, they are risking its citizens who are already refugees and who are going to start facing challenges in medication and so on, there is need for us to accept each other, forgive each other and encourage peace so that the people can be able to get back to wherever they came from to do and engage in their normal activities,” Ayume pleaded.

The most affected sectors by the US fund cut in Uganda include the health, education and organizations in the governance among others and this is expected to leave thousands of people jobless.
 
 
 

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