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UGANDA: BRITAIN CUTS SHS 64B AID OVER JAILED BESIGYE December 21, 2005

Apunyu Bonny

(SomaliNet) The British government has cut Shs 48 billion in aid to Uganda and withheld another Shs16 billion over the arrest and trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye, delays in the political transition, and overspending on public administration.

This was revealed by the Secretary of State for International Development, Mr. Hilary Benn, in a speech before the House of Commons in London yesterday Tuesday 20th The British High Commission said in a statement.

“I am concerned by recent developments in Uganda and I have decided to cut 15 million from our planned budget support this year, and postpone a decision on whether to provide a further 5 million until after the election,” Benn told the Commons

In December 2004, Britain promised to give Uganda up to 145 million pounds over three years under the Poverty Reduction Budget Support (PRBS). Some 40 million pounds were promised in the last financial year but Britain withheld 5 million pounds in March over concerns about the slow pace of the transition to multi-party politics.

The statement from the High Commission said the aid cut follows an economic and governance assessment which raised concerns over “the government’s commitment to the independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press and freedom of association following the events surrounding the arrest and trial of the leader of the Forum for Democratic Change.”

Uganda's Minister of State for Information, Dr James Nsaba Buturo in response to the aid cut, told Daily Monitor by telephone yesterday that the British action, announced a day after Sweden cut aid to Uganda by US$8.5 million, was “co-ordinated pressure in the mistaken view that they will derail the way we are doing things”.

He said, “This is what they call drip-drop support; it is their right, they have a view, we don’t agree with that view. We are totally satisfied that everything is in accordance with the road map; they have a different notion of democracy and we don’t believe that what we have here is not democracy.”

Dr. Besigye, the jailed FDC leader and presidential candidate, is facing charges of treason, concealment of treason and rape. He has also been charged in the military General Court Martial with terrorism and illegal possession of firearms. Besigye has denied the first set of charges in the High Court and refused to take a plea on the second. He has petitioned the Constitutional Court arguing that the GCM has no legal mandate to try him and that he is being subjected to ‘double jeopardy’ by being tried in separate courts over similar allegations.

The British government says it is also concerned about “delays in the government’s own road map for the political transition, the continuation of state financing for the Movement system in a new era of multi-party politics and a significant overrun on public administration expenditure.”

Mr. Benn said that the 15 million poundswould be reallocated to help the United Nations provide humanitarian relief including food and health care for people displaced by the war in northern Uganda, and that future aid might suffer if government did not address British concerns.

“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 future partnership with Uganda will depend upon a shared commitment to these principles,” he added.