Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala. The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. The area was ruled by the British beginning in the late 1800s. Uganda
gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962. The period since
then has been marked by intermittent conflicts, most recently a civil
war against the Lord's Resistance Army.
The official languages are English and Swahili.
Luganda, a southern language, is widely spoken across the country,
although multiple other languages are spoken in the country. The current
President of Uganda is Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
Idi Amin was one of Uganda’s most notorious rulers, expelling the
Indian population and being held accountable for up to 800,000 deaths.
Currently, the Lord’s Resistance Army and other militia groups continue
to cause terror in unstable areas in Uganda, which has led to the
displacement of 1.6 million people. The LRA have been accused of the
abduction of around 30,000 children, many of whom are forced into
becoming child soldiers. A working peace agreement still remains elusive
in Uganda, and its peace process has an important role to play in the
realisation of peace and security in the region.
THE HILARIOUS IDI AMIN DADA
 |
| IDI AMIN DADA |
Idi Amin Dada, who became known as the 'Butcher of Uganda' for his
brutal, despotic rule whilst president of Uganda in the 1970s, is
possibly the most notorious of all Africa's post-independence dictators.
Amin seized power in a military coup in 1971 and ruled over Uganda
for 8 years. Estimates for the number of his opponents who were either
killed, tortured, or imprisoned vary from 100,000 to half a million. He
was ousted in 1979 by Ugandan nationalists, after which he fled into
exile.
Date of birth: 1925, near Koboko, West Nile province, Uganda
Date of death: 16 August 2003, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
An Early LifeIdi Amin Dada was born in 1925 near Koboko,
in the West Nile Province of what is now the Republic of Uganda.
Deserted by his father at an early age, he was brought up by his mother,
a herbalist and diviner. He was a member of the Kakwa ethnic group, a
small Islamic tribe that was settled in the region.
Success in the King's African Rifles
Idi Amin received little formal education: sources are unclear whether
or not he attended the local missionary school. However, in 1946 he
joined the King's African Rifles,
KAR (Britain's colonial African troops), and served in Burma, Somalia,
Kenya (during the British suppression of the Mau Mau) and Uganda.
Although he was considered a skilled, and somewhat overeager, soldier,
Amin developed a reputation for cruelty - he was almost cashiered on
several occasions for excessive brutality during interrogations. He rose
through the ranks, reaching sergeant-major before finally being made an
effendi, the highest rank possible for a Black African serving
in the British army. Amin was also an accomplished sportsman, holding
Uganda's light heavyweight boxing championship from 1951 to 1960.
A Hint of What was to Come?
As Uganda approached independence Idi Amin's close colleague Apolo
Milton Obote, the leader of the Uganda People's Congress (UPC), was made
chief minister, and then prime minister. Obote had Amin, one of only
two high ranking Africans in the KAR, appointed as First Lieutenant of
the Ugandan army. Sent north to quell cattle stealing, Amin perpetrated
such atrocities that the British government demanded he be prosecuted.
Instead Obote arranged for him to receive further military training in
the UK.
A Willing Soldier for the State
On his return to Uganda in 1964, Idi Amin was promoted to major and
given the task of dealing with an army in mutiny. His success led to a
further promotion to colonel. In 1965 Obote and Amin were implicated in a
deal to smuggle gold, coffee, and ivory out of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo - the subsequent funds should have been channeled to troops
loyal to the murdered DRC prime minister Patrice Lumumba, but according
to their leader, General Olenga, never arrived. A parliamentary
investigation demanded by President Edward Mutebi Mutesa II
(who was also the King of Buganda, known colloquially as 'King
Freddie') put Obote on the defensive - he promoted Amin to general and
made him Chief-of-Staff, had five ministers arrested, suspended the 1962
constitution, and declared himself president. King Freddie was finally
forced into exile in Britain in 1966 when government forces, under the
command of Idi Amin, stormed the royal palace.
Coup d'Etat
Idi Amin began to strengthen his position within the army, using the
funds obtained from smuggling and from supplying arms to rebels in
southern Sudan. He also developed ties with British and Israeli agents
in the country. President Obote first responded by putting Amin under
house arrest, and when this failed to work, Amin was sidelined to a
non-executive position in the army. On 25 January 1971, whilst Obote
attended a Commonwealth meeting in Singapore, Amin led a coup d'etat and
took control of the country, declaring himself president. Popular
history recalls Amin's declared title to be: "
His Excellency
President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC,
Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and
Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in
Particular."
The Hidden Side of a Popular President
Idi Amin was initially welcomed both within Uganda and by the
international community. King Freddie had died in exile in 1969 and one
of Amin's earliest acts was to have the body returned to Uganda for
state burial. Political prisoners (many of whom were Amin followers)
were freed and the Ugandan Secret Police was disbanded. However, at the
same time Amin had 'killer squads' hunting down Obote's supporters.
Amin Becomes Increasingly Paranoid
Popular legend has Amin involved in Kakwa blood rituals and cannibalism.
More authoritative sources suggest that he may have suffered from hypomania,
a form of manic depression which is characterized by irrational
behavior and emotional outbursts. As his paranoia became more pronounced
he imported troops from Sudan and Zaire, until less than 25% of the
army was Ugandan. As accounts of Amin's atrocities reached the
international press, support for his regime faltered. (But only in 1978
did the United States shift its purchase of coffee from Uganda to
neighboring states.) The Ugandan economy faltered and inflation reached
an excess of 1,000 percent.
The President of Uganda, currently Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, is both head of state and head of government. The President appoints a Vice President, currently Edward Ssekandi, and a prime minister, currently Amama Mbabazi, who aid him in governing. The parliament is formed by the National Assembly, which has 332 members. 104 of these members are nominated by interest groups, including women and the army. The remaining members are elected for five-year terms during general elections.
Political parties in Uganda were restricted in their activities beginning in 1986, in a measure ostensibly designed to reduce sectarian violence. In the non-party
"Movement" system instituted by Museveni, political parties continued
to exist, but they could only operate a headquarters office. They could
not open branches, hold rallies, or field candidates directly (although
electoral candidates could belong to political parties). A
constitutional referendum canceled this nineteen-year ban on multi-party
politics in July 2005. Additionally, the constitutional term limit for
the presidency was changed from the previous two-term limit, in order to
enable the current president to continue in active politics.
Presidential elections were held in February 2006. Yoweri Museveni
ran against several candidates, the most prominent of them being Dr. Kizza Besigye.
On Sunday, 20 February 2011, the Uganda Electoral Commission declared
the 24-year reigning president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the winning
candidate of the 2011 elections that were held on the 18th of February
2011. The opposition were, however, not satisfied with the results,
condemning them as full of sham and rigging. According to the results
released, Museveni won with 68% of the votes, easily topping his nearest
challenger Kizza Besigye. Besigye, who was formerly Museveni's
physician, told reporters that he and his supporters 'downrightly snub'
the outcome as well as the unremitting rule of Museveni or any person he
may appoint. Besigye added that the rigged elections would definitely
lead to an illegitimate lead and that it is up to Ugandans to critically
analyse this.
The EU Election Observation Mission reported on improvements and
flaws of the Ugandan electoral process: "The electoral campaign and
polling day were conducted in a peaceful manner [...] However, the
electoral process was marred by avoidable administrative and logistical
failures that led to an unacceptable number of Ugandan citizens being
disfranchised."
Since August 2012, hacktivist group Anonymous has threatened Ugandan officials and hacked official government websites over its anti-gay bills.
Some international donors have threatened to cut financial aid to the country if anti-gay bills continue.
Museveni will be heading Uganda for another 4 years, with the next elections anticipated to be held in 2016.
Uganda is rated among countries perceived as very corrupt by Transparency International. It is rated at 2.4 on a scale from 0 (perceived as most corrupt) to 10 (perceived as clean).
Political divisions
Uganda is divided into districts, spread across four administrative regions: Northern, Eastern, Central (Kingdom of Buganda) and Western. The districts are subdivided into counties.
A number of districts have been added in the past few years, and eight
others were added on 1 July 2006 plus others added in 2010. There are
now over 100 districts.
Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative
towns. Each district is divided into sub-districts, counties, sub-counties, parishes and villages.
Parallel with the state administration, five traditional Bantu kingdoms have remained, enjoying some degrees of mainly cultural autonomy. The kingdoms are Toro, Busoga, Bunyoro, Buganda and Rwenzururu. Furthermore, some groups attempt to restore Ankole as one of the officially recognized traditional kingdoms, to no avail yet.
A clickable map of Uganda exhibiting its 111 districts and Kampala.
Uganda Civil War
Northern
Uganda had suffered from civil unrest since the early 1980s. Hundreds
of people were killed in the rebellion against the Ugandan government,
and an estimated 400-thousand people were left homeless. Political
violence increased in Kampala with the 1998 and 1999 bombings of several
popular restaurants nightclubs, and other public places. Eight foreign
tourists, including 2 Americans, were murdered by an Interehamwe
guerilla group in Bwindi National Forest in March 1999. Rebels were
active in the northern and western sections of Uganda.
President Yoweri Museveni used Uganda's military to battle the 2 main
rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF). Thousands of children fell victim to the war,
abducted by both the LRA and the ADF to serve as fighters or porters.
As the conflict between the Government of Uganda (GOU) forces and armed
insurgent groups intensified in late 1996, the GOU military began
encouraging rural people in affected areas to move into protective
camps. However, the military provided only a short period for the move
and undertook little preparation for the influx of people to the
protective camps. Uganda's economy also suffered, with billions of
dollars of the government's budget going to the military. The
instability from the civil war, and growing domestic and international
pressure to find a way to stop the fighting, apparently prompted
President Museveni to back away from the military option and look for a
political solution.
People in the Uganda districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader continued to
be terrorized by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. They were victims
of brutal attacks and kidnappings by the rebel group. The main victims
of the LRA had been the Acholi people of northern Uganda. More than a
million Acholi had moved to protected camps. As a result, they had not
been able to plant their crops and hunger was widespread. After
suffering for so many years, Acholi leaders had been at the forefront
of efforts to open up a dialogue with the rebels. Ironically, the LRA
claimed to be fighting the GOU forces because of their prejudice
policies against the Acholi people.
Forty-eight people were hacked to death near the town of Kitgum in
the far north of Uganda on 25 July 2002. Local newspaper reports said
elderly people were killed with machetes and spears, and babies were
flung against trees. Ugandans were shocked by the brutality of the
latest attack by the rebel LRA.
The vicious rebel attack in northern Uganda raised questions about
planned peace talks between the LRA and Uganda's government. President
Yoweri Museveni had agreed to peace talks brokered by Ugandan religious
leaders. The Ugandan army had been trying to crush the LRA rebellion
for over 18 years without success. President Museveni gave his backing
to peace talks to be brokered by religious leaders. Ugandan army
spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza said he believed the talks to be a
waste of time because the rebel leader, Joseph Kony, did not have any
real agenda to discuss.
In February 2003, Sudan agreed to let troops from neighboring Uganda
enter its territory to attack the LRA rebels who had been trying for
years to overthrow the Ugandan government. The Ugandan army called on
the LRA to surrender or be defeated. Ugandan officials said the
agreement gave them what they had long been waiting for, the chance to
eliminate the LRA. The agreement set the stage for a decisive blow
against rebels.
By early 2003, optimism was growing that 16 years of fighting in
northern Uganda may soon come to an end. The ADF had effectively ceased
to be a major threat to the GOU. The LRA declared a cease-fire and
said they wanted to hold talks with the government of Yoweri Museveni.
The pledge by the LRA to cease all ambushes, abductions and attacks was
welcomed by the Uganda government. The LRA was in a tight corner after
its bases in southern Sudan, just over the border from northern Uganda,
had been destroyed by Ugandan troops following an agreement with the
Sudanese government. The rebels' main sources of food and military
supplies were now back home in northern Uganda, which made them much
more vulnerable to attacks by government troops. Then in June 2003,
Kony told his fighters to destroy Catholic missions, kill priests and
missionaries, and beat up nuns.
There were also reasons for the government to negotiate. Analysts
were saying that President Museveni might have realized that, even with
access to the rebel bases in Sudan, the military solution he once
preferred was not going to succeed. He was under enormous public
pressure to try the path of a negotiated settlement.
In January 2004, Ugandan Defense Minister Amama Mbabazi said that the
government had killed 928 LRA rebels between 1 January 2003 and 16
January 2004. Speaking at a monthly press briefing in Bombo, a suburb
of Kampala, Minister Mbabazi said 791 rebels were either captured by the
army or surrendered during Operation Iron Fist. He said the army
rescued 7,299 people abducted by the rebels. He also said 88 army
soldiers died in the combat, 141 others were injured and 4 went missing
during the period.
In May 2004, a report by the aid organisation, Christian Aid,
condemned what it described as a shirking of the government's
responsibilities to protect the people of the north "borne out of a lack
of will." It accused the government of herding civilians into camps
ostensibly to protect them from the LRA without offering those living in
camps the protection they needed. The Ugandan government rejected the
report, saying the report was "completely unfair."
Rebels of the LRA attacked a camp for internally displaced persons
(IDPs) in war-ravaged northern Uganda on 16 May 2004, killing scores of
people and abducting others. A group of rebels attacked Pagak displaced
people's camp in 3 prongs: one attacked the camp, a second one attacked
the soldiers guarding it, and the third one concentrated on the patrol
units. The group that attacked the camp set ablaze dozens of
grass-thatched huts to create confusion, then looted food and abducted
people whom they forced to carry their loot for a distance before they
killed them along with their babies.
By November 2003, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs
and Humanitarian Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland stated that he
considered the humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda to be among the
worst on the planet. Several UN agencies, including UNICEF and the Food
and Agricultural Organization, were expected to increase their presence
in northern Uganda, provided the government was able to provide
adequate security.
In October 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the
Hauge, announced arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and 4 of his top LRA
deputies. The charges ranged from the mutilation of civilians to the
forced abduction of and sexual abuse of children. Some Ugandans voiced
concern over whether the warrants would undermine the peace process by
forcing the LRA leaders into a situation where they had to either face
trial at the Hauge or continue fighting.
In July 2006, LRA representatives were participating in a series of
peace talks with the Ugandan government in neighboring Southern Sudan.
The LRA representatives present did not include Joseph Kony, who was
believed to be hiding in the Democratic Republic of Congo to avoid
prosecution for war crimes. While the LRA representatives present
wished to portray the group as freedom fighters against President
Museveni's system of patronage and discrimination against the Acholi
tribe, the LRA had largely alienated themselves from the Ugandan
population through their use of brutal tactics, even against the members
of the Acholi tribe. The Ugandan government seemed to have little
interest in the LRA's demands of reconstituting the Ugandan military
under foreign control and a quota for Acholi in government jobs and
instead seemed focused on determining the LRA's terms of surrender.
Some international observers thought a peace deal was going to be
reached in October 2006. LRA leaders (though not Kony) met with GOU
negotiators in the town of Juba in Southern Sudan. However, the talks
broke down relatively quickly as both sides violated their predetermined
conditions of the negotiation. LRA forces moved from their designated
area along the Sudanese-Ugandan border and GOU forces assembled in
unauthorized portions of Northern Uganda. The talks were also at an
impasse. The main discussion was about the charges brought on Kony and 4
LRA leaders by the ICC. The LRA claimed they would sign a peace deal
after the charges were dropped, while GOU negotiators demanded that a
peace deal be in place before they discussed dropping the charges.
Peace talks with the LRA throughout 2007 had failed due to the
refusal of Kony to appear to sign the agreements. Kony had argued that
until all ICC charges were dropped, there would be no peace agreement.
The LRA then continued to increase attacks in 2008 mainly in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This prompted a reaction by the
Ugandan forces and DRC forces to perform a joint military operation in
December 2008 called Operation Lightning Thunder. This military strike
effectively destroyed Kony's main base in the DRC and pushed the LRA
into the Central African Republic (CAR).
With the movement of the LRA into CAR, the Uganda Civil War had
effectively escalated into a regional conflict that involved 4
countries: the DRC, the CAR, Sudan, and Uganda. The LRA, the last
remaining anti-government organization from the Uganda Civil War,
continued to remain a threat to the region in 2010 by attacking remote
locations and they continued to evade capture of the Ugandan military.
The goals of the LRA had become increasingly unclear and they did not
appear to pose a threat to the governments of any of the countries they
operated in, preferring to prey on civilians, killing, raping, and
mutilating the people of central Africa; stealing and brutalizing their
children; and displacing hundreds of thousands of people in the process.
The United States government stated in 2010, that the Lord's
Resistance Army had no agenda and no purpose other than its own
survival.
Uganda: Child Soldiers
Marley MelchiorreHjelmgren – 7May 19, 2009 Uganda: Child Soldiers: The abduction of child soldiers is affecting the economy and the people of Uganda significantly. A
group called the Lord’s Resistance Army or LRA has fought a twenty-two
year old rebellion against the government. Most of the LRA soldiers are
believed to be a part of the Acholi tribe from the North (World
Geography). When Museveni, a member of the Ankole tribe from southern
Uganda, came to power in 1986, the Acholi people lost their previous dominance. Museveni and the LRA continue to be unsuccessful in overpowering one another (World Geography). The Lord’s Resistance Army must be captured to eliminate child abductions and killings.According to a top United Nations official, the conditions in Uganda are worse than anywhere else in the world (Talwar, Namrita).
Thousands of children have been abducted and forced to kill, burn or
raid houses, and often are raped. Once kidnapped, they are given
military training to be in the LRA. These children are threatened to be
killed if they attempt escaping. Girls are raped and are likely to get
HIV/AIDS or unwanted pregnancies. Night commuters are
children that are trying to avoid being kidnapped and are seeking refuge
in local hospitals and churches at night, while returning home in the
morning (Human Rights Watch). Some say that the leader of the LRA,
Joseph Kony, wants to rule the country according to the Ten Commandments (World Geography). How
could one believe this when his soldiers are responsible for abducting
more than fourteen thousand children? The LRA has been accountable for
brutal attacks on villages, kidnapping, thievery, and creating land
mines. Anyone who attempts to run away or slows down the troops is killed (Ryu Nairobi, Alisha). Due
to these violent attacks, Ugandans are forced into safety camps,
leaving behind their farmland and their livelihood. These camps are
overcrowded and depend on foreign aid (Talwar, Namrita). The
economy of Uganda is at risk. This country is very dependent on their
cash crops, their main export. LRA rebel attacks have drastically
affected the planting season creating food shortages and malnutrition.
Ugandans are unable to work on the fields, due to the government’s
orders to flee to safety camps (Global Issues in Context). A vast number
of refugees have decreased the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and created
a humanitarian crisis that has diminished any progress in the country,
after suffering through previous violence (Global Issues in Context).
The LRA leaders need to be captured, so Uganda can begin
rebuilding their economy. Museveni and his troops must continue rescuing
the child soldiers, but they should focus on capturing their leader,
Joseph Kony. If the use of child soldiers doesn’t cease then we will
continue to take the precious childhood of these children and the LRA
could gain control. The people of Uganda desperately need our foreign
aid to sustain the food and supplies in their safety camps. Ugandans
continue to lose lives and live in fear of the LRA.
''CORRUPTION'' UGANDA'S UN-ENDING EVIL?
‘Corruption increases’
ELIAS BIRYABAREMA
KAMPALA (Monitor Newspaper) September 27, 2007
CORRUPTION
in Ugandan has escalated and is stifling the nation's struggle to
eradicate poverty, according to a report released yesterday by
Transparency International, the Berlin-based global anti corruption
body.
The country's ranking in the world Corruption Perception
Index, CPI, has taken a fresh, disconcerting plunge, dropping 12
positions within one year. With a CPI of 2.8, Uganda is the 117th most
corrupt nation in 2007 in a ranking of 178 countries.
Notably,
the sharp decline in accountability appears to mock efforts both of the
government and its donors who have devoted ever-increasing amounts of
scarce resources purportedly to fight corruption in public offices.
The
finance minister, Dr Ezra Suruma announced during his 2007/08 budget
speech that the US government had granted Uganda $10.2 million (more
than Shs18 billion) to strengthen "investigation, documentation and
prosecution of corruption cases."
New Zealand and Denmark
occupied the first and second places on the CPI, both scoring 9.4 while
Somalia and Myanmar tailed the list as the worst and second worst
corrupt nations in the world.
Govt pays ghosts Shs21b per year
YASIIN MUGERWA
Kampala (Monitor) October 18, 2007
PARLIAMENT
DEAD,
retired, and sacked civil servants are on average paid Shs1.7 billion a
month or approximately Shs20.8 billion a year, according to findings
by the Auditor General.
The latest AG's report for the year
ended June 30, 2006, indicates that the ghosts on the payroll were
maintained and managed by a racket of corrupt but organised government
officials.
The report says the payments have been handed out for
many years. However, an audit sample of salary payments for July 2005
and March 2006 --for ministries/departments, local governments/
referral hospitals and educational institutions--showed that on average
a whopping Shs1.7 billion was paid out to ghosts.
In August
2005, President Museveni directed all accounting officers to clean and
remove invalid records (ghosts) from the government payroll. Following
this directive, an inter-ministerial task force comprising Ministry of
Public Service and the Ministry of Education and Finance conducted a
payroll cleaning exercise.
Among the key findings, the AG says, was the existence of invalid records or ghosts on the payroll.
"A
total of 9,199 invalid records were deleted from the payroll leading
to a saving [loss to government] of Shs1.734, 170,984 in salary costs,"
the report reads in part.
A computation sample for one month
shows that at least over Shs1.7 billion is paid to ghost government
workers per month. But MPs are saying this has been going on for long
and that attempts to expose culprits have either been too sluggish or
pending.
The shocking revelations were made yesterday during a
meeting between the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee and
officials from the Ministry of Public Service, who manage the government
payroll. Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi, told Daily Monitor that the
Shs20.8 billion could have been used to pay pension arrears for over
1,000 former government employees.
"It's a shame that ghosts
are being paid yet we have over 40,000 people struggling to get their
pensions. Many of our senior citizens have died without getting their
money," Mr Nandala said.
According to MPs, for the five years
the ghosts have so far received Shs100 billion. Statistics from the
report show that the 26473 invalid records (ghosts) comprised of
delayed transfers (65.25%), retired (10.26), absconded (10.03%), died
(4.62%), resigned (1.37%), left (0.37%) and others (7.69).
Aswa
MP Reagan Okumu accuses officials in the Ministry of Finance and
Public Service of 'connivance' to defraud the government. "We are
disappointed; How can Shs1.7 billion vanish per month? In fact,
officials in Finance and Public service should be investigated. Our
people are suffering and these officials are just enjoying themselves,"
Mr Okumu said.
In the report, the AG found out that of 229,901
records verified, 26,473 were invalid (ghosts), 78 percent of which
were from educational institutions, 20 percent from local governments
and referral hospitals, and 2 percent from ministries and other
government departments.
The committee's vice chairperson, Mr
Ssebuliba Mutumba (Kawempe South), said: "This is fraud and this money
must be refunded and all officers involved will be arrested." He said
this signified the decay in many government institutions.
In
her response, Ms Gorret Sendyona, the assistant commissioner in charge
of the payroll in the Ministry of Public Service, said the government
has embarked on a rigorous cleaning exercise to overcome the problem.
Mr Jimmy Lwamafa, the PS in the Ministry of Public Service, said some unnamed officials have started returning the money.
Officials steal interest on banked govt money
CHARLES MWANGUHYA M KAMPALA (Monitor) October 15, 2007
A
BIZARRE racket in which officials with access to huge deposits of
public money hold the cash in special accounts and reap from it in
interest can now be exposed.
The officials transfer the cash to fixed
deposit accounts for at least a month and end up reaping millions off
it in interest.
Mr
Ssebuliba Mutumba, the Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary watchdog -
the Public Accounts Committee - told Daily Monitor yesterday that the
scheme is a "big and complex syndicate" involving mainly the Ministry
of Finance which originates most of the funds, Ministry of Defence
which is one of the biggest spenders, Bank of Uganda, which does the
bulk cash releases and other project-heavy ministries like the Ministry
of Health.
"Even
if the money stays for two or three days (on fixed deposit accounts),
because it is a huge amount, it is still able to make for them millions
in interest. It is a complicated syndicate, in fact and the Auditor
General only captures just a few," said Mr Mutumba, who is also MP
Kawempe South. These government workers with access to the large sums of
money, especially those managing project funds, are thus able to make
the millions by colluding with top banks in town to hold the money as
fixed deposits. The interest that accrues is later pocketed.
The
discovery could go a long way in explaining the magic that modestly
paid government workers use to be able to live splendid lives, send
their children to schools where their monthly salary cannot cover a
term's school fees and build plush mansions without the risk of facing
court bailiffs over loans.
Top
commercial banks in the city are key in the scheme. The money,
according to documents available to Daily Monitor, is normally held for
anything between one month, three to six months;- during which period
it accumulates millions in interest. Now, Parliament watchdog committees
are gunning for the heads of those behind the scam and are launching a
full investigation. The Local Government Accounts Committee, the
Public Accounts Committee and the Parliamentary Committee on Statutory
Bodies, State Enterprises and Commissions, are teaming up with the
Auditor General to demand that the interest is deposited in the
government's coffers.
"We
are getting very close to them," Mr Mutumba said. "We shall get their
(financial) statements, bank reconciliation and we shall track the
money." The interest is usually switched to a separate account to make
more money or is pocketed, Daily Monitor has learnt. Meanwhile, the
principal sum could either be withdrawn-depending on how much pressure a
particular government official could be under to pay off the bonafide
beneficiaries or in the absence of such pressure, the fixed deposit
period may be renewed.
Because
the government does not demand accountability on funds beyond what it
disbursed, officials can safely make and keep the difference for
themselves.
In one case discovered by the Auditor General, a key
government body deposited Shs1.446 billion and at the expiry of the
fixed deposit, the project manager wrote to the bank; "the above
mentioned fixed deposit matures today 28th June 2001.
We
have received your offer to renew the same on 30 days term deposit at
an interest rate of 4 per cent and decide to instruct you as follows;
1) Convert Uganda Shillings 867, 500, 000 to US$500, 000 at agreed
exchange rate of Uganda Shillings 1,735 and credit that amount into our
dollar account. Renew the balance of Uganda Shillings 578, 589, 033 on
the fixed deposit account for 30 days at an interest rate of four per
cent per annum."
According
to audit queries by the Auditor General, in many incidents, only part
of the project money is credited to official accounts while larger
balances are kept on different accounts which are not official, an
indication, officials noted, that some government staff are colluding
with either banks or staff members to divert project funds.
Although
Daily Monitor's investigations concentrated on bigger project monies,
the chairman of the Local Government's Accounts Committee, MP Geoffrey
Ekanya, said the problem is bigger.
"It
has been going on for the last many years. In fact, it used to be
worse under the old system because cheques used to be delayed in
Kampala (where they were invested on fixed deposit accounts) and when
they are released to the districts, the districts also deposit them on a
general account where it of course makes interest," he said, adding
that "this interest is never declared."
Mr
Ekanya said some affected areas included civil servant's salaries and
cited the example of teachers who have often faced the brunt of delayed
wage payments. "It is criminal because people who are supposed to be
paid suffer and it also leads to creation of domestic arrears," he said.
Sharing the bounty
Because
the money is big and has to follow a given trail, which requires many
along the ladder to know about it, a well worked-out sharing plan is
also in place.
In
some projects or ministries, the accruing interest may be given to
staff through internal salary loan schemes, Mr Mutumba said, adding:
"There is a tendency to lend it internally. It is a very a big game. It
is a big, big cancer because at the end of day, projects suffer."
African leaders steal $ 148 billion a year
AGNES ASIIMWE & ANGELO IZAMA
NEW YORK/KAMPALA (Monitor) September 21, 2007
A
QUARTER of the gross domestic product of African States - or $148
billion is lost to corruption annually, the United Nations has said.
Most
of this money is stolen by African leaders and kept in banks overseas.
The UN and the World Bank estimate that the value of criminal
businesses is between $1 to 2 trillion.
The revelations were made
during a press conference by the UN Secretary general, Mr Ban ki Moon,
and the World Bank President, Mr Robert Zoelick in New York on Monday.
To
check this practice, the two bodies announced a partnership to recover
billions of dollars stolen by corrupt leaders from the developing
world and which monies are lying in foreign banks while the countries
from which it originated wallow in poverty.
A partner in the recovery effort will be the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The
launch of Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative (STAR) in New York is a
warning shot especially in Africa- where leaders like the late
Congolese (Zairean) President Mobutu Sese Seko and Gen Sani Abacha of
Nigeria- built obscene fortunes abroad.
However, neither Mr Ban
nor Mr Zoelick mentioned the culpability of the banks that accept
deposits from corrupt African leaders -and the support given to some of
these leaders by powerful western governments.
"The theft of
public assets from developing countries is a grave and growing concern,
said Mr Ban, adding that stolen assets amounted to US$ 1 trillion
every year.
Mr Zoellick on his part said the money being stolen was
at the expense of social programmes that would target the poor in
society.
"There should be no haven for those who steal from the
poor," Mr Zoellick added. STAR is also intended to tighten the noose on
illegal money used by criminal groups including international
terrorists.
Corruption
The
Bank also says officials in developing countries pocket between US$ 20
to 40 billion in bribes- equivalent to almost 40 percent of the money
they receive from development partners. The new initiative intends to
re-invest recovered money in social programmes.
"Every 100 million
recovered could fund full immunisations for 4 million children, provide
water connections for some 250,000 households or fund treatment for
over 600,000 people with HIV/Aids for a full year," Mr Zoellick said.
The
World Bank president was optimistic that assets could be recovered
citing cases from three countries - Phillipines, Peru, Nigeria. In
2004, the Phillipines was able to repatriate $624 million of former
President Ferdinand Marcos' money held in Swiss Bank accounts.
Marcos,
a staunch ally of America, was President from 1965 to 1986, and was
reported to have stolen billions of dollars while his wife Imelda lived
a lavish lifestyle- filling her house with thousands of pairs of
expensive shoes.
Nigeria also recovered $505 million of the
Sani Abacha money from Swiss banks but this is just a small slice of
the money he is reported to have stolen.
The chairperson of
Transparency International Huguette Labelle described the initiative as
"a wake up call to those who steal and to those who facilitate or
harbour stolen assets" but little pressure has come to bear on western
banks and governments who are complicit in the thefts.
In
May 2004 for example, Christian Aid, a United Kingdom-based charity
organisation, accused the Uganda government of "wrongly" diverting aid
money with the knowledge of the British government. Uganda, an
aid-dependant country, is also notoriously corrupt.
This
year the government has said fighting corruption is a priority but a
2004 report for the World Bank, which gives millions of dollars worth of
aid and loans to the country, noted that corruption was key to the
survival of the regime in Kampala.
