THE EAST AFRICAN -NAIROBI-KENYA
Regional
Monday, January 20, 2003
Lack of Funds Delays Diplomats' Posting
By WAIRAGALA WAKABI
THE EASTAFRICAN
THE LONG delayed posting of new Ugandan diplomats abroad has once again been put on hold, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is yet to secure funds from the Treasury for the exercise.
Ministry sources said the much awaited reopening of the country's key embassies of Paris, Tehran, Bonn and Moscow had also been put on hold until the Treasury released funds the ministry requisitioned in the 2002/03 financial year.
Financial difficulties forced Uganda to close its embassies in those countries over two years ago, but both the Cabinet and President Yoweri Museveni are now convinced of the need to re-open them. The president has just drawn up a list of nominees for the new postings, including those proposed for the missions in the four nations.
A spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, David Etuket, said funds for the new postings and reopening of the missions had not been received, adding that his ministry was engaged in talks with the Treasury to work out the monies needed to expedite its release.
"The political decision has been taken to open the missions so we are sure the Treasury will release the funds," said Mr Etuket. The decision to reopen the Paris and Berlin missions was made necessary by the fact that the two are among Uganda's leading development partners. Uganda also hopes to market its tourism to investors from France and Germany.
The Ministries of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Works and Communications, Education and Health are said to have realised a fall in donor aid following the closure of the missions.
The parliamentary committee on foreign affairs headed by Nathan Nsaba Buturo has accused the Finance Ministry of failing to adequately fund the country's missions abroad.
"The committee is deeply concerned that certain officials in the Ministry of Finance charged with managing the country's purse have limited appreciation of the vital role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said the committee in a statement. "These officials see this ministry as a consumer ministry."
Two years ago, Uganda rescinded a decision to close the mission in Tokyo after Japan reportedly threatened to shut down its projects in the country. Documents at the Foreign Ministry show that Japan had in 2000 slowed down disbursement of bilateral assistance funds to Uganda until Kampala's Foreign Minister James Wapakhapulo travelled to Tokyo and promised to keep the embassy open.
The embassy in China, which had also been earmarked for closure, was kept open when Beijing objected to the move. Subsequently, China in 2001 gave Uganda funds for construction of the ministry's headquarters and agreed to partially reduce the debts Uganda owed it. Uganda subsequently tasked its Beijing mission with promoting Ugandan commodities there, which resulted in the establishment of Ugandan coffee shops in the country.
The protocol department of the Foreign Ministry said last week that few governments had responded yet to nomination of Uganda's new envoys, which was also expected to delay the postings.
Paris has reportedly been top on the list of the missions Uganda wants to reopen after the French government made a "direct appeal" to President Museveni to reopen it. Increased co-operation between Paris and Kampala in seeking peace in the Great Lakes region had also made it critical to reopen the mission.
The Foreign Ministry's funding proposal for opening the new missions and posting new envoys was sent to the Finance Ministry separately from the Foreign Ministry's annual budget but has not yet been approved by the Treasury.
Uganda has also decided to open a mission in Tehran in order to tap the rich Middle East, which is increasingly becoming a source of markets and goods for the country.
"There is a lot of potential for trade and investment in this region. The Islamic Development Bank is a source of both soft and commercial loans. There is also the Organisation of Islamic Conference. However, our mission in Riyadh, with its small staff and insufficient resources, cannot effectively cover the region," a document on the restructuring of foreign missions says.
Uganda is increasingly selling its goods to the Middle East, including coffee, fish and horticultural products. The region supplies Uganda with electronics, textiles and automobiles. Regular flights by Emirates and Gulf Air have helped to strengthen the trade.
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