By Kennedy Lule
July 28, 2003 -Monitor
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Members of Parliament are bothered by the sorry state of the Foreign Affairs ministry. MPs on the Committee of Presidential and Foreign Affairs, on a tour of the ministry, were surprised on Friday to find the headquarters at Embassy House with only one computer connected to the Internet, no filing cabinets, old and broken furniture, few staff and worn-out carpets. The MPs were shocked that ambassadors and deputy ambassadors approved by Parliament in January have not been posted to their stations because of lack of money. Only Brig. Matayo Kyaligonza (Nairobi) and Adonia Ayebare (Kigali have settled in their postings. Ms Rhoda Kaisho (Paris), Mr Mull Katende (Khartoum), Mr Deo Rwabita (Brussels), Mr Charles Walimbwa (New Delhi), Mr Anyang Apaar (Berlin), Ms Elizabeth Napeyok (Moscow) and Jacob Okello (Kinshasa) have not been deployed. The acting Permanent Secretary, Mr Bakayana Kityo, who is ambassador-designate to Rome, told MPs that Mr Wasswa Biriggwa, the ambassador-designate to Addis Ababa, had been named dean of ambassadors on katebe (not deployed). The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr James Wapakhabulo, told the MPs that Ministry of Finance was frustrating their efforts to re-open embassies by providing "useless" funds. He said that for 2003/2004, Finance has allocated only Shs 1 million shillings to re-open embassies in Paris, Kinshasa, Moscow, Tehran and Berlin. Wapakhabulo said that Uganda's buildings abroad have been deteriorating ever since the Ministry of Finance handed them over to the Uganda Property Holdings. He said that Uganda's missions abroad are the only ones in the world with vehicles that are more than 10 years old, which contravenes the laws of some host nations. The committee chairwoman, Ms Salaamu Musumba (Bugabula South), said that the ministry's furniture needed to be in a museum. Again Wapakhabulo said that the Finance ministry is to blame. "For 2002/2003, only Shs 21 million was released for strengthening the ministry's capacity out of the budgeted Shs 50 million; what can that do?" The minister said the country's representatives have been embarrassed and locked out of meetings due to Uganda's failure to pay $8 million as membership contributions to international organisations. Not allowing staff to live with their children and spouses abroad due to financial constraints has led to disintegration of families, Wapakhabulo added. The ministry wants Shs 8.9 billion for recurrent expenditure and Shs 4.5 billion for development expenditure for 2003/2004. MPs on the committee criticised the Finance ministry for not giving Foreign Affairs enough money. The MPs also toured the new ministry headquarters under construction on Apollo Kaggwa Road (next to the Ministry of Finance headquarters) using $6.5 million donated by the Chinese government. |
� 2003 The Monitor Publications
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