[Ugnet] British Prime Minister , Tony Blair, warns Museveni

[Matek Opoko]

Blair warns Uganda

FRANK NYAKAIRU & HUSSEIN BOGERE

KAMPALA British Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that Uganda should forget about British aid if it strays from constitutional governance. Speaking at the monthly Downing Street press conference on Monday, Mr Blair was asked: “Using the same standards that have been applied to Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe), would Britain also firmly oppose Uganda’s President Museveni’s ambition to become a presidential monarch? This is in consideration of the fact that the UK is a leading foreign donor of 52% of the donor funded budget of Uganda, and that Uganda is also currently ranked as among the top five most corrupt dictatorships. The question came a day ahead of the first vote in the Ugandan Parliament on a Bill that, among others, proposes to remove presidential term limits from the Constitution. Dictatorship The opposition and other critics argue that the proposal, pushed by Museveni’s government, will introduce dictatorship. The ruling Movement says it will allow Ugandans the opportunity to vote for a leader of their choice, including Mr Museveni, whose last constitutional term expires next year. Blair said, “Well, as you know, we have made it very clear that we will not support any move away from constitutional government, and I hope that does not occur in Uganda. And one thing is for sure, that at the G8 in 10 days time it will be made very clear that the additional help available for Africa is contingent upon good governance and proper democratic norms, and it is the position of Britain and the position of the other countries at the G8. I am sure that that is the only basis upon which aid will be increased. So it is up to countries then to decide their future.” Blair’s administration has been a strong critic of Mugabe’s government. At one time Britain led a campaign to ban Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth, citing its corruption-tainted government. Some British MPs have recently turned their guns on Uganda, accusing Museveni’s government of dictatorship. Response But Information Minister James Nsaba Buturo slammed the British MPs for “relying on biased information from members of the opposition.” “They do not understand the situation on the ground and their source of information is not credible,” Buturo told the Daily Monitor yesterday. He said Blair was right on tying aid to good democratic norms “because it is Uganda’s key objective.” “I can’t agree with him more but that takes two to tango. It should be achieved by both us and our brothers in the opposition,” he added. Britain recently withheld Shs17 billion in aid, saying not enough had been done to prepare a level playing field for a return to multipartyism.

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