Britain cuts budgetary support to Uganda

Britain has again decided to cut its budgetary support to Uganda for the financial year 2006-2007 by 20 million pounds, showing discontent with Uganda's bloated budget.

Hilary Benn, UK's International Development Secretary, quoted by local media on Tuesday said Britain would spend 35 million pounds on Ugandan budget support to fight poverty for 2006-2007 instead of a planned 55 million pounds.

"I have taken this decision because I have concerns about governance, public administration expenditure and some of the government's new budget plans," Benn said in a written statement to the British parliament.

This is the second time Britain, one of Uganda's principal donors, is cutting aid to the east African country since last time in December 2005.

The latest move comes nearly two months after Benn visited northern Uganda, where a 20-year civil war has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million homeless, triggering one of the world's most neglected humanitarian disasters.

"The remaining 20 million pounds which had been earmarked for direct budgetary support will instead go to humanitarian relief in the north of the country," Benn said.

"Should this humanitarian relief not be needed, I will give further consideration to the allocation of the money in light of the circumstances at the time," he said.

Amid concerns about governance before President Yoweri Museveni 's re-election in February, Britain withheld about 20 million pounds in direct budget aid, channeling 14 million pounds into UN humanitarian projects in the war-ravaged north.

Benn said he, however had decided to release a further five million pounds which he had frozen at that time after international observers concluded the elections were broadly peaceful, transparent and competitive.

He also disclosed he would limit Britain's budget support allocation for 2008-2009 to 35 million pounds.

Britain believes Uganda is making gradual progress towards good governance but is still concerned about the conflict between the government and the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

Source: Xinhua