{UAH} A friendly advice for Uganda’s development partners - Commentary - monitor.co.ug

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/A-friendly-advice-for-Uganda-s-development-partners/-/689364/2507234/-/rje2vi/-/index.html

A friendly advice for Uganda's development partners

The Daily Monitor of Wednesday, October 22 carried an opinion by Dr Kizza Besigye in which the political activist and former president of FDC gave a timely and pertinent notice and warning to Uganda's development partners.

The contents of the opinion titled "The citizens of Uganda will not pay Chinese odious debts" deserves appropriate and serious consideration by our development partners as well as maximum support from Ugandan patriots and people of goodwill in our interdependent world. I welcome Dr Besigye's initiative.

According to the well-researched opinion, "the recently-signed contract for the (251km) standard gauge railway (SGR) project at a contract sum of $8 billion (Shs21.6 trillion) is a scandal of unprecedented proportions. The actual cost of the project is estimated at a maximum of $2 billion (Shs5.4 trillion), leaving a slash fund (loot) of $6 billion (Shs16.2 trillion)!" $6 billion is the equivalent of Uganda's national Budget for one full year!

By comparison, Kenya's 482km SGR from Mombasa to Nairobi costs $3.8 billion (Shs10.2 trillion) while Ethiopia's 756km SGR costs only $3.6 billion (Shs9.7 trillion)!

As if that was not the bad enough, "Karuma dam is estimated to have a built-in slash fund (loot) of about $800 million (Shs2.1 trillion); Entebbe Express Highway has an estimated loot of $200 million (Shs542 billion); and the oil refinery and pipeline projects are already causing jaw-dropping reports".

To the best of my knowledge, nobody has so far come forward to challenge or deny any of these serious charges; one can hence assume that the charges are true.
I have read the opinion a couple of times and the charges are truly mind-boggling for anyone who cares about the future of this country! This mega scandal is the moral equivalent of sacrilege.

Where have all the patriots gone? Where are the patriots who routinely brag about the sacrifices they have made for Uganda? Where are the patriot clubs and patriotic workers, soldiers and youth of Uganda? By the time they wake up the country may have gone to the highest bidder.

All who have fraudulently sold, bought or benefitted from illegitimate transactions which clearly violate Uganda government's procurement laws and regulations must know and bear in mind that a day of reckoning is coming; they will one day account for the illegitimate deals they signed during these challenging and difficult times.

It is amazing and disappointing that Uganda's intellectuals, intelligentsia and political class do not seem bothered by the daylight plunder of our country, except shake their heads in despair and disbelief. Many friends have told me that although they share my concerns about these matters, they have now given up hope for Uganda. In other words, wananchi should simply resign to their fate and allow the plunder of the country to continue without let or hindrance!

Uganda is a member of the international community and since October 25, 1962, Uganda has been a member of good standing of the United Nations; Uganda was admitted as the 110th member state of the UN which currently has 193 members.

One hopes that law-abiding and respectable member states of the UN will not abandon the vast majority of Ugandans to the dictates and whims of a myopic regime which treats its citizens like mere subjects; a regime which does not value and protect the assets and resources of Uganda.

The doctrine of odious debt is well-entrenched in international law and our development partners, especially those from the West are aware of its existence, provisions and application.

In addition, the UN has done commendable work on the question of corrupt practices and illicit payments in international commercial transactions. During the mid-1970s, the UN Commission on Transnational Corporations established an inter-governmental working group to elaborate an international agreement on illicit payments and I had the honour to serve as its Rapportuer for a couple of years.

The relevant provisions of the international agreement on illicit payments can be invoked to deal with the grave problem which Dr Besigye has brought to the attention of Ugandans. When the opportune time comes, we shall not be found wanting because there are mechanisms to deal with this problem.

Let me conclude with a few words of appreciation to Dr Besigye, a man of courage and determination with a clear sense of mission. Dr Besigye's commitment to use legal and peaceful means to pursue legitimate national objectives has not been appreciated or reciprocated by those who prefer the use of violence or illegal means to achieve their goals.

Sent from Gook's iPatch!

"What you are we once were, what we are   you shall be!"

An inscription on the walls of a Roman catacomb.