Aid cut: Let’s stick to President Yoweri Museveni’s directives

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OPINION

By Hadijah Namyalo Uzeiye

Following his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States of America on January 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order demanding a freeze on all his country’s foreign aid for 90 days, during which his administration would review and also recommend the cutting on spending on programmes that do not align with the president’s “America First” Agenda.

By last week, it had emerged that the United States government would cut foreign aid budgets by 92% (about $54b) of USAID foreign aid contracts and $60b in overall United States assistance around the world.

Also last week, the British government, led by Prime Minister Sir Kier Stammer, announced that his government would cut foreign aid budget by 40% to 0.3% in order to increase the country’s defence spending to 2.5% of the national income by 2027.

The British foreign secretary, David Lammy, commented: “This is a hard choice. We believe in foreign aid, but we have to make cuts. We must keep the UK safe.”

The other European countries that have since announced reduction in their foreign aid spending include France, which has reduced its foreign aid budget by 37%, the Netherlands (30%) and Belgium (25%).

The new government in Germany is expected to announce its stand soon.

It is very regrettable that almost all African countries are going to be negatively affected, especially our people suffering from HIV/ AIDS that have been beneficiaries of such programmes.

Now that foreign aid cuts are a reality to us, let us strive on developing our economic reliance capacity as a country. President Yoweri Museveni had for several years cautioned developing and developed countries on the issue of foreign aid.

In June 2004, while attending the G8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia in the United States, he unequivocally reechoed that Africa needs trade, not aid. He said the long-term solution to backwardness in Africa is improved and fairer trade relations with the industrialised world.

He reasons that meaningful partnership between the developed and developing countries should provide for solutions to challenges the underdeveloped nations are grappling with.

The solutions should include access to markets and appropriate technology, mechanising agriculture, mitigating climate change and disasters and promoting irrigation.

In June 2005 when he hosted two British MPs, Andrew Mitchell and Lord Ascroff at Parliament Building, Museveni guided that aid to Africa should be geared at improving the competitiveness of the economies of the continent.

For a country like Uganda, he said, aid should primarily enable the lowering of business costs. And for this to happen, he said, aid should be used to improve physical infrastructure such as railways, roads, electricity and pipe water.

He elaborated that when the physical infrastructure is efficient, investors find it cheaper to do business in the country and compete favourably in the global market.

This informs the President’s investment decisions in road network and power generation in the country. We have not achieved our target as a country, but such investments have contributed to reduction in the cost of doing business.

Besides, the President continues to lobby for foreign markets for Ugandan products like coffee, tea, milk, cotton and bananas, among others.

If the American and European governments can open up their huge markets for Uganda’s products, the economic benefits are much greater than the foreign aid they have been giving to us.

The writer is a senior presidential adviser, political affairs, Office of the National Chairperson/national co-ordinator — Bazzukulu