Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) leaders have condemned Uganda government’s plan to fund construction of roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
On Monday this week, the State minister in charge of planning David Bahati appeared before the budget committee to provide justification for a supplementary budget totaling to 3.4 trillion shillings which includes money for funding the construction of roads in DRC.
This amount is Uganda’s contribution of 20% of the DRC road project. Bahati argued that the project was a resolution of a bi-lateral agreement between the two presidents – Felix Tshisekedi of the DRC and Yoweri Museveni and a sign of warm relations between the countries.
The plan to borrow money and build roads in other countries was also on Tuesday defended by Minister for Works General Katumba Wamala saying that it is to ensure trade and development and bilateral cooperation among others.
However, speaking to journalists in Kabale district on Wednesday evening, Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu, the ANT party presidential flag bearer says that the plan does not make sence since it is not under a regional project where Uganda would borrow together with the benefiting countries money to fund the construction of roads.
Muntu also questions the success of the plan since most of Ugandan officials working under the incumbent regime are corrupt and indiscipline.
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Muntu also says that those behind the plan are targeting their self-interests but not to benefit Ugandans.
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Winnie Kiiza, Kasese District Woman Member of Parliament says that the idea of Ugandan government to borrow money towards construction of roads in foreign countries is uncalled for. Kiiza equated the move to a head of the family feeding a neighbor’s children when his are starving. Kiiza wonders why government is sympathetic to construct roads in foreign countries yet her own are in a sorry state. She says that a nation like Uganda borrowing on behalf of another nation is unfortunate.
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Kiiza suspects that Uganda could be constructing roads in Congo to help easy smuggling of minerals and timber or in form of swapping for the case which the country lost in 2005 before International Court of Justice where Ugandan soldiers were accused of occupying Ituri (a region in the DRC), violations of sovereignty, illegal use of force, violations of international human rights laws and looting and between August 1998 and June 2003.
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