The US government over the weekend offered Uganda $246 million (Shs461 billion) in development assistance, mainly to revive health, agriculture and trade sector activities.

The grant, announced by Mr Johnie Carson, the visiting US Assistant Secretary of State, during a meeting with President Museveni at State House Entebbe on Saturday is the largest such single bilateral aid to Uganda in years.

Immediately after Mr Carson and Uganda’s State Micro-finance Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa signed the agreement, the government announced that part of it would be used to fund activities under the limping Shs1.1 trillion Peace, Recovery and Development Plan designed to fix dozens of districts in northern and eastern Uganda broken by LRA rebellion.

“In May 2002, Ugandan government  and the government of the United States launched the United States Agency for International Development’s Integrated Strategic Plan to support Uganda’s development objectives,” State House quoted Mr Carson as saying in a statement issued yesterday.
He added: “In 2009, the US government provided $246 million in grant assistance to Uganda as part of this continued US partnership with Uganda.”

The government’s proposal to dole out some of the grant for HIV/Aids and environmental conservation campaigns as well as bankrolling civil societies involved in conflict mitigation/reconciliation means only as much of the funds will go around, whittling down its expected huge impact to improve citizens’ welfare.

President Museveni, during Saturday’s bilateral talks, told Mr Carson, accompanied by US African Command chief, General Ward and Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, the deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence that Uganda’s expected windfall from oil would be expended in a frugal manner to benefit all citizens.

“The revenue from oil resources will be used to create durable capacity for the country including investments in energy, particularly [building] hydro-electric power [stations], developing the railways network, scientific education and research and some aspects of the roads infrastructure,” Mr Museveni said.
He added: “There is no possibility of this oil money being a curse for Uganda as it will not be used for consumption or salaries.”