Irish Aid To Uganda Suspended After €4m Misappropriated

Direct Irish aid to the Ugandan government has been suspended after it emerged that €4m in funding ended up in an unauthorised account of the office of the country's prime minister, Patrick Amama Mbabazi.

Up to €16m worth of Irish assistance channelled through the government of Uganda for health and education programmes has been put on hold.

A three-member team of Irish officials led by the Department of Foreign Affairs own evaluation and audit unit has also travelled to Kampala to investigate the fraud allegations.

Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore described the apparent misappropriation of funds as "intolerable" and has instructed Ireland's ambassador in Kampala, Anne Webster, to voice government concerns and Irish insistence that the funds are restored "without delay".

It is the second time in recent years that concerns have been raised about aid funding to Uganda after a leaked US embassy cable revealed that an Irish-funded AIDS prevention project was at the centre of a major corruption scandal.

A cable, sent from the US embassy in Kampala in August 2009, found that complaints of corruption at the UAC surfaced throughout the previous year.

Details of the latest probe emerged following a special investigation by Uganda's own spending watchdog, the auditor general, into the handling of aid funds by the office of the country's prime minister.

A further €15m in Irish aid, which is given directly to relief agencies "working on the ground", is not affected by the government move.

(H)