[Uganda] World bank gives Shs240b for poverty

From The Daily Monitor

PETER NYANZI
KAMPALA

THE World Bank (WB) has given Uganda $135 million (about Shs240b) for poverty reduction programmes in the country.
The amount is lower than what Uganda had expected by $15 million, owing to a punitive cut occasioned by the country's over-expenditure on public administration.

A statement from the WB headquarters in Washington on Tuesday said, the board of directors had approved a $112.5m grant as an International Development Association (IDA) grant and a credit of $22.5 million (about Shs41b), to finance the fifth Poverty Reduction Support Cooperation (PRSC5).
The credit has a 40-year maturity period and a 10-year grace period.

Media Centre boss Robert Kabushenga yesterday said, "Our development partners still have trust in the direction the government of Uganda is steering the country."
He said the Finance Minister, Dr Ezra Suruma (pictured) would address a press conference to give details about the grant today.

The grant is a relief to the government, which suffered a series of aid cuts last year from donors citing "concerns over the transition to multipartism".
The grant comes after a Shs57 billion (about $29 million) grant from Denmark early this week, to support democratisation, justice and peace building efforts in the country.

Earlier, the Africa Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union (EU) announced a $84 million grant to support the water and education sectors, decentralisation and the rehabilitation of northern Uganda, among other programmes.

However, the WB Board and the Executive Directors of Uganda Joint Assistance Strategy (UJAS) in a statement said , "The Directors approved a ten percent reduction of the PRSC 5 amounting to US$135 million to reflect their concerns about expenditure overruns in the public administration budget."

The partners urged the government to intensify its efforts to bring peace and development to the north.
They said the government should also address the high population growth rate, which impedes progress towards poverty eradication.