Ugandan officials have returned SEK 25 million (EUR 2.9 million) to the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) after it was revealed that the aid funds were misappropriated.
According to an AFP report issued on Sunday 10 February, the money had been designated for the Ugandan Peace, Recovery and Development Programme, which is designed to help the northern part of the country recover from more than a decade of guerrilla warfare. Denmark, Ireland and Norway also contributed funds to the project.
However, a 2012 investigation revealed that some SEK 86 million (EUR 10 million) had gone into private accounts held by Ugandan officials, prompting Swedish authorities to seek the return of SEK 45 million (5.25 million) of the misappropriated funds.
Director General Charlotte Petri Gornitzka said on behalf of the SIDA, “Uganda has indicated that the remaining sum was not misappropriated and has been used correctly. But before we relinquish our demand for full repayment, we want an in-depth review of the remaining sum,” the AFP reports.
She went on to say that the agency is “now working intensively to try to find new ways to invest the refunded sum into the same area, but without going via the Ugandan state’s financial system.”
Meanwhile, Dublin and Copenhagen are still seeking repayment amid the ordeal, although Norway has said it has been fully repaid for its contributions.
Dear Director Petri Gornika.
I have been following the developments about the refunds in the media. I have noted with delight that SIDA is trying to find new ways to invest the refunded sum in the same area.
I come hail from one of the villages in Angagura Sub County,Aruu County in Pader District.The last time I was at home, I thought of seeking assistance for a walking tractor to help my mother and a group of widows.
Please advise me on the way forward
Pelegrine Otonga
News Editor, Radio Wa 89.8 Fm based in Lira
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