Budget cuts aimed at boosting war against rebels

Uganda's plan to cut down on a number of ministry budgets is aimed at boosting the communication infrastructure in northern Uganda as part of government efforts to end the 16-year insurgency there, according to a senior government official. John Nagenda, the presidential media advisor, told IRIN on Monday the government had proposed budget cuts in all ministries to facilitate the building of roads in northern Ugandan so that the army's response to attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance army (LRA) could be speeded up. "The principal reason for this is to destroy the LRA's hiding places and escape routes which make it possible for them to sneak back and forth and attack innocent people," Nagenda told IRIN. "Is it helping, if the guy [LRA leader Joseph Kony] comes and kills people at will? It is quite clear that nothing will work properly until Kony is destroyed." Museveni has also ordered the deployment of more Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) troops in the north to facilitate the quick response against the LRA attacks, Ugandan media organisations reported at the weekend. Museveni, currently camped out at the UPDF's main division based in Gulu, the main northern town, told Radio Uganda he was determined to ensure the LRA rebels and their leaders were "wiped out" completely, unless they surrendered under the country's amnesty law. The Ugandan media reported on Sunday that donors were questioning Kampala's decision to cut all ministry budgets by 25 percent, in particular the health ministry, to finance the war against the LRA. Health Minister Jim Muhwezi, however, responded by saying the budget cuts would not affect the quality of healthcare delivery, which includes drugs, salaries, hospital food rations, electricity and water, the government-owned 'New Vision' daily reported. "The problem in the north needs to be eradicated once and for all in order to realise the goals of our social development programmes," he said. The LRA has since June this year carried out intense attack in northern Uganda, after two years of relative peace. The group is seeking to topple President Yoweri Museveni and replace his government with one based on the biblical Ten Commandments. The renewed LRA attacks - characterised by killings, abductions, looting and destruction of property - have induced fresh waves of displacements and a major humanitarian crisis in the region.