Donors concerned over corruption, says envoy

A representative of Uganda's donor countries said on Monday they were increasingly concerned about rampant corruption and the need to embrace a level political playing field in the country. "Development partners are getting increasingly concerned about an apparent lack of political will to fight corruption," the Netherlands Ambassador Yoka Brandt told a two-day meeting of top law and order officials in the capital, Kampala. Brandt, who told IRIN that she spoke on behalf of members of the Ugandan Donor Democracy and Governance Group, cited what she called corruption cases in reports of two investigations in army procurements and alleged plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo by some Ugandan officials. She said those named had not yet been held accountable. Brandt called on the government and parliament to enact important anti-corruption legislation and revise the leadership code. She added that the implementation of the country's so-called political road map was another issue of concern to donors. "The importance of creating a level playing field for all political parties, well in advance of the elections, cannot be overstated," she said after enumerating problems faced by new political parties attempting to register. The registration process, she added, had been hindered by understaffing and lack of adequate funding for the registry department. "According to our information, the registrar had prepared a budget of 75 million Ugandan shillings (US $43,000) for verification, which is an important element of the process of registering parties," Brandt noted. However, she noted, the government had only released one million shillings out of seven million it promised to speed up delayed registration of new political parties. "The registrar is the only person in the department that can do the verification," she said. "It should be noted that this entails verifying applications from the prospective parties in at least 20 districts. For this purpose, she has to share the only departmental car available and can therefore not fulfil her duties. We call upon the government to immediately release funds for this exercise." Uganda is in the process of opening up political space after an 18-year period when political parties were banned. During this period, the country has been ruled by the National Resistance Movement/Army, which seized power in 1986. As part of the process of opening up, political parties are required to register themselves.