This brings the total to USD 823.1m (3 trillion shillings) Uganda has received from three lenders: African Development Bank, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to respond to COVID-19 since May 2020.
The money will go towards the Investing in Forests and Protected Areas for Climate-Smart Development Project under the Ministry of Water and Environment. This focuses on the Albertine Region and the refugee-hosting areas in Northern Uganda.
Last month, Uganda extended the deadline by six months to September 2020 for applications for those who wish to explore six blocks in the Albertine region. The report notes that “the fall in commodity prices—especially crude oil, metals, and minerals—will not only reduce their export proceeds but also slash the amount of financing brought by foreign investors.”
In East Africa, Tanzania was also studied and researchers found at least $145m had been hidden by its elites. Researchers concluded that this was because politicians, elites and their cronies got access to aid money and instead of using it to work on projects that developed their countries, they hid it away for personal use.
Suruma, the Makerere University Chancellor was one of the few government officials that had tried to resist the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund call for privatization of UCB.
