Stop stressing donors, minister tells govt officials

The state minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Esther Anyakun, has warned officials in the Government of Uganda to stop harassing donors, saying they have been stressed a lot yet they are development partners.

Speaking during a joint monitoring exercise for Bushenyi District beneficiaries of a poverty eradication program being piloted by Give Directly, a group of donors that sends money directly to the poorest households, the minister said that there has been a lot of bad mouthing and politicking by government officials accusing donors of implementing gay activities which according to her is anti-development.

The minister’s remarks came after Bushenyi District chairperson Jafari Basajabalaba, said local authorities first probed Give Directly on whether it’s activities were in line with Uganda’s development agenda.

"We were suspicious but later found that they were okay. We welcomed them to interact with our population," said the district boss.

In response, Anyakun told the meeting that “wrong elements in security fed the government with false information that later threatened the NGO’s good intentions and operations.”

"The security reports had said that these people were bringing money with strings attached. In cabinet, all ministers, except two and President Museveni, had voted for the organization not to come back. The president said there was no evidence of LGBTQ+ and directed that Give Directly be reinstated," she revealed on Thursday.

Anyakun, who is also the Nakapiripirit District Woman Member of Parliament (MP), also castigated implementing partners who misuse donor funds.

"Most donors from the West are tired of implementing partners because when they (partners) get the money, they first buy cars and employ their women and children in organizations when there is nothing going on,” she observed.  

Give Directly senior official Lucy Abulo said their current pilot project targets two districts of Bushenyi and Nakapiripit, where four parishes, with each district fronting two parishes, were considered for poverty alleviation programme at household level.

Over Shs5.3billion has so far been spent on the targeted households, with beneficiaries encouraged to address their economic challenges by starting income-generating projects at the household level.

About 996 households from Swazi and Kakoni parishes in Bushenyi District have so far developed from the humanitarian programme, according to the donor.