LACK OF POLITICAL WILL UNDERMINING ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000586

DEPARTMENT PASS TO MCC (CHAKA)
DOJ FOR ICITAP (TREVILLIAN, RODERICK, BARR, AND RAUCH)

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAID KCOR UG
SUBJECT: LACK OF POLITICAL WILL UNDERMINING ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRESS
IN UGANDA

REF: A. Chaka-Dobberstein telecon May 13, 2009, B. Hoover-Chaka
e-mail April 8, 2009


1. (SBU) Summary: A joint review of Uganda's Millenium Challenge
Corporation Anti-Corruption Threshold Program (MCC ACT Program)
found the program to be largely on track. However, there has not
been substantial progress towards improving broader anti-corruption
measures and indicators. Government officials acknowledged that
improved interagency coordination, increased prosecutions, and
adequate funding for the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court
are essential to achieve an overall improvement in anti-corruption
performance. Government officials participating in the ACT Program
claim there is no concerted effort to undermine anti-corruption
efforts but admitted that there is a lack of leadership at the top
to bolster the anti-corruption fight. End Summary.

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MCC COUNTRY THRESHOLD PLAN REVIEW
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2. (SBU) Uganda's ACT Program was signed in March 2007 and outlined
a 30-month program to strengthen the government's capacity to fight
corruption in public procurement and enhance Uganda's eligibility
for an MCC Compact. The program ends on December 31, 2009. In
November 2008, the MCC issued its scorecard. Uganda failed to score
above the median on 3 out of 5 "Investing in People" indicators. To
qualify for MCC Compact eligibility, countries must score above the
median in at least half of the indicators in each of three policy
areas and above the median on control and prevention of corruption.
In addition, Uganda's corruption indicator has not shown a steady
upward trend. Therefore, Uganda remained MCC Threshold eligible but
was not MCC Compact eligible for 2009. In November and December
2008, Mission officials informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Minister for Ethics and Integrity (MEI) of Uganda's status.


3. (SBU) On February 11, the Government of Uganda's (GOU) Ministry
of Ethics and Integrity convened a joint mid-term review of the ACT
Program to consider these findings and discuss the way forward.
Participants included all government partner agencies: the
Directorate of Ethics and Integrity (DEI),the Office of the Auditor
General (OAG),the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets
Authority (PPDA),the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the
Uganda Police Force, the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP),
Inspectorate Government (IG),and the Anti-Corruption Division of
the High Court (ACD). In addition, staff from USAID and the ACT
Program, representatives of Ugandan civil society, and Resident
Legal and Law Enforcement Advisors from the U.S. Department of
Justice participated.


4. (SBU) The review noted that the ACT Program had achieved
significant results improving the capacity of the anti-corruption
institutions to fight corruption but that Uganda has not made
significant progress in the fight against corruption. Uganda will
need to demonstrate significant progress on broader anti-corruption
indicators over the next year if it hopes to become MCC Compact
eligible in 2010. (Note: Uganda will also have to improve
performance on the investing in people indicators, though these are
not the focus of the ACT Program. End Note.) To do this, the GOU
needs to better integrate and institutionalize its anti-corruption
efforts by improving coordination between law enforcement and
prosecutors, strengthening its analysis of cross-cutting issues, and
prosecuting more anti-corruption cases in the Anti-Corruption
Division of its high court. Finally, the GOU will need to devote
sufficient resources to implement these recommendations and
demonstrate the will to go after all who are implicated in
corruption scandals.

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FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
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5. (SBU) On May 7, Charge attended a meeting of the ACT Program
Oversight Committee. The Committee is comprised of high-level
policy makers from institutions involved in the MCC Threshold
Country Program, including the Minister of State for Internal
Affairs, Minister of State for Finance, Minister of State for
Justice, Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity, Director of
Public Prosecutions, Inspector General of Government, the Executive
Director of the Public Procurement Disposal Authority, the Principal
Judge of the High Court, and the U.S. Ambassador. The Committee
reviewed the mid-term assessment conducted in February. By and
large, all participants agreed that the ACT Program had achieved
significant results improving the capacity of the anti-corruption
institutions but that Uganda had not made significant progress in
the fight against corruption. The issues identified and discussed
were: the need for mechanisms to follow up audit reports (both

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administratively and legally); the importance of adequate funding
for the new Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) by the GOU; the need to
enact laws agreed to in the ACT Program such as the Anti-Corruption
Law and a Whistler Blowers Protection Law; improved coordination of
anti-corruption agency activities; and full budgeting of GOU
counterpart funding and support to the GOU anti-corruption agencies
that was agreed to under the ACT Program. Minister of Ethics and
Integrity Buturo vowed to develop a plan of action in the coming two
weeks to address the issues.


6. (SBU) Charge, USAID Democracy and Governance Advisor, and P/E
Chief met with Minister for Ethics and Integrity Buturo, Acting
Inspector General of Government Rafael Baku, and DEI's Permanent
Secretary Alex Okello on May 27 to discuss what measures could be
taken to improve Uganda's performance before the ACT Program ends in
December 2009. All agreed that the ACT Program had improved the
capacity of the anti-corruption agencies to fight corruption and
that steps were being taken to enhance interagency coordination as
well as prosecutions. Overall, however, they agreed that progress
had been slow and that the anti-corruption fight faced many
challenges. Buturo said that, in his view, there was "no concerted
effort" to undermine anti-corruption efforts. Charge asked if it
would be helpful for the line agencies if the issue of lack of
leadership or political will was raised at a higher level. Buturo
said a higher level intervention would be very helpful.

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COMMENT
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7. (SBU) Uganda's commitment to fight corruption remains weak and
the incidence and perception of corruption are increasing, despite
the progress being on capacity building the capacity of the various
anti-corruption agencies. Lack of political will remains at the
heart of Uganda's corruption problem despite President Museveni's
continued "zero tolerance" for corruption.
BROWNING