UGANDA: MCC ANTI-CORRUPTION THRESHOLD PROGRAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000999 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DOJ FOR ICITAP (TREVILLIAN, RODERICK, BARR, AND RAUCH) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCOR EAID UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: MCC ANTI-CORRUPTION THRESHOLD PROGRAM ENDING WITH MIXED RESULTS REF: A. KAMPALA 00846 ¶B. KAMPALA 00568 ¶C. KAMPALA 00955 KAMPALA 00000999 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Millennium Challenge Corporation's (MCC) Director for Threshold Programs, Malik Chaka, visited Kampala August 20 - 21 to review Uganda's Anti-Corruption Threshold (ACT) program. Although the ACT registered important achievements at the institutional level, lack of investment and political will on the part of Government of Uganda (GOU) in dealing with what appears to be a worsening corruption problem means the Threshold Program will not be renewed after its December 2009 expiration date. Each of the anti-corruption officials we met was energized, well-prepared, and serious about corruption busting. The evident disconnect between their conviction that Uganda has finally "turned the corner" on corruption, and our view of ACT as a mixed success hampered by a lack of political support, encapsulates the dilemma facing Uganda's corruption fighters and the international donors who fund them. With ACT nearing its end and a full MCC Compact further out of reach, we are exploring alternative ways to consolidate gains achieved in the anti-corruption sector while taking into account continued doubts about Uganda's overall dedication to eradicating corruption. End Summary. -------------- The Good News -------------- ¶2. (SBU) MCC Director for Threshold Programs Malik Chaka and post representatives met with ACT stakeholders in Kampala, August 20-21, to review the successes and challenges of the two-year USD 10.4 million anti-corruption program. ACT, which will end in December 2009, was designed to reduce corruption in public procurement, increase the number of successful corruption prosecutions, expand civil society's involvement in Uganda's anti-corruption efforts, and enhance Uganda's eligibility for a full MCC Compact. ACT support for the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and newly established Anti-Corruption Court directly contributed to the convictions of three mid-level Global Fund scandal perpetrators and the return of missing Global Fund money by others eager to avoid a similar fate (ref. A). ACT also boosted the capacity of Uganda's anti-corruption institutions by training more than 450 officials from the DPP, the Office of the Inspector General, the Office of the Auditor General, the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA),the Police's Criminal Investigations Division (CID),and the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court. Placing police, prosecutors, judges and procurement officials into the same training courses created a tangible sense of camaraderie, teamwork, and enthusiasm amongst Uganda's corruption fighting institutions. ACT also provided some technology transfer, enhanced civil society's involvement in the anti-corruption sector, particularly at the local level, and greatly improved the PPDA's ability to track public expenditures. -------------- The Not So Good News -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Many of the shortcomings that prevented ACT from realizing its full potential were often completely unrelated to the anti-corruption institutions participating in the threshold program. On the legislative front, while Parliament recently passed an anti-corruption bill, it has yet to approve other legislation crucial to Uganda's anti-corruption efforts. This includes bills on money laundering, asset forfeiture, whistle-blowers and witness protection. The GOU also failed to provide promised counterpart funding for ACT. Of the USD 2.2 million pledged by Uganda, only half has been disbursed, leaving a balance of USD 1.1 million. In separate meetings, the Permanent Secretaries of the Treasury and Foreign Affairs both pledged to look into the matter to ensure that partner funds are disbursed as promised. ¶4. (SBU) MCC anti-corruption efforts also suffered from a lack of commitment and investment from the highest levels of the GOU (ref. B). During our meeting with MFA Permanent Secretary Ambassador James Mugume, for instance, we noted that a decision by President Museveni to fast-track the remaining anti-corruption legislation would speed the bills KAMPALA 00000999 002.2 OF 002 through Parliament and also address residual doubts about the Ugandan government's political will to clamp down on corrupt officials. ¶5. (SBU) Although ACT was intended to help position Uganda for an eventual MCC Compact by shoring up its score on the MCC's anti-corruption indictor, Uganda is now further away from qualifying due to backsliding in several of the MCC's "Investing in People" indicators. During his meetings, the MCC's Chaka noted that with its corruption indicator barely above the median and several other indicators, such as health expenditures, immunization rates, girls' education, political rights, civil liberties, and natural resource management either already below the median or trending in that direction, Uganda qualifying for an MCC compact in the near term is extremely unlikely. With more than fifty percent of its population under the age of 15 and population growth rates on pace to double within the next twenty years (ref. C),reversing this downward trend will require rapid action and spending that may prove beyond the reach of Ugandan authorities. -------------- -------------- Corruption Fighters: But We're Just Getting Started -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The evident disconnect between our assessment of ACT as a mixed success and the view of Uganda's top level corruption fighters encapsulated Uganda's leadership challenge. While we prepared to deliver a eulogy for the ACT program and begin the post-mortem evaluation process, Minister of Ethics and Integrity Dr. Nsaba Buturo reported that Uganda had, at long last, turned the anti-corruption corner. Minister Buturo attributed this alleged shift to a personal discussion he held with President Museveni, the appointment of a new acting Inspector General of Government, and the impending passage of key anti-corruption legislation in Parliament. "The problem is as we strive to move forward," Minister Buturo explained, "there are elements that don't want us to move forward. The good news is, there is now resolve to not let these elements slow us down. We have not shown sufficient political will, but it is all changing now." Minister Buturo then compared pulling out of the anti-corruption sector now to abandoning troops on the battlefield just as victory was in sight. ¶7. (SBU) The Auditor General, the Inspector General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and senior leaders of the PPDA, Police CID, and the Anti-Corruption Court all sounded similar notes as they delivered well-prepared, precise accountings of how ACT has strengthened their institutions and assessed what still needed to be accomplished. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the roundtable with these institutions was the evident level of camaraderie and teamwork linking Uganda's most important corruption fighting agencies. -------------- Comment: Next Steps -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The MCC program significantly improved the capacity of Uganda's anti-corruption institutions. Although Uganda's overall commitment to fighting corruption remains in doubt, the end of the MCC ACT program should not signal the end of targeted U.S. support for Uganda's most dedicated corruption fighters. The evident enthusiasm and teamwork linking the offices of the Auditor General, Inspector General, Department of Public Prosecutions, CID, PPDA, and the Anti-Corruption Court can serve as the basis for continued assistance, however limited, through other programs. We will continue to explore ways of supporting core anti-corruption institutions to further build their capacities and consolidate the gains achieved by the ACT. HOOVER