by Frank Nyakairu and Hussein Bogere entitled "Queen's visit tied to 2006 elections" published by Ugandan newspaper Daily Monitor website on 19 June.
Commonwealth Ties Are Important Economically - and Vital To The Prestige Of Participating Nations
The visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Uganda in 2007 to attend the Commonwealth Summit will depend on what happens here between now and the 2006 elections, British officials have said."The UK and the Commonwealth are closely monitoring the events in Uganda," Mr Ian Pearson, the secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs, said on Thursday [16 June] in response to an MP's question, according to a transcript of proceedings obtained by this paper.
The queen's visit and Uganda's capacity to host the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) are exercising minds in London given what one MP described as the "increasingly uncertain political situation in that country."
"The Commonwealth Secretariat, not the United Kingdom, will assess whether Uganda has the capacity to host the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Commonwealth Secretary General has recently visited Uganda for such an assessment...[ellipses as published] the UK will inform the Commonwealth and make a statement to this House, depending on what happens on the ground between now and the 2006 elections," Pearson said.
Britain "concerned"
The British government is concerned about what it has characterized as the slow pace of reforms to move the country from the Movement to a multiparty system; corruption; and President Museveni's perceived interest to cling on to power after his current and last term expires next year.The UK recently withheld 17bn shillings [about 10m dollars] in aid money particularly over concerns about the political transition.
Uganda responds
"They haven't communicated to us officially," said Mr Okello Oryem, the minister of state for international relations. "We shall get concerned when the secretary-general [of the Commonwealth] communicates to us. They have given us a clean bill of health. We can't go on looking behind."
Dr Nsaba Buturo, the Uganda government spokesman, said the Commonwealth Secretariat is happy with the progress made so far. "The Secretary General was here last year, met the president and made a number of suggestions, like in the area of broadcasting," Buturo said.
He said that is the reason the formation of Uganda Broadcasting Council, a body that will oversee the running of UTV and Radio Uganda, has been put on a fast track.
Added Buturo: "It has been decided by heads of state that the meeting will be held in Uganda. It's only Ugandans who can change that.
"No "done deal yet"
Things, however, seem not to be decided as such. In a telephone interview, an official in the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office could neither dismiss nor confirm his country's worries about Uganda and the meeting. "The matter of the venue," he said, "will be decided in Malta. No decision has been made yet."
Normally, the next venue for the CHOGM is decided upon at a preceding meeting. This means that the host of the summit in 2007 would be decided in Malta, host of this year's meeting. However, in 2003 at the meeting in Nigeria, Uganda, which had bid with Malta for this year's meeting, was promised it would automatically host the 2007 gathering.
Now, the British are saying that may not be a done deal after all.The Commonwealth Summit is usually attended by 53 heads of state and government - equivalent to one third of the world's leaders - including the British queen. With about 5,000 foreign guests in all, the biggest meeting Uganda will have hosted will stretch the country's ability in terms of security and infrastructure.
The queen is expected to stay at State House Entebbe, which is now under renovation.
Other issues on Britain's worries about the political situation in Uganda, Buturo said: "Of course, those are things we are addressing as a country. The situation will not get any worse.
"Minister Oryem also said there was no reason why the elections issue should be raised by Britain, Uganda's former colonial master and leading bilateral donor, because the transition will be transparent and there will be no disruption.
"More remains to be done" against graft
On corruption in Uganda, Pearson told UK MPs: "We welcome the publication of the government of Uganda's 2005 National Strategy to Fight Corruption, which acknowledges that corruption is a serious problem in Uganda. The UK has been providing practical support for these government led initiatives. But a lot more remains to be done. For example, there has been little follow through on any of the commissions of inquiry related to corruption issues, especially those relating to government ministers and other high-profile politicians and officials."
Public relations campaign
Given a growing international perception of Uganda as a corrupt and politically uncertain country, the Kampala government has launched a series of damage control measures.It recently hired a top British public relations firm to help burnish the country's image. It then dispatched senior ministers to debate the country's politics in London and Washington, DC.
Mr John Nagenda, Museveni's senior adviser on media and public relations, is the latest official trying to swing perceptions in the government of Uganda's favour. He has been touring European capitals such as London and Madrid for the last two weeks.
A source in London said that "Nagenda seems to have moved to London to counter the lies which [opposition Forum for Democratic Change] FDC UK are peddling about President Museveni."
"I am on a private trip, but it's true I have done a lot of interviews about Uganda with radios and television stations in England," said Nagenda, who added that he had not heard about the UK's concerns surrounding the 2007 Commonwealth Summit."I did one with BBC, which will be aired on Monday at 8 O'clock [local time] Ugandan time," he said on Friday from his hotel room in Madrid.
Buturo said it would be giving too much credit to FDC to say that Nagenda was in Britain to undo their lies. "Government did not send Nagenda. We hired a PR firm to improve Uganda's image. We are doing what every government does."
Urbane Analysis: It's official, Uganda's Museveni regime is running scared! Museveni should be concerned - given how his international image has crumbled in only a few months time - and that he is now referred to in the same way as the tyrant Robert Mugabe - when he was once edging toward the pantheon of greatness with Nelson Mandela. A shameful scandal for him personally, but an unmitigated tragedy for the nation of Uganda. And not unnoticed by Uganda's Commonwealth colleagues around the globe.
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