VZCZCXRO3249
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0999/01 2400902
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 280902Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1738
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC// ICITAP//
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP

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