By George Murumba

18^th Feb 2013:

PM Amama Mbabazi

The Swedish government has announced that Uganda had paid back a total of 2.8 million euros ($3.75 million) in Swedish aid that had been stolen from the scandal ridden Office of the Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.

The amount of stolen money paid back by Uganda is about half of the 45 million kronor (5.2 million euros or $7.0 million) refund the Swedish International Development Agency had sought, SIDA said in a statement.

“…Uganda has indicated that the remaining sum was not misappropriated and has been used correctly. But before we relinquish our demand for full repayment we want an in-depth review of the remaining sum,” SIDA Director General Charlotte Petri Gornitzka said in a statement.

The aid was initially destined for the Peace, Recovery and Development Programme for northern Uganda, established to rebuild the region after decades of conflict and devastation. The programme received funds from Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

A guerrilla campaign was waged in Uganda between 1987 and 2006 by the Lord’s Resistance Army, which became notorious for kidnapping children and forcing them to become child soldiers.

An investigation by the Auditor General of Uganda last year found that 10 million euros in aid had been funnelled into private accounts linked to officials working in the Prime Minister’s office.

Petri Gornitzka said SIDA was “…now working intensively to try to find new ways to invest the refunded sum into the same area, but without going via the Ugandan state’s financial system”.

Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Ireland have all asked Uganda to return the aid. Oslo said it had been refunded in full.  END: Login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories mid-week for our updates

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