Uganda to spend $600m in north
2007-10-15 21:03
Kampala - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday pledged to rebuild his country's war-ravaged north with a $600m aid package for roads, education and small-scale industry.
Northern Uganda has enjoyed relative peace since a ceasefire signed between the government and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels last year. But aid agencies say more than a million
Ugandans are still living in squalid refugee camps.
Many depend on food handouts from the United Nations and
even the hundreds of thousands who have returned to their homes
are rebuilding their villages from scratch.
Museveni told diplomats, aid workers and peace campaigners in Kampala: "The goal of the present plan (is) to consolidate peace, recovery and rehabilitation."
Raised hopes of a final deal
He said about $600m had been earmarked for the fund, 30% of which would be financed by his government itself and the rest by donors. He gave no timeframe for when the money would be spent.
Donors already fund about half of Uganda's budget.
Peace talks between the two sides in south Sudan have raised
hopes of a final deal to end a conflict that has killed tens of
thousands and displaced nearly 2 million at its height.
Museveni said the reconstruction plan aimed to help the
north catch up with the more prosperous south and move away from
subsistence farming to a cash economy.
He also pledged to help refugees return home,
repair roads, build a further power station on the Nile to power
the region and fund processing plants for farm products.
Despite ongoing talks, LRA leader Joseph Kony and his top
commanders have stayed in their jungle hideouts in Democratic
Republic of Congo, fearing arrest warrants by the International
Criminal Court for war crimes.