Bush Announces $100m To Fight Terror In East Africa
Jun 27, 2003
JUST days before his long-anticipated trip to sub-Saharan Africa, President George W. Bush has announced a $100m (about sh2b) aid package for Uganda and the three eastern Africa countries to fight terrorism.
By John Kakande
JUST days before his long-anticipated trip to sub-Saharan Africa, President George W. Bush has announced a $100m (about sh2b) aid package for Uganda and the three eastern Africa countries to fight terrorism.
Bush was speaking at the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) Business Summit in Washington, on Thursday, attended by several African leaders including Uganda’s Prime Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi.
According to the US government’s bulletin, Washington File, Bush spoke about the purpose of his upcoming trip to Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria from July 7 to July 12. He spoke about peace, security, democracy, trade and health as his major policy directions.
“Some observers say Uganda was included as a stop-over, in part, because of President Yoweri Museveni’s forthright support of the United States on the issue (terrorism) as well as his innovative AIDS education and prevention programmes,†the Washington File observed.
It said Bush “delivered a hard-hitting address†to the over 1,000 participants.
He decried the corruption that has sapped much of Africa’s economic potential, declaring, “Corrupt regimes that give nothing to their people deserve nothing from us.†Bush said the US was also working with African nations to fight terrorists wherever they are.
He said Kenya and other nations of Eastern Africa were suffering under a particularly serious threat “and we’re working closely with those nations to end this threat.â€
“Today I announced that the United States will devote $100million over the next 15 months to help countries in the region increase their own counter-terror efforts.â€
“We will work with Kenya and Ethiopia and Djibouti and Uganda and Tanzania to improve capabilities, such as air and seaport security, coastal and border patrols, computer databases to track terrorists, intelligence-sharing, and the means necessary to cut off terrorist financing,†Bush said.
“I’m looking forward to my trip to Uganda where the government’s visionary policies have brought about the most dramatic decline in the rate of HIV infection of any country in the world,†Bush said.
“I’ll go to Senegal and see West Africa’s longest-standing democracy, a country with a vibrant civil society and a growing independent media.
“I look forward to going to South Africa, where I’ll meet with elected leaders who are firmly committed to economic reforms in a nation that has become a major force for regional peace and stability,†he added.
Bush said his administration was committing $200 million over five years to train more than 420,000 teachers in Africa. He said it would also provide scholarships for 250,000 African girls, and in partnership with Historically Black Colleges to provide 4 million textbooks.
Ends
JUST days before his long-anticipated trip to sub-Saharan Africa, President George W. Bush has announced a $100m (about sh2b) aid package for Uganda and the three eastern Africa countries to fight terrorism.
Bush was speaking at the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) Business Summit in Washington, on Thursday, attended by several African leaders including Uganda’s Prime Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi.
According to the US government’s bulletin, Washington File, Bush spoke about the purpose of his upcoming trip to Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria from July 7 to July 12. He spoke about peace, security, democracy, trade and health as his major policy directions.
“Some observers say Uganda was included as a stop-over, in part, because of President Yoweri Museveni’s forthright support of the United States on the issue (terrorism) as well as his innovative AIDS education and prevention programmes,†the Washington File observed.
It said Bush “delivered a hard-hitting address†to the over 1,000 participants.
He decried the corruption that has sapped much of Africa’s economic potential, declaring, “Corrupt regimes that give nothing to their people deserve nothing from us.†Bush said the US was also working with African nations to fight terrorists wherever they are.
He said Kenya and other nations of Eastern Africa were suffering under a particularly serious threat “and we’re working closely with those nations to end this threat.â€
“Today I announced that the United States will devote $100million over the next 15 months to help countries in the region increase their own counter-terror efforts.â€
“We will work with Kenya and Ethiopia and Djibouti and Uganda and Tanzania to improve capabilities, such as air and seaport security, coastal and border patrols, computer databases to track terrorists, intelligence-sharing, and the means necessary to cut off terrorist financing,†Bush said.
“I’m looking forward to my trip to Uganda where the government’s visionary policies have brought about the most dramatic decline in the rate of HIV infection of any country in the world,†Bush said.
“I’ll go to Senegal and see West Africa’s longest-standing democracy, a country with a vibrant civil society and a growing independent media.
“I look forward to going to South Africa, where I’ll meet with elected leaders who are firmly committed to economic reforms in a nation that has become a major force for regional peace and stability,†he added.
Bush said his administration was committing $200 million over five years to train more than 420,000 teachers in Africa. He said it would also provide scholarships for 250,000 African girls, and in partnership with Historically Black Colleges to provide 4 million textbooks.
Ends