By Vision Reporter

President Yoweri Museveni has met and held talks with the European Union Envoy to Uganda Ambassador Roberto Ridolfi who announced that the EU funded programs can now continue in Uganda as per their approved budget for the next seven years.

Ridolfi informed President Museveni that the EU is very pleased with the way the Ministry of Finance, the Police and the Director of Public Prosecution are fighting corruption, adding that administrative sanctions on civil servants implicated be strengthened. Ridolfi said this will be a precondition for some of the EU countries that have cut their funding to fully come back on board.

He further said that the EU has also approved the EU equity funding on Agriculture. He said the program that will be launched mid this year 2013 and will cover investments in agriculture and agro-processing.

The European Union (EU) was one of the donors who suspended aid to Uganda over the embezzlement of $13 million in aid funds by officials in the Prime Minister's office.

Museveni thanked the European Union for their gesture and pledged to follow up on the administrative sanctions on civil servants implicated in embezzlement of public funds and corruption.

The President has vowed to crack down on political saboteurs and corrupt officials whom he said have frustrated economic growth and development, frustrated industrial investment and squandered opportunities for job creation for the youth.

MMuseveni said the recent bursting of rackets of suspected thieves in the Public Service Ministry and the Office of the Prime Minister was only part of what government is doing to reduce or eliminate corruption. He recently instituted various investigations by the CIID into ministries including that of Public Service, Office of the Prime Minister and The Ministry of Health which have resulted in high profile arrests of civil servants who have embezzled billions of shillings.