Uganda to close 20 Missions abroad

POLICY SHIFT 

KAMPALA - The fate of 35 Ugandan diplomatic missions abroad stands in the balance while Parliament moots the country’s foreign affairs budget, writes Muhoozi Nelson Mandela.

A parliamentary report on Uganda’s foreign missions has revealed a mixed performance record, prompting the Government to announce plans to drastically reduce the number of diplomatic outposts abroad from 35 to 15. 

The regional affairs state minister, John Mulimba, made the announcement during the plenary sitting last Wednesday (April 16). He said the decision was driven by the Government’s strategy to cut operational costs, enhance efficiency, and ensure that Uganda’s global representation yields tangible diplomatic, economic and political benefits. 

“I have a directive from the President [Yoweri Museveni] to study the cost-benefit analysis in terms of the potential benefits to our presence in the 35 embassies and scale them down to 15. So, while we are still talking about a lack of staffing, the proposal is to scale down not only in terms of presence, but also cut down the number of staff,” Mulimba said. 

“I look forward to having the support of the parliamentary committee on the budget regarding the budgetary shortfalls we suffer so that we can better the situation of both the ministry at home and missions abroad.”

Performance of embassies 

Findings of Parliament’s committee on foreign affairs contained in the report on the performance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Uganda’s missions abroad for the first half of the 2024/2025 financial year, painted a varied picture of the effectiveness of Uganda’s foreign policy infrastructure. 

According to the report, the performance index indicated that 29 missions abroad scored 60% and above, while nine scored below this mark. 

Although the nine still surpassed the minimum pass mark of 50%, the report indicated they were the lowest-performing missions overall. 

The underperformers include Uganda’s embassies in Berlin, Germany (50%); London, the UK (51%); Bujumbura, Burundi (53%); Abu Dhabi, the UAE (53%); Khartoum, Sudan (54%); Beijing, China (54%); Moscow, Russia (55%); Doha, Qatar (55%); and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (59%). 

On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters and Uganda’s mission in Ottawa, Canada, emerged as the highest performers, each scoring 69%. 

Henry Okello Oryem, the state minister for international co-operation, said reducing the missions abroad to 15 would not have any impact on Uganda’s diplomatic relations. 

“Even America is trying to cut costs to reduce its operations abroad. Then, remember that Norway shut down its mission in Uganda, but we still enjoy a very strong cordial relationship,” he noted. 

However, Oryem added: “The only issue that we will have is that the workload will increase on the diplomats. I think we might not reduce to as low as 15 missions abroad. We might in some cases reduce the personnel and maintain some missions. Fifteen is a good number, but it will make work difficult for the diplomats. But we have very well-trained diplomatic officers, and we are sure they will deliver for the country.”

Henry Okello Oryem, the state minister for international co-operation, said reducing the missions abroad to 15 would not have any impact on Uganda’s diplomatic relations.

Huge budget vs tight resources

Parliament initially appropriated sh23.4b to the foreign affairs ministry for the 2024/25 financial year, which was later revised upwards by 6% to sh24.95b. 

This budget was allocated across wage expenditure (sh7.35b), non-wage recurrent expenditure (sh13.2b), Government of Uganda development expenditure (sh3.24b) and external financing (sh1.13b). 

The increase under the wage category was primarily due to supplementary payments for ambassadors James William Kinobe and John Alintuma Nsambu. 

Additional development funds were allocated for Uganda’s preparation to participate in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa. The financial demands of Uganda’s foreign missions are even more staggering. 

The total revised budget for Uganda’s missions abroad for 2024/25 stood at sh328.65b. This includes sh40.1b for wages, sh228.64b for recurrent expenditure, and sh59.8b for development. 

Despite the increase, many missions are still grappling with underfunding and operational inefficiencies, fuelling the argument for a leaner and more strategic foreign representation. 

During the plenary sitting last Wednesday, foreign affairs committee chairperson Catherine Lamwaka talked about the state of Uganda’s missions abroad, citing security threats, underfunding and staffing gaps. 

Lamwaka said many Ugandan missions fail to request adequate protection despite the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) mandating host countries to protect foreign diplomatic premises. The embassies instead depend on private security firms. 

The committee also drew attention to the high demand for consular services at missions in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and Abu Dhabi, where large populations of Ugandan migrant workers are based. 

Missions in New Delhi (India), Nairobi (Kenya) and Kuala Lumpur were singled out for their growing burden in dealing with human trafficking cases involving young Ugandans who are promised employment abroad.

MP Muwada Nkunyingi

Persistent challenges 

Despite the gains, the ministry is bogged down by recurring structural and budgetary limitations, with major challenges including limited institutional capacity to provide consular services to distressed Ugandans, particularly in the Middle East and East Asia, as well as insufficient funding for acquisition and maintenance of mission properties abroad. 

Other challenges include accumulated arrears amounting to sh89.69b owed to international organisations, rampant cases of human trafficking, especially involving Ugandan girls seeking work abroad, trade barriers within the East African region and difficulty mobilising Ugandans in the diaspora for national development efforts. 

The ministry noted that the inability to pay assessed contributions has already led to Uganda being blocked from international meetings, loss of voting rights, and disqualification of qualified Ugandan candidates for international jobs.

Eroding global standing 

The committee expressed grave concern over Uganda’s failure to honour its financial obligations to international organisations. For the financial year 2025/26, only sh17.6b has been allocated to clear arrears, leaving a funding shortfall of over sh72b.

“Moreover, the country risks accumulating more arrears due to a complete lack of funding for assessed contributions amounting to sh25.56b. This undermines Uganda’s diplomatic standing, reduces its influence and jeopardises job opportunities for Ugandans in international bodies,” the report noted. 

The committee strongly recommended that Parliament allocate additional funding to meet these obligations. Mulimba said the ministry is struggling with a sh238b budget shortfall, noting that once this money is provided for, the issues shall be handled. 

MPs weigh in 

Kyadondo East MP Muwada Nkunyingi expressed concern over the absence of substantive ambassadors in key countries including Iran, Kenya, Nigeria and Canada. 

“What is the Government doing to address this anomaly?” he said. Kasilo County MP Elijah Okupa echoed similar frustrations, highlighting the stagnation in career progression for foreign service staff. He said: “Some officers recruited over 12 years ago have never been promoted despite a presidential directive.” 

Mukono North legislator Abdallah Kiwanuka criticised the lack of a coherent foreign policy on labour externalisation, saying Ugandans continue to fall prey to human traffickers in the Middle East due to policy gaps. 

MPs also wondered whether there was any insurance cover for the missions in DR Congo and Nairobi that were vandalised. 

In response, Mulimba said: “It’s not true that the problems affecting our missions abroad are the same, they vary. It’s also not true that the ambassador of Uganda to Sudan is weak. But yes, we do have challenges. All I know is that our relationship with South Sudan is cordial albeit challenges and emergencies we are handling. 

But you must remember that the responsibility to appoint heads of missions is a preserve of the President of Uganda, according to Article 122 (1) of the Constitution, and ours is to remind him, which we have done.”