Nile Basin Funds Held Until Uganda Passes Law

Donor funds pledged to the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) cannot be released because Uganda has not granted the regional body legal status.Denis Ocwich writes that the Executive Director of NBI, Mr. Meraji Msuya, said on Friday that a trust fund which should have been established by last March has not been put in place.“Right now we don’t have any legal status, that is why the trust fund is not being established,” Msuya told the parliamentary committee on natural resources.The 25-member committee chaired by Eng. Ndawula Kaweesi (Kiboga West) was consulting water officials at NBI secretariat, Entebbe, over the draft NBI Bill, 2002.Lands minister Ruhakana Rugunda said the Bill which had been approved by the Cabinet, would be tabled in Parliament soon.He said the Nile was pivotal and strategic to the region.“It is because of this that Uganda has been playing a key role in the Nile basin initiative,” Rugunda said.Ends