I don’t know about other embassies, but Uganda House in New York is in top form!
SIR— In The New Vision of July 5, Mr John Nagenda, the presidential adviser on media, is quoted to have “protested the dreadful state of Uganda’s embassies abroadâ€.
I don’t know about other embassies, but Uganda House in New York is in top form!
SIR— In The New Vision of July 5, Mr John Nagenda, the presidential adviser on media, is quoted to have “protested the dreadful state of Uganda’s embassies abroadâ€.
I cannot comment on the state of other embassies except New York where I was
ambassador and permanent representative to the UN until last month.
Uganda House in New York is a 14-storey building.
The embassy staff occupy only three floors, which include the lobby floor. The remaining 11 floors are rented out. Nine of these are rented by the UN. The fact that the UN are tenants of Uganda House speaks volumes for the quality and state of maintenance of Uganda House. The UN cannot and does not rent offices unless they are in top condition of repair.
As for the ambassador’s residence, I did not live there because Government gets good money out of it — over $21,000 per month. This sixth floor building is occupied by a single family of three. It is obvious that no one pays that kind of money per month for a building which is not in top condition of maintenance.
If buildings in other embassies are in a sorry state, they do not include those in New York where I made it a point to attract first-class tenants.
That point probably escaped the attention of Mr Nagenda.
Prof Semakula Kiwanuka
Minister of State for Luweero Triangle
SIR— In The New Vision of July 5, Mr John Nagenda, the presidential adviser on media, is quoted to have “protested the dreadful state of Uganda’s embassies abroadâ€.
I cannot comment on the state of other embassies except New York where I was
ambassador and permanent representative to the UN until last month.
Uganda House in New York is a 14-storey building.
The embassy staff occupy only three floors, which include the lobby floor. The remaining 11 floors are rented out. Nine of these are rented by the UN. The fact that the UN are tenants of Uganda House speaks volumes for the quality and state of maintenance of Uganda House. The UN cannot and does not rent offices unless they are in top condition of repair.
As for the ambassador’s residence, I did not live there because Government gets good money out of it — over $21,000 per month. This sixth floor building is occupied by a single family of three. It is obvious that no one pays that kind of money per month for a building which is not in top condition of maintenance.
If buildings in other embassies are in a sorry state, they do not include those in New York where I made it a point to attract first-class tenants.
That point probably escaped the attention of Mr Nagenda.
Prof Semakula Kiwanuka
Minister of State for Luweero Triangle