Germany celebrates 50-year relations with Uganda

By Francis Kagolo 
                           
The German government has pledged to align all its future financial support to Uganda’s development priorities in a bid to spur human development across the country.

The pledge was delivered Wednesday by Christoph Rauh, the head of the division for “Policy Issues of Development Cooperation with Africa” in Germany’s ministry of economic cooperation and development.

Economists have argued that aid cannot uplift Africa’s economies mainly because its priorities are designed from outside.

Under the new strategy, Rauh said, Germany will invest in sectors identified as ‘crucial’ by the government of Uganda.

“We will continue to align our cooperation activities with the development priorities of the Ugandan government, and will offer German support and expertise accordingly, in close coordination with other development partners especially within the EU,” he said.

“Our aim is to fight poverty and, at the same time, preserve our natural resource base. We cannot achieve one without the other. Germany wants these two processes to be a success, and will make a point of supporting them during its G7 presidency,” he added.

He made the remarks during a workshop at the Sheraton Hotel, Kampala, to mark the 50 years of Uganda-Germany cooperation.

The bilateral cooperation which began in 1964, two years after Uganda gained independence, has seen Germany emerging as one of Uganda’s key development partners focusing mainly on energy, agriculture, water and governance sectors.

Since 2004, Germany has provided €180m (over sh660b) in grants, loans and technical assistance for rural electrification and improving power generation from renewable energy sources. Its current projects are designed to supply over two million people with safe drinking water by 2025.

“The successes we have achieved so far in the priority areas of our bilateral cooperation programmes are impressive. For example, people’s access to water and sanitation has improved in urban as well as rural areas,” Rauh said.

Finance minister Maria Kiwanuka said Uganda has recorded steady progress in restoring macroeconomic stability with support from development partners like Germany.

Germany ambassador Dr. Peter Blomeyer commended to Uganda for its lead role in trying to stabilize the region, especially in Somalia and South Sudan.

“We want to partner with Uganda to boost the struggle against conflicts  in east Africa,” he noted.