Foreign affairs ministry asks for sh2.6b to establish embassy in Angola

KAMPALA - MPs on the Budget Committee have approved the proposal by government to establish an Embassy of Uganda in Angola 

This follows a supplementary budget request of sh2.657 billion to enable the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish the embassy. 

On Wednesday, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affair, Ambassador Patrick Mugoya informed the Committee chaired by Amos Lugoloobi that the ministry needed a total of sh2.657 billion to open the Embassy and run it for the next 8 months. 

Mugoya told the Committee that the supplementary budget request of sh1 billion previously presented by state minister of finance, David Bahati was not enough since the embassy is new and it needs a lot of funding to run. 

"We note that the Ministry of Finance has proposed a supplementary budget of sh1 billion. However, the Ministry needs sh2.657 billion for this purpose covering 8 months," said Mugoya. 

Ambassador Mugoya noted that Angola opened its mission in Uganda in August 2007 and that it's important that Uganda reciprocates in order to deepen the cordial bilateral relations. 

Recently, it was reported that President Museveni had appointed the former Director-General of Internal Security Organisation (ISO), Col. Kaka Bagyenda as Uganda's Ambassador to Angola.  

However, his appointment is yet to be approved by Parliament's Appointments Committee. 

Mugoya argued that with resumption of commercial flights, there will be business opportunities for the country's private sector in terms of exports and sharing experiences in areas of oil and gas management among others.  

Mugoya said that these and other opportunities can best be taken advantage of with physical representation in the country. 

"Uganda and Angola are both members of International Conference on Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which brings together 12 countries in our sub-region. ICGLR was established to promote sustainable peace and development. The instability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is a major problem which destabilizes the region and threatens international peace and security. Angola has been at the forefront of fighting against negative forces (ADF, M23, etc) in the region," Mugoya explained. 

He further indicated that Angola is playing a big role in efforts to normalize relations between Uganda and Rwanda and that it chaired the Luanda Summit at which the Heads of State between Uganda and Rwanda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the normalization of relations. Mugoya says that these efforts are still ongoing. 

Kasilo County MP, Elijah Okupa argued that parliament needed to support the Ministry's efforts in regard to the country's missions abroad and that there was need to approve the required budget for the next 8 months. 

He was supported by Kasese Woman MP Winfred Kizza who said there was no reason for not providing the funds. 

"I don't see any reason why we should not give him his budget, 2.6 billion Shillings." 

MP Henry Musasizi (Rubanda East) asked the Ministry to breakdown the budget for easy accountability. 

MP, Richard Othieno (West Budama South) though supported the idea, he said the Ministry should provide to the committee a breakdown of the budget. 

Missions abroad are established to promote and protect Uganda's interests and currently, the country has 36 missions worldwide.