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Uganda gets major grant from African Development Bank+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)KAMPALA, Jan. 8_(Kyodo) _ The African Development Bank has given Uganda two grants amounting to $84 million to support large-scale projects in the water and education sectors. An ADB representative, Benedict Kanu, said during a recent press conference that the bank on Dec. 19 approved giving $56 million to finance rural water and sanitation programs and another $28 million to support the education sector. This is the first major grant provided to Uganda since several donor countries, including Britain, Sweden, Norway and Ireland, significantly cut their financial support to Uganda citing public administration and political concerns. Anxieties over bad governance, corruption and the detention of opposition political leaders are believed to be behind their decision. Uganda lost over $73 million in aid from donor countries last year, which caused public concerns about its negative economic impact. The ADB-funded water and sanitation programs will cover all districts in Uganda for provision of new and repaired water sources and sanitation facilities for schools and health facilities, among others. Kanu said there were "insignificant conditions attached to the grants" but did not elaborate. He also said the grants were not a response to the recent aid cuts announced by several development partners to Uganda. |