President Museveni’s NRM occupation government is starting to feel the cost of keeping the kingdom of Buganda in a virtual state of emergency. Since early September 2009, Museveni has spent billions of Uganda Shillings in resources to destabilize Kabaka Mutebi, monitor and block Baganda radio and phone communications, block unfriendly Internet addresses, fund pro-Region Tier forces in Mmengo and redeploy at least 65% of all Uganda’s police and army in Buganda.  The panic expenditure, together with the accompanying graft by those managing the funds has left the occupation NRM government in a financial fix. To cope, Museveni is reportedly, raiding certain government institutions, where aid donors cannot easily trace misuse of funds.

Our source in Uganda’s ministry of Finance has told us that the list of organizations that the NRM government is raiding include Bank of Uganda (BOU), National Social Secrity Fund (NSSF), NAADS and the President’s patriotism development fund. The source said: “BOU is easy because, the governor, Emmanuel Mutebire and the secretary to treasury, Chris Kassami are both veteran embezzlers. And they now have younger leutenants in Naome Nassasira and Keith Muhakanizi to oversee the thefts. The NSSF could have been more complicated because it has been in the papers too much. That is why they appointed a brand new board, with a solid number of thieves, to ensure full cooperation when government raids the organization. Even UPE will not be spared. There are plans to reallocate huge sums of money from students and combine those moneys with billions from Museveni’s patriotism development fund  to massively recruit ‘patriotic’ teachers as a backbone of a new spy network within Buganda. The reason they are looking at NAADS is because they have successfully used it in the past to bribe LCs and settle Balaalo and other foreigners in Buganda, without donor interference.”

On a related note, our ministry of Finance source points out that at least 30-40% of the money being spent to maintain the Buganda occupation is stolen by the implementers and NRM politicians. According the the source: “Because of the secrecy, there is no accountability and everyone involved in the illegal financial raids make sure to keep some. Even Museveni and his family are actively chasing the patriotism fund. It is like everyone is trying to get what they can before the next Baganda riots break out. “

According a Bank of Uganda (BOU) source, the value of Uganda Shilling against the US Dollar is expected to continue a steady slide downward for a while. A banking officer in the Operations Division of BOU told this reporter on condition of anonymity that there are three major reasons for the misfortunes of the Shilling.

The bank officer said: “First is the global financial crisis which, unfortunately, both the BOU governor and ministry of finance (MOF) chose to joke about early this year. However, it has caused the funds remitted by Ugandans abroad, especially Baganda, doing kyeeyo to fall drastically as work becomes harder to get.  Similarly, local NGO’s and church pastors are experiencing a tough time fundraising in the USA and Europe. Many of them are collapsing or firing employees as the dollars dry up.

“The second major reason is that our exports are not seriously growing in dollar terms. Even the  recent increase in exports to Southern Sudan seem appears to have been a bubble because the Sudanese central government is now limiting the supply of dollars to the South due to political tensions.  The dollar shortage in Sudan has in turn reduced the dollars which corrupt Southern officials have been bringing into Uganda to bank or buy mansions and Buganda land.”

The third reason that the banking officer gave is Uganda official corruption and greed. He pointed out that: “Mr. Museveni’s  state house has squandered tens of millions of dollars on deals like the presidential jet, grants to fake investors like Basajjabalaba and numerous so called ‘classified’ withdraws.  When other government officials see how Mr. Museveni’s state house is stealing, they can only emulate. Over time, this unending corruption has scared the more serious investors from the local stock exchange and our government securities. In fact the weak securities markets are only surviving on laundered money which the owners are still afraid to send out of Uganda.”

The BOU employee warned that the value of the Shilling was likely to continue falling for sometime. He explained: “I think that the donors are likely to cut aid to Uganda before they  increase it, because the political situation is likely to get much worse as the 2011 elections approach.  Both the domestic and external debts are likely to get worse because Mr. Museveni is creating more districts even as we speak. He is also preparing to grow army, police and other imports before the elections.  And our FOREX reserves are not enough to allow Mutebire to support the Shilling by selling dollars.  Maybe for a few weeks.”

Below are the US Dollar exchange rates for since January (on the 20th of each month): 

Buganda political rights firebrand and Uganda MP for Lubaga North has warned of disaster if President Museveni’s government takes over the Kampala City administration. In a press statement she released on Sunday 5, 2009, Ms. Beti Kamya debunked the government’s claims that the city council should be replaced by a government minister because the city is too dirty for the Uganda’s national image.

Kamya challenges Mr. Museveni to provide a single piece of evidence that Uganda government is capable of maintaining any major institution. She cites the dilapidated national hospitals, schools and training colleges as a basis to question why taxpayers should have any hope that Mr. Museveni’s government will do a better job looking after Kampala than the city council.

As to why Kampala is in a mess Kamya says (in Luganda): “I believe that the primary reason why Kampala city is in a crisis is underfunding by government. For example, Kampala has a population of about 3M people but last year it received government aid of only 25 billion shillings (US$12.5M). By comparison, Bushenyi district [located in Museveni’s ethnic homeland of Ankore] has a population of 800,000 but it received 27 billion shilling (US$13.5M), which is more than Kampala’s.”

Kampala is the business and commercial capital of Uganda and is located in Kyadondo county of the Buganda kingdom. Kampala is the home of the official and private palaces of the Kabaka (king equivalent) of Buganda. And Mmengo, a suburb of the city, is the seat of the Kabaka’s government. The conference which wrote Uganda’s latest constitution in 1995 voted to designate Kampala as “outside Buganda”, a move which was strongly opposed by the natives of the city and an overwhelming majority of Buganda residents. To many Baganda the “majority rules” decision by the natives of other regions of Uganda has been regarded as forceful occupation. Since 1995, the democratically elected Kampala City Council has been dominated by Baganda, who get more votes.  Then just over a year ago Mr. Museveni declared the city council incompetent and ordered the drafting a new law which turns the administration of Kampala over to government and extends its size into Buganda native lands by more than twice. A move which many Baganda view as another sign that Mr. Museveni and his supporters are determined to destroy Buganda.

According to Transparency International, Uganda is one of most corrupt countries in the world. Over the weekend a top Western diplomat in Uganda said on a local broadcast program that the donors are frustrated by the fact that the aid they give is intended for the masses but ends in the hands of a few at the top. He gave notice that the some donors are re-evaluating its aid policy in Uganda, in light of the global economic and the high rate of corruption. At least 5 immediate members of Mr. Museveni’s family are also members of this administration. Notably, his wife Janet is Minister for Karamoja where Uganda’s main gold deposits are located, his half-brother Salim Saleh is Presidential Advisor on security and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba is commander of the army’s special forces.