Tanzania claims $58m war debt from Uganda
Yasiin Mugerwa
Parliament
It may be 30 years since the war ended but Tanzanian authorities who came to Uganda as liberators still want the pay check for their contribution to the 1979 war that liberated Uganda from Dictator Idi Amin.
The bill sent to the Uganda government stands at $58m (about Shs120billion).
The Bill is contained in documents of the Medium Term Expenditure Frame (MTEF), which being scrutinized by Parliament as part of the budget preparation process. It is captured under Ugandas Public Debt component.
Tanzanian is demanding war costs to a tune of $58 million and they have converted their demand into a debt and the government of Uganda is yet to pay because negotiations are still on-going to request for a debt write-off, Mr Hannington Ashaba, a Senior Economist in the Parliamentary Budget Office told the committee on National Economy on Wednesday.
Asked to explain, Ashaba said, Information we got from ministry of finance show that the government of Uganda is yet to pay because negotiations are still on-going to request Tanzania government to reconsider and write-off the debt in question.
H.E General Amin and his soliders at Mutukula.
In 1979, the Tanzanian Peoples Defence Forces (TPDF) on the orders of the countrys former President Julius Nyerere (RIP) entered Uganda to push back soldiers of then President Idi Amin who had invaded the Kagera Salient. Supporting Ugandan exiles in Tanzania who included former President Milton Obote (RIP) and Yoweri Museveni under the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF/Army) pushed Idi Amin out of power and helped establish a transitional government in Kampala that led to the 1980 elections.
While the Shs120 billion war debt to Tanzania were captured in the governments public debt records, Daily Monitor has learnt that officials in the ministry of finance are pleading with the Tanzanian government to have it canceled in good faith.
The Committee heard that authorities in Dodoma (Tanzanias administrative capital) have insisted that Uganda should pay for their contribution made to the liberation war.
MPs heard that Tanzania received no help from other countries which had denounced its invasion of Uganda, which came hardly two years after it had also played a key role to support the 1977 coup in the Seychelles which brought France-Albert René to power.
As a result, the government in Dar es Salaam (the administartion headquarters at that time) had to foot the bill for the invasion and subsequent peacekeeping role from its own coffers.
But MP David Bahati (NRM, Ndorwa West) said; This is a critical matter and as a Committee we have taken a decision to summon the Finance minister to explain the genesis of this money Tanzania is demanding from us.
He added; We are talking about billions here. But The State Minister for International Relations Okello Oryem down played the claim, that is old news, he said, as far back 1980. Where were you in 1980? I was a Mukombozi by then, he told this writer
Yasiin Mugerwa
Parliament
It may be 30 years since the war ended but Tanzanian authorities who came to Uganda as liberators still want the pay check for their contribution to the 1979 war that liberated Uganda from Dictator Idi Amin.
The bill sent to the Uganda government stands at $58m (about Shs120billion).
The Bill is contained in documents of the Medium Term Expenditure Frame (MTEF), which being scrutinized by Parliament as part of the budget preparation process. It is captured under Ugandas Public Debt component.
Tanzanian is demanding war costs to a tune of $58 million and they have converted their demand into a debt and the government of Uganda is yet to pay because negotiations are still on-going to request for a debt write-off, Mr Hannington Ashaba, a Senior Economist in the Parliamentary Budget Office told the committee on National Economy on Wednesday.
Asked to explain, Ashaba said, Information we got from ministry of finance show that the government of Uganda is yet to pay because negotiations are still on-going to request Tanzania government to reconsider and write-off the debt in question.
In 1979, the Tanzanian Peoples Defence Forces (TPDF) on the orders of the countrys former President Julius Nyerere (RIP) entered Uganda to push back soldiers of then President Idi Amin who had invaded the Kagera Salient. Supporting Ugandan exiles in Tanzania who included former President Milton Obote (RIP) and Yoweri Museveni under the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF/Army) pushed Idi Amin out of power and helped establish a transitional government in Kampala that led to the 1980 elections.
While the Shs120 billion war debt to Tanzania were captured in the governments public debt records, Daily Monitor has learnt that officials in the ministry of finance are pleading with the Tanzanian government to have it canceled in good faith.
The Committee heard that authorities in Dodoma (Tanzanias administrative capital) have insisted that Uganda should pay for their contribution made to the liberation war.
MPs heard that Tanzania received no help from other countries which had denounced its invasion of Uganda, which came hardly two years after it had also played a key role to support the 1977 coup in the Seychelles which brought France-Albert René to power.
As a result, the government in Dar es Salaam (the administartion headquarters at that time) had to foot the bill for the invasion and subsequent peacekeeping role from its own coffers.
But MP David Bahati (NRM, Ndorwa West) said; This is a critical matter and as a Committee we have taken a decision to summon the Finance minister to explain the genesis of this money Tanzania is demanding from us.
He added; We are talking about billions here. But The State Minister for International Relations Okello Oryem down played the claim, that is old news, he said, as far back 1980. Where were you in 1980? I was a Mukombozi by then, he told this writer