Members of Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee have recommended that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs withdraw from international organizations due to ongoing failures to pay annual subscriptions. The MPs noted that Uganda is facing diplomatic embarrassment at international meetings because of outstanding subscription payments, which currently amount to 69 billion shillings.
Gorreth Namugga, the committee vice-chair, and Amuria District Woman MP Susan Amero expressed their discontent with the government’s misplaced priorities, which have led to sending delegations to international meetings organized by entities to which Uganda has not paid its subscriptions.
“Every year, we accrue 25 billion shillings in arrears for subscriptions, bringing the total to nearly 94 billion,” Amero stated. She raised an important question regarding the African Union, asking if Uganda had paid its fees to attend the upcoming conference in Addis Ababa. “We recently attended a meeting in Addis where your staff indicated that our country does not want to endure the same embarrassment we faced in February.”
She urged Permanent Secretary Vincent Bagiire to address the issue concerning Addis Ababa so that Parliament can engage with the Ministry of Finance. “We should consider withdrawing from these organizations rather than continue creating unnecessary embarrassment, which could lead to further diplomatic issues,” she emphasized.
In response, Bagiire explained that withdrawing from international organizations such as the African Union, IGAD, and CHOGM is not a feasible option. He confirmed that the country accumulates 25 billion shillings annually in subscription fees. For the next budget, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been allocated 17.2 billion shillings for the payment of these annual subscriptions.
He appealed to the committee to advocate for a more sustainable method of funding this budget item rather than relying on supplementary budgets to meet these obligations and protect the country’s image.
“The result has been our delegations being unable to speak or even vote. In February, we almost faced a similar embarrassment when Vice President Retired Maj. Gen. Jessica Alupo represented the President. We were saved by the Ministry of Finance, which intervened and asked another ministry to cover the costs so that the Vice President could make her statement,” Bagiire explained.
He added that there was a comparable situation during the CHOGM in Samoa, where the country had not paid its obligations, necessitating a search for resources within the ministry to ensure that the payments were made. “Madam Chair, this is a very serious issue because it affects the image of the country,” he concluded.
