Uganda loses 2005 summit
By Emmanuel N. Mugarura
Dec 9, 2003
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But 2007 meeting will be in Kampala KAMPALA – Uganda will not host the 2005 Commonwealth summit. Instead, delegates at this year’s summit, which ended yesterday in Abuja, Nigeria, said, while giving the nod to the tiny island of Malta, that Uganda would host the 2007 summit. The offer to host the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will come as a welcome relief to President Museveni and other government officials, who invested a lot of time and money in lobbying for the summit. An official in Abuja told The Monitor by phone yesterday that some of the leaders at the summit were “not happy with the level of democratic progress in the country”. Others, the official said, doubted whether two years would be enough for Uganda to put the necessary infrastructure in place to host such a huge summit. The Monitor reported yesterday that the government would spend more than Shs 80 billion if its bid were successful. Another official in Abuja said Uganda’s bid was let down by the “muddy road towards democratisation and poor infrastructure”. “Most heads of state seemed to sympathise with Uganda in its effort to fight Aids,” the official said. “They also appreciated the economic recovery, but were not convinced by the infrastructure and democracy.” Mr Joel Kibazo, a Ugandan who is in charge of communications at the Commonwealth Secretariat, told The Monitor on the phone from Abuja last evening that it was always going to be hard for Africa to host back-to-back summits. “Some heads of government felt it was unfair for Africa to host the summit for the second time running,” Kibazo said. Break in tradition By awarding the 2007 summit to Uganda, the Commonwealth delegates broke with a tradition of naming only the host of the next event. A Commonwealth official who declined to be named in this report said this was the first time in the history of the 54-nation grouping that the host was declared four years before the summit. “The norm has always been to announce the host in the meeting before, but that you could get announced is a great job done,” the official said. He told The Monitor that this was probably as a result of intense lobbying on the part of Mr Museveni and his entourage. The President was reported to have met British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Saturday to persuade him to back Uganda’s bid. Britain was one of the strongest proponents of Uganda getting the summit in Abuja yesterday, officials told The Monitor. Meanwhile, the Uganda Peoples Congress petitioned delegates at the Abuja summit not to support Uganda’s bid. The Monitor has learnt that the six-page petition dated December 2 was sent to the delegates on Sunday. “As we write this petition the situation in the country continues to deteriorate,” part of the petition reads. “Political parties continue to be banned with no signs of restrictions being lifted.” The chairman of UPC’s caretaker body, the Presidential Policy Commission, Dr James Rwanyarare, told The Monitor yesterday evening that he was excited his party’s petition had been listened to. “For the first time the voices and prayers of Ugandans are being heard. The Commonwealth should go ahead and reject Museveni’s militaristic attitudes; they should know him for what he is,” Rwanyarare said. Additional reporting by Frank Nyakairu |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
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