Your daily Selection of IRIN Africa PlusNews reports, 8/26/2005

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CONTENT:

1 - UGANDA: Government to probe use of anti-AIDS grants

1 - UGANDA: Government to probe use of anti-AIDS grants

KAMPALA, 26 August (PLUSNEWS) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday

called for an investigation after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis

and Malaria suspended all its grants to Uganda due to " evidence of serious

mismanagement " of the funds.

" I am going to take action and find out how they were using that money. I may

even appoint a commission of inquiry, " Museveni told a news conference in the

Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Speaking at a separate news conference, Ugandan health minister Jim Muhwezi

said: " We were surprised by the unilateral decision made by our partners, but I

have talked to the Chief of Operations in Geneva and he has promised to come

here next week. "

He said the ministry had not been told of an investigation and the suspension

had caused " anxiety " .

The fund said it had suspended the grants until the Ugandan Ministry of Finance

put in place a new structure that would guarantee the effective management of

the funds.

The decision, it added, was based on a review of one of the five grants -

undertaken by Pricewaterhouses - that revealed " evidence of serious

mismanagement by the Project Management Unit [PMU] in the Ministry of Health " .

It added: " The PMU has been responsible for overseeing the implementation of

Global Fund programs in Uganda. While the review centered on the Round 1

HIV/AIDS grant, the same PMU manages all five grants, and to minimize risk all

five have been temporarily suspended.

" The other grants include a second grant for HIV/AIDS, two grants to combat

malaria, and one grant targeting tuberculosis. These grants are worth a total of

US $201 million over two years, of which $45.4 million has been disbursed to

date. "

However, the fund said it would continue funding life-saving treatment and

prevention activities such as the procurement and distribution of condoms.

[ENDS]

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