The World Bank announced last week (08.08.) that for now there will be no financing of new projects in Uganda, that is, new loans, due to the anti-homosexual law that fundamentally contradicts the values of that institution based in Washington.
The law has been strongly criticized internationally, including by the US, the EU and human rights groups. But he is supported by many people in Uganda.
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This is due to the law that was adopted in Uganda in May, which, although it does not foresee punishments for homosexuals or lesbians who label themselves as such, but sexual acts are punishable. A person commits the crime of homosexuality if he performs a sexual act or allows a person of the same sex to perform a sexual act on him or her and is punished by life imprisonment. A person who attempts to commit a sexual act is punished by imprisonment for up to ten years. Up to 20 years in prison is provided for "deliberate encouragement of homosexuality". And in "particularly serious cases", such as sexual contacts with minors, the death penalty is possible. Therefore, this law is one of the strictest in the world.
Homophobia is widespread in the country
Homophobia is very widespread in Uganda, with more than 47 million inhabitants, and it is encouraged by a powerful evangelical lobby, which, like several times before, tried to push through an even stricter law in this area, but the president prevented it.
For LGBTK activists such as Žaklin Kaša Nabasegera, the decision of the World Bank is good news and a success of lobbying work, because the law makes it extremely difficult to work on appropriate information and education of viewpoints.
In an interview with DW, Uganda's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Okelo Oriem, said that the World Bank's decision was "not fair":
"Since the law was passed, there have been no cases of homosexuals being executed, imprisoned or marginalized in Uganda. However, there are other countries in the Middle East where these people are executed. So why focus on Uganda?"
The president sent an open letter - to his grandchildren
President Joveri Museveni (78) made a similar statement a day after the World Bank's decision - in a handwritten five-page open letter addressed to "Ugandans, especially the grandchildren".
The president writes that he "patiently explained" that the law does not apply to people who are simply homosexual - but to those who "recruit or force others to engage in their deviant behavior." If there are any disagreements in this law, "we will resolve them, as we fought against Idi Amin and other tyrants." Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986, is known for his combative rhetoric, and gained notoriety by fighting the dictator Idi Amin, who ruled Uganda until 1979.
The president says that, thanks to his actions, borrowing is falling and the economy is still growing - regardless of all the global problems. The situation, he says, will also be improved by the start of oil production in the country from 2025.
"Uganda will develop with or without credit," Museveni writes.
Writer Nik Tvinamatsiko says in a response to the president on Platform X: "The only reason we need loans is because internal resources are mismanaged or misallocated. Look at the president's budget. What's all that money for? To pay advisers who never meet? What are all these ministers for? (there are 81 of them) The World Bank despises us. They don't treat Middle Eastern countries the same as us, even though the Arabs have stricter anti-LGBT laws. But we deserve to be despised. We deserve it because we wasteful, and soft on the corrupt. Africa will never become independent until it gets proper leaders."
How much does Uganda depend on the World Bank?
The gross domestic product in Uganda is about 46 billion euros. The World Bank currently lists 45 projects in the country on its website, with a total volume of 1,1 billion euros.
In the eyes of economist Julius Mukunda, the cessation of World Bank financing would be a disaster. "There are 13 more projects in the bank's plan. If all these projects are stopped, we will have a problem because the World Bank is a key donor to Uganda."
MP Karim Masaba, who is on the finance committee, told DW: "We should be prepared for the worst. If you look at the sums we received from the World Bank and under what conditions, it becomes clear that we cannot get better offers anywhere."
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