The Independent’s Mubatsi A. Habati spoke to JICA Uganda Office’s chief representative, Mr Seki Tetsuo, about JICA’s activities.
Tell us about Japan’s partnership with Uganda government.
Japan’s assistance strategy to Africa is framed by Japan’s ODA Charter and ODA Mid-term Policy under the Tokyo International Conference on African Development process. With this in mind Japan’s assistance to Uganda is designed to align with the Uganda government’s Poverty Eradication Action Plan at the same time aiming to enhance the political stability and peace consolidation process in the wider Great Lakes region. We are ready to cooperate with the government’s National Development Plan that will be implemented soon.
What are JICA’s achievements so far for the time it has been operating in Uganda?
Japan’s assistance to Uganda is fixed on an agreement signed by the two governments in 1997. Japan’s aid priority areas in Uganda include human resource development which involves efforts to improve quality of teaching science and mathematics in schools as well as vocational training. The other priority is basic human needs support that involves water supply. We especially assist rural communities by constructing boreholes. To achieve this priority fully, we collaborate with the Ministry of Health. We have rehabilitated hospitals to boost delivery of health services and infrastructural development. We have done this in Mbale, Soroti, Busia and Masaka districts. The third priority centres on agriculture development. We have promoted rice growing in the uplands and wetlands and provided a new brand of rice, NERICA (new rice for Africa). All this aims at promoting efforts on food security and improving household incomes of local farmers. Livestock disease control is another priority area. However, we, as JICA, don’t encourage people to neglect cultivation of other food crops like bananas, cassava, beans, sorghum and others. We believe that rice can be grown alongside these as a weapon to overcome hunger and reduce poverty. We are also collaborating with Namulonge [agricultural research centre] and Makerere University to improve crop seeds and animal breeds and initiating irrigation schemes managed by small scale farmers.
The last one deals with economic infrastructure development which involves roads, bridges and power supply. As President Museveni mentioned in his budget statement, we agree that infrastructure development is important for economic growth and our assistance to Uganda is in line with this. We are currently doing a feasibility study to construct a new Nile bridge whose findings will be submitted to the government in September. We are also implementing the national plan of electricity generation in collaboration with the World Bank.
What are the terms of Japanese loans to Uganda?
In 2007, grant aid was US$ 17.83 million. JICA is dealing with grant aid, technical cooperation as well as concessional (soft) loans. But before October last year we were a donating agency of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA). After October 2008, a new JICA developed dealing with grant aid, technical cooperation and loan assistance after merging with Japan Bank for International Cooperation. This part of the grant aid is handled by Uganda’s Ministry of Finance.
What are your future cooperation plans for Uganda?
We are participating in the Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Programme and are assisting the internally displaced persons return home and settle in conjunction with other donor partners. In August, we are dispatching a technical team of experts to work on a road network plan in Amuru district and assist in establishing model villages in terms of housing.
You started the secondary school science and mathematics teaching (SESMAT)project to promote learning of sciences in schools. How many districts have you covered today?
We do this in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. Now 70 percent of districts are covered. We do this programme in such a way that the teachers we have trained go back and train others in their schools. We are also organising one training conference for teachers in Karamoja whom we shall be meeting in Soroti and we are working together with Irish Aid.
Any challenges in carrying out your activities?
People are cooperating with us. We are working on governance as another priority area especially on the management of finance through the Auditor General’s office. We are contributing to the Peace Recovery Development Programme (PRDP) for northern Uganda.
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