Uganda on notice as Trump talks tough regarding future US aid policy

January 21, 2025 in Opinion, Policy by Editor

No further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States.

The international aid community knew it was coming, but the announcement, so soon after his inauguration as the 47^th President of the United States, was still a shocker.

Amongst the stacks of Executive Orders he signed on Day One, Donald Trump, pending a review, has directed all US foreign aid disbursements to stop for 90 days.

‘All department and agency heads responsible for United States foreign development assistance programs shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements of development assistance funds. No further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States’, the document reads in part.

According to Project 2025, the bulky manual that partially resonates with Trump’s thinking, in reference to reforming USAID the authors state: ‘Major proposed reforms are intended to blunt China’s influence, end support for climate programs, and limit women’s access to reproductive health’.

During the presidential campaigns, Trump consistently distanced himself from Project 2025, but this has not stopped the new administration from hiring some of the authors for key positions.

On the other hand, multi-billionaire, Elon Musk contributed $250 million to the campaign and does not want anything to jeopardize his Tesla operations in China.

As one of Africa’s biggest beneficiaries of US development and humanitarian assistance, Uganda may have to answer a question the new Trump administration will inevitably ask: ‘Are you with us or with them?’

China happens to be one of Uganda’s leading trading partners while Chinese investors are active in several key sectors of the economy. There are about 200 Chinese-owned companies operating in Uganda. This is three times the membership of the American Chamber of Commerce Uganda (ACHAM).

During his confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the in- coming Secretary of State, Marco Rubio was blunt: “Every dollar we spend, every program we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: ‘Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?’”

USAID activities fall under the US Department of State. At present, the USAID Uganda Mission is in the middle of implementing the USAID/Uganda’s 2022-2027 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS).

The Mission is investing close to $1 billion annually to support the government’s National Development Plan and Vision 2040 by promoting economic growth and employability, improving health and education, upholding democratic values, and helping to strengthen security.

Working mostly through the private sector and NGOs, USAID Uganda is running projects to boost agricultural productivity, increase access to electricity, support financial inclusion, and help small businesses to build their capacity through various training programs and provision of grants.

The Mission has also been providing technical assistance to the Uganda Revenue Authority under the Domestic Revenue Mobilization for Development program which among other things, has enabled URA to register new tax payers.

William Popp, the US Ambassador to Uganda remarked recently, “The US government’s partnership with the Ugandan people focuses on sustainable long-term solutions, building people’s capacity to address these issues independently in the future,” he said.

The authors of Project 2025, which was commissioned by the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, are more demanding. They are pushing for ‘a robust counter-China response called ‘Clear Choice’ that contrasts America’s development approach based on liberty, sovereignty, and free markets with China’s mercantilist authoritarianism that pursued predatory financing schemes and economic and political subordination to Beijing’.

President Yoweri Museveni is uncomfortable with this kind of thinking, especially in how it relates to Uganda’s best interests. Last year during the Non-Aligned Summit in Kampala, he told Liu Guozhong, the Special Representative of Chinese President, Xi Jinping: “China started supporting Africa economically even when the economy of China was still small like when Zhou Enlai came to East Africa in 1964, I think that is when they started the Tanzania – Zambia railway. Since then, China has grown economically; it has helped Africa even more. We are therefore very happy with China.”

During his first administration, Trump’s Africa Strategy, (finalised in 2018), consisted of targeting US funding toward key countries and particular strategic objectives. No more indiscriminate assistance across the entire continent, without focus or prioritization. No more support towards ‘unproductive, unsuccessful, and unaccountable UN peacekeeping missions’. All US aid on the continent would unabashedly advance US interests, but at the same time help African nations move toward self-reliance.

We will soon know whether Uganda meets the Trump criteria bearing in the mind the present levels of very generous US assistance the country is getting.