ESAT News (May 8, 2017)
Uganda and Ethiopia will be the biggest losers in the region in the US President Donald Trump administration proposal to do away with all funding through the development assistance account, instead channelling these monies towards economic assistance.
According to a State Department budget document seen by The East African, the 2017/18 budget proposes a 30.8 per cent cut to overall foreign aid. In Africa, Washington is looking at saving $777.1 million from the proposed budget cuts prepared early this month, the report by the East African said.
Ethiopia will suffer the biggest cut at $132.1 million followed by Uganda at $67.8 million. Rwanda and Tanzania will suffer a cut of $50.7 million each while Kenya will see a funding cut of $11.78 million, South Sudan $10.6 million and Burundi $9.4 million. Within the region, while Somalia will get an increase in funding of about $36.1 million, the report said.
The proposed measures will do away with development aid across the region. Tanzania and Ethiopia will be the biggest losers as they have annually received more than $96 million from Washington as development aid. Kenya will also have to plug the $83 million cut, as will Uganda at $58 million and Rwanda at $49 million. Burundi, Somalia and South Sudan do not receive any development aid from the US.
Data from the non-profit Security Assistance Monitor shows that Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria were among the top five countries to receive the most aid from the US in the past two years.
The US uses the economic assistance fund to promote economic and political stability where it has strategic interests. The fund has been used in anti-extremism funding, improvements to judicial processes and training to the private sector in economic development, according to the East African.