TO UGANDA WITH LOVE
What triggered this controversy?
Uganda, a landlocked country in East Africa has suddenly become the cynosure of Sri Lanka, an island nation a thousand miles away. ‘Bring back our stolen money from Uganda’ has similarly become a slogan echoed in the mass uprising staged by Sri Lankans at Galle Face and other major cities. The protesters alleged that the Rajapakse family has invested a staggering US$ 19 Billion in Uganda in spite of the acute dearth of dollar reserves in Sri Lanka. The placards displayed at the masses’ struggle accuse Rajapakse family of looting public money to invest in Uganda. This news item was first triggered by Sudanthaka, a blogger who is bitterly critical of Rajapakses. He effectively articulated his narration in such a convincing manner that people began to believe it unreservedly. He revealed that a massive shipment classified as ‘printed material’ was dispatched in three cargo airlines to Uganda in February 2021 that belonged to Srilankan Airlines. This cargo shipment was said to have a payload of 102 tons on three aircraft. Srilankan Airlines authorities who had been tight lipped since this revelation, finally had to issue a statement which admitted having sent a shipment of this nature to Uganda and suggested they were Ugandan currencies printed for general circulation in Uganda. But what the authorities didn’t disclose was that this shipment was done so secretly and it was not subjected to a usual custom check even. Meanwhile, the blogger asserted that by calculating weight comparisons, it could have been US$ 10.2 Billion in US$ 100 denominations.
Why Uganda
Republic of Uganda is somewhat a bandit country on the international map. The country has an impoverished population of 44 million. Although it is a republic by its constitution, the country is currently ruled by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in a dictatorial rule. He has been implicated in crimes against humanity but he has been hanging on to the power since 1986. Further, he has been accused of scam and rigging polls. On the other hand, Uganda is a country which was ruled by notorious military tyrant Idi Amin in the latter part of the last century. He was known for cannibalism, sexual crimes, oppression and corruption until he fled to the country to an exile. Uganda is also known as a country which resorts to money laundering in a big way. Money laundering is the process where black money is converted to white money. Black money is the money earned through illegitimate and corrupt means by people or segments of people. The black money cannot be transacted through a bank because black money is amassed evading taxes. Therefore, the black money should be transferred via unconventional methods such as mid sea transitions or charter planes maneuvers. Usually, those who are in possession of black money solicit secret government support to transform it to white money. So, cash starved Uganda is in the forefront of this illegal operation which is a well-known factor by the international community. Uganda is not a country with a proper governance system and therefore, has a tendency to go in for alternative methods to rake in black money.
Currency Printing Operation in Sri Lanka
De La Rue is a 200-year old company which is engaged in printing currencies for many of its client countries. This UK based company has a factory in the Biyagama Export Processing Zone. This facility has been in existence for decades with no or a little knowledge of the public. The company prints currency notes on a highly secure printing paper which is exclusive for the purpose. In the wake of this revelation, the company too issued a statement which is more ambiguous than being straightforward. The company declared that they print and supply currency notes for many client countries but refrained from divulging information about their client countries rather than identifying only by regions of such countries. Printing currencies which is known as Quantitative Easing (QE) is done by almost all the countries in the world. The amount or volume of printing currencies depends on each country according to their specific requirements. As such, there is no fixed yardstick as it is a part and parcel of economic management of each country. But, it is accepted that the countries print currencies to the ratio of 2-3 % of their GDPs. The countries are usually careful not to print excessive amounts of currency as it will lead to inflation. But, in recessionary periods, they exceed the accepted level to ensure that there is sufficient money to transfer good and services smoothly. Nevertheless, the consignment of currency which was supposed to have gone to Uganda, was obviously far in excess of its requirement. Therefore, a fair suspicion surfaces as to what type of currency that was exported out. On the top of everything, the Ugandan dollar reserves have shot up in 2021 with no explanation as to the sudden rise.
Renewed diplomatic ties between SL and Uganda
Usually, Sri Lanka doesn’t maintain close economic ties with African countries. Although Sri Lanka established diplomatic ties with Uganda in 1972, it had not been very active. In 2012, then President MR made an official visit to Uganda which was reciprocated by the Ugandan President in the following year. According to the records, both Presidents made more than two visits to either country in the past. Judging by the official posts in SL Foreign Ministry official web, some undue prominence has been given to the visits made by two heads of states. Some independent analysts point out that it suggests it to be more than just a friendship. Irony was that Sri Lanka even invested US$ 1.5 Million in Uganda to establish Sri Lanka- Uganda Vocational & Technical Training Center (SLUF-VTTC) in Kampala. Meanwhile, the placards showcased at the mass uprising at Galle Face throw accusations at Rajapakses for smuggling billions of dollars out of the country to Uganda. While all these financial irregularities are subject to verification, the people linger their suspicion on Ugandan connection due to another incident. A private jet flown in from Uganda had taken the Rajapakse family on a pilgrimage to Tirupati recently. Namal Rajapakse, the son of MR claimed that it was sent by a family friend. This so-called family friend has now been identified as an ex-LTTE operative who is domiciled in Uganda. There is another news item going viral in the social media that Rajapakses have invested in 6 companies in Uganda which is also subject to verification. In analysis of the facts and the nexus of the connections, a foul play cannot be completely ruled out too. However, it is still a ‘wait and see’ situation in Sri Lanka.
