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Uganda’s Embassy in the United Arab Emirates has landed in fresh trouble after the Auditor General exposed glaring weaknesses in the management of President Yoweri Museveni’s special fund meant to uplift Ugandan businesses in Dubai, raising serious questions about accountability under Ambassador H.E. Zaake Kibedi and his deputy Aisa Ismail.The findings, contained in the Auditor General’s report for the financial year ending December 2025, paint a picture of an embassy that is failing to properly manage one of the government’s flagship diaspora empowerment initiatives, leaving taxpayers’ money at risk while the intended beneficiaries continue operating without effective oversight.Although the Embassy received an unqualified audit opinion and utilised its entire approved budget of UGX 22.571 billion, auditors unearthed worrying shortcomings in planning, governance and the administration of the Presidential Fund for Ugandan Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Dubai.The report reveals that the Embassy did not conduct an end-of-strategy assessment for its previous strategic plan. Even more worrying, by the time auditors visited in October 2025, the mission had no approved strategic plan covering the period from 2025/2026 to 2030/2031, leaving the mission operating without an approved roadmap for its future activities.However, it is the management of the Presidential Fund for Ugandan entrepreneurs in the UAE that has triggered the biggest concerns.The Auditor General established that beneficiaries of the fund were selected without any documented criteria, making it impossible to determine whether the recipients were chosen fairly or deserved government support.The audit further found that the entire intervention lacked clearly defined accountability structures, creating uncertainty over who is responsible for supervising the programme and ensuring that public money was safeguarded.Even more alarming, beneficiaries who received the money are not repaying their loans, despite having signed Memoranda of Understanding committing them to refund the funds within the agreed timelines.The Presidential Fund was introduced in 2022 after President Museveni donated US$100,000 to support Ugandan-owned Small and Medium Enterprises operating in the UAE.Under the arrangement, qualifying businesses were to receive interest-free loans of AED 20,000, repayable within one year, to expand their enterprises, create jobs, boost exports to the UAE, increase remittances back home and strengthen Uganda’s economic footprint in one of the world’s fastest-growing business hubs.The initiative was also intended to benefit Uganda’s rapidly growing diaspora community in the UAE, now estimated at about 160,000 Ugandans, many of whom work in hospitality, security, construction, domestic work, trade and other businesses that contribute significantly to both the Ugandan and UAE economies.The President had envisioned the revolving fund as a sustainable empowerment programme where beneficiaries would repay the loans, allowing more Ugandans to access the same support. Instead, the Auditor General found that repayments are not being made as agreed, threatening the long-term sustainability of the initiative.The report further questions the governance arrangements surrounding the fund, noting that the nature of the intervention and its accountability centres were not well defined, exposing the programme to weak oversight and possible abuse.The spotlight is now firmly on the Embassy’s leadership to account for the management of the fund and address the governance weaknesses identified by the country’s supreme audit institution.UAE embassy officials have been contacted for a comment.GOT A HOT STORY? LET US KNOW!Got breaking news, explosive secrets, or hard evidence?Email us: redpeppertips@gmail.comWe accept tips, documents, videos, photos, and recordings—the more evidence you have, the better.CONFIDENTIALITY IS OUR TOP PRIORITY. SOURCES ARE ALWAYS PROTECTED!About Post Author
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