Uganda’s Ambassador to Algeria, John Chrysostom Alintuma Nsambu, is reportedly travelling in taxis for lack of official representational vehicles, according to the information obtained by Eagle Online.
The development was revealed by Pingire County MP Fred Opolot during the presentation of the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs on the budget estimates for the votes that follow under that sector.
The report indicates that the Ambassador in Algeria has no official car, and he has used taxis for the last eight years. Therefore, the embassy requires Shs700 million to purchase a car for the Head of Mission and a utility van.
“Some missions have no official representational vehicles. This is very embarrassing because some heads of missions use public means to perform mission duties. Many other missions that still have a semblance of official representational and utility vehicles have vehicles that are outdated, completely worn out, and beyond the standard emissions levels as required by the host countries,” the report indicates.
In some countries, like India, the Ministry of External Affairs of lndia has occasionally cautioned the Uganda Mission to dispose of the vehicles as soon as possible in compliance with the set emission regulations. This calls for the urgent provision of the required funds as indicated herein to enable the missions to purchase decent representative cars and utility vans.
It is not only Algeria; the Uganda High Commission in New Delhi requires Shs800 million to purchase a new representational car for the Head of Mission and a utility van; Nairobi requires Shs180 million to purchase an executive utility van; Tehran requires Shs465 million to purchase a new representational car for the Head of Mission; Malaysia requires Shs637 million and Shs600 million is required to purchase a representational car and a utility van for the Consulate in Dubai.
