Ugandan Embassy in China asked to return USD 538,200 sent mistakenly

Ministry of Finance in Uganda has asked the Ugandan Embassy in China to return USD 538,200 (Shs2 billion) that was mistakenly sent. Keith Muhakanizi, addressing the accounting office of the embassy said that the government was supposed to send USD 61,800 which is about Shs229 million to the affected students and not USD 600,000 (Shs2.2 billion), according to a news report by The Monitor.

A letter has been sent by the Ministry of Finance to the Accounting Office, Uganda Embassy in Beijing on March 10 in this regard. The letter was signed by the Secretary to the Treasury Mr. Keith Muhakanizi.

The letter stated, "as you are aware, on the 28th of February 2020, this ministry transferred $600,000 (Shs2.2 billion) to the Uganda Mission in Beijing to support the affected students. However, upon receipt of the cabinet extract, we noted that there is a discrepancy between the amounts therein and that stated in the letter from the Ministry of Education and Sports."

According to the government, Uganda has about 105 students in Wuhan city Universities. 65 are known government-sponsored students while 40 are on private sponsorship.

Chinese President Xi Jinping also visited Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, on Tuesday, the first time he has done so since the epidemic began and a sign that Beijing believes its control efforts are at a turning point, as new cases tumble.