Ugandan Prime Minister: ‘Areas will suffer’ if donors cut aid over anti-gay bill

The Ugandan Prime Minister has warned that “areas will suffer” if aid to the country is cut over the passage of an anti-gay bill.

The World Bank, Norway and Denmark have withheld or diverted aid totalling about $110 million (£65.8 million) in protest over the country’s passage of anti-gay legislation last month.

According to the Ugandan Observer, Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi told reporters at a press conference: “If this money does not come you can imagine the consequences.

“Not only the delay in the provision of services but also failure to perform on the side of government. But if they take the money, what can we do? We must live on. We have shown that we can stand on our feet.”

“We have to adjust to make sure that some of the priority areas are provided for. Some other areas will suffer, but that’s inevitable.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill into law last Monday.

The author of the law, David Bahati, said earlier that the cuts to aid were “a small price to pay” for protecting moral values.

Bahati initially wanted to include the death penalty in the law, but it can instead result in life imprisonment for ‘repeat offenders’