By AGGREY MUTAMBO

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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday indicated his country could do without loans from the World Bank, which had announced a funding freeze after Kampala’s anti-homosexuality law.

Instead, Museveni said the Bank was using its funding for projects to force the hand of African countries to trample on their culture, something he said he will not do.

“I want to inform everybody, starting with Ugandans, that Uganda will develop with or without loans,” he said in a X post.

“It is, therefore, unfortunate that the World Bank and other actors dare to want to coerce us into abandoning our faith, culture, principles and sovereignty, using money. They really under-estimate all Africans.”

Read: Anti-gay law: Uganda reacts to World Bank funding freeze

The World Bank has suspended any future funding for projects in Uganda, citing human rights violations from the recent enactment of the anti-homosexuality law.

A statement from the Bank had further funding is being frozen until authorities in Uganda provide adequate policy to protect minorities, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other groups commonly categorised as LGBTQ+.

“Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act fundamentally contradicts the World Bank Group’s values. We believe our vision to eradicate poverty on a livable planet can only succeed if it includes everyone irrespective of race, gender, or sexuality,” the Bank said on Tuesday.

“This law undermines those efforts. Inclusion and non-discrimination sit at the heart of our work around the world.”

Museveni who signed the law back in May has fought back Western Pressure since it was in draft form. But he says donors have used money to force poor people to go against normal traditions. He did admit Kampala and the World Bank will continue with talks, however.

“We do not need pressure from anybody to know how to solve problems in our society. They are our problems. We are continuing to talk with the World Bank so that both they and we avoid this diversion if possible.”

It was unclear whether Uganda would yield to the Bank. But Uganda has in the past cracked under similar pressure in the past after passing a law that targeted homosexuals.

Read: Uganda MPs pass tough anti-gay bill

This one signed in May provides for penalties as high as a death sentence for “aggravated homosexuality.” Gays and similar groups who infect others with HIV/AIDS could serve up to 20 years in jail.

Yet government official in Kampala were quick to reject allegations the law would discriminate members of the LGBTQ+.

Uganda’s Health Ministry on Wednesday told the public that hospitals were under instructions to serve anyone who shows up seeking service.

“This is to reiterate that the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 does not forbid any person from seeking medical services from a health facility or hospital,” said Dr Henry Mwebesa, the Director General of Health Services, in a statement.

“Furthermore, all services should be provided in a manner that ensures safety, privacy and confidentiality to all clients that see health services in public and private health facilities.”

Passed with an absolute majority in parliament, the new law reflected a political act to respond to pressure from Uganda’s public. But it puts policy makers in a fix especially as Uganda relies mostly on Western partners for funding in crucial sectors of the economy.

The US, a critical shareholder of the World Bank, also supports Uganda’s health sectors through programmes like Pepfar, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Read: Museveni: HIV killing 17,000 Ugandans annually

Washington, which has criticised the law, spends about $400 million annually to provide anti-retroviral therapy for over 1.3 million people living with HIV/Aids in Uganda. since 2004, the US has spent some $5 billion on the programme in Uganda, preventing some 600,000 HIV-related deaths, about 500,000 new HIV infections (including more than 230,000 infections among HIV-exposed infants) in Uganda, according to the US Mission in Uganda.

Washington had indicated it would cut the programme as long as the law was implemented.