Uganda freezes Libyan investments

March 30, 2011 (KAMPALA) – The government of Uganda has announced it is taking control of Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL), a mobile telephone company, where Libya holds 69%, information minister announces on Tuesday.
Uganda move is in accordance to the UN sanctions against Libyan assets, following North African country’s violent reaction to protests against the government.

The Bank of Uganda also dismissed Libyan Foreign Bank officials last week and seized control of Tropical Bank. The Libyan Foreign Bank owns 99.7% of Tropical Bank in Uganda.

Libya and Uganda had strong ties until recently when UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctioned the North African country following weeks of violence clashes between pro-democracy protesters and President Muammar Gaddafi’s forces.

The UN vote has also resulted in military intervention in Libya, as a mean to force Gadhaffi out of power after 42 years. The US, UK and France say they have established a no-fly zone over the country and have bombed the Libyan army. NATO is due to take over the mission, which has been backed by the Arab League but not the African Union.

The move to take control of UTL in Uganda, according to authorities, is to make monitoring transactions easier.

“We have to monitor all the transactions … and decision,” said Agrey Awori, the Uganda’s information, Communication and Technology minister.

Uganda’s decision to freeze Libya assets aims at disconnecting Gaddafi with Libya Africa Investment, the umbrella under which assets in Uganda fall.

(ST)