Uganda: <b>November 7, 2002</b>

November 7, 2002

A new study estimates the cost of war in northern Uganda to be 1.33 billion dollars over the last 16 years. Sound small? Put it in context. Comparing a very poor, developing, agricultural countrys economy with the complex, multi-faceted US economy is tough. Economists argue over what constitutes an accurate yardstick. Still, lets give it a shot and compare approximate costs in terms of estimated GDPs. (This is admittedly a rough comparison, but its an instructive way to begin to grasp what Ugandas war against the LRA is costing that nation.) The roughly 80 million dollars a year for the war is around three percent of Ugandas GDP. Three percent a year of GDP would cost the US around 250 billion dollars (estimate an eight trillion a year GDP) or $4 TRILLION dollars over 16 years in constant dollars. One NGO report suggests Uganda is spending even more this year. Operation Iron Fist (cross-border ops in Sudan against the LRA) has already cost over 250 million dollars. These figures are extremely rough. However, the big picture is incontestable. The war in the north a war on the LRAs terrorists-- is thoroughly crippling Ugandas already fragile economy. Some of the money disappears in graft. Transparency International once ranked Uganda as one of the six most corrupt nations in the world, and estimated that around 55 percent of all government money is lost through graft. The war in Acholiland has displaced approximately a million people. One unofficial figure puts the number of lives lost at 23,520, and 12,320 of the dead are civilians. (Austin Bay)