29 February 2016

Besigye, Mbabazi polls petition deadline today



Kampala- By close of business yesterday, neither Mr Amama Mbabazi nor Dr Kizza Besigye had confirmed if they will petition the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the February 18 presidential elections whose outcome the duo continue to dispute.






Today is the 10th day since the elections results were announced and the last day of the window, which the law provides for any candidate to dispute election results in court.






Instead, the two sides were engaged in meetings to try and reach a final conclusion but no positive signs had emerged by press time.






“I have no answer for you yet on that matter,” said Mr Severino Twinobusingye, one of Mr Mbabazi’s lawyers. “I cannot authoritatively comment on whether we are going to court or not for now.”






The Electoral Commission chairman, Mr Badru Kiggundu, on February 20 announced that Mr Museveni had won the 2016 elections with 60.7 per cent, an outcome that was rejected by the Forum for Democratic Change, the party that sponsored Dr Besigye, the runner-up, according to the EC.






Mr Mbabazi, who came a distant third, according to EC results, also rejected the outcome citing massive fraud. International observers noted in their reports the election fell short of meeting acceptable international standards.
Police have since kept siege on Dr Besigye’s home, restricting his movement, even when the FDC candidate indicated he intended to challenge the elections in court. By press time yesterday, Dr Besigye was still under house arrest.






Speaking to Daily Monitor at Lutete Trading Centre last Saturday after he was blocked from accessing Dr Besigye’s home, Mr Mbabazi confirmed his team was investigating the events that took place on the polling day and he would base his decision on their findings.






“Going to court is one of the options we are considering…,” Mr Mbabazi said.






A source in Mr Amama’s camp said there is a “very high likelihood that a petition will be lodged [today] but I can’t conclusively say they (lawyers) have finalised on the nitty-gritties because they are still meeting.”






At the weekend, Mr David Mpanga, one of Dr Besigye’s lawyers, said he would not be part of the FDC leaders’ legal team, arguing for the petition if police continue to block Besigye from meeting his legal team.






“I will not be acting for @kizzabesigye1 [Kizza Besigye] in a petition when he is under such a handicap,” he twitted.






Mr Mpanga twitted the comment after being blocked by police from proceeding to Dr Besigye’s home where a meeting between the doctor’s lawyers and a team led by Mr Mbabazi had been scheduled to discuss the possibility of lodging a petition.






“I do not think that @kizzabesigye1 [Kizza Besigye] has had a fair opportunity to prepare for a petition. This is very unfortunate for him and for the country,” he said.






Gathering evidence
The 10-day period given to the aggrieved candidate is ideally meant to allow them time to gather evidence and put together a water-tight case before the bench.






However, just last week, FDC’s secretary general, Mr Nandala Mafabi, took to his official Facebook page decrying the arrest, by State operatives, of people who served as polling agents across the country and the disappearance of their Declaration Forms (DR) on which results at respective polling stations were recorded.






Bright Stars FC turning cleans sheets into an artform



KAMPALA. Bright Stars are not league title contenders despite sitting fourth on the 16-team log with 27 points. The team’s coach Fred Kajoba, however, has a lot to smile about.
The team have conceded only seven goals in 17 outings, which makes them the meanest defence in the league. And although they have scored just 11, Kajoba is impressed with the backline.






“A clean sheet for me is better than a win in which we have conceded a goal,” Kajoba told Daily Monitor on Sunday after his side defeated Lweza 1-0 at Wankulukuku courtesy of a Jimmy Lule goal. “We don’t score so many goals because we don’t have a lethal striker to bury the chances we create but that is a general problem – Ugandan teams don’t score many goals.






“But when you look at the league, the teams that have scored the most goals don’t have that defensive discipline which we do have,” added the national team goalkeeping coach.






Only KCCA (25), URA (25), Express (23) and Vipers (21) have managed to reach the 20 goal mark.
But they have also let in 12, 20, 16, and 15 respectively, something which Kajoba detests. “It doesn’t make sense if you score goals and the same time are very weak at the back. “Because when you play a side that won’t allow you to score goals you need to be able to deny them too. But if you are generous at the back and you play against an organised side, you will get punished,” Kajoba noted.






The win against Lweza was Bright Stars’ fourth straight clean sheet in a game in which they missed skipper Bernard Muwanga and keeper Mathias Kigonya through injury.






Bright Stars clean sheets






Bright Stars 1-0 SC Villa
The Saints 0-1 Bright Stars
Bright Stars 1-0 JMC Hippos
Bright Stars 0-0 Lweza
Bright Stars 1-0 SCVU
Maroons 0-0 Bright Stars
BUL FC 0-1 Bright Stars
Lweza 0-1 Bright Stars






ckyazze@ug.nationmedia.com






Does Kampala deserve ranking as best capital city in East Africa?

An aerial view of part of Kampala City Central Business District. A study by Mercer, a New York-based global human resources consulting firm, has revealed Kampala is the best city to live in East Africa. 



In Summary



The best East African capital city to live in is Kampala. This is according to Mercer, a global human resources consulting firm based in New York City. We find out whether indeed Kampala City deserves the spot.






Kampala, without a doubt faces challenges. Besides the annoying traffic jam that often leaves motorists cursing behind their wheels, there is the congestion, noise pollution, potholes, poor drainage channels, among other issues that continue to irritate people living, visiting or conducting business in the city.






It is no wonder that some sections of Ugandan society were puzzled by the latest Quality of Life Survey conducted by Mercer, a global human resources consulting firm, ranking Kampala as the best East African capital city to live in.
Kampala is placed in 169th position, ahead of Nairobi (184), Kigali (191) and Dar es Salaam at 198.
The only African cities that scooped positions in the top 100 included: Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg ranking 85, 92, and 95 respectively. Baghdad (230) ranks lowest worldwide.






Vienna retains the top spot as the world’s best city having topped the last seven published rankings. The study which was done between September and November 2015 examines social and economic conditions, terrorism threats, health, education, housing and the environment in making its judgement.
The study is one of the world’s most comprehensive, and is conducted annually to enable multinational companies and other employers to compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.






Experts’ thoughts
Ramathan Ggoobi, an economics lecturer at Makerere University Business School says some sections of Ugandans get surprised by such surveys because they do not except a city like Kampala which is congested with poor infrastructure to beat her neighbouring countries which are more developed and better organised.






“Kampala city may be poor but what makes her liveable are not the resources or infrastructure but rather the people themselves, culture, food, weather and most importantly the policy framework,” Ggoobi says.
“Many of our neighbours have closed kind of countries. Kigali for instance is very neat but then one cannot easily express him or herself while there. The levels of happiness there are low.”






In addition, Ggoobi states that this also has to do with the aspect that many foreigners feel at home while here.
“Ugandans tend to be really hospitable. Authorities like police and traffic officers actually respect foreigners more than their own people. Whenever they see someone with a different skin colour, they are treated as a VIP (Very Important Person) and at the end of the day, you will have such people only saying positive things about the country,” Ggoobi notes.






On the other hand, Jean Byamugisha, the executive director of the Uganda Hotel Owners Association, says that it is because of the good relations that Kampala has with her neighbours that big brand international hotels always want to invest here.
“A booming hotel sector is a clear indication to the world that the city is open for business and in this case, making Kampala one of the best in Africa,” Byamugisha says. “Investors have confidence in Kampala as a viable investment option, and this is usually from thousands of options worldwide.”






Questions about the survey
Meanwhile, Joseph Ntayi, a professor of Computing and Management Science at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) thinks the positioning of Kampala in the survey depended on a weighted index bringing together many variables that constitute the quality of living.






“The results are not surprising given the factors that were used to analyse the living conditions implying that the results of the survey should be read with caution. For example, the study is silent on the conceptualisation of the quality of living and the methodology used to collect and analyse the data,” Ntayi says, adding: “I also think that little consideration was paid to the quality of data collected in terms of dimensions like medical and health considerations, public services and transport, recreation among others. Therefore, this raises glaring conceptual and methodological weaknesses to the survey.”
Other than that, Ntayi says the results of the survey need to be validated before drawing conclusions.
“They are explanatory in nature and a pointer in what we probably have not critically thought about. However, it is important that we also conceptualise and undertake another study to confirm them,” he says.






On what it means for Kampala to be ranked the best city, Ntayi states that it zeroes back to people visiting Kampala ordinarily as well as enjoying a better quality of living based on consumer goods, economic environment, housing, medical and health considerations, natural environment, political and social environment, public services and transport, recreation, hygiene, schools and education, socio-cultural environment than their counterparts visiting other capitals in East Africa.
Such observations notwithstanding, Ntayi states that Uganda’s economy continues to perform well compared to the economies of other East African countries.
Therefore, this gives the country leverage in terms of the quality of living, compared to the other East African countries.






The statistics
According to Numbeo, a collaborative online database which enables users to share and compare information about the cost of living between countries and cities, consumer prices, including rent in Uganda are 13.52 per cent lower than in Kenya, rent prices in Uganda are 40.55 per cent lower than in Kenya, restaurant prices in Uganda are 27.94 per cent lower than in Kenya, groceries prices in Uganda are 16.10 per cent lower than in Kenya, local purchasing power in Uganda is 27.40 per cent lower than in Kenya.






Additionally, a critical comparison of Uganda with Tanzania along the same criteria gives Uganda an advantage. Consumer prices in Tanzania are 34.26 per cent higher than in Uganda, consumer prices including rent in Tanzania are 68.90 per cent higher than in Uganda. Rent prices in Tanzania are 264.48 per cent higher than in Uganda, restaurant prices in Tanzania are 75.74 per cent higher than in Uganda. Groceries prices in Tanzania are 33.59 per cent higher than in Uganda, local purchasing power in Tanzania is 128.66 per cent higher than in Uganda. These aspects put together confirm the survey results by Mercer.






Despite the slow growth of the economy, income levels in the formal sector continue to improve compared to the informal sector. The real growth rate for Uganda is estimated at 5.6 per cent while that of Tanzania is 7 per cent and Kenya is 5.1 per cent. The population below poverty line in Uganda is about 24.5 per cent while that of Tanzania is 36 per cent and Kenya at 43.4 per cent. Uganda’s unemployment for youth ages 15 to 24 is estimated at about 5.4 per cent compared to that of Tanzania which is estimated at about 7.1 per cent.
Notwithstanding the impressive results of the Mercer study, employment opportunities for the youth in Uganda continue to dwindle due to the shrinking economy compared to the rapid population growth rate.






Security levels in the city






In terms of security, Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, says Kampala is more secure than neighbouring cities.
“There are streets in those cities you cannot walk on during daytime but it is a different case in Kampala. Here, you can freely move either during day or night time,” Onyango says.” “Police officers are also visible as they are often patrolling the streets and very approachable to foreigners whom we treat with courtesy.”
But most importantly, Onyango says crime rates have also reduced as depicted in the 2015 crime report covered from the period of January to June, indicating that the security situation in the country is generally stable and the crime rate is on a downward trend. The statistics are depicted as follows:






Tumukunde shot in Fort Portal youth MP polls brawl

Gen. Henry Tumukunde pictured in February 2013. File photo 




FORT PORTAL – Lt. Gen. Henry Tumukunde has been shot in the legs allegedly by soldiers attached to the military police in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, an aide says.
“He is being treated for bullet wounds at a Fort Portal clinic, and will be transported to Kampala later today,” the aide told Daily Monitor by telephone. He said one of his military escorts was also shot in the legs. Police and the military are yet to confirm or deny the reports.






Gen. Tumukunde was in Fort Portal, for the Western Youth MP elections where his son Amanya Tumukunde was running against Mwine Mpaka Rwamirama, son to State Minister for agriculture Lt. Col. Bright Rwamirama.
Mr Mpaka, an NRM sponsored candidate won the chaotic elections, marred by show of military by both sides. Mr Amanya run as an independent. The other candidate was Go Forward’s Macklyne Nahwera.






Mpaka was declared winner with 660 votes with his closest challenger Amanya who garnered 463 of the total number of votes cast. Nuwasasira who came in the third place got only 10 votes in the results that were announced at around 2:50am.
More details to follow:






editorial@ug.nationmedia.com






Walking the talk on commercialising agriculture



Watching the presidential candidates sell their ideas to their electorates during the presidential debate the subject of commercialising agriculture came up as a strategy to revamp agriculture in the country. Commercialising agriculture simply put is transforming small-scale survival farming into large-scale farming. The elections are now long gone and we have a president. The big question is, how will he walk the talk? Well, I believe greenhouse farming is among a plethora of ways in which agriculture can be commercialised.






Set up costs
Greenhouse farming is definitely not a new concept but the cost element involved is the debatable issue. In Uganda today, companies retailing greenhouse kits do so at a range of Shs12 m to Shs15m for a kit of eight metres by 15 metres. If you are lucky enough to get hold of a local craftsman, the best you can get is between Shs2.2m to Shs3m for a similar kit, which is a good deal. Well, looking at the figures, the average small scale farmer will definitely not be in a position to set aside this kind of money.






Probably, the average corporate can but again farming on phone has always proved to be a total disaster. The best leverage to greenhouse farming given these set up costs would be the government lending these kits to farmers’ cooperatives with repayment periods of within a year or two given the projected returns for a greenhouse.






Return on investment
Farmers tend to suffer from ‘land mania’ which is the belief that you would need a large of piece of land to practice farming in the first place. The greenhouse concept refutes such thinking. Let us say you sunk up to Shs7.5m in set up and labor costs and planted tomatoes that span 75 days to mature and harvest the crop. You are likely to have about 600 stems of tomatoes each yielding up to 10kgs to 15kgs in its lifespan of four and a half months after the first harvest. Projected revenues at today’s retail price of between Shs. 2,000 and Shs3,000 would be between Shs12m and Shs18m for the plants lifespan.






The retail business is definitely brutal and as such selling to retailers for as low as say Shs1,800 would still make business sense. In such a scenario, you would net Shs3.3m. The beauty is, for the next harvest the incremental costs would be only the seedlings, labor and the pesticides and therefore growing the margins. The expected return on investment would therefore be at most a year of hard work.






Paul Njuguna is a financial and cost accountant. Email:paul@paulnjuguna.com






Corporate League now moves to curb ‘mercenary’ players



KAMPALA. Founded in 2002, the corporate league can be summed up as success story.
It goes without saying it has also had its challenges over the years, chief among them being the use of mercenaries particularly in football.






Going by recent revelations however, that could well be a thing of the past if Boaz Nabimanya who is in charge of discipline on the league’s executive committee is to be believed.






Nabimanya revealed at the launch of the 2016 season held at Hotel Africana that they have asked all companies to submit all the names of the players they intend to use throughout the season. We also intend to visit the human resource departments of the companies taking part as well as asking for Pay As You Earn(Paye) and company ID numbers plus NSSF cards,” he explained.






A total of 40 companies are expected to take part in this year’s competition which comprises of eight disciplines and kicks off on March 20 at Kyadondo Rugby Grounds.






Three new companies Gems Cambridge International School, Tullow Uganda and Spear Motors have joined the competition which was won by Hotel Africana last year.
Cipla Quality Chemicals are the most successful having three consecutive titles in 2011,2012 and 2013.






essenono@ug.nationmedia.com






Theft, internal factors hit Uganda’s coffee

Washed coffee beans on display. File photo 





By Bamuturaki Musinguzi and Philomena Matsiko
Posted 


Tuesday, March 1  

2016 at 

02:00



In Summary



Thieves have the capability to steal coffee while coffee trucks are in transit. Bamuturaki Musinguzi and Philomena Matsiko explain how this is eating into the country’s revenue






Much as Uganda’s coffee subsector registered growth in 2015, major players are uneasy over the increasing loss of revenue due to heightened theft cases (short-landings) of coffee exports and volatility of prices in the international market that continue to hamper the desired pace of growth.
Persistent drought, pests, low use of fertilisers, issues of access to credit and limited domestic consumption has also had an effect on the country’s coffee trade performance.






The Uganda Coffee Federation (UCF) has continuously registered cases of increasing theft in transit and short landings of Uganda coffees at point of destination. “This has led to a loss of revenue as exporters strive to meet their contractual obligations as well as retaining their clients in the extremely competitive coffee market,” it adds.






UCF notes that in the coffee year 2014/15, taking a sample of 15 cases from Ugandan exporters more than 91,000 kilogrammes of coffee valued at more than $198,000 (Shs673 million) was stolen. In all these cases, the coffee containers arrived at their point of destination with all seals intact; and sacks either filled with foreign materials like sand and small stones to compensate with the weight taken or left with less tonnage.






According to the UCF executive director, Betty Namwagala, coffee thefts date back to the times of the defunct Uganda Coffee Marketing Board.
“In our case (UCF), the thefts go back to 2008/9. Whenever there is an increase in the coffee price on the international market, the thefts escalate.”
“Our coffee is stolen while in transit by organised rackets who collude with truck drivers. We are losing 10 to 20 per cent of coffee off each 20-foot container. Buyers of Ugandan coffee may stop purchasing our coffee if the respective governments don’t fight this crime,” Kailash Natani, the managing director of Ugacof (U) Limited, one of Uganda’s major coffee exporters, says.






“We have not heard of coffee theft cases in transit of late. We have, however, heard of highway robberies and diversions. These have not been addressed to us as claims since they take place outside our jurisdiction,” the head of corporate affairs, Kenya Posts Authority, Bernard Osero told Daily Monitor.
As to the extent of this form of cargo theft, Osero, said: “The magnitude has not been quantified since they do not take place in areas under our jurisdiction. This can only be done by the Northern Corridor players like the Highway Police.”






UCF assumes that either: Coffee is stolen during transit between Uganda border and Mombasa Port with the stretch between Nakuru and Eldoret marked as the blackspot; or thieves either cut the hinges of the containers and weld them back or cut into containers, take out cargo, weld and re-paint them; or the coffee thieves have a cartel that is well-organised. They have equipment to make exact replicas of seals that are used to secure the containers; or the coffee thieves have the capability to steal coffee while the coffee truck is in transit.
Regarding those involved in this crime, Osero says it is the Kenyan police who get reports on these incidents and investigate them.






“However, possible suspects could be organised gangs, transporters or their agents (drivers or turn boys).”
Osero says Kenya Ports Authorit liaises with other security agents who operate along the Northern Corridor to ensure such incidents are investigated and measures put in place to prevent recurrences. Such agencies are Kenya Revenue Authority, Highway Police and Kenya Highway Authority, among others. “However, we only play a liaison role when such information is brought to our attention.”






“As a coffee exporting country, when our cargo is got missing at points of destination, we lose our reputation. The exporters have to compensate for the stolen coffee and if you can’t pay back, you may lose both the buyer and market,” Namwagala notes.
“We are advising our exporters to double insure at home and exports destination. If there are issues of repayment in case of thefts it reduces the costs of traveling to Europe, for example, to settle these matters,” said UCF programmes manager, Robert Musenze Mugenyi.






Recommendations
The Kenyan government partiularly Kenyan police should increase the number of highway patrols between the Ugandan border and Mombasa Port especially the blackspot between Nakuru and Eldoret.






Under the single customs territory, UCF argues that the Ugandan and Kenyan revenue bodies can track in and out bound cargo trucks. “This system could aid in tracking vehicles that are off track or those that have over-stayed in a particular location,” it suggests.
UCF also recommends that weigh bridges are used to track the tonnage differences in the contents.
According to Uganda Coffee Farmers Alliance (UCFA) executive manager Tony Mugoya, drought in the first quarter of 2015 affected production in some parts of the country and pests such as twig borer are still a major concern.






“Heavy rains have affected coffee harvesting, drying and marketing in some parts of the country. However, the effects of El-Nino have been generally less destructive than earlier feared,” Mugoya added.
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) managing director Henry Ngabirano also blamed price volatility, outbreaks of diseases, erratic weather patterns and limited domestic coffee consumption, as the industry’s hindrances in 2015.






Any benefits?
The subsector is yet to benefit from government’s investment over the past few years in road infrastructure as feeder roads which link coffee producers to the markets have not been given as much attention as the main roads, Natani says.
“The costs of doing coffee business are high due to poor infrastructure set-ups especially transporting coffee from the farms to the final markets,” Natani said.






Despite the challenges, the players indicate that the industry registered growth last year when the subsector was characterised by considerable successes at every stage in the value chain, gabirano observes.
“It is a year in which we had record coffee planting where about 110 million seedlings were generated and 86 million seedlings which had reached plantable stage were planted. It is where government increased funding for coffee planting by a factor of four. Coffee exportable production increased to the highest level of 4.1 million 60 kilogramme bags, only ever reached in 1995.”






“Farmer efforts in quality improvement came to fruition when Uganda coffee occupied the shelf space of Starbucks shops, the largest specialty coffee retailer in the world. This was after Uganda coffee passed the stringent quality evaluation systems and many standards set by Starbucks. This was a great confidence in the Ugandan farmers and it will mean better prices and income for the farmers,” Ngabirano added.
UCFA’s Mugoya argues that Uganda coffee showed growth and resilience in 2015 due to increased investment in processing factories.
Some statistics put the number of coffee growing households at 1.7 million, most of which are small scale farmers. Estimates put land under coffee at about 280,000 hectares in Uganda.






According to the UCDA monthly report for September 2015, cumulatively, coffee exports for October 2014 to September 2015 totalled 3.4 million bags worth $410 million (Shs1.4 trillion) compared to 3.5 million bags worth $394 million (Shs1.3 trillion) for October 2013 – September 2014, a decrease of 1.2 per cent in volume but a 4.2 per cent increase in value.
Uganda loses revenue due to its failure to add value to its coffee exports.
“Uganda could earn an extra 40 per cent in export revenues if it added value to its coffee by improving quality using the latest agricultural technology,” Natani says.






Bleisure: Infusing fun into business trips

Business people take some time off at Mombo Camp in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Business travellers usually build in extra time to acclimatise and see the sites in a particular country whenever they travel.  



In Summary



To make the throes of business travel a little bit more pleasant, business travellers are combining business and leisure with the hope of striking a work-life balance as Jonathan Adengo writes.






Travellers do not want all-serious work trips anymore. They prefer taking off some time to relax and explore different things. Jack, an insurance broker working with a global insurance firm in Canada recently came to Uganda to oversee some business. However, after work was done, he decided to spend his last weekend at the source of Africa’s longest river, the Nile in Jinja District.
Business travellers — especially those who are beginning their careers — are excited to see the world and are ready to find ways of maximising their travel time. A growing trend of business travellers combining work and play is described as bleisure.
Bridge Street Global Hospitality – which runs serviced apartments in more than 60 countries polled 640 international travellers. The survey showed that 83 per cent of respondents use free time on business trips to explore the cities they are visiting.
According to Bridge Street Hospitality report for 2014 published by Skift, a travel website, ‘bleisure’ is already a way of life among many business travellers world over.
By combining business and leisure, travelers gain experiences and save money. The Bridge Street Global Hospitality survey shows 96 per cent believe they gain cultural experience and knowledge through business trips.
Travel industry specialist Frederic Gonzalo, who has spent over 20 years within the hospitality industry attributes the rise in ‘bleisure’ travel to the fact that people have become pressed for time, especially as business becomes global.
“A lot of business travellers are on the road quite often and don’t know how else to strike the work/family balance. For the new generation, business trips are not just about work but about quality time,” he says.
Just as leisure travellers are always working, business travelers are now often extending their stays to include a leisure component.
Andrew Nganga, the general manager of Great Lakes Safaris, says there has been an increase in people who mix business and leisure.
Great Lakes Safaris one of the largest tours and Travel Company in Uganda, which operates three different lodges across the country experiences an influx of travellers who come to the country for business and leisure.
Nganga however notes that before they confirm any bookings with them, the first thing the people always ask if whether they have Wi-Fi/ Internet connection in the rooms.
“This is because people now move with their offices; they want to work while on leisure,” he notes.
Nganga says that because of the growth in technology advancement today, working while doing leisure also makes people more productive. The Bridge Street Global Hospitality survey shows that about 78 per cent feel adding leisure days to business travel adds value to work assignments.
Nganga who affirms, “Business has become leisure,” says the evolution of travel technologies and social media has changed the way people perceive work these days.
Technology has helped inform customers about opportunities at their destinations. He says they engage more with people on social media. The hotels, travel companies are very active on social media and as such a business traveler can quickly know what leisure spots and activities are available.
“Hotels, restaurants and destinations are monitoring their updates and adding suggestions on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to build up the publicity for the destination,” he explains. “Likewise, the industry wants to keep in touch with its customers after they leave – maybe that business traveller will return one day on a leisure trip.”
Bleisure can benefit business because in the process of relaxing, one can cut a deal. For most marketers hoping to sell a product, leisure spots like golf resorts where the potential clientele meet to relax and blow off some steam are their target areas.
The report states that nearly four out of five responders agreed that adding leisure days to business trips added value to work assignments. However, while a desire for ‘bleisure’ is growing amongst employees, majority of businesses are yet to embrace the concept. Very few have a formal policy addressing bleisure.
Clear and fair guidance around ‘bleisure’ trips will, we believe, help foster trust between companies and their employees as well as motivate them, make them more productive and create a positive attitude to work/life balance.






Cons of bleisure
• Limits socialising. Some people are failing to socialise because they are always on their smart phones.
• There is also a lot of time wastage which time would easily be put to accomplish other pressing business matters.
• It is expensive.
• Companies have not yet understood the concept and as such business travelers are often restricted to work only.






Is Besigye finally going to finish Uganda’s revolution of 1986?



Almost two weeks after the 2016 presidential election, Uganda is yet to settle down as the ‘normal’ country it was before February 18. We had the incumbent announced as having won by over 60 per cent. His closest contender Kizza Besigye of FDC came second with about 35.5 per cent.






Yet there is significant presence of the police and military on the streets of Kampala and most parts of the country. The contenders Go Forward’s Amama Mbabazi and especially Besigye have had severe restrictions to their movements and associations, like the winners are afraid of them.






These actions by security agencies of beating the ‘defeated’ as they lie prostrate on the canvass, presumably having taken a knockout in the election, have implications.






They seem like the actions of a winner who is not sure that he won genuinely or that it even sounds convincing to all and sundry. So he must use force to subdue his opponents and look too scary to be questioned. The stories of the abundance of pre-ticked ballots, is out in the open. The late arrival of election materials to areas where the Opposition has traditionally done well i.e. Kampala and Wakiso, augment this notion. The decision by the Electoral Commission not to announce results from all polling stations (leaving out places like Rukungiri where the Opposition has done well in the past) because of ‘Constitutional time constraints,’ is yet another point. How come time was never thought of when late delivering voter materials in the areas mentioned above, some will ask?






The continued enforcement by armed men on the streets in the short-run maintains peace that is costly and not sustainable. A time will come when the men with arms will have to go back to the barracks. Yet the contention is likely to remain i.e. the cynicism and disbelief in the results that the EC declared and by extension, the winner President Yoweri Museveni.






Uganda and Museveni in particular are beneficiaries of Western power and international finance or call it donor leverage. This lot minds a lot about stability in two ways. First in terms of securing the uninterrupted return on the investments that they make in poor countries like Uganda. They would want to be guaranteed long-term assurances that a leader like Museveni will not encounter disruptive Opposition because he is unpopular. The current situation seems to suggest that he has slid into that situation despite the ‘resounding’ over 60 per cent win he has on paper. Secondly, as they have learnt from the migrant crisis in North Africa and the Middle East, it puts their countries under a lot of security and financial pressure to settle refugees that flock in from spots of insecurity that stem from contentions over governance.






In his book, ‘Kizza Besigye And Uganda’s Unfinished Revolution’, Daniel K. Kalinaki gives an account of a dressing down Besigye received from foreign ambassadors at the Irish Ambassador’s residence in Kololo, after he lost the election in 2011. The diplomats saw Besigye’s dismissal of the election results in which he was given 26.01 per cent as opposed to Museveni’s 68.38 per cent as the work of a ‘sore loser.’ The diplomats ‘put stability over constitutional scruples’ and mercilessly went for Besigye and humiliated him.






Five years later, the diplomats have been more civil and accommodating towards Besigye. They have spoken out with an uncharacteristic bluntness about the veracity of the election saying that Ugandans deserved better and called for publication of results per polling station. They have paid Besigye visits and encouraged him to go to court.






We may end up with the main protagonists Museveni, Besigye and Mbabazi being called onto the negotiating table -using both the carrot and stick- by those who fund our economy. Besigye and Mbabazi may be asked to acknowledge Museveni (not necessarily as election winner) as the President for the next five years -despite ‘all that has happened.’
Besigye and Mbabazi may then put forward demands for constitutional and electoral reforms. The main ones being the restoration of two five year-term limits for which Museveni may not be eligible. Trimming of the powers of the Executive, especially in regards to access and use of public finance for elections. Removal of the army and the police in the management of elections plus a more open and egalitarian mode of composing the Electoral Commission in which the incumbent will have limited or no influence.






The 2016 election like I once suggested now appears like a beginning and not just an end to a normal event. It seems like the journey to end the revolution of 1986, which gives Museveni a sense of entitlement to rule Uganda without reservation, is about to begin.
Mr Sengoba is a commentator on political and social issues. nicholassengoba@yahoo.com
Twitter: @nsengoba






Besigye arrested again, police vow to keep siege




By ERIASA MUKIIBI SSERUNJOGI & JOSEPH KATO
Posted 


Tuesday, March 1 

2016 at 

02:00




KAMPALA- Dr Kizza Besigye was yesterday arrested again as police insisted on keeping the siege on his Kasangati home despite the Opposition leader insisting that there is a court order against him being detained at home. He was trying to leave his home to an unspecified place.






Speaking to Daily Monitor before his arrest yesterday, Dr Besigye claimed the order issued by the Kasangati Magistrates Court in 2011 against him being held at home is still valid, but that the police were acting with “impunity” by continuing to detain him there.






“This can only be stopped if there is a court order against the police [continuing to restrict Dr Besigye],” police spokesman Fred Enanga told police at the police headquarters in Naguru yesterday.






Mr Ernest Kalibbala, one of Dr Besigye’s lawyers, told Daily Monitor on Sunday that they had filed another application for an order to bar the police from besieging Dr Besigye’s home.






In the 2011 order, then Grade One Magistrate Jessica Chemeri of Kasangati ruled: “His detention was unlawful as he was not kept in a lawful detention centre and this was beyond the constitutional 48 hours.”






Since election day on February 18, Dr Besigye has been held by police on nine occasions, including on Sunday when he was briefly detained at Kira road police station after attending a church service at All Saints Church Nakasero.






Threat
Mr Enanga said the police continue to detain Dr Besigye because he and his FDC party have threatened to mobilise protests against the results of the presidential election as declared by the Electoral Commission, which show that President Museveni won with 60.7 per cent of the votes.






Dr Besigye, according to the official results, scored 35 per cent of the votes. “We are happy with the arrangement [of keeping Dr Besigye in detention] because there have been no ugly scenes in the city,” Mr Enanga said.






On all except one working day since election day, Dr Besigye has spent the day in a police cell and dropped at his gate in the night.






In his first press briefing on February 21, after the release of presidential election results, Dr Besigye said he needed to be free to gather evidence to decide whether to challenge the election.






He had said he would go to the Electoral Commission to get documents he needed to petition results but police blocked him, saying his intention was to cause chaos.






One of Dr Besigye’s lawyers, Mr David Mpanga, said Dr Besigye had not been given a fair chance to prepare for a possible petition.






Mr Enanga said some of Dr Besigye’s visitors are blocked from meeting with him because the police fear that they could encourage him “to continue with his defiance activities”.






editorial@ug.nationmedia.com






School meals are critical in achieving SDGs



In the main towns of Karamoja – on the quiet streets, or in the schools, hospitals and government offices in the region – almost every learned person you meet has a personal story about how school meals helped them get an education.
World Food Programme and some other actors have been providing school meals in Karamoja for decades, and there is solid evidence that meals attract children to school. Today, WFP continues providing school meals in Karamoja at the request of the government, with these five main objectives: to encourage children to enroll and attend class regularly, to prevent them from dropping out of school, to enable them learn more easily, and to assist the government in achieving its overall education objectives in the region.






WFP school meals are also a safety net, enabling parents to feel reassured that their children have nutritious food to eat even during times of food insecurity, while enhancing access to a social service, education. Access to social services is one of the four focus areas of the UN joint strategy for building resilience in Karamoja.






Furthermore, school meals have nutrition and economic benefits that carry on into the future. When school meals are combined with vitamin and mineral enrichment, as we strive to do at WFP, they provide an opportunity for children who may be stunted when they enrol in Primary 1 to recover their potential in terms of body size and cognitive development. Later on, when these children grow up, they then have a better chance to participate in learning opportunities, to apply their knowledge, and to have good health and productive careers.
School meals, therefore, are a critical tool for Uganda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and zero hunger, as well as objectives of the Vision 2040.






It will continue to be necessary for WFP to provide school meals in Karamoja over the next few years given the overlapping forms of malnutrition in the area and other inter-connected root causes of food insecurity and underdevelopment. However, as the African Union (AU) marks its first Africa Day for School Feeding today with a focus on home-grown school meals – in reference to food produced and purchased within a country to the extent possible – WFP is pleased to be part of an important transition in Uganda. We are working towards handing over the school meals programme to the government by 2021.






The process began last year. The Office of the Prime Minister supplied 20 per cent of all cereals needed for WFP’s school meals in Karamoja during school year, through its Karamoja feeds Karamoja programme.






Over the next five years, WFP will continue to provide logistics and technical support in order for this programme to increase its supplies, while gradually reducing our own direct food assistance. WFP and the government will work to expand linkages between schools and local production while testing options to increase dietary diversity and improve the nutritional value of the school meals, for example through community-managed gardens.
Already, 28 countries – including Brazil, India, Chile, Thailand and Ghana – have been able to transition from WFP-assisted school feeding to sustainable national programmes.






Home-grown school feeding is a continental strategy for the AU, intended to enhance education while boosting income generation and entrepreneurship in local communities. This inaugural African Day for School Feeding highlights the nations of the AU coming together to recognise school meals as the world’s most widely-used social safety net.
Mr Dunford is the country director, UN World Food Programme,






Vipers’ African dream ends

Coach George ‘Best’ Nsimbe and Vipers will shift their focus to defending the league title after exiting Africa. PHOTO By Ismail Kezaala 




KAMPALA. Ugandan clubs’ recent dismal away record against West African opposition continued on Sunday as Nigerian side Enyimba ejected Vipers at the preliminary round of this season’s Caf Champions League.






Vipers lost 2-0, the sixth consecutive time a Ugandan club is falling to West African opposition on the continent.
Leading 1-0 from the first leg, Vipers who were making their debut on the continent conceded a 28th minute penalty when captain Nicholas Wadada was adjudged to have pulled down Ikechukwu Ibenegbu in the box.






Mfon Udoh stepped up and converted the penalty to level the tie on aggregate in a game played at Port Harcourt, due to ongoing repair works at the home team’s traditional home ground in Aba.
He then added his second just after the hour mark, to put the Nigerians also double winners of this competition in 2003 and 2004 ahead for the first time in the tie.






Vipers had made only one change from the team that started the first leg a fortnight ago with Allan Kyambadde starting in place of John Ssemazzi. Despite piling on the pressure late on, they were unable to fashion any clear-cut opportunities even after Ssemazzi and Pius Wanji replaced Patrick Ssembuya and Mike Mutyaba respectively. Enyimba will now face Burundi’s Vital’O who ejected Liolifrom Lesotho.
Vipers meanwhile are expected back in the country today to resume their title defence in the Azam Uganda Premier League.








Second leg result
Enyimba (Nigeria) 2-0 Vipers
(Vipers ejected 2-1 on aggregate)






essenono@ug.nationmedia.com






Next five Museveni years require pragmatic, Magufuli-like reforms



On February 18, Ugandans cast their vote re-electing President Museveni for his fifth term, following his 30-year rule. The election wasn’t immune to controversy with a range of issues highlighted by different commentators and election observers.






Of particular interest to the economics of this country is monetisation of the elections as well as substantial machinery purchase by police. A trend of increased budget allocations has always been the norm during election and pre-election years; the budget for 2006 election year encountered a supplementary budget to a tune of 10 per cent of the approved budget, while the 2011 saw a record supplementary budget to a tune of 33 per cent of the budget. The same year also encountered a heightened expansion in money supply (inform of deposits and current in circulation). While 2016 elections have seen the smallest share of the supplements as a percentage of the approved budget, the Financial Year (FY) 2015/16 approved budget was a sizeable nominal increment (30 per cent) from the FY 2014/15. Notably, also the annual budget allocations nearly remain split evenly between development and recurrent expenditures despite the increased focus on infrastructural investments.






These trends in part exhibit the large administrative structure anchored around the president; also arguably reflective of the politics of lifetime presidency. As such, there are usually pass-through effects on the economy in terms of heightened inflation, shilling depreciation, subdued private sector credit and resultantly a restrictive policy environment as remedy. In the next five years, we need to revisit the basic economic fundamentals that attach sizeable weight to the factors of production mainly land and labour as well entrepreneurship and capital.






Land as a primary factor of production should come high on the scale of preference of reforms but seemingly this has not been the case over the many years. According to the Sixth World bank Uganda Economic Update: “Searching for the GRAIL- Can land support the prosperity drive?”, Uganda’s land is largely customary owned with only less than 20 per cent of land registered (compared to 64 per cent in Rwanda, 60 per cent in Kenya and 50 per cent in Ethiopia). The limited registration of land in Uganda coupled with weak institutional capacity for land administration has resulted into illiquid markets (characterised by limited land supply to match the overwhelming demand), consequently affecting development of the financial system and agricultural sector.






Land disputes are estimated to reduce agriculture sector output by 5-11 per cent. Uganda also has a high population density of 194 persons per square kilometer compared to 80 persons in Kenya, and 116 persons in Ghana. This implies land is absorbing the majority of the labour force, without corresponding increases in the level of productivity.
When it comes to labour structure, it has a lot to do with the population growth trend of this economy. The latter has been growing at over 3 per cent over the last decades, as such, going by the classical Malthusian theory of population, Uganda risks a population curse. At macro level, discounting economic growth by population growth implies an annual average GDP per capita growth rate of 3.5 per cent over the medium term. Compounding the current annual per capita of $ 700 by 3.5 per cent implies attaining a lower middle income GDP per capita of $ 1000 in 2027. While growth rates look rosy, the discount factor is also large.






In addition, population has consequences for the labour market developments, including but not limited to the rising level of unemployment and falling labour participation rate. This trend is irrespective of the fact Uganda has less than 900,000 degree graduates (just only 2.5 per cent of its population). Over the last five or so years, average income or even wages have fallen in real terms, owing to the precarious economic environment of high inflation and high interest rates. An eclectic view at labour structure shows that the majority of labour force is in self-employment to a tune of 73 per cent, most of whom, are in the informal sector and the agricultural sector. Informality is a reflection of market failures and calls for proactive government intervention.






By and large, the business as usual approach needs a tweak. Reforms are urgent, but difficult. There is need for an effective public service and this will require a couple of hard choices ranging from restructuring to reinforcing accountability. Holistic restructuring is necessary, as opposed to the isolated Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA). As a matter of fact, few public institutions would garner high private sector interest if they listed on the stock exchange markets, a reflection of inefficiencies in these entities. The KCCA and UNRA examples show that hard decisions have to be encountered, jobs may be lost, but these short term costs will be compensated by long term benefits. For example in the 1990s, the Swedish Social Democrats government made large cuts in the civil service. Around the same time, Canada cut government expenditure by 18.9 per cent without social turmoil – and without greatly reducing health, justice, or housing programmes. They did this while maintaining tax levies, so the result was a reduced public deficit and falling public debt. These reforms in KCCA and UNRA should be subject to review periodically, to ensure there is value for money. Even in the current system, it would be necessary to require that the audit recommendations be either followed according to a strict schedule, or rejected with a convincing justification. The laxity on the latter has arguably had its fair share on the economy. Notably, the audit of the Auditor General’s office has been pending for 10 years now.






These reforms can only go as far as the political environment allows. My appeal to the President over the next five years is to walk his talk “the next five years – there will be no playing games; no corruption and a more focused budgeting”. There are no simple solutions and lasting reforms can only be achieved on the basis of a political and social consensus. etwinon@gmail.com






Economic challenges that President Museveni must address

Workers in a greenhouse farm. Greenhouse farming is one of ways in which agriculture can be commercialised. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA 





By Mark Keith Muhumuza & Dorothy Nakaweesi
Posted 


Tuesday, March 1  

2016 at 

02:00



In Summary



Uganda has enormous potential to develop, particularly in the agricultural sector and the oil yet to be produced. But these prospects are undermined by several problems, causing failure of policies to stimulate growth. Mark Keith Muhumuza & Dorothy Nakaweesi look at the things that President Museveni’s government must address to set the economy on the right path.






As the curtain – at least for now – is drawn on the 2016 general elections, the economic environment still looks subdued. Often, as with elections, the business community takes a wait-and-see approach. With the election over and swearing ceremony still two months away, the economy needs a reboot as indicators are mixed. Commodity prices have been increasing at a much slower pace, food prices have not surged and the Shilling remains stable. That is on the positive side. On the negative, the economy is slowing, interest rates are rising and the government is still borrowing at high rate.
The election result, even as it is being disputed, came as no surprise to the bulk of investors and reports by several firms.
The Standard and Poor’s ratings agency and Standard Chartered had pointed to a win by President Yoweri Museveni, which, in part, explains the stability of the Uganda Shilling, in the first opening week after election results were announced. Unlike the last general election, the economy, this time, appears to be set for a soft landing.
In 2011, after the elections, the economy went into a tail-spin as inflation hit a record high of 30 per cent as a result of the excessive spending during the period. Already, the ruling party, National Resistance Movement (NRM) is being accused of having tapped state resources to finance its campaign. The observer from the EU Election Observation Mission noted that “the monetisation of this election is higher than that of 2011.” He also said it was disturbing to hear that state funds were used to pay voters of one candidate.






Reduced business confidence as FDIs drop
As the Opposition contests this election, the business community is not expected to increase spending. Already, there has been a fall in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country. According to the Bank of Uganda (BoU), the inflow of FDI fell by nearly Shs700b in part as a result of the general election and global economic developments.
In fact, Andrew Musangi, the board chairman of the Asset Management Firm, GenAfrica Uganda, describes the Ugandan situation as being like a “rabbit in the headlights” for investors. That description is translated as investors being “so frightened or surprised that you cannot move or think.”
The task ahead for President-elect, Museveni will be to bring back the business confidence and deliver on some of the campaign rhetoric promises. President Museveni’s campaign has been premised on the phrase “steady progress.” In other words, maintain the status-quo by improving economic conditions that would propel Uganda into a middle-income country by 2021. The title of the manifesto “Taking Uganda to Modernity through Job Creation and Inclusive Development,” could not be more befitting for the economic focus in the next five years.
The 313-page manifesto is filled with several promises. On the economy specifically, it praises the progress made in what the party terms as maintaining “macroeconomic stability and contained inflation within the single-digit bracket.”
“Building on these achievements, we will work towards increasing the size of the economy and expand our revenue base. To achieve this, we will continue removing bottlenecks that affect doing business for large investments and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). In addition, we will aggressively promote Uganda as an investment and tourist destination,” the manifesto reads.






High interest rates
The current high-interest rates, a Shilling higher than it was in the last three years and effects of the global economic conditions are some of the issues on the agenda in the short term.
After one of the most expensive elections, experts say the incoming President should tighten the noose with tougher policies to address the economic challenges that are holding back the economy.
Gideon Badagawa, the executive director Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU)’s reflection for the incoming President is: “Pulling the country together and ensure a peaceful election aftermath to restore investor confidence in the economy is more paramount.”






Badagawa adds that thereafter, the new leader needs to contract the economy and reduce public spending on the welfare of government officials in favour of development expenditure.
“The President will need to take the hard decision to free up resources for public good investment and build efficiency in service delivery,” he noted.
“I think a lot can be done with a leaner but effective administration. We only need to be efficient in all we do as the government,” he added.






Badagawa further thinks the President should ensure that we have an effective civil service that will help the economy compete, cause innovations and create sustainable jobs for the population.
He adds: “The private sector would call on the President to increase support to public agencies that support business to compete and ensure they are caused to account for performance with a carrot-and-stick approach.”






Encourage low-interest rates
Aly-Khan Satchu, a Nairobi-based equity markets analyst with the focus on East Africa, thinks the most important issues are to encourage lower interest and get credit flowing again to boost the economy immediately.
Currently, commercial banks give loans at an interest rate of 27 per cent which has made accessing money very expensive.
In fact, some commercial banks are issuing personal loans at rates as high as 29.5 per cent.






“The lesson is to try and surge the economy immediately. I would also look real hard at the ability to encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the post-election period,” Satchu shared.
The major driver of FDI in Uganda in the last few years has been the oil and gas sector. At the moment, there is a slowdown in activity in the sector as companies await production licences.






Additionally, a new round of licensing for oil exploration is yet to be completed. If both production and exploration licences are issued it could boost FDI in the country.
The inflow of the investments would create jobs and put local contractors back to work. Foreign investment also brings much-needed dollars into the economy, which could ease pressure on the Uganda Shilling.
That, however, is only part of the solution. A long-term approach is boosting Uganda’s exports and domestic production.






Mechanising agriculture
Stephen Kaboyo, the managing partner at Alpha Capital emphasises the need for promotion of value addition and boosting local production. In fact, value addition is mentioned several times in the NRM manifesto. Agro-processing and minerals beneficiation are top on the plans by NRM to boost value addition.
“In order to improve agricultural mechanisation, value addition, and household incomes, we provided to various districts the following: mobile milking machines, milk coolers, maize mills, honey equipment, juice extractors, coffee haulers,” the manifesto reads.
The task, however, is much greater than it is on paper as value addition has been part of the President’s speeches in the last five years.






Ballooning budget
Uganda’s budget has been largely expansionary as the country spends big on infrastructure. It is expected to expand further once talks on the Standard Gauge Railway and oil refinery are actualised.
Dr Fred Muhumuza, an economist currently working with the Financial Deepening Programming insists that there should be a slowdown in the expansionary expenditure by the government.
“There is too much spending that is not adding value to the economy but instead, it is putting pressure on the government to borrow yet it is not raising any benefit,” Muhumuza noted.






Tighten budget allocation
Muhumuza said government needs to tighten the Budget allocation notwithstanding any deliverables.
“This can be done by scaling back on some of the projects like road projects whose construction doesn’t have to start immediately,” he said.
This is contrary to the message sent out by the president-elect. Infrastructure has been the core of President Museveni’s campaign message. His insistence has been that it is infrastructure that will boost the productivity of the economy. The government, once sworn, will continue this expenditure trajectory.






However, for such investments to deliver the much-needed production, the cost is expected to be much lower. For instance, power tariffs remain considerably high. It is expected that once the Isimba and Karuma Dams are completed, this would bring down power tariffs. For the business community, that is a wait of up to three years.
For the next government, making promises was the easy part, delivering on them poses much greater realities from within and without.






BOU maintains CBR
Bank of Uganda in February, maintained the Central Bank Rate at 11 per cent to boost economic activity.
The CBR—rate at which commercial banks borrow from the Central Bank— has been maintained since June, with the hope of encouraging commercial banks to provide low interest rate loans to the public.
This, according to the Central Bank Governor Tumusiime Mutebile, will in turn, support increased investment by the private sector in the economy.






Lessons from 2016 elections



A few days after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) declared the results for the 2016 presidential election, two parents faced a similar question from their nine-year-old children. The children wanted to know who had won the election. To the casual observer, the question seemed simple but the parents found it difficult to give a straight forward answer. On further reflection, the two parents realised that there are a couple of lessons that Ugandans ought to learn from the conduct of the 2016 elections.






Topping the list of lessons is the importance of good character. Parents often advise their children to be honest and not cheat in exams and school work; to follow the rules whether it is school rules or rules of a game, to be responsible and engage in fair play and not foul play. Unfortunately, it is alleged the election showed adults engaged in doing the opposite such as falsifying results, hobbling opponents and the like.






Another lesson is that political or if you prefer security, actions affect the economy. During the election week and afterwards, a lot of things were done in the name of national security. This included shutdown of mobile money, social network services, arrest and detention of opposition figures and heavy security deployment in main urban areas. While the efforts could have yielded the desired security dividends, they also negatively impacted on perception of Uganda both locally and internationally.






In business and economics, perceptions matter a lot and there is a fine line between strong government action and arbitrary action. It was ironical that the very week when a report was released stating that Kampala is the best city to live in East Africa is the time when local and international media were awash with the ugly news from the Uganda presidential and parliamentary election.
We are all like monkeys deriving livelihood and enjoyment from the forest called Uganda. The sensible thing is to work for the sustainability of the forest.






James Abola is the Team Leader of Akamai Global, a business and finance consulting firm. Email: james.abola@akamaiglobal.co.uk






Galacticals edge Dalumba as Mubs return to winning ways



KAMPALA. Galacticals maintained leadership of the Monsoon Group after edging their top the table clash against Dalumba in the peak of the Pepsi Beach Soccer league games played at Lido Beach on Sunday.
Galacticals won 2-0 in the post-match shootout following a 2-all stalemate in regulation time. Hassan Ali and Jonathan Kikonyongo netted for Dalumba while Hamis Kafero and Musa Sali replied for the leaders.
The group though had Kabalagala Rangers as the biggest winners of the day following their 6-2 thumping of Uhuru Titans.
Twaha Sendi scored twice with Jacob Kalule, Hassan Kaggwa and Derrick Kabega getting the other goals in the triumph.






The Hurriken Group also posted another 6-2 thrashing with leaders St Lawrence University easily prevailing over bottom side Kampala City All Stars.
Phillip Rwezawula got a brace in addition to further strikes from David Awori , Swalleh Kiggundu and Sulaiman Ochero for St Lawrence who improved to 23 points.
Champions Mubs remain in hot pursuit, two points behind and with four regular season games left as they returned to winning ways with a 5-3 win over Kayunga TC.






Pepsi Beach soccer league
Monsoon Group
YMCA 3-5 Stomers
Dalumba 2-2 Real Galacticals
Galacticals advance 2-0 in shoot-out
Kabalagala Rangers 6-2 Uhuru Titans
Muteesa Univ 1-2 KIU






essenono@ug.nationmedia.com






Invest in private companies - Aguma


In Summary



James Aguma is a Ugandan working as a top executive in South Africa following a proven track record as a senior manager. The chief financial officer at the South African Broadcasting Corporation – a national broadcaster – in an interview with Prosper Magazine’s Dorothy Nakaweesi shared his experiences in the TV Industry.






What does it take for an East African and a Ugandan in particular to get such a big post in Sabc?
One has got to prepare academically. I went through Makerere University and later upgraded through Universities in South Africa. The will to work. As a foreigner you have to stretch yourself more unlike the locals in order to compete. It’s not because of hard work per say but if you have lived amongst South Africans, work and studied with them; they are willing to give you a chance. I have been in South Africa since 1996 but before that I was in Lesotho for three-years.






For East Africans who would want to work in South Africa; what opportunities can be exploited?
South Africa has a lot of investment opportunities East Africans and Ugandans in particular can invest in. A case in point is tourism. You can be able to buy a game lodge in South African at a less cost compared to what it would cost for a plot in Kololo rated at $3 million (Shs10 billion).
As an East African, you can invest this money in South Africa then bring the proceeds back home. There are a lot of investments which can be sponsored through private equity. There are a lot of projects which fail to take off because they don’t have funds. Ugandans who have money should create a private equity and invest in private companies and skills all which can be extended back home.
Mining is the other opportunity that can be exploited because assets are cheap.






As a government-owned media, you are often seen as part of the regime. How do you detach yourself from this association?
The Sabc is a public entity owned by the State and its Board is appointed by the president on the recommendation of Parliament which is a multiparty institution. In addition, there are other safeguards such as an editorial policy that is developed by a consultative process that involves all interested citizens. The Independent Communications Authority of SA also ensures that broadcasts meet set criteria in terms of the Sabc’s mandate to educate, inform and entertain.






How do you cover government?
The Sabc has a mandate of informing people. The government in SA has three tiers – national: provincial and local or municipal. Sabc has offices in all the nine provinces. Therefore it is able to cover news at all levels of government without necessarily focusing on which party controls which sphere of government. The Western Cape Province is governed by the DA and the rest of the country provinces by the ANC. The news coverage is similar in all these provinces.






As a big brother to other state owned media in Africa, how have you contributed to improving journalistic capacity?
The Sabc recognises its position as the largest public broadcaster in Africa. This implies that it has several resources that it can share with other sister broadcasters. Sabc has signed several MoUs [memorandums of understanding] with public broadcasters to share knowledge and resources. For example, the Sabc assisted Mozambique to cover its elections this year and the African Games a few years ago. Lesotho and Swaziland has also requested for assistance to cover events of importance.






You are mostly available through expensive Pay TV Services in the region. Any plan to charge this?
The Broadcasting Act of SA requires all Pay TV channels to carry Free to Air TVs on their channels for free under an arrangement dubbed as “must carry”. To the extent that other Pay TV Channels based in SA extend their services outside SA the Sabc will also be given more exposure. I am hopeful that with the conversion to digital terrestrial television from analogue the cost of broadcasting will go down with the advent of increased competition.






Has the digital migration dividend helped Africa? If so, how?
It is a bit too early to properly assess the impact of the digital dividend in Africa. However, the anticipated advantages are apparent because when the spectrums are freed, it will be available for other services like telecoms companies which avail more data-related services at cheaper costs. In addition, broadcasters will now have more channels available which need content. Content development means more job opportunities in the creative sector.






As a public owned broadcaster, are you viable as a business?
The Sabc is a viable business. We have five TV channels and 18 radio stations. Over 27 million people view TV channels per day and some of our radio stations like Metro FM and Ukhozi FM command daily listenership of over 6m each. The turnover is $550 million (Shs1.9 trillion) and net assets of $131 million (Shs445.8 billion). Cash reserves have been sitting at $70 million (Shs238 billion) for the past three years. Only 3 per cent of this revenue is from government grants. The Sabc, by all accounts, is viable.






Row over Shs130 billion UPDF hospital goes to IGG



Kampala- The proposed construction of Shs130b Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) National Referral Hospital has hit a snag over claims of collusion between Ministry of Defence officials and the contractor being fronted for the project.






This came after the project price was scaled up from Shs113b to over Shs130b without a logical explanation. Consequently, Inspector General of Government Irene Mulyagoja has been petitioned to launch an inquiry into the deal for the 250-bed hospital, and probe the Shs17 billion costs escalation.






According to the petition, a copy of which was seen by this newspaper, it is alleged there was collusion between procurement officials involved in the evaluation process and M/s Seyani & Brothers Ltd, whose Shs130 final bid, was passed as the best.






According to the petition, “some members of the evaluation committee smuggled into the bid four pages (pages on Bill No.5 Mechanical installations) from the bidder.






This action alone raised the price by Shs800m”. The petitioners allege backhand dealings between the evaluation team and the winning contractor.






“The bill item and the summary sheet are different, the difference brought about by the page they replaced to create an impression that the summary sheet was [mis-written],” the dossier reads in part.






According to the petition, the evaluators also smuggled into the bid documents, the Shs7.9b bid price, that was raised from Shs2.4b without explanation. Among the other irregularities the dossier points out include use of wrong methods to correct arithmetic errors, a factor that inflated the final bid, to Shs130 billion.






IGG Justice Mulyagonja yesterday said she was yet to personally look at the petition, which was received by the office on January 12. “But I will check for it,” she said.






Defence ministry Permanent Secretary Rosette Byengoma could not be reached by press time, but Seyani officials denied they have been awarded the contract. “We have not yet been listed as the best bidder, because the evaluation is ongoing,” said Mr Mahesh Seyani, one of the company directors.






Ms Byengoma, while replying to a protest by one of the aggrieved bidders, M/s China National Aero-technology International Engineering Corporation on November 13, 2015, conceded that wrong arithmetic computations had been used, and promised that the matter would be re-evaluated.






“First, a re-submission of the matter to the contracts committee for review of the award decision, and secondly, re-evaluation of all the nine officially received bids by an independent evaluation team,” she wrote.






The procurement for the deal was initiated early last year with the ministry inviting potential bidders. Queries, however, emerged around this stage after evaluation requirements were tightened and seemingly only one firm seemed eligible. After “numerous complaints” the evaluation process was repeated with less prohibitive requirements.






Within the ministry, disagreements emerged among staff on why such an open international bidding process could be made so restrictive. Those who questioned the earlier process were kicked out when the process was repeated.






According to the dossier, it was after these “disagreements” could not be resolved that more money was injected into the evaluation process by hurriedly creating arithmetic error of over 20 billion to raise the bid price so as to cause “harmonization” between the majority and minority evaluation”. The dossier alleged that the internal contract management team for this project has since been reshuffled in order to replace it with individuals who support the contested bidding process.






The executive director of Public Procurement Disposal of Public Assets Authority, the government body which oversees such procurements, Ms Cornelia Sabiiti, indicated to this newspaper yesterday they had tried handling the complaint but the “bidder appealed to the procurement tribunal, a quasi-judicial body that handles procurement issues.






We mustn’t have repeat of Bundibugyo clashes



The recent post-election clashes in Bundibugyo that happened over the weekend left six dead, including four children and a pregnant mother. Others were injured and taken to hospital. Ten houses were burnt and many people fled their homes, seeking refuge at Bubukwannga Transit Camp and Kakitara Sub-County headquarters.






There has been heavy police and army deployment in various villages in the district and the Rwenzori regional police commander, Mr Dennis Namuwoza, says the situation is under control as a search for the perpetrators was on. While it is good to note that the police and army are trying to keep peace in the area and prevent further violence, some questions must be answered.






Effort must be put into finding out what made the perpetrators kill children as young as three years. The police say the clashes stem from contradictory announcements by the district returning officer. On the day of the polls, February 24, Dan Nayebale announced Jolly Tibemanya as the winner of the LC5 polls. But on Thursday evening, Mr Nayebale reversed the announcement and stated that Ronald Mutegeki was the winner. Clashes between supporters of the two ensued, claiming innocent lives and property.






In carrying out investigations, the police should find out what caused the change of results so suddenly and a whole day after. What were the circumstances under which different results were read? Had an appeal been made by the aggrieved party? Was there vote recounting, and if so, did the Electoral Commission sanction it and were both parties made aware of it?






Investigations in this matter should not be taken lightly as it has ignited a potentially dangerous problem. If the problem is not settled correctly and those who meted out the violence are not brought to book, the clashes might continue and we shall see more innocent people die.






Elections are still going on. We have polls for chairpersons, directly elected councillors and Women councilors for Municipality and Kampala Capital City Divisions, councillors for PWDs, older persons and Youth to District Councils and Kampala Capital City Authority, chairpersons, directly elected councilors and women councilors for Municipal Division, Sub County and town Councils and many others yet to be carried out. The final polling day is March 10.
The Electoral Commission needs to make sure their officers are up to the task and do it well, while the police need to ensure security across the country, otherwise we might witness more of such clashes.






The issue: Election disputes
Our view: The Electoral Commission needs to make sure their officers are up to the task and do it well, while the police need to ensure security across the country, otherwise we might witness more of such clashes.






MVP Kami still enjoys winning



KAMPALA. UCU Lady Canons wore eye-catching sparkling white body-hugging dresses. One of them fittingly got one of the two most prestigious awards – the 2015 playoffs’ Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Kenyan ‘big man’ Vilma Achieng held off country mate and former teammate Purity Odhiambo to her first MVP award at the annual Fuba awards dinner on Saturday night at the Imperial Royale Hotel.






Her teammates roared “she is a beast, she is a beast,” even if she, like all of them, looked more of an angel.
The third nominee Judith Nansobya found consolation in the top scorer’s gong. Together, they strolled to the podium to lift their trophy for their 4-3 final series result against KCCA Leopards.
Achieng got as loud a cheer as the men’s playoffs’ MVP – City Oilers’ Kami Kabange – whose second award in three years wasn’t a shock at all to crown the team’s three-peat.






Kabange averaged 16 points and eight rebounds in the finals’ 4-3 win over UCU Canons. His rivals Jimmy Enabu and Landry Ndikumana, who didn’t attend, knew their “leader’ deserved the accolade.
Does the recognition still bring the same satisfaction to him?
“It does mean a lot. When you practice hard and then get this, you feel appreciated,” Kabange, who has as many MVP plaques as Ben Komakech, told Daily Monitor.






“Make no mistake it’s not easy to win three titles and you saw how hard it was to be overcome UCU. They matched us every step of the way.”






Chants for Wundi
That co-emcees Allan Musoke and Barbara Okot read out Kabange to a rather non-stunned audience said a lot about how much the winner is regarded.






The same crowd rose to its feet and clapped hard in near-unanimous approval of UCU Steven Wundi being commended for most the most outstanding performance.






The shooting gem’s gun that almost brought Oilers to their knees shot down the champions’ three-peat, JKL Lady Dolphins promotion to the top tier in one season and Maureen Amoding’s 35 against UCU.
Like all awards, controversy was flying in the air as the inaugural “Dream Team” for the best five was botched with none of the regular season MVPs – Brian Namake (men) and Joy Chemutai (women).






Namake and Chemutai were the best overall but not the best in their positions! Illogical!! Despite exiting the playoffs at the first hurdle, Steven Mwesigye somehow had the most rebounds.
The count was Duxx (Our Saviour) 267 Ivan Lumanyika (UCU) 266. Were the playoffs totally ignored in this category just like winning was shelved for coaches?






Best coach went to Timothy Odeke despite not winning anything ahead of winners like Brian Wathum (Dolpins) Nicholas Natuhereza (UCU) and Mandy Jurruni (Oilers).
The latter has four titles in as many years with one ‘best coach’ accolade at an event that left the glass seemingly both half full and empty.
Several sponsors attended as well as sports commissioner Omara Apita, the chief guest, who promised funding.








2015 – Kami Kabange (City Oilers)
2014 – Jimmy Enabu (City Oilers)
2013 – Kami Kabange (City Oilers)
2012 – Norman Blick (Warriors)
2011 – Isaac Afidra (Power)








2015 – Vilma Achieng (UCU Lady Canons)
2014 – Claire Lamunnu (KCCA Leopards)
2013 – Peace Proscovia (UCU Lady Canons)
2012 – Flavia Oketcho (KCCA Leopards)
2011 – Purity Odhiambo (UCU Lady Canons)






editorial@ug.nationmedia.com






I stand by my election statement - USL president



The president of Uganda Law Society (ULS), Ms Ruth Sebatindira has said she will, if challenged, defend a statement in which she questioned the just concluded presidential elections.
On February 23, Ms Sebatindira had said in a statement, that “a sombre mood hovers over many parts of our country after the recently concluded presidential and parliamentary elections”.






She said it was clear to any observer that there were deep-seated grievances among Ugandans highlighting the treatment of Dr Kizza Besigye, who, by the time of releasing the results, was and continues to be under house arrest. Since releasing the statement, however, Ms Sebatindira has come under attack from some members of Uganda Law Society, who say her statement was partisan and disregarded the outcomes of the ULS Election Observation Team. 49 lawyers subscribing to ULS have since petitioned the ULS Secretary, Mr Ahmed Kalule demanding the withdrawal of Ms Sebatindira’s statement, which they say does not represent the position of the Society.






The lawyers led by Mr Francis Harimwomugasho and Paul Wanyoto argue that the “partisan statement disregarded the views and findings of the ULS team that was established to observe and comment on the findings of the electoral process”.






“In as far as the statement is based on conjecture and hearsay, it must be set aside and replaced with a statement issued by a team that was duly appointed to observe and comment on the electoral process by the ULS,” reads the petition in part.






But in another statement released yesterday (Sunday) Ms Sebatindira reaffirmed her position saying: “I stand by the statement that I issued and I am ready to defend it at any EGM [extraordinary general meeting] called to challenge me, should it be deemed necessary, I shall step down as your president.”






In the recent statement, she also says, “…there is pain, anger, suffering and bitterness in our communities which we simply cannot ignore. We should be thinking about how our country recovers from the effects of the elections to foster peace, stability and democracy.” She added, “We in fact must speak out when things do not go well in our country and we must provide solutions to some of the challenges that we face as a nation. We are the voice of the voiceless.”
Yesterday Ms Sebatindira also denied claims alleging she had sent out an email to ULS members and the media containing an interim statement of the ULS Election Observations, which concluded that the “elections were free and fair”.






At an appropriate time, she said the ULS Elections Observation Team will release and share its interim report with the public and the Electoral Commission.






The EU Observer Mission and the Commonwealth Observer Mission both questioned the poll results, saying the election fell short of meeting acceptable international standards.






osemakula@ug.nationmedia.com






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