Kyambogo council orders fresh VC search

Kampala- Kyambogo University Council has rejected Senate recommendations that had considered acting vice chancellor Eli Katunguka as the best choice for the institution’s top job.

Kyambogo University Senate had last week recommended Prof Katunguka as the best candidate for the VC job coming ahead of Mubs’ Prof Geoffrey Bakunda.

Prof John Okedi, the council chairperson, yesterday defended the decision, saying the Senate report lacked basic information such as number of candidates who had applied and failed to follow provisions of Universities and other Tertiary Institutions Act such as submitting only two names contrary to the required three.

“Council sat and looked at the report but it was incomplete. We are going to re-advertise the job,” Prof Okedi said yesterday.

Senate adopted recommendations of the Prof Patrick Mangeni-led Vice Chancellor search committee two weeks ago indicating that Prof Bakunda and Prof Katunguka had come off as the best candidates for the job.
After scrutinising the candidates last week, Prof Katunguka scored 76 per cent compared to Prof Bakunda’s 66 per cent.

Rejected process
However, Mr Michael Kadoodooba, Prof J.B Oketch of Faculty of Special Needs, and Mr Charles Mukooza, the administrative staff representative, walked out of the meeting citing irregularities, which they wanted rectified before further action.

But Faculty of Arts Dean Prof Cyprian Adupa, who chaired the session, objected to the members’ pleas.

The job was first advertised in February attracting six candidates. Only three were shortlisted but Prof Aaron Wanyama (former dean at Kyambogo University Faculty of Science) was dropped after the first interview.

Others who were dropped in the early stages of the search included Prof George Byarugaba-Bazirake (Dean Faculty of Science), Prof Charles Twesigye (Biology department) and Busoga University vice chancellor Prof David Kibikyo. They were all dropped for lack of experience.

pahimbisibwe@ug.nationmedia.com

The tricycle is an ideal transport alternative to boda bodas

On Sunday June 26, NTV, during the weekend edition ran a story about the tricycle commonly known as the ‘tuk tuk’. It was suggested that the tuk tuk would be a better alternative to the boda boda menace in Kampala and other parts of Uganda.

Thousands of people have lost lives as a result of boda boda accidents. The casualty ward at Mulago hospital registers a high number of accidents and most of these are attributed to boda bodas.

There are many different tuk tuk types, designs, and variations. The most common type is characterised by a sheet-metal body or open frame resting on three wheels, a canvas roof with drop-down side curtains, a small cabin at the front for the driver (sometimes known as an auto-wallah) with handlebar controls, and a cargo, passenger, or dual purpose space at the rear.

A tuk tuk can carry more than three passengers at a time and are safer compared to the boda boda since one is protected and cannot travel at high speeds as boda bodas do. They are also best suited to narrow, crowded streets, and are thus the principle means of covering longer distances within urban areas. This is a venture that Ugandans should embrace. In neighbouring Kenya, tuk tuks are widely used as a means of transport and also in Nigeria where they are commonly known as ‘Keke’. Some companies have now embarked on importing them to Uganda and hopefully it will gain momentum very soon.

jkhaukha@livingstone.ac.ug

Why I’m concerned about the size of our Cabinet

Anyone who has sat on a board of an institution will concur with me that its efficiency diminishes with size. There are always two likely scenarios that happen with large boards. Either decisions will take very long to be arrived at or the head of the board will in many cases singularly make decisions with little or no consultation of the other board members. A third scenario is also common; technical people end up making decisions and running things without that much needed guidance or advisory counsel from the board.

Since the ascendency of NRM to power in 1986, Uganda’s Cabinet has increased by nearly threefold from 30 in 1986 to more than 80 in 2016. While Uganda is seeking to enlarge its Cabinet, Tanzania, the most populated country in the East African Community, has just downsised its Cabinet from 30 to 19 ministers. Kenya, a comparatively stronger economy in the region, has a cabinet of 22.

With the 2016-2021 Uganda’s ministerial Cabinet hitting record figures, I wait with bated breath to see how effectively functional it will be. The key mandate of the Cabinet is to collectively make decisions and play an advisory role. It is certainly difficult for such a large number to plot strategy.

I do not discount the fact that some of the Cabinet folk are people of superior intellect. However, I am concerned about the body’s ability to collectively, and proficiently decide government’s direction.

If you go back in history, one of the Cabinets that has been credited as the most efficient had only nine members. It was the cabinet of Britain’s Sir Winston Churchill. It is this Cabinet that successfully coordinated Britain’s World War II defence (1939-1945).

Large Cabinets not only add a burden on the public purse but also reduce Cabinet to a mere talking shop, without real decision making capabilities.

This unprecedented inflation in the size of the Cabinet could also be read as contempt for public’s sentiments with respect to the cries around the burgeoning public administration expenditure. The bigger the size of Cabinet, the bigger the government spending, the larger the deficits, government wage consumption, etc.

For Uganda’s case, there may be another hidden political angle to the increase; may be this has not been extensively discussed in the public domain. It is to do with the politics of parliamentary control. An increase in the number of ministers correspondingly means a decrease in the number of back bench MPs in the governing party. This inadvertently helps extend the hegemony of the Executive over Parliament. At a time when there is a lot of speculation around some serious constitutional changes being planned by the Executive, could this have also informed the surge in the cabinet size?
I am tempted to believe that in Uganda’s case today, the number of ministers is influenced by political expediency rather than strategic calculations.

Increasingly, Cabinet posts are being used as a currency for buying various political support bases or quelling down factions that can threaten government or its existence.
We need lean but stronger teams that will effectively plot and deliver on the national development agenda.

Mr Kaheru is the coordinator, Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda.
ckaheru@gmail.com

Mystical 52 crater lakes, valley of the dead of Bunyaruguru

Twin Lakes, Murambi (foreground) and Katinda (background). Courtesy photo 

In Summary

Bunyaruguru County, 350km west of Kampala and north of Bushenyi town on the edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to 52 crater lakes. There are so many tales that revolve around their existance as our writer shares.

Having spent my formative years in Bunyaruguru, despite the mystical tales about these lakes, to access relatives, I had to pass by the lakeshores. The paths linking the different villages go past some of these lakes. And that erased any fear factor for mystics in me forever.

Unknown to many, most of the craters are twin lakes and those that stand out are Katinda and Mirambi, Kyema and Kamweru. My mother’s homestead stood close to Lake Mirambi and we grazed my grandmother’s goats in the Kyambura escarpments of Mirambi. We were always warned to leave the valley before the sun went down. You would never know what you might come along with under the cover of darkness. If you did, before you entered the house you would be asked a familiar question: “Are you alone?”

Twice a week, we went by the lakeside of Mirambi and Lake Katinda through the deep valley of Kinkina to access the gardens in Omumashaka and Kagando. When it rained, the ground was very slippery. Any misstep would be fatal.

We always passed through this valley of Kinkina at the speed of wind before nightfall. What with the mystical tales of the mating Octopus called Endyoka between Lake Mirambi (female lake) and Lake Katinda (male).

There were tales of ghosts roaming the valleys and areas around the Kyambura escarpments.
Once in a while, we would see a light starting off from the north-side of Lake Mirambi and vanish in the middle of the lake. And if you saw such a light and delayed to run away, a whirlwind would pass by and sweep the hair off your head, so we were told.

The lakes that swallow people

At Kyakasharu township, on Mbarara-Kasese highway, is the basin-like Lake Mafuro. Mafuro means foams. It is said that annually, this lake swallows a person from the village of Kasungu. The people say, “The lake has eaten a person.” But according Vincent Banaga, a resident of Kasungu, it is because the lake has no shoreline, it is like a basin. Any slight slip, the lake swallows you.

Then there is the Africa-shaped lake Nkugute known as Lake Rutoto. Its original name is Nkugute. It means to swallow. It is presumed to be the deepest lake in Africa. One is told that white men came to determine how deep it is and they failed to reach the bottom of it.

According to Mulongo Kato Gyavira, beneath Lake Nkugute is a pot-like mouth that opens deeper into the centre of the earth. Kato says that annually, Lake Nkugute too, swallows a person, hence, its name, Nkugute, in Runyaruguru dialect.

Northwards past Rugazi Post Office centre, curving the sharp corner of Kyambogo, behind the bus stop of Kitooma kya Rumuli, you are welcomed by another set of twin lakes on either side of the road.

That is lakes Rwizongo and Nyungu. Nyungu is true to its name, a pot, deep and dark, with a small stream pouring in from Rugazi. Adjacent to these twin lakes are the false lakes of Kisanga and Nziranga. These false lakes are covered by papyrus reeds and floating plants called amarebe (water lilies) but underneath are the snake like mud fish called Ewondo.

Queen Elizabeth National Park gets more visible as you approach Kataara and Kichwamba kya Balyanika. Behind Kichwamba trading centre, at the beckoning of Lakes Edward and George which are conjoined to Kazinga Channel, lies the invisible Lake Kibwana. Sometimes, this lake peeps out when the winds are strong. It is home to hundreds of hippos. South of Lake Kibwana lies other twin lakes of Nyamusingiri and Kyasanduka. What is common on all these lakes are hundreds of bird species endemic in the Albertine region, according to Achilles Byaruhanga, the Executive Director of Nature Uganda and a son of Bunyaruguru.

At Omu-ibaare, another mystic of Kyambura escarpments, on some nights, tall ‘firemen’ known as ebinyamazimua appeared from the hills of Kigabiro and descended to Kyabafu; the valley of the dead.

Sometimes, these firemen would burn the bushes on their journey down the valley and their fire would be seen by people from the adjacent villages of Kichwamba kya Nyakashozi, Kichwamba kya Bwijuka and Kichwamba kya Balyanika across the escarpment, but in the morning, there would not be any burnt bush.
The other twin lakes that carry a lot of myths are Lake Kyema and Kamweru.

Here’s how we can revive the healthcare system in Uganda?

In August, Uganda Medical Association will hold a major conference for all doctors in the country focusing on the sustainable development goals and health system in the country. A lot is already being done, especially with the health infrastructure. Mulago hospital is being refurbished, new hospitals have been built and several hospitals along the highways are being rehabilitated. However, a major overhaul of the system is needed for these investments to bear the expected fruits. I suggest 10 areas for the ministries of Health and Finance to invest in.

Preventive healthcare: The major determinants of health includes the environment in which we live and the level of poverty. Many diseases are preventable. Since the introduction of the pentavalent vaccine for infants in 2002 and more recently, the Pneumococcal vaccine, the burden of pneumonia and meningitis in children has fallen dramatically. Similar reduction should be expected with diarrhoeal diseases when we introduce the Rota virus vaccine.

Let us continue to invest in preventive services, including vaccines, hygiene and environmental sanitation and safer roads but also bring back the health inspectorate system to ensure community hygiene and sanitation.

Primary Healthcare: Many Health Centre IIs in the country are not staffed and non-functional. The quality of care is, therefore, often questionable. We should make primary healthcare services work.

Referral system: Many deaths in Uganda occur after patients have had contact with the health service either before referral, on the way, or after reaching the referral unit. The country’s referral system is so weak. The severe lack of resources to support emergency services mean many patients receive below optimal services resulting in preventable deaths.

Medicines supply and management: A few years ago, the Ministry of Health took a policy decision to have the National Medical Stores manage all the sourcing, procurement, ware housing, supply, transportation and delivery of medicines, sundries, equipment and stationery for all public health units in the country.

Although the decision had good intentions, it has had some disastrous consequences. On many occasions and in many health units, life-saving medicines often run out. Either health unit managers delayed to place orders for the medicines, made the orders but NMS delayed delivery, no delivery was made, incorrect specifications were delivered or the health unit was told they had exhausted their funding for the year and so their orders could not be honoured. Between April and August 2015, we hardly had any medicines to control convulsions, treat acute asthma, or severe malaria in the Acute Care Unit of Mulago because we understand the hospital had exhausted its allocated funds. We continue to limp to date. A proper logistics management system and human resources is urgently needed together with increased funding for medicines and supplies.

Health financing: The current financing mechanism is not only inadequate but also untenable. A complete rethink is urgently needed, including sourcing from universal health insurance, re-introduction of the user fees, and a special fund such as the road fund.

Quality standards and guidelines: There are some guidelines for the management of basic health problems but these are inadequate and many times, not adhered to. Most disorders of increasing complexity do not have nationally agreed management guidelines and standards. Moreover, in many cases, therapies listed in the available guidelines are often those that have been relegated in other countries but are used in Uganda because they cost less. Clear and updated guidelines and standards are needed. In addition, a mechanism should be put in place to ensure the practice of medicine according to the agreed guidelines.
Human resources for health; attitudes of personnel, supervision, and quality training: Healthcare is a labour intensive industry. Current staffing levels are grossly inadequate and this is made worse by chronic absenteeism. For example, in an intensive care unit, each bed requires four nurses for a 24-hour period; three to work eight hour shifts and the fourth resting. So, a hospital that has a six intensive care beds will require 24 nurses employed in this unit alone. Secondly, the current public service structure is obsolete.

We now have nurses with Bachelor’s degrees and although this is the trend around the world, there are no positions and tracks for promotion for these nurses. We have several other healthcare specialist with unique skills and trainings such as speech and language therapists for who there are no positions. A review of the human resources is needed.

As health workers, many of us also have problems such as poor pay, inadequate supervision, decadence of morals and values, and attitudes to work and provision of care to patients is often poor. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of training institutions. The quality and skills of the products of some of these institutions is questionable. A review of competencies, staffing levels, continuing education and professional standards is urgently required. This should be supported by meaningful remuneration.
E-health, records and IT: Today, the majority of patients attending outpatients’ services in public health units leave no records behind. Most buy exercise books and their clinical notes are written in this books which they travel with. The health system, therefore, has no records of these activities and other than the registers, there is no systematic collection of data to document trends. Hospitals, however, have the basic infrastructure to host an electronic e-health system and it is time this system implemented.

Emergency preparedness: The Ministry of Health has distinguished itself in responding to epidemics such as Ebola. Our responses to emergencies and disasters is, however, still poor. There are rudimentary signs of a developing ambulance system but even when these reach the health units, the receiving centres have very poor preparedness. Many health workers are neither well trained nor prepared to manage the severely injured. The current rehabilitation programme for hospitals along the highways should be comprehensive enough to cater for these deficiencies.

Specialist high quality care, high-tech medicine and research: Non communicable diseases will be the main health problem tomorrow. Many of these require a system for specialised and high-tech medicine, which we should invest in – infrastructure, human resources and equipment. Let us invest in health research too. Research is critical as it informs tomorrow.

Dr Idro is a senior lecturer, Makerere University and Consultant Paediatrician, Mulago hospital.
ridro1@gmail.com

No more new road projects - Unra

Unra executive director Allen Kagina (Left) addresses journalists at the Unra head office in Kampala yesterday. Photo by Michael Kakumirizi 

KAMPALA- The Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) has said there will be no more new roads outside what they have embarked on already in the financial year which starts today in order to allow absorption of the ongoing works and ensure their completion on schedule.

The move, according to Unra executive director Allen Kagina, is to ensure government gets “value for money from the investments in the ongoing projects through improved management and supervision of projects while continuing engagements with development partners.”

Ms Kagina, while addressing journalists about highlights of the last financial year at the Unra head office in Kampala yesterday, explained that the move is also premised on budgetary constraints.

The roads development budget (mainly construction of new ones) is allocated approximately 90 per cent of all funding provided which means that Unra’s performance is highly dependent on performance and progress of the new projects. Only 7 percent goes to road maintenance.

“But while the government road development programme has been growing, medium term expenditure framework ceiling for Unra has been the same,” she said, adding that “this has resulted in the ongoing and planned programme having a deficit of Shs1.7 trillion.”

“The successful implementation of the entire programme [new roads] will depend on the financing availed in the subsequent years.”

Throughout the year, Ms Kagina, who was flanked by other directors, said works will continue on at least 1,000km of ongoing projects using funds already allocated; the plan is to have at least 200km of paved roads added to the network and another 185km rehabilitated.

“Contracts will be signed for projects for which funding is available, and for other roads we shall continue either updating their designs or working on the designs such that when funding is next available then we shall immediately kick off.”

The head of road development Chris Manyindo, however, explained that the move only applies to government-funded projects.

“Donor-funded projects will continue, and shall start immediately when they avail money,” he said.

The works and transport sector was allocated Shs3.6 trillion in the new budget, half of which is going to the development of the ambitious Standard Gauge Railway project.

Ms Kagina who was appointed Unra executive director on May 1 last year and immediately embarked on restructuring the entire organisation and recruiting new staff in an attempt to scale up manpower to the 1,700 organisational capacity.

Out of the Shs1.2 trillion allocated to Unra in the last financial year, Kagina reported that only Shs1 trillion was released and Shs58 billion remained outstanding.

Ongoing:
• Kampala-Entebbe express way with a spur to Munyonyo (51Km)
• Mpigi-Kanoni (65Km)
• Kampala Northern By-pass (17Km)
• Kanoni-Sembabule-Villa Maria (110Km)
• Mukono-Kayunga-Njeru (94Km)
• Pakwach-Nebbi (54Km)
• Olwiyo(Anaka)-Gulu (70Km)
• Ntungamo-Mirama Hills (37Km)
• Musita-Mayuge-Lumino-Busia/Majanji (104Km) 40%
• Namunsi-Sironko-Muyembe (32Km)
Roads whose construction is due to start:
• Hoima-Wanseko (111km)
• Rwekunye-Apac-Lira-Acholibur (243km)
•Soroti-Katakwi-Moroto-Lokitanyala (208km)
•Mubende-Kagadi-Ndaiga(140km): Lira-Kamdini (66km)
• Dualling Kibuye-Busega-Mpigi (33km)
• Kampala-Jinja (77km)
• Kampala Southern By-pass (18km), and Masaka-Bukakata (41km).
Others: Kyenjojo-Hoima-Masindi-Kigumba (238km): Tirinyi-Pallisa-Kumi/Pallisa-Mbale (111km): Mbale-Bubulo-Magale/Lwakhakha (45km): Rukungiri-Kihihi-Ishasha/Kanungu (78km): Kapchorwa-Suam (77km): Muyembe-Nakapiripirit (92km): Buhuka-Kabwoya (43km): Ntoroko-Karugutu (53km): Mbale-Nkokonjeru (21km), and Luuku-Kalangala (60km) phase II.
The superhighways: the Kampala-Jinja Expressway (77km)-a 8-4 lane super highway, whose designs have been completed and procurement for a contractor will start later this year: Kampala-Mpigi Expressway (32km)-a 4 lane super highway, whose designs have been completed as well and construction to start later this year will be financed with a loan from the African Development Bank, and the Kampala Bombo Expressway (50km) whose designs are set to be completed anytime.

musisif@ug.nationmedia.com

400 students to pay fine for strike

Apac- More than 400 students involved in the violent strike at Aduku Secondary School, Apac District, will pay a fine for the damage they caused to the school property.

Two weeks ago, students destroyed school property worth more than Shs100m as they protested a ban on wearing mini-skirts and skin thight trousers.

In a board meeting on Tuesday, it was resolved that the students who were identified as ringleaders in the strike would pay Shs180,000 each as compensation for the destruction.
Other students who protested because they were influenced by their colleagues will each pay Shs150,000, while girls will pay Shs100,000 for pouring water on the school gate.

The board chairperson, Bishop Charles Odurkami, of Lango Diocese confirmed the development, adding that 16 students had been identified as ring leaders.

“We have also realised that a total of 394 students were forced by their colleagues to join the strike and because of that, we have resolved to punish the culprits,” Bishop Odurkami told Daily Monitor after the Tuesday meeting.

The deputy head teacher in- charge of academics, Mr Patrick Gira, said: “We are not going to suspend any students but ringleaders will be required to pay a huge amount of money for what they did.”

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Women allocated less space in media – report

KAMPALA- Despite the major strides women have gained in leadership, their representation in media is still wanting, says a report by Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA).

The report released on Tuesday at Hotel Africana adds that despite constituting more than 50 per cent of Uganda’s total population, women are allocated less than 25 per cent of the space in different media.

The survey conducted between December 2015 and February 2016 aimed at assessing media coverage of 2016 elections from a gender persepective.

The survey involved 2,624 election-related news stories published in five newspapers including Daily Monitor, New Vision, Red Pepper, Bukedde (all dailies) and The Observer, a tri-weekly publication.
Red Pepper topped with 85 stories on women and was closely followed with Daily monitor (61 stories), Observer (34 stories), New Vision (30), while Bukedde had only 20 stories.
Ms Margaret Sentamu, UMWA executive director, while presiding over the event, yesterday, urged media to shun sex innuendos while covering women.

She cited a story published about former female presidential candidate Maureen Kyalya, in one of the dailies, where the writer focused on Ms Kyalya’s thighs.

“The photographer focused on the “yummy” thighs instead of the great ideas coming from a presidential candidate,” Sentamu said, sending the audience that included university lecturers, media scholars and editors into bouts of laughter.
“Women can be better than sexy,” he added.

Election reporting
The report further indicates that the print media coverage of 2016 general elections was highly skewed against women.
It also reveals the sexist portrayal of women in the media in terms of language, images used as well as stereotypical language.

Out of the 2,495 news sources directly quoted, 85 per cent were male while a meagre 15 per cent were female.
Further more, out of a total of 1,810 photographs, 82 per cent of them depict males leaving women with a paltry 18 per cent.

The only female presidential candidate out of the eight rarely featured in newspapers. The report further exposes the use of men’s pictures against stories on women with some stories running without pictures.

Meanwhile, Mr Okuku Obomba, a mass communication lecturer at Uganda Christian University (UCU) agreed that there is a gender problem in the media. He said the media is audience-driven and hence reporters will work to appease their audiences.

“Journalism mainly focuses on what people want not what they need,” Mr Obomba noted.

He said while the media fraternity has more women than men, women quite often go for public relations while the men remain in the mainstream journalism.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

British minister starts bid to replace Cameron

London- British interior minister Theresa May announced her bid to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday, saying negotiations to leave the European Union should not begin before the end of the year.

“I’ve invited you here today to announce my candidacy to become leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister of the United Kingdom,” she said in a speech in London in which she also called for unity amid bitter rifts in the Conservative Party.

May also stressed there should be no general election until 2020 and ruled out a second referendum.

“Brexit means Brexit. The campaign was fought, the vote was held, turnout was high and the public gave their verdict,” she said.

May spoke about invoking Article 50, the formal procedure for leaving the EU, which Cameron has left for his successor to do.

“Article 50 should not be invoked before the end of the year,” she said.

Her main rival was widely expected to be charismatic MP Boris Johnson, with whom she has often clashed.

May launched a thinly veiled attack on the former London mayor and Leave campaigner during her announcement.

“As we conduct our negotiations it must be a priority to allow British companies to trade with the single market in goods and services but also to regain more control over the numbers of people coming here from Europe,” she said.

“Any attempt to wriggle out of that, especially from leadership candidates who campaigned to leave the EU by focussing on the issue of immigration, will be unacceptable to the public,” she added.

Since Thursday’s shock result, Johnson has taken a softer stance on immigration, arguing instead that the main driving force of voters was “control”.

May also insisted that she did not treat politics as a “game”, another barely concealed swipe at Johnson and his blustering image.

In a morning full of Machiavellian drama, Johnson’s referendum running mate Michael Gove dealt him another viscous blow by announcing he was also to run.

“Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead,” said Gove, who was tipped for a top job in any Johnson government.

Members currently favour May over Johnson by a margin of 37 per cent to 27 percent, according to a YouGov poll published Thursday and bookmakers slashed her odds after Gove’s sensational intervention.

Kazibwe’s candidature good for Uganda

With Dr Speciosa Wandira Kazibwe, a former vice president of Uganda receiving the backing of her former boss President Museveni in her bid to become the next chairperson of the African Union (AU), Uganda’s international image is going to improve.

It is on record that Uganda has been influential in helping war-torn countries such as South Sudan, Somalia and Central African Republic. The country has also recently been lauded for taking in a number of refugees who have been displaced by the conflicts in their countries. Explaining our legacy will therefore not be a hard task for Dr Kazibwe.

She is now the endorsed candidate of the Eastern African bloc to replace the outgoing AU chairperson, South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who announced earlier this year that she would not be seeking re-election after her tenure expires. This is where Uganda gets the opportunity to present a candidate, and with good mobilisation in African parliaments I am confident she can win.

She has got the experience needed for the job. Dr Kazibwe was the vice president of Uganda from 1994 to 2003, the first woman in Africa to hold the position. In August 2013, she was appointed by the United Nations’s Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, as United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/Aids in Africa. She has performed tremendously in all the positions of power she has held and I am confident she will do well as the AU chairperson.

It is also commendable that President Museveni supports Dr Kazibwe’s candidature. He has clearly stated in the local newspapers that, ‘Uganda is proud to present and support the candidacy of Dr Speciosa Kazibwe Wandira for the position of Chairperson, African Union Commission 2016 – 2020’.

Just to show the significance of this position and the respect Uganda is to have thereafter, the position of AU chairperson comes with both continental and other international obligations given that the chairperson is the continent’s topmost diplomat. The occupant and how he/she steers affairs of the commission has a direct impact on the lives of over a billion people from 54 African countries. Therefore, I am grateful that Dr Kazibwe has been nominated. Should she triumph, it will be a win for all Ugandans.

arthurmusinguzi1@gmail.com

What does ‘almost took Uganda to middle income status’ mean?

President Museveni says his previous Cabinet “almost took Uganda to middle income status.” What do the words “almost took Uganda to a middle income status” mean in the context of our backward economy? They mean almost nothing.

Our President’s sanguine pronouncements on the economy, in the face of scanty or no concrete evidence to back up his claims, clearly illustrate the gap between what we wish to become and where we actually are in terms of measurable economic indicators.

Yet the adjectives that describe us tell it all. We are a Least Developed Country; a Highly Indebted Poor Country; and, to top it all off, we depend on subsistence agriculture. Just the other day, Mr Matia Kasaija had the courage to remind us in his Budget speech that the Population and Housing Census shows that household reliance on subsistence farming has risen to 69 per cent from 68 per cent between 2002 and 2014.

The contribution of this sector we still regard as the mainstay of our economy – agriculture – to national output is a paltry 26 per cent. The ancient hoe remains the “appropriate” technological tool for the vast majority of our people who desperately try to scratch a living out of soil whose nutrient content is declining.

Is this an economy that an unwieldy Cabinet “almost took to middle income status?” The President should tone it down a notch. Most of the peasants involved in subsistence farming don’t even know the meaning of this “middle income” claptrap because they are excluded from the development process.
In July last year, Cabinet finally came up with a comprehensive national community development policy spelling out measures the government should take to get rid of its top-down social planning and improve citizen participation in the development process.

They stated in general terms that: “We would like communities to realise that they are central players in the development process. Uganda’s communities should NOT (emphasis theirs) be passive watchers or recipients of development ideas, projects and charity…Communities in Uganda shall be playing a greater role in designing programmes for their infrastructure, health, education and agri-business needs.”

The new policy was supposed to be un-packed into measurable activities and integrated in work-plans of relevant ministries, departments, agencies and local governments for implementation, starting in the 2015/16 Financial Year. Is there any iota of evidence that this was done? No! Yet the President was happily claiming that Uganda was at the “take-off stage” of development! This shows how our leaders are misinterpreting the theory of modernisation.

In this theory, development is linear in the sense that it follows certain stages, beginning with the primitive stage based on hunting/gathering, barter exchange, peasant farming and no organised labour. In the pre-condition for take-off stage, the communal way of doing things is destroyed and land comes under large ownership, fit for commercial farming. At the take-off stage, labour relations are highly institutionalised and industries are established everywhere. Maturity stage means moving beyond simple industrial production to sophistication.

Hearing Kasaija’s Budget speech, you get a feeling we are still in the primitive stage, economic growth is for the country (not Ugandans) and middle income status sounds like a remote reality.
Instead of promising us the moon, Cabinet should do what was correctly stated in the National Community Development Policy, 2015: “Focus on improving social services, household incomes and overall standards of living in our communities.”

Dr Okodan is a lecturer at Kampala International University.

Mulago split to create Kampala referral

The interior section of new Mulago hospital that is under reconstruction. PHOTO BY RACHEL MABALA 

The old section of the Mulago National Referral Hospital is to be transformed into a regional referral hospital for Kampala central, the hospital administrators have said.

During a journalists’ guided tour on the progress of renovation works on Mulago Hill, the executive director, Dr Baterana Byarugaba, said (new) Mulago will become a super-specialised referral hospital only handling referred complicated cases.

“Mulago is going back to its original mandate of treating patients referred from lower grade hospital whose conditions are complicated. Minor issues such as malaria will be handled in the lower facilities,” Dr Byarugaba said.

He said after the completion of the renovation works in June next year, lower Mulago together with the 320-bed capacity Women’s Hospital, also under construction, will form Mulago National Referral Hospital to make a 900-bed super-specialised facility.

“There are plans to make Old Mulago a regional referral hospital for Kampala central and will have a 600-bed capacity operating independently of Mulago under the Ministry of Health,” Dr Byarugaba said.

According to Dr Byarugaba, Mulago hospital as a whole, has been handling more than 1,790 patients beyond its original capacity of 1,500 in-patients.

After renovation, the hospital is expected to handle organ transplant operations, including kidney, liver, bone marrow and other complicated surgery cases previously referred abroad.

Dr Byarugaba said tailor-made theatres for organ transplants have been created on level six of Block A.

Under the new arrangement, for a patient to be admitted at New Mulago, he or she will be required to present a referral form from regional referral hospitals, once in Kampala, a patient should begin from Kiruddu hospital, Kawempe hospital and the yet-to-be created Old Mulago Regional Referral Hospital.

According to Dr Byarugaba, the changes are expected to enable a functional referral system with an aim of decongesting Mulago, where patients have been sleeping on floors.

According to Mr Mohammed Nazih, a project manager at Arab Contractors Uganda Limited, the Women’s and Neonatal Hospital is expected to be completed by June 2017.

Dr Byaragaba said failure to shift and handover the entire hospital at once to Roko Construction Limited delayed works in Mulago, pushing the deadline to June 2017 as opposed to the earlier timeline of November this year.

So far, the main gate is almost complete. It has been created to act as an information centre and has separate vehicle entrances and an ambulance access. Inside the hospital compound, pedestrian walkways, flower gardens and orderly parking spaces have been created.

Mr Joel Aita, the chief executive Joadah Consult, said the beautified compound which will include a water fountain will have a therapeutic impact on patients.

Increased capacity at ICU
He said the current bed capacity at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward will be increased to about 40 up from the current 12.
The project includes procurement of medical equipment, which will include computerised axial tomography (CT) and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.

Politicians should tame their greed

The craze for ministerial placements in this country seems to have gone to many people’s heads. Just as the nation was trying to get to terms with the unceasing lobbying or demand by different communities to influence President Museveni to appoint their sons or daughters as ministers, a development bordering on comedy crops up.

This paper yesterday carried a screaming headline; Man cons MPs over Cabinet jobs. The narrative goes that a cunning man went around meeting unsuspecting but credulous politicians, promising to help them scoop a ministerial position. For his ‘generous’ efforts, he would ask his excited ministerial hopefuls to part with between Shs1 million and Shs5 million. From the look of things, this could be just the tip of the iceberg.

But what explains the obsession with being included in Cabinet in this country? There could be many answers but greed, selfishness and laziness can’t be ruled out.

The tragedy bedeviling this country is that politics has generally been commercialised. Today, many people are in politics or consider joining it as the easiest and surest way of making quick money. Therefore, they will invest whatever resource, for instance, drain their bank accounts, sell their houses, land, vehicles or worse, borrow huge amount of loans from banks or money sharks for their political pursuits. Why would, for example, an election be turned into a matter of life and death affair?

Do we still wonder why following the recently concluded elections, courts have continued to kick out lawmakers from Parliament over lack of qualifications, ballot stuffing, vote rigging, forgery, etc?
The naming of a very large Cabinet consisting of a whopping 81 ministers some of whose credentials is loyalty or historical links to the system, has not helped the scramble for Cabinet placement. This shouldn’t be the direction to take. People should be appointed on the basis of their competence.

Still, the big question is, what happened to the patriotic principle of serving the country in whatever capacity – as a teacher, farmer, lawyer, and businessman/woman, among others? Greed.

Why should politicians push to reap where they did not sow in terms of working hard to earn money or status? Greed. None wants to hear former American president John F. Kennedy’s challenging remarks: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”.

Our leaders should learn to tame their greed, or this country is headed for disaster.

The issue: Cabinet craze
Our view: Still the big question is, what happened to the patriotic principle of serving the country in whatever capacity – as a teacher, farmer, lawyer, and businessman/woman, among others? Greed.

Ugandan Universities to benefit from World Bank shs469b support

Some of the graduands at a graduation ceremony of Kyambogo University. Under a World Bank initiative, Uganda universities will build institutional capacity and build partnerships with industry, private sector and other institutions for post-graduate education tuned to the job market. Photo by Racheal Ajwang  

Uganda has been selected among eight Eastern and Southern African Countries to benefit from the $140m (Shs469b) credit of the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank Group.

According to a communiqué issued early this week from the World Bank, this line of credit will be channeled through the Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence Project (ACE II) of participating countries – of mainly Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
“The objective of the ACE II project is to strengthen selected Eastern and Southern Africa higher education institutions to deliver quality postgraduate education and build collaborative research capacity in the regional priority areas,” the communiqué noted.

The selected ACEs are expected to address specific development challenges facing the region through graduate training in Master’s, PhD, and short-term courses and applied research in the form of partnerships and collaborations with other institutions and the private sector.

A total of 24 Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) will each be funded up to $6m (Shs20b) over the project period of five years.

It is envisaged that at the end of the project the centres will have developed sufficient capacity to become sustainable regional hubs for training and research in their specialised fields, capable of leading efforts to address priority development challenges and improve lives in the region.
The ACE II project is expected to close in October 2021.

Criteria
The ACEs were selected through an open, objective, transparent and merit-based competitive process based on the following criteria like proposal writing that addressed a specific challenge in one of the five priority areas in the region—industry, agriculture, health, education and applied statistics.
Highest quality proposal, hosting institution had evident capacity, selection that provided for geographical balance and the hosting country had International Development Association (IDA) funding eligibility and availability.
ACEs’ Role
According to WB, all these ACEs are expected to perform the following tasks:
• Build institutional capacity to provide quality post-graduate education with relevance to the labour market.
• Build institutional capacity to conduct high quality applied research, relevant to addressing a key development challenge/priority.
• Develop and enhance partnerships with other academic institutions (national, regional and international) to pursue academic excellence.
• Enhance and develop partnerships with industry and the private sector to generate greater impact.
• Improve governance and management of the institution and set up a role model for other higher education institutions.
• Deliver outreach, and create an impact to society by delivering excellent teaching and producing high quality applied research.
Expected results
According to the WB, over the project duration of five years collectively these ACEs are expected to enroll more than 3,500 graduate students in the regional development priority areas.

“Out of which more than 700 will be PhD students and more than 1,000 will be female students,” the statement says.
The ACEs are expected to publish almost 1,500 journal articles, launch more than 300 research collaborations with the private sector and other institutions, and generate almost $30m (Shs100b) in external revenue.
The Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), a coordinating higher education institution of the East African Community, was selected by the Regional Steering Committee (RSC) of the ACE II project as the Regional Facilitation Unit (RFU).

beneficiaries
The four ACEs from Uganda to benefit from this programme are:
• Makerere University Centre for Crop Improvement (MaCCI)
• Centre of Materials, Product Development & Nanotechnology (Mapronano)-Makerere University
• African Centre for Agro-ecology & Livelihood Systems (Acalise) – Uganda Martyrs University
• Pharm-Biotechnology & Traditional Medicine Center (Pharmtac) – Mbarara University of Science & Technology

dnakaweesi@ug.nationmedia.com

Why health Insurance has not been easily embraced

A woman takes care of a patient at Amuria Hospital. Experts believe the only way health insurance can be realised in Uganda is if government intervenes.  

While most Ugandans are familiar with automobile insurance and other forms of insurance, health insurance is the least talked about form of insurance.

In a span of 10 years, Uganda has witnessed the cropping up of different health insurance providers. The act of insuring one’s health is, however, not popular. Marjorie Kwikiriza, a resident of Kawempe, a Kampala suburb, regards health insurance as expensive.

She admits that most Ugandans are not informed about health insurance. Kwikiriza explains that some Ugandans (most especially in rural areas) regard health insurance as a preserve of the rich. This according to her has left many Ugandans in rural areas unbothered about health insurance.

Not too long ago, many people participated in a fundraising drive to save Carol Atuhaire’s life, who had been battling cancer for quite some time. Kwikiriza points at this as an anecdotal example of a person whose life was left in the hands of well-wishers. This, luckily enough, worked in Atuhaire’s favour and was raised enough money for her treatment. For others, however, this is not always the case.

According to Robinah Babirye, a retired medical practitioner at Mulago hospital, health insurance helps one get adequate medical attention when needed without necessarily worrying about the cost. Philbert Aryatunga, a unit manager at Jubilee Insurance, agrees with her. Babirye further emphasises that people who are HIV-negative, diabetic or facing any serious disease need to be insured to avoid any health consequences that may come by any time. She, however, points at Ugandans’ lack of will to adopt health insurance. This according to her has exposed many to unprofessional services.

How health insurance can be made accessible

Aryatunga agrees there is need for aggressive sensitisation of people by both the health insurance bodies and government. This, according to him, would help change the negative attitudes by the public. On the issue of health insurance being expensive, Aryatunga emphasised the need for government subsidisation. He says this would enable many Ugandans access good healthcare.

It should be noted that Uganda, just like any other country in sub-Saharan Africa, is highly infested with infectious diseases.
Health insurance, according to Aryatunga, would help cut costs in treating such ailments in the country.

National Health Insurance Scheme bill

In 2014, a taskforce appointed by the then minister of health, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, was set up to come up with a Bill (National Health Insurance Scheme Bill) under the proposed National Health Insurance Bill, 2007, employees especially those in the formal sector were to pay four per cent of their monthly earnings to the insurance scheme.

Additionally, their employers were also to pay four per cent. Those in the informal sector were to be mobilised under saving schemes where the same percentage would be deducted for health insurance.
The proposed Bill was, however, rejected by insurers. Dr Dan Musiime (a fellow at Jubilee Insurance) argues that the proposed premiums then were too low and, therefore, unfavourable for the health insurance industry.

Dr Musiime, however, adds that revisions were made to the disputed Bill. He says the revisions gave insurers leeway to come up with a favourable cost premium.
The Bill was eventually put on hold as some argued that receiving of medical care would be costly to most Ugandans.

Paulo Kyama, a senior consultant with Ministry of Finance, says for health insurance to be a success, Ugandans income levels have to be uplifted since it is costly.
Kyama further adds that making health insurance available to every Ugandan is an impossible dream due to the numerous challenges the country is facing. Aryatunga on the other hand believes health insurance for all remains a dream unless government steps in to subsidise.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Mugabe must admit failure and resign

The introduction of bond notes as a strategy to arrest the ravaging cash crisis is a confirmation of dismal failure on the part of the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe hence the need for him to step down now. The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is shocked by Mugabe’s insistence to introduce bond notes as a solution for the worsening economic crisis currently affecting the ordinary poor people in Zimbabwe.

President Robert Mugabe has lost grip on the economy and has resorted to meaningless strategies and measures that may create an acute shortage of products on the domestic market. The MDC is raising the red flag to draw attention of both local and the International community to the man-made crisis in Zimbabwe. The people have loudly spoken about the bond notes and expressed their dissatisfaction and anger over their introduction but the Mugabe regime has vowed to proceed.

MDC National spokesperson

Ibrahimovic confirms he is joining Manchester United

Sweden captain Ibrahimovic applauds supporters after his national side exited Euro 2016. PHOTO BY AFP 

In Summary

Zlatan Ibrahimovic said he is joining Premiership side Manchester United, ending intense speculation about where the 34-year-old Swedish forward will be playing next season.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic said that he is joining Manchester United, ending intense speculation about where the 34-year-old Swedish superstar forward will be playing next season.

Ibrahimovic, who was a free agent after ending a hugely successful stay at Paris Saint-Germain, becomes the second signing of new United boss Jose Mourinho after that of highly rated Ivory Coast centre-back Eric Bailly from the Spanish outfit Villarreal.

“Time to let the world know. My next destination is Manchester United,” he wrote on Instagram and Facebook, complete with a picture of the United badge, as comments approving of the move flooded in in response. Ibrahimovic reunites with Mourinho, after they enjoyed a good relationship while together at Italians Inter Milan.

The Swede had toyed with questioners for weeks about where he would be going and it will be his first time playing in the Premier League.

Ibrahimovic, who quit international football after Sweden crashed out of Euro 2016, has also played at Ajax, Juventus, Barcelona and AC Milan during a career in which he has become as well known for his colourful personality as his prowess in front of goal. He had also been linked with a return to AC Milan and his agent had suggested that Major League Soccer in the United States was another potential destination.

Ibrahimovic said weeks ago that he knew where he would be playing football next season, but kept the football world guessing — typical of his mercurial personality. “Yes, I have made my choice,” Ibrahimovic told a press conference at a training camp near Stockholm for the Swedish national team ahead of Euro 2016.

He said then that he had decided “long ago” but dodged all questions about whether that team was Man United, where Mourinho has replaced Louis van Gaal after the Dutchman’s troubled two-year reign at Old Trafford came to a bitter end.

My dating mares: Loneliness is a blessing

The chilly upstairs apartment is what I always dreaded facing, each time I left class. During the first weeks, I spent extra hours in class when everybody else left. I told the trainer that my apartment was really lonely and so was I.

The ever-chilly studio apartment had a bed large bed, chilly couch, a stand- offish dining set and a television set, set up above a table! Even the ironing table stood aloof in the furthest corner of the room. They all watched each other from a distance and it appeared they enjoyed the solitude. I could feel my dressing mirror tell the jewellery, “Don’t you dare!” And the chilly bed that I effortfully warmed night by night was not even grateful.

Later on, I thought outsourcing company was no taboo. When Patrick, a Yankee from the fissi (cheats) clan that my gossip mate was trying to hook me up with asked to pay a visit, I did not hesitate. I kept asking him, “When again did you say you were coming?” My apartment had never had guests before. I painted pictures of what it would be like if Patrick showed up. Wouldn’t everything around this gloomy room just frown at him?

Before I knew it, the phone rang. It was the receptionist calling. “Are you expecting anyone?” Huh! Of course I was. Although the question sounded outrageous, hearing it for the first time. In a few minutes, the doorbell rang and I peeped just to be sure what was coming. On opening, Wagema threw his arms around me. Astounded, I stood still, arms folded at the back, eye balls rolling from the other end of the hug. That was our first meeting and he was acting cool. “I think I like this guy!” I thought to myself.

In his bag were all these niceties; red wine, black forest cake and Faxe – how did he even know this was my favourite beer? We watched a movie on the chilly couch while we sipped on the wine and munched matooke crisps. It got to 11pm and he showed no signs of leaving. I became restless. I feigned headaches, tried to make him understand it was late and we both needed to sleep, in vain.

He looked me in the face and boldly said, “I am sleeping over. It is really cold here and you could use my company. I want to warm you up.” Wow! “But I do not like people sleeping over because I just have one large-lonely bed in the corner,” I replied, pointing to my lonely bed.
He stood up, picked his bag off the floor and walked out. Impassively, I said, “Goodnight”. A text message came in a few minutes later. It read:

“You will never see me again. Who do you think you are? How can you be so selfish? You have left me an emotional wreck. To you, your happiness is more important. You do not care how the rest feel. If you think you can be happy in your loneliness, why do you want company? Take it from me. Do not depend on other people to be happy!”

Ouch! Every word in the message hurt. What didn’t I do right? After thinking through it deeply, my apartment and I decided we were not going to beat ourselves up for something we were not sure of. So I locked the door, headed straight to the bed and curled up there. My lonely apartment and Patrick left me enough lessons.

1. Everything else in the house suggested one thing; that we are all together, yet all dying of loneliness.
2. Like my chilly bed that I warmed each night, sometimes we need people who do not need us.
3.The TV set that gave me company did so only because I forced it. I must have ‘super glued’ on it and the poor thing had no option.
4.You can stand alone, like my ironing table and still be useful.
5. Patrick left a mark too. Some people have totally different intentions and your existence in their lives is worthless if their intentions are not satisfied.
6. His visit was a reminder that in this world there are two terrifying realities; one is being alone and the other is having unnecessary company.
7. Much as we need one another and are all dying to date, break up and date another, sometimes loneliness rules.
Charlotte Bronte said, “The trouble is not that I am single and likely to stay single, but that I am lonely and most likely to stay lonely.” On second thoughts thought, loneliness can be a disguised blessing.

ewatsemwa@ke.nationmedia.com

Clergy case: State withdraws charges against congregant

The State has dropped charges against a female Christian in relation to giving false information to a police officer that she was threatened by a Catholic priest.

Ms Winfred Nantongo was on March 4, 2016 granted bail of Shs500, 000 by Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court upon presenting two sureties bonded Shs3million non-cash.

The state contended that the Ms Nantongo on January 20, 2016 at Central Police Station gave Mr Denis Odongo, a detective, false information that she had been threatened by Fr Jacinto Kibuuka.

When she (Natongo) appeared before the Chief Magistrate Mr Jamson Karemani for mention of her case, state prosecutor Mr Jonathan Muwaganya, told court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) notified him that the charges had been withdrawn.

Mr Muwaganya presented a letter stopping proceedings against the accused.
Ms Nantongo is currently left with one count of conspiracy to defame Fr Kibuuka before another Chief Magistrate, Mr James Ereemye.

Her co-accused are Msgr Expedito Magembe the leader of Mt. Zion Prayer Centre Bukalango in Wakiso District.

Other suspects are Mr John Baptist Mukajanga, a preacher at the centre, Mr Nathan Senkomago, an editor at the New Vision, Mr Battu alias Battulumayo, a driver of Msgr Magembe, Ms Annet Kaitesi, a trader, Mr Semei Wessali, a production manager at Delta TV and Ms Milly Kirungi, a teacher at Najjanakumbi Junior School.

Prosecution claims that in January at different places in Kampala, the accused conspired to give false information against Fr Kibuuka, which they published alleging he had sexually assaulted and threatened Ms Nantongo.

bndagire@ug.nationmedia.com

Cholera claims 8 lives in Kayunga District

KAYUNGA- A cholera outbreak in Kayunga District has killed eight people while 13 others are hospitalised in critical condition.

The district health officer Dr Ahmed Matovu said on Wednesday that the outbreak has so far affected people in Kayonza sub-county, an area that is experiencing  heavy rains.

Dr Matovu identified some of the dead as Samuel Ngaziruma, Jesca Namwase and Rodha Naziwanga, all residents of Tindiani and Lwabyatya villages in Kayonza Sub-county. He said the sick have been admitted to Bbaale Health Centre IV and Kayonza Health Centre III.

“Heavy rains coupled with low pit latrine coverage are to blame for the outbreak. Many residents ease themselves in bushes, which waste is washed down into water sources,” Dr Matovu said.

He said a medical team has been dispatched to the area to treat patients and to sensitise residents on how to ensure proper hygiene.

The Kayunga District health educator Mr Ssenoga Mubanda said the pit latrine coverage in the affected area is below 5 per cent, something he said poses a high risk of such poor-hygiene related diseases.

Eight years ago, cholera outbreak killed 15 people in  Kayunga District.

UPDF soldier shoots self dead, injures four in a bar

Jinja- A UPDF  officer  who had misunderstanding  with his wife  on Wednesday stormed  a  bar where  a  friend of his wife works  with  an intention of killing her but  ended up shooting  four  people who were inside the pub.

Witnesses say the soldier then shot himself and died instantly.

Mr  Samuel  Wangu  Nangabo  who heads management  and security at Umbercoat Market  said  the incident  happened at about 9:30 pm on Wednesday .

“The soldier came asking for Mama Kayanja  in the bar  but it seems  he did not physically know  the person he was  looking for . When he entered the bar, he started shooting indiscriminately. He then shot himself,” Mr  Wangu said.

Mr Wangu said Mama Kayanja, was being targeted for allegedly interfering in the soldier’s relationship with his wife.

The  district  police commander  Mr Felix  Mugizi  identified the  soldier as Private   Stephen  Ajuna,  attached  to Gaddafi Barracks  in Jinja.

Those who were  injured in the shooting are Ms Olivia Nalubega, Mr Moses Dolly, Ms Grace  Nakimera and  a one  Frank. They are   receiving treatment at Jinja Hospital.

 Mr  Mugizi  said  four  magazines of ammunition and a sub machine gun (AK47) were recovered at the scene.

UPDF shoots self dead, injuries four in a bar

Jinja- A UPDF  officer  who had misunderstanding  with his wife  on Wednesday stormed  a  bar where  a  friend of his wife works  with  an intention of killing her but  ended up shooting  four  people who were inside the pub.

Witnesses say the soldier then shot himself and died instantly.

Mr  Samuel  Wangu  Nangabo  who heads management  and security at Umbercoat Market  said  the incident  happened at about 9:30 pm on Wednesday .

“The soldier came asking for Mama Kayanja  in the bar  but it seems  he did not physically know  the person he was  looking for . When he entered the bar, he started shooting indiscriminately. He then shot himself,” Mr  Wangu said.

Mr Wangu said Mama Kayanja, was being targeted for allegedly interfering in the soldier’s relationship with his wife.

The  district  police commander  Mr Felix  Mugizi  identified the  soldier as Private   Stephen  Ajuna,  attached  to Gaddafi Barracks  in Jinja.

Those who were  injured in the shooting are Ms Olivia Nalubega, Mr Moses Dolly, Ms Grace  Nakimera and  a one  Frank. They are   receiving treatment at Jinja Hospital.

 Mr  Mugizi  said  four  magazines of ammunition and a sub machine gun (AK47) were recovered at the scene.

Two die in Masaka accident

Police officer examine the wreckage of the truck at the accident scene.  

Two people have reportedly died in an accident at Kyazanga Trading Centre, Masaka on the Masaka- Mbarara Road.

The accident involved a passenger bus belonging to Jaguar Bus Company and a truck that was carrying bananas.

This comes hardly a week after three people, including a Korean national died and six others injured following an accident in which a commuter taxi travelling from Fort Portal to Kampala collided with a lorry at Rwaibale Trading Centre, Butunduzi Town council in Kyenjojo District.

What can fix a loose play in steering?

Hello Paul, I drive a Land Cruiser VX 1995 model. It has a loose play in the steering, which makes me uncomfortable. My mechanic has replaced several parts including the tie rods, rack ends, ball joints, suspension bushes and done wheel alignment twice but the problem persists. Now he has given up as everything looks fine. I have not had a major accident but the mechanic suggests that my chassis may be faulty. Please advise. Peter.

Hello Peter, the steering feedback you are getting means something is not right. Whilst the mechanic has done a wide range of parts replacement, probably what he found worn out, there is one item he needs to check or replace to complete the run; the steering damper or stabiliser.
It looks like a shockabsorber. It is designed to inhibit or dampen steering wobble or uncontrolled wheel movements. When this part fails, you will feel an uncomfortable loose play in the steering. I call this the ‘death wobble’. Just change the steering damper and your Toyota will be fine.

Hello, I am a bit taken back when a Ugandan dealer says he doesn’t know about the car you need to buy. Fuel consumption is the major discussion than the real issues. High-end cars which I knew were cars like Audi, Range Rover, Mercedes, and bigger Toyota. Today, if I want to buy a car like Brevis, Progrès, Harrier, I will be told not to. Reasons being they are fuel guzzlers, lack of spares and few mechanics who know these cars. What are high-end cars, if the above cars are now high-end too? Thanks. Masentekuya.

Hello Mr Masentekuya, the term ‘high-end cars’ is loosely used as a subjective attribute, which is often misleading. What may be my high-end car may be your premium or low-end. Strictly speaking ‘high-end cars’ describes vehicles built with higher quality equipment and features. They are kitted with high performance engines and endowed with superior design and comfort attributes.

The price tags are also ‘up there’. Among the top 10 high end cars of 2016, we have the 2016 Acura RLX sport hybrid, which comes with road departure mitigation, a safety and convenience feature that alerts and helps you when the system detects that you are unintentionally crossing to another lane without indicating. Steering torque and vibrations are activated to help your vehicle stay in the correct lane.

The 2016 BMW 750I xDrive (pictured) comes with an infotainment system, which can be controlled with a gesture or motion of your hand. You can reject an incoming phone call by simply waving it away. High-end cars come with high grade leather or alcantara upholstery, dual seat rear entertainment, park assist in the 2016 ML Mercedes, which can park the car on a street with your hands holding the newspaper.

But again what is high-end in Kampala may not be in London or Hamburg. In Uganda, Brevis, Progrès and Harrier could be considered ‘high-end’. What is critical is availability of spare parts and that high performance engines tend to be fuel thirsty. I hasten to add that in Kampala, we have independent parts dealers for our high-end cars such as Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Isuzu, Nissan, BMW and Mitsubishi.

So parts are not a major show stopper. If you want to drive the BMW 750i xDrive, fuel economy should not come between you and your dream car. This challenge can be overcome by adjusting your driving style, avoid unnecessary idling in heavy traffic, maintain the car well, plan your journeys and use fuel with efficiency improving additives.

Ask the mechanic (0772316145), send sms: mycar (space) your comments and questions to 6933,
or email them to mycar@ug.nationmedia.com

MPs want constituency fund back

PARLIAMENT- Legislators have started debate on whether Parliament should reinstate the Constituency Development Fund (CDF). The debate, which has been simmering in the House since the last Parliament was brought up by a section of freshly-elected MPs claiming the fund could help offload the constituency fundraising responsibility from them.
The MPs also argued that the fund will help in entrenching the notion of service delivery to the masses but also shield them from public blame whenever government fails to deliver.

“The MP is the closest person in government that members of society run to whenever they go to a hospital and they don’t find drugs or whenever a school in their village collapses and if the MP fails to help, they heap all the blame on the MP,” said Buhweju MP, Francis Mwijukye.

“MPs have become government and ministries. People see them as the source of hope so they must be empowered to answer calls of the hopeless citizens and that can be through the Constituency Development Fund,” he added.

In the sixth Parliament MPs used to get not more than Shs15M per year to work as constituency development fund. The fund was scrapped because legislators couldn’t account for it and also because they argued that it was too little and simply a temptation to the legislators.

Bugabula South MP Morris Kibalya said the fund would be implementable if it is distributed through the district local government structure. “District accounting officers are just appointed and not elected like us. We have a higher accountability responsibility to the voters and therefore we need soothing to develop our constituencies,” the MP said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing post-elections induction for MPs, former Speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly Francis Ole Kaparo said although CDF is an important aspect of national development, legislators should not be directly given the money.

“What should be an issue is who implements it. It has been wrong to have it under the MP and it has been taken to court in Kenya,” he said.

The same view is shared by the Bugweri County MP, Abdu Katuntu. “I will oppose it if it ever comes up in Parliament,” he said, adding: “To have MPs inheriting the responsibility of the Executive is to cause a conflict of interest because the Auditor General will be investigating how MPs have used the money they appropriated yet we are supposed to be overseers. Money can only be sent through the districts and we MPs just oversee whether the resources are being utilised well.”

iimaka@ug.nationmedia.com

He calls it The Bullet

Peter Amadi and his Subaru Forester at his workshop in Bunga, Kampala. PHOTO BY EDGAR R. BATTE 

By Roland D. Nasasira
Posted 


Thursday, June 30  

2016 at 

01:00

In Summary

When talking about his car, it is evident Peter Amadi, a mechanic and proprietor of Dalas Auto, loves his Subaru Forester. He talked to Roland D. Nasasira about the car, which he calls The Bullet.

When did you get this car?
In 2006. I’ve been with it for 10 years now.
Where did you get it?
I bought it from a friend called Edgar at Shs19m. It’s a UK manufactured Subaru.
How have you been able to maintain it since 2006?
You don’t need to sell a car because it is old. What matters is how well you service it and the extra attention.
What do you like about it?
The features are not usually found in any other Forester.
What features does it have?
A competition gearbox. This means that it has super quick gear shift. Its transmission system and double differentials are not ordinary. Its chassis was reinforced.
What do you mean by some parts are not ordinary?
It was built more like a rally car. The double differential rotates faster than the common differentials in other cars.
Any unique features?
It came with bucket seats that can be manually pumped to a position the driver is comfortable with. It has a sun roof, a vehicle dynamic control (VDC), turbo gauge, a gauge that monitors the charging system, a turbo timer and a blow off valve. It also has a competition air cleaner and an anti-roll bar that enables the car to gain stability in case you swerve. With an anti-roll bar, you cannot lose stability in this Subaru. The bar gets you back on the road. It is also a Subaru Technica International Forester, meaning that it was manufactured under the department that manufactures Subaru sport cars and has a TD7 turbo engine.
What is special about the bucket seats?
They have a small pump to adjust the seat to the level you want and this makes you feel like you are being massaged.
And the competition air cleaner?
I don’t change it often. It can go five years without changing unlike other cars that you have to change at every service.
Where do you get spare parts?
Order online and import them from UK.
Why the UK and not locally?
Some cannot be got locally in Kampala. Sometime back when I wanted to change the differential, I realised I had to import it from UK because I couldn’t get it from Japan. I also imported the differential seals, the gear lever and the clutch system from UK.
Isn’t costly for you to import its spare parts from that far?
It’s only the clutch system that was expensive. It cost Shs2.8m. I also had to import the engine under guard.
Have you received offers from people who want to buy it?
A gentleman from South Africa once offered me Shs22m but I rejected it. Many people have offered Shs20m but I also rejected their offers. Another gave me an ordinary Forester on top of Shs10m but I also rejected that.
What is the furthest you have been?
I have been to Dar-es-Salaam, four times to Mombasa, Kasese, Nairobi, Soroti, Kotido and Kapchorwa. Some friends once drove it to Rwanda.
Do you share it with friends?
I do but only from Monday to Thursday. On Friday and the weekend, I don’t share it because people go with it to bars. You have to prove to me that you understand how to drive manual cars for me to give it to you over the weekend.
What is its current mileage?
It is 170,000km. When I bought it, it was 64,000km.
What is the fastest you have driven it?
Sometime back I drove it at 224km per hour. A while ago, I was going to Soroti for a friend’s burial. I left Kampala late and wanted to catch up with the burial on time. When I reached Mabira Forest, I was driving at 198km per hour and I was given a penalty for that. I didn’t know that I was driving at that speed because I just kept on accelerating.
The fastest it has ever been driven was when my friend, Jibril Kibuuka drove it upto 240km per hour from Malaba to Busitema.
I was driving behind him but within a short time, I couldn’t see him on the road. He rang to ask me if the car could go beyond 240km per hour and I told him that was the maximum. He recorded it on his phone and showed me the recording when we reached Kampala. I was shocked.
What is your view on Ugandan drivers?
Most of them don’t observe the Highway Code. They over take recklessly in corners especially those driving numberless cars from borders. The Highway Code is an area where drivers should be trained. For example, why would a driver speed in a trading centre even when there are no humps? It is where you are supposed to reduce speed. Drivers don’t read road signs. Those who read them just ignore them especially when they are drunk.
Where do you service from?
I service it myself at my workshops in Kibuli or Bunga. I’ve never given it to any mechanic to fix anything.
Where does your love for Subarus come from?
I worked in Subaru Nairobi for 14 years before I worked at Kampala Motors for another 14 years.
When I came to Uganda, most people didn’t know how to repair Subaru cars because they were rare and I ‘suffered’ to teach them how to do it.

Hidden secret
What is the hidden secret that you turned down those offers?
When people look at its number plate in UAJ series, they think is old. Fine, it’s old but I have invested a lot of money in maintaining it over the years. It’s not easy to keep a car in a good road worthy condition for 10 years. I never allow it to run on a broken part for two days. When it develops a mechanical problem, even if it’s minor, I fix it immediately and I never replace it with a second hand spare part. I drive it to Kenya without any worry that it will break down along the way.

I had come to Uganda in 2000 for one year to train people on how to repair Subarus. However, when I got a print out from Uganda Revenue Authority, there were only 14 people who owned Subarus.
It was in 2001 while working at Kampala Motors when I started recruiting the technical team and started making sales to government, NGOs and embassies.
We only sold two Subarus to two individuals. By the time I wanted to leave Uganda, people had started buying Subarus and they saw me as an expert in repairing their cars well and wanted me to stay.
It was in 2007 when John Throttle, the CEO of Subaru East Africa decided that I take my leave. He trusted me 100 per cent that I ran all departments under him and I salute him for having trusted me that much.

New education ministers capable of mending the sector

For about 10 years now, performance of the education sector has been diminishing yet the government is injecting so much money into it.

The government introduced the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) programmes mainly to cater for parents who cannot afford to raise fees for their children, and also to fight illiteracy.

The above programmes have enabled many children in Uganda to reach higher levels of education such as university and other higher institutions of learning which have provided them with the necessary skills to get employment or start their own businesses.

The President’s appointment of the First Lady as Education minister and Ms Rosemary Ssennide as the State minister for Primary Education, creates high expectation in the performance and reduction of the rampant problems such as strikes, lack of scholastic materials such as geometry sets, pencils and pens, among others. This is because the two ministers have a good record of service to the country. For instance, the First Lady performed well as minister for Karamoja and brought about many positive changes. There is a likelihood that she will do the same for the ailing education sector.

Florencebabirye2016@gmail.com

New exchange firm to trade government securities

Kampala. Ugandans now have an opportunity to trade government securities on a daily basis after the launch of an exchange platform by ALTX Africa.
In Uganda, government securities are not traded on the open market – or on exchange – but are mostly a preserve of commercial banks in a closed market. ALTX Africa Group is expected to launch a platform, ALTX East Africa, where ordinary Ugandans can now buy and sell government securities in an open market.

“This is a market where you can make money. The people who are investing in government securities are those who have minimum amounts of about Shs250m. With our exchange, one can invest as low as Shs10,000 and participate in the buying of government debt,” Mr Joseph Kitamirike, the chief executive officer and co-founder of ALTX East Africa, told reporters on Tuesday.
Government debt is often issued through instruments known as Treasury Bills and Bonds by Bank of Uganda. For instance in the next financial year, the government will borrow about Shs690 billion from the domestic market. Commercial banks, offshore funds, and the National Social Security Fund usually take up this opportunity to lend to government. However, there is the opportunity to trade the debt at least until it reaches maturity. This buying and selling process, known as secondary market activity, is mostly prohibitive to members of the public.

“We buy the securities from the commercial banks and then place them on our exchange platform. In the future, we shall participate in the market by buying securities directly from Bank of Uganda,” Mr Kitamirike said, adding: “Our system allows price discovery and transparency because it is an open platform. Additionally, we are also bringing both buyers and sellers on the same platform. That way, we are creating liquidity.”
ALTX is leveraging technology to grow its capacity to handle as many transactions as possible. The company, which has been testing the technology for the last one year, has the ability to settle securities transactions on a Delivery versus Payment (DvP) model within 15-20 seconds.

Second Player
Founded in 2014, ALTX Africa Group is now the second stock exchange that Uganda operates. At the moment, only ALTX will be handling the secondary market trading of government debt.

mmuhumuza@ug.nationmedia.com