President Museveni has urged Ugandan youth to take up commercial agriculture, entrepreneurship and ICT to create wealth instead of seeking employment from government.

Mr. Museveni was speaking during the commissioning of Equator seeds Factory at Koro Abili Village, Labwoc parish, Koro Sub-county in Omoro District.

Equator Seeds Company is one of the leading full line seed companies in Uganda that provides quality seeds to smallholder farmers. Seeds that improve food security.

Museveni cited Kakira Sugar Works proprietor, Muljibhai Madhvani an example of a rich man who has never worked for government but has gotten rich through investment in agriculture.

“There is much more money in agriculture, factories, services, ICT than working for the government. The youth should be guided that white collar jobs are not as lucrative,” he said.

He said Omoro has a great agriculture potential and urged the youth there to engage in the sector on the commercial basis. “There is great potential for agriculture here (Omoro), however to maximise the benefits, I urge you to do commercial farming,” he said.

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Busoga Kingdom is not ready to continue tolerating its officials who use their positions in the cultural institution to build their political careers, particularly supporting People Power Movement.

The kingdom Premier, Dr Joseph Muvawala has been open to his ministers and told them to choose, either to serve the kingdom or to go into politics but not to serve the two masters at ago.

“You should resign at least four months to the campaign period and desist from using Obwa Kyabazinga to gain political mighty,” warned Muvawala.

Muvawala who is also the Executive Director of the National Planning Authority said, many Ministers in Obwa Kyabazinga Bwa Busoga were using cultural Ministries to ride political positions.

He was this Friday speaking at the swearing in ceremony of 48 Kisiki cabinet Ministers, as chief guest. Kisiki is the Chiefdomship of Busiki, one of the 11 hereditary chiefdoms that come together to form Obwa Kyabazinga bwa Busoga. The function that attracted several political and cultural leaders was held at Namutumba district headquarters.

Muvawala also disclosed that he was aware of some of his ministers who are so busy campaigning against the ruling National Resistance Movement Party, something he said he shall not tolerate.

He said that being a cultural minister and you fight political wars might make it look like the entire kingdom is behind you.

“We do not want to mix politics into culture, the two are different” he said.

He warned that if the vice is left to continue, Busoga risks losing out on development.

“I want to tell you and am directing because am the prime Minister, those who want to join politics but still serving in the eleven hereditary chiefdoms as ministers or members of royal council in Obwa Kyabazinga Bwa Busoga it is time for you to resign” he said.

Adding that “We know we have different people with different political party ideologies which is okay, but for the good of the kingdom, issues concerning people power is not allowed. For us the people power we want is unity as Basoga” he said.

His speech was in response to the KKisiki (Chief), Yokania Kisiki who wondered why Busiki Ministers and royal council members are not benefiting in government programme.

Namutumba district woman MP, Mariam Naigaga pledged support towards the development of Busiki chiefdom.

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Police Flying Squad has shot dead three robbers in Walukuba Masese Division, Jinja municipality, Jinja district.

Armed with an AK 47 riffle loaded with 26 rounds of ammunition, the trio was allegedly planning to rob a businessman dealing in fish. Police killed them in a shoot-out.

Kiira regional police sposkeperson, Diana Nandawula has confirmed this report. She said Friday that the police couldn’t do anything saving for putting the three robbers bout of action because they too were ready to shoot to kill.

“They were ready to kill. So if we had not killed them they would have killed our officers,” she told Eagle Online by telephone.

The bodies are now Jinja Hospital mortuary for autopsy.

The three were identified by police as Lukwago, Patrick Ssemanda and Ramathan Lubwama who were visibly in their 30s

They were travelling in a Toyota Corona registration number UAP 449S which is also believed to have been doing special hire services in Jinja.

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Airbus and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have announced the top 10 African tech start-ups that will take part in the latest Airbus Bizlab #Africa4Future accelerator program but Ugandan start-ups miss out on the list domited by Kenya with three start-ups.

The winners were selected after an open public pitch event in front of experts, potential investors, the media and other stakeholders in Nairobi, Kenya.

#Africa4Future is a joint business accelerator initiative of Airbus and GIZ’s Make-IT in Africa initiative together with the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), a non-profit seed fund and pan-African organization that brings together startups, entrepreneurs and the tech community, and Innocircle, the South African-based innovation consultancy.

The top 10 start-ups were selected from 314 entries representing 19 African countries that were received when the challenge was opened in October last year.

The program aims to encourage and support entrepreneurship in Africa. The continent’s young and increasingly techno-savvy population is likely to be the driving force behind Africa’s socio-economic development. The competition identifies Africa’s own pool of talented entrepreneurs using innovative aerospace based solutions to tackle the continent’s most pressing challenges such as transportation, agriculture and healthcare.

As a global aerospace accelerator, Airbus BizLab is ideally suited to help African startups transform innovative ideas into viable and valuable businesses. In doing so, it increases the aerospace industry’s engagement with hardware and software innovators and entrepreneurs in Africa while helping to nurture the establishment of competitive entrepreneurial ecosystems on the continent.

The Nairobi event kicks off an intensive six-month business incubation and accelerator program involving technical, commercial and mentorship activities in France, Germany and South Africa. This includes workshops and coaching sessions with Airbus experts, GIZ’s Make-IT in Africa, MEST and Innocircle coaches.

The program will end with Demo Day events at the biennial Paris International Airshow and a special event in Germany from 19-26 June, when finalists will launch their products, define their collaboration with Airbus and announce their investment commitments in front of representatives from across the aerospace industry.

Finalists are:

1. Astral Aerial (Kenya) – using drones for humanitarian cargo transport, surveillance and emergency response.

2. Cote d’Ivoire drone (Ivory Coast) – locally-manufactured drones for various applications.

3. Elemental Numerics (South Africa) – applies computational fluid dynamics techniques to the design of machines and components, ranging from aircraft to heart valves.

4. Lentera Limited (Kenya) – applying remote sensors to monitor and transmit environmental data to enable more efficient and smarter farming.

5. Maisha ICT Tech PLC (Ethiopia) – deploying locally built drones for delivering medicines, blood and healthcare items to remote and rural areas.

6. MamaBird (Malawi) – provides a platform to help Governments, NGOs and other organizations deliver vital life-saving supplies to remote communities.

7. Map Action (Mali) – a solution offering real-time online urban mapping to identify problems affecting water supplies, hygiene and sanitation.

8. MobiTech Water Solutions (Kenya) – an online real-time water monitoring solution that allows businesses, homes and water-service providers to manage their available water using an app-based dashboard and instant messaging.

9. Track Your Build (Nigeria) – a novel infrastructure management tool for construction and operations.

10. WiPo Wireless Power (South Africa) – offers reliable and convenient wireless power chargers for businesses, conference centers, airports, restaurants and other venues for the charging of mobile devices, laptops and drones.

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The Chairperson of Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), Dr. Deus Kamunyu Muhwezi has been suspended from the university for allegedly taking part in actions that disrupt and injure the reputation of the Institution.

His suspension comes at a time when President Yoweri Museveni has just lauded Makerere University administrators for expelling and suspending lecturers over indiscipline and participation in unlawful activities.

During the 69th graduation ceremony, Museveni said, there is no reason why lecturer averred of raping a student, should continue teaching in the top institution.

Deus Kamunyu Muhwezi is a lecturer in the department of forestry, Biodiversity and Tourism, College of Agriculture and Environmental science.

According to a letter signed by the Vice chancellor of Makerere University Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, such acts bring the University and its officials into dispute and intimidation of the institution’s officials, using abusive and insulting language, slander and making false statements.

Nawangwe said, Despite various warnings, Muhwezi has continued to engage in acts that amount to misconduct including offences under computer misuse act and incitement with intent to cause disobedience or cause strike to undermine University administration.

“Unlawful activities contravenes the terms and conditions of your employment Act of the institution, Uganda public service standing orders 2010, Makerere university standing orders manual 2009 and other policies governing the University,” Reads in part of the suspension letter.

He said, security reports have shown that Mr Muhwezi has continued to incite other staff to distract the University activities and engage in related unlawful conduct.

“Therefore in order to protect the reputation of the University, its activities and personnel and property from your disruptive activities, I therefore suspend you from the University in accordance to section 5.9 of the university human resource manual,” he said in a statement.

Prof Nawangwe said a committee will be instituted to investigate all the allegations and will be invited to take part of the proceedings. During the suspension, Muhwezi will be receiving half pay of his salary and is barred from accessing the University nor its property.

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The World Bank Group days ago launched its Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience. Under the plan, the World Bank Group will ramp up direct adaptation climate finance to reach US$50 billion starting June 30, 2021 through July 1, 2025.

This financing level, an average of US$10 billion a year, is more than double what was achieved during FY15-18. The World Bank Group will also pilot new approaches to increasing private finance for adaptation and resilience.

“Our new plan will put climate resilience on an equal footing with our investment in a low carbon future for the first time. We do this because, simply put, the climate is changing so we must mitigate and adapt at the same time,” said World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva. “We will ramp up our funding to help people build a more resilient future, especially the poorest and most vulnerable who are most affected.”

The increase in adaptation financing will support activities that include:

· Delivering higher quality forecasts, early warning systems and climate information services to better prepare 250 million people in at least 30 countries for climate risks;

· Supporting 100 river basins with climate-informed management plans and/or improved river basin management governance;

· Building more climate-responsive social protection systems; and

· Supporting efforts in at least 20 countries to respond early to, and recover faster from, climate and disaster shocks through additional financial protection instruments.

In addition to boosting finance, the Plan will also support countries to mainstream approaches to systematically manage climate risks at every phase of policy planning, investment design, and implementation.

“This Action Plan is a welcome step from the World Bank,” said Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and co-chair of the Global Commission on Adaptation. “The world’s poorest and most climate vulnerable countries stand to benefit from its increased finance and support for longer term policy change.”

The Action Plan builds on the link between adaptation and development by promoting effective and early actions that also provide positive development outcomes. For example, investing in mangrove replanting may protect a local community against sea level rise and storm surges, while also creating new opportunities for eco-tourism and fisheries. Early and proactive adaptation and resilience-building actions are more cost-effective than addressing impacts after they occur.

The Action Plan also includes the development of a new rating system to create incentives for, and improve the tracking of, global progress on adaptation and resilience. The new system will be piloted by the World Bank in FY19-20 and rolled out to projects in relevant sectors by FY21.

The Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilienceforms part of the World Bank Group’s 2025 Targets to Step Up Climate Action which were launched in December 2018, during the UN’s COP24 in Poland.

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