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We shall not apologise for doing our Jobs-Miss Uganda Judges

By
Isaiah Mwebaze
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Miss Uganda contestants

Miss Uganda recently relaunched its annual search after it took a one year break to make a few changes including signing on local talent and socialites such as Zari Hassan and Anita fabiola among many others.

The show, held at the Sheraton Hotel unveiled 23 beautiful contestants hailing from all regions of the country and this year’s competition unlike those that preceded it, will also host a televised boot camp aimed at fully equipping the new contestants with the necessary tools to win the pageant at international level.

The training series will also give the viewers and judges an insight into the personalities of each of the contestants and what it takes to win the coveted crown.
However, only last week Ugandans were left aghast and furious after a video surfaced online depicting the judges acting abrasive and indifferent towards one of the contestants after she had failed to pronounce the word Makerere.

The four judges who came under fire for their dismissive nature towards the contestants also happened to be former holders of the ‘Miss Uganda’ title themselves causing many critics to rile at their lack of empathy towards the up comers.

Many Ugandans took to social media to express their disappointment and disgust at the treatment of the contestants with some activits advocating for the boycotting of the ongoing competition:

Kemiyondo‏ @kemi_stry
More
This Miss Uganda clip of judges mocking a young woman has really upset me. Firstly, there are plenty Miss World contestants who don’t speak english so don’t even give me that BS about you need good english to rep Uganda.

JemNa-gundi @like_a_gem
More
Why are the miss Uganda-search panelists so hell-bent on not apologising for their mistake? They humiliated that girl and they know it. Would they lose anything if they did? Why so defensive (and rude)?


TheOx‏ @hiio5
Imagine being there forcing an accent to impress absolutely no one of substance and yet having the audacity to question and mock someone’s pronunciation. Miss Uganda stopped being relevant a long time ago

Wagaba K Scott‏ @WagBi_ququ
More
The Miss Uganda competition needs to be cancelled. They chased this girl because she didn’t pronounce Makerere right?!? If in the requirements it’s listed that Miss Uganda needs to fake a British/American accent and know proper English then let it be known tuvvewano

Eagle Online reached out to Ms Stella Nantumbwe, Miss Uganda 2013 and one of the judges, who neither denied nor tried to justify the appalling behavior of the panelists. Instead the actress made it clear that the video was only a 48 second clip that was edited out of hours of footage of the actual competition and therefore taken out of context.
“Very many of these girls come into the competition with preconceived ideas of what the Miss Uganda pageant is about or how one should be expected to act; it is our job to cut out these fake accents and train the girls on how to clean their acts and best present themselves and the country at an international level.” Nantumbwe revealed that in 2013 she was asked to kneel and greet the judges in luganda in order to prove her determination for the title.

She urged women to avoid tearing each other down on social media and other platforms in order to create an environment where women could be celebrated in their various endeavours like their counterparts.

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Now way-MPs vow to block Bagyenda’s appointment on FIA board

By
George Mangula
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Embattled former Executive Director in charge of Supervision at Bank of Uganda Justine Bagyenda.

A group of Members of Parliament (MPs) have made it clear that they will do all that it takes to block the reappointment of Justine Bagyenda to the Financial Intelligence Authority for a second term.

Bagyenda is a former Bank of Uganda (BOU) executive director in charge of supervision.

The MPs led by Manjiya County legislator John Baptist Nambeshe urged that it would be a betrayal to the people of Uganda and particularly taxpayers to reappoint Bagyenda as member of the FIA board at the time when investigations into her alleged illicit wealth are not complete. Bagyenda is being investigated by the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Irene Mulyagonja.

In March leaked bank documents showed that Bagyenda had in three different bank accounts were found to about Shs19 billions. She is also alleged to possess various properties in and around Kampala
In May this year, Finance minister Matia Kasaija wrote to speaker of parliament suggesting the re-appointment of Bagyenda which has caused anger amongst members of parliament who demanded the appointments committee to consult with the IGG before approving Bagyenda.

Ngora County MP David Abala quoted the Book of Deuteronomy in the Bible it states that: “You shall not steal.” She urged Bagyenda to explain where she got the money and “I call upon the powers in Parliament to block her from appearing before the appointments committee.”

Nambeshe wondered why parliament was on intent to confirm the appointment of Bagyenda, alleging that she has accumulated wealth illegally. “We condemn her reappointment in the strongest terms possible and we call on the speaker to hear the cries of Ugandans because she will import her corruption tendencies to the Financial Intelligence Authority,” he said.

During a press conference, the legislators begged the appointments committee chaired by speaker Rebecca Kadaga to investigate the relationship between the finance minister Matia Kasaija and Justine Bagyenda.

Mbwa Tekamwa (Kasambya county) said: “Minister Kasaija is not himself credible because all the times he has been at loggerheads with parliament on the recently enacted mobile money act when he implied that it’s parliament who passed the 1percent taxes and am worried that he will play the same tricks and deny that his not responsible for Bagyenda’ appointment.”

Meanwhile, the African Parliamentary Network against Corruption Uganda Chapter has also said it does not support the reappointment of Bagyenda to the FIA board insisting that she cannot serve on such a board given the ongoing investigations against her.

The IGG recently said that investigations against Bagyenda were underway following allegations that the wealth she has accumulated is not commensurate with her earnings and that she would share the final report with relevant authorities.

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Ugandan youths should learn from Indian business acumen and succession

By
Guest Writer
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Billionaire's son: Rajiv Ruparelia, son of tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia. Photo credit/rosandpost.com

By Ben Ssebuguzi

Indian Prime Minister Nerandra Modi has just concluded his two day visit in Uganda where he met thousands of Indians at Kololo Air strip.

According to President Museven’s speech,he noted that 80 percent of the top companies in Uganda are owned by Indians which means that others own only 20 percent which leaves a lot to be desired.

According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) studies, a research done indicated that just about 17 per cent of indigenous businesses in the country have been operating for at least two decades.

This shows that Ugandan business mortality rates are still high. This could be as a result of poor management skills and poor succession skills as most of the businesses die with their owners.

Which is a different story with Indians business gurus.For them, they are able to orient their children at an early stage which has helped them run their enterprises from one decade to another which is very rare with indigenous Ugandans.

A case study of two Indian entrepreneurs of Ugandan origin, is a good lesson to not only youths of Uganda but the entire business community.

Mr. Alykhan Karmali,the top boss of Mukwano group of companies took over the mantle from his father Mr. Amirali Karmali who was born in Bukandula in 1930, and up to now Mukwano group is still a huge enterprise diversifying in agriculture,industry,real estate and among others where they are employing many Ugandans directly and indirectly with contracts of 45,000 out growers in Masindi.

Another most important business magnet of Indian origin who has withstood all storms including selling his bank (Crane Bank) without his consent is Mr.Sudhir Ruparelia.He is the Chairman and majority shareholder in Ruperelia Group with conglomerate in Insurance,real estate,broadcasting,floriculture hotels, among others.

This man from Kasese who grew up from Jinja has managed to train his brilliant and aggressive son to be in charge of running his empire at an early age where by in case he is no longer alive, the son is able to add on what his father is to left behind.

Rajiv Ruparelia has already shown signs that he is better than his father if you look at the permanent modern buildings which are enjoying Kampala skyline. Some of the buildings include Bouleverd,Market plaza to mention but a few, on top of running the biggest flower companies; Rosebud Limited and Premier Roses which employs 5000 youths.

In total, Rajiv pays a monthly wage bill of Ush 3billions for all employees in his companies. This is a good example of a young person to emulate being groomed by his parents for proper succession of his father’s empire.

Ben Ssebuguzi
Team Leader Youth Power Research Uganda.
Secretary General Uganda Poor Youth Movement.

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Age Limit Ruling: Second judge quashes extension of MPs term of office

By
George Mangula
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Lady Justice Rebecca Musoke

A second judge, Lady Justice Rebecca Musoke, has also said it was illegal for members of parliament (MPs) to extend their term of office from five years to seven years.

Parliament in December passed the age limit bill and among other things it amended was its tenure of MPs in the 10th parliament and that of local councils from seven years.

However, according to Justice Musoke, who is one of the judges delivering a ruling today on the constitutional amendments in Mbale High Court, it was wrong for Members of Parliament to extend the tenure for more two years without consulting their voters.

“I therefore find section 2 and 6 of extending time of parliament and local government was inconsistent with the constitution,” she said.

She said that the article in regards extending the term of parliament is entrenched and ought to have been amended through a referendum.

“Tenets of rule of law include people deciding how they should be governed.”

Earlier, another judge, Cheborion Barishaki had also ruled against the decision to extend the tenure of parliament even as he okayed the remove of age limit clause which paves the way for president Museveni and others in the future to run for office as long as they want.

“It amounted to an attempt by parliament to override the power of the people and the same was null and void.

The judge said the act of extending parliament’s tenure from five to seven years was selfish and goes against principal of good governance.

Scores of petitioners sued the Attorney General including lawyer Male Mabirizi.

The Deputy Attorney General Mwesigye Rukutana is leading the government team in defending the state actors while scores of lawyers including Wandera Ogalo, Erias Lukwago and others represented the different petitioners.

A bench of judges are in Mbale High Court to deliver their judgement on the Constitutional Amendment Bill that removed presidential age limit as well. The Five justices of the Constitutional court led by Deputy Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny-Dollo, Kenneth Kakuru, Cheborion Barishaki, Elizabeth Musoke and Remy Kasule.

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Justice Barishaki Chebrion nullifies elevation of MPs tenure in office

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Justice Barishaki Chebrion

Justice Barishaki Chebrion of the one of the five Judges in age limit cases has nullified the elevation of MPs tenure in office from five to seven years saying lifting MPs term in office violated article 77 of the constitution.

In his ruling, Justice Chebrion said the extension of the term of Parliament from five to seven years is null and void, “Extension was selfish and goes against the principle of good governance,”

“Electorate voted MPs for five years in office, hoping to access them, they had to convinced and given time to decide about the details private member’s bill,” he said in his ruling.

He however endorsed the recently enacted age limit act saying it has both minimum and maximum restrictions on age requirement for people standing for t political offices.

Delivering his judgement, Justice Chebrion said the amendment providing for lifting of the age limit did not breach any provisions of the constitution agitating that parliament followed due constitutional process.

He disregarded all argument that were filed by the petitioners that, amendment of presidential age limits violated people’s sovereignty, “There was a bill, there was debate, and there was consultation,” he added.

“In enacting Articles 3 and 7 of the amendment act, parliament acted legally and I hold that the two articles are constitutional, reintroduction of Presidential term limits into the constitution is good and should be entrenched,” he ruled.

He ruled that MP Raphael Magyezi’s Bill did not violate article 93 of the Constitution on Certificate of Financial Implications, and the Public Finance Management Act.

he ruled that, basing on cross examination, permanent secretary for ministry of finance Keith Muhakanizi revealed the two certificate of Financial Implications the were obtained by Igara East MP Raphael Magyezi and Bukooli County North MP Gaster Mugoya did not cause negative impact on national treasury nor private fund.

On suspension of MPs from parliament, justice Chebrion ruled that the speaker acted within her mandate to suspend the disruptive MPs, without suspending them, internal control of the assembly would be impotent.

“Though the Speaker was not to blame for ordering eviction of MPs from parliament, the intervening officers of special forces command (SFC) used excessive force and acted in inhuman and unwarranted manner.

In December last year Parliament passed age limit bill lifting presidential age limit that was capped at 75 years, giving a leeway for President Yoweri Museveni who is currently 73 years to stand for presidency in 2021 and on the same day they also voted to extend their term in office from five to seven years.

Due to dissatisfaction with what transpired in Parliament, six opposition legislators led by Winnie Kiiza, Uganda Law Society, and Male Mabirizi among other concerned citizens petitioned the Constitutional Court challenging the ‘Age Limit Act’.

They argued that the process of enacting the bill was marred with violence, assault of legislators, storming of Special Forces Command (SFC) in Parliamentary chambers and violations of human rights which among others contradicts with Parliamentary rules and procedures.

The five judges Deputy Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, Remmy Kasule, Elizabeth Musoke, Chebrion Barishaki and Kenneth Kakuru.

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Jinja to host the Uganda urban expo and symposium

By
Our Reporter
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Jinja Municipality Mayor, Majid Batambuze, addressing the media at Media Center about the forthcoming Urban Towns Expo and Symposium

By Maria Nassiwa

Kampala: As Uganda is looking forward to urban development and city civilization, the first ever Uganda urban expo is going to be held in Jinja from 5-9 September 2018 at the civil service college Jinja.

The official launch of this event is slated for Friday 3 August 2018 at Hotel Africana starting at 4:00pm
This urban expo and symposium has been organized by Uganda urban expo limited in collaboration with Jinja municipal council and the ministry of lands housing and urban development.

According to the mayor of Jinja, Mr Majid Batambuze this expo is basically to promote the role of secondary cities and to ensure sustainable, resilient and smart urban areas.

“We are focusing on developing secondary cities building sustainable, resilient, livable and smart cities in Uganda,” said Batambuze in a press conference held at Uganda media center.

The theme of the urban expo is “unveiling the hidden business and investment potential of secondary cities and their role in economic development.”

Various stake holders ranging from policy makers, urban local authorities, national, regional and international companies, interested cities all over the world are expected to attend as they exhibit solution to urban challenges.

This urban expo is purposely organized to provide a platform for the discussion and promotion of the role of secondary cities in equitable economic growth, provide information about hidden investments and reveal business opportunities abound in the secondary cities,

The event is also supported by various bodies like united nations capital development fund, world bank, slum dwellers international and the ministry of lands housing and urban development that has accepted to nurture this idea.

The Uganda Urban Expo and Symposium is an opportunity for government to come up with practical solutions to address the challenges of limited resources for urban development.

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Disagreements in South Sudan transitional gov’t as opposition slams government

By
George Mangula
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South Sudan President Salva Kiir

The South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) has issued a statement protesting a government decision to establish 32 states instead of 10 that existed prior 2015.

“We would like to reiterate here that the 32 States were imposed in contravention of Articles 1.6, 15.2 and 15.3 of Chapter I of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) which the mediators are revitalizing. It defies logic to insist on an illegality while trying to work out another agreement. What better chance will it get, especially that the region is bent on maintaining the status quo?”

They say that Juba would like to revisit the draft agreement on the number of states and representation of the Parties at the State and Local levels of government. “Juba would want to maintain its illegal 32 States and would not like to have SSOA and other Opposition groups represented at sub-national levels of government,” they say.

This comes after parties to the negotiations were on July 18, 2018 served with a final draft agreement on Governance to be initialed last Thursday in a ceremony but the South Sudanese government opted out.

Yet that Thursday the delegation of the regime in Juba communicated to the mediators in writing that it was not prepared to sign the document that day. On the other hand everything was set for the initialing ceremony.

SSOA members say that about 5:15 pm, the waiting delegations were surprised to know that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sudan Ibrahim Ahmed Abdelaziz Ghandour who is the Chief Mediator was holding a hurried press conference in another hall nearby in which he told the media that he had just received a letter from the Juba delegation stating that “they would want to be part of the process” and accordingly, he said he had decided to postpone the initialing ceremony. The delegations dispersed without direct communication from the Minister or his staff.

Members of SSOA are not happy that Juba would like to revisit the draft agreement on the number of states and representation of the Parties at the State and Local levels of government. “Juba would want to maintain its illegal 32 States and would not like to have SSOA and other Opposition groups represented at sub-national levels of government,” they say.

SPLM Leaders (FPD) disagreement

The group also has cried of the unfairness in power sharing amongst worrying parties.

“We note that there serious lack of consistency in allocating power-sharing ratios at all levels of governance that appear not to have any foundation or justification,” FPD says stating further that they are in favour of maintaining the original 10 states instead of 32 as created by the government of Salva Kiir.

FPF says that the idea of holding a referendum within five months before the end of the Pre-Transitional Period is a ploy to entrench the 32 States, as it is not feasible to conduct a meaningful referendum within this time frame.

“During this period of time only the current TGoNU that will be in charge of conducting the referendum including all matters related to it such as matters not amenable to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ options. How can a referendum be conducted in a situation when it is one Party to the conflict that will be in power and controls the state including security, registration, producing of voting materials?” the faction says.

The group is fearful that there will be no conducive atmosphere and sufficient political space for other political parties to campaign and propagate their view on the pros and cons of the 32-state arrangement, among others.

Agreement on some of the outstanding issues
Under the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011, as amended it was agreed that President Salva Kiir Mayardit continues as President of the Republic of South Sudan, while The Chairman of SPLM/A-IO Dr Riek Machar Teny is to assume the position of the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan.

The two leaders would to be assisted by five presidents for: Governance Cluster, Economic Cluster, Services Delivery Cluster, Infrastructure Cluster and Gender and Youth Cluster. There would also be 35 ministers for the above five clusters.

The partners to the agreement would also share different government positions at all levels, including representation in local governments and legislature.

The agreement that is now being contested was reached at by parties comprising of Transitional Government of National Unity of the Republic of South Sudan (TGoNU), the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), Former Detainees (FDs), Other Political Parties (OPP).

However, the two groups say they remain committed to constructively engage in the process with the mediation and with other parties in order to achieve just and sustainable peace for the people of South Sudan.

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Release funds for recruitment of Judges of High Court- Justice Benjamin Kabiito

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Symbol of Justice

Kampala: The chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Justice Benjamin Kabiito, has implored government to release resources for recruitment of 30 judges of the High Court.

Justice Kabiito said that since Parliament approved the High Court structure of judges to 82 from 50, the same approval will not be meaningful if it’s not implemented.

He remarked during the Second Stakeholders Forum in Kampala where the first JSC Strategic Plan was unveiled as well as the Annual Report for the Commission.

“We have 30 vacancies in the High Court following the Parliament approval of the structure of 82 judges and also the recent passing of Justice Jessica Naiga Ayebazibwe,” said Justice Kabiito.

“We have suitable candidates to fill up these 30 vacancies in our data bank. If government says they can fund their operation, even tomorrow we can give them new judges of High integrity,” he said

Justice Kabiito a revealed that the Commission is currently recruiting a substantive Chief Registrar of the Judiciary following the elevation of Justice Gadenya Paul Wolimbwa as High Court judge recently. He also said JSC is concluding the recruitment of six Magistrates Grade One.

At the same stakeholders meeting, the Luwero Chief Magistrate, Samuel Munobe, warned lower judicial officers are soon laying down their tools for being discriminated against by government that is planning to give each MP an armored car and UPDF sharp shooters to guard them and yet for them they have none.

“If you enhance security and terms of service for the other known arm of government (Parliament) because one incident happened and you come out very fast and address it urgently, this shows there an obvious vote of no confidence in our arm (Judiciary).” Magistrate Munobe lamented.

Similarly, Justice Flavia Senoga Anglin, who was representing the Principal Judge, shared an experience of how some unknown people parked at her gate in Jinja and said: “she stays here”, something that made her feel insecure

“We now fear to even take evening walks because some people who will point at us so we need to be provided with security. How do you expect us to work when we are such fear?” said Justice Senoga.

She further said the Lower Bench judicial officers don’t have body guards and police guards at their respective places of abode yet they handle sensitive cases that sometimes put their lives at risk.

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Book Review: Hamis Kiggundu on success and the need to have a sense of purpose

By
Our Reporter
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The Book Cover

Hamis Kiggundu is a well-known businessman who not only trades in Uganda as Ham Enterprises Ltd, but also as Ham International UK Ltd in the UK, Ham International Ltd in the US and Skylight Investments in South Africa.

He is a 34-year-old billionaire who directly employs more than 1,200 people. He had his primary, secondary, and university education in Uganda and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law at Makerere University. He is commonly known as Ham.

In this book, Ham says he’s purely a businessman and doesn’t often write books. But he did write this one due to the prevailing circumstances of many friends approaching him on how he managed to make it today.

The book doesn’t go so much into his businesses and lifestyle, but mainly for education and business purposes. He hopes it positively changes people’s way of thinking and have a great contribution to the development of Uganda.

With the help of his local and international business experience, he basically highlights and explains the areas that may help the reader widen his knowledge on how to manage a business.

He wrote the book in only six days without doing any research at all because it was his intention to pass on his unbiased personal opinion to the readers from a realistic and reasonable perspective. So the book is purely based on his personal realistic opinions.

“This is a reasonable and realistic assessment and critical analysis of things the way I see them before me from a personal opinion. They may not be facts to you. It is merely a personal opinion which may be a fact or not depending on your interpretation, how you look at things and your reasoning capacity.”

We learn that Ham started with some reasonable capital from his parents to start trading in commodities and merchandise from first hand importers abroad and sold them at a profit, grew his own capital, upgraded to real estate and now owns various commercial properties.

He says success is generally a gradual process just like life when growing up. When a child is born, they start by crawling, to walking and then run. If you try to run before walking you will fail. It takes gradual steps to achieve success and where you want to be.

Through the book, he highlights that Uganda has good fertile soil, favourable climate and a large young energetic population which mainly depend on imports with limited exports. He encourages most Ugandans to move to agriculture and put collective effort towards the national budget.

He intends to help those involved by creating the demand for their produce by adding value and marketing the end product domestically, regionally and internationally.

He also talks about widening the tax base to 21 million, almost half of Uganda’s population to help the country develop economically.

“Before you blame anyone for the failure to develop your country, first ask yourself how much tax contribution you make to your country’s national budget. Every adult should have a tax identification number (TIN). We don’t need to increase taxes, we just need to make Ugandans productive and widen the tax base.”

In his book, he also explains about belief, risk, challenges, consistency and patience among the factors for anyone to have a successful business. Believing in yourself to achieve success is one of the first steps to being successful.

“If one wants to be successful then they have to believe in success first.”

Ham’s positive thinking is one of the things that stands out throughout the book. He shares his knowledge to create positive results in our lives. This business book will give you the foundation for creating success-driving habits.
The book also teaches you how to shift your focus to managing how you think rather than spending time managing what you think.

He emphasizes how starting a business with limited capital forces you to think creatively and use your limited resources efficiently. It forces you to be more innovative and become successful.

Overall, the book is a must-read if you’re looking forward to building a business and guide your own path to professional and financial success. It’s not about getting rich but living life on your own terms. It naturally captures the best business advice, productivity tips and life lessons (Parents, Children and Success chapter).

“Man is successfully born with nothing but life. In life, we all desire to have a good life to become successful men and women. Success starts with you as a person and requires you to have a reasonable thinking capacity, plan and strategy. Man shall feed off his sweat.”

In conclusion, it is generally a great book for anyone looking to start and grow a business, develop their careers, build and improve their entrepreneurial skills and become more effective with life and work.

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RwandAir Bankrupting Rwanda

By
Guest Writer
-

By David Himbara

Open Letter To Presidents Yoweri Museveni And John Magufuli

Excellencies:

It is widely reported that you want to establish and expand your national airlines. Apparently, Uganda is set to relaunch Uganda Airlines in November 2018 which ceased to operate in 2001.


My unsolicited advice to you is that you should seriously consider other options before you invest heavily in a national airline. Building a successful airline is easier said than done.

On paper, RwandAir looks impressive
Excellencies:
It may be tempting to follow Rwanda’s example of building what appears to be a successful airline. Indeed, RwandAir looks impressive from a distance.

RwandAir began operations in 2002 as the new national carrier under the name Rwandair Express. In 2009, the airline’s name was changed to RwandAir. Its fleet currently comprises:
• Two Airbus A330
• Four Boeing 737–800
• Two Boeing 737–700
• Two CRJ900
• Two Bombardier Q-400

The airline has considerably expanded its operations. RwandAir serves twenty-two cities in western, central, eastern and southern Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The airline has also applied for landing rights in the United States at JFK International Airport, New York.

By 2016, RwandAir’s total assets stood at US $238 Million. RwandAir’s fleet, operations across 22 destinations, and total assets all seem impressive. But unfortunately there is a devastatingly gloomy side to RwandAir.

But RwandAir has a gloomy side
Excellencies, a closer look at RwandAir’s state of affairs shows us the real situation. RwandAir’s financial statements from 2013 to 2016 reveal how the airline is bankrupting Rwanda. The circumstances of RwandAir may be summed as follows:

• Total assets — US$238 Million by 2016;
• Accumulated losses between 2013 and 2016 — US $222 Million;
• Accumulated grants from the government between 2013 and 2016 — US $192 Million;
• Accumulated government loans — US $238 Million;
• Accumulated loans from outside government sources — US$100.6 Million.

Let us look more closely at RwandAir’s realities from 2013 to 2016.
• In 2013, RwandAir made a loss of US $48.2 Million. The government stepped in with a grant of US $54 Million.
• RwandAir acquired loans amounting to US$88.7 Million in 2013, and US $148.8 Million in 2014.

• In 2015, RwandAir made a loss of US$53.4 Million. The government had to pump into the money-losing airline US $56.2 Million.

In addition, RwandAir acquired loans amounting to US$88.7 Million in 2013, and US$148.8 Million in 2014.

• In 2016, RwandAir made a loss of US $54.8 Million. The government pumped in US $53.8 Million.

RwandAir is bankrupting Rwanda

The overall picture of RwandAir is ugly. By 2016, RwandAir had accumulated US $222 Million in losses.
The government pumped in US $192 Million in grants. Additionally, the government gave the airline US $238 Million in loans, while loans from outside government were US $100 Million.

This means that Rwanda government kept RwandAir afloat with US $430 Million in loans and grants between 2013 and 2016. When the US $100 Million external loan is added, US $530 Million was pumped into RwandAir between 2013 and 2016.Remember that Rwanda is a small economy with a GDP of US $8.3 Billion and a per capita income of US $702.

Presidents Museveni and Magufuli, do you really want to travel this route?
Excellencies, your countries are well-served by major global airlines. International and regional airlines connect the two countries to key destinations.

What is it that national airlines will perform — which other airlines cannot do? Or is this about a desire for creating a prestigious symbol to project Uganda and Tanzania, internationally? Be that as it may, your Excellencies, do not fall into RwandAir’s trap.

The airline is a disastrous experiment — it is no model for any country with a clear vision and people-centered priorities.

David Himbara
Educator, Author professor of International Development based in Toronto Canada CA.

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