Ministers and senior officials from the 53 Commonwealth nations met yesterday at Lancaster House in London ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) today, and discussed how member states could work even closer together on sustainability, fairness, security and prosperity.

Among the topics were how member states could collaborate to tackle the existential threat of climate change and the adoption of the Commonwealth Blue Charter on ocean governance.

The meeting came ahead of Thursday’s CHOGM that Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni is attending and addressing the ministers, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: “It is really exciting because every foreign minister around that table said they were wholly supportive of the Blue Charter and they intended to recommend it the heads. The Secretariat, with all our member states, has worked really hard to present it as a solution to some of the challenges we face. It’s a proud moment for all our 53 countries and it is a proud moment for the Secretariat. We’ve got our fingers crossed that when our leaders see this, they will celebrate with us.”

Ministers were also shown the new Innovation Hub, which was launched on Monday, and the toolkits aimed at sharing best practice around the Commonwealth.

Ministers’ views on all the topics which were discussed will now feed into the main CHOGM conference, the theme of which is ‘Towards a Common Future’.

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Makerere University has bowed to students demands and shelved the proposal to increase tuition for some undergraduate programmes. This followed a two-day sustained strike that had the police intervene with teargas.

The university took the decision Wednesday during a meeting that had in attendance the Vice Chancellor Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, student leaders, Kampala East Regional Police Commander Wesley Nganizi and other staff.

Under the proposed tuition fees structure for the academic year 2018/2019 that starts in August, the University Council had hiked tuition fees for postgraduate and some undergraduate programmes.

The university council, before the students’ strike, had proposed that Post-graduate diploma and master’s degree students pay a minimum of sh5m per year while doctoral students were expected to pay sh7m for any given programme.

It said, over the past years, post-graduate students at the university have been paying fees ranging between sh1.7m (for a postgraduate diploma in education) to sh5.7m per year.

The other issue of contention is that the students are against the university’s offer Shs450 per day as food allowance and want the university to continue serving them food at their halls of residence.

The suggestion to scrap off evening programmes did not also go well with students and the general public who accused the university’s administrators of trying to deny Ugandans chance to study, especially the working class.

“This is to inform you that following consultations with the chairperson of Makerere University Council, it has been agreed that the new fees for selected programmes in the College of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Bio Security and College of Humanities and Social Sciences be suspended until consultations are made with the students guild for their input,” reads part of the letter signed by Prof. Nawangwe.

Addressing fellow students at the university, Papa Salim Were, the guild president, urged them to suspend the strike, saying that the administrators had addressed most of the issues made them to opt for what he called a ‘peaceful strike’.

“We have come up with a committee which is going to discuss with the administrators and revise all the policies which were suggested,” Were said. “All the students who were arrested were released, but we are not happy with the police. They mishandled us, yet we were peaceful,” he said.

This the first major strike since Prof. Nawangwe assumed office as VC.

While giving his inauguration speech on September 14, 2017, Prof. Nawangwe promised so many reforms. Under Academic reforms, Prof. Nawangwe said, they would restructure all courses and programmes to make them more practical and relevant to the needs of society, operationalize e-learning and distance education and aggressively move towards increasing the proportion of graduate students.

“We will gradually manage undergraduate student numbers and aggressively increase the graduate student numbers to enhance research capacity and output leading to increased innovation,” he said.

Analysts now say the fees increments goes against such reforms especially it would bring down the number of post-graduate students, he had suggested to increase.

In November 2016, President Yoweri Museveni, who is the Visitor of the university appointed the Visitation Committee led by the late Dr. Abel Rwendeire, to visit, study, make a situational analysis on causes of endemic strikes, assess progress on the implementation of previous reports, conduct an appraisal of the integrity of finance management and establish the student and staff numbers.

The Committee would then adopt an integrated approach to address the task including among others; desk reviews of relevant documentation, stakeholder interface, financial and other relevant audits, benchmarking and dialogue with the public.

Having established the issues, the committee presented a report to Museveni, saying it was  designed to enable Uganda’s higher education subsector in general and Makerere University in particular to address the developmental challenges of this country, the region and Africa.

However, the effective and efficient implementation of these recommendations, they said would require collective effort from Government, Makerere University and other stakeholders including students.

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Police has arrested a man responsible for a series of offensive Facebook posts about Itesots and Japhadola in Tororo district that fuel up tribal sentiments on a daily.
Following a report of a series of offensive online posts relating to the two rival tribes from a Facebook page alleged to be belonging to 100.2 East FM Midundo Zaidi an investigation was sanctioned by Uganda Communication Commission.

According to Kampala Metropolitan Police, after a few months, police traced the Facebook page to having been created and managed by a 31 years old Andrew Ofumbe a former employee of the same radio station.

He had created a parody account with similar features as that of the prominent radio station which was used to spread divergent views and ignite hatred between the two different tribal groups in Tororo District.
“We have arrested him and charged him of offensive communication under the Communications Act. He has since been taken to Tororo Police Station where he shall then be arraigned before courts of law.” A police statement reads.

“We hope that the arrest of this individual sends a clear message that police will not tolerate any form of activity which could incite hatred and provoke offensive comments on social media.”

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A contingent of Ugandan soldiers has been feted by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for distinguished service, at a medal awards ceremony held in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.
The soldiers, who have completed their tour of duty, are part of battle group 21 of the Uganda People’s Defence Force who were tasked with securing Mogadishu and neighbouring regions.
The AMISOM Deputy Force Commander in charge of Support and Logistics, Maj. Gen. Salvator Harushimana, while commending the outgoing troops, reiterated the commitment of the African Union towards ensuring a safer and stable Somalia. He lauded he troops for performing their duties with diligence. “During their stay, they performed their duties with dedication and a high level of professionalism. They did not only represent Uganda well but also made the African Continent proud,” Maj. Gen. Harushimana noted.
The Deputy Force Commander said the battle group participated in many operations, ranging from conducting combat operations against the Al-Shabaab to securing the Main Supply Routes, by conducting regular patrols and escorting vehicles carrying humanitarian relief aid.
Uganda’s Deputy Ambassador to Somalia, Maj. General Nathan Mugisha, who was the chief guest at the medal awards ceremony, called for more investment in social amenities critical for the survival of the populations to help supplement efforts being made by the military to stabilize the country.
Maj. Gen. Mugisha also noted that there is need to enhance governance, justice and rule of law and humanitarian support in liberated areas to enable residents lead a normal life.
He commended the Somali National Army for remaining resolute in face of multiple challenges and urged the international community to aid the force in its efforts to secure the country.
“I would like to thank our friendly forces, with whom we have been fighting here trying to bring peace to Somalia; the many contingents. But also the Somali National Army with whom we have really struggled, given the fact that they are less provided, given the fact that they have so many challenges; we thank them and we encourage them to maintain the spirit,” Maj. Gen. Mugisha stated.
The Contingent Commander of the Ugandan troops, Brig. General Paul Lokech, applauded the outgoing troops for their selfless service commitment to secure the Horn of Africa country.
Said Brig. Gen. Lokech; “You have shown the international world that Africa can make it possible. When we were coming here in 2007, we were told by the Western media that this mission would fail on arrival; but today, its 10 years and we still moving forward, carrying the flag of the African mission, and carrying the flag of Uganda.”
Brig. Lokech also paid tribute to fallen soldiers who lost their lives in the quest for peace in Somalia saying they will forever be remembered for their bravery. “To all our comrades who died in combat, they died for a purpose and we shall never, ever forget them,” he said.
In his remarks, the battle group commander, Col. Chris Ogwal, commended his troops and their counterparts from the Somali National Army for their diligence and commitment to service.
Col Ogwal appealed for more investment in quick impact projects, noting that the lack of basic health services presents the biggest challenge to improving living standards of the Somali population.
“I want to thank the Somali people, especially the people we interacted with, the civilian leadership in the areas where we were working; local leaders, the police and the military personnel. In this area, I really want to give thanks to Afgoye police and the police in Lafoole,” Col Chris Ogwal stated, adding that the officers in the two police stations had been very cooperative and were always available to help in times of need.

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As crises multiply around the world, uprooting millions of people within the borders of their country, a group of states, UN agencies and partners have renewed their commitment to working collaboratively to reduce and resolve internal displacement.

At a meeting in Geneva on April 17, they launched a three-year plan of Action for Advancing Prevention, Protection and Solutions for Internally Displaced People (2018-2020). The meeting marked the 20th anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement – widely accepted as being the global standard for protecting and assisting internally displaced people (IDPs).

Internal displacement has been recognized as an issue of global concern since the early 1990s, but momentum to address it has been insufficient, despite all efforts. Meanwhile, the number of IDPs has been rising.

“Bold and ambitious steps are needed to face this complex human rights, humanitarian and development challenge. The Plan of Action seeks to galvanize a strategic dialogue, concerted action and adequate resources to address the plight of the internally displaced, while engaging them in the decisions that affect them,” said the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, Cecilia Jimenez-Damary.

At the end of 2016, over 40 million people were displaced inside their own countries by armed conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations – more than four times the population of London or New York City. In 2016, disasters caused an additional 24 million internal displacements. Every year, an estimated 15 million people are also displaced by development projects. Millions of other displacements are not systematically recorded, including from land grabs, criminal violence or drought.

“Addressing the protection needs of the forcibly displaced and seeking solutions to their plight contribute to greater stability for countries and whole regions,” noted UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi. “Similar to refugees, the internally displaced often face great uncertainty. They can be uprooted more than once as they seek opportunities to restart their lives, and risk being marginalized in the societies where they live. The consequences of our failure to resolve internal displacement can be devastating.”

“The international community has pledged to leave no one behind. That promise must extend to the millions of people internally displaced by armed conflict, violence and disasters. We will continue to work with affected governments and the displaced people themselves to ensure that their needs are addressed,” said Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

Drafted under the leadership of the Special Rapporteur, UNHCR and UNOCHA, the multi-stakeholder Plan of Action calls on all relevant actors to step up efforts to prevent, respond to and resolve internal displacement.

To this end, it proposes concrete activities to facilitate and strengthen the participation of internally displaced people in the decisions that concern them, and expand national laws and policies on internal displacement. It recommends as well actions to improve data collection and analysis on displacement situations globally and scale up engagement on solutions for the internally displaced.

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Ugandan Members of Parliament led by Kilak North Member of Parliament (MP), Anthony Akol, have urged the World Bank to consider developing post-conflict reconstruction strategies that could help change lives of people affected by war throughout the world.

Speaking at the 2018 Global Parliamentary Conference at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington DC Tuesday, Akol said that the Bank has been fundamental in helping countries to end wars and insurgencies but that it has always neglected the element of post-war reconstruction.

“The World Bank intervenes in conflict areas but once peace is restored, they quickly halt all their operations without considering any plan of post conflict reconstruction for displaced people,” he said.

Akol said the World Bank should help poor communities in northern Uganda, South Sudan, Myanmar and Central African Republic, which have high poverty levels because they were affected by wars. “The citizens of these countries need support  to enable them attain a better life,” he said.

Dr. Jim Yong Kim, the President of the World Bank Group welcomed MP Akol’s idea and promised that the notion of post war reconstruction was going to be adopted immediately.

Elijah Okupa (Kasilo County), and also the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank & IMF, welcomed the move to adopt the idea of post war reconstruction and assured all members that Uganda was ready to take it up.

“I am happy that the Bank has conceived this as a very important issue and soon we shall be transforming many people in northern Uganda,” he said.
MP Nandala-Mafabi (Budadiri West) called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to consider giving African countries better terms of trade.

He also noted that European countries access African raw materials cheaply and sell finished products to Africa at very high prices, hence exploitation of Africans.

At the Conference, panel sessions dealt with the issues of maximizing finance and development role of the private sector, conflict and violence, good governance and the role of legislators.

The Conference represents a unique assembly of national legislators and development institutions dedicated to addressing crucial questions in international development finance, including economic stability, achieving the sustainable development goals and pushing international development initiatives to new heights of awareness and potential.

This annual meeting on the international development calendar is the only parliamentary conference where nearly 200 legislators from around the world directly engage with World Bank Group President and IMF Managing Director Madame Christine Lagarde.

Uganda’s delegation is comprised of among other MPs John Baptist Nambeshe, Mbabazi Kyomuhendo, Pamela Kamugo and Mwine Mpaka.

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