Jumia Travel, journalists enjoy trip to beautiful Ssese islands

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September 30, 2017

Journalist enjoy a moment during their trip to Ssese for World Tourism Day — Journalists enjoy a moment during their trip to Ssese for World Tourism Day

Jumia Travel Uganda celebrated World Tourism Day in style as it hosted journalists to a media trip on Ssese Islands in Kalangala District, the official destination for the national celebrations where all stakeholders in the tourism sector came together to commemorate the day on September 27.

The event that was attended by a big number of local and foreign dignitaries was officiated by the Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, who called for sustainable utilization of natural resources for tourism development.

The trip to Ssese started from Kampala through Masaka where the team took a ferry-MV Kalangala that sails between Bukakata and Bugoma ports of Africa’s largest lake-Lake Victoria. After an hour’s drive from Bugoma to Kalangala District the team stopped off briefly at the celebrations where they proceeded for a delicious meal at Brovad Sands Lodge.

The focus was to create more awareness on key travel destinations in Uganda and unlock its tourism potential thus contributing to national development. The national hashtag was #TulambuleSseIsland with Jumia Travel’s being #JumiaTourismDay.

Some of the journalists who had not crossed any section Lake Victoria before were excited as they took selfies of themselves while on MV-Kalangala and on the shores of the lake that is shared between Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

“This trip is a reminder to me that Ugandans need to tour their own country. I have not been to such a beautiful quiet place,” said one journalist, who promised to write about Uganda’s tourism destinations.

Jumia Travel Uganda was excited to be part of these celebrations and continues to be a big part of the Tourism sector. Country Manager Timothy Mugume says, “Domestic Tourism is a big resource for revenue and a big contributor to the GDP. We should tour our lovely country and while at it discover more ways of how we can add value and get value”.

The colourful celebrations characterised entertainment from various local groups who kept guests wanting more.

The author is the PR Manager of Jumia Travel in Uganda

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Ways companies of any size can achieve record growth in today’s turbulent markets

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Guest Writer

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September 30, 2017

By Martin Zwilling

Growth has always been fundamental to business success, but it’s never been more critical than it is now, nor more difficult. Every opportunity is global, but so is the competition.

Evolving customer expectations and technology are the norm, forcing every company, from startups to large enterprises, to innovate quickly, despite their fear of change, uncertainty, and doubt.

As a long-time business advisor, I believe the mantra that every owner needs to live by today is to disrupt their own business before someone else does it for them.

You must capitalize on the uncertainties in your market, rather than letting the unknowns slow you down. You need the commitment of every team member to respond quickly and effectively to emerging opportunities.

I found these points made well in a new book, “Fearless Growth,” by Amanda Setili, who has worked with disruptive technology startups in the United States and Malaysia, as well as some of the biggest companies in the world.

She offers seven imperatives, which I espouse, for companies of any size to achieve record growth, and I paraphrase them here:

Embrace uncertainty and risk, rather than repeatability.

Traditionally, businesses have yearned for consistency, as a lever tor productivity and cutting costs.

Today the market and competitive landscape are changing so fast that the best lever to growth is the ability to anticipate and adapt to change, to beat competitors and excite customers.

Get in sync with customers by frequent customer interaction.

Seek direct customer feedback, via social media and personal interactions, rather than old market research. Products and services must be updated continuously; not one major annual upgrade.

Enable customers to customize your offerings, and learn from the choices they make.

Continually look outside for talent, data, and technology.

In the past, companies avoided sharing knowledge or technology, preferring stealth mode and relying on internal expertise to stay safe.

We now see that leveraging the ideas and capabilities outside your organization will grow opportunities and reduce risk faster, rather than increasing risk.

Connect and strengthen your customer ecosystem.

Modern growth companies, such as Salesforce.com, have found great leverage value in hosting events to have their customers learn from each other, as well as from channel partners and complementary application providers. Attempts to control communication only slow down progress.

Create cross-functional teams to attack opportunities.

These open the floodgates of employee creativity. The best growth companies enable employees to choose their own job, and grant them the leeway to get the work done.

They connect employees across organizational silos, and establish fast feedback loops to facilitate learning and change.

Pursue growth opportunities outside your comfort zone.

Instead of limiting your scope to current in-house capabilities, set clear objectives of acquiring new talent and skills each period, and make learning new skills a prime objective for every employee.

This facilitates change and makes new opportunities attractive rather than frightening.

Recognize the impact of trust on efficiency and speed.

Take deliberate action to build trust, and be a personal role model. Encourage and expect healthy conflict, debate, and dissent. The result is better decisions, more consensus, and accelerated business growth.

Trust is heightened by showing appreciation regularly for individual contributions.

The objective of these imperatives is to help you stimulate continuous and fearless growth, even in turbulent markets, by staying more competitive, fostering innovation, and dominating your space.

The time to start is now, if you didn’t start yesterday. Set and communicate clear priorities for your implementation, and don’t let “the way things have always been done” stand in your way.

The author is Founder and CEO, Startup Professionals

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TASO accuses false prophets for misleading HIV patients

By

George Mangula

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September 30, 2017

Dr Benard Etukoit-TASO Executive Director — Dr Bernard Etukoit-TASO Executive Director

The fight against HIV/AIDS in the country is facing challenges from very ambiguous quarters, with The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) accusing local pastors of misleading some of the HIV+ people into falsely believing that they are cured of the disease.

TASO, whose patron is Uganda’s First Lady Janet Kataha Museveni, is a national NGO that supports people living with HIV/AIDS through counseling and provision of ARVs among other services.

“There…an influx of false prophets across our centres that have misled our clients into believing that they are cured. This has contributed to poor adherence, said Enid Mbabazi Baryamwisaki, a member of the TASO Board of Trustees (BOT).

Patrick Byamugisha, another member on the BOT, said the pastors who flock their centres to mislead clients to stop taking ARVs.

The two TASO officials made the revelations during the 26^th Annual General Meeting held yesterday in Kampala and urged government to put in place regulations to deal with such false prophets who claim to have healing powers for HIV/AIDS.

Ms. Baryamwisaki and Mr. Byamugisha also revealed that some adolescents have failed to suppress their viral load despite the timely provision of the ARVs to them. “In the last Expert Client Representative Planning meeting, members suggested that there should be a study conducted to find out best interventions for the issue,” they said.

Medical people define viral load as the amount of HIV per millilitre of blood. When not on treatment, viral load can range from undetectable to several millions, putting the life of a person in danger.

Further, the two called for special psychosocial support initiatives to address the issue.

Dr. Bernard Michael Etukoit, the TASO Executive Director, said the organisation’s dependence on donor funds is a big challenge that needs to be addressed. “TASO is donor funded with a donor dependency ratio of 95 percent. This therefore has impact on sustainability of programs implemented in case funding ceases,” Dr. Etukoit said adding that responding to emerging needs beyond the available funds is a problem.

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Odonga Otto withdraws from Kadaga cases, demands Shs24m

By

Francisco Adongo

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September 29, 2017

Fiery Aruu County MP Samuel Odonga Otto and all lawyers attached to his law chambers have withdrawn from representing the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga in all the cases the legislator’s firm has been handling.

In a communication today, Ms Odonga Otto & Company Advocates informed Ms. Kadaga that the firm had withdrawn from handling civil suits the Speaker had instituted against among others, the Red Pepper Publications/Kamunye and The Daily Monitor.

Ms Odonga Otto Advocates also asked Kadaga to pay Ushs24 million or risk being dragged to court. The development, observers say, is a result of the Speaker’s decision on Wednesday, to suspend Odonga Otto and 22 other opposition politicians from Parliament when it was set to hear a a controversial motion in respect to lifting of the presidential age limit cap of 75 years by Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi.

Earlier on Tuesday, Odonga Otto and other opposition engaged in fierce brawl in Parliament, that was occasioned by allegations that State Minister for Water Resources Ronald Kibuule had sneaked a gun into the August House.

Minister Kibuule was also suspended but this has done little to cool the embers in Parliament, with other opposition members who were not suspended boycotting sessions.

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Bobi Wine: We shall not be spectators while our country is being destroyed

By

Badru Kasadah

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September 29, 2017

Despite the beatings and subsequent incarceration, Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has said he is not scared and will continue opposing the lifting of the age limit cap from the constitutional 75 years.

Sharing his ordeal of what happened Wednesday when opposition MPs were forcefully evicted from Parliament by Special Forces after a stand-off, the singer-turned-musician said he was still in pain.

“My muscles ache, my joints feel dislocated, the pain in my neck from the strangling is unbearable, my head hurts so bad, my whole body is in terrible pain but my heart is as SOLID AS A ROCK,” reads part of his statement that he shared Friday on social media.

“Yesterday, I watched TV in amusement. In our absence from Parliament, a few ministers and MPs were trying to lecture us about parliamentary decorum, civility, good manners, and about morality. They wanted us to be look on and cheer them as they raped the Constitution! They wanted us to be gentle while some soldiers dragged elected representatives of the people out of the parliamentary chamber like grasshoppers! They wanted us to sing melodies for Kibuule and thank him for defiling the sanctity of parliament when he entered with a gun! Let me ask those people a few questions. What is civil about raping the Constitution? What is moral about selling your conscience? What decorum is there in betraying the people who stood in the sun the whole day trying to elect you to represent them?

“Well, my message to them is this; we shall not be spectators while our country is being killed, plundered and destroyed. We owe it to the present people of Uganda and the generations to come. I shall never fail ‘to do all in my power’, to defend and protect the Constitution because that is what Article 3(4) of the Constitution demands of me. I also want to remind those people that many years ago, President Museveni did not just use punches and kicks to fight what he thought was oppression. He used guns and led a war in which more than 800,000 Ugandans died.”

Kyagulanyi is among the 25 MPs that were suspended from Parliament for three sittings. Their suspension ends on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, even the other opposition MPs who were not suspended have since refused to return to Parliament in solidarity with their colleagues, some of whom are still in hospital following the brutality meted out on them by the Special Forces.

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NSSF’s investment line kick-starts US$400m Lubowa Housing Project

By

Our Reporter

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September 29, 2017

Uganda’s real estate landscape is expected to change soon as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) embarks on the construction of the US$400 million at its Lubowa estate, Wakiso district.

According to NSSF Managing Director Richard Byarugaba, the project that will have 2,740 housing units is part of the Fund’s investment portfolio that will give members competitive returns on their savings, with the project that will take 10 years to complete standing on 565 acres of land along Entebbe Road.

The NSSF says the project targets Uganda’s middle class, and is expected to partly address the country’s housing needs of 300,000 units annually.

“We can only fulfill our promise to grow members’ savings in real terms, continue to grow and become a profitable Fund by taking bold decisions like the one that we have taken today. The real estate market is still profitable and gives an opportunity to diversify our investments.” Mr. Byarugaba said.

He said that the Fund will make an initial monetary investment for the first phase, after which the project is expected to be self-financing with projection to complete the first phase in three years.

The project will have offices, retail units, school, hospital, leisure and commercial areas. It will also have police and fire stations as well as places of worship, a central park and a plantation garden park, creating a desirable environment for the residents.

Once completed, Byarugaba said, the houses will be sold on the open market to both the Fund members and the general public. Priority will be given to the members at prevailing market rates at the time of completion of the project.

Launching the project works, Matia Kasaija, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, said the estate is a landmark project which is in line with Government’s plan to provide decent housing for Ugandans.

“This is a well thought out; well-planned housing estate that meets high standards of urban planning and it ensures that Ugandans will have quality housing. Well planned housing projects such as this will contribute greatly to the transformation of our country,” Kasaija said.

The Board Chairman, Patrick Byabakama Kaberenge said that the Fund’s real estate strategy would target low cost housing for its members.

Other planned housing projects include off taker projects in and around Kampala, 5,000 housing units project at Temangalo, Wakiso, and a planned estate in Nsimbe, which the Fund recently redeemed and acquired in totality.

The Fund’s other key real estate investments include the Shs 15.5 billion shillings Mbuya Housing Project, the 3.3 billion commercial complex in Jinja, the upcoming Mbarara commercial complex, Workers House, Social Security House and Pension Towers on Lumumba Avenue.

Mr. Byarugaba said however that even though Real Estate was a viable venture, the Fund would continue to diversify its investments thereby minimizing any risks within its asset classes that can impair the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives.

Currently NSSF has Shs7.9 trillion in assets and increased its stake in Umeme to 23 percent up from 15 percent as it invested Shs59.4bn, the largest institutional investment on the Uganda Securities Exchange.

NSSF has over the years launched campaigns to attract people to save with it for the better future, the recent one was the voluntary savings scheme, helped with the addition of mobile money platform that members can use to make contributions without hustles.

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Cranes start preparations for WCQ against Ghana

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Our Reporter

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September 29, 2017

cranes at namboole — Members of the Cranes training at Namboole Stadium

The Uganda Cranes started preparations for their Group E World Cup qualifier game against Ghana that will be played on October 7 at Namboole stadium.

Twenty-three players took part in the session under the watchful eye of interim Coach Moses Basena, Mathias Lule and goalkeeping coach Fred Kajoba as they also prepare for the upcoming tour in Northern Uganda on Saturday.

The tour will be used as a baseline to test players especially the home-based ones, to decide who will make the final squad to face Ghana. The foreign based players are expected to arrive after the weekend league fixtures with their respective clubs.

The team travels today to Lira for the Northern Regional Tour at the Lango Sports Ground.

Cranes won 5-0 the last time they played in the Northern Regional Tour. It was played at Pece Stadium in Gulu district.

Meanwhile, Bennett Daniel Frazer from South Africa will be the referee in charge of the Ghana game. He will be assisted by Marie Steve Jonathan and Adelaide Eldrick Giles Mathieu. Fred Nelson Emile Louis will be the fourth official. All from Seychelles.

Uganda Cranes Team travelling to Lira:

Goalkeepers: Ismail Watenga, Benjamin Ochan, Tom Ikara.

Outfield players: Nico Wadada, Dan Bilikwalira, Joshua Awori, Savio Kabugo, Timothy Awanyi, Bernard Muwanga, Fred Okot, Isaac Muleme, Tadeo Lwanga, Ibrahim Kayiwa, Tom Masiko, Paul Mucureezi, Moses Waiswa, Kalyowa Emma, Shafic Kagimu, Muzamir Mutyaba, Derrick Nsibambi, Nelson Senkatuka and Albert Mugisa.

Northern Regional Tour

Saturday, September 30, 2017

Northern Region Select Vs Uganda Cranes

Lango Sports Ground, Lira (4 pm)

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Masaka Municpality MP Mpuuga loses dad

By

Geoffery Serugo

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September 29, 2017

The Masaka Municipality legislator Matthias Mpuuga has today lost his father Vincent Nsamba, who passed on at the MP’s home in Kyengera.

According to sources, Mzee Nsamba has been sick and receiving treatment in Kampala but his condition deteriorated on Wednesday when he learnt of the brutal arrest of his son following the two day of chaos at Parliament.

“Mpuuga and his Kira Municipality counterpart Ibrahim Semujju Nganda were arrested and taken to an unknown destination and his condition started deteriorating since he could not stand the anxiety that came with such news,” the source said.

Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze Bakireke echoed the assertions, saying the events at Parliament led to the death of Mzee Nsamba.

“Mzee Vincent would not have died, malicious and selfish motives of Ugandan leaders led to his death,” she said.

Nambooze credited him for ‘educating and preparing his son to serve and strive against whoever stands against democracy’.

“This government has pushed us so hard, Mzee Rest in Peace,” she wrote.

Burial arrangements

Today, there is a Requiem Mass at Kyengera Catholic Church and burial will take place at Nakawanga- Kisekka Sub County of Kinoni in Lwengo District on Sunday, October 1.

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Bayern Munich sack Manager Ancelotti

By

Agencies

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September 29, 2017

Carlo Ancelotti has been sacked as manager of Bayern Munich.

Following Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain, the club’s board has decided to dismiss the Italian, who replaced Pep Guardiola at the start of last season.

Ancelotti, 58, helped Bayern win the Bundesliga last term, but they only reached the last eight of the Champions League and the German Cup semi-finals.

Assistant boss Willy Sagnol will take temporary charge.

Bayern, league champions in each of the past five seasons, are third in the German table, three points behind Borussia Dortmund, with four wins, one draw and one defeat from their first six matches. They next play away to Hertha Berlin on Sunday (14:30 BST).

“The performance of our team since the start of the season did not meet the expectations we put to them,” said Bayern’s chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

“I would like to thank Carlo for his cooperation. Carlo is my friend and will remain my friend, but we had to make a professional decision. The game in Paris clearly showed that we had to draw consequences.”

Former Chelsea, PSG, Real Madrid and AC Milan boss Ancelotti has won the Champions League three times – with Milan in 2003 and 2007, and with Madrid in 2014.

That return makes him the joint most successful manager in European Cup history, along with former Liverpool boss Bob Paisley, who also won three titles, in 1977, 1978 and 1981.

Ancelotti also led Milan to the Champions League final in 2005, but the Italian side were beaten on penalties by Liverpool, despite having led 3-0 at half-time.

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NSSF’s investment line kick-starts US$400m Lubowa Housing Project

By

George Mangula

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September 29, 2017

NSSF Board Chairman, Patrick Kaberenge, Minister Matia Kasaija, and NSSF MD Richard Byarugaba breaking the ground to kick-start the project. — NSSF-Board-Chairman-Patrick-Kaberenge-Minister-Matia-Kasaija-and-NSSF-MD-Richard-Byarugaba-breaking-the-ground-to-kick-start-the-project