WINNERS: Different categories of winners of the 3rd edition of Kampala Restaurant Week pose for a photo with their awards (1)
Kampala Restaurant Week came to an end after a 10-day exciting experience of food discovery and restaurant hoping for many food lovers in and around Kampala.
Organised by Pearl Guide Uganda together with Uganda Breweries Limited’s premium beer, Tusker Lite, Kampala Restaurant Week saw over 40 restaurants including those in Jinja and Mbarara participate in this year’s edition.
The fanfare from July 5 -15, was crowned with an awards ceremony at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel, where restaurants were recognized for their exceptional performance in the categories of Outstanding Service Award, Innovation Award (also known as the Dish of the Week Award), Top Casual Dining and Top Signature Dining Restaurants.
The night’s big winners were The Explorer, Kampala Serena Hotel which picked up two awards for the Outstanding Service Award and the Top Signature Dining Restaurant award, respectively.
Not to be outdone, Riders Lounge also scooped the award for the Top Casual Dining Restaurant, and among other winners was Le Château which won the Innovation Award.
“Today we take home an unforgettable experience from this year’s Kampala Restaurant Week. The restaurants that have been voted as the best in the various categories, we salute you for your meals and services and we hope you continue giving us the best,” Grace Namutebi, UBL’s Brand Manager Premium Beers, said at the awards ceremony.
The restaurants were judged by members of the public and judges from the Chaine de Rotisseurs, a body of Chefs worldwide. The body which comprises of over 25,000 members worldwide also has 60 members from Uganda.
Ugandan artistes Sheebah Karungi and Lydia Jazmine are in Kenya to participate in the recording of Coke Studio Africa – 2017.
Sheebah, Lydia Jazmine and other artistes were unveiled at a Coke Studio Africa Nairobi press conference held at the Stanley Hotel, this week.
And while Sheebah is making her debut on the show this year, Lydia is making her big return on the show – after being on the show’s Big Break segment last year performing alongside Bahati (Kenya) and Kiss Daniel (Nigeria).
This year, Lydia has been paired with Liloca from Mozambique – to be produced by top South African producer – Sketchy Bongo.
Sheebah has been paired with Asgegnew Ashko from Ethiopia, and the two will be collaborating with Tanzanian rapper Bill Nass in music collaborations that will be produced by Gemini Major – acclaimed music producer.
Speaking at the presser, Sheebah said: “My dream is to be the biggest super star I can ever be. Being on Coke Studio Africa this year is one of the things that make me feel like am on my way now – I am so honoured to be here and that Coke Studio has recognized me,” adding, “Africa is recognizing me and I am happy to be working with talented producers and musicians. I am going to use this opportunity to do everything I can to go the next level. Looking forward to knowing everybody and Africa knowing me.”
On the role that Coke Studio played on the trajectory of her career, Lydia said: “I am blessed to be back on Coke Studio 2017, I lack the words to express the experience because It is more than just amazing! It’s the biggest African stage we have and every artist would love to be on the stage. As Lydia Jazmine, I was one of the big break artists last year. Since then my life has never been the same – my career back home boomed! Everyone is now looking at me in a different way and my music is up there!”
Sheebah and Lydia are among Uganda artistes on this year’s show. The others include Bebe Cool and Eddy Kenzo. All the music they create on the show will be performed and recorded live alongside Coke Studio’s highly talented house band.
Coke Studio Africa also gives a chance to upcoming artistes to feature on the show as a Big Break artist. The new season is set to premiere in different regions from September this year and will broadcast in more than 30 countries across Africa.
Uganda was 38th on July 4 but have moved to 36th with a total of now 50.30 points, according to the latest rankings that were released by World Rugby.
The Rugby cranes climb two places following an emphatic 78-17 victory over Tunisia but stay third behind fellow unbeaten sides Namibia who are at the top and second-placed Kenya in the Rugby Africa Gold Cup standings.
Neighbours Kenya remained unmoved in the rankings, holding onto the 26th position alongside Africa’s top ranked team South Africa at 5th.
Uganda was the biggest climber, improving by two places from the 38th to the 36th slot, but remaining 5th in Africa behind South Africa, Namibia (21), Kenya (26) and Zimbabwe (35).
The Africa Gold Cup continues this weekend as Uganda host Namibia in Kampala and Kenya travel to Zimbabwe.
The tournament takes place until August 5, with Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Uganda, Kenya and Senegal participating in home and away matches.
Facebook Messenger is now fully integrated in Jumia Travel’s system as a powerful channel for Customer Service. The integration of customer service for Messenger in Jumia Travel’s system marks a new dawn for its customer service experience, as it offers a live chat experience on Facebook Messenger. The tool can also be used to instantly request for a hotel room on the platform, where the company’s professional Travel Advisors will offer counsel on the best accommodation options as well as make the booking.
As the first African company to integrate Facebook Messenger in its own system, Estelle Verdier, Jumia Travel’s COO and Co-Founder says that this is a “show of our great commitment to always bring the latest technology and high quality services to our customer in Africa”.
On its recently published hospitality report for Africa, Jumia Travel states that 51% of searches done on the website are via smartphones, with 68% of the bookings. This compares to 49% and 32% of searches and bookings respectively done through the desktop.
“In Africa, e-mail penetration has remained low especially because it doesn’t provide a fluent conversational experience and is not fitted for mobile. With Customer Service for Messenger integration, we bring to our customers an instant and convenient way to chat with us on mobile from Facebook. We trust that Facebook Messenger will become a major channel in the coming years, and this new feature allows us to scale the communication with our customers on Messenger,” says Stanislas de Dinechin, Jumia Travel’s Global Head of Customer Service.
“Facebook Messenger is a major communication channel for most Ugandans and as such, our customers shall receive faster and efficient feedback on their queries, for better service delivery,” says Jumia Travel Uganda’s Country Manager Timothy Mugume.
The tool will also be used to handle customer queries and requests such as airport pickup, and booking modification among others. With a high ‘mobile first’ population in Africa, Facebook Messenger provides a great opportunity to reach people in addition to other social media platforms, as compared to the conventional browser.
Local traders and other people who import goods into Uganda in disregard of national set standards will face the strong arm of the Uganda National Bureau of Standard (UNBS), its Executive Director Ben Manyindo has warned.
UNBS is the national standards watchdog and its boss Dr. Manyindo has said some individuals are evading the Pre Export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) Standards Program, which requires that all goods, whether for sale, personal use or donations must conform to the Ugandan standards before being shipped to the country.
“Failure to undertake PVOC attracts a 15% CIF penalty in addition to undertaking payment for laboratory fees and inspection,” Dr Manyindo says, adding that any products found to be substandard will have to be re-exported to the country of origin or destroyed at the cost of the importer.
Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) is a trade term requiring the seller to arrange for the carriage of goods by sea to a port of destination, and provide the buyer with the documents necessary to obtain the goods from the carrier.
According to Dr Manyindo, the inspection covers all categories of goods as provided for in the UNBS Import Inspection and Clearance Regulations 2015.
Further, Dr. Manyindo says the purpose of the program is to protect Ugandans from consuming and or using substandard goods that are dangerous to their health, safety and also to protect the environment.
In addition, Dr. Manyindo says, the program enables importers to enjoy faster clearance of imports since goods will not be held at entry points pending inspection, testing and issuance of clearance certificates by UNBS. “It enables smooth flow of trade which is critical to all importers and traders,” he added.
The Government of Uganda contracted SGS, Intertek and Bureau Veritus, internationally recognized inspection agencies, to carry out PVoC for general goods on behalf of UNBS.
ASSURED UK OF CONTINUED TRADE: The Minister of Trade and Cooperatives,
Uganda’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde has said Ugandans and East Africans at large can now afford to buy new clothing, compared to the past decades when they preferred secondhand clothes due to poverty.
“East Africans want a new life. People are able to afford to buy new things,” Kyambadde said, adding that “the demand is now for new clothing.”
One of the many clothing vendors sits amongst her merchandise of colorful shirts.
The minister’s statement came days ago as senior officials from Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda argued in Washington that their collective phase-out of used clothing imports should not result in any loss of benefits from a US preferential trade programme – the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
Minister Kyambadde said the development of local apparel manufacturing would create jobs along a value chain in the form of cotton growing, ginning, weaving, garment manufacturing and other forms of retail business.
Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda are opposing an effort by a US business association to restrict their eligibility for Agoa. The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (Smart) filed a petition with US trade authorities in March urging that the three countries, along with fellow EAC member Kenya, be deemed ineligible for Agoa’s allowance of duty-free textile and apparel exports to the US market.
Lawrence Bogard, an attorney representing Smart, warned at the recent US government inquiry that the association’s member companies would suffer major losses in jobs and revenues if the EAC bans the importation of used-clothing.
Kenya would have far more to lose from suspension of its duty-free textile export privileges under Agoa than would any of the other EAC countries. The country sold USD 394 million worth of textiles and clothing on the US market last year, compared to the total USD43 million sum of Agoa trade for Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
The opposing parties presented their comments to a panel of representatives of six US government agencies: the departments of Commerce, Labour, Treasury and State, as well as the US Agency for International Development and the Office of the US Trade Representative.
The US president Donald Trump has vowed to oppose any trade initiative that he deems injurious to American interests. And Smart seeks to depict the EAC ban on used-clothing imports as a threat to thousands of US jobs.
Tanzania’s and Uganda have doubled levies on used-clothing imports — from $0.20 to $0.40 per kilogramme, while Rwanda has increased levies to USD2.5 from USD0.20. These increases, the US secondhand clothing exporters say, go against the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
EAC countries’ countries dispute Smart’s contention that the used-clothing action violates two of Agoa’s eligibility criteria.
The 17-year-old programme requires participant countries to have achieved “elimination of barriers to US trade” or be making progress in that direction. Agoa also stipulates that benefit-recipient countries should be moving toward a “market-based economy.”
The EAC countries decided to adopt the used clothing import phase-out as a means of encouraging development of their own textile manufacturing sectors, said Uganda Trade Minister Amelia Kyambadde, who spoke in her capacity as chair of the EAC’s Council of Ministers.
“Industrialisation is a strategic pillar of EAC integration,” Ms Kyambadde said, adding that the heads of state decided that textiles and footwear manufacturing is a priority as growth of those sectors would create many more jobs in East Africa than will be lost through the shutdown of local businesses involved in the used-clothing trade.
The recent imbroglio that has put the Bank of Uganda, Crane Bank and businessman Sudhir Ruparelia in the limelight is not only interesting, but should provide a learning for the government on how to handle the crucial affairs of the economy.
The Bank of Uganda under the Governor Prof. Emmanuel Mutebile and the Executive Director Bank Supervision Justin Bagyenda are responsible for the overall supervision of all the commercial banks in the country, and should indeed be held accountable for any mess, perceived or real, that takes place in the banking sector, including the current saga involving Crane Bank.
By the time of its closure and subsequent sale, Crane bank was the 3rd largest commercial Bank in Uganda, running 44 branches and employing over 700 people.
Also, it is worth noting that the Crane Bank had for the bigger part of the past 10 years, been named as the best-performing commercial bank in the country. Obviously, if our country is to claim its rightful place in the community of nations, then such accolades bestowed on Crane Bank could not have been the result of a figment of fertile imagination!
By law, the BoU is supposed to carry out spontaneous audits of all commercial bank transactions every six months, an exercise aimed at minimizing possible fraud including ‘insider lending’. This therefore means if there was any lapse on supervision, the BoU was solely responsible for the commission or omission.
Needless to say therefore, the Crane Bank was a good performer that merited all it got including its existence as one of the leading financial institutions, and it sounds extremely frivolous for those who supervise the economy to turn around, and in just a matter of months, throw all the dirt in the direction of the Crane Bank and its shareholders including the majority shareholder, Sudhir Ruparelia. Inevitably, the nature of throwing around the buck, and the reasons advanced for the boarding off of Crane Bank become suspicious!
At individual level, Mr Ruparelia has invested billions of dollars in the Ugandan economy since the early 1990s. Worth noting is that his investments at the time came when almost no one wanted to inject his/her money in an economy that had nothing to write home about.
That said, it is time those responsible for supervising the economy begin smelling the coffee, just so the country avoids finding itself in an almost similar predicament like the one currently spoiling the broth in the banking sector.
The Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) Commander-in-Chief Paul Kagame has retired 800 senior and junior officers among them Lieutenant General Emmanuel Karenzi Karake and Major General Jack Nziza.
The retired officers were seen off at a function presided over by the Defence Minister General James Kabarebe, and attended by among others the Chief of Defence Staff General Patrick Nyamvumba.
Both Lt. Gen. Karenzi Karake and Maj. Gen. Nziza, the two topmost officers retired, have served the RDF/RPA in different capacities including the in the military intelligence services for over 20 years.
For most Ugandans, Maj. Gen. Jack Nziza (then Brigadier) is most remembered for splitting President Yoweri Museveni’s 40-car convoy into two, as the Uganda leader headed to Kigali to attend and also hand over the chairmanship of COMESA to his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame in June, 2005.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Kigali regime has arrested four senior officers suspected of having aided in the escape from Rwanda of former External Security Organisation boss Colonel Patrick Karegeya (RIP), ten years ago.
Col. Karegeya was killed in South Africa on January 1, 2014, and the four senior officers arrested recently over his escape are colonels Emmanuel Rugazora, Gishaija, Mugabo and Kalimba.
Reports also indicate that the RDF Spokesperson Lt. Col. Rene Ngendahimana was also relieved of his duties.
Former Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) TV’s Calvin Peter Kalule aka Calvin Da Entertainer is having the last laugh as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, Technology and National guidance, Waiswa Bagiire put all activities sanctioned by the new Board at the government – owned broadcaster on hold.
Kalule, the former manager of UBC Magic HD was kicked out by the new management and replaced by renowned TV personality, Dave Kazoora, giving rise to bad blood between the two hitherto prominent media personalities.
Their beef is said to have peaked when Calvin picked an award won by the station but refused to hand it over to Kazoora, with the former saying the award was a reward for his sweat.
The duo has since been involved in several verbal exchanges, but sources say that following Bagire’s directive, this is likely to come to an end.
Meanwhile, all employees brought in by the new management have been told to re-apply, and worse still, applications to work for UBC Magic HD have been put on halt on grounds that the station is not yet a registered TV station of UBC.
Kazoora, who claims to have injected about Shs150million into the station on becoming its manager is now worried he might be headed for one of the biggest losses of his life. Perhaps the directive, given last week is a sigh of relief to veteran journalist and former manager of Star TV, Tony Owana.
Owana was reportedly worried Kazoora who had come as a ‘content supplier’ to the station had since ‘grabbed the station’ and had even started to forcefully kicking out all of the people he found at UBC Magic HD.
Owana had even reportedly written to President Yoweri Museveni raising the same concerns and his prayers appear to have been answered.
Former Cranes captain and lead striker Massa celebrates after opening the scores at Namboole Stadium
Rukungiri Municipality MP Roland Mugume Kaginda has hailed former Uganda Cranes captain Godfrey Massa as a hero, demanding a statement from Government explaining the circumstances surrounding the shooting fracas in which the star was involved in last week.
Taking to the floor of Parliament this afternoon, Mugume who spoke on behalf of Leader of Opposition Winfred Kiiza, expressed disgust over Government’s failure to come up with a statement on what transpired for the shooting to occur.
“Massa is an important man in this country; he is role a model, we were told he was involved in a shooting, we are just reading newspapers. We need a statement from Government,” Mugume said, sending the House into laughter.
Ruth Nankabirwa, the Government Chief Whip fired back at Mugume saying the matter is being investigated by Police and there was no need for a statement, before investigations are finalized.
“Regarding Massa being role model, I know he role models for you, but the case of Massa is already with police,” Nankabirwa said.
It should be recalled that last week, Massa was involved in a cat and mouse game with Police when they allegedly found him with a female friend in a car at 2am in Bweyogerere.
On seeing Police, Massa is said to have driven off fast, which prompted Police to shoot at his car, aiming at deflating the car tyres but the bullets instead hit the lady.
