TO BE LAID TO REST TODAY: Italian Catholic missionary Father John Scalabrini.
Father John Scalabrini, the departed foster father of singer Jose Chameleone’s wife Daniella Atim Mayanja is to be laid to rest today at 2pm at a cemetery at St James Catholic Church, Biina.
Fr John, who died on Tuesday morning at St Francis Hospital, Nsambya in Kampala, had been admitted to the hospital last Thursday. Popularly known as Father John, the deceased clergyman had been battling cancer of the bone for the last five years.
Before his burial today, Fr John was eulogized by many including church leaders, politicians and parishioners, who all paid glowing tribute to the larger-than-life Italian missionary who came to Uganda in the 1960s.
Meanwhile, mourners from the Catholic parishes of Bbina, Butabika, Luzira, Kitintale say he will be greatly remembered for founding kindergartens, schools and colleges, including Bishop Cipriano Kihangire Primary School and Bishop Cipriano SSS in Luzira, on the outskirts of Kampala.
Similar sentiments have also been expressed by Catholics from Northern Uganda, where Fr John served as a missionary for close to three decades.
Indeed, members of the Catholic fraternity in Bbina Parish and Gulu Diocese say he was a benefactor to thousands of needy children, especially orphans, including Jose Chameleone’s wife, Daniella Atim.
WHEELCHAIR BOUND: Ailing MUBS student Raymond Bamwesigye
Singer Desire Luzinda has come to the rescue of a one Raymond Bamwesigye, a 2nd year DBA Student at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) who needs treatment for his spine.
Bamwesigye, a son to a UPDF veteran, was attacked by unknown people, who hit and robbed him on June 12, 2015 while he was returning from an internship programme.
He was rescued by good Samaritans and rushed to the Spine Unit at Mulago Hospital where doctors found that the attack had damaged his spine, leading to paralysis of the lower body.
Despite undergoing a major surgery, he has only been able to regain use of his upper body. He is currently unable to write, feed, and ease himself. He urinates using a catheter. He has as a result been out of school for over a year and stays with his family in Kasokoso, Wakiso District.
Bamwesigye now needs a second major Surgery at Apollo Hospital in India that is projected to cost Shs46 million and of this, the controversial female musician Desire Luzinda has pledged a contribution of Shs1million ahead of a car washing drive on October 8 to raise the funds.
“I will not be in the country but please contact Mr. Lwasa of Lwasa Events to give you 1m as my contribution. We play our part and leave the rest to God,” she posted on Facebook on Thursday.
However, the post wasn’t received positively by her fans.
Rukia Riad: Haha naye botilicious Desire! Saving The Late Rosemary Nankabirwa you got out your shoes for sell and now you are telling the public to go to Lwasa get money thea. ..couldn’t u tell him urself or even put his digits on the post! !…Tubalemu nawe it’s someone’s lyf hea……nkwagala nnyoooo Desire but i hv a problem ov always saying the ugly truth.
Konde Kizza Lubanja: you contact your ‘mr Lwasa’ to bring money .we dont have his contacts.
Antonio Alex: Its always in good heart to give silently, the lord doesn’t welcome this. Let the pipo u have helped raise your name, just saying.
Some like a one Kaija Akiiki decided to make fun out of the post.
Kaija Akiiki: Please guys make sure on that day contact Mr Kirumira to give you one hundred thousand shs on ma behalf coz I won’t be available others u live to God.
In defence of her post, Desire wrote, “Anti the problem with Uganda is they always think negative of every situation. How many people have shared that post to create awareness? Even sharing it is an amazing gesture and as good as contributing besides, why would I use someone’s life for publicity like I ain’t gat no publicity at all? Rosemary (RIP) died just hours after my post and people were flooding my inbox making inquiries while over 5 pairs had been bought kati wali oyagala neyongeleyo nzitunde then what??!”
ANNOUNCED DATE FOR REFERENDUM: President Pierre Nkurunziza
Troubled Burundi plans to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, a deputy to President Pierre Nkurunziza said on Thursday, six months after the court’s prosecutor said it will investigate violence which killed hundreds of people.
Burundi slid into political crisis last year when Nkurunziza announced his intention to seek a third term in office, which he went on to win in an election boycotted by opposition parties.
The Hague-based International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said in April the court would investigate incidents of violence in Burundi that have killed at least 450 and forced hundreds of thousands to flee abroad since the crisis erupted in April 2015.
ANNOUNCED ICC WITHDRAWAL PLANS: Burundi Vice President Gaston Sindimwo
“We have sent to the national assembly a draft law for adoption … to withdraw from the ICC,” First Vice President Gaston Sindimwo said after a cabinet meeting.
“We found that it was necessary to withdraw from that organization so we can really be free,” he said in comments broadcast on state-run radio.
A notice of a cabinet meeting held earlier in the day in Gitega, some 100 km (60 miles) from the capital Bujumbura, said among the items to be discussed were a draft law revising a 2003 law that Burundi ratified to be a signatory of the Rome Statute of the ICC.
Opponents say Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term violated the constitution and a peace agreement that ended a civil war in 2005. The president and his supporters cite a court ruling that said he could run again.
Preliminary examinations at the ICC, based mainly on publicly available information, can last months or years before leading to a possible full investigation. Only then can criminal charges be brought against individuals suspected of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
On Tuesday, Burundi dismissed a UN decision to establish a commission of inquiry to identify perpetrators of killings and torture, saying it was based on a one-sided account of events in the African nation.
State Minister for Gender and Culture, Peace Mutuuzo
Women MPs have asked the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development to channel the Shs 53billion meant for women in the country through them.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting at Imperial Royal Hotel organised by Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Fund (UWEP) where all women MPs had been invited, Kiryandongo woman MP Hellen Kawunde kicked off the clamour, expressing fears that the funds could be misused.
“Since no certificate is needed, how are you selecting the beneficiaries of the fund,” she inquired from the State Minister for Gender and Culture, Peace Mutuuzo.
Butaleja Woman MP, Milly Mugeni weighed in on the question, asking, “Who is registering those receiving these funds?”, a query that was shared by her colleague from Gulu, who also called for the training of the women before being given the funds.
“How will it be given out without ladies being trained?” she asked, before both demanded that as elected representative of the intended beneficiaries, they were better placed to distribute the funds to women in their respective constituencies ‘because they know all the leaders there’.
“We call for (Women) MPs to be involved in the activities of women,” Kawunde requested.
However, while responding to the MPs, Minister Mutuuzo said that government was not targeting experts but the people who have been ‘left behind’.
She expressed fears that the funds would be ‘politicised’ if channeled through MPs. “Everyone would go back to their constituencies and tell the locals; this is from FDC…this is from NRM…this is from DP…This is what we are trying to avoid,” she said.
She, however, tasked them to monitor the enterprises to ensure compliance with the established rules and procedures.
“MPs are expected to undertake regular political supervision of the programme to ensure quality results. Parliament is also expected to advocate for increased funding for the programme,” she added.
On how the beneficiaries are selected, Minister Mutuuzo said it is done through a community participatory process that involves LC1 officials and Women Council leaders.
It has been established that the selection of Women Groups under UWEP is undertaken by the beneficiary selection committee chaired by the sub-county chief with members including the chairperson of the sub-county women council and the Community Development Officer.
This financial year government released over Shs43billion to support women in the micro, small and medium enterprise subsector through provision of interest-free credit, technical advice for appropriate technologies, value addition and market information.
The funds are accessed through the women groups with membership of 10 to 15, with the major focus on unemployed women and vulnerable groups such as single young mothers, widows, the disabled, women living with HIV/Aids and slum dwellers.
So far 19 districts have benefited from the project and it is scheduled to cover the whole country in the near future, the ministry says.
The districts that have benefited from the project include Otuke which got Shs 67.1 million for 8 women groups; Kamuli (Shs 60.5 million for 15 women groups); Kisoro (Shs 70.9 million for 21 groups) and Nakasongola , Shs 45.8 million for 19 groups.
Others are Kiruhura (Shs 68.5 million for nine groups), Mayuge (Shs 56.8 million for 14 groups) and Kaliro Shs 51 million for 8 women groups.
Kaliro in particular will receive an extra Shs 30 million to bring the total allocation to Shs 81 million.
A dog stands near Russian paratroopers, who are waiting to board a helicopter, during a military exercise outside the southern city of Stavropol, Russia, October 27, 2015. Russian paratroopers are set to take part in an exercise in Africa for the first time.
EDUARD KORNIYENKO/REUTERSS
Russian soldiers are to test their combat readiness in Africa for the first time in history, as Russia will deploy specially equipped paratroopers to Egypt.
Russian state media said the joint drill with the Egyptian armed forces is set to take place later this month, with Russian troops, sporting equipment designed for hot climates, practicing combat with militants in desert conditions.
Russian military air carriers will also take part in the drill, which is the first time they will do so in the continent of Africa.
The weather conditions will replicate a number of Middle Eastern environments, including Syria, where the Russian air force is engaged in combat with a number of militant groups. Russia has been forced to repeatedly deny that its intervention in Syria does not include ground operations.
The exact date of the drill has not been given. However, the Russian Ministry of Defence has confirmed that 30 other militaries will also take part in the drill. Russian armed forces have deployed units on numerous exercises near North Africa, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Coca-Cola Company has announced the official return of its flagship African music show for a fourth season, which will feature 38 artistes including Uganda’s big music names like Chameleone, Rema Namakula, Radio and Weasel and Eddy Kenzo.
The show going under the theme of ‘Discover’, brings together some of the best creative and production brains on the continent with the sole aim of creating the best music engagement platform for teens in Africa.
And this year’s season will feature other artistes from Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana and the French West African countries – Togo and Cote d’Ivoire – increasing the number of participating countries to 11, up from five last season.
Kenya will be represented by Jaguar, Sauti Sol, The Kansoul and Bahati. Stonebwoy, Efya and El will represent Ghana while from Mozambique, Neyma, Lizha James and Yuri da Cunha will entertain their African fans.
Nigeria will be represented by Patoranking, Cynthia Morgan, Waje, Kiss Daniel and 2 Face Idibia (also known as 2baba).
Tanzanian heavy weights Yamoto Band, Navy Kenzo, Vanessa Mdee and Joh Makini will also grace the Coke Studio stage while Toofan will represent Togo.
As has been tradition, our Ugandan Superstars will get a chance to work with American R n B crooner Trey Songz. Last season notable songwriter Ne-Yo worked with some of Africa’s biggest stars to create an authentic ‘mashup’ that seamlessly cut across borders and cultures.
The show, which unlike other music programmes that focus on the emergence of a winner, is a non-competitive format which seeks to bring together and showcase the diversity of African musical talent. It also gives upcoming artistes the opportunity to work with some of the best local and international music and production talent.
Coke Studio Africa Season 4 goes on air on October 8, 2016 and in Uganda will be aired on Urban TV beginning at 6:30pm.
TOUGH ON WASTEFUL SPENDING: President Yoweri Museveni has ordered ministries and other government agencies fro importing products that can easily be found in Uganda.
President Yoweri Museveni has warned ministries and government agencies to desist from lavish and inconsiderate spending while carrying out procurement of essential government stores like furniture.
Mr Museveni said this while presiding over the official opening ceremony of the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) 24th Uganda International Trade Fair (UGTIF) at the Lugogo show grounds, running from October 2-10, a day after Uganda’s 54th Independence Anniversary.
According to Mr Museveni, there are several products made in Uganda that can favourably compete with the imported ones.
“Uganda Prisons makes very good furniture. I will not tolerate any government department that imports furniture from China,” Mr Museveni said, adding: “I’m wearing an army uniform made by Nytil (Picfare, a local garment manufacturer). I don’t want to hear of importation of army and nurses’ uniforms anymore.
Mr Museveni also assured the nation that he would ensure the cost of electricity in the country decreases from seven to one shilling for the benefit of manufacturers, adding that Uganda has enough electricity to satisfy its manufacturing processes.
“We have enough power for manufacturers. What we don’t have is enough power for ‘ebikeesa’ (discotheques) and pastors who conduct the business during the night,” Mr Museveni said, adding however, that manufacturers should exploit night time and use electricity when it is surplus and cheaper.
The president also talked about the bailout of businesspersons, saying government will only bail out those who export to ‘risky external markets’.
This year’s trade fair is being attended by hundreds of exhibitors drawn from countries in the region including Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda, among others.
The best woman exhibitor was Lydia Nakigwa of Rwanda, who won the best country pavilion, best private exhibitor was Sulfo products of Rwanda, best small scale industries was Aloesha products, while the best foreign exhibitor trophy went to Sulfo Products of Rwanda.
Movit products of Uganda emerged overall best exhibitor.
MOTHER AND CHILD LOVE: Henry Tigan's better half cuddles the new-born baby. Both are reportedly in good health.
Henry Tigan is now a father! The ‘Aneganye’ singer was this morning blessed with a baby girl, a development that has left the musician who is trying to re-launch his career, a happy man.
BUNDLE OF JOY: Henry Tigan’s baby girl.
“Thanx for ur prayers #tusumulukuse #tulibaawo it was a hard time……twegweko in another party #tigan’s family baby gal.” Both baby and mother are doing well, he says.
For those familiar with the music industry, this is indeed a good year for Tigan, a musician once ranked among the biggest artistes in the country.
Indeed, his ‘bundle of joy’ comes just weeks after the musician belted ‘Webale Mukama’, a gospel song which is doing well on local airwaves, after about 10 years in music limbo. Earlier this year the musician also completed construction of his house.
Congs Henry Tigan!
SOUGHT BY MACHAR: The incoming United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at a past press conference. PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI /AFP/Getty Images)
Despite putting up a record seven candidates, the post of United Nations Secretary General is still elusive for women, as Portugal’s former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres is poised to become the next UN top diplomat.
TOP WOMAN CONTESTANT: Irina Bokova, the UNESCO Director General
The UN has never had a woman in the top job and of the 13 candidates this year, seven were women, including: Irina Bokova, 63 – Bulgarian politician and director general of Unesco; Helen Clark, 66 – former prime minister of New Zealand (1999-2008) and current head of the UN development programme; Natalia Gherman, 47 – Moldovan politician who was deputy prime minister and minister of European integration from 2013-2016.
Others are Vesna Pusic, 62 – Leader of the liberal Croatian People’s Party. Served as a first deputy prime minister and minister of foreign and European affairs until January this year and, Kristalina Georgieva, 63, who was announced just days ago, current European Commissioner for budget and human resources.
In the end, the highest-placed woman, Irina Bokova, came fourth, after Serbian candidate Vuk Jeremic, a former president of the UN General Assembly, who came second, followed by Slovakia’s Miroslav Lajcak.
But Mr Guterres, 67, was the ‘clear favourite’, Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin announced, and formal vote will take place in the UN Security Council today to confirm the choice of nominee.
Mr Guterres, who led the UN refugee agency for 10 years, will take over from Ban Ki-moon early next year.
Who is Guterres?
An engineer by trade, Mr Guterres first entered into politics in 1976 in Portugal’s first democratic election after the “Carnation revolution” that ended five decades of dictatorship.
He quickly rose in the ranks, becoming leader of the Socialist party in 1992 and was elected prime minister in 1995.
As head of the UNHCR refugee agency from 2005 to 2015, Mr Guterres led the agency through some of the world’s worst refugee crises, including Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq.
During that time, he repeatedly appealed to Western states to do more to help refugees fleeing the conflicts.
Former Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva said earlier this year that Mr Guterres had ‘left a legacy’ at the refugee agency ‘that means today he is a respected voice and all the world listens to him’.
How has the world reacted?
Russia’s ambassador and current head of the UN Security Council, Vitaly Churkin, said all the candidates had ‘a lot of wisdom, understanding and concern for the fate of the world’, but “we have a clear favourite, and his name is Antonio Guterres”.
There was some disappointment among campaigners who had hoped for a first female secretary general, or a candidate from Eastern Europe – which has never held the position.
But the process was ‘remarkably’ uncontroversial, said Samantha Power, the US representative to the UN.
“In the end, there was just a candidate whose experience, vision, and versatility across a range of areas proved compelling,” she said, adding that the process involved more scrutiny than ever before.
“People united around a person who impressed throughout the process.”
The UK’s Matthew Rycroft said Mr Guterres “will take the United Nations to the next level in terms of leadership” and be “a moral authority at a time when the world is divided on issues.”
How is the UN Secretary General appointed?
The 15-member Security Council cast secret ballots for each of the 10 candidates on Wednesday and none were found to oppose Mr Guterres.
They were asked to select from a choice of ‘encourage’, ‘discourage’ or ‘no opinion’ for each candidate, with the former Portuguese prime minister receiving 13 ‘encourage’ votes and two ‘no opinion’ votes.
He beat nine other candidates, including EU budget commissioner Kristalina Georgieva from Bulgaria, to become the next UN chief.
His nomination came despite a concerted effort to appoint the UN’s first female secretary general.
A formal vote will take place today to recommend Mr Guterres to the UN General Assembly, which must approve his nomination.
In January 2017, Mr Ban will stand down after 10 years at the helm.
The post lasts for five years but is limited to a maximum of two terms.
PARTIALLY RELIEVED: WFP’s Acting Country Director, Mike Sackett
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has lauded the United Kingdom for recent contributions of more than US$21 million to support WFP’s food assistance programmes in Uganda, noting that the funds are already making a difference for people in Karamoja and for refugees.
The UK government provided US$12.4 million for community-based projects and nutrition assistance in Karamoja, and US$9.2 million to help WFP provide lifesaving food assistance for refugees.
“Currently Uganda hosts more than 660,000 refugees, most of who rely heavily on WFP’s assistance for survival. There is no way we can meet all their needs without generous contributions, such as this one from UK Aid,” said WFP’s Acting Country Director, Mike Sackett.
FOOD: In-kind food assistance
The UK Aid funding will help WFP, working closely with the UN refugee agency UNHCR, to provide two types of support for refugees: monthly food assistance – in the form of either food or cash – and livelihoods support aimed at reducing post-harvest food losses.
“WFP needs about US$7 million per month to meet the food needs of more than half a million refugees in Uganda, and these costs will continue to rise as the number of refugees grows,” Sackett said.
Since August, a shortage of funds had forced WFP to cut food assistance in half for all refugees who arrived in Uganda before July 2015 – with the exception of particularly vulnerable groups such as orphans, the elderly, or people who are chronically ill and malnourished – in order to prioritize food assistance for refugees who have arrived more recently. That reduction remains in place, but the UK Aid funding helps WFP avoid deeper cuts, and enables WFP to continue providing life-saving assistance for people seeking refuge in Uganda from recent conflict erupting in their home countries. This includes more than 180,000 South Sudanese refugees who have sought shelter in Uganda in the last three months.
Increasingly, WFP is providing food assistance to refugees through cash transfers so they can buy the food they prefer in the local markets. Cash allows refugees to buy fresh foods and other items to diversify their diets, and stimulates local economies by increasing demand for locally produced food. WFP currently assists 65,000 refugees in Uganda with cash, and plans to expand cash-based assistance to 140,000 people by the end of the year, using funding from UK Aid and other donors.
The UK funds will also help sustain WFP’s livelihoods support activities, which assist longer-term refugees and host communities achieve self-reliance and peaceful co-existence. WFP specifically supports refugees and host communities to reduce post-harvest food losses. Such activities are part of a UN initiative – the Refugee and Host Population Empowerment strategy, or ReHOPE – which supports the government’s Settlement Transformative Agenda, part of the second National Development Plan.
This year the United Kingdom is the second largest contributor to WFP’s programmes in Uganda, and the largest donor to WFP’s nutrition and resilience activities in Karamoja.
The new UK funds will enable WFP to continue assisting nearly 200,000 people in Karamoja who are participating in the public works programme. The UK contribution will also make it possible for WFP and the Ministry of Health to provide specialized nutritious food to treat 65,000 malnourished children and adults in the region.
“The nutrition and public works activities in Karamoja are assisting Uganda to address chronically high rates of acute malnutrition, while helping communities build their resilience to shocks and stresses by creating productive assets,” Sackett said. These assets include water ponds and irrigation projects. As communities build them, individual households will participate in income-generation activities such as cultivation of vegetables and drought resistant staple crops for consumption and sale.
The UK Aid grant also allows WFP to support the creation of a digital information management system in Karamoja so that the Government and development partners can avoid gaps and duplication in assistance. The new digital system will contain information about social assistance programmes in Karamoja, and highlight which households are receiving support from the various programmes. The system will boost transparency, efficiency and accountability, and provide crucial information for monitoring the effectiveness of programmes.
