Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe greets Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta after addressing a news conference ahead of the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), at State House in Kenya's capital Nairobi, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
The 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) has opened in Nairobi, Kenya with a call by the Japanese Prime Minister Chinzo Abe for Africa to be given a permanent slot on the United Nations Security Council.
President Yoweri Museveni is among the several heads of state attending the conference that is taking place in Africa for the first time since its inception in 1993. The conference is held under the theme “Partnership for shared prosperity”.
Speaking at the opening ceremony at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre on Saturday morning, Mr Abe said: “Africa does not have a permanent member at the United Nations Security Council. It should have one by 2023”.
PM Abe pledged Japan’s commitment towards helping Africa solve challenges like epidemics and insecurity. He also said his government would allocate US$ 10 billion towards supporting modern transport and electricity supply in Africa for the next three years.
He said Japan would train 18,000 Africans by 2018 to improve the continent’s human resource. Another 20,000 would be trained to tackle infectious diseases.
He observed that the Japanese companies were committed to ensuring high quality products, adding that a quality Africa would be built by providing modern transport and electricity supply, largely geothermal.
The other plans would be to help Africa achieve universal healthcare, ensure the seas linking Africa to Japan are safe and help in peace and stability efforts.
PM Abe noted that young people with high esteem who should be supported to achieve their potential characterize the continent. He called on the delegates to let Africa and Japan share a common vision.
President Idris Deby of Chad, who also doubles as the African Union Chairman, said Japan should invest in Africa with the goal of improving infrastructure, water and energy. He observed that the move would enable the continent to achieve its dreams.
Deby said that peace, stability and security were prerequisites to Africa’s development, calling on Japan and other partners to facilitate the African Fund against terrorism.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma said that there should be partnership for shared prosperity. She said industrialization needs energy and thanked the World Bank, UNDP and TICAD for their efforts to have progress in the continent.The two-day summit closes tomorrow (Sunday).
Meanwhile President Museveni has met Masaharu Kohno, a special envoy of the Japanese Prime Minister Chinzo Abe at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. Mr. Masaharu is also in charge of the United Nations Security Council reform. The meeting took place at the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).
President Museveni and the envoy discussed various issues of mutual interest between Africa and Japan including trade and development.
“I call on Japan to invest in Africa. Africa has been buying goods from Japan and it has been a one sided trade. We encourage Japan to buy more from Africa and balance the trade,” he said.”
Currently, Uganda’s Exports to Japan: 510 million yen (coffee, fish, sesame) and imports from Japan: 19.8 billion yen (automobile, steel) (One yen is approximately 33,000 shillings).
The meeting was attended among others by the State Minister for International relations, Okello Oryem.
Greetings. I am happy, again, to be part of this forum to discuss the common future of Africa. Whenever I attend such fora, I get one problem. This is the problem of discussing and handling of African issues in a fragmented way ─ just picking one issue or two issues and highlighting those for some time and, then, after some time, picking another bunch of issues and doing the same with them. In the 1960s, it was a fashion to talk about “rural development” as if rural development could occur in isolation from other phenomena. Then, it became a fashion to talk about “education”, again, in isolation from the other factors. At other times, there is talk about health, women issues, children rights, etc., but always in a fragmented way.
I have been watching this for the last 50 years. Our Movement, the NRM (National Resistance Movement), utilizing the advantage of the long experience, eventually, distilled 10 strategic bottlenecks that have been a blockage to Africa’s growth and socio-economic transformation. In order not to forget, there was also talk of “sustainable development”. What were the ingredients of this “sustainable development”? Everybody had differing packages of the relevant ingredients. Even the Millennium Development Goals did not solve this problem. These, you remember, were to:
(i) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
(ii) Achieve universal primary education;
(iii) Promote gender equality and empower women;
(iv) Reduce child mortality;
(v) Improve maternal health
(vi) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
(vii) Ensure environmental sustainability
(viii) Develop a global partnership for development “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” how? The MDGs did not say.
Utilizing the experience of the last 50 years, therefore, we identified the 10 strategic bottlenecks. These are:
Ideological disorientation. The main manifestation of ideological disorientation is the opportunistic misuse of identity at the expense of the genuine interests of the people. Such genuine interests should answer the question: “Who will guarantee my prosperity?” “Is it the members of my tribe or my religious sect that will do so or is it the members of the “other communities?” “Who will buy my milk, my beef, my coffee, my bananas or my tea?” Ideological disorientation only emphasizes identity and eclipses interests or even acts against the interests of the people. This generates the sectarianism of tribe or religion you have seen causing so much damage.
As a consequence of number one above, many African countries end-up with weak States ─ weak armies, civil services, etc., because they are not based on merit or are not ideologically oriented with the right attitude.
The under-development of the human resource (lack of education, lack of skills and poor health of the African populations).
Under-developed infrastructure (no electricity, no modern roads, no modern railways, no ICT backbone, no piped water, etc.); this makes the costs of production in the economy go up and cannot, therefore, attract investments so as to expand production and create jobs.
5 As a consequence of number 4 above, there is no industrialization and, therefore, Africa has continued to suffer haemmorhage through the loss of money and jobs, being a donor to other continents by continuing to export raw-materials where we get only 10% of the value of our products (coffee, cotton, minerals, timber, etc., etc).
6.The problem of a fragmented African market on account of colonialism. The 53 former colonies, the modern African States, are, individually, too small markets to attract, retain investments and cause them to thrive. China, which started liberalizing and opening up in 1978, (China started participating in the UN system in 1982) has since attracted a total of enterprises worth US $ 2.6 trillion.
The whole of Africa in that same period has only attracted enterprises worth US $0.65 trillion. (Source: UNTAD Website). Yet China is still a communist country while most of Africa is now “democratic” and operating really market-led economies. What is the problem? One of them is a fragmented market. The other bottlenecks also play a role in discouraging and stifling investments. The other good examples are poor infrastructure and a non-skilled workforce. Fortunately, we have done a good job on this by creating ECOWAS, EAC, COMESA and SADC. We are aiming at the common market of the whole of Africa. Unfortunately, some actors continue to allow non-tariff barriers. Yet the growing Purchasing Power of Africa would have attracted investments if the African market was really integrated.
The under-developed services sector ─ tourism, hotels, banking (financial servicing ─ expensive money, etc), insurance, professional services (e.g. doctors ─ hence medical tourism to India, etc).
The under-development of agriculture ─ no complete commercialization of agriculture (still a lot of subsistence agriculture – 68% in the case of Uganda), no irrigation, low use of fertilizers, poor disease control, poor soil conservation, poor seeds and breeding stock, etc. The population in the agricultural sector has, therefore, no money and their purchasing power is low.
In the 1960s and 1970s, there was the mistake on our part of nationalizing private sector assets ─ banks, shops, farms, etc. This interference with the private sector by policy or by corruption has also been another bottleneck. The private sector is the most efficient engine of growth.
Suppression of democracy in the past has also been another bottleneck.
I would, therefore, appeal to their Excellencies, the Heads of State, to look at the totality of the challenges we face and if they are convinced by this analysis to instruct the public servants in our individual countries and the continental bodies that service the African Union (AU) to look at the problems we face in a comprehensive manner.
All this must lead to socio-economic transformation of the African population from the various types of pre-capitalist ─ modes of social organizations to middle- class, skilled working class societies. We cannot go on with the vague slogans of “sustainable development”. How can somebody be “sustainably” a child? Nature dictates that child must transform into teenager, teenager into youth and youth into adult. There must be quantitative growth and qualitative transformation for an organism to grow in a healthy way.
INVESTIGATIONS ONGOING INT DEATH: AIGP Felix Kaweesi.
Uganda Police Force has released a statement dismissing reports that its boss, Gen. Kale Kayihura has been sacked
In the statement police say the reports are untrue and meant to create unnecessary tension.
However, police in the statement doesn’t elaborate how the ‘sacking’ of Gen. Kayihura would cause tension and unrest in the country.
“Today August 27, 2016, various social media platforms carried information that the IGP, Gen. Kale Kayihura had been appointed Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN. The reports also allege that Brig. Leopold Kyanda had been promoted to Major General and appointed IGP. The Uganda Police Force would like to clarify that this information is not true and is aimed at creating unnecessary tension and unrest” Reads the statement signed by Felix Kaweesi, the force’s publicist
It reads further “We request the general public to disregard such reports with the contempt they deserve”
This afternoon, a message came through social media how the IGP who has been at the helm of Uganda Police Force for more than 10 years had been dropped and replaced by equally competent soldier, Brig. Leo Kyanda, Chief of Staff of the Land Forces in the UPDF.
Former Mawokota South Legislator, Henry Mutebi Kityo is dead.
Mr Mutebi was instrumental in the 7th Parliament when he proposed that instead of amending the constitution to lift term limits, Parliament would consider giving President Yoweri Museveni one term to finish his unfinished business.
Mutebi tabled the private members motion but it was defeated by majority who agitated for change of term limits.
He also moved a motion in parliament and his suggestions were that instead of removing the five-year two-term limit, the amendment should be that no president should serve two terms under the same political system.
He subsequently lost the 2011 National Resistance Movement party primaries as he retreated back to his passion of farming.
Just two days after the Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura regained relief from those prosecuting him withdrawing the criminal case against him from Makindye Court, all isn’t well as reports filter in that he has been relieved of his duties as IGP.
This afternoon, a message came through social media how the IGP who has been at the helm of Uganda Police Force for more than 10 years had been dropped and replaced by equally competent soldier, Brig. Leo Kyanda, Chief of Staff of the Land Forces in the UPDF.
If it is true that Brig. Kyanda is the incoming IGP, it confirms the earlier reports that came through four months indicating the Bunyoro bred one star army general was destined for the highest office at Naguru.
Nevertheless, the rumour seem to have faded and outshined by the treason case where Gen. Kayihura was summoned to Makindye court.
Brig Leopold Kyanda
Earlier this month, this news portal was informed that apart from Brig. Kyanda, the other considered person the first family was considering for the IGP office was the former Information and National Guidance Minister, Maj. Gen. Jim Muhwezi.
EagleOnline has established that whereas the reports about the changes at Naguru could be true or untrue, as nobody is committal about the rumour, Gen. Kayihura’s days at Naguru could be numbered.
Asked what the position of State House on the social media message, Senior President Press Secretary Don Wanyama said he hadn’t received any communication to the above effect.
“There is no message to that effect but in any case if there is, I will communicate” Mr Wanyama said.
A source at Mbuya, the headquarters of the army where both Gen. Kayihura and Brig. Kyanda are serving solders, said they hadn’t received any communication indicating the changes.
Sources near Gen. Kayihura told EagleOnline that their boss wasn’t aware of his exit from police as he had not received any communication.
The suspension of Chief Political Commissar Colonel Felix Kulaigye is enshrined in controversy, with some officers saying he was wrongfully punished.
According to a source who spoke to the EagleOnline on condition of anonymity, Col Kulaigye, who is linked to a ‘gold scandal’, was suspended (Katebe) by the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) General Edward Katumba Wamala while on official leave, an anomaly.
“Colonel Kulaigye is on leave and the suspension comes in the middle of his two month leave. He started leave on August 16 and was suspended on August 26; why suspend a person on leave?” the source asked.
The source also says the suspension of Col Kulaigye is suspicious, given that the CDF had earlier said the charges levied against him that include the theft of gold and harassment of civilians were not an ‘administrative’ issue.
The CDF was responding to a raft of correspondences by lawyers for the complainant, Messrs Matrich Holdings Ltd of Richard Kamugisha, a broker Hajji Shaban Jjagwe and, Col Kulaigye’s co-accused, Lieutenant Comrade Nuwandinda, who allegedly helped his boss commit the said offences in Ntinda about a month ago.
The offences involve the theft of gold said to be worth US62.000 and Col Kulaigye and Lt Nuwandinda reportedly committed the said offences with a one Brenda Murungi, said to be the Colonel’s niece.
‘Whereas we take seriously the issues of concern that you raised regarding the above-captioned subject matter, we are of the considered opinion that the complaints and countrer-complaints against the captioned officers are more of legal than administrative,’ Gen Katumba Wamala wrote to Musangala Advocates and Solicitors, the legal representatives of Hajji Jjagwe; Messrs Wameli and Company Advocates, representatives of Mr Kamugisha and Messrs Arcadia Advocates, representing one of the accused, Lt. Nuwandinda.
In the letter dated July 22, the CDF added: ‘We therefore advise that the matters can be best resolved by Courts of law and the UPDF as an institution shall always provide courts the necessary assistance and cooperation to that ensure justice is done’.
Given the position earlier taken by the CDF, the officer wondered why there was a sudden change of heart.
“Why the contradiction? The CDF committed himself in dismissing the case,” the officer said adding” “Is someone using the CDF’s office (to get to Col Kulaigye) or he (CDF) is contradicting himself?”
To augment his position, the officer cited two cases he sad were proof of intrigue. He said former Amisom officer Lt. Col. Bosco Mutambi and Col. Dan Opito of the Airforce had been framed and punished irregularly various offences.
“Lt. Col. Bosco Mutambi who was cleared by the UN investigation team was arrested on orders from a top general at Mbuya and yet he had been cleared by UN investigators on same allegations. and Col. Dan Opito, who was implicated in treason charges, was released on the President’s orders and a day after he was on a plane to the USA for military training,” the source said adding that the CDF should assert his authority to contain the ‘emerging intrigue’.
By press time efforts to contact army spokesperson Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda on phone were futile.
The Col. Kalayigye’s incident is a drop in the ocean and an eye opener to the ongoing intrigue in the armed forces since the departure of Gen. Aronda Nyakairima as the CDF. EagleOnline was briefed by many sources within the army that whereas the ‘Mbuya top leadership’ is seen as performers, the reality is that they lack assertiveness and the hands on approach which Gen. Aronda implemented to build the force.
“The intrigue, corruption and leadership gap has taken back the army to where Gen. Aronda got it. It is even evident that at military courts the suspects bail the freedom or else, one is convicted on wrongful charges” said a source.
OF AGE: Tooro King Oyo Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. Photo/africanleadership.co.uk
Last week we brought you a number of Kampala’s posh youth and the names behind their lavish lifestyles in which our own lives pale considerably in comparison. And today, we continue to name these kids of pomp in the hope that a few others might learn the right names schmooze, and the wealthy, cultured and well bred stock.
King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV and Princess Ruth Komuntale
BABY KING: Queen Mother Best Kemigisa helps adjust the young King’s crown. Photo/africanleadership.co.uk
Finally of age, and the centre of attention for many young girls, spinsters and sugar mummies not only in the Tooro kingdom but the entire country, King Oyo Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV is the epitome of good genetics and culture.
PRINCESS ROYAL: King Oyo’s only sister Princess Ruth Komuntale
Of course his sister Princess Ruth Komuntale is of the same genetic fibre and Ugandans have watched the two royals from tender age with keen interest when, aged just three, the oldest of the three kids of Omukama David Olimi Kaboyo (RIP) and Best Kemigisa, King Oyo assumed the throne and his rightful place in the Tooro kingdom and today he has come of age to take over the responsibilities that come with his title. And it is through those mirrors that many Ugandans if not all have a grown fondness and soft spot for this royal hunk, putting him and his sister at the top of our radar.
We can safely conclude that King Oyo is not only one of the few people in Uganda whose pocket change is dollars, but he is the youngest reigning King today. In 1993 renown international fashion magazine Vogue featured the then infant Oyo as he took over from his father, allowing not only Uganda but the world to witness and celebrate his coronation. Born of royalty, this young man’s life was sorted way before he could even pronounce the words ‘Ota Amooti’.
Despite losing their father at a tender age, the King of Tooro and his sister were never short of father figures in their lives, from the president of Uganda Yoweri Museveni to the former president of Libya Muammar Gaddafi, who dotted over him every time he visited the Libya to catering for Princess Komuntale’s education in the best schools that the world has on offer, King Oyo remained the darling of every one with whom he crosses the path of life’s journey.
Intriguingly, with every whim met and fantasy lived one would expect King Oyo to have turned out differently but on the contrary he is a living example of what fine upbringing and stature are made of, continuously engaging his subjects and forging a road for a future prosperous Tooro kingdom. All this despite his cousin, 48-year old Prince David Kaijanangoma, threatening to dethrone him.
The Kutesa kids
The foursome of Inga, Ishta Asiimwe Kutesa, Charlotte Kutesa and Elizabeth Kutesa and have been the apple of their father’s eyes since their mother’s death. And, as if sensing the void which his kids would have to contend with for the rest of their lives, stinking rich foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa made it a point to ensure that his four children, most especially his only son Inga, will never lack anything for the rest of their lives. With almost a quarter of Kampala under his name, the sky is the limit when it comes to what the Kutesa kids have and are yet to achieve.
Mostly sighted at expensive places such as Kabira Country Club, Speke Resort Munyonyo, the Serena Hotel and at Desh Kananura’s Panamera Bar, Inga Kutesa doesn’t hold back when it comes to spending cash more so when there are females around. Regulars at Panamera Bar in Kololo say that he will buy out the Johnnie Walker. But they also say he is generous to the dot to the extent that when he buys the whole bar and the boda boda guys waiting at the entrance, all drink. Perhaps, for purposes of being fair, it is worth mention that Inga Kutesa, born to Sam and Jenniffer Nankunda (RIP) is a ‘first brother-in law’, his sister Charlotte having gotten married to Uganda’s First Son Major General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni’s son, who is also the Commander of the Special Forces.
Also in the Kutesa brood is Ishta Kutesa Muganga, married to youthful tycoon Albert Muganga, a co-Director of the Pioneer Easy Bus (PEB) transport franchise.
Natalie Bitature
BEAUTY AND BRAINS: Natalie Bitature, a budding student at the Hultz Business College in California USA.
Following in her father’s footsteps, Natalie has shown a keen interest in the world of business and enterprise. Indeed, with the guidance of her father, tycoon Patrick Bitature, Natalie is slowly but surely being incorporated into the business world through the family businesses and is surely getting a hang of it as she helps run her father’s empire.
Natalie holds a Masters Degree in Business from the Hultz Business School in California, and is currently a competitor in the annual Hultz Competition, where she is tussling it out with colleagues for a grand prize of US$ one million.
Unlike her siblings and peers, Natalie has a mind of her own and is not afraid to show it, which constantly has her falling out with so many of her friends within her social circles: she has a knack for talking to the wrong people at the wrong time earning her the ‘queen bitch’ title, something that has made her a hotspot of snide talk amongst her peers. But who cares when your family’s net worth is worth millions and your journey to success only just started!
Indeed, so many things seem to await this fast moving entrepreneur and despite her lack of societal skills she still makes up for it when it comes to making that paper.
Needless to mention, all human beings enjoy a good rest, something that is essential for a fresh mind, and Natalie always finds it at their ancestral home area in Ibanda where her father built a mansion fit for a King. This is the place she takes refuge when all the Kampala drama gets too hot!
Danny Kigozi aka Navio
SELF-INSPIRED RICH KID: Daniel Lubwama Kigozi aka Navio.
For those preoccupied with the fast life of glamour life, Danny Kigozi (Junior) aka Navio needs no mention. The son of the first National Resistance Movement (NRM) Minister of Works Engineer Dan Serwano Kigozi (RIP) and his doctor wife Maggie Blick Kigozi, Navio was born and has been bred in a cultured manner that is the envy of many ‘rich’ families.
Navio’s mother, Dr Maggie Kigozi, born to the Masaka famed sporting mixed race family of the Blicks including Paddy and Arthur Blick (both senior), was at first the chief health personnel of President Yoweri Museveni’s team at Parliament in the 1980s, from where she retired and was appointed the Executive Director of Uganda Investment Authority (UIA). Dr Maggie Kigozi is now in private practice but somehow finds time to ensure her son flourishes and keeps the family name scaling the heights of Uganda’s musical deportment.
Sources say Navio’s choice of career did not come as a surprise to many; from a very young age he made it a point to entertain whenever an opportunity presented itself, certainly foreshadowing what was to await him in the near future.
But that aside, despite living a top-notch lifestyle and, like most other ‘trustfund’ kids, attending St Andrews Turi, one of Africa’s best private schools, Navio has always been charismatic, kind and very down to earth. This has propelled him to popularity not just amongst his peers but also in the music industry and eventually on Uganda’s social scene.
Tall, handsome, rich and famous, it remains puzzling to many that Navio, an only kid with little to worry about, still refuses to get married.
But his attitude towards marital issues has not deterred the opposite sex and Navio keeps women on their toes as they all vie to get his attention and possibly an engagement ring!
However, Navio also stands out as the leading ‘rich kid’ who has conquered Uganda without as much leaning back to seek support from his mother.
He journey to making money started out with a five-man singing group called Klear Cut, giving Ugandans a bevvy of melodious tunes alongside superfluous names like Da Langman, Papitto, J Baller and The Mith.
Julianna (Jules) Nasasira
FASHION GURU: Juliana Nasasira
After her graduation from fashion school, Juliana Nasasira, daughter to former NRM mInister John Nasasasira Mwoono took Kampala’s runways and fashion houses by storm, unveiling her latest creations and designs and proving to her parents that they did not waste their money when they sent her to fashion school. This is a rarity when it comes to African parents, who believe the ‘education’ is the way to success. However daughter to former roads minister Jules was born a princess and still lives like one today.
Birds of the cloak, cloth together, and true to that Jules has made ties with several other fashion enthusiasts and designers, among them fellow ‘rich kid’ Gloria Wavamunno who, it seems, taught Jules a few tricks when it comes to handling the paparazzi and social scene.
A very rare gem, it is hard not to notice the beauty that Jules is when she steps anywhere outside the fashion world, perhaps explaining why ‘she is still single’.
But this is not to say that the Nasasira girls are not marriage material; Jules sister Lorna Nsiima, a graduate of journalism and communication from the United Kingdom is married to Israeli tycoon Vadim Murmis. “This is my first daughter to give away (sic), more so to as far as Israel. But her getting married in Israel is not a surprise to us because issues of discriminating people have never been heard of in us. Yes, we can have bad people amidst us but not based on what their race, colour, nationality, religion is,” Nasasira, then minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) said at the daughter’s giveaway ceremony in Kiruhura in June 2014.
The Mutasingwa brothers
BIG MONEY ON SHOW: Ivan Mutasingwa (Right in blue shirt) with Rajiv Ruparelia, son of Kampala tycoon Sudhir Ruperalia (left) and Sam Muhwezi (centre),a son to former minister Jim Muhwezi Katugugu, having a blast in a yet-to-be identified foreign country.
Ivan and Bella mutasingwa live a life that is completely foreign to so many Ugandans, especially those whose imaginations have taken them to destinations, only to come back wearing shirts from downtown claiming they are ‘souvenirs’.
Ivan and Bella seriously enjoy the riches the Mutasingwa family has to offer and their life is one tale of travel, luxury and fun, and despite staying in Australia and the United kingdom where they are pursuing university education, the two make it a point to visit a new and foreign land if not two, every year.
As proof of that they have taken selfies at the top floor of the Buhj Al Arab in Dubai; camel rides in Egypt to a quick getaway in Mykonos or a quick stop over in Sandton South Africa.
Nonetheless these two stand out amongst their peers and ‘web stalkers’ out there because they are sickeningly wealthy but still manage to rub it in our faces in such a humble and nonchalant way!
Uganda's leading opposition figure Dr Kizza Besigye
Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye is currently on a trip that will see him visit the United Kingdom and the USA, where he is urging the country’s diaspora to continue to push for democracy in Uganda.
“I think that they have two or three roles. One is to continue their engagement with the governments of the countries where they stay and indeed to solicit their support in their engagement with the regime at home, and also their engagement with those of us who are challenging the status quo,” Besigye said while on a visit to Britain, where he is meeting members of the diaspora. He travels later this month to the United States.
Besigye was released on bail in July after months of detention and house arrest following the February presidential poll. He came in second in the vote but the opposition said there were voting irregularities, and Besigye called for an independent audit of results. He later declared himself president and was charged with treason.
The February 18 poll saw longtime president Yoweri Museveni win a fifth term in office.
The government has repeatedly accused Besigye and the opposition of trying to destabilize the country, something Besigye denies.
“Our struggle is in fact very, very clearly a nonviolent struggle,” Besigye said.
In the run up to the poll, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International expressed concern about police brutality, restrictions on the right to assemble and arrests of opposition leaders.
A group of private lawyers has brought suit against Inspector General of Police General Kale Kayihura and seven of his commanders for alleged police brutality against Besigye supporters in July.
Hon Mike Sebalu of Uganda contributing to debate on integration. The legislator called for the promotion of Kiswahili in the region
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has adopted a key report of its outreach and sensitisation activities and called for more awareness among the people on the benefits of EAC integration.
According to the Assembly, specific interest groups including youth, women, civil and co-operative societies should be fully involved in the integration process and the pillars of integration including the Political Federation, fast tracked. In Uganda, the Members met Ugandan Vice President Edward Ssekandi; the Speaker, Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga, the Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EAC Affairs, Rt Hon Kirunda Kivejinja and his counterparts, and the Ministers of Trade, Finance, Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
The Chapter also held series of meetings with traders and transporters association, clearing industry association agents and shippers’ association before calling on district leaders in Lyantonde, Rakai and Sembabule.
Contributing to the debate, Hon Chris Opoka said traders in the region would benefit if the Common Market protocol is fully embraced. The legislator added that the issue of multiple membership of regional blocs needs to be analysed to assess benefits thereof.
“The Council of Ministers need to critically look into the rationale whether it is really necessary for Partner States to be members of multiple blocs and to spread the resources further, or if they should be co-ordinating their efforts at EAC”, Hon Opoka said.
Hon Dora Byamukama called for amendment of the Treaty to cater for the dynamic process of strengthening integration. She said it would be important if the regional Assembly can be constituted into a constituent Assembly to look into the Political Federation.
Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EAC Affairs, Rt Hon Kirunda Kivejinja lauded the Assembly for undertaking sensitisation and said the Council would ensure institutionalisation and adequate financing.
The growing stature of Kiswahili also captured the attention of the legislators, with members observing the growing interest of the stakeholders in embracing and learning the language that is spoken across the EA region as a medium of communication to facilitate trade. Contributing to debate Hon Mike Sebalu, rooted for Kiswahili as a key language that bonds and enables citizens of the region to communicate effectively and efficiently.
According to EALA, the sensitisation report presented by Hon Patricia Hajabakiga, Chair of EALA Rwanda Chapter, is a culmination of outreach and sensitisation activities carried out in the Partner States by the various country Chapters of EALA in June 2016. The activities held between June 9th to 28th, 2016 were anchored under the theme: EAC Youth Agenda: Accessing the Gains. The Assembly also recommended that the EAC Anthem and the flag should go hand in hand with respective national ones (flags) at all times.
Hon Frederic Ngenzebuhoro stresses a point during debate on the report on Sensitisation.
Members set out among other things to sensitize the people of East Africa on the integration process; create awareness among the people of East Africa on the gains and challenges of integration and enhance mutual relationships and sustainable networking between EALA and the people of East Africa.
Hon Maryam Ussi makes her contribution
During the sensitization program, EALA country chapters engaged several stakeholders including media, local Government authorities, institutions of learning, Private Sector, women, Youth Councils, Civil Society, Members of Parliament and embassies. Other targeted groups were the border communities, Government institutions as well as Ministries. The Ministries responsible for EAC Affairs in all Partner States coordinated the activity.
A picture illustration of the developments that have come with the palm oil project
Bidco Africa has said the protesters that picketed outside Standard Chartered and Barclays Banks in London on Tuesday are con artists trying to blackmail the company.
The company says it has been fighting an anonymous and faceless group of online con artists masquerading as activists for over a year.
According to BIDCO, the group has been harassing the company and its partners on social media and via email. It has also been staging fake protests in various locations, and says the London Protests lack credibility.
“These guys are just bodies for hire. If you watch the video the incredible thing is they cannot even get the company name right. They are protesting against ‘Bisco’ and ‘Vamil Shah’, that tells you all you need to know about these people,” CEO Vimal Shah explains.
“At one point they asked for US$500,000 to stop the harassment and we said ‘no’ and so they have kept coming,” he adds.
“There is no activism here. We know who is behind it and what they hope the pressure will lead to but we will not buckle. We will not give in to extortion.
“We also know they have been approaching PR agencies in Nairobi trying to recruit them to run a smear campaign against. We have this information,” Vimal Shah says.
KEPSA, the apex private sector body in Kenya received emails from the group but when they invited them to present evidence-no one showed up, he said.
“We asked them to come forward and prove their claims but have heard nothing from them since,” the CEO Carole Kariuki says.
Bidco Africa insists the claims made by so called activists are outright lies and distortion of facts. The company also says the claims of deforestation are manifestly untrue.
“No forests were taken in Uganda; there have been four independent Environmental Impact Assessments done and they all give the project a clean bill of health. On the question of land, out of 9000 hectares acquired for the project, there is only one dispute with one farmer who was a squatter on someone’s land and the case is in court,” Kodey Rao, the Bidco Uganda Managing Director says. The Uganda unit has different ownership and management from its Kenyan counterpart.
“1750 farmers earned 1.5 Billion Ugandan Shillings last month, I wish someone could talk about that and how their lives have changed, the houses they have built, the cars they have bought and how they are taking their children to private universities,” he adds.
“Or the 44 Million USD that has gone into infrastructure on the island, the jobs, the tourism and the total economic transformation of the district. It used to be one of the poorest in the country, position 71 out of 76 and that is now one of the top ten in the country.”
The company says its labour record is being misrepresented.
“The pictures you see on social media are a big joke. There are 1800 employees at Bidco HQ – If they go on the streets to protest, everyone will know. It won’t be 10 or 20 guys.” Zipporah Mburu the executive in charge of Employee Welfare says.
“It’s annoying to see people who have never even set foot in Bidco purporting to represent our interests,” Linus Muendo a union representative at the company says.
“They know nothing about the company and how we live.”
Vimal Shah says the allegations of tax evasion are the most saddening.
“We are a proudly Kenyan company. We gladly pay on average about 70M USD a year in taxes and just because we have one dispute over the computation of one tax bill we are bad guys. The case is in court, why not let the courts decide?”
In the meantime the CEO says there are plenty of other things to talk about.
“Talk about the 4,500 entrepreneurs who form our supply chain or the 12,000 plus farmers who have a guaranteed market for their farm produce. Or our investments in new industries and technologies.
That’s what Bidco is really about.”
About Bidco:
Bidco Africa Ltd is Kenya and East Africa’s leading manufacturer of edible oils, fats and hygiene care products. Established in 1985, the company has manufacturing units in Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar and a footprint in 16 African countries.
Bidco is home to some of Kenya’s most famous and loved brands such as Kimbo, Elianto, Golden Fry, Chipsy, Biddy’s, Gaea, Powerboy and Gental.
PROTESTERS HIT BACK
The Bidco Truth Coalition, www.No2Bidco.org, an alliance of East African activists exposing bad business ethics of Bidco Africa, strongly condemns Bidco’s claim that the coalition’s actions amount to extortion.
No2Bidco.org has never demanded anything from Bidco other than good governance.
Once again, Bidco and its CEO, Vimal Shah, are hiding behind the veneer of a carefully crafted image that deceives the public and the company’s partners about Bidco’s cruel labour practices, mass deforestation and large-scale tax evasion.
The press release issued by Shah (above), following a successful protest by No2Bidco.org in London, shows that this veneer is cracking, as No2Bidco.org reveals the truth about the Shah family.
In his accusations, Shah claims that the demonstrators are “bodies for hire” because they could not pronounce his and the company’s names correctly. Not only is this attack arrogant and insensitive toward peoples with different dialects, languages and accents, it reveals publicly Shah’s reportedly racist tendencies, which permeate Bidco, according to present and former workers.
Remarkably, in his statement Shah does not deny that his company deforested 18,000 acres of pristine land in Kalangala District, on Bugala Island, Uganda. Further confirmation of this travesty is provided by photos posted by Bidco in social media, showing oil palms as far as the eye can see. This is where some of the most lush and beautiful rainforest in the world once stood, before being mowed down so the Shahs could line their pockets with more ill-gotten gains.
No2Bidco.org is not anonymous and faceless. Countless courageous members have spoken out publicly about their treatment by Bidco. Dozens of independent media and NGOs have reported on them – from The Guardian to Agence France Presse and USAID to Friends of the Earth. From the shores of Bugala Island to the dusty slums of Thika in Kenya, where Bidco workers live, members of our coalition have names and faces, and they live in fear of Shah’s henchmen coming to silence them.
The situation in Kalangala District is far from the ideal Bidco presents in its statement. While Bidco takes credit for building wide roads to accommodate the company’s fume-spewing trucks, a report called “Pro-Poor Land Records, Palm Oil and Prosperity: Any Proof from Bugala Island, Uganda?”, presented at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty on 23 March 2015, found that “a hospital or dedicated public medical facility is still lacking on the island, alcoholism and HIV/AIDS have been on the rise and require intervention, and environmental risks concerning the chemical fertilizer required for the palms are expected to reduce the fish stock in the medium term.”
Meantime, Kalangala’s outgrower farmers have protested Bidco’s low payments for their crops. In March, the farmers resorted to processing their own oil when Bidco’s prices failed to meet international standards stipulated in their contracts. More than a dozen farming families are suing Bidco in Uganda after the company grabbed their land.
The only positive words Kalangala’s farmers have for Bidco can be found in a 2015 propaganda video produced by Bidco management. The farmers later said they spoke under duress.
With the facts clearly on the side of No2Bidco.org, Shah has resorted to calling in his Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) puppet Carole Kariuki to defend him. No2Bidco.org sent Kariuki several court decisions that prove Bidco’s labour violations, as well as more than 500 pages of documents which implicate Bidco in a Sh5.7 billion ($57 million) tax evasion, but she lamely states that No2Bidco.org “has refused to come forward to prove their claims.” What many in Kenya know is now proven publicly by Kariuki herself: she and Shah have turned the organisation into a lobby for Bidco’s interests, and KEPSA is party to Bidco’s crimes.
The website www.No2Bidco.org is a reference tool for all information that the Shah family has tried to hide for years. The articles and documents are from independent sources that have much more credibility than Bidco’s empty pronouncements. We urge the public and Bidco’s partners to study the information and come to their own conclusion about Bidco Africa. Some of the greatest changes in companies and society have come through activism, and this inspires us.
