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Kiir orders pay for civil servants

By
Agencies
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CALLED FOR CALM IN WAU: South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit

South Sudan President Salva Kiir has directed that all civil servants in the country be paid to enable them continue providing the needed services.

President Kiir’s directives came during a meeting with Finance Minister, David Deng Athorbei and Central Bank Governor Kornelio Koryom Mayiik after they briefed him on the current fiscal and monetary situation in the country and how they intend to resolve some pending issues such as payment of civil servants.

“Finally the civil servants are going to be paid fully,” presidential spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny said in a statement.

The meeting, Ateny explained, also resolved that salaries for all the organised forces be paid for the months of April and May with immediate effect, while preparations for payment of their June salaries be done before the end of the 2015-2016 financial year.

“This is a very significant step taken by the President in an attempt to alleviate the suffering of civil servants. More shall follow in the resolve to improve our economy,” he added.

The president’s directives come amidst reports that government received about US$300 million from oil and loans it obtained from undisclosed sources. Some finance ministry officials claimed China provided financial assistance to be paid with crude oil.

The reports could, however, not be independently verified.

Recently, several civil servants in the country laid down their tools, demanding the issue of their outstanding salary arrears be sorted out.

 

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ISIS delighted with Brexit, calls for attacks in Europe

By
Our Reporter
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ISIS has expressed its delight over the economic impact on the UK and EU following the British referendum and called for attacks in Berlin and Brussels to “paralyse” Europe, according to a media report.

A jihadi Telegram (an encrypted messaging service popular with militants) praised the economic chaos that came in the wake of the EU Referendum and urged followers to strike at the heart of mainland Europe, the Mirror reported citing SITE intelligence group.

The UK voted to leave the European Union after 43 years in the historic referendum. Leave won by 52 per cent to 48 per cent votes.

The vote, which saw an extremely high turnout of around 72 per cent, reverses the public verdict back in 1975, when the UK voted to remain a member of then European Economic Community, which later became the EU.

UK military chiefs have warned there is a ‘serious and direct threat to holiday resorts across Europe’ from groups like ISIS.

“There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria,” the UK’s Foreign Office (FCO) was quoted as saying.

Anti-terror police are believed to have foiled a major terror attack planned to take place during Ireland’s Euro 2016 match with Belgium this week.

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UPDF to build Industrial Parks

By
Shawn Davis Kawalya
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One of the developments at the Namanve Industrial Park

The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Engineering Brigade is to take the lead in building the 22 Industrial Parks aimed at harnessing investments across the country, President Yoweri Museveni has said.

Addressing the inaugural meeting of the new cabinet, Mr Museveni said the move will help ease investments, one of the pillars of his plans to move Uganda to middle-income status in five years.

‘To make it even easier for the investors to come in, we must build the 22 Industrial Parks we have talked about for so long.  It is not serious to give an investor a swamp that he must drain at his own cost… the Industrial Parks should be built by the UPDF Engineering Brigade.  You should complete the one of Namanve, construct the one of Nakasongola, etc.  You can even think of using manual labour of the prisoners,’ Mr Museveni said.

He advised the line minister to ensure that five industrial parks are built every year.

‘It is not complicated technology: make the access roads, pull electricity, pull piped water, pull the internet under-ground cables.  It is, mainly, civil works,’ he said adding: ‘How can our engineers fail to do this?’

Further, Mr Museveni advised the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to ensure that the respective requisite procedures for investments are expedited.

‘Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) must get all the necessary licences in two days.  These must include the Environmental Impact Assessment.  None of these factories is likely to be a pioneering one in the world.  Similar ones have been built in other parts of the world,’ he said.

Already, 21 areas across the country have been identified by the UIA for the construction of industrial and business parks and these include Kampala (Luzira and Namanve), Arua Fort Portal, Hoima, Mubende, Rakai, Kasese, Kabale, Bushenyi, Mbarara, Nakasongola and Luwero. Others areas are Masaka, Jinja, Iganga, Tororo, Mbale, Moroto, Soroti, Gulu, Lira and Arua.

Meanwhile, President has also weighed in on the investments in the sugar industry saying the pioneer investors in the sector like the Madhvanis, Mehtas and the Kinyara Sugar Corporation need to be protected from emerging proximity competition.

‘Who violated the Government policy of not licensing new sugar factories within the radius of 50kms of an existing factory?’ he asked, adding: ‘These mistakes must be rectified if they are injurious to the old sugar producers’.

 

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Gen Tumukunde busts Kifeesi criminal hotspots

By
Stephen Muneza
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The new minister for Security Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde has Friday morning identified several Kifeesi Crew, a prominent criminal gang’s hideouts in Kampala and Wakiso Districts.

Armed with a list of the suspected gangsters and escorted by a small security detail, the former spymaster for over 6 hours carried out a recon in the areas of Nansana, Nakulabye, Makerere Kivulu, Bakuli, Kisenyi, Mukono and Busabala in Makindye division.

HERE: TIME UP! Lt Gen Tumukunde vows to crack Kampala Kifeesi gangs

On his first day in office, Lt Gen Tumukunde vowed to crack a whip against the Kifeesi Criminal gang that continues to torment the people.

The tough talking Lt General asked Kifeesi criminals to try their operations elsewhere but in Uganda and definitely not when he is the minister for security..

Observers say, following the Uganda Police’s admission of using these criminal gangs as informants like we reported, Gen. Tumukunde’s move is likely to cause a rift with Gen Kale Kayihura’s men.

READ HERE: Kifesi are Police informants – Enanga

The Kifeesi gang is known to operate in groups of not less than 15 people. The crew besieges a carefully scouted area on the streets and in the outskirts of trading centres and caries out daring robberies that don’t last more than 10 minutes.

The Kifeesi crew is bred from Katwe – Kinyoro, with their main base at Musoke zone. The gang, commanded by a one Face (Nickname arising from the failure by the crew member to know his face) has been in existence since 2010.

While the criminal gang is well known for petty theft, they also have an armed robberies wing, various cases of armed robberies and murder cases have been registered against them. His gang was suspected to have been responsible for raiding Mpala Police Station in 2013.

Some members of the notorious Kifeesi criminal gang being paraded by Police after a recent sweep
Some members of the notorious Kifeesi criminal gang being paraded by Police after a recent sweep

The group is well known especially in the city center and Entebbe Road and on many occasions, traders will smell trouble a few minutes to the attack and alarms are usually raised to warn that the gang members are in the area.

On most occasions, the traders will scream “Bakifeesi baabo” literally meaning “the Kifeesi crew members are here”.

While the crew is said to comprise of mature energetic men, the ones who carry out the petty theft operations are mainly young boys between 13 and 20 years. Their trademark dress code while in an operation is long sleeved shirts with the left sleeve folded.

Unlike other petty thieves, the Kifeesi crew moves in cars and boda boda. In an ideal operation, the group members are dropped off to their venue of attack in a super custom motor vehicle or coasters.

The vehicles later pick them up when the operation has been completed from an area agreed upon during the planning of the attacks.

Tracing Kifesi gangs

  • According to police crime intelligence, Kifesi is the biggest criminal gang in Kampala. Kifesi gangs are based in Katwe-Kinyoro zone and controls the largest criminal operational area in the city, covering Nkrumah Road, Clock Tower, Conrad Plaza, Entebbe Road traffic lights spot, Kamu-Kamu Plaza, Allen Road, William Street, Market Street, part of Ben Kiwanuka Street from Mukwano Arcade to Shoprite and Nakivubo Mews. Besides street crime, there are hardcore white collar criminals operating from Internet cafes, banking halls and around forex bureaus. They are educated and some of them are IT graduates.
  • The rising cases of phone robberies, car thefts and bank invasions have raised alarm among Kampalans and other Ugandans that the police and other security agencies are sleeping on their job by putting the lives and property of more people ever in greater danger.
  • Whereas the Police is generally charged with the responsibility of securing the lives and property of Ugandans, fingers are pointed at the force for using  the marauding gangs rather than bringing them under control.
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Being without a national airline is a shame– Museveni

By
Stephen Muneza
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TO OPEN SUMMIT: president Yoweri Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni has described as ‘a big shame’ Uganda not having a national carrier.

Uganda Airlines was liquidated in 2001 over heavy debts that stood at a tune of more than $6m (about Shs21b).

Museveni during the inaugural meeting of the cabinet directed the new Minister for Works and Transport that he wants a national airline to be set up in the next five years in order to reduce travel costs.

“This is a big shame,” President Museveni said at State House Entebbe.

“Ugandan travellers are suffering because of, apparently, not having a national airline,” he added.

“Ugandans would save about $420m (£283m) a year if the country had its own airline,”

“A ticket to Nairobi costs between $1,100-1,200 (business class) and $500-700 (economy class) depending on the time of booking while a ticket to London costs between $2,700-3,000 (business class) and $1,000-1,300 (economy class).”

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Uganda disagrees with US, UK over Somali – Gen Katumba

By
Our Reporter
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CDF Gen. Katumba Wamala (c) and commander of Ugandan contingent in somalia, Brig. Sam Kavuma (R) in Barawe, 220km south of Mogadishu

As the Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) prepares to pull its soldiers out of the African Union mission fighting Islamist group al-Shabab in Somalia, the army commander Gen Katumba Wamala has revealed the main reason behind the imminent withdrawal.

Gen Wamala said Uganda could pull out before its deadline of December 2017 if another country is found to replace it. So far at least 5,000 government soldiers have been trained, a number that is far below the needed 30,000. This force is not enough to even be deployed and secure the liberated areas.

According to the CDF, the decision to withdraw the troops was taken because of frustration with the Somali army and military advisers from US, UK and Turkey.

Uganda provides the biggest contingent of soldiers with over 6,000 troops in the 22,000-strong AU force, Amisom based in Sector One that covers Banadir (Mogadishu), Middle and Lower Shabelle regions.

AMISOM soldiers

There had been rumours that the Uganda – Western disagreements stemmed from the reduction of allowances by 20 per cent provided by the European Union could negatively impact morale and overall effectiveness troops. This may have even led some Ugandan troops into alleged illegal sales of military supplies.

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Gov’t lost interest in Besigye ‘defiance campaign’ – FDC lawyer

By
Stephen Muneza
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The main opposition party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), is blaming the judiciary for trying to keep its 2016 presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye imprisoned despite government having ‘lost interest’ in a case of defiance brought against him.

Uganda’s Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma sitting at the Constitutional Court in Kampala today adjourned the FDC and Besigye defiance case until all procedures are followed, with the DCJ saying ‘it’s unfair to go on without Besigye’.

However, speaking to reporters outside court FDC lawyer Ladislaus Rwakafuzi protested the failure by court to issue a production warrant for Mr Besigye, who is key in the hearing. He added that government had lost interest in the case.

Further, Mr Rwakafuzi said it was unfair for DCJ Kavuma to adjourn the case, adding that the DCJ’s pronouncement was a pre-planned move by the government to scuttle Dr Besigye’s defence.

“I think they see it is no longer necessary to pursue the case after achieving their goal of detaining Dr Besigye,” Mr.  Rwakafuzi said.

The defiance campaign was launched by the opposition party ahead of the February 2016 elections as a ‘people power’ movement to engender grassroots support for the FDC presidential and parliamentary bids.

However, since the February 20th announcement of President Museveni as the winner of the 2016 elections, the defiance campaign took a new twist that aims at affirming what FDC claims was Dr. Kizza Besigye’s victory in the elections.

It is against this background that DCJ Kavuma, issued an interim order that blocked all activities of FDC that related to the defiance campaign and specifically restricted the movements of Dr. Kizza Besigye, ostensibly until after the 12th May swearing in. the state later asked court to extend the ban, prompting the FDC and Dr Besigye to go to court over the matter.

And, as a sign of protest, Dr Kizza Besigye has since vowed to continue with the defiance campaign, despite being on remand in Luzira prison on treason charges.

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Ugandan footballers to be tested for drugs

By
Our Reporter
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Just moments after Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta had signed an anti-doping law, Uganda’s football governing body Fufa announced they would begin with the anti-doping test campaign starting next season.

This test is aimed to help find out if a player is involved in the game under the influence of prohibited substances like drugs.

The aim is to raise awareness among young athletes, coaches, doctors, trainers and parents about the dangers and consequences of drugs to a person.

All Ugandan football players in the country are supposed to abide with the condition will undergo a doping test before the 2016/17 season starts regardless of the level of the game.

Fufa partnered with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) together with the Uganda Olympics Committee (UOC) to get the equipment and technically qualified persons to run the campaign through checking a player’s blood, urine and saliva.

Players participating in Futsal, Beach Soccer, Women Football and at all levels of football MUST also  all comply positively with the condition that has been set and that will happen when next season commences.

The major reason for the exercise is to protect the physical strength, health of the players and make the game an equal and fair one in addition to keep them mentally sound.

Successful players found innocent will then be granted the license and accepted to play for their clubs whereas any player found guilty will be subject to a punishment by law.

Doping is regarded to as cheating. Respect your team-mates and your sport, but most of all respect yourself. Stay clean and keep football free from doping.

This will help send a clear message to the football community and young athletes in the country.

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Phillip Omondi Stadium passed fit to host competitive games

By
Our Reporter
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KCCA FC home ground, Phillip Omondi stadium in Lugogo becomes the second artificial turf in Uganda to fulfill the required minimum international standards.

Kampala City Council Authority Partnered with the football governing boy in the country FUFA in the construction of the artificial turf.

FIFA has passed the turf fit and it will start it’s activities when next season commences.

The facility took over a period of 4 months of installation. KCCA FC’s stadium is not the first in the country but it’s the only sanctioned artificial turf that can host both the league and international matches.

The turf has a spectacular view but in spite of it’s flat levelness without bumps, it is not an easy surface for footballers to play on and it takes time to adjust to its demands.

The turf has a delicate surface that needs proper maintenance but when used properly, it offers flexibility and can withstand all kinds of weather because it cannot be waterlogged during rainy season.

KCCA FC relocated to Nakivubo stadium in Kampala as their home ground for all their remaining home games in the all football league competitions for almost half of last season since the facility was to start it’s installation.

It becomes the second artificial turf to be laid in the country. The first artificial turf was developed at the Fufa technical center in Njeru located in Jinja district.

The FIFA grant on the installation of the artificial turf pitch was aided by the Edel grass company of Holland. This is a great achievement in Ugandan football.

The turf file number is AG 6272.1. It is also certified for four years until 2020 allowing the use of it for all the official matches in Uganda.

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Museveni directs works ministry to establish national airline

By
Isaiah Mwebaze
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A Boeing 707 belonging to the defunct Uganda Airlines

President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Ministry of Works and Transport to expedite the establishment of a national airline, an undertaking that will help government save US$420 million in annual air travel costs.

Delivering his inaugural address to the new cabinet today, Mr Museveni noted that Ugandan travellers are suffering because of high air travel costs. He gave an example of the Entebbe-Nairobi route which costs between US$1100-1200, before directing that the national airline project be completed in the five years.

“Uganda will encourage the setting up of a National Airline.  Ugandan travellers are suffering because of, apparently, not having a National Airline.  A ticket to Nairobi costs between US$ 1100-1200 (business class) and US$ 500-700 (economy class) depending on the time of booking while a ticket to London costs between US$ 2700-3000 (business class) and US$1000-1300 (economy class).  This is a big shame.  I did not care much about a National Airline.  I thought that our brothers in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, etc. having Airlines would serve all of us.  That, however, is apparently not the case.  Hence, the Ministry of Works and Transport is directed to conclude discussions with the investors that can help us to start a National Airline.  A National Airline would help us to save US$420 million per year Ugandans spend on travel,” Mr Museveni said.

He also noted that the national airline will create jobs and career opportunities for Ugandans.

“Our children who train as pilots at Soroti Flying School.  These children apparently suffer when they try to get jobs.  Apart from joining the Uganda Airforce, opportunities for them are very limited.  The Airlines of our brothers and sisters that benefit from Ugandan market should have remembered to treat our children as their own because our purchasing power is supporting those airlines,” the President added.

Previously, Uganda had a national carrier, the Uganda Airlines, but this was privatized in the 1990s. Since then air travellers use other carriers, mostly the Kenya Airways, whose planes operate several daily flights between Nairobi and Entebbe.

 

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