A team of military officials from Uganda and South Sudan have today joined the joint re-demarcation of the two countries’ common border in Moyo district.

Sources told the EagleOnline that Uganda’s military team to oversee the re-demarcation exercise expected to end on February 12 is led by the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Chief of Military Intelligence Brigadier Charles Bakahumura and the Army Spokesperson Lt Col Paddy Ankunda.

The political emissaries are led by Uganda’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem and the South Sudan Minister for Foreign Affairs Benjamin Barnaba Marial.

Last year in December, Uganda and South Sudan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to ease border tension and pave the way for the re-demarcation exercise which started on February 8.

And, available information indicates the two countries carried out sensitization campaigns for their respective citizenry in Uganda and Nimule, South Sudan. The re-demarcation follows a directive by the AU in 2011, for both countries to resolve their border differences by 2017.

There have been sporadic attacks carried out by South Sudanese against Ugandans staying near the border, with the last attack carried out late last year.

Tension at the disputed border area has been going on for decades now, even before South Sudan seceded from the Sudan in 2011. At the time the Sudan government under President Omar Bashir would occasionally drop provocative bombs in Moyo, prompting retaliatory threats from Uganda and also creating an aura of panic among the residents staying near the border.

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As polling date draws nearer, the police has assured Ugandans of peace during and after the elections slated for February 18.

“We would like to give assurance to the public that we shall do our best to ensure peaceful elections” Mr Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson said yesterday while addressing journalists during the weekly press conference at police headquarters in Naguru

He said that to ensure peace prevails ahead of the elections, police has heavily deployed in the 27 regions and 112 districts of Uganda. A number of machinery, mostly vehicles have been procured by the force to help make their work easy, their small officer to civilian ratio notwithstanding, he noted.

Five ambulances, 49 fire Brigade vehicles for municipalities and districts, 6 units of anti-riot armored vehicles, two cars for logistics and engineering and six vehicles for the United Nations and African Union missions, have been purchased.

These purchases follow the recent procurement of about 85 new police patrol vehicles, and according to Mr Enanga, police has been raising money for the said vehicles over the past two years.

“All this is in good faith to see that the Uganda Police work is easy and that Ugandans benefit from the undertaking,” he said.

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Twenty four posh sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and sedans stolen from the United Kingdom and smuggled into Uganda have today been handed over to the British High Commissioner to Uganda Ms Alison Blackburn.

The cars, most fitted with sophisticated tracking applications, were recovered from various places in and around Kampala. However, the smugglers appear to be ‘faceless’ and no mention has been made of their arrest.

At a function held at the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) headquarters in Kampala, the cars were handed over for onward return to their owners in the UK.

In September last year British detectives tracing a Toyota Lexus established that there were 29 cars including Range Rovers, Audis, Toyotas and  BMWs worth about 1 million Pound Sterling, reported stolen from the UK and brought into Uganda.

As a result, the international police and Uganda police launched an operation early last year to track the cars, most of whose details had been altered by the hitherto unidentified car smugglers.

By press time it was not possible to establish the exact scope of investigations, including the arrest and prosecution of the racketeers.

But an Interpol official said investigations are ongoing and that the culprits would be arrested and brought to book.

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The results for last year’s Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) are to be released by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) this Friday.

The release of the UACE follows that of the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in mid January and the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) in early February.

The early release of last year’s exams, attributed to the February 18 General Elections, will pave the way for most 2015 candidate pupils and students to begin school on Feb 22, just four days after the presidential and parliamentary polls.

Education minister Jessica Alupo is expected to preside over the function, while, as tradition dictates, the UNEB Board Chairperson Professor Mary Okwakol and Executive Secretary David Odongo, will grace the ocassion.

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Absenteeism and indiscipline among health workers is the leading cause of underperformance in the health sector.

According to the 16th Annual Report of the Health Service Commission that was presented to the Speaker of Parliament Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga on Monday February 8, 2016, cases of neglect of duty and absenteeism were reported in several districts.

“Some districts reported continued instances of absenteeism and neglect of duty by some health workers. They indicated taking measures ranging from minor to several reprimands but there were no reports on actual numbers,” Professor Pius Okong, the Chairperson of the Commission said.

The report also indicates that the majority of the district and regional referral hospitals in 47 districts visited lacked functional committees to implement sanctions and rewards for the health workers.

Masaka district had no committee while committees in the districts of Kaberamaido, Kumi, Ngora, Kyenjojo, Kiruhura, Mubende and Kabale were not properly constituted, the report indicates. The districts of Buikwe, Mukono, Kayunga, Kotido, Kaabong, Abim, Yumbe and Koboko presented no evidence of minutes of the disciplinary and training committee meetings.

The training of health workers in some districts had been mismanaged with medical personnel granted long term training that is not beneficial to the health institutions.

The Commission reported that Yumbe General Hospital had depleted its workforce by sending three of its four doctors for training at the same time.

The Health Service Commission appealed to Parliament to review the policy on recruitment of health workers to enable all districts have access to health workers.

Health workers in some health centers complained of the lack of uniforms which are provided by the Ministry of health.

Prof Okong told the Speaker that many rural districts had still failed to attract and retain specialized critical medical cadres like Public Health nurses, anesthetic officers, midwives and pharmacists in the district and regional referrals due to resource constraints.

In response the Speaker re-echoed the need for the health sector to review the policy on retirement to retain several of the medical experts that are laid off as soon as they clock the mandatory retirement age of 60 years, amidst the scarcity of doctors.

“I have been to several of the villages but the rate of indiscipline among medical workers is too high. Absenteeism is too much and it seems no one is in control. I am also still concerned that many expert doctors are retired,” she added.

The Speaker confirmed that Parliament will consider the report and its recommendations when it resumes after the general elections.

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President Yoweri Museveni has said those that are opposed to his candidature in February 18, polls are doing so because they likely to lose the forthcoming election and are trying to call for a boycott.

While speaking at 35^th anniversary dubbed “Tarehe sita” since he launched the war that brought him to power at Kololo Independence grounds on this afternoon, President Museveni said “the opposition know that they cannot win the elections and have resorted into intimidating people so that they don’t vote”.

Museveni launched the war in 1981 after  “allegations” that the 1980 elections where he participated as a presidential candidate and came third and last had been rigged by Uganda Peoples’ Congress. So the  significance of this day to him and his party is that they have made 35 years after.

“They know how strong the NRM is to be defeated in an election and are now resorting to intimidating you so that you remain home instead of going to vote,”  he told the chanting crowd adding “It is a trick for them to deny you of your right to vote and cause violence.

Gen. Museveni promised that the NRM government is committed to a peaceful election and will do anything possible to stop the violence that is being perpetuated by the opposition.

He called upon the wanainchi (population) to ignore the opposition and vote NRM back to power because of the achievements that have been ushered in.

Clad in a black suit, the president highlighted the achievements of the NRM   in the field of security and economic development.

He hailed the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Force (UPDF) for ushering in peace, security and stability in the country which he said had been mismanaged by the previous regimes.

“We have gone a long way not only in recreating the army but also recreating an enclave of modernity in the economy of Uganda,” he said.

Gen. Museveni told the audience that in 1962, the economy was an enclave of a modern economy in the midst of a substance economy characterized by three Cs and three Ts which are; cotton, coffee and copper and tobacco, tourism and tea respectively.

He said however by 1986 when he came to power, only tobacco existed for the Ts and copper for the Cs.

The President stressed that even import substitution products like sugar, soap, soft drinks, beer had been wiped out and people only relied on magendo (smuggling)

“Our mission is to have a fully monetized, modern and employed economy with emphasis on increased GDP” he noted.

He congratulated the UPDF for ushering in peace at least for the first time in 500 years where all parts of the country are peaceful.

He explained that he was talking of 500 years because even before colonial rule African were fighting each as result of conflicts cause by war chiefs.

He thanked the general public for providing their children for joining the army whenever they are recruiting.

He also assured Ugandan of guaranteed peace and security in the forthcoming election. “As we go to the polls, remain calm, and do not allow yourselves to be intimidated by anybody,” he cautioned.

He warned that if there is anybody who is not satisfied with the outcome from elections, such a person should allow the laws take its course but not to cause violence.

The function was attended by Army chiefs from neighboring countries namely Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Kenya.

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Forty three out of the 54 countries in Africa including Uganda, representing eighty per cent, have tough anti-gay and lesbian laws, with all seven North African countries of Tunisia, Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Algeria providing for harsh penalties including long jail terms or even death.

According to researched data, in East Africa, all the five East Africa Community (EAC) countries have tough laws against LGBT, while in the Horn of Africa it is only Djibouti that has no known laws against gayism and lesbianism. The other Horn countries of Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea all have tough anti-gay laws of between three to 10 years imprisonment.

In the south, it is only South Africa, Lesotho and Mozambique which have okayed LGBT, while the others including Botswana, Angola, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe outlawed LGBT.

In the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius, Comoros and Madagascar, it is only in the Comoros where same sex relationships are outlawed, attracting five years imprisonment and a fine.

Interestingly, in French-speaking West Africa all countries except Cameroon have no known laws against LGBT. The countries were same sex relations are not taboo include Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of Congo and Sao Tome and Principe.

Meanwhile, the African countries that have tough anti-gay and lesbian laws including Uganda might feel let down after the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) unveiled a set of six commemorative stamps to promote UN Free & Equal – a global UN campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality launched and led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The new stamps, which celebrate the diversity of the LGBT community, mark the first time the United Nations has issued stamps with this theme. The set, which features two in English, two in French, and two in German, will be available beginning today at UN Headquarters in New York, Geneva and Vienna. They can also be purchased online.

In an interview, the artist who designed them said he was very influenced by art from the first quarter of the 20th Century. Sergio Baradat, who is of Cuban background, explained that his style stems from his appreciation for French Art Deco and growing up in Miami.

“One of the stamps represents someone who is transgender,” Mr. Baradat told UN Radio, referring to the stamp that depicts a person with butterfly wings, an image he says represents a person “becoming who they really are, blossoming,” he said.

“We live in a world where even though [developed] nations have embraced marriage equality [and] LBGT equality, we still have a far, far, far way to go, but we are making some strides,” he added.

“There are some countries in the world right now where not only are we not celebrated or respected, but we are beaten and killed. And I thought that it would be a wonderful opportunity using art, to use postage stamps as a vehicle – using art to change hearts and minds.”

He also stressed that LGBT rights are human rights and that all individuals deserve to be treated equally and fairly under the law.

The series is co-sponsored by the permanent missions of Argentina, Australia, Chile, El Salvador, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay, the delegation of the European Union, in addition to OHCHR and UNPA.

United Nations stamps in United States denominations are valid for postage only if mailed at UN Headquarters in New York. Stamps in Swiss franc denominations are valid for postage only if mailed at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. Stamps in euro denominations are valid for postage only if mailed at the Vienna International Centre, Austria.

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