Speaker Anitah Among expresses disappointment with security for reportedly blocking opposition MPs who had gone for an oversight visit to Lubowa Hospital.

Yesterday, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP), Joel Ssenyonyi, along with other opposition legislators, were blocked from accessing the construction site of Lubowa Specialised Hospital. 

“Yesterday, LoP led a team to one of the institutions that we have been giving money to, and that is Lubowa Hospital. To my surprise, I was told that the team was denied access to see what was happening where our money had gone. It is very unfortunate because we are doing what we are mandated to do,” she said.

Among said; “I will therefore task the Minister of Health to inquire into the circumstances under which the LOP and his team were blocked and report to this House. In addition, the House requires a progress report on the International Specialised Hospital Lubowa before we embark on the appropriation process.”

She has assigned Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa to lead a team to visit the Lubowa Hospital construction site on Wednesday.

“I am told the team was denied access, and that is very unfortunate. On Wednesday, the Deputy Speaker should go to Lubowa and give us a report.” she said

In March 2019, parliament approved the request by the ministry of finance to issue promissory notes for the construction of Lubowa Hospital to the tune of $379.71 million (about Shs1.44 trillion).

The project was launched in 2019 on a two-year contract; the contractor is supposed to handover the project to the government within 10 years; however, they are not on schedule.

Earlier this year, the Health Committee rejected a supplementary request of Shs2.7 billion by the Ministry of Health to supervise the construction of the Lubowa International Specialised Hospital, tasking the ministry to present the status of the hospital.

The country’s public debt as of June 30, 2023, stood at Shs96 trillion. The domestic debt stock stands at Shs43.6 trillion, while the external debt is Shs52.4 trillion. The public debt has increased by 107% in the last five years.

Minister of Health, Jane Aceng, defended the recent request for additional Shs2.7 billion for supervising works at Lubowa Hospital, saying that the funds will facilitate the movement of the consortium of engineers from the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Health to supervise works after the new contractor takes over the site because the government didn’t allocate any funds for consultancy services.

“For those two years when there were no works, there was no supervision; now work has to commence, and there must be supervision. And recall, there was a lot of building material that was bought and is on the ground; we need to know if it is of good use. Whether the contractor can still use them is all that is required. Leaving the contractor to go on the ground alone would be disastrous to us,” Aceng said.

She said money has never been provided for supervision at Lubowa Hospital, even when they have completed the hostels; those ones were supervised by our engineers at the Ministry of Health. This money (Shs2.7 billion) is being provided because now there is a contractor on the ground, and that contractor is expected to start work. I haven’t been there myself to see if they have started, but the engineers have to report on the ground.

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Police in Kyambogo, Kampala, have arrested the head teacher of Bubaare Primary School in Bushenyi, Ms. Lillian Ayebazibwe over allegations of issuing falsified results to 2023 PLE candidates of the school. 

UNEB revealed that the head teacher yesterday appeared before the UNEB Examinations Security Committee with thirty (30) out of 114 candidates whose results were withheld by the board.

The candidates’ results were withheld on suspicion of involvement in examination malpractice, in the form of external assistance. The candidates were appearing before the UNEB Examinations Security Committee for a fair hearing before a final verdict could be given. 

“The gist of the matter is that the Headteacher, issued testimonials with false results to her candidates for Senior One admission. One of the recipient parents contacted UNEB to verify the authenticity of the results. UNEB checked the results in the system and confirmed that they were forged,” UNEB noted.

Samples of the false testimonials were shown to the security committee, and the results indicated thereon differed from the ones withheld by UNEB.  

Subsequently, the Examinations Security Committee conducted a hearing for the candidates in respect to external assistance.  The candidates defended themselves and after evaluation, the Committee released some results and cancelled others.

The board has therefore notified all secondary schools which have admitted students from Bubaare Primary School to contact UNEB as soon as possible, to verify the results of the learners.

Parents have also been advised to use the SMS option on their phone handsets to verify the results of their candidates. Adding, “You need to know the index number of the candidate, type PLE or UCE as the case may be, leave space, put the full index number and send it to 6600.”

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Vivo Energy Uganda recently wrapped up its highly anticipated Love at Shell campaign, which took place from February 10th to February 24th, 2024, spreading love and delight to its loyal customers across the nation. During this exciting campaign, customers who made purchases above fifty thousand Uganda shillings at Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) in select Shell stations were treated to instant surprises, including Valentine’s goodies, movie tickets, spa vouchers, branded shirts and hoodies, Bluetooth speakers, and more. Additionally, lucky participants had the chance to win vouchers for a romantic dinner for two, adding an extra layer of romance to the festivities.

The highlight of the Love at Shell campaign was a captivating dinner event held at the prestigious Skyz Hotel in Naguru. Eighteen fortunate couples, selected from among the campaign’s participants, were invited to indulge in a lavish dinner affair accompanied by melodious tunes from a live band. It was an evening filled with laughter, love, and the unmistakable spirit of Shell.

Hellen Bwengye, the Head of Marketing at Vivo Energy Uganda, extended a warm welcome to all guests at the Skyz Hotel dinner, emphasizing that the Love at Shell campaign is more than just a gesture of gift-giving. It reflects Vivo Energy’s steadfast commitment to recognizing and appreciating customer loyalty and engagement, underscoring the company’s dedication to fostering meaningful relationships with its valued clientele.

Among the delighted winners, Steven Senoga shared his excitement at being rewarded by Shell for his purchase at KFC at Shell Wandegeya. Despite being unable to attend the dinner due to travel commitments, Steven ensured his wife and her best friend enjoyed the special evening. He expressed gratitude to Shell for giving back to its loyal customers and pledged to continue using Shell products because of their commitment to providing the cleanest fuel on the market.

Similarly, Ngabirano Hillary and Nuwamanya Raymond, winners from Café Pap at Shell Ntinda and Karveli Shell Bukoto respectively, expressed their appreciation for the treat from Shell and encouraged others to continue patronizing Shell’s services.

The Love at Shell campaign serves as a testament to Vivo Energy’s unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction and loyalty. As the company continues to prioritize its valued clientele, initiatives like this campaign strengthen the bond between Vivo Energy and its cherished customers, further solidifying Shell’s position as a beacon of love and delight in Uganda.

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The Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi has warned Government agencies and school heads about the various poisonous substances in food items on the market, urging all responsible authorities to only purchase food items from suppliers certified by Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).

Ggoobi raised the concern during the 2^nd Budget Call Circular that was recently issued ahead of the finalization of the 2024/25 national budget.

“Several cases of food poisoning have been reported in various institutions, especially of learning due to the effects of aflatoxins, adulterated quality standards and related post-harvest handling challenges of grain and grain products such as bread, maize flour among others. All Government institutions (Local Governments, Uganda Police Force, Uganda Prisons Services among others that procure grain and grain products are therefore advised to ensure their suppliers are verified and issued certificates of compliance by Uganda National Bureau of Standards,” Ggoobi stated.

The Secretary to Treasury further added that the Ministry of Finance will soon send out a separate Circular with guidelines, requiring all Accounting Officers of Government to procure certified grain and grain products to guarantee quality, health and safety of all consumers in the country and for exports.

“UNBS and the Ministry of Education and Sports should ensure that private and public schools procure UNBS certified products,” he said.

The Ministry of Finance’s department came at the time in October 2023; the Ministry of Health raised alarm on impact of consuming food contaminated with aflatoxin, saying this has seen health facilities battling with high cases of liver cancer in Uganda.

Margaret Muhanga, Minister of State for Primary Health Care told Parliament that on the average, Uganda Cancer Institute receives between 170-200 liver cancer patient’s cases per year but between 48 to 56 of these are a result of aflatoxin exposure, and gov’ernment spends Shs3.12 billion to treat 200 liver cancer patients, with each patient’s treatment costing an average of Shs15.6 million annually.

Minister Muhanga noted that the majority of these cases present with unrespectable disease (stage 3 & 4) and are treated with a combination treatment and the treatments of choice are Lenvatinib and bevacizumab, yet the average cost of bevacizumab is Shs700,000 per month and the cost of bevacizumab is Shs2,200,000 per month.

According to the Ministry of Health, the patients are treated per month resulting in a total cost of Shs15.6 million, thus requiring Shs3.12 billion to treat 200 liver cancer patients, but this doesn’t include other costs such as investigations and supportive treatment.

The Ministry of Finance has also barred Ministries, Agencies and Departments of government from undertaking any new projects of constructing office premises, in order to use the available resources for service delivery.

Ggoobi wrote, “It has been observed that Ministries, Departments are planning and budgeting for construction of institutional headquarter offices under the retooling projects, and without seeking clearance from Office of the President and this Ministry. In addition, due to the need to focus resources on the priorities, no new construction of office accommodation will be allowed next financial year.”

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Buganda Kingdom has mourned the tragic death of Daniel Bbosa, the head of the Ndiga clan and director of Transa Electrical.

“I have received the sad news of the murder of Daniel Bbosa, of the Ndiga clan, who was shot dead as he approached home in Lungujja. We have not established the motive or who is behind his killing. May his soul rest in peace,” Katikkiri Charles Peter Mayiga said.

Bbosa was fatally shot by yet-to-be-identified assailants as he was approaching his residence in Kikandwa Zone, Lungujja Parish, Lubaga Division.

The assailants, riding on a motorcycle, opened fire at Bbosa’s motor vehicle, bearing registration number UAH 637X, resulting in his immediate demise.

During the heinous act, a vigilant local resident bravely intervened, knocking down the assailants’ motorcycle and alerting the community. Swiftly, members of the community mobilised, leading to a confrontation with the assailants. Mob justice ensued, resulting in the death of one assailant at the scene, while the other remains in critical condition.

The motive behind this senseless act of violence remains unknown, and efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.

Furthermore, we have recovered the firearm allegedly used in the murder incident, along with the motorcycle registration number UEX 754E, utilised by the assailants during the attack. These findings will be instrumental in our ongoing investigation.

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The 2^nd East African Regional Conference for Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations will kick off on Thursday, 29 to March 1, 2024 under the theme; “Digital Technology and Parliamentary Monitoring: (Re)-Imagining Futures and Possibilities”.

 The conference will be hosted by the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA) in partnership with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

The two-day conference will bring together various stakeholders in Parliamentary Monitoring to assess the performance of parliamentary monitoring in East Africa and Africa in the face of a fast-evolving digital technological space.

This shall be a two-day in-person conference that will be live-streamed on CEPA’s Social Media and partner channels. It will comprise both open and closing plenary sessions and a number of specialized panel and plenary sessions across the two days. There will be a media engagement on television and radio by the conference organizers and partners to create awareness and sensitize people on the importance of parliamentary monitoring organizations.

Objectives

To discuss strategies for harnessing the opportunities that Artificial Intelligence evolution is unfolding to Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations in East Africa and beyond.

To empower East African PMOs with the information and perspectives they need to counteract the challenges that they are facing in the age of heightened constraints on freedom of expression in Sub-Saharan shrinking democratic spaces.

To create a platform for sharing best practices on how different countries in East Africa are navigating the dream of having open parliaments in their respective work domains.

The conference will be attended by a variety of participants from the Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations in East Africa and Africa, Civil society organizations in Uganda in the Governance and Parliamentary Democracy space such as the Parliament of Uganda, Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), Wizarts Foundation, The media (Uganda Parliamentary Press Association), The African Leadership Institute (AFLI), Citizens Report, Netherlands Institute of Multi-Party Democracy (NIMD), Westminster Foundation for Democracy, National Democratic Institute (NDI) and global partners like National Endowment for Democracy, APMON executive and member organization, Uganda Youth organization, and Academia.

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The Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), the world’s leading body in coffee quality training and certification, has awarded Q Venue recognition to the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).

The UCDA Coffee Laboratory is now internationally recognized as a centre of excellence for coffee quality assessment and allows UCDA to offer Q Arabica and Q Robusta training, especially to the youth interested in building a career in the coffee industry.

“This milestone reaffirms our commitment to improving the quality of Uganda coffee, promoting value addition, and driving positive change in the coffee industry,” UCDA said in a statement.

According to UCDA, locations certified with Coffee Quality Institute let the world know that they meet international standards.

The Q Venue provides a consistent, predictable learning environment where educators know that they will have the tools and space they need to deliver courses that maintain international standards.

The Q venue supports the certification of Q Arabica and Q Robusta graders who are highly specialized coffee professionals who are able to speak the same language with other professionals internationally with regards to coffee quality. They are able to differentiate specialty Arabica and Fine Robusta coffees that are sought for in specialty markets thus fetching premium prices. These will be able to advise farmers on how to improve the quality of their coffees and benefit from these niche markets.

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