Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has called for the reservation of two permanent seats for African countries to present their issues on the UN Security Council.

Speaking at the 63rd Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) – European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly u in Brussels, Tayebwa said that it is a shame that Africa, which is three times bigger than Europe, is not represented at the UN Security Council.

Tayebwa also called for the African Union to be given a more significant voice at the UN’s International Peace and Security Organization.

He said Uganda and her friendly countries would press for Africa to have a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

“The Security Council has been reduced to settling quarrels between big states and superpowers but when it came to the invasion of Africa, specifically, the invasion of Libya, you did all you could and you made a mess. Now you have seen one of your own, whom you considered an ally in the Security Council, what he has done to one of your European countries and you’re waking up. Maybe we need more of these examples for you to wake up,” Tayebwa said, adding that if the invasion of Ukraine by Russia had been done much earlier, “you would have listened to us much earlier”.

Tayebwa explained that Security Council membership where European countries have three out of the five seats since 1947 has no standing in any modern society

“There are no permanent members from Latin America or Africa, and China is the only Asian member. That damages the legitimacy of the Security Council if it is seen as a forum dominated by the West and Great Powers, where the Global South and smaller states are marginalized,” Tayebwa said, telling the assembly president that: “this has no standing in any modern society. We can’t continue living in the era of 1945 before most of us were born,” he added.

At several AU assemblies, Uganda has asked African countries not to accept anything less at the UN Security Council reforms, until the continent is granted at least two permanent seats.

Uganda’s position is that like the rest of other developing regions of the world are not asking for favors when they demand adequate representation. He said it was “obvious” that reforms will make the global body inclusive and relevant to the current realities.

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Mrs Alice Nabugembe Oguttu, the wife of Wafula Oguttu, former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Uganda and MP emeritus for Bukooli Central, Bugiri District, has passed away.

Mrs Wafula has battled cancer for a long time.

According to funeral arrangements, on Wednesday, June 28, 2023 there will be a Vigil at their Home in Ntinda starting from 5:30pm.

The family has also planned for a funeral service at St. Luke Church of Uganda in Ntinda on Thursday June 29, 2023 at 10:00am.

And there after body and family will depart for Bugiri where she will be laid to rest on July 1, 2023, at Sanika village, Nsono Parish, Nankoma sub-county.

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THE death toll at Lhubiriha Secondary School has risen to 44 following the terror attack. The revelation was made by Fred Enanga, the Police Spokesperson.

On June 16, criminals suspected to be Allied Democratic Force (ADF) attacked Mpondwe at Lhubiliriha Secondary School in Nyabugando Parish, Karambi SubCounty in Kasese District. The attack led to the death of 42 people including 37 students.

Police has since nabbed over 20 people in connection with Lhubiriha secondary school attack in Kasese including the Director as well as the Headmaster of the school to help in investigations.

“We do reiterate that there is no justification for terrorism whatsoever, more so on innocent schoolchildren and civilians. It is a cowardly act and reprehensible,” he said earlier today.

At least four of the five abducted children have since returned to their homes. Several parents are yet to receive bodies of their children who perished in the dormitory which was set ablaze.

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Tetra Pak has been named a European Climate Leader 2023 by the Financial Times, in recognition of the company’s progress in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its robust commitments to climate action.

The accolade comes after thousands of companies were assessed by the Financial Times and Statista who assigned individual scores based on the company’s volume of emissions, level of disclosure on these emissions, and its reduction of emissions as a percentage.

Only the leading 500 companies with the greatest reduction in their GHG emissions intensity made it to the final list. Tetra Pak was ranked amongst the top 20% of the 500 companies listed, achieving a 54.3% absolute reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions over a five-year period.

Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy. Scope 3 includes all other emissions associated with a company’s activities.

“The acknowledgement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders,” Adolfo Orive, President and CEO at Tetra Pak said.

“While we are proud of our achievements to date, we have plans to continue mitigating our environmental impact further – by decarbonizing our value chain, driving circular solutions while contributing to food system resilience and protecting biodiversity,“All these actions are core to our purpose, as we commit to making food safe and available everywhere and we promise to protect what’s good – food, people, and the planet,” Orive pointed out.  

The ranking also recognizes Tetra Pak’s efforts across the value chain (Scope 3), highlighting its regular inclusion amongst CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) A-listed businesses and its net-zero targets as approved by Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) along a 1.5° pathway.Jonathan Kinisu, the managing director for Tetra Pak East Africa said in an exclusive interview that sustainability and Tetra Pak are intertwined.

“For us, sustainability has been there from the beginning, long before it was sexy across the industries, if you look at the Tetra Pak package that we use, it constitutes 70% of paperboard from sustainably managed Scandinavian forests,” Kinisu explained.  

He revealed that Tetra is looking at moving that 70% paperboard, closer to 90-95%, and has committed a lot of funds and research towards this.

Kinisu said that in addition to the environment, Tetra Pak is committed to people. “Whether its staff from a technical and knowledge perspective, and from CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) perspective in terms of ensuring support to the poor and the vulnerable,” he pointed out.

He explained that by using aseptic technology, Tetra Pak ensures that it provides food everywhere.

In order to manage the waste after food is consumed, Kinisu said that the company is investing heavily in recycling.

He said that Tetra Pak is set to engage a recycler in Uganda for Tetra Pak packaging material

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