Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank
24.3 C
Kampala
Stanbic Bank
Stanbic Bank
Home Blog Page 464

EC relocates head office to new premises

By
Our Reporter
-

The Electoral Commission (EC) is to finally relocate to its new premises tomorrow Friday, December 16.

According to a statement issued by the Commission’s Secretary, Leonard Mulekwah, the old offices along Jinja road are to be closed to the public from tomorrow to allow them undertake the relocation process.

“The closure will enable the Commission undertake the process of relocating the head office from the current premises on Plot 55 Jinja Road, Kampala to the following new address; Plot 1-3/5, Seventh Street, Industrial Area, Kampala (formerly head office of the National Housing and Construction Company Ltd),” Mulekwah noted.

He said the Registry at the new offices will be open on week days except the public holidays.

“The commission regrets any inconveniences that you may encounter during the process of the new office relocation,” he stated.

Mulekwah added that the new premises located on 7th street, Industrial Area will be open to the general public starting Monday January 16, 2023.

Stories Continues after ad

Over 800 complete E-learning courses in South Sudan

By
Our Reporter
-

Over 800 South Sudanese benefitted from the Digital and Innovations Skills Hub (DISH), an e-learning platform that provides access to youth as well as women to develop employment skills.

The project, implemented by Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) with support from the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education (NUFFIC), had four online training courses.

“The objective of DISH is to increase enrolment in certificate education in order to increase employment possibilities. Especially since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth and women face challenges to find employment, while employers struggle to employ people with matching skills in fast-growing sectors in the employment market,” said Peter Bidali Elias, CEPO’s officer in-charge of the project.

He added, “The opportunities and sectors of employment have been identified through research by the partners in earlier programmes which identified key employment sectors for youth”.

Through DISH, online short certificate courses, which included Business Administration, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Peace Building and primary school teaching, were created and made available.

According to Bidali, these three-month certificate courses increase the employability of youth and women because they link to key emerging sectors in employment and contribute to stability, peace and resilience.

“This is to increase enrolment in certificate education in order to enhance employment possibilities in youth and women across the country,” he said.

The certificate in Business Administration course attracted 431 students, Peace Building had 386, Primary School Teaching with 161 and ICT got 88.

Perina Juye, a Business Administration student, said she learnt a lot from the course, especially key considerations when one intends to open a business.

“My advice is that learning sessions should be more interactive,” she urged.

For his part, Martin Seree, a student of Basic ICT said the e-learning platform will provide access to youth as well as women to develop employment skills.

“During the course, I was able to acquire a lot of networking skills, learned operating systems and other IT related skills that I lacked,” he explained.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth and women faced challenges in employment as employers struggled to find skilled people.

The latest World Population Review ranks South Sudan as the third lowest in literacy rate in world and thus anticipated that DISH courses will bridge that gap by focusing on low-threshold e-learning courses, which can be used in online and offline digital learning on a variety of devices and settings. 

Stories Continues after ad

Sir Apollo Kaggwa Schools proprietor is dead

By
Our Reporter
-
Hajji Musa Sewava

The Director of Sir Apollo Kaggwa Schools, Hajji Musa Sewava is dead. Sewava passed on earlier in the morning.

According to a source related to his family, the entrepreneur died of a stroke. He will be laid to rest at his ancestral home at 4pm in Buloba, Mityana Road.

Hajji Musa was the proprietor of Sir Apollo Kaggwa Schools spread across Kampala, with branches in Kisasi, Mengo, Nakasero, Kitintale, Kireka and other places.

Stories Continues after ad

MSF epidemiologists take on the new Ebolavirus variant

By
Our Reporter
-

It has been over two weeks since the last confirmed Ebola case a stillborn baby of a mother who survived the disease was reported in Uganda.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been responding to the rare outbreak of the Sudan Ebolavirus variant since it was declared on September 20 by building Ebola treatment centers and treatment units, providing support to the Ugandan Ministry of Health for case management in these facilities, and conducting community outreach activities like health promotion and infection protection and control measures in health facilities where known patients went prior to diagnosis.

Denis Ardiet works for Epicentre, MSF’s epidemiology division. He currently coordinates a team of seven epidemiologists involved in the ongoing Ebola response in Uganda. His job involves rigorous analysis of the epidemiological situation and the possible scenarios of this outbreak to help inform how MSF and the Ugandan Ministry of Health can respond accordingly.

What is the current trend of the outbreak in Uganda?

In terms of trends, we saw two important peaks in the outbreak. The first one was in September in the Mubende district, which was the first epicenter of this outbreak and then another in the neighboring district of Kassanda. While cases in these two districts alone represent 80 percent of all cases detected so far in this outbreak, a total of nine districts in the country were affected. Historically, this is the largest geographic spread of Ebola that Uganda has ever faced.

After a steep rise of cases in October (86 cases over 4 weeks), the outbreak slowed in terms of number of new confirmed cases in recent weeks (14 cases in 4 weeks in November). However, we are very concerned that we had several Ebola cases that were not linked to any known chains of transmission—this means they had acquired the infection from an unknown source, which means those cases couldn’t be tracked through contact tracing and follow-up. This led to two new districts being affected, Masaka and Jinja.

It’s extremely important to follow up with case contacts. When we identify all the people who were in contact with a confirmed case in time, we can monitor their health and help them to seek care swiftly at the right health facility in case Ebola-related symptoms develop. Yet according to the Ministry of Health data, only around 64 percent of case contacts initially received follow-up, pointing to gaps in this crucial part of the response. While the overall epidemiological trend is now positive, we remain concerned and vigilant about what could still happen.

What are possible future scenarios?

Anything is still possible. Scenario one is that we see a continued downward trend and no more new cases as we approach the end of the epidemic. Scenario two is that occasional new cases emerge here and there, perhaps in different districts. And scenario three is that there is an increase in new cases moving toward another peak in transmission.

All of these different scenarios will require corresponding operational responses from MSF teams and Ministry of Health teams that we work with very closely. We rely very much on their data, especially since we do not run our own laboratory testing or our own case investigations.

How MSF can best support the Ugandan health authorities depends on the needs of the situation. We must evaluate what makes the most sense and we might switch to a smaller-scale rapid-response team approach. This could be a more community-based approach closer to where patients live rather than having sizeable treatment centers set up within the districts.

It is also essential to ensure that non-Ebola care continues in the affected areas and that curative and preventive management of malaria cases is in place, given that initial symptoms for Ebola and malaria are similar. We support the Ministry of Health in reinforcing case detection and isolation capacity in existing health facilities so they can react promptly to any new alert or case and quickly reduce the chances of wider spread. On the community side, the Ministry of Health sustains health surveillance to make sure there is no ongoing transmission. All these efforts must be vigilantly maintained until the epidemic is officially declared over after 42 days without new cases, or twice the Ebolavirus incubation period of 21 days.

We never know everything about the epidemiological puzzle, and we can only make sure we gather as much relevant information as possible. We are aware of the epidemiological situation, and we see that the epidemic curve has descended, which is good. But behind this curve, there may be events and information we don’t know and that is the difficult part to uncover. Regardless, we have to be prepared and reactive to respond to any alert or new case.

Is a rapid decrease in cases unusual in Ebola outbreaks?

It has been observed during other outbreaks, even though it remains surprising considering all the unknown elements at play in the Uganda outbreak. Such a decrease may reflect that transmission has stopped through a combination of several factors, including the outbreak response and community actions. This outbreak reminds me a bit of those in Conakry in Guinea in 2015 or Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2020. The health authorities and their partners, including MSF, also had difficulties in following up all case contacts back then and despite decreasing trends, the final few cases popped up sporadically for some months.

It is important to mention that the initial low rate of case contact follow-up in Uganda has in fact improved over the last weeks in several districts. While that is a good sign, it still seems that the response often focuses on demanding community adherence to follow-up either through obligatory quarantine or home isolation and daily calls which can scare people when empathetic and comprehensive health messages that explain the rationale of these measures are not shared. Health promotion and community outreach activities play an essential role to bridge this trust gap and ensure that people have sufficient information about the Ebolavirus to protect themselves and their communities, and to better understand the measures.

Usually as can be the case in any outbreak and as we also saw with COVID-19 there is a lot of fear around the prospect of being removed from your family and friends, isolated and sent to an Ebola treatment unit. Health promotion and community engagement help to counteract rumors and fears while supporting the prevention of community transmission.

Stories Continues after ad

Construction of UNICEF, WFP joint premises kickoff

By
Our Reporter
-

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today held a ground-breaking ceremony to kick off the construction of their multi-million-dollar joint office premises in Mbuya, a Kampala suburb.

The UNICEF and WFP joint premises will enable the two agencies to reduce long-term operational costs while giving their staff a safe and healthy work environment so that they can be more productive to serve the most vulnerable populations in Uganda.

The joint premises will strengthen WFP and UNICEF partnership and make it easier to implement programmes that the UN agencies are delivering jointly, including social protection for refugees and host communities, school feeding and addressing malnutrition in Karamoja.

“These joint premises are a reflection of our commitment in Uganda to deliver as one UN, working together to maximise the use of our resources while giving our best to the people we serve,” Susan Ngongi Namondo, the UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda said.

Situated on a UNICEF leased land of 2.6 acres, the premises will feature parking space, health amenities, gender-sensitive services such as breast-feeding rooms, green gardens and a separate conference facility. Special focus will be given to making sure the premises are energy efficient, making maximum use of natural light and using renewable energy sources such as solar. It will also provide for sewage treatment, water recycling and rainwater harvesting.

The building has been designed and will be built to save 20 percent on energy use, water consumption and material used in the building. This will afford the building an EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certificate from the IFC-World Bank, a global standard for green building.

This will be achieved by a combination of measures that will include solar power in the building, improved insulation of the wall, natural ventilation of the offices, water recycling, rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment. The scheme also targets to retain over 50 percent of the greenery and trees in the landscape, while minimising the building’s carbon footprint. The building will feature energy-efficient installations and water appliances.

“UNICEF Uganda has been working towards positive climate action and with this new construction we show once again that we walk the talk,” M. Munir A. Safieldin, UNICEF Uganda Country Representative, said. “UNICEF is proud of today’s achievement. When we move into the premises, we shall be able to save on rent and operational costs. Money should be spent on ensuring safe and healthy future for boys and girls in the country.

As the multi-million-dollar project goes into procuring construction materials and paying for services, the project will contribute to the national economy. It will create jobs for an estimated 200 people, including women and young people, will be involved in both technical construction work and providing services such as preparing food. UNICEF and WFP aim to use locally available construction materials and will ensure that the building is easily accessible by all staff and visitors including those with disabilities.

“We are building premises that will reflect our values as an inclusive and environmentally conscious United Nations. The United Nations is already a great place to work, and these premises will create an even better environment for our staff – enabling them to deliver on the UN goals no matter what,” WFP Uganda Country Representative, Abdirahman Meygag said. “Whether it is our pregnant and breastfeeding staff and clients or people with disability, we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace while minimising our carbon footprint.”

Stories Continues after ad

NRM’s Richard Todwong urges Gen Muhoozi to be humble

By
Simon Kabayo
-

The NRM Secretary General, Richard Todwong has asked former Commander of Land Forces in the UPDF, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba to be more measured in his public comments after his recent attacks on the ruling party.

The senior presidential advisor on special operations has in the past few months directly attacked the ruling party describing it as being reactionary.

“I am listening to the outcry of our people for change. I am with the people! Whatever NRM has become certainly does not represent the people of Uganda,” Muhoozi tweeted.

He added, “I believe in Jesus Christ, and I believe in my father, General Kaguta Museveni. I certainly do not believe in NRM. In Marxist terms, it is probably the most reactionary organization in the country.”

The comments have since drawn mixed reactions from members of the public.

Giving his end of the year address on Wednesday, the NRM Secretary General didn’t hold back on asking the First Son to go slow on the ruling party.

“As a party, we warn anybody that not even the chairman of the party can insult this organization. Not even the founder. The party is bigger than all of us and we must respect it. This could have been a misguided opinion about the party. We might need to help those who don’t understand how the party works so they understand how we do things , how we communicate, understand social issues and how you can offer yourself to be a  leader .There are things we need to help other people understand,” Todwong said during a press briefing.

The NRM Secretary General suggested that as a serving officer of the UPDF, the army will take the much needed measures to restrain “one of their own” from breaking the army code of conduct.

Todwong said whereas the criticism by the First Son was not taken in bad faith, the way it came was insulting.

“We don’t take it in bad faith. A revolutionary party must accept criticism. Such criticisms are good for us to look internally and reflect on some of these things.  As you criticize, remember that the English say, step the shoes but don’t spoil the shine. Criticize but don’t insult. Criticize but respect. Step the shoes but don’t spoil the shine.”

He insisted that the ruling NRM party is bigger than any individual, noting that it costs nothing in this world for any person to be humble.

“This party is not something anybody can play around with or easily abuse and go away with it. The party is massive and mega. You attack the party and you will have attacked the real core of what many Ugandans believe in.”

“We warn all those individuals that humility can’t remove anything but rather adds something on to you. Be humble. NRM supporters should be humble, respect people and speak with courtesy. Don’t speak like you have authority over people. The authority was given to you by ordinary people.”

Todwong’s comments come on the backdrop of similar comments by the NRM director for mobilization, Rosemary Sseninde who asked Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba to speak responsibly.

“MK also has his freedom to say what he wants but of course, he must be conscious of what is going to hurt the government, what is going to hurt the party and what is going to hurt the country. Because I believe much as we have freedom to speak, we speak things that probably will cause problems for the country,”Sseninde said last week while speaking to the NRM party members and leaders in Bunyanbagu district.

The First Son’s comments in the past months have left many, especially in the ruling NRM with tongues wagging for fear of reprisal.

Stories Continues after ad

24 Ugandan referees to hold FIFA badges in 2023

By
Our Reporter
-
FIFA Referee badge

World Football governing body, FIFA has confirmed a list of Ugandan referees approved to receive FIFA badges for the calendar year 2023.

Uganda now has 24 FIFA certified referees, an increase by one on the current list – with three new badge holders.

The list submitted by FUFA to FIFA was released with 24 names including 8 Centre Referees and 10 Assistant Referees for the eleven-aside football.

Futsal maintains two slots from this year just Beach Soccer that will remain with four slots.

The only increment to 24 comes from main football where Uganda has earned another slot, taken by Lucky Razaake Kasalirwe.

The budding centre referee is one of the three new names on the annual list. The other two are assistant referees Timothy Gumisiriza Karusigarira and Elizabeth Nassolo.

Full List

Male Centre Referees: Mashood Ssali, Ali Sabilla Chelangat, William Oloya, Lukcy Razaake Kasalirwe and George Olemu

Male Assistant Referees: Ronald Katenya, Okello Lee, Isa Masembe, Hakim Mulindwa, Emmanuel Okudra, Timothy Gumisiriza Karusigarira

Futsal Referees: Brian Emmy Nsubuga, Isaac Sengendo

Beach Soccer: Ivan Kintu Bayige, Muhammad Ssenteza, Kennedy Kawagga Bazirio and Joel Chote Munyendoh.

Female Centre Referees: Shamirah Nabadda, Habiba Naigaga and Diana Murungi

Female Assistant Referees: Lydia Nantabo Wanyama, Marex Nakitto Nkumbi, Jane MutonyMutonyi and Elizabeth Nassolo

Stories Continues after ad

URA seizes 8,000 pieces of assorted phones

By
Our Reporter
-

The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) enforcement team in Iganga has seized 8,000 pieces of assorted phones that had been smuggled into the country.

The team recently received information about a consolidation centre of a suspected smuggler who had stocked uncustomed phones.

The smuggler was surprised by an early morning visit from the tax body at the premises where these goods had been hidden.

“On opening the gate, they were welcomed by unexpected guests [URA enforcement officers]. At the first glance one could think the premises had no valuables,” Winifred Kusiima, one of the officers part of deployment narrated.

In a room where these items had been concealed, they had disguised with old dirty plywood. It was hard to tell anything had been hidden there.

However, the URA team checked everywhere especially the unfinished part of the residence and discovered several boxes.

These were opened at the URA offices and following items were discovered; 61 cartons x 60pieces of Itel button phone Model: it2160; 1 Carton x 40 pieces of Itel button phone Model: it562; 2 Cartons x 40pieces of Itel Smart phone A510W Model: A16; 4 Cartons x 60 pieces of Itel button phone Model: it2173; 3 Cartons x 40 pieces of Itel button phone Model: it5081; 5 Cartons x 60 pieces of Itel button phone Model: it5606; 46 Cartons x 60 pieces of Itel button phone Model: it2163; 3 Cartons x 60 pieces of Techno button phone Model: T101; 1 Carton x 60 pieces of Techno button phone Model: T402; 1 Carton x 6 pieces of Techno button phone Model: T372.

Others are: 50 pieces of Guava button phone Model: G105; 8 pieces of Samhe button phone Model: S2202; 92 pieces of Samhe button phone Model: S2203; 100 pieces of Samhe button phone Model: S2206; 49 pieces of Samhe button phone Model: S315; 26 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: R528; 11 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: R5330; 4 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: R2180; 2 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: R349; 1 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: R5606; 1 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: R2160; 3 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: R2150; 1 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: 1112; 2 pieces of Realfone button phone Model: X2-02; 1 carton x 100 pieces of Samhe button phone Model: S2202

URA has intensified intelligence guided operations leveraging the use of Non-Intrusive Inspection technology at the border points and field intelligence enforcement operations.

Stories Continues after ad

NSSF unveils Smart Card Loyalty Progamme

By
Simon Kabayo
-

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has officially unveiled the NSSF Smart Card Loyalty Programme for the members to have access to unlimited discounts on selected goods and services whilst transacting.

The initiative is one of the major features of the NSSF Smart Card, a three-in-one social security card that embeds NSSF functionality and bank functionality in addition to the Loyalty Program. This is in partnership with various companies like Centenary Bank.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Peter Ayota, the Deputy Managing Director, said that to operationalize the initiative, NSSF has partnered with over eight merchants from real estate, construction, technology and hospitality industries across the country. These were deliberately selected to suit the needs of the members.

He added that the 2019 post-retirement survey showed that 60% of the benefits paid out to members had been allocated to house improvement or construction and land.

“We, therefore, wanted to create more value for members by giving them an opportunity to acquire desirable assets at a subsidized rate before they retired so that they can invest their retirement savings in more profitable ventures,” Ayota said.

He further guided that a member only has to present a valid NSSF Smart Card to the participating merchants under this program at any of their selling locations to purchase discounted products or services.

“To join as a merchant, simply approach our marketing office to discuss the nature of the discounts you would like to provide. The current participating merchants are listed on our website and various media channels,” he guided.

NSSF has about 8000 people that have shown interest in the smart card with active usage standing at 60.7% to date. The main driver of these enrollments has been the availability of discounted offers on selected products and services.

Stories Continues after ad

Gen Muhoozi to investigate procurement processes at Ministry of Defence

By
Our Reporter
-
Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba

President Yoweri Museveni has directed the former Commander Land Forces Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba to investigate corruption in the Ministry of Defence which has caused panic at the ministry headquarters in Mbuya.

According to sources the First Son will investigate the procurement processes in Mbuya especially the Classified Procurements which have been dogged by cases of corruption.

Sources say he will be assisted by highly experienced and incorruptible investigators who are close to the president.

The sources say there is a racket of suppliers who work closely with the Ministry of Defence officials to inflate the price of the procured items.

The offices which are under the radar are the offices of the Permanent Secretary and Joint Chief of Staff where a racket is said to be fleecing the country.

“The cabal is highly connected but soon this racket will be busted and their days are numbered,” the source said.

Even some military units make requests for specific items but when it reaches Mbuya, some Ministry of Defence officials do otherwise.

President Yoweri Museveni had moved and tried to clean the Ministry but corruption and syndicated rackets have slowly come back.

Stories Continues after ad
1...463464465...2,402Page 464 of 2,402

© Eagle Online. All rights reserved.

About Us

Popular Category

Editor Picks