The Minister for Works and Transportation, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala has urged regional and international air operators to consider Uganda Airlines as a partner and not a competitor saying working together with other operators can be good for the entire global aviation industry.

Katumba also called upon the public and all government agencies, ministries and departments to be supportive towards the newly revamped Uganda Airlines.

“To show this commitment, we all know that the Government decided to revive the Uganda Airlines. Despite all the challenges which are going through as an airline, despite the flaks we get. We rarely get thumbs up, most of the time we are being pulled down. But even with all that, the Government is determined to support the aviation industry and that is why we decided to revive the Uganda Airlines,” he said.

Katumba encouraged the public to be supportive of the Airline since it will be very helpful to the general public when it comes to connecting Uganda to the rest of the world.

“I normally tell people to look at the airline just like a highway because it is creating highways for you between Entebbe and Guangzhou, Dubai and other destinations for you to be able to do business in those places. We need to support the Airline because it is very crucial in the growth and development of Uganda,” he said.

He added: “One of the ways we can support our tourism industry is by supporting our aviation industry which now has the Uganda Airlines.”

The director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority, Fred Bamwesigye, announced the new routes are London, Guangzhou and Mumbai the Airline is yet to start taking.

“We have quite a number of routes that Uganda Airlines is set to start taking anytime soon. These include: Guangzhou, Mumbai and London among others,” he said.

Bamwesigye also said the Authority is working towards improving its non-aeronautical revenues which currently are way below the aeronautic revenue.

“We want to improve the non-aeronautical revenues. Currently, aeronautical revenues produce the most revenue which is 80% of the total revenue. We hope to change this to at least 50% each,” he said.

He said the Authority is also looking forward to expansion of the airport which he said will also help improve the non-aeronautical revenue since it will enable CAA to build recreation centres and hotels thus improving the non-aeronautical revenues.

The Uganda Airlines has severally been rocked by scandals ever since it was revamped. The company was rocked by infighting between the company’s first CEO, Cornwell Muleya and some of his subordinates which ended up in him losing his job.

It was also reported that politicians were also involved in lobbying for their inexperienced relatives to take on jobs in the Airline.

As if this was not enough, it was revealed that the Airline reported operating losses totaling sh498b across three fiscal years thanks in no small part to questionable contracts and transactions.

This sparked off a series of investigations by the parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) which ended up unearthing mismanagement concerns, poor allocation of funds and questions whether the current CEO, Jennifer Bamuturaki, qualifies for the job.

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Buganda Kingdom, through its investment arm, Majestic Brands has extended its partnership with Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) to manufacture Ngule beer. The contract was signed at Bulange Mengo by the leadership of Majestic Brands and Eunice Waweru, Finance and Strategy Director of Uganda Breweries in the presence of Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga.

In January 2016, UBL and Buganda entered a partnership to produce Ngule, the kingdom’s official beer under a revenue-sharing agreement that is beneficial to both entities.

“Through this partnership, we are keen on job creation and generating wealth for His Majesty’s subjects. The product is manufactured using local materials sourced from farmers with the purpose of raising household incomes and alleviating poverty. Ngule is one of the kingdom’s innovations (obuyiiya) which is a key agenda on Buganda’s 5-year strategic plan,” said Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga.

Ngule is made from local ingredients; cassava and sorghum, which are exclusively sourced from Ugandan farmers through UBL’s Local Raw Materials Program. Sold at a recommended retail price of Shs 2,500, Ngule is one of the most affordable beers on the market.

“This extension is a demonstration of our commitment to investing significantly to support the growth of Ngule, a homegrown brand. The product is affordably priced and well poised to grow given its market potential to offer quality and value to consumers,” said Eunice Waweru, Finance and Strategy Director, Uganda Breweries.

Since its launch, Uganda Breweries has paid the kingdom royalties worth over Shs 1.062 billion from revenues earned from Ngule, in accordance with contractual obligations.

“This partnership was one of our solutions to raising income levels for both the kingdom and its people and I can confirm that it has been mutually beneficial,” said Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga.

The Katikkiro said Ngule is one of the many initiatives of the kingdom and urged the people to continue supporting their King.

Ngule is one of the most affordably priced beers on the market, a deliberate decision by UBL to get more Ugandans consuming formal beer and moving away from illicit alcohol that is of questionable quality and potentially hazardous.

“The positive outcomes from this beer have not only been felt by the kingdom. Employment opportunities for distributors, sellers and farmers have been created in Buganda. We have also been able to pay taxes to the national treasury thereby increasing incomes to the country,” Mayiga concluded.

Waweru commended the Buganda Kingdom for being a valuable partner which has led to a budding partnership that has also extended to joint community initiatives.

“We have worked with both the Kabaka Foundation and Nabagereka Foundation establishing joint projects to improve health and access to clean water and sanitation facilities; benefitting an estimated 26,000 people. We look forward to extending this partnership in Environmental and Social aspects to improve the well-being of the communities which we serve,” Waweru said.

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The Uganda Aids Commission, Civil society and advocacy groups have reflected on the late Philly Bongole Lutaaya’s life.

Lutaaya was the first prominent Ugandan to give a human face to HIV/AIDS. He was the first Ugandan to declare that he was HIV positive in 1988. Prior to his death in December 1989, he spent his remaining time writing songs about his battle against HIV/Aids, releasing his last album Alone and Frightened.

Currently, there are 1.5 million people living with HIV/Aids in Uganda. At least 1.3 million know their HIV status while 1.2 million are on treatment.

Dr. Nelson Musoba, the Director General of the Uganda Aids Commission (UAC) said HIV disclosure is not an easy thing. It is complicated. It has implications, not just for you disclosing, but for the people around you. Your family, spouse, and children but Philly did it at the time when the country itself was still in bondage.

He said at that time no one wanted to be associated with HIV/Aids whose diagnosis was a death sentence.

“Philly could have chosen to stay quiet do his final days. But he chose to come and share his final moments with the Ugandans with the young people. And for me, that is a powerful inspirational story. He is under-celebrated,” he said.

“UNAIDS together with all the countries agreed to end HIV/Aids by 2030. We want to record zero new infections, Zero AIDS-related deaths, because science exists for you not to pass on the infection, either to the baby or your sexual partner. Currently, infections through blood transfusion are almost nil,” he said.

“Through science, if you take your medication, you can achieve undetectable viral load. What you’re going to be tomorrow in your older age, you are sewing it now. It is about lifestyle. It is about what you eat and drink,” he said.

He said science exists but there is no cure and vaccine however the existing medication suppresses the virus and one can live a near-normal life.

Adeken Ndyeri who represented Paulina Chiwangu, the Country Representative of the UN Women in Uganda said by ending violence against women, women’s access to services, and social norms, we will be able to get to the core of stigma and discrimination, and the fight against HIV.

 “This year’s theme for the joint Aids assembly speaks to the importance of tackling multi-dimensional stigma and discrimination and inequalities among young women, adolescent girls, and boys. And this is no doubt core to addressing all vulnerabilities stigma and discrimination risk that women or men face on many fronts,” she said.

UN Women has invested technically technical expertise and funding in programs such as this that intentionally tackle the fear and the desperation on a personal level through mobilizing networks and educating young people living with HIV and using them and working together with them to address issues at the community level.

She said the organization is keen to continue to support the meaningful engagement of young people and adolescent girls and young women across initiatives and gender equality, programming and empowerment, knowing that the youth, especially adolescent girls, and young women are at the epicenter of transmission of HIV not only in Uganda but across the world.

Aloysius Matovu Joy who has lived with HIV/Aids for over 30 years said; “Crying is in the past. We shall never cry again. Weeping is already bypassed, we no longer regret his past, nothing more to regret about. We no longer lament, lamenting is overpassed nothing to lament about.”

“We will raise Philly Bongole Lutaaya’s banner higher than the highest peak of Everest, paraphrasing your solitary quietly from a lone wolf in the wilderness in solitude and fright. We are not alone. We are not frightened anymore,” he said.

He said Lutaaya is a mighty warrior and the Spirit deep within them, keeps them fighting against HIV/ Aids. He asked the Lutaaya to be declared a saint.

Activist Beatrice Was said she was at Makerere University in her second year when Philly opened up and she believed that he was lying because he was looking pretty good not until she contracted the virus. She said the next she returned to the University he was the wasted man he was dying.

“So by 1991, I had known that I was HIV positive. So it was the year he had died the previous year. So looking at him recalling and looking at my journey, he was a man of courage. He was elite and courageous. And I regret having doubted him. I wish I listened,” she said.

She said during the 1980s and 1990s, there was a lot of ignorance, and there was no information. There was a lot of exploitation, and people took advantage of them (Women).

In a bid to intensify the fight against HIV/Aids, Beatrice called for addressing gender-based violence and re-introduce HIV/Aid counseling services.

 Grace Nayiga, the Acting Executive Director of Uganda Network on Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS (UGANET) said; “We are celebrating Philly Lutaaya’s strength and I can imagine in the 1990s what it meant to come out and talk about being HIV positive, it must have been different, and it must have been had.”

“We thought that it would be important to celebrate the people that have walked with courage. The people that have worked with determination, the people that have moved out in their community broken their shells in advocating to end stigma and discrimination,” she said.

In tandem, Deborah Leticia Akumu, Nawanyaga Gloria, Maj. Rubaramira Ruranga, Ruth Awor, Kwagala Betty Babirye, Michael Ssenyonjo and Moses Super Charger were accorded Philly Bongole Lutaaya Award for their distinguished fights against HIV/Aids.

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A statement by Ethics and Integrity Minister, Mrs. Rose Lilly Akello has highlighted the plight of anti-graft agencies, which are struggling to force corrupt officials to drop their loot.

From the office of the Inspectorate of Government (IG), whereas Shs18.2 billion was identified as proceeds of crime to be returned to public coffers, the Minister told Parliament that only Shs7 billion has been recovered.

The Auditor General is no different.

“The Office of the Auditor General carried out 6,268 financial compliance audits, 23 value for money audits, 101 specialised engineering audits, 85 forensics special audits and nine IT audits over the last three financial years,” she said.

Of these, Shs175 billion is due to be returned to the taxpayer, but so far Shs4 billion in cash and assets has been recovered from the corrupt.

For the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), after prosecuting a record 261 graft cases and getting 110 convictions, only Shs10 billion, USS$16,000 and malaria drugs valued at Shs28 million was salvaged.

The Criminal Investigations Directorate scoured through 318 cases, presenting 56 files to the DPP, and 23 files were fit for prosecution.

This effort only managed to bring Shs615 million back to the taxpayer.

During the Covid-19 pandemic relief bonanza that saw officials help themselves to painfully sourced public funds, Shs41.6 billion was recovered from officials, with billions sinking unsalvaged.

“The State House Anti-Corruption Unit recovered a total amount of Shs41.6 billion, of which Shs9.6 billion was from inflated Covid-19 relief food prices; Shs4.5 billion from local governments; Shs3.6 billion from inflated compensation of Bukasa Inland port affected persons and Shs2.9 billion worth of drugs which had been stolen from Joint Medical Stores was recovered,” she said.

The Financial Intelligence Authority, on the other hand reported Shs6.4 billion in corruption still in the hands of thieving officials awaiting prosecution, with recovery hoped to see that money returned to public coffers.

At the Leadership Code Tribunal, corrupt officials opted to use alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, where they offered to return Shs10.9 billion, out of which only Shs5.9 billion has hit government’s escrow account at Bank of Uganda.

The Minister’s statement was in readiness for the celebrations of the Anti-Corruption day on Friday, 09 December 2022.
This year’s theme is: “Citizens must own the war to eliminate corruption. It is their war.”

Official celebrations will happen in Ibanda.

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Members of Parliament (MPs) attached to the Defense and Internal Affairs Committee have begun a five-day visit to Uganda Peoples’ Defense Forces (UPDF) troops in Somalia in fulfillment of their constitution mandate.

This visit is aimed at assessing the performance of the troops in the mission area and the challenges therein.

The Minister of State for Defense in charge of Veterans Affairs, Oleru Gudu Abason who led the delegation while addressing UPDF soldiers in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, applauded the President and Commander In Chief (CIC) of the UPDF HE Gen Yoweri Museveni for advancing a Pan-Africanism plan aimed at attaining and maintaining peace across Africa.

She further thanked UPDF troops for their support, sacrifice, discipline, commitment and hard work, among others. “I want to take this opportunity to thank our CIC for his visionary idea to advance the Pan-Africanism plan and also applaud UPDF for your effort, discipline and sacrifice that has ensured the success of the CIC plan to bring peace not only in Uganda but across Africa,” Oleru noted.

She assured troops that their mission allowances will soon be paid.

Oleru added that salary enhancement for all UPDF soldiers is in the process.

The committee Chairperson and also Woman Member of Parliament, Rose Nyakikongoro acknowledged troops for their resilience and mentioned that the committee’s role is to look into issues of troops, apportion a budget for the Defence Ministry and ensure that the passed budget is put to good use.

The UPDF Contingent commander in Somalia Brig Gen Keith Katungi welcomed the MPs and assured them of safety.

“As UPDF, security is our business where we invest to harvest peace as profits,” Brig Gen Katungi remarked.

The MPs are also accompanied by the Defence Spokesperson Brig Gen Felix Kulayigye, Commanders, Officers and combatants.

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