The President of the International Theological Institute, Prof. Christiaan Alting von Geusau is in Uganda for the 24th National Prayer Breakfast, going to be held at State House Entebbe on October 8.

Prof. Geusau, who is also the president of the International Catholic Legislators Network, was received at Entebbe International Airport by Members of Parliament including Francis Aogon of Kumi municipality, Francis Mwijukye of Buhweju, Kahonda Donozio of Ruhinda County and Dr. Nicholas Kamara of Kabale Municipality.

The National Prayer Breakfast event organized annually by the Parliament of Uganda on the eve of independence, converges political leaders from across the political divide and denominations and for 2022 is under the theme: Arise and Build- picked from Nehemiah 2:18. The scripture talks about how God led the children of Israel in the task of rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem.

According to David Bahati, the Chairman of the Uganda Parliamentary National Prayer Breakfast Fellowship and State Minister of Industry, the theme is timely considering that Uganda, like the rest of the world, is embarking on the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.

“For the last two and half years, we have experienced the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that is now fading away. But God has sustained our health, our economy, and our communities,” said Bahati.

Adding: “We have what it takes to build our country and it is time to arise to accomplish the mission since Uganda is endowed with minerals, a good climate, and a young population full of energy.”

Parliament has an active prayer breakfast fellowship with the membership of about 200 Members of Parliament that weekly assemble on Thursdays for prayers and discussions on leadership.

President Yoweri Museveni and First Lady Janet Museveni have attended all the ceremonies since its inception. Museveni says he introduced it after a visit to the United States. Many countries including the US, Kenya, Israel, Nigeria, and others organize prayer breakfasts annually.

The event is also annually attended by the Vice President, Speaker of Parliament as the chief host, Chief Justice, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Deputy Chief Justice, Prime Minister, and several other government leaders, political and business leaders.

Personalities who have attended the event in Uganda include former Burundi President, Pierre Nkurunziza, Kenyan President William Ruto, and senators from the US, Nigeria, and Kenya among others.

It is the fourth time the interfaith annual event organized by the Parliament of Uganda is being held at the State House since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to control the number of physical participants. The larger population is expected to electronically follow the event on mainstream and social media.

Before COVID19, the event was annually held at Hotel Africana and used to attract participants from the United States, Nigeria, DRC, Kenya, Burundi, South Sudan, and other countries.

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As one of the strategies to further improve customer experience and deliver services to its customers conveniently, Equity bank has launched a high-tech contact centre. The new Contact Centre will allow the Bank to deliver improved support conveniently to the nearly 1.6 million customers 24/7.

Customers will be able to interact with highly trained customer relationship officers using state-of-the-art technology to document, categorise and resolve their issues. The contact center has a capacity to accommodate 70 customer relationship officers and shall handle all customer queries, and complaints in the 5 languages widely spoken across Uganda. The languages are English, Luganda, Runyakitara, Luo, and Swahili which were carefully selected to match the Bank’s branch footprint.

The implementation of the new Contact Centre follows Equity’s strategic objective to become a massive retail bank that is highly digitized. In recent years, the bank has grown its customer base from 800,000 in 2019 to nearly 1.6 million customers currently making it the fastest growing financial institution in the country. The new contact centre fits well into the bank’s digital agenda by providing the capabilities to serve customers conveniently online through voice and social media channels.

“We have grown in leaps and bounds and are now working to revolutionise our customer’s experience by creating a culture of obsession with customer service starting with onboarding through to when our customers interact with us. We are building a culture of superior service to address all customer experience pain points, ensure system accessibility, availability, and stability, through digitized operations,’ said the Managing Director Samuel Kirubi

‘We have built standardized processes and procedures to create synergies that have similar experience for customers and staff, as well as deliver a true Equity brand experience driven by the ONE EQUITY principle,’ Kirubi added

Customers who have previously been affected by the long queues in branches can now reach the bank through the contact centre virtually or via phone call instead of visiting branches.

“At Equity, it is important that exceptional service accompanies our product offering. We have therefore intentionally made significant investments in technology specially designed with the customer in mind. However, technology alone is not enough to meet the needs of our customers.  We have combined it with a team of highly trained professionals who have extensive knowledge and are committed to exceptional service aligned to best practices within the banking industry,” Mr. Kirubi added.

The contact centre shall complement other business transformation initiatives the bank is focusing on, to enhance its digital banking capabilities and product offering.

In addition to handling customer complaints and queries, the new Contact Centre shall also support Equiduuka agents and merchants.

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The world is unlikely to meet the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 absent history-defying rates of economic growth over the remainder of this decade, according to a new World Bank study. The study finds that COVID-19 dealt the biggest setback to global poverty-reduction efforts since 1990 and the war in Ukraine threatens to make matters worse.

The Bank’s latest Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report provides the first comprehensive look at the global landscape of poverty in the aftermath of the extraordinary series of shocks to the global economy over the past few years. It estimates that the pandemic pushed about 70 million people into extreme poverty in 2020, the largest one-year increase since global poverty monitoring began in 1990. As a result, an estimated 719 million people subsisted on less than $2.15 a day by the end of 2020.

“Progress in reducing extreme poverty has essentially halted in tandem with subdued global economic growth,” said World Bank Group President David Malpass. “Of concern to our mission is the rise in extreme poverty and decline of shared prosperity brought by inflation, currency depreciations, and broader overlapping crises facing development. It means a grim outlook for billions of people globally. Adjustments of macroeconomic policies are needed to improve the allocation of global capital, foster currency stability, reduce inflation, and restart growth in median income. The alternative is the status quo—slowing global growth, higher interest rates, greater risk aversion, and fragility in many developing countries.”

The report indicates 2020 marked a historic turning point—when the era of global income convergence yielded to divergence. The poorest people bore the steepest costs of the pandemic: income losses averaged 4% for the poorest 40%, double the losses of the wealthiest 20% of the income distribution. Global inequality rose, as a result, for the first time in decades.

Strong fiscal policy measures made a notable difference in reducing COVID-19’s impact on poverty. In fact, the average poverty rate in developing economies would have been 2.4 percentage points higher without a fiscal response. Yet government spending proved far more beneficial to poverty reduction in the wealthiest countries, which generally managed to fully offset COVID-19’s impact on poverty through fiscal policy and other emergency support measures. Developing economies had fewer resources and therefore spent less and achieved less: upper-middle-income economies offset just 50% of the poverty impact, and low- and lower-middle income economies offset barely a quarter of the impact.

“Over the next decade, investing in better health and education will be crucial for developing economies, given the severe learning losses and health-related setbacks they suffered during the pandemic,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. “In a time of record debt and depleted fiscal resources, this will not be easy. Governments will need to concentrate their resources on building human capital and maximizing growth.”

The new report is the first to provide current and historical data on the new global extreme-poverty line, which has been adjusted upward to $2.15 a day to reflect the latest 2017 purchasing-power-parity data. Extreme poverty fell dramatically across the world from 1990 through 2019, the latest year for which official data are available. But progress slowed after 2014, and policymakers now confront a tougher environment: Extreme poverty is concentrated in parts of the world where it will be hardest to eradicate—in Sub-Saharan Africa, in conflict-affected areas, and in rural areas.

Sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for 60% of all people in extreme poverty—389 million, more than any other region. The region’s poverty rate is about 35%, the world’s highest. To achieve the 2030 poverty goal, each country in the region would need to achieve per-capita GDP growth of 9% per year for the remainder of this decade. That’s an exceptionally high hurdle for countries whose per-capita GDP growth averaged 1.2 percent in the decade before COVID-19.

National policy reforms can help restart progress in reducing poverty, the report finds. Stepped-up global cooperation will also be necessary. In fiscal policy, governments should act promptly on three fronts:

Avoid broad subsidies, increase targeted cash transfers: Half of all spending on energy subsidies in low- and middle- income economies goes to the richest 20 percent of the population who consume more energy. Cash transfers are a far more effective mechanism for supporting poor and vulnerable groups.

Focus on long-term growth: High-return investments in education, research and development, and infrastructure projects need to be made today. In a time of scarce resources, more efficient spending and improved preparation for the next crisis will be key.

Mobilize domestic revenues without hurting the poor. Property taxes and carbon taxes can help raise revenue without hurting the poorest. So can broadening the base of personal and corporate income taxes. If sales and excise taxes do need to be raised, governments should minimize economic distortions and negative distributional impacts by simultaneously using targeted cash transfers to offset their effects on the most vulnerable households.

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The government has today launched the 2022 National Exhibition for Science Week, (NEWS 22), Uganda’s annual showcase of science, technology and innovation to document progress made towards technological advancement to steer national development.

The week will be held between 6th to 10th November 2022 at the Kololo Ceremonial Ground under the theme “Uganda 2040; The Future We want through STI”.

Speaking at the launch held at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) Trade Fair, where the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Secretariat is a platinum Sponsor, the Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Monica Musenero said technological advancement in today’s world dictates that science and technology hold the key to the progress and development of any nation.

“As the world moves deep into the fourth industrial revolution, Science and Technology has taken on the fundamental role of wealth creation, improvement of the quality of life and real economic growth and transformation. The Government of Uganda has positioned STI as the vital driver for socio-economic development and transformation as laid down Vision 2040.

The National Exhibition Week for Science (NEWS) provides us with a platform to showcase innovations and technologies across all sectors that are steering us towards achieving the national development goals and fighting poverty.”

This year, the NEWS will focus on Aeronautics and Space Science; Mobility (Indigenous Motor Vehicle Industry); Pathogen Economy; Industry 4.0+; Infrastructure Innovations; Productivity Acceleration; Import Substitution; and Export Targeted Science, Technology and Innovation. Alongside we will showcase innovations of relevant Support Services innovated to catapult the science-led socio-economic transformation, as cast in vision2040.

The NEWS will come to a crescendo into the Celebration of the World Science Day for Peace and Development, on 10th November 2022 where H.E the President is the Chief Guest accompanies by visiting Heads of State.

“Our vision is to see Uganda as the best technologically advanced and most innovative nation in the region.

STI is a key driver of economic growth and a prime source of competition in the global marketplace. “At least 50% of global economic development is attributable to innovations and investment in STI,” Dr Musenero added.

According to NDP III, the government will invest in the development of a solid eco-system through incorporating science education in primary, secondary and university curricula thereby making science and technology accessible at all levels of learning, partnerships between university research institutions and industry to make it attractive for human capital development and raising awareness of how research can drive high technology innovation and wealth creation.

“The government is cognizant of the need to invest in research and innovation for sustainable socio-economic transformation. A number of projects have been undertaken including: Research and Development in vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics; manufacture of both clean diesel engine and electric buses; construction of Uganda’s first satellite due for launch in November 2022; facilitating the adoption and local manufacturing of Industry 4.0+ technologies sector; construction of skilling and component manufacturing centres; among others. All these and more will be on display for the public to witness during the National Science for Week exhibition,” Dr. Musenero added.

A number of Ugandan innovators are expected to showcase during the exhibition

Through this activity, we intend to create awareness of value addition resulting from Science, Technology and Innovation, foster strategic partnerships with various stakeholders including the public and private sectors, and increase the market potential of indigenous products in the region and globally so as to enhance Uganda’s competitiveness both within the region and globally,” Dr. Musenero said.

“The exhibition at the Kololo Airstrip is one that we are looking forward to especially as we showcase the innovations that are being championed by the enterprising youth of this nation. Opportunities to acquire the necessary investment and support to take these innovations to the market will also be presented. I encourage all stakeholders; government MDAs, private sector, academia, research institutions, development partners, the business community and the general public to come in large numbers and attend as we all play a part in creating the future of our beloved nation,” she said

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As efforts to revive businesses after the covid pandemic continue, the Aga Khan Foundation in collaboration with European Union and MoTIV Creations have today launched a business recovery program dubbed the “Cottage Industry Catapult program” to support businesses in the creative sector.

According to a report from UNESCO, the cultural and creatives industry was affected heavily with a total of 10 million jobs lost in the sector worldwide in 2020. This had an impact not only on individuals, but also the wider economy wiping $750 billion off the value of the global cultural and creative industries, the reshaping policies for creativity report notes.

Speaking during the press briefing to launch the program, Olga Namukuza Program Manager Aga khan Foundation said,“As part of the Covid-19 response initiatives for Eastern Africa to reduce the impact caused by the pandemic on businesses and strengthen the entrepreneurial capacity of the young people in Uganda.”

The Cottage Industry Catapult program was created out of the urgent need to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on creative businesses and intends to revamp business productivity for sustainable growth to create more employment opportunities and avert poverty among the young creatives.

The program seeks to train and provide access to raw materials for 200 MSMEs, give 100 business access to trained labor and 50 MSMEs access to finance.

Namukuza Said, “The program will identify key businesses affected by the pandemic within the creative sector and these will receive financial support to allow them increase their operational capital, boost daily cash flows and empower them to expand their businesses after attaining financial stability.”

Adding that, in a period of 30 months, “we hope to have directly impact 140,000 individuals and indirectly supported 300,000 businesses across all sectors of the economy. 35,000 of these must be businesses in the creative and 60% are women, Namukuza noted.

Carol Kagezi, the Community Lead at MoTIV said the program is a great opportunity for a fresh start for businesses in the creative sector, which for the last two years continued to lag due to the impact ofCovid-19 containment measures.

“At the advent of the pandemic, many creative businesses including, artisans and makers within our ecosystem collapsed leaving the majority deeply in debt with no active source of income or revenue generation streams. Therefore, the program provides an opportunity for many creatives to pick up where they left off to kick start and revive their businesses. s.”

Kagezi said, “Each creative enterprise that goes through the program will participate in a 2-day demo activity where they will have the opportunity to pitch their business ideas. The winning pitches will receive funding to be directed to their businesses. Besides, the financial support, they will be equipped with entrepreneurial skills to refine and scale their business models and be on-boarded on to our digital marketplace “Omwoleso. Africa” a platform that provides access a wider market”

Kagezi added, “We believe that by supporting the recovery of the creative sector, we will open the sector’s unique potential to create an unstoppable multiplier economic effect that will drive industrial growth, employment opportunities for the youth and revenue generation directed towards transforming our socio-economic trajectory upwards.”  

Despite these notable contributions of the creative industry to the economy. There is still plenty of work to be done before it can live up to its full potential. Inadequate financial support, limited access to market, skilling, and professional capacity to produce quality products and services are some of the challenges that have limited the growth of the sector. Therefore, the Cottage Industry Catapult program seeks to address some of these challenges that have for long deterred the growth of the creative sector.

The application process is now open until 16th October 2022.  To participate in the program visit: https://vfnafrica.com/relieffund/

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Uganda’s High Commissioner to Canada, Joy Ruth Acheng, has expressed her dismay over political activist William Ntege aka Kyuma Kya Yesu of the National Unity Platform (NUP) to confront the Minister for Presidency Milly Babalanda.

Ntege confronted the minister during the Busoga Innovation Symposium 2022 in Canada. Babalanda and the third Deputy Prime minister Rukia Nakadama had accompanied His Highness the Kyabazinga of Busoga Willian Gabula Nadiope IV.

“Stop lying there is no peace in Uganda, Stop lying……,” Ntege said while kneeling before the minister.

Acheng said “I express my disappointment on the act of Mr. Ntege against the Minister of Presidency while on her official duty in Canada. I strongly condemn this and am following it up with the Government of Canada and he will account for his bad actions against the Minister, this is unacceptable.”

She promised to follow up on the matter with the Canadian authorities for Ntege to be punished.

Speaking during the meeting, Babalanda said, “Those who aspire to lead should realize that it’s too costly to rebuild a nation once it’s broken. The world has many examples. It’s better to build on what’s in place. I call for calmness and dialogue.”

She urged Ugandans to use the prevailing peace and opportunities available in Uganda to develop their land of origin, in areas of agriculture, industry, services, tourism and ICT.

This was not the first time that Ntege was confronting Ugandan ministers, in July he rushed out to the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, as she arrived in Canada.

NRM symposium in Canada to discuss the consolidation of the NRM government’s achievements in the sectors of social, political, and economic and the role played by Ugandans in the diaspora.

Ntege and the group protested the rising commodity prices, wastage of taxpayers’ money, and continued dentition of political prisoners, among other issues. “Stop wasting taxpayer’s money,” he told Nankabirwa.

“I came here on my money,” the minister responded before finding her way out.

On 29th July 2017 during Kabaka’s 24th coronation ceremony that was held at Kaweeri, Mityana district Ntege physically attacked former Member of Parliament for Kasanda south Simewo Nsubugawho was on his way to prostrate before Kabaka Ronald Mubende Mutebi II.

Mr. Ntege accused Kassanda South MP Simeo Nsubuga of spearheading the constitutional amendment bill which saw the expunging of the presidential age limit that was set at the age of 75.

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