The Ministry of Internal Affairs has said it is now printing between 2,500 and 3,000 passports after resuming full capacity production.

According to the ministry’s spokesperson, Simon Peter Mundeyi, in May, they had scaled down the production of passports to about 1,000 per day as they serviced their machines.

But now, he said, full production has resumed and that the booklets are enough.

“The good news I have today is that we have resumed full scale passport processing. We have been having challenges where we were only dealing with emergencies of people going abroad for treatment, studies, and quick appointments,” Mr Mundeyi said.

Nevertheless, he announced that currently, they are working on clearing a huge backlog of applicants.

“We acknowledge the delays that many passport applicants had to endure in the recent past. We are working on ensuring normal service and request those who haven’t received their passports yet to be patient as we shall have cleared all the backlog by the end of this month,” Mr Mundeyi said.

Mr Mundeyi also cautioned Ugandans who keep using brokers to get passports to desist from this.

“We ask Ugandans who keep “donating” money to these brokers to please stop it. Even if you have a lot of money, it can be used in other things than donating free money to these brokers. Some of these individuals have already been arrested and we are on the lookout for others,” he said.

He also asked the public to continue reporting such people as their enforcement team alongside security agencies are on the lookout for them as well.

He also called upon members of the public that applied for passports in 2019 to 2021 to go and pick them because they are ready.

“Collection of passports in Kyambogo is ongoing, and we continue calling upon members of the public who applied for the East African Electronic passports from January 2019 t0 December 2021 to come and collect them. We have now over 10,000 un collected passports in our stores, before we had 50,000 of them. I would like to thank the media for having publicized this and most people have collected them,” Mr Mundeyi said.

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This year’s edition of the MTN Kampala Marathon was launched at the MTN Uganda headquarters located on Jinja road. This marathon returns after a two-year break due to restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is the 17th edition of the event that has been a mainstay on the Ugandan Sports Calendar. The marathon will be held at Kololo Independence Grounds on November 20, 2022 under the theme “Run for babies.”

Proceeds from this year’s marathon will be used to upgrade maternal and newborn services in four selected health facilities across the country.

The beneficiary health facilities include Kisenyi and Kawaala health facilities in the suburbs of Kampala plus those in Kachumbala (Teso sub-region) and Kabong (Karamoja sub-region).

The Executive Director, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Dorothy Kisaka commended MTN Uganda for raising to the challenge of maternal health and partnering with KCCA.

“This invaluable contribution towards fully operationalizing the neonatal units for KCCA managed Health facilities-Kisenyi and Kawaala HC IV – will go a long way in increasing KCCA’s capacity to manage the common preventable causes of newborn deaths and improving the quality of newborn services,” Kisaka said.

She pledged that KCCA will put all the equipment and the neonatal units to the best use while at the same time taking great care of them through regular maintenance.

“The current status of maternal, newborn, child health services in the city is characterized by heavy congestion in public health facilities and high death rates of mothers and newborns. This support is a step in the right direction,” Kisaka said.

She called upon Ugandans to participate in the marathon for a good reason because apart from running for health reasons, they get to contribute towards a community benefiting project.

“We are building a smart city, a transformational initiative that will change the way in which the city functions to make Kampala more inclusive, safe, sustainable, efficient, resilient and ultimately a better place to live, work and play.

The Smart City is focused on enhancing service delivery, improving the efficiency of our systems and services and propelling KCCA towards the achievement of its strategic plan.

The making of Kampala as a SMARTCITY shall be through harnessing the interconnectivity between Technology, Infrastructure and People as core pillars.

“In saving babies from preventable death, we are inadvertently strengthening one of the three Smart city pillars, PEOPLE,” Kisaka said.

Sylvia Mulinge CEO MTN Uganda expressed delight for the partners who have supported the Marathon which is now returning after a two year Covid-19 forced break.

“It is with such great joy that we resume the most anticipated sports activity in the East African region, after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is bigger and better, in its purpose of doing good in the communities,” Mulinge said.

Since 2004, the Marathon has raised over Shs4 billion and benefited several causes like helping expectant mothers with maternity kits, resettling people displaced by war in northern Uganda, and most recently, improving maternal in health facilities.

“This year’s marathon proceeds shall be used by the MTN Foundation to equip and further improve maternal and neonatal health facilities to save lives of mothers and babies,” Mulinge said.

“I believe that together we can drive this effort. I am particularly happy that this year we have included children as they are the leaders of tomorrow and this will only kick start the movement,”

The 2022 edition of the MTN Kampala Marathon will be held on Sunday 20th November starting at 6am at Kololo Independence grounds with runners participating in either of 4 categories including; the full Marathon (42Km), half Marathon (21Km), 10Km race and 5 Km wheelchair race and for children.

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Over Shs 300 million worth of exciting prizes has been won in the ongoing Coca-Cola Under The Crown promotion – ‘Believe and Win UG’.

With a grand prize of winning an all-expense paid trip to watch the opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, consumers have so far taken a home brand new Smartphones and Television sets from World Cup global partner Hisense, Multichoice Decoders from official broadcaster Multichoice Uganda Limited, and airtime worth over two hundred million shillings.

According to Isaac Sekasi, Business Development and Commercialization Director at Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda, this promotion is in line with Coca-Cola’s long history with FIFA World Cup dating back to over 60years and the company’s strong identification with sports as a unifying factor.

“Since the launch of the FIFA World Cup Under the Crown promotion, we have seen hundreds of lucky consumers purchasing our products, sending the unique code and walking away with prizes. The campaign runs until November, and I must assure Ugandans that there are still lots of prizes to be won. Grab yourself a Coca-Cola today and be part of the winners. Also watch out for our roadshows in your area and be part of the celebrations,” he said.

Sekasi also noted that Coca-Cola has supported the development of football in Uganda, especially among the youth through the Copa Coca-Cola championships.

“Our love for soccer runs deep and we wanted to share that love with our customers by enabling them to not only win prizes but also get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a live game,” he added.

To take part in the ongoing promotion, consumers simply have to choose and purchase any of these products from Coca-Cola’s wide product portfolio; Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Novida, Krest or Stoney 300ml glass bottle and check under the crown to enter the draw. Consumers will then send the unique code to 6688 and stand a chance to win weekly prizes and enter a weekly grand draw that will give them a chance to win tickets to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

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Due to the recent fire outbreak in schools, Police and Vivo Energy have launched a fire safety education campaign dubbed ‘Cool Kids Stop Fires’. The campaign is aimed at reducing fire outbreaks in schools which result in injuries, fatalities and loss of property.

The campaign will be implemented in partnership with the Uganda Police Directorate of Fire Prevention and Rescue Services and the Ministry of Education and Sports.

“Maintaining the highest international Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Quality (HSSEQ) standards is an integral part of our business. We would like to use our extensive expertise and knowledge to support the nation in curbing school fires which have been on the rise and pose a significant threat to the lives of our children and school property. Through this campaign, we will impart fire safety education to students and stakeholders of educational institutions and skill them in the prevention, detection, and management of school fires to avert the loss of life and property,” said Johan Grobbelaar, Managing Director, Vivo Energy Uganda.

According to the Uganda Police 2021 Annual Crime Report, a total of 1,258 fire emergencies were handled in 2021 compared to 1,015 in 2020, marking a 23.9% increase. Fire incidents were mainly attributed to negligence, electrical short circuits, charcoal stoves, and unattended candles/lamps among others.

Speaking during the launch of the campaign, Mr. John Martin Okoth Ochola, the Inspector General of Police said school fires were on the increase, especially during the first and second term of the year and in the months of May to August.

“We have registered over fifty school fires during this period, with the majority occurring in boarding schools and specifically the school dormitories. These rampant school fires present risks to the lives of the children, their property, and the properties of the affected schools and a disruptive effect on the economy of the country. There is a need for mass sensitization, firefighting training and enhancement of fire safety measures by schools through the installation of smoke detectors and alarms. We are grateful for the support by Vivo Energy Uganda which will help us reach even more school staff and students with this important and lifesaving initiative.”

Government interventions to curb the rising fire outbreaks include the institution of a committee by the Ministry of Works and Transport to review educational, commercial and residential facilities to gauge compliance to set fire prevention standards. The committee is comprised of the Uganda Police, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Education and Sports, Private School owners, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

“This campaign has various components including school outreaches to enhance fire safety knowledge and preparedness, donation of fire detection equipment, and mass sensitization on fire safety. Vivo Energy brings on board key assets including a strong HSSEQ set of standards, culture, expertise, and skilled staff with time-tested firefighting experience, and a desire to impart fire safety education and basics in fire management by way of training to school heads and students,” Mr Grobbelaar added.

Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, State Minister for Primary Education hailed the partnership between Vivo Energy Uganda and Uganda Police, describing it as a timely initiative and a much-needed response to the rampant school fires that are disruptive to the education sector and the learning processes for school children.

“Schools are meant to be safe learning spaces for our school children. It is truly disheartening to see that the high rates of school fires that go unchecked are due to negligence and the lack of preventative measures such as the installation of recommended firefighting equipment. Following the directive issued on fire safety management in schools, the Ministry shall step up inspection of this aspect to ensure compliance in educational institutions. I encourage headteachers to prioritize the safety of the children entrusted in their care by implementing these preventative measures,” said Hon. Dr. Kaducu.

According to the Uganda Police, urgent issues that need to be addressed include security enhancement at schools with dormitories guarded when students are off, installation of fire alarms and cameras by schools, fire sensitization as well as drills and regular inspections of schools for compliance to safety standards.

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