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Uganda gets Shs22.6 billion funding for refugee settlements

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Refugees

The Uganda Cash Consortium (UCC), led by the Danish Refugee Council in partnership with the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has received an additional Shs 22.6 billion (€6m) from the EU to continue the provision of cash-based assistance across targeted refugee settlements in Uganda.

With the additional funding from the European Commission, the UCC will support over 60,000 of the most vulnerable refugees within settlements in the Southwest (Kyaka II, Kyangwali and Nakivale) and West Nile (Imvepi, Palabek and Rhino Camp) regions of Uganda.

This phase of the UCC’s support is commencing, as Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees from its neighboring countries with 22,118 new arrivals from South Sudan and 50,751 from the Democratic Republic of Congo since the start of 2022.

As part of the UCC’s intervention, more than 37,200 members of the refugee community will benefit from unconditional, multi-purpose cash assistance designed to assist individuals and households to meet their basic needs. The assistance will be provided monthly over the course of six months. As part of the action, the UCC is integrating a new referral mechanism to better link to and assist referred beneficiaries from other agencies across settlements. Additionally, cash for Education in Emergencies (EiE) will be provided to over 23,800 children and adolescents who are currently out of school or at risk of dropping out. This assistance will be provided during the third term in 2022 and throughout 2023.

“Evidence and experience show us that providing multipurpose cash grants to highly vulnerable refugees is the best way to efficiently assist them, respecting their dignity, as they can decide by themselves their priorities. Moreover, this financial assistance has a multiplier effect in local economies, as refugees procure whatever they need from local vendors, many of them being Ugandans”, said Mr. Bruno Rotival, Head of the EU’s Humanitarian Aid office in Uganda.

“Financial barriers are among the main ones preventing refugee children from accessing and remaining in school. The provision of cash grants will enable us to address it in compliance with the Government strategies”, added Mr. Rotival. “The UCC welcomes the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) as a new consortium partner. UNCDF will provide a key role in supporting the consortium’s efforts to scale up and promote accessibility and uptake of digital payments across settlements.”

The Danish Refugee Council applauded the EU for the continued financial support to respond to the humanitarian needs of refugees in Uganda and for their ongoing efforts to maintain attention to the unique challenges of providing assistance to the over 1.5 million refugees hosted in the country.

“With our partners the LWF, URCS and UNCDF, the Danish Refugee Council and the UCC aim to continue to demonstrate the effectiveness of cash assistance within the humanitarian response and the important role such assistance plays in supporting individuals to not only meet their basic needs but also to rebuild their lives in Uganda,” Patrick Phillips, Danish Refugee Council Head of Programme said.

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Parliament to reconsider Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill

By
Our Reporter
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Deputy Speaker Tayebwa

President Yoweri Museveni has returned the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to Parliament for reconsideration.

The President wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among raising concern about the proposal of imposing 40 per cent or Shs4,000 excise duty on each kilogramme on sacks and bags of polymers and other plastics which was rejected.

He also contested the re-introduction of 20 per cent excise duty on sugar confectioneries.
The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa read the President’s letter to MPs on Thursday.

“On 18 May, 2022, this House passed the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Bill was dully transmitted for presidential assent pursuant to Article 91 of the Constitution. His Excellency in a letter dated 05 July 2022 has returned the Bill for reconsideration of the House,” said Tayebwa.

In the letter, President Museveni said that the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2022 submitted by the government proposed to impose excise duty at a rate of 40 per cent or Shs4,000per kilogramme whichever is higher on sacks and bags of polymers of ethylene and other plastics.

The only exception in the government proposal were packaging bags for food, juices, tea and coffee and bags for direct use in the manufacture of sanitary pads.

“Parliament rejected the foregoing provision and it is thus not included in the Bill. The decision by Parliament to reject the proposal undermines the objectives government intended to achieve through the excise duty amendment,” read the President’s letter in part.

He stated that one of government’s objectives was to streamline the provisions for taxation of plastic products as provided for in the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act, 2021 with the view to ensuring that the targeting of excise duty is refocused away from sensitive sectors that utilize elements of plastics.

Museveni also noted that this was to also address tax administration challenges associated with its implementation and incentivize owners of plastic recycling plants to enhance their efforts towards cleaning up of the environment.

The President also questioned the re-introduction of a new clause in the Bill that provides for excise duty at 20 per cent on sugar confectionaries.

“Excise Duty on sugar confectionaries was first introduced in financial year 2014/2015 at 10 per cent and was later increased to 20 per cent in 2018/2019. However, government removed it in financial year 2019/2020 following complaints from manufacturers that their products were being outcompeted by cheaper smuggled imports,” Museveni noted.

He said that Parliament’s decision to reintroduce the tax has implications since it goes against government’s decision not to increase taxes in the current financial year 2022/2023 which was intended to support speedy economic recovery especially given the general increase in prices of goods and services.

The President requested Parliament to delete the clause introducing the tax on sugar confectionaries and also approve a government proposal of imposing 40 per cent or Shs4,000 excise duty on each kilogramme on sacks and bags of polymers and other plastics.

However, the Leader of Opposition, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, said that the Bill was supposed to serve the intentions of the current financial year budget that started on 01 July 2022. He said that it is more than a month since Parliament passed the Bill and appealed to the Ministers concerned with tax bills to always ensure that such delays of Bills do not happen since it disorganizes sector budgets.

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NRM, Opposition king pins in Soroti ahead of by-election

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Kizza Besigye with FDC candidate Moses Attan

The Opposition and the National Resistance Movement (NRM) king pins are in Soroti City canvassing votes for their respective candidates ahead of the upcoming by-election for Soroti East Constituency.

President Yoweri Museveni, Vice President Jessica Alupo, the Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, the chairman of NRM Electoral Commission Tanga Odoi, Cpt. Mike Mukula and other leaders of the ruling party are today expected to rally support for the NRM flag bearer for the Soroti East constituency, Mr. Herbert Ariko.

Over the weekend, the Vice President rallied the people to embrace government programmes and to support the party candidate.

“After the NRM rallies in Soroti East today, we were hosted at Etop Radio in Soroti. Our discussion centered on development, the by-election, cattle compensation, PDM among others. I also emphasized the importance of peace and unity especially in elections,” Alupo said.

The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leadership led by the former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye and party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat, pitched camp in the area to rally support for Attan Okia Moses who had been representing the constituency till court nullified his election.

The party’s Secretary General Nandala Mafabi earlier today said “The people of Soroti have spoken and are willing to go and vote for Attan Moses on Thursday. NRM is in a panic mood. They are removing National Identification Numbers (NIN) from people. They are using money to pay people at night.”

On May 24th, 2022, the Court of Appeal nullified the election of Attan Moses on grounds that the Electoral Commission failed to conduct free and fair elections. Following his election, a voter petitioned court challenging the annexation and transfer of Opiyai and Aloet wards from Soroti East to Soroti West after the nomination of the candidates.

The voter contended that the annexation led to disenfranchising of over 4,560 voters the right to vote for the leader of their choice.

Court ruled that at the time of voter verification, the people of Opiyai and Aloet wards were verified and confirmed to fall under Soroti East thus the sudden change left voters at a loss and confused as to where they belong and whom to vote for as they were presented with ballot papers of strange candidates than the ones they expected to see and were known to them.

Polling for Member of Parliament shall take place on Thursday 28th July 2022 at all polling stations in Soroti East Constituency.

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WHO, CDC and Ministry of Health train 70 Emergency Responders to improve health emergency management in Uganda

By
Our Reporter
-

The Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) trained over 70 emergency responders, including managers, national trainers, and rapid response teams, on rapid deployment and operational response to public health emergencies at the Nile Village Hotel in Jinja.

With financial funding from the Ministry of Health in France through WHO, the two-week training, which began on July 12, 2022, is part of the WHO’s initiative known as the Rapid Response Teams Training Implementation Package (RRT TIP). The ultimate goal of this RRT TIP pilot was to provide the country with the resources, guidance, and support needed to implement a sustainable plan to build the capacity of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) to effectively respond to all public health outbreaks at the national and sub-national levels.

“The establishment of trained Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), readily available for deployment and response in emergencies is critical in addressing the country’s public health and emergency problems. We appreciate this timely and critical support from WHO and CDC in building the capacity of our teams.” – Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, Uganda’s Minister of Health.

“COVID-19 has highlighted the need for skills transfer at the national and sub-national levels. The trained National Trainers (ToTs) will be able to conduct and use their knowledge to build the capacity of Rapid Response Teams at the National and subnational levels to effectively and efficiently respond to Public Health Emergencies,” Dr. Yonas Tegegn Woldemariam, the WHO Representative to Uganda.

“In addition, through the Advanced training for Emergency Responders, the beneficiaries will be able to respond appropriately to public Health emergencies at any time,” Dr. Yonas emphasized.

“Uganda faces a multitude of infectious disease outbreaks across the country every year. Building capacity for multidisciplinary teams at all levels is critical for immediate effective and efficient response to avoid devastating impacts. CDC will continue to partner with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization to ensure sustainable training plans are in place and surge teams are trained for rapid response teams,” – Dr. Amy Boore, Program Director, Division of Global Health Project, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Uganda, U.S. Mission Uganda.

Uganda is the first country among WHO member states to implement the Rapid Response Team training package. All learning resources in the RRT TIP are developed from a global standard perspective by WHO and are meant to be adopted by the Member States in country context to meet their specific needs.

“On August 17 and 18, Uganda will adopt these learning materials to suit subnational Rapid Response Teams for future in-country training,” – Dr. Moses Ebong, Principal Medical Officer, Department of Integrated Epidemiology, Surveillance and Public Health Emergencies Division, MoH.

The RRT TIP audience is segmented into two categories. The primary target audience consists of entities that play a crucial role in supporting ongoing training and local capacity development in areas related to health emergency preparedness and readiness, including relevant Ministry of Health Departments, the Emergency Operations Center, the Incident Management System, National Public Health institutes, local academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, and partners.

The secondary audience for the RRT TIP is national, Regional and District professionals (within and outside the health sector) who are likely to be deployed as managers, trainers, and/or members of Rapid Response Teams.

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World Athletics Championships: Oscar Chelimo wins 5,000m bronze medal

By
Our Reporter
-
Oscar Chelimo

Ugandan long-distance Oscar Chelimo won bronze in the men’s 5000m final as the 2022 World Athletics Championships came to a close in Eugene, Oregon (US).

It’s his first senior medal for Uganda at a major championships having earlier won bronze at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Argentina and bronze at the 2019 World Cross-country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark.

Chelimo sprinted through the field in the final 100m to secure third place in a season best 13:10.20. Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won gold with the fastest time of 13:09.24, and Jacob Krop of Kenya won silver at 13:09.98.

World record holder and Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei finished ninth in the race in 13:13.12.

Uganda finished off the championships with three medals (one gold and two bronze).

Cheptegei and Kiplimo won Uganda’s first medals in Oregon when they took Gold and Bronze respectively in the 10,000m.

Uganda finish 16th on the medal table – tied with Belgium and Sweden on medal count. United States clinched top place with 33 medals (13 gold, 9 silver and 11 bronze).

The next championships will be held in Budapest, Hungary next year in August.

The athletes now quickly shift focus to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK, that start this Thursday July 28 to August 8.

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Delhi Public School International Kampala excels in exams

By
Our Reporter
-

Delhi Public School International Kampala students have all excelled in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 12 examinations 2021-2022.

With a total number of 46 candidates, the average school score was 78 per cent.

Eight of the students scored 90 per cent and above, 10 scored between 80-89 per cent, 18 scored between 70-79 per cent while 10 scored between 60-69 per cent.

Delhi Public school International was started to help support the country’s education sector. Much as it uses the CBSE curriculum, it is open to all students in the country irrespective of their nationalities.

The school is part of Ruparelia Group of Companies where Sudhir Ruparelia is the Group’s founder and chairman.

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Russia’s foreign affairs minister Lavrov to visit Uganda

By
Our Reporter
-
H.E. Sergey Lavrov

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia H.E. Sergey Lavrov will pay a visit to Uganda next week.

The visit scheduled for Monday July 25 was confirmed by the Russian Embassy in Uganda.

“We are pleased to announce that H.E. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, will pay a visit to the Republic of Uganda on July 25-26, 2022,” the Russian Embassy in Uganda tweeted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Lavrov will make an African tour that includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Republic of the Congo, from July 24 to 28.

This will be Lavrov’s first-ever visit to Uganda and is expected to meet and hold talks with President Yoweri Museveni.

Sergey Lavrov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia in 2004 and has been holding this position ever since. He has a diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and is a full Chevalier of the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland’.

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Nobert Mao vetted as the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs

By
Geoffery Serugo
-
Newly appointed Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Norbert Mao before the Appointments Committee chaired by Speaker Anitah Among for vetting

The President-General of Democratic Party (DP) Nobert Mao has been vetted as the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Mao was appointed to the position following the signing of a working cooperation agreement with the Ruling party, the National resistance Movement (NRM).

Mr. Mao’s appointment was approved by the vetting committee of parliament chaired by the Speaker Anita Among.

Speaking after the vetting process, Moa said he will not resign from his position as the president of DP.

“The constitution of DP and the cooperation agreement are not mutually exclusive. I signed it as the president of the DP and I will continue discharging my duty as the president of DP,” he said.

“I heard voices calling me to step aside. I think the reason is not a cooperation agreement. The reason would be if DP members said I would be too busy and I would listen to it because it is reasonable. The venomous outbursts that I heard shows that many of our members have not internalized the implications of this cooperation agreement.”

Mao is a Ugandan political activist and lawyer. He has been president of the Democratic Party since 2010, three time presidential candidate and he served as the Local Council 5 chairman for Gulu District.

Mao attended Mwiri Primary School in Jinja and briefly went to Wairaka College in Jinja District before attending Namilyango College, a prestigious all-boys boarding high school in Mukono District from 1982 until 1988.

He then attended Makerere University between 1988 until 1991, graduating with a law degree. He served as the president of the Makerere University Students Guild between 1990 and 1991. He went on to obtain the Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Center in 1992. In 2003, Mao was admitted to Yale University, under the Yale World Fellows Program, where he spent one year at the New Haven, Connecticut campus.

From 1992 until 1994, Mao worked as an associate attorney in the offices of Kabugo and Company Advocates, a Kampala-based law firm. Between 1994 and 1996, he worked as a legal counsel for the Legal Aid Project of the Uganda Law Society in their Gulu office.

In 1996, he was elected to the Parliament of Uganda, representing Gulu Municipality. While in parliament, he served on the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and the Public Accounts Committee. He resigned from Parliament in 2006 and was elected chairman of Gulu District.

Mao is chairman of the East African chapter of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and member of its secretariat. Also, he helped found the Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace (AMANI Forum). He was instrumental in trying to bridge the gap between the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels and the Ugandan government by lobbying for the passage of a general amnesty law aimed at bringing a peaceful resolution to armed conflict in northern Uganda.

He publicly indicated his intention to contest the 2011 Ugandan presidential elections, either as the nominee of his party or if not nominated on the party ticket, as an independent.

He was elected as President of the Democratic Party on 20 February 2010 and ran for President of Uganda in the 2011 general election. The DP faced a lot of challenges that led to a split and deep polarization at the height of the electionHe attracted only a small share of the vote, and President Yoweri Museveni was elected to another term.

Mao and Inter Party Coalition presidential candidates Kizza Besigye and Olara Otunnu, among others, protested the election results in spite of its early approval by international observers and the United States as largely free and fair.

On 21 November 2020, Mao, along with fellow opposition presidential candidates Bobi Wine, Henry Tumukunde, Mugisha Muntu, and Patrick Amuriat Oboi, agreed to form an alliance.

Yesterday, 21st July 2022, Mao was appointed Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs by president Museveni in a move that sparked off debate about his allegiance to the opposition.

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World Athletics Championships: Cheptegei, Chelimo qualify for 5000m final

By
Our Reporter
-
Chelimo

Ugandan duo Joshua Cheptegei and Oscar Chelimo have qualified for the 5000m final at the ongoing World Athletics Championships at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Chelimo won the first heat in 13:24.24 with Fisher following him home in second place with Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega (13:24.44) also advancing to the medal race. World leader Nicholas Kipkorir also made progress to the final.

Cheptegei came fourth in a time of 13:24.47 in the same heat and qualified as well.

But the other Ugandan athlete, Peter Maru in heat two, failed to go through, coming 14th at a time of 13:47.65

Chelimo will be hoping to win Uganda a first senior medal having clinched bronze in 2018 at the Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Cheptegei continues his bid for double glory come the final on Sunday morning after clinching gold at the 10,000m.

He won gold at the 5000m at the Olympics last year in Tokyo.

Halimah Nakaayi also advanced to the 800m semifinals which will take place on Saturday morning.

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Micho summons provisional squad for CHAN 2022 qualifiers

By
Our Reporter
-
Micho during training

Uganda Cranes Head Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic has named a provisional squad of 40 players to embark on preparations for the 2022 African Nations Championship Qualifiers (CHAN).

The team has five goalkeepers, fifteen defenders, eight midfielders and twelve forwards.

Uganda will face either Somalia or Tanzania at the final qualification hurdle and the coach states there is need to start preparations early enough.

“Having in mind that Tanzania have a double header against Somalia with both games played in Dar es Salaam, chances are high that we will face Tanzania though I do not want to rule out the surprise element of football,” he told Fufa media.

“With our target set at qualifying to the final tournament for the final tournament, we have to start preparing early enough.”

The team will enter residential camp at Cranes Paradise Hotel, Kisasi on Monday, 25th July 2022.

The gaffer explains that the team will have three phases of preparation, bearing in mind the domestic Leagues are yet to kickoff.

“Players are still in off season and that explains why we need to start preparing early. We shall have to break the arrangements in three aspects including fitness, match situation and competitive phase.” Indicated Micho.

The coach confirmed that players summoned from Vipers SC will join the camp after their friendly game against Yanga FC.

“We are aware Vipers SC is preparing to represent Uganda on the continent and part of their preparations, they will play Yanga FC of Tanzania on 6th August. Therefore, we shall have the Vipers contingent after that game.”

The winner between Somalia and Tanzania will host Uganda between 26th -29th August.

The return leg will be played at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende with the winner on aggregate qualifying to the final tournament slated for January in Algeria.

Provisional Squad

Goalkeepers: Nafian Alionzi (URA FC), Richard Anyama (Arua Hill SC), Emmanuel Kalyowa (BUL FC), Denis Otim (Express FC), Mathias Muwanga (Onduparaka FC)

Defenders: Halid Lwaliwa (Vipers SC), Livingstone Mulondo (Vipers SC), Najib Fesali (URA FC), Joseph Bright Vuni (Arua Hill SC), Kenneth Ssemakula (SC Villa), John Revita (KCCA FC), Walter Ochora (BUL FC), Gavin Kizito Mugweri (SC Villa), James Begisa (URA FC), Hillary Onek (BUL FC), Brian Mato (Proline FC), Ibrahim Juma (KCCA FC), Derrick Ndahiro (URA FC), Disan Galiwango (Vipers SC), George Kaddu (Wakiso Giants FC)

Midfielders: Bobosi Byaruhanga (Vipers SC), Marvin Youngman (Vipers SC), Siraje Ssentamu (Vipers SC), George Kasonko (BUL FC), Titus Ssematimba(Wakiso Giants FC), Saidi Kyeyune (URA FC), Simon Peter Oketch (BUL FC), Moses Waiswa (KCCA FC)

Forwards: Milton Karisa (Vipers SC), Abdu Lumala (Vipers SC), Travis Mutyaba (SC Villa), Rogers Mato (KCCA FC), Moses Aliro (Wakiso Giants FC), Najib Yiga (Vipers SC), Martin Kizza (Express FC), Rashid Kawawa (Arua Hill SC), Muhammad Shaban(Onduparaka FC), Yunus Ssentamu (Vipers SC), Richard Basangwa (Gaddafi FC), Oscar Mawa (SC Villa)

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