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Joseph Kabuleta says every Ugandan is suffering including Banyankore

By
Our Reporter
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Joseph Kabuleta Kizza

The leader of National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) Joseph Kizza Kabuleta has revealed most people in Ankole sub-region are suffering despite the fact that President Yoweri Museveni is coming from the same region.

Speaking to journalists earlier today, Kabuleta attributed peoples suffering to the current bad leadership that supports segregation and sectarianism.

“People in Ankole are in abject poverty but a certain class of a few privileged people cover up the situation to make it look like all people from Western Uganda are well off,” he said at NEED headquarters.

“Not all people in Ankole have benefited from the NRM regime; most of them are facing the same problems faced by people in other regions. The privileges are enjoyed by the Bahima and Tutsi people who control everything in the Sub-Region,” he said.

He said Bahima’s 50 year grand plan which started as a rumor, truly exists and it’s being executed up to date.

“These people in 1992 came up with a 50 year master plan to rule Uganda. And part of that master plan was to give people their money to start a money lending business. They give you a rosy loan at an exorbitant interest so that you fail to pay back. When you fail, they take over your collateral such as land and buildings.

“They intentionally keep you in poverty so that when your child falls sick or you want to take them to school you will have to sell your land to them. A lot of public land is being taken by private people who are from/close to the ruling establishment. The concept of Uganda is slowly fading away. We now have the Bahima taking over everything,”

“We fight because our children shouldn’t be turned into slaves. These people’s vision is to turn Uganda into a Tutsi empire. We should not be superior or given privileges because of our ethnic background. We are fighting sectarianism and we are going to have justice anytime.”

The former Isingiro North contestant Prossy Ayebare said that the Ankole sub-region currently has two classes of people; Tutsi, Bahima (Masters) and Bakiga, Banyankore (Biru/slaves).

“The Banyankore and Bakiga are oppressed people, we have political, economic and social challenges . The Bahima and Tutsi are the ones who take decisions like who get what job, who joins the army among others.They are a small group of people with a lot of powers,” Ayebare said.

“When it comes on a national level, you take us (All people from Western Uganda) as superiors but in actual sense, it’s not the case. We are not allowed to vote in elections, Hospitals lack medicines, schools have no proper structures.”

She further accused the Bahima and Tutsi of sidelining the Banyankore and Bakiga when it comes to empowering the people of Ankole economically.

“Our animals are ever in quarantine. The Bahima/Tutsi do not pay taxes, don’t pay for water or electricity bills, the burden is always imposed on us by the Biru,” Ayebare added.

“When it comes to land grabbing, we suffer like the people in Buganda or any other part of the country.”

Edwin Akoragye, a resident of Biharwe in Mbarara city also expounded that the Bahima/Tutsi have a tendency of choosing specific sons and daughters from their families, give them scholarships to study in good schools and universities abroad as well as giving them capital to start businesses so that they can run the politics and economy of Uganda.

“If the whole country has gone to the dogs, why do you think it’s a different story in Ankole?” Akoragye wondered.

He further affirmed that there’s a deliberate move by a small group of people in Ankole to own and control everything in Uganda and make citizens paupers and slaves in the own country.

“There’s a plot in Ankole to plan for Kampala in the name of keeping it ‘clean’. They want to contract their people to peel all matooke from Rubindi. They want to supply already peeled matooke to Kampala. There’s an abattoir in Biharwe where they want all cattle to be slaughtered from. They want to supply ready to cook meat to Kampala. These people want to control everything starting from coffee, matooke, milk among others.”

“The issue of land grabbing is everywhere, Ankole inclusive. In Rwenjeru Ranch, one person was given 500 square miles free of charge because he rears Ankole cattle. He is very close to power. This is done at the expense of the poor people who are starving and have nowhere to till,” Akoragye divulged.

“Ankole people are not sectarian, we are good people. We are not like how some people portray us to be. Some people taint us to be rich yet that applies to only a few powerful people.”

Asuman Odaka, the NEED National Coordinator said they came up with the idea of profiling each region in order to downplay the speculation or reasoning that some citizens in specific areas are doing better than others.

“People from Bukedi think people from Ankole are well off. We focus on every region to show you that we are facing the same problems as Ugandans,” Odaka said.

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UDB in the spotlight over loan disbursements

By
Geoffery Serugo
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CEO of Uganda Development Bank, Patricia Ojangole.

Uganda, like the rest of the world, is reeling from the shocks of the #Covid-19 pandemic that placed the economy in a chokehold. The recent Ukraine war has upended supply chains and sent fuel prices soaring to unprecedented figures. This has reverberated across the World with a deadly sting especially in low developed countries and strangulated the global safety net to buffer weak economies such as Uganda.

A huge chunk of corn and barley is trapped in Russia and Ukraine because of the war, while an even larger portion of the world’s fertilizers is stuck in Russia and Belarus. The result is that global food and fertilizer prices are soaring.

However, Uganda has a comparative advantage in Agriculture with its arable land and can go beyond the cliché of being the regional basket to supply East, Central and Southern Africa, and the rest of the world with organic food, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Uganda is also a jewel in the crown as a favourite tourism hotspot and growing fortunes in its minerals sector should ensure that the country makes the much-vaunted leap to middle-income status with ease.

However, there are two other critical sectors that must match our comparative advantage —the health and education sector. The #Covid-19 pandemic has already shown us why the health sector is a critical area that needs robust investment. Uganda spends billions of shillings treating VIPs in medical facilities abroad as the ordinary taxpayers languish in ailing hospitals. This is akin to medical apartheid. The other critical area is the education sector. As the bus departs towards the fifth industrial revolution, Africa can’t afford to continue lagging behind only offering a paltry 2 per cent of trade and services to the entire world and remain the poster-child of a neo-colonial agenda— a sanctuary for the developed world for its resources.

The cornerstones of a policy framework for developing a suitably skilled workforce are—broad availability of good-quality education as a foundation for future training—a close matching of skills supply to the needs of enterprises and labour markets— enabling workers and enterprises to adjust to changes in technology and markets— and anticipating and preparing for the skills needs of the future.

When applied successfully, this approach nurtures a virtuous circle in which more and better education and training fuels innovation, investment, economic diversification and competitiveness, as well as social and occupational mobility – and thus the creation of more but also more productive and more rewarding jobs.

Good-quality primary and secondary education, complemented by relevant vocational training and skills development opportunities, prepare future generations for their productive lives, endowing them with the core skills that enable them to continue learning.

As the #Covid-19 pandemic ravaged businesses and sales of SMEs cratered, President Museveni revealed that the government had capitalised Uganda Development Bank (UDB) to offer loans to some of the most critical sectors of the economy.

Amongst some of the most affected businesses were school institutions, some of which have defaulted in regard to loans from commercial banks leaving a huge gap in providing quality education to learners.

If UDB could lend to this critical sector, this could offer a saving grace to the vital education sector.

We must either commit to building a well-educated citizenry who can compete on merit globally or we shall perish with incompetent run-of-the mill products.

UDB needs to undertake a policy configuration to ensure that they don’t limit funding to upcountry schools but also look at Kampala and the greater environs such as Wakiso to provide loans to primary school institutions, which are the edifice of a competent human resource.

In any case, countryside schools are largely under Universal Primary Education (UPE), whose next phase should now cater for improving the qualitative aspects of teaching, infrastructure, the feeding and well-being of pupils.

Local entrepreneurs who are establishing schools in the city and the outskirts ought to be supported with UDB loans to meet the needs of the high-population explosion as more Ugandans migrate towards emerging towns and cities but to also cater for the quality education needs for the region, a good tribute that Uganda once enjoyed.

This fits well within the lofty 2040 National Development Plan.

However, UDB in 2020 approved loans and disbursed a total of Shs 444 billion.

The beneficiaries include Amour Traders limited, which received Shs 870,157,890, Kasawo Grain Millers got Shs1,030,000,000, Yellow Star Processing Limited Shs 500,000,000, NUMA Feeds (U) Limited got Shs 200,000,000, Arise and Shine Maize got Shs450,000,000, Agrinet received Shs148,592,000, Jesa Farm Dairy Limited was given Shs 15,377,550,179, Ask International Limited got Shs573,693,094, Aponye received Shs5,000,000,000.

Other recipients include Mulwana Foods Shs130,000,000, Post Bank Shs10,000,000,000, Besepo Shs529,406,700, New Bukumbi Shs 659,500,000, Niem Establishment Shs1,000,000,000 Akamwesi, Shs 20,795,200,000, Power Africa Shs300,000,000, Global Company Ltd 2,145,582,006, Smileplast Shs712,292,200, Nice House of Plastics Limited Shs3,750,000,000, Kiddawalime Bakery Limited Shs 4,961,129,110, Quality Plastics Shs21,587,271,579, Wandaz Products Limited, Shs113,714,472, Nice House of Plastics Ltd Shs 8,093,746,196,  Wandaz Products Ltd Shs 587,171,462, Kinkizi Traders Shs2,746,372,300, Kaizen Business Limited Shs 747,000,000, Manyakabi ACE Shs300,000,000, Abasaiija Kweyamba mubuku Farming Shs 400,000,000, Nyamitsindo Farmers’ Cooperative Shs 500,000,000, Honey Pride Shs169,838,828.

Others are Finance Trust Bank, which got Shs5,000,000,000, Highagro Agri (U) Limited got Shs389,999,353, Zigoti Coffee got Shs 6,799,295,404, Pillars Trading Company Limited received Shs 200,000,000 Hill-side Agriculture Shs3,268,805,982, Wazalendo Shs30,000,000,000, Hotel Africana Moroto Limited Shs2,904,244,705, Emburara Safaris Ltd Shs 1,100,000,000, Tembo Safari Lodge Limited Shs 510,000,000, Trisek Hotel received Shs932,597,737, Desert Breeze received Shs 2,581,740,000, and the he Alpha Leisure Center got Shs655,560,000

For instance, Kasawo Grain Millers got an approval of Shs 300,000,000 but received Shs1,030,000,000. Jesa Farm Dairy Limited got an approval of Shs7,424,000,000 but received Shs 15,377,550,179, Aponye received an approval of 4,287,983,616 but later got Shs5,000,000,000, Akamwesi got an approval of Shs 4,239,200,000 but received more than four times the amount, which stood at an astronomical Shs20,795,200,000, Global Company Limited got an approval of Shs948,500,000 but received a disbursement of Shs 2,145,582,006 and Quality Plastics got an approval of Shs 6,752,551,916 but received Shs21,587,271,579.

Whereas some deservingly got the loan disbursements, the jury is still out whether other firms were priority areas.

In a nutshell, the building blocks of any skills strategy must be solid foundation skills and stronger links between the worlds of education and work. This in turn requires good-quality education in childhood; good information on changes in demand for skills; education and training systems that are responsive to structural changes in economy and society; and recognition of skills and competencies, and their greater utilization in the workplace. To be effective, policy initiatives in these areas will also need to be closely linked with economic and social policy agendas.

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Court finds Mathew Kirabo guilty of murdering Desire Mirembe

By
Our Reporter
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Desire Mirembe

Former Makerere University medical student, Mathew Kirabo, has today been found guilty of killing his girlfriend Desire Mirembe by Mukono High Court Judge, Henry Kaweesa Isabirye.

The murder took place on July 6, 2015.

However, Judge Kaweesa said that the sentence will be made after Kirabo’s arrest who is currently on the run.

Kirabo was granted a Shs150 million bail on November 24, 2016 to complete his studies and has been out of prison since, skipping court sessions on several occasions.

In 2021, court in Mukono heard Kirabo’s application in which he was seeking return of his passport so that he could travel to the United States of America for further studies. Court dismissed the application sparking fears that he would flee the country.

Kirabo killed Mirembe while he was still a student of Makerere University after the couple reportedly conflicted in their love affair. The head of State House Anti-Corruption Unit Col Edith Nakalema resurrected the murder case that had been forgotten for six years.

Both were second-year Makerere University School of medicine students and Mirembe was then aged 19. 2015 reports show that Mirembe was killed by Dr. Kirabo who dumped her body in Mabira Forest in Buikwe District.

Kirabo was arrested, and on November 30, the same year was committed to the High Court for trial. However, the court granted him bail and for yet unknown reasons the hearing of this case had become stale and since then the hearing dates had never been fixed.

Emmanuel Musoke (main complainant) also Mirembe’s father alluded that the suspect continued with his studies, graduated and is employed as a medical officer at Mulago Hospital yet his daughter is in the grave and justice had never been served.

After reviewing and examining all the evidence in the matter in March this year, Court assessors urged court to find Mr. Kirabo guilty for the heinous crime since all evidence pointed towards him.

The High Court in Mukono then set May 30, 2022 as the date for the ruling of the case.

Mirembe used to stay at Akamwesi Hostel in Wandegeya and before this death she texted her mother who lives in the US informing her that she had left for Jinja with a stranger however she was scared. That was the last message her mother received from the daughter before she learned of her death.

After much pressure on Kirabo who was then a student, he revealed where Mirembe’s body was. Her body was found dumped in a sugarcane plantation in Lugazi, Buikwe District.

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Pilgrim collapses to death in Namugongo

By
Our Reporter
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ASP Luke Owoyesigyire - Deputy PRO KMP

A pilgrim has collapsed and died in Namugongo Parish, Kira Municipality Wakiso District today at about 11:30am.

Police at Kira Division identified the pilgrim as Arinitwe Jackline, 49 a peasant at Katokori Village, Kyanarwa Parish, Katanda sub-county in Rubirizi District.

According to the Kampala Metropolitan Deputy Police spokesperson, Luke Owoyesigyire, the deceased was among the 90 pilgrims who were trekking from west Ankole diocese for the martyrs’ day celebrations slated for Friday 3rd June.

“Her body has been conveyed to the city mortuary Mulago for Postmortem to help establish the exact cause of death,” Owoyesigyire said.

Police has advised all pilgrims to always rehydrate in a way of taking enough water and also have enough rest during the pilgrimage.

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Miria Matembe on her knees, begs to meet Beti Kamya

By
Simon Kabayo
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Next Media CEO Kin Karisa and City Advocate Ivan Okuda

Former Minister of Ethics and Integrity Miria Matembe is known for her cantankerous and no holds-barred approach to public debate but she seems to have touched a wrong nerve and found her match. Eagle Online can exclusively report that Matembe has, acting through her lawyers of Newmark Advocates, written to Kamya asking for peace talks and an out of court settlement.

On May 9, 2022, Matembe’s lawyers wrote to M/S Anguria & Co. Advocates, “our client has taken note of the subject suit against her for the alleged defamation of the Plaintiff. Our client is well aware of the position the two parties hold in the public especially being role models to women and girls in Uganda.”

The letter adds that in the interest of, “protecting and saving the image and resources of the two parties, our client has advised and believes that the issues raised in the subject suit can be handled and resolved in an in-house women’s manner.” Matembe then proposed a meeting to resolve the matter out of court.

On May 18, 2022, the IGG’s lawyers wrote back, “Please advise with exactitude, the specific terms that your client proposes,” adding, “on a more serious note however, please advise your client to desist from continuing with her malicious and defamatory campaign of misinformation and disinformation against our client and undermining the authority of the High Court by making public statements that defeat the spirit and essence of what she proposes in your letter.”

Kamya’s lawyers have now threatened to institute contempt of court proceedings against Matembe if she continues making prejudicial statements. This means that Matembe may follow lawyer Male Mabirizi in prison for contempt of court.

It was earlier reported in the media that Matembe, while addressing a conference at the launch of former presidential candidate Joseph Kabuleta’s new political formation, had bragged that she was not deterred by court and was going to ignore whatever is happening in the Kamya case and continue speaking her mind. She also said, according to press reports, that no one can use courts to intimidate or gag her because God gave her a mouth to talk.

As she was putting a strong face in public and speaking tough, secretly, Matembe was pressing the ‘save our souls’ button, pleading for peace talks and ceasefire.

When contacted, Anguria & Co. Advocates directed our reporter to Mr. Ivan Okuda, who is ‘counsel in personal conduct’ of the file. Asked how far the process of the peace talks had reached, Mr. Okuda replied in an email, “It is not our habit as professionals to discuss clients’ matters in the press. Litigation happens between the boardroom and court room not the newsrooms or social media so let’s leave court matters to court. I respectfully so submit.”

Recently, the Inspector General of Government (IGG) Beti Kamya dragged Matembe to the High Court in a defamation suit where the ex-minister of Kampala Capital City Authority and the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is demanding for Uganda Shillings one billion in compensation for what she says were “false, malicious and defamatory utterances” made by Matembe on NBS TV and NTV (Uganda).

The Deputy Registrar of the High Court’s Civil Division on February 21, 2022 ordered Matembe to file her defence, which she did. Shortly after, Kamya filed in court an application for an interim and temporary injunction where she is asking court to bar Matembe from continuing with what she describes as a malicious disinformation and misinformation campaign against her.

Matembe finds herself alone and frightened, left in a corner of bother to fight alone after Next Media Services, which had received a notice of intention to sue from Kamya admitted liability and asked to settle the matter out of court. Indeed, NBS’ CEO Mr. Kin Kariisa met Kamya’s lawyer Ivan Okuda and the matter was put to rest.

In the same vein, NTV (Uganda)’s lawyers also advised the Nation Media Group subsidiary that  a court battle with Kamya would be futile considering the gravity of claims that Matembe made which they could not approve in court. Again, NTV officially engaged Kamya’s lawyers and apologised to the IGG and hammered an out of court settlement. With the two giants opting not to waste time in court arguing in an ill-fated defamation law suit, Matembe is now left with egg on the face, after the media houses that would have swung their resources to support her left her abandoned and lonely.

Matembe will, in mid-June, defend herself in court on the application for an injunction that Kamya filed.

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MTN Uganda, Buganda Kingdom, Catholic Church and the Mayor’s office partner to clean up Masaka City

By
Our Reporter
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A team of MTN Staff and residents of Masaka City stand before the equipment donated to Masaka City to enable maintanance and hygiene of the area through the clean-up exercise

MTN Uganda over the weekend announced a partnership with the office of the Mayor of Masaka, Pokino of Buddu and the Catholic Church geared towards maintaining sanitation and hygiene of the city.

The partnership was launched under the theme: “TuzzeMasakakuntiko” translated as “Make Masaka great again”.

Masaka is one of the seven municipalities in Uganda that attained city status in 2020 following the decision by Parliament to approve the creation of 15 new cities across the country.

According to media reports, Masaka City generates at least 100 tonnes of garbage every week, yet only 70 percent of it can be collected.

As part of her strategic priorities for Masaka City, Honorable Florence Namayanja, the Mayor of Masakain 2021 introduced a monthly clean-up exercise to unite the city leadership, Buganda Kingdom, and the Catholic Church in an effort to maintain the hygiene and sanitation of Masaka.

Speaking during the announcement of the partnership held in Masaka over the weekend, Jimmy Ssempuuma, the MTN Uganda Regional Business Manager for Masaka said MTN is honoured to join forces with the Masaka City leadership, Buganda Kingdom, and the Catholic Church to provide additional support to this noble cause.

“We are cognizant of the power of togetherness and collaboration in achieving a shared goal hence MTN’s deliberate effort to forge this partnership with the aim of uplifting Masaka and its people to achieve the greatness the city is renowned for,” Ssempuuma said.

Through this partnership, MTN Uganda will support the city with requisite provisions such as wheelbarrows, slashers, spades, brooms, gloves, garden forks to facilitate the clean-up exercise.

In addition, MTN will also provide refreshments during the clean-up exercise and waste bins to create a sustained solution for littering the city.

In her remarks,  Namayanja welcomed MTN into the partnership noting that it is a reflection of the telecom’s commitment to improving the livelihood of Masaka City and its people.“MTN’s commitment to join us in cleaning up the city is noble because it is symbolic of its care, love and support for the people of Masaka. It further demonstrates that the relationship between MTN and Masaka is not only transactional, rather mutually beneficial socially and economically for the residents of this great city,” she said.

Pokino Jude Muleke urged the people of Masaka to embrace cleanliness to mitigate the spread of diseases.

MTN and Masaka share a long-standing relationship anchored on the former’s continuous support for the city. Last year, MTN supported the Masaka Catholic Diocese with Shs 20million to help the diocese in its preparations for the Martyr’s day celebration.

Most recently, the winner of the first Toyota Succeed car prize of the freshly launched MoMoNyaboWaaka promotion hailed from Masaka, which according to Ssempuuma proves the unwavering support of the people of Masaka for MTN.

He then emphasized the commitment by MTN to further cement its relationship with Masaka by supporting the city leadership’s endeavors geared towards improving the livelihood of the people with the goal of making Masaka great again.

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Hypocrisy: Bitature turns against his lawyer, says “I legally borrowed money from Vantage”

By
Our Reporter
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Patrick Bitature

Troubled City businessman Patrict Bitature has admitted in a public statement that he legally borrowed money from Vantage Mezzanine contrary to his lawyer Fred Muwema who said Vantage was a ghost company.

Bitature who has come under public criticism says he is willing to settle the loan with Vantage despite the ongoing private prosecution initiated by Vantage.

“As part of its business expansion plans, Simba approached Vantage Capital in 2014, seeking an alternative to the more common and mainstream pure debt funding for business expansion. Consequently, a “Mezzanine Term Facility Agreement (MFTA)” was signed between Vantage Mezzanine Fund II partnership (“Vantage”) and Simba Properties Investment Company (Simba) for $10,000,000 to fund projects within the Group. These projects included the completion of Protea by Marriott Skyz Hotel and working Capital for our ElectroMaxx power Subsidiary. The agreement had a 3- year Moratorium (freeze) for repayment of both the principal and interest.”

Below is the statment in full

By Patrick Bitature

The last few days have been quite challenging on me, family, colleagues, business partners, staff and other Simba Group stakeholders. Ugandan media has recently awashed news reports about Members of Simba Group. These attacks against Simba Group are an affront to our economic prospects as they inhibit the capacity of local entrepreneurs to exploit local and international opportunities.

Whilst I may be mindful of the fact that certain aspects of this matter are still pending in the courts and or dispute resolution avenues, I have, after careful reflection, elected to share this statement with you.

This statement is issued without prejudice and I will attempt to outline facts of the matter at hand and trace the genesis of our engagement and apparent disagreement with one of my business partners. This note also serves as a reassurance to all our business partners, affiliates, and stokehold that I remain committed to bring the issues at hand to a close justly, fairly and as expeditiously as possible.

The Genesis

As part of its business expansion plans, Simba approached Vantage Capital in 2014, seeking an alternative to the more common and mainstream pure debt funding for business expansion. Consequently, a “Mezzanine Term Facility Agreement (MFTA)” was signed between Vantage Mezzanine Fund II partnership (“Vantage”) and Simba Properties Investment Company (Simba) for $10,000,000 to fund projects within the Group. These projects included the completion of Protea by Marriott Skyz Hotel and working Capital for our ElectroMaxx power Subsidiary. The agreement had a 3- year Moratorium (freeze) for repayment of both the principal and interest.

Simba was confident of the economic prospects in the country as Uganda had discovered 6.5milionbarrels of oil reserves. Like many other businesses players in Uganda, we were expecting an economic upturn, and therefore in line with our innovative plans, ground breaking and a forward vision we explored business opportunities to generate value in the economy through sustainable investments. As one of the leading Ugandan business Group, with a track record, we were all positioned to harness this financing opportunity in order to grow and create more jobs and value for the nation.

Negotiation

Following the signing of Mezzanine Facility in 2014, the first repayment was due in 2017. However the unforeseen challenges such as unprecedented delay of the Final Investment Decision (FDI) on the oil and gas projects and Vantage’s requirement to us to improve the hotel’s fire and safety features to international benchmarked standards hindered our envisaged projects. We then proactively engaged Vantage and mutually agreed to a further moratorium for two years thereby mutually agreeing to freeze all payments until December 2019.

In December 2019, Vantage issued a demand for the principal and interest from 2014 onwards and by early 2020, the said amount had increased. With the effects of Covid-19 on business and the economy, we were once again faced with great challenges. Vantage nevertheless attempted to realize their security over the prime assets of Simba Group. This was despite my overtures to resolve the issue of extraordinary acceleration of the interest rate which in real terms is over 35% per annum in USD. The intervention of the Court was then sought with a bid to secure the determination on several issues. The court referred the parties to arbitration at a seat of Vantage’s choosing in accordance with the terms of the MTFA. Vantage chose London as the seat of arbitration and filed a request to arbitrate at the International Chamber Of Commerce (ICC). Simba acknowledged and responded to the request to arbitrate and continue to participate in this process to date.

However notwithstanding the reference to arbitration, Vantage attempted to transfer shares in Simba which they held simply as security. Uganda registration services Bureau (URSB), a government body, declined to register the transfer of shares and directed Vantage to follow the direction of the Court to essentially resolve the issues at arbitration first.

Vintage being displeased with that decision sought judicial review in High Court seeking Mandamus orders to direct URSB to transfer shares, a matter which court on 9th May 2022 dismissed on grounds that they, Vantage, had violated mandatory provisions of the law and the Partnership Act and the Business Names Registration Act , thereby in effect lacking legal presence to sue or be sued. Despite this ruling, Vantage went on to advertise the Group Properties on 18th May 2022 in total disregard to the foundation and concerns raised by Court in its decision.

This inevitably sparked off the mayhem that broke out all over social media and other news outlets. It is worth noting that on the 16th May 2022 only two days before the advert, the same Vantage had lodged a Notice of Appeal against the decision of the court. It therefore surprised us that they could not await the results of their own appeal.

Assurance

As a business, we are committed to having this business dispute resolved at the earliest opportunity. I would like to emphasise that this is a dispute between two business parties.

May I take this opportunity to reassure our clients and stakeholders and the general public that we will continue to operate our business and unreservedly serve the nation as we have done for the last 30 years.

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Rt Rev Gaddie Akanjuna consecrated as the 6th Bishop of the Diocese of Kigezi

By
Our Reporter
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Rt Rev Gaddie Akanjuna consecrated as the 6th Bishop of the Diocese of Kigezi

The Rt. Rev. Gaddie Akanjuna has been consecrated and enthroned as the 6th Bishop of the Diocese of Kigezi replacing Rt. Rev. Eng. George Bagamunda.

The Service happened on Sunday May 29th at Kigezi Highschool Primary grounds in Kabale Town.

The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu the Archbishop of Church of Uganda was the Main Celebrant while Rt. Rev. George Turyasingura the Bishop of East Ruwenzori Diocese was the retreat leader and Preacher.

Bishop Turyasingura called upon the new Bishop to be a servant leader and minister to all God’s people without any form of segregation.

Rt. Hon. Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda the former Prime Minister of Uganda represented His Excellency Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni as Chief Guest.

He delivered the President’s gift of a car to support the new Bishop in his demanding ministry.

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Gen. Saleh lauds Stanbic Bank’s low cost lending to agricultural SACCOs

By
Our Reporter
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Gen. Saleh

General Salim Saleh, the National Coordinator for Operation Wealth Creation has commended Stanbic Bank for easing the process to access low cost financing for agriculture based Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs).

Saleh was officiating at the launch of Stanbic’s SACCO proposition for Northern Uganda at the Kaunda Grounds, Bardege Division in Gulu in the company of Anne Juuko, the Stanbic Chief Executive and other guests on Friday.

“It is commendable that Uganda’s largest bank is coming off its high-horse to partner with local SACCOs,” he said.

“Normally, a SACCO would have to provide a stream of documents to even access one million shillings in a commercial bank. But with this new offering, you have made borrowing easy for SACCOs and our farmers.”

“Your efforts, combined with the government efforts and programs like the Parish Development Model, Operation Wealth Creation, will help deliver households out of poverty,” he added.

Stanbic Bank Uganda, through its US$40m Economic Enterprise Restart Fund which was pooled by development partners, is currently lending to Saccos in the agricultural sector at 10% annually and has since last year (when the fund started lending) disbursed over  Shs  20bn to nearly 2000 farmer groups around the country.

Juuko said Stanbic Bank has put a side Shs  50 billion shillings for Northern Uganda SACCOs alone for the next 12 months.

“This money is not a gift and will only be given to qualifying SACCOs. Our new proposition shows the bank’s unwavering commitment to facilitating Uganda’s growth by availing credit to critical sectors such as agriculture, crucial for job creation and income generation.”

The proposition is aimed at improving the financial management capacity of SACCOs and Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs).

The bank is quoting an affordable 10% interest rate for SACCOs in the agriculture sector and 12.5% for non-agricultural SACCOs together with an unsecured term loan of up to Shs200 million with a tenor of not more than 12 months.

The other option is a secured term loan of up to  Shs  1.5 billion with a tenor of between 12 and 36 months maximum.

Juuko said, “We are hopeful that a product like this will have a measurable impact on the lives of our people on the ground. What we seek to do with this SACCO offering is to share our years of expertise and build the capacity of these organisations to operate at the same level of excellence and in a modern manner, similar to that of a bank.

 In addition to giving them loans at affordable interest rates, we will also train them to use our online platforms like Flexipay so that they can handle their finances better. They will also benefit from insurance packages that we are offering as a bank.”

The Woman Member of Parliament, Gulu City Betty Aol Ochan advised business owners not to opt for unregulated money lenders who offer financial bailouts at exorbitant rates and unrealistic terms and borrowers end up having their properties confiscated.

“Money lenders are lending money at 10% interest rate per month and some people think it is small, but if you are paying for a month, you have paid an interest of 120%. No business can survive at such a rate.

SACCOs are one of the major avenues through which common Ugandans/farmers and who form the majority of the country’s productive population, can pool efforts together to address challenges that currently affect agriculture in Uganda,” she said.

Gulu city Lord Mayor, Alfred Okwonga said, “We have a problem in business leadership. We need exposure to train our businesses in agro-processing so that they can be able to export and broaden their enterprises and create more jobs.”

Beneficiaries will be offered an opportunity to open a SACCO Account which features free cash and cheque deposits, free transfers into the account from members and free cash withdrawals.

Other conveniences include, free online banking, no monthly management fees, tiered interest paid on balances above Shs 10 million, financial literacy sessions for both the management and selected members, as well as participation in capacity building programmes at the Stanbic Business Incubator.

Last week, Stanbic Bank also announced it has slashed lending rates on ordinary personal loans to 15.5% (against a market average rate of 19%) as well as 100% financing for outright home purchase and construction loans at 14.5% over a 20 year period.

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MTN Uganda pays Shs838 billion tax for 2021

By
Our Reporter
-
MTN Uganda Chairman Mbire with CEO Wim

MTN Uganda has announced a record payment of Shs839 billion as taxes in 2021 reaffirming it’s position as the top tax payer.

This was revealed by the MTN Uganda Chairman Charles Mbire on May 27, 2022 at the first general meeting of the Company since it was listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange on 6 December 2021.

Mbire said that in 2021, Shs 839 billion was paid to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). He announced a total of Shs 335.6 billion to be paid out as dividends to shareholders this year.

“With the Company’s strong performance and in line with the Company’s dividend policy, the Board has proposed a final dividend per share for the financial year of Shs 4.706 (Shs105.4 billion), with the total dividend per share for 2021 being Shs 14.99 (Shs 335.6 billion),” Mbire said.

He added that Shs230 billion have already been paid out as interim dividend.

In 2021 MTN Uganda offered 20% of its shares to the public in what has since become the largest IPO in Uganda’s history and a major milestone in the Company’s journey.

“Operationally, 2021 was a challenging year for the Company due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these challenges, the business demonstrated commendable resilience and returned positive results. I express my sincere gratitude to the Board, the senior management team and employees for their efforts in the past year,” Mbire added.

Mbire pointed out the successful separation of the MTN Mobile Money and financial technology business from the main telecommunications business adding that  Ambition 2025 projects are currently being explored.

“We are excited about the prospects and growth potential of MTN Uganda and the opportunity to make an even greater contribution to the country’s transformation by extending digital and financial inclusion to all areas and driving broad community development,” he said.

On the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and MTN’s contribution, Mbire said MTN Uganda was at the forefront with a response with support provided at national and community levels through collaboration with the Government of Uganda to provide COVID-19 relief.

“We are, and will remain, focused on the well-being of our people and the Ugandan community as this lies at the core of everything that we do,” he concluded.

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