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MTN to give away 24 cars, over Shs 1 billion worth of mobile money in the MoMoNyabo Waaka Promotion

By
Our Reporter
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MTN Mobile Money Uganda has today launched the 4th edition of the highly rewarding MoMoNyabo promotion under the theme MoMoNyabo Waaka, with prizes worth over 2.5 billion shillings to be won by over 16,000 MTN MoMo customers and agents across the country.

Customers will only need to deposit Shs 20,000 or more on their MTN Mobile Money accounts to stand a chance to win prizes including 24 brand new Toyota Succeed cars, and mobile money worth Shs 1.6 billion

Three lucky customers will win Toyota’s every week while 2,000 will each win Ush. 100,000/- mobile money every week for 8 weeks. Over 5,000 MTN Mobile Money agents countrywide, who excel in their business performance will get mobile money over the period of the promotion.

Over and above rewarding the lucky customers who will be drawn in the promotion, this MoMo promotion celebrates the resilience of our customers, who despite the two difficult years of lockdown continue to hustle to make it.

Speaking at the launch of the MoMoNyabo Waaka promotion, Richard Yego, the MTN Mobile Money Managing Director said that “We are happy to engage and excite our MTN MoMo customers again now that the economy is fully reopened. Through this campaign, MTN MoMo will be giving away cars and cash (through MTN MoMo) to active MoMo customers who will deposit Money on their MoMo accounts,”

Mr. Yego explained that all customers should do to participate in the promotion and stand a chance of winning, is deposit at least Ush. 20,000/- on their MTN MoMo accounts. They will then enter the draws and stand a chance to win the cars and cash prizes on offer.

Yego further added that the more deposits customers make, the higher their chances of winning. He also clarified that after depositing cash to enter the draw, customers can choose how to use their money. “You can use it for shopping with MTN MoMoPay, paying bills like Yaka or water, buy airtime, voice and data bundles, sending money at zero fees using the MTN MoMo app or simply keep it safe on your phone,” Yego said.

Depositing money on MTN MoMo is free and MTN MoMo customers can use MTN MoMo to send and receive money, top up MTN airtime, pay utility bills, MTN postpaid services, school fees, buy & pay for insurance, pay for airline tickets and other goods and services.

Launched in Uganda 13 years ago, MTN MoMo is a fast, simple, convenient, secure, and affordable way of transferring money, making payments, and performing other transactions using a mobile phone.

This is the 4th edition of the MoMoNyabo promotions that date back to 2018. Thousands of lives have been transformed by the prizes they have won over the years. 

The promotion did not happen last year as the country, like the rest of the world was in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with the reopening of the economy, this year’s MoMoNyabo Waaka promises to be yet another exciting edition with over 20,000 customers and agents set to win cars and cash prizes.

The draws will be conducted live on NBS and Bukedde TV every Thursday at 8.30 pm, with daily updates at the same time. The exciting shows will be presented by renowned entertainer, Richard Tuwangye alongside the vivacious Zahara Toto who is no stranger on the MoMoNyabo set.

MTN MoMo customers are urged to stay vigilant and to keep their PINs safe to avoid falling prey to fraudsters.

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FIFA President Infantino congratulates Vipers for winning league title

By
Our Reporter
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Magogo with Infantino

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has congratulated the champions-elect of the StarTimes Uganda Premier League Vipers SC for clinching their fifth title in the top flight.

In a letter dated 6th May, 2022 and addressed to FUFA President Hon. Magogo Moses, Infantino says “this title could not have been achieved without the entire team’s hard work, passion and dedication, and everyone at the club can be very proud.”

“Please extend my congratulations to everybody involved in this great achievement.”

“On behalf of the entire football community, I also take this opportunity to thank you and your Federation for your contribution to the development and prosperity of football in Uganda and in your region,” he adds.

Vipers SC will be crowned officially and handed their trophy by FUFA on the last day of the League when they take on Police FC at St Mary’s Stadium Kitende on 21st May 2022.

The Venoms will represent Ugandan in next season’s CAF Champions League.  

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Court of Appeal dismisses Paul Mwiru’s election petition against Nabeta

By
Our Reporter
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Paul Mwiru

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Alliance for National Transformation (ANT)’s Paul Mwiru challenging the election of NRM’s Nathan Nabeta as Jinja East Member of Parliament.

On Monday, a panel of three justices of the Court of Appeal including Christopher Madrama, Elizabeth Musoke, and Hellen Obura dismissed an application by Mwiru seeking to extend the time within which he could file and serve his memorandum of Appeal to Nabeta.

“Rule 31 is quite clear that the appellant shall lodge with the registrar of the Court of Appeal within 30 days after the filing by him or her of the memorandum of appeal,” the three justices said in a judgment read by the court’s deputy registrar Susan Kanyange.

“The timelines prescribed by rule 83 of the judicature (Court of Appeal Rules) directions are clearly in discord with the timelines in the Parliamentary Elections rules,” the justices ruled.

The judges therefore said that Mwiru filed his appeal late as they reasoned with Nabeta that the same should be struck out and the former ordered to pay costs.

“For the reasons he (Nabeta) gives to which we agree, this application is dismissed and orders to costs given to the respondent (Mwiru).”

This is the third time the battle between the two politicians in Jinja has ended in court. In the previous two times, Mwiru has won.

Nabeta was declared the winner of the January 14 election winner for Jinja East having got 5817 votes against Mwiru’s 5580 in second position.

Mwiru ran to the High Court to challenge the election citing vote-rigging, intimidation of his polling agents and use of Electoral Commission officials to alter results.

The ANT candidate petitioned the Court of Appeal after the Jinja High Court dismissed his election petition for failing to produce sufficient evidence to prove the allegations.

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Ambrosoli International School teacher arrested for aggravated defilement

By
Our Reporter
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Fred Enanga, Police spokesperson

A male teacher at Ambrosoli International School has been arrested for aggravated defilement of a three-and-a-half-year old female.

According to the police spokesperson Fred Enanga, the child was found with bruises and inflammation in her private parts.

The facts gathered indicate that, Belly Kirimwimana, a teacher of Burundian origin, during the month of February and March, would escort the girl child to the toilets, where he could use his fingers to inappropriately assault sexually the girl victim. 

“The child, in one of her statements told parents that the teacher has bad manners and will be eaten by a dragon,” Enanga said.

Enanga thanked the schoolteacher for reporting the matter to police.

“We are concerned that more children could have been victimized by teacher Belly Kirimwimana, and do call upon parents and the school administrators to try to talk to the children on whether they could have been victimized by the suspect or not. We want to thank the parents for reporting the matter to police, and the school administrators for cooperating with us.  It truly showed that their first priority was always their pupils.”

The teacher was charged to court and remanded till 24th May 2022.

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New Uganda destination brand scoops three International Tourism Film Awards

By
Our Reporter
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Uganda has been crowned this year’s Grand Prix and two times Gold award winner by the International Tourism Film Festival Africa for its film Explore Uganda – The Pearl of Africa.

The film, premiered by Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) is an invitation to the world to rediscover the beauty of the Pearl of Africa, Uganda which is the highlights reel of all that is rare, precious and beautiful in Africa for an adventure of a lifetime.

At a prestigious Awards Ceremony held at the Cape Town City Hall over the weekend, UTB received the Gold Award for Tourist Destination Country-in Africa, Gold Award for Tourist Destination Country – Internationally and the Grand Prix Award for Tourism destination country in Africa.

The International Tourism Film Festival (ITFF) Africa Awards are part of the world’s leading film festivals and the only one in Africa with other circuits such as the New York Film Festival (USA), Cannes Film Festival in France, Terres Travel festival in Tortosa, Spain and the Amorgos Tourism Film Festival in Greece. The awards seek to honour exceptional and innovative video content related to the tourism and travel industry, accessible on all continents and can be seen and used on various platforms.

Commenting moments after receiving the award in Cape Town, UTB Chief Executive Officer Lilly Ajarova said, “It is an honour and our pleasure to receive these awards. Besides being a great motivation to our sector. We shall leverage the recognition to maintain high standards for ourselves in terms of sustainability, quality and experience. This will also add to our voice to continuously position Uganda as a destination of choice in Africa and Internationally.”

The film, which is now part of Uganda’s refreshed destination brand identity seeks to increase arrivals in the destination as the global travel industry recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. UTB is also working with all stakeholders to rebuild and restart the sector as the global tourism and travel industry resumes.

The new brand is underpinned by a call to action for travelers to discover the true essence of what Uganda has to offer the world.

“I would like to thank the Jury for finding us worthy of these awards. As a country, we are happy to be associated with ITFFA and we welcome all of you to come and Explore the Pearl of Africa as we continuously make it easy for tourists across the globe to visit us”. said, Uganda Tourism State Minister, Hon. Martin Mugarra Bahinduka in his acceptance speech while receiving the awards alongside H. E Kintu Nyago – Uganda’s Acting High Commissioner to South Africa, Ms. Rosemary Kobutagi – Commissioner, Tourism Development and Ms. Lilly Ajarova – UTB CEO.

Hugo Marcos, General Secretary of the International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals (CIFFT) remarked “that the Explore Uganda Destination Video was one of the most rated films in the competition. It highlighted the uniqueness, authenticity and variety of Uganda’s beauty and inspired the jury and the film viewers to visit Uganda now”.

The Uganda Tourism Board’s Explore Uganda destination film was produced by LoukOut Films and directed by TBWA Uganda.

Tourism remains one of the fastest-growing sectors in Uganda, earning the country over USD$1.6 billion in 2019, and accounting for 7.7% of the national GDP.

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FDC warns investors signing dubious deals to fleece the country

By
Geoffery Serugo
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FDC's Semujju Nganda

The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has warned investors signing dubious agreements to fleece the country. The Party singled out Ms. Enrica Pinetti, an Italian who has been given hefty contracts in the Country.

In 2019, the Parliament of Uganda approved a US$ 379 million (Shs 1.4 trillion) guarantee for the construction of an International Specialized Hospital in Lubowa, Wakiso district. On completion in 2022, the 264-bed specialized hospital is expected to treat cancer, heart diseases, and offer highly specialized surgeries, etc to scale back referrals abroad.

Under Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Ltd (UVCC), she signed US$ 80 million coffee agreement with Uganda. The agreement gives her monopoly over Uganda’s coffee for a period of 10 years.

Mr. Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the spokesperson of FDC said: “Lubowa the site of the hospital is public land measuring 32 acres. It was given to Pinetti for free. The government guaranteed $350 million (Shs 1.2 trillion) for Pinetti to borrow to finance the construction of the hospital. The government also undertook a decision to make annual payments to Pinetti as part of the payment for the hospital.”

Last year, Uganda paid Shs 340 billion to Pinetti and the government has included Shs 319 billion in next year’s budget for her to finance the construction of the health facility. The country is paying her more than half of the total project value.

“The money is budgeted for under Treasury Operations Vote 130, under the Ministry of Finance which is Uganda’s debt management fund. The country is running a Shs 16 trillion debt fund to pay for interest which is about Shs 7 trillion. The remainder is for paying principles so we can borrow more mainly from local commercial banks,” he said adding that, “Pinetti is part of the reason, Finance is asking for Shs 16 trillion to manage the debt.  This is robbery by Mr Museveni’s government.”

Currently, Uganda’s public debt stands at Shs 69.5trillion (USD 19.54 Billion). Of this, domestic and external debt is Shs 25.4Trillion (USD 7.2 Billion) and Shs 44trillion (USD 12.4 Billion). The public debt is expected to increase at the end of the next financial year 2022/2023.

Ssemujju expressed concern over the government’s decision of not budgeting for Shs 24.1 billion to rehabilitate and construct facilities at regional referral hospitals such as Masaka, Mbarara, Jinja, and Iganga, Soroti, Mbale and Gulu.

“There is no money (Shs 8 billion) in the budget being considered by Parliament to buy medical equipment for regional referral hospitals such as CT scans, digital X-rays, HD vehicles, and new oxygen plants but there is money for Pinetti,” he said.

Pinetti was given a deal to monopolize the country’s coffee and contracts to construct six roads.  The coffee deal has since been deemed bad for the country. The coffee agreement offers several unprecedented tax concessions, social security, and provision of priority supply of 60,000 tonnes of Uganda’s coffee beans to UVCC. The ten-year concessions shall be effected when the company goes commercial.

Under the agreement, the government of Uganda agreed to support the implementation of the project through the provision of total tax exemptions and the freedom not to pay social security for the staff employed.

UVCC commits to pay for the priority supply of superior quality coffee beans at a premium price to be determined by UVCC but in any case, not below the price approved by UCDA, the coffee regulatory authority.

“Investors coming into Uganda please know that these contracts will not be honoured once the country gets rid of Museveni which is soon. At the moment the population is at gunpoint and contracts signed when the population is at gunpoint won’t be honoured. This also serves as warning to local investors who are partaking in the looting of our country,” he said.

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WorldRemit closing business in Uganda

By
Our Reporter
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World-Remit-mobile

WorldRemit financial services that deals in international money transfer has announced that it is suspending operations in Uganda.

According to the WorldRemit website, the institution will stop all money transfer on July 6, 2022.

“From June 6, WorldRemit will not be accepting any new money transfers or airtime top-ups from Uganda. From July 6, WorldRemit will be fully closing money sending services in Uganda and our relationship will come to an end,” the notice read.

This comes at a time when Uganda has been put among the top 25 countries in the 2022 high-risk “Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing” list. The list shows countries that are not abiding by the set regulations on 28th March 2022.

In January 2022, The Executive Director of the Finance Intelligence Authority, Sydney Asubo revealed that Uganda risks being blacklisted by the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) if the government does not tackle money laundering by Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) by May 31, 2022.

“Uganda was placed in the grey list in 2020. It means the country has been identified but it made commitments with the FATF to address the specific issues within a given time frame,” Financial Intelligence Authority, Executive Director, Sydney Asubo told parliament in January.

Asubo said the consequences are dire because the impact of being on the grey list means that the world is aware that the country is having challenges in addressing money laundering.

“Some people have already started feeling the impact especially international transactions which would take a day or two, are now taking a week or two. That process of scrutiny is beyond the normal scrutiny,” he said.

Uganda also risks being frozen out by other global financial systems like SWIFT.

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Road carnage: Police caution drivers as schools resume for second term

By
Our Reporter
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ASP Faridah Nampiima

Police have urged drivers to respect road signage and avoid reckless driving ahead of the reopening of schools.

Today, Monday 9th May 2022 marked the reopening of all schools for the second term. The season is usually characterised by increased movement of persons and increased volume of traffic on roads.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nampiima Faridah advised road users to plan their journeys early to avoid rushing and reckless driving since most of them will be moving almost at the same time.

“A total of 346 accidents occurred in the past week and out of these 64 accidents were fatal, 168 were serious and 114 were minor. There were 398 accident victims during this period and out of these 103 people died and 295 sustained injuries,” she said.

To avoid inconveniences, Nampiima urged all public service vehicles (PSV) drivers to respect road signage, be disciplined on the roads and avoid reckless driving.

“All passengers are reminded to always wear their seat belts. The Traffic police will be conducting spot checks on the same. PSV operators should desist from loading excess passengers and rushing students when offloading their luggage to avoid misplacements.” She said

“All those using PSVs are reminded to board from gazetted parks in order to ensure safe travel of learners back to their respective schools and those operating long routes are advised to avoid return journeys,” she said.

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UNBS adopts new Imports Inspection and clearance regulation 2021

By
Our Reporter
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The UNBS office complex in Bweyogerere on the outskirts of Kampala city.

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is now implementing the new Imports Inspection and clearance regulation 2021, following the phasing out of the Imports Inspection and Clearance regulation 2018, to further facilitate trade.

This was revealed during the UNBS stakeholder engagement with importers and clearing agents in Malaba and Busia, held to further sensitize the stakeholders about the new imports Inspection and Clearance regulation 2021.

In line with the UNBS Mandate of enforcing standards in protection of public health and safety and the environment against dangerous and sub-standard products, the Imports Inspection and clearance regulation requires that;

  • A person shall not import into or export from Uganda, any commodity for which a compulsory standard specification has been declared by the bureau, where the commodity does not meet the requirements of the compulsory standard specification.
  • The commodities shall, prior to being imported into Uganda, be subjected to Pre-export Verification of Conformity (PVoC) to Standards, in the country of origin or export upon payment of the required fees stated in the regulations.
  • The products shall be accompanied with a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) or certificate of Road worthiness (CRW). The certificate of road worthiness shall be valid for nine months from the date of issue for each customs entry
  • Commodities that are not accompanied by a certificate of conformity or a certificate of road worthiness, the commodities shall be subjected to destination inspection.
  • An importer shall not place any commodity on the market for which a compulsory standard specification has been declared, unless the commodity bears the distinctive mark and /or a digital conformity mark.

While the phased out regulation of 2018 listed eight (8) categories of commodities exempted from PVoC, the new regulation of 2021 lists six more categories of commodities exempted from PVoC, which brings the total number of exempted product categories to fourteen (14). These include;

  • Consignments of commodities profiled as low risk.
  • Consignments of imports by importers profiled as low risk and registered as Authorised Economic Operators (AEO)
  • Farm machinery, agro processing equipment and spare parts not for resale.
  • Mining equipment and spares not for resale.
  • Branded or engraved hospitality and tourism industry equipment, excluding vehicles.
  • Religious books and literature such as Bibles, Qurans and other related printed matter.

The new regulation also lists product categories exempted from Destination Inspection which was not the case with the previous regulation. These include;

  • Commodities whose Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) value does not exceed US$ 1300 with the exception of food, baby products, sanitary pads, cosmetics, tungsten filament bulbs, electric cables, compact fluorescent lamps, portable socket outlets or extension sockets, flat irons, electric kettles, solar lanterns, energy saving bulbs, solar battery chargers, solar panels, electric plugs, water heaters, electric sockets, electric switches, electric blenders, shovels, garden hoes, pick axes, machetes and cement.
  • Raw materials and direct inputs in the manufacturing processing including packaging material imported for use in a manufacturing process and not for sale.
  • Industrial machinery and accessories, including spare parts brought in for a manufacturing process and not for re-sale.
  • Farm machinery, agro processing equipment, and spare parts not for resale.
  • Diplomatic cargo accompanied by a diplomatic note and which is clearly for personal or office use.
  • Personal effects of returning residents and expatriates.
  • Commodities manufactured in a Partner State of the East African Community with a valid certification permit and bearing a notified product certification mark.
  • Classified military, police, prisons and State House cargo.
  • Religious books and literature such as Bibles, Qurans and other related printed matter.

The new regulation also lists revised fees as;

  • Fees for destination inspection: 0.500% of Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) value, but in any case not less than USD 235 and not more that USD 3,000 but shall not be applicable for consignments whose total cost in freight value is less than US$1300.
  • Fees for release under seal: US$ 100 or the equivalent in Uganda Shillings.
  • Fees for supervision of re-work: US$100 per day or the equivalent in Uganda Shillings.
  • Fees for factory inspection under the Pre-export Verification of Conformity Exemption program: US$ 100 or the equivalent in Uganda Shillings.
  • Fees for verification at owner’s premises: US$ 100 or the equivalent in Uganda Shillings.
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Nile Breweries, Standard Chartered bank fined for contempt of Tax Appeals Tribunal

By
Our Reporter
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Nile-breweries-ltd

The Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) slapped a fine of Shs 20 million on Nile Breweries Limited (NBL) and Shs 30 million on Standard Chartered for contempt in a ruling read yesterday.

This follows NBL’s earlier application to TAT objecting to URA’s additional assessment of Local Excise Duty of Shs 8,093,539,724 and Value Added Tax of Shs 6,098,292,276. Subsequently, on 7th March 2022, the tribunal granted a temporary injunction restraining URA from collecting the said taxes from NBL.

As a condition for the injunction, TAT directed NBL to pay 30% of the tax in dispute translating to Shs 4,257,549,600 which the company refused to pay.

Despite several reminders by URA, NBL did not comply with TAT’s directive. This prompted the authority to issue third party agency notices on NBL’s banker, Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) requiring it to remit 30% of the tax on behalf of their client. However, this did not yield any fruit as the banks ignored the agency notices.

URA proceeded to file for contempt in TAT. In response, NBL filed an application seeking interpretation of the law relating to the 30% tax deposit. This interpretation application was however dismissed with costs, on objection by URA.

In their defense, NBL and the bank denied that they were in contempt of the TAT Order. The tribunal however disagreed and after evaluating the evidence presented, ruled that NBL and the banks were in contempt of the TAT Orders. Consequently, TAT fined NBL Shs 20 Million while the bank was fined Shs 30 Million.

The bank will also jointly pay Shs 14 million in damages to URA. NBL must still pay 30% of the assessed tax.

URA was represented by George Okello, Assistant Commissioner Litigation and Counsel Tonny Kalungi.

Okello noted that the ruling is very important for it reasserts the principle of respect for court orders and the Rule of law. He reckoned that quite often, banks ignore URA’s demands for tax remittance on behalf of their customers who have tax debts with URA. Okello added that this ruling will enable the banks to be more compliant.

Standard Chartered Bank was represented by Sebalu and Lule Advocates while NBL was represented by Meritas Advocates.

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