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Mbale customer gets brand new Elf truck in Shell’s Jjuza Akameeza promotion

By
Our Reporter
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Mr. Steven Mugalo, a Fuso driver from Kamuli has today received a brand-new Elf truck in the ongoing Jjuza Akameeza promotion.

Five customers also walked away with fuel worth Shs 1 million worth of prizes during the second grand draw ceremony held at Shell Elgon in Mbale.

“We are pleased to be handing over the second brand new Elf truck and fuel worth Shs 1 million each to 5 lucky winners from Eastern Uganda today. This campaign is our way of rewarding our customers for their continued support and will be valid until 13th November 2021. I encourage all motorists across the country to participate to stand a chance to win,” said Moses Kebba, Marketing Manager, Vivo Energy Uganda.

To participate, motorists must purchase Shell FuelSave Diesel worth Shs 50,000 or more to enter into a grand draw. The prizes up for grabs include one Toyota Hiace (Drone) vans, one Elf truck, monthly prizes of fuel worth Shs 1 million each for 15 winners (5 winners per month) and t-shirts, caps, key rings and assorted food supplies popularly known as ‘Kameeza’.

Steven Mugalo, a Fuso driver from Kamuli could not hide his excitement upon being handed the car keys. “Today is a good day for me because I am happy to be among the lucky winners. When I heard about this promotion, I was hesitant to participate but the pump attendant at Shell Kumi encouraged me to give it a try since I had nothing to lose.  Receiving the keys to my brand new Toyota Hiace is a dream come true because I am now my own boss. I am hopeful that things are going to turn around for my family. I want to tell drivers out there who doubt like I did that it’s possible to win.”

So far 41,744 customers have received prizes that range from monthly prizes of fuel worth Shs 1 million, t-shirts, caps, key rings, instant fuel of up to Shs  10,000 and assorted home groceries popularly known as ‘Kameeza’ as well as one grand prize of a Toyota Hiace (Drone) van all of which are worth Shs 380 million.

Prizes worth Shs 300 million are still up for grabs including, instant fuel, brand new cars and fuel worth Shs 15 million.

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Vaccine scarcity becoming an issue of the past – Dr. Aceng

By
Simon Kabayo
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Dr John Stephen Obbo Olwenyi, Lira RRH Director, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng, Mumba Kalifungwa, Absa Uganda MD and David Wandera, Absa Uganda Head of Financial Markets

The Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng has said that vaccine scarcity was becoming an issue of the past.

“There are more than 5 million doses of vaccines in the country, with a consignment of Johnson and Johnson arriving soon, which would work toward increasing vaccination across the country,” she added.

The first batch of 196,800 doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine arrived in Uganda on Thursday night. The country has thus far received 5,690,363 doses of Covid-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Moderna, Pfizer, and, most recently, J&J.

A total of 2,282,414 doses have been administered, with a further 2,080,594 are being distributed across the country.

Dr. Aceng, who is also the Woman Member of Parliament for Lira City, made the remarks at Lira Regional Referral Hospital yesterday while receiving 40 oxygen cylinders donated to the hospital by Absa Bank Uganda.

While emphasising the role that private companies play in collaborating with the government to alleviate community health issues, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mumba Kalifungwa, Absa Bank Uganda’s Managing Director, said, “Following the onset of the pandemic, a lot of people have placed a great value on life. And it was in response to that realisation that in our way, we decided that it is necessary to be key players in the health sector.”

He added that human health, economic wellbeing and the natural environment are interconnected and that by creating shared value within the communities in which they operate, the private sector can become an enabler of post-pandemic economic recovery.

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Former minister Kabafunzaki convicted on corruption charges

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Former Labour Minister Hebert Kabafunzaki was arrested on April 1, 2017.

The former Minister for Labour, Herbert Kabafunzaki has been convicted  on graft charges.

The Anti-Corruption Judge, Justice Margaret Tibulya found him guilty of obtaining Shs 5 million bribe from Hamid Muhammad the Chairman of Aya Group of Companies to allegedly clear his name over accusation of sexually molesting a female employee.

“You are therefore sentenced to a fine of Shs 10 million, failure of which he has to serve 3 years in prison,” she ruled and barred him from holding a public offence for 10 years.

The former minister was sentenced in absentia and in tandem, court issued an arrest warrant against him.

The former minister was arrested on April 1, 2017 with his assistants Bruce Lubowa and Brian Mugabo, for allegedly soliciting for a Shs 5 million bribe from AYA Group Chairman Muhammad Hamid.

Mr Kabafunzaki faced two counts of corruption contrary to section 2 (a) and 26 of the Anti-Corruption Act 2009 and one count of conspiracy contrary to section 390 of the penal code Act.

Kabafunzaki denied the charges but Mugabo said he hid the money on the orders of the minister. Brian Mugabo has since reportedly accepted hiding Shs 5 million.

The former minister and his co-accused were in April 2017 arrested at Serena Hotel, produced before Anti-Corruption Court and charged with corruption.

On April 12, 2017 Kabafunzaki was granted a non-cash bail of Shs50 million by the Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate Agnes Alum, ordered to deposit his passport with court and told to report to court whenever he is required. However he has not appeared for the last two court proceedings prompting the court to issue an arrest warrant.

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Dfcu Bank, Daily Monitor, UIA and KPMG launch Top 100 mid-sized companies’ survey

By
Our Reporter
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dfcu Bank's CEO, Mathias Katamba (3rd right) joins the sponsoring partners of the 2021 Uganda Top 100 mid-sized companies’ survey to officially launch the initiative.

Dfcu Bank has partnered with Daily Monitor, Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) and KPMG to launch the 2021 Uganda Top 100 mid-sized companies’ survey.

The Uganda Top 100 mid-sized companies’ survey 2021 was launched yesterday at Sheraton Hotel. The Top 100 survey is an initiative of the Daily Monitor and KPMG. The sponsoring partners of the 2021 survey are Uganda Investment Authority, and dfcu Bank.

The theme for this year’s survey is “SMEs overcoming challenges and harnessing opportunities for future business modelling.”

The Purpose of the Top 100 Survey is to identify Uganda’s fastest growing medium-sized companies, to showcase business excellence and highlight some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurship stories.

Tony Glencross, Nation Media Managing Director, noted the importance of supporting and empowering local Ugandan businesses to fill the gaps brought about by the closure of several regional and international companies which have been operating in Uganda.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has placed severe limitations on all businesses, and it’s in the best interest of our economic growth, to nurture Ugandan owned Small and Medium Sized Businesses. This year’s survey will focus on turning the business lessons from the past 2 years into a foundation for economic recovery.”

Speaking at the event, dfcu Bank CEO Mathias Katamba observed that the past two years have had significant impact on Small and Medium Enterprises, which are responsible for 70% of job creation. “The full impact of the pandemic has not yet been fully felt but with every crisis comes opportunity. With partnerships like this one, SMEs can be assisted in harnessing the ones that have risen out of the pandemic.”

Katamba pointed to the urgent need for local SMEs to embrace and incorporate technological advancements into their business operations. “By harnessing the possibilities within digital transformation, SMEs can start the road to recovery, overcome logistical challenges and attain sustainable growth,” he noted.

In his closing remarks, Mathias restated dfcu Bank’s unique and longstanding understanding of the SME Sector in Uganda.

“dfcu Bank has a strong cognizance of the SME community’s financial needs. Our teams, products, services, and countrywide presence provide the perfect resources for new and existing businesses. We are hopeful that working with the partners in the Top 100 Survey will enable us to forge a clear way ahead for business recovery, growth, and stability.”

Membership of the Top 100 Club sets companies on the road to gaining competencies they need to step ahead of the competition and grow into the corporate league.

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UNBS, USAID partner to boost SMEs certification

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Our Reporter
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UNBS

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has partnered with USAID support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to improve the quality of their products.

The partnership is aimed at increasing product certification in the areas of health, safety and food processing, standards awareness and conformity requirements among MSMEs, Building capacity and certification of private labs to conduct product (health and safety) conformity tests and increasing awareness campaigns on the need for the population to consume quality certified products

The UNBS Deputy Executive Director in charge of Standards, Patricia Bageine Ejalu said that MSMES are a crucial engine of Uganda’s economy, thus the need to harness their opportunities through technical support to enable them comply with the relevant standards requirements and enrollment  on the UNBS certification scheme.

“Many MSMEs have been affected by COVID-19 but we are trying to see how we can boost quality and standards awareness among them. We need to get people to understand why standards are important. We need them to appreciate standards to unlock their potential to access both national and regional markets,” she said.

The Chief of Party of the USAID FtF Uganda IAM Activity, Mr. Collins Apuoyo, revealed that their wish is to see more MSMEs acquire UNBS certification.

“We believe that creating a good relationship between UNBS and MSMEs goes a long way in strengthening service delivery. We also believe that this MoU will fulfil our vision of enrolling more MSMEs for UNBS certification,” he said.

The activity seeks to increase incomes and improve the livelihood of households through agriculture-led inclusive economic growth in 38 districts in Northern, Eastern and Western Uganda, through a market development approach, which capacitates local actors especially the public and private sectors to upgrade practices and technologies required to increase productivity and profitability.

The partnership  comes at a time when UNBS has embarked on supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the entire private sector to improve their products, services and systems to promote Buy Uganda Build Uganda in the country and internationally through Reduced UNBS product certification fees, Introduction of Batch certification and Pre-market approval programs, Provision of free standards for select products to MSME Groups or Associations and Decentralized of UNBS Services to Regional Offices of Mbale, Gulu and Mbarara to increase access and reduce the cost of seeking services from Kampala

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#Covid-19: Uganda receives first batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses

By
Our Reporter
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Uganda receives first batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses

A total of 196,800 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine procured with funding from Government of Uganda has arrived into the country. The consignment was officially received by the Health Ministry Permanent Secretary, Dr. Diana Atwine.

This is the first batch of the nine million doses of the single-shot vaccine procured by the government.

The vaccines were delivered at Entebbe International Airport on Thursday night. Dr Atwine said that another batch of 1.2 million doses on the same vaccine will arrive in the country by the end of next month.

Since March, Uganda has received 5,690,363 doses of various vaccines including AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sinovac, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson. Of these doses, 2.2 million have been administered, whereby 1.7 million people have got their first jab while nearly 600,000 have gotten two doses.

Atwine assured Ugandans that Johnson and Johnson vaccine is safe and effective. “It is very effective, and it has gone through the entire process of verification and registration, and therefore, it is very safe,” she said.

“I want to call upon the public to be vigilant to go and get vaccinated, because now we have adequate vaccines, and we expect more vaccines in the country. Therefore, there is no reason to worry that people will be turned down.”

“This war not end until we are vaccinated. The economies will not open fully until we are vaccinated. The children will not go to school freely until we are vaccinated. Life will not be normal until we are vaccinated. Therefore, the main message today is that we have enough vaccines, and many more are coming, and therefore, we call upon you to rally people to go the vaccination centres to get vaccinated,” Dr Atwine urged the public.

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Uganda qualifies for U-19 Cricket World Cup

By
Our Reporter
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The Baby Cricket Cranes

Uganda qualified for the 2022 U-19 Cricket World Cup after coming top during the African qualifiers that concluded in Kigali on October 6.

The Baby Cricket Cranes sealed their place at the international tournament to take place in West Indies after beating Tanzania by 8 wickets at the IPRC Kigali Oval.

Tanzania went into the final game with an upper hand as they topped the table, having won their first three games unbeaten in the qualifiers.

Uganda, meanwhile, knew only a win would see them leapfrog the Tanzanians and wait for the result between Namibia and Nigeria at Gahanga Cricket Stadium.

Uganda emerged top of the log courtesy of a better run rate (2.128), followed by Namibia with 0.817 and Tanzania at 0.381.

Uganda will be making a third appearance in the men’s ICC U-19 World Cup after competing at the 2004 and 2006 tournaments.

Two other African countries – South Africa and Zimbabwe – qualified automatically as two of the top eleven teams from last year’s tournament.

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MTN’s Charles Mbire joins dollar Centimillionaire Club

By
Our Reporter
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Charles Mbire, the chairman of MTN-Uganda (Right)

Charles Mbire, the chairman of MTN-Uganda has joined the dollar Centimillionaire club as details of his net worth in the country’s telecom giant has been revealed.

Mbire has/owns 4% of MTN-Uganda and therefore, this means that with MTN valued at $1.5 billion, then Mbire’s shares are valued at $60 million.

MTN is reportedly valued at $1.5 billion becoming the second most valuable company in East Africa after Safaricom.

According to The East African valuation analyst, other top companies are Tanzania Breweries valued at $1.38 billion, Equity Bank $1.27 billion, East African Breweries Limited $1.19 billion, KCB $1.13 billion, Vodacom Tanzania $744 million, Tanzania Cigarette $733 million and Co-operative Bank $689 million.

Mbire has other interests in financial services Baypot, Nilecom, real estate in South Africa and UK, stocks in energy, oil services, oil exploration, miming and revenue assurances.

The above investment coupled with $60 million earns Mbire into dollar Centimillionaire club. A centimillionaire is a person/people who have wealth between $100 million to $1 billion.

According  Forbes, in East Africa, these include Kenyatta family and Shah of Bidco in Kenya and Devih family Tanzania. So guessing his wealth has since ended with the listing of MTN-Uganda on the stock.

In December 2008, it was estimated that Mbire’s net worth exceeded $65 million. In January 2012, his net worth was estimated to have increased to greater than $200 million. In January 2019, he was estimated to be worth $400 million

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BoU should concede Crane Bank legal battle and settle with Sudhir out of Court – Andrew Mwenda

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Our Reporter
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Andrew Mwenda

Veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda has advised Bank of Uganda to concede in the four-year legal battle with city tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia and his Meera Investments Ltd following the latest Supreme Court ruling that quashed the central bank bid to liquidate the defunct Crane Bank Ltd.

On Monday October 4, Supreme Court ruled that BoU had no jurisdiction over the defunct Crane Bank Ltd, arguing that once the commercial bank was closed, it was no longer a financial institution.

“The 1st respondent was closed as a financial institution and placed under receivership. Upon closure, it ceased being a financial institution under the Act (Financial Institutions Act 2004 and it could therefore not be progressed into liquidation,” a panel of five justices — Rubby Opio-Aweri, Faith Mwondha, Prof. Lillian Tibatemwa Ekirikubinza, Ezekiel Muhanguzi and Percy Night Tuhaise ruled.

Mwenda, known for his incisive analysis of public policy, weighed in after the ruling;  “With one loss after another in every court, it is clear Bank of Uganda made and continues to make grave mistakes on Crane Bank. One wonders why they keep this legal fight instead of settling with Sudhir out of court! Unless, of course, they are making money in legal fees!” He wrote, before criticising BoU Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile for failing to handle the matter.

“Governor Mutebile has failed to solve this quandary and this calls for an outside intervention. The thuggery in the sale of Crane Bank shook my faith in the independence of the central bank. The entire Crane bank saga is a gravy train for BOU legal department to enrich themselves,” Mwenda said.

The October 4 ruling came weeks after the BoU, whose closure of Crane Bank in January 2017 and later on sold to dfcu Bank for a song, attracted ramifications across the industry, a few weeks ago, withdrew its main suit in which they tried to recover UGX397 billion from Mr. Ruparelia and his Meera Investments Ltd, and 40 land titles.

In the ensuing legal battle following the controversial closure and sale of Crane Bank, the central bank has been defeated at all levels of the court system, as Sudhir and his lawyers the Kampala Associated advocates took on the hitherto feared central bank.

Bank of Uganda has since withdrawn Civil Appeal No. 7 of 2020- which in effect should mean that both the Central Bank’s main case and its attempts to move Crane Bank in Receivership into liquidation have both crashed.

The long standing legal dispute started on the 20th of October 2016 when the Bank of Uganda, invoking its powers under Sections 87 (3) and 88 (1) (a) of the Financial Institutions Act (FIA) took over Crane Bank Limited. Subsequently, the central bank placed it under receivership on 20th January 2017, before summarily selling its assets and liabilities to dfcu Bank on the 25th of January 2017.

Thereafter Bank of Uganda, through Crane Bank (In Receivership) sued Mr. Ruparelia, one of the shareholders of the bank, together with Meera Investments Ltd vide High Court Civil Suit No. 493 of 2017. Before the main case could be heard, Mr. Sudhir lawyers the Kampala Associated Advocates, raised preliminary objections through High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 320 of 2017, that among others contended that Crane Bank (In Receivership) had no basis for suing since the FIA did not allow a company in receivership any powers to sue or be sued.

The High Court sustained the preliminary objections and dismissed HCCS 493 of 2017 and ordered that the costs of the suit be paid by BOU. Dissatisfied with the High Court ruling, BoU through Crane Bank Limited (In Receivership) filed Civil Appeal No. 252 of 2019 in the Court of Appeal, but the appellate court maintained that a company under receivership can’t sue or be sued.

The central bank then proceeded to the Supreme Court with Civil Appeal No. 7 of 2020 in the Supreme Court. Along the way, it lost a couple of applications before it withdrew the main suit on 15th September 2021.

“Take notice that the Appellant (BoU through Crane Bank under receivership) does not intend further to prosecute the appeal. Take further notice that the Appellant will pay the costs of the appeal and in the courts below to the Respondents,” read the notice filed by BoU with the Supreme Court on 15th August 2021. Just weeks before it withdrew its case, on 12th August 2021, five Supreme Court Justices had unanimously dismissed Bank of Uganda’s application to replace Crane Bank (In Receivership) with Crane Bank (In Liquidation), saying that the application was in bad faith and intended to circumvent facts of the original appeal.

The justices also reiterated that in law, Crane Bank Limited (in Receivership), Crane Bank Limited (in Liquidation), and Crane Bank Limited are three distinct entities with different rights, powers and obligations.

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BoU directs Africell customers to approach Stanbic Bank to claim their mobile money

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Africell

Bank of Uganda has directed Africell mobile money customers to approach Stanbic Bank with their identification details and an alternative Phone Number or Bank account to claim their payments.

Last month, Africell Uganda Limited announced that it will toady cease to deliver mobile money services to its customers following its decision exit Ugandan market.

“Africell will stop services on 7 October 2021 and the last day of employment with Africell Uganda will be 30 November 2021. Africell will clearly communicate the transition in respect to its employees and clients,” Africell announced.

According to Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, the Governor of BoU Africell has been offering Mobile Money services in partnership with Stanbic Bank Uganda.

“Stanbic shall pay customers for a period of 90 days with effect from October 8, 2021. After the expiry of this period, the details of unpaid beneficiaries and the respective amounts shall be transferred to Bank of Uganda,” Mutebile said.

He assured the public that it will continue to safe guard the stability and integrity of the financial sector.

Africell Uganda was established in May 2014, when it acquired the majority stake that Orange Telecom owned in its Uganda cellular network. Africell paid $12 million for that stake, inheriting an estimated 1,000,000 subscribers. In November 2014, the Group Chairman and CEO announced plans to invest US$150 million in the next 5 years, to upgrade the Africell network in Uganda.

In 2014, the network subscribers in Uganda were estimated at one million. As of September 2018, its subscriber customer numbers had risen to 2.1 million. In April 2020, the company’s website gives the number of subscribers as over 3,000,000.

In 2018, Africell Holdings, the parent company of Africell Uganda, secured a loan of US$100 million from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), to expand operations in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africell Holdings maintains subsidiaries in the Gambia, Sierra Leone, DR Congo and Uganda. As of January 2015, Africell Uganda maintained coverage in the majority of Uganda’s geographical area.

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