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Speakership race: Kadaga stings Oulanyah as she launches her campaigns

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga.

The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has scoffed at fellow National Resistance Movement (NRM) MPs who claim that the party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) is not backing her for another term.

Earlier this month, Kiboga district woman MP Ruth Nankabiwa was dragged into Kadaga-Oulanyah row on the floor of parliament after some members claimed that she was campaigning for the deputy speaker Jacob Oulanya.  Nankabirwa denied the claims saying she was just reminding MPs of the 2016 CEC resolution to the effect that Kadaga was to serve only ten years and pass on the baton to Oulanyah.

Speaking at the launch of her campaigns, Kadaga said; “There is this myth that the Central Executive Committee doesn’t like me, but am the Vice-chair of that Committee massively elected by the people of Uganda.”

“I represent the will of the people. Many times, I have had to stand between the state and population. For me, I am guided by the interests of the population,” she said in Munyonyo.

During the launch, she hit at her opponent and her deputy saying he is a coward. “There are liars in NRM who say I don’t like NRM, how was the situation during the age limit debate? I was in America when my Deputy called me and said there was something he couldn’t handle; I came, straight into fire as my Deputy ran away,” she said.

“I represent the will of the people. Many times, I have had to stand between the State and population. For me, I am guided by the interests of the population.”

The election of the Speaker is the first job of the new Parliament, after that, they will go for induction for three weeks.

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UPDF flags off over 2,000 troops to Somalia

By
Our Reporter
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UPDF troops

The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), General David Muhoozi, flagged off 2,416 troops for a one year peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The function was held at Peace Support Operation and Training Center PSO-TC) in Nakaseke District.

The departing troops under the command of Colonel Jonathan Ochom are Uganda’s thirty second battle group deploying to Somalia since March 2007.

General Muhoozi urged the battle group to be true ambassadors of Uganda through exemplary performance; following on the footsteps of the previous battle groups.

“You our new ambassadors in the mission must maintain the tempo of the operations set by your predecessors to ensure continuity on the journey to peace in Somalia,” said Gen Muhoozi.

He reminded the troops to observe discipline, follow the Standard Operating Procedures of the mission, and ensure a healthy living by paying close attention to the preventive measures of all disease.

The Commandant of the PSO-TC, Brig Gen Bonny Wolimbwa said the battle group had received close to a year of pre-mission training and that it was in a good state to deploy in Somalia. He noted that the same battle group was the first to be trained by purely Ugandan instructors.

The Deputy Commander Land Forces, Maj Gen Sam Kavuma said:”The deploying troops have demonstrated high levels of military competencies and will therefore be reliable in contributing to the achievement of the Mission’s intended objectives,” he said.

Uganda contributes over 6000 troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia.

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UNBS releases list of certified maize milling companies

By
Our Reporter
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Maize

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has released a list of certified maize milling companies in Uganda.

The companies were certified as part of following an ongoing process to improve milling standards in the country following a ban on maize grain imports from Uganda to Kenya.

UNBS urged all maize flour dealers in Uganda to adhere to the quality standards and seek UNBS certification before delivering their products on the market.

The updated list has 23 companies, producing 27 brands of certified maize flour and maize grains.

This is in line with the UNBS mandate of consumer protection, aimed at protecting Ugandans from buying substandard maize flour which could be harmful to their health.

The standards body said it has received applications from over 50 maize flour dealers, who are in the process of certification and the list will be updated periodically.

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Juliet Nalukenge named in Goal’s Next Generation Top Ten Wonder Kids

By
Our Reporter
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Juliet Nalukenge

Crested Cranes striker and U-17 Women’s National Football Team captain Juliet Nalukenge has been named in Goal.com Next Generation top ten wonder kids.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic forced most youth tournaments to be cancelled, Juliet Nalukenge had Uganda dreaming of their first Women’s World Cup participation at any level.

The forward had captained the team to the second round of qualifying for the Under-17 edition, where a win over giants Cameroon would have secured a ticket to India for her team.

Nalukenge was also eyeing up the top scorer accolade, leading the charts with five goals in four games. Her goal scoring record had already fired Uganda to victory at the CECAFA U17 Cup as well as the COSAFA U17 Girls Championship, where she netted a staggering 18 goals in just five games.

The 2019 Uganda Women’s Footballer of the Year is already capped at senior level and harbours her own dreams of playing professionally in Europe. At this rate, it will not be long before she realises them.

Nalukenge, a Senior six student at Kawempe Muslim SS expressed his delight about the award and hopes it will motivate her into a better player.

“I’m thankful and happy for this award. It is a big honour to be recognised globally and I’m optimistic that this will motivate me to even work harder,” she told the Fufa website.

The list that has ten players that were born after 1st January 2002 placed the lethal striker in ninth position.

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Bob Kasango: Court sets Friday to decide on burial place

By
Our Reporter
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Bob-Kasango

The High Court will on Friday decide where the remains of fallen city lawyer Robert Aldrige Kasango will be laid to rest.

On March 12, the widow of deceased city lawyer, Nice Bitarabeho Kasango dragged her mother-in-law, Rosie Kabise for interfering with the burial arrangements of her husband.

Through her lawyers, Bitarabeho wants court to issue orders restraining Kabise from interfering with the burial of Kasango in Gweri village, Burahya County, Fort Portal city in Kabarole district.

Bitarabeho explained that together with their three children, Samora Kasango, Stephanie Kasango and Ivan Kasango, they all along knew that the deceased wanted and willed to be buried in Fort Portal.

“It is only fair and equitable that the body of the late be unconditionally released to the applicant for burial in Fort portal,” she requested in her application filed.

Kasango died on 27 February in Murchison Bay Hospital inside Luzira Prison but burial arrangements were indefinitely postponed to allow his family and in-laws to reach an amicable agreement on where his remains should be laid to rest. The cause of death was reported to be heart failure.

On March 2, during the funeral service at the All saints Namirembe Cathedral, a group of Kasango’s relatives from Tororo District in Eastern Uganda stormed the church and grabbed the casket containing his remains from the A-Plus pallbearers.

Relatives from the side of Kasango’s wife Nice Bitarabeho Kasango and eldest son Samora Paul Kasango tried to insist but they were overpowered by the team from Kasango’s family. Police intervened, pursued the pickup, intercepted it, removed the body and handed it back to his wife’s family.

Kasango was jailed in 2018. He was serving 16 years sentence in jail over Shs15 billion pension funds by the Anti-Corruption Court. He was also involved in another high-profile case involving the Tooro Queen Mother Best Kemigisa at some point.

Kasango was sentenced alongside the former top Ministry of Public Service officials who include the former Permanent Secretary, Jimmy Lwamafa, Principal Accountant and the former Commissioner for the Compensation Department in the same ministry.

While in prison Kasango became a lecturer teaching law at prison, helped inmates to get international degrees from University of London. He continued to help inmates to convene and pray fellowship, get closer to God as he invited prison officials to communion with him and other inmates.

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Embrace a digital judicial system – Kadaga

By
Our Reporter
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Minister for East African Community Affairs, Rebecca Kadaga

The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga has urged government to embrace technology in the operations of courts of law, saying the Covid-19 era warrants this shift.

Kadaga said that since the fate of Covid is unknown, government ought to consider putting up infrastructure to enable people attend court hearings online. “I hope that at a certain stage, the Chief Justice will take notice of this mode of operation since we are not sure when Covid-19 will end,” Kadaga said.

The Speaker added that Covid-19 has been challenging to the judicial sector, with courts having to close a year.

“The courts are not operational; it is only a few that have been operating on zoom and only bail applications that have been handled. For the last year, litigants have not been able to go to court to have their matters resolved,” she said.

Kadaga made these remarks at the National Conference on Women Rights at the Imperial Royale Hotel Tuesday, 23 March 2021 organized by Barefoot Law. Barefoot law is a private organization that uses innovations and technology to foster access to justice among disadvantaged women.

Speaker Kadaga expressed disappointment about the way the judicial system disadvantages women.

“Many court hearings begin at 9.00am but when you consider a woman who has children; she has first to wash, clean and feed them then organize herself and come to court. Will she arrive there before 9.00am?” Kadaga wondered.

The Executive Director of Barefoot, Gerald Abila asked Parliament to push for access to technology by people in rural areas who he said have limited access to both judicial aid and technology.

“Parliament should push for a reduction in costs on data and make gadgets available for rural people because with Covid-19, access to new technology should be treated as a human right,” Abila said.

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ChildFund, CECE move to address challenges of access to clean water in Kyankwanzi district

By
Geoffery Serugo
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Kyabakazi dam, mpango village in Kyankwanzi district

ChildFund and its implementing partner Community Efforts for Child Empowerment (CECE) have pledged to continue with their interventions to address the challenges of access to clean and safe water in Kyankwanzi district.

The revelation was made during the celebrations to mark international water day at Katengyento village, Kyankwanzi sub-county in the Kyankwanzi district. The celebrations were held under the theme; sanitation and hygiene for strengthening Covid-19 response.

Access to safe and clean Water is one of the biggest challenges affecting most vulnerable children and their families in Kyankwanzi district. This is partly hinged on a low water table in the district.  As a result, people are sharing water sources, especially dams, with the animals and this has significantly contributed to shooting cases of water borne diseases among children.

In a bid to address the challenges of water scarcity in the district, ChildFund is implementing a three year water hygiene and sanitation project in the area. The project is being implemented in six sub counties in Kyankwanzi district. The sub-counties include; Wattuba, Butemba, Byerima, Kyankwanzi, Bananywa and Nsambya.

“The project seeks to address the challenges of access to safe drinking water by promoting water purification using the Proctor and Gamble (P&G) purifier of water.” Allen Nanyonga, the Programs Manager of CECE said

She said with the funds from P&G, ChildFund and CECE has been working with Village health teams to create awareness campaigns and emphasised the need for all families to have toilets and stop the practice of open defecation and the need to make water safe before drinking among other hygienic practices.

Over the 7000 households and 18 schools were sensitized on use of P&G water purifiers and have been receiving sachets to purify water from wells and dams at no cost.

ChildFund through its local partner CECE have drilled 18 boreholes in the district however the coverage is still low. In the campaign, five schools have been supported with rain water harvesting tanks to address the challenge of children walking long distances to access clean water.

Between October and November ChildFund has conducted water sanitation and hygiene competition aimed at increasing latrine coverage in participating villages among other good hygienic practices. This inspired a healthy competition that saw families create rubbish pits, utensil drying racks, pit latrines.

CECE’s intervention has greatly contributed to the improvement of good hygienic practices in the district. By last week, the toilet coverage in the district stood at 90%. Katengyento emerged the best village in the district with 90% toilet coverage.

The district water officer Philbert Odongo, said water has been and still a major challenge in the district however the government is working around the clock to man it down.

“This year, we were allocated Shs 589million budget and this is peddled at seeing that people get clean water.  There are a number of interventions that have been put in place. The intervention included putting up dams for the community to access water for basic use.  Subsidizing prices for individuals will to hire excavators to dig dams. Connecting communities to piped water and many others,” the water officer said.

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Career Expo: NSSF, Monitor to equip University students with employability skills

By
Geoffery Serugo
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NSSF Managing Director Richard Byarugaba with Tony Glencross, the Nation Media Group Uganda Managing Director

The NSSF-Monitor Career Expo goes online this year, with a focus on equipping university students with employment and entrepreneurial skills for the “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The three day Career Expo, now in its 10th year running will be held virtually starting Wednesday, March 24 to Friday, 26, 2021. It is jointly organized by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and Monitor Publications Limited under its flagship Daily Monitor title.

Reflecting on the Expo theme this year – Repurposing your Career Goals to the New Normal, NSSF Managing Director Richard Byarugaba said that the country must realise that the employment and business landscapes have changed, and it cannot be business as usual.

“We are cognizant of the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we think, work and live. If we needed any proof that technology is now the mainstay for every decision and transaction, the pandemic has confirmed it,” he said.

“Whether you are in formal employment or an entrepreneur, you must harness technology, especially digital technology to be competitive. Fortunately, young people, especially those leaving university are better placed not only to innovate in this space but also take advantage of the opportunities,” he said.

Tony Glencross, the Nation Media Group Uganda Managing Director echoed a similar message.

“The most important takeaway for our university students from the Career Expo should be that they must re-evaluate their career goals because the world today is very different from the world a year ago when the country entered lockdown,” he said.

“Beyond your academic degree, your creativity and agility will make you very competitive irrespective of your career choice. This Expo is an opportunity for all young people in tertiary institutions to learn from experienced speakers this year,” he said.

The speakers include experts from different fields ranging from technology, banking, startups, business and human resource management. The Expo will be broadcast online on the NSSF and Daily Monitor social media platforms.

It will focus on three discussion areas namely; “Pursuing new ideas beyond university degrees”; “Preparing students for the current versatile job market”; and “Matching capabilities with the new changing world”.

Now in its 10th year running, the Career Expo has so far impacted more than 167,000 university students. Over 68,000 former students kick started their retirement savings through registration with the Fund.

To participate in this year’s expo, one should register via the Fund’s website www.nssfug.org/careerexpo21

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UTB, German ambassador meet to strengthen tourism ties

By
Our Reporter
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UTB, German ambassador meet to strengthen tourism ties

Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) led by the Board Chairman Daudi Migereko has met with  the German Ambassador to Uganda, Mathias Schauer and discussed potential strategies that could be adapted by Uganda’s tourism industry in further strengthening ties with the German tourism source market.

The German market is one of the three core markets of Uganda’s tourism closely followed by the UK, Ireland, and the North American market. The steadily growing economy of Germany has seen people indulge more in travel, something that they are popularly recognized for.

In his remarks Migereko applauded Schauer for the support of the Uganda Tourism Industry in their bid to recover, rebuild, reconnect and reboot the Ugandan tourism sector after the negative effects from the Pandemic.

“Tourism is the number one foreign exchange earner for the country and because of that, UTB is doing different activities to boost the sector back to its glory days both domestically and internationally to make sure the status continues on.” He added

Part of the activities being championed is the Annual Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo 2021that was launched recently under the theme; Restarting Tourism for Regional Economic Development and is scheduled to take place in April from the 27th to 29th and the German speaking market is one of the target audience for the Virtual Expo.

 “It has been many years that Uganda has invested in marketing itself in the German speaking market,” said Lilly Ajarova, CEO, UTB.

 “UTB believes that the German Embassy, through its guidance, could be a window in attracting more German arrivals into the country. This should eventually contribute a great deal in the recovery of the industry from the strenuous effects of the global pandemic.” Lilly said.

“Tourism I think is really a huge resource you have in this country and I am very happy to assist you in any way I can in tapping this resource,” said Schauer,

He emphasized that environmental impact of tourism is something that most tourists pay a lot of attention to and advised that the tourism industry keep an eye on it especially with matters to do with cleanliness of the environment and sustainability of resources.

Muhwezi, UTB vice Chairman emphasized the need to offer training to hotel employees seeing as service delivery is at the top of every travelers list. She suggested the formation of professional partnerships in the form of exchange programs between German and Ugandan hotel owners which would see both parties travelling in turns to either offer training or be trained.

In the same breath, Kirya, Board member of UTB mentioned that UTB is looking to strengthen its partnerships with the German Chamber of Commerce so as to gain leeway to tap into industries existing under this umbrella such as advertising and travel trade to help boost the market further.

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Dfcu Bank, Vision Group reward 13 farmers in Uganda

By
Our Reporter
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Dfcu Bank, Vision Group reward 13 farmers in Uganda

For the sixth time running, dfcu Bank in partnership with Vision Group, the Netherlands Embassy, KLM Airlines and Koudjis Nutrition B.V have rewarded farmers across the country in an initiative dubbed ‘Best Farmer’s Competition’.

The annual competition seeks to celebrate farmers, showcase how farming is contributing to the economic development of the country and rally the public to embrace commercial farming.

Mathias Katamba, dfcu Bank’s CEO, commended the 13 farmers that emerged victorious and urged other farmers to embrace modern farming as Uganda’s future lies therein.

 “Uganda currently supplies, to the UAE and other European markets, tons of fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables, fish, flowers, honey etc. With the best climate and environment to support agriculture, we have an opportunity to position ourselves as a food basket for East Africa and beyond,” he urged.

“dfcu Bank recognises this opportunity and supports farmers through a range of bespoke financial services. As your banking partner, we want to see you win because when you win, we win. We also have partners such as Rabo Bank that are fully committed to support farmers with all their needs,” he added.

The awards which were introduced in 2014, have been instrumental in impacting the agricultural sector in the country leading to an increase from 1.7% at its launch to 3.2% in 2019, according to Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries

The award ceremony was a hybrid event that happened at New Vision Group premises with a few invited guests and virtually for the public to participate on 16th March. 13 farmers were recognized for their farming excellence. On top of the 10 regional winners, there is a special category of Women in Farming.

This, according to the sponsors, is intended to galvanize women as major players in the agriculture sector. The three winners in this sector were Jacent Namyalo Muwanga, Maureen Nyakato and Prossy Kazibwe.

The overall winner of the Uganda Best farmer’s competition, Philip Kalera from Central Region walked away with Shs 50 million and an all-expense paid farming trip to the Netherlands. The first runner-up, Immaculate Akullo received Shs 30 million and a trip to the Netherlands. Peter Matsiko emerged as the third best farmer in Uganda.

Samuel Kange from Bugiri was the Eastern Region winner, Gloria Rwamafa Karungi winner in Kampala region, Micheal Opiyo winner Northern region, Ben Amodoi winner Mid-Eastern region, Joseph Munerya – Western region, Bob Kagoro winner western region and Dr. Bernard Oboa winner West-Nile region. Pastor Kayanja Robert and Dr. Kabirizi Jolly were commended for leading exemplarily by investing in farming.

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