Watchdog Uganda
The controversial blogger was expected to touch down at Entebbe today at 3:45 am but was a no show.
Foreign Affairs junior Minister Henry Okello Oryem had earlier confirmed Lumbuye’s rumoured impending deportation, emphasising he would be prosecuted once he lands in the country in the wee hours of Saturday.
The night was filled with a mixture of anxiety and despair as the activist’s lovers and haters alike impatiently waited for the regime’s most dreaded cyber critic with supporters of the opposition National Unity Platform particularly concerned about the blogger’s safety once in government custody.
The reports coming from Entebbe however indicate that Lumbuye was not among the passengers aboard the Turkish Airlines courier that touched down at the time he was expected to land. His name had been booked on four other airlines.
Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake Butebi who is part of the diplomatic delegation dispatched by NUP to negotiate the blogger’s freedom in Turkey had earlier refuted the reports that their man was scheduled for deportation.
The legislator insisted that the reports were particularly orchestrated by the Kampala regime as a build up on their urge to force a diplomatic win against Turkey to have cracked back home.
Early this week, NUP Secretary General Lewis Lubongoya argued that deporting the activist back home would be equivalent to handing him a death sentence for he trusted not the current regime on the way dissenters are handled.
By the time of filing this story, no official statement had been issued by the either the state or NUP to explain the situation and what to expect.
]]>Minister Babalanda directs drastic changes at Uganda AIDS Commission, closure of unlicensed NGOshttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210807/118757/minister-babalanda-directs-drastic-changes-at-uganda-aids-commission-closure-of-unlicensed-ngos.html Sat, 07 Aug 2021 06:24:34 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118757Minister for the Presidency Milly Babalanda has directed the Uganda AIDS Commission[UAC] to affect a wide range of changes aimed at improving service delivery.The Minister’s directive was issued during her official visit to the Commission’s offices in Ntinda on Friday.
Director-General Dr. Nelson Musoba, on behalf of the commission, read a status update to the fully attentive Minister wherein among others highlighted budgetary constraints key among the operational challenges in executing their mandate.
In response, Babalanda hailed the commission for their commendable commitment to service delivery in the past, adding she is confident a lot would be achieved through teamwork and unity during her tenure as Minister.
Key among the directives sounded by the Minister was the regulation of Non-Government Organisations[ NGOs] extending AIDS support services.
According to Babalanda, many of these operate with wrong motives spurred by high unemployment levels. These, Babalanda says are not only detrimental to the AIDS message but also lives and livelihood in communities.
Unregistered AIDS Agencies: I have heard of agencies that registered to offer AIDS services but with wrong motives. This has been largely caused by the high levels of unemployment in the population.
“I am therefore directing the Uganda AIDS Commission to regulate organizations that provide HIV prevention services in the country to deal with the challenge once and for all,†Babalanda ordered.
She also directed that the Commission be restructured to decentralise its activities to ease service delivery to hard-to-reach places.
“I have learned that the majority of your staff are based at the Center in Kampala. This is not correct. Most of the activities of the UAC are field-based and the easiest way to monitor and manage them is to provide decentralized services.†The minister further advised.
“The Director and the Board are hereby required to plan for this decentralization in the coming year to maximize our services in the country. My Office will particularly be interested in this issue and I hereby promise to provide you with all the necessary support and guidance.†She added.
Babalanda also decried the slow decision-making and implementation of the body’s activities which she attributes partly to the large membership in the decision-making organs.
She explained that Uganda AIDS Commission has the biggest Board of 12 members which she says can be considered a strong factor in slowing the decision-making process. She proposed looking into this composition as a way of improving efficiency.
She further hinted at the existence of the commission as another possible hindrance to the effectiveness of the decision-making process. She notes that there are 8 Committees each with three members which she has ordered to be reviewed and a new structure be presented to her for consideration.
“I, therefore, direct the Board Chairman and the Director-General to review this structure and come up with something realistic.†She commanded.
On the issue of budgetary constraints as briefed earlier, the Minister promised to meet with officials at the Ministry of Health and the Office of the President for an engagement on the same.
She further tasked the Commission’s Chief to always furnish her office with monthly performance evaluations of the Commission, in addition, to report from the AIDS agencies in the country. These, she said should always be sent to her private email which she provided. This, she said will enable her to brief the President on the progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
]]>Rajiv Ruparelia reveals Rosebud acquired Fairtrade certification clearing firm to sell Ugandan flowers across the globehttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210806/118747/rajiv-ruparelia-reveals-rosebud-has-fairtrade-certification-clearing-firm-to-sell-ugandan-flowers-across-the-globe.html Fri, 06 Aug 2021 20:47:40 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118747Rosebud flower farm has been internationally accredited to sell its flowers across the globe.The development was revealed by Ruparelia Group managing director while giving out over 2000 mattresses to farmworkers in the 10 villages surrounding the Rosebud flower farm in Namulanda, Wakiso district.
The accreditation for Fairtrade means the company can sell its products in all major markets which is a big boost for Ugandan flower products.
Also, Rosebud, according to the certification, will be sharing its earnings with its workers.
For every flower sold by Rosebud, Mr. Rajiv Ruparelia said, workers, are given a certain percentage of the value.
This year, the flower farm has already sold UGX 450 million, despite a slump in flower sales due to closures of shops due to covid-19.
However, Rosebud ltd, has decided to buy 2000 mattresses for the workers spread across 10 villages. Mr Ruparelia asked workers to give their best shot at producing quality flowers because the market for flowers keeps growing and next year they are likely to make more money as the world recovers from the global pandemic.
Rosebud, Uganda’s Leading Flower exporter plans to increase production to meet the growing demand of flowers across the world.
A company founded by billionaire Sudhir Ruparelia exports about 150 million roses annually.
According to the Managing Director Rajiv Ruparelia, the company has now obtained international certifications to expand its market.
“We now have International certification meaning Uganda now exports quality flowers to all major markets. We have also attained fair trade standards which means we sell at good values which benefits the country and our workforce,†Rajiv Ruparelia explained.
Rajiv says that Rosebud is going to expand and this will increase revenue for the country and create more jobs for Ugandan youth and women.
“The market abroad is very big. Even if we increase the acreage of our farms we will not satisfy the entire market. This means we need to increase productivity using good farm practices that we have used for many years. If you work hard we shall all benefit as a familyâ€, Rajiv said as he called for unity and hard work emphasizing the need to amicably address any disagreements that may arise in the course of executing their work.
“We are a family and trust me your interest is our interest too. We are all in this together to ensure your livelihoods are improved…That you can take your children to school and have a good life. So let’s work hard together to achieve together,†he implored them.
In 2000, Rosebud farmland was only 13 hectares but has now grown to over 60 hectares under greenhouses and employing over 1,500 staff.
]]>ALDRINE NSUBUGA SNR: Tribute to Joshua Cheptegei, an athlete who forced world super powers to willfully bowhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210806/118746/aldrine-nsubuga-snr-tribute-to-joshua-cheptegei-an-athlete-who-forced-world-super-powers-to-willfully-bow.html Fri, 06 Aug 2021 20:46:11 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118746With athletic prowess, elegant technique, pace to burn and angelic command of a track, Joshua Cheptegei scattered the world super powers and forced them to willfully bow. Without ever engaging fifth gear, he strode past the leading pack of five and then, at 200 metres, he took over nonchalantly.From then on, it became a one man race. Even then, on 100 metres, he looked so casual, hardly breaking sweat and gliding instead of sprinting to the finish line. Never before have I seen an athlete racing to gold with such ease, fun and confidence.
Cheptegei destroyed the legend of Kenya and Ethiopia, the myth of the USA, the wonder of Canada at Tokyo 2020, the Greatness of Britain and the glamour of France by sticking out his tongue while looking at the clock at the finish line oblivious of the bodies crawling behind him in horror and frustration.
He knew, like we all know now, that his 2nd gold medal at Tokyo 2020; the first ever feat by a Ugandan at the Olympics has qualified him as the G.O.A.T and he was going to make it sink in the hearts and minds of all and sundry.
When he rose at the podium to claim his gold, he chest thumped over and over again with a radiant smile and hearty laughter. The pride that he was the reason why the Ugandan national anthem was being played twice infront of the eyes of the world was incomparable to any emotion he had felt before.
For the third time in six days, Ugandans at home were celebrating as though they had just witnessed Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. Cheptegei has surpassed any glory we have seen before and he has inspired thousands.
For me, it’s the manner and style of his victory â€" his nonchalance â€" that I will forever hold dear to memory. How could a Ugandan win gold with so little to do while the world super powers and legends of the race (Kenya & Ethiopia) were bursting their lungs to at least get within 5 metres of his lead. This was a decimation. An obliteration of standards that long distance runners had gotten used to. It is not just greatness, it’s immortality.
Congratulations Joshua. Uganda owes you.
]]>Government to pay Bunyoro tobacco farmershttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210806/118743/government-to-pay-bunyoro-tobacco-farmers.html Fri, 06 Aug 2021 20:24:41 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118743Government has said that compensation of the more than 1,000 tobacco farmers in Bunyoro sub-region who had been denied payment since 2017 by private companies is expected to start in two weeks.The Minister of State for Industry, David Bahati, blamed the delay in payments to the verification process aimed at ascertaining the affected farmers.
He was responding to a matter of national importance raised by Hon. Asinansi Nyakato (FDC, Hoima City) during plenary sitting on Thursday, 5 August 2021.
“It is true that Parliament appropriated Shs11 billion in the 2020/2021 supplementary budget for compensation of the farmers. We do want to apologise that the verification took long,†Bahati said.
The Deputy Attorney General, Jackson Kafuuzi, told the legislators that government is in the process of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the companies.
“This is a pledge government made out of goodwill because the companies are private. They have to pay back the money to government because it is a debt they owe to Ugandans,†Kafuuzi said.
He added that the Ministry of Trade has collected all the required data to inform the MoU.
“We have to agree with the companies that the claims found by the Ministry of Trade are the amounts they owe farmers. We intend for payments to begin in two weeks’ time and by then, MoUs would have been signed,†he said.
He also allayed fears that the companies in question closed and that government would not be able to recover the funds, thereby causing a financial loss.
Kafuuzi said that government has been in negotiation with the companies and they raised a concern over the need for government to ensure the claims from farmers are in tandem with what they will be expected to reimburse.
“I will give you an example, 500 people went to court and they are claiming about shs 2.5 billion. The companies are in court contesting that and we said we shall clear those that are not contesting now. I am asking for patience from you and we shall present the MoUs when they are ready,†he said.
In raising the matter, Hon. Nyakato questioned why the farmers have not been paid up-to-date, even after the funds were appropriated.
“It is my request that government provides farmers with a payment plan and effects their payments,†she said.
Nyakato also called on the Ministry of Trade to collaborate with tobacco companies to update and make public a credible register of the beneficiaries, following inconsistencies in the list that the ministry has.
Hon. Pius Wakabi (NRM, Bughaya County) asked government to expedite the process to pay the farmers, saying that the farmers have suffered for long.
“In May this year, a tobacco farmer committed suicide after waiting for a long time. I am not even 40 years but when you consider the rate at which my head is turning white, it is the pressure from tobacco farmers,†he said.
Hon. Rose Obiga (NRM, Terego district woman) urged government to consider compensating tobacco farmers from West Nile, whom she said have for long petitioned government.
“As we consider Bunyoro region, it is my humble appeal that West Nile should be considered for the same,†she said.
Bugweri County MP, Abdu Katuntu advised government to exercise caution while handling the matter, citing the need to sign a MoU with the companies before payments are made.
“We need to know the legal regime that governs this compensation. Is it ex-gracia, such that we know that these private companies have done bad business and we are not paying on their behalf but we are trying to help our people or is it a commercial arrangement,†he inquired, adding that “We should also ask ourselves what message we are sending to our people â€" that you fail in business and government compensates. We need a clear policy on compensation.â€
The Deputy Speaker, Anita Among, directed the Attorney General to present the MoUs to Parliament before any payments are made.
NIMATIBACK and Continental Tobacco purchased tobacco leaf from farmers who say they had contracts that stipulate the terms that include supplying the agreed quality and quantity while the tobacco companies provide inputs and pay the farmers once supply is done.
The two companies however failed to pay a total of Shs11 billion for tobacco leaf supplied between 2017 and 2019 by farmers in Bunyoro.
]]>DANIEL KAKURU: What sort of life shall we give to our children?https://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210806/118740/daniel-kakuru-what-sort-of-life-shall-we-give-to-our-children.html Fri, 06 Aug 2021 19:56:20 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118740It can be a good thing to check on old friends. Former classmates. The female ones, most especially. Pick up that phone of yours and dial their numbers. You will learn a thing or two.Some of them are in violent marriages. They’re being battered by their husbands. Like they’re primary school kids of the early 2000s. Some of them are depressed single mothers; a trend of our times. Some of them are stay-at-home mothers; their overly protective husbands do not dare to let them be snatched by richer men at their workplaces.
I was chatting with one last night. We left school in the June of 2019. She has since mothered two beautiful babies. Does it affright you? Well, she is carrying a third in her womb. Hers is a fertile womb, no? Never mind that she abandoned her job at a prestigious private hospital and leapt into marriage and, ostensibly, motherhood.
In 2010, I was admitted into a boys’ school in Western Uganda for O level. Having stood for close to a hundred years, the school charges more fees than most universities in this miserable country. I attended another boys’ school for A level in Western Uganda. I do not know how much fees they pay today, but I shudder whenever I remember that my parents had to sell a huge piece of land to raise the money. Till now, I keep wondering how they were able to pay fees for all of us; for I wasn’t the only child under our roof, you know. I always ask them how they did it and they never give me explicit answers.
I like surprising poverty. More often than not, I contact different people and ask them about the cost of a bungalow in posh places like Muyenga, Ruharo, or Nkokonjeru in Mbarara. I check online shops for the cost of a Kluger; the car I want to buy in the near future. You too can go and ask how much a plot of land costs in and around Kampala. Ask about how much it costs to build a house for a family of five or six people and you will not like what you hear.
The Covid-19 pandemic has given us a good enough lesson. You should ask those who were tested or treated for that disease in private hospitals in Kampala. I know of people who did not make it out alive and their bodies were confiscated for weeks. I know of people whose families had to involve prominent politicians to get back their loved ones who were nursed back to health and then detained until their outstanding medical bills were settled. I heard of a distraught woman who threw herself down from the storeyed building of a private hospital because she couldn’t afford to pay her hefty medical bills.
One might ask, what exactly do the proprietors of private hospitals give to these patients for their medical bills to shoot above fifty million shillings? But that question can only be answered by understanding that Uganda’s economy is a capitalistic one. That is why you will go to Serena Hotel and pay twenty thousand shillings for a bottle of soda worth one thousand shillings. That is why whenever it’s a festive season, Global Coaches and Link Buses will charge two hundred thousand shillings for a bus ride worth twenty thousand shillings in ordinary time. That is why you need to sell two exotic cows to send a son to Ntare School. That is why one medical emergency can humiliate and turn you into a beggar. Everything here is extortionately expensive because individuals sit down and decide the prices of their commodities, and the government has nothing important to say on the matter.
I do not understand why the people of our generation keep producing babies with reckless abandon. I do not understand whether they know that by 2040, education will not be affordable for the ordinary citizens. I do not know if there are people who know that by 2040, it will be a common thing to find a 70-year-old senior citizen struggling to pay house rent, with neither a piece of land nor a house to call his own.
What sort of life shall we give to our children? Shall we afford to pay for them fees in the kind of schools we attended? Shall we comfortably afford to feed and clothe them? Will they look up to us and count on us the way our parents were (and still are) our heroes? The cost of living is increasing at a rate that does not inspire confidence.
About the author: Daniel Kakuru is a Ugandan medic in private practice. He’s passionate about creative writing and social commentary. He writes under a Facebook hashtag #MugOfPorridge and blogs at danielkakuru.wordpress.com.
]]>Be a mirror to UPDF’s renowned values and outstanding recognition, Chief of Staff urgeshttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210806/118735/be-a-mirror-to-updfs-renowned-values-and-outstanding-recognition-chief-of-staff-urges.html Fri, 06 Aug 2021 18:41:03 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118735The Chief of Staff- Land Force (COS-LF), Brig Gen Bob Ogiki has advised UPDF Instructors to exhibit high standards of discipline, personal conduct and leadership with unrivalled personal turn out in order to depict UPDF values.He said this while presiding over the closing of Instructors’ Course Level 111 Training of Trainers (TOT) intake 02/21 at Kaweweta Recruit Training School.
“As a trainer you are a mirror of our values. The skills and knowledge you impart in your trainees creates a lasting impression. You should therefore be suave with an upright bearing, good morals and general turn-out.†Brig Ogiki said, adding that “as a core training team, UPDF has a lot of hope in you to produce more gallant soldiers who have performed with distinction in Uganda, in the region and on the continent.â€
The Commandant Kaweweta Recruit Training School, Brig Gen James Barigye Ruhesi, informed the COS-LF that the course commenced on 31st May 2021 with 721 trainers and has passed out a total of 695 trainers,of whom 64 are female.
The course content included; Methods of Instruction, Roles and responsibilities of an Instructor, Training Communication Skills, Universal personal shooting skills, block teaching practice, Drill teaching practice, military approach to minor tactics and field craft.
]]>ORTEGA IAN: Gen Salim Saleh and Balaam; Why I fear these men who have a lot of power yet act like they don’thttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/op-ed/20210806/118732/ortega-ian-gen-salim-saleh-and-balaam-why-i-fear-these-men-who-have-a-lot-of-power-yet-act-like-they-dont.html Fri, 06 Aug 2021 06:31:50 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118732I fear silent power. I fear those men who have a lot of power yet act like they don’t. I fear a Saleh. I fear a Balaam. Those are the kind of people whose paths you shouldn’t cross. They will punish you when you least expect it. They will play fools for the gallery while doing a lot of underground work.Do not fear power that shouts! Fear that power that is silent. It is the most lethal of powers.
That’s why I respect feminine power. In the Bible, Samson had conquered the world yet the silent power of Delilah conquered him in seconds.
I respect women for this rare ability. They will read a man in seconds, know him in and out, yet still act clueless. If you are broke and you act rich, a woman will pretend to have fallen for your lies. Then she will use it to her advantage. She will make the kind of demands that force you to defend your lies. She will ask for a ka small 200K, and now the man who claims to be loaded will sweat plasma to find it. She knows you are not rich, but she is willing to play along.
With two seconds of meeting up, a woman knows everything you want from her. You can claim you want friendship, but she knows your objective. That’s silent power at work.
I have learned that you don’t have to use visible force to achieve results. You can always achieve more by feigning weakness. If I want you to do for me some work for free, all I have to do is praise you, and claim you are the best in the world at it. If you are hungry for my compliments, you become my slave unknowingly. That’s manipulation 101.
I can kill you with my smile. I can cheer you while you destroy yourself. I can encourage you to participate in a battle, bearing in mind that the battle will lead to your destruction. Silent power is never in a rush. If someone annoys you in 2021, you can make punish them in 2025. That way no one even suspects you!
Sometimes the easiest way to get something is to act like you don’t want it. Sometimes government will intentionally leak its own documents just to test the waters.
Invisible power is the real power. If you see it, learn to respect it.
]]>Rukungiri Pastor found dead in his bedroomhttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210806/118729/rukungiri-pastor-found-dead-in-his-bedroom.html Fri, 06 Aug 2021 06:11:54 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118729Christians at Christ Believers Temple in Rukungiri Municipality were on Thursday thrown into shock after learning of the untimely death of their lead pastor.Preliminary reports indicate that Amon Tweheyo Kaharata was found lying lifeless in his bedroom where he used to reside near his Church along Rukungiri-Ntungamo road.
Tweheyo a son to Renowned businessman Kaharata is also a brother to the Rukungiri District Woman Member of Parliament Natukunda Medius Kaharata.
Before offering his life to the almighty, Tweheyo was an artiste and is known for a number of songs that caught Airwaves of most local radio stations during his era.
The woman MP Natukunda posted on her social Media handles that her elder brother had passed on.
“With deep sorrow, I announce the sudden death of my elder brother whom I follow, Tweheyo Amon Kaharata who passed on this afternoon. Burial arrangements to be communicated later on†Natukunda posted.
The cause of his death is yet to be established.
]]>Gen Salim Saleh’s OWC distances self from giving out cash handouts to artisteshttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/news/20210806/118714/gen-salim-salehs-owc-distances-self-from-giving-out-cash-handouts-to-artistes.html Thu, 05 Aug 2021 22:10:53 +0000https://www.watchdoguganda.com/?p=118714Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) has distanced itself from giving out cash handouts to artistes.Recently, there have have reports making rounds on social media alleging that OWC has been giving out funds to certain artistes and musicians in the entertainment sector.
However, Maj Kiconco Tabaro, the OWC Public Relations Officer says that the reports being made that they have given funds to individual musicians or any people in the entertainment industry are false and diversionary and should be treated with all the contempt they deserve.
“We have not released any money as OWC and if we are to carry out any operations requiring resource Mobilisation and disbursement, we do so within very clearly defined processes and protocols as spelt out in the Public Finance Management Act,â€Maj Tabaro noted.
He added that the organisation’s Chief Coordinator Gen Salim Saleh has been engaging with different stakeholders and actors from various sectors in the economy, amongst them, stakeholders in the creative and performing arts industry to consult and explore ways in which OWC can be a vehicle for facilitating different kind of support and other strategies to help the country deal with the harsh effects of coronavirus pandemic on the pandemic.
“OWC in response to the crisis being faced by the country, as it has been doing with other sectors of the economy, has intervened by carrying out and providing mindset change educational trainings and workshops designed to empower artistes, build capacity and equip them with the requisite skills to handle shocks that can impede their ability to earn a living in the future. The creative arts industry is dominated by people who operate in the informal nature some of whom are very vulnerable to economic shocks not of their making,â€Maj Tabaro asserted in 5th August statement.
†It is important to note that the industry also has a high multiplier effect for wealth and job creation plus social inclusion which are good vehicles for economic empowerment, national unity and harmony. As such, OWC recognizes the potential of the sector for sustainable development and poverty eleviation which is one of the reasons it has taken initiative to coordinate under the stewardship of the Chief Coordinator who has been based in Gulu, Northern Uganda to organize ans mainstream the the industry in order tonfully tap its potential for national development. During such engagements with the creatives whicb include but are not limited to musoc artistes, alternative ways to earn a living ans also to capitalize on their talent and large fan bases are shared, discussed and demonstrated.â€
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