News analysis Health Business

Money woes New ‘triple pill’ could Russia’s big

at Makerere eliminate high blood pressure move to Africa

Issue No. 596 Nov . 01 - 07 2019 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Military at
Makerere
What Museveni fears
about student strike

www.independent.co.ug
Nov . 01 - 07 2019 1
inbox

Issue No. 596 Nov . 01 - 07 2019

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Military at Makerere
What Museveni fears about student strike

5 The Week
30 Comments
US, Belgium launch Shs40bn
health project in Nwoya district No democracy without dissent:
Arrest of Makerere University
students protesting tuition
9 The Last Word
increment makes a joke of our
Against privileges for a few: democracy
Why Makerere University
students (and lecturers) do not
32 Health
need or deserve special treatment
New ‘triple pill’
14 Analysis could eliminate
high blood pressure
Money woes at Makerere: How
‘survival’ is destroying university

35 Arts & Culture

27 Business
Art X Lagos, 2019: Premier
Russia’s big move to Africa: What the art fair for the best and the
Euro-Asian nation promised African new in Africa
countries at a historic summit in Sochi

STRATEGY & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Andrew M. Mwenda WRITERS:Ronald Musoke, Ian Katusiime,
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2 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
 inbox

“I wonder why some of us see a job

advert about a placement in Canada
pinned on an electric pole and are
excited to apply or make calls to get
it.” Speaker Rebecca Kadaga warning
Ugandans
Makerere University Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Umar Kakumba (2nd R) and Police Spokesperson
Fred Enaga (2nd L) address the press on the university students’ strike on Oct 28.   INDEPENDENT/ ALFRED
OCHWO

ANPPCAN Uganda
Chapter, Ag Executive
Director, Ignatius Ally
Nuwoha (R) condemns
unprofessional
practice of school
managements that
front commercial
interest over children’s “FDC should not fail IPOD even before
wellbeing in their
schools.   INDEPENDENT/ coming in. How do you generate the
ALFRED OCHWO agenda for the council on a talk show?
That is not how IPOD operates.”NRM
secretary general Justine Kasule Lumumba

Residents of Namataba,
Kirinya Parish,
Bweyogerere division
update their registration
for the 2021 general
election.   INDEPENDENT/
ALFRED OCHWO
“We have had these conferences with
China, India and Turkey yet when
we were fighting for our freedom it
was Russia and China who supported
us.”President Museveni at the Russia-Africa
summit

District officers who Traders arrested Ugandans who die of

82 were blacklisted
over graft
350 in Kampala after a
security operation
10,000 malaria every year according
to Ministry of Health

Nov . 01 - 07 2019 3
week
Manslaughter US, Belgium launch Shs40bn health project in Nwoya district
conviction in Mowzey
Radio murder case whether they get more financing
in future. He also thanked
Minister for Health Jane Aceng
Godfrey ‘Troy’ Wamala for her efforts in making sure
(Pictured) was convicted the project gets underway. US
of manslaughter in the Ambassador Deborah Malac
murder case of artiste said the Results-based financing
Moses Ssekibogo aka has shown great promise as
Mowzey Radio who died a way to confront challenges.
on February 1, 2018 after “Placing emphasis on results
sustaining injuries a bar and incentivizing stakeholders
brawl. Justice Jane Francis to achieve those results has
Abodo at Entebbe High A four year project funded Based Financing (RBF) model improved health outcomes
court noted that prosecution by USAID and implemented by at a cost of $11m (Shs4b0n). and increased demand
failed to prove to court Enabel, the Belgian development While presiding over the launch and availability of quality
beyond reasonable doubt agency in partnership with the of EHA at Koch Goma Health services among vulnerable
that Wamala killed Mowzey Ministry of Health. Enabling Centre III in Nwoya district, populations,” she said. The
Radio. Abodo however Health Acholi (EHA) is set Deputy Speaker of Parliament Belgian Ambassador to Uganda
ruled that court concurred to strengthen health systems Jacob Oulanyah told the Rudi Veestraeten and the
with prosecution that the in the Acholi sub region in residents of Nwoya and other Enabel Resident Representative
accused person participated districts of Nwoya, Gulu, districts to be accountable in Christelle Jocquet hailed the
in the brawl that ended the Amuru and Omoro and will be how they use the project adding people of Acholi for their
artiste’s life. She said that implemented through a Results that the RBF model will ensure cooperation.
prosecution didn’t connect
Wamala to the killing despite
being part of the bar brawl. Gov’t to unveil
Prosecution led by Entebbe
Resident State Attorney, Joan Shs25bn VIP prison
Keko presented 11 witnesses.
Justice Abodo also wondered The government has con-
why police failed to handle structed a new modern prison
the investigations into the to cater for (Very Important Per-
murder case properly. Earlier sons) VIPs at a whooping cost of
on prosecution told Shs25billion. David Nsalatta, the
court that on the evening Uganda Prisons Service Director
of January 22, 2018, Godfrey for Production and Engineering
Troy Wamala while at De says mini-maximum security
Bar, a popular hangout in facility will house 4000 inmates.
Entebbe town engaged in a War over taxi relocation to Usafi Park It was constructed next to the
brawl with Mowzey. old prison at Kitalya in Mityana
Taxi drivers and operators the park while those operating and will be opened in Decem-
have vowed not to relocate from at stages along Kampala streets ber. Some of the amenities at the
Old Taxi Park in the city centre should move into designated prison include a football pitch,
to Usafi Park on Entebbe Road taxi parks. However taxi opera- tennis and volleyball courts,
following a directive from Cabi- tors and drivers complained that rehabilitation workshops, a
net and KCCA. There is tension no authority has written to them school and a well-equipped
at the Old Taxi Park in Kampala or consulted them on the matter. and staffed health centre. The
following heavy deployment by “This is not a KCCA directive. new prison will accommodate
Police to enforce the relocation. Cabinet sat and approved. Those only those on life imprisonment
The Entebbe stage in the Old who will try to resist relocation Nsalatta says the prison was
Park is now occupied by taxis will be forced out by the KCCA constructed due to the conges-
plying Mukono-Seeta route as enforcement team,” Kamya said. tion at Luzira Maximum Securi-
the tension heightens. Minister The plan is part of the move by ty prison which is choking with
for Kampala Beti Kamya said KCCA to decongest the city by 3500 inmates over and above its
that taxi operators have to vacate constructing flyovers. capacity of 600. He was speak-
ing at an event organized by the
Calls for justice for slain lawyer Peter Kibirango Justice Law and Order (JLOS)
Sector where development part-
The legal fraternity has urged the government the voiceless and powerless. Police say they ners were on a monitoring and
to bring to book whoever participated in the have opened a murder charge against a UPDF evaluation exercise of the new
killing of Peter Kibirango, a lawyer who was soldier, one of the suspects. Isaac Semakadde, complex. Construction of the
killed by a mob in Mutungo, Kampala after he the founder of Centre for Legal Aid, described VIP prison started in June 2016
was suspected of being a phone thief. Friends Kibirango as a pillar in human rights who went with an estimated initial cost
of Kibirango eulogized him as a defender for out of his way to fight for the underprivileged. of Shs18bn but shot up due to
additional modifications.

4 Nov . 01 - 07 2019

Africell marks five years in Uganda with New Chapter
Marking five years of
successful operations Uganda,
Africell is pleased to launch a
new commercial direction for
the company in the exciting East
African market. The strategy,
called the ‘New Chapter’, builds
on Africell’s achievements in
Uganda to date: including the
delivery of a new generation
of affordable communication
solutions, a reputation for
outstanding customer service,
and improved data quality
on 3G & 4G networks. The
New Chapter also stays
Africell Uganda CEO, Ziad Daoud (R), Africell Group Founder, true to Africell’s continued
Ziad Dalloul (M) and Neeraj Gala, Chief Commercial Officer commitment to supporting
week
community welfare. The New
Chapter places the customers
at the heart of Africell’s focus.
Strategic priorities include
enhancing the customer
experience by personalizing
service and customizing offers,
as well as increasing Africell’s
commercial and social relevance
by undertaking a wave of new
corporate social responsibility
initiatives – especially in the
Education and Security Sectors.
Africell plans to increase its
involvement in technology
incubation, in order to stimulate
a more active Ugandan
technology sector.

Mozambique’s Nyusi Kadaga orders MPs to fly Uganda Airlines

wins second term
Incumbent Pres- Nyusi had been
ident Filipe Nyusi widely predicted to
was declared the win, based on unof-
winner in Mozam- ficial results from
bique’s election the October 15 vote,
held last month and Frelimo had
despite claims of already organised
widespread cheat- victory celebra-
ing and rejection tions in the capital.
of results by the Daviz Simango,
opposition. Nyu- of the third largest
si of the ruling party the Mozam-
FRELIMO party bique Democratic
scored 73 percent Movement (MDM), The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca support the National Carrier. “I, therefore,
of the vote, ahead secured just over Kadaga has instructed MPs and staff of write to instruct you to ensure that all official
of Ossufo Momade four percent of Parliament to use the National Carrier – trips of the Members of Parliament and the
of RENAMO, the the vote, with less Uganda Airlines while on official duty. staff of Parliament while on official duty to
rebel group turned than one percent The directive is carried in her letter dated destinations where the Airline operates are
opposition party, going to Mario October 16, 2019, to the Clerk to Parliament scheduled with Uganda Airlines,” reads the
with almost 22 per- Albino, who heads Jane Kibirige. The letter is copied to Deputy letter. Uganda Airlines started commercial
cent, election com- up smaller party Speaker Jacob Oulanyah and all Members of operations on August 23, 2019, with a flight
mission chairman AMUSI, according Parliament. Kadaga says that since Uganda to Nairobi, Kenya. It has since had flights to
Abdul Carimo told to the electoral Airlines is now operational, it was important Juba (South Sudan), Mogadishu (Somalia)
a press briefing. body. for the Parliamentary Commission to and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

AfricellUG @AfricellUG

Dial *133*2# *terms and conditions apply |

Regulated by Uganda Communications Commission

for more bundles

Nov . 01 - 07 2019 5
week
ISIS leader Al Bakr Baghdadi dead
World leaders hailed the killing of ISIS
leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as an import-
ant step in the fight against terrorism but
added that the war against ISIS was far from
over. al-Baghdadi killed himself along with
his three children when he was cornered
in a tunnel in northwest Syria while being
pursued by US military. US President Don-
ald Trump engaged in a victory lap while
hailing the US military triumph. Trump
thanked Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Russia, and
6 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
the Syrian Kurds for their cooperation.
Afghanistan welcomed al-Baghdadi’s killing
as a major blow to the armed group that is
expected to weaken the South Asian branch.
The emergence of an Afghan ISIL affiliate in
recent years created another enemy for the
country’s US-backed government, which
has been fighting against the much larger
Taliban insurgency since 2001. al-Baghdadi
declared ISIS as a caliphate in June 2014 and
ISIS gained notoriety for its ruthlessness.
WorldRemit, Arsenal
select soccer stars
A panel of judges from Arsenal and
its official online money transfer partner,
WorldRemit, have selected eight coaches
as finalists for their Future Stars coaching
programme. The eight finalists will now
compete in a public vote on www.futur-
estars.worldremit.com for the chance to
attend a personalised training programme
with Arsenal Football Development coaches
in London - sponsored by WorldRemit. The
Future Stars programme was developed
by WorldRemit and Arsenal to celebrate
the positive impact that grassroots youth
football coaches have on their communities,
helping the children they train to develop
life skills both on and off the pitch. Now
in its second edition, the Future Stars pro-
gramme received over 1,400 online appli-
cations this year from across Africa and the
Americas. Male Future Stars finalists include
Bakit Isaac Agogo from Uganda, Feisal
Abdi Hassan from Kenya, Luis Alejandro
Castañeda Vargas from Colombia, Samuel
Taylor from Ghana. Female Future Stars
finalists are Beldine Lilian Achieng Odemba
from Kenya, Chinasa Ukandu from, Nigeria,
Joan Nabisenke from Uganda and Vivian
Johana Pirateque Garzón from Colombia.
Humour Did you know?
Breathing bad air is like
drinking dirty water -WHO

The leader of the World Health

Organisation (WHO) has issued a stark
President Yoweri Museveni met the ghetto youth and launched the NRM youth camp headquarters in Kibuye. warning about breathing polluted air,
comparing it to ‘drinking dirty water’.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 54,
said he was increasingly concerned about
pollution’s impact on children’s brain
development and unborn babies, while
blaming one in nine deaths worldwide on
the problem.
Speaking ahead of a summit on the
issue in London recently, he stated that the
‘staggering’ cost of pollution could total
‘trillions of dollars worldwide’.
He said: ‘Would you drink dirty water?
I am guessing the answer is no. Then why
would you accept to breathe dirty air? ‘Air
pollution is around us and in our homes.
It kills seven million people every year.’
He added that 91 per cent of people across
the world are living in areas where air
quality is ‘unsafe’. Labeling pollution as
a ‘public health issue’, he continued: ‘The
evidence and magnitude of the impact of
Minister Beti Kamya has said Kampala has shortage of 73,000 security lights due to outdated technology and theft. air pollution on health is overwhelmingly
clear.’
The WHO says the majority of outdoor
air pollution comes from burning fossil
fuels and is urging governments to take
action or face a major crisis in public health
and finances. Dr. Tedros explained: “The
economic cost of premature deaths and
disease from air pollution is staggering,
potentially trillions of dollars worldwide.
Governments should commit to action for
better air quality in order to save lives.”
Ethiopian Dr Tedros, who was elected to
his post at WHO in 2017, said improving
air quality could lower the burden on
health services from stroke, heart disease,
lung cancer, and respiratory diseases.
He also warned about the ‘increasing
evidence’ around dirty air’s alarming
impact on young people. He continued: ‘In
children and adults, both short- and long-
term exposure to ambient air pollution can
lead to reduced lung function, respiratory
A row has erupted between MPs and Ministers over the distribution of hoes which the President pledged in 2016.
infections and aggravated asthma.

Nov . 01 - 07 2019

Inbox
Letters are
welcome !
The Editor welcomes short and
concise letters from our esteemed
readers on topical issues. Please
send them to:
The Editor, The Independent
Publications Ltd,
P.O Box 3304,
Plot 82/84 Kanjokya St,
Kamwokya.
Kampala,Uganda.
Email: editor@independent.co.ug
Besigye Twerwaneko
will fail
As politics is heating up in Uganda,
a number of politicians are strategising
on how they can win the next general
election. Some are preparing ground for
the next generation whereas others are
initiating ideas meant to help them create
relevance. Recently, the four time Forum
for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential
flag bearer and now the proprietor of the
so called ‘people’s government’, Dr. Kizza
Besigye launched his new strategy called
‘Twerwaneko’. In Luganda, ‘twerwaneko’
means “fighting for ourselves”. Much as
Besigye is calling us to fight for ourselves,
we believe that he is just using this to have
a political and media comeback since
he has been enclosed by other political
groups. We very well know that such cam-
paigns are meant to account for the donor
money which benefits the few yet the peo-
ple they advise to participate fully are left
in the same situation or in troubles. There
is no way we can believe that there is
something new that Besigye can do or he
has not done in a way of opposing Presi-
dent Museveni. In 2001, he said that he is
the hammer that could remove a cotter pin
(Museveni), a campaign which failed. He
then promised tsunami to sweep President
Museveni out of State House, Tubalemese
and many other strategies which Ugan-
dans have failed. ‘Twerwaneko’ will not
be different. The day Besigye and his team
will engage in campaigns which transform
people’s lives, Ugandans will embrace it.
David Serumaga
8 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
News analysis Health Business
Reviving Measles and rubella: Why banks won’t hurry
Anti-gay Bill One disease or two? to cut interest rates
Issue No. 595 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Sabiiti on
Follow us on Twitter @ the spot
http://twitter.com/#!/ugandatalks Exposing the police
boss’s biggest problem
Follow us on Facebook @
www.facebook.com/TheIndependentMagazineUganda
www.independent.co.ug
Inside Europe’s savior complex
Refer to: “Inside Europe’s Meaning development aid six post world war decades.
savior complex: How is colonialism or opening Could we get access to the
Western efforts to remake up the developing world for paper so that we judge the
Africa have changed from local capital development uproar?
colonialism to international to die in favour of foreign Pastor Kaks
development assistance” capital? This is reminiscent
(The Independent Oct. 18). of the India mindset in the
Mwenda, Museveni spin
Refer to: “Sudan’s next were colonialists in Uganda, discovered and there was
disaster: Why the plan to
hand Bashir to the ICC is
they only constructed the
Jinja Hydropower Dam.
not electricity in people’s
homes even in UK or U.S.
misguided and will likely
be counterproductive” (The
What has to be remarked is
that by the time the British
It took time. Mwenda and
Museveni can spin and spin
Independent Oct.18). Presi- came here, the scientific but there is hardly anyone to
dent Yoweri Museveni once method used for generating be convinced.
remarked that for the 70 electricity (electromagnetic Paul Muwanga
year or so period the British induction) had just been
Makerere strike shows Four years
lack of being grateful without Sophia
Refer to: “Security orders journalists to Refer to: “Four years without Sophia”
delete footage on students with disabilities (The Independent Online Oct.28). It is
at Makerere” (The Independent Online indeed saddening. Hopefully nothing
Oct.26). The goings on in Makerere Uni- wrong happened to her. It’s been years
versity shows lack of being grateful. When but since all stories don’t add up due to
God has given you the opportunity to irresponsible search teams by then. It
study and you think by causing problems would be best to have 50/50 chance of
you can amount to anything I think that Sophia Koetsier, a young medical intern
is total deception. Some of us we failed to in Lubaga Hospital in Kampala in 2015
get that privilege of studying and we had but went missing in Murchison National
nobody to blame. We humbled ourselves Park, is living. But what happened to
and now God is lifting us. One day in my their tour guide?
seminary life the student body decided A tour guide from Kampala is some-
to protest against food but I was the only thing not advisable. Tour guides are pro-
one who did not join that kind of satanic vided by the park management because
act. I went to the seminary knowing my these people are very well aware of their
motives so I would not allow food to dis- surroundings and place of operations.
tract me. Coming back to Makerere Uni- Everyone believes they can be tour
versity, you must know that things never guides just because they know few ideas
go down. Every time things go up, harden but that does not make them one. A tour
yourself and let your status move up; guide must ensure client safety first. But
simple. Let it be joy when they increase it looks Sophia’s incident happened due
tuition. What you get cheaply you cannot to irresponsible personal claiming to be
value. Politicians trying to fuel the indisci- a tour guide. If only the tour guide can
pline acts will reap the same. Your genera- be questioned again after all these years I
tions will forever be in total mess. believe he may have a different story.
Amo
Ap Francis Manano Repairer of Destinies

Against privileges for a few
By Andrew M. Mwenda
Why Makerere University students (and lecturers)
do not need or deserve special treatment
T
he strike by Makerere University
students over a 15% increase
in fees, actually based on a
recommendation by the Students
Guild, has dominated media for a week. The
government of President Yoweri Museveni,
in its characteristic militarist fashion, sent in
the army. A video of soldiers frog-matching
students, kicking them with their boots and
rifle butts went viral. This is the stuff that
gives Uganda’s noisy elites an opportunity
to exhibit their pretentious middle class
human rights sensibilities.
I abhor the tactics used by the security
forces and condemn them in the strongest
terms. However, they were not surprising.
Opposition politicians may scream their
lungs out at such horror perhaps deluded
into the belief that if they were in power
they would act differently. Nonsense.
Poor countries rely more on repression
than persuasion to secure compliance
with their demands. Thus regardless of
the many changes of government on our
continent: by electoral victory, military
coup, armed struggle, popular insurrection,
or death of an incumbent, the reliance on
repression to secure compliance with state
demands remains (alongside patronage and
clientelism) the instruments of rule.
I am less condemning of these strategies
recognising that they are not only cost
effective and cost efficient but also perhaps
the only affordable weapons of poor
governments (and even poor families) in the
management of power relations across time
and space. In fact I have just been reading an
interesting book by Paul Collier, The Future
of Capitalism, where he shows that poor
families tend to rely more on violence than
persuasion in dealing with their children.
But let us reserve this for another column.
For now, we need to address the roots
of the current strike at Makerere. The
increment in fees cannot explain it. Our
country has many private universities
where students pay much more in fees
than Makerere yet do not strike. Uganda
has other public universities not paralysed
by incessant strikes. Makerere University
Business School (MUBS) at Nakawa is part
of Makerere and regularly increases fees but
its students there rarely strike. Therefore the
issue at Makerere is not increase in the fees
or even the expectation of students in public
universities for free/cheaper education but
The Last Word
rather a suffocating sense of entitlement.
Given its history as the only high centre
of learning, students at Makerere think
they occupy a unique place in our country,
hence demands for special treatment. If
government is unable to bend to their will,
they hold it at ransom through strikes and
protests. Thus to address the problems of
Makerere University we need to strike at
its gilded self-image as an institution with
the right to hold the country hostage. This
behaviour is not among students only but
covers the academic and non-academic staff.
First, there are more students enrolled in
private than public universities in Uganda.
And they pay higher fees that are regularly
increased to cope with rising costs. There
are even more students enrolled in all the
other public universities than Makerere
facing similar or even worse problems. Such
students feel aggrieved at their fees but
do not harbour this exaggerated sense of
entitlement to make them believe that their
needs must be addressed – or else.
Those who defend this dysfunctional and
self-indulgent culture of Makerere students
argue that as a public university it should
be free or cheap. But Makerere is not the
only public university. The more critical
issue is the belief that being at Makerere
gives someone a special status above
other citizens. The second justification is
that university education paid for by the
taxpayer is a right. A right is something
enjoyed by all equally and cannot exclude
others – like the right to vote or express
oneself. To enter Makerere and benefit from
free or subsidised education is exclusive.
Therefore it is a privilege over which the
country should not be held at ransom.
Makerere students and their cheerleaders
in other sectors of Uganda’s public life
need to wrestle with three things. First,
why should other parents and students
be excluded from the “right” of cheap or
free university education? Second, why
do students in other private or public
universities, who come from the same
income background and face similar
expenses, not find strikes a weapon to
employ regularly to advance their cause?
Third, why should being at a public
university entitle anyone to special
treatment?
What we are seeing at Makerere is
decades of indoctrination into a mentality of
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
opinion
entitlement, victimhood, and grievance. It is
a mentality that spreads across many aspects
of our national life and is promoted by
opposition politicians and by Museveni for
selfish reasons – to win votes. This mentality
has created a toxic intellectual environment
among our elite. They want to get everything
from the state for free or cheaply: health,
education, roads, etc. and do not want to
contribute anything in return. This was most
evidenced during protests against the social
media tax. 
We have, therefore, a highly cultivated
sense of entitlement without a
corresponding sense of obligation. Many
Ugandans want to milk the cow they
do not want to feed. Many of them hide
behind claims of corruption to abdicate
their obligation to the state from which they
demand so much. Citizens should always
pay their taxes first and then demand
accountability. There is also the lack of a
sense of proportion to the resources available
to the government to meet such entitlements
that elites demand.
 Many Ugandan elites – journalists,
academics, pundits etc. support this
dysfunctional entitlement culture because it
places them on higher moral or intellectual
plane than others, at least in their own
estimation. It makes them feel they are
championing the interests of the masses. Of
course for opposition politicians, promoting
a sense of victimhood and grievance among
a section of the population is profitable as it
brings them votes by projecting themselves
as defenders of the downtrodden. For
those in government like Museveni, giving
concessions to such groups promises similar
rewards by coming across as a generous
father.
Yet this entitlement culture is economically
counterproductive and socially destructive.
It has created a dysfunctional dependency
culture on the state, which the government
cannot afford. Thus when these entitlements
are not met, which is inevitable given the
resources Uganda’s government commands,
they create an ever deeper sense of grievance
that someone else is holding the affected
persons down. Hence the claims on social
media that one’s success depends on
the state rather than their own effort are
suffocating.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
9
cover story

Military at Makerere
What Museveni fears
about student strike

A student is arrested during the recent Makerere University fees protest

10 Nov . 01 - 07 2019

Female students face off with the army at Makerere University.
G
By Ronald Musoke
etting the military to brutally
quell a students’ strike at
Makerere University Kampa-
la is a sign of what is coming
ahead of the 2021 general
election. That is what many
political analysts The Independent has spoken
to say.
Some of them point at public statements
that senior military officers have been mak-
ing to warn the public; especially the youth,
against associating with People Power, the
latest movement to threaten President Yow-
eri Museveni’s 33-year old grip on power.
Joel Ssenyonyi, the spokesperson of the
People Power Movement told The Indepen-
dent on Oct. 28 that the military raid on Mak-
erere University was not a one-off attack. He
linked it to the election of the university’s
Guild President on the People Power ticket.
He said the government could not easily
defeat People Power because “it is a move-
ment of Ugandans who are dissatisfied with
the status quo and want change.”
“The People Power movement is every-
where; it is in government institutions, it is in
the police, in the army,” he said.
“For the military to raid students’ halls of
residence and beat up students who were
sleeping is extremely sad,” he added, “If
President Museveni says he is better than
past regimes he needs to prove so.”
Dr. Patrick Wakida, the executive director
of Research World International, a Kampa-
la-based polling firm told The Independent
that the military risks losing its position as a
guarantor of peace in the country.
“The military should take a position
which is to remain a guarantor of Uganda’s
security and peace; once you begin to warn
the youth then you have taken a position
because the youth have a position.”
Wakida, who is a member of the opposi-
tion Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)
party says the military continues showing
sides; especially whenever a general election
is around the corner.
“A country’s military is a guarantor of
peace and stability. Once, a guarantor begins
to engage in partisan comments then they-
lose that role. You, therefore, become part of
the problem,” he said.
Wakida spoke on Oct.25, three days after
heavily armed mean-looking soldiers started
daily attacks on students with batons, tear-
gas and live gunfire.
What started on Oct.22 as a peaceful
march by a handful of students, mainly girls,
waving placards and singing on the roads
within the university was met with brutal
military force. Many students were beaten
and others arrested and detained in police
cells.
One of the leaders of the protest, Siperia
Mollie Saasiraabo, a female guild councilor
from the School of Psychology was attacked
by unidentified people on the night of Oct.
22 and ended up admitted unconscious at
Mengo Hospital.
But it was the television images on the
cold and rainy evening of Oct. 24 that
shocked the nation. Soldiers of the nation-
al army were shown breaking doors in
Lumumba Hall, one of the men’s halls of
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
cover story
residence at the university.
The soldiers went on a beating spree;
indiscriminately dragging students out of
their rooms and whipping them and van-
dalizing their property. Television sets were
shattered and electric kettles, cups, plates,
tables and other gadgets smashed. In one
video, the soldiers are seen battering a visi-
bly disabled student with wooden crutches.
The soldiers beat him until they fractured his
arm at the elbow. The student, James Sebid-
de’s wailing about his disability could not
stop the battering.
And when the student leaders called a
press conference to speak about the brutal-
ity, the military attacked the meeting, dis-
persed it, and beat up everyone; including
the journalists.
“They unleashed the military every-
where,” said Ronald Kamusiime, a represen-
tative of students with disabilities.
The leaders of Makerere University Stu-
dents Guild say the strike is over the univer-
sity’s policy of incrementally raising tuition
fees by 15% each year for new students.
“The 15 percent tuition increment policy
was marred by the neglect of duty and gross
abuse of power on the part of the committee
members,” a statement by the student guild
tribunal said on Oct.27.
It added: “Implementation of the
impugned policy shall have the effect of
placing education at Makerere University
beyond the reach of the poor, thus neglect-
ing the social-economic realities of the Ugan-
dan community in particular and East Africa
in general.”
The students’ claim has been dismissed by
11
cover story
Julius Kateregga, the Makerere University Guild President during campaigns
the university administration, the security
forces, and the government. The Minister of
Education, Janet Museveni, said in a state-
ment that the students are being paid by
foreign funders to use the fees increment as
an excuse to stage the strike so as to portray
the government in bad light to the rest of the
world. The First Lady said the 15% tuition
increment was agreed by students in 2018.
“The political opposition in this country
- who are well funded ‘somehow’ by some
‘unknown sources’ – find it useful to pay
unemployed young people to riot wherever
and whenever they believe they see a viable
opportunity,” she wrote.
The allegation that the student anger is
politically driven is not new. It has persisted
since the tuition policy was passed by the
University Council in July 2018 and mention
of a strike first occurred in November 2018.
Prof. Eria Hisali, who was the acting Vice
12 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
Chancellor at the time, wrote to the police
over the threat of a students’ strike. He said
prominent political forces in Uganda were
plotting an insurgency through Makerere
University and that political force is the Peo-
ple Power movement led by Kyadondo East
MP, Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi aka Bobi
Wine.
According to a story in The Observer which
researched the issue extensively, Hisali
warned the security forces that “history
would possibly repeat itself and that the
emerging People Power movement would
take advantage of the masses at university to
overthrow Museveni’s government.”
Military batters lecturer
Following Hisali’s letter, the military
deployed almost immediately at the strike-
prone university as a “precaution” according
to sources.
That was just weeks before the Makere-
re University Students Guild elections on
March 15 were won by Julius Kateregga; a
student who during campaigns wore the
red beret and overalls; colours of the People
Power movement. The NRM government
fronted a candidate in the election who lost.
It was also the peak of youth-driven pro-
tests in South Africa and Sudan. South Africa
faced the “Fees Must Fall” student protests
while Alaa Salah; a 22-year old female archi-
tecture student became a symbol of women
in the protest movement that eventually
toppled former Sudanese president Omar
al-Bashir’s 30-year old grip onto power in
Khartoum.
At the time, the NRM government
Spokesperson, Ofwono Opondo, said there
were Ugandans attempting to copy the
Sudanese protesters and end Museveni’s 33
year hold onto power.

Opondo referred to Ugandans who were
“imagining the impossible” as “simple
minds.” But sources say Ugandan security
was put on high alert to sniff out and quell
any copycat groups.
Since Makerere University is a known hot
bed of opposition political activism in the
country, the government quickly deployed
the military at the university even if there is a
police post attached to the Ivory Tower.
At first, the military deployment looked
innocent. But by December, last year, the
soldiers’ deployment started to be felt. They
started by limiting access to the two chapels
at the university; St. Augustine (Catholic)
and St. Francis (Anglican).
The clergy of the two churches wrote to
the university administration, complaining
about the military presence on the university
premises. The administration never respond-
ed.
The brute force of the military soon
extended to the students’ social events. On
the night of Feb. 15, 2019, as students gath-
ered for merrymaking at the annual Mitch-
elex carnival, about 50-baton wielding mili-
tary police men raided the venue at 11:50pm
and ordered the students to disperse them.
The students protested. What followed was
a violent row and beatings.
The lecturers were not spared. On the
evening of March 18, soldiers beat up Dr.
Ronald Luwangula, a senior lecturer at the
School of Social Sciences. The soldiers were
disbanding students from a guild election
rally held at Freedom Square when they
pounced on Luwangula who had just fin-
ished lecturing. As he moved towards his
office, he was ambushed by three soldiers
who beat him senseless before security
guards attached to a private security group
rescued him.
Military in politics
Senior military officers have been warn-
ing the public; especially the youth, against
associating with People Power.
At a recent service at the Christian Cov-
enant Ministries in Mukono Municipality,
Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu, the Commander of
the UPDF Land Forces said supporting the
“People Power Movement is ‘byoya bya
Nswa,’ meaning “useless.”
“Donning red-berets, carrying sticks will
not take them to the State House,” he said,
“Even if they have 10,000s guns, if those
guns are not blessed, they will not take
them anywhere.”
Under the law, Elwelu’s utterances could
be in breach of Section 3 (1) (a) of the UPDF
Act, 2005, which bars serving soldiers from
dabbling in partisan politics. The section
says the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces
shall be non-partisan, national in character,
patriotic, professional, disciplined, produc-
tive and subordinate to civilian authority.
Weeks earlier, on Sept. 30, the UPDF
outlawed the civilian use of red berets, a
symbol of presidential hopeful Bobi Wine’s
“People Power” movement. The head gear
was included in Uganda’s first ever gazette
of all military clothing, deeming it to be
property of the state that the civilian popula-
tion cannot wear.
The army announced that members of the
public found in possession of the items could
be liable on conviction to imprisonment for
up to five years. The UPDF spokesperson,
Brig. Richard Karemire, denied the move
was political and targeting People Power. He
said the army was merely defining its iden-
tity and professional outlook and adhering
to the East African Community protocols.
But the People Power leader, Bobi Wine, said
banning the red beret would have no real
impact.
“This beret ban is a sham,” Bobi Wine
said, “It is a blatant attempt to suffocate a
successful threat to the autocratic status quo.
But People Power is more than a red beret;
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
cover story
we are bigger than our symbol.
“We are a booming political movement
fighting for the future of Uganda and we
will continue our struggle for democracy.”
The army’s activities at Makerere Uni-
versity have been condemned by many
politicians.
Alice Alaso, the national coordinator,
finance and administration at the Alliance
for National Transformation, the newest
political party in the country, told The
Independent that she watched the scenes at
Makerere in disbelief. She said the scenes
point to one issue: the erosion of freedom of
expression in the country.
“That we can have students beaten,
abducted and raped because of a peaceful
demonstration says a lot about a regime
which has grown increasingly intolerant of
public dissent,” Alaso said on Oct. 28.
She said the events are a reflection of the
growing militarization and the death of civil-
ian institututions.
“Makerere University is a civilian institu-
tion which has a guild representative council
and a university council but somehow Mak-
erere University finds it easy to invite the
military to resolve the impasse,” she said,
“This is a government which is in survival
mode and the people are no longer at the
centre of its decision making.”
Dr. Solomon Asiimwe, a senior lecturer of
governance at Uganda Martyrs University,
Nkozi, told The Independent that military
presence in Uganda’s politics has always
been and will always be pronounced.
“You cannot separate the military from
Uganda’s politics. In the past, the establish-
ment had tried to sanitise it but we see its
re-emergence,” Asiimwe told The Indepen-
dent on Oct. 27.
“As the defender of the regime, the army
always comes in. Once the regime is shaken,
the defender of the regime comes in and the
defender is the army,” Asiimwe told The
Independent.
Julius Kaka, a former peace and security
fellow at the African Leadership Centre,
Kings College London, wrote about the
expanding role of Uganda’s military in a
February 2016 report for the International
Peace Institute’s Global Observatory.
Kaka noted that since independence,
Uganda has experienced a complex polit-
ical history characterized by massive and
systemic elimination of civil liberties, gross
human rights violations and sabotage of
democratic governance.
“The seriousness of the problem lies in the
complexity of governance and leadership
styles that swing between outright dictator-
ship and authoritarianism, and yet retains
certain democratic traits,” said Kaka, “Its
persistence is a threat to genuine democracy
and sustainable economic development.”
13
news analysis
Prof Dr Umar Kakumba, irst Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Finance and Administration   THE INDEPENDENT/ ALFRED OCHWO
Money woes at Makerere
How ‘survival’ is destroying university
By Joseph Were
J
oel Rukoroboza is one of many parents
affected by the strike at Makerere Uni-
versity. He has a daughter who is in
her second year studying a Bachelor of
Medicine at the university. He pays tuition
of Shs1.4 million per semester for her. This
year, his son joined the university to study
the same course. But he is paying tuition of
Shs1.8 million for him.
Since Makerere University students
started striking over increasing tuition,
Rukoroboza has watched the administration
with suspicion. How can they insist there
has been no increment in tuition fees for
students? Rukoroboza is clearly paying an
addition of about Shs400, 000 for his son
than his year two daughter. He also pays
functional fees of about Shs1 million and
Shs20, 000 per year as fees for the National
Council of Higher Learning.
Rukoroboza agrees with President Yow-
eri Museveni that Makerere University has
the lowest fees structure in the East African
region. He researched it. But he is also aware
14 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
that if the tuition fees keep going up by 15%
per year for each new set of students, then
to study medicine will cost Shs7 million per
semester by 2029. That is Shs70 million for
the five year course. How many Ugandans
will be able to pay that?
Is that not what the striking students
mean when they say they are “fighting for
the cause of our future generations”? Is it so
difficult to see that a student at university
today might fight for future generations?
Lecturers’ higher pay
What about the university managers;
why are they insisting that students must
pay more? Is it not obvious that it is because
they want to earn higher salaries? After all,
staff salaries account for 56% of budgets of
public universities, according to the Ministry
of Finance. Material supplies take 11.96%,
student costs 11.12%, infrastructure 1.85%,
utilities 4.37%, staff development 1.37%,
and research 0.82%. But should the univer-
sity managers be allowed to squeeze more
money from students so that the staff can
earn higher salaries? Why doesn’t the gov-
ernment pay them?
The lecturers have a target. They want
each professor to earn Shs15 million per
month as President Yoweri Museveni prom-
ised them in 2015. Back then they were earn-
ing Shs2 million.
Today Vice Chancellors earn Shs11.8 mil-
lion per month from Shs11.2 million, Deputy
VCs Shs9.6 million to Shs10.1 million, and
professors Shs9.6 from 9.1 million shillings.
Associate professors get Shs9 million from
Shs8.5 million and a senior lecturer Shs8
million from Shs7.7 million. The government
announced these high salaries in January.
Earlier, based on a salary structure the
government announced in April 2017, Vice
Chancellors of public universities were
earning Shs10 million up from Shs9 million
monthly, professor Shs8.5 million from Shs8
million and associate professor Shs8 million
from Shs7.5 million.
But by late 2018 the lecturers were warn-
ing that they would enter a nationwide
strike effective January 2019 unless their sal-
ary demands were met.
The truth is the government has been

paying Makerere University staff more and
more money each year. But they keep on
wanting more.
According to Makerere’s Acting Universi-
ty Secretary, Yusuf Kiranda, the government
gave the university Shs360 billion this finan-
cial year and Shs166 billion went to payment
of salaries. According to the Ministry of
Finance’s Budget Monitoring and Account-
ability Unit (BMAU) briefing paper of June
2018, the government funding for public
universities has risen from Shs167.94 billion
in FY 2012/13 to Shs606.09 billion during
FY2017/18. Most of this goes to staff salaries.
Of course public universities are not funded
sufficiently to cover the cost of inputs in
order to offer quality education. In fact, for
the last five years, actual releases have been
lower than approved budgets.
But the Ministry of Finance says the bud-
gets for money that public universities plan
to get from private paying students – the so
called Non-Tax Revenue (NTR) have been
increasing. Public universities are increas-
ingly dependent on collections from private
students to deliver the education service. Is
that fair?
VC Nawangwe’s problem
Joel Rukoroboza is a fictitious parent
designed to illustrate how the increase in
tuition fees is affecting students and parents
at Makerere University.
But the arguments and figures raised are
real. They are what many people expected
the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawan-
gwe, to bring up with the government. That
is what previous VC’s did. When Nawan-
gwe in 2017 campaigned to become vice
chancellor on a `strike free’ plank, many
believed him.
They saw him as someone who knows
a lot about the money and administration
problems of the university, having been in
charge of its finance and administration.
Some of them admired his more forcefulness
when compared to his predecessor, Prof.
Ddumba Ssentamu; a gentle giant who
approached management like he was walk-
ing on eggshells.
Nawangwe charmed them with his
smiles and calming blue suits against the
commanding dark blue or black. He also
spoke a lot about humility and team work.
But Nawangwe soon revealed his tough side
and the financial miracles he promised failed
to materialize.
Nawangwe had campaigned under an
ambitious finance programme. He promised
to get private investors to use the universi-
ty’s prime land to put up a teaching hospital,
five star hotel, upper and middle income
apartments and modern students hostels.
But he now wants students to pay more to
meet his staff’s demand for higher salaries
and allowances. Nawangwe was not always
like this. In fact, when he campaigned in
2017, his main challenger was former VC
Venansious Baryamureeba who was seen as
a true pro-government person. But Nawan-
gwe, it appears, is determined to show that
he is more pro-government than anyone. It is
possibly a survival instinct. But he has been
winning high praise from President Musev-
eni for his tough handling of the university
affairs.
Nawangwe has shown he cannot speak
up. That is partly because of growing
general intolerance of President Museve-
ni’s government to alternative views. But
Nawangwe is keeping his head down at a
time of growing corruption in financial man-
agement on the Hill and increasing militancy
among students.
Increasing militancy
When in February he campaigned to
become president of the Makerere Universi-
ty Students Guild, Julius Kateregga wore the
red beret and overalls; colours of the People
Salaries in public universities
University Professor
Soroti 8,269,796
Kabale 8,031,761
Lira 8,433,349
Gulu 6,390,578
Kyambogo 3,895,482 (Ass. prof)
Makerere
Muni
Bustema 8,031,761 (science)
Source: Ministry of Education and sports FY 2017/18
Power movement that is pushing to oust
President Museveni from power.
When he emerged winner in March, his
triumph was celebrated as defeat of the
Museveni government which also backed a
candidate in the race. Aware of strong oppo-
sition political sentiments, the government
responded by increasing the military pres-
ence at Makerere University in April.
Columns of police and UPDF started
routinely patrolling the campus allegedly to
ensure security but also as a show of force.
Whether intended or not, having the mili-
tary and students so close sets the stage for
sparks of tension to easily fly into political
fireballs.
Then, on Oct. 22, the students went on
strike – as they have done almost each year.
But this time the government reaction was
different.
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
news analysis
On Oct. 24, starting at 7pm, the military
swooped on Lumumba Hall, a male dor-
mitory, believed to be the command centre
of the strike. Under the cover of darkness,
the military moved do-to-door broke down
locked doors, battered residents, and vandal-
ized property.
“The idea was to break down the morale
of students,” one victim told The Indepen-
dent. Many students fled but some disabled
students were not so lucky and they were
pounced upon and badly beaten. Over 30
students were arrested.
Earlier, on Oct.23 Julius Kateregga was
arrested together with 30 other students for
leading the strike.
By then barricades of car tyres set on fire
by students were billowing black smoke
on the edges of the university where pri-
vate students’ hostels are located even as
the military patrolled on foot and trucks;
pouncing, arresting, and adding to the tense
Senior lecturer Lecturer
6,388,464 4,733,654
6,781,147
7,381,147 4,597,402
6,463,821 (science)
5,126,042 4,040,776
3,861,872 2,636,864
4,837,779 4,856,547
4,276,732 6,156,020
6,248,373
atmosphere.
It was the second day the security forces
were ransacking the university campus in
a hunt for the strike leaders; mainly mem-
bers of the university students guild. Many
students were beaten and some bundled
onto waiting trucks and dumped in criminal
cells at neighbouring police stations. But the
worst was yet to come.
As white plumes of teargas fumes filled
the air and gunshots rang out from a com-
bined force of heavily armed police and
the military combing the university and its
neighbourhood for students, many Maker-
ere University students who spoke to The
Independent saw the arrest of Kateregga and
others purely as a matter of a fight over an
unfair tuition policy. They said the univer-
sity, without consultation, increased their
tuition fees by 15%.
15
news analysis
Students going through a check point at the University’s main gate on Oct.28.  INDEPENDENT/ ALFRED OCHWO
But when The independent spoke about
the arrest of students to lecturers and other
observers, the discussion often went beyond
tuition. Many spoke about money problems
at Makerere University, but mainly seen as
corruption in financial management, under-
funding by the government, underpaying of
lecturers, and unfair reliance on money paid
by private students to run the university; the
so called non-tax revenue.
Many others saw elements of politics.
They saw the emergence of a People Power
guild president at Makerere University to
be at the centre of the current problems. But
others pointed at the steely management
style of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas
Nawangwe.
Having a People Power guild president
at Makerere University is nothing usual.
The NRM government also had a candidate
allied to it, who emerged third because
Makerere University has historically been
a hotbed of anti-government political senti-
ment, and most student leaders come from
opposition stock.
Kateregga, a 24-year old Bachelor of
Education third year student identifies with
the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) of
the Democratic Party (DP) but opted for the
People Power badge as has been happening
since Kyadondo East MP, Robert Ssentamu
Kyagulanyi popularized it.
Another contestant identified with the
leading opposition party, the Forum for
Democratic Change (FDC) and many were
“independent”. Some like David Musiri who
called himself ‘Gen. Musiri’ also identified
with People Power and adopted militaristic
styles.
Ambitious students
Following the arrest of Kateregga and the
other students, Dr. Muhammad Kiggundu,
the university communications manager,
was in no doubt about what was going on.
“This usually happens during October
16 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
and November because most of the students
are yearning for power and want to be
remembered when they contest in Febru-
ary,” Kiggundu told journalists referring to
the period when the student guild elections
are held each year.
He said the October strikes are usually
spearheaded by third-year students who are
exiting and continuing students with ambi-
tions of leadership.
The question is why, if the university
administration have analysed these patterns,
does the strike culture persist and each strike
is treated as a surprise?
Watching from the sidelines, other lectur-
ers who have seen it before recognized the
pattern. They saw young men and women
running for student guild leadership but
with ambitions that went beyond the univer-
sity. Many wanted to join national politics
with a bang. It had happened before.
Many leading politicians today are former
Makerere university student leaders. They
include two former presidential candidates
and leaders of national political parties,
Norbert Mao of DP and Olara Otunnu of the
Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) and several
current and former MPs; Gerald Karuhanga,
Gerald Kibalya, Emmanuel Dombo, Charles
Rwomushana, Anne Adeke Ebaju, Asuman
Basalirwa (leader of JEEMA party).
Others are in politics but outside parlia-
ment like Sarah Kagingo, Susan Abbo, and
Robert Rutaro. Even the current deputy
Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah is a
former speaker of the Makerere University
Students Guild. It is a pattern seen at almost
all universities.
The strike started on Oct.22 when main-
ly female students announced a march to
Nakasero State House to hand President
Museveni a petition against the tuition
increase. The Guild Vice President, Judith
Nalukwago, led them. Many waved plac-
ards denouncing the tuition policy.
“This university is for poor students.
Those who increased the tuition have their
children studying outside this country,”
Nalukwago told journalists.
Police pounced on them before they could
make the move and at least 20 students were
arrested but later released on police bond.
By then the university had already sus-
pended two students, including Siperia
Mollie, a Psychology major and member
of the Guild Representative Council (GRC)
who were viewed as leaders of the strike.
Mollie later emerged as a martyr of the strike
when she was found unconscious after being
attacked and molested by unknown people.
Many believe her ordeal is attached to her
role as a student leader.
The country was outraged. Members of
Parliament said Makerere University Vice
Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe is
unfit for the job.
Some MPs; Gerald Karuhanga (Ntun-
gamo) Latif Ssebagala (Kawempe North),
Florence Namayanja (Bukoto East), Paul
Mwiru (Jinja East), Muwanga Kivumbi
(Butambala), James Acidri (Maracha East),
and Barnabas Tinkasimire (Buyaga West)
spoke to journalists at parliament.
“I personally think that the vice chancellor
is not qualified to lead Makerere,” Acidri
said, “The brutality at Makerere is some-
thing that I thought ended during the days
of Gen Idi Amin.”
“Students have a disagreement over
tuition increment, they come out with
placards. The best you can do as a
government is to come with military men,
with tanks, brutalize, torture, treat them in
the most inhumane and degrading manner,”
Karuhanga said, “It was last seen during Idi
Amin’s time where they picked students
from their halls of residence and crashed
their doors, crashed their materials but also
went for the same students; breaking their
legs, torturing them, some even raped, some
pierced with knives.”

Teaching English
Why the language policy is failing rural children
By Medadi Ssentanda
U
ganda’s language policy requires
that rural schools should choose a
dominant local language to use as
the language of learning and teach-
ing for the first three years of primary school
while English is taught as a subject. The
fourth year of schooling is a transitional year
in which English as the language of learning
and teaching is introduced. English then
becomes the medium of instruction.
In areas where it’s not easy to choose a
dominant language, as is the case in urban
schools, English as the medium of instruc-
tion is recommended.
We investigated the circumstances under
which children learn and acquire English in
central Uganda’s rural Rakai district.
We set questions related to the learning
and teaching support materials for English,
the challenges rural Ugandan learners
face in learning English, the differences
between government and private schools
on vocabulary teaching and learning as
well as opportunities available for learners
to acquire English in rural schools.
We conducted the study in 2012 in four
rural schools. The results of this study are
still relevant because the language-in-ed-
ucation policy has not changed. Teacher
training and curricula are also still the
same. We found that learners faced vari-
ous challenges in learning and acquiring
English. It was difficult for them to reach
the vocabulary levels set out by the coun-
try’s National Curriculum Development
Centre. For example, they are expected to
learn at least 800 English words after three
years. The essence of the mother tongue pol-
icy was partly to enhance the teaching and
learning of English in Uganda. But our find-
ings point to a host of difficulties faced by
learners in private and government schools.
We conclude that Uganda needs to rethink
how English is taught in rural contexts. In
addition, the time of transition to English as
a language of learning and teaching should
be reconsidered.
A difficult subject
Studies show that vocabulary is a crucial
element in reading and comprehension.
According to some studies, learners of
English need knowledge of the 3000 most
frequent words to read and understand
graded readers.
But nobody has studied whether that is
realistic in poorly resourced learning envi-
ronments, such as those in Uganda.
The curriculum development centre also
considers “words” when speaking about
vocabulary learning. However, studies refer
instead to word families – “the word and all
its inflected and derived forms”, counted as
one. In Africa, there are numerous studies of
language-in-education policies. But there is a
shortage of research on vocabulary learning
in both first and second languages.
As far as we know ours is the first study in
Uganda that evaluated the number of words
children acquire in the process of learning
English.
How English is taught
The curriculum development centre
set guidelines on how English should be
taught from grade 1 to grade 3. It suggested
presenting at least five new words every
day, using short dialogues, presenting new
sentence structures, pictures and wall charts,
and using songs, games, acting, rhymes,
exercises and speech.
The centre discourages teachers from
using learners’ mother tongues while teach-
ing English – an approach not supported
by research. The centre expects the curric-
ulum to be well-structured and supported
by appropriate materials. But teachers in
our study viewed the curriculum as poorly
structured, repetitive and inadequate. They
said they did not have the right materials
and that learners were not able to learn the
desired vocabulary in each school year.
We did not see recommended methods
like role play and speeches being used.
Instead, teachers asked learners to read after
them and to chorus. Another challenge we
encountered related to training. The Nation-
al Curriculum Development Centre recom-
mends a one-teacher-one-classroom policy.
So there is no specialist English teacher for
grades 1 to 3.
State schools versus private school
Teachers also pointed to a big disparity
between schools funded by the state and pri-
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
news analysis
vate schools – for example, in the materials
provided and in exposure to English.
In private schools, it’s compulsory for all
children to speak English at school all the
time. But government school learners only
encountered the language in English lessons.
Also, children in private pre-primary
schools encounter English learning at the age
of 3 or 4 while those in government schools
do so only at 6 (when they join grade 1).
It was clear from our classroom observa-
tions that the two sets of learners were at
different levels of communicative English.
Those in private schools were able to answer
questions posed by the teachers while those
in government schools found responding
in English challenging. Some learners in
government schools responded in Luganda
(their mother tongue) to questions posed to
them in English.
We saw that teachers used their class time
differently. The curriculum development
centre guidelines stipulate that English
lessons last 30 minutes. But those in pri-
vate schools were between 40 to 60 min-
utes. Government school teachers were
also less punctual.
Going forward
We conclude that the targets set by the
curriculum development centre need
reviewing for two reasons. The first is
that they are unrealistic, given the envi-
ronment in which English is being taught
in rural Uganda. The second is that they
fall below what’s required for a learner to
be able to comprehend English texts and
access the curriculum in English.
The recommended two years to acquire
basic communicative skills and four years
to acquire cognitive and academic language
proficiency is only possible in well-resourced
environments. Our study shows that chil-
dren in rural Ugandan schools can’t acquire
these in three years only.
There are broader issues to consider too.
Learners need more time to be exposed to
the language before they can learn through
it. But children in government schools
mostly use their mother tongues and aren’t
exposed to media in English. Moreover,
teachers in rural areas are not very proficient
in English.
The government needs to review the
policy. It also needs to employ qualified and
specialised teachers in English language and
support materials for English need to be
thoroughly evaluated.
Medadi Ssentanda is a lecturer, Department of
African Languages, Makerere University
17
NEWS ANALYSIS

Besigye at the launch of Tubalemese in January 2018.

Besigye reloaded
Does Twerwaneko mean he will run
against People Power in 2021?
By Ian Katusiime on a strong quest for change. But now it which gives a right to Ugandans to

D
r. Kizza Besigye’s recent
launch of a national campaign
dubbed Twerwaneko (Let’s de-
fend ourselves) is being seen
by some as a strategy for the veteran
politician to launch himself right back
into the political fray after close to three
years of a Bobi Wine tidal wave.
Government spokesperson Ofwono
Opondo said as much to Besigye when
the two squared off on a popular tele-
vision talk show. “As you all know,
for the last two years, Mr. Besigye had
been relegated to the hind of the pol-
itics, the media and public discourse.
Twerwaneko is one way to dramatise a
comeback.”
On the previous four occasions; 2001,
2006, 2011 and 2016, Besigye has stood
may beg the question; will his campaign
plank still be change on his fifth shot at
the presidency when there’s a 39-year-
old Bobi Wine on the same 2021 cam-
paign trail?
Besigye calls Twerwaneko a “clarion
call” to address the enormity of chal-
lenges and injustices that the country
is facing; incessant murders, land grab-
bing, police brutality, kidnaps, pov-
erty. The campaign will be kicked off
with a citizens’ national convention.
He also told those present at his
Katonga Road office in Kampala where
he launched it on Oct. 24 that there
is an existential threat to Ugandans
adding “new people” could take over
Uganda.
He says his new campaign is pre-
mised on Article 3 of the Constitution
defend the constitution in case anyone
tries to overthrow it or abrogate it.
The article puts agency in the hands of
Ugandan citizens.
Besigye launched Twerwaneko at a
press conference at his Katonga Road
office flanked by members of his ‘Peo-
ple’s Government’ like vice president
Erias Lukwago, who is Kampala City
Lord Mayor and other senior members
like Rubaga North MP Moses Kasiban-
te.
Besigye said those seeking change
in Uganda should find convergence in
Twerwaneko.
Roland Mugume Kaginda, Coordina-
tor of People’s Government in Western
Uganda and ‘Minister for Trade’ in the
same government says the people’s
government is ready to work with all

18 Nov . 01 - 07 2019

forces to bring change and he does not
appear to be using the same radicalism
like Besigye or most of those in FDC
have.
“What Besigye is trying to say is that
we need to first level the ground. He is
saying, how can we work together to
level the ground?” he told The Indepen-
dent in an interview.
“The government is trying to create
a problem between People Power and
us. We just want to put the country in
order.”
He says if the government accepts
reforms, it would be a good starting
point. He adds, “If the government
refuses and keeps on doing what it is
doing, like recruiting crime preventers,
then you cannot do much.”
Kaginda an otherwise hardline mem-
ber of the People’s Government spoke
with a resigned tone during the inter-
view. Sources within People’s Govern-
ment say not everyone is on board with
the Twerwaneko campaign.
If Besigye is targeting the 2021 presi-
dential elections, then his timing looks
perfectly set as campaigns start next
year.
It also means the ruling party,
National Resistance Movement (NRM),
the opposition Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC) and the latest politi-
cal vehicle, People Power, led by MP
Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine are
likely to slug it out in what promises to
be a swashbuckling clash in February
2021.
President Yoweri Museveni with
NRM enjoy incumbency and have state
machinery at their disposal. FDC with
the indefatigable Kizza Besigye has
thumped NRM in by-elections in Jinja
East and for the Rukungiri Woman MP
seat in 2018 and is the only opposition
party worth its heft.
On the other hand, the People Pow-
er under Bobi Wine have been testing
their appeal, and quite successfully on
some occasions, like with the by-elec-
tions held in Arua and Bugiri last year.
Museveni is bent on keeping power
at all costs, which is his motivation
for running in 2021 and Bobi Wine is
eager to prove his star appeal as a new
player in a scene dominated by politi-
cians from a fast fading Bush War era
(1981-1986). Therefore it leaves Besigye
in sort of a bind. Although he has not
explicitly stated that he is contesting,
sources in FDC say he will take anoth-
er chance at the presidency.
In 2001 he had broken ranks with
the Movement and stirred anti-regime
forces those both in and outside gov-
ernment.
2006 was a much needed second
chance for Besigye who had spent five
years in exile. His presidential bid got
electrified when he was jailed on friv-
olous charges of rape. His third bid in
2011, it can be argued was due to the
absence of any potent challenger to
Museveni.
2016 proved tricky for Besigye due
to the candidature of Amama Mbaba-
zi. He was lackluster but initially got
everyone talking with the belief that he
would attract the neutrals who were
caught between the Museveni-Besigye
horse race. But the torture and brutal-
ity meted out on Besigye during the
Walk-to-Work protests seemed to have
re-awakened the adoration voters had
for Besigye when it came to nomina-
tion time.
2021 is two years away and Besi-
gye’s firepower has been neutered by
a young and likeable politician whose
election to Parliament in 2017 created
Museveni unveiling a mural of himself as a Man of the Ghetto in Kampala.
new talking points for the next general
election. At times, Besigye has become
a bit-part player in the political process
as the NRM regime unleashes its wrath
on Bobi Wine.
Police has blocked his concerts, the
army has outlawed his red beret outfit
which People Power partisans defi-
antly don, leaving Museveni and the
singer-turned politician locked in an
inter-generational battle. With Pres-
ident Museveni unveiling murals of
himself as a man of the Ghetto, he is
showing that he is ready to apply any
tactic as long as it is countering Bobi
Wine.
Meanwhile Besigye; a four time pres-
idential candidate has hailed 2019 as
the year of action. But his critics say it
is not the first time he is making such
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
NEWS ANALYSIS
proclamations. In 2009, he said a polit-
ical tsunami would sweep the NRM
government from power.
In January 2018, Besigye launched
Tubalemese (let’s fail them) which was
aimed at shunning businesses owned
by members of NRM.
FDC hits back
Harold Kaija, the FDC deputy secre-
tary general says the Bobi Wine team
does not have a “working formula”
adding that the latter group is doing
what FDC has been doing over the
years.
“We have been at this game for
long. We should be looking for a way
of retiring Mr Museveni” he tells The
Independent. “He organises elections
and he decides the winner. How do
you unpack him? We are looking at a
way of ensuring Museveni does not
appear on the ballot” he says.
On the seeming impossibility of
this event, Kaija has a quick answer.
“Bashir thought he was going to be on
the ballot in 2020. The same with Kabi-
la” Both are no longer president albeit
in different circumstances; one having
been pushed out and the other quit
after a negotiation with his would be
successors.
Kaija tells The Independent that the
infrastructure of an incumbent is some-
thing ordinary Ugandans must deal
with and not just those in the opposi-
tion.
“We are stuck. How do we get out
of here?” he says. “I always challenge
people. We are not living in a normal
situation. There is wining and being
declared a winner.”
19
NEWS ANALYSIS
Kaija states that he is more worried
about the political dispensation in
Uganda. “There is no provision for
transition in the constitution.” He says
the fact that the Ugandan constitution
only states that when the president dies, are Ugandans born in the Museveni era,
the VP shall take over leaves a lot of
trouble for a post-election period say in
the event that Museveni is defeated at
the polls.
“We would have a constitutional cri-
sis when another candidate wins, how
does the incumbent hand over?”
Kaija tells The Independent that Twer-
waneko is not an election platform as it
appears to some people. Echoing Besi-
gye, he says, “This is meant to empower Bazukulu are the voters Bobi Wine is
Ugandans to stop the abuse of freedom
of speech, stop the killings, the land
grabs. All this has been going on with-
out serious accountability.”
Kaija took a swipe at DP, Uganda’s
oldest party, for riding on the Bobi
Wine wave. “They (DP) always
want someone to campaign
for DP while contesting as an
Independent. It started with
Mbabazi whom they knew was
an Independent but kept on
associating with him”
He says it is the same with
Bobi Wine. “But now they have
fallen out with Bobi Wine and
they are nowhere to be seen.”
According to Kaija, the failed
dalliance of Bobi Wine with DP
is proof of Besigye’s mettle as
a candidate. He also dismisses
the argument of those saying
Besigye has run four times
without getting the desired
change with the analogy of an
untiring job seeker. Besigye and Bobi Wine in talks early this year.
“If you apply for a job ten
times, does that mean that you
are doing the job itself?” he asks.
“We calculate your tenure when you
are in office not when you are out there
trying to get the job,” he adds. “If you
are asking Besigye to leave then you are
being unfair because you are not asking
Museveni who is in office to leave.”
As Besigye and FDC look beyond
elections, Bobi Wine has been trying
to shore up support among his base
looking at the 2021 polls as a way of
delivering change. Besigye and Bobi
Wine exchanged words in April this
year when Besigye dismissed the chance he took on Museveni, and notched one
of an alliance between Democratic Party million more votes in the 2016 election.
(DP) and Bobi Wine.
Bobi Wine wondered why a four time
presidential candidate was discourag-
ing those who intend to use the same
path of elections to achieve change. “For bulging Ugandan youth population, on
a leader to say a vote can never oust
Museveni without offering a solution
is disappointing... Don’t talk about
20 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
democracy and stand four times and on
the fifth time you say it doesn’t work,
we believe it works,” Bobi Wine said.
Bobi Wine has found favour with the
‘1986 children’ as they are called. These
when a 41-year-old Museveni captured
power on January 26, 1986 after a five
year guerilla war. The oldest Ugandans
in this generation are 33 years old, a few
years younger than Bobi Wine, who is
37.
Museveni cheekily calls them
‘Bazukulu’ (grandchildren) as he
addresses them in his regular letters on
Facebook and Twitter. Ironically, the
banking on to oust Museveni in the next
election. He has been urging them to
get National IDs and register for voting
day.
So the emergence of Bobi Wine, a
popular musician, on the political scene
presents a direct challenge between
Museveni and the Bazukulu who are
Bobi Wine’s peers.
This demographic dynamic leaves
Kizza Besigye in a tricky position. In
2021, he will be 65 with hopes of adding
to his three million vote tally from the
2016 election. In his defence, Besigye
says he has never stopped anyone from
standing.
Besigye polled an impressive two
million votes in the first three elections
It could be a real test though for the
former FDC president to bag the same
vote tally with an insurgent Bobi Wine,
who has galvanized a disgruntled and
the same ballot.
When Besigye and Muntu faced off
in a televised debate for the FDC presi-
dential flag-bearer in 2015, Besigye told
Muntu that he was guaranteed of two
million votes when he stands for Presi-
dent at the national level, given that he
had scooped the said number of votes in
the three elections he had contested in.
Besigye was directly challenging
Muntu, then party president, on his
potential for attracting votes. But now
the ground seems to be shifting from
under Besigye’s feet, four years later.
Research World poll
A poll survey released in May by
Research World International (RWI)
placed Besigye behind President Musev-
eni and Bobi Wine. The poll indicated
that Museveni would score 32 per cent,
followed by Bobi Wine with 22 per cent
and Besigye with 13 percent. RWI sur-
veyed 2,042 respondents aged 18 years
and above across Uganda.
FDC spokesperson Ibrahim Semujju
Nganda said the
poll was inaccurate
but admitted that he
would use its findings
for internal research.
The poll was
instructive because
RWI is headed by Pat-
rick Wakida, a known
sympathiser of FDC.
Critics of Besigye
have also pointed out
his anti-election rhet-
oric which is said to
leave his supporters
in confusion. Often,
he has told the masses
that the NRM junta
cannot be uprooted
using elections only
for him to stand.
This was the mes-
sage Besigye gave right
before and after the 2016 elections.
Before the 2016 elections, which Besigye
says he won with a margin of 52%, he
said he would guard his votes against
the NRM state machinery.
So the criticism aimed at Besigye has
been denouncing the viability of elec-
tions while at the same time claiming
victory in the same elections.
Brian Atuheire, an unwavering
supporter of Besigye says there is an
anti-Besigye campaign in the media.
“We have seen new candidates before.
We saw it with Mao and Otunnu in 2011
and with Mbabazi in 2016. The new can-
didates with the support of the media
have not won.”
Atuheire adds that people should
focus their efforts on Museveni who
first stood in 1980 and in 1996 before
asking Besigye who came in 2001.
 NATIONAL WATER AND SEWERAGE
CORPORATION TARGETS TO
DELIVER WATER FOR ALL
National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) is an autonomous Public Corporation wholly
owned by the Government of Uganda. The Corporation has implemented a number of reforms
aimed at improving its commercial, technical and financial performance, in line with the National
strategic objective of universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.

T
he Corporation’s strategic focus
as enshrined in the corporate
plan 2018 – 2021 and Five
(5) Year Strategic Direction
2016 – 2021 is to ensure water for all
for the socio–economic growth and
transformation of Uganda. This is in
line with the overarching Government
Policy of universal coverage as
enshrined in the Vision 2040, National
Development Plan (NDP II), the
Government (NRM) Manifesto, and
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG
6).
Over the past five years, the
Corporation has rolled out a number
of Performance Improvement \
Programmes aimed at improving
service delivery and enhancing service
coverage. These include among others;
 Infrastructure Service Delivery
Programmes (ISDP)
 Water Supply Stabilization Plans
(WSSP)
 100% Service Coverage
Acceleration Programme (SCAP
100)
 Capital Development Projects
 Water Loss Prevention Programmes
 Stakeholder Engagement
Programmes
 Environmental Protection
Programmes
 Staff Capacity Development
undertakings
The Corporation has since registered
remarkable growth and improvement
in most of its key performance
indicators among which include:

The Minister of water and environment Hon. Sam Cheptoris turns on a water tap at a recent function commissioning a
community public tap, looking on is the MD NWSC, Dr. Silver Mugisha and the Minister of state for water Hon. Ronald Kibuule

Oct 01 - 07, 2019 i

EXPANSION AND INTENSIFICATION OF SERVICE DELIVERY
Growth in Geographical Coverage:
The Corporation has reached out to more
Ugandans, through takeover of towns
from 23 towns in 2013 to 253 towns
currently. The Corporation’s service
coverage is estimated to serve over 10
million people within in its areas of
jurisdiction.
Water Production: NWSC has
upgraded its production infrastructure
to augment service delivery through the
implementation of capital development
and Water Supply Stabilization Plans
(WSSP). The corporation’s production
capacity has grown to 135 million liters
per day
Water Pipe Network (Km): The
Corporation expanded its water network
length through the installation of new
water mains to pave way for accelerated
installation of new connections and
improve access to safe water. The total
water pipe network has more than
doubled from 5,670 Km in 2013 to 17,623
Km.
Customer Base: The NWSC
customer base has grown rapidly due
to the ongoing network expansion. The
customer base currently stands at 659,157
customers. The average number of new
connections installed per annum has
grown to over 69,000. This is attributed
to expansion of the pipe network and
increased customer outreach.
Pro-poor Initiatives: NWSC
provides service to the less-advantaged
communities through the installation of
ii Oct 01 - 07, 2019
public taps at a highly subsidized tariff of
sh25 per 20 liter Jerry can. Currently, the
Corporation is installing over 1000 Public
Stand Posts (PSPs) across the Kampala
service area. To date the corporation has
installed 17,186 public taps across the
country
Sewer Mains: The Corporation’s
annual sewer extensions have increased
from 24kms in the last financial year to
59kms to date. In addition, deliberate
interventions are being under taken
especially in Kampala to increase sewer
coverage under the protection of Lake
Victoria - Kampala Sanitation Project.
Catchment / Source protection:
Environmental protection is crucial to
the sustainability of the Corporation’s
business given the impact it poses on
water sources. The Corporation has
undertaken a number of initiatives to
safeguard the environment among which
include:
 Over 1,000,000 trees have been
planted under the one million tree
campaign in all
NWSC Areas.
Laying of pipes ongoing for the Katosi water treament project
 Rehabilitation of water sources,
demarcation of land & ownership,
protecting embranchment of
water sources, and adherence to
environmental and social safeguards
in implementation of major capital
projects and other operational
activities.
100% Service Coverage Acceleration
Project (SCAP 100): The project, being
financed by NWSC together with the
Government, aims at providing safe water
to 100% of the population in all villages
under NWSC jurisdiction (at least 12,000
villages). The project aims at ensuring
universal and equitable access to safe
water supply in all villages under NWSC
jurisdiction by 2020.
The project, whose implementation
started in July 2017 is to be implemented
over a period of three years (2017-2020)
and entails accelerated installation of
Public taps targeting 2 public taps per
village or a tap per 200 people.
Highlights of project
implementation
To ensure sustainable delivery of
services and meet the exponential growth
in demand emanating from accelerated
geographical expansion, the Corporation
has intensified its capital development
programmes with a plethora of projects
being implemented in the various NWSC
operational areas. The following key
milestones have been registered;
Table showing ongoing project implementation
PROJECT
Kampala Sanitation Programme
Phase 2 (KSP – LVP2)
Objective: To provide improved
hygiene and sanitation services
for Kampala city residents, and
protection of Kampala’s natural
Environment.
Kampala Water Lake Victoria
WatSan Project
Objective: To address water
supply challenges in greater
Kampala metropolitan area up to
the year 2040
Water Management and
Development Project (WMDP)-
Objective: To improve water
supply and sewerage services in
Arua, Bushenyi and Gulu towns.
Integrated Program to improve
Living conditions in Gulu –
(Phase II Nile option).
Objective: To bridge the gap
left by the Uganda Water
Management and Development
Project
Integrated Water Management
and Development Project
(IWMDP)
Objective: To improve water
supply and sewerage services in
Adjumani, Gulu and Mbale towns
including source protection in
Adjumani, Gulu, Mbale, Arua and
Bushenyi towns
SCOPE
 Construction and operation of the Naki-
vubo Waste Water Treatment Plant
 Construction of Nakivubo and
Kinawataka sewers (30km), and
 Construction of Kinawataka Pre-treat-
ment and pumping station
 Refurbishment of Gaba 1&2 water treat-
ment plants
 Water network rehabilitation, extension
and rezoning
 Construction of a new water treatment
plant in Kampala East and Katosi and
construction of Kampala Transmission
main
 Water and Sanitation works in Informal
Settlements
 Bushenyi WatSan Project: Construction
of the Kitagata Water Treatment Plant
 Construction of reservoirs in Kikuba-
Ishaka and Kitagata
 Arua WatSan Project: Refurbishment
and upgrading of the current water
treatment plant, and increasing the
storage capacity for treated water from
1.4M litres to 5M litres.
 Gulu WatSan Project: Upgrading and
expansion of the existing water treat-
ment plant from 4M litres to 10M litres
of water per day.
 Upgrading of the existing water supply
and distribution network
 Construction of a water treatment plant
at Karuma
 Bulk transfer of water from Karuma to
Gulu and the six towns enroute to Gulu
 Water supply and sanitation infrastruc-
ture improvements in Adjumani-Pakele
and neighbouring towns.
 Water supply and sanitation infrastruc-
ture improvements in Mbale and neigh-
bouring towns of Kibuku, Tirinyi, Kad-
ama, Budaka, Busolwe, and Butaleja
 Bulk transfer of water from Karuma to
Gulu and the six towns enroute to Gulu
Oct 01 - 07, 2019
STATUS
 All components have been
completed.
 Refurbishment of Gaba
1&2 was completed
 Detailed designs for the
construction of the Kam-
pala East Water Treatment
Plant is at 95% completion.
 26.4km out of 54km of the
Katosi - Kampala Trans-
mission main has been laid
 Procurement of contractor
for Water and Sanitation
works in Informal Settle-
ments is in progress.
 Bushenyi WatSan Project
was completed.
 Arua WatSan Project was
completed.
 Gulu WatSan Project is at
78% progress.
 Detailed design of all water
supply infrastructure has
been done.
 Construction of Karuma
intake (capacity) at 85%
progress.
 Procurement of design
review and supervision
consultant for Mbale and
Adjumani at tender evalu-
ation stage
 Review of tender docu-
ments for the bulk transfer
mains by World Bank is in
progress
iii
 PROJECT
Development of Water and 
Sanitation Infrastructure for the
Isingiro, Mbarara-Masaka Areas-
South Western Cluster.
Objective: To improve the living 
standards and productivity of the
population in the project areas
through provision of good quality
water and improved sanitation
services.
Wakiso West WatSan Project 
(WWWSP).
Objective: To improve the quality
of life, health and economy
of people in the southern and
western parts of greater Kampala.
Upgrading of the Kapeeka Water

treatment plant
Objective: The project is aimed 
at addressing the current water
supply and wastewater collection
and treatment challenges for 
the Kapeeka community and
industrial park. 
Kapchorwa Water Supply Project.
Objective: The project is aimed at 
improving water supply services
in Kapchorwa town.
Sembabule water supply
improvement project. 
Objective: To increase water 
production from 300m3/day
to 3000m3/day and upgrading
and extension of the water
distribution network.
Fort Portal Water Production
project 
Objective: To improve water
quality and increase water
production in Fort portal town.
Packaged Sewage Treatment
Plants for Fort Portal. 
Objective: The project is aimed at
addressing wastewater disposal
challenges in Fort Portal town.
iv Oct 01 - 07, 2019
SCOPE
Construction of a new Water treatment plant 
in Kagera and associated infrastructure to
meet the demand for Mbarara town up to
the year 2040. 
Water supply and sanitation infrastructure
improvements in Masaka and Mbarara and
the neighbouring towns.
Development of a new Water Treatment 
Plant, storage reservoir, pumping main,
distribution system, a faecal Sludge Treat-
ment Plant and Supply of Water in Informal
Settlements.
Increase production from 1,100 m3/day to 
2,500m3/day.
Laying of 7.6km DN 250mm Bulk transfer
main from the Reservoir to the Industrial 
Park
Upgrading of the Water Treatment Plant
(additional 5,000m3/day) 
Development of groundwater system

Construction of new water works with 
a capacity of 3000m3/ day and 4km DN
200mm Delivery main
Construction of a new intake and water 
treatment line including; flocculator, coagu- 
lator, clarifier, filter and ancillary works.
Upgrading the entire distribution network,
and extension of services to surrounding
towns.
Construction of flocculator, coagulator, clari- 
fier, filter and ancillary works.
Design, supply, installation and operation of 
sewage treatment plants.

STATUS
Contracts for design and
supervision consultancy
signed.
Detailed design for all compo-
nents is ongoing.
Process of procuring consul-
tant for design and supervi-
sion ongoing.
Upgrading of the Electrome-
chanical Installations has been
done
6km out of 7.6km (78.9%) of
the bulk transfer to the indus-
trial park has been laid
Contract for upgrading of the
Water Treatment Plant has
been awarded
Drilling of boreholes is in
progress, 2 out of 3 boreholes
have been completed
Pipe works are at final stages,
and civil works at the Water
Treatment Plant are at 75%
completion.
Detailed designs completed.
Contract for works awaiting
signature.
Construction works are at
40% progress.
Installation and assembling
of compact treatment units
complete.
Test – running and opera-
tionalisation of the installed
system.
 The goal of Uganda’s water supply
and sanitation sector is to increase
access to urban and rural water
supply services from 77% and 65%
respectively to 100% and 79% by
2020. The Government through the
Ministry of Water and Environment
has recognized the cross-benefit of
access to safe drinking water and
improved sanitation, and has in the
last decade made substantial progress
in terms of increasing coverage.
In spite of the progress, there are
still disparities in potable water
and improved sanitation coverage
across and within districts and
regions, affecting some of the most
marginalized and poor in the country.
In the spirit of continued
innovation and the need for increased
productive and allocative efficiency,
NWSC with the support of the
Government and development
partners will continue investing
part of the Surplus from its business
operations into infrastructure
development projects so as to ensure
adequate water supply to the growing
population.
The Chairman Board of Directors NWSC, Eng. Christopher Ebal awarding one of the best performing schools at the recent SWAS Convention
NWSC Promotes the Water
and Sanitation agenda
through the Youth and
School Clubs
In October 2014, NWSC launched the
School Water and Sanitation (SWAS)
clubs as a novel initiative that targets
school going children who as a criti-
cal segment of Uganda’s population.
Through the SWAS clubs, NWSC creates
awareness about water and sanitation in
the country by sensitization and empow-
erment of children.
NWSC through the SWAS clubs
endeavors to promote literacy, expres-
sion and creativity among young people
on water and sanitation issues by engag-
ing the member schools annually for
a series of activities. The activities are
geared towards promoting access to safe
drinking water, good sanitation practices
and environmental protection.
Once every year NWSC hosts all SWAS
schools to the annual SWAS Conven-
tion. This is an annual event that marks
the climax of all SWAS Clubs activities
implemented during the year. At the
convention schools get to showcase their
creativity based on thematic areas within
the Sanitation, Water and Environment
sector.
The schools therefore showcase their
activities and knowledge of the water
sector in the form of competitions. The
school competitions include; display of
WaSH tech innovations, Poems, Skits,
Essays, SWAS campaign/SWAS Project
and interschool quiz competitions.
The NWSC SWAS clubs initiative
that started with only 67 schools in 2014
boasts of over 405 participating schools
across all the NWSC operational areas to
date.
Through the “Plant a tree, save the
future” campaign, NWSC together with
the SWAS Clubs and the Young Water
Professionals (YWP) has managed to
plant over 1,000,000 trees. The YWP-
Uganda Chapter is an association bring-
ing together professionals below the
age of 35years with the aim of pooling
competences in order to provide unified
approaches towards solving the challeng-
es facing the water and sanitation sector.
Oct 01 - 07, 2019 v
feature

Four years without Sophia

On Monday August 31, 2015, Sophia Koetsier arrives at Entebbe airport in Uganda. She is 21 years old,
bright and ambitious, with a great zest for life, about to embark on a new adventure in a faraway country, on a
continent she has never been to. That summer she had acquired her bachelor of Medicine at the University of
Amsterdam, effortlessly passing her exams, with high grades, while working a part-time job throughout her study.

S
he had recently decided to continue
with Tropical Medicine after getting
her master of Medicine. Her long
term plan was to become a surgeon
or a gynaecologist. But first she was going
to work eight weeks as a medical intern in
Lubaga hospital in Kampala. Sophia took
well to life in Uganda and its people. As was
clear from the extensive and enthusiastic
weekly reports she sent us, her parents and
her two brothers.
After the internship she wanted to see
some more of Uganda, before returning
home to the Netherlands on the 10th of
November. Three days later we would
attend the festive ceremony where Sophia
was to receive her official bachelor’s degree
certificate from the University of Amster-
dam.
We did not pick her up at the airport that
day and we did not attend that ceremony.
To this day Sophia has not returned home.
On Wednesday October 28, Sophia
arrived at Murchison National Park togeth-
er with two fellow students and their tour
guide, also driver; they had met in Kampala.
He had arranged for the three girls to stay
at the Student Centre, a very low budget
accommodation in the park, where they
arrived around 6 pm. Shortly after that
Sophia disappeared.
What happened between arrival and dis-
appearance is not clear. A short search was
conducted until it got too dark.
The circumstances surrounding Sophia’s
disappearance are obscure and many things
do not add up.
Shortly before Sophia went missing her
phone had broken down. It was later found
in her luggage with her passport, bank pass
and other personal items.
Sophia’s disappearance was in the media
for just a few days. From the start it was
assumed that it must have been a ‘fatal acci-
dent’; the girl had mental problems, she was
attacked by an animal, eaten by a crocodile,
killed herself, drowned, end of story. It was,
perhaps conveniently, ignored that no blood
traces were found, no signs of a struggle,
and no remains were ever found. Rangers
said they watched for increased activity by
vultures in the days after Sophia went miss-
ing. They didn’t see any.
The morning after Sophia’s disappearance
one item, allegedly hers, was found some
five meters from the river bank. Nothing
else. The next morning, Friday, a trail of puz-
zling items was found along the river bank,
spread out over some 45 meters. It included
a pair of knickers attached to a branch high
up in a tree, one shoe and pieces of torn fab-
ric, some of them tied to dead wood. Those
pieces make up one leg of a pair of trousers
Sophia owns, but it is not clear what she was
wearing when she disappeared. No other
garments were found, nor the second shoe.
The items were close to the one that was
found the previous morning. According
to local police they weren’t found simulta-
neously because, due to excessive rain, the
items had been under water. Photographs
do not support this explanation. Forensically
trained people who saw the photographs of
these items are adament they have not been
under water. They also call it ‘manipulated
pieces of evidence’. A question that inevi-
tably comes up is if the items were actually
there on Thursday.
On Saturday morning October 31, again a
day later, dogs arrived. It is not clear which
trace or scent the dogs were following.
They did not have Sophia’s scent and their
handlers did not ask for it. And there were
plenty of scents as many people had been
walking in the area by then. A fact the Scene
of Crime officers, who arrived that same
morning, were apparently unaware of as

26 Nov . 01 - 07 2019

they cordoned off the area.
It is not known who was pres-
ent at the Student Centre that
evening.
It is not known who entered
or left the park that evening or
the day after.
No one seems to have been
seriously heard.
Clearly the investigation left
quite something to be desired, as
has been observed and acknowl-
edged since then by both Ugan-
dan and Dutch professionals.
Words like ‘tunnel vision’ were
used, and ‘blaming the victim’.
We can only speculate about
the reason why a ‘fatal acci-
dent’ scenario was so eagerly
embraced from the start, despite
the lack of any evidence to back
it up. Thereby excluding all oth-
er possiblities, including crime.
Perhaps it was the easiest option
to get rid of an incomprehensi-
ble story and many people do
not like stories without an end.
It seems that Sophia was
not well at the time. Very occa-
sionally she develops sleeping
problems which can cause her
to become restless. She had also
been taking malaria pills from
the day she arrived in Uganda.
These pills can have unwanted
side effects.
However, Sophia is far from
crazy and has never shown any
sign to anybody at any time of
being tired of life. On the con-
trary, her love of life is immense
and her ambition has no bounds.
If you don’t know anything,
nothing can be ruled out but we
find it hard to believe Sophia
laid out those items herself. Like
we find it equally hard to believe
she went into the river. In one
of her weekly reports Sophia, a
good swimmer, writes about an
outing to Ggaba Beach at Lake
Victoria:
‘The only thing lacking was
the option to cool off a bit. Even
though the locals went swim-
ming in the lake we decided
against that, because of the
chances of getting a parasite
infection.’
Sophia was born on Decem-
ber 7, 1993, our first child and
only daughter. Her name means
‘wisdom’ in Greek.
Barely fully born, she looked
us straight in the eyes, with her
big, dark eyes, wide open, as if
saying: ‘Well then, here I am’.
And there she was indeed, a
personality from the start and
keeping those eyes, and ears,
wide open whilst going through
life. She is very perceptive and
observant, with an open mind.
Quoting some excerpts from her
weekly reports from Kampala is
the only way at this moment to
hear her voice.
On her serious effort to learn
Luganda right after arrival:
‘I have learned some more
Luganda now. If you say
‘oliotya?’, which means: ‘hello,
how are you?’, to the local peo-
ple, they really like that. Things
like ‘webale’ (thank you), ‘nde
bulungi’ (I’m fine) or ‘sula
bulungi’ (good night) are really
good to know.’After attending
a party she comments on Ugan-
dan women’s dancing prowess:
‘The girls here are truly excep-
tional dancers. They could really
teach us Dutch people a thing
or two... Jojo taught me her
killer moves and I tried them out
immediately. The reaction was:
‘Huh, Sophia is dancing like an
African girl?!’
And how she is enjoying her
stay:
‘I am starting to get used to
Uganda more and more. The
way of life, the habits. I am
almost considering simply stay-
ing in Africa, cause jeez, it’s so
relaxed here!’
Most of her stories were
about her work in Lubaga hos-
pital. Christine was one of the
midwives who often worked
with Sophia. She told me about
Sophia’s eagerness to learn
things and to be useful, how
quickly she picked things up. ‘A
born doctor’ according to Chris-
tine. In Sophia’s own words:
‘The next day was an interest-
ing day on the maternity ward.
I spent all day on labour ward
and was really useful. Christine
taught me how to catch a baby
after delivery. This was harder
than I thought, but Christine
guided me. After that I took the
baby away for post natal care. I
could do this several times. It’s
so nice to do this for those tiny
creatures and it is really great to
be useful.’
On October 22 she writes:
‘Before we left I really wanted
to say a warm goodbye to every-
one in the hospital.
We gave away our medical
splash goggles and midwives
and surgeons were really hap-
py with them. Our white coats
we gave to Christine, who was
really eager to have them. We
also exchanged email addresses
with her. After saying goodbye
to everyone in maternity we
stopped by the other wards.
I sincerely regret my stay here
is over. All the people in the hos-
pital are so sweet. I will really
miss them and hope to be back
one day. Who knows, as a doc-
tor of tropical medicine?’
The next day Sophia starts
her roundtrip. Six days later,
Wednesday October 28, 2015,
she disappears.
Every 28th day of each month
is a difficult day for us. A painful
reminder that another month
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
feature
has passed, without Sophia. As
every week, every day means
one more day, one more week,
without Sophia. And we do not
know if the passing of the days,
weeks and months, will bring
us closer to her, or further away
from her.
The 28th of October marks
four years without Sophia, four
years of painful, devastating
insecurity, four years of won-
dering what happened to our
beloved girl; is she still alive,
where could she be, under
which circumstances?
No child is more present than
a missing child. Perhaps only
parents in a similar situation can
truly understand what it is like,
not knowing what happened,
wondering whether your child
is alive and worrying about
their fate, each and every day.
I know there are many of you
in Uganda, suffering from the
same ordeal, especially in the
north.
From the moment they are
born, our children are, and will
always remain, our Achilles
heel and we shall never give up
on them.
It has pained us immensely
to see the case so easily dis-
missed. We have been fighting
ever since to get people, and
especially authorities, out of
that ‘fatal accident’ tunnel. It
seems we are starting to reap
some of what we have sowed
but everything is going too slow,
of course, as for us every day
still counts. We cannot and will
not rule out she might be some-
where. But where? And how?
We can use all the help we
can get to solve the mystery of
Sophia’s disappearance.
Four years without Sophia is
unreal, incomprehensible and
unbearable.
It is hope that keeps me
together, that makes me come
back to Uganda, time after time,
always hoping to find Sophia
and take her home.
When nothing is certain,
everything is possible and mira-
cles do happen.
Marije Slijkerman
www.findsophia.org
27
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin and a section of African Presidents during the just concluded Russia-Africa Economic Summit in Sochi.
Russia’s big move to Africa
What the Euro-Asian nation promised African
countries at a historic summit in Sochi
O
By Isaac Khisa & Julius Businge
ne might have probably
heard about Sochi, Russian
city located on the Black Sea
Coast near the border with
Georgia, for co-hosting the
2018 FIFA World Cup.
But the quiet resort city with merely
300,000 people – equivalent to a fifth of
Kampala’s population, captured global
attention again, this time for hosting the first
ever Russia-Africa Economic Summit from
Oct.23-24.
The historic meeting marked the begin-
ning of renewed relations between Russia
and Africa. The Euro-Asian nation, which
had a strong influence in Africa alongside
US and China, had frozen its relations with
the African continent following the collapse
of the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1990s.
This created the opportunity for its rivals
China, US, China, India and EU to strength-
en their position on the continent as the true
trading partners.
But the continued isolation of Russia from
meddling into the internal affairs of other
sovereign states by the west has forced Rus-
sia’s President Vladimir Putin to return to
the continent to boost its trade volumes.
Russia’s trade volumes with Africa has
doubled over the past five years to US$20bil-
ion, but Putin says that needs to be doubled
in the next five or so years.
However, its rival US had its trade vol-
28 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
umes with Africa at $39billion in 2017, mak-
ing it Africa’s third-largest trading partner
behind China and the European Union,
according to the figures compiled by the U.S.
agency USAID.
On the other hand, the value of China-Af-
rica trade in 2017 was $148 billion, down
from a high of $215billion in 2014. India-Af-
rica trade volume stood at US$62bn for the
2017-18 year, representing a 22% growth.
As such, Putin, whose country dominates
in the sale of military arms in Africa, has
pledged to work with the various African
states to upgrade their transport infrastruc-
ture, develop telecommunication and digital
technologies, provide information security
as well as offer advanced technologies and
engineering solutions.
He said Russian companies will also fur-
ther assist African countries in developing
national healthcare, ensure broad access for
all segments of the population to qualified
medical care and strengthening Africa’s
capacity to deal with epidemics.
He also revealed that Russia is partici-
pating in an initiative to ease the African
countries the debt burden. He said the debt
write-off now stands at US$20bn.
“I want to emphasis that such work is
absolutely beneficial, since it also gives Rus-
sian companies the opportunity to work in
the African market, interact with the African
partners and receive appropriate benefits in
the interests of the Russian Federation and
its citizens,” he said.
He said Russia is currently among the top
ten suppliers of food to the African mar-
ket, with product range of counter trading
expanding, and the share of non-resource –
agricultural and industrial – products
increasing.
Russia is now exporting more agricultur-
al products than weapons to the markets
of third world countries, in which weapons
now account for $15billion and agricultural
products nearing $25billion in sales exports,
according to the Russian government.
Bilateral meetings
On the sidelines of the summit, Putin also
held bilateral meetings with various African
heads of state including Uganda’s Yoweri
Kaguta Museveni, South Africa’s Cyril
Ramaphosa, Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed and
Central African Republic’s, Faustin-Arch-
ange Touadéra to discuss areas of collabo-
rations.
And like all other presidents who held the
bilateral talks, President Museveni said the
summit was long overdue given that Russia
had similar conferences with India, China,
Turkey and Japan.
He, however, said the defense and securi-
ty needs to be one of the areas of collabora-
tion with Russia owed to its strong military
muscle.
“We have been cooperating very well,
‘you’ have supported in building an army by
buying good Russian equipment, aircrafts,
and so on. We want to buy more,” he said.

“We have been paying cash in the past,
cash, cash, cash. And this slows down the
pace, because we must have cash to pay.
What I proposes is that you supply and we
pay,” Museveni added.
Majority of the head of states, however,
urged the Russian companies to consider
investing in their mineral resources such as
diamond, uranium, zinc, gold, copper, and
iron ore, among others, to create jobs to their
citizens and boost their economies.
Alongside the summit were trade exhibi-
tions where Russian companies and inves-
tors to showcased their potential to boost the
strategic partnership.
Russian companies, for instance, show-
cased their different military hardware,
medicine, car manufacturing, and nuclear
energy, agriculture, security, and informa-
tion and communication technology, among
others.
However, a handful of African countries
including Kenya and Morocco showcased
their products that mainly included agricul-
tural. Already, Kenya exports tea to Russia.
Landmark agreements signed
During the summit, Russian companies
signed cooperation agreements with various
African countries. LUKOIL, which has been
active in Ghana, Cameroon, the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Nigeria, signed an
agreement with the Equatorial Guinea to
participate in hydrocarbons trade.
New Cloud Technologies signed an agree-
ment with the Democratic Republic of the
Congo to enable the latter state access the
Russian software package MyOffice for vari-
ous purposes including education.
The Roscongress Foundation, Russia’s
socially oriented non-financial development
institution and a major organizer of interna-
tional conventions, exhibitions, and public
events, signed cooperation agreements with
a number of African countries to establish a
direct dialogue with representatives of the
authorities and the business community of
the continent.
This includes agreement with the Egyp-
tian Exporters Association — Expolink, the
National Agency for Investment Promotion
of the Republic of the Congo, the Nigerian
Investment Promotion Agency, the Eswa-
tini Investment Promotion Authority, the
Chamber of Commerce of Burkina Faso,
the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and
Agriculture of Tanzania, the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of Abuja, the Kenya
National Chamber of Commerce, the Cham-
ber of Commerce and Industry of Mali, and
the Confederation of Business Associations
of Mozambique.
So far, some of the Russia’s companies
that have already made inroads in Africa
investing mainly in mineral resources –
diamond, gold, graphite, pozzolana, iron
ore, phosphates and copper, among others.
Some of the companies that have made their
investments include; Gazprom, Rostec and
Rosatom, with most of their operations in
Uganda, Algeria, Angola, Egypt and Nige-
ria.
Russia has also been re-establishing links
with Angola and Botswana, where Alrosa,
the Russian giant, mines diamonds. Russia
has interests in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone,
Ethiopia, Morocco, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Sudan, and the Central African
Republic.
The gold producer, Nordgold, which
acquired the mine in 2010, has since invested
almost $1billion in the Guinea to extend Lefa
mine’s life and improve efficiencies at the
operation. The firm said it has also paid $180
million in corporate taxes and royalties from
2011 to 2018.
Russia is also building a major industrial
zone comprising 23 firms in a planned inter-
national industrial and logistics hub near
Russia has been a major supplier of weapons to Africa and the country’s arms exporter hopes the
first Russia-Africa summit will help boost business on the continent (AFP Photo/Andrea PALASCIANO)
Egypt’s Suez Canal and Putin says there are
plans for more firms to join in the future.
The Zone that will produce a range of
products from agriculture to machinery,
intends to use Egypt as an anchor to expand
into the continent.
The Middle East country is also working
on a fertilizer factory in Zambia as it explores
opportunities in the east African region, with
infrastructure development being in the
top agenda. It also made it clear that it will
continue to train military personnel and law
enforcement officers for African countries
at specialized Russian institutions.
Currently, military personnel from 20
African countries are studying at higher
education institutions of the Russian Defence
Ministry. Russia has also signed military
cooperation agreements with over 30 coun-
tries on the continent, including; Rwanda,
Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Guinea.
The Swedish Defence Research Agency
says there is also heated speculation about
the potential for establishing military bases
in several countries including Burundi,
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
business
Mozambique, Eritrea, Somaliland, Egypt,
Libya and Sudan.
Russia has also become the largest sup-
plier of arms to Africa, accounting for 35%
of arms exports to the region, followed
by China (17 %), the United States (9.6%),
and France (6.9 %) between 2012 and 2016,
according to the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Currently,
Russia is also involved in training Central
Africa Republic’s army and presidential
guard.
This development comes three months
since the African countries launched the
African Continental Free Trade Area in
Niger in July, opening up market for goods
and services to 1.2billion people with a com-
bined GDP of US$3trillion.
It also comes a few months since China
and Japan hosted African heads of state for
their countries to boost trade relations.
Economists speak out
Commentators on the latest development
told The Independent that chances are that
there will be no contestation between Russia
and the other big countries such as China,
EU, USA because China has already taken
over Africa.
Ramathan Ggoobi, a senior economics
lecturer at Makerere University Business
School (MUBS) said Africa is just trying to
diversify risk by not over concentrating on
China when other alternative markets are in
place.
China has so far invested billions of
dollars in infrastructure projects including
railways, airports, oil and gas, roads and
energy, in many countries in Africa includ-
ing Uganda.
“I think they (African leaders) are being
wise,” Ggoobi said, “What I don’t know is
whether Russia still has the muscle to com-
pete with China…because China has built a
lot of capacity in the last four decades.”
Ggoobi added that China has taken over
29
business
not only Africa but almost the entire world,
and that it recorded such a rapid expansion
under the watch of superpowers.
He, however said, it is never too late for
countries like Russia to come to the conti-
nent.
“I am optimistic that Africa is also going
to develop within a short time as Russia’s
influence in Africa could trigger US and EU
to return big on the continent,” he said.
On the other hand, Julius Kiiza, a senior
lecturer at Makerere University and expert
on industrial policy and political econo-
my told The Independent that there are two
important issues to look at in the recent
superpower’s scramble for the content: Rus-
sia’s capabilities and Africa’s interest.
He said Uganda and Africa should discuss
how to tap into the capabilities of Russia,
China and the rest in a manner that pro-
motes transformation.
He said African countries need to tap into
Russia’s military capabilities for the peace
and security of its citizens.
“I don’t think we need to go to a super
power or a vibrant actor in the geopolitical
space to ask for assistance in agro processing
which does not add substantial value…I find
that as a wasted effort…if you are talking to
Russia, you need to be talking big,” he said.
Kiiza also said that Africa should
strengthen the area of human capital devel-
opment to promote local content.
“The policy documents are talking about
local content but we are not adequately
investing in that space,” he said. “…we need
to attract foreign assistance in a manner that
forces investors to partner with our local
companies.”
He added that there is need for the Afri-
can countries to develop their iron and steel
industry due to its supportive nature to other
sectors such as industries and construction.
However, Nikita Gusakov, the chief
executive officer at the Russian Agency for
Export Credit and Investment Insurance
(EXIAR) told The Independent in an interview
that Russia’s absence in Africa meant that
they had to return in a big way.
“For a long time, Russia has not been
active in promoting its products especially
in Africa. Many people didn’t know what
Russia can offer” he said, adding that the
country now plans to participate in activi-
ties and exhibitions to boost its visibility in
Africa. Russia is currently a shareholder of
the continent’s multi-lateral lender, African
Export Import Bank.
When asked to justify why one should
think of doing business with Russia and
not either China or Europe, Gusakov, said:
“Our aim is to boost our trade between us
and not to squander the African resources
the way other countries are doing,” he
said. He added that Russia, like, Africa,
has many mineral resources to exploit and
benefit the population.
30 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
Agribusiness
forum exposes
opportunities
By Julius Businge
W
ilberforce Kisamba-Mugerwa
is an agricultural economist
and board chairman of the Mi-
crofinance Support Centre. He
also served as the Chairman of the National
Planning Authority from 2008 to 2018. Vic-
toria Sekitoleko is the current chairperson of
Uganda Agribusiness Alliance (UAA) and
former minister of agriculture.
These two individuals speak with author-
ity on matters agriculture and the economy
which is why their counsel is taken serious-
ly both at individual and policy level.
On Oct.28, they took part in the agribusi-
ness meeting that was organized by UAA
and its partners at Golf Course Hotel in
Kampala, mainly tar-
geting the youth.
Speaking on the
sidelines of the
meeting, Mugerwa
told The Independent
that Uganda being a
purely agricultural
country, and having
the fastest growing
number of the youth
population, the latter
have to be put at the
centre of this econom-
Victoria Sekitoleko
ic activity.
“What is important
now is increasing productivity, production
and ensuring high quality standards,” he
said. For that to happen, he said the youth
must have good ideas about where to
invest.
Mugerwa said that youth should not be
obsessed with getting capital from financial
institutions because it is expensive. Instead,
he said, they should explore other sources
like families and other savings groups to be
able to invest in the agricultural value chain
to improve their livelihood.
“Don’t rush for credit unless you know
the exact interest rate and the purpose for
which you are borrowing that money for,”
he said.
Mugerwa said that as the population
grows, more business opportunities will
come for those engaged in trading bee keep-
ing and processing, shea butter, fishing,
beans, maize, coffee, bananas, vanilla, hor-
ticulture and more. He said agribusiness is
thriving partly because the government has
greatly improved the supply of infrastruc-
ture – electricity and roads – which facilitate
trade.
Sekitoleko (Chairperson for UAA), said
Uganda is an agricultural country and
therefore Ugandans are agriculturalists.
“We need to educate famers and children
about agriculture,” she said. She said that
the country needs to take advantage of the
67% of the children that drop out of school
by primary seven level. “We need to pre-
pare them for the inevitable…agriculture,”
she said. Sekitoleko also urged the youth
in agriculture to form associations to boost
their ability to consistently supply to the
market. She
also urged the
youth to use
simple man-
ual machines
and mobile
phones to
access market
and other
opportunities.
The Chief
Executive
Officer of
UAA, Edward
Kisamba Mugerwa
Katende
said that
by empowering the youth to be active in
Uganda’s agricultural value chains, the
unemployment problem would partly be
solved. According to the Uganda Bureau
of Statistics data for 2013, the share of the
unemployed youth as a percentage of the
total unemployed persons in the country is
64%, one of the highest in the world.
Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija says in
the current budget speech (2019/20) that
value addition in agriculture is one strategic
pillar being fronted to achieve social eco-
nomic transformation. “We have already
successfully established a few product
value chains in agro-industry in citrus
fruit, vegetable oil and dairy industries,” he
said, “the next move is to expand product
value chains to other commodities across
the country.”

Fighting insurance fraud
IRA boss tips sector executives on managing
scams that could haunt performance
By Julius Businge
I
nsurance companies must put in place
feasible policies to manage fraud that
could easily jeopardize their good per-
formance.
This is the summary of what Ibrahim
Kaddunabbi Lubega, the Chief Executive
Officer for Insurance Regulatory Authority
(IRA) told sector executives on Oct.24.
The executives had met at the 44th CEOs
breakfast meeting held at Kampala Sere-
na Hotel. The theme for the meeting was
“evolving market conduct challenges,
impact and way forward - fraud in insur-
ance”
Kaddunabbi said fraud is a big risk.
He cited the KPMG East Africa Insurance
Fraud report, 2015 that says…in Uganda,
fraud adds 10% extra amount to the premi-
um/the amount of money an individual or
business pays for an insurance policy.
In addition, he said, insurance fraud is a
real risk in today’s business environment,
and businesses of all sizes can find them-
selves a target. He said risks increase as
businesses become more complex.
“Elimination of the risk of fraud is diffi-
cult,” he said, “But it is possible to mitigate
the risk and reduce the opportunity for
would-be fraudsters to target your busi-
ness,” he added.
He said companies should formulate
feasible policy on fraud which should be
consistently implemented to reflect the rel-
evant operational procedures and controls.
He said risk management policies should
target products, clients, staff, outsourced
firms, claim handling and dealings with
intermediaries.
Fraud can be internal and external. Inter-
nally, it is characterized by falsification of
claims, theft of information, intellectual
property fraud, and false employment
history. Externally, it takes the form of stag-
ing thefts/robbery, arson, forgeries, cash
premium suppression, premium inflation
and misrepresentation of the risk to reduce
premiums. The other external types of
fraud are related to suppliers and cyber of
information technology systems.
According to the IRA data, fraud cases
reported and investigated for the years 2018
and 2019 totaled to Shs3bn and Shs4.9bn
respectively. The most common reported
cases with higher amounts include issuing
fake policies and forgeries, motor related
Ibrahim Kaddunabbi
Allan Mafabi
schemes, fidelity guarantee claims and
credit bond guarantees. Others are, fake
death schemes, domestic policy schemes,
cash in transit schemes, burglary schemes
and more.
More solutions
Kaddunabbi urged companies to per-
form pre-employment and in-employment
screening of staff, establish a clear dismissal
policy for internal fraud cases in order to
deter other potential perpetrators, establish
internal complaints procedures for disgrun-
tled staff, observe the four eye principle, to
involve more than one person in decision
making for validation, proper governance,
transparency and control.
He also told them to improve and
strengthen information systems to limit
data breaches, reduce on human contact
and enhance information technology sys-
tems.
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
business
The other solutions are; quickly report
and share information within and to the
relevant authorities on fraud incidents like
IRA, Uganda Insurers Association. Also
carrying out hacking tests to improve on
systems security and quality assurance of
the different software in place and holding
policyholders or beneficiaries liable for
their duties when taking out insurance
or reporting a loss/claim could also help.
Companies were also advised to deal with
only licensed intermediaries for proper
standards and adequate safeguards in the
conduct of sound business.
Kaddunabbi added that fraud can also be
eliminated through education and aware-
ness targeting different sector players,
establishment of shared databases among
insurers like Insurance Fraud Register and
Motor claims database. In addition, coop-
eration with supervisors such as Financial
Intelligence Authority and professional
bodies such as chartered accountants,
forensic auditors, law society, loss asses-
sors. Above all, there should be punitive
sanctions against the perpetrators.
Kaddunabbi said, by leveraging on exist-
ing institutional structures, there are oppor-
tunities for building strong risk frameworks
that could improve the overall control of
fraud.
“Fighting alone can deliver, but only to
a limited extent,” he said. He added that
players that embrace the right mix of tools,
staffing, training and technologies are better
suited to fight fraud.
That notwithstanding, Kaddunabbi said,
fighting insurance fraud is a collective
responsibility and requires collective effort.
But, he added that the first step is taken
individually through detection, preven-
tion, sharing and reporting to the relevant
authorities.
Chief Executive officers did not dis-
agree with their regulator but instead said,
already they were moving fast to fighting
fraud.
Allan Mafabi, the Chief Executive Officer
at Britam Insurance Company (Uganda)
Ltd said on the sidelines of the meeting
that they had recorded some cases of fraud
which they reported to the IRA.
He however said that internally, they
have built systems to fight feared scams
that could negatively impact on their
performance.
31
 Executive Style
Startups must embrace new
technologies to flourish
What more should our
W
readers know about you?
e provide train-
ing in digital
skills for indi-
viduals and
organisations. We help them
to develop ideas for busi-
ness growth and to solve
societal challenges. We do
work in different countries
around the world Uganda
inclusive.
What is your general as-
sessment of the enterprises
that you engaged with in
Uganda?
It is one thing having an
idea, it is one thing creating
a product and it is another
challenge to get that prod-
uct into the hands of users.
Startups here are willing
to learn and to try out new
approaches. They have
learned from the experienc-
es of businesses that col-
lapse after the first or second
birthday. They are listening,
creative and ready to explore
new opportunities.
What should a business strate-
gy for a startup look like?
Customer research is lacking
here. They need to do more and
find out what the true needs
are for the customer and work
towards satisfying them. It is
not good to start a business bas-
ing on your assumptions. You
need to figure out who your
customers and their needs are
for you to succeed.
From a wider perspective,
what opportunities do entities
like Kafeero Foundation/Mfa-
no design hub create?
They unlock learning
and create opportunities for
business growth. When that
happens, businesses become
sustainable and go on to sup-
port livelihoods and contribute
economically in terms of jobs
and paying taxes.
32
and support. They need
to develop good security
firewalls to manage cyber
risks that could collapse
the business. Startups can
use ICTs to collaborate and
spread in markets globally.
Governments have three
roles in this; providing
infrastructure, regulating
ICT usage and promoting
human capital develop-
ment. It should also be the
biggest user of technology.
Access to credit is a head-
ache to most startups in
Uganda. What is your ad-
Anthony Giannoumis (in a tie) is from Oslo Metropolitan vice to them?
University and Amit Patel is the Creative Director at the It is important for start-
London based entrepreneurship firm (Experience Haus). ups and other businesses
They have accumulated 25 years as experience in matters to look for partnerships
enterprise development. Recently, they were in Uganda to like donors and other
offer counsel to young entrepreneurs camping at Kafeero funding organisations
Foundation and Mfano business and design hub. Jointly, they that are ready to support.
Startups also need to make
answered questions from The Independent’s Julius Businge a step back and think cre-
atively, understand how
much money they to spend
What is the best way to use gov- other more meaningful areas of and on what. You don’t need
ernment funds for startups? their business. Once you sup- to spend lots and lots of money
I am a big believer of such port many and they succeed, to get your idea to work. In the
funds. They create opportuni- it means others will learn from process, you have got to learn
ties. What I think is that who- them and create more opportu- and validate your business with-
ever is supporting those groups nities in the economy. out going into major debt.
should figure out the best way
to measure success. It goes back The buzz now is about using Actually some businesses start
to doing research. Find out what technology to satisfy customer and once they fail they give
do these young entrepreneurs expectations…yet some of up completely. Isn’t that prob-
want, how you can help them, these tools are expensive for a lematic in the grand scheme of
and also understand why some- startup? things?
thing has worked for some and ICTs are important for start- In that fix, it is important to
failed for others. You don’t stop ups to use to communicate and make a step back and redesign
supporting them. disseminate information to your business strategy. Talk to
suppliers, partners, clients or business mentors and also try
What other incentives would collaborators. The most import- to understand how others that
you advise the government to ant thing to do is to make sure succeeded did it.
offer to startups in a small econ- that your messages are clear
omy like ours? and provocative to your stake- What management ethos
There have to be training holders. You have got to be stra- would you advise young entre-
hubs to expose the startups to tegic while thinking about the preneurs to embrace?
opportunities related to incen- web solutions to deliver value Innovations, collaboration,
tives on land, taxes and others. proposition to your clients. You teamwork, willingness to learn
Startups have to be given the don’t want to spend money on new approaches should be
space to grow. Not all of them technology that won’t achieve part of a management strategy
are going to make money right results for you. They need to for any startup eying big
away. Incentives allow business- have a vision or a goal that will opportunities.
es to save money and invest in attract investors to come in
Nov . 01 - 07 2019

TELECOM
Airtel cuts mobile
money charges
A
irtel customers using its mobile
money platform to transact will
experience some relief following its
move to cut withdrawal charges.
The company announced on Oct.28 that cus-
tomers would starting Oct.31 enjoy massive
reduction in cash withdrawal and person to
person transfer rates. It said that the move
is geared towards enhancing of a cashless
economy and financial inclusion. “Airtel
customers can now enjoy 79% and 69% re-
ductions on withdrawal and person to per-
son transfer rates respectively making it the
most competitive rate on the market today,”
V.G Somasekhar, the company’s managing
director said. He added that the new rates
justify the company’s efforts towards creat-
ing affordable and innovative solutions for
customers including a relentless focus on the
fundamental needs of their customers. The
transactions would apply to all transactions
between Shs1-7million. In addition, the
company has increased the transaction limit
from the usual Shs5million to Shs7million.
FUNDRAISING
Shs1bn needed for Girl Guides meet
T P
he Uganda Girl Guides Associa-
tion has launched a fundraising
drive aimed at raising awareness
and funds towards hosting
the historic World Conference of Girl
Guides. The conference will be held
from July 11– 17, 2020 at Speke Resort
Munyonyo. The body which has been in
existence in the country since 1914 is af-
filiated to the global World Association
of Girl Guides and Scouts (WAGGS).
Speaking to the media in Kampala
Molly Grace Akello, the Chief Com-
missioner of the UGGA said the 37th
Akello (middle) addressing a press conference.
FUEL
Total opens new station in Kamwokya
A
Officials opening the fuel station.
fter operating for weeks, fuel
distributor Total Uganda opened
officially its new station at Acacia
on Oct.25. The station is part of
the 27 GAPCO sites that the company
acquired in 2018. They are all being re-
branded. The company has a total of 180
stations across the country. Company
officials said customers are experiencing
fast and good quality service. The launch
World Conference meeting will attract
delegates from more than 150 countries
of World Association of Girl Guides to
Uganda. Akello said they are targeting
to raise Shs1billion to finance the World
Conference. Uganda bid to host the
World Conference in New Dehli in India
in 2017 beating a super power USA. The
conference will attract over 800 dele-
gates from 150 countries. “This not only
presents an opportunity to deliberate on
issues affecting the body but also benefit
the economy,” she said.
business
was officiated by the French Ambassador
to Uganda, Jules–Armand Aniambossou,
the Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago
and other leaders. The company’s Manag-
ing Director, Obi Imemba said customer
expectations are changing and are always
working to satisfy their demands. One of
the services being offered at the station is
an automated car wash which, officials
said can be done in just 20 minutes.
CSR
Brainchild gets Shs130m
for innovation forum
artners and sponsors of innovation series,
a thought leadership forum by brainchild
Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) received
a Shs50million sponsorship towards the
firm’s fourth edition from Roke Telecom and Total
Uganda on Oct.24. In total, the company needed
Shs130million for the event. The forum would
ran under the theme “fast-tracking infrastructure
project completion through innovation.” Sponsors
for the fourth edition of Innovation Series include;
Roke Telkom, Golf Course Hotel, Total Uganda,
Sanlam, Garage Group, DVI, Seamless Events,
Vacker, Quicket, Radio City, Aka Dope and Fire-
works Advertising. Walter Wafula, the Business
Unit Head-PR at Brainchild BCW said: “Together,
this year, our partners have contributed Shs130
million to support Innovation Series in a bid to pro-
mote the spirit of innovation in Uganda,” he said,
adding that, “Hosting such thought leadership
events requires enormous human and financial
resources. This is why we have on-board partners
like Roke Telkom, Golf Course Hotel and Total.”
The forum took place on Oct.31 in Kampala. Waf-
ula said that as a PR firm they have joined efforts
towards supporting the government to fast-track
and implement infrastructure projects that are crit-
ical in accelerating the country’s growth agenda.
Alexander Bazirake, the corporate relations manag-
er at Roke Telkom and Sheila Tusiime Mugisha, the
head for corporate communications at Total Ugan-
da said they would totally support the implemen-
tation of the recommendations from the forum.
Nov . 01 - 07 2019 33
business

Vivo Energy unveils new

programme for clients
By Julius Businge including the Shell Africa mobile

V
ivo Energy Uganda has
announced the intro-
duction of a pioneering
nationwide customer
loyalty programme, designed
by Shell, called the Shell Club.
In a media release dated Oct. 24,
the company said that the us-
er-friendly platform will enable
customers to earn and accumu-
late points for all their purchases
at Shell service stations, which
Airtel Chief Commercial Officer, Amit Kapur (R) and Airtel money director, can be converted into rewards.
Eric Kirobia (2L) pose for picture during the unveiling of discounted airtel The company’s Managing Di-
money rates on Oct. 28. The announcement took place at the company’s
headquarters in Kampala.  INDEPENDENT/ ALFRED OCHWO rector, Gilbert Assi said the Shell
Club is a demonstration of Vivo
Energy’s commitment to inno-
vation, revolutionising customer
experiences, and redefining the
relationships Shell has with its
customers. “The Shell Club is an
integrated rewards system that
will allow our customers to earn
points for every shilling spent at
our Shell service stations. Our
customers will be able to use
their earned points to redeem
gifts of their choice from our
extensive rewards catalogue,”
Assi said in the release.
To benefit from the pro-
gramme, clients are required to
register through various ways,
Market Women Representatives pose with their certificates awarded
by the Institute for Social Transformation during the 3rd National
Market women Entrepreneurs symposium held on Oct. 23 in Kampala. 
INDEPENDENT/ ALFRED OCHWO
app, website or by simply visit-
ing any Shell service station.
On registration, they will be
issued with a loyalty card or
a Near Field Communication
(NFC) tag, which they are
advised to use after every pur-
chase.
Shell Club registered custom-
ers will earn and accumulate
points on every purchase above
Shs5, 000 made at Shell service
stations ranging from fuels,
motor oils and lubricants, gas or
shopping at Shell Select shops.
The rewards are not limited
to Shell products. Customers
will be able to choose from the
services offered by the compa-
ny’s partners, including mobile
and consumer electronics, health
clubs and spas, tour and travel,
airtime, cinemas, restaurants
and more.
“There is definitely more
joy in every visit to Shell,” Assi
said. He said that rewards will
be redeemed from an extensive
catalogue of gifts and offers on
the Shell Africa mobile app.
Vivo has a fuels storage capacity
of 17,500 m³ and 150 service sta-
tions across the country.

Share price movement (Oct. 01)

Security Oct. 01 Aug.08 Movement
BATU 30,000 30000 00
BOBU 128 128 00
CENT 1,060 1,157 8.4
QCL 128 130 1.5
DFCU 650 650 00
EABL 7,054 7,243 2.6
EBL 1,341 1,446 7.2
JHL 11,668 13,261 12
KA 86 105 18
KCB 1,416 1,411 0.3
NIC 12 12 00
NMG 1,449 1,609 9.9
NVL 325 329 1.2
SBU 27 29 6.8
UCHM 10 12 16.6
UCL 13 14 7.1
TECNO Country Director, Shiva Zhong and MTN General Manager for UMEME 297 297 00
Sales and Distribution, Joseph Bogera launches 4G Phone promotion
on Oct. 24 in Kampala.  INDEPENDENT/ALFRED OCHWO ALSI -- -- --

34 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
New ‘triple pill’ could
eliminate high blood pressure
A new combination drug may have the potential to revolutionise hypertension treatment
worldwide, after a clinical trial has declared it safe to use and very effective
I
By Agencies
n a recent clinical trial led by research-
ers from the George Institute for
Global Health — with branches in the
United Kingdom, Australia, and India
— they tested the effectiveness and
safety of using an innovative drug for
the treatment of high blood pressure, or hy-
pertension. This drug, nicknamed the “triple
pill” by the investigators, combines low dos-
es of three existing drugs for blood pressure.
Namely, these are: telmisartan (20 mil-
ligrams), amlodipine (2.5 milligrams), and
chlorthalidone (12.5 milligrams).
According to World Health Organisation
(WHO) data from 2008, about 40 percent of
adults aged over 25 had raised blood pres-
sure worldwide. The WHO also estimates
that hypertension is responsible for 7.5 mil-
lion of all deaths across the globe.
That is because this condition is a major
risk factor for both heart disease and stroke,
making it a priority to have effective treat-
ments in place for the regulation of blood
pressure. Normally, people with hyperten-
sion start taking one blood pressure drug
at low doses, only to have to return to their
doctors time and again. They then get pre-
scriptions for increasingly higher doses and
more hypertension drugs.
According to study co-author Dr. Ruth
Webster, “Patients are brought back (to the
doctor’s office) at frequent intervals to see if
they are meeting their targets with multiple
visits required to tailor their treatments and
dosage.”
“The problem with this approach,” she
adds, is that it “is not only time inefficient,
it’s costly. We also know that many doctors
and patients find it too complicated and
often don’t stick to the process.”
So, Dr. Webster and colleagues tested a
method that, they hoped, would be more
efficient, would not have additional side
effects, and would remove some of the
inconveniences related to a traditional treat-
ment. This is how they came up with the
“triple pill,” which combines fixed low doses
of three already existent drugs commonly
used to treat hypertension.
‘Triple pill’ vs. traditional therapy
The clinical trial testing the efficacy and
safety of the new combination pill took place
in Sri Lanka. It involved 700 participants —
aged 56, on average — whose average blood
pressure amounted to 154/90 millimeters of
mercury (mm Hg), which is a typical sign of
hypertension.
Of all the participants, some took the
combination pill, while others continued to
follow their usual blood pressure-lowering
therapy, as per their doctors’ advice.
In contrast to those following traditional
therapy for hypertension, a larger number
of those taking the combination pill were
able to lower their blood pressure effectively,
reaching their target pressure of 140/90 mm
Hg or under. The target for individuals with
diabetes or kidney disease was 130/80 mm
Hg, which many people taking the “triple
pill” were able to reach.
More specifically, 70 percent of the people
taking the “triple pill” achieved their target
blood pressure, compared with a little over
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
50 percent of the participants who continued
on traditional hypertension therapy.
In the study paper they published in
`JAMA’, the authors explain that after 6
months from the start of the trial, 83 percent
of the people who had started on the “triple
pill” were still following this same treatment.
To the contrary, most of the participants
following a traditional treatment had added
medication or increased drug quantities by
the 6-month mark.
“The World Heart Federation (have) set
an ambitious goal that by 2025 there will
be a 25 percent reduction in blood pressure
levels globally,” says study co-author Prof.
Anushka Patel.
“The triple pill,” she continues, “could be
a low-cost way of helping countries around
the world to meet this target.”
‘This study has global relevance’
Researchers at the George Institute believe
that their “triple pill” could really make a
difference to current therapy for hyperten-
sion. Right now, the team is looking into
the combination drug’s cost effectiveness
for various countries and putting into place
strategies to make the drug accessible across
the world. “This study has global relevance,”
says Prof. Patel.
“While the most pressing need, from the
perspective of the global burden of disease,
is low- and middle-income countries, it’s
equally relevant in a country like Australia
where we’re still achieving only (40–50 per-
cent) control rates for high blood pressure,”
said Patel.
Source: Medical News Today
35
HEALTH
‘Sadfishing’ on social media
What you need to know about posting
online about emotional distress
By Agencies
S
adfishing” is when
someone solicits atten-
tion online by posting
something emotional.
There’s no definitive way to
tell whether someone is truly
in crisis, so any alarming post
should be taken seriously, say
experts.
Is your friend on social
media looking for support, or
is something seriously wrong?
It’s hard to tell where some-
one is coming from when they
post something emotional on
social media. A new survey
warns that how we respond
could be harmful if the person
is troubled.
When someone solicits atten-
tion online by posting some-
thing emotional, it’s known as
“sadfishing.” But some social
media users can view emo-
tional posts as just a way to get
attention and miss the signs of
serious distress.
According to a report based
on interviews with more than
50,000 students ages 11 to 16,
troubled children who genu-
inely seek emotional support
online feel worse when other
users suggest they’re simply
trying to get attention.
In some cases, how their
peers responded was even
more harmful to their mental
health. It also made some
children vulnerable to further
manipulation.
It’s hard to tell whether
someone is looking for support
or just attention, since social
media doesn’t provide the con-
text that in-person interactions
do, according to Lindsey Giller,
PsyD; a clinical psychologist in
New York.
“It can be tricky to read too
much into a person’s social
media postings since people
may often vent or post mes-
sages with a particular audi-
ence (or individual) in mind,”
explained Keely Kolmes, PsyD,
36 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
a psychologist in the San Fran-
cisco area.
‘Sadfishing’ and emotional
distress
There’s no definitive way to
tell whether someone is truly
in crisis, so any alarming post
should be taken seriously, adds
Jelena Kecmanovic, PhD, a
clinical psychologist in Arling-
ton, Virginia.
And someone may indeed
want or need attention because
they’re in emotional distress.
One way to try and deter-
mine whether someone is real-
ly in trouble (namely, about to
harm themselves or another
person) is to think back about
previous posts.
If they seem to be having a
hard time and it comes out of
the blue, that could be a sign
they need help, says Shoshana
Bennett, PhD, a clinical psy-
chologist from California.
“If this person is typically
dramatic and posts often in this
manner, you’ll probably react
differently than if the post is
out of character and unusual,”
Bennett said. “No matter what,
if a friend talks seriously about
hurting himself, check in and
make sure he’s OK, or connect
with mutual friends to find out
if anyone else has already done
so.”
If the person tends to discuss
not wanting to live, it should
be taken seriously, Giller add-
ed.
Keep in mind that not every-
one is open to discussing their
mental health online, but some
people find it empowering.
As such, their post may be a
request for support so they feel
connected and hopeful, Giller
says.
Concerned about someone
you know and want to take
action?
Before responding, consider
if you think the person is just
having a hard time, or if they’re
suicidal. That can help you
tailor your response.
Reach out via a private
mention, call, or have a con-
versation in person. Tell them
you saw their post and are con-
cerned, or offer up a referral to
counseling or a mental health
support hotline, Giller says.
Responding to posts online
can influence mental health,
so be mindful if you respond.
Saying something careless
could be even more distressing,
as well as minimizing some-
one’s pain, Giller adds.
“If someone is deeply trou-
bled and the issue isn’t a quick,
temporary situation, social
media can at least be a catalyst
for the person to hopefully get
professional help,” Bennett
said. “It can be very reassuring
to receive messages online
from others who are compas-
sionate.”
Fran Walfish, PsyD, a family
and relationship psychother-
apist in California, agrees that
responding one-on-one is key.
“The biggest risk (of
responding openly in a post,
for example) is inadvertently
setting your friend up for bul-
lying and public humiliation,”
she said.
It’s OK to ask someone
whose post you think may
be serious if they’re having
thoughts about hurting them-
selves, or if they’re feeling
hopeless.
“It is imperative to also
remind the desperate person
that ending their life is a per-
manent termination to a tem-
porary problem and state of
mind,” Walfish added.
Asking for help
It’s OK to refer a friend for
professional help, too. People
who work in the mental health
or crisis services fields are
trained in suicide prevention
and can respond to a situation
that may be overwhelming to
an untrained person.
If you’re truly concerned
about someone’s safety, help-
ing them call 911 or a suicide
prevention line, or getting
them to go to the ER, can pre-
vent suicide, Kolmes adds.
“People who are not trained
in crisis services should not put
themselves in a position to try
to prevent a suicide,” Kolmes
said. “Instead, it’s best to get
the person to seek help or to
get someone involved who is
professional trained to inter-
vene in an emergency.”
Source: Internet

By Michael Aboneka
No democracy without dissent
Arrest of Makerere University students protesting
tuition increment makes a joke of our democracy
T
he right to dissent is by and large
an extension of the freedom of
conscience, expression, movement,
religion, assembly and association
enshrined under Article 29 of the Constitu-
tion of Uganda, 1995.
Uganda also signed the African Charter
on democracy, elections and good gover-
nance (ACDEG) in December 2008, which
espouses the right to dissent and holding
opinion important for any democracy.
The charter, under Chapter 4, further
enjoins states to protect such freedoms
and, under article 27(8), enjoins states
to protect and promote the freedom of
expression, opinion and the press and
media.
Now that Uganda has committed to
promote and protect these freedoms,
why is the right to dissent in this country
becoming increasingly an offence?
Recently, a group of students in Mak-
erere University Kampala were opposed
to the arbitral increment of tuition to
which they took to the “streets” of the
university in a peaceful demonstration.
They were exercising the right to peaceful
demonstration and opinion under Article
29 of the Constitution of Uganda and
27(8) of the ACDEG. But to the surprise
of many; especially, those who live in
Uganda, they were pounced on, harassed,
assaulted, arrested, and carted off in
police trucks.
Over 30 students were arrested and
bundled to Wandegeya Police Station.
They were denied access to lawyers and
even food. What crime did they commit?
Is having a different opinion a crime?
Be that as it may, we also learned later
that the arrested and assaulted students
were suspended while they were in the
cells. This is the worst joke of democracy
I have ever witnessed. How do you arrest
a student for speaking out on the arbitral
increment of tuition? What happened to
the great Makerere University where we
promote intellectual debates? What hap-
pened to the right to fair hearing under
Article 28 of our Constitution? Is the
Makerere University administration and
the state murdering our own Constitution
once again?
We need to stop pretending. If we are
indeed a free democratic state as we call
it, then the practice of the same should be
seen. Dissenting views must be respected
all the time because that is what democ-
racy is about and as long as we do not
respect them, then we are a pretending
democracy.
It has further become increasingly diffi-
cult to hold a different view than those in
power. It seems only government people
in positions of power in the state have
monopoly of opinion. We have had a
series of events; such as the amending of
the Constitution to remove the presiden-
tial age limit period, where all those that
were opposed to lifting of the age limit
under the campaign famously known
as “togikwatako” were pounced upon,
beaten, detained; including our own
MPs. Several rallies were reined in and
stopped because they were opposed to
the lifting of the age limit. One wonders
why there was public consultation in the
first place only to be suffocated by the
state militia. We have recently had a jour-
nalist assaulted, arrested and detained
for his beautiful writings, most of which
some people in power thought was not
good reading. In a democracy you don’t
arrest, intimidate and detain “brains”,
you rather engage in an intellectual
ggggggg
Whoever feels
disturbed by our
opinions, before
they procure teargas
or order brutal
arrests, they should
invest in reading and
writing intellectual
rebuttals to our
opinions-this is what
they call democracy
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
comment
contest-you write back and honourably
disagree.
No amount of tear gas or heavy deploy-
ment of militia can change a mind; at
least not mine. So when the state deploys
such means of harassment, assault on
dissenting views it is attempting to hold
water in a basket. It will not succeed in
taking away our opinions or minds.
To those who feel we should not have
dissenting views, where should those
with dissenting views go? How should
we live without debate? How should we
live with only one opinion? As a country,
we need to think critically about these
issues because as a citizenry, we shall
always speak out our minds. That is
what I am doing in this article and it is
always our right to do so. Whoever feels
disturbed by our opinions, before they
procure teargas or order brutal arrests,
they should invest in reading and writing
intellectual rebuttals to our opinions-this
is what they call democracy.
Moving forward, our leaders must
respect our views whether in agreement
or in dissent because they are our views
and they matter too. Secondly, public
participation in all affairs of the state is a
right guaranteed under Article 38 of the
constitution and, for that reason there will
always be different views and opinions
on different policies and decisions. It is
still our right as citizens to challenge any
undemocratic and arbitral policies that
do not reflect our will and power for the
leaders are our servants and must at all
times respect our views. As we move
towards elections (which are supposedly
the means of change of government for
a democratic state), we need to respect
all views. And if the right to dissent is
abused further, I think elections will be
meaningless for Uganda.
Michael Aboneka is the Project Coordinator
of African Governance architecture (AGA |
Uganda)
37
COMMENT
By Paola Subacchi
Locking China out of the dollar system
How rival hegemons are decoupling of the two
largest economies and creating a bipolar world order
T
he recently announced “phase one”
agreement between the United States
and China has been touted as an
important step toward a compre-
hensive deal that ends the trade war that has
raged for over a year. But if you think that
U.S. President Donald Trump is ready to
abandon his antagonistic China policy, think
again. In fact, the Trump administration is
already moving to launch another, closely
related war with China, this time over finan-
cial flows.
In a highly integrated world economy,
trade and finance are two sides of the
same coin. Cross-border trade transac-
tions depend on a well-functioning inter-
national payments system and a robust
network of financial institutions that
are willing and able to issue credit. This
financial infrastructure has been built
around the U.S. dollar – the most liquid
and exchangeable international currency.
The dollar’s position as the leading
global reserve currency has long afforded
the U.S. what Valéry Giscard d’Estaing,
then France’s finance minister, dubbed
an “exorbitant privilege”: America can
print money at negligible cost and use it
to purchase goods and services globally.
But, with the opening up of global capital
markets, the U.S. has also gained exorbi-
tant leverage over the rest of the world.
Today, some 80% of global trade is
invoiced and settled in dollars, and most
international transactions are ultimately
cleared through the U.S. financial system.
About 16 million payment orders transit
daily through the Euro-American Society
for Worldwide Interbank Financial
Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.
Thus, U.S. restrictions on capital flows
have more far-reaching effects than any
trade tariff. And yet imposing them
requires only invoking the 1977 Inter-
national Emergency Economic Powers
Act (IEEPA), which allows the U.S. pres-
ident to declare a national emergency
and deploy a range of economic tools
to respond to unusual or extraordinary
threats.
The IEEPA has formed the legal basis
for many U.S. sanctions programs, with
presidents using it largely to block trans-
38 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
actions and freeze assets. For example,
in the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan
issued an executive order under the
IEEPA blocking all payments to Panama
after a coup brought Manuel Noriega to
power. (Funds intended for Panama were
diverted to an escrow account established
at the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York.)
Trump – who has proved more than
willing to cry “emergency” when it suits
him – has cited the IEEPA many times,
including to justify tariffs on imports
from Mexico and to assert his authority
to demand that U.S. companies “imme-
diately start looking for an alternative
to China.” Hoping to drive Venezuelan
President Nicolás Maduro from office,
he used the IEEPA to freeze the assets of
state-owned oil company PDVSA.
Trump has also forbidden U.S. inves-
tors from purchasing any debt owned
by Venezuela’s government or trading
in shares of any entity in which it holds
a controlling stake. Meanwhile, Trump
has given Juan Guaidó, the U.S-backed
interim president, access to Venezuelan
government assets held at the Fed since
his predecessor, Barack Obama, froze
them in 2015.
Contrary to popular belief, Trump has
not imposed more sanctions than his
forebears. But he has devised particularly
creative ways – often taking advantage
of America’s disproportionate financial
leverage – to ensure that his adminis-
tration’s measures impose maximum
damage, regardless of the effects on third
parties. Likewise, Russia faces not only
standard asset freezes and transaction
blocks, but also limits on access to the
U.S. banking system and exclusion from
procurement contracts.
China, which is already struggling with
declining exports, sluggish investment,
weak consumption, and a growth slow-
down, apparently is next. The Trump
administration is reportedly considering
restrictions on U.S. portfolio flows into
China, including a ban on U.S. pension
funds from investing in Chinese capital
markets, delisting Chinese firms from
U.S. stock exchanges, and limiting their
access to stock indexes managed by
U.S. firms. How such policies would be
implemented remains unclear; it would
be no easy feat. But lacking a well-de-
fined strategy has never stopped Trump
before, especially when it comes to using
economic levers to advance geopolitical
objectives.
This approach may work in the short
term, but it is sure to catch up to the U.S.
Trump’s repeated weaponisation of the
dollar undermines trust among holders
of dollar-backed and US-verified assets.
How many foreign companies will be
willing to list on a U.S. stock exchange
knowing that they may be delisted at
will? And how many non-U.S. residents
will keep their assets in U.S. banks if
any geopolitical skirmish can result in a
freeze?
As mistrust of the U.S. mounts, the
drive for international monetary reform,
which China has been advocating for the
last decade, will gain momentum. This
could mean expanding the international
role of other currencies, such as the euro
or, if China has its way, the renminbi. It
could also lead to the creation of an alter-
nate monetary system, centered on the
needs of developing countries, especially
oil and commodities exporters.
By broadening the nexus between
economic interest and national security,
Trump is encouraging the decoupling of
the world’s two largest economies and
the emergence of a bipolar world order
led by rival hegemons. Beyond frag-
menting the trade and financial system
that has underpinned the global economy
for decades, the stage would be set for a
devastating conflict.
Paola Subacchi, Professor of International
Economics at the University of London’s
Queen Mary Global Policy Institute, is the
author of The People’s Money: How China is
Building a Global Currency.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.

By Matsiko Godwin Muhwezi
Museveni and balokole oldguard
Why the President ill-advised intercourse with the
kiwempe balokole old-guard portends an anticlimax
I
t is an open secret that the laws of
Uganda and its attendant machinery and
political machinations are designed to
give incumbents a head-start in election-
eering. Any politician trying to campaign at
this point will be faced with flying porcu-
pine hair from some black book of this our
democrat banana republic. Dr. Kizza Besigye
cannot freely be hosted on talk radio, some
people cannot perform at innocuous kidan-
dali concerts, and guess what; we have a
government that is suddenly keen on regu-
lating fashion!
Conversely, President Museveni is free
to sell his yellow brand across the country
in a plethora of activities. For argument’s
sake, we will call the wealth creation
campaigns, outlandish bye-election
endorsements, meet and greets, cameo
appearances at silent majority Bazukulu
concerts, occupational hazards and not
political campaigning.
Where though is this approach ill-ad-
vised? I would say the unholy alliance
between the President and the Balokole
old-guard is a still-birth in an incubator.
If the President’s endearment to the
Balokole community in the 80s and 90s
was his supposed rescue and validation
of the Kiwempe movement, that ship has
long sailed. In-fact it has docked a thou-
sand miles away, beyond the mark set
by Christopher Columbus and Vasco da
Gama.
These supposed Balokole leaders, never
a better place to use the notorious phrase
“self-styled”, traversing the country
holding wealth creation crusades, are the
worst allies for anyone seeking political
affinity with the Balokole community.
First off, they are flat out liars; paradox
of paradoxes! Yes; they are pull-neck
choked in debt, inchoate building proj-
ects, unpaid media staff, and tax evasion
hide and seek. But guess what; this old
guard has the liquidity to dish out their
benevolent change to Ugandans across
the country. No, we are not aware of
the late night meetings in Kalangala,
Mukono, the Serena and Nakasero hill;
we are haplessly blind to brown enve-
lopes and Mpekonis financed by state
budgets.
Ever since most of them ran out of
schemes to dupe American patronage and
kitole visas, this old guard has resorted
to kissing some military boots (yes, the
people faulting Mr. Joseph Kabuleta for
kissing Prophet Elvis Mbonye’s shoes
have sold their souls to the state and are
unapologetic about it).
They recently organised a sham high
level meeting with the President, gath-
ered hordes of well meaning people to
prop some numbers but the distraught
situation of the majority was evident.
Ironically, the balokole old guard is a
handful but still bicker over who poses
with the president or shakes his hand;
at least their father Judas had the unity
of mind to convince his investors to pay
full value upfront for his bounty. Poor
believers at Cricket Oval were left to fight
over veggie samosas and pints of super
dip before trekking the dusty hillock to
downtown taxi park.
Still, the real alert Balokole, who are no
longer Kiwempe, have maintained their
resolve against state religious patronage.
Either the President has lost touch with
this demographic of Ugandans or does
not care that he is creating the most pas-
sionate enemies yet!
Bottomline, we in the Balokole commu-
nity do not know those people anymore
Everybody
knows that
the Religious
Faith Based
Organisations
policy is an
instrument
of religious
oppression
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
COMMENT
than we know Mama Jonah, Musuuza,
Sebunya and whoever else somehow
makes it to mainstream media mbozi za
malwa these days.
To realise who the opinion leaders of
the Balokole movement are you do not
need theological training. Prophet Elvis
Mbonye and his remnants; including the
Joseph Kabuleta some princes love to hate
and lock up, will galvanise more youth in
this country than the entire Balokole old-
guard combined.
Relatedly, it is bad enough that a person
excommunicated from a religion in which
he is supposed to be a priest is trusted to
galvanise diametrically opposed religious
views. If Fr. Lokodo was not good enough
to be accepted in the Catholic Church, I
wonder how he is expected to be trusted
by the Balokole.
Everybody knows that the Religious
Faith Based Organisations policy is an
instrument of religious oppression. For
one of the few educated people from the
Eastern horn of Uganda, Lokodo’s skills
would be better employed elsewhere. I
wonder if the people he represents under-
stand what job he does and how irrele-
vant it is to their daily struggles.
Sooner or later, this little endeavour
will crumble faster than a house of cards.
The Balokole old guard will run out of
lies and hyperbole to solicit state favours
and accept the fact that they have become
irrelevant in the gospel that propelled
them out of oblivion.
Sooner or later, all personal funds,
printed notes, oil money, taxpayer’s con-
tributions, or wherever else these wealth
crusade gimmicks are being funded from,
will become porous and we will all get
back to sense and sensibility. Basically,
we will all be fine, but will President
Museveni? Some soundtrack by Sam
Smith in a James Bond movie has my con-
cluding line!
The writer is a lawyer and author
matsikogodwin@gmail.com
39
COMMENT
By Ishmael Munene
Threat to academic freedom
The power of the purse in universities means authorities
are fundraisers not defenders of academic freedom
A
cademic freedom is the right en-
joyed by university teachers to
teach, research, and write in their
areas of expertise without fear of
retribution by institutional powers or polit-
ical authorities.
In universities, academic freedom is
desirable because their work is to search for
truth, transmit knowledge and, often, speak
truth to power. Constraints on this freedom
threaten the very essence of the university’s
purpose.
Fundamental to academic freedom is
autonomy: the ability of universities to make
internal decisions independent of state con-
trol, or control by any outside agent. Gen-
erally, this means that academic freedom
cannot be divorced from its financial base.
There are 37 state universities in Kenya and
23 private ones. The state subsidy to public
universities has fallen dramatically.
For about 20 years, since the state cut its
budgets, Kenya’s universities have been
shaped by a drive for profit to cover oper-
ating costs. In 2011 private revenue – from
streams like tuition fees, programme fees
and contract research – actually exceeded
state subsidies in Kenya’s top five public uni-
versities. This commercialisation of learning
means the role of university authorities is
that of fundraisers and managers, rather
than leaders and defenders of academic
freedom.
In addition to this, since the bulk of
research funding is from international
donors, the focus is on applied scientific
research and multidisciplinary studies.
Basic sciences and humanities – the building
blocks for critical thought and action – are
neglected.
Evolution of academic freedom
Kenya’s public universities have gone
through two eras which have both placed
constraints on academic freedom.
From 1963 to mid-1990 the state was the
sole financier of the universities. It was also
dominant in the management of university
affairs. Academic freedom took a back seat.
In this post-independence era, university
enrolment stood at 452 undergraduates in
1963. It eventually rose to 5 454 undergradu-
ates and 1 383 postgraduates in 1983.
The institutions had a narrow focus: train
people for the independent state. Emphasis
was on subjects that enhanced national
development. This included agriculture,
40 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
engineering, medicine, and government.
Subjects that encourage critical liberal
thought – like literature, history, sociology
– were considered less crucial for develop-
ment.Academic freedom was threatened
further by politics more broadly. During this
time the country was an authoritarian one-
party state. Academic community activism
against this resulted in the arrest, imprison-
ment and exile of academics and campus
closures. Academics also censored them-
selves in their teaching and writing.
From mid-1990 to the present, threats to
academic freedom have arisen from the
rapid expansion of the higher education
sector, which now operates as a market.
Market forces
About 20 years ago, the government cut
university budgets as part of cost-saving
measures. It also liberalised the higher
education sector by allowing private sector
actors to finance and develop universities.
It also meant that public universities had to
generate revenue from the market place. The
universities are expected to employ business
operating models, observe a corporate gov-
ernance ethos, compete, and sell goods and
services. There are now state universities
with an enrolment of about 539 749 students.
This commercialisation of the university
poses a serious threat to academic freedom
in public and private universities.
Universities are no longer primarily centres
of knowledge discovery and transmission.
They have turned knowledge into a com-
modity. Their focus is less on the knowledge,
growth and development of the student
but more on selling goods and services to a
“consumer”: the fee-paying student.
Academic staff have less power when it
comes to making decisions on curricula
and teaching. These decisions are now
driven by what students want, rather than
teaching needs and university require-
ments. For instance, universities now offer
more diplomas and certificates (rather than
degrees) in response to student demand.
A new importance has also been attached
to student evaluation of teaching. When
these evaluations are used to determine
promotions, tenure and pay increase, they
can be used to penalise academics critical of
university administrations.
Academic routine
Now, academic staff are evaluated on their
ability to teach and pass students, generate
revenue for the universities through contract
grants, and undertake community outreach.
Their work is a routine of teaching, grading
and paperwork completion. This gives
them little time for scholarship and critical
thought.
The rise of part-time teaching staff as a
cost-saving measure is also a threat to aca-
demic freedom.
These academics lack security of tenure,
are poorly paid, teach excessively large
classes, and do not take part in university
governance. This makes them more com-
pliant with university and student demands
on teaching and grading practices than aca-
demics with tenure.
Many also teach in multiple universities
which can compromise their institutional
loyalty and the quality of teaching. Aca-
demic freedom is best protected when
academics are united in the defence of their
profession.
What is taught
Trying to fill funding gaps also affects
what is taught. Universities now prioritise
applied sciences, technological and business
programs due to high student demand and
perceived market needs. The basic sciences,
the foundation of applied sciences, and lib-
eral studies have less commercial value.
Academics in applied disciplines also have
more access to research grants. This means
they are able to generate more research
revenues for universities than their counter-
parts in basic sciences and humanities. The
result is that academics are divided into two
camps: those seen as crucial for the universi-
ty’s survival and those that are dispensible.
Disciplinary divisions run counter to soli-
darity needed to defend academic freedom.
Academic freedom must be a shared
responsibility between academics and
university administrators. While student
representation in governance is encouraged,
academics should have most power and
authority on matters related to teaching,
research and student assessment. Admin-
istrators must oversee finance and general
administration.
Ishmael Munene is Professor of Research,
Foundations & Higher Education, Northern
Arizona University
Source: the conversation
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE

Art X
Lagos,
2019
Premier art fair
for the best and
the new in Africa

T
By Dominic Muwanguzi

he premier International Art

Fair, Art X Lagos, is in its fourth
season this year and is offering
wider-ranging packages of
interest; including a series of
curated projects, art talks and
live events intended for a diverse audience
of art collectors, art connoisseurs, art critics
and artists. The event is also a platform for
both established and emerging artists on the
continent and its Diaspora to showcase their
latest innovation. As such, major galleries
and museums across the African continent
exhibit the best in their collection to tap into
the growing market for modern and contem-
porary art from Africa.
An array of exhibitors (art galleries and
museums) - from the perennial 18 to now 26
- will occupy the booths at the festival. These
will include Arthouse - The Space (Nigeria),
Goodman Gallery (South Africa) and Galerie
Voss (Germany).
Notably, East Africa will be represented
by Afriart Gallery (Kampala) and Circle Art
Gallery (Nairobi). This representation is
symbolic of the growing interest and value
in art from the East African region since the
launch of the Circle Art Auction in 2013.
The art sale has since elicited continental
and international attention for the artists
that have featured in it including, Geoffrey
Mukasa and Peter Kamwathi.
In the 2019 edition of Art X Lagos festi-
val, Uganda’s seasoned artist Henry Mzili
Mujunga- represented by Circle Art Gal-
lery- will display his latest series of work in
a wider context of African Identity. Mzili
is largely inspired by the concept of indige-
nous expressionism where the artist adopts
traditional artifacts or practices and values in
their art to produce authentic and relevant
art. The artist this year featured in the Lon-
don 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair to
underline his studio maturity and growing
prominence globally.
To represent a new breed of emerging art-
ists, Afriart presents Andrew Arim (Uganda)
at the fair. Since 2018, Arim with his debut
solo show, `A Portrait of Power, Control
and Authority’, has caused raptures in the
local and international art fora. His latest
production builds on the success of the pre-
vious series where the artist still emphasises
technical competence and studio dexterity
(mystery and suspense) in his hyper realistic
paintings. This showcase in new talent is
replicated in the Johannesburg Art Fair (
2018 & 2019) where artists like J.B Sekubul-
wa, Adonias Ocom and Sungi Mlegeya
((Afriart Gallery)have made outstanding
appearances.
The dichotomy of the established and
budding artists in one space enables a
showcase of a diversity of technique, subject
matter and concept embodied within larger
framework of innovation. In this, the Fair
ceases to be a platform for only selling the
best artworks or showcasing the best of the
time, but a potential platform to critique art
from the continent and its Diaspora. The
benefit from such appraisal is that artists
and respectful art managers acquire varied
knowledge in art production and presen-
tation, subsequently growing the local art
market.
East Africa’s visibility at such international
forums is still limited but it is worth celebrat-
ing this small victory for the featured artists
and galleries. This penetration into the very
competitive art market will subsequently
grow the local art scene and provide the
needed global attention for the artists. It is
unlike in the past where such participation
was almost impossible.
Art X Lagos takes place from 1st November- 03
November 2019 at the Civic Centre, in Victoria
Island, Lagos.

Nov . 01 - 07 2019 41
 Posh weddings
banned
No more excessive spending
on weddings; that is the new
law in Uzbekistan. It comes
with other measures that have
prompted public anger and a
campaign. The new law oblig-
es wedding planners to notify
the local authorities in advance
and cut back on length of cel-
ebrations, number of guests,
singers and rented cars. The
new regulations also apply to
birthdays and funerals and
come into force in January 2020.
The government says public
pressure on families to host
lavish festivities pushes them
into debt. President Shavkat
Mirziyoyev criticised “shame-
less spending” on feasts, which
can cost $20,000 (Approx. Shs75
million) in a country where
monthly incomes rarely exceed
$300 (Approx. Shs1 million),
and urged families to use the
money to help those in need.
His recommendation to cap the
number of guests and singers
fell on deaf ears, prompting
the government to enforce the
curbs. “We need to find out
where people get the money for
these lavish weddings, if they
don’t earn much. It could be
illegal,” a leading pro-govern-
ment MP suggested.
Gigantic asteroid heading to earth will arrive just before Christmas
Unfortunately, it’s a matter sidered so dangerous. At that
of time before we are hit by narrow distance, it’s feared a
an asteroid and the European slight gravitational nudge could
Space Agency recently found send it careering into humani-
a space rock that could be on a ty’s homeworld. However, the
collision course with Earth. Cos- impact will only be powerful
mologists on the continent keep enough to cause deaths in a local
and has a one in 385 chance of
a list of all the most dangerous area. ESA added 2019 SU3 to its
ploughing into our planet on
space rocks – and they have ‘risk list’ 14 days ago. This data-
September 16, 2084. It is expect-
just added an object called 2019 base is ‘a catalogue of all objects
ed to come within 73,435 miles
SU3 to this dossier of doom. for which a non-zero impact
of Earth, which is why it’s con-
The asteroid is 14 metres wide probability has been detected’.
Taxis ban hugs and kisses on back seat Public servants to wear
Some taxi drivers in the Tajik capital Dushanbe have had
enough of passengers kissing on the back seat, and have
clothes made in Kenya
put up signs banning such displays of public affection. The It will now be mandatory for all civil
usual signs discouraging smoking, drinking and listen- servants in Kenya to wear locally made
ing to loud music have been joined by images of couples clothes every Friday following new gov-
embracing. Public opinion is divided for and against the ernment’s directives effective Oct. 17. In a
drivers’ initiative in a country facing a clash between tradi- circular sent out to all ministries, the new
tional Muslim rules of decorum clash and a modern urban Solicitor General Ken Ogeto explained
environment. Some say taxi drivers should “just get on with the order was aimed at promoting local
their job” as public shows of affection are perfectly legal. textile industries in line with President
But cabbies complain that some passengers go much fur- Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.
ther, and offer them money to turn a blind eye. “Beyond government, we must create
demand for our own products by active-
ly consuming those products ourselves,”
Ogeto said. The idea was first mooted
by President Uhuru Kenyatta in June
2019. He noted there was need to create
demand for locally produced wears and
urged civil servants to embrace local
wears. The Big Four agenda is Uhuru’s
legacy development blue print which
entails manufacturing, food security,
affordable health care as well as housing.

Office work is terrible on `Quantum reading’ helps memorise

your body, scientists warn 100,000 words in five minutes?
Millions of office workers are at risk of suffering
Can you imagine read- as well as recite what they
major health problems; including hunched backs
ing hundreds of written have read, after a 72-hour
unless they make major changes immediately,
pages simply by rapidly class. It costs 269,000
experts have warned. To illustrate the danger, a
flipping through them for yuan (Approx.Shs140
lifesize model dubbed ‘Emma’ has been produced
a few minutes, sometimes million). According to
to indicate what will happen to people who con-
blindfolded? That’s what China Daily, the technique
tinue to batter their body for the next 20 years. The is that even if the text is
the Beijing Xinzhitong was allegedly developed
‘Emma’ model has a permanently bent back, vari- written in French, Ger-
Qiguang Education Tech- by Yumiko Tobitani, a
cose veins from poor blood flow, a rotund stomach, man, or English, it would
nology in Yancheng, Jiang- Japanese educator who
dry and red eyes from hours staring at a screen, be translated to your own
su province is allegedly also wrote a book on it.
sallow skin influenced by artificial light, hairy ears language and connects to
promising to teach under “When you flip the pages
and nose due to poor air quality and eczema caused images so that you under-
“quantum speed read- of the book, images start
by stress. She suffers strained eyed, sore back, and stand the book immedi-
ing”. The school targeted to appear that helps you
headaches. William Higham, a behavioural expert ately.” Most people are
students between ages understand its contents,”
who helped the develop the new model, recom- laughing at the gullible
10 and 16, promising to Yumiko Tobitani explains
mends improving sitting posture, taking regular parents who paid for such
make them able to read in a video presentation.
walking breaks and rearranging desk set-ups. courses.
100,000 words in minutes, “Another wonderful thing

42 Nov . 01 - 07 2019

By Agencies
I
t’s a car that comes with its own drone-
like valet to carry your luggage or bring
in the groceries.
And it has a glass roof that can project
an image of a star-fiiled sky at night, screen
videos or provide navigation assistance.
Luxury car maker Lexus has used the
46th Tokyo Motor Show to unveil its vision
of future motoring and it’s made quite an
impact. The LF-30 electric car is only a con-
cept at this stage, but it points to the near
future for the company which is planning to
expand is offering of alternatively-powered
vehicles.
Lexus intends to “broaden its response
to the needs of various regions around the
world” through the development of electric
vehicles using hybrid, plug-in hybrid, bat-
tery and fuel-cell technologies.
By 2025, it will have electrified versions
available for all models as it aims for sales of
electrified models to outpace those of con-
ventional petrol engine cars.
A key driving feature of the LF-30 is the
four in-wheel motors which can provide for
rapid acceleration and a top speed of 200
km/h. They allow for precise electric motor
control providing instantaneous adjust-
ments to how the vehicle performs and
handles, something Lexus calls “posture
control”.
The system is also designed to be adap-
tive, adjusting to the skills and preferences
of an individual driver.
The driver’s cockpit features a gesture
Lexus drone points
to future motoring
control screen while the rear-seats mould to
fit the body shape of the passengers.
The LF-30 also uses artificial intelligence
to distinguish the voices of its passengers
to provide personalised information stored
onboard and adjusts elements of the interior
environment, such as air temperature, audio
settings, favourite navigation routes and
can even make proposals for activities after
arrival.
The Lexus LF-30 is designed to preview
how the Japanese manufacturer would take
a bespoke electric car platform and turn it
into a production model.
It is dramatic-looking flagship model,
with an overall length over five metres. It’s
not a direct concept linked to any produc-
tion car, but rather a showcase to highlight
the fact that Lexus’s first all-electric model
- a conversion of an existing hybrid vehicle,
most likely - is due in 2020.
The concept demonstrates further evolu-
tion of Lexus’s design language, incorporat-
ing the lengthy wheelbase and floor-mount-
ed battery that are common on bespoke EV
platforms.
It also reveals two targets of Lexus’s long-
term electric car ambitions. The LF-30 has
Nov . 01 - 07 2019
four in-wheel motors, and Takashi Wata-
nabe, the chief engineer on Lexus’s electric
vehicle programme, told journalists, “At this
time, what we adopted in the concept car is
one of the specific examples for electrifica-
tion in the future that we want to use. We
want to develop in-wheel motors for use in
electrified vehicles.”
In addition, the car has no visible
charging port - because Lexus is evaluating
how wireless charging can make EV own-
ership more ‘premium’ and luxurious by
doing away with cables and ports. “In the
future we want to enhance the convenience
of charging,” Watanabe said, “so we wanted
a contactless charging system that didn’t use
cables. We’ll hope to accelerate our develop-
ment so that we can achieve this contactless
charging system as soon as possible.”
And once the driving is over, the car
deploys the Lexus Airporter drone support
vehicle.
The Airporter allows its owners to escape
those mundane chores, such as carrying the
bags, bringing autonomous motoring right
to the doorstep.
Source: Internet
43
global comment
By Yao Yang
Open secret of development economics
It is about taking the difficult but necessary steps
over the long term to achieve sustained growth
T
his year’s Nobel Memorial Prize
in Economic Sciences recognises
Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and
Michael Kremer for their work
using randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in
developmental studies. This year’s selection
has elicited a broad array of reactions from
around the world, not least because RCTs
are a source of controversy among academic
economists. To many in China, the Nobel
Committee seems once again to have missed
the Chinese development experience, which,
after all, had nothing to do with RCTs.
To be sure, some of this criticism
amounts to sour grapes. The Nobel Prize
has been awarded to only three Chinese
nationals – for literature, medicine, and
peace – since its inception. Nonetheless,
China’s economic history offers important
lessons that today’s RCT-driven approach
to development research has missed.
Researchers in the field seem to have
forgotten the wisdom imparted by the
classical development economists of the
1950s: economic development is about
taking the difficult but necessary steps to
achieve sustained growth.
For example, increasing domestic sav-
ings is very difficult, but imperative.
Classical development economists such
as Pei-Kang Chang, Roy F. Harrod, Evsey
Domar, and Robert Solow saw that sav-
ings are essential for jump-starting eco-
nomic growth in a poor country. Their
central insight was mostly intuitive: even
subsistence farmers know that improving
one’s life in the future requires saving
some money in the present, in order to
purchase another piece of land or better
equipment with which to improve one’s
current plot.
But in the 1970s, savings from oil-rich
countries and Japan flooded global
financial markets, and gave rise to a new
idea. Thenceforth, it was assumed that
developing countries could simply rely
on international borrowing to accumulate
domestic capital. Despite the severe losses
suffered by the heaviest borrowers, par-
ticularly in Latin America, this idea has
lingered on.
Yet for its part, China launched an effort
to accumulate capital through domestic
saving starting in the early 1950s. Despite
being one of the world’s poorest coun-
tries, China’s national saving rate never
44 Nov . 01 - 07 2019
fell below 20% of GDP before 1978.
And after that, its national saving rate
increased in most of the years leading up
to 2008, reaching a peak of 52% of GDP in
that year.
For a country to make full use of
domestic savings, it must develop its
own manufacturing capacity. As Lee
Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding leader,
famously observed: “No country has
become a major economy without
becoming an industrial power.” But
building manufacturing capacity is hard:
it often requires a country to start with
“dirty jobs,” while encouraging tireless
entrepreneurship.
China has done both. It began with
labour-intensive exports, and gradually
developed the most complete production
network in the world; and it now ranks
among the countries with the largest
number of entrepreneurs globally. Yet,
since the 1990s, very few development
economists have studied how countries
can industrialise and produce their own
entrepreneurs.
Likewise, today’s development eco-
nomics has largely missed how soci-
ety-wide coordination can capture scale
economies of production over time. While
classical economists such as Paul Rosen-
stein-Rodan, Albert O. Hirschman, and
Alexander Gerschenkron had systematic
For a country
to make
full use of
domestic
savings, it
must develop
its own
manufacturing
capacity
and convincing theories to explain the
mechanism, the prevailing neoclassical
Arrow-Debreu model cannot account for
increasing returns.
Practically speaking, economic coor-
dination tends to require government
action. When the four East Asian Tigers
(Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea,
and Taiwan) attracted worldwide atten-
tion in the late 1980s, their rapid growth
invited a lively debate about the proper
role of government in economic devel-
opment, giving rise to the notion of a
“developmental state.” But the 1997 Asian
financial crisis raised serious doubts
about the Asian model, and development
economics has since reverted to the neo-
classical paradigm.
In China’s case, government has played
an obvious role, but it should not be
credited with all of the country’s success.
Government intervention has proved
most effective when it has mirrored that
of other East Asian economies: helping
with the accumulation of production
capacity and providing coordination
when needed. It is unfortunate that Chi-
na’s economic success is so often viewed
as a harbinger of an entirely new develop-
ment approach: “state capitalism.”
In any case, there is much that RCTs and
contemporary development economics
have missed. Experiments might help
policymakers improve existing welfare
programs or lay the foundation for new
ones, but they cannot tell a poor country
how to achieve sustained growth. As the
old Chinese saying goes, “Giving people
fishing nets is better than giving them
fish.”
There is no secret to China’s economic
success. It has simply followed the advice
of classical economists, taking the difficult
steps that are necessary for progress over
the long term. One doesn’t need an exper-
iment to identify those steps; they are the
same for all developing economies, and
they have been known for decades.
Yao Yang is a professor at the National
School of Development and China Center for
Economic Research at Peking University.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.
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