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
the spot
Exposing the police
boss’s biggest problem

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Oct. 25 - 31 2019 1
inbox

Issue No. 595 Oct. 25 - 31 2019

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Sabiiti on the spot
Exposing the police boss’s biggest problem

5 The Week
30 Comments
EC starts verification of voters’
register at village level Fact-checking against
misinformation: Effective
fact-checking requires efforts to
9 The Last Word
improve public access to reliable
Inside Europe’s savior complex: information and corrections
How Western efforts to remake Africa
have changed from colonialism to
32 Health
international development assistance
Measles and
14 Analysis rubella: One
disease or two?
Reviving Anti-gay Bill: Why it’s a
costly waste of time for Ugandans

35 Arts & Culture

27 Business
Introspection into cool Afrika:
Why banks won’t hurry to cut interest Art that speaks to Africa’s
rates: Industry executives to respond to emancipation on show
Mutebile’s call upon carefully evaluating
their commitments with clients

STRATEGY & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Andrew M. Mwenda WRITERS:Ronald Musoke, Ian Katusiime,
MANAGING EDITOR: Joseph Were Patricia Akankwatsa, Julius Businge.
INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR: Haggai Matsiko DESIGN/LAYOUT: Sarah Ngororano
BUSINESS EDITOR: Isaac Khisa CARTOONIST: Harriet Jamwa

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2 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
 inbox

“It is time to show the judges from

the five East African countries that
the dictator here, who has been
around for 33 years, uses violence,
non compliance and all crooked
means to remain in power, so it is
their time to rule on the same”, Male
Mabirizi petitioner
Deputy IGP Maj Gen Stevin Sabiiti Muzeeyi (C) address the press on security plans. suggested five plans
to curb crimes including; Suggestion boxes at all LC 1 offices and useful WhatsApp info to 0707144144
in the Deputy IGP’s office, proper and effective use of the CCTV cameras, fingerprinting of all guns,
personal and premise security including linking the police contacts to all members of the public, Police
response will be quicker enhanced by linking calls to alert squads and patrollers, repeat offenders to be
handled through the judicial system.  INDEPENDENT /ALFRED OCHWO

Dr Robinah
Nakuwunde Kulabako
(C), speaks at the
Kampala Geopolitics “We have had elections and its FDC
Conference held in
Makerere University.  sponsoring candidates and that is
INDEPENDENT /ALFRED
OCHWO
going to be the same. I don’t agree
with the views that opposition and
FDC in particular is weak. The FDC
has not become weak”,The FDC has
not become weak”, Ssemujju Nganda FDC
spokesperson

Mourners pray for the

Retired Supreme Court
Justice, Wilson Tsekooko,
during a requiem
mass held at St Luke
Church Ntinda, on Oct “They have arrested some young people
17.   INDEPENDENT /ALFRED before and we are waiting for them to
OCHWO
be charged with wearing a red beret but
they have not because they know they
will be committing an illegality. The
UPDF have got their berets which bear
a UPDF badge, let them wear that and
let us also wear ours”,Joel Ssenyonyi People
Power spokesperson

number of amount of money a parent number of aircraft

770 confirmed measles
cases as of 2019
Shs. 240, 000 is liable to pay if they defy
immunization campaigns
32,000 movements Entebbe
airport had last year

Oct. 25 - 31 2019 3
week

Uganda celebrates FDC weighs on IPOD Leadership

world food day
Uganda joined the rest of the World to
commemorate the World Food Day on
October 16th a day found by the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and
the UN in 1945. This year’s theme was:
“Our Actions Are Our Future, Healthy
Diets for#Zero Hunger World”.
The day aims to end hunger and
all forms of malnutrition in a lifetime,
nourish people with healthy diets that
include a variety of safe and nutritious
foods and maintain the health of the The Forum for Democrat- had rejected to take over the statement.
planet. ic Change (FDC) weighed IPOD leadership. The term of office for the
The theme’s aim was to open our eyes on taking over the new “The Forum for Demo- Democratic Party expired on
to malnutrition in a way most people leadership of Inter Party cratic Change (FDC) rejects September 25th.
did not know, as FAO states: Dialogue ( IPOD) a summit any insinuation made by According to the MOU,
“Malnutrition is often confused with that brings together all polit- some of our colleagues in IPOD leadership rotates
undernourishment and hunger. But it ical parties in the country the Inter Party Dialogue every after six months.
spans every aspect of nutrition including including the ruling NRM. (IPOD) that we are reluctant However, the Executive
under nutrition, inadequate vitamins Speaking to the media on to take up the leadership of Director of the IPOD, Frank
and minerals, obesity, overweight and Monday at the party head this voluntary organization Rusa says that FDC still has
non-communicable diseases (NCDs) offices, Hon Ssemujju Ngan- upon expiry of the term a lot of commitments to
that can be caused due to unhealthy da, the FDC publicist dis- of office of the Democratic fulfill before they take up the
food habits. Examples of such NCDs are missed reports that his party Party (DP),” he said in a leadership.
diabetes, heart diseases, and stroke.”

Uganda, Serbia to bolster relations EC starts verification of voters’

Uganda is to benefit in a number of sec-
tors including agriculture and education
through bilateral relations with the gov-
ernment of Serbia in a new Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU).
The speaker of parliament, Rebecca
Kadaga said that in 1987, there was an
arrangement of barter trade between the
two countries.
“It is time to renew that kind of eco-
nomic cooperation. This is best realized
through a permanent joint commission of
Serbia and Uganda to work on outstand-
ing areas”, Kadaga said.
The speaker made the remarks at a
meeting held between Maja Gojkovic the
Serbian speaker of parliament and Ugan-
dan MPs on the foreign affairs committee
at the National Assembly in Belgrade, Ser-
bia. In the meeting, Kadaga also reiterated
the need to open the European market
more to Africa and Uganda in particular.
“There’s need to improve economic
relations between Serbia and Uganda and
identify export commodities to Serbia
like coffee and tea. Uganda airlines is also
now functional, so we can now consider
making direct flights to Serbia”, Kadaga
added.
Gojkovic noted that the history of rela-
tions between Serbia and Uganda dated
back to 1963 with the establishment of the
Non-Aligned Movement that was set up
in 1961 hosted by the parliament of Serbia
at the time.
“We want to strengthen these ties and
the government of Serbia looks forward
to hosting President Yoweri Museveni.
We would also be grateful if he addresses
the Serbian government.
register at village level
The Electoral Commission started a
nationwide exercise to verify particulars of
voters on the National Voters’ Register using
village (LC 1).
The exercise started on October 21st and
will end on October 28th conducted in all vil-
lages throughout the whole country.
“The purpose of the verification exercise is
to enable members of the particular village to
scrutinize their respective register and iden-
tify persons who are not eligible to be on the
Voter’s register for their village, for example,
the dead and those who left the area”, said
Jotham Tumwesigye the EC spokesperson.
He also said that the commission will also
use the exercise to identify persons with Dis-
abilities (PWDs) in each village for purposes
of compiling a clean village PWDs registers.

Prayosha enterprises limited open tempered glass plant

Prayosha enterprises limited last week
launched a tempered glass plant the first
ever in the east Africa.
The minister of state for trade and
cooperation Werikhe Gafabusa launched
the state of the art tempered glass plant at
Mutundwe in Kampala.
He lauded the directors for choosing to
invest in Uganda using it as a base to serve
and expand their production and products
to the region.
“On behalf of the government, we shall
render them all necessary support so that
their goals and Uganda’s development is
achieved”, Werikhe added.
Tempered glass is glass that does not
easily break. Even when it breaks, it
shatters into smaller circular pieces, hence
reducing the risk of injury. It is six times
stronger than ordinary glass and allows
versatility in the conceptualization of
frame glasses.
At the same function, the state minister
for East African affairs, Julius Maganda
also thanked Prayosha for choosing
Uganda as an investment hub.
“Such investments are very key in our
contribution to attaining a wider market
locally and regionally”, Maganda added.

4 Oct. 25 - 31 2019

Hima Cement & Xente in Partnership
Hima Cement on October 21st
announced a partnership with
Xente Tech Ltd, a Payments,
Ecommerce & Financial Services
Company to ease online shop-
ping of Hima and bonastore
range of products. Xente is an
online app offering digital prod-
ucts like Airtime, bill payments,
movie, event & bus tickets and
now an e-commerce shop.
Announcing this partner-
ship, the Hima Cement CEO
Jean Michel Pons said that this
shopping option allows our cus-
tomers to access for the first time
Hima products online.
“What’s more, our customers
will be extended credit when
they purchase our Hima and
bonastore products on Xente
and have an option to pay in
installments or pay on delivery
of our goods.” he said.
This shopping solution comes
in recognition of the ever chang-
ing shopping trends attitudes of
consumers where e-commerce
is quickly taking root replacing
conventional in store shopping.
“Internet penetration in
Uganda is at 35% of the total
population and Mobile Internet
subscribers at 13.7 million make
up 32.6%”, Said Paul Kelly the
Retail Manager of bonastore
Uganda, the retail arm of Hima
Cement.
“It is clear therefore that for
our business to thrive and to
remain competitive, we must
tap into data like this to under-
stand our customers’ needs and
preferences, to anticipate where
the market pull is and to react
week
to that. So our partnership with
Xente is timely and responds
to our customer’s current con-
sumption behavior”, he added.
“We are pleased to be
announcing the launch of our
shopping feature, which is
designed to provide online
shoppers across Uganda with a
smooth shopping experience”,
said Allan Rwakatungu, CEO of
Xente Tech.
“Xente clients that have pur-
chased products off the new
shopping section will receive
their products within 24 hours
upon purchase. This partnership
with Hima Cement and bonas-
tore is testament to our diverse
product offerings”, he added.
The Xente App is available on
both Android and iOS app stores.

Controversial businessman laid to rest

Alseyed Ali Abdul Jabar, a controversial
businessman who was accidentally shot
dead by his in-law on Saturday, was laid
to rest on Sunday, October 20th at Kololo
cemetery adjacent to Jinja Road Police
quarters.
Among the people who saw him off
was the Minister of Internal Affairs Jeje
Odongo, family members and close
friends.
Jabar was accidentally shot dead by
his sister-in-law using his own gun. The
incident happened at 10:30 am when Jabar,
36, a resident of Najjera, came to Kampala
Independent Hospital in Ntinda to visit his
wife Fatuma Jabar, who had given birth by
C-section.
Jabar was holding a pistol when he
came for the visit and on seeing it, his
sister Zaina Karama asked to hold it
and have a closer look. Zaina is said to
have repeatedly tried to mock shoot
without pressing the trigger and her
excitement moved Jabar to ask back the
gun. However, she was not yet done with
admiring the revolver, prompting Jabar to
withdraw the magazine from the gun and
handed back over- in case she went for the
trigger unknowingly.
Little did he know he had left a bullet in
the chamber.
With mind that the gun was empty
and the trigger would only go as far as
releasing air, Zaina aimed at her him and
pulled the trigger, releasing the only bullet
in the gun through his chest.
“The bullet stuck inside him,” a police
report reveals.
“He was rushed to theatre and
pronounced dead on arrival,” the report
adds.
Jabar came to the limelight a few months
back when a phone camera footage
circulated on social media showed him
whipping a girl in the Middle East.

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Oct. 25 - 31 2019 5
week
Civil society ask government to follow law on Petroleum Fund withdrawals
Anti-corruption civil society
agencies have warned the gov-
ernment against withdrawing
money from the Petroleum
Fund without following a struc-
ture to oversee the expenditure
as required by law.
 Transparency International
Uganda and the Anti-Cor-
ruption Coalition Uganda top
executives said Oct.21 they were
alarmed at the recent announce-
ment that the government plans
to withdraw up to Shs 450bn
from the Petroleum Fund to
transfer it to the Consolidated
Fund to finance the 2019/20
budget. “We have noted that
the planned withdrawal is
contrary to the provisions on
the 2015 Finance Management
Act which clearly states how
the money from the Petroleum
Fund should be withdrawn and
used,” they said.   tion Act.”
According to Section 58 of
the Public Finance Management
Act, 2015, “withdrawals from
the Petroleum Fund shall only
6 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
Cissy Kagaba and Peter Wandera
be made under authority grant-
ed by an Appropriation Act and
a warrant of the Auditor Gen-
eral.” While section 59 (1) states
that: “The money withdrawn
from the Petroleum Fund to the
Consolidated Fund to support
the annual budget shall not
exceed the amount authorized
by Parliament in the Appropria-
This is not the first time the
government has raided the
Petroleum Fund to withdraw
money to fund budget activ-
ities without putting in place
structures necessary to oversee
the investments.  In 2018, Shs
200bn was withdrawn from the
Petroleum Fund to fund the FY
2018/19 budget.
The civil society agencies say
no country can survive the oil
curse and “Dutch Disease” if
corruption and bad governance
are allowed to infiltrate the oil
industry. “If corruption infil-
trates into the oil sector, it will
make it impossible for Uganda
to exploit its oil and guarantee
the conservation of critical bio-
diversity and uphold citizens’
livelihood rights.”
If the planned withdrawal is
successful, it will show that the
government does not commit to
following its laws and institu-
tions on revenue management
and communities that require
oil revenues to be used only
for development purpose as
opposed to consumption.
“The violation will show a
bad precedent on Uganda’s
ongoing effort to join the
Extractive Industries Trans-
parency Initiative (EITI) whose
principles are committed to
upholding transparency in the
collection and use of revenues.”
“We are also calling on Parlia-
ment to use her oversight pow-
ers over the executive and direct
the Minister of Finance to once
and for and respect national
laws and uphold transparency
in the management and utiliza-
tion of oil revenues.”
Humour Did you know?
Computer light makes
you older

Prolonged exposure to blue light,

such as that which emanates from
your phone, computer and household
fixtures, could be affecting your
President Yoweri Museveni vowed in 2016 to ensure that he will have no opposition by 2021
longevity, even if it’s not shining in
your eyes. New research suggests
that the blue wavelengths produced
by light-emitting diodes damage
cells in the brain as well as retinas,
according to a new study in a model
organism at Oregon State University.
For the study, published today in
`Aging and Mechanisms of Disease’,
Jaga Giebultowicz, a researcher in the
OSU College of Science who studies
biological clocks, led a research
collaboration that examined how flies
responded to daily 12-hour exposures
to blue LED light -- similar to the
prevalent blue wavelength in devices
like phones and tablets -- and found
that the light accelerated aging.
“The fact that the light was
accelerating aging in the flies was
very surprising to us at first,”
Government has assured parents on the safety of the measles and rubella vaccine being used in vaccination exercise said Giebultowicz, a professor
of integrative biology. “We’d
measured expression of some
genes in old flies, and found that
stress-response, protective genes
were expressed if flies were kept
in light. We hypothesised that light
was regulating those genes. Then
we started asking, what is it in the
light that is harmful to them, and
we looked at the spectrum of light.
It was very clear cut that although
light without blue slightly shortened
their lifespan, just blue light alone
shortened their lifespan very
dramatically.”
Natural light, Giebultowicz notes,
is crucial for the body’s circadian
rhythm -- the 24-hour cycle of
physiological processes such as brain
wave activity, hormone production
and cell regeneration that are
important factors in feeding and
President Yoweri Museveni has given Deputy Inspector General of sleeping patterns.
Police two days to produce a plan to curb insecurities

Oct. 25 - 31 2019
 News analysis Health Business
Unseen victims of Medical negligence: What Collective investment
death penalty can be done about it? scheme assets hit Shs173bn

Issue No. 594 Oct. 18 - 24 2019

Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Uganda economy
gets bigger by 20%
So why could that be bad news?

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Letters are
welcome ! On US visa denials for Uganda
The Editor welcomes short and Refer to: “Cover Story: say in the press is not what to the Kurds should be a
concise letters from our esteemed Visa denied: Uganda’s they say in private.” Yes, big lesson to you. Wikileaks
readers on topical issues. Please Who-is-Who live in fear of what they say to the press should have been a lesson to
send them to:
The Editor, The Independent US travel ban” (The Inde- is different to what they say you, but rightly you choose
Publications Ltd, pendent Oct. 11). “Oryem in private, but what they to bury your heads in the
P.O Box 3304, also cautions on the lan- say to you in private is also sand.
Plot 82/84 Kanjokya St, guage of diplomats. “We different to what they say to Ejakait Engoraton
Kamwokya. engage them on all issues others in private. Likewise
Kampala,Uganda.
but remember what they what is happening in Syria
Email: editor@independent.co.ug
Hand Sudan’s Bashir to ICC
Sending Sudan’s Refer to: “Sudan’s next disaster: has confessed publicly to killing “only” ten
Bashir to ICC Why the plan to hand Bashir over to
the ICC is misguided and will likely be
thousands. Moreover, this war was fueled
by Islamic radicalism and racism, which
Refer to: “Sudan’s next disaster: Why counterproductive” (The Independent are considered terrorism all over the world.
the plan to hand Bashir over to the ICC is Oct.18). The fact that someone has escaped Being on the run for years, he has literally
misguided and will likely be counterproduc- trial is not an excuse for any leader to destroyed Sudan due to the imposed
tive” (The Independent Oct.18). I personally commit atrocities and genocide. Former sanctions and listing the country as terror-
am surprised that this has happened given it Sudan President Omar al-Bashir & co have sponsor for decades. He should be handed
is an open secret that the jailed former Sudan committed war crimes and crimes against over to the ICC, upon finalising his ongoing
President Omar Ahmad al-Bashir’s security humanity in the Darfur region, killing more corruption trials locally.
forces had American training. The vaunted than 300,000 innocent people. Bashir himself John
National Security and Intelligence Service
(NSIS) was built from the ground up with
American aid. Uganda negotiation with Museveni, Nyerere
Given the American stance on the ICC
and our African problem with how the US behind curtains similarity is illusion
whole ICC thing is like rattling bones to our
beloved leadership, I am surprised there is Refer to: “Cover him which soldier is Refer to: “Why Museveni
an influential lobby in Sudan that can get Story: Visa denied: allowed or not to ben- adores Nyerere: Historians
this done. Kenya was extremely unique and Uganda’s Who-is-Who efit from U.S. spon- and academics speak out
has always been. Their conspiracies are with- live in fear of US trav- sored military/defense on relationship between
in tight, loyal easy to manage circles whose el ban” (The Indepen- programs. Ironically, Museveni and his hero
members rarely fall out. This is unlike the dent Oct. 11). A few his junior minister for Nyerere on the 20th anni-
rest of Africa where the so-called opposition days after USA-des- international relations, versary of the passing on
are either former abusers or (by their own ignated sanctions Henry Okello Oryem, of the former Tanzanian
testimony) future rights abusers. against former IGP is now telling us Pres- leader” (The Independent
Perhaps Africa is, “growing a conscience”, Kale Kayihura, Presi- ident Museveni’s gov- Oct.18). Those who see sim-
and people are willing to martyr them- dent Yoweri Museveni ernment is behind cur- ilarities base on illusions of
selves at the altar of justice. But even this is told all and sundry tains negotiating with President Yoweri Museveni
unlikely given the current machinations to in his missive that his same U.S. government of yesterday. He has presid-
protect whistle-blowers in Uganda which government was not on how the sanctions ed over corruption, nepo-
is obviously a roundabout way of getting worried at all about can be lifted, or specif- tism, militarism, material-
immunity because as we know from experi- the sanctions. He even ically, to know which ism, separatism - each clan
ence, most whistle-blowers are disgruntled wondered why Ugan- particular government has own district, deception,
co-conspirators. I will watch and see how dans should bother individuals are unwel- deterioration in morals
many glass houses get smashed if this Sudan themselves if the U.S. come in the United etc. Uganda after him is a
ICC thing really happens. Personally, I am doesn’t want them. States of America. It’s doomed enterprise. Nyerere
more intrigued by the Ugandan (regional?) Museveni said his gov- all so confusing my left a promising enterprise.
transition quagmire. ernment had earlier dear!
rejected the said same Steven
James act when the U.S. told Uwelugosi

8 Oct. 25 - 31 2019

Inside Europe’s savior complex
By Andrew M. Mwenda
How Western efforts to remake Africa have changed
from colonialism to international development assistance
L
ast week, I was invited to speak on
international development assistance
(foreign aid) at the geopolitical
conference at Makerere University
organised by the French embassy and
the Konrad Adenuar Foundation. My
presentation caused uproar because I
argued that the first large-scale attempt
to use foreign aid to develop Africa was
colonialism.
The promoters of colonialism claimed
to pursue the three Cs – Christianity (to
emancipate our souls from devil worship),
Civilization (to end to tyranny of our
customs and the despotism of our chiefs)
and Commerce (to liberate us from poverty
and misery). The reader may notice that for
Europeans to perform their self-anointed
role as saviors and civilizers of other peoples
required a degradation of the intended
beneficiaries. Thus our indigenous religious
were called satanic, our traditional doctors
called witches, etc. Colonialism was,
therefore, presented as an altruistic mission
by Europeans to save us from ourselves, just
as “aid” today.
What we call democracy today was,
under colonial rule, called Christianity.
It was an attempt to have a universal
faith and the only true faith for all. Today
we see an attempt to create a universal
form of government (liberal democracy)
for every country regardless of history,
culture, circumstances and context. What
we call development today was under
colonialism called “civilization.” It included
introduction of modern administration,
education and medicine. Again we are called
upon to embrace everything European
in origin as universal and meant for our
own good – procurement rules, forms of
government accountability, political and
administrative structures etc. And what we
call international trade was, under colonial
parlance, called commerce. It involved
the opening up of the local economy to
international capital and stifling local
innovations.
Thus the missionary and the trader
were comrades in arms. Both needed the
protection of their home state to achieve their
goals – hence the entry of the administrator
to complete the equation. The missionary
did not only provide spiritual assistance but
also provided earthly benefits like education
and healthcare to the native. This helped
him win hearts and minds thereby making
it possible for the trader to do business. The
The Last Word
administrator was always called upon to
use force where siasa (indoctrination) by the
missionary had failed.
In all cases, Europeans recruited local allies
– the traditional ruler, the catechist, teacher
and the headman. They ensured that the
benefits of modernity – education, a salaried
job or a business opportunity – went to those
who collaborated with the colonial state and
its agents. This way many Africans were
won over ideologically through religion and
education or through self-interest by giving
them a stake in the colonial economy, and by
bribery through land allocations. This is how
colonialism entrenched itself.
Today’s missionary is a diplomat in an
embassy or an international development
agency. The local allies are NGO activists,
politicians, academics, journalists and
businesspersons whose career fortunes
are largely promoted using scholarships,
invitations to conferences and publicity.
Anyone who positions him/herself as
African intellectual who condemns the
“dreadful” nature of governments in Africa;
and defends democracy, free speech, free
trade and investment gets a huge boost in
Western media, think tanks, universities etc.
Those who give aid insist on a series of
reforms that seek to turn the local state into a
replica of the donor country and local elites
into cadres of the new catechism of “good
governance”. Here they demand recipient
governments adopt particular institutions
as in Western countries: separation of
powers by having an independent judiciary
and parliament; a multiparty system of
government; certain procurement, trade and
investment laws; a free press, etc. Today
institutions have emerged that give scores
on being a good student – the World Bank
Doing Business Index, the World Economic
Forum Competitiveness Index etc. But the
aim and effect of these reforms is largely to
displace existing, or stifle the development
of, local capital in favour multinational
capital. Like under colonial rule, the aim of
foreign aid is not so much to develop the
local economy as to open it for takeover by
multinational capital. The spokespersons
of these foreign interests: presidents,
legislators, NGO activists, local business
interests (largely commission agents that
make money connecting multinational firms
to local business opportunities, Marxists
used to call them compradors), bureaucrats,
pundits and journalists etc. dominate public
policy debates and are feted in western
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
opinion
capitals. This local coalition defends
foreign financial assistance, foreign direct
investment and other forms of intrusion
into Africa’s sovereignty such as promotion
of human rights, democracy, and the ICC
as international justice the cures of our ills.
They make these arguments even though
none of them can quote a single country that
developed through foreign aid or foreign
direct investment.
The aid industry is backed by billions
of dollars in development spending. Its
international and local agents form the most
powerful voice on public policy. This is what
makes foreign aid a difficult movement to
fight, but it is hardly the only one. The use
of the word “aid” appeals to our human
sentiment for charity – who would say
helping feed a hungry village, vaccinating
a vulnerable community or educating the
poor is a bad thing?
True some of the things foreign aid does
help individuals and communities. But such
charity is not the stimulant of development.
This issue was raised by one of the panelists
who claimed that Germany today is
developed because it was assisted by the
United States through the Marshal Plan – a
huge financial aid program by America to
Western Europe after World War Two.
The Marshal Plan funds were not given
for the development of Germany. By 1945,
Germany was the most industrialised
country in Europe manufacturing cars,
planes, tanks etc. and leading in nuclear,
missile and rockets research. Indeed, it had
higher manufacturing per capita than the
USA. Its people’s norms, values, habits and
mentalities were of an advanced capitalist
society. World War Two destroyed physical
infrastructure, not the skills – technical
and organisational – that were already
embedded in its people. An injection of
money in such a society would stimulate
rapid recovery from the effects of war.
The African countries that receive
international aid are still peasant societies
with high levels of inter and intra
community mistrust, low levels of the
diffusion of technology and capitalist norms,
values, habits and mentalities have not yet
penetrated the social consciousness of the
vast majority of people. Even if foreign
aid was well intentioned – and it often is
not – its effects cannot be like those of the
Marshal Plan on Germany because of these
differences.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
9
cover story

Sabiiti on the spot

Exposing the police
boss’s biggest problem

10 Oct. 25 - 31 2019

S
By Independent Team
even months after
his appointment as
Deputy Inspector
General (DIGP) of
the Uganda Police,
Maj. Gen. Steven
Sabiiti Muzeeyi, was on Oct.15
put on the spot.
President Yoweri Museve-
ni ordered him to stamp out
increasing urban crime in the
Kampala Metropolitan Area, an
assignment that Sabiiti’s prede-
cessor; the indefatigable Gen.
Kale Kayihura failed over his 13
year tenure.
Museveni in a public letter
said it should be easy for Sabiiti
to end the spate of crimes.
“It is easy to defeat these
gangs,” Museveni said, “I have
given 2 days to Commander
Sabiiti of the Police to come out
with a plan to combat these
gangs. The IGP is away in Peru
for a meeting. I will look at that
plan, comment on it and it will,
then, be communicated to all of
you.”
But since Sabiiti unveiled a
five-point plan for tackling crime
on Oct.18, it has been shredded
by critics.
“This is another reactionary
measure from the government
and the enemies will simply
laugh off these suggestions,”
said Muhammad Muwanga
Kivumbi, the MP for Butambala
County who is the Shadow Min-
ister for Internal Affairs.
Kivumbi who also sits on the
Parliamentary Committee on
Defence and Internal Affairs
told The Independent on Oct.
22 that Museveni had himself
outlined many actions for
the police and other security
agencies to base on to end crim-
inality.
Museveni recommended
conscripting Local Defence
Unit personnel, registration of
bodabodas and marking hel-
mets used by motorcycle riders,
and procuring CCTV cameras
among others.
“Most, if not all of these were
implemented but we see that
criminality in the country has
not abated,” Kivumbi said,
“This is something which has
proved over time to be an
incompetent mode of opera-
tion.”
“The question we have not
addressed, however, is: Are we
dealing with organized crimi-
nals or state agents. If it’s orga-
nized criminals, can they really
have the kind of capacity that
we see them use in some of the
crimes they commit?” he said.
He said the two days the pres-
ident gave Sabiiti to come up
with a plan were too few.
“If the president thinks these
two days were enough for police
to come up with the solution to
the crimes, it implies that he all
along knew the problem. So the
question again would be why
did he take that long? Why did
he let the country suffer that
much?”
Sabiiti is not the head of
the police force. That position
is held by IGP John Martins
Okoth-Ochola. But when
Museveni specifically named
Sabiiti to come up with a plan –
in two days, of routing criminals
Crimes going up
Homicides
Sex related crime
Break-Ins
Robberies
Terrorism
Political/media cases
Corruption
Army patrols city streets in show of force
cover story
in the city, a few eyebrows went relationship without much of
up. the office tension they inherited.
Ochola is a laidback 61-year On the street, however, the
old lawyer who has spent 31 story is different. Sabiiti’s assign-
years in the police, rising from ment follows a spate of publi-
an assistant cadet officer in 1988 cized murders, kidnaps, home
to the top job on March 04, 2018. break-ins, and street robberies
Ochola spent nine years as the assumed to be the handwork of
deputy head of the criminal criminal gangs around the city
investigations department (CID) and its suburbs and the Greater
and has the bearings of a crimes Kampala Metropolitan areas of
analyst. Wakiso and Mukono.
So when President Yoweri
Museveni appointed Sabiiti; a Museveni frustration
43-year old former head of the The news headlines are all
Military Police, to be Ochola’s screaming of a crime wave.
deputy, the popular view was Oct.22: Three shot dead in Lyan-
that since Museveni had shown tonde. Boy beheaded, house-
a tendency to place army gener- help on the run. Sept.06: Two
als in charge of the police, Sabiiti people, a man and a woman
would be the de facto head of are found dead from gunshot
police and Ochola a figurehead. wounds along the Kampa-
So far, it has not turned out that la-Entebbe Express Highway
way; at least publicly. Sabiiti at Nambigirwa Bridge, near
who is said to be a brainy and Mpala in the Katabi Town
intense operator and Ochola Council area. An AK47 rifle
appear to have a cordial work belonging to Constable Davis
Taremwa of the Uganda Police
is found in the car. The dead
were later identified as Joshua
Nteireho Rushegera and Mellina
2018 2017 Diff Tumukunde.
4,497 4,473 24 Aug.28: A woman and man
are found dead in Nakitutulu,
17,521 16,826 659 Nama sub-county, Mukono dis-
trict. They are later identified as
14,018 13,883 135 Maria Nagirinya, a social worker
7,354 6,850 504 and her driver Ronald Kitayimb-
wa. They are believed to have
16 12 04 been kidnapped and murdered.
442 193 249 July 30: Body of man suspect-
ed to have been murdered is
2,850 2,854 36 discovered hanging in Katwe
Oct. 25 - 31 2019 11
cover story
DIGP Sabiti unveils his plan on Oct18. Left is Gen. Elwelu
Lufula Zone.
Reading the headlines, influential voices
are speaking out.
“Criminal gangs are all over the country.
People have been traumatized,” said the out-
going Archbishop of the Church of Uganda,
Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali on Oct. 20 during
a farewell church service at Bishop West
Boarding School in Mukono. He mentioned
robberies, murders, and iron bar hit-men.
Museveni’s move smirked of frustration
over such views. But since when did sensi-
tive security assignments become a matter of
public discussion? The President was clearly
piling on pressure and, as he often does,
politicking. He possibly wanted an angry,
restless, and fearful public to have a target to
blame. In that sense, this assignment could
spell either praise or perdition for Sabiiti;
and inevitably Ochola. It all depends on
how they handle the assignment. And the
fumble is on.
A security analyst who spoke to The Inde-
pendent, however, said Sabiiti should not
be driven by crowd emotions but look at
the numbers and patterns of crime to make
decisions. The analyst said the fear of crime
expressed by the public is far bigger than the
actual crime rate.
“Sabiiti should call a press conference
every week and release crime statistics,” the
analyst said, insisting that the public would
easily see that although crime is highlighted
more in the media these days, especially if
a known person is involved, the crime rates
are either stable or declining.
When The Independent looked at the latest
statistics, from the Uganda Police Annual
12 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
Crime Report 2018, it showed the lowest
crime rate in the last four years to have been
recorded last year. It showed that 612 crimes
were committed per 100,000 people com-
pared to a crime rate of 667 in 2017, that of
666 in 2016, and 742 in 2015.
Yet, according to public perception, last
year witnessed unprecedented levels of
crime. This view is based on the high profile
kidnap in February 2018 of Susan Magara,
and the murders of then-Arua Municipality
MP Ibrahim Abiriga in June 2018, Muham-
mad Kirumira in September, and other less
known figures.
The statistics reveal that what the pub-
lic perceives is sometimes not the actual.
Little known Kaabong district had the
highest murders by shooting in 2018 at 12,
according to the police report, followed
by Kalungu 10, and Arua 7. Among the
policing regions, Kampala North led with
20 murders by shooting.This police region
extends beyond Kampala District and covers
Kakiri, Kasangati, Kawempe, Nansana, Old
Kampala, Wakiso, and Wandegeya. It was
followed at 19 murders by shooting in the
Greater Masaka police region which covers
Bukomansimbi, Kalangala, Kalungu, Lwen-
go, Lyantonde, Masaka, and Rakai.
According to the police report, the volume
of crimes declined in 2018 by 5.2% to 238,746
cases registered, compared to 252,065 cases
registered in 2017. And the highest number
of killings did not happen in Kampala but in
Mbarara (138), Arua (106), Ntungamo (96),
and Mubende (84). Looking at these figures,
the security analyst said the increasing fear
of crime and insecurity in the country can
best be calmed through communication.
Sabiiti’s policing strategy
Sabiiti’s policing philosophy is not clear
yet. His elevation to the second top-most
rank in police appears driven more by his
belonging to the inner core of Museveni’s
military machine as a close relative than
to core policing ability. His father, the late
Zekeriah Magyenyi was a bush war veteran
related to Museveni through marriage. Sabii-
ti spent only one year as head of the UPDF
Military Police. Before that he had been
deputy head of Museveni’s elite protection
force, the Special Forces Command (SFC).
But reports from people who know him say
Sabiiti is a brainy biochemist who thrives on
challenge. He reportedly was an A-student
at university and likes to excel at tasks. He
has also had training in Russia.
When he spoke to journalists on Oct.
18, he appeared to instinctively touch on
what smart policing requires; getting public
involvement in policing and fighting crime.
“The plan will work well once we work
well with the public,” he said.
But Sabiiti’s idea of involving the public is
to establish suggestion boxes to gather infor-
mation from the public in confidence and his
new idea was profiling of repeat offenders.
The plan he unveiled showed little cre-
ativity. It was more of the problem oriented
type, favouring heavy enforcement instead
of cooperation. It followed the traditional
policing route; of preventive foot and motor-
ized patrols, rapid responses and is incident
driven – responding to distress calls. But
Rapid Response Units, 24/7 police hotlines

and emergency numbers are what have been
used all along.
According to policing experts, they are
ineffective and costly, especially if the police
are in vehicles. They only catch criminals if
they happen to drive into them, or are called
and respond while a crime is progress.
“Random patrol only leads to random
results,” is what one expert said.
Sabiiti’s plan reads like a hotchpotch of the
usual policing methods that have either been
talked about and not been implemented or
have been implemented and failed to yield
good results. Some are quite long term; such
as increased collaboration between the police
and judicial officers, completion of instal-
lation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
cameras in Kampala, Wakiso, and Mukono
districts, and enforced re-registration of resi-
dents by area LC officials.
According to many commentators, includ-
ing retired former police top brass and indi-
viduals knowledgeable about police work,
Sabiiti’s plan failed to address the most
critical steps needed for police to effectively
fight crime.
Top on the list are stopping the role of
police in commission crimes, and increasing
militarization and politicization of police.
These are closely followed by low pay and
worsening living conditions and welfare of
police officers.
One analyst described these as the struc-
tural issues of the police force; including
that the police are among the least paid
government workers. Yet with the likes of
Sabiiti from the military at the top, the police
constantly have to work with the richest and
most entitled in the government. This breeds
frustration, resentment, and lethargy. Many
police officers are professional; they know
what must be done but are unwilling to do.
Sabiiti who is said to be a strict, result
oriented disciplinarian thinks he can jolt the
frustrated police officers into action with
threats.
“Failure to respond to emergency calls
by a police officer will result in disciplinary
action,” he says. It is not clear how that will
work.
But his predecessor, Gen. Kale Kayihura
faced the same problem. Kayihura instinc-
tively understood that, in policing, public
cooperation is more important than any
activity that a police officer can make. He
pushed the community policing concept
hard. But Kayihura realised that police has
another major problem. The public does not
trust the police.
An analyst told The Independent that the
lack of trust goes beyond the police. It is a
general lack of trust in the government. But
in the police’s case, the lack of trust is driven
by the high rate of police involvement in
the commission of crimes and corruption.
Dealing with organizational culture change
is long term. Kayihura wanted quick results.
He did four things; first he pushed hard for
more military officers to join the police force.
This enabled him to place his favoured men
in influential positions. Secondly, he sourced
and threw more money into policing. This
gave police officers incentive to work.
Thirdly, he decided to recruit criminals to
catch criminals. This enabled him to get
critical intelligence on criminals quickly.
Finally, he policed politics aggressively,
especially the brutal suppression of the
opposition to President Museveni. This
bought him political cover.
Army overshadows police
Like Kayihura, Sabiiti now heads
a police force that is resigned to
army command. President Museveni
appointed Sabiiti in April 2017 and in July
followed up Sabiiti’s appointment with
appointment of three army generals to
top positions in the police force. Museveni
appointed Brigadier Godfrey Golooba to
be Director Human Resource and training,
Brigadier Jack Bakasumba as Joint Chief
of Staff, and Col. Chris Ddamulira as the
Director Crime Intelligence.
But mixing police and army creates a
cocktail of fire and dynamite. According to
retired UPDF Colonel, Fred Bogere, who
once served as an Army MP in Parliament,
Museveni’s deployment of military
personnel in the Uganda Police Force is a
sign that there is something wrong going
on.
“The root cause of the current
criminality comes from politicizing
the security sector,” Bogere said in an
interview with NTV, “The government
needs to get back to the drawing board
to look at security as a basic need that
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
cover story
everybody needs.”
Bogere wants the military out of police
because, he says, the military cannot be
a solution to everything and removing
the military “would restore confidence
in the career police personnel who at the
moment feel demoralized.”
Sylvie Namwase, a researcher on
militarization, sustainable growth
and peace in Uganda, has written that
“... clarity and harmony of standards
is especially important as there’s an
increasing blurring of police and military
roles in the country.”
Some commentators have pointed
at links between the militarization and
the military-style training the Uganda
police force has been getting from North
Korea. They said these raise questions of
legitimacy when the police try to impose
law and order. According these analysts,
politicization breeds overzealousness;
a belief among some police officers that
they are defending what is right against a
wrong opposition force.
At the Oct.18 press conference where
he released his plan, Sabiiti was flanked
by the Uganda Army Commander of
Land Forces, Lt. Gen. Peter Elwelu, the
no-nonsense general who allegedly
brutally quelled the Kasese riots leaving
many civilians dead. Elwelu’s presence
at police headquarters for this important
meeting appeared to communicate that the
police would now possibly pursue a shoot
to kill policy.
The police force already has such a unit;
the so-called Rapid Response Unit which
is manned mainly by military officers
clad in police uniform. It is the latest
remodeling of the “Operation Wembley”
which was headed by UPDF’s Col.
Kayanja and overseen by Gen. Katumba
Wamala who was the first army general to
head police. The operation had a shoot-to-
kill policy. It clearly did not work.
Sabiiti Makara, a professor of political
science at Makerere University told The
Independent on Oct. 22 that Sabiiti needs
to tackle what Makara called “the missing
link in all the current debate” - the role of
the LC system.
In the past, the local councils had a very
active role in the security system at village
level. But the security roles have been
grabbed by military-style Local Defence
Units (LDUs) and the LCs have been
relegated to signing letters and adjudicating
domestic conflicts.
Makara told The Independent that embed-
ding the LDUs with the military and police
is a mistake.
“In the past, when LDUs were recruited
from within the population and stayed with-
in the population,” Makara said, “they per-
formed much better than the current LDUs
who are quite attached to the military.”
13
news analysis
Members of Uganda’s LGBTQ community at a previous gay pride party.   NET PHOTO
Reviving Anti-gay Bill
Why it’s a costly waste of time for Ugandans
By Ronald Musoke
F
ather Simon Lokodo, the
ethics and integrity Minister’s
planned re-introduction of
the anti-homosexuality bill
in Parliament has been described by
human rights activists as “a waste of
time and an unmitigated self-inflicted
disaster for Uganda.”
Dr. Frank Mugisha, the executive
director of Sexual Minorities Uganda
and Andrew Mwenda, a veteran
Ugandan journalist were among
the petitioners who successfully
challenged the anti-homosexuality Act,
2014, in the Constitutional Court.
“I feel Ugandans are tired of this
talk; we don’t see Ugandans go
on streets to demand for an anti-
homosexuality bill,” Mugisha said,
“So the question we are asking is why
now?”
Mugisha also wondered why,
14 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
following the negative press Uganda
suffered five years ago when
Parliament attempted to pass the bill,
the MPs want the country to attract the
same backlash.
Mwenda added: “Uganda already
has a law criminalizing homosexuality;
the Penal Code already has provisions
against unnatural sex. Why add this
law especially when you know that this
law offends your partners?”
“Uganda has partners at the
diplomatic level, including the Western
countries. This is a no-go area for
them,” he said. “Uganda is not an
island on Mars where it needs to say
that it only cares about its cultural
values.”
“These countries have investors and
businesses in this country and because
these businesses fear being boycotted
in Europe, they will pull out,” he said,
“We may be in love with our cultural
values and we can emotionally treasure
them but we need to understand that
we are living in a world where the
idea of human rights and individual
liberties are growing every day.”
Mwenda also rejects the arguments
that the law should be passed to
apprehend agents of homosexuality
who are believed to be massively
recruiting in schools. He wonders how
there can be a massive recruitment
of young people amidst Uganda’s
sophisticated security infrastructure.
“The Uganda government has a
sophisticated security infrastructure
including; ISO, the police, ESO, CMI
and the local council administration,
why haven’t they produced one person
who is promoting homosexuality.”
“It is possible there is a lesbian or
gay man who goes to school and tries
to lure a young girl or boy into sex but
for every single gay man or lesbian
who has gone to school to lure the
young girl or boy into sex, I am willing

to produce 1,000 straight men who
have gone to girls’ schools to lure girls
into sex.”
Mwenda is also uncomfortable
with those trying to pass this law in
the name of Christianity or Uganda’s
cultural values. He says not everyone
in Uganda is a Christian and Uganda is
not a theocracy. He says it is wrong to
subject everyone to Christian law.
On those waving the cultural values
card, Mwenda said: “It is in our culture
to keep slaves, it’s in our culture to
do human sacrifice, it is in our culture
to prohibit women from inheriting
property and it is in our culture to
batter our wives, so should we also
promote all these because it is our
tradition?”
On Oct. 10, Father Simon Lokodo,
the ethics minister said the government
was planning to re-introduce the
anti-homosexuality bill five years
after a similar one that sought to ban
gay sex in Uganda was nullified on a
technicality.
The backlash from the international
community to Lokodo’s plan has
been instant. Two days after Lokodo
spoke, on Oct. 12, Ofwono Opondo,
the executive director of the Uganda
Media Centre—the government’s
public communications clearing
house—posted a message on its social
media platforms saying: “Government
hereby clarifies that it does not
intend to introduce any new law with
regards to the regulation of LGBTQ
activities in Uganda because the
current provisions in the Penal Code
are sufficient.” LGBTQ is an acronym
which refers to people who identify
as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender
and “queer” according to the American
Psychological Association.
Don Wanyama, President Yoweri
Museveni’s senior press secretary
also added that the government had
no plans to introduce the legislation
because Uganda has a Penal Code that
already handles issues of unnatural
sexual behaviour.
However, Lokodo said on Oct. 14
that “they intend to bring back the
Anti-homosexuality bill because the
first one was lost on lack of quorum.”
Lokodo’s predecessor, James Nsaba
Buturo, 68, the MP Bufumbira County
East asked for leave from Parliament to
prepare a private member’s bill.
Asked by The Independent on Oct. 18
why, of all challenges Ugandans are
facing at the moment, he sought to
revive this bill, he said: “We are still
putting our facts together before we
can issue statements to the press or any
other person. Bear with us.”
But Lokodo is not coy about his
project. He says he and a group of anti-
homosexuality MPs are at the moment
lobbying colleagues in parliament
ahead of the re-tabling of the bill.
He says he wants the bill
passed because the vices the anti-
homosexuality law intended to fight
are still happening in Ugandan society.
He adds that the provisions in the
Penal Code are not sufficient.
“It is difficult to prove beyond
reasonable doubt that one committed
a homosexual act. Now, we are saying,
anything done to recruit, promote or
exhibit tantamount to committing a
crime against that law.”
Father Simon Lokodo
Andrew Mwenda
James Nsaba Buturo
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
news analysis
On Aug.29, this year, Lokodo was
one of the government officials to
welcome the results of findings from
a genetic-based study of sexuality that
showed that there is no “gay-gene.”
“Of course there is no person born
gay,” he told The Independent,“Since it
has been proven by scientists, we are
going to persecute every one of them
who is pretending to be normal.”
Lokodo has also been buoyed by
individuals like George Oundo, the
chairperson of the ex-gay community
in Uganda who on May 27 petitioned
the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca
Kadaga, saying Uganda needed an
anti-homosexuality law to help create
awareness in Uganda.
“If this Bill is re-tabled, it will
help expose the extent of the moral
breakdown, especially with the
children and the youth. We aim at
promoting moral and spiritual values
since they are just recruited and not
born as gay or lesbians,” Oundo said.
It is difficult to ascertain the true
numbers of people who identify as
gay in Uganda but some of them The
Independent has talked to say they
foresee an escalation of violence,
discrimination and arbitrary arrests
just like in 2014 when the anti-gay law
was passed.
On Oct. 15, Human Rights Watch
asked the Ugandan government to
investigate the fatal attack that saw
a 28 year old man, Brian Wasswa, a
known activist for the rights of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender and queer
people in Uganda die following a
brutal attack in his house in Jinja.
The incident which Human Rights
Watch says happened on Oct. 04 in
Jinja town, eastern Uganda, came just
days before Minister Lokodo said the
government intends to re-introduce the
anti-homosexuality bill.
Wasswa had worked since 2017 as
a paralegal trained by Human Rights
Awareness and Promotion Forum
(HRAPF), a legal aid organisation that
supports vulnerable communities,
including LGBTQ people.
He was also working as a peer
educator with The AIDS Support
Organisation (TASO), a Ugandan non-
governmental organisation dedicated
to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment,
and care, where he conducted HIV
outreach to LGBTQ people.
Frank Mugisha, the executive
director of Sexual Minorities Uganda
told The Independent on Oct. 18 that
Wasswa was a well-known person in
Jinja. Mugisha said Wasswa settled
in Jinja from Lugazi in neighbouring
Buikwe District after his parents
disowned him when he disclosed his
15
NEWS ANALYSIS
sexual orientation at the age of 17.
“We highly suspect that he was
killed for his gay-activism because
he was killed inside his home and no
other property was taken besides his
phone,” Mugisha said, “He did not
owe anyone money and he was a quiet
man who avoided wrangles in his
neighbourhood.”
Oryem Nyeko, a Human Rights
Watch Africa researcher, said the
Uganda government should make it
“crystal clear that violence is never
acceptable, regardless of one’s sexual
orientation or gender identity.”
“It is incumbent on the Ugandan
authorities to deliver justice for the
murder of Brian Wasswa,” Nyeko
said. “Police should conduct thorough
investigations, and political leaders
should refrain from any rhetoric that
might encourage violence against
LGBTQ people.”
Amnesty International’s Director
for East Africa, the Horn and the
Great Lakes, Joan Nyanyuki, has also
responded to Lokodo’s announcement
saying: “It’s outrageous that instead
of the Ugandan government taking
urgent steps to decriminalize gay sex,
they want gay people executed.
“This is going to fire up more
hatred in an already homophobic
environment. This is an example of
how Uganda’s politicians are stoking
dangerous intolerance and bias against
LGBTQ people.”
“Uganda’s MPs must resoundingly
reject any plan to legalize this kind of
bigotry and witch-hunting of anyone
who is perceived as being different.”
Uganda’s cultural values
When President Museveni signed
the Anti-Homosexuality Bill before
the glare of local and international
media on Feb. 24, 2014, its proponents
like Lokodo said it was aimed at
“upholding and protecting Uganda’s
cultural values against Western
culture.”
The President, flanked by ministers,
MPs and senior health practitioners,
said people who engage in same-sex
relations are mercenaries recruiting
young people into gay activities to get
money.
“Homosexuals are nurtured but not
natured. No study has shown that one
can be a homosexual purely by nature.
Since nurture is the cause, that is why
I have agreed to sign the Bill into law,”
Museveni said.
“I encourage the U.S government to
help us by working with our scientists
to study whether; indeed there are
people who are born homosexual.
When that is proved, we can review
16 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
this legislation,” the president added.
But those against the law like
Mugisha and Mwenda said the law was
harsh and against fundamental human
rights considering that it prescribed
tough penalties including life
imprisonment for same sex marriage
and aggravated homosexuality. The
law also imposed a seven year jail
term for other homosexuality-related
offences.
Human rights lawyers said sexual
acts between consenting adults should
not be criminalized.
Criminalization of these acts
contravenes established international
and regional human rights standards
as well as the Constitution of the
Republic of Uganda in that it unfairly
limits the fundamental rights of people
Criminalization
of same-sex
conduct has
the effect of
driving LGBTQ
persons to the
margins of
society
who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-
gender, intersex and others, they said.
The lawyers further argued that
criminalization of same-sex conduct
has the effect of driving LGBTQ
persons to the margins of society,
denying them access to opportunities
and services and rendering them
susceptible to abuse and discrimination
from the majority groups in society.
On Aug.1, 2014, the anti-
homosexuality law which Rebecca
Kadaga, the Speaker of Parliament,
said at the time was a “Christmas gift”
to Ugandans was annulled for having
been passed by Parliament without the
required quorum of two thirds of all
MPs.
Perhaps the government had also
underestimated the backlash the law
attracted from around the world. By
the time Uganda’s Constitutional Court
overturned the law on a technicality
six months later; the United States
had reduced its aid, imposed visa
restrictions and cancelled military
exercises with the Uganda People’s
Defence Forces. The World Bank,
Sweden, Norway, Denmark and The
Netherlands also suspended aid.
No one knows what could happen
this time. But the sensitive tourism
sector is always the first victim,
officials in local tourism firms say.
Lilly Ajarova, the executive director
of the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB)
is usually outspoken on anything
that threatens the local tourism sector
but when The Independent asked her
whether the re-introduction of the
anti-gay bill could impact negatively
the fledgling tourism industry, she
referred The Independent to the recent
government statement issued by the
Uganda Media Centre which said
Uganda is not planning to introduce
any anti-homosexuality legislation.
Still, Lokodo appears not bothered.
He told Thomson Reuters Foundation
early this month that Uganda is
prepared for any backlash.
“It’s a concern but we are ready.”
“We don’t like blackmail. Much as we
know that this is going to irritate our
supportive partners in budget and
governance, we can’t just bend our
heads and bow before people who
want to impose a culture which is
foreign to us.”
Meanwhile, Mwenda told The
Independent that the Western World
needs to give Ugandan society time to
deal with the homosexuality issue.
“This is our conversation as
Ugandans. Those (human rights)
organizations’ interference makes the
situation worse,” he says, “Don’t be
the champions of our rights in Uganda.
Ugandan intellectuals, gay activists
and civic leaders will unite to argue for
openness.”
Mwenda also says Western society
should look at their history before
they judge Uganda on the issue of
homosexuality.
“Don’t expect change in our society
to happen today because cultural
change takes time. In Europe, there was
a death sentence for homosexuality
in the 1950s but then they want us
to jump and act like them. It cannot
happen that way because culture takes
time to evolve.”
“The more we have debate on
homosexuality, the more it will
promote debate and the more it will
create tolerance and understanding,”
Mwenda said.

By Agencies
O
ne thousand people
have survived the
Ebola outbreak in the
Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC): a testament
to the strong leadership of the
Congolese health authorities
combined with the tireless ef-
forts of thousands of local health
workers and partners, United
Nations agencies said on Oct.04.
The outbreak began in August
2018 and is the largest and lon-
gest running that the DRC has
experienced, with more than
3,000 cases and 2,137 deaths.
The latest figures released by
the World Health Organisation
(WHO) on Oct.04 for the week
ending 1 October, showed 20
new confirmed cases reported in
North Kivu and Ituri provinces,
versus 29 in the previous week.
The agency said this decrease
“should be interpreted with
caution, as operational and secu-
rity challenges in certain health
zones make it difficult to under-
take case detection and response
functions.”
WHO said there had been a
“clear shift in the hot spots of
the outbreak from high density,
urban settings, such as Butembo,
Katwa, and Beni, to more rural
areas with a lower population
density.”
However, new tools are
helping to stop the deadly virus
and save lives. Among them is a
highly effective vaccine, which
has a 97.5 per cent effective rate.
So far, more than 225,000 people
have been protected.
“I never thought I would
make it at first but now that I am
cured, I want to go back to my
community and tell them to seek
treatment early if they are affect-
ed because you can actually
survive,” said Kavira, who beat
the disease.
UN Secretary-General Antó-
nio Guterres presented her with
an Ebola survivor certificate
when he visited the country ear-
lier this month.
Survivors crucial to ending
Ebola
David Gressly, Emergency
Ebola Response Coordinator,
said although every survivor
serves as motivation to continue
the fight against the disease,
1,000 Ebola survivors
in DR Congo
UN marks milestone amid complex
environment of conflict and mistrust
A survivor of Ebola works in a childcare centre in Butembo in the east of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo/UN   PHOTO/MARTINE PERRET
they also are a reminder of those
who could not be saved.
“We have to continue gain-
ing access through improved
security for health workers and
populations alike, along with
continuous efforts to engage
communities to be empowered
with the response,” he stated.
“We cannot win the battle
against this outbreak without
the full support of the Congo-
lese people.”
The Ebola epidemic began
in North Kivu province in the
east of the country. It has since
spread to parts of neighbouring
Ituri and South Kivu prov-
inces, but active transmission
currently is confined to several
hotspots in Ituri.
The epidemic is taking place
against a backdrop of ongoing
conflict involving numerous
armed groups, but other factors
further complicate the situation
such as poor health services,
political instability, and com-
munity mistrust and resistance.
Several UN agencies are
working to stop the outbreak,
such as the World Health Orga-
nization (WHO) and the World
Food Programme (WFP), along-
side international partners like
Save The Children.
The United Nations scaled-
up its efforts in May in sup-
port of the Government-led
response in the areas of public
health, assistance to Ebola-af-
fected communities, political
engagement, security and also
in strengthened financial man-
agement.
Led by the UN Children’s
Fund, UNICEF, thousands of
Congolese responders and asso-
ciations from affected areas are
engaging with community and
religious leaders, the media and
others to bring information to
those communities most at risk,
including children.
Survivors have become “a
crucial element” in gaining
community trust and accep-
tance, according to Edouard
Beigbeder, UNICEF representa-
tive in the DRC.
“When survivors tell commu-
nities the reason they are alive is
because they sought treatment
early, people believe them and
are getting the help they need
sooner. At the same time, hav-
ing experienced the disease,
they are able to offer a level of
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
NEWS ANALYSIS
support and compassion to
patients and their family mem-
bers that is especially meaning-
ful,” he said.
Supporting survivors and
potential carriers
Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall, WHO
Assistant Director-General for
Emergencies Response, stressed
that while tools, vaccines and
treatments for Ebola are avail-
able, it is still critical to find
and support everyone who has
been in contact with an infected
person.
“Surviving this disease is all
about trusting the responders –
contact tracers, decontamination
teams, burial teams, vaccinators,
Ebola Treatment Centre staff –
who are working tirelessly to
protect people from this virus,”
he said.
Ebola survivors and those
potentially carrying the virus
also receive support from the
World Food Programme (WFP),
the UN agency fighting hunger
globally. WFP provides these
people with food, meaning
they will not have to leave their
homes to shop, and can thus be
easily monitored in the event
they develop symptoms.
Susana Rico, the agency’s
emergency coordinator in the
North Kivu capital, Goma, said
survivors are grateful for the
food assistance, which lasts for
one year.
“It is surely a celebration
when cured patients go home
after surviving Ebola; they
feel reborn,” she said, add-
ing “This celebration must
also serve as our motivation
to continue the fight against
Ebola and save many more by
encouraging communities to
alert about potential cases, so
that they can seek treatment in
time to be saved.”
17
obituary
Retired Supreme Court Justice
Wilson Tsekooko dies at 77
He will be remembered for ruling to annul Museveni’s
election in the 2001 and 2006 petitions
By Ian Katusiime
A
pril 2001 was a tense time in Ugan-
da. The dust had barely settled on
one of the most violent elections in
country’s history held on March 12
that year. The state apparatus and security
agencies were evident in clampdowns on the
opposition and its supporters.
In this tense atmosphere, five judges of
the Supreme Court had an unprecedented
ruling to make. One of the contestants in the
March 12, 2001 presidential election, Col.
(Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye had petitioned the
Supreme Court challenging the validity of
the result and seeking the annulment of the
victory of President Yoweri Museveni. It was
the first of four elections the two men would
contest against each other.
The judges hearing the case included Jus-
tice John Wilson Nattubu Tsekooko. Others
on the bench were Justice Arthur Oder, Jus-
tice Alfred Karokora, Justice Joseph Mulen-
ga, and then Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki.
All are deceased except Odoki.
In the end, Besigye’s petition was dis-
missed in a 3-2 verdict. Odoki, Karokora
and Mulenga dismissed the petition while
Tsekooko and Oder upheld it.
Justice Tsekooko boldly in his judgment
expressed misgivings on the way the pres-
idential election was conducted. He wrote
the following in part in his conclusion: “...I
would uphold the prayers in the petition in
that I would declare that the Respondent
(Yoweri Museveni) was not validly elected. I
would annul the election.”
Tsekooko’s death on Oct.14 brought back
memories of the period. Many recalled how
that ruling sent shockwaves across the coun-
try. And it was not a one off. He ruled in the
exact same fashion in 2006 when Besigye
again petitioned the Supreme Court after the
presidential election. Tsekooko was unflinch-
ing in matters of the law and many respect-
ed him for that. When he retired in 2012, he
was recalled by the government in 2013 to
serve on a two year contract. He had spent
20 years on the supreme court bench.
Since his death, lawyers, judges and poli-
ticians have hailed the late judge as someone
who contributed immensely to the theory
18 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
and philosophy of Uganda’s legal system.
His wife, Dr. Pauline Tsekooko, described
her husband as a man “who lived a purpose-
ful life and served with integrity and dedica-
tion.” She said they met during her last year
in medical school in 1971. At the time, she
said, her future husband and current Vice
President Edward Sekandi, were insepara-
ble, as young lawyer friends. Pauline mar-
ried Tsekooko in 1973 and they have eight
children and nine grandchildren.
Chief Justice Bart Katureebe eulogised
Tsekooko as mentor of minds. Katureebe
said Tsekooko mentored him on constitu-
tional matters when he joined the Attorney
General’s chambers in the 1970s. Describing
him as “my teacher”, the Chief Justice said
Tsekooko taught him how to write judg-
ments and precedents.
Katureebe while speaking at the requiem
mass at St Luke’s Church Ntinda, said Tse-
kooko was an example of “collegiality” and
professionalism. “Collegiality is very import-
ant so that even when you don’t always
agree, you have respect for your colleagues.”
Katureebe and Tsekooko ruled differently
during the 2006 presidential election peti-
tion. Katureebe said that he often handed
Tsekooko his judgments to look through.
As Tsekooko neared retirement, Katureebe
urged him to help in reforming civil pro-
ceedings.
Tsekooko was equally instrumental in
other parts of his public service; he served as
Chairman of Makerere University Appoint-
ments Board (1981-1986) Chairman of
National Minimum Wages Advisory Board
(1984-1985) and as Chancellor of Mbale Dio-
cese, Church of Uganda (1980-1991).
With his experience as a lawyer, serving
in the Office of the DPP and with a Supreme
Court judgeship, Uganda Christian Univer-
sity (UCU) sought to tap into the wisdom
of Tsekooko when in 2003, UCU appointed
him to the University Council, its highest
decision making organ.
In the course of his long and illustrious
career, Tsekooko was elected chairman of
the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) of
Nabumali High School, his former school
serving from 1988-1991.
Justice John Tsekooko was born on June
15, 1942 in Butiru, Manafwa district to
Natubu Tsekooko and Norah Janet Khayiyi.
He went to Butiru and Nakhupa primary
schools, completing P7 in 1956.
Tsekooko went to Nabumali High School
in its glory days (then called Nabumali
Junior Secondary School) for two years, and
completed his secondary education at Mbale
SSS in 1962. After his law degree, Tsekooko
qualified as a Barrister-at-Law at Inner Tem-
ple London in 1965.
In 1968, Tsekooko went to the Council of
Legal Education, London for his Post-final
Practice Course which got him admitted to
the English Bar on July 01, 1968.
Due to the availability of opportunities at
the time, Tsekooko easily found a placement
as an attorney in the Directorate of Public
Prosecutions (DPP). By 1974, he had risen to
the rank of Principle State Attorney but the
military rule of Idi Amin Dada forced him
into exile that year.
Political life
Tsekooko was once in active politics and
was said to be a supporter of the late former
president Milton Obote of the Uganda Peo-
ples Congress. When he returned from exile,
Tsekooko contested in the 1980 general elec-
tions and won the seat of Bubulo, represent-
ing the area from 1981-1985 in the second
Obote government.
In the fallout from the 1980 polls, Museve-

ni and Obote sued and countersued
each other. The two headed Uganda
Patriotic Movement (UPM) and
Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC)
respectively.
It is said Tsekooko who had con-
tested on a UPC ticket represented
Obote as a lawyer in the court case.
The suit became a closed chapter
when Obote was declared winner of
the disputed elections.
Goretti Kitutu, the Minister of
state for environment and Woman
MP for Manafwa described Tse-
kooko as a pillar for the Bamasaaba
community. “When Tsekooko con-
tested as an MP, my father instructed
me to go and vote for him because
he was such a pillar and so popular,
and I indeed voted for him,” Kitutu
said drawing laughter from mourn-
ers during the funeral service.
When the Obote government
was toppled, Tsekooko resorted to
fulltime private practice as a lawyer.
It is said he was surprised when
President Museveni appointed him
as a High Court judge in 1990 due
to their history. He was even more
surprised when Museveni elevated
him as a judge of the Supreme Court
in 1994.
By this time, he had mentored a
crop of lawyers from his law firm
who are currently holding influen-
tial positions in the judiciary. These
include David Wangututsi, head of
Commercial Court; Lawrence Gidu-
du, head of the Anti-Corruption
Court; and Musalu Musene, a high
court judge.
When Wangututsi was executive
director of the Judicial Training Insti-
tute, Tsekooko was the chairman.
At the same time, Tsekooko headed
the East African Judicial Education
Committee. At different times, he
headed the disciplinary committee
of the Law Council and chaired the
management committee of the Law
Development Centre (LDC).
Dennis Bwayo, one of Tsekooko’s
children said their father had a love
for reading and spent most of his
time devouring books and reviewing
judgments in his library even when
he was diagnosed with cancer of
the prostate in 2011 and his ailment
worsened.
The family has been going
through a difficult time given that
Tsekooko lost his sister a week before
he died. He was buried at his ances-
tral home in Bunakhaima village,
Butiru sub-county in Manafwa. Tse-
kooko will be remembered as a firm
and incorruptible jurist.
New words added
to dictionary
More than 530 new words
By Agencies
T
he Merriam-Webster dictionary added
new words and definitions for September
2019. In this latest batch of updates, 533
new words and new meanings are added
to the dictionary (not to mention more than 4000
other revisions to definitions, etymologies, pro-
nunciations, and dates of first known use). They
range from the serious to the playful, from the
technical to the informal.
New Words from Politics and Law
Deep state: an alleged secret governmental
network operating extralegally. It may feel as
though the term has been around since the time
when men wore fedoras in Washington, but
current evidence dates it only to the dawn of the
current century.
Red flag law: a law allowing courts to prevent
people who show signs of being a danger to
themselves or others from having access to fire-
arms. It has only been in use since 2015, and its
synonym, extreme risk law, dates to 2017.
New Abbreviations and Portmanteaus
Playfulness is always a part of language, and
some of the informal words in this batch include
inventive truncations, recombinations, and port-
manteaus.
Vacay: a shortening of vacation.
Sesh: a shortening of session.
Inspo: a shortening of inspiration.
Fabulosity: fabulous quality, state, or nature.
Fatberg: a large mass of fat and solid waste
that collects in a sewer system (a portmanteau of
fat and iceberg).
Solopreneur: a solo entrepreneur.
New Words from Games and Sports
Pickleball: a newly popular court sport
played with short-handled paddles and a perfo-
rated plastic ball (and an entry with a champion-
ship-level etymology).
Escape room: a game in which participants
confined to a room or other enclosed setting
are given a set amount of time to find a way to
escape.
Free solo: a climb in which a rock climber uses
no artificial aids for support and has no rope or
other safety equipment for protection in case of
a fall.
New Words About Race and Identity
On a more serious note, several new entries
are for words that address the complex ways we
view ourselves and others and how we all fit in.
They: expanded to include this sense: “used
to refer to a single person whose gender identity
news analysis
is nonbinary.” It’s an expansion of a use that is
sometimes called the “singular they” (and one
that has a long history in English). When a reflex-
ive pronoun corresponding to singular use of
they is needed, themself is seeing increasing use.
Inclusive: A new sense has been added:
“allowing and accommodating people who have
historically been excluded (as because of their
race, gender, sexuality, or ability).”
Colorism: prejudice or discrimination espe-
cially within a racial or ethnic group favoring
people with lighter skin over those with darker
skin.
New Words from Pop Culture
Bechdel test: refers to a set of criteria used to
evaluate a movie or other work of fiction on the
basis of its inclusion and representation of female
characters.
Stinger: the name for short scene that appears
during or after the closing credits of a movie.
Coulrophobia: meaning “abnormal fear of
clowns.” Although Hollywood releases and
dictionary updates are not coordinated, even for
publicity purposes, this entry hits your screens
within weeks of the premieres of both `It Chapter
Two’ and `Joker’.
New Words from Psychology
Aphantasia: the inability to form mental
images.
Autogenic training: a self-relaxation technique
that involves repeating calming statements to
yourself.
New Words from Business and Finance
Pain point: a persistent or recurring problem
(as with a product or service) that frequently
inconveniences or annoys customers.
Haircut: a new sense was added meaning “a
reduction in the value of an asset.”
New Words from Linguistics
Language buffs will appreciate a new group of
words from the field of linguistics.
Rhotic: in phonetics, a rhotic dialect is one in
which an /r/ sound is retained in words like hard
and car.
Non-rhotic: A dialect in which no /r/ sound is
heard in such words.
Rhoticity: nothing to do with rotisserie and
everything to do with a noun that points to some
important differences between dialects.
Should this list leave you hungry for more
words, keep this in mind: if you eat the
dictionary, you may get thesaurus throat
you’ve ever had. (Oh, we now have an entry
for dad joke, too.)
Oct. 25 - 31 2019 19
news analysis
Kaheru’s exit caps
tough year for NGOs
Outgoing CCEDU boss speaks out on
political atmosphere and his legacy
By Ian Katusiime
W
hy did he quit abruptly?” is
a question that was on the
minds of many people when
Crispin Kaheru announced
two weeks ago that he was leaving his
position as Coordinator of Citizens Co-
alition for Electoral Democracy (CCE-
DU).
“My retirement was not as abrupt as
the public has perceived it. I planned it
nine years ago,” Kaheru tells The Inde-
pendent in an interview. Nine years ago
was when Kaheru took up the job at the
tender age of 26.
He says the CCEDU board knew that
he would retire when his nine years
clock. He attributes the reaction to his
retirement to an absence of a culture of
leaving office. “It is either one is forced
out of office or their contract is termi-
nated or not renewed; but either way,
there has to be pressure on a person to
leave a leadership role.”
20 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
He adds that it is worse because
Uganda does not have a practice of
where those in leadership positions
leave peacefully.
Kaheru acknowledges that being at
the helm of the largest citizens’ coalition
in eastern and southern Africa attracts a
lot of pressure and interest both locally
and internationally.
“I think globally, NGOs- and espe-
cially those working on governance and
human rights issues are under a lot of
stress from various dimensions-includ-
ing from governments and the people
they serve,” he tells The Independent.
“This is merely a wakeup call that
NGOs should organise differently
under the circumstances,” Kaheru says
and points out that CCEDU got fully
anchored with the citizens of Uganda
and puts the organisation’s reach at
over 5 million citizens.
“CCEDU maintains full and regular
contact with 4.9 million people spread
out in all villages across the country,”
Kaheru boasts and asks, “Is there any
single national organisation or state
institution that can rival such an elab-
orate human infrastructure?” He calls
this number the constituency of CCE-
DU.
He says pressure from government
on NGOs may be there but asserts that
if NGOs are clear on their cause and
“affixed” to their genuine constituen-
cies, the pushback from government
would never succeed.
At the time of the interview, Kaheru
was in Mozambique as part of the Afri-
can Union Election Observation Mission
for the general elections held on Oct.15.
The mission was headed by former
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
Hoima election debacle
Just a week before Kaheru resigned,
CCEDU was caught up in the fallout
from the Hoima Woman MP by-elec-
tion. NRM won the hotly contested
election against a joint opposition

candidate. But the façade of a joint
candidate had already crumbled by the
time the voters cast their ballots in late
September.
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)
which sponsored Asinansi Nyakato, the
joint candidate, was trading barbs with
People Power, MP Bobi Wine’s political
machine. Apparently, Nyakato was hob-
nobbing with the red army of People
Power at the expense of FDC, the larg-
est political party in the opposition.
When NRM’s Harriet Businge was
declared winner of the seat, there was
a statement attributed to CCEDU say-
ing the poll was a fair and transparent
one. Kaheru’s colleagues in civil soci-
ety and the opposition were miffed on
the nature of the statement given the
violence, bribery and armed forces role
that rocked the election.
The District Police Commander of
Hoima was transferred on the eve of
the by-election, sowing more confusion
and mistrust. One activist in a Facebook
tirade called for the “crucifixion” of
Kaheru.
A statement issued on Sept. 30 by
CCEDU and signed by Kaheru read
“We wish to clarify that our preliminary
statement was released during polling
and the vote counting exercise. The sec-
ond statement was published after poll-
ing and upon the Electoral Commission
(EC) announcing the results from the
by-election…”
It continued, “We therefore appeal to
our members and the public to review
both statements in context.” Those bay-
ing for Kaheru’s blood attributed his
controversial statement to an alleged
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
signed between EC and CCEDU.
In July 2018, the EC banned CCEDU
from election related activities accusing
the body of partisanship and discred-
iting electoral processes. The EC lifted
the ban in February after a number
of meetings were held to resolve the
issues.
But after the Hoima by-election, some
members of the civil society were firm
in their accusation that CCEDU; an
amalgam of 800 civil society organisa-
tions meant to advocate for electoral
democracy, had a pact with the election
management body.
EC chairman Justice Simon Byabaka-
ma could not be reached for comment.
Kaheru refutes this claim. “CCEDU
did not sign any MoU with the EC for
the ban to be lifted. We did not!”
He says CCEDU would have publi-
cised it so that its members, the citizens
know about it. “Those alleging that
CCEDU entered a deal with EC should
prove it, by showing the public that
MoU.” Kaheru tells The Independent
that it was the principled dialogue and
pressure from the citizens across the
country that influenced a change in
mind on the EC side.
“We would never in any way com-
promise our integrity as a citizens’
coalition.” He adds, “I want to believe
that CCEDU will always maintain its
independence and professionalism as it
executes its mandate.”
On his legacy, Kaheru speaks proud-
ly about what CCEDU achieved in his
tenure. “In 2011, CCEDU pioneered the
approach of scrutinising electoral events
that happen outside major elections,
including monitoring by-elections”
He is also proud of voter mobilisa-
tion campaigns like ‘Vote Issues not
Wolokoso’ for the 2011 polls, ‘Topowa’
(Don’t give up) for the 2016 elections
which he says he designed. “All these
campaigns yielded phenomenal div-
Civil society organisation representatives speak at a recent event.  INDEPENDENT. ALFRED OCHWO
idends-they mobilised Ugandans to
actively engage in elections.”
Kaheru says CCEDU now has nation-
al and international respect and credi-
bility. “CCEDU is now the go-to insti-
tution for credible election information.
It is the reference entity on elections for
citizens, government as well as interna-
tional actors interested in Uganda”.
At 35, Kaheru is planning his next
move satisfied with what he leaves
behind at CCEDU. “I doubt there is
any institution at this moment that can
match our databank on electoral pro-
cesses in Uganda.”
Richard Ssewakiryanga, the execu-
tive director of Uganda National NGO
Forum (UNNFOF), an independent
platform for all NGOs, spoke to The
Independent about the departure of his
colleague.
“I treat it as a normal departure. He
voluntarily steps down.” Sewakiryanga
however added that the NGO space can
be tough. “We work in conditions that
are stressful.”
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
news analysis
Government crackdown
On the other hand, there is a sim-
mering crack-down on NGOs from
government. In August, the government
through the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and National NGO Bureau carried out
a validation exercise for NGOs which
many NGO bosses described as “intru-
sive”.
The Bureau demanded from NGOs
details on number of staff, what they
earn, their contracts, board members and
donors. Many NGO directors expressed
reservations about the process due to
weak data privacy laws in Uganda among
other things.
Coinciding with the validation exercise
was a directive by Financial Intelligence
Authority (FIA), the government agency
that deals with financial fraud, to Equity
Bank to avail it with bank details of 13
specific NGOs. CCEDU was one of them.
The others included were Action Aid
International Uganda, Alliance for Cam-
paign Finance Monitoring, Anti-Corrup-
tion Coalition Uganda, Human Rights
Network Uganda, and Foundation for
Human Rights Initiative. They are some of
the most vocal on democracy and gover-
nance.
In June, the Democratic Governance
Facility (DGF), the largest pool of donor
funding in Uganda terminated partner-
ship with four NGOs after a forensic audit
unearthed corruption and gross misman-
agement.
A statement the Swedish Ambassador
Per Lindgarde issued to Daily Monitor
read “Unfortunately the conclusions of
the forensic audit confirmed incidences
of fraudulent practices, governance issues
and forgery of accountability.” Sweden is
one of the partners behind DGF.
As Kaheru leaves, with the above set-
backs and fifteen months left to the 2021
general elections, the space for civil society
will hopefully not get narrower.
21
NEWS ANALYSIS

Mosquitoes are one of the deadliest creatures because they are carriers for many lethal

Genetically modifying
mosquitoes
4 top scientists, professors Natalie Kofler, Françoise Baylis, Graham Dellaire and
Landon J Getz, explain why they oppose recent moves to use them to control the
spread of disease and the unknown risks involved

E
very year, around one million
people die of mosquito-borne
diseases according to the World
Health Organisation (WHO).
This is why mosquitoes are considered
one of the deadliest living creatures on
the planet — not because they are lethal
themselves, but because many of the
viruses and parasites they transmit are.
Consider, for example, dengue fever.
This mosquito-borne virus is a leading
cause of hospitalisation and death
among children and adults in several
countries in Asia and Latin America.
In 2016, member states in three of the
six WHO regions reported 3.34 million
cases.
In the absence of an effective
vaccine for dengue fever, Zika fever,
chikungunya and other mosquito-borne
diseases, researchers have developed
genetic strategies to reduce mosquito
populations. One such strategy involves
the release into the wild of genetically
modified (GM) mosquitoes that express
a lethal gene — a strategy believed to
have little impact on the overall DNA of
wild populations of mosquitoes.
As an interdisciplinary group
of authors, we (generally support
technologies that can reduce human
disease and suffering. However, given
our combined expertise in science,
governance and ethics we have concerns
that recent decisions to deploy GM
mosquitoes have not been made
responsibly.
Genetically modified mosquitoes
The transfer of new genes from GM
organisms to wild or domesticated non-
GM populations is a key criticism of
GM crops like soybean and corn. There
are concerns that the introduction of
GM genes into non-target species could
have negative consequences for both
human and environmental health.
Oxitec, a company that spun out of
research at Oxford University in the
early 2000s, developed and trademarked
GM Friendly™ mosquitoes (also known
as strain OX513A of Aedes aegypti).
These male GM mosquitoes have what
the company describes as a “self-
limiting” gene, which means that when
these so-called friendly mosquitoes
mate, their offspring inherit the self-
limiting gene which is supposed to
prevent them surviving into adulthood.
In theory, when these mosquitoes are
released in high numbers, a dramatic
reduction in the mosquito population
should follow.
Changes to the gene pool
According to research published
by Oxitec researchers in 2015, field
trials involving recurring releases of
Friendly™ mosquitoes demonstrated a

22 Oct. 25 - 31 2019

reduction of nearly 95 per cent of target
populations in Brazil. In these field
trials, experiments were not performed
to assess whether GM mosquitoes might
persist in the wild.
A recent study from the Powell lab
at Yale University has since confirmed
that some of the offspring of the GM
mosquitoes didn’t succumb to the self-
limiting lethal gene and survived to
adulthood. They were able to breed
with native mosquitoes and thereby
introduce some of their genes into the
wild population.
The Yale researchers found that
mosquitoes captured at six, 12 and up
to 30 months post-release carried DNA
from the GM mosquito population,
thereby disproving “the claim that
genes from the release strain would not
get into the general population because
offspring would die.”
It appears that between five and 60
per cent of the captured mosquitoes
post-release contained genetic
sequences inherited from the Friendly™
mosquitoes. Importantly, the number of
mosquitoes identified as still containing
DNA derived from GM mosquitoes
declined between the 12-month and
27-month capture periods specifically,
perhaps indicating that the offspring
of GM mosquitoes might be less fit
in nature after all. This remains to be
shown conclusively.
Unknown potential impacts
Meanwhile, the impact of mosquitoes
carrying these new genes remains
largely unknown. One significant worry
is that a new breed of mosquito might
emerge that is more difficult to control.
These new genes could also potentially
alter evolutionary pressures on viruses
carried by mosquitoes, like dengue
fever, in unpredictable ways. This
includes potentially increasing their
virulence or changing their host-insect
interactions. These are hypothetical
risks that have been raised by
scientists, and reflect the need for
further study.
Thus, like GM soybean or corn,
there is legitimate concern about the
propagation of new genetic material in
wild populations with as yet unknown
consequences.
Field trials involving the release of
GM organisms are typically designed
to evaluate safety and efficacy,
to assess possible impact on food
networks, and to ensure that there
is no (or minimal) undue harm to
the environment or human health.
Put simply, field trials are meant to
assess potential harms associated with
genetic technologies and to provide
opportunities to minimise these harms
before moving forward with more
large-scale releases.
This raises two important questions:
Given that “around 5 per cent or less”
of the GM mosquito population was
expected to survive, shouldn’t Oxitec
have made plans to assess the risk
of gene transfer to wild populations
during their initial trials? And
shouldn’t the Brazilian government
have required such an assessment
as part of the regulatory approval
process, given their awareness of the
risk?
Instead, with approval from
Brazilian authorities, Oxitec released
nearly half a million GM mosquitoes
every week into shared environments
in Jacobina over a two-year period
from 2013 to 2015. This was done
without the benefit of adequate risk
assessment and without proper public
consultation.
One
significant
worry is
that a new
breed of
mosquito
might
emerge
that is more
difficult to
control
Oxitec reports having used leaflets,
social media, carnival parades and
community meetings to inform
the public of their research. Public
education is not the same as public
consultation and engagement and,
in our view, the people living in the
vicinity of this release had more than
a right to be informed of the plans.
They also had a right to participate in
relevant decision-making.
On the basis of presumed success
in Brazil where mosquito populations
were reduced — a consequential
reduction in the prevalence of dengue
fever has yet to be demonstrated —
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
NEWS ANALYSIS
plans have been made to extend field
trials to other jurisdictions, including
the Florida Keys in the United States.
To date, public pushback has
temporarily prevented the release of
GM mosquitoes in the Florida Keys.
But Oxitec hopes to eventually secure
approval from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to perform field
trials and assess release of a second-
generation GM mosquito that causes
lethality only in female mosquitoes,
as another means to collapse wild
populations.
Regulating genetic modification
In the end, minus the hyperbole and
somewhat alarmist reporting of the
Yale study (the journal is looking into
allegations brought forth by Oxitec
of speculative and unsubstantiated
claims), the finding that offspring
of GM mosquitoes could survive in
the wild remains undisputed. This
illustrates the importance of careful
decision-making and adequate
oversight of field trials involving the
release of GM organisms. Careful
decision-making requires open
venues for informed and deliberative
public dialogue, engagement and
empowerment.
Genetic modification technologies
need to be more transparent, as do
the scientific processes for evaluating
their risks, especially where the rights
and needs of affected communities can
inform technology development. With
more robust and nuanced regulatory
processes governing the development
and release of GM organisms, it
should be possible to benefit from
these technologies without harming or
disenfranchising the communities that
are the intended beneficiaries.
Mosquito-borne illnesses cause
immense human suffering, and we
should continue to develop technologies
to reduce that suffering. At the same
time, we must be equally dedicated to
designing scientific processes that are
safe, ethical and just.
Natalie Kofler is Levenick Resident Scholar
in Sustainability, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, Françoise Baylis is
University Research Professor, Dalhousie
University, Graham Dellaire is Director
of Research and Professor of Pathology,
Dalhousie University, and Landon J Getz
is Ph.D. Candidate in Microbiology and
Immunology, Dalhousie University.
23
NEWS ANALYSIS

The Asian economic miracle

Deepak Nayyar, the Emeritus Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University
and Honorary Fellow, Balliol College, University of Oxford, explains how Asia
transformed from the poorest continent in the world into a global economic powerhouse

I
n 1820, Asia accounted for two-
thirds of the world’s population and
more than one-half of global income.
The subsequent decline of Asia was
attributed to its integration with a world
economy shaped by colonialism and
driven by imperialism.
By the late 1960s, Asia was the
poorest continent in the world when
it came to income levels, marginal
except for its large population. Its social
indicators of development, among
the worst anywhere, epitomised its
underdevelopment. The deep pessimism
about Asia’s economic prospects, voiced
by the Swedish economist Gunnar
Myrdal in his 1968 book Asian Drama,
was widespread at the time.
In the half century since then, Asia has
witnessed a profound transformation
in terms of the economic progress of
its nations and the living conditions
of its people. By 2016, as my analysis
of UN data shows, it accounted for
30% of world income, 40% of world
manufacturing, and over one-third of
world trade, while its income per capita
converged towards the world average.
This transformation was unequal
across countries and between people.
Even so, predicting it would have
required an imagination run wild. Asia’s
economic transformation in this short
time-span is almost unprecedented in
history. My new book, `Resurgent Asia’,
looks at this phenomenal change.
Given the size and the diversity of the
Asian continent, looking at the region
as a whole is not always appropriate. So
in my research, I’ve disaggregated Asia
into its four constituent sub-regions –
East, South-East, South and West Asia
– and further into 14 selected countries
described as the Asian-14. These are
China, South Korea and Taiwan in East
Asia; Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in
South-East Asia; Bangladesh, India,

24 Oct. 25 - 31 2019

Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in South Asia;
and Turkey in West Asia. These countries
account for more than four-fifths of the
population and income of the continent.
Japan is not included in the study
because it is a high income country in
Asia, and was already industrialised 50
years ago.
It’s essential to recognise the diversity
of Asia. There have been marked
differences between countries in
geographical size, embedded histories,
colonial legacies, nationalist movements,
initial conditions, natural resource
endowments, population size, income
levels and political systems. The reliance
on markets and the degree of openness
of economies has varied greatly across
countries and over time.
Across Asia, the politics has also
ranged widely from authoritarian
regimes or oligarchies to political
democracies. So did ideologies, from
communism, to state capitalism and
capitalism. Development outcomes
differed across space and over time
too. There were different paths to
The rise of Asia
represents the
beginnings of a
shift in the balance
of economic power
in the world and
some erosion in the
political dominance
of the West
development, because there were no
universal solutions, magic wands, or
silver bullets.
Absolute poverty persists
Despite such diversity, there are
common discernible patterns. Economic
growth drove development. Growth
rates of GDP and GDP per capita in Asia
have been stunning and far higher than
elsewhere in the world.
Rising investment and savings rates
combined with the spread of education
were the underlying factors. Growth
was driven by rapid industrialisation,
often led by exports and linked with
changes in the composition of output
and employment. It was supported
by coordinated economic policies,
unorthodox wherever and whenever
necessary, across sectors and over time.
Rising per capita incomes transformed
social indicators of development, as
literacy rates and life expectancy rose
everywhere. There was also a massive
reduction in absolute poverty. But the
scale of absolute poverty that persists,
despite unprecedented growth, is just
as striking as the sharp reduction of
poverty that happened between 1984 and
2012, according to data from the World
Bank.
The poverty reduction could have
been much greater but for the rising
inequality. Inequality between people
within countries rose almost everywhere,
except South Korea and Taiwan. Yet the
gap between the richest and poorest
countries in Asia remains awesome and
the ratio of GDP per capita in the richest
and poorest country in Asia was more
than 100:1 in both 1970 and 2016.
The role of governments
Economic openness has performed
a critical supportive role in Asian
development, wherever it was in the
form of strategic integration with the
world economy, rather than passive
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
NEWS ANALYSIS
insertion into it. For example, trade
policy was liberal for exports but
restrictive for imports. Government
policies towards foreign investment
have been shaped by industrial
policy in the pursuit of national
development objectives. While
openness was necessary for successful
industrialisation, it was not sufficient
and facilitated industrialisation only
when combined with industrial policy.
In the half-century economic
transformation of Asia, governments
performed a vital role, ranging from
leader to catalyst or supporter. Success
at development in Asia was about
managing this evolving relationship
between states and markets, by finding
the right balance in their respective roles
that also changed over time.
The developmental states in
South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore
coordinated policies across sectors over
time in pursuit of national development
objectives, using carrot-and-stick policy
to implement their agenda, and were
able to become industrialised nations
in just 50 years. China emulated these
developmental states with much success,
and Vietnam followed on the same path
two decades later, as both countries
have strong one-party communist
governments that could coordinate and
implement policies.
It is not possible to replicate these
states elsewhere in Asia. But other
countries, such as India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh and
Turkey, did manage to evolve some
institutional arrangements, even if
less effective, that were conducive to
industrialisation and development. In
some of these countries, the checks and
balances of political democracies were
crucial to making governments more
orientated towards development and
people-friendly.
The rise of Asia represents the
beginnings of a shift in the balance of
economic power in the world and some
erosion in the political dominance of the
West. The future will be shaped partly
by how Asia exploits the opportunities
and meets the challenges and partly by
how the difficult economic and political
conjuncture in the world unfolds.
Yet it’s plausible to suggest that by
around 2050, a century after the end of
colonial rule, Asia will account for more
than one-half of world income and will be
home to more than half of the people on
earth. It will have an economic and political
significance in the world that would have
been difficult to imagine 50 years ago, even
if it was the reality in 1820.
Source: theconversation
25
Why banks won’t hurry
to cut interest rates
Industry executives to respond to Mutebile’s call upon
carefully evaluating their commitments with clients
C
By Julius Businge
ommercial Bank top executives
plan to respond to the central
bank’s call to lower interest
rates upon carefully analyzing
their current loans and sector
developments.
The Bank of Uganda Governor, Emmanu-
el Tumusiime Mutebile, announced a reduc-
tion in the central bank rate (CBR) from 10%
in August to 9% in October, citing a reduc-
tion in inflation. The CBR is an indicative
rate that signals the direction of commercial
bank interest rates. Usually, the higher the
CBR, the higher the interest rates in the mar-
ket and vice versa. The latest CBR reduction
was the first in the past four months.
The new development implies that com-
mercial banks have to follow suit and cut
minimum lending rates which are currently
averaging at 20.2% in the quarter to August
2019 compared to 19.7% in quarter to May
2019.
Bankers talk
However, executives in the banking said
they will first study the market environment
prior to making any necessary changes in
interest rates. Annet Nakawunde Mulindwa,
the managing director at Finance Trust Bank
said they already have commitments with
lenders which is a key determinant of the
cost of lending.
“…we have to think through it and do
some calculations and see,” she said, “If the
CBR is reducing today, you do not expect us
26 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
to respond the following day.”
But she added: “It may not be an imme-
diate response but we always work towards
making sure that we reduce our cost of lend-
ing.” Nakawunde said they are continuing
to monitor the capacity of their borrowers
when it comes to loan repayments before
extending new lines of credit.
William Sekabembe, the chief of business
and executive director at dfcu bank said they
expected the entire industry to start review-
ing the pricing across board.
Sekabembe said the latest announcement
is a good sign for reducing the cost of credit
and spurring growth of private sector credit
and the economy in general.
He said they are cautiously looking at
variables including cost of operation, cost of
capital, impairment costs, capacity to source
for cheap liabilities and more as they set new
interest rates for customers. He added that
customers with good credit records have a
chance to even access credit that is below
their prime/lowest lending rate which was
20% by press time. Similarly, Anthony Kitu-
uka, the executive director at Equity Bank
said that they will positively respond to
BoU’s announcement.
But this will be upon carefully assess-
ing their different obligations and deposit
arrangements they have with their custom-
ers. “Our intention is to price competitively
and spur economic growth,” Kituuka told
The Independent.
Data from BoU shows that the average
year-on-year growth in private sector credit
stood at 13.9% for the quarter to August 2019
relative to 14.8% for the quarter to May 2019.
Slackening economy
“Economic activity seems to have slack-
ened in the first half of 2019 compared to
the second half of 2018,” Mutebile said as he
announced the CBR on Oct.07. UBOS fig-
ures show that in the second quarter of 2019,
GDP slowed to 5.4% year-on-year compared
to 6.8% in the fourth quarter of 2018.
In addition, Mutebile said that the BoU’s
high frequency indicator of economic activi-
ty, the Composite Index of Economic activity
(CIEA), points to a moderation of economic
activity in the first quarter of FY 2019/20.
“The outlook is uncertain, particularly as
a result of the unfavorable global economy,”
he said. Moreover, a combination of widen-
ing fiscal and current account deficits, cou-
pled with public sector domestic financing
needs, could exert pressure on the lending
interest rates leading to further moderation
of economic growth. This development has
come at the time the Uganda Bureau of Sta-
tistics has reversed the country’s economic
growth figures from Shs 115trillion for the
Financial Year 2015/16 to Shs122trillion for
the Financial Year 2018/19 using the constant
prices for the Financial Year 2016/17.
Going forward, Mutebile said the central
bank will continue to monitor emerging
price and output developments to ensure
that monetary policy decisions remain
consistent with price stability while being
supportive of sustained noninflationary eco-
nomic growth over the next 2-3 years.

Educate customers, pay claims
to stir insurance uptake
However, the industry has recorded growth in premiums
By Isaac Khisa
I
t is no secret that the concept of
insurance is pretty simple. In the
exchange for a premium, an insurance
firm agrees to compensate a policy
holder for a specified loss, damage,
illness, or death caused by an unexpected
event.
So, as an industry that is centered on
helping consumers better mitigate risks,
why does insurance get such a bad view
which hinders its faster growth? The
answer is more education and claims
settlement.
Protazio Sande, the director for
research and market development at
the Insurance Regulatory Authority
of Uganda said during the first ever
international insurance conference held in
Kampala on Oct. 17, that the industry has
to educate prospective customers prior to
selling them their products so that they
purchase their preferred products based
on informed decisions.
He said that educating customers
minimises incidences of insurance firms
claiming that their customers did not
understand their obligations and thus
deny them compensation when loss
occurs.
“If we continue doing the same
thing and expect different results, then,
definitely, there’s something wrong with
that. We must do things differently,” he
said.
“We need to be innovative along
the entire insurance value chain –
from product development to claims
payment.”
“The customers that the industry
is dealing with are not interested in
listening to anything else except fast
claims payment,” he added.
He said insurance firms, on some
occasions, need to look for a bigger
picture in the process of compensating
customers to protect the image of the
industry.
He added that the industry, indeed,
faces challenges of fraud but the
players have taken advantage of it to
deny a section of customer’s genuine
compensation. “So, we need to strike
a balance such that we do not ruin the
industry’s image,” he said.
“Let us all educate our customers about
insurance as well as our existing and
new products so that the industry is not
seen as merely interested in selling its
products but extending excellent services
to prospective clients.”
In addition, Sande said, coming up
with various innovations such as micro
insurance and tech-enabled insurance
products without educating the masses
on how to go about it will not boost the
country’s insurance penetration.
Uganda’s insurance penetration
currently stands at less than 1% -the
lowest in the East African region.
Kenya’s stands at 2.85% compared with
Tanzania’s and Rwanda’s 2.3% and 1%,
respectively.
Protazio Sande Olli-Pekka Ruuskanen
Surging premiums
This development comes as data from
the latest Fincope Survey released last
year shows that the people holding any
sort of insurance policy stands at merely
220,000. This is far below the 350,000
customers who held an insurance policy
in 2013, according to the Fincope Survey.
However, Uganda’s insurance industry
premium growth has continued to surge.
Statistics from the Insurance Regulatory
Authority of Uganda shows that the
industry recorded a 17.5% growth in gross
underwritten premiums to Shs856bn in
2018 owed to the country’s investment
in various infrastructure services such
as hydro-electric power dams, revival of
Uganda Airlines, installation of CCTV
in Kampala and upgrading of Entebbe
International Airport.
Of this, non-life insurance companies
recorded a 12% growth in premiums to
Shs569.9bn while life insurance business
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
business
recorded a 28.6% growth in premiums to
Shs216.9bn.
Health Membership Organisations that
includes, among others, Case Medical
Clinics, International Air Ambulance and
AAR recorded a 31% growth to Shs69.1bn
during the same period under review.
The insurers net asset base increased by
11% from Shs458bn in 2017 to Shs508bn
in 2018 signaling a growing strength of
companies to handle more insurance
risks locally as well as provide adequate
protection to the insuring public.
The claims payment, which is the core
value that the insurance industry offers
to the policy holders and beneficiaries,
increased by 11.9% to Shs326.7bn.
Saul Sseremba, the chief executive
officer at the Insurance Institute of Uganda
said that the low level of education and
mistrust has continued to hamper growth
of the country’s insurance industry.
“The industry has to put in more effort
to change this trend,” he said.
Olli-Pekka Ruuskanen, the research
manager and adjunct professor at the
Pellervo Economic Research, Finland,
said lack of financial literacy especially in
insurance is a major barrier for the sector’s
growth.
He said numerous research indicates
that attitude and behavior influences
people’s decision to purchase insurance
services.
“Attitudes reflect trust,” he said, adding
that financial literacy does not mean that
consumers buy unsuitable products.
He said that industry digitalization,
product development, marketing,
distribution, new business underwriting
and claims settlement alone cannot fix the
sector’s problems.
This is because internet is still expensive
and fail, artificial intelligence’s domain
surprisingly small and block chain is still
resource intensive and slow, Ruuskanen
added.
The conference attracted about 200
delegates. Themed ‘The role of inclusive
insurance in delivering social protection
agenda,’ the conference discussed various
ways of how to stir insurance uptake
including the use of ICT, and offers on
micro-insurance and national health
insurance schemes.
27
business
Growing tourism sector
UTB strengthens marketing and quality of service
By Julius Businge
U
ganda Tourism Board is gearing
up regulating tourism facilities,
travel agents and tourist guides
countrywide to support growth of
the sector.
In an interview with The Independent on
Oct.15 at Protea Hotel during the agency’s
quarterly media roundtable, the agency’s
Chief Executive Officer Lilly Ajarova said
their aim is to see more Ugandans and
foreigners visiting tourism sites and create
more opportunities for people and the econ-
omy. She said they are also gearing efforts
towards product profiling and investment in
tourism facilities in addition to more aggres-
sive efforts in both domestic and internation-
al marketing.
Over the last quarter (July-September),
Ajarova said, the UTB has engaged in a
number of domestic, regional and interna-
tional marketing initiatives aimed at raising
the profile of Uganda as a preferred tourist
destination.
“We have undertaken a nationwide
outdoor campaign aimed to showcase the
country to Ugandans so that we can have
more local population visiting various parts
of their own country,” she said, adding that
they want to be able to see Ugandans con-
tribute to tourism by either consuming as
well as investing in it.
“Our goal is for tourism to be every Ugan-
dan’s business,” she said.
During the quarter, UTB supported pri-
vate tourism initiatives such as the Rolex
festival, Ekyoto and Uganda Fashion Week.
Ajarova said the industry has embraced
MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences
and Events) as new product to further Ugan-
da as a tourist destination for not only leisure
but also business travelers.
28 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
Under this MICE product, Ajarova said
that, they supported the Commonwealth
Parliamentary Conference through develop-
ment of travel packages and guidelines.
“As expected of many MICE events,
Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
had a big trickle-down effect and our hotels
can testify to the bed occupancy registered
during their stay,” she said.
Overall, she said, they are working with
stakeholders on a number of bids to bring
some of the biggest events and conferences
into the country. She said Africa remains
Uganda’s biggest source market.
“We are currently consolidating our
efforts to further tap into the African mar-
ket,” she said.
UTB’s statistics indicates that Kenya
remains Uganda’s biggest source market for
tourists in the region accounting for 29% of
total tourism arrivals registered in 2018.
African markets (regional and neighbor-
ing countries) that entered Uganda by road
makeup 69% of Uganda’s international
arrivals, and grew by 6.1% in 2018.
With these statistics, Ajarova said, Africa
shows great opportunity for growing Ugan-
da’s tourism sector.
Internationally, during the quarter, UTB
Chief Executive Officer Lilly Ajarova
participated in a number of expos and events
both at regional and international arenas.
These include; Kili Fair in Tanzania,
Uganda – Tanzania Business Forum and the
Akwaaba Travel Market in Nigeria.
The agency also took part in Magical
Kenya Travel expo where they showcased
Adventure, Golf Tourism and Nightlife as
well as WTM Africa and Indaba Expos - both
hosted in South Africa.
“We see a huge potential here and are
looking to further grow these numbers,”
she said. At the same time, the number of
specialist tour operators who proactively
sell Uganda as a destination in the UK alone
increased from 99 to over 160.
The agency has also added two other
marketing firms - one in the Gulf States and
the other in Japan and China with the aim of
promoting destination Uganda in emerging
markets. Other firms are selling Uganda in
Germany and the USA.
The agency also profiled the Equator,
Marine and various clusters starting with the
Ankole Cluster.
Uganda has a total of 150 tour and travel
companies, 2066 accommodation facilities
and 358 tourist guides countrywide which
UTB registered during the quarter.
Key facts
 •Tourist arrivals grew from 1.42millio in
2017 to 1.505million in 2018
 •Foreign exchange earnings grew from
$1.45billion in 2017 to $1.6Bn in 2018
 •GDP contribution in 2018 stands at
Shs8.4trillions (7.7%).
 •Tourism contributed 667,600 jobs (6.7%
of total employment).
 •Hotel Room occupancy for 2018 stands
at 50.9% with lodged posting up to 75%.
 •Over 1,613 tourism service providers
trained in service standards in 2018.

Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria
AfroChampions Initiative
presents $1trn AfCFTA
investment framework
By Tom Collins
T
he AfroChampions Initiative held
its second conference on sustainable
green growth and industrialisation in
Kigali, Rwanda.   presented to Obasanjo and other leaders
The AfroChampions Initiative, a set of
public-private partnerships designed to
leverage resources and funds to create more
multinational corporate champions in Africa,
has proposed a $1trn investment framework
to support the goals of the African Continen-
tal Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by 2030.
The presentation was made in Kigali at
the AfroChampions second ‘boma’, a Swa-
hili word meaning traditional community
gathering.
The forum is designed to encourage lively
debate between the private sector, govern-
ment and civil society.
Though 54 countries have signed the
AfCFTA and 28 have ratified it, the world’s
largest free trade area since the creation of
the World Trade Organization will only cre-
ate a more prosperous Africa if substantial
investments are made into sectors which
support intra-African trade.
Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of
Nigeria, praised the investment framework,
saying:
“We now have a framework that we can
put on the table and say this is what we have
to put in place to be able to achieve A, B, C
business
and D. We are able to say yes we want to vate sector to invest.
have $1trn in 10 years. We believe that the It lists signature mega projects like the
money is out there but how do we get that Djibouti to Dakar railway and DRC’s Inga
money into Africa.” Dam project; along with basic shortfalls like
The outline of the framework was first Africa’s annual import bill of $35bn.
It also highlights up-and-coming sectors
in July at the African Union’s Extraordi- like Africa’s urban food market which will
nary Summit in Niger which convened to be worth $150bn by 2030.
mark the official launch of the AfCFTA. The framework identifies the core
The framework seeks to establish that the enablers of the AfCFTA as transportation
multi-sector challenges of implementing the and connectivity; removal of non-tariff bar-
AfCFTA are in fact opportunities for the pri- riers; low cost power to industry; and value
addition and industrialisation in a mod-
ernised digital economy.
By highlighting the opportunities avail-
able and implementing monitoring tools, the
The framework AfroChampions document hopes to act as a
identifies the conduit to investment to these key sectors.
“The launch of the trillion dollar invest-
core enablers ment framework is driven by the private sec-
of the AfCFTA as tor,” said Albert Muchanga, Commissioner
for Trade and Industry at the African Union
transportation Commission.
and connectivity; “With this initiative the private sector is
sending a very clear signal that is willing
removal of non-tariff and ready. I would like to challenge all of
barriers; low cost you to invest and I would like to challenge
the African private sector to be in the For-
power to industry; tune 500 by 2030.”
and value addition Adapted from African Business Magazine
Oct. 25 - 31 2019 29
business
INSURANCE AWARDS

Continental Re officer Afreximbank President receives two awards in the U.S

P
agriculture insurance rof. Benedict mated GDP of over

N
Oramah, 500 billion US dollars
igerian-based firm Con- President of and GDP per capita
tinental Reinsurance will the African significantly higher
now offer agricultural Export-Import Bank than Africa’s average.
insurance cover in its (Afreximbank), on According to him,
latest product mix. Oct.17, received the with more than 30
The Nigerian-based re-insurer 2019 Man of the Year million Africans living
said the continent has a high Award from Diaspora outside their home
potential to grow its agricultural Today magazine and countries and remit-
sector which will require more the African Diaspora ting about $63 billion
insurance products. Distinguished Leader- and saving another
“We have read the signals ship Award of Prince Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah (L), $53 billion annually,
of our environment and have Georges County of joined by other officials to display his award. the Diaspora has
responded without a doubt,” said Maryland, United become an intra-Afri-
Group CEO Femi Oyetunji. States. excellent and very remained to be accom- can trade resource.
“In line with our organising Presenting the impressive leadership plished to develop He argued that that
principle of localisation, we have two awards, Angela style in managing the Africa. He commend- the African Diaspora
found it imperative to expand our Alsobrooks, Prince activities, events and ed the contribution of must be brought into
product relevance to further build Georges County Exec- developmental pro- the African Diaspora intra-African trade
on market development.” utive, said that they grammes of Afrexim- to the continent’s in order to deepen
Continental Re wants to were in celebration bank across Africa and development, saying the dynamism of that
strengthen internal capabilities to of Prof. Oramah’s all over the globe”. that, should the collec- trade. Afreximbank’s
underwrite Agriculture insurance achievements and con- In his acceptance tive African Diaspora intra-African Trade
in Kenya and across the continent, tributions toward the speech, Prof. Ora- be regarded as the Strategy, launched in
according to Kenya’s Business development of the mah said that he 56th African state, it May 2016, was part of
Daily. Global agricultural premi- African continent. She saw the awards as a would rank top in the effort to address
ums are about $25 billion but Afri- also referenced Prof. call to action given terms of “GDP” and that challenge.
ca’s share is less than one per cent. Oramah’s “unique, the many tasks that would have an esti-

CSR AWARDS

Imperial Leather Launches ‘Be Fresh & Win’ Promo UBL’s boss wins 2019 CFO award

G U
lobal personal
care products
manufacturer
PZ Cussons,
through its sole distrib-
utor in Uganda African
Queen, is ramping
up the positioning of
its flagship brand Im-
perial Leather, as the
number one personal
care brand in a new
campaign dubbed ‘Be
Fresh & Win’ aimed at
rewarding consumers in
cash & luxury holidays
over the next 3 months.
Consumers will
scratch to reveal the
unique code on soaps,
lotions & shower gels,
send it to 8008 by SMS
to stand a chance to win
millions of prizes on
daily, weekly, monthly
& grand draws.
PZ Cussons Man-
aging Director, Sekar
Ramamoorthy, said
Imperial Leather con-
ganda Breweries and finance practices both
Finance & Strat- within the companies they
egy Director, operate, and the finance
Doregos Busola, sector in general. Busola
was named the 2019 Chief is the first lady to win the
Finance Officer of the Uganda CFO of the Year
year. It was a double win award.
for Busola who also won She is a seasoned
the Finance Transforma- Finance professional and
tion award. an ACCA fellow
The Chief with over 15 years
Finance Officer of experience in
Innocent Tibayeita (4th R), African Queen Managing
Director, Sekar Ramamoorythy (3rd R), Managing Director (CFO) awards, FMCG organiza-
PZ Cussons East Africa, and staff of African Queen. now in their 3rd tions. She holds a
year, were held at Bachelor’s Degree
sumers have embraced memories are made,” the Kampala Ser- in Accounting from
its new full range of he said. ena Hotel under the University of
personal care products Innocent Tibayeita, the theme ““Eth- Lagos, Nigeria, and
that include, bath soaps the acting Managing ics and Trust, as an MBA in Finance
& lotions due to their Director, African Queen, the Competitive from Kent Busi-
signature fragrance and said young Ugandans Advantage for ness School. She is
longevity. were fast becoming the Business Sustainability.” highly skilled in Strategic
“Our 2019 strategic leading force of the con- They were organized Business Planning, Busi-
mission is to raise the sumer market. by ACCA Uganda and ness Setup, Organizational
profile of Imperial The current campaign Deloitte Uganda. Effectiveness, Change
Leather as a luxury life- will take up at least Shs The awards are aimed Management, Process
style brand which deliv- 1bn including luxurious at recognizing outstand- Simplification and Re-en-
ers amazing experiences holiday rewards to local ing finance professionals gineering, Productivity,
and is always part of the and foreign exotic desti-
and the role they play in Corporate Governance
process where exciting nations,” he announced.
developing good business and Risk Management.

30 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
 business

Airtel Africa partners

with Mastercard

A
irtel Africa has
partnered with
Mastercard, giving
over 100 million Airtel
Africa mobile phone users
across 14 African countries
including Uganda access to
Mastercard’s global network.
The Mastercard virtual
(non-plastic) card allows Airtel
Money customers, even those
without a bank account, to
make payments to local and
global online merchants that
Principal of Kampala Junior Academy, Herbert Kijagurwe (3rd R back accept Mastercard cards, while
row) with a team from Uganda Red Cross and Centenary Bank during a ensuring that the customer’s
partnership event for teaching first aid in schools. The event took place at
Kampala Junior Academy.   INDEPENDENT /ALFRED OCHWO financial data is always secure
and private.
Also, Airtel Money customers
will be able to make in-person
payments at outlets via Quick
Response (QR) codes. To
date, there are over 1 million
merchant locations across Africa
that accept Mastercard QR
payments.
Airtel Money customers will
also benefit from competitive
pricing and preferential
exchange rates for international
payments, and gain access to
other domestically relevant use
cases including bill payments,
merchants payments and value
added services such as cash
Transparency International Uganda Executive Director, Peter Wandera calls
on the government to halt plans for withdrawing Shs450million for the
Petroleum Fund until the Investment Advisory Committee is fully functional
as per the Public Finance Management Act 2015. This was during a press
conference held on Oct. 21 in Ntinda.   INDEPENDENT /ALFRED OCHWO
management solutions.
Raghunath Mandava, the
CEO of Airtel Africa said
Airtel and Mastercard have
a shared passion for digital
transformation and making
mobile financial services
accessible to everyone across the
continent.
“We are really excited to
embark on this partnership with
a globally trusted brand like
Mastercard. This partnership
is truly revolutionary in our
market, giving millions of
people better access to the digital
and online world,” he said.
Amnah Ajmal, Executive
Vice President for Market
Development, Mastercard
Middle East and Africa, said
they are very excited to partner
with Airtel to lead the transition
to digital by enabling access to
their millions of consumers for
online and in-person payments
across the globe.
This development comes as
mobile internet connections
are expected to grow rapidly
in Africa due to low cost
smartphones and high-speed
GSM networks being rolled out
by Mobile Network Operators
like Airtel.

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
Uganda Breweries Finance & Strategy Director Busola Doregos receives UMEME 297 297 00
the 2019 CFO of the year award from Joe Eshun, CEO Deloitte East Africa.
ALSI -- -- --

Oct. 25 - 31 2019 31
U
By Independent Reporter
ganda has conducted a
mass measles-rubella and
polio vaccination campaign
between Oct.16-22.
Initially planned to be a
five-day mass immunisation
campaign but extended to seven days in
selected areas, it used up to 20 million
doses on the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine
imported into the country in July and cost
US$14.4 million (Approx.Shs53 billion). It
was funded by the Government of Uganda,
the GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance; the United
Nations Children’s Fund, and WHO.
Immunisation was initially planned to
be conducted in schools for the first three
days and in communities for the last two
days but it was extended in selected areas.
It did not matter if the child was previously
immunised or not. The measles-rubella
vaccination is to become part of the national
routine immunisation schedule, according
Health minister Dr. Ruth Aceng.
But there has been marked criticism of
the vaccination campaign despite repeated
assurances by the Ministry of Health and
the World health Organisation (WHO) that
vaccines being used are approved, safe,
free, and effective.
The target was to immunise more than
18 million children younger than 15 years,
about 43% of the country’s population.
Among them, 8.2 million children younger
than five years were targeted to receive the
oral polio vaccine.
According to the Ministry of Health,
Uganda has experienced measles outbreaks
across numerous districts in the past three
years. Although the last reported case of
polio in Uganda was in November 2010, the
country remains under threat of the disease
because of vaccine-derived strains of polio
circulating in neighbouring countries.
The objective is to attain more than
95% immunisation coverage, which is
needed to interrupt the transmission of
measles, rubella and polio. Many district
of Uganda; about 80%, according to the
Ministry of Health, have not attained the
immunization target. In a statement to the
media, the Ministry said the low coverage
is due to poor mobilsation, inadequate
awareness, inadequate funding, vaccine
stock-outs and lack of knowledge about
measelea-rubella disease.
Rubella and measles
The WHO says Rubella - also called
German measles or three-day measles,
is an infection caused by a virus and is
32 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
Measles and rubella
One disease or two?
particularly dangerous for adolescents Other countries with high incidences
and pregnant women. When a woman are the Central African Republic and
is infected with the rubella virus early the Republic of Congo. According to
in pregnancy, she has a 90% chance of the WHO, all three have not had rubella
passing the virus to her unborn child. This vaccination programs. Others that are
can cause the death of the fetus or serious heavily hit include Nigeria, Guinnea,
birth defects, such as deafness, blindness, Liberia, Tunisia, and South Africa.
and heart defects, known as Congenital Elsewhere the most hit are Russia,
Rubella Syndrome (CRS). Pakistan, and Poland.
According to the Uganda Ministry Neighbours in the East African region,
of Health, review of the data from Kenya and Tanzania, have rubella
the Uganda Heart Institute shows an vaccination programmes but Rwanda
increasing burden of children born and Burundi do not have them, although
with heart disease as a result of rubella. the WHO data shows they have very low
Children who contract rubella experience incidents of the disease.
rashes and low fever, with the disease Globally, over 400 children die every
sometimes associated with joint pains and day due to measles and about 280 babies
a swelling of the lymph nodes. are born every day with congenital rubella
Uganda is among the heavier sufferers syndrome (CRS).
of rubella and the WHO lists it among the Rubella is not the same as measles
top 10 most affected countries. Up to 59 (rubeola), though the two illnesses do
districts or over 50% of the country have share some characteristics, including the
between 2016 and now reported cases of rash. However, rubella is caused by a
Rubella. different virus than measles, and is neither
as infectious nor usually as severe as
measles.
Country Cases Rate
Measles is highly contagious. The
China 30724 21.890 virus can be contracted by someone up
to two hours after an infected person has
India 2374 1.790 left a room. It spreads through air and
Japan 2274 17.800 infects the respiratory tract, potentially
killing malnourished children or babies
Nigeria 1423 7.650 too young to be vaccinated. Infection
Pakistan 1087 5.630 with measles is followed by high fever,
rash that spreads over the body, cough,
Indonesia 891 3.410 running nose and red watery eyes, with
the disease weakening the body’s immune
South Africa 456 8.140 system. It also often leads to serious
Uganda 415 10.000 complications that include blindness,
encephalitis, severe diarrhea and severe
Dr.Congo 366 4.650 respiratory tract infections, such as
Poland 322 8.420 pneumonia.

Doctors’ beliefs
and treatment
A doctor’s display of confidence in a
treatment may make it more effective
By Agencies
N
ew research finds
that the placebo
effect may be socially
contagious. In other
words, a doctor’s beliefs
about whether or not a pain
treatment will work can exert a
subtle influence on how much
pain the patient will actually
experience.
The power of placebo
may extend beyond what
researchers previously believed.
At first, they only used placebos
as controls in drug experiments.
With time, however, placebos
proved to have value as
potential treatments in their
own right.
Pain, depression, anxiety,
irritable bowel syndrome,
Parkinson’s disease, and
epilepsy are only some of the
conditions that placebos have
shown promise in treating.
A new study has looked into
another fascinating aspect of
the placebo: Does it transmit
socially, from one person to
another? If so, how? More
specifically, how does a doctor’s
belief about the effects of a
medication affect their patient’s
experience of pain?
Luke Chang — the director
of the Computational Social
Affective Neuroscience
Laboratory at Dartmouth
College in Hanover, NH — is
the corresponding author of the
new study.
Chang and colleagues have
published their findings in
the journal Nature Human
BehaviourTrusted Source.
Testing placebo power in 3
experiments
To study the phenomenon
of socially transmitted placebo,
the researchers devised three
experiments. All three involved
two different creams that were
meant to relieve heat-induced
pain by targeting pain receptors
on the participants’ skin.
One of the creams was called
thermedol, and the other was
a control cream. Although
different in appearance, both
creams were actually placebos
— namely, petroleum jelly with
no pain relieving properties at
all.
The researchers asked
undergraduate students to
play the roles of “doctors” and
“patients.” They informed the
“doctors” of the creams’ benefits
and conditioned them to believe
that thermedol was better at
relieving pain than the control
cream.
The first experiment consisted
of 24 “doctor-patient” pairs.
In each pair, the “patient” did
not know which cream was
thermedol and which was the
control. Only the “doctor” knew
which was the “effective” cream.
The researchers then applied
the creams to the participants’
arms, followed by pain-inducing
heat, in order to evaluate
the effects of the cream. All
participants received the same
amount of heat.
During the experiment, all
participants wore cameras
that recorded their facial
expressions in the doctor-patient
interactions.
Using a machine-learning
algorithm trained on facial
signals of pain, the researchers
were able to examine the effect
of cues such as raised eyebrows,
raised upper lips, or nose
wrinkling on the perceived
effectiveness of the treatments.
In this experiment,
the participants reported
experiencing less pain
with thermedol, and skin
conductance tests suggested
that they actually did experience
less discomfort. Their facial
expressions also reflected less
pain with thermedol.
In the other two experiments,
the researchers applied the
creams in different orders, and
they led the doctors to believe
that they were using thermedol
when they were using the
control creams, and vice versa.
The experimenters themselves
were also blind to the study,
not knowing which cream was
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
HEALTH
which. In these experiments, the
results were the same.
How doctors’ beliefs affect
clinical results
Overall, across all three
experiments, the results
revealed that when the
“doctors” believed that a
treatment was effective, the
“patients” reported feeling less
pain. Their facial expressions
and skin conductance tests also
revealed fewer signs of pain.
The reasons for this remain
unclear. However, the
researchers believe that social
contagion via facial cues is the
most likely explanation.
“When the doctor thought
that the treatment was going
to work, the patient reported
feeling that the doctor was more
empathetic,” says Chang.
“The doctor may have come
across as warmer or more
attentive. Yet, we don’t know
exactly what the doctor was
doing differently to convey these
beliefs that a treatment works.
That’s the next thing that we’re
going to explore,” he adds.
“What we do know though
is that these expectations are
not being conveyed verbally
but through subtle social cues,”
explains Chang.
“These findings demonstrate
how subtle social interactions
can impact clinical outcomes. [...]
[Y]ou can imagine that in a real
clinical context, if the healthcare
providers seemed competent,
empathetic, and confident that a
treatment may work, the impact
on patient outcomes could be
even stronger,” said Luke
Chang.
“Additional research,
however, is needed to see how
this plays out in the real world,”
he concludes.
33
comment
By Peter Cunliffe-Jones, Laura Zommer, Noko Makgato, and Will Moy
Fact-checking against misinformation
Effective fact-checking requires efforts to improve
public access to reliable information and corrections
A
ccording to fact-checkers at the
Washington Post, U.S. President
Donald Trump has made more
than 13,000 false or misleading
claims since his inauguration. It is no
wonder some people doubt that the fact-
checking of politicians’ claims is an answer
to the problems of this misinformation age.
When politicians and journalists
from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and
Asia met at the Global Conference for
Media Freedom in London in July, they
acknowledged that the rise of misin-
formation has contributed to declining
public trust in politicians and the media.
But effective solutions have not been
forthcoming. When Europe’s political and
business elite met the same month for the
conference Les Rencontres Économiques
d’Aix-en-Provence 2019, they, too, saw
few options for renewing trust.
But that does not mean that there are
none. As the leaders or founders of fact-
checking organisations in Africa, Latin
America, and Europe, we know that our
work can play a powerful role in coun-
tering the effects of misinformation and
restoring faith in reliable sources.
Fulfilling this duty requires, first and
foremost, a comprehensive under-
standing of the challenges we face. Most
of the world’s almost 200 fact-checking
organisations operate on the assumption
that presenting the public with corrected
information will generally convince them
to update a false view.
Not surprisingly, most academic work
on fact-checking has aimed to test this
assumption. The results are promising.
While nobody could claim that presenting
people with correct information guar-
antees that they will adjust their views,
repeated studies have shown that fact
checking helps the public revise their
understanding of claims, even when the
finding contradicts a firmly held belief.
But simply publishing fact-checks is
not enough. For starters, even with the
greatest resources it would not be pos-
sible to trace all those who have seen the
misinformation being corrected and put
our fact-check in front of them. And there
is simply too much misinformation circu-
lating online and in public debate to fact-
check every false claim made.
That is why, beyond identifying and
34 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
correcting important misinformation,
fact-checkers must engage with politi-
cians, the traditional media, social-media
platforms, and other relevant institu-
tions to reduce the supply. This means
reaching out to public figures to request
on-the-record corrections, lodging com-
plaints with standards bodies, and pro-
viding training to media organisations. It
also means working with tech companies
to find ways to prevent the wider circula-
tion of misinformation, including across
international borders.
At the same time, fact-checking organi-
sations should not simply focus on tack-
ling false information, but also on identi-
fying sources of reliable information and
pointing their readers and followers to
them. And we should work with schools
and other educational platforms to help
teach people to identify false or mis-
leading claims. This is the approach taken
by our organisations, and as small and
under-resourced as they are, the impact is
already apparent.
For example, in January, Ibrahima
Diouf, the economist in charge of writing
the manifesto for one of Senegal’s major
political parties, Parti de l’Unité et du
Rassemblement, told a University of
Dakar researcher that, because of the
Africa Check team’s work, writers of
political-party manifestos paid more
Most of the
world’s almost
200 fact-checking
organisations
operate on the
assumption that
presenting the
public with corrected
information will
generally convince
them to update a
false view
attention to the accuracy of their figures.
Similarly, in South Africa, Febe Potgi-
eter-Gqubule, the general manager of
the ruling African National Congress,
declared in a public meeting that Africa
Check “plays an important role” in
keeping political parties and their leaders
accountable. A few months earlier, the
South African Police Service officially
revised the national crime statistics,
following an Africa Check intervention,
admitting that the data were worse than
they had initially reported. Reducing the
supply of misinformation by engaging
with those in power works.
At the same time, in Argentina, the
fact-checking organisation Chequeado
has created the country’s first program to
teach critical thinking and news literacy
skills to young people. The results of this
effort to inoculate the young against the
harm caused by misinformation mirrored
those of a 2016 study, which showed a
huge leap in the ability of school-age chil-
dren in Uganda to distinguish good and
bad health information after being taught
similar skills.
Finally, effective fact-checking requires
efforts to improve public access to reliable
information. In the United Kingdom, for
example, Full Fact has worked with the
Office of National Statistics not only to
open up its data to a wider audience, but
also to ensure that it is delivered in a form
the public will understand.
While we shouldn’t underestimate the
scale of the threat posed by misinforma-
tion and declining trust, or the complexity
of their causes, the problem is not nearly
as intractable as some seem to believe.
By addressing not only the symptoms of
misinformation and mistrust, but also the
systemic problems that underlie them,
fact-checking organisations, media, gov-
ernment, and business can resist these
worrisome trends.
Peter Cunliffe-Jones is the founder of Africa
Check. Laura Zommer is Executive Director
of Chequeado. Noko Makgato is Executive
Director of Africa Check. Will Moy is Chief
Executive of Full Fact.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.

By Damali Ssali
Tariffs and intra-Africa trade
Significant reduction or elimination of tariffs would
boost intra-Africa trade to more than 50%
T
here are several factors that influ-
ence the value and volume of trade.
However, tariffs on tradeable goods
and services are one of the most sig-
nificant.
International trade grew dramatically in
the second half of the 20th century. As an
example, total global trade in 2000 was 22
times greater than it had been 1950.
This increase in multilateral interna-
tional trade occurred when trade bar-
riers, especially tariffs, were significantly
reduced or in some cases eliminated
across large trade blocks in Asia, America
and Europe.
Tariffs are taxes levied on imports and
exports between states with the aim of
generating government revenues and
protecting domestic industries.
Sometimes, depending on the tax policy
of the country, a tariff could be set as
high as 60%. This is usually to protect a
young industry that is considered as very
important to that state.
Other times tariffs are imposed by
states, against products and services of
another state, to settle scores. The current
trade war currently going on between the
United States and China is one such tariff
war waged between states.
In 2017, the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development reported that
tariffs on tradeable goods and services
between the developed states averaged
at 1.2%.
This is low compared to the average
tariffs on tradeable goods and services
between African countries which stand at
8%. Moreover, tariffs remain relatively
high in important sectors; including
agriculture, apparel, textiles, and leather
products.
Unfortunately, these high tariffs make
it easier for African countries to trade
with Europe and the United States than to
trade with each other.
As such, intra-Africa trade is just 15%.
This means that of all total trade on the
African continent, only 15% is between
African countries.
On the other hand, over 60% of total
African trade is with countries that are
oceans away from the continent. By way
of comparison, intra-trade levels in Asia
stand at 58% and in Europe at 67%.
A recent United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa report indicated
that if tariffs are significantly reduced,
or eliminated, intra-Africa trade would
increase to more than 50% of total trade
on the continent.
That said, there is a legitimate concern
that if tariffs are significantly reduced
or eliminated there will be a reduction
in government revenues. This in turn
would curtail the governments’ ability to
provide public goods and services to the
general population.
However, the reduction in government
revenues, from tariffs, would be made up
with an increase in income tax and value
added tax. This is because a reduction in
tariffs would lead to an increase in the
value and volume of trade, profits, invest-
ment, productivity, employment and dis-
posable income.
The positive knock-on effects of revenue
from other non-tariff revenue sources by
far outweigh the loss in revenue from
tariffs.
With the coming into effect of the
African Continental Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA), which creates a single
domestic market for goods and services
of 1.2 billion people, this is the opportune
time to discuss the elimination of tariffs
on continental trade.
The AfCFTA seeks to reduce tariffs
between African countries by more than
90%. This will help to reverse the trend
where more than 75% of all exports from
the continent are extractives; namely oil
and minerals, in raw form. The goal is to
secure sustainable economic growth by
shifting away from the volatility related
to exporting raw materials, to the stability
of exporting industrialised goods.
The significance of the AfCFTA cannot
be overstated. It will be the world’s
largest free trade area since the establish-
ment of the World Trade Organisation
and it is estimated that if successfully
implemented, Africa will have a com-
bined consumer and business spending of
US$6.7 trillion by 2030.
The AfCFTA will have a big impact on
manufacturing, tourism, intra-African
cooperation, and economic transforma-
tion. The International Monetary Fund
reports that, under the AfCFTA, Africa’s
expanded and more efficient goods and
labour markets will increase the conti-
Oct. 25 - 31 2019
COMMENT
nent’s overall ranking on the global com-
petitiveness index.
However, the immense potential of the
AfCFTA will only be realised if tariffs are
eliminated or significantly reduced and
this must be prioritised at the very start
of the implementation phase in 2020.
The schedules of tariff concessions of
members states must be submitted to the
African Union and the negotiations on the
rules of origin, for goods, completed.
The other main area of tariff elimination
is in services, particularly, on investment,
competition and intellectual property
rights.
This is because services make a signif-
icant contribution to the manufacturing
value chains and play a key role in logis-
tics. Also, services make a larger contribu-
tion to poverty reduction than agriculture
or manufacturing.
On the African continent, over 55% of
the Gross Domestic Product is generated
by services. However, African service
providers face barriers to export services.
As a result, African services exports con-
tribute just 2% of global trade in services.
Therefore, there is a great opportunity
for the AfCFTA to expand competitive-
ness in African trade in services by lib-
eralising the service sector through the
elimination of tariffs on services
Also, in view of the imminent imple-
mentation phase, member states must
build the capacity of their trade missions
and ministries to negotiate trade tariffs.
This capacity building can start with
the individual countries, to the regional
economic blocks, such as the East African
Community, and then consolidated at the
AfCFTA secretariat.
The focus on tariff elimination will, not
only, promote African development and
catalyse the growth in the manufacturing
and services sectors, but also, provide
employment opportunities for the conti-
nent’s burgeoning youthful population.
Damali Ssali is a Trade Development Expert
damali.ssali@gmail.com
35
COMMENT
By Klaus Schwab
Ending economic short-termism
Adopting new global growth metrics, a climate
tracker, and a measure of ESG would go a long way
A
s finance ministers gather in Wash-
ington, DC, for the World Bank
and International Monetary Fund’s
annual meetings, they will face
no shortage of urgent matters to discuss.
Fears of a global recession, the US-China
trade war, the fallout of the Brexit talks,
and a dangerous debt overhang make this
the most stressful economic juncture in a
decade. These issues must be discussed, and
we should all hope that they can be resolved
with minimal damage.
But they should not deflect attention
from even more pressing long-term chal-
lenges: achieving the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
by 2030; delivering on the Paris climate
agreement over the next 30 years; and
reforming our global economic system
to make it fit for the next 50 years and
beyond.
All of this assumes an end to the eco-
nomic short-termism that underpins
policymaking today. For that, we should
develop scorecards to track our perfor-
mance on these long-term priorities. To
that end, I have three suggestions. First,
we need to rethink GDP as our “key
performance indicator” in economic pol-
icymaking. Second, we should embrace
independent tracking tools for assessing
progress under the Paris agreement and
the SDGs. Third, we must implement
“stakeholder capitalism” by introducing
an environmental, social, and governance
(ESG) scorecard for businesses.
On the first point, we desperately need
to change our overall economic frame
of reference. For 75 years, the world
marched to the beat of the drum called
“Gross Domestic Product.” Now, we need
a new instrument. GDP gained traction
when economies were primarily seen as
vehicles for mobilising wartime produc-
tion. Yet today’s economies are expected
to serve an entirely different purpose:
maximising wellbeing and sustainability.
It is time to consider a new approach.
A group of economists from the pri-
vate sector, academia, and international
institutions, including Diane Coyle and
Mariana Mazzucato, has already been
working on alternate measures and ways
to correct for the failings of GDP. Their
Wealth Project, which evolved from
36 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
efforts initiated by the World Bank, has
offered a number of proposals for how we
can move forward.
For example, one “quick fix” is to adopt
a measure like median income per capita,
which better reflects the economic condi-
tions real people face. A more ambitious
measure is “Natural Capital,” based on
a country’s ecosystems, fish stocks, min-
erals, and other natural assets. Because
this “balance sheet” would also need to
include human capital, we could incor-
porate all of the relevant elements in one
composite scorecard.
Second, as young climate protesters
such as Greta Thunberg remind us, zero-
carbon targets and the demand for a more
equitable economic system must be put
at the center of national and international
governance. Otherwise, the popular
uproar against “elites” will intensify, and
social and political polarization will con-
tinue.
Here, one option is to embrace inde-
pendent tools such as the Climate Action
Tracker, which shows each country’s
progress toward meeting its national
commitments under the Paris agreement.
Governments and international organ-
isations could use the same scorecard
when reporting on their performance and
sharing best practices at international
meetings.
Policymakers and other leaders also
need to engage more constructively with
the voices of protest. To that end, we
should be developing a widely accessible
platform behind each of the SDGs, so that
everyone has a channel through which to
offer their own ideas and skills. Working
toward the SDGs does not preclude coun-
tries from putting their own communities
first. The SDGs for health and wellbeing,
education, gender equality, decent work,
reduced inequalities, and strong institu-
tions all fit into national-level agendas.
Moreover, a renewed emphasis on
sovereign action can help us strike the
right balance between global goals and
demands for national autonomy.
Finally, we should recognise how the
role of business has changed over the last
50 years. In 1970, when the Nobel laureate
economist Milton Friedman advocated
“shareholder primacy,” businesses were
either unaware of their broader social
impact, or too small to alter socioeco-
nomic balances. Yet in a world of global
supply chains and multinational corpo-
rations with technological primacy, that
narrow vision cannot be sustained.
As a recent Business Roundtable decla-
ration makes clear, we have entered the
age of “stakeholder capitalism” (a model
that the World Economic Forum has
embraced since the early 1970s). Business
metrics will have to change, and all busi-
ness leaders should have already devel-
oped an ESG mindset. These standards
now need to be included in financial
statements and annual reports.
The good news is that many busi-
nesses are moving in this direction.
Better yet, they will soon be able to rely
on a common scorecard that is being
developed by the International Busi-
ness Council, a group chaired by Bank
of America CEO Brian Moynihan. That
effort has the support of the “Big Four”
accounting firms, whose experience
working on similar initiatives in the past
could prove useful. If enough stake-
holders embrace the new scorecard, it
could become a leading indicator for busi-
ness performance globally.
Adopting these three scorecards – new
global growth metrics, a climate tracker,
and a measure of ESG – would go a
long way toward addressing the world’s
greatest long-term challenges. It would
also help us alleviate today’s economic
crises and avoid future ones, by demon-
strating to a disgruntled public that
political and business leaders really are
working for everyone’s interests, and not
just their own. I invite every stakeholder
in the global economy to join in these
efforts to end the era of short-termism.
Klaus Schwab is Founder and Executive
Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE

A
By Dominic Muwanguzi

s conversation on African na-

tionalism is renewed in aca-
demic circles on the continent
and its diaspora, academics
and creatives; including art-
ists, musicians, poets, fashion
designers and writers are increasingly in-
voking the topic in their work. Matt Kayem,
a youthful painter on the Kampala art scene,
creates art on it. He works reverberate with
politics, Afro-centrism, and championing
and celebrating black identity.
From his first series titled `Cool Afrika
Vol 1’ to his recent Vol. 2, the artist deploys
powerful pan-African political imagery that
invokes ideologies and history texts on his
canvases. He views the narrative as a search
of authenticity contemporary African identi-
ty. Sometimes the message in the artwork is
tense, toned down by humour, self- portrai-
ture, and tongue in cheek imagery to satirise.
Matt Kayem, born Matthew Kayemba, is a
self- proclaimed and sworn pan- Africanist.

Introspection
His mission is African unity and black eman-
cipation from western colonialism and post
-colonialism. On his social media pages, he
often shares black conscious ideologies and

into cool Afrika

sentiments, often adopted from pan African
Literature.
His art echoes his technique of spreading
“the gospel truth about African identity and
emancipation”. On the Cool Afrika Vol. 1
poster, Matt poses dressed in barkcloth- a
traditional garment for the Baganda, his
cultural ancestry- alongside ornamental
jewelry that represent his black identity: the
African pendant necklace draped around
his neck; rings and bracelets around his
figures and wrist respectively, conjure an
African Prince. He seats, his gleaming ebo-
ny-skinned body, leaning against two big
books- probably of Pan - African Literature
to illustrate his avowed intelligence. The
background is framed in African geometrical
patterns of significantly luminous yellows
and blues with the words COOL AFRIKA
screaming in bold fonts. An immediate
encounter with this poster will quickly spark
the public’s imagination to the subject mat-
ter of the exhibition. The artist deliberately
assumes the status of an African Prince
looking straight in the eye of the viewer as
if summoning them to join the movement
of Africa nationalism. Remarkably, the sub-
ject maintains his pop- culture personality
evident with the heavy wrist watch on his
left hand and the cap that is turned at the
back. The inverted cap reveals a hip air –cut.
While preserving this personality, the artist
is deliberate to appeal to the young gener-
ation to join this campaign. This imagery
Art that speaks to Africa’s
emancipation on show
is skillfully replicated in the poster that
announces the second edition of the exhibi-
tion: COOL AFRIKA: Vol 2.
The campaign for Africa and black eman-
cipation should not be resigned to the older
generation, he says. Many students at uni-
versity have crammed his political speeches.
His current exhibition, Cool Afrika, is hap-
pening as the continent is being bombarded
with Western influences as never before. Yet
a more critical focus on this itinerary exhibi-
tion should be how the exhibit impacts the
public. In this query questions like; how
can the continent’s elusive unity be achieved
or how relevant is the phrase `Cool Afrika’
in the wake of global culture and western
nationalism that are on the rise?
Cool Afrika Vol. 2 is showing at Kioki, Mwitiki
Gallery,located on Lavington, James Gichuru
Road, Nairobi. The solo show is from Oct.19 –
Dec.08.
Oct. 25 - 31 2019 37
Dead man
reappointed to
civil service job
Kenya’s Cabinet Secre-
tary, Joe Mucheru, was on
Oct.17 put on the spot for
re-appointing a dead man
to the Kenya Film Clas-
sification Board (KFCB).
Through a Gazette Notice,
Mucheru had reappointed
the late Robert Kochalle,
who died on May 28, 2018,
to continue serving in the
KFCB board for another
three years. However,
KFCB boss Ezekiel Mutua
defended the CS noting the
notice was an honest mis-
take that had been blown
out of proportion. Accord-
ing to the people’s appoint-
ed moral police, the board
had presented the notifica-
tion of Kochalle’s demise
for replacement but was
accidentally re-appointed.
Lady Gaga falls
hard off the stage
Lady Gaga suffered a
hard fall off the stage after
a fan dropped her during
a show on Oct.17 night.
The “Shallows” singer was
performing her Enigma
show, part of her Las Vegas
concert residency, when a
fan, who had picked her
up while dancing, lost his
balance, sending both him
and Gaga crashing to the
ground below. The fall was
captured on video by fans
in the audience and posted
to social media, with many
concerned the Oscar-win-
ner and fan had been seri-
ously injured. Fortunately,
Gaga recovered in no time,
getting back on stage and
continuing her performance
with a rendition of “Bad
Romance,” singing and
dancing like nothing had
happened. No word yet on
how the fan is fairing.
38 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
You can now license your face to humanoid Restaurant serves
If you don’t mind selling the humanoid robot once it goes into water recycled
rights to your face, you can stand
to make £100,000 (Approx. Shs480
production. This will potentially
entail using this person’s face on from its toilets
million) by licensing your mug thousands of robots around the To highlight a new type of
to a robotics company to be used world, so the company is willing water purification system, a
on one of their humanoid robots. to pay that in licensing fees. The restaurant in Kuurne, Belgium,
According to a recent blog post by robot in question is designed to has started serving its customers
London-based outsourcing com- be a “virtual friend” for elderly free drinking water recycled
pany Geomiq, a robotics company people, and is scheduled to go into from its sinks and toilets.
is currently looking for a “kind production next year. The water served at the
and friendly” face to put on a Gust’eaux restaurant in Kuurne
these days is the same as any
Vatican launches smart ‘eRosary’ other potable water – it has no
smell, no taste, no color – so it’s
The “Click to Pray eRosary is designed impossible to tell that it’s source
eRosary” is a smart “to help young people is actually the restaurant’s
gadget shaped like pray the Rosary for toilets. By using a complex,
a regular rosary and peace and to contem- five-step purification system,
designed to educate plate the Gospel”. Gust’eaux is able to turn its sew-
young, technology-fo- Similar to a standard age into a water so pure that it
cused youths how to rosary, the new high- has to be enriched with minerals
pray the rosary. The tech version consists before being served to clients.
smart eRosary can be of ten consecutive The restaurant offers its
worn as a bracelet and black agate and hema- recycled toilet water to patrons
is activated by making tite rosary beads, and in a variety of forms – as free
the sign of the cross. a “smart cross” where drinking water, ice cubes or in
It comes with a companion smart- all the data is stored. After activat- coffee. It’s reportedly also used
phone app which synchronises ing the device by making the sign for brewing beer. According to
with the gadget and allows access
to an audio guide, exclusive imag-
of the cross the user has the option
to pray the standard rosary, a
Sudinfo, the same water purifi-
cation system is used to provide
es, personalised content, and also
tracks the user’s progress. Accord-
contemplative Rosary, or one of
several thematic rosaries that will
drinking water to isolated com-
munities, but the experience is
ing to the Vatican website, the be updated every year. unprecedented in Europe.
Town bans use of Google maps after too many tourists stranded
Baunei, an idyllic mountain the local fire service or moun- es” around Baunei and end up
village on the Italian island tain rescue team have been driving down lanes that are
of Sardinia, has launched an called 144 times to help strand- unsuitable for cars or onto off-
appeal to visitors asking them ed tourists who had followed road tracks. To stop this from
to stop relying on the directions the directions of Google Maps. happening, local police have put
of Google Maps when driving Apparently, people are often up signs that read “Do not fol-
around the area. The mayor using the GPS-powered app to low the directions suggested by
claims that in the last year alone reach so-called “hidden beach- Google Maps”.
This drink is genetically engineered to prevent hangovers
We humans have been looking for an effective a by-product of metabolising ethanol. It’s this
way to prevent or at least treat hangovers for a toxic compound that is associated with known
long time, but one Silicone Valley startup claims to hangover symptoms like headache, nausea,
have finally found a way to ease the uncomfortable and heart palpitations. Although acetaldehyde
side effects of drinking. Zbiotics is the world’s first naturally dissipates over time, the more you drink
genetically modified probiotic. It’s not marketed as the more of it builds up in your body, and the
an explicit cure for hangovers, because they include worse you feel. Zbiotics contains a form of “good”
a wide variety of negative side effects; Downing a bacteria that has been genetically engineered to
small bottle of Zbiotics before your first alcoholic break down acetaldehyde and make you feel
drink of the night has a very specific purpose better after an alcohol-fuelled night out.
– to help your body break down acetaldehyde,
 Car colours
of 2020
Loud and bold is becoming a reality
By Motoring Guru
O
ne of my favourite motoring
moments each year is when
car sellers in the UK reveal
the favourite car colour for
the year. Some car sellers reveal the
most favoured car colours by month
but I prefer the yearly reports because
there are also yearly predictions of
colours that will rock in the year.
These are made by the car makers. So
I check to see how the car makers pre-
dictions performed against the actual
choices buyers make in the car marts.
Most years, most people prefer to
buy a car in neutral colours such as
black, white, or blue. These choices
follow a pattern. Anyone looking for
an expensive and prestigious looking
car will go for black. On the opposite
end, anyone looking for a cheap town
ride will go for white. But occasion-
ally a surprise pops up. In 2018 grey
emerged the most popular colour
picked buy car buyers. That was a first
in the life of the Society of Motor Man-
ufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that
began recording the colour of all new
passenger cars sold in the UK in 1996.
The surprise pop-ups happen
because when some people buy a car,
they want to make a statement with
it. They are people who want to stand
out of the crowd and they want a car
that matches that personality. They
want red – and not just any red. Some
car makers too believe a splash of
color may change a driver’s driving
experience altogether, making for an
enjoyable and exciting ride.
Neutral colors are still a top choice
for many car buyers but in recent
years, there’s been a demand for new
tones. The trend towards loud and
bold colors car colours is becoming a
reality. Colour names like Absolute
Zero White, Nocturnal Black, Renais-
sance Red 2.0, Phantom Matte Gray,
Tungsten Silver, Turbulent Gray,
Nitro Yellow, and Downshift Blue are
popping in the Toyota colour pallete
for 2020. Toyota is certainly in the lead
for offering drivers new color palette
options.
Hyundai is offering a glowing
yellow for its best-selling model, the
2020 Hyundai Sonata. Hyundai is
also offering Lagoon Silver, which is
described as a lighter shade of grey
with a moon-like sheen to it. Accord-
ing to one review online, tones of
grey come in metallic silver or boring
darker shades in general but the
Lagoon Silver might be a hit. The new
2020 Ford Mustang, which is being
vaunted as the classic “cool-guy car”
has many popping colour options but,
according to the review, the Twister
Orange Metallic looks the best on it.
But again, according to the car
buying website carwow, more than
two-thirds (67.26%) of its customers
during the first four months of 2019
picked a monochromatic colour. Black
proved to be the most popular, fol-
lowed by white, and grey. Blue came
in fourth. So clearly the conservatives
still rule the road. It makes sense. For
new car buyers, black or white are
the cheapest option as they are con-
sidered standard. Then also, for those
buyers looking to switch car down
the road, white cars are the easiest to
sell on. But things change even among
conservatives. The top four conserva-
tive car colours of the 1990s included
black, blue, red, and green.
Oct. 25 - 31 2019 39
global comment
By Jesse Salah Ovadia
Opportunity for African fossil fuels
Focus on the push for African petroleum producers
to capture more value by promoting `local content’
I
n August, a plaque was installed where
Iceland’s once-iconic Okjökull glacier
stood, before climate change turned it
into a lake. “This monument,” the plaque
reads, “is to acknowledge that we know
what is happening and know what needs to
be done. Only you know if we did it.”
What is happening, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and virtually the
entire scientific community warn, is the
rapid approach of a climate catastrophe.
And while much must be done to prevent it,
for developing regions like Africa, this will
require a new approach to industrialisation.
In many ways, the world is finally begin-
ning to take climate change seriously. A
total of 195 countries have signed onto the
2015 Paris climate agreement. In the United
States, while President Donald Trump has
withdrawn from the Paris accord (and
rolled back environmental protections), state
governments have taken up the mantle of
achieving its goals, and Democratic presi-
dential candidates are proposing ambitious
climate strategies.
But it is young people, not political
leaders, that are leading the call for action.
The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist
Greta Thunberg has grabbed headlines
with her eloquent speeches, school strike
movement, and voyage across the Atlantic
on a zero-emissions yacht. OPEC’s secretary
general, Mohammed Barkindo, recently
described such activists as “perhaps the
greatest threat” to the oil industry’s future.
Barkindo also argued that the petroleum
industry is not the sole cause of climate
change. In some ways, he’s right. However,
the oil sector also needs to acknowledge that
our reliance on “fossil capitalism” is coming
to an end. In his early July remarks, he noted
that the international oil industry will need
to have some difficult conversations about
the future.
But while efforts to shift to increasingly
cost-competitive renewable-energy sources
should be welcomed, the challenge this
poses for developing countries with oil and
gas resources – which have contributed far
less to climate change than their industri-
alised counterparts – remains unaddressed.
Fossil fuels have underpinned prosperi-
ty-enhancing industrialisation wherever it
has taken place, from Europe and the U.S.
40 Oct. 25 - 31 2019
in the nineteenth century to China in the
2000s. But in the Global South, oil and gas
resources have not translated into sustained
economic development and higher stan-
dards of living. Instead, they have generally
involved extraction from some for the ben-
efit of others: a “resource curse.”
In this moment of greater interest in sus-
tainable and just transitions, an increasing
number of African countries are pursuing
new petroleum exploration and production.
Understandably, they hope finally to reap
the development benefits of their natural
endowments. While more sustainable
energy systems are crucial from an environ-
mental perspective, during the transition
– and while petroleum resources continue
to be required – African states will need to
make the most of their fossil-fuel resources
and exploit them in ways that contribute to
positive welfare outcomes. This is the logic
underpinning petro-development.
But even with substantial new investment,
especially from China and India, the possi-
bilities for petro-development are waning.
What once looked like a source of infinite
opportunity now has clear limits, given
lower global oil prices and a shift in demand
toward renewable-energy sources.
As a former head of Nigeria’s national oil
company, Barkindo is acutely aware of the
difficulties in exploiting oil and gas resources
in ways that produce net benefits to both the
state and its citizens. As renewable energy
becomes more cost-effective and societies
make the transition to a post-carbon world,
the conversation should not be about how
the existing oil industry can be part of the
solution, but rather about how the industry
can make more contributions to socioeco-
nomic development during the transition.
Even if oil prices recover, it seems unlikely
that most African countries will be able
to achieve the desired petro-develop-
ment without radically overhauling their
approach to natural-resource management
and governance. And that will require a
long-term, carefully designed, and feasible
strategy for social and economic develop-
ment.
Such a strategy should, for example, recog-
nise that new investment in the oil industry
leads to billions of dollars of spending on
a wide variety of goods and services from
companies that, in many cases, do much
more than service the oil industry. In recent
years, Nigeria has been leading a push for
African petroleum producers to capture
more value by promoting “local content.”
Across Africa, countries are trying to build
local companies and encourage interna-
tional companies to do more of their work
in-country. In effect, they are trying to find
a way to make good use of their resources
before the window for doing so closes.
The industrialised economies, for their
part, must do more to support African oil
industries and make sure the negative effects
of oil production are mitigated.
For such strategies to work, however, the
oil industry must get on board. This means
engaging sincerely with African govern-
ments, in order to figure out how best to
support national agendas for development
and diversification. The upcoming Abu
Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition
and Conference, hosted by the Abu Dhabi
National Oil Company – which will be
attended by Barkindo, as well as numerous
African energy ministers and oil-industry
leaders – is an ideal opportunity to initiate
such a process.
Working with other stakeholders, cam-
paigners for a sustainable and just transition
can also achieve something more: allowing
carbon energy to have a positive impact on
economies which have so far experienced
only the negative effects of the oil-backed
development of the twentieth century.
Rather than dismiss young climate activ-
ists as a business nuisance, the oil industry
should be discussing openly how it can
enhance its legacy of development. Only
future generations will know if it did.
Jesse Salah Ovadia (@js_ovadia), an associate
professor of political science at the University
of Windsor, Canada, is the author of The Petro-
Developmental State in Africa.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.
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