News analysis Health Business

On the road with Here is why your teens Once declining fish stocks in lebrating
UNRAs Kagina might need contraceptives Lake Victoria bounce back Ce

Issue No. 499 Dec 08 - 14, 2017 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years

Museveni enters fight

over $20bn oil deals
French domination sparks fight
with Chinese

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Celebrating


INSIDE: BUSINESS
Economic
POLITICS: Godber SUDAN: Matthew Musevenis vision
GOVERNANCE: FEATURE NEWS A NALYSIS NEWS A NALYSIS Why do experts, World Bank
anxieties

Charles Onyango- Tumushabe on Stein on the want shift in strategy?

Poverty looms as
gambling booms
Obbo on the new lessons from Ivory Souths walk to Foreign big-money Police PRO reappointed Experts divided NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS

look of corruption Coast crisis freedom investment frenzy in again as major changes over HIV Teachers on Museveni can Shs 68 trillion
Tullows backyard rock force strategy new transfer save Zziwa but economy
policy what after?
Emirates Airlines in control

INDEPENDENT
Issue No. 239 November 09 - 15 , 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
THE

You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue 144 January 07 - 13, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6

Issue No. 230 September 07 - 13, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
Issue No. 347 December 12 - 18, 2014 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Obama II Win excites world Papal Visit

The Besigye, Museveni

How Museveni killed Amamas vision Exercise, diet against IMF cuts Ugandas 16-page
anti-Lukwago Bill for Uganda cancer of prostate growth prospects Special
Edition

problem

Secret
As seen from the
delegates conference
Issue No. 396 Nov. 27 - Dec 03, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Issue No. 395 Nov. 27 - Dec 03, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

oil deals
New rules to force www.independent.co.ug

CNOOC, Total, Tullow

to reveal money paid
By Haggai Matsiko

Welcome
Inside the hunt
www.independent.co.ug

Issue 347.indd 1 12/9/14 8:21 PM

Pope
for Al Shabaab
INTERVIEW NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS
Land grabbers
50 years of Joy & tears
All Makerere money Crane Bank

A SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
should be put in
one basket for
better staff pay
hit Entebbe






















opens Malaba
Branch
Shs 234 Bn brewery opens
INSIDE: Prof. Frederick Jjuko, Prof.Daniel Schydlowsky, Prof. John Ssali, Lawrence Kagwa, Mayanja Nkangi, Prof.
Mwambutsya Ndeebesa, Godber Tumushabe, Maj. John Kazoora, Yoga Adhola, Eliya Kisembo, Andrew Mwenda, Abbey
Francis
Ssemuwemba, Naomi Wolf, Simon Mayende, Moses Byaruhanga, Moses Matovu, Diplock Ssegawa, Ronald Kerajo 27: 11: 2015
By Andrew M. Mwenda THE ANNIVERSARY EDITION

www.independent.co.ug www.independent.co.ug Issue No. 280 August 30 - September 05 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
INTERVIEW INSIGHT BUSINESS NEWS ANALYSIS TRIBUTE: BUSINESS
Economy on Why
www.independent.co.ug
Issue No. 234 October 05 - 11, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Museveni Call rates stay up Independence Ali Alamin NSSFs
speech was thin but UCC says new
track- IMF on substance law will compel
Day in
pictures
Mazrui
Feb.24 1933 to
Shs 366
billion

Musevenis war within NRM

RWANDA: 37 men SUDAN: What are the COMMENT Prof. SPECIAL REPORT: SUDAN:INew BUSINESS: With RWANDA: SUDAN:Recent violence BUSINESS: Oct.13, 2014
accused of grenade implications for the Ian Buruma on Killed by the state currency still govt broke, oil Rwanda becomes in Abyei has potential Mobile money:
attacks are alleged ongoing stalemate in why Obama has at Kololo army base, shrouded in firms gain upper a Nyakatsiless to spark a wider north- So far so good,
FDLR agents Darfur? gotten it right buried in secret grave secrecy hand country south conflict but





 








INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT
THE
THE

THE

Issue No. 218 June 15 - 21, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Issue No. 339 October 17 - 23, 2014 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price
Issue No. 154, March 18 - 24, 2011
Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6 You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 157, April 08 - 14, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6 You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 158, April 15 - 21, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6
Supplement
Uganda Health system
strengthening project
scholarships

Tight budget
scheme

The challenge behind the 2012/13 numbers What next

Banks make for Afande
Lord Mayor huge profits Kaweesi?
Lukwago 


  
Police boss Kayihuras
The Field Commander 


 

brings common mans Crane Bank


 
approach to the city billion

Besigye pays the price

FDC leader unleashes powerful strategy against Museveni

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www.independent.co.ug
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INTERVIEW: RWANDA: SUDAN: www.independent.co.ug Issue 339.indd 1 10/13/14 8:20 PM

RWANDA: SUDAN:IDanger of NEWS: Budget reading Economic turbulence War looms large in
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Can its economy NGOs providing basic Whistleblower is ritual of same wont shake the South Kordofan,
services to almost Abyei and Darfur
accommodate its exposes smuggling old promises countrys optimism COMMENT
Q&A BUSINESS
Avalanche of banks
ROAD TO 2016 NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS
Richard Byarugaba Dont BoU committed
spiraling birth rate? 90% of the country ring inside tax body on reducing NSSF politicise `The country Foreign
suspense account fight against
corruption
EU to lead new UN
energy initiative World Paul Kagame, Yoweri Museveni, Barack Obama, Uhuru Kenyatta, Goodluck is about to be
plunged
TV wins
to ensuring
economic

INDEPENDENT
Jonathan, Bill Clinton, Augustine Ruzindana, Olara Otunnu, Ssebaana Kizito,
mourns Gerald Ssendaula, Pope Francis, Andrew Mwenda, Yusuf Sserunkuma,
Rebecca Kadaga, Kintu Musoke, Norbert Mao, Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere,
into chaos stability
THE

Mandela
Issue No. 167, June 17 - 23, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6

Issue No. 212, May 04 - 10, 2012

Amama Mbabazi, Ruhakana Rugunda, Prince William...
Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

SUPPLEMENT:

Kayihura sacks
BUJAGALI LINE

Land grabbing,
You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 159, April 22 - 28, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6
COMMISSIONED
Issue No. 384 Sept. 04 - 10,2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

top police officers investors exposed

Museveni reacts, Oxfam, Uganda
Is it punishment or a purge? Land Alliance in trouble Issue No. 295 December 13 - 19, 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

2016
Election

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or war?
Security experts

Walk www.independent.co.ug
NEWS ANALYSIS
Corruption in
RWANDA
Rwandas
BUSINESS
NEWS ANALYSIS
Unwanted
INTERVIEW
Politics should
BUSINESS
In-flight catering
raise alarm over






to war
High costs threaten comes of age
low cost housing investors be a sacrifice -
F
C igh
Uganda business capital sector
Making resource
rich regions Dr Ian Clarke Wining but not winning, yet
orr ti
INTERVIEW:
Besigye wants to
RWANDA:
Is corruption on
SUDAN:
South Kordofans up ng
in Uga
nda 
 






American companies make?
inflows firm Rwanda targets medical tourism become food poor
ti
topple the govt - the rise in the EACs volatile governor on
Public anger greets Kabushenga cleanest country? vote
Museveni even
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before he is swornin
INDEPENDENT Nelson
THE

NEWS A NALYSIS INTERVIEW BUSINESS

Mandela
You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue No. 162, May 13 -19, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6 Issue No. 261 April 19 - 25 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
Issue No. 268 June 07 - 13 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Why Ugandan We want a world Big dairy
www.independent.co.ug pupils dont class, first-world opportunity
learn Police Force
1918-2013
Uganda, Sudan How Monitor was






SUDAN:
South Sudans
COMMENT: Onyango-
Obbo: Museveni won
BUSINESS:
Ugandan business SPECIAL REPORT: RWANDA: INTERVIEW:
Cut down on
ICC trial looms over Special Commemorative Issue

closed, re-opened
From bitter rivals

enter arms race

How Musevenis

Kayihura, Kivejinja
free or fearful because he is bad, not women coming teargas and
good president into their own success is creating to friends - how
press? conditions for Kagame and increase teachers
his downfall Sarkozy reconciled pay- Prof. Kajubi

INDEPENDENT
THE

Issue No. 318 May 23 - 29, 2014 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

You Buy the Truth, We Pay the Price Issue 152 March 04 - 10, 2011 Ushs 4000, Kshs 180, RwF 1200, SDP 6

Issue No. 181, September 23 - 29, 2011 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

Museveni doubles military expenditure, The Inside Story www.independent.co.ug





NEWS ANALYSIS INTERVIEW BUSINESS

Makerere
Issue 295 copy peter new.indd 1 12/10/13 4:04 PM
Central Bank Ministers Bank profit

Inside Umeme




to investigate have become delight
Was it under fire MTN too lazy
Big regional trade boost
News analysis
Besigye gains in the east, 


 

Interview
WFP launches
Business
Low tea price EAC Top donor

bought Museveni sweeps the north related violence 
 

worries aid recipients

shares deal
Universitys problems go beyond












or stolen? pay and strikes



 


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%#$&




  




Issue No. 362 April 03 - 09 , 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Issue No. 404 Feb. 05 - 11, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

















Electricity sector


 






Politicians battle over  


Shs800 billion








Sejusas money, investor

 
 
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arrest
www.independent.co.ug www.independent.co.ug
www.independent.co.ug What Museveni

camp feared
By Haggai Matsiko

NEWS ANALYSIS: Are government INTERVIEW NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS

HEALTH NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS

INTERVIEW: officials are lying on oil? Telecom fees to drop Health Spying Imperial Banks
Grounds exist for Museveni financial woes
Museveni is in REGIONAL: UNHCRs direction affirms Rwandas a rebellion - Col. insurance's on wrong
the midst of a stability, yet some refugees remain sceptical losing support, Online fraudsters empty promises `enemy Large consumers task Umeme
Tsunami Felix Kulayigye Besigye gaining threaten car market
BUSINESS: Greasy path for Ugandas oil industry

Issue No. 391 0ct. 23 - 29, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
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www.independent.co.ug
Issue No. 185, October 21 - 27, 2011 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

Fight over
www.independent.co.ug
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Why is Museveni
Fina M
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building regions nc inis

strongest army? oil pipeline STOP PRESS
World shocked as
government shuts
BUSINESS

Bad debts
relee qu try of
asesarte
r IV
NEWS ANALYSIS FOREIGN PRESS
UNEB In Uganda,
BUSINESS
Unhoused
News analysis
Musevenis bread and bullets
Health
Unease as only cancer treatment
Business

 

ERA announces
Uganda outspends Kenya on military 
 


 
down Daily Monitor
choking banks experiment its bust generation 


 machine breaks down investor quits 


Besigye predicts: 




 Chinese plans for Uganda oil and Red Pepper
Experts warn banks
on poor due diligence goes wrong before boom
Tenant versus landlord
Musevenis
regime is Issue No. 414 April 15- 21, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

collapsing Issue No. 266 May 24 - 30 , 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
Issue No. 355 February 13 - 19, 2015 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Uganda: Defense Kenya: Defense

Tinyefuza Fallout Jennifer
Musisi
expenditure 2011 expenditure 2011
US$1.02 billion. US$735 million.

Museveni intervenes in
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Israel arms dealer case under siege
INTERVIEW NEWS ANALYSIS BUSINESS Concern over private
BUSINESS: PERSPECTIVE: Oil-bribes scandal agencies using security After Museveni, Kampala
Behind the
in historical perspective Lukwago Kyambogo EACs monetary
union minister, MPs, Lukwago spell
scenes at
By Andrew Mwenda
on Museveni
Universitys Mr. Fix it
Prof. Ndiege seeks to reconcile an of the unequal in turf wars out terms of engagement
Muhairwes exit and Musisi 





Time to eat, travel less

Issue No. 189, November 18 -24, 2011 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8
News analysis Health Business
Issue No. 294 December 06 - 12, 2013 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8 Massacre on IGG Mulyagonja launches 
 


 
 





Masaka road 







 





 
  



Museveni, Besigye Museveni Vs Mbabazi www.independent.co.ug

www.independent.co.ug www.independent.co.ug

Issue No. 431 Aug 12- 18, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

need to talk 














Experts warn of explosion if they dont 





 

  
 News analysis

 


  
Eastern DR Congo
erupts again
Health
 


 

skin bleaches
Business
Stanbic Banks
  
 
Social
 
 



pounce
Issue No. 432 Aug 19 - 25, 2016 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Top lawyers reveal details
of land grab plot

 






 



 
over Karuma, Isimba






 

Muloni, Kabagambe

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Issue 294.indd 1 12/3/13 3:09 PM

AmAzing
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Years of telling a story

INBOX

Issue No. 499 Dec 08 - 14, 2017

The Week The Last Word Analysis Business Arts &

Culture
4|Committee Rethinking 14|Activists mark 21|Once
concludes age limit Human Rights Defenders declining fish
consultations politics in day: Coalition boss decries stock in Lake
43|Tadooba
Gallery:
Africa: shrinking space, calls for Victoria bounce
All about art
4|UPDF How events constructive engagement back: UPDF
mentorship,
awarded for with state deployment
good work in
in Zimbabwe cited in the
not teaching

Somalia expose 16|On the road with reduction in

the false UNRAs Kagina: illegal fishing
Driving 700kms in two
4|Nurses call off
assumptions days to see Ugandas 43|Toyota
strike as government that inform critical oil roads project 24|Few sparks at RAV4:
promises explanations Bank of Uganda How does a
enhancements 32|Here is why your teens lecture: But car remain so
of might need contraceptives: should Dr. Ha popular for so
developments Global Family Planning Joon Changs long?
6|Facebook opens on this push for more
giant boss blames officials
new hub in London state intervention
continent for letting their beliefs
in the economy be
get in the way of their the future?
professional responsibility

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2 Dec 08 - 14, 2017

 Offline

Patrick Amuriat
Oboi, swearing in
as the new FDC
party president
at the FDC
headquarters
on December
1. INDEPENDENT/
JIMMY SIYA
When he assumed the presidency of
FDC, he did something unprecedented,
he visited the headquarters of
all political parties to explain his
agenda.DP president Norbert Mao on
Mugisha Muntu

Thousands of people lining

up in Namboole National
Stadium for NMS free
yellow fever vaccination
exercise on December
1. NMS is offering a two
week free yellow fever
vaccination to Ugandans
as part of their CSR
activities. INDEPENDENT/
JIMMY SIYA The judiciary has been emasculated,
its independence eroded and the
separation of powers compromised as a
result of appointment of so called cadre
judges.Prof Venansius Baryamureeba,
former presidential candidate

Hilda Mary Tadria,

(L) the executive
director and founder
of Mentoring and
Empowerment
Programme for Young
Women (MEMPROW),
with Maggie Kigozi,
(2L) joined with
girls and boys in the
Uganda supplies sugar to South
walk against gender Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda, Congo and
based violence in others but incidentally the prices of
education on November sugar in such countries are lower than
28 at Railway
grounds. INDEPENDENT/ the price of sugar in Uganda. Peter
JIMMY SIYA Ogwang, MP for Usuk County

9749 Reported crimes

tracked by police dogs 1010 UPDF soldiers who
have been retired 3.9million Ugandans who are
alcoholics according to
in 2016/2017 from service a new study

Dec 08 - 14, 2017 3

Week

Committee concludes age limit consultations

The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
Committee of Parliament chaired by West
Budama South MP Jacob Oboth Oboth
has concluded its hearings with its final
witness being president Museveni who is
seen to be the direct beneficiary of amend-
ing article 102(b) of the constitution to lift
presidential age limits from the current
35 to 75 years. Speaking on the eve of the
Dec.05 committee meeting at state house
in Entebbe, Oboth said the members are
already drafting the findings in a report
that will be presented in parliament soon.
Oboth who noted that they couldnt speak
to every one even though different people
expressed interest in appearing before the
committee said of all the candidates who
took part in the 2016 presidential election,
only Prof Venansius Baryamureeba hon-
ored their invitation for their views to be
heard on the issue.
But, as the committee was preparing
for the final hearing, some members
especially those opposing the amendment
declared that they wouldnt attend antici-
pating that the president will just lecture
them on why amending the bill to extend
his grip on power is important. Legisla-
tor Mathias Mpuuga who held this view
went ahead to say that some colleagues
on the committee were organizing their
own report that doesnt reflect the views
of those consulted although this was dis-
pelled by Oboth referring to it as a black-
mailing statement.

UPDF awarded for good work in Somalia Nurses call off strike as government
UPDF battle Union Commission promises enhancements
group 22 which has Simon Mulongo
been serving under who applauded the In a late evening meet- and a final salary review
African Union team for perform- ing at the Office of the statement will be ousted.
Mission in Somalia ing well and sacri- Prime Minister in Kampala, In addition to salary
commonly known ficing themselves to nurses and midwives under enhancement, government
as AMISOM com- protect humanity their Uganda Nurses and promised that they would
manded by Col Ber- and neutralizing Al- Midwives union called off put in a place a fund which
nard Tuhame has shabaab militants a strike they had planned will be utilized by members
been awarded med- amidst several chal- to kick start on Dec.05 after in their SACCO. Apart from
als of honor by the Brigadier Kayanja lenges. government committing that however, the group
mission. The troops Uganda which to settle their grievances. that threatened to put down
that recently com- Contigent Com- has been in the Speaking to journalists after their tools immediately
pleted their tour of mander Brigadier country for ten the Monday Dec.04 meet- after doctors who had been
duty were honored Kayanja Muhanga years is the largest ing, Public Service Minister on strike for about three
in a ceremony held and the Deputy troop contribut- said the nurses will know weeks resumed had also
in Mogadishu and Special Representa- ing country to the their new salaries by Satur- asked for better housing
attended by among tive of the Chairper- African Mission in day when an extra ordinary and several other allow-
others Uganda son of the African Somalia. cabinet meeting will be held ances.

NDA sets precautions Agasiirwes case extended to December 18

for Fluconazole use
In a Nov.27 circular by Victoria
Nambasa, the Director of Prod-
uct safety at the National Drug
Authority (NDA), the public is
warned against the use of Fluco-
nazole, a drug used in treatment
of specified fungal infections in
adults and children. Review of
current literature has shown evi-
dence to suggest an increased risk
of spontaneous abortion in wom-
en taking fluconazole in the first
trimester of pregnancy. Previous
studies have also linked high
dose and long term treatment to
birth defects, Nambasa said.
Warning that the drug should
only be prescribed for life threat-
ening infections especially among
pregnant women, she advised
that patients using the drug
should be monitored for any
signs of threatened abortion or
any other side effects.
Agasiirwe with handcuffs leaves court at Makindye
Hearing of the case in which
former commander of the Spe-
cial Operations Unit, Senior
Superintendent of Police
Nixon Agasiirwe together
with other senior officials in
the Police force are charged
with kidnap of a Rwanda
national has been extended to
Dec.18 and suspects returned
to jail. During his appearance
in court, Agasiirwe who has
been denied bail through his
lawyer Frank Kanduho asked
the army court in Makindye to
avail him with the particulars
names, ranks and units of
the seven members of the pan-
el trying him saying knowing
them would help him in case
one of them skips a court ses-
sion to be asked to leave the
panel to allow him get timely
justice.
The charged officials
Agasiirwe, Commandant of
Police Professional Standard
Unit, Senior Commissioner
of Police Joel Aguma, for-
mer commander of Police
Special Operations, Sgt Abel
Tumukunde under the Flying
Squad, Assistant Superinten-
dent of Police Magada under
Crime Intelligence and Faisal
Katende under the Flying
Squad are said to have in 2013
kidnapped former body guard
to the President of Rwanda
Joel Mutabazi and handed to
his home government where
he has been sentenced to life
imprisonment.

4 Dec 08 - 14, 2017

 Week

IGG releases report as anti- Another date for Local council elections set
corruption week ends
In a press in new markets compelled to
conference like the one in solicit additional
held at Uganda Fort Portal called funds from the
Media Center Mpanga, they complainants
on December were told many to facilitate the
04, the Inspector local government operations and
General of Gov- officials allocated carry out their
ernment (IGG), themselves stalls responsibilities,
Irene Mulyagon- leaving rightful Mulyagonja said.
ja revealed that owners of those Events of
corruption levels spaces with this years anti-
had increased nothing. corruption week
especially in Mulyagonja were organized
local govern- also said that under the theme; Court on Dec.04 issued an do thorough consultations into
ment and in the they received Regaining Pub- interim order pushing local the issue. However, if the new
police. Explain- many reports lic Trust in the council elections which were date is met, it will be the first
ing the findings of the Uganda Anti- Corruption supposed to take place earlier time in more than fifteen years
her team picked police asking fight and were in November to January 31, for the elections to be held. They
from the inspec- money from organized by 2018. The order issued by High have been severally halted with
tion or caravan suspects so they the inspectorate courts Justice Stephen follows most times the government cit-
of different can drop charges of Government a petition by a concerned citi- ing funding challenges but ana-
areas across the against them. in collabora- zen James Tweheyo who had lysts say the local councils are
country where When they put tion with the told court that if elections were the most vital political position
they among this to police Directorate of held on the previous date of as these leaders are in constant
others visited during the cara- Ethics and Integ- November24 students who were interaction with their electorate
markets she said van, the IGG said rity, Office of the still doing exams would not and arbitrate on issues which
people had told they were told Auditor Gen- participate in the polls which is a arent taken to court. Research
them that many this is due to the eral and Public violation of their right to vote as shows the biggest part of con-
officials tend to fact that these Procurement provided for in the constitution. flict resolution is made in these
get bribes while officials are not and Disposal of Musotas order now is meant village courts headed by local
collecting market well facilitated. public Assets to give the parties involved council leaders since only 1% of
dues whereas The police are Authority. including the Electoral Commis- Ugandans go to formal courts
sion and the petitioner time to for arbitration.

Facebook opens new hub in London

Facebook opened a new office in
London on Dec.04, the biggest of the
social medias engineering hubs outside
America. Located in West End district
of London, international reports show
the hub is creating employment for
over 800 people most of which are in
the field of engineering. AFP news
agency reported that the company,
which opened its first office in the
British capital ten years ago, said the
new site that includes incubator space
called LDN- LAB for technology start-
ups would allow its local workforce
to reach 2,300 by the end of next year,
a sign that it is more committed than
ever to the UK. The country has been
a huge part of Facebooks story over
the past decade, Nicola Mendelsohn,
Facebooks vice president for Europe,
the Middle East and Asia, told Britains
Press Association.
The UKs flourishing entrepreneurial
ecosystem and international reputation
for engineering excellence makes it one
of the best places in the world to build a
tech company, she said.

*terms and conditions apply

Dial *133 * 8#
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 5
Week

Byanyima gets another

term at Oxfam
poverty, and an
inspiration to our
teams and partners
around the world.
We look forward
to continue to
work with her
to help create
lasting solutions
to the injustice
Winnie Byanyima of poverty, said
Oxfams Chairman
Five more of the board Juan
years ! Thank Alberto Fuentes.
you Oxfam, Byanyima who
Winnie Byanyima a few months
tweeted on ago moved the
Dec.04. Banyima organizations
a politician headquarters to
and wife to Kenya said one of
opposition Forum the achievements
for Democratic Oxfam has had
Change (FDC) is waking up
cadre DR. Kizza the world to the
Besigye was dangers of rising
reacting to a extreme inequality
decision by Oxfam by building
Internationals coalitions which
board of they are positive
supervisors will completely
decision to give turn the inequality
her another five tide against
years to serve in ordinary people.
the position of Oxfam is a
the organizations confederation of
Executive Director. twenty NGOs
We are thrilled. working in over
Winnie is a 90 countries across
visionary leader the world to end all
in the fight against forms of injustices
inequality and that cause poverty.

6 Dec 08 - 14, 2017

Humour Did you know?

You tend to break

your old phone when
a new one comes out

On Nov. 29 the former FDC President Gen. Mugisha Muntu declared he would remain in the party
but his surprise announcement didnt diminish speculation of him being a mole.

T
his December is that time of the
year again! Carols ring, holly glis-
tens, and Apple comes out with
a new iPhone model. And we
conveniently start losing or breaking our
existing phones!
Thats not just clumsiness at work.
According to a study from the Univer-
sity of Michigan, its your psychology at
work, attempting to help you justify the
purchase of a faster, better phone model.
(The studys title is, Be Careless With
That!: Availability of Product Upgrades
Increases Cavalier Behavior Toward Pos-
sessions. It was published in the October
2017 Journal of Marketing Research.)
Ordinarily, associate professor of
psychology Josh Ackerman says, when
he studied the numbers over time, he
The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has decried the delayed disposal of 186 land cases filed discovered something bizarre: every time
by the contractors and the locals that have slowed down road construction. Apple or Samsung comes out with a new
smartphone model and people want to
start upgrading, they just care less about
the product that they currently have.
Theyre causing damage to them, los-
ing them, and so on, despite the fact that
that is costly to them.
Its our subconscious at work, he says.
People have this very strong desire to
justify why theyre going to get a new
product. If you already own a phone and
it works just fine, but a new one comes
out that seems really, really appealing,
what do you tell yourself in order to con-
vince yourself to get that new phone?
Maybe you tell yourself, Well, maybe
my phones not working quite as well as
I thought. Or maybe, Oops, I dropped
it on the ground and the screen cracked!
Or, Maybe I happened to leave it in a
With the ongoing slavery in Libya that has caused sadness and fear, Africans are still going to taxi. Those kinds of justifications might
Europe to look for a better life that they cannot find in Africa. mean, Oh, now I get to tell myself that I
can really buy that new product.

Dec 08 - 14, 2017 7


Inbox
Letters are
welcome !
The Editor welcomes short and
concise letters from our esteemed
readers on topical issues. Please
send them to:
The Editor, The Independent
Publications Ltd,
P.O Box 3304,
Plot 82/84 Kanjokya St,
Kamwokya.
Kampala,Uganda.
Email: editor@independent.co.ug
Mnangagwa worse
than Mugabe
Refer to: Zimbabwe gets
new president after 37 years
(The Independent Dec.01). With
due respect, if deposed former
President of Zimbabwe, Robert
Mugabe, was a bad man, then
the new President Emmerson
Mnangagwa is not the right
replacement for him. Mnangag-
wa has all along been the right
hand man of Mugabe for the
37 years plus, and one the chief
executors of Mugabes plans.
Mnangagwa has benefited from
the Mugabe leadership to the
extent that he has accumulated
vast riches both in property and
cash at bank, yet he has been a
government employee all along.
Mnangagwa, as a Home
Affairs minister, oversaw the
disappearance of over 20,000
Zimbabweans in Matabele land.
In fact had Mugabe not sacked
Mnangagwa, he apparently was
still very comfortable having
Mugabe as the president of Zim-
babwe. Mnangagwa only moved
against Mugabe after being
sacked. Very soon, the euphoria
will evaporate and Zimbabwe-
ans will soon find out that after
all, there is no much difference
between Mugabe and Mnan-
gagwa, except that Mnangagwa
may be more ruthless.
John Kipto
8 Dec 08 - 14, 2017
No hope in 10th parliament
Today, the Ugandan Parlia-
ment cannot conscientiously
claim to be a representative
of the People. A government
qualifies to be termed respon-
sible when it is answerable
and accountable to an elected
Parliament and through it, the
People.
The tenth Parliament started
the year on a promising note
but saw a complete collapse by
the year-end.
Then it was involved in
issues of bribery with sacks of
Sugar to help pass some bill
in parliament. Then came the
Presidential handshake to URA
and finance officials, which
Opposition bad, Museveni worse
Refer to A frank memo to
the opposition (The Indepen-
dent Nov.17). If the experts
of macro-economics have not
deceived us, Ugandas econ-
omy was growing at 10 -11%
between 1986 and 1996. We are
also informed that the GDP/
economic growth rate has now
dropped to about 4% mainly
because of President Yoweri
On Besigyes grandstanding
Refer to A frank memo
to the opposition (The Inde-
pendent Nov.17). I am with
you on most of the things
about the approach to devel-
opment. However, for you to
state that for Africa to develop
we need revisiting medieval
times is equivalent to saying
that because my father went to
school barefooted, so should
my son. Times change Mwenda
and so should we be present
towards the current circum-
stances. For your argument to
be valid, state one country that
has deteriorated in develop-
Follow us on Twitter @
http://twitter.com/#!/ugandatalks
Follow us on Facebook @
www.facebook.com/TheIndependentMagazineUganda
took another two months and
showed that parliament only
concentrates on issues that arise.
What really hurts us local
Ugandans is that a lot of money
is being used by these members
of parliament in their commit-
tees pretending to be investigat-
ing. I have on several occasions
told fellow Ugandans that
these members of parliament
dont care about us but only
mind about how much money
they get, how many trips they
get, allowances they receive
per committee sitting etc. and
indeed many have agreed with
me that these parliamentarians
can pretend to be active policy
Musevenis bad governance:
political uncertainty, corrup-
tion, high interest rates, poor
budget allocations/misplaced
government priorities etc. Dont
you think the opposition have
a point when they emphasis
good governance?
The political opposition
may be doing very badly, but
Musevenis government is not
ment because of democracy.
Lastly, you so accuse of
Dr. Kizza Besigye of
grandstanding, youre
one of the great grand-
standers that Ive come
to know. You take
positions that give the
impression that maybe
hes a village chief yet,
I wonder whether, if stood
among your family mem-
bers, that you would win
an election by consensus.
Rajab Kakyama
News analysis Health Business
What next for Pressure to Free World AIDS day UEGCL sees higher lebratin
FDC after Muntu? Red Pepper editors in tough times profits ahead Ce g
Issue No. 498 Dec 01 - 07, 2017
Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years
Kutesas dodgy deals
How American bribery case
sucked in Museveni
www.independent.co.ug
makers politically but when
matters of finances come in.
Government spends a lot of
money on these people but they
keep misusing resources know-
ing government will improvise
more.
Seriously speaking Ugandans
have lost hope in this tenth
parliament because it has totally
done nothing valuable for the
local Ugandans in the villages,
those with no food, clothing,
medical care etc. All they are
doing is get deals and make
sure they are financially well.
Michael Woira
Patriotic Uganda
doing well either; no big infra-
structure project can be done
now without borrowing money
from The Aga Khan or China.
The economic truth can be told
without spicing or contaminat-
ing it with political propaganda.
Jimmy

Rethinking politics in Africa
By Andrew M. Mwenda
How events in Zimbabwe expose the false assumptions,
explanations about developments on this continent
T
here is a widespread assumption
that presidents in Africa who rule
for long do so out of personal greed
for power. This accusation has been
made against Robert Mugabe who ruled
Zimbabwe for 37 before he was forced to
resign recently. It is also the accusation
against President Yoweri Museveni of
Uganda as the ruling party seeks to amend
the constitution and remove age limits so
that he can run for the presidency in 2021.
Yet when individual cases are examined
closely, one finds the reality much more
complex and nuanced. Let me illustrate.
In August 2008, while attending the Aus-
tralian Davos Connection conference on
the Hamilton Islands in the Pacific Ocean,
I met a man called David Coltart. He was
a legislator representing the Movement for
Multiparty Democracy in Zimbabwe led
by Morgan Tsvangirai. We were invited to
a private dinner with the Prime Minister
of Australia, Kevin Rudd and two other
people.
Coltart told us that in the March 2008
presidential elections in Zimbabwe, Tsvan-
girai got 50.7% while President Robert
Mugabe got 43.2%. Even before the results
were officially announced, Mugabe sent a
team to discuss a transition with the MDC.
The two sides met for two days. On the
third day the MDC team went to the venue
but the government side did not show up.
They tried to reach their counterparts by
phone in vain. Later they learnt that the
top brass of the ZANU-PF and the security
services led by Emmerson Mnangagwa
(who had led Mugabes campaign), which
also included army chief, Gen. Constantino
Chiwenga, went to Mugabe and asked
him why he was abandoning them.
Mugabe told them he was not abandoning
them. He said they had simply lost an
election. No problem, they told Mugabe;
we can change the results. And they did.
When the results finally were announced
after a month, Tsvangirai had 47.9 against
Mugabes 43.2%. This called for a second
round. The state unleashed such violence
and terror against the MDC that Tsvan-
girai pulled out leaving Mugabe to run
alone and win by 85.5%. Mnangagwa was
accused of orchestrating the violence.
This story is instructive. It shows that
Mugabes confederates in ZANU-PF and
the security services saw his conceding
The Last Word
electoral defeat and handing power to
a victorious opposition as betrayal. In
agreeing to hold on to power, Mugabe was
actually acting more out of group than
personal interest. Secondly Mnangagwa,
together with Chiwenga are today hailed
as the new messiahs who ended Mugabes
long rule. Yet they were the ones respon-
sible for stifling a democratic transition
in 2008. Indeed, Mugabe was more as a
hostage of their power than its architect.
And when he sought to initiate a transition
to a young generation using his wife, they
kicked him out.
Therefore, the celebration of Mugabes
fall by many Zimbabweans, African elites
and the Western media is misinformed.
Mnangagwa and his conspirators do not
represent a transition of power but mainte-
nance of the status quo. Paradoxically, Mrs
Grace Mugabe and her confederates in the
G40 represented some form of a transition
from the old guard in ZANU-PF.
The coup makers made it clear that
their aim was to protect the power and
privileges of the ZAPU-PF old guard.
The Western media welcomed this non-
transition because now they can bribe
Mnangagwa with aid and removal of
economic sanctions so that he can return
property confiscated from whites or com-
pensate them. The price will be to hand
that country back to multinational capital,
not to the people of Zimbabwe.
The lesson is that there are often more
complex social dynamics behind political
decisions in Africa. Yet most of our com-
mentary tends to reduce such decisions to
personal greed by presidents. We accuse
our leaders of personalising power yet it is
us personalising political decisions. We are
too lazy and biased to dig beneath the sur-
face and see the actual dynamics shaping
our politics. Most of what we have is not
knowledge but prejudice; and what goes
for analysis is mere speculation.
African academics, politicians and jour-
nalists write very few, if any, books. And
when we do, we use concepts, adjectives
and tropes borrowed from Western aca-
demics and journalists who write about
Africa. Yet these Westerners rely largely
on their prejudices to write about Africa.
Thus, even when we have facts, we dont
use them properly to explain why a par-
ticular decision in an African country was
Opinion
made. All too often when analysing poli-
tics in Africa, we speculate about what
must have happened instead of relying on
what actually happened. Preconceived
biases about leaders in Africa become a
substitute for knowledge. Hence, existing
knowledge about African leaders clouds
rather than illuminates our understanding
of the continents politics.
This is not to say leaders in Africa are not
power hungry. Rather it is to argue that
their individual preferences play a much
more limited role compared to the collec-
tive interests of the groups they represent.
And while our leaders make mistakes,
these mistakes when carefully examined,
are rarely stupid. It is easy to imagine that
we or our preferred politicians would not
have acted differently. This is rarely true.
When examined closely, political leaders
are rarely free actors. Their decisions are
imposed upon them more by circum-
stances than by their personalities.
Look, postcolonial Africa has had 278
changes of leaders. Almost all of them
whether democratically elected politi-
cian, nationalist leader for independence,
revolutionary hero of an armed struggle,
an upstart hoisted to power by a popular
insurrection, a military coup maker or
peaceful successor to the death of an
incumbent president has come to power
promising democracy, honest government
and development. Nearly all our countries
are still poor and corrupt today. Africa has
not produced a South Korea.
If only 20% of our countries for 20% of
the time were characterised by poor perfor-
mance, we would say Africa has a political
problem. If 40-50% of our countries for
40-50% of the time performed poorly, we
could say Africa has a serious political
crisis. But when 80-90% of our nations for
80-90% of the time perform badly, and
when these problems remain in spite of
278 changes of leaders over a period of 60
years, and seem impervious to changing
political systems, means of acquiring
power etc., then the causes must have
deep structural roots. We need to begin
an entirely new conversation about
politics in Africa. It is time to break the
chains of the intellectual diet we have
been fed about it.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 9
cover story

Museveni enters fight

over $20bn oil deals
French domination sparks fight
with Chinese
By Haggai Matsiko
Oil companiesTotal E&P, Tullow Oil and CNOOCare locked in a bitter fight for control of
Ugandas oil sector. The coveted prizes are deals worth about $20 billion.
The three entered a partnership in 2012 when Tullow Oil, which was the sole exploration com-
pany farmed down 66% of its stake, in equal 33% portions each, to the Chinese and French
biggies. The Irish minnow bagged $2.9 billion in the farm-down and still retained a 33.3% stake
in the deal. Up to that point, it looked like a great deal. But insiders tell The Independent that if
the three companies do not resolve their current disagreements, their joint venture might col-
lapse, and Ugandas bid to start oil production might be delayed once again.

10 Dec 08 - 14, 2017

 cover story

T
he French company and
the Chinese have been
squabbling over control at
almost every turn since the
government allowed them
to acquire stakes in the oil
fields from Tullow. With the coming
production phase and the prospect of
mega oil deals, the fights appeared to
intensify this November.
The Independent has learnt that
senior executives from the companies
have had to seek frantic meetings with
President Yoweri Museveni to resolve
their issues.
The Independent has learnt that
Total S.As Vice President for Africa,
Guy Maurice and another top official
flew into Kampala mid-November to
meet the President.
Sources say Maurices delegation
camped in Kampala for about half a
week until it met the president. It was
the second time Maurice was coming
into town in a few months.
And his meeting followed another by
CNOOCs Vice-President Xu Keqiang
from China, who together with the
Chinese ambassador, met Museveni
and raised concerns over Total.
The Independent understands
that Totals delegation after meeting
Museveni left unhappy.
Sources have told The Independent
that Tanzanian President John Pombe
Magufuli and Equatorial Guineas
Teodoro Obiang Nguema have
cautioned Museveni to tread carefully
on Total.
Magufuli and his technocrats
disagreed with Total officials during
the negotiations for the pipeline
and Equatorial Guinea revealed in
August that Total misrepresented fuel
sales figures in a fraud case in which
Equatorial Guinea now demands 73
million euros from Total. The incident
reportedly occurred between 2010 and
2012.
It is not yet clear whether these
concerns have had a chilling effect
on Musevenis relationship with the
French giant.
Insiders say, this information
might feed into Musevenis decision
regarding the fight between CNOOC
and Total.
The current fight was sparked by
a $ 900 million deal in which Tullow
Oil is selling 22 percent of its 33.3
percent stake after being frustrated
by Musevenis decision to build the
Ugandan oil pipeline to the Indian
Ocean through Tanzania instead of
through Kenya.
Tullow Oil, which also operates oil
fields in Kenya, was lobbying for the

Dec 08 - 14, 2017 11

cover story

Kenyan route because this would

allow it transport both its Uganda and
Kenya oil cheaply and conveniently.
On its part, CNOOC stood to secure
the pipeline construction deal for
Chinese companies.
Total, on the other hand, was
pushing for the Tanzanian route
through the port of Tanga and
demonstrated, through a feasibility
study carried out by Houston-based
Gulf Interstate, that this route was
easy to complete, and safer and
cheaper to operate.
The Total study, upon which
Museveni based his decision, showed
that the Lamu port was insecure
because it lies near the border with
Somalia, which is al-Shabaab terrorist
group territory. The study also
President Museveni meeting Total officials.
showed that the Lamu port required
more work compared to the Tanga
port which is already operational.
Unlike in Kenya, land acquisition
would be easier in Tanzania as land
there is owned by the state unlike
in Kenya where land is owned by
individuals and its acquisition tends
to be disrupted by compensation
disputes.
On top of all this, the cost of the
Lamu route had been estimated to
be US$5.1 billion compared to $3.55
billion for the Tanga route.
Total also promised to mobilise
the finance for the construction of
the pipeline and, as an inducement,
pledged to contribute 10% towards the
cost of President Musevenis US$4.5
billion oil refinery on the shores of
Lake Albert. A group led by General
Electric and another led by Chinas
Dongsong Guangzhou Energy Group Museveni (middle) with CNOOC officials at State House
are competing for the deal after
negotiations with Russian firm Global
Resources collapsed in 2015. With all
these pledges Total won the fight over Tullow was left in a latch. Without concluded negotiations and entered an
the pipeline. much interest left in Uganda, Tullow agreement.
Although Total won the battle, the decided to reduce its footprint in the We are now waiting for
war is still raging. A few months ago, country even further; the reason it government approval, Kibuuka said.
CNOOC flew in their Vice President, is farming out. But Tullows move By press time, both CNOOC and
Xu Keqiang, to meet Museveni over now appears to have emboldened the Total had not responded to our
concerns with Total. Chinese to take on Total. queries.
Apparently, apart from As part of this fight, CNOOC is Energy Ministry Permanent
disagreements over the now demanding operatorship of Secretary, Robert Kasande, also
implementation and financing of Exploration Area 2 (EA2), the same confirmed that the companies had
the pipeline, CNOOC was unhappy area Tullow had already agreed to sell submitted the transaction paperwork
that while in Tanzania to launch to Total. In March, CNOOC notified for approval.
the pipeline works in August, Total Tullow that it was exercising its right We are in the process of reviewing
officials blocked a high powered to acquire 50% of the interest Tullow the transaction, Kasande said.
Chinese delegation from meeting is transferring to Total. The case has But since the negotiations of these
Museveni. Matters were not helped gone to President Museveni. agreements lasted months from
that Total had snatched the Pipeline Abdul M Kibuuka, the Public Affairs March until October, insiders say that
deal from under CNOOCs belly. and National Content Manager of government asked the companies to
Meanwhile, with the pipeline going Tullow Uganda, confirmed to The focus on the 2020 deadline as they iron
through Tanzania, cash-strapped Independent that the companies had out their other differences.

12 Dec 08 - 14, 2017


Enerst Rubondo, the Executive
Director, Petroleum Authority of
Uganda (PAU), told The Independent
that as he sees it, the disagreements
amongst the companies would not
affect the production timelines.
The companies will resolve the
issues, he said sounding upbeat
about 2018, which he said promised
to be a super active year in the oil
industry.
A quick decision on the
governments side will also depend on
whether the deal will not attract tax
disputes as the ones before it.
There is hope that since the farm-
down is seen as a critical stage before
the Final Investment Decision (FID),
which is expected to unlock billions
and kick-start production, President
Museveni will act swiftly.
Uganda discovered commercial oil
reserves 6.5 billion barrels--over 10
years ago but has not been able to
produce oil.
Fights between government and
the oil companies over taxes and
the requisite infrastructure and
amongst oil companies themselves for
dominance are part of the problem.
Embedded in the current fight are
concerns by CNOOC that most of the
deals are going to Total. Apparently,
CNOOCs concerns are due to the
fact that Total is already selecting
companies that will carry out the
next big thing in Ugandas oil sector;
the Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC) for the two main
projects.
It is the EPC contracts that will
swallow the biggest chunk of $ 10
billion for the development phase.
The Chinese have reportedly told
Total that if it takes the lead on the
pipeline, CNOOC should take the lead
on the upstreamoil fields.
After taking the pipeline and eyeing
a stake in the refinery, Total has a firm
grip on the mid-stream. If it snatches
Tullows stake in the farm down, it will
dominate the oil fields also and leave
CNOOC with crumbs. Already, Total
commands the biggest market share
in Ugandas petroleum distribution
segment.
Total has already been flexing its
muscle. It has reportedly already code-
named its Tullow EA2 deal under the
Tilenga project and is excited about
it because it stands to give them the
leading role in the entire project.
In February, it picked three
companies to carry out FEED studies
for this Tilenga project. These included;
Technip (French), Fluor (U.S. and
Jimmy Mugerwa Ernest Rubondo
Apart from the
$3.55billion
pipeline, there
is the
$4.5 billion
oil refinery, and
the over
$10billion
expected to be
invested in the oil
fields
partnering with China Petroleum
Engineering and Construction
Corporation-CPECC) and the Chicago
Bridge & Iron Company (CB&I).
Insiders say CNOOC had also picked
a Chinese company for the FEED
studies of the Kingfisher project. FEED
studies define cost and construction
designs for facilities required for oil
production.
CNOOC is fighting to ensure that
with the farm down, it is not left
operating only the kingfisher field as a
minority player in Ugandas oil sector.
Under the current arrangement,
CNOOC operates Kingfisher, Tullow
EA2 and Total EA1 and EA1A.
But with the $3.55 billion pipeline
deal in the bag too, Total is in a
dominant position.
Total chairman and chief executive,
Patrick Pouyann, made this point
cover story
Robert Kasande
when he said following the agreement
on the Tanzanian export pipeline route,
this transaction gives Total a leadership
position to move this project efficiently
toward FID in the current attractive
cost environment.
But Total must also tread carefully
because it needs the oil held by
CNOOC for production to be viable in
the short-run.
At stake are deals about $ 20 billion.
Apart from the $3.55 billion pipeline,
there is the $ 4.5 billion oil refinery,
and the over $ 10 billion expected
to be invested in the infrastructure
required to get the fields ready to start
producing oil.
It is no surprise for some, therefore,
that CNOOC also announced it wanted
a share of the Tullow farm down. That
meant the deal had to be renegotiated.
The fighting phase of the type going
on appeared to have been overcome
in August last year when government
awarded the oil companies eight oil
production licences. The licences came
after almost two years of intractable
negotiations over the oil companies oil
production plans.
At the time, President Museveni
desire to have oil pumped by 2020
appeared achievable. That timing is
very critical for Museveni; it is the
campaign year for the 2021 elections, in
which he has showed he is keen to seek
reelection. Getting oil cash would be a
major boost and the fights amongst the
oil companies are making this prospect
harder.
The deadline already looks unrealistic
because the oil companies need at least
three years after making the FID to start
pumping oil. The FID is now expected
between June and December next year.
This would mean that at the very least,
Uganda can only be able to pump oil
after well after 2021.
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 13
ADVERTORIAL

Activists mark Human

Rights Defenders day
Coalition boss decries shrinking space, calls
for constructive engagement with state
Robert Kirenga, the Executive Director National Coalition of Human
Rights Defenders Uganda spoke to the Independent's Flavia
Nassaka about his perspective on the international human rights
defenders day and general human rights situation in the country.

You launched in 2013. What for its celebration?

informed this move and whats Human rights defenders glob-
the mandate of the National ally thought that they needed a
Coalition for Human Rights day to reflect on their work and

W
Defenders?
e were formed by a
consortium of ten
civil society orga-
nizations with an
objective of advocating for a se-
cure and peaceful environment
for human rights defenders.
One would ask who is a hu-
man rights defender. For us this
is a person or an organization
who works to promote rights
of others. As a coalition we are
mandated to protect their work
by ensuring that we represent
them in instances where they for
instance need legal protection or
physical security.
Organizations like Uganda
Law Society, Foundation for
Human Rights Initiative, the
Uganda NGO forum, Defenders
Protection Initiative and Human
Rights Network Uganda (HURI-
NET) founded the coalition that
is now an umbrella of over 100
organizations across the country.
December 09 is marked inter-
nationally as Human Rights
Defenders Day. What exactly
happens on this day and
whats the agenda
how its contributing to develop-
ment of different nations. Unlike
other international days where
theres always an international
theme that countries are sup-
posed to focus their celebrations
on, for this day we come up with
a theme relevant to the context
in which its being marked in a
specific country.
Our theme here is the
shrinking space for civil society
organizations. As we mark
this day government has never
returned phones and comput-
ers that they confiscated from
the four organizations that
they raided two months ago.
We are seeing our operating
space being narrowed by the
state and its agents. Look at
what one has to go through
to start an NGO. The process
is too tedious and yet you will
only be allowed to operate for
a year and go back to re-new
your registration. When you do
this successfully another hurdle
will be the kind of environ-
ment you will operate in.
You will be

14 Dec 08 - 14, 2017


intimidated and threatened with closure the
moment the state is pinched by your work.
They will also accuse you of being partisan
and receiving illegal funds even when the
sources of funding are easily tracked. Those
are some of the issues that we will be reflect-
ing and brain storming on as we mark this
Human Rights Defenders day. One of
the activities organized is a dialogue to be
attended by both non-state and state actors
so people can know what we do.
Some actors tend to politicize the work of
NGOs out of ignorance of the fact that our
interventions contribute to attainment of
national priorities.
Are you partisan?
Yes. Civil society is partisan but we are
partisan to a cause for which we were
formed which is to ensure that promotion
of democracy and human rights is upheld,
to ensure corruption is got rid of and to
ensure safety of human rights defenders.
NGOs are not linked to political parties. The
laws that create political parties are differ-
ent. The biggest funder of NGOs in Uganda
is the Democratic Governance Facility
(DGF), a consortium of donor countries
like Norway, Sweden and Austria that give
funds to governments and organizations
to push causes in different areas like gov-
ernance, education and others. So its quite
disturbing to see government becoming
skeptical of where we get funding because
they also get money from these same
donors.
You seem frustrated. How do you rate this
year in terms of upholding human rights
in the country?
2017 has been fluctuating depending on
the circumstances. Look at what happened
in March after the assassination of former
Police spokesperson Andrew Felix Kaweesi.
So many people were arrested, tortured,
prosecuted and then re-arrested under
unclear circumstances even after court had
granted them bail. Questions on whether
the country respects such issues as free-
dom from torture were raised. Then came
the debate of whether to or not to amend
article 102(b) of the constitution to remove
presidential term limits. Members of parlia-
ment with dissenting views were beaten
up, NGOs that tried to point out wrong
doing were threatened and a life was lost
so at times its what is prevailing that will
determine the human rights terrain in any
country. For Uganda in 2017 on a scale of
one to ten, I would give it five.
What do you make of the role of the media
in exposing some of the human rights vio-
lations that you mention?
The media has done its best because its
from them that many of us get a sense of
what exactly is happening but events that
have happened this year where journalists
2017 has been
fluctuating
depending on the
circumstances. Look
at what happened
in March after the
assassination
of former Police
spokesperson
Andrew Felix
Kaweesi
were arrested, some injured while in the
field covering these demonstrations com-
municated to a fact that media managers
and journalists have not invested in their
safety and security. One thing that I thought
about is where these journalists run to
when they receive such threats and what
safeguards do they have to retrieve their
work incase their equipment is confiscated
or tampered with. Its because such things
are not clear that journalists sometimes suc-
cumb when threatened. They have no fall
back. I now encourage them to join coali-
tions such as ours because they are also a
group of human rights defenders.
Both journalists and activists are now
taking advantage of social media to push
agendas. What do you think has been
the role of social media in advocating for
peoples justice?
Social media has its positives and nega-
tives. It has really pressurized government
to take some measures against people
who violate peoples rights but I wouldnt
encourage anyone to take everything they
get on social media for the truth because
audiences receive, use and reproduce this
information in different ways.
A number of reports are released every
year highlighting top human rights viola-
tors and usually the police top these lists.
Do you ever follow up on what becomes
of this evidence? Do these institutions use
it in decision making?
We cant do much about what happens
after exposing these wrongs. All we can
do is to continue advocating against them.
Our concerns are rather on how we pro-
tect our sources of such information from
being antagonized. We also ensure that we
have accurate documentations to provide
evidence in court in case need arises. The
problem I notice is that sometimes human
rights defenders dont have concrete evi-
dence to cause some ones prosecution. I
believe if we keep accurately documenting
such issues we can have grounds to push
ADVERTORIAL
for accountability.
As human rights defenders, how do you
rate your selves in reducing human rights
violations?
As the national coalition we have not yet
done much because we have had challenges
spreading our wings. We are now working
on our visibility because many people may
not know who a human rights defender is.
We are often seen as noise makers because
the concept is not yet well internalized. I
believe once our work is appreciated we
will do more than what you are seeing now.
What challenges are facing rights defend-
ers working in the country at the moment?
Apart from being intimidated, we face
physical assault. Just recently a councilor
in Mbarara suffered an acid attack because
he was set to appear before the land com-
mission of inquiry to fight for people whose
land is being grabbed. People have to real-
ize that in doing this work its almost inevi-
table not to step on peoples toes and should
be conscious of what is likely to happen to
them because of their actions.
What gives you motivation to continue do-
ing work amidst threats and danger?
You dont go to any school or university
to learn to be a human rights defender. We
always have that urge in us to advocate
for peoples rights. But, what I should say
is that human rights defenders need to be
protected thats why as a coalition we build
their capacity in terms of putting in place
safe guards. We protect their information,
if they are in conflict or accused of breaking
the law, legal services will be provided and
depending on the nature of threat, there is
also psycho social support. We also have
a protection fund to relocate those affected
until when their security stabilizes as we
continue to advocate for bettering the
general environment in which civil society
organizations operate.
What type of protection or support is nec-
essary for human rights defenders?
As one of our priorities for next year, we
want to have constructive engagement with
the state to ensure that this perception that
NGOs are negative forces change. The state
has a role to protect human rights. It has
an obligation to respect peoples freedoms,
they also have an obligation to protect
everyone from the third party. If goons
arrested suspects and they deny knowledge
of them, that denial is an indictment on the
state because they are supposed to protect
all people at all times. The state also has an
obligation to create an enabling environ-
ment for me to enjoy my freedoms includ-
ing the right to associate.
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 15
 FEATURE

A truck stuck inside Bugoma Forest on the Rwera-Kaseeta road. INDEPENDENT/RONALD MUSOKE

On the road with UNRAs Kagina

Driving 700km in two days to see Ugandas
critical oil roads project

By Ronald Musoke mainly in the districts of Hoima, Buliisa and The road is the 15km Rwera-Kaseeta

A
llen Kagina, the executive director
of the Uganda National Roads
Authority (UNRA) is a prayerful
woman. She prays at meetings,
journeys, meals, and anything. Now,
however, she possibly needs prayers more
than ever before for Ugandas so-called oil
roads.
She needs to prepare about 700km of oil
roads in 24 months on a lean budget of just
US$600 million (Approx. Shs2.2 trillion).
Road projects vary in scope and cost, but
the most cited figures claim it usually takes
24 months and about US$50 million to do a
50km road.
The roads Kagina must build are found
Masindi where close to 70% of Ugandas
6.5 billion of barrels of oil is found. She
must acquire land and pay Project Affected
Persons (PAPs) and do civil works on 10
roads.
Can Kagina do it cheaper, quicker?
I thought about this recently when
Kagina and her team from UNRA took a
bunch of journalists; including me, on a spot
check of what needs to be done.
We were on day two of our inspection
tour when fate threw Kaginas challenge
at us. Imagine a convoy of eight vehicles,
about three SUVs, a van, and a few pick-up
trucks carrying the police escort, rolling
down a really narrow road through a forest.
stretch through Bugoma Forest. We
were driving north from the Kingfisher
oil field operated by the Chinese firm;
China National Offshore Oil Corporation
(CNOOC) on the southern tip of Lake
Mwitanzige (Albert) in Hoima District
when we decided to take the short-cut.
It was a big mistake because, as we were
winding along the narrow strip of road
through the thick tropical rain forest, we
came upon a huge truck loaded with tonnes
of cement. It had failed to climb the slippery
stretch of road, possibly because of its tyres
which appeared worn-out and smooth.
The trucks diminutive middle-aged
driver said he had spent the past two days
stuck at the spot. We offered to help, really

16 Dec 08 - 14, 2017


hoping we could create a way for our
convoy to pass. But after about 15 minutes
of failure and the threat of a tropical
downpour, we abandoned the hapless
driver and backtracked and took a longer
route of about 40kms.
This is one practical example of what a
senior official of CNOOC at Kingfisher had
earlier told us when he spoke about the
importance of the roads that Kagina has to
construct.
Oil companies cannot do oil and gas
operations without roads, he said, Roads
are one of the most critical in oil and gas
operations.
For every hour you lose, there are a lot
of standby fees charged which could run
into tens of thousands of dollars; which is
why you need good roads.
The roads Kagina is to build were
prioritized in early 2016 as the primary
mode of transport to move up to 12 million
tonnes of materials to the Albertine region
where a joint venture of oil companiesthe
Chinese firm, CNOOC, Frances Total and
the Irish company, Tullow are to build
critical oil production infrastructure.
The oil companies asked the government
to ensure a reliable two-way all weather
road system from the Indian Ocean coast
to the Lake Albert region to transport an
estimated 12 million tonnes of often heavy
and often out of gauge equipment and
materials that the projects require.
The oil companies have made plans
based on the logistics infrastructure
available, mainly road. They have, for
instance, designed a logistics envelope
based on the most feasible freight
dimensions (length of 25m, width of 5m
and height of 4.7m and weight of at least
120 tonnes).
They are currently concentrating
on designs of what needs to be built,
technically called the Front End Engineering
Design (FEED), including designs and
compilations of requirements for central
processing facilities, feeder pipelines, and
the crude export pipelines. The FEED
studies for the oil pipeline and the CPFs are
nearing completion.
Some of the internationally sourced
materials will come via Mombasa along
the northern corridor, via eastern Uganda,
move northwards and take a turn at Tangi
into Murchison Falls Park to Para, Buliisa,
onto Masindi and finally to Hoima.
Other sourced materials will move
through on the southern corridor from
Tanzania to Mutukula onto Masaka via
Ssembabule, onto Lusalira, Nkonge-
Mubende, Kakumiro, Nabyeyo-Buhimba-
Hoima and from Hoima towards Buliisa.
These will use the already available
infrastructure up to Mutukula. The trucks,
which will be heavy and carrying uneven
materials, will avoid busy city centres.
Time is literally money. Unless Kagina
does her work right and on time, the oil
trucks might be caught up in the same mess
as we found ourselves in sitting for days
on a narrow slippery earth road blocked by
a non-roadworthy truck.
Kaginas task is massive; considering
that a sizeable stretch of these roads goes
through both delicate and treacherous
terrain, part of which is the western arm
of the Great East African Rift Valley with
sharp climbs and steep slopes. Kagina says
initially she was afraid the roads would not
be ready. But she now has a plan that can
actually deliver the roads in two years time.
When she spoke to journalists on the
tour on Nov. 29, she appeared unfazed and
optimistic.
Some of these challenges seem
insurmountable, she said, but we have
been here before.
Bridges like this one at Sambiya inside Murchison Falls National Park
will be expanded from a width of 3 metres to 11 metres. INDEPENDENT/RONALD MUSOKE
Kaginas team on the tour included
Michael Ochola, the team leader, Bridges
and Structures who is also a member
of the Oil Roads Studies taskforce;
Davis Muhwezi, UNRAs team leader,
Transport Economics and Road Safety;
William Matovu, UNRAs Head of Land
Acquisition, and Rachael Ngonzebwa,
UNRAs Western Regional Manager and
the UNRA media team.
From the time we set off from the UNRA
offices in Kampala, headed northwest for
Hoima town200km away, to the time we
returned; we travelled over 700kms in two
days.
On day one, our first stop was in Hoima
town, where we had breakfast at 9.30am
FEATURE
after a three-hour drive from Kampala. We
had set off at 6.30am. We then hit the 130km
Hoima-Butiaba-Bugungu road through
Wanseko to Buliisa.
Part of this route goes through a
treacherous-looking escarpment which at
the moment looks narrow and has only
patches of tarmac laid decades ago. From
Buliisa we hit another dusty-road stretch of
30km of the Bugungu Para road.
This section goes through the ecologically
sensitive Murchison Falls National Park.
From Para, we headed to Masindi via Park
Junction, a distance of 90km and from
Masindi; we got back to Hoima town via
Biiso, another stretch of 100km. That is
550kms in one day. Not bad.
Along these routes, our convoy kept
stopping for Kagina and her team to explain
what we are supposed to note. Mainly it
is sections that need urgent attention a
sharp escarpment that must be chiseled
through, a narrow section that must
be widened, long stretches that require
resurfacing. Some points, like Buliisa town,
require special attention. This is the hub of
Total Oils operations and the roads here are
a priority, noted Davis Muhwezi.
Day two is when we got stuck. But before
that we had started with driving southward
from Hoima for about 300km to inspect
the HoimaKabwoya-Buhuka and the
Kaseeta-Lwera-Kabaale-Kiziranfumbi-
Hoima road and the Kingfisher oil field of
CNOOC. There is very little activity at the
oilfield, except thin staff on the ground; men
in workshops doing maintenance work.
But it is the 10km stretch of road that the
Chinese constructed a couple of years ago,
after cutting through the escarpment that
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 17
FEATURE
CNOOC's Escarpment road near its Kingfisher Oilfield operation is in perfect condition. INDEPENDENT/RONALD MUSOKE
leaves journalists impressed.
From here, we head to Kabaale, the
area which will host the oil refinery, the
international airport, and other critical oil
infrastructure. We use the Kiziranfumbi
road before proceeding to Hoima. At
Kabaale, barring the signpost showing that
an international airport will be built, the
area remains bushy, 24 months to first oil.
We are supposed to see a section in
central Uganda of about 200km on the
Hoima-Buhimba-Kakumiro road before
continuing to Mubende enroute to
Kampala but, we are told, the road which is
already under construction is not passable.
So we end our trip in Hoima with our last
briefing.
Kagina says besides showing the
Ugandan public through the media the
challenges that UNRA deals with every
day, she wanted to allay fears that the
critical oil roads may not be ready in two
years time. She wants the public to know
that the challenges UNRA face on a daily
basis are real.
UNRAs Plan B
She also wanted to explain that
UNRA might not do this project in the
conventional way. Usually, she said, UNRA
would require a year to procure a designer
(consultant) for the project and another year
to get a contractor. The consultant would
18 Dec 08 - 14, 2017
need about a year to complete a detailed She said UNRA decided to concentrate
study for a 100km road. Kagina said 600km first on the bottleneck areas which include
is very many kilometers to do within two at least four narrow bridges, sharp bends,
years but the roads agency has come up swamps and the escarpment. Once the
with priorities within priorities to make critical sections have been built and paved,
sure that these roads are motorable in two the transporters should be able to deliver
years time. Tarmac is no longer a priority; the materials to the region.
motorability is. UNRA has done away with the
conventional long-winding process
and adopted a design and build
The oil roads the government contract approach. This means shorter
procurement timelines and a contractor
promised in 2016 bearing all risks.
Ochola who heads the Taskforce said
Road Km due to the short project timelines, UNRA
quickly constituted teams for design,
Masindi-Biiso 54km
procurement, environmental and social
Hoima-Butiaba-Wanseko 111km impact safeguards, and the execution and
Masindi-Bugungu via Murchison 80km in February, this year; UNRA recruited 77
Falls National Park contract-based staff to execute the project.
Kaseeta - Lwera via Bugoma Forest 16km Before we return to Kampala, I ask
Hohwa-Nyairongo-Kyarushesha 25km
Kagina what the main reason for the
grueling tour of these dusty, bumpy roads
Wanseko-Bugungu 23km was to UNRA and to her.
Lusalira-Nkonge-Sembabule 97km We wanted the public to see what
KyoteraRakai 20km the real challenges are on the ground,
Buhimba-Nalweyo-Kakindu- 100km
she said, It is good to see the before and
Kakumiro-Mubende after.
I promise to bring you back in three
Kabaale Kiziramfumbi 30km
years time (if I am still around) and you
Bugungu -Buliisa 29km will drive on tarmac, Kagina said.

Rwanda to host
top US diplomat
Acting Assistant
Secretary Yamamoto
to meet Kagame
By Independent Reporter
T
he Acting Assistant Secretary of
State for African Affairs, Donald
Yamamoto will spend two days on
an official visit to Kigali between
Dec.13 and 14.
It will be the conclusion of a two-week
trip to four African countries and the UK
in which he will hold bilateral talks with
leaders, discuss regional security, food, and
refugee issues according to a statement
released by the U.S. Department of State.
His itinerary included visits to Somalia,
Ethiopia, Kenya, and the UK.
Ambassador Yamamotos comes just
weeks after the U.S. hosted over 37 African
foreign ministers in Washington D.C in
what is being billed as the largest African
foreign policy event to date under President
Donald Trump.
The event held on Nov. 16 and 17
included discussions on trade and
investment, counterterrorism, and good
governance.
Ahead of that event, Yamamoto told
VOAs Africa 54 program that the goal
of the U.S. is to craft policy that goes
beyond aid to build mutually beneficial
partnerships.
If you look at the United States and
our approach to not just Africa, but in the
other regions of the world, its a much
more multidimensional, very complex
approach, Yamamoto said. It is not just
only humanitarian assistance, but also
developing capacity infrastructure, and also
were looking at capacity building. In other
words, were looking at how we can have
sustainable economic growth.
In Rwanda, Yamamoto looks set to
pursue the same agenda. According to
the State Department statement, he will be
courting President Kagame ahead of his
term as President of the African Union.
According to the VOA, Africa has
unexpectedly come to the forefront of the
Trump administrations foreign policy
following the killing in October of four
Green Berets in a remote village in Niger,
West Africa.
Following the attack, U.S. Sen. Lindsey
Graham, R-South Carolina, said, The war
is headed to Africa. Its beginning to morph.
As we suppress the enemy in the Mideast,
they are going to move.
In the near term, the U.S. now plans to
continue playing a lead role in training
African partner nations. U.S. It aims to
work with local forces to upgrade security
and facilitate coordination across nations
to guard against Boko Haram, Islamic
State, drug trafficking and other threats,
according to Yamamoto.
In the long term, however, security
will come from economic growth and
prosperity, Yamamoto said. To ensure
this, the U.S wants to discuss strategies for
reducing debt and eliminating barriers to
trade within the continent.
If we break down non-tariff trade
barriers and barriers that prevent trade
from happening between the countries,
then what we are going to see is not only
RWANDA
expansion of investments in trade and
opportunities, but also economic growth,
and that could be the spark, the basis for
other trade and development, he said.
In Somalia, Yamamoto attended the
Somalia Security Pact Review in Mogadishu
on Nov.04. The meeting was chaired by
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
Farmaajo provided an opportunity for
stakeholders invested in Somalias security
and stability to discuss the development of
Somali security institutions.
In Nairobi, Kenya between Dec.4 and 6,
he met with representatives of the Kenyan
government, as well as with Kenyan civil
society. The objective was to encourage all
sides in Kenya to participate in a national
dialogue following a hotly disputed
presidential election.
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Acting
Assistant Secretary met with senior leaders
of the Ethiopian government and of the
African Union from Dec.7-9. In addition to
continuing discussions on bilateral issues
between the two countries, Yamamoto
held talks with both Ethiopian government
and AU officials about regional concerns,
including food security, peacekeeping and
refugee matters.
In London, Ambassador Yamamoto will
participate in the twice yearly gathering of
P3 Africa Directors meeting on Dec11 and
12 to discuss current policy issues with
defense and development colleagues from
France and the UK.
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 19
RWANDA

By Independent Team

T
he World Bank Group and the Gov-
ernment of Rwanda have signed a
$125 million Financing Agreement
for the First Programmatic Energy
Sector Development Policy operation.
This is a concessional loan designed
to boost companies in involved in the
energy generation sector under the 2017-
2024 national strategy for transformation.
Rwanda expects up to US$325 million in
three tranches from the World Bank. The
deal follows a September decision by the
Government of Rwanda to increase financ-
ing to several projects in the energy projects.
The governments objective is to lift electric-
ity generation capacity from the current
generation capacity of 208MW to 563MW
and connect 70% of Rwandas households
to the grid.
At a generation of 563MW Rwanda hopes
to have achieved universal affordable access
to electricity in the short to medium term.
According to Germene Kamayirese, State
Minister for Infrastructure responsible for
Energy, Water and Sanitation, about 41%
of households in Rwanda are connected to
the power grid but the remaining 59% must
also be connected.
Claver Gatete, the Minister of Finance
and Economic Planning, and Yasser El-
Gammal, the World Bank Country Man-
ager, signed on behalf of their respective
institutions.
This is the first credit in a programmatic
series of three Development Policy Opera-
tions (DPOs) that lays out a consistent and
incremental road map to enable fiscally
sustainable expansion of electricity services
in Rwanda.
Rwanda targets
563MW of power
The series supports the Governments
Program to balance two-pronged objectives
of containing fiscal impact of the electricity
sector and improving the operational effi-
ciency, affordability, and accountability of
electricity service. Ultimately, implementa-
tion of the Program will ensure Rwandas
Deal signed with World Bank
transition to a cleaner energy mix. tegic partner of the Government in the path to gradually reduce Government
The Program supported by the DPO energy sector. Through several operations, transfers to the energy sector, said Yadviga
series is based on a clear set of reforms that the World Bank has supported the Govern- Semikolenova, Senior Energy Economist
will help Rwanda lay the groundwork ment with expanding access and generation and World Banks Task Team Leader.
for successful energy sector development capacity, restructuring Rwandas electric According to Germene Kamayirese, State
during the implementation of the National utility and improving its efficiency. The Minister for Infrastructure responsible for
Strategy for Transformation for the period proposed programmatic operation supports Energy, Water and Sanitation, who was
20172024, said Minister Gatete. the Government in taking many of reform quoted by the press in Kigali, the deal is
This operation incorporates lessons measures, initiated in previous World Bank expected to lower the cost of electricity
learned from the World Banks past and operations, forward in a structured, prag- service delivery, boost revenues and ensure
current engagement in the energy sector in matic, yet transformative manner, said power is affordable for low-income con-
Rwanda. Yasser El-Gammal. sumers.
Most notably, DPO series draws on les- The Program is designed to simultane- Minister Gatete explained that the pro-
sons from the Rwanda Electricity Access ously address the three main challenges: gram help Rwanda lay the groundwork for
Scale-up and Sector Wide Approach Devel- lowering cost of electricity service delivery; successful energy sector development.
opment Project (EASSDP) and Rwanda boosting revenues from electricity service We need electricity access for schools,
Electricity Sector Strengthening Project delivery; and enhancing affordability of ordinary people, companies, and indus-
(RESSP), which are under implementation. low-income consumers. At the end of this tries, Gatete reportedly said.
The World Bank is happy to be a stra- series, Rwanda is expected to be on a clear

20 Dec 08 - 14, 2017

Fisherman off loads fish from the boat at Ggaba Fish Landing site recently. INDEPENDENT/ JIMMY SIYA
Once declining fish stocks in
Lake Victoria bounce back
UPDF deployment cited in the reduction in illegal fishing
F
By Isaac Khisa
ish lovers can now enjoy the suc-
culent white flesh of Nile Perch
or Tilapia from Lake Victoria
as the stocks recovers since the
Uganda Peoples Defence Forces
under the Fisheries Protection
Unit began policing the water ten months
ago to control illegal fishing.
President Yoweri Museveni deployed
UPDF on the lake in response to complaints
by stakeholders including fish catchers,
processors, traders and government officials
that fish stocks in the lake were declining
at an alarming rate, and the once thriving
agricultural sub-sector would be no more if
this remained un-checked.
This follows disbandment of fisheries
officers and Beach Management Units
(BMU) over illegal fishing, extortion and
aiding other illegal dealers to trade in
immature fish in 2015.
Whereas concrete proof of this new mea-
sure will only be available upon completion
of an assessment of fish stocks in the lake
by fisheries research institutes of Uganda,
Tanzania and Kenya, which share the lake
and collected data in September, this year,
to ascertain the quantity of fish in the lake,
The Independents investigation reveals some
good news.
From Masese Fish Landing Site in Jinja,
80 km east of Kampala, to Ggaba Fish Land-
ing Site in Kampala, from Kasenyi Fish
Landing Site in Entebbe to Bukakata Land-
ing Site that connects Masaka and Kalan-
gala Districts, fish harvests are said to have
more than tripled since February this year,
compared to the period prior to deployment
of the UPDF on Lake Victoria.
For instance, Kasenyi Fish Landing Site
has seen fish harvests increase from eight
tonnes to 30 tonnes per day, according to
the Sites management records while har-
vests originating from Kalangala District
via Bukakata Landing Site has seen fish har-
vests increase from less than two tonnes to
more than eight tonnes per day during the
same period under review citing increase in
mature fish catches.
At Masese Fish Landing Site, fish harvests
have increased from about 250kgs per day
to one tonne (1,000 kgs) for those destined
to the local markets, whereas those destined
to processing factories had tripled to four
tonnes per day over the past ten months
compared with the periods prior to last
February, according to Michael Aliru, a tax
officer attached to the fish sub-sector at the
Jinja Municipa Council.
A similar trend is reported at Ggaba
Fish Landing Site, which has seen catch
for Nile Perch increase from 330 kg prior
to the UPDF deployment in Lake Victoria
to 660 kgs per day at the moment. Conse-
quently, fish prices to processing firms have
dropped by more than 50% to Shs7, 500
per kilogramme, with fishermen citing a
glut. Edward Rukuunya, the commissioner
for fisheries in the Ministry of Agriculture,
Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF),
confirmed to The Independent that indeed
fish stocks had increased in the past ten
months, attributing this to intensive fighting
of illegal fishing on Lake Victoria.
Illegal fishing in Uganda currently
involves using less than 5 inch fishing nets
for Tilapia and less than 7 inch fishing nets
for Nile Perch that results into the harvest-
ing of immature fish that measures less than
11 inch and 20 inch in length, respectively. It
also entails using fishing boats that are less
than 20 feet in length and with the absence
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 21
business
of life jackets.
Reports from fishing communities show
that fish stocks have improved but I cannot Fish export volumes
authoritatively say that I have data on the
fish stocks at the moment, Rukuunya said, 35
A study that was carried out on the fish
stocks by the three countries that share the
lake is yet to be released.
Capt. Nathan Abaho, the UPDF officer in
charge of operations on the lake in Kalan- 30
gala District told The Independent that they
have observed an increase in mature fish
catches during the period, due to a crack-
down on catchers, dealers and exporters of
illegal fish, mainly to Democratic Republic
of Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan. 25
This is through working with a section
of fishermen and chairpersons of gazetted
landing sites, closing of un-gazetted land-
ing sites, destroying illegal fishing gears as
well as arresting and prosecuting fishermen 20
and dealers in immature fish.
Another UPDF officer, who preferred
anonymity, said illegal fishing and export
of immature fish was rampant in Masaka
and Kalangala Islands for export to Rwan-
da through Mpondwe border point as well 15
as Ishasha and Bunagana to the Democratic
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
Republic of Congo (DRC) but that has been
curtailed.
The source said there has been mas- Fish export earnings
sive crackdown on immature fish dealers,
including the well-known rally driver Pon-
siano Lwakataka, who was accused of run- 150
ning stores of immature fish in Kasensero
in Kyebe Sub-county in Rakai District and
Mpondwe in Kasese District, for export to
Congo.
Lwakataka was charged with illegal pos- 120
session of immature fish in March this year
following arrest at Masaka High Court by
the UPDF as he attempted to pick his wife
and brother who had been granted bail on
the same charges by Masaka Magistrates 90
Court.
Fisheries experts say a six month ban on
harvesting immature fish is sufficient to
allow them grow. 60
However, fish stocks appear to have been
on a recovery trend even before the UPDF
deployment, according to sector experts.
Presenting a paper at the African Great
Lakes Conference in May this year in 30
Entebbe, titled: Dynamics of Fish Stocks of
Commercial Importance in Lake Victoria,
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
East Africa: Implications for Management, Source: MAAIF
Robert Kayanda, the director at Tanzania
Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI), said decade from 20% of the total stock (2.7mil- fell by 14.6% from 461,730 tonnes in 2015 to
acoustic surveys had showed an increase lion tonnes) to 41 % during the same period 394, 224 tonnes in 2016 as a result of reduced
in the total biomass ( the total weight of a under review, he said. catches of Nile Perch.
group or stock of fish) in the lake from However, he noted that there had been little However, catches of Tilapia and small
2.9 million tons of fish in 2014 to almost 3 stock assessment for the Tilapia fish. fish types increased. Overall, capture of
.2 Million tons in 2015, with majority being fisheries from the lake remained the major
dagaa. contributor to total fish production, account-
Nile Perch, which was introduced in the
Fish production ing for 77%.
lake in the 1950s, reduced from 1.6 million Data from the Directorate of Fisheries On the other hand, aquaculture produc-
tonnes in 2000 to 1.1million tonnes in 2015, Resources in the Agriculture Ministry in tion grew by 5.4% from 111,033 tonnes
while dagaa rose considerably over the last Uganda shows that the total fish captured in 2014 to 117,000 tonnes in 2015. On the

22 Dec 08 - 14, 2017


export front, fish volumes to the internation-
al market decreased from 18,785 tonnes in
2015 to 16,168 tonnes in 2016, with the major-
ity of the volumes destined to the European
Union.
Consequently, this led to a decline in
export earnings from US$134.791 million to
US$113.0 million during the same period
under review.
This, however, is still far below the 36,616
metric tonnes exported in 2005, earning the
country over US$143 million.
Fish factories re-open
The Independent has also established that
two fish processing firms that had closed
their operations more than a decade ago
citing reduction in fish have since resumed
operations. These includes; Gomba Fish
Industries in Jinja and Four Ways popularly
known as Ngege Limited in Luzira, a Kam-
pala suburb signalling relieve to fish sub-
sector. More than half of the countrys 23 fish
processing and exporting firms have closed
their operations in the past decade partly as
a result of declining fish supplies.
We may not have the figures yet but the
fact is that fish production in Lake Victoria
has improved since the UPDF was deployed
there, Ovia Katiti Matovu, executive direc-
tor at the Uganda Fish Processors and
Exporters Association, told The Indepen-
dent.
However, she noted that competition
between local demand and fish processing
firms for fish remains high amidst decline
in fish prices. Uganda mainly exports Nile
Perch while Tilapia is sold to local and
regional markets.
We have a very big difference before and
now since UPDF was deployed on the lake,
catches of large fish have increased, Bachi
Sudaice, a fisherman at Masese Fish Land-
ing Site says, holding a Nile Perch weighing
more than 20kgs.
He said the presence of strong surveillance
on the lake had resulted into a reduction in
the catch of small fish amidst high demand
in the neighbouring countries such as Kenya.
He added that theres also need to crack
down on dealers of illegal nets to as to com-
pletely eliminate illegal fishing activities.
I wish the military could continue stay-
ing on the lake because those fishermen who
failed to meet the requirements are no longer
fishing, said Bosco Kalunga, a UPDF repre-
sentative at Kasenyi Fish Landing Site, who
has been in the fishing business for the past
two decades.
He said while there are high fish volumes
in the lake, the majority of fishermen do not
have the required fishing gear and lack capi-
tal to invest in acquiring acceptable sizes of
nets and boats.
The recovery trend appears to be similar
in Tanzania and Kenya. In neighbouring
Tanzania, Mara Regional Commissioner
Charles Mlingwa, in May 2017 told fish pro-
cessors who had suspended operations in
the region due to lack of fish that there was
no longer need for factories to remain closed,
as fish stocks had increased in the lake as a
result of increased patrols on Lake Victoria.
Over the past three years, two fish pro-
cessing firms, Prime Catch Export Limited
and Mara Fish Limited suspended opera-
tions, while Musoma Fish Processors was
said to have reduced production volumes.
But not all sections of the population is
contented with the UPDF operations on
Lake Victoria. For instance in Masaka, resi-
dents of Mumpu and Mutante landing sites
in Buwunga Sub-Country have been up in
arms over the UPDFs plan to evict them.
UPDF has always claimed that the two
landing sites are not gazetted. Masaka Dis-
trict LC V Chairperson, Jude Mbabaali told
Daily Monitor last June that the protection
units plan to evict the residents, numbering
over 1,000 , at the landing sites has no legal
basis. Further, majority of the fishermen in
the area have abandoned fishing as they
are unable to acquire the specified fishing
gears, said Francis Kimuli, the chairperson of
Buwunga Sub-County.
The legal fishing gears are expensive
and our local fishermen cannot afford them,
but if the government supports them, it will
be one way of fighting the vice and helping
them earn a living, he said.
Fisheries sub-sector contributes 3% of
Ugandas national Gross Domestic Product
On the export
front, fish
volumes to the
international
market decreased
from
18,785 metric
tonnes in 2015 to
16,168 metric
tonnes in 2016
business
and 12% to agricultural GDP, according to
the agriculture ministry.
It also employs up to 1.2 million people
directly and over 3.5 million people indi-
rectly. Fish accounts for over 50% of animal
protein in food, with each Ugandan consum-
ing an average 8 kg of fish per year.
Going forward
Despite the apparent success, it remains
unclear if and how government plans to
maintain UPDFs deployment on Lake Vic-
toria. It also remains unclear on how much
the government is spending to maintain the
momentum of fighting illegal fishing.
Kayanda says the target biomass should
be 1.4 million tonnes with optimal catch of
264,000 tonnes but to reach this level, theres
need to reduce the current catch to 223,000
tonnes and then climb slowly to optimal
catch.
Theres need to reduce the amount of
immature Nile Perch caught from 40%
currently to 20%, by developing and imple-
menting a regional strategy to prevent trad-
ing in immature fish, he said.
He said there was also need to completely
eradicate small hooks from the lake, establish
and gazette new closed areas where no fish-
ing is permitted and strengthen enforcement
of compliance to fisheries regulations.
Affirmative action to eradicate illegal
trade of undersized, immature Nile perch
to neighbouring regional markets should
be taken, he said, adding that fishing gears
that disrupt or damage nests should also be
regulated. Rukuunya said government had
revised the National Fisheries Policy of 2004
into the National Fisheries and Aquaculture
Policy, which is currently before cabinet for
approval, with a vision of seeing a modern,
productive, profitable and sustainable fisher-
ies and aquaculture sector.
He said the government is also promoting
aquaculture in a bid to reduce pressure on
the Lake.
So far aquaculture is doing very well;
growing at an average of 8% per annum, he
said, adding that the production is estimated
to have increased from 5,000 metric tonnes in
2004 to over 100,000 tonnes in 2014. He said
the governments target is to increase pro-
duction from aquaculture to 300,000 metric
tonnes by 2020.
Vincent Ssempijja, the agriculture minis-
ter, said earlier this year that the government
will revive the fisheries sub sector using a
number of measures ranging from reform-
ing the fisheries management and director-
ate, procurement and issuance of fishing
vessel identification number plates, registra-
tion of all boats and the recruitment of 10
fisheries inspectors at every border post to
curb illegal fishing and trade.
This article was funded by a grant from the
African Centre for Media Excellence.
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 23
business

Few sparks at Bank

of Uganda lecture
But should Dr. Ha Joon Changs push for more
state intervention in the economy be the future?
By Julius Businge

T
he guest speaker at the Bank of
Ugandas flagship annual lecture
series; the Joseph Mubiru Memorial
Lecture, is usually a distinguished
individual in the field of finance, political
economy, business, or general management.
Over 25 years, the lecturer series has had
distinguished guest speakers like Prof. Ali
Amin Mazrui, Michael Camdessus, Duvari
Subbarrao, Trevor Manuel, Paul Collier,
Joseph stiglitz, Cyril Ramaphosa, Mam-
phele Ramphele, Patrick Njoroge, Baroness
Lynda Chalker, and Ugandans like Prof.
Ssemakula Kiwanuka and Dr. Suleiman
Kigundu.
To this distinguished list this year was
added, Dr. Ha Joon Chang. Unlike many
of the others, Chang who has been ranked
among the `Top 20 World Thinkers is not a
household name in Ugandan scholarship.
His books, including prominent ones like Dr. Ha Joon Chang giving his keynote speech at Serena Hotel on Dec.01. INDEPENDENT/J.BUSINGE
`The Political Economy of Industrial Policy,
Kicking Away the Ladder, Bad Samaritans, in Economic Development. dom, and historical myths.
23 Things They Dont Tell You About Capi- Of course, as a distinguished proponent You need to be realistic about what you
talism, and Economics: The Users Guide of the so-called institutionalist political can achieve in the short- to medium-run,
may have sold millions of copies around the economy, Chang was expected to place he said. You also need to be very pragmat-
world and been translated and published institutions at the centre of economic evolu- ic about the policy tools you use.
in about 40 languages and 43 countries, tion and in opposition to the laissez-faire The same policy makers that Chang
but Chang gained prominence only after economics that glorify the private sector. addressed have, in the last 30 years, empha-
his name was mentioned as this years That is probably why he was invited, since sised free market or laissez faire economics.
guest. Perennial participants scrambled to the mainstream tendency now appears to But Chang said it was time for more state
place him. And the lack of familiarity with be more inclined towards increased state protection of domestic industries against
Changs positions showed during the dis- intervention in the economy. competition from superior foreign produc-
cussions at the event on Dec.01 in Kampala. But Chang approached in a fresh and ers. He said they need export subsidies,
Held at the Serena International Confer- provocative style; telling his audience of lowering of tariffs, and offering rebates on
ence Centre in the middle of town, the event policy makers, shapers, and users to move industrial inputs, and strictly controlling
attracted the usual financial sector A-class beyond reliance on nature, create new quality of exports.
and their aspiring disciples. comparative advantages instead of depend- All of todays rich countries, except for
That Chang was introduced as a Reader ing on existing ones, and to reshape an the Netherlands and (pre World War I)
in Political Economy of Development in outward-looking economy with a focus on Switzerland, used protectionism for sub-
the Faculty of Economics at the University technology, manufacturing, and exports. stantial periods in order to develop their
of Cambridge did not illuminate matters. You need to be ambitious in terms of economies, he said.
Many attendees were unfamiliar with the your final goals, he said, Dare to imagine Chang said Uganda should not just
title and the prestige awarded only on the a different future. exploit existing comparative advantage but
basis of distinguished international scholar- But he also said the policy makers need move its comparative advantage towards
ship associated with it. to be pragmatic without being dull and more technologically advanced products.
Fortunately, Chang adopted a provoca- boring.
tive, challenging, and visionary approach You can be truly pragmatic only when Importance of manufacturing
to the topic of Ambition, Pragmatism and you can liberate yourself from the shackles Chang said the state should support
Imagination; Rethinking the role of the State of ideological prejudices, conventional wis- manufacturing because the prices of pri-

24 Dec 08 - 14, 2017


mary commodities that Uganda currently
depends on, suffer large fluctuations and
technological shocks in more advanced
economies which make the management of
balance of payments difficult.
Raising productivity is much easier
in manufacturing than in other economic
activities, like agriculture and services, he
said.
He said manufacturing is less bound by
nature and easily benefits from mechanisa-
tion and chemical processing, adding that
manufacturing is a source of organisational
innovations, technology, and capital goods
such as machines, transport equipment,
and intermediate goods such as chemical
fertilisers that spread higher productive
capabilities to other sectors like agriculture
and services.
The manufacturing sector has always
been the main source of new productive
knowledge, he said, adding that many
knowledge intensive services; such as
research, engineering and design, and
finance sell mostly to manufacturing firms.
So their success depends on manufac-
turing success, he said.
Cheers for Chang
Changs presentation was music to the
ears of the discussants, many of whom have
been clamouring for increased intervention
of the state in the economy and support for
manufacturing.
Wilbrod Owor, the executive director
of the Uganda Bankers Association (UBA)
said the state needs to drive and direct the
economy for growth but with a caveat.
Government must be run like a busi-
ness, it has to be entrepreneurial. The old
times of running a government in a typical
civil service fashion are gone, he said.
He said although the economy registered
average growth of 7% over many years
since liberalisation and privatisation, recent
development; including a decline in growth
to 3.9% in FY 2016/17 means there is a prob-
lem.
There have been negatives and reversals
and we have to deal with them using Dr.
Changs paper, he said.
He listed oil production, comparative
advantage in agriculture and opportunities
in industry. But, he said, these need good
governance and well- structured mecha-
nisms that support resident businesses.
Allen Kagina, the executive director of
Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA)
said, at her previous post as head of the
Uganda Revenue Authority, she often
heard the clamour of the private sector for
reduced tariffs for manufacturing, exemp-
tions from income tax and more. She said
when the state intervened, the productivity
of the private sector increased.
More recently we have seen a decline
in growth; why is that? Is it possible that
Wilbrod Owor Allen Kagina
the past high growth was supported by the
state intervention polices or it was perhaps
supported by the coffee boom? she said.
She said the discussion should be around
what the state has done and what the state
should do more.
Charles Kwesiga, the executive director,
of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute
(UIRI) said Uganda, as a private sector
driven export economy needs three key pil-
lars to grow; appropriate technology, skilled
manpower, and affordable financing.
Sparks fly
Despite the almost all-round applause
for Changs state interventionist views,
some observers said the topic was off the
mark. They would have preferred a topic
that seeks solutions to the regulation and
corporate governance challenges that Bank
of Uganda has faced recently. The Deputy
Governor, Louis Kasekende, noted this
point but defended the choice of topic.
There could hardly have been a more
timely topic for discussion as we debate the
development strategies which can accelerate
our economys transition to middle income
status, he said in reference to the national
Vision 2020 and Vision 2040 that envis-
age attainment of Lower Middle Income
Economy status and a transformation from
peasantry to modernity.
But two Makerere University dons told
The Independent that Uganda needs to fix
the state first before unleashing it into the
economy.
If we dont get the politics right; if we
dont build a clean, responsive and transfor-
mative state, we are headed nowhere, said
Julius Kiiza, a lecturer of political economy.
He said the two broad categories of
people comprising the state in Uganda; the
political elites in office and the bureaucrats,
cannot transform the economy.
He said: Uganda needs new political
elites who will rethink the philosophy of
private sector-led development to say what
we need is state guidance on minimising
corruption, using the countrys resources to
drive a transformative agenda to be able to
business
Charles Kwesiga
drive the country from commodity activities
to high value added industrial and knowl-
edge based activities.
If you have the same tired faces in the
Central Bank, in the Ministry of Finance and
other government agencies, it is hard for
the state-led agenda to gain traction simply
because it is the technocrats who constitute
the engine of government, he said.
Ndebesa Mwambusya, a lecturer of polit-
ical history and development studies said
a topic on public sector governance would
have been more appropriate.
As a Bank they wouldnt want to choose
a topic that puts them on the spot or choose
it when they are in crisis, Mwambusya
said.
However, he said Changs topic was rele-
vant because the country is gearing towards
bringing back the public sector.
He added; The problem in Uganda is
not the policy per say; the problem is the
public sector governance.
He said bringing back the state, especially
in running enterprises, would meet a big
problem given that the nature of the state
led enterprises in Uganda.
They are administered by state-appoint-
ed officials who are loyal to the regime and
incompetent, he said, this would usher in
incompetent and inefficient officials like it
was in 1960s.
He said that countries like Singapore,
Malaysia, and South Korea who made it
through state intervention had a policy of
meritocracy.
He said, instead, the public sector and the
private sector must work together in invest-
ing in energy, infrastructure, and industry,
while general trading is left to the private
sector. He said the state could have large
scale commercial farms as models for the
private sector.
The lectures were instituted in 1988 by
the Bank of Uganda in honour of the late
Joseph Mubiru, the first Governor of the
Bank from its inception in 1966 to 1971, and
who later lost his life in the most brutal fash-
ion at the hands of state agents.
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 25
Executive Style
Virtual office space gains traction
Whats your management
I
style?
ts all about teamwork
to achieve the best of
our potential. I believe
everybody has got
an idea of what they can
contribute towards any
direction the company is
taking.
What are the benefits of a
fully furnished office?
The obvious benefits of a
serviced office are a ready
office facility where you
dont go through the hustle
of setting up a new office.
You dont have to source
contractors for partitioning,
buying furniture, installing
IT equipment and many
others. It is fully serviced
because it provides desks
cabinets, chairs, fully
functioning air conditioner,
back-up power, telephones,
reception services among
others. All this equipment
and the entire day to
day utilities water bills,
repairs, and maintenance
are managed by Regus.
One of your products is
Business lounge. How does
this work?
Business lounge caters
more to the flexible
working people especially
those running start-up
businesses and majorly
out in the field. But in the
course of the day, they want
to sit down and organise
themselves and possibly
put reports together. It is
therefore a shared lounge
facility where you get on
the Wi-Fi, business hour
access at a fraction of the
price of a typical office.
Regus operates in an
economy where 70% of
businesses are informal.
How do you reconcile this?
We try to streamline
and organise the informal
sector. One main reason
why that sector is large is
26 Dec 08 - 14, 2017
Brian Tabaruka is the Team Leader at
Regus Uganda, a serviced office provider
in Kampala, Uganda. He spoke to Ian
Katusiime about the growth of virtual office
space in Kampala
the cost of the conventional
office. By the time a
briefcase gentleman thinks
of setting up an office, they
are already burdened with
rent. They have to deal
with overhead costs. At
Regus, the business entity
will have a flexible package
with a small amount of
money and an official
address.
Regus offers the virtual
office facility but this
seems to be a crowded
industry. How unique are
you here?
Regus being the worlds
largest serviced office
provider means that with
more than 3000 locations
worldwide, we grant our
clients instant access to all
our locations across the
globe. Our clients instantly
become global players and
can interact with everybody
within the Regus family;
the clientele and staff. This
sets us apart from many
people that provide the
virtual office package. I
dont want to think its a
crowded industry.
We have the market
out there and it is about
getting people to know
it and appreciate what is
involved. If you talk about
70% of an informal sector,
thats a huge opportunity.
If you just look at the
oil and gas sector I dont
think any serious player
will deal with a briefcase
company in the oil and
gas sector. They will
need proper business
documentation and a
proper business address to
start transacting or earning
from any economic
opportunity. There may
be a few main players but
it is a $20billion global
industry and this trickles
down to the start-up
business. There is lots of
opportunities there.
What challenges do you
face in this business?
In Kampala itself,
awareness is a challenge.
We have worked hard to
increase awareness within
the market because many
people do not know about
the serviced office concept.
Where do you see Regus
in the next five years from
now?
I want to think we will
strongly be at a point where
we are tipping the scale
moving away from the
traditional office concept
to a flexible ready to use
office. We will be saving
peoples time and money.
People want to be able to
work in various locations
because no one wants to be
tied in one place. We have
three locations in Kampala.
We should be major market
players in a few years. The
potential is there because
six years ago, we just had
one office.
 business
AGRIBUSINESS TECH
DFCU injects $2.8m in agribusiness training Jumia, KFC partner
for food delivery

J
umia Food, a leading online food
delivery service has announced
that customers in Kampala can
now get KFC meals delivered to
their doorstep through the Jumia Food
App.
Ron Kawamara, Managing Director
for Jumia Food East Africa said: KFC
is one of the most loved food brands in
Uganda and globally. We are delighted
DFCU, ADC and Rabo Bank Foundation officials show off that Jumia Food can now make deli-
US$2.8 million cheque for the ADC. Independent/J.Businge cious KFC meals just a tap away for

O
rganized farm-
ers have a reason
to smile. For the
next five years,
dfcu and Rabobank Foun-
dation are injecting a com-
bined US$ 2.8million in the
Agribusiness Development
Center (ADC) that will see
farmers attain knowledge
and skills in better farm-
ing methods, marketing of
produce, financial literacy,
risk assessment and value
addition.
ADC started operations
in October this year and so
far has skilled 44 farmer
leaders from 20 Farmer
Based Organisations from
Lira, Dokolo, Kole, Alebt-
ong and Oyam.
With these skills, the
Farmer Based Organisa-
tions will continue to grow
their operations in ways
that are of benefit to both
them and the wider com-
munities, ADC executive
director, Anja de Feijter,
said. He said they are cur-
rently conducting a pre-
visiting exercise of over
100 FBOs in several parts
of the country so as to
benefit more farmers.
people in Kampala.
Some of the popular KFC signature
meals such as the Streetwise 2, Twisters
and not forgetting their famous chicken
buckets among others will be available
on Jumia Food.
To celebrate this partnership, new
customers ordering through the Jumia
Food app for the first time can use
voucher code JFK4, which gives new
users 30% off their first order. Orders
can be placed between 11am and 10pm.

INSURANCE
PAY TV

Multichoice offers UIA in new motor insurance campaign

T
he umbrella organization of geared towards educating Ugandans about
Dstv discounted insurers, the Uganda Insurance Motor Third party and comprehensive
decoders, bouquet Association, has intensified a
motor insurance awareness drive
insurance, the benefits and how these can
be utilized by the public.

T
his holiday season, DStv Ugan-
da is offering its customers an
array of promotions to enable
its customers to get discounted
decoders and bouquets.
Phoebe Nakabazzi, the DStv Ugan-
da Marketing Manager in Uganda said
DStv has revamped its hardware offer
of Shs132, 500 to include one month of
compact this December period.
as part of its countrywide insurance
literacy campaign. Miriam Magala, the
chief executive officer of UIA said on
Nov 29 that as part of the campaign, the
association has lined up a list of activities
such as media house visits that will all be
BANKING
Stanbic Bank cuts interest rates
She said that although it is mandatory
for all Ugandan motorists to have motor
third party insurance, only about 30% of
the vehicles on the road are insured and
many are yet to appreciate the value of
motor insurance.

Additionally, we have partnered
with Shell during this season; for
any customer who purchases a fully
installed Zapper full kit at Shs182, 500
at any Shell fuel station will instantly
walk away with a fuel or shopping
voucher worth Shs30,000, she said.
DStv will also hold Mall activations
in Acacia Mall, Game, Village Mall,
Capital Shoppers Nakawa and Ntinda
where customers can win goodies.
She said DStv has also partnered
with Jumia.ug for Black Friday Big
Bang where the Explora decoders
will be sold at a reduced price from
Shs389, 000 to Shs277, 000 and the
Zapper from Shs132, 500 to Shs99, 000.
I
n response to the
October monetary
policy statement by the
Bank of Uganda and
the decision to reduce the
Central Bank Rate by 0.5
percentage points to 9.5 %,
Stanbic Bank has matched
the Central Banks rate
cut by reducing its Prime
Lending Rate from 18% to
17.5% effective January 01,
2018.
Announcing the
development, Sam
Mwogeza - Chief Financial
Sam Mwogeza
Officer Stanbic Bank
said they maintaining
transparency in their
pricing to its clients.
BOU initiated easing
of the monetary policy in
a bid to boost economic
activity through private
sector driven credit after
interest rates peaked at a
four year high of 28% in Q1
2016 reducing the appetite
for risk and borrowing.
The policy has so far
yielded mixed results with
inflation coming under
control, though demand
for credit has remained
sluggish prompting BOU
to act once again.

Dec 08 - 14, 2017 27

business

Liquid Telecom now targets

start-ups for growth
By Isaac Khisa instrumental in developing solu-

L
iquid Telecom Uganda,
part of the pan-African
telecoms group Liquid
Telecom, has partnered
with The Innovation Village, a
hub and co-working space in
Kampala, to support Ugandan
start-ups with high-speed inter-
net and cloud-based services.
Liquid Telecom Uganda, for-
merly known as Infocom, will
work alongside The Innovation
Richard Rwabuhinga,(L) the Chairman LC5 Kabarole District shakes Village to provide new oppor-
hands with Patrick Waswa, the Logistics Director Hima cement during tunities for start-ups, enabling
the handover of one of the VIP Latrines that Hima Cement donated to them access additional resources
Harugongo Primary School. and expertise that can help them
scale and launch locally relevant
solutions. The partnership will
involve technology develop-
mental programmes, including
Liquids ongoing Go Cloud
initiative, which is supported
by Microsoft to raise awareness,
adoption and usage of Azure
Cloud across Africa.
Uganda is home to one of
Africas youngest and most
exciting start-up ecosystems,
said Hans Haerdtle, CEO, Liq-
uid Telecom Uganda on Nov.
30. Through this new partner-
ship with The Innovation Vil-
lage, we are delighted to be able
to support young entrepreneurs
across the country, who will be
Director Collin Dick, (L) DKT Managing, Chief Guest Professor Anthony
Mbonye, (M) Director General Health Services, Ministry Of Health,
Uganda, and Ian Parker WAB Advertising Managing Director during
the launch of DKT International products on the Ugandan market at
Sheraton on November 24. INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
tions to some of societys largest
problems.
Liquid Telecom is looking
towards tapping into the Start-
ups especially those that go
through The Innovation Village
for its growth
Japheth Kawanguzi, the CEO
and co-founder, The Innovation
Village said the partnership will
help put Uganda on the regional
and global innovation map,
which starts with a vibrant start-
up ecosystem driven by partner-
ships and access to a regional
footprint. It opens the door for
more partners and investors for
the Ugandan entrepreneur, he
said. This development comes
barely a month since Liquid
Telecom announced support for
start-ups entering the insigh-
t2impacts (i2i) DataHack4FI
innovation competition, which
aims at harnessing the power
of data science to develop new
evidence-based solutions to
improve financial inclusion.
Operating in 13 African coun-
tries including Kenya, Tanzania,
Rwanda and Zimbabwe, Liquid
Telecom is said to have recorded
US$594.6million revenue and
US$359.6million as at the year
ended February 2017, according
to TechCentral.

Weekly share price movement (Dec. 01)

Security Dec 01 Nov. 24 Movement
BATU 30000 30000 00
BOBU 110 110 00
CENT 1,532 1,487 3.0
DFCU 680 680 00
EABL 8,452 8,483 0.4
EBL 1,505 1,513 0.5
JHL 16,130 17,248 6.5
KA 399.75 - --
KCB 1,452 1,522 4.6
NIC 12 12 00
NMG 4,050. 4,048 0.0
NVL 524 524 00
SBU 27 27 00
Gilbert Assi, (M) Managing Director Vivo Energy Uganda talking with the
Minister of State for Works and Transport Gen. Katumba Wamala, (R) at the UCHM 140 126 11.1
flag off of Tweddeko caravan that will educate road users about road safety UCL 30 30 00
along Kampala -Masaka road more so during this festival season at Railway UMEME 400 400 00
grounds. Looking on is the Stephen Kasiima, Director of Traffic and Road ALSI -- -- --
Safety Police Force. INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA

28 Dec 08 - 14, 2017


By Jim ONeill
The abnormality of oil
Why inflation and monetary-policy adjustments
by central banks might not impact its price
W
riting about oil prices is always
risky. In a January 2015, I sug-
gested that oil prices would
not continue to fall, and even
predicted that they would finish the year
higher than they were when it began. I was
wrong then; but I might not be wrong for
much longer.
I recently spoke at the massive Abu Dha-
bi Petroleum Exhibition and Conference
(ADIPEC), which is a kind of Davos for oil-
market participants. While there, I caught
the tail end of a discussion among senior oil
executives who all agreed that at this time
next year, crude oil will still be around $60
per barrel, as it is today.
I was about to be interviewed by the
CNBC reporter Steve Sedgwick, to whom
I said, That would be a first. Oil prices
hardly moving in a year? Needless to say,
Sedgwick began the interview by telling the
audience what I had said, and quizzed me
on why I disagreed with the others.
Before I get to my explanation, let me
state the usual caveats. Forecasting oil prices
is inevitably a fraught endeavor; in fact, it
makes forecasting currency markets look
easy. When I completed a doctorate on oil
markets in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I
had already concluded that trying to guess
oil prices is a waste of time and energy.
Later, when I was at Goldman Sachs, I was
often amused to see commodity analysts in
my research group struggling to cope with
the usual chaos of oil-price developments.
While interviewing me, Sedgwick raised
an interesting point: Given that the volatil-
ity of many other asset prices has declined
sharply in recent years, it might just be a
matter of time before oil and other com-
modity prices do the same. To be sure, that
could very well happen. In principle, he is
right.
But I would argue that the decline in
volatility in currency, bond, and equity
markets largely reflects low inflation in
many parts of the world, and the lack of
significant monetary-policy adjustments
by major central banks in recent years. Im
not sure that these factors apply to oil in the
same way, especially at a time when energy
markets are on the cusp of big changes in
supply and demand.
On the demand side, market commenta-
tors are finally waking up to something that
has been pretty clear for most of 2017: the
world economy has gained momentum,
and is now probably growing at a rate of 4%
or higher. With the exception of India and
the United Kingdom, eight of the ten largest
economies are expanding at the same time.
And even as many countries try to wean
themselves off oil, that transition will not
happen overnight. Accordingly, oil markets
are adjusting to stronger demand.
On the supply side, the worlds most
important marginal supplier of oil, Saudi
Arabia, has suddenly drawn a lot of wary
eyes. The Saudi government has been
implementing radical changes, both domes-
tically and in its foreign policy, and its rea-
sons for doing so are not entirely clear. Not
surprisingly, market participants suddenly
want to add a premium to the price of oil.
In my two speeches at ADIPEC, I shared
a slide with trend lines for the Brent crude
oil spot price and the five-year forward
price. I have long defaulted to watching the
five-year forward price for lack of a more
fundamentals-based approach to think-
ing about the equilibrium price of oil. As I
Trying to guess
oil prices is a
waste of time
and energy
COMMENT
explained in January 2015, the Brent crude
oil spot price is less subject to speculative
fluctuations, and is thus a purer approxima-
tion of underlying commercial supply and
demand factors.
The chart I prepared which was made
before the latest oil-price acceleration in ear-
ly November shows the five-year forward
oil price picking up after a period of some
stability. With the spot price having now
moved above the five-year forward price,
one could conclude that a trend change is
underway. For my part, Im unsure; but I
wouldnt be surprised if it happened.
Let us return to Sedgwicks question.
While oil prices could be around $60 per
barrel in November 2018, my guess is that
they will have risen to around $80 per barrel
in the meantime.
Sedgwick also asked me how oil com-
panies might be able to make their invest-
ment and operational decision-making less
beholden to cyclical factors. Is it possible for
oil companies to temper their excitement
during periods of rising prices, and not to
fall into a malaise when prices are low for
lengthy periods?
Its a tough question. My answer is
that oil companies need to complete the
commodity-analysis quest that I started
but never finished. They must come up
with a credible method for estimating the
underlying equilibrium price of oil. Then, as
soon as the oil price exceeds two standard
deviations of that equilibrium, they should
start to ignore the fashionable advice of col-
leagues, analysts, and industry insiders.
Jim ONeill, a former chairman of Goldman
Sachs Asset Management and a former UK
Treasury Minister, is Honorary Professor of
Economics at Manchester University and former
Chairman of the British governments Review
on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 29
COMMENT
By Kaushik Basu
Evidence-based policy mistakes
It is important to recognise that data alone
are not enough, common sense matters
A
fter years of stressing the impor-
tance of evidence-based policy-
making, economists have clearly
had some influence on politicians.
What economists now need to do is to
impress upon those same politicians that
citing any evidence before adopting any
policy is not evidence-based policymaking
at all.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdoan has thrown around numbers to
defend his decision to flood the Turkish
economy with state-guaranteed credit. But
the truth is that the policy was a politically
motivated effort to win public support by
engineering short-term growth (at the cost
of driving inflation to a nine-year high of
12%).
Likewise, U.S. President Donald Trump
cites simplistic trade-deficit figures to jus-
tify protectionist policies that win him sup-
port among a certain segment of the U.S.
population. In reality, the evidence sug-
gests that such policies will hurt the very
people Trump claims to be protecting.
Now, the chair of Trumps Council
of Economic Advisers, Kevin Hassett,
is attempting to defend Congressional
Republicans effort to slash corporate taxes
by claiming that, when developed coun-
tries have done so in the past, workers
gained well north of $4,000 per year. Yet
there is ample evidence that the benefits
of such tax cuts accrue disproportionately
to the rich, largely via companies buy-
ing back stock and shareholders earning
higher dividends. It is not clear whence
Hassett is getting his data. But chances are
that, at the very least, he is misinterpret-
ing it. And he is far from alone in failing to
reach accurate conclusions when assessing
a given set of data.
Consider the oft-repeated refrain that,
because there is evidence that virtually all
jobs over the last decade were created by
the private sector, the private sector must
be the most effective job creator. At first
glance, the logic might seem sound. But,
on closer examination, the statement begs
the question. Imagine a Soviet economist
claiming that, because the government cre-
ated virtually all jobs in the Soviet Union,
the government must be the most effective
job creator. To find the truth, one would
need, at a minimum, data on who else
30 Dec 08 - 14, 2017
tried to create jobs, and how.
Moreover, it is important to recognise
that data alone are not enough to deter-
mine future expectations or policies. While
there is certainly value in collecting data
(via, for example, randomised control tri-
als), there is also a need for deductive and
inductive reasoning, guided by common
sense and not just on the part of experts.
By dismissing the views and opinions of
ordinary people, economists may miss out
on crucial insights.
Peoples everyday experiences provide
huge amounts of potentially useful infor-
mation. While a common-sense approach
based on individual experience is not the
most scientific, it should not be dis-
missed out of hand. A meteorologist might
detect a coming storm by plugging data
from myriad sources atmospheric sen-
sors, weather balloons, radar, and satellites
into complex computer models. But that
doesnt mean that the sight of gathering
clouds in the sky is not also a legitimate
sign that one might need an umbrella
even if the weather forecast promises
sunshine.
Intuition and common sense have
been critical to our evolution. After all,
had humans not been able to draw rea-
sonably accurate conclusions about the
A meteorologist
might detect a
coming storm
by plugging
data from
myriad sources
world through experience or observation,
we wouldnt have survived as a species.
The development of more systematic
approaches to scientific inquiry has not
diminished the need for such intuitive rea-
soning. In fact, there are important and not
obvious truths that are best deduced using
pure reason.
Consider the Pythagorean Theorem,
which establishes the relation among the
three sides of a right triangle. If all con-
clusions had to be reached by combing
through large data sets, Pythagoras, who
is believed to have devised the theorems
first proof, would have had to measure
a huge number of right triangles. In any
case, critics would likely argue that he had
looked at a biased sample, because all of
the triangles examined were collected from
the Mediterranean region.
Inductive reasoning, too, is vital to reach
certain kinds of knowledge. We know
that an apple will not remain suspended
in mid-air, because we have seen so many
objects fall. But such reasoning is not fool-
proof. As Bertrand Russell pointed out,
The man who has fed the chicken every
day throughout its life at last wrings its
neck instead, showing that more refined
views as to the uniformity of nature
would have been useful to the chicken.
Of course, many policymakers not just
the likes of Erdoan and Trump make
bad decisions not because of a misun-
derstanding of the evidence, but because
they prefer to pursue politically expedient
measures that benefit their benefactors
or themselves. In such cases, exposing the
inappropriateness of their supposed evi-
dence may be the only option. But, for the
rest, the imperative must be to advocate for
a more comprehensive approach, in which
leaders use reasoned intuition to draw
effective conclusions based on hard data.
Only then will the age of effective evidence-
based policymaking really begin.
Kaushik Basu, former Chief Economist of the
World Bank, is Professor of Economics at
Cornell University and Nonresident Senior
Fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.

By Willem Fourie
Research for policy makers
Six barriers that make it difficult for
African states to use research for policy
A
frican policymakers need access
to high quality evidence to imple-
ment the UNs Sustainable Devel-
opment Goals (SDGs) successfully.
The SDGs are arguably the most broad-
ranging development goals to be ratified by
United Nations member states. Their overall
aim is to leave no one behind by 2030.
Evidence based research proved key to
meeting some of the goals that preceded
the SDGs. This was particularly the case
for meeting goals related to diseases such
as HIV and Aids and malaria. According
to UNAIDS, increased research output and
better linkages between researchers and
policymakers were important for reaching
targets set under the Millennium Develop-
ment Goals.
And yet linking African policymakers
with the sort of research thats relevant for
implementing goals is difficult. This is not a
problem unique to implementing develop-
ment goals. But the broad ambition of the
SDGs has made identifying and addressing
barriers more urgent.
There are at least six main barriers to the
use of research in policymaking. These are
the complexity of evidence, absence of per-
sonal relationships between researchers and
policymakers, the time it takes to do qual-
ity research, the perceived irrelevance of
research, a lack of analytical capacity within
governments, and budget constraints.
Theres no silver bullet to overcoming
these barriers. But building strong relation-
ships between researchers and policymak-
ers is a good place to start.
The big six
Complexity of evidence: Researchers
assume that peer-reviewed journal articles
are the most important form of evidence.
This isnt always the case. Policymakers rely
on different types of evidence, such as prac-
tical experience and political know-how.
But even using one form of evidence
isnt that easy. Peer-reviewed research
often comes from competing sources with
varying methodologies, perspectives and
ideologies.
Absence of personal relationships: Per-
sonal contact between researchers and
policymakers is important. Strong personal
relationships are important for the uptake of
research evidence. Their absence is seen as a
key barrier.
Weak relationships have an impact on the
relevance and even timeliness of research.
The absence of strong relationships contrib-
utes to researchers often not knowing what
the needs and challenges in governments
are. A study on research based decision
making in South Africa found that technical
and exclusive terminology got in the way of
research evidence being used. Terminology
that excludes non-academic partners weak-
ens relationships between researchers and
policymakers as it effectively excludes them
from the knowledge creation process.
Not enough time: Peer-reviewed research
is time consuming. This partly explains
why research time frames are often at odds
with the urgency with which policymakers
need to address and respond to challenges
in their environment. Lengthy research pro-
cesses are often identified as a barrier to the
use of research evidence in policymaking.
And yet
linking African
policymakers
with the sort of
research thats
relevant for
implementing
goals is
difficult
COMMENT
Irrelevant research: A further barrier
inherent to the research process is the per-
ceived absence of research that is relevant
to policymakers. This perception is more
about how research is communicated than
what its about. The conventions of aca-
demic writing at times obscure the practi-
cal relevance of research. This is why its
important to develop actionable messages
for decision makers. How? Researchers
could, for example, suggest ways in which
their findings could be implemented.
Lack of analytical capacity: A study done
on Canadas public service highlighted the
lack of analytical capacity among govern-
ment workers as a barrier to the update
of research evidence. Some policymaking
institutions dont have the analytical capac-
ity to respond adequately to challenges
including time pressures and the sheer vol-
ume of evidence available to them.
Budget constraints: Policy makers also
face budgetary constraints. Evidence-based
policy interventions can be very expensive.
Overcoming the barriers
A good response to research barriers
within policymaking circles would be to
include building relationships that are
based both on expertise and mutual respect.
Researchers must focus on build-
ing expertise as well as sharing research
through networking and partnerships.
Building relationships between researchers
and policymakers must go hand-in-hand
with gathering research evidence. Strong
relationships will lead to language being
used that everyone can understand as well
as productive partnerships. They might
even improve academic responsiveness,
and lead to better and more usable results.
Its no surprise that the UNs 2030 Agen-
da emphasises the importance of creating
partnerships. It is now understood that the
use of research evidence in the implementa-
tion of development goals isnt merely a
technical processes.
Willem Fourie is Associate Professor of
Ethics, Co-ordinator of the South African
Sustainable Development Knowledge Hub
(www.sasdkh.org), University of Pretoria
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 31
Here is why your teens might
need contraceptives
Global Family Planning giant boss blames officials for letting
their beliefs get in the way of their professional responsibility
Social marketing is increasingly being embraced in dealing with public health problems which require behavioral
change worldwide. In Uganda, the Uganda Health Marketing Group (UHMG) has been the only entity providing
health services through the approach. But that is changing. On Nov. 24 a new entrant DKT International, joined
to provide HIV prevention and Family Planning services. The U.S-based family planning giant operates in 24
countries and started off with a digital campaign to end stigma and transmission of HIV in Uganda. Collin Dick,
DKT Uganda Managing Director Spoke to Independents Flavia Nassaka about where Uganda has gone wrong
with contraceptives and how players can sustain health markets in the country.

DKT International has been What different product, service

around for more than 20 years. or innovations do you come
Why do you come to Uganda with?

U
only now? Our advertising will probably
ganda has always set us apart from the outset,
been on the list of as we want to speak about
countries DKT had contraceptives and family
targeted but only planning products in a very
recently have we started doing different way; one that resonates
sub regional programmes more with consumers, especially
like we have in French West young people. I think that our
Africa, Central America, focus on creating strong brands
the Caribbean and in Latin that provide exceptional value
America. If we had just decided and features to consumers will
to come to Uganda, It would set us apart.
have been difficult to sustain
the programme on its own A day before you officially
as a single-country operation launched on November 23,
due to the low prevalence of the state of Uganda population
modern contraceptives Report 2017 was released
and high subsidies. showing that there will be
Only when we looked fifty six million people in the
at the possibility country in the next eight years
of combining the and this is partly because
Kenyan programme Ugandans have a fertility rate of
and operating 5.6 births one of the biggest in
sub-regionally the world. What would be your
that we were advice to government to tackle
confident that threats that come with these
we could make high figures?
a sustainable Scary number, isnt it?
impact here. Resources are scarce so we must
slow this number down, but in

32 Dec 08 - 14, 2017


a way where citizens make conscious,
informed decisions, grounded in reality,
not ideology of bygone days. The sad
truth is that 25% of teenage girls get
pregnant each year. Unsafe abortions
are killing women every day, and
maternal mortality rates are far too high
in todays times. If Uganda wants to
become a middle-income country by
2020 its going to have to take drastic
steps to curb these statistics. That
means loosening the reins on educating
young people on their options, as well
as increasing the basket of products and
contraceptive methods that people can
choose from, whether they be in the
public or private sector.
In Uganda contraceptive use is faced
with a lot of stigma and myths. What
strategies do you come with to ensure
that more people appreciate and use
birth control measures?
It comes down to providing value and
creating a perception that what you are
using is worth paying for. We all know
that raising a family can be expensive,
so shouldnt not getting pregnant, while
enjoying a healthy sex life, be worth
something as well? Its worth it to have
safe and effective products that are
packaged in a way that makes you want
to buy them, and marketed in fun and
interesting ways.
When people discuss birth control
methods, many think they are talking
about women issues and most times a
vasectomy misses in the discussions.
Why does this always happen and why
do you think despite its efficacy only a
small percentage of men use it?
Its really an unfortunate situation
that men dont take more responsibility
and opportunity to contribute to family
planning. Its a tough question to
answer and maybe goes back to the sad
reality that women have been subjugated
and taken advantage for most of history.
I think a lot of it stems back to the
fact that much of the research around
these types of products was conducted
by men, so rather than volunteer
themselves, or other men, for procedures
that inhibit their fertility, they chose to
research ways to do that to women.
Whats currently baffling healthcare
managers in the country is how to
introduce adolescents to contraceptives.
Just recently the Minister of Health
refused to launch national guidelines
The sad truth
is that
25%
of teenage
girls get
pregnant
each year
because they had clauses on
introducing these methods to young
unmarried girls. In your view, what
is the best way to address the issue of
contraceptives among this group?
Its not just about young women.
Heres a sad situation where government
officials are likely letting their
personal beliefs get in the way of their
professional responsibility. Then again,
parents seem to be in denial as well
about the reality that young people
have sex. Its the truth and when they
start experimenting they arent likely to
stop. So isnt it better to equip them with
the knowledge and products necessary
to protect themselves from unwanted
pregnancy and STIs? The myth that
access to information and products
increases the likelihood of sexual debut
has been debunked time and time again.
The world is different now, lets get with
the times.
In October, Uganda hosted the first
ever social marketing conference and
one of the issues that continuously
came up was how to sustain health
markets through social marketing in
the country. What are those key issues
that anyone venturing in this sector
shouldnt ignore?
Well, one of them is that the donor
money isnt going to last forever so were
going to have to change the definition
health
of social marketing from free or
highly-subsidised, with donors picking
up the tab for products and operations
to something much closer to what we
call cost-recovery, which means that
our revenues from the sale of products
covers what it takes to buy the product,
import, logistics and marketing it.
This is going to ultimately mean that
people have to pay for the products
and services that they get which when
they are quality and have a brand that
people trust and are proud to use is only
fair. This is where brand comes into the
equation.
In the end, we run a social enterprise
in DKT, and we seek to create a business-
oriented culture that moves and makes
decisions quickly, and not a slow,
plodding NGO that relies on donors
to pay for everything, and if the donor
money dries up, the programming stops.
That would be a crisis for this country
as social marketing organisations have
created demand, but for too long have
kept pricing free or unreasonably low.
So consumers and the trade have begun
to perceive the value to be as low as
the pricing is when the reality is very
different from that.
Finally, in the area of HIV/AIDs,
Ugandas biggest challenge now is
getting men tested and young women
who top the lists of new infections.
What specific plan do you have for this
group?
Weve got a Brand Ambassador that
were introducing for our Kiss range of
condoms whose name is Joe Chuuma.
He is an everyman one that all men
wish they could be and whom all women
want to be with. Hes great looking,
funny, and confident about himself and
the use of condoms to enjoy sex. If we
can deliver a message and a brand that
is not solely hammering a safety, quality
or protection message but more about
enjoying ones sex life with condoms
then we might be able to increase
demand for condoms amongst our
youth. What we need to focus on now
when it comes to condoms is delivering
value for money, especially for young
people, and reducing any ill effects
or peer pressure that young women
might face when they request, or even
demand, for the use of a condom. If we
can somehow make condoms cool for
young people to use, then we might be
able to contribute to the fight against
new infections.
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Tadooba Gallery
All about art mentorship, not teaching
By Dominic Muwanguzi
W
hat can an average art gradu-
ate do with twelve bottle-tops?
Perhaps, they will look at them
idly and think that theyre
useless. However, this is not the case with
one art graduate who used the twelve
bottle-tops to sculpt a tortoise and sell it for
a paltry UGX5000 at a local crafts market.
Impressed by his creativity, the dealer
asked him to make five more and when
he presented them to him, he further com-
missioned him to make twenty more. Of
course, by now he had made good contacts
with the merchant and more contracts kept
flocking in and the rest is history. Such
unique enterprising approach is glaringly
missing in many of todays art graduates
who wait until they can exhibit at a major
art gallery to make money. If such an op-
portunity never comes, they are forever
destined to curse the art discipline as not
profitable and grudgingly look for another
avenue to eke a living.
The present art curriculum is not help-
ing much to solve the trend of unemploy-
ment of art graduates. Instead of equipping
students with hands on skills through
industrial training and encouraging experi-
mentation and innovation through group
methods of mentorship, they are subjected
to consumption of art material and memo-
34 Dec 08 - 14, 2017
rising it in order to pass exams. Its upon
such background that vocational training
becomes relevant to reconcile this disparity
of art teaching. And that is where Tadooba
Gallery comes in.
It presents a unique approach to art train-
ing that emphasises participatory aspects
of art mentoring and training for secondary
school students, under-graduates and grad-
uates. Each participant is given an oppor-
tunity to explore their artistic sensibilities
through residence programs, studio learn-
ing, academic art programs, entrepreneurial
short-courses and student assessment pro-
grams. In the latter instance, students are
evaluated based on the specific projects or
enterprises they have set-up resulting from
industrial training.
Tadoobas emphasis on vocational training
also aims to bridge the gap between com-
munity, academic research, and develop-
ment of practical ideas. It is designed as an
attitude process for the individual.
As example, learners at the institution are
obliged to spend less time in class, and con-
centrate more on field work and industrial
training.
They must do multi-disciplinary projects
that solve existing community problems
like housing construction, manufacturing
of scholastic materials like chairs, beddings
and tables, design company artworks like
logos, billboards and signage, and sculpt
public monuments. This innovative meth-
odology inspires the nurturing of an inde-
pendent art graduate who can economically
sustain himself in the fast changing global
world without seeking favors from his
benefactors or friends.
The idea is to create an unprecedented
approach to art learning through mentor-
ship and not teaching, says Weazher
Mayanja, founder of the institution,
Mentorship will enable the learner to be
participatory while learning and not grasp
information only to pass exams.
Tadooba Gallery aims to go beyond exhibit-
ing art and providing residence for already
established and young artists; it aims to
enable an overhaul of the approach to
learning art. The idea is to prepare artists
for a demanding and competitive industry
that requires creative individuals that can
respond to a world that is fast transforming.
Its relevance to tackling unemployment can-
not be underscored.
Tadooba gallery is an initiative of Mayanja
Weazher a multi-disciplinary artist whos
inspired by the concept of Tadooba flames
in his Art, but also the community. He is
also an educationist, lecturer at Kyambogo
University Faculty of Art and Design. Ta-
dooba gallery is located after Mukono town
in Nangwa-Butwalo.

Totems under threat
How failure to share family cultural history endangers
symbols that represent common ancestral origin
By Nathan Kiwere
W
riting on page 137 of his
book, The Baganda (Mac-
millan and Co., 1911), John
Roscoe, a British colonial
historian, states that when animals
were becoming scarce, Kintu, with the
general consent of his people, made
the rule that certain kinds of animals
should be taboo to certain families.
Thus, those particular species of ani-
mals were left to other families, and
the animals were given a better chance
of multiplying than if every man had
been free to hunt every species for
food. Each family abstained from that
particular kind of animal of which they
had partaken with ill results, and that
animal was tabooed by them, and it be-
came their totem. This historic incident
is believed to have happened between
1200 and 1230 AD. Considering the weight
and significance of this decision by Kintu;
the mythical father of all Baganda and com-
pany at that material time and its resonance
with the much-hyped nature conservation
advocacy today, we must all agree that the
architects of this tradition were inspired by
nothing short of a stroke of genius. And, in
my opinion, this should be documented as
one of the greatest wonders of intangible
cultural heritage.
In the Ugandan context, a totem is a
symbol that represents a group of people
with a common ancestral origin known as
a clan. Several clans constitute an ethnic
group. Traditions surrounding the totems
are among the most important cultural
practices in Uganda. This cultural heritage
plays a significant role in the knowledge of
their genealogies, naming rites, marriage
practices, and choice of food, among others.
This sacred totemic practice has typified
their cultural wellbeing from their traceable
beginning, hundreds of years ago. It has
continued unabated throughout the ages, in
spite of the social, political, economic and,
more recently, technological transforma-
tions that have adversely affected estab-
lished cultural institutions across the globe.
To this day, totems remain among the few
remnants of indigenous knowledge heritage
that remain firmly rooted in the social fabric
of Uganda.
The bushbuck (engabi) is among the
most populous species in Murchison Falls
National Park. The park is located in the
districts of Bulisa, Masindi and Kiryan-
dongo, all part of the greater Bunyoro-Kitara
kingdom. It does not take rocket science to
understand why the bushbucks enjoy an
unwavering majority in the park. In a recent
interview, the Prime Minister of Bunyoro
Kingdom; Norman Lukumu, told this writer
that the bushbuck commands the largest
following among the totems of the Banyoro
indigenous communities. It has been for
more than half a millennium the dominant
symbol among these people and for this
reason, the bushbucks have multiplied
over the years without danger of interfer-
ence from man. A visit to Murchison Fall
National Park will immediately prove this
as herds of this animal can be seen in virtu-
ally every nook and cranny of the massive
park.
Kintus ingenious far-sightedness at the
time when the population was not only
very small compared to these days but
also animals were much more plentiful
cannot go unsung. Close to a millennium
later, this tradition is still holding on, albeit
in a wobbly manner. As the pillars of our
cultural heritage continue to bear indelible
cracks, totems remain among the few ele-
ments buttressing what remains.
Unfortunately, even this pillar is under
threat of giving way, if the happenings of
the time are anything to go by. That this
hitherto entrenched tradition is under threat
of extinction as the levels of ignorance about
Arts
totems by their ostensibly ardent prac-
titioners rises is worrying to say the
least. This observation came true sev-
eral years back while Taga Nuwagaba,
a Ugandan artist and author of
Totems of Uganda: Buganda Edition
was traveling to Masaka in a taxi on
the Kampala-Masaka highway.
The driver of the taxi spotted a
squirrel-like creature tottering about
in the middle of the tarmac. The
driver, whose name was Ssengendo,
deliberately trailed the creature and
run over it, crashing it to instant death.
One of the people who observed him
performing the gruesome act was the
conductor. He asked him what he had
killed this time round, implying he
derived pleasure in habitually run-
ning over such creatures on the road.
He responded that it was just a mere
thing, nothing valuable, until a gen-
tleman seated in the front seat corrected him
that it was actually a civet (ffumbe), which
turned out to be Ssengendos totem.
The driver was previously known to be an
avowed man of the Kabaka and custodian
of culture and yet it shockingly turned out
he did not know what his totem looked like.
Out of shame and devastating distress, Ssen-
gendo could not proceed with the journey;
he handed over the vehicle to the conductor
to take on the rest of it as he took time off
to mourn the sacrilegious act he had just
performed.
It turns out Ssengendo is not alone in this
enterprise; countless Ugandans are discon-
nected from their totems and some dont
even know their names. The younger people
see them as old-fashioned shibboleths
that belong in the past, or, at best, in the
museums. This precedent is engendered by
the fact that the older generation has played
a dismal role in passing on important infor-
mation about culture at family level. Totems
as vectors of nature conservation have no
meaning unless people know what their
totems actually look like. Ugandans have
to do more to restore this cultural glory and
teach the world this alternative means of
culture embracing nature.
Nathan Kiwere is the executive director of
Kakakuona Foundation
www.kakakuona.org
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 35
 Donald Trump bungles, again
Just hours after British Prime Minister
Theresa May had said it was wrong of the
U.S. President Donald Trump to re-tweet
three anti-Muslim videos posted by a Brit-
ish far-Right group, Trump duly fired off
his response on Twitter.
In his haste to tweet his testy riposte,
though, Trump tweeted to the wrong The-
resa May or Theresa Scrivener, to be precise.
However, @theresamay is not the Prime
Minister:
She has six followers on Twitter and fol-
lows 103 people and her handle is @theresa-
may. The Prime Minister, meanwhile, has
the Twitter handle @theresa_may and has
419,000 followers. Wrong twitter handle.
And thats just the start, Carrie Symonds,
director of communications at the Conser-
vative Party, tweeted. Trump corrected his
mistake about 20 minutes later, deleting
the original post and this time mentioning
the right @theresa_may. Trump has made
same error before. A few days before his
inauguration in January, Trump acciden-
tally tweeted Ivanka Majic, who lives in
Brighton, rather than his daughter who goes
by the same first name.

Phone addicts get unusual help Rare drinking problem!

These days we check
emails and messages
on our smartphones
all the time. Not only
on public transport but
also in social situations,
for example when hav-
ing drinks with friends.
The more one feels
the urge to check their
phone, even when they
are not expecting a spe-
cific message or call, the
more addicted to phone
use they are. Such peo-
ple crave the physical
simulation of frequent
smartphone use and
cannot keep away from
their phones for long
periods of time without
suffering withdrawal a row of stone beads to This man needs to
symptoms. Now, how- imitate various motions drink 20 litres of water
ever, they have help. typical to smartphone per day to stay alive.
Austrian designer use, such as scrolling, His name if Marc
Klemens Schillinger zooming, and swiping. Wbbenhorst, 35-year
has created a thera- By using stone beads
old German architect
who has to drink at
least 20 liters of water
a day or risk dying and he can die of thirst
from dehydration. He in a matter of hours.
suffers from the rare Its nothing like the
metabolic disease Dia- thirst a normal person
betes insipidus, which experiences, because it
peutic replacement for to emulate interaction causes intense thirst doesnt go away after
smartphones called with a phones touch- and the frequent excre- drinking a glass or two
`Substitute Phones. screen, Schillinger aims tion of large amounts of water. His body cant
The Vienna-based to create therapeutic of diluted urine. If hold any water, as his
designer made a series tools that can provide Wbbenhorst stops kidneys eliminate the
of five of these non- the same feel as smart- drinking water, his fluids almost as fast as
devices which feature phone use. body starts to dry out, he ingests them.

Tomb of Jesus Christ dated Cheating hubby caught on Instagram

The ancient cave
that Christians
believe held the
remains of Jesus
Christ dates from
1,700 years ago,
according to sci-
entistsfar earlier
than they originally
believed.
The scientific
dating tests on the
shrine, which began
in October 2016, were
the first of their kind
carried out on what
the faithful believe to
be the resting place
of the Christian Mes-
siah. The tomb itself
had not been opened
in centuries and had
previously been the comment beautiful
thought to have first view from my husbands
been built during the bedroom on the
time of the Crusad- Instagram photo, Yulia
ers, and so no older confronted her husband
than 1,000 years. about it, but he denied the
However, experts accusations of adultery,
can now say with cer- claiming instead that he
tainty the tomb com- had invited friends to
plex was originally the apartment for drinks
constructed in A.D. while she was away.
345, in the time of the Vlada, who he claimed
Byzantine Emperor was the girlfriend of a
Constantine, 17 cen- friend, had taken the
turies ago, National Yulia Agranovych, Abramovich. It was the photo on that occasion.
Geographic reported. from St. Petersburg, same view she admired That seemed a bit fishy to
According to the Russia, was browsing daily from her bedroom Yulia as when the guests
New Testament, the through her Instagram window. In the other came, they would have
Christian Messiah
feed one morning, when womans gallery, she headed to the kitchen
would have been laid
she noticed a familiar discovered several images to drink tea not to the
to rest there in A.D.
sight in a photo posted of her husband, Nazar bedroom. Turns out she
30 to 33.
by a certain Vlada Grynko. After leaving was right.

36 Dec 08 - 14, 2017

Toyota RAV4
How does a car remain so popular for so long?
By Motoring Guru
S
ometime in 1996, a new type of ve-
hicle called the Toyota RAV4 which
stands for Recreational Active Vehicle
with 4-Wheel Drive hit the Ameri-
can market. It was the start of a journey that
has transformed the global car market and
created a motoring icon.
Setting the standard by which all will be
measured is the Toyota RAV4, proclaimed
a review in the February 18, 1996 New York
Times titled BEHIND THE WHEEL/Toyota
RAV4; A Cute Brute Rocks to an MTV Beat.
That view, which captured the emotions
of most people around the RAV4, has not
changed in 20 years.
That article also registered another atti-
tude that has stuck. It noted: Its so darn
cute. Too cute, some guys who saw it said,
derisively calling it a chick mobile -- a car
only a young woman would drive. But once
behind the wheel, even the macho men were
generally won over.
To this day, the
RAV4 remains
a great
ride or, as
somebody
said, the
evergreen
default crossover or midsized SUV.
The RAV consistently outsells younger,
cheaper rivals.The latest upgrade is no dif-
ferent. Such a reputation is hard-won and
easily lost. That is how one reviewer felt
when the newest RAV4 was unveiled. The
new edition, the MY18, focused mainly on
upgrades to its specifications.
There are three trim levels in the RAV4
range - GX, GXL and Cruiser and accom-
panying choice of fuel type, engine, and
number of driven wheels.
Common to all RAV4s is the 6.1-inch
touchscreen which powers the multimedia
and sound system, which includes DAB
radio, CD player (but no CD changer or
DVD player), six speakers (but no subwoof-
er) and basic smartphone integration via
USB or Bluetooth, both iPhone and Android.
It works, but the interface is very basic and
only babys fingers can accurately hit the
tiny targets.
The segment in which the RAV4 plays is
filled with stylish cars,
so Toyota has
brought a more interesting styling language
for its mid-sizers exterior design, according
to one reviewer.
While not aggressive-looking and theres
nothing in the way of a body kit or sport edi-
tion, each model has a tiny rear spoiler. Racy
it isnt, but theres a clear theme emerging on
Toyota SUVs from the C-HR to the Kluger.
The RAV4 is a five-door SUV hardtop (no
soft top - sorry folks), with a good wide rear
tailgate for access to the cargo area.
You can add a bit of ruggedness with a
roof rack or side steps. Extras like a bull bar
or nudge bar will require you to look further
afield, the same for a snorkel, different rims,
wheel arch extensions and more comprehen-
sive tool kit.
The RAV4 is a classic Toyota - well-built,
solidly engineered but not particularly excit-
ing to drive. Road noise is a little higher than
on most of the competition.
While not fitted with off road tyres, its
off road capability is better than most of its
rivals. Part of that is down to the centre diff
lock (activated with a button) and a fairly
traditional sort of all-wheel drive system.
The turbo-diesel is punchy and economi-
cal but, ultimately, it would probably come
down to range requirements. The MY18
update brings a stack of safety features in
additional to the seven airbags, ABS, stabil-
ity control (VSC), traction control and brake
assist.
All RAVs now come with Toyota Safety
Sense which includes a basic lane assist
technology in the form of lane departure
warning. Safety Sense also adds auto high
beam, forward collision warning and
auto emergency braking (AEB). The
RAV4 GXL and Cruiser vari-
ants pick up a blind
spot monitor
system.
Dec 08 - 14, 2017 37
Profile
Kennedy Zziwa: A celebritys
addiction survival tale
By Agnes E Nantaba
K
ennedy Zziwa
Katebalirwe,
popularly known
as HairbyZziwa,
is a celebrity hairstylist
who has traded the con-
trol panel for clippers,
blow dryers, and curlers.
Zziwa runs a high-end
salon that attracts many
celebrities, especially
from the music and fash-
ion industry. But he has
an even more powerful
story; about beating a
drug and alcohol addic-
tion. It has been a six-year
long journey from which
he is still recovering. He
thus prefers to focus more
on the chronicles of the
journey and the recovery
path. He calls it a battle
and his new life a great
push factor. He likes to
talk about both.
Opening up to people
that I was in rehab is ther-
apy for me, he says,
That keeps me going
on the new journey and
helps me keep the prom-
ise that I made to myself,
my mother and doctors.
His addiction was a
blend of binge drinking
(beer, wine and whiskey)
and smoking hard stuff
such as cocaine. And it
all was sparked off by a
single bottle of beer he
drank during his first
year as a student of Com-
puter Science at Makerere
University.
Although the bitter
taste of beer was not that
inviting, Zziwa says he
kept sipping under peer
influence. Eventually, he
was craving the feeling of
being drunk every other
day. He had been granted
all supervision rights for a
38 Dec 08 - 14, 2017
family construction proj- Hospital for rehabilitation
ect and this meant being for 30 days. That journey
the financial controller. changed his life.
I graduated from one I fight every single
bottle to many, he says, day to keep going and
After all I could afford never relapse after wit-
it. nessing my family happy
His drinking got worse again around me, Zziwa
when he did a short says, I fight to keep
term project in Liberia sober because even with
that gave him even more just one shot, I may crave
money. He flew to China for cocaine.
for vacation but ended up Born on May 1987, Zzi-
staying longer, hustling, wa had acting stints with
plaiting womens hair, Ebonies which he joined
earning more money in 1998. Zziwa says drugs
and drinking more. He and alcohol are not worth
was building on training his life or anyone elses.
from Tiner International
School of Beauty in Kam-
pala.
Two years after, Zziwa
relocated from Guang-
zhou to Beijing where
he set up as a profes-
sional hair stylist. He also
upgraded from beer to
dry wine and was intro-
duced to cocaine.
I yearned for the
heights and became
addicted, he says.
Zziwa was tormented
because he knew from his
humble family upbring-
ing that he shouldnt be
doing drugs. So he decid-
ed to return to Uganda
thinking he would not
access them. But he was
wrong.
He re-opened Hair-
byZziwa but soon got in
touch with drug dealers
through the different
networks. He would then
spend at least Shs300,
000 a night to service his
addiction and was soon
pawning his property
for just a gram of cocaine
costing Shs100, 000. One
night, Zziwa nearly died
of an overdose.
He was taken to
Butabika Mental

Kennedy Zziwas Liteside
Any three things we dont
I
know about you?
am an honest person
because I like to keep my
word which most people
dont do. I also crave
originality to the extent that
even in the process of hiring
employees, I dont look into
the best but one who can
come up with something
different.
What is your idea of perfect
happiness?
I have a cat named Talice
Nazziwa that makes me
happy and just watching her
play makes a good day; only
pet lovers can understand
that feeling. I also derive my
happiness from seeing others
happy. For instance every
Monday which is my day off
from work, I visit Butabika
Hospital to encourage other
patients because I noticed
that it also helps to learn
from those who have treaded
the same journey. Seeing
others sober; especially those
that quit before me also
makes me happy.
What is your greatest fear?
Failure is my biggest
fear. I am a risk taker
but when I know that I
cannot win or excel at
something, I cannot
take it on to avoid
failure.
What is the trait you
most deplore in
yourself?
My obsession
with anything; for
instance when
I fall in love or
hate something,
I get obsessed
either way
and it makes
other people
uncomfortable.
What is the trait you most
deplore in others?
Slow people in thinking
and action.
Which living person do you
most admire?
I see a role model in JW
Katende Ssembajjwe. When
I was younger, I witnessed
everything he did as flawless;
from his home to work. I still
admire him.
What is your greatest
extravagance?
I am not a spendthrift but I
love perfumes and travelling.
What is the greatest thing
you have ever done?
Choosing to become a
hair stylist despite being
a graduate of computer
science. It is a big step that
has eventually worked out
for me. I also never thought
that I would quit drinking
because when I went into
rehab, my intention was to
quit drugs not alcohol. But
two weeks into the process, I
chose to quit drinking as well
which has worked for me.
What is your current state of
mind?
I am happy
What does being powerful
mean to you?
Being powerful comes with
influence and the ability to
make people do what you
say without coercion.
On what occasion do you
lie?
In the past, I would lie to
service my addiction.
What do you most dislike
about your appearance?
None.
Which living person do you
most despise?
Anyone with so much hate
or negative energy; I also
dont keep them around me.
What is the quality you most
like in a man?
Keeping his word and
treating a woman right .
What is the quality you most
like in a woman?
Appreciating others and
being a shock absorber of a
family.
What or who is the greatest
love of your life?
My mother is my greatest
love.
When and where were you
happiest?
On July 13th, when I chose
to get off drugs is the reason
I am still smiling to date. I
was also happy taking my
first flight to Liberia. The
days I work on a client and
witness them smile or credit
my services are filled with
great joy.
If you could change one
thing about yourself, what
would it be?
My feet nails are not as
pretty as my fingers but its
not a big deal.
What do you consider your
greatest achievement?
Getting off drugs.
Where would you most like
to live?
Uganda is my favourite
place in terms of the weather
and food so I love to be here.
What is your most treasured
possession?
I am not a materialistic
person.
What do you regard as the
lowest depth of misery?
Physical violence which
can be domestic or mob
justice is the worst pain that
Dec 08 - 14, 2017
Q&A
somebody can go through.
Most times, violence is
beyond individual control.
Other things like poverty are
just part of life that pushes us
to look for solutions.
What is your favorite
occupation?
Doing hair.
What do you most value in
your friends?
My circle of friends has
dramatically reduced but I
treasure the loyalty of friends
who were there during my
time of using of drugs and
even after.
Who are your favorite
writers?
Jackie Collins is an
interesting writer because her
stories relate a lot to the my
life of drugs and alcohol .
Which historical figure do
you most identify with?
Martin Luther King Junior
managed to stand up for his
rights despite the fear and
challenges of the time.
Who are your heroes in real
life?
My mother Harriet
Nazziwa has done a lot for
me, including risking.
What is your greatest regret?
Doing drugs is not
something I regret because I
consider it as an experience
that has taught me a lot. I
however regret opening up
too much only to end up
being disappointed by some
people.
How would you like to die?
I dont mind the process
but prefer a clean body.
What is your motto?
Do unto others what you
want to be done to you.
39
Global comment
By Hannah Ryder
China factor in Kenya, Zimbabwe
Weighing economic, political ties and future
relationships that could prove decisive for Africa
A
sk anyone with a basic knowledge
of Africa which country is more
poised for success Zimbabwe
or Kenya and he or she will
undoubtedly answer Kenya. Events of
the last week would seem to confirm that
verdict.
After Kenyas Supreme Court upheld the
re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta in
the countrys contested presidential election,
the rule of law seemed to trump political
violence for the first time in years. Zimba-
bwe, on the other hand, is without President
Robert Mugabe for the first time in 37 years.
And, although the country may be ecstatic
now, its political future is far from certain.
But as a Kenyan living in China, one of
the African continents most important
development partners, I see one metric
that tips the scale in Zimbabwes favor: its
relationship with my adopted home. In fact,
Zimbabwes economic and political ties to
China could prove decisive for Africas per-
petual underdog.
On paper, Kenya clearly has the edge.
Although Zimbabwe has more natural
resources and mineral wealth, it has far
less land and extreme poverty is much
more widespread. More than 70% of the
countrys 16 million people live on less than
$1.90 a day, compared to 46% of Kenyas 48
million people. Moreover, as many as 90%
of Zimbabweans are unemployed or under-
employed, compared to 39% of Kenyans.
Even Kenyas economic links to China
might seem more impressive at first glance.
Kenya and China have long cooperated on
large infrastructure projects. A Chinese-
funded railway between Nairobi and
Mombasa, which opened earlier this year,
is the latest example. Since 2000, China has
offered Kenya $6.8 billion in loans for infra-
structure projects, compared to $1.7 billion
for Zimbabwe. And, because loan condi-
tions often include a requirement to hire
Chinese employees, Kenya had more than
7,400 at the end of 2015, while Zimbabwe
had just over 950.
But in the competition for Chinese lar-
gesse, Kenyas advantage over Zimbabwe
ends there. Cumulative Chinese foreign
direct investment since 2003 has reached
nearly $7 billion in Zimbabwe, compared
to $3.9 billion for Kenya. Year on year, more
40 Dec 08 - 14, 2017
Chinese money is flowing to Zimbabwe as
well.
Moreover, Zimbabwes trade balance
with China is far superior to Kenyas. In
2015, Kenyas exports to China totalled $99
million, while it imported from China a
staggering 60 times that amount. Even tak-
ing into account imports of materials tied
to Chinese-built infrastructure, this is an
exceptionally wide bilateral deficit.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, despite
its slow growth rate, exported $766 mil-
lion worth of goods to China in 2015, and
imported $546 million. Most surprisingly,
Zimbabwes exports were not restricted to
minerals and metals, as one might assume,
but also included tobacco and cotton, prod-
ucts that are relatively more labour-inten-
sive, meaning more job creation at home.
And, while Zimbabwe has around 50 fewer
registered Chinese companies than Kenya,
Kenyas economy is around 4.5 times the
size of Zimbabwes, clearly implying that
those firms that are operating there contrib-
ute more to the countrys economy.
How has Zimbabwe achieved what looks
like, at least from a numerical perspective,
a more productive relationship with China
than Kenya has?
Few beyond Mugabe and his close
colleagues, including the countrys new
president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, know
for sure. But one way to make an educated
guess is to compare both countries history
of bilateral engagement with China.
Both Kenya and Zimbabwe have had
two visits from Chinese heads of state dur-
ing their post-colonial histories. Chinese
President Jiang Zemin visited each country
in 1996, while President Hu Jintao visited
Kenya in 2006. Chinas current president, Xi
Jinping, visited Zimbabwe in 2015.
State visits in the other direction have
been more uneven. Mugabes first visit to
China was in 1980, just six months after
independence; he made 13 more during his
tenure, and high-level visits by other Zim-
babwean officials were even more frequent,
occurring roughly once every two years
during Mugabes reign. Kenyan presidents,
by contrast, travelled to China just six times
during the same period, most recently in
May 2017.
Zimbabwes leaders made the most of
their visits to press for trade and military
cooperation, and likely engaged directly
with private Chinese companies. This has
nurtured a culture of reciprocity. Just a few
months ago, for example, a Chinese com-
pany approached my firm asking for advice
about how to enter Zimbabwes health-care
market. I have not yet fielded similar ques-
tions about gaining access to markets in
Kenya.
Chinas role in African economies has
been criticised; but, as I have argued before,
Chinese investment has also been a lifeline
to many on the continent. From creating
employment opportunities to providing
direct investment in infrastructure, China
has been a partner to Africa when many
Western investors preferred to stay away.
How Kenya and Zimbabwe navigate
their future relationships with China
remains to be seen. Both countries have sup-
ported Xis signature Belt and Road Initia-
tive, which, in theory, should increase their
strategic value to China. Kenyas return to
political stability should also sustain, if not
deepen, the countrys economic engage-
ment with China.
Zimbabwes historic ties to China will be
no less important. Following Mugabes res-
ignation, Chinas foreign ministry went out
of its way to praise the friendship between
China and Zimbabwe, and Mnangagwa
can be expected to continue that relation-
ship. The new president received military
training in China, and paid an official visit
as speaker of the parliament in 2001. There
is even speculation that China was warned
of the looming coup in Zimbabwe, if not
consulted beforehand.
As Kenya and Zimbabwe navigate their
political futures, much in both countries will
no doubt change one hopes for the better.
Their ties with China will be a key metric in
assessing their trajectory.
Hannah Ryder, a former head of policy
and partnerships for the United Nations
Development Program in China, is founder
and CEO of Development Reimagined.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.
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