News analysis Health Business

2018 to unlock 2018: Time to Boy or girl?: It’s in Electricity boom lebrating
oil billions restore hope the father’s genes in 2018 Ce

Issue No. 502 Jan 05 - 11, 2018 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Years

Museveni defends
`fake’ gold dealer
Why is President snubbing IGG,
DPP, and Financial Crimes Unit?

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Celebrating
         
         
INSIDE: BUSINESS
Economic
POLITICS: Godber SUDAN: Matthew Museveni’s 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 South’s 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
Tullow’s 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 Amama’s vision Exercise, diet against IMF cuts Uganda’s 16-page
anti-Lukwago Bill for Uganda cancer of prostate growth prospects Special
Edition

problem

Secret
As  seen  from  the  
delegates  conference
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oil deals
New  rules  to  force   www.independent.co.ug

CNOOC,  Total,  Tullow  

to  reveal  money  paid  
By  Haggai  Matsiko

Welcome
Inside the hunt
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          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
         

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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 Al’amin NSSF’s
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

Museveni’s 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…





 








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THE
THE

THE

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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  Kayihura’s  
The  ‘Field  Commander’   


 

brings  common  man’s   Crane  Bank  


 
approach  to  the  city billion

Besigye pays the price

FDC  leader  unleashes  powerful  strategy  against    Museveni  

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Can its’ economy NGO’s providing basic Whistleblower is ritual of same won’t shake the South Kordofan,
services to almost Abyei and Darfur
accommodate its exposes smuggling old promises country’s optimism COMMENT
Q&A BUSINESS
Avalanche of banks
ROAD  TO  2016 NEWS  ANALYSIS BUSINESS
Richard Byarugaba Don’t 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
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Issue No. 212, May 04 - 10, 2012

Amama Mbabazi, Ruhakana Rugunda, Prince William...
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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
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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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Security  experts  

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Corruption in
RWANDA
Rwanda’s
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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 Kordofan’s 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 EAC’s volatile governor on
Public  anger  greets   Kabushenga cleanest country? vote
Museveni  even            
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THE

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Mandela
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learn Police Force’
1918-2013
Uganda, Sudan How Monitor was






SUDAN:
South Sudan’s
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 Museveni’s

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

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





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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
University’s  problems  go  beyond  












or stolen? pay  and  strikes



 


!
%#$&




  




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








Sejusa’s money,  investor  

 
 
%#$&



arrest
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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 Bank’s
Grounds exist for Museveni financial woes
Museveni is in REGIONAL: UNHCR’s direction affirms Rwanda’s 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 Uganda’s oil industry

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Issue No. 208, April 06 - 12, 2012 Ushs 5000, Kshs 200, RwF 1500, SDP 8

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Fight over
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Why is Museveni          
Fina M
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building region’s 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
Museveni’s  bread  and  bullets  
Health
Unease  as  only  cancer  treatment  
Business

 

ERA  announces  
Uganda  outspends  Kenya  on  military   
 


 
down Daily Monitor
choking banks experiment it’s 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
Museveni’s
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
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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 EAC’s monetary
union minister, MPs, Lukwago spell
scenes at
By Andrew Mwenda
on Museveni
University’s Mr. Fix it
Prof.  Ndiege  seeks  to  reconcile  an   of the unequal in  turf  wars   out terms of engagement
Muhairwe’s 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

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need to talk 














Experts  warn  of  ‘explosion’  if  they  don’t   





 

  
 News  analysis

 


  
Eastern  DR  Congo  
erupts  again
Health
 


 

skin  bleaches
Business
Stanbic  Bank’s  
  
 
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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AmAzing
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Years of telling a story

INBOX

Issue No. 502 Jan 05 - 11 2018

The Week The Last Word Analysis Business Arts &

Culture
4|MUK probe Uganda’s 14|2018: Time to 24|Uganda’s
committee
discovers 16000 (Africa’s) restore hope :As 2017 cement industry 43|Pallet wood
ended, many political faces glut : The possibilities:
ghost students paradox:   new expansions Creativity,
pundits, the clergy,
Why youth and academicians could lead to a innovation,
4|All eyes on
new Cranes unemployment used their pulpits
drop in prices recycling, pushing
boundaries of art
coach Desabre as and urban and punditry
CHAN nears poverty is a
16|2018 to unlock oil
4|Museveni sign of progres billions: $ 20 billion 25|Electricity 43|Electric car
hints on security, up for grabs boom in 2018: for Africa?:
fishing in New Karuma, Isimba Something needs
Year message hydropower to happen on
18|Pushing for projects to add
nuclear power: the appropriate
783MW infrastructure
Why Kenya’s
4|UPDF intensifies front
move rests on
ADF hunt in DR
false or fanciful
Congo
premises

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2 Jan 05 - 11, 2018

 Offline

Protest call:

Opposition leader
Kizza Besigye speaks
at a press conference
on December
22, 2017 at his
office in Kampala.
Besigye called on
all Ugandans to “If the Congolese Government so decides,
protest from Jan. 08
against the removal we can assist them to uproot the ADF
of presidential age from that area.  In the meantime, the
limits which allows border population should feel assured
President Yoweri
Museveni to contest that any ADF who try to enter Uganda
for a sixth term in in force will remain here in a horizontal
office in 2021.    state.”President Museveni
  AFP PHOTO
UPDF in DR Congo:

A displaced Congolese
woman sits inside a church
which serves as a shelter
by night on December
15, 2017 in Beni. Attacks
allegedly carried out by
the Ugandan Muslim
Group, ADF in Eastern “If Museveni assents to this bill and
Democratic Republic of declares that the term of office of
the Congo (DRC), have
displaced thousands people current MPs has been extended by two
since October 2017. The years, I will retire in May 2021. People
Uganda’s army (UPDF) of Mukono sent me to Parliament for
on December 22, 2017
launched attacks on ADF 5 years.”Mukono Municipality MP Betty
following the killing of 14 Nambooze
UN peacekeepers.
  AFP PHOTO
Protest for Kagada

A crowd gathers
outside the High Court
in Kampala to protest
in support of the
Speaker of Parliament,
Rebecca Kadaga, over
cases brought against “Let us resist bad politics, let us resist
her for presiding bad politics and promote national
over the lifting of the unity because we’re all interested in
presidential age limit.
this country and also to build a strong
future for this country”Archbishop of
Kampala Cyprian Lwanga said

Rwandans charged ADF rebels killed Ghost students

45 with terrorism
recently 100 by UPDF in Congo
recently 16000 discovered at Makerere
University

Jan 05 - 11, 2018 3

Week

MUK probe committee discovers 16000 ghost students

In a discovery reminiscent of the ghost
soldiers that plagued the UPDF, a visita-
tion committee that was appointed by
President Museveni to inquire into the
persistent strikes and financial problems
of Makerere University discovered that
16000 students in the enrollment register
are unaccounted for. In its report find-
ings, the committee unearthed shocking
discrepancies between the number of stu-
dents submitted for verification and those
who were verified during the headcount.
According to the report, the university
management presented to the committee
student nominal rolls containing 46,128
names for verification categorised as “con-
tinuing, newly admitted and graduate
students”. However, it was established
that only 29,889 students (65 per cent)
were verified during the committee’s
headcount exercise as of February, 2017.

All eyes on new Cranes coach Desabre as CHAN nears

Cranes coach Sebastian Desabre had a
busy first week. A few days after the Cranes
entered residential camp at African Bible
University (ABU) in Lubowa to prepare for
the TOTAL 2018 African Nations Cham-
Mbale sheikh dies mysteriously
Fears have spread in Mbale
town, an area dominated by
Muslims, after Sheikh Issa
Wampongo, a teacher at Yusra
Primary School, was found dead
lying in a stream. Mbale District
Police Commander, Steven
Ahweera, dismissed reports that
Wampongo had been killed by
unknown assailants in similar
style when muslim clerics were
pionship (CHAN) finals in Morocco start-
ing Jan 12, the team travelled to western
Uganda for a for a meeting with President
Yoweri Museveni at his country home in
Rwakitura, Kiruhura district. Desabre will
be under scrutiny for his tactics as he leads
the Cranes in his first official duty. The
41-year-old Frenchman was formerly coach-
ing at Egyptian side Ismailia and the Cranes
job is his first national team assignment but
he has been said to be knowledgeable about
African football. FUFA, Uganda’s soccer
governing body, has said that the govern-
ment will play a vital role in catering for the Museveni hints on security,
Cranes coach. Uganda’s group consists of
Zambia, Namibia and Ivory Coast and its
fishing in New Year message
first game will be on Jan 14 against Zambia.
President Yoweri Museveni said the
murders of young women in Nansana
last year were caused by gaps in security
infrastructure in the form of absence
of cameras in the towns and along the
high-ways and also inadequate forensic
gunned down successively in equipment. Museveni said the government
the last few years. The deceased had earlier prioritized fighting rebel
was also a Masters student at groups like LRA and ADF and
Islamic University in Uganda subsequently Police fell short in curbing
(IUIU). Sheikh Wampongo crime. He promised that government
is said to have gone missing would improve on forensic equipment.
from his home in Kireka in The president also said the government
Nakaloke town council in Mbale had fought illegal fishing in 2017 since
on Jan 1. Police said they are the UPDF was deployed on the lakes in
yet to confirm whether he was February 2017. Museveni said he would
murdered. meet MPs from the islands and landing
sites on January 15 for further discussions
on the issue.

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4 Jan 05 - 11, 2018

 Week

Impasse over GMO Bill

The nation’s sorghum, beans,
scientists are Ankole cattle,
embroiled in Ugandan chicken,
arguments for enkoromoijo
and against cattle, which
the National have a specific
Biotechnology genetic makeup
and Biosafety Bill, which our people
2012 commonly have developed
known as the for millennia
GMO Bill. Last through selection
month, President (kutorana for
Museveni rejected seeds, kubikira
the bill and wrote (selecting good
UPDF intensifies ADF hunt in DR Congo a letter to the
Speaker saying a
bulls), enimi
or empaya
The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces force in DR Congo). “If the Congolese Gov- number of issues (he-goats).” He
(UPDF) has intensified its onslaught on the ernment so decides, we can assist them to in the bill must added, “to be
Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the east- uproot the ADF from that area,” President first be clarified. on the safe side,
ern part of Democratic Republic of Congo Museveni said in his New Year address. These included its GMO seeds
in a bid to rout out the rebel group that has He added “In the meantime, the border title, patent rights should never
occupied the area for close to twenty years. population should feel assured that any of indigenous be randomly
On Dec 22 2017, the UPDF launched an ADF who try to enter Uganda in force will farmers and mixed with our
air and artillery attack on ADF after it had remain here in a horizontal state”. In the sanctions for indigenous seeds
been conducting recruitment and training 1990s, the ADF were a notorious group in scientists who just in case they
in the forests. In early December, ADF killed the Rwenzori region causing mayhem in mix GMOs with turn out to have
14 Tanzanian peacekeepers and injured 50 Kasese, Bundibugyo, and Kabarole where indigenous crops a problem.”
under MONUSCO (the UN peacekeeping they killed over 3000 people. and animals. The Museveni’s letter
president offered provoked a wave
his thoughts: of arguments for
Museveni signs age limit bill amidst criticism “some crops and
livestock with
those backing
the bill, and
unique genetic their counter
One of the fiercest critics of the age Odama told Daily Monitor in an interview. configuration arguments
limit bill, Archbishop of Gulu John Baptist The age limit bill was passed in December like millet,
Odama, warned President Museveni on last year amidst criticism from voters and
the signing of the bill days before the latter the general public. As MPs carried out
appended his signature to the bill. Odama consultations among their voters on the con-
said Museveni’s conscience would be tor- troversial amendment last year, Odama was
mented if he signs it knowing it was against one of the few clerics who strongly criticised
the majority views of Ugandans. “If what the bill, terming the proposed amendment
has been passed by Parliament is not the as “treason” and also a sign of “greed”.
view of the majority citizens, then let him The passing of the bill removed age limits
not append his signature because it will capped between 35 and 75 for anyone inter-
later torture his conscience. But if it is the ested in standing for president.
voice of the majority, let him append it,”

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Dial *133 * 8#
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 5
Week

UCC’s Mutabazi starts Deadly attacks in Lwengo, Bukomansimbi

2018 in fighting mode Police Chief Gen. Kale Kayihura has in Kibinge Sub County in Bukomansimbi
In 2017, UCC pitched camp in Bukomansimbi district over district as residents ushered in the New
earned notoriety a spate of deadly attacks that have so far Year. Kayihura has since held meetings with
for several orders claimed five lives. Those killed include Denis Lwengo district chairman George Mutabazi
it issued to media Ssebugwawo Lumala, a retired police officer and other authorities in the area. The attacks
houses that who was hacked several times on the head. happened hours after President Museveni
many deemed Others are Jane Nantale, John Sseremba and assured the nation of security in his end of
heavy handed. Gonzaga Kayemba and another unidentified year speech. The raids have worsened from
In September, man. The attacks happened in Kiryasaaka 2016 when over 30 people were slain in the
UCC banned live located in Kkingo Sub County in Lwengo greater Masaka area.
parliamentary district, Kisojjo, Kyabagoma and Kyamabaale
Few were broadcasts
surprised claiming they
when Uganda incite violence MPs seek security over age limit law
Communications after a fight broke
Commission out in parliament
Executive during the age some MPs confirmed that
Director Godfrey limit bill. Earlier they had already received
Mutabazi in the same guards. Some of the guards
(Pictured) issued month, UCC assigned to MPs would be
a directive to all suspended ABS dressed in civilian uniform.
television and TV for what it Simeo Nsubuga, MP for
radio stations called “breach Kasanda South, was one
to air President of minimum of the first MP to be physi-
Museveni’s End broadcasting cally attacked in public for
of Year address standards.” his pro-age limit bill stance
live. The directive In October, when a one Kyuma kya Yesu
received severe Mutabazi shoved him aside at a func-
criticism from directed Kanungu MPs who voted for the unknown people over how tion in Mubende. The fights
many Ugandans Broadcasting passing of the age limit law they voted. An unspecified got more physical when
calling out UCC Station (KBS) in December 2017 have number of MPs contacted last September, SFC guards
for its creeping to suspend the requested for guards from Uganda Police Force and forcefully ejected opposition
intolerance of station manager, Police after they claimed the Parliamentary Com- MPs from parliament during
media freedom. Ronalds Agaba they received threats from mission for protection and a debate on the age limit bill.
“The commission and Desmond
hereby directs all Kyokwijuka
broadcasters to Misri, a political Disappointing festive season for traders
ensure that the show host. A
presidential New few days later, Traders did not make to the increasing interest blamed it on the drought
Year’s message is Mutabazi ordered an anticipated killing from rates and some blamed the conditions that hit most parts
transmitted live the station to the festive season- a time tough economic environ- of the country in the past
on their stations cease operations when they reap abnormal ment that 2017 was. Traders year. Some of the traders
on December 31 after the station profits. Some actually said usually cash in on holiday said perhaps customers were
between 10.00PM reportedly fail they made their lowest sales makers who bulk buy on saving money for fees since
and 12.00 to heed the in years. A number of them clothes, shoes, electronic schools have hiked their fees
midnight,” The directive.
attributed the mixed results appliances. Other analysts in the recent past.
directive read.

6 Jan 05 - 11, 2018

Humour Did you know?
World’s smallest mobile
phone is smaller than a
USB drive

On Dec. 27, President Yoweri Museveni signed into law the controversial constitution Amendment Bill In an age when phablets and
No. 2 of 2017 popularly known as the Age Limit Bill recently passed by the Parliament.
big screen smartphones are
more popular than ever, one
manufacturer is swimming
against the tide by trying to
make its mobile phones as
tiny as possible. Their latest
achievement, a phone that’s
smaller than the average
human thumb and lighter than
a metal coin.
The Zanco tiny t1 is being
advertised as the world’s
smallest mobile phone. It can
fit into the tiniest of pockets,
can store up to 300 numbers
in its phonebook. And just
in case you’re wondering,
Parliament expects to spend Shs8bn in the next financial year to purchase furniture, eight vehicles and Zanco claims that it is indeed
assorted machinery for members of Parliament and lawmakers. a fully-functional ‘talk and
text mobile phone’, allowing
users to make and receive
calls, and exchange text
messages. It features an
alphanumerical keyboard, a
tiny display, and a 200mAh
battery that can allegedly
keep the phone running for
up to 3 days in standby mode,
and guarantees 180 minutes
of talk time. Zanco has been
making tiny mobile phones for
many years now, but even to
them the tiny t1 started out as
a joke. There was just one
thing left to figure out – would
The Ugandan MPs especially those who were in support of scrapping the Presidential Age Limit people actually be interested
Bill have been given Police guards to protect them against attacks from angry population. in such a tiny mobile phone?

Jan 05 - 11, 2018 7

 News analysis Health Business
When Kadaga fumbled Drug shortages, UEGCL fights to deliver
lebratin
on age-limit Bill doctors strike Isimba, Karuma Ce g

Issue No. 501 Dec 22 - 28, 2017

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

Years

2017 year of
Togikwatako
The falsehoods & false hopes

Inbox
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http://twitter.com/#!/ugandatalks

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www.independent.co.ug

Letters are What a year of political noise

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
Last year was characterised
by many political events and
Ugandans should observe a
moment of silence for the souls
we lost in the political chaos,
strikes, and demonstrations
organised by the opposition.
As a result of the tension and
insecurity the opposition
causes to get political mile-
age and sympathy, we have
lost many Ugandans in the
exchanges between the rioters
and security personnel.
We saw misunderstandings
in political parties. In UPC,
party leader Jimmy Akena
irked many because of his
political ideology and network
with many of the members in
the ruling party.
In Democratic Party, two
factions were all trying to show
how supreme they were; one of
Norbert Mao and the other of
Betty Nambooze.
In politics, noise is some-
times useful. But sometimes it’s
just people shouting. In 2017
we lost viable investors due
to the noise as MPs attending
conferences abroad talked ill of
their country instead of preach-
ing the good. I hope Ugandans
make some productive good
noise in 2018. Happy New Year
Woira Michael
michaelwoira@gmail.com

Naïve opposition to favoritism! Fools in politics

Refer to: “Why our
nations remain poor” (The
Independent December
15, 2017). Ah Mr Mwenda;
you have really nailed it
this time. It’s those damned
elites who are keeping
us poor with their naïve
opposition to favoritism,
cronyism and corruption.
Imagine, without those
interfering elites the gov-
ernment could have identi-
fied an entrepreneurial
Ugandan businessman and
given him tax holidays,
free prime land such as
the old Shimoni School
grounds and taxpayer
dollars as capital. Such a
businessman could have
built up an industrial and
banking empire to rival
the foreign companies that
dominate our economy!
Imagine, another
businessman could have
been given a prime indus-
trial site like the old Coffee
Marketing Board premises,
plus free cash as capital,
plus cheap workers trained
by the government. He
could have built up one
of Africa’s leading textile
company; Uganda could
be a major exporter of
clothing! Oh Mr Mwenda,
who will save us from
those interfering elites!
Sserukeera
Refer to: “Rethinking politics” (The
Independent December 08, 2017). Africa
Friends on this column, it is difficult not to
‘pin’ Mwenda on his glaring mess up with
statistics in thisr article; especially when he
is (rightly) blaming us ‘African intellectuals/
academics’ for “laziness”. The problem – as I
see it – seems to be his guilt on uncritical self-
plagiarism. Parts of his article are a recycle of
what he has told us before. This would not
be an ‘intellectual sin’ if he declared so, and
updated his figures. Failure to do so is unfor-
tunately one of the symptoms of intellectual
degeneracy (which I hate to imagine of
him). That said, I think – rightly or wrongly
– Africa’s political problems have more to
do with the way our societies regard and
reward different human activities. We seem
to value ‘influence peddling’ and ‘politick-
ing’ much more than other more deserving
activities: specifically, those which create tan-
gible knowledge, services and products. A
researcher/inventor, say of ‘local’ ‘Tear Gas’
at MUK, is widely ‘cursed’ but the applier/
user and ‘victim’ of the ‘imported’ more
lethal variant are praised and rewarded
accordingly. The result of such behaviour is
that “any fool” heads into politics.
Dr. Eng. Kant Ateenyi – Cape Town

Political allies are always naturally favoured with government support

Refer to: “Why our nations remain
poor” (The Independent December 15,
2017). In allocating subsidies and cheap
long-term credit to favoured firms, the
state will be playing the role of venture
capitalist. In venture capital, the average
success rate is one in ten. The success rate
is indeed very low but there must be a
beginning and it is often those close to
any political system who will naturally
be favoured to undertake startups and at
the same time stay loyal to the ideals and
requirements of government. The best
way to keep the system in control is to
allow trusted local companies to partner
with foreign investors with technical skills
and the money to undertake new indus-
trial projects from which we can reap part
of the benefits; a win win situation. What
Africa needs is a more robust partnership
with the industrial West and East. In my
view, our nations will remain poor if we
continue to limit the guarantees and safe-
guards to foreign investments/investors.
Nothing more nothing less.
Ron

8 Jan 05 - 11, 2018


Uganda’s (Africa’s) paradox
By Andrew M. Mwenda
Why youth unemployment and urban
poverty is a sign of progress
U
ganda, like all African countries,
has a big problem of youth
unemployment. Some figures
put it at 83%. Unemployed and
underemployed youths are relegated to
slums in towns where they live a life of
poverty, misery, and marginalisation. This
assessment makes a lot of moral sense and
emotional appeal. It is also politically at-
tractive. But it is actually filled with a lot of
nonsense.   society where people are free to move
Unemployment and poverty are a big
problem for Uganda. But this is only
because we are looking at it simplisti-
cally. Strategically (from the perspective
of political economy) it is a sign that
Uganda (and other nations of Africa) is
beginning to transform from being a pre-
dominantly rural agrarian economy to
towards a modern urban society.
There is little unemployment in rural
areas. Almost everyone has a job: they
wake up every morning, pick their hoe
and go to dig in their garden to produce
their family food. Such a static agrarian
society is characterized by the paradox of
full employment alongside broad based
poverty.  jobs. They miss the point that they have
Transformation is characterised by
the movement of people from rural to
urban areas, from village tillage to urban
industry and services. Separated from
their subsistence on agriculture, migrants
to cities and other urban centers can
only survive by selling their labour. The
world’s most important market is the
labour market. It is where one person
sells their human capital to owners of
financial capital.  climb down the income and education
Why are many Ugandans leaving the
villages for towns? It is because towns
offer better opportunities for employ-
ment. So urban poverty is a sign of urban
strength and vitality not weakness and
stagnation. Kampala is full of many
poor people on its streets. But this is
not because it makes people poor but
because its opportunities attract poor
people who want to improve their lives.
And they often succeed.  late wealth, inevitably create a class of
Staying in the village and depending
on agriculture for a livelihood is a sign
of stagnation and poverty. Coming to a
city is a sign of inventiveness, initiative,
and progress. People in towns are richer,
happier, and healthier than in villages.
Less than 6% of the people who live in
The Last Word
Kampala and 7.5% of those living in the
surrounding Wakiso District fall below
the poverty line. In Acholi region, those
living in poverty are 32%; in Kamuli,
40%. And 92% of the poor people of
Uganda live in rural areas.  and exposed Ugandans. These are the
Therefore, those who call upon Ugan-
dans to remain in rural areas engaging
in agriculture are asking them to remain
in poverty. The good news is that in a
and live wherever they wish, people
vote with their feet. In Uganda, they are
doing so. Our country is one of the most
rapidly urbanising societies in the world.
The fact that 78% of our people still live
in the countryside and still depend on
agriculture or a livelihood is evidence
that our progress has been slow. It will
be a sign of progress when most of our
people begin living in urban areas - even
when they have no jobs.
Here is a paradox: the Ugandans who
hate President Yoweri Museveni most
intensely and are most critical of the
performance of his government are those
who have graduated and cannot find
benefited a lot from Museveni rule. They
have been educated. Indeed even those
with jobs are frustrated because they feel
they don’t earn enough.   is creating and driving your social frus-
This paradox has been confirmed by
every opinion poll in Uganda: the higher
you climb the education and income
ladder and the closer you get to urban
areas, the lower is Museveni’s support.
The reverse also holds: the lower you
ladder and the deeper you go into rural
areas, the higher is Museveni’s support.
Rural agricultural poverty and urban
indifference, not vote rigging, has been
Museveni’s insurance against electoral
defeat.
Karl Marx articulated this paradox
over 150 years ago in what he called the
“grave digger problem”. He argued that
the bourgeoisie, in pushing to accumu-
workers (the proletariat) whose interests
are in conflict with those of capital. The
more successful capital is; the more
labour it creates. It turns rural peasants
into urban industrial workers. Capital,
Marx reasoned, digs its own grave as
workers form the vanguard that would
Opinion
overthrow it.
Museveni faces a similar “grave-digger
problem”. The more successful he is at
developing Uganda, the more he is pro-
ducing increasingly educated, urbanised
angry young men on social media calling
for him to go. He has survived in power
not because he has failed (Uganda has
enjoyed an impressive rate of economic
growth by geographic and historic stan-
dards) but because he has not been suc-
cessful enough. Had Uganda urbanised
more rapidly, Museveni would have had
to mend his ways or stare electoral defeat
in the eye.
So if you are angry with Museveni, it
is largely because his government’s poli-
cies have helped you get an education
and lifted you out of the village to the
city; thereby giving you more exposure
to what the world offers. This has made
you aspirational. You expect a lot. The
problem is that the rate of growth in
your expectations is not (and cannot be)
matched by the rate of growth in oppor-
tunities to satisfy them. Even a pedes-
trian economist will tell you why this is
always so.  
Hence the mismatch between your
expectations and available opportunities
trations. That is why you are on social
media yelling at everyone and insulting
this old man who is teaching you the
basics of political economy. I don’t
begrudge you your anger; when I was
young and intelligent I used to behave
like you. Now I am old and stupid (you
would add “and bribed by Museveni”), I
eat cold eels and think distant thoughts. 
So I perfectly understand where you
are coming from. But I owe you a respon-
sibility to tell you that you are actually
deluded. In real terms, Museveni’s gov-
ernment has made you better off. That is
why you are angry with him. If you were
still an illiterate peasant nursing jiggers
in Kamuli or Amuru, it is very likely you
would be his supporter. You wouldn’t
be having a smart phone and hooked on
Facebook and using it to insult him or
me. Happy New Year!
amwenda@independent.co.ug
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 9
 cover story

Museveni defends
`fake’ gold dealer
President snubs IGG, DPP, and
Financial Crimes Unit
By Haggai Matsiko
Sub-Saharan Africa’s second biggest gold refinery, the Uganda-
based African Gold Refinery (AGR) deals in big money – with
its volumes of exports, according to informed sources, valued at
over Shs. 2 trillion over the last two years. So it is not surprising
that there are many powerful individuals and institutions
pushing to get a bit of the action.

L-R Alain Goetz,

President Museveni

10 Jan 05 - 11, 2018


President Museveni at the launch of AGR in February 2017.
B
ut the risks involved, for the
individuals, government
agencies, and the country,
are equally great. It does not
help matters that the man at
the centre of it all; Belgian
gold mogul Alain Goetz, is a controversial
character in international gold trade circles
and is under investigation by a United
National experts on DRC and South
Sudan, and two local anti-corruption
agencies.
Alain Goetz is also involved in fights
with some of the most powerful people in
Uganda’s mineral trade circles; including
Banarbas Taremwa, who is an in-law to
President Yoweri Museveni’s brother, Gen.
Caleb Akandwanaho aka Salim Saleh, and
Richard Kaijuka; an advisor to President
Museveni on mineral value addition.
Taremwa and Kaijuka claim Goetz diddled
them out of co-ownership of the gold
company which they set up together.
Taremwa is suing Goetz in the courts and
Kaijuka, whom Goetz, sacked recently in a
very public manner, is threatening to spill
company secrets.
Goetz, who now owns AGR 100 percent,
and Uganda have previously been
fingered by UN investigators for dealing in
Congo conflict minerals.
Goetz was named as a key player in the
gold trade in 2009 by the United Nations
Group of Experts appointed to investigate
issues in Congo and in 2005, the
International Court of Justice in The Hague
ruled that Uganda should pay the DRC
US$10 billion in reparations for plundering
its gold and other natural resources.
President Museveni’s brother Salim
Saleh and other elites in Uganda have
also severally been implicated by UN
investigators for illegal exploitation of
Congolese natural resources.
Museveni accused
If the array of fights is mind-spinning,
there is an even bigger puzzle; why is
President Museveni so firmly defending
Goetz, a controversial gold merchant
whose dealing, experts say, risk dragging
Uganda into the murky alleys of
international trade in illicit or blood gold?
As recently as December 2017, Museveni
directed the Directorate of Geological
Survey and Mines (DGSM) to give AGR
all the licenses it requires. Apparently,
AGR had complained to the President that
DGSM was frustrating them.
Museveni’s directive is being seen as
a snub in the face of several government
agencies which claim to be trying to
cover story
streamline the activities of AGR and
Goetz to ensure that they do not pose a
greater risk to Uganda as a country. Apart
from the Directorate of minerals, Goetz
and AGR are being investigated by the
Inspector General of Government (IGG)
over alleged malpractices; the Financial
Intelligence Authority (FIA) over suspected
money-laundering, and the government
Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
for possible prosecution in the courts of
law over non-compliance.
At the centre of these investigations are
three major questions: What is the source
of Goetz’s gold? How much does he
export? Where does the money from the
deals go?
Although Museveni has held
some meetings to explain AGR and
Goetz’s dealings; the questions remain
unanswered, according to informed
sources.
The Independent understands that
President Museveni, called a meeting with
key private players from the Chamber
of Mines and Petroleum to discuss
issues surrounding AGR. The Chamber
lobbies for investors in the mining and
petroleum sectors. Early the same month,
Museveni had met with sector investors
at State House Entebbe and Goetz had
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 11
cover story
complained that DGSM was frustrating
the gold refining operation. That is when
Museveni directed DGSM to give AGR all
the licenses it requires.
But, either known or unknown to
Museveni, the source of contention
between the gold refiner-cum-exporter
and DGSM stems from Goetz’s slippery
attempt to evade supervision by all
government institutions – and their
attempts to beat the investor into line.
Museveni has been keen to protect Goetz
from when he launched the AGR facility
in February 2017. At the time, he warned
that officials who would not support the
company would be dealt with ‘harshly’.
Museveni intended to protect AGR,
which is the first refinery in East Africa and
the second largest in sub-Saharan Africa,
insiders say, because he hoped the facility
would increase the legitimacy of the gold
trade in Uganda.
But accusations against Goetz suggest
that the reverse could be happening.
For instance, in an on-going fight, AGR
has allegedly snubbed directives by the
FIA intended to prevent money laundering
and promote transparency.
Uganda’s Anti-Money Laundering
Act conditions dealers in precious metals
and gems to register with the FIA as
accountable persons.
In accordance with this law, on 24
August FIA wrote to AGR directing
the company to provide a copy of their
operating licence and to register with them
as an accountable person.
When AGR did not respond, FIA wrote
again making the same demands on Sept.
25. AGR ignored this request too.
When AGR delayed to respond, FIA
boss Sydney Asubo wrote to the DPP on
Oct.11 requesting for the prosecution of
AGR for flouting the law.
FIA issued these letters to ensure the
company complied with international anti-
money laundering laws. Non-compliance,
in 2014, landed Uganda on the Financial
Action Task Force (FATF) watch list of
risky countries.
Danger to Uganda
FATF is an inter-governmental body
established to set standards and promote
effective implementation of legal,
regulatory and operational measures for
combating money laundering, terrorist
financing and other related threats to the
integrity of the international financial
system. To be on the FATF’s list of risky
countries makes a country unattractive to
international investors and lenders.
The FATF only removed Uganda from
the list in November last year but cases
like AGR’s alleged crimes could reverse
this gain. It is possibly why Asubo and
other government agencies are cracking
the whip.
12 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
Sydney Asubo
Irene Mulyagonja
According to the International Monetary
fund (IMF), trade in precious metals,
and particularly gold, has strong links
to illicit financial flows. A study on
gold trading and export in Kampala by
Gregory Mthembu-Salter, Phuzumoya
Consulting, revealed that gold dealers in
the DRC and Dubai have often claimed
that Kampala-based traders purchase
gold with illicit funds for the purpose of
money laundering.
Insiders say FIA has evidence, which
raises concerns over money laundering
and illicit financing.
When AGR responded to FIA queries
on November 7, 2017, the company
declined to furnish FIA with the required
details.
Instead, AGR noted that Uganda’s anti-
money laundering law does not oblige
them to comply with its requirements
and that FIA has no jurisdiction to compel
them to comply with its directives.
AGR noted in its response to FIA
queries that the law being cited only
obliges mineral dealers and that it would
be erroneous to assume that it (AGR)
fits the description of a dealer given that
it only refines the raw material into a
finished product.
Uganda’s mining law established
in 2003 does not provide for a refining
license. Basing on this, AGR argues that
it is not obliged to disclose its dealings
under the existing laws.
But government officials insist that
AGR has a mineral dealers’ license,
which it received on January 2016 from
DGSM.
The DGSM Commissioner, Edwards
Kato, in a letter dated January 2017 to the
global transparency body, Global Witness
(GW) noted that that the DGSM “has not
issued any export permits” to AGR. By
implication, gold exports by AGR would
seem illegal.
GW also quoted Taremwa, a former
AGR director saying that some of the
gold processed in the refinery comes
from the neighboring DRC and South
Sudan, which critics have jumped on to
claim there is a risk of using the money
from the gold sales to fund conflicts and
foment human rights violations.
Richard Kaijuka, a founding board
chairman, who the company fired this
November, told The Independent that he
has been raising these issues and suspects
Goetz possibly fired him to keep the
lid on, among others. Kaijuka has also
expressed concerns over “gold sourcing
in the region” which experts say should
not be swept under the carpet.
Official data shows that on some
occasions, Goetz has severally exported
over 100 Kgs on a single day. Uganda’s
gold mines, critics say, cannot raise 10
kilos a week.
To get to the bottom of the puzzle,
The Independent secured data from the
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and
DGSM.
URA data shows that between October
2015 and September 2017, AGR had
traded in gold worth Shs. 1.16 trillion.
Data from DGSM, on the other hand,
shows that between July 2016 and June
2017, AGR had exported gold worth Shs
2.13 trillion.
Last year the Auditor General (AG)
raised concerns about conflicting figures
issued by the DGSM and URA. While
DGSM assessed royalty and awarded
export permits for only 93kgs of gold
worth Shs11.8b, in the same period,
the Customs and Excise Department of
Uganda Revenue Authority indicated
that 5,316 kgs of gold had been exported
with a total value of Shs698 billion. Critics
say this discrepancy could be because of
under reporting.
The AG also raised concerns that while
gold grew into Uganda’s second largest
export product after coffee in 2015/16, the
royalties paid to government didn’t reflect
that growth.

During that year, the country exported
5, 1316 kgs of gold valued at about Shs700
billion, the bulk of which was by AGR. But
for the same year, the AG noted, only
Shs360m was collected instead of Shs41.88
billion going by the applicable rates of 1
per cent and 5 per cent for the imported or
locally mined gold respectively according
to Mining Act 2003.
Away from this are claims Goetz
is concealing his operations by using
multiple companies.
URA data shows that while AGR was
the exporter in all cases, the gold came
into Uganda through several names
including Goetz himself, a one Jamal
Nasir, a company called AGOR DMCC
and another called GOETZ GOLD LLC.
Both AGOR and GOETZ GOLD have
links with Goetz.
Sources say the IGG and FIA
investigations, which are on-going,
were partly sparked by some of these
discrepancies.
When The Independent raised these
issues with AGR, the company said in
an email response that there is someone
behind the allegations whose intention
is to damage AGR’s reputation. The
company had earlier, in a press statement,
claimed that person was Taremwa.
“AGR is an industry providing services
and not involved in the selling, buying or
trading of precious metals,” the company
noted.
“AGR do have a Mineral Dealer’s
License as it is essential for various
business purposes and it is one of
the requirements AGR is submitting
whenever there is an export.
AGR also noted it has mechanisms in
place aimed at avoiding trading in conflict
gold.
“Any customer has to fulfill our KYC
(Know Your Customer) procedures by
providing relevant information and
their company legal documents,” AGR
noted, “AGR is doing due diligence of its
suppliers in the same way as other foreign
/ international refineries are doing.”
The company also noted that they have
been competing with huge smuggling
networks “as we are promoting the legal
framework and legitimate supply chain
thus smugglers are devastated on AGR’s
success and doing everything to suppress
AGR”.
“The question is; why is Goetz refusing
to declare his operations and cooperate
with these institutions according to the
law if he has nothing to hide?” wondered
Don Binyina, the Executive Director,
African Centre for Mineral Policy
(ACEMP).
Questionable exports
Binyina, who is also the Chairman of
the Audit Committee of the International
Don Binyina
Conference of the Great Lakes Region
Protocol (ICGLR) against the Illegal
Exploitation of Natural Resources, added
that the ICGLR has long had concerns
over the source of the gold refined at
AGR.
Binyina said that because ACEMP
founded and convenes the National
Assembly of Artisanal and Small Scale
Miners (ASMs), which brings all ASMs
across the country, they have an idea of
how much gold is produced in Uganda.
“ASMs are the largest producers of
gold in Uganda,” he said, “but these guys
produce in grams. If you combined all
their sites in Uganda, they cannot produce
ten kilos of gold a month. That is why the
source of the gold coming out of AGR
cannot be Uganda.”
Therefore, Binyina says, since the
evidence shows that AGR is a gold
exporter, they have a duty to declare the
source of this gold.
“Otherwise,” Binyina warned, “with all
these fingers pointing at AGR, there is a
real risk of turning Uganda into a transit
route for illicit gold, which can threaten
peace and stability in the region.”
There are also concerns that given
the past record, where Uganda is
accused of plundering Congo, it is not
hard to foresee Uganda slammed with
international sanctions if these issues are
not dealt with.
GW in its June report also noted that
President Museveni, without following
due process, directly influences the award
of deals to investors, who sometimes turn
out to be fakes, evade taxes, and abuse
human rights and the environment.
For instance, President Museveni asked
DGSM officials to offer a 25-year copper
mining concession deal for the copper
deposits worth $ 26 billion at Kilembe
Mines to a Chinese consortium-- Tibet
Industry Company Ltd without following
due process.
cover story
Richard Kaijuka
Years later, it emerged that the same
company that was supposed to invest
$175m into the facility, create over 3000
jobs and pay government millions in taxes
and royalties, was incapable.
But because they bribed their way to
the deal, proper due diligence was not
done, it later emerged that they don’t have
capacity, they are unable to pay even $1
million a year in government loyalties and
later on invest the funds required to revive
the facility.
As a result, government has to go back
to square one and get new investors four
years later. The story of Kilembe is not very
different from that of the Sukulu project.
Last year, IGG conducted an investigation
which revealed that the award of the
exploration licence by DGSM to Dongsong
Energy Group, another Chinese company,
was fraudulent. Rather than allow the IGG
to use her independence and take due
action, President Museveni intervened,
blamed her for disrupting the project and
directed her to leave Dongsong alone.
Years later, the Sukuru project is yet to
deliver the expected dividend and has
been caught up in endless dispute with
locals over compensation.
Critics also say because of such,
investors are disregarding institutions and
violating laws with impunity because they
are assured of Museveni’s protection.
Inside sources have told the
Independent that officials from the FIA,
IGG and DPP are working joint on the
Goetz/AGR case and despite Museveni’s
protection, they agreed at a mid-December
meeting that the DPP goes ahead and
prosecutes AGR specifically for declining
to provide a copy of their operating
licence and register with the FIA. The
IGG, meanwhile, is carrying out a broader
investigation of Goetz/AGR operations.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 13
news analysis
2018: Time to restore hope
By Flavia Nassaka
A
s 2017 ended, many political pun-
dits, the clergy, and academicians
used their pulpits and punditry to
describe what, in their view, the
year had been like and predict 2018.
Makerere University professor of Political
Science, Sabiti Makara, said political intol-
erance has been on the increase and that
“Ugandans are becoming angrier by the
day as their financial status is not improv-
ing yet when they switch on their TV sets
all they see is some clique of MPs and civil
servants sharing millions of taxpayers’
money.”
Church of Uganda Archbishop Stanley
Ntagali spoke of political upheavals, anar-
chy, mysterious killings, deaths, and per-
verse behaviours.
“Our society is drifting into a state of
godlessness, lawlessness and perverse dis-
regard of human life and dignity,” he said.
Apostle Joseph Sserwadda of Victory
Christian Centre in Ndeeba, Kampala, said
Ugandans find themselves living in “a dif-
ferent kind of world, one less predictable
and certain”. He said the new world is filled
with fear, divisions, greed, and selfishness.
“It is as if we are in the midst of a creepy
darkness revealed by senseless violence,
economic hard times, political deadlocks,
and spiritual coldness,” he said.
Archbishop John Baptist Odama of the
Catholic Church, who is the Chairman of
14 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
the Uganda Episcopal Conference, spoke of
a “mood of political anxiety”.
Bishop Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira of
Namirembe Diocese (Church of Uganda) in
Kampala said “people are disgruntled.”
Crispy Kaheru, the Coordinator of the
Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy
(CCEDU), spoke of “a complete loss of con-
fidence in representative democracy.”
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)
party stalwart, Kizza Besigye, said “Ugan-
dans have been pushed to the wall by
removing the only remaining safeguard to
allow for peaceful transfer of power.”
At the centre of the tense Christmas ser-
mons and terse observations appears to be
what was; without a doubt, the defining
event of 2017: the passing by parliament of
an amendment to the constitution to scrap
Article 102 (b) which fixed the presidential
age-limit at 75 years of age.
As a result of that, many commentators
predicted that 2018 will be a tough year,
filled with political, social and, economic
tension.
Hope and doom in 2018
But many others, especially the clergy
like Bishop Luwalira called for “interven-
tions that will restore people’s hope.”
“We truly needed a word of positive
good news to give us hope,” Sserwadda
said.
“Cry my beloved country! We don’t
really know what the future holds,” Odama
said, and added “We must not lose hope.”
But others, like Kaheru, predict doom in
2018.
“We are likely to see more citizens’ action
either through protests, civic action or peti-
tions since they now know voters voice has
little influence in terms of what goes on in
parliament,” he said.
Kaheru’s organization is a member of the
Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform
(UGMP) that among others assesses and
monitors performance of leaders.
He said because of what he called the
“complete loss of confidence in representa-
tive democracy” people will try to extend
their voice but will most likely be met with
brutality from security operatives.
His prediction is shared by Besigye who
is one of the biggest victims of brutality by
security forces.
Speaking to journalists at his Katonga
Road-based offices in Kampala, Besigye
said Ugandans are likely to copy what takes
place in other countries where leaders have
failed to abide by the dictates of their consti-
tution. He cited the neighbouring DR Con-
go where the government routinely battles
protest after protest as citizens demand that
President Joseph Kabila steps down after
his term ended in December 2016 and he
has been making moves to remove presi-
dential term limits.
Besigye also pointed at the civil strife
in South Sudan resulting from President
Salva Kiir’s failure to abide by the constitu-

tion and Burundi where President Pierre
Nkurunziza’s failure to leave after his term
ended has plunged the country in a crisis
since 2014.
“To show he is still in charge, Museveni’s
only option now is to brutalize people,”
Besigye said and cited the Sept.27 incident
where Museveni’s Special Forces Command
(SFC) soldiers were unleashed on parlia-
ment and beat up MPs opposed to lifting
the presidential age limit to allow Musev-
eni to contest in 2021. Museveni had been
barred by the 75-year age limit. Museveni
will be 77 years old then and, since that bar
has been scraped from the constitution, he
can run again.
Prof. Makara, meanwhile, says political
intolerance will increase as more politick-
ing sets in to enable Museveni to extend the
term of the presidency from the current five
to seven years – the same as was recently
passed by MPs for local government leaders
and themselves.
“There’s no doubt that many avenues;
including slapping charges on those with
divergent views, imprisonment, torture and
intimidation will be used by the regime,”
Makara predicted.
Already, many Museveni opponents
are battling court charges for dissenting
through social media. Prominent among
them is Makerere University-based social
researcher Stella Nyanzi who last year was
jailed and charged with “cyber harassment”
and “offensive communication.”
Democratic Party supporter Moses
Mboowa was also imprisoned on charges
related to posts he made on Facebook call-
ing on people to attack MPs supporting
amendment of presidential age limits.
“Ugandans are becoming angrier,”
Makara said.
He says incidents like civil servants being
given billions in “presidential handshakes”
make them angry. Makara was speaking in
reference to the Shs6billion “reward” that
the president gave to a group of salaried
civil servants for their work on a court case
the government reportedly won against a
UK oil company; Heritage Oil.
“We also saw MPs being given Shs29mil-
lion each for consultations to make amend-
ments that were largely unpopular. People’s
anger is piling and that shouldn’t be taken
for granted,” he said.
Nothing new after all
Makara also said many people feel
uncertainty as regards their ownership of
property. He was referring to the ongoing
Commission of Inquiry into land matters
that Museveni ordered because, he said,
the government needed the law to change
so that government can forcefully takeover
land for development in a dispute before
compensating its owner. The government
proposes to Amend Article 26 of the consti-
Kizza Besigye
Stanley Ntagali
John Baptist Odama
tution to allow government to compulsorily
acquire private land in this manner.
Towards the end of 2017 Museveni
embarked on a nationwide tour to attempt
to sell the land law amendment he wants.
On radio talk shows and bazaars, Museveni
explained that many government projects
have stalled because some Project Affected
news analysis
Persons (PAPs) demand exorbitant compen-
sation from the government.
Museveni has been criticized for failing
to acknowledge that individuals demand-
ing the exorbitant compensation are either
top officials of his government or linked to
them. Museveni has also failed to produce
either a list of the individuals demanding
exorbitant compensation or projects that
have stalled over compensation disputes.
Already, the Justice Catherine Bamuge-
mereire chaired land Commission of
Inquiry has revealed big wigs in Museveni’s
government to be the top land grabbers
from poor and weak private owners.
“With the (amended) law in place,”
Makara says, “land grabbers will now have
a legal cover”.
Generally, however, many observers say
2018 will politically not be any different
from previous years. Makara, for example,
says Museveni will still use the advantage
of numbers in a parliament dominated by
members of his NRM party.
The opposition in parliament, headed by
Kasese Woman MP and Leader of Opposi-
tion Winnie Kizza, will issue but not yield
anything significant. Instead, the opposition
will sink deeper into internal wrangles.
In the biggest opposition party; FDC,
internal wrangling caused by the November
Presidential polls that saw ex-legislator Eng.
Patrick Amuriat trouncing incumbent party
president Gen. Mugisha Muntu, remain.
It is also not clear how Amuriat will steer
the party.
Amuriat is a member of the so-called
‘people’s government’ launched by Besigye
after losing the 2016 presidential election
which he claims he won. Their hallmark
is defiance of the Museveni government
and, in his campaign; Amuriat repeatedly
said “defiance is the only approach that can
overthrow the dictatorship.”
If he follows through on his promise,
then 2018 will be another year of opposi-
tion protests as Besigye and company lurch
from one protest issue to another and the
government responds with teargas, batons,
bullets, and bribes.
He says after the age limit, many think
the next thing on agenda for Museveni
could be amending article 26 of the constitu-
tion which provides for adequate compen-
sation of an individual before their land is
acquired by government for either infra-
structure development or any other kind of
investment.
With the amendments, government
wants to be allowed to acquire land even
if the parties involved don’t agree. In such
an event, the proposal is that government
deposits in court or with any competent
authority the value of the property as
evaluated by the chief government valuer
and take possession of land pending
determination by court.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 15
news analysis
Business at the Kingfisher oil field appears slow at the moment but is expected to pickup soon.  INDEPENDENT/RONALD MUSOKE
2018 to unlock oil billions
$ 20 billion up for grabs
By Haggai Matsiko
E
rnest Rubondo, the Executive
Director, Petroleum Authority
of Uganda (PAU), is optimistic
2018 will be big for Uganda’s
oil industry.
“The sector will be felt in 2018,” he
told The Independent in an interview at
his offices at Amber House December
last year. Rubondo has been at the
helm of all the major developments in
the sector since the 1990s.
He previously headed the
Petroleum Exploration and Production
Department (PEPD) credited for most
of the milestones the country’s oil
16 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
industry has seen. The department
was later restructured into three
entities—a directorate in charge of
policy, a national oil company that
deals with the business and PAU,
which regulates the sector and which
Rubondo has headed since 2016.
Coupled with his decades of
experience, his current role gives him
a vantage point on the direction of
the industry. Indeed, days before the
interview, Rubondo had just received
the last of the eight delegations of
investors from several countries—
France, Egypt, Russia, UK, Norway
and Belgium—that visited Uganda in
December alone, which he said was
one of the indicators of things to come.
These investors are targeting a
piece of the $ 20 billion expected to be
invested in the oil development phase,
he said.
Other pointers, he added, include;
the application for parliamentary
approval of a loan to finance the
construction of the airport in Hoima
targeting the oil industry; the near-
completion of Front End Engineering
designs for the oil fields, among
others.
Rubondo is also in charge of vetting
companies that are positioning to
supply the oil industry, which PAU
qualifies and lists in its National

Suppliers Database (NDS). As of 2016,
the NDS included only 499 companies.
By close of 2017, a total of 1,521
companies had applied to be members
of PAU’s National Suppliers Database.
Of these, only 927 entities made the
final list, of which 561 are registered in
Uganda and 366 are registered outside.
“This kind of interest,” Rubondo
said, “is another indicator of how fast
the industry is moving.”
While most of this interest is for the
development phase of the 6.5 billion
barrels of oil that has already been
discovered of which some 1.2 billion
is recoverable, the new round of
exploration is set to be even bigger.
For the 6.5 billion to be discovered,
only 121 wells were drilled.
In the new round of exploration,
which begins this year, 400 wells are
set to be drilled.
“People keep asking when the oil
money is coming,” Rubondo said, “All
this activity is oil money. All these
Ernest Rubondo Guy Maurice
people coming in will need food,
hotels and many other services. That
is money.”
Days after the interview with
Rubondo, President Museveni also
appeared to resolve a fight amongst
the oil companies that threatened to
delay oil production.
The fight stemmed from the $ 900
million deal in which Tullow Oil is
selling part 21.57 percent of its 33.3
percent stake to CNOOC and Total
E&P.
CNOOC has been demanding
operatorship of one of the Exploration
Area2 (EA2) which was initially being
operated by Tullow and which stood
to go to Total following the farm
down.
Previously, CNOOC operated
Kingfisher, Tullow EA2 and Total EA1
and EA1A.
With the farm down, CNOOC was
set to remain operating the Kingfisher
field, while Total would also start
operating EA2 previously operated by
Tullow Oil; in a project it had already
code-named Tilenga. Total was excited
about the deal because it stood to give
them the leading role in the entire
project. But CNOOC was opposed to
this arrangement.
To resolve the impasse, Total
S.A’s Vice President for Africa, Guy
Maurice and another top official flew
to Kampala mid-November to meet
President Museveni.
Sources say Maurice’s delegation
camped in Kampala for about half
a week and met the president. It
was the second time Maurice was
coming into town in a few months.
And his meeting followed another by
CNOOC’s Vice-President Xu Keqiang
from China, who together with the
Chinese ambassador, met Museveni
and raised concerns over Total.
Initially, Museveni appeared to side
with the Chinese.
But intense lobbying on the part of
the French saw the president pledge
news analysis
to give CNOOC another block and ask
them to let Total go ahead and operate
EA2.
By unlocking that impasse,
insiders say, President Museveni
has helped speed up the process and
dispelled fears the fights would put
oil production well beyond the 2020
deadline that government set last year.
Despite this, the deadline is still seen
as unrealistic because the companies
need at least three years after making
the Final Investment Decision (FID)—
which is now expected between June
and December this year. This would
mean that at the very least, Uganda
can only be able to pump oil after well
after 2021.
But all this will partly depend on the
outcomes of the FEEDs, which are in
the final stages of completion.
The completion of the $ 900 million
farm down now awaits government
tax treatment and finally, approval.
Many hope that the deal will not
attract tax disputes as the ones before
it; especially because it is seen as a
critical stage before the FID, which is
expected to unlock billions and kick-
start production.
The major oil deals of the year will
be guided by the FEED. In February,
Total picked three companies to
carry out FEED studies for its Tilenga
project. These included; Technip
(French), Fluor (U.S. and partnering
with China Petroleum Engineering and
Construction Corporation-CPECC) and
the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company
(CB&I). China also picked a contractor
for Kingfisher, who has been at work
in Beijing.
Once the FEEDs are concluded, the
companies are expected to announce
the Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC) contractors on
the two projects. The EPC contracts,
insiders say, will swallow the
biggest chunk of $ 10 billion for the
development phase.
Apart from development of the
oil fields, actual construction of the
$3.55 billion oil pipeline is expected
to commence this year. However, it
remains to be seen whether a deal
on the $ 4.5 billion oil refinery will
be reached this year. A group led by
General Electric and another led by
China’s Dongsong Guangzhou Energy
Group are still up against each in the
race for the deal after negotiations
with Russian firm Global Resources
collapsed in 2015.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 17
news analysis
Pushing for nuclear power
Why Kenya’s ove rests on false or fanciful premises
By Brendon J. Cannon
K
enya wants to go nuclear. Since
2012, Nairobi has been talking the
talk and walking the walk. It has
engaged the International Atomic
Energy Agency and signed multilateral
letters of intent in pursuit of nuclear power.
To date, Kenya reportedly has
memoranda of understanding with
Russia, China, South Korea, and Slovakia
18 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
which involve the building of four nuclear
power plants with a total output of 4,000
MW. France is apparently also eyeing the
potentially lucrative deals which would
nearly double Kenya’s current electricity
capacity.
Kenya’s Nuclear Electricity Board
secured the global atomic energy agency’s
approval in 2016. It hopes to have the
first plant online anywhere from 2022
to 2027, leading a new African push for
nuclear power. The only country currently
generating nuclear is South Africa.
Other African countries have signed
agreements with foreign firms. These
include Nigeria’s plans to build plants with
Rosatom, the Russian firm. South Africa is
also pursuing a deal for new nuclear power
plants with the company as is Egypt.
In January 2017, the international nuclear
agency concluded that Ghana had made
“considerable progress in the development

of its nuclear power infrastructure.” Uganda
and Rwanda are also reportedly pursuing
nuclear energy.
The cost of the Kenya plant is estimated
at Shs500 billion (ApproxUS$5 billion).
This is costly and, given the current energy
consumption patterns in Kenya, would be a
massive waste of money.
Kenya’s industrial and consumer demand,
economic growth, relative poverty as well
as the current grid and distribution network
simply do not support this magnitude of
power generation at such exorbitant costs.
Myths about Kenya’s power situation
According to the popular narrative, Kenya
suffers from the twin evils of electricity that
is overly expensive and in short supply. Yet
there is strong evidence that Kenya’s power
Kenya has an
installed capacity
of just over
2,400MW ,
against a
peak demand
of just over
1,600MW .
This is 800MW
above peak hours
demand
is relatively cheap and that successive
governments have exaggerated both its
economic growth trajectory and its need for
a massive increase in power generation.
For example, Kenya has an installed
capacity of just over 2,400MW, against a
peak demand of just over 1,600MW. This is
800MW above peak hours demand.
While economies are required to have
surplus power capacity, excess capacity can
lead to higher power bills as consumers are
often charged for idle power plants.
Thus the government, while promising
ever cheaper power to consumers may
actually be undercutting this promise in
its pursuit of nuclear power plants and
other costly projects that fail to reflect both
industrial and private consumer demand.
A recent study by a German engineering
consultancy further confirmed how
exaggerated government figures about
demand have been. It noted that Kenya’s
maximum power demand would “grow
72% to 2,259MW by 2020 from the current
1,620MW, when projects such as the
standard gauge railway start operating
fully”.
Government estimates, on the other hand,
project peak demand will jump threefold to
4,755 megawatts in the three-year period.
This is twice as much as the consultant’s
estimates.
On top of this, Kenya’s problem is not
that it needs more energy. Rather it needs to
address distribution issues.
Any project involving the generation of
more power needs to pay equal attention
to Kenya’s grid and distribution system
which currently cannot handle additional
power. This includes corresponding efforts
at regular, systematic maintenance work.
Without these, any extra power generated
news analysis
from renewable and other energy sources
will remain costly and wasted.
Yet another note of caution is in order.
Demand from Kenya’s domestic consumers
remains low even though a total of 5.8
million customers now have connections
to power – a five-fold increase in the past
seven years.
Why is this the case?
Neither a lack of connectivity nor an
unreliable supply is to blame for the low
consumption of electricity by the vast
majority of Kenyan consumers. Nor is
it because of reportedly relatively high
electricity tariffs.
Rather, it is simply because the majority
of Kenyans still have low income levels.
Many Kenyans simply cannot afford the
luxury of modern appliances for cooking,
heating, or refrigerating.
This simple fact has neither been
figured into government prognostications
nor donor-driven last-mile connectivity
scenarios.
Grappling with reality
Over two years ago, after Kenya signed
an MOU with China to explore building
a nuclear power plant, I argued that sober
analysis was required prior to walking
further down that path. The situation
remains the same today.
This is not a question of whether or not
Kenya would be a responsible nuclear
power producer. Indeed, all indications
are that national nuclear electricity board
(KNEB) and other relevant government
agencies have acted scrupulously and
responsibly.
Nevertheless, both the board as well
as the international nuclear agency, the
IAEA, should honestly conclude – and then
publicly announce – that Kenya does not
have a need for nuclear power.
Adding extremely expensive nuclear
power to Kenya’s energy mix along with
power from other inadvisable projects such
as the Lamu coal power plant is arguably
inexcusable as well as profligate. Lamu is
expected to produce 5,000MW of power
within a period of three years.
As such, Kenya needs to work overtime
to set a power generation agenda that
identifies real versus perceived needs. The
country’s electricity agenda must not be
driven by estimated consumption figures
that fail to correspond to the true energy
needs. In the words of a former Kenyan
energy official, “It does not take much
effort to notice the gap between what is on
paper and the economic reality”.
Brendon J. Cannon is Assistant
Professor of International Security,
Department of Humanities and Social
Science, Khalifa University
Source: theconversation
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 19
PUBLIC NOTICE
POLICE NATIONALE
DU RWANDA
www.police.gov.rw
P.O. BOX: 6304 KIGALI
AVIS DE CHANGEMENT No 1 DU DOSSIER D’APPEL D’OFFRE ET DE
PREPARATION DES OFFRES SUR LE MARCHE N˚03/F/2017-2018/
ICB/ RNP/OB/ MINICOFIN/PSO FUNDS POUR LA FOURNITURE
DES PIECES DE RECHANGES POUR LE MACHINE SPECIAL ET AUTRE
VÉHICULES A MOTEUR DE LA POLICE NATIONALE DU RWANDA
2017-2018
1. La référence faite à l’avis d’appel d’offres publié au Jour-
nal IMVAHO NSHYA No 4316 du 17/11/2017 et dans l’Inde-
pendent ainsi qu’au dossier d’appel d’offres relatif au marché No
03/F/2017-2018/ICB/ RNP/OB/ MINICOFIN/PSO FUNDS pour
le Fourniture des Pieces de Rechanges pour le Machine Special
et Autre Véhicules a Moteur de la Police Nationale du Rwanda
2017-2018. Les offres doivent comprendre une garantie de l’offre
de : 122,645 Frw pour catégorie 1 et 2 de chaque Lot ; 245,290 Frw
pour les Lots indépendant et Une déclaration d’engagement
de respecter les procédures de compétition pour catégorie 3 de
chaque Lot.
2. La Police Nationale du Rwanda informe les personnes qui
sont intéressées à ce marché que certaines pièces de rechanges
sont enlevées car contenues dans les contrats en cours. La date
de soumission et d’ouverture des offres qui était prévue au
03/01/2018 est reportée au 12/01/2018
3. Les comptes bancaires sur lesquels à verser et les autres
clauses du Document d’Appel d’Offres non spécifiés dans ce
communiqué restent inchangés.
4. Nous nous excusons pour ce changement.
Kigali, 29/12/2017.
S(é)
ACP
Vincent B SANO
Commissaire chargé des Finances et
Gestionnaire Principal du Bugdet
20 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
RWANDA NATIONAL
POLICE
www.police.gov.rw
P.O. BOX: 6304 KIGALI
ADDENDUM No 1 TO THE TENDER DOCUMENT AND
PREPARATION OF BIDS FOR TENDER N˚03/F/2017-2018/
ICB/ RNP/OB/ MINICOFIN/PSO FUNDS,FOR “SUPPLY OF
SPARE PARTS FOR RNP SPECIAL MACHINE AND OTHER
MOTORVEHICLES IN THE YEAR 2017-2018
1. Reference is made to the notice issued in IMVAHO NSHYA
No 4316 of 17/11/2017 and in the Independent as well as the
bidding document related to the tender No 03/F/2017-2018/
ICB/ RNP/ OB / MINICOFIN/ PSO FUNDS,for Supply of Spare
Parts for RNP Special Machine and other Motor vehicles in the
year 2017-2018. All bids shall be accompanied by a Bid Security
of: 122,645 FRW for Category 1 & 2 of each Lot; 240,290 Frw
for the independent Lots and a declaration of commitment for
category 3 of each Lot.
2. Rwanda National Police would like to inform interested
bidders that some of spare parts are removed in the tender
document as requested by the suppliers whereby they said that
the removed spare parts are included in the ongoing contracts
that they have.The date for bid submission and opening of bids
which was supposed to be on 03/01/2018 has been postponed
to12/01/2018
3. Bank Account as well as other provisions of the tender docu-
ment remains unchanged.
4. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Kigali, 29/12/2017.
ACP
Vincent B SANO
Commissioner for Finance and
Chief Budget Manager

Ending Rwanda refugees
Cessation Clause on status implemented
By Independent Team & Agencies
2
018 started with a major transfor-
mational change for thousands of
Rwandans living as refugees in
countries around the world. Effec-
tive Jan.01, a Cessation Clause on their refu-
gee status instituted by the United Nations
High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
came into force. The move means many
Rwandans living abroad will no longer
enjoy the rights, freedoms, and protections
guaranteed by international protocols for
refugees.
According to UNCHR policy, any former
Rwandan refugee wishing to settle in the
host country must now do so through other
legal channels. They may also apply again
for special refugee status. Those that do
not adhere to the new regime might find
themselves living a perilous life as illegal
immigrants.
The UNHCR Cessation Clause was ini-
tially intended to come into force in Decem-
ber 2011 but was extended, first to June 30,
2013, and eventually to December 31, 2017.
The Cessation Clause is provided for under
the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The deadline was reaffirmed in late
November 2017 when Rwanda government
officials met in Geneva, Switzerland with
UNHCR and delegations from countries
that host Rwandan refugees.
Some host countries sought clarifica-
tion regarding Rwandan refugees seeking
exemption from the Cessation clause. Other
discussions focused on those seeking natu-
ralisation or integration in the host coun-
tries. There was also discussion of logistical
and financial challenges involved in the
processes. Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDI-
The Cessation Clause provided three
options for the refugees: voluntary repatria-
tion, invocation of refugee status and local
integration in host country, and individual
application for refugee status with convinc-
ing reasons.
UNHCR has also been offering cash
packages to any Rwandan refugee who
returns home before end of 2017.
The commission has been giving US$250
to each adult Rwandan refugee and US$150
to any minor who returns home before Ces-
sation Clause expires.
On top of the money, the returnees are
also offered free medical insurance for a
year, a free mobile phone and free transpor-
tation to any destination within the country.
The Rwanda government has been
encouraging its citizens to return by assur-
ing them that the country is safe and secure
and ready to accommodate all Rwandan
Rwanda
returnees.
MIDIMAR set transit centres to accom-
modate the returnees in southern Nyanza
District, at Kijote and Nyarushishi on the
Congo border.
About 3.4 million refugees have been
repatriated since 1994, majority of them
from Democratic Republic of Congo,
according to Rwanda’s Ministry for Disaster
MAR). UP to 2000 Rwandans have been
returning home every year according to the
Ministry. According to UNHCR statistics,
up to 20,000 Rwandans were still living as
refugees abroad by December 2017.
Rwandans have been rushing home to
beat the deadline. The country welcomed
over 11,000 returnees in the first eight
months of 2017 compared to 5,580 in 2016.
With the coming into force of the Cessa-
tion Clause, however, the government will
now not consider its citizens abroad as refu-
gees any more.
Many Rwanda have fled their country
from way back as 1959 to escape numerous
social upheavals.
But UNHCR concluded over 10 years
ago that the conditions that led to their
flight no longer exist and they can return
home to safety.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 21
news analysis
Women’s NGOs are
changing the world
But research shows they are easily marginalised
and trivialised once projects take off
By Bipasha Baruah & Kate Grantham
I
n contemporary global development
circles, non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) are now performing many
more roles and activities than they did a
few decades ago.
NGOs work with governments, com-
munity groups and the private sector — to
develop and implement programs, monitor,
and evaluate their progress and help train
people working on those projects.
They are considered more nimble than
other institutions in accomplishing devel-
opment goals because they can reach the
most vulnerable or disaffected people in a
community and find innovative solutions to
22 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
problems.
Although their funding streams and
institutional decision-making structures are
typically multinational, NGOs’ legitimacy,
indeed, often rests on perceptions of them
being “local” and “close to the people.”
NGOs are increasingly taking on the
responsibility of implementing the gender
equality and women’s empowerment agen-
das of the global development sector.
But very rarely have researchers tried to
understand or document the specific chal-
lenges and opportunities that NGOs work-
ing on gender equality, or those that define
themselves as feminist NGOs or women’s
NGOs, face — when participating in multi-
ple-stakeholder projects like Canada’s new
feminist international assistance policy.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Devel-
opment Goals, adopted in 2015, and the
Canadian initiative that includes $150 mil-
lion in funding for advancing the rights of
women and girls, will undoubtedly increase
the engagement of women’s NGOs in a
variety of activities.
That means understanding the oppor-
tunities and constraints faced by women’s
NGOs in multiple-stakeholder projects is
increasingly important.
We’re basing our observations upon
research conducted over the past decade in
India, where women’s NGOs were involved
in delivering urban basic services like water,
sanitation, and electricity, and in Tanzania,

where women’s NGOs helped deliver com-
munity health and microenterprise devel-
opment services.
In both contexts, we found that women’s
NGOs played crucial roles in development
projects; often mobilising, organising and
building projects that otherwise would
never have launched.
In India, for example, women’s NGOs in
the state of Gujarat mobilised local commu-
nities to participate in urban development
projects. They helped form community-
based organisations to represent local inter-
ests and implemented community develop-
ment projects — such as health services,
adult literacy, and child care.
Women’s NGOs also conducted research
to determine whether local communities
could afford to pay for basic urban services.
They negotiated subsidies, fair pricing
and flexible terms of payment with utili-
ties on behalf of marginalised people. They
arranged access to loans from microfinance
institutions for households that could not
cover the cost of water or electricity connec-
tions. And by insisting that water and elec-
tricity bills be issued in the names of female
heads of households, women’s NGOs
strengthened women’s access to property
and housing.
The NGOs also educated stakeholders
about the realities of life for the urban poor,
and shared lessons learned in one urban
area with NGOs in other cities in India.
In Tanzania, we studied the community
partner role played by a women’s NGO in
a project delivering health and microenter-
prise services across East Africa.
The project, which brought together the
Tanzanian government, public research and
medical institutions, international charitable
organisations, community-based organ-
isations and beneficiaries, envisioned the
establishment of community kitchens across
East Africa to produce probiotic yogurt.
The yogurt would be sold for profit and
distributed for free to certain vulnerable
groups, including children with nutritional
deficiencies and people living with HIV/
AIDS.
Local entrepreneurs were offered loans,
technical assistance and other training to
start up the businesses. A women’s NGO
that had previously worked to reduce
gender-based violence in Tanzania helped
local communities establish, operate, and
maintain the kitchens.
Before the idea of community kitchens
was taken up by more financially and politi-
cally powerful project partners, it was in
fact the women’s NGO that had proposed
the idea of establishing yogurt kitchens that
could be run by local women in keeping
with Tanzanian dietary, cultural, and con-
sumer norms.
The four earliest community kitchens
were run entirely by women. The economic
empowerment of poor women in Tanzania
was identified as one of the founding goals
of the project because of the advocacy work
done by the women’s NGO.
In later years, the pilot project was
expanded to include kitchens run by men.
The women’s NGO provided training
on probiotic yogurt production, the health
benefits of probiotics, financial accounting,
entrepreneurship and the importance of
combatting HIV/AIDS transmission and
stigma.
Until 2012, when the women’s NGO
withdrew from the project, community
kitchen groups also received training on
gender equality, the rights of women and
girls and the links between violence against
women and HIV. Common findings emerge
from our research in India and Tanzania.
In both contexts, we found that women’s
NGOs had made vital contributions to the
success of development projects, but they
were easily marginalised and trivialised
once those projects got off the ground.
In India, after the success of the pilot proj-
ects, the other partners declared that they
would “go it alone” and no longer involve
the NGO partner in delivering basic urban
services.
A similar pattern emerged in Tanzania.
Once the project was well-established, it
started to expand to include community
yogurt kitchens run by men, as well as
kitchens in other parts of Tanzania, Rwan-
da, and Kenya. The women’s NGO was
forced out.
What’s more, the gender equality train-
ing, identified initially as a key project prior-
ity in Tanzania, was discontinued entirely.
Although the contributions made by
the women’s NGOs were critical to the
existence and success of the initiatives, they
were often dismissed as supplementary and
dispensable by the other partners.
Because the NGOs’ role of organising,
Until 2012,
when the
women’s NGO
withdrew from
the project,
community
kitchen groups
also received
training on
gender equality
news analysis
mobilising and helping local communities
participate in development initiatives was
seen as a “natural” extension of women’s
care-giving work, it was easy for other part-
ners to diminish and dismiss their contribu-
tions.
And because the other partners did not
fully appreciate the contributions of the
women’s NGOs, they were unwilling to
share credit for the success of the project.
How to bolster the role of women’s NGOs
We recommend several strategies to
strengthen and validate the role of women’s
NGOs in development partnership projects.
A memorandum of understanding
(MOU) that defines the specific roles and
responsibilities of each partner should be
an essential requirement for multiple-stake-
holder projects.
The lack of such formal agreements
entrenches the perception that the role
NGOs play is not particularly valuable. But
the involvement of partners with a wide
range of views, sizes, structures and experi-
ences underscores the importance of for-
malising the role of women’s NGOs.
When the relationship among the differ-
ent parties is formalised, constructive debate
can be encouraged among all partners.
The lack of a memorandum of under-
standing causes overlaps in function,
weakens accountability, and exacerbates
conflict among partners. While it’s possible
for diverse institutions with different phi-
losophies to work in an integrated way, it
doesn’t happen automatically or easily.
At a deeper structural level, advocacy
work — whether it is gender equality or
community mobilisation — must be treated
as a non-negotiable priority in global devel-
opment partnership projects, instead of as a
value-added or supplementary task.
Our research has shown that women’s
NGOs play integral roles in the projects
they participate in.
It’s unfortunate they must “justify” their
long-term involvement in such initiatives,
but it may be incumbent upon them to
make their contributions to the project more
visible to the different partners and to the
development community at large.
Collecting, maintaining, and analysing
data on a regular basis about key project
impacts and outcomes will be crucial for
making NGO contributions more visible
and less dismissible.
Collaborating with academics and other
development professionals to publish and
disseminate findings from such projects will
also strengthen and validate NGO efforts.
Dr. Bipasha Baruah is Professor & Canada
Research Chair in Global Women’s Issues,
Western University, and Dr. Kate Grantham is
Research Associate, International Development,
McGill University.
Source: theconversation
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 23
T
By Isaac Khisa

he good news for Uganda’s

cement industry is that it is
headed towards increase in
production in the next few
months. The challenge, how-
ever, is that it could lead to
a decline in prices due to glut amidst low
demand.
Lafarge Group’s Hima Cement plans to
switch on its new production in Tororo in
the first quarter of this year, with a capacity
of one million tonnes, increasing its overall
cement production in the country to 1.8mil-
lion tonnes per annum.
Its closest rival, Tororo Cement, is also

Uganda’s cement
expecting an increase in its production
capacity from the current 1.9million tonnes
to three million tonnes per annum once
the expansion of plant is completed while

industry faces glut

Kenya’s National Cement is investing
US185million on a new one million tonne
per annum plant in the same locality, with
production expected later this year.
With all these new plants expected to
go live this year means that the country’s
cement production will increase from the
current 3.6million tonnes to 6.8million
tonnes per annum amidst demand that
stands at merely 2.4million tonnes per
annum. This comes barely two years since
Kampala Cement started production at its
plant at Namataba, along Jinja-Kampala
highway with the capacity of one million
tonnes per annum.
Executives in the industry, however, say
there’s no problem. They cite prospective
growth in the construction industry as gov-
ernment rolls out various infrastructural
projects including those in the oil and gas
sector ahead of production in 2020 as key
drivers for their latest expansion.
“Looking at the projection, we are going
to have a construction boom once invest-
ments in the oil industry start and the
subsequent oil flows. Towns are going to
sprout up and more structures will be con-
structed,” said, Allan Ssemakula, the chief
commercial director at Hima Cement.
He says the firms are also anticipat-
ing increased demand for the products in
the region especially South Sudan once it
experiences relative peace, western Kenya,
Rwanda and the eastern Democratic Repub-
lic of Congo.
Data from Uganda Bureau of Statistics
shows that Uganda’s cement export earn-
ings grew from US$94million (Shs337.9bn)
in 2011 to US$106.8million (Shs383bn) in
2012, with majority of the products destined
to South Sudan and the eastern Democratic
Republic of Congo before reducing to as
low as US$60.8millions in 2016 due to con-
Expansions could lead to drop in prices
flicts in the two states.
This comes at the time cement prices in
Uganda are already falling from Shs33, 000
in 2016 to as low as Shs28, 000 per 50-kg bag
at the moment, representing a 15% drop
citing competition in the industry.
Latest studies depicts the industry as hav-
ing a bleak future as competition tightens
owed to entry of new firms and expansion
of the existing ones, a scenario that will
result to price wars and fall in profit mar-
gins. Similarly, imports from cement pro-
ducers elsewhere in the region could also
weaken Ugandan producers, with firms in
Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia all investing
heavily in scaling up supply even as cheap
imports continue to flood the region follow-
ing the lowering of duty on cement imports
from non-East African Community coun-
tries from 35 % to 25% in 2015.
For instance, Hima Cement’s parent
company, Bamburi Group in Kenya is set
to boost its production capacity by 900,000
tonnes annum pushing the total capacity to
3.2 million tonnes in its two plants in Mom-
basa and Athi River.
The additional production, expected
to start mid this year, will come after the
completion of a Vertical Cement Mill in its
Athi River plant, the first of its kind in the
country to use this technology in cement
manufacturing.
Nigeria’s Dangote Cement is currently
selling its commodity in the region with
imports from the neighbouring Ethiopia
and Tanzania. It is also contemplating
setting up a plant in Kenya in 2021 as it
reviews its manufacturing plan to build two
plants in the country instead of one but with
a capacity of 3 million tonnes of cement per
annum.
Decline in profits
Already, a section of cement firms are
feeling the pinch of stiff competition as sup-
ply increases amidst low demand. In 2016,
the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm,
Bamburi Group, which also owns Hima
Cement in Uganda, recorded Kshs5.89 bil-
lion (Shs 204bn) net profit, a 0.3% rise over
the profit recorded during a similar period
in the previous year.
The company’s turnover fell from
Kshs39.2 billion (Shs1.36trillion) to Kshs38
billion (Shs1.31trillion) during the same
period under review citing lower demand
for its products, despite having implement-
ed cost-management measures in Uganda
and Kenya.
However, Bamburi reaped the benefits of
mega infrastructural projects in the region
with rising demand from this market seg-
ment in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
Tanzania’s Tanga Cement Company
Ltd, which sells the Simba brand, saw its
net profit halved to US$1.85 million (Shs
6.65bn) from US$3.63 million (Shs13bn) a
year earlier citing entry of new firms and
reduction in government spending on infra-
structure development.

24 Jan 05 - 11, 2018


Electricity boom in 2018
Karuma, Isimba hydropower projects to add 783MW
By Julius Businge
U
ganda’s electricity supply is ex-
pected to increase later this year as
government switches on Isimba
and Karuma hydropower dams
amidst low electricity demand.
The government is set to launch Isimba
(183MW) and Karuma (600MW) hydropow-
er dams – whose constructions is at 75% and
71% completion – in August and December,
respectively. The two dams are expected to
cost government approx. US$2bn.
At the moment, the country’s electricity
installed capacity stands at about 850MW,
with Bujagali Energy Limited (BEL) alone
generating 250MW and the rest by Kiira,
Nalubale and other small power stations.
Proscovia Njuki, the chairperson, Board of
Directors at the Uganda Electricity Genera-
tion Company Limited (UEGCL) told The
Independent on the sidelines of the launch
of the company’s five year strategic plan on
Dec.15 that they are optimistic that the time-
lines for the launch of the two power dams
would be met.
She said there are supporting factors
including having a technical and competent
human resource base and the continued
BOD’s on spot supervision and monitoring
of the projects.
 “We continue to get support from gov-
ernment agencies [ministry of energy and
finance] which we hope will help us achieve
our plans,” Njuki said, adding that the gov-
ernment agency also plans to ensure efficient
operations at the Kiira/Nalubaale hydro-
power complex.
This comes at the time the government has
also agreed to all the demands of the finan-
ciers of Bujagali hydropower dam – World
Bank’s International Finance Corporation,
African Development Bank, Netherlands
Development Finance, Proparco, European
UEGCL Board members, staff, consultants and contractors observing progress during a quarterly
monitoring visit of Isimba Hydropower dam on November 30, 2017. Independent/Julius Businge
Investment Bank and KfW – which includes
extending loan repayment period and a tax
waiver as a measure to bring down the cost
of electricity.
TheUS$900million loan facility, which was
to be paid by 2023, is reported to have been
extended by 15 years and also availed a tax
waiver over the same period for the tariffs to
come down.
Government technocrats have always
argued that the high electricity tariffs in the
country are a result of high cost of genera-
tion to involvement of private-sector players
seeking a return on investment.
The increase in electricity is expected to
boost government’s efforts geared towards
strengthening its competitiveness in the
regional and global trade; wealth creation,
jobs and ultimately accelerating general eco-
nomic performance.
Consumers in waiting
Available government data from UEGCL
indicates that going beyond 2018; poten-
tial areas of demand will gallop 1630MW.
The largest consumer being the Standard
Guage Railway which will require 300MW,
Namanve Industrial Part (107MW), Mukono
Industrial Part (90MW), Luzira Indus-
trial Park (60MW), Iganga Industrial Park
(43MW), Phosphate factory (200MW), Rural
Electricity Agency (130MW), Urban centres
(130MW), power trade (250MW), Mining
(300MW) and others (100MW).
Experts say the government needs to
improve on procurement and inefficien-
cies in monitoring and supervision which
have become synonymous with most public
projects and caused losses to tax payers to
achieve this year’s targets and beyond.
Mubaraka Nkuutu Kirunda, the acting
executive director at the Uganda Manufac-
turers Association, told The Independent
that the government’s move to waive taxes
business
on electricity purchased from Bujagali sig-
nals its commitment to cut tariffs to US$5
cents, down from the current US$12 per unit.
“A big percentage of manufacturing costs
is related to electricity. If we attain the US$5
cents per unit, we will cut power costs by
half,” Kirunda said.
Selestino Babungi, the managing direc-
tor of Uganda’s largest power distributor,
Umeme, agrees with government plans and
targets of increasing generation to cope with
growing demand.
He says if 70% of Uganda’s 850MW elec-
tricity is consumed by industrial custom-
ers, then, the country needs to increase the
industrial base by another 70% to create
demand for about 900MW of power that is
coming on board in the near future.
“…otherwise, if that does not happen, you
will have brilliant investment facilities gen-
erating power which is not put to productive
use and yet the country needs it to develop,”
Babungi said.
He added that the focus for demand will
be on how many new investors will come
into the country to be able to utilise the
energy that will be coming on stream for the
economy to grow.
UEGCL’s new strategic plan
As Ugandans wait the launch of the new
projects, UEGCL has unveiled a new five
year strategic plan starting this year up to
2023 aimed at putting the company on a new
platform of growth and development, which
in turn will translate into sustainable and
affordable electricity to the economy and
the socio-economic transformation of the
population.
Harrison Mutikanga, the company’s
executive director said the country’s total
electricity installed capacity is expected to
reach 1292.1MW in the next five years.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 25
 Executive Style
Good outlook for Uganda’s
steel industry in 2018
Oliver Lalani is the Execu-
tive Director at Roofing Roll-
ing Mills. He spoke to Isaac
Khisa about Uganda’s steel
industry and its future outlook
26 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
What is your assessment
of the performance of
Uganda’s steel industry in
S
the country at the moment?
teel industry in
Uganda has evolved
over the years.
Consumption of
steel per capita was about 3
kgs compared with 24 kgs
per annum in Kenya. But
as the economy develop
and become more and
more industrialized, steel
remains the backbone. The
government has recently
embarked on developing
various infrastructural
projects coupled with the
increasing population,
which are all opportunities
for growth of this sector.
As Roofings Rolling Mills,
we grew by 10% to nearly
200,000 tonnes per annum in
2017, with steel bars being
on the high demand, due to
the ongoing construction of
dams, bridges and roads.
Uganda’s total steel market
is around 585,000 tonnes
per annum, with Roofings
controlling about 25% of the
market share.
As at the end of 2016, steel
sector had a big fight with
government over local
content in the ongoing
infrastructural development
projects. How has that issue
been resolved?
We are now getting
contracts from the ongoing
infrastructural development
projects especially dams
(Karuma and Isimba).
Contractors are now buying
100% steel bars locally.
Though we entered this area
late since the dams are near
completion, it has helped us
to wrap up capacity of our
plants.
How is the performance
of the regional markets in
general and South Sudan in
particular as far as export of
Ugandan steel is concerned?
Our exports are mainly
destined to the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Burundi,
Rwanda, South Sudan, and
Northern Tanzania. With
regard to trade with South
Sudan, business has slightly
improved but not near to the
level it was in 2011 before
internal conflict broke out
in 2013. Out of the total
4000 tonnes exported to
the region a month, 15% is
destined to South Sudan.
We do hope that once South
Sudan stabilise, it will
stimulate growth of Ugandan
companies.
You had a plan to set up a
plant in Rwanda’s Export
Processing Zone. How far
have you gone with the
proposed plan?
We had some challenges
including delays in making
business deals. However, we
are on the ground through
our distribution company
called RML. We do not have
land in Kigali at the moment
but we shall look at that in
the future.

What strategies are you taking to drive
growth of Roofings Rolling Mills?
We ensure that we have right amount
of stocks with us to serve the markets.
We also ensure that our products are of
high quality. Everything we do, breathe
is quality. We also continue to be
innovative, producing new products, new
colours, and textures that suit the needs
of our customers. We are currently in the
process of adding two new forming lines
to give different profiles to the people. We
are therefore continuously enhancing and
diversifying our product range within
the steel and to ensure that we have the
full solution under the same roof. Also,
customers don’t get cheated at RRM.
You also had a plan to use local iron ore
towards steel production. Any update?
At the moment, there’s no capacity
to melt Ugandan Iron Ore. But we are
ready to work with one company that is
coming in so that we can have an off-take
agreement in the production of Direct
Reduce Iron that we are interested in.
But in future, we are planning to expand
to also have DRI plant which we can use
to melt the ore. The biggest setback in
this whole plan is that Uganda doesn’t
have a reducing agent. This is because
Iron Ore has a lot of impurities, with
only 68% being steel. There’s a lot of coal
or gas required to reduce the impurities
but at the moment, importing coal from
South Africa is very expensive. Natural
gas is plentiful in northern Tanzania but
we need a pipeline to transport all gas to
the iron ore areas to melt the iron ore. We
are working with the government most
specifically, National Planning Authority,
to have a more integrated steel industry
in Uganda. It is therefore likely to take
some time because are not interested
in putting up a small operation and
becoming inefficient.
Above all this, consumers are always
looking forward for reduction in steel
prices. Any hope of fall in prices soon?
Our prices are determined by the
international steel prices. This year
we have been quite fortunate that the
shilling remained stable which is one
of the factors in our price decisions. We
still import most of our raw materials,
all valued in dollars. However, the
international steel prices has picked up
mainly as a reduction in production
capacity in China as they strive to control
pollution amidst increased demand for
steel products especially in the Far East
business
and increase in oil prices. All these now fluctuations in the electricity
imply that are prices are going up. supplied which sets us back in terms
However, prices will fall once we of competitiveness in production as
increase our production and start to a result of increased costs. Luckily,
enjoy economies of scale as long as Umeme is trying to sort us out with
other factors remain constant. the setting up of a sub-station in
our mill. The other challenge is
Some challenges if, any, as you go a availability of skills given the highly
long with your business? automated machines. We are trying to
One of the many challenges is the train our employees through sending
quality of electricity. For instance, especially engineers in Japan and
in Lubowa, we have small machines German to enhance their skills.
with small mortars and therefore it
is not a heavy industry. But at the How do you see 2018?
Namamve Business and Industrial We see a lot of expectations especially
Park, we run furnaces, rolling mills, with the planned investments in oil
cold rolling mills with huge mortars, and gas industry. Our target as Roofing
and our electricity demand is about Rolling Mills is to grow volumes by at
15-20MW. The biggest challenge is least 15% in 2018.
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 Geologist
 Technical Assistant
Visit www.atlas-oranto.com for a list of the current vacancies.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 27
business
BEVERAGES AVIATION

Coca-Cola's new promo rewards  2017 safety year for

ers of the company’s brands aviation-agencies
will stand a chance to win

over Shs 1 million daily in
airtime and instant cash, as
well as weekly cash prizes
of Shs100, 000 up to Shs 5
million.
According to Miriam
Limo, the Coca-Cola Ugan-
da brand manager, this pro-
motion targets company’s
customers.
“This UTC promotion is
our way of appreciating the
support we have received
from our consumers by
Simon Otudu, one of the winners receives Shs5m from Coca- giving them airtime to stay
Cola’s Patrick Oyuru.  INDEPENDENT J/BUSINGE in touch with their friends
and families,” Limo said.
2
017 was the safest year for civil avia-
tion since plane crash statistics were
first compiled in 1946, according to
two industry studies. A total of 10
crashes of civil passenger and cargo planes
claimed 44 lives, said the Aviation Safety
Network in a statement published on Jan.01,
2018.
“The year 2017 turned out to be the safest
year ever for commercial aviation,” ASN
said, adding that five of the fatal accidents
involved cargo flights and five passenger
flight. The previous year, ASN recorded 16
accidents and 303 lives lost. No major airline
crashed a plane, the To70 agency said in its
annual report.

C
entury Bottling
Company Lim-
ited (Coca-Cola)
is running a pro-
motion called “Vimba ne
Coca-Cola, an Under the
Crown (UTC) promotion
that is seeing hundreds win
instant airtime and cash
prizes.
The promotion, which
started towards the end of
last year, is running up to
March this year. Consum-
To participate in the promo-
tion, one has to buy any of
the company’s products
– Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite,
Stoney, Krest and others,
check under the gold crown
for the unique code and
SMS it to 6088.
“The past year has been another excep-
tionally good year for civil aviation safety,”
To70 said. The chances of dying in a plane
crash are now one in 16 million, To70
researcher Adrian Young said, making
air travel the safest means of transport
even as worldwide air traffic grew by 3%
in 2017 over 2016.

trade transport

Uganda to benefit from Tanzania to buy 19 electric trains

US$21.3m UK grant
T
anzania has floated a multimillion
dollar tender for 19 electric trains to
be used on the standard gauge rail-
cargo and passenger trains.
Construction of the SGR began in April,
2017 with the first phase consisting of a

U
ganda is one of the 51 countries
set to benefit from Shs 76.68 bil-
lion (USD$21.3 million) grant that
the United Kingdom has pledged
towards the Enhanced Integrated Frame-
work (EIF), an innovative global trade
programme that brings together partners
and resources to support Least Developed
Countries (LDCs) in using trade for pov-
erty reduction, inclusive growth and sus-
tainable development.
UK made the announcement during
a meeting for the Enhanced Integrated
Framework- the 11th WTO Ministerial
way (SGR) which is under construc-
tion, according to the regional newspaper,
The EastAfrican.
State-run railway firm Reli Assets Hold-
ing Company (Rahco) is seeking the supply
of the locomotives, 14 of which will be cargo
trains. The deadline for the bids closes end
of this month as Tanzania eyes becoming
the East African Community logistics hub.
Tanzania will also become the first coun-
try in the region to use high-speed electric
aviation
Emirates’ New Boeing 777 unveils cabins
205km electric railway line from the port
city of Dar es Salaam to Morogoro in central
Tanzania.
The $1.2 billion line, being built by Turk-
ish firm Yapi Merkezi and Portuguese firm
Mota-Engil, is expected to be completed by
October 2019.
The country expects to connect its ports
along the Indian Ocean to landlocked
Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina,
recently.
The funds will help LDCs like Uganda
to develop the tools, skills and economic
capacity they need to become competitive
in targeting new markets for their goods
and services. LDCs account for 13% of the
world’s population, but engage in less than
one percent of global trade.
The EIF has been funding Uganda
since 2008 with most of the funds injected
in mainstream trade at the grass roots
through the District Commercial Services
Project implemented by the trade ministry.
E
mirates’ new Boe-
ing 777-300ER
aircraft fitted with
its game chang-
ing fully enclosed private
suites in First Class, as well
as refreshed Business and
Economy Class cabins, has
now entered service, to the
delight of customers. The
new Emirates cabins were
unveiled for the first time at
the Dubai Airshow late last
month. It also generated
international excitement
as consumers around the
world viewed the first im-
ages, videos, and reviews of
Emirates’ latest inflight of-
fering. Following its Dubai
Airshow debut, Emirates’
first 777-300ER with the
new cabin products has
now begun operating on
the Dubai - Brussels route.
Puneet Kohli Emirates boss-Uganda

28 Jan 05 - 11, 2018

 business

NBL to reward sorghum farmers

By Julius Businge more specifically look for

B
eer maker, Nile
Breweries Ltd,
has unveiled a
new initiative to
encourage farmers embrace
better farming practices
and improve sorghum
harvests, one of the major
components for beer
production.
The new annual initiative
dubbed ‘Nile Breweries
Princess Joan Nassolo paints doorway of the Masengere in Kampala
Kickstart Farmer’s
to flag off the painting project recently. Sadolin Paint contributed in
excess of Shs120m worth of paint and paint materials towards the Competition’ will see
project.  INDEPENDENT/ Julius Businge farmers win Shs72million,
with the first winner slated
for announcement at the
end of this month.
Onapito Ekomoloit, the
firm’s legal and corporate
affairs director, said the
farmers will be evaluated
on land preparation,
safety, number/quality
of employees, yield, and
quality among other
parameters.
“The next stage which is
the post-harvest stage will
concentrate on; financial
management and growth,”
Onapito said, adding
that the judges will also
Some of the 29 lucky winners of the ’12 Days of Christmas’ promotion pose
for a group photo together with Stanbic’s Head of Personal Markets, Shem
Kakembo (5L), Head of Digital Banking, Veronica Sentongo (6R) and Mobile and
Online Banking Officer, Isaac Bigirwa.  Courtesy Photo
excellence in management,
growth and scope of the
farming enterprise and
self-initiative that have
been displayed throughout
the operation to select the
winner.
He said so far, six
out of 10 farmers have
been knocked off the
competition. “At the
commencement of this
project, we realized a lot of
loopholes. Farmers were
undermining what we were
teaching them through the
NBL extension services,”
Onapito said.
“But as the competition
becomes stiffer, we have
realized a huge difference
in the quality of farming
and participants continue
to appreciate good farming
practices.”
NBL sources 17,000
tonnes of sorghum from
20,000 farmers countrywide
towards beer production. It
has a combined capacity of
2.45 million hectolitres for
its Jinja and Mbarara plants,
with a 59% market share.

Weekly share price movement (Dec. 29)

Security Dec 29 Dec 08 Movement
BATU 30000 30000 00
BOBU 113 100 3
CENT 1,562 1,543 1.2
DFCU 680 684 0.5
EABL 8,569 8,553 0.2
EBL 1,413 1,425 0.8
JHL 17,384 16,544 5
KA 628 616 1.9
KCB 1,501 1,487 0.9
NIC 12 12 00
NMG 4,109. 4,153 1.0
Senior MTN Uganda Officials pose with replicas of the football jerseys which NVL 515 520 0.9
are part of the 900+ kits to be distributed countrywide under the MTN Uganda SBU 27 27 00
Grassroots Football Development Program this year. The officials represented UCHM 158 130 30
are (L-R): Eunice Atyeno (representing Greater Central), Keith Tukei (General UCL 29 30 3.3
Manager for Sales and Distribution), Valery Okecho (MTN Manager for
UMEME 400 400 00
Corporate Communications) and Robert Baine (Regional Business Manager –
Southwestern Region).   Courtesy Photo ALSI -- -- --

Jan 05 - 11, 2018 29

COMMENT
By Antoine Danchin
Genetic engineering’s Holy Grail
CRISPR-Cas technology is poised to change the
world, but those changes need to be positive
S
ince its introduction four decades
ago, genetic engineering has been a
source of high hopes for health, agri-
culture, and industry. But it has also
provoked deep anxiety, not least owing to
the laborious nature of the genome-editing
process. Now, a new technique, CRISPR-
Cas, offers both precision and the ability to
modify the genome text at several places
simultaneously. But this has not eliminated
reason for concern.
The genome can be viewed as a kind
of musical score. Just as sheet music tells
musicians in an orchestra when and how
to play, the genome tells the cell’s com-
ponent parts (generally proteins) what
they must do. A score may also include
notes from the composer, showing pos-
sible changes, frills that can be added or
omitted depending on the circumstances.
For the genome, such “notes” emerge
from cell survival over many generations
in an ever-changing environment.
The DNA genetic program is akin to a
fragile book: the order of its pages can
change, with some even being moved to
another cell’s program. If a page is, say,
laminated, it is less likely to be damaged
as it is moved around. Likewise, ele-
ments of a genetic program protected by
a solid coating are better able to invade a
variety of cells, and then to reproduce as
the cell reproduces.
Ultimately, that element becomes a
virus, spreading rapidly. The next step
is for the cell that reproduces a virus,
whether useless or harmful, to develop
some way to resist it. And, in fact, it was
in this manner – as a bacteria’s defense
against invading viruses – that the
CRISPR-Cas process first emerged.
That process allows acquired character-
istics to become inherited. In the course
of a first infection, a small fragment of
the viral genome – a kind of signature
– is copied into the CRISPR genomic
island (an extra piece of genome, outside
of the parent genome text). As a result,
the memory of the infection is retained
across generations. When a descendant
of the cell is infected with a virus, the
sequence will be compared to the viral
30 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
genome. If a similar virus has infected a
cell’s parent, the descendant will recog-
nise it, and ad hoc machinery will destroy
it.
This complex process took many
decades for scientists to decipher, not
least because it controverted standard
theories of evolution. But now scientists
have figured out how to replicate the
process, enabling humans to edit, with
the utmost precision, specific genomes –
the Holy Grail of genetic engineering for
nearly 50 years.
This means that scientists can apply
the CRISPR-Cas mechanism to correct
problems in the genome – the equivalent
of typos in a written text. For example,
in the case of cancer, we would want
to destroy those genes that allow the
multiplication of tumor cells. We are
also interested in introducing genes in
cells that never gained them by natural
genetic transfer.
There is nothing new about these objec-
tives. But, with CRISPR-Cas, we are far
better equipped to achieve them. Pre-
vious techniques left traces in the modi-
fied genomes, contributing, for example,
to antibiotic resistance. A mutation
obtained by CRISPR-Cas, by contrast, is
not distinguishable from a mutation that
emerged spontaneously. That is why the
US Food and Drug Administration has
ruled that such constructs do not need to
be labeled as genetically modified organ-
isms.
Previous techniques were especially
arduous if one needed to modify several
genes, because the process would need
to occur sequentially. With CRISPR-Cas,
the ability to perform genome modifica-
tions simultaneously has already enabled
the creation of fungi and apples that do
not oxidise, or turn brown, when they
come into contact with air – a result that
required several genes to be deactivated
simultaneously. Such apples are already
on the market, and are not considered
genetically modified organisms.
Other applications are in development.
The so-called gene drive procedure for
manipulating the genome could diminish
the harm caused by disease-carrying
insects. Targeted modification of gametes
in mosquitoes – the world’s deadliest
animal to humans – would render them
incapable of transmitting a virus or para-
site.
But the application of CRISPR-Cas
must be approached with care. While
the technology could prove a boon in
the fight against many deadly diseases,
it also implies serious – and poten-
tially entirely unpredictable – risks. For
starters, because genomes multiply and
spread with reproduction, modifying an
entire population would require modi-
fications to only a limited number of
individuals, especially if the organism’s
lifecycle is short.
Moreover, given the ubiquity of
hybridisation among neighboring species,
it is possible that the modification of
a mosquito species would also spread
progressively and uncontrollably to other
species. Analysis of animal genomes
shows that such events have taken place
in the past, with species invaded by
genetic elements that could have affected
ecosystem balances and species evolution
(though it is impossible to say how). And,
if modifying a mosquito population is
dangerous, there is no telling what could
happen if we modify human cells – in
particular, germ cells – without doing our
due diligence.
CRISPR-Cas technology is poised to
change the world. The imperative now is
to ensure that those changes are positive.
Antoine Danchin is Honorary Professor
at the School of Biomedical Sciences at Li
Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University
of Hong Kong, and Honorary Professor
and Senior Scientific Adviser at the China
National GeneBank.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.

By Duop Chak Wuol
South Sudan’s wars
The revitalisation process can restore the tainted
credibility of key players if they avoid previous mistakes.
C
ountries are created in line with
international treaties and norms,
and the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC) is the deciding
factor for any organised society that wants
to become a nation. The Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD) — the
supposedly problem-solving East African
regional bloc whose vision statement
asserts that it is the premier league for
achieving peace, prosperity and regional
integration in the East African region—
surprisingly contributed to the collapse
of the August 2015 peace agreement by
knowingly supporting Uganda’s strategy
to keep Juba’s atrocious regime in power.
The rationale behind its seemingly absurd
decision is yet to be determined. There is
no doubt in my mind that the revitalisation
of the 2015 agreement is the only plausible
way to save South Sudan from complete
disintegration. One can only hope that
IGAD will be impartial in the revitalisation
process and restore its tainted credibility.
It is a known fact that South Sudan’s
peace was hijacked in July 2016 by the
current First Vice President (FVP) Taban
Deng Gai and President Salva Kiir in an
attempt to silence the armed opposition
under the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar.
The move came a few months after Taban
was denied the position of petroleum
minister by Machar. It was clear at
the time that peace was destroyed by
Taban and Kiir. But what I find even
more surprising is the fact that IGAD,
African Union (AU), Troika countries
(the United States, Norway, and the
United Kingdom), and the United
Nations shamelessly endorsed Kiir’s
carefully calculated decision to replace
Dr. Machar with Taban. There were also
wild claims soon after Taban assumed
the position of FVP that the Sudan
People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In
Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) would crumble
and that the new FVP would take full
control of the movement. It was a pure
fantasy and disgraceful mistake. The war
continues to this day and the violence
only increases.
Reasonable South Sudanese know
that the current FVP was motivated
by political greed. Taban is known for
his raging temper whenever he is not
appointed to a senior governmental
position, and only likes lucrative
positions susceptible to corruption.
Taban is not a leader; he is a political
mad man who does not like anyone
who questions his rather avaricious
leadership style.
Will the East African regional bloc
maintain impartiality in the peace
process? Are South Sudan’s main rival
leaders ready for the full implementation
of a now defunct August 2015 power-
sharing pact? Will the revitalisation of
peace work? What can be done to make
sure the agreement is implemented?
Is there a plan B to restore peace in
South Sudan in case the revitalisation
process fails? Will peace give birth to
a second Juba one (J1) fighting like
what had happened in July 2016,
Are South
Sudan’s main
rival leaders
ready for the full
implementation
of a now defunct
August 2015
power-sharing
pact?
COMMENT
assuming the warring parties agree to its
implementation?
These questions are not simple, but
are vital to the revitalisation of peace
and deserve thoughtful answers. The
South Sudanese are tired of Kiir’s self-
made war. If IGAD and the international
community want real peace in South
Sudan, then they should first answer
the above questions. Answering these
questions reasonably could help the
community of nations force the two
warring factions to implement the
agreement.
For peace to return to South Sudan,
IGAD, AU, Troika, UN, and other key
players must avoid the repetition of
previous mistakes. The people of South
Sudan are not interested in blaming
the both side strategy — an empty
strategy that was once used by former
United States President Barack Obama.
Obama’s seemingly tough-talk policy
only contributed to the July 2016 collapse
of the agreement. If South Sudanese
leaders failed to implement peace, then
it is equally important to note that IGAD
and the international community also
failed to enforce their mandates. All
key global peace partners must find
a sensible solution to bring an end to
suffering for the people of South Sudan.
If the revitalisation of peace and its
implementation are not credible and
impartial, then the peace will collapse
again. I am certain of one thing: The
SPLM/A-IO wants peace while Juba’s
oppressive regime still prefers killing,
raping, kidnapping, and destruction.
The atrocious regime in Juba has spilled
enough blood. The South Sudanese
are tired of this civil war — this more
than four year armed conflict is now a
political, economic, and social tragedy.
This war must come to an end.
The author can be reached at duop282@
gmail.com.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 31
 Boy or girl?
It’s in the father’s genes

A
By Agencies
study of hundreds of
years of family trees
suggests a man’s
genes play a role in
him having sons or
daughters. Men inherit
a tendency to have more sons or more
daughters from their parents. This
means that a man with many brothers
is more likely to have sons, while a
man with many sisters is more likely
to have daughters.
The Newcastle University study
involving thousands of families is
helping prospective parents work out
whether they are likely to have sons or
daughters.
The work by Corry Gellatly, a
research scientist at the university, has
shown that men inherit a tendency
to have more sons or more daughters
from their parents. This means that
a man with many brothers is more
likely to have sons, while a man with
many sisters is more likely to have
daughters.
The research involved a study of 927
family trees containing information on
556,387 people from North America
and Europe going back to 1600.
“The family tree study showed that
whether you’re likely to have a boy or
a girl is inherited. We now know that
men are more likely to have sons if
they have more brothers but are more
likely to have daughters if they have
more sisters. However, in women, you
just can’t predict it,” Gellatly explains.
Men determine the sex of a baby
depending on whether their sperm
is carrying an X or Y chromosome.
An X chromosome combines with the
mother’s X chromosome to make a
baby girl (XX) and a Y chromosome
will combine with the mother’s to
make a boy (XY).
The Newcastle University study
suggests that an as-yet undiscovered
gene controls whether a man’s
sperm contains more X or more Y
chromosomes, which affects the sex
of his children. On a larger scale, the
number of men with more X sperm
compared to the number of men with
more Y sperm affects the sex ratio of
children born each year.
Sons or daughters?
A gene consists of two parts,
known as alleles, one inherited from
each parent. In his paper, Gellatly

32 Jan 05 - 11, 2018

 health
demonstrates that it is likely men
carry two different types of allele,
A simplified diagram in which men either have only sons, only daughters,
which results in three possible or equal numbers of each, though in reality it is less clear cut.
combinations in a gene that controls
the ratio of X and Y sperm;
Men with the first combination,
known as mm, produce more Y sperm
A
and have more sons.
The second, known as mf, produce
Grandparents x
a roughly equal number of X and Y mm mf
sperm and have an approximately
equal number of sons and daughters.
The third, known as ff produce more
X sperm and have more daughters.
Children x
“The gene that is passed on from mf mf mf mm mm mm ff
both parents, which causes some
men to have more sons and some to
have more daughters, may explain
why we see the number of men
Grandchildren x
and women roughly balanced in a mf mf mf mf mf mf
population. If there are too many
males in the population, for example, Great
females will more easily find a mate, Grandchildren
so men who have more daughters
will pass on more of their genes,
causing more females to be born in
later generations,” says Newcastle
University researcher Gellatly.
B
More boys born after the wars
Grandparents x
In many of the countries that ff ff
fought in the World Wars, there was
a sudden increase in the number of
boys born afterwards. The year after
World War I ended, an extra two boys
Children
x
were born for every 100 girls in the ff ff ff ff ff ff mm
UK, compared to the year before the
war started. The gene, which Gellatly
has described in his research, could Grandchildren x
explain why this happened.
As the odds were in favour of men mf mf mf mf mf mf
with more sons seeing a son return
from the war, those sons were more Great
likely to father boys themselves Grandchildren
because they inherited that tendency
from their fathers. In contrast, men
with more daughters may have lost Credit: Image courtesy of Newcastle University
their only sons in the war and those
sons would have been more likely to
father girls. This would explain why illustrates how the gene works. It is result, they have an equal number
the men that survived the war were a simplified example, in which men of sons and daughters (the great
more likely to have male children, either have only sons, only daughters, grandchildren).
which resulted in the boy-baby boom. or equal numbers of each, though in In the second tree (B) the
In most countries, for as long as reality it is less clear cut. It shows that grandfather is ff, so all his children are
records have been kept, more boys than although the gene has no effect in female, they have the ff combination
girls have been born. In the UK and US, females, they also carry the gene and of alleles because their father and
for example, there are currently about pass it to their children. mother were both ff. One of the female
105 males born for every 100 females. In the first family tree (A) the children has her own children with a
It is well-documented that more grandfather is mm, so all his children male who has the mm combination of
males die in childhood and before they are male. He only passes on the alleles. That male determines the sex
are old enough to have children. So in m allele, so his children are more of the children, so the grandchildren
the same way that the gene may cause likely to have the mm combination are all male. The grandsons have the
more boys to be born after wars, it may of alleles themselves. As a result, mf combination of alleles, because
also cause more boys to be born each those sons may also have only sons they inherited an m from their
year. (as shown). The grandsons have the father and f from their mother. As a
mf combination of alleles, because result, they have an equal number
How does the gene work? they inherited an m from their father of sons and daughters (the great-
The graphic (used with this article) and an f from their mother. As a grandchildren).

Jan 05 - 11, 2018 33

health
e-testing for STIs
doubles uptake
First UK study to compare effect of access to internet-
based STI testing against face-to-face appointments
By Agencies
P
roviding Internet-based
testing for Sexually
Transmitted Infections (STIs)
could increase the number of
people being tested for syphilis, HIV,
chlamydia and gonorrhoea, including
among high-risk groups, according to
a new study published.
Typically, e-STI testing enables
users to order a test kit from a
virtual service (via a website or app),
collect their own samples, return
test samples to a laboratory, and be
notified of their results by short message
service (SMS)or telephone.
A study has found testing uptake
was nearly doubled in a group that was
invited to use internet-accessed STI
testing (e-STI testing) compared to a
group which was invited to use existing
services at health clinics (50% e-STI
testing group compared to 26.6% control
group). Participants were free to use any
other service or intervention during the
study period.
The researchers say e-STI testing
should be considered as a complement
to existing services, and as an effective
measure to increase uptake of STI testing.
However, further studies are needed to
evaluate the impact of e-STI testing on
treatment and health outcomes.
STIs remain a global public health
concern, with an estimated 357
million new infections of curable STIs
(chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and
trichomoniasis) each year². In England
there were more than 400,000 new
diagnoses of STIs, and 5,684 new cases of
HIV, in 2015³.
The study involved a randomised
controlled trial of more than 2,000 people
in Lambeth and Southwark which was
led by the London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine and King’s College
London, in partnership with SH:24, a
digital sexual health service.
Left undiagnosed and untreated, STIs
such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea can
34 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
increase the risk of HIV transmission and
cause a range of health issues including
subfertility and ectopic pregnancy. Low
rates of HIV testing contribute to late
diagnosis and poorer health outcomes.
First author Emma Wilson from the
London School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine said: “E-STI testing is currently
being implemented in the UK as one
measure to meet increasing demand
for STI testing, but there is surprisingly
little evidence on whether it successfully
encourages uptake. Our study, the first
of its kind, aimed to investigate the
effectiveness of e-STI testing for syphilis,
HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhoea.”
In the trial participants were randomly
allocated to receive one of two text
messages. The control group was sent
a text message with a link listing the
locations, contact details and websites
of seven local sexual health clinics. The
intervention group received a message
linking them to the e-STI testing and
results service, SH:24.
The group given details of SH:24 was
offered postal self-sampling test kits
for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV and
syphilis, and when returned, were given
results via text message or telephone and
provided with online information about
safe sex and sexual health. Participants
were free to use any other services or
interventions during the study period.
Joint senior investigator Caroline Free
from the London School of Hygiene
& Tropical Medicine said: “Sexual
health clinics play an important
role in community health but some
people may find them inconvenient
or stigmatising, which can stop
them attending. More long-term
monitoring and evaluation of e-STI
testing services is needed, but our
study showed that when e-STI
testing was made available alongside
face-to-face services, the number of
people getting tested for STIs nearly
doubled.”
Researchers found that participants
diagnosed using e-STI testing, and
who needed follow-up treatment
in clinic, did not have any reduction
in treatment time, compared to those
who had first attended a face-to-face
appointment. Service innovations, such
as e-treatment and postal treatment, may
help improve treatment rates for people
diagnosed with STIs online.
Joint senior investigator Dr Paula
Baraitser from Kings College London,
said: “Although the intervention group
were given information to access an e-STI
service, some of them chose to use face-
to-face services instead of e-STI testing.
Therefore it is important that both online
and clinical based services are available
to meet the differing needs of people.
“As sexual health services develop we
would like to see further work aligning
online and clinic based services. Going
forward we advise joint commissioning
of these different modalities of care to
ensure that users are able to move easily
from one to another according to their
health care needs, allowing continuity of
care.”
The authors acknowledge the
limitations of the study, including that
they were unable to recruit the target
of 3,000 participants, meaning they
were unable to detect differences in
STI diagnoses and STI cases treated. It
is also likely that those who registered
for the study already had a greater
interest in STI testing, compared to
those who declined.
Source: Internet
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Pallet wood possibilities
Creativity, innovation, recycling, pushing boundaries of art
G
By Dominic Muwanguzi
ood art can be made from
anything, regardless of the
material used. This is evi-
dent in a current exhibition
titled `Possibilities: Unspeci-
fied qualities of a promising
nature’. On show are constructions; abstract
and functional objects, made from pallet
wood. This is wood primarily used in the
shipping business.
The wood acquired from warehouses and
other locales is creatively handled to create
stools, benches, lounge chairs, futuristic and
figurative installations, and outdoor furni-
ture. It is creativity, innovation, recycling,
thinking outside the box and pushing the
boundaries of art.
One installation titled `Muzigo’ features a
series of functional boxes to suggest the one
room abode which is typical of many urban
slum dwellings. Here the occupant has
to utilize the small space at their disposal
creatively to be able to accommodate them-
selves and possessions in one room.
The result of such hassle is often a
crammed habitant that leaves no space for
visitors and other routine activity. But in
responding to “life in the box”, the artist
cum designer; Phany Collective, designs a
set of boxes that can be transformed from
sofa into bed, bench, storage space and
shelf, hence solving the problem of litter-
ing and crammed up stuff in one room
(Muzigo).
With a motive to break away from the
routine of the rectangular pallet wood
objects, constructed with intent to aiding
the shipping of commodities, Thomas bef
studios innovates series of functional objects
like benches, stools, outdoor upholstery and
book shelf/ pantry to figuratively symbolize
the idea of thinking outside the box. The
result illustrates what happens when artists
shun the norm of doing things traditionally.
Other artists; Peter Karyeija, Ronex Ahim-
bisibwe, and Emma Wolukau-Wanambwa
do the same. Karyeija’s futuristic design
furniture suits the lounge in the office and
Emma’s series of painted pallet wood dis-
played as paintings of bright hues alongside
the muralistic design create a calming ambi-
ence.
“Colour has away it calms down
the office space” says Ednah Rebeccah
Namugere, administrator at the gallery.
Yet the heart of the exhibit titled `Arrest-
ing Possibilities’ offers the audience a criti-
cal dialogue on reuse and innovation in
the context of pushing boundaries to create
possibilities. The installation constructed by
Anna Ousler has over 70 pallet wood panels
suspended in mid-air to create a meditative
mood.
The installation is a tale of the journey
that shipping pallets make without being
specifically aware of their final destination.
It suggests the limitless possibilities of the
creative processes. The artists are oblivious
of where their work will end up or what
emotions it will suggest in the viewer.
The art on show suggests a correlation
between pushing boundaries in art and the
debate on whether art is design and vice-
versa. Additionally, the venue of the exhibit,
a former warehouse, symbolically suggests
that art should not be obstructed by any
traditional barriers or stereotypes. `Possibili-
ties: Unspecified qualities of a promising
nature’ is showing now at Afriart on 7th,
located on 7th Street Industrial Area, oppo-
site the Cake and Bread Shop. Day Pass for
non-Members is UGX20,000.
Images courtesy of Afriart gallery
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 35

Why the powerful break rules
Would you rather take a
loss yourself than agree to
something you deem to be
an unfair imposition? Then
you are what scientists are
calling an `entitled person’.
It also means you believe
you deserve preferences and
resources that others don’t
and you are less concerned
about what is socially accept-
able or beneficial. As a result,
you are unwilling to follow
instructions because you deem
them unfair impositions on
Why Trump doesn’t
drink will shock you
One little-known fact
about U.S. President Donald
Trump? He doesn’t drink.
He told news outlets that he
has never had a drink and
never plans to. And he has
an incredibly tragic, albeit
supportive reason: his older
brother, Fred Trump, was
a heavy drink addict who
died young in what Trump
calls “the saddest part in
what I’ve been through.”
Of alcohol addiction,
Trump says, “If you don’t
start you’re never going
have a problem. If you do
start you might have a prob-
lem. And it’s a tough prob-
lem to stop.”
According to Trump,
when his brother went off
to college, he began to drink
too much. “He would tell
me, ‘Don’t ever drink. Don’t
ever drink,’” and Donald has
heeded that advice.
36 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
Would you pay Shs100m for a bottle of wine?
With prices starting at using a mix of modern and and more. The wine’s aro-
US$30,000 (Approx. Shs110 traditional techniques. But mas, flavors, and textures
million) per bottle, Aur- what really sets it apart also changes whenever the
umRed Gold is considered from other wines is its use glass is turned, and the once
the world’s most expensive of ozone therapy, an alter- uncorked, the bottle will
wine. It is made from Tem- native medicine treatment retain its freshness and fla-
pranillo vines that have to generally used to treat can- vor for another two years.
be at least 100 years old, cer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis
What if you got Shs35m in coins?
you. That includes filling out At present, able to collect their
applications to being in line at currency coins of inheritance but all
the bank or sitting in a traffic Uganda include the they had to do was
jam. 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, wait until the coins
Emily Zitek (Cornell Uni- 200 and 500 shillings were all counted by
versity) and Alexander Jordan coins. Now imagine inheritance of over hand. It took a while.
(Harvard Medical School) inheriting 2500kg 1.2 million coins Six months to be
who researched the phenom- (or 25 bags of 100kgs weighing around specific. In case you
enon say managers, teachers, each) of these coins. 2500kg. They had are wondering, the
and anyone else who needs to That’s exactly what to use a truck to amount was about
get people with a sense of enti- happened to a family carry it to the bank. 8000 euros (Approx.
tlement to follow instructions in Bremervörde, However, counting Shs35 million) or
is to think about how to frame Germany, who the money proved 350,000 coins of
the instructions to make them received an a lot more difficult. Shs100 each.
seem fairer or more legitimate. The family was still
Future lights could be plants!
Researchers have
made an important
sachusetts Institute of
Technology scientists
breakthrough in their claim. The team’s ulti-
quest to make plants mate goal is to engi-
that glow in the dark neer plants to replace
a reality. In what they many of the functions
call Plant Nanobionics, currently performed
the engineers embed- by electrical devices
ded nanoparticles into and appliances.
the leaves of a water- “The vision is to
cress plant that caused make a plant that will
the plants to give function as a desk
off a dim glow. The lamp — a lamp that of the plant itself,” and the senior author
technology could also you don’t have to said Michael Strano, of a recently released
be used to transform plug in. The light is the Carbon P. Dubbs study on plant nano-
trees into self-powered ultimately powered by Professor of Chemical bionics.
streetlights, the Mas- the energy metabolism Engineering at MIT
Lab-made chicken coming
SuperMeat, an Israeli biotech a lab by growing real animal goal to grow meat in a lab that
and food-tech startup that is cells – in SuperMeat’s case, actually tastes good is just three
developing lab-made chicken those extracted from a chicken. years away from your super-
meat, has raised $3 million in Put over simply, the process market shelves when breasts
seed funding, as it becomes involves feeding the cells the and drum-sticks made in a lab
the latest of a crop of so-called correct nutrients to produce will be on sale. For now, Super-
“clean meat” companies to get muscle and fat, as would ordi- Meat is making whole lab-made
off the ground. narily happen were they grown chicken that can be used in pro-
‘Clean meat’ is produced in inside an animal’s body. The cessed foods.
Electric car for Africa?
Something needs to happen on the appropriate infrastructure front
By Agencies remain the same. The BMWi can be charged universal charging points. Since 2014, there

W
from an AC point or public charger at no have been plans to have the infrastructure
ith a few exceptions, most cost, which would take about three hours for chargers, especially in the Johannesburg
electric (EV) cars are delicate, to charge from 0-80% and a DC fast charger area; at shopping centres or at filling sta-
expensive creatures designed that takes about 30 minutes. tions, which never happened.
for paved streets and well- For personal convenience, a BMW wall South Africa’s central power supplier,
heeled early adopters. And that makes box can be installed in the home or an AC Eskom, is reported to be considering its
them ill-suited to rural Africa, where many occasional cable can be plugged into a role in developing the eMobility market
roads are not paved. That’s where the domestic socket, which takes eight hours for the EV. Its options include entering into
aCar unveiled by the Technical University until fully charged. partnerships with e-mobility stakeholders
of Munich last year comes into play. The South Africa has just over 100 BMWi and government to work on cost-efficient
prototype electric vehicle, the aCar, was charge points, the majority of which can be and beneficial models for EVs. It is looking
designed for both the conditions and uses found at locations in the big cities. This has into infrastructure readiness for uptake of
of rural Africa. resulted in positive sales of the BMWi since EVs, charging infrastructure designs and
It has a rugged, four-wheel drive design the arrival of the i3 and i8 in 2015. Collec- deployment, ways to improve on optimal
that can handle dirt roads and off-roading. tively, around 420 BMWi vehicles are being charging periods and reduce the increased
It only has about 50 miles of range, but the driven on South African roads, with the peak demand periods, and the macro-eco-
very nature of an electric motor makes it BMW i8 leading sales. Exports of the Nissan nomic impact studies, and just the overall
both well-suited to clearing obstacles (since Leaf from Japan came to a grinding halt in readiness and upgrading of EVs. While
it always has full torque) and more reliable. 2017 after sales dropped. the electric car is cost efficient (in the long
Also, it’s modular -- it can switch between EV car dealers attribute the term), boasts smart features and emulates
carrying passengers and cargo, and you can slowdown in sales to a lack of the future, it appears as if Africa
even use the battery to power a winch or infrastructure such as is not quite
other equipment beyond the car. ready for.
The aCar completed real-world tests in
Ghana in July last year, and is expected
to go into production (eventually in
Africa) with a target price of about $11,944
(Approx. Shs45 million). That’s not a trivial
expense, but it’s far more affordable than
the Nissan Leaf and other vehicles that
wouldn’t be as well-suited to the Afri-
can landscape.
The other challenge, however, will
be the effective implementation of
appropriate infrastructure to sup-
port vehicle sales. Most countries in
Africa have not yet built the national
grid of EV and plug-in EV (PHEV)
charging stations needed.
In South Africa, for example,
which is slightly more developed
than others; the country’s competing
EV manufacturers, BMW and Nissan,
signed a memorandum of agreement
as early as 2014. But by 2017, the deal
had not been implemented. Under the
deal, however, the two planned to join
forces to build the national grid of EV
and plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) charg-
ing stations for use by both Nissan
and BMW vehicles.
Charging points for EV
cars differ, but options

The aCar is tough and flexible

enough to survive harsh
conditions  Courtesy photo.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 37
Feature
Ugandan hip-hop artiste Bobi Wine was recently elected to parliament through the force of his protest music.   Courtesy photo
When hip-hop is
political force
By Alice Aterianus-Owanga
I
n Gabon as in other African states,
rap has become instrumental in
constructing political identity.
On August 17, Gabon celebrated
57 years of independence with a massive
free concert in the capital, Libreville.
The aim: to promote national unity in a
festive fashion. An impressive lineup of
local hip hop stars – including Ba’Ponga,
Tris, Tina and Ndoman – were invited to
draw in the younger crowds.
The celebrations held particular
significance in light of another, darker
anniversary. Last year on August 31,
a shockingly violent crisis erupted
following President Ali Bongo’s
contested electoral victory.
One year on, the country is still feeling
the social, political and economic effects,
38 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
as is its rap scene.
In the early 1990s, Gabon’s
government was shut down by violent
demonstrations and a general strike. It
forced dictator Omar Bongo, who had
been in power since 1967, to set up a
national conference reestablishing a
multiparty system and granting greater
freedom of expression.
Against the backdrop of this popular
uprising, the youth of Libreville began
writing rap music. Inspired by American
hip hop artists like Public Enemy and
NWA, and French rappers like NTM and
Assassin, they expressed their need for
escape, freedom and change.
Yet this subversive scene hasn’t
been totally exempt from the kinds of
ties between music and politics that
have existed since the onset of African
independence in the 1960s. In fact,
some protest rappers have links to
the “system” through family ties with
political elites. V2A4, for example,
is made up of the son of the Interior
minister (a close relative to former
president Omar Bongo) and the child
of a local businessman. Both study in
France and live off the wealth of the
“system”.
Bling Gabon style
From the 2000s on, inspired by
gangsta rap, video clips have started to
feature more gold chains, souped-up
cars, women in suggestive poses and
virile displays of masculinity.
Ushered in by bling style rapper
Kôba, a new generation of rappers
began to write songs that deviated
from the protest-driven hip hop of their
predecessors. This trend was encouraged

by the appearance of new record labels,
with close ties to the government and
elites, further reinforcing the link
between music and politics.
This fusion between music and
politics reached new highs during the
2009 election. Presidential candidate Ali
Bongo used the popularity of rap artists
to attract youth support and distinguish
himself from his father, Omar, who had
died in June that year.
Following his election in 2009, Ali
Bongo brought new faces from the world
Through their songs, rappers
commemorate the sorrowful
anniversary of the 2016 repression
of hip hop into the government. Due
to these kinds of affiliations, Bongo’s
semi-authoritarian regime has exercised
particularly tight control over the hip
hop scene, in particular via the media.
Without jobs
Right from the start, Bongo’s first
seven-year term in office was marked
by a decline in living standards and
social infrastructure and continuing high
unemployment levels – more than 20%
of the population, and 35% of young
people are without jobs. This, while the
Bongo family’s spending has reached
outrageous highs.
Censorship and the co-option or
silencing of opposition have become
increasingly common. Dissenting hip
hop artists now have to find alternative
ways to spread their messages.
Most subversive rap is now produced
abroad, with several well-known
Gabonese rappers making their music
in China, South Africa, the U.S. or
France. These artists-in-exile form a
highly political network. Their songs
reach the streets of Libreville through
social media, becoming calls for political
debate and action.
Back home, many artists continue
the fight in spite of censorship. In 2015,
outspoken rapper Keurtyce E became the
first to release a song openly opposing
the current regime.
Beyond the lyrical content of these
songs, Gabonese artists ingeniously use
the musical arrangements to subversive
ends.
Clever use of sampling
Sampling, cutting and looping allow
artists to anchor their music within the
local context, by using samples from
traditional instruments or famous local
songs, for instance. These techniques
also carry political meaning, with artists
mixing in lyrics, musical samples or
slogans from activist musicians who they
see as their ideological forebears.
Pierre-Claver Akendengué, for
example, an icon of 1960s pan-
Africanism and resistor to the
authoritarian regime during the one-
party system, remains a major source
of inspiration for Gabonese musicians
today.
Rapper/producer Lord Ekomy Ndong
recently demonstrated another means
of subversion. In a new song in which
Feature
he samples excerpts from a speech
by President Ali Bongo, juxtaposed
with the words of social media
activists, to condemn corruption and
misappropriation of public funds.
Flareups on social media
During the 2016 election, a great rift
appeared in the rap scene between
supporters and opponents of the
president. A series of flareups on social
media and diss-and-response songs
deepened the divide.
Bongo had his praise singers: On the
one side, rappers aligned with the Bongo
family, involved in rallies and producing
songs to support the incumbent party.
But Bongo’s opponents were as
vocal: Rappers who had previously
cooperated with Bongo joined opposition
movements to demonstrate their
disappointment with government
failures. It intensified after troops opened
fire on demonstrators following the
release of the election results. Several
people were killed and numerous others
disappeared.
Just two months after this crackdown,
Kôba, former poster boy for the system,
released the song “Odjuku”. The title
is a reference to Bongo’s supposed
Nigerian biological father. The rapper
reignited the controversy surrounding
the president’s origins and joined other
artists in declaring “On ne te suit pas”
(We don’t follow you).
One year on in 2017, the government
was still trying to make people forget
its quagmire with events such as the
massive August 17 free concert.
Yet, the protest movement is still
active: demonstrations continue within
striking government departments and
at Libreville University. In the streets of
Paris and New York, Gabonese expats
rally together.
Through their songs, rappers
like Lestat XXL and Lord Ekomy
Ndong, commemorate the sorrowful
anniversary of the 2016 repression:”
Here no one will forget. We’ll hoist up
the flame… No red on my flag. Nothing
will ever be the same”.
Alice Aterianus-Owanga is the author of
“Rap Was Born Here! Music, Power and
Identity in Modern Gabon”, published by
Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, September
2017. Translated from the French by Alice
Heathwood for Fast for Word. She is a
Postdoctoral researcher in Anthropology,
Université de Lausanne.
Jan 05 - 11, 2018 39
Global comment
By Kaushik Basu
Inequality in the 21st century
Unless it is confronted, social cohesion and democracy
itself will come under growing threat
A
t the end of a low and dishonest
year, reminiscent of the “low,
dishonest decade” about which
W.H. Auden wrote in his poem
“September 1, 1939,” the world’s “clever
hopes” are giving way to recognition that
many severe problems must be tackled.
And, among the severest, with the gravest
long-term and even existential implications,
is economic inequality.
The alarming level of economic
inequality globally has been well
documented by prominent economists,
including Thomas Piketty, François
Bourguignon, Branko Milanović, and
Joseph E. Stiglitz, and well-known
institutions, including OXFAM and the
World Bank. And it is obvious even from
a casual stroll through the streets of New
York, New Delhi, Beijing, or Berlin.
Voices on the right often claim that this
inequality is not only justifiable, but also
appropriate: wealth is a just reward for
hard work, while poverty is an earned
punishment for laziness. This is a myth.
The reality is that the poor, more often
than not, must work extremely hard,
often in difficult conditions, just to sur-
vive.
Moreover, if a wealthy person does
have a particularly strong work ethic,
it is likely attributable not just to their
genetic predisposition, but also to their
upbringing, including whatever privi-
leges, values, and opportunities their
background may have afforded them. So
there is no real moral argument for out-
size wealth amid widespread poverty.
This is not to say that there is no jus-
tification for any amount of inequality.
After all, inequality can reflect differ-
ences in preferences: some people might
consider the pursuit of material wealth
more worthwhile than others. Moreover,
differential rewards do indeed create
incentives for people to learn, work, and
innovate, activities that promote overall
growth and advance poverty reduction.
But, at a certain point, inequality
becomes so severe that it has the oppo-
site effect. And we are far beyond that
point. Plenty of people – including many
of the world’s wealthy – recognise how
40 Jan 05 - 11, 2018
unacceptable severe inequality is, both
morally and economically. But if the rich
speak out against it, they are often shut
down and labeled hypocrites. Appar-
ently, the desire to lessen inequality can
be considered credible or genuine only
by first sacrificing one’s own wealth.
The truth, of course, is that the deci-
sion not to renounce, unilaterally, one’s
wealth does not discredit a preference
for a more equitable society. To label a
wealthy critic of extreme inequality as
a hypocrite amounts to an ad hominem
attack and a logical fallacy, intended to
silence those whose voices could make a
difference.
Fortunately, this tactic seems to be
losing some of its potency. It is heart-
ening to see wealthy individuals defying
these attacks, not only by openly
acknowledging the economic and social
damage caused by extreme inequality,
but also by criticising a system that,
despite enabling them to prosper, has left
too many without opportunities.
In particular, some wealthy Americans
are condemning the recent tax legislation
pushed by Congressional Republicans
and President Donald Trump’s admin-
istration, which offers outsize cuts to
the highest earners – people like them.
As Jack Bogle, the founder of Vanguard
Group and a certain beneficiary of the
proposed cuts, put it, the plan – which
is all but guaranteed to exacerbate
inequality – is a “moral abomination.”
Yet recognising the flaws in current
structures is just the beginning. The
greater challenge is to create a viable
blueprint for an equitable society. (It is
the absence of such a blueprint that has
led so many well-meaning movements
in history to end in failure.) In this case,
the focus must be on expanding profit-
sharing arrangements, without stifling
or centralising market incentives that are
crucial to drive growth.
A first step would be to give all of a
country’s residents the right to a certain
share of the economy’s profits. This idea
has been advanced in various forms by
Marty Weitzman, Hillel Steiner, Richard
Freeman, and, recently in November,
Matt Bruenig. But it is particularly vital
today, as the share of wages in national
income declines, and the share of profits
and rents rises – a trend that technolog-
ical progress is accelerating.
There is another dimension to profit-
sharing that has received little attention,
related to monopolies and competition.
With modern digital technology, the
returns to scale are so large that it no
longer makes sense to demand that, say,
1,000 firms produce versions of the same
good, each meeting one-thousandth of
total demand.
A more efficient approach would have
1,000 firms each creating one part of that
good. So, when it comes to automobiles,
for example, one firm would produce all
of the gears, another producing all of the
brake pads, and so on.
Traditional antitrust and pro-com-
petition legislation – which began
in 1890 with the Sherman Act in the
US – prevents such an efficient system
from taking hold. But a monopoly of
production need not mean a monopoly
of income, as long as the shares in each
company are widely held. It is thus time
for a radical change, one that replaces
traditional anti-monopoly laws with leg-
islation mandating a wider dispersal of
shareholding within each company.
These ideas are largely untested, so
much work would need to be done
before they could be made operational.
But as the world lurches from one crisis
to another, and inequality continues to
deepen, we do not have the luxury of
sticking to the status quo. Unless we con-
front the inequality challenge head on,
social cohesion and democracy itself will
come under growing threat.
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.
 HAPPENING NOW
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