Jinja: Students Without Borders Uganda an NGO based in Uganda launched a campaign dubbed the “One Million Fruit Tree Planting Campaign” in Jinja where it donated and planted fruit trees two schools both Jinja S.S and Mainstreet P/S.
Rotary E-Club Desperanto Brasil championed and kickstarted the campaign with 1,500 fruit tree seedlings which have enabled Students Without Boundaries to push this noble cause which will restore the fruit trees that were nearing extinction from communities
The campaign will be promoted and spread through the different regions of Uganda starting with Busoga sub-region, ranked the poorest region in the country according to the 2019/2020 report released by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in June 2021. This campaign aims at planting #1MillionFruitTrees in a period of 5 years in different schools
More than 5 million students and community members will have access to supplementing supply of a highly Nutritious Fruit Meal when they are faced with lack of food challenges. The campaign was launched in May 2022 and will run for 5 years.
SWB fosters joint action of schools, their pupils/students and communities through fruit tree planting, climate awareness and community engagement to address the important and largely unfulfilled role that schools and students should play in responding to #Climate Change, nutrition and Food Security in Ugandan schools.
Fruit trees provide sustainable nutrition, income to families in poverty, & help clean the air, water, & soil. If planted in both the needy schools and communities, we will be contributing towards a more sustainable free nutritious food snacks to the school children.
The Campaign has been formed to contribute to Uganda’s response to climate change, and intends to support the national priorities on climate change. The campaign derives its agenda from the country’s ambitions in climate change response, and the country’s policy frameworks that include the Uganda Vision 2040, the Second National Development Plan (NDP II) (2015/2016 – 2019/2020); the National Climate Change Policy (2015) and Costed Implementation Strategy, the Green Growth Development Strategy (2015- 2030) and implementation plan, the Climate Change Bill (in development) and the higher education act.
The campaign has been conceived with the aim of developing a school and students-based model for a collaborative climate change agenda that will enable the sharing of ideas, data, tools, models and practices by government, development partners, schools and other climate actors.
The campaign is also set to Provide a platform for schools and students to engage in climate change actions and enrich their practice and experiences in a manner that brings the world of climate change practice to them early enough.
It will further Improve the quality, timeliness and volume of research that fills the knowledge gaps and directs research to national priorities and ambitions and enhance access of climate action through planting fruit trees in schools and communities.
This noble campaign will also provide a link between policy and practice at the community level and develop a multi-sectoral community of practice for climate change response in Uganda.
However, to attain this big campaign, Students Without Borders calls upon all potential strategic partners to work with and achieve this great opportunity of improving livelihoods and mother nature.
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This month of May has been real hell for Western Uganda’s giant transporter Link Bus which has gone through unspeakable set back ever.
Going by the way events have been unfolding, there seems to be something to attribute the misfortunes that befell Link Bus company through this month.
Just to take you through, on 4th this month, 23 perished in a terrible accident involving Link Bus which even claimed the driver in Kabarole, this prompted the works ministry to suspend the giant transporter for two weeks but would later lift the ban after investigations were concluded.
After lifting the ban on 16th this very month, a Link bus registered number UBD 269 A scania which was plying the Kasese to Kampala route caught fire in Natete but no person was injured on 18th May.
Last week on Friday 20th, Ugandans woke up to shocking reports of how gunmen hijacked a Link Bus number UBG 423G and robbed all the passengers clean at gun point along the Mubende- Kampala high way.
However, netizens were left with many questions than answers and all thought something and have pointed out to a witch doctor who has been seen cursing Link Bus company in a video shared by Bakiga Facts Blogger.
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When Bad Black ascended the throne of theft, she had smartly stashed 11 billion Ugandan shillings from her lover Greenhalgh. After defrauding Greenhalgh’s Daveshan Development Company Ltd, between September 2010 and May 2011 she served 4 years in prison and never refunded the billions.
Then Hamis Kigundu played one on Diamond Trust Bank when he got clarity that legally the 41 billion Uganda shillings loan, he had got from Diamond Trust Bank Kenya with the help of Diamond Trust Bank Uganda could be annulled because Diamond Trust Bank Kenya did not have a license to operate in Uganda.
The Ugandan courts ably managed the case, and he did not have to clear his end of the bargain. Though its noted Diamond Trust Bank had made undetected deductions from his account as well which led to his reaction.
Prophet Kakande in 2021 with the help of the Ugandan legal system pulled one on Gebre Yohanne Guangal, a Swedish National who had hoped to have a joint venture with him in 1993 and gave him 1 billion Uganda shillings with the hope of having a bakery and stone quarry business.
Land was even purchased on which Prophet Kakande’s investments stand today and the bakery burned down mysteriously. When Gebre attempted to sue Kakande in 2021 the Ugandan Commercial Court dismissed the case without allowing him to present his evidence.
Kakande’s lawyer put up an argument that even cited the fact that Kakande had simply utilized his land and developed it when the investor did not act on his word to set up the factories. The Judge handling the case cited that Gebre had made a mistake when filing the case and dismissed the case based on that.
The most recent marvel is Patrick Bitature’s vs Vantage, where Vantage accuses Business Mogul Patrick Bitature of trying to use the Ugandan law to annul the $10,000,000 loan he got and has not paid back.
Because loan interest was never cleared the loan has bulged to $ 34,000,000. Now the Ugandan law comes in to allege that Vantage was not registered in Uganda and therefore does not have the capacity to sue.
The Writer Is a Communication Specialist
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are solely for and belong to the author/ writer. They don’t portray, reflect or represent Accord Communications Limited, it’s affiliates, owners or employees. If you have a story in your community or an opinion article, let’s publish it. Send us an email via editorial@accordconsults.com or WhatsApp +254797048150
Mayuge: Bunha have produced a sensational performance to defeat Busiki 4-0 at Buluba hospital grounds on Sunday. Mugoya Issa scored a brace, while Daniel Balyeku and Nkolo Blaize netted a goal individually to put Bunha in firm control of Mawembe group of the Busoga masaza cup 2022 with three points.
After some deep resilient defending from Busiki for the large part of the first half, Bunha finally found their way through before the half time whistle. Balyeku robbed Busiki of the ball near the area, and then teased the on rushing defender before lobbying Kalabuki Sadic in Busiki’s goal to score in an empty net on 42 minutes to send their faithfuls into wild celebrations.
Bunha’s Masaza Squad
Just like it was in the first half, Bunha continued to boss the proceedings after the interval. Isiiko Ayubu’s side served their fans to a buffet of tik-tak with neat short passing and individual awesome skills as the visitors retreated to watch the Bunha show from their own half.
The show was even more prettier to watch as Bunha delivered an onslaught going forward. And with just five minutes into the second half, Mugoya scored a second for his side before he completed his brace with four minutes to the hour mark.
Nkolo put the icing on the cake with a fantastic strike on the 76th minute. The forward raced onto an over the top ball from goalkeeper Didi Mohammad before sending the already hapless goalkeeper down for dead to tuck the ball in an empty net to complete the rout.
Bunha’s coach while reacting to the match promised more perfect performances to clinch this year’s edition of the Busoga Masaza cup courtesy of the Busoga Kingdom. “Isiiko Ayubu on: our 4-0 demolition of Busiki, brace hero – Mugoya Issa, thoughts on our next game against Bukooli Namayingo on Sunday and title ambitions”-Said Ayub Isiko
Bunha are three time finalists in Busoga Masaza cup (2016, 2017 & 2019), missing the one of 2018 only. Now lead the three team Mawembe group with 3 points after one game.
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News reaching out desk indicates thatNational Unity Platform (NUP) campaign team has been involved in a fatal accident in Omoro while on their way to campaign for NUP’s candidate Simon Toolit Akecha in the Omoro County by-election.
According to various reports, two people died instantly following the deadly accident as Bobi Wine’s motorcade headed to Omoro for the campaign trail.
Kiggundu Yakubu Yusuuf
The deceased were identified as Kiggundu Yakubu Yusuuf (Taata Husnah) who doubles as the NUP Councilor for Kazo Angola in Kawempe. The second person was identified as Sumayah Nansumba Kasule.
Masaka City Business man Tanansi Bazzekuketta has today Saturday morning been found dead inside his bed at home.
Mr. Tanansi has been the founder and proprietor of Maria Flo Hotel, one of the biggest hotels in Masaka City.
Maria Flo Hotel
The deceased was last seen publicly while welcoming Buganda Premier Charles Peter Mayiga on a closing ceremony of Youth retreat that as held on his hotel Maria Flo.
On May 7th 2022 I called the Airtel call centre in need of them to reverse money I had sent to a phone which was out of mobile services. The recipient had confirmed to me, he couldn’t withdraw the money. So I called the Airtel call centre to have it reversed. Shortly a message came that within 72 hours this would be done. Alas it’s beyond 72 hours and all that Airtel can say from the call center is be patient.
So I lost my temper and called demanding they give me back the money. The customer care man started cooking a story that I never gave the right details, he then changed it to ‘ you never gave the right reasons.’
Meanwhile the person I sent the money decided to register the phone so he could understand the situation. After it was registered, he was told the money was not his and had been reversed back to the owner. He told them that though the money was not his he knew for sure it was not reversed back to the owner and wanted to know why. But he was cut off.
Airtel should recall Ugandans are wary of the abnormal profits they have made over the years, loafing off Ugandan sweat. So adding theft to their accolades of manipulation is terrible. I am still wondering has Airtel just Robbed me.
Unfortunately the Ugandan systems of redress are all in a mess. The only way is to expose the thieves by naming and shaming.
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Minister Amongi (Left) interacting with the Commandant of the Senior Command and Staff College, Kimaka, Lt. Gen. Andrew Guti (right) after the lecture on Wednesday
The Government of Uganda is committed to achieving the goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment due to the numerous benefits realized under the current Gender Policy.
According to the Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development, Hon. Amongi Betty Ongom, the Gender Policy has been a critical advocacy tool in lobbying for the inclusion of gender concerns in development programmes and projects.
Some of the students listening to Minister Amongi’s lecture at Kimaka
While delivering a lecture before senior military officers at the Uganda People’s Defense Forces Command and Staff College, Kimaka in Jinja on Wednesday, Hon. Amongi revealed that several Ministries, Departments and Agencies had developed gender policies and Strategies in line with their sectors.
She singled out the Ministries of Education and Sports; Water and Environment; Public Service; Defense and Veteran Affairs; Energy and Mineral Development; Uganda Police Force; Uganda People’s Defense Forces, the Justice Law and Order Sector; and Lands among those with specific gender policies or strategies.
She demystified the common myth that gender refers to women and girls only; and explained that it refers to the relations between women and men in as far as roles, responsibilities, access to resources, constraints, opportunities, needs, perceptions and views are concerned.
“Meanwhile Gender Equality is the equal valuing by society of the similarities and the differences of men and women, boys and girls, and the roles they play from an economic, social, cultural and political development perspective.” She added.
On the other hand, she defined Gender Equity as fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their respective needs, including the equal treatment or treatment considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities.
The third concept she defined was Gender Mainstreaming, which she referred to as a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated.
“There is now a general appreciation among policy makers and planners that participation of both women and men in development processes is not only a social and human rights concern but that it also makes economic sense.” The Minister noted.
Some of the key statistics she attributed to the gender policy included: affirmative action in public Tertiary institutions and Universities which increased enrolment of females from 36.7% in the year 2000 to 44%in 2013 while in 2002 ownership of registered land by women was only 7% which increased to 39 percent in 2017 as per data from the Land Information System.
The 9th and 10th Parliaments had a Woman Speaker, the first in the history of the Country elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2016. In addition, the 10th Parliament had the first female Leaders of the Opposition. And recently, Rt. Hon. Anita Among was elected as a Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament becoming the second woman to hold this position.
In Cabinet, the number of Ministers increased from 14 (19.4%) in 2006 to 26 (49%) in 2016. Currently there are 37 women Ministers which is almost half of the total at 45% while the women Permanent Secretaries comprise 48.5percent.
In the recent Parliamentary Elections 175 Women were elected as Members of Parliament. Of these 146 are District/City Women Representatives, 13 are Representative of Special Interest Groups and 16 are directly elected. This gives us a percentage of 34% which is still above the critical mass (30%) of women in the legislature.
The Minister revealed that with the emerging issues on the local and global scene, the Gender Policy that was developed in 1997 and last reviewed in 2007, would be soon reviewed.
The lecture was attended by over 40 military officers from the East African Community member states.
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Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) has spoken out on a recorded video in which a military police officer is seen assaulting a traffic police officer in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
According to the press statement issued by the UPDF, the incidence is said to have happened on 9th /05/ 2022 in which a military police officer who was part of others in vehicle Reg. No H4DF BO2 was involved in a scuffle with a traffic police officer around Mukwano Mall, Kampala.
Its alleged that misfortunes for the traffic officer started when he rejected to obey orders by a military officer who directed him to clear the way for his vehicle to pass.
The military officer felt disrespected a junior police officer and suddenly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him for refusing to clear the way, and for telling him to be patient like the others who were stuck in traffic congestion.
Feeling disrespected by an officer junior to him, the military officer grabbed the traffic officer by the collar and dragged him for refusing to clear the way, and for telling him to be patient like the others who were stuck in traffic congestion.
The UPDF says that the actions of the military officer are reprehensible and are not representative of UPDF as an institution that’s known for its discipline and being a people’s army.
Yet Enrica Pinetti, the preferred coffee dealer, has no known connection to the Coffee industry anywhere in the world, just like she had no connection with health before President Museveni selected her to build the specialized Lubowa Hospital.
L-R: Enrica Pinetti, Minister Matia Kasaija, PS Ramadhan Ggoobi after signing the Controversial Coffee Agreement
When you follow how the Land Commission was, or has been, used by the Ministry of Lands, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and State House to grow the greed of some Government officials, functionaries and beneficiaries, you do not fail to understand where corruption begins and ends.
Everything everywhere has been invaded by the greed and selfishness of officials, most likely to do with power retention at the centre. Recently, the centrality of Coffee in the circuit of growing greed and corruption has become manifest.
Coffee is the crop of prosperity in Uganda. It has been so since the first decade of the 20th Century, when the colonialists were in charge of the country and its economy, and when it was traded by a foreign British Trading Company.
When I say Coffee, I mean two varieties of the crop: Robusta coffee, Coffea robusta and Arabica Coffee, Coffea arabica. Coffea robusta is grown in the Central, Eastern, Western and South Eastern . Coffea arabica is grown on the slopes of Mt Elgon in the East, Mt Rwenzori and Mt Muhabura in South Western Uganda. Robusta Coffee is native to the Lake Victoria Crescent, and Arabica Coffee is native to Ethiopia.
Robusta Coffee is the more widely grown coffee. In the Central Region, it is the crop of prosperity in Luwero, Mpigi, Mukono, Mityana, Kayunga, Masaka, Rakai, Mubende and Kiboga. In the Western region, it is the crop of prosperity in Bushenyi, Ntungamo, Mbarara, Kasese, Ibanda and Rukungiri. In Eastern Uganda, robusta coffee is grown in Buwenge, Jinja, Luuka, Iganga, Kamuli and Kaliro.
What should be emphasized is that traditionally Coffee has been grown by the settled communities of Uganda who are of Bantu ethnicity. However, with nomadic pastoralists grabbing land from the settled communities, and becoming the new modern settlers in the areas where they have no historical, biological and cultural attachment, they seem to have strategized to become the new coffee farmers, processors and traders of Uganda Coffee, helped by a Government that is pro-nomadic pastoralist. They are greedy to cash in on coffee and to own the crop, while still predominantly owning the cow.
So, whatever is happening in the Coffee industry today must be seen and understood in this light. There is no altruism involved.
Uganda coffee is famed to be the best in the world, although in terms of quality, there is a lot that must be done so that our coffee is the best quality coffee. We already have markets in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Sudan, Singapore and China. Many firms are involved in exporting Uganda coffee abroad. In 2006/7, such firms included, Ecom, Agroindustries, Olam, El Mithalib, Dectrade, Dreyfus, Cofftea, Socsde , Drucafe, Luois, et cetera.
Therefore, our coffee is not lacking markets abroad. The current action by Uganda Government to boost the Coffee industry in terms of value addition through agro-processing, as Attorney General Kiwanuka, said in Parliament in defense of a preferred Coffee deal signed by a known global dealer, Enrica Pinetti, with Government of Uganda, is not because there is no value addition to our coffee, but because the President of Uganda wants the shadowy firm, Uganda Vinci Coffee Ltd, to have the monopoly over our coffee.
Yet Enrica Pinetti, the preferred coffee dealer, has no known connection to the Coffee industry anywhere in the world, just like she had no connection with health before President Museveni selected her to build the specialized Lubowa Hospital.
What is lacking is a substantial market for Uganda Coffee locally, but this is being ignored by Government. Yet in Ethiopia, the citizens consume most of their coffee. The local market sustains the coffee industry.
Uganda Coffee has suffered ups and downs, especially over the last 36 years. When they emerged out of the bushes of Luwero, the combatants, now in power, told us that every crop is a cash crop, yet we, the elder citizens, had grown up knowing and seeing coffee, cotton and tea as the crops of prosperity and the main cash crops of Uganda.
Following government’s clarion call to take every crop as a cash crop, people turned away from growing coffee and cotton. Many cut down their coffee plants. The cotton industry collapsed completely.
The coffee industry took another nosedive in certain areas of the country, especially Busoga, when government encouraged farmers to grow sugarcane as out growers for sugar processing factories, some of which belonged to some Government functionaries. People further cut down coffee plants for sugarcane.
As if this was not enough to demystify Coffee as Uganda’s crop of prosperity, Government urged the people to grow neem tree, moringa and vanilla. Coffee growing suffered even more. People further abandoned coffee growing.
And now, like they did in Kalangala District, Government officials are encouraging people in Busoga to grow Oil Palm. Earlier in Kalangala, people cut down their coffee plants for Oil Palm, but they are lacking labor to work on the oil palm farms.
Many young people decided to run away from the island other than work on oil palm yet Government, with the advice of World Bank and International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD), has a long-term plan, hatched in 2001/2002, to spread Oil palm growing in half of Central region and three quarters of Eastern region (which have been Coffee Growing areas), and in the whole of Northern Uganda.
This means that only the coffee growing areas of Western Uganda will not be affected by oil palm growing. Uganda will no longer be a key coffee growing and exporting country anymore, since coffee growing will be replaced by oil palm growing.
I have some advice:
First, Uganda should stick to coffee as the crop of prosperity. Those of us who were educated in the 1950s and 1960s will unanimously agree that if it were not the prosperity due to coffee we would not be what we became or still are.
Oil Palm Growing is human capital heavy, but experience with the crop in Kalangala has shown that the youth, who are the majority, have run away from the island, leaving their aging parents to struggle with oil palm.
Women too are not amused by the crop. They prefer to grow food crops to feed their families. So it is old men struggling with oil palm. Some are even abandoning their oil palm farms to Bidco, the palm oil firm.
Secondly, instead of Saccos and schemes like Emyooga and Parish Model, which are individualistic and anti-community, Cooperative Unions and their Cooperative Bank, which collapsed during the last 36 years of NRM, should be revived and allowed to be at the centre of marketing and processing of Uganda coffee and extending financial capital to coffee farmers respectively.
Lastly local firms already active in processing and marketing Uganda Coffee should not be antagonized. There is no reason to create a monopoly in the coffee industry, when Government’s legitimizing stand is liberalizing the economy to spread effective participation of various actors in economic development. Greed and selfishness should not guide economic activity. It should be economic activity for wholistic economic development.
For God and My Country.
The Writer is a Uganda Scientist And Environmentalist
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article are solely for and belong to the author/ writer. They don’t depict, portray, reflect or represent Accord Communications Limited, it’s affiliates, owners or employees. If you have a story in your community or an opinion article, let’s publish it. Send us an email via editorial@accordconsults.com or WhatsApp +254797048150
