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LC elections Is it time to rethink chronic Why shilling may Good year

held finally pain treatment in Uganda? not recover soon for banks

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Museveni’s secret
files on Kayihura

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Issue No. 529 July 13 - 19, 2018

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Museveni’s secret
files on Kayihura
4 The Week
29 Comments
Riek Machar to rejoin
presidency in South Sudan Kenya’s perfect storm:
Development priorities are hard
to reconcile with the realities of
9 The Last Word
the rainy season potholes
The poverty of Ugandan elites:
Bursting the bubble of our
33 Health
`intellectuals’ by exposing their most
cherished ideals as a bunch of delusions Is it time to rethink chronic pain
treatment in Uganda?: Experts
warn of growing danger as
16 Analysis patients buy strong drugs such as
Tramadol over the counter and
LC elections finally: Will they bring use them for mild pains
leadership or be another layer of
politicians at village level?
35 Arts & Culture
23 Business Behind `Coat of many colours’:
Veteran artists fights to preserve
Why shilling may not recover soon: Cost cultural heritages
of doing business likely to go up in line
with the weakening local currency

STRATEGY & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Andrew M. Mwenda
MANAGING EDITOR: Joseph Were
INVESTIGATIONS EDITOR: Haggai Matsiko
BUSINESS EDITOR: Isaac Khisa
PHOTOGRAPHER: Jimmy Siya
WRITERS:Ronald Musoke, Flavia Nassaka, Ian Katusiime,
Agnes Nantaba, Julius Businge.
DESIGN/LAYOUT: Sarah Ngororano
CARTOONIST: Harriet Jamwa

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
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2 July 13 - 19, 2018

 Offline

President Yoweri
Museveni, handing
over a medal of
great service to
Maj. Gen. Kasirye
Ggwanga, during the
retirement ceremony
of the UPDF officers
at State House “This nation can easily turn into another
Entebbe on July 5. Somalia or experience a Rwanda
scenario if we are not careful. We need
to have focused leaders at the LC 1 level
to strengthen the country’s security.”
NRM Vice chairperson Moses Kigongo

The Ikumbania of
Bugwere, His Royal
Highness, John
Wayabire arriving for
his 4th coronation
anniversary
celebrations at Saza
Ground, Budaka “But if you say you are going to tax rich
district on July farmers, if you own 200 cows and you
7.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY
SIYA produce 2000 litres of milk, let us get
VAT out of that. That is not bad.” Julius
Mukunda of Civil Society Budget Advocacy
Group on unfair tax regime in Uganda

UPDF officers Lt. Tom

Maiga, (2L) receives a
certificate of language
proficiency from the
French Ambassador
to Uganda, Stéphanie
Rivoal, (L) during the
ceremony on July 6 at “US investors are shunning Uganda
the French ambassadors’ due a number of obstacles including
Residence. Looking is corruption. So when they come into
the Embassy’s Defence
Attaché Lt. Col. Fabien a country looking for opportunities
Miclot (2R). and run into obstacles, they will go
elsewhere.” US Ambassador Deborah
Malac

Village that will miss

500 3821 Shs900m
Girls defiled in Money NRM gave to
Local Council elections
Kampala in the last 5 its LC 1 candidates
because they are not in
months- police report for the elections
the EC data system

July 13 - 19, 2018 3

week

Man sentenced to
two years in jail over
sexually harassing MP
Brian Isiko, 25, was sentenced
to two years in jail for sexually
harassing Kabarole Woman MP
Sylvia Rwabwoogo. Buganda
Road Chief magistrate’s Court
sentenced Isiko after he pleaded
guilty to two counts of cyber
harassment and offensive
communication. Isiko, a student
at YMCA in Kampala had
been sending incessant text
Presidents Museveni, Omar el Bashir of Sudan and Salva Kiir of South Sudan in a meeting at State House, messages and repeatedly calling
Entebbe regarding the peace process in South Sudan. The leader of Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement in Rwabwoogo expressing love.
Opposition, Riak Machar, also attended the talks. As she narrated her ordeal in
court, Rwabwoogo wept saying
Riek Machar to rejoin presidency in South Sudan she feared for her life. In a radio
interview, the MP said Isiko
The latest power sharing will be a woman from the the issue of states and tormented her for eight months;
agreement between South Opposition. The meeting boundaries in South Sudan describing how she often
Sudan leaders will see at State House Nakasero and there is optimism a cancelled meetings, changed
Riek Machar become lasted nine hours and was final deal will be signed cars to avoid detection by Isiko.
1st Vice president in attended by President for the power sharing Isiko was charged and convicted
an arrangement where Yoweri Museveni, agreement. The parliament for violating Article 24 Section 1
President Salva Kiir will Sudanese President Omar will also be expanded and Article 25 of the Computer
have four vice presidents el-Bashir, Kiir, Machar from 400 to integrate Misuse Act. Trial magistrate
in total. From high level and their respective another 150 members Gladys Kamasanyu said society
talks held at State House delegations. The final deal from the opposition. The has groomed men to demean
Nakasero, Kampala on has not yet been signed but meeting in Kampala was and disrespect women, the
July 7, it was agreed that optimism high that it will a follow up of two others reason Isiko continued to bother
besides the two current happen. More negotiations held in Addis Ababa and Rwabwoogo even after blocking
vice presidents, the fourth are going on to sort out Khartoum. his calls.

Lawyer challenges Kabaka on Land Bill

Sam Mayanja, a senior partner at Kampa-
la Associated Advocates, has argued that is
unconstitutional for the Kabaka of Buganda
Kingdom, Edward Muwenda Mutebi II, to
comment on the Land Bill which is before
parliament. “It was unfortunate that the
cultural leader of Buganda publicly com-
mented on the proposed land Bill; so did
his agents like the Katikkiro. Once a Bill is
in parliament, by virtue of Articles 1(4), 59,
77 and 79 of the Constitution, the traditional
ruler has no say whatsoever. He added
“The institution of Cultural or Traditional
Leaders Act 2011, operationalising Article
246 of the Constitution, prohibits a cultural
leader from being partisan.” Mayanja made
the assertion in a 14-page addendum to his
earlier submission to the Commission of
Inquiry over the anomalies involved in land
administration and management

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4 July 13 - 19, 2018

 Week

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Court orders UTL to pay ex-staff pension Send CV to:

The Court of Appeal has
upheld a ruling by the High
Court ordering Uganda
Telecom Limited and Uganda
Post Limited (now Posta
Uganda) to pay 825 former
employees of Uganda Posts
and Telecommunications
Corporation (UPTC). Uganda
Telecom and Posta Limited
were created when UPTC was
disbanded in the 1990s in the
government’s liberalisation
of the economy. UTL and
Posta took up 825 of the UPTC
employees. The court also ruled
E-mail: jwere@independent.co.ug
that the pension benefits to the
beneficiaries must be effected Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4
without any further delay.
“Where an employee’s contract
of employment is taken over, it
must be taken over on the same
or better terms and continues on
the same terms and conditions,
where there is a change of
employer,” the court ruled.
The court awarded the former
employees of UPTC Shs5million
each as general damages with
interest of 18% per annum on
pension and damages and costs
of the suit.

Refugees call for skills training for survival

To beat the harsh realities of living
in refugee camps, refugees fleeing DR
Congo and finding shelter at Kyaka
II Refugee Settlement in Kyegegwa
district in western Uganda are calling
for the Ugandan government to
introduce vocational skills training
for a better life. The refugees say
they need to support their families
with clothes, food and dressing. They
are asking government to extend to
them salon skills and other forms of
training to earn income. Due to lack
of skills or any jobs, thefts have been
rampant in Kyaka. The refugees get
food and construction materials from
United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR). Kyaka refugee
settlement has over 40,000 refugees
from DR Congo.

July 13 - 19, 2018 5

Week

Museveni launches campaign to fight cancer, heart diseases
President Musevnei
launched a physical exer-
cise campaign on July 8 to
fight Non Communicable
Diseases (NCDs) like can-
cer, heart complications
which make up 40% of hos-
pital deaths. Clad in a white
shirt, khaki pants and gum-
boots, Museveni started a
walk of 10km from Kololo
Independence Grounds to
other parts of Kampala at
9am with staff of Ministry
of Health and other health
activists. He spoke of how
government kicked out
diseases like small pox and
polio. He also gave tips on
how people should have
light lunch meals and early
supper, two or three hours
before bed time.
Resolve cases of Rwandans
arrested- Rwandan envoy
Rwandan High Commissioner to
Uganda Maj. Gen. Frank Mugambage
has advised Ugandan authorities to
resolve cases of Rwandans arrested in
Uganda. He said there have been many
arrests of Rwandan citizens and also a
failure to notify the Rwandan embassy
by their Ugandan counterparts. “We
have put these before the Uganda
authorities and when families come
to us that our people have been
arrested, we do not know where they
are and their cases. It is important
that we resolve this”. Mugambage was
speaking at Rwanda’s 24th Liberation
celebrations at his residence in Kololo
recently. However Oryem Okello,
the State Minister for International
Affairs, said Uganda is a law abiding
country and that anything done is in
conformity with the law.

British Prime Minister May under Museveni launches youth

pressure to resign over Brexit crisis
The resignation of
British Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson has caused
more unrest in the
Labour government of
Prime Minister Theresa
May over the deepening
Brexit crisis. The
resignation of Johnson,
hours after that of Brexit
Minister David Davis and
his deputy, Steve Baker,
piled more pressure on
May over her soft Brexit
plan. May hammered out
a compromise with her
deeply divided cabinet
in an all-day meeting on
July 6 but after consulting
friends and allies since,
Johnson decided he
could not promote the
deal and threw in the
towel. Two years ago,
Johnson was the face
of the Brexit campaign
and was expected to
be Prime Minister after
David Cameron resigned.
Now the heat is being
turned on Theresa May
to follow suit since there
is widespread discontent
of her Brexit plan.
skilling venture in Kyotera
President Yoweri Museveni has
called on the people of Kyotera
and Uganda in general to embrace
government’s initiative of wealth
creation through commercial agri-
culture and the four-acre produc-
tion plan so that they are able to
fight household poverty. “Devel-
opment does not mean wealth.
Masaka - Mbarara to Kabale road
has been tarmacked since inde-
pendence but don’t you find poor
people along this road?” he asked.
Museveni was speaking at Kalisizo
Community playground in Kali-
sizo Sub-County of Kyotera district
on July 6 during the commission-
ing of the youth who attained skills
in tailoring, carpentry and Joinery,
welding and weaving, among oth-
ers. He launched Kasolo Founda-
tion; a private initiative started by
the area MP and State Minister for
Microfinance Kyeyune Haruna
Kasolo, to fight household poverty
in the area. The President also
launched the Kalisizo Women
Empowerment Group at Kalisizo
Town Council.

6 July 13 - 19, 2018

Humour Did you know?
Why
parrots
are
intelligent
Parrots are more intelligent than
most birds because they have a
much larger SpM than that of other
birds, according to new research by
University of Alberta neuroscientists.
But what exactly is SpM? That is a short
form for medial spiriform nucleus.
It is an area of the parrot brain that is
quite similar to an area in the brains of
The Mobile Money tax effected on July 1 is forcing Mobile Money agents primates called the pontine nuclei. Both
countrywide to shun the services as they are counting losses play a major role in intelligence.
The pontine nuclei in the brains
of humans, for example, is the
structure responsible for transferring
information between the two
largest areas of the brain, the cortex
and cerebellum, which allows for
higher-order processing and more
sophisticated behaviour. In humans
and primates, the pontine nuclei are
large compared to other mammals.
This is what explains the high cognitive
abilities of humans.
Apparently, birds have very small
pontine nuclei. Instead, they have
a similar structure called SpM that
has similar connectivity. Located in
a different part of the brain, the SpM
does the same thing as the pontine
nuclei, circulating information
between the cortex and the cerebellum.
“This loop between the cortex
Fuel pump prices are again increasing countrywide with a litre of and the cerebellum is important
unleaded petrol going for more than Shs4000 for the planning and execution of
sophisticated behaviours,” said Doug
Wylie, professor of psychology and
co-author on the new study.
So why is the parrot so much smarter
than other birds?
The SpM is very large in parrots.
It’s actually two to five times larger
in parrots than in other birds,
like chickens,” said Gutierrez.
“Independently, parrots have evolved
an enlarged area that connects the
cortex and the cerebellum, similar to
primates.”
In other words, the scientists are
looking at a fascinating example of
commonality between the brains of
parrots and those of humans.
“The more we look at the brains,
the more similarities we see,”
the scientists say. It starts with
sophisticated behaviours, like tool use
Judges in the age limit petition have retreated to a quiet place out of the city to compare and self-awareness, and can also be
notes and tie up loose ends before the final ruling can be delivered. seen in the brain.

July 13 - 19, 2018 7

World Cup

St Petersburg: A ballerina watches the World Cup quarter-final match

between Russia and Croatia in which the hosts were eliminated

London, UK: England fans celebrate after their team’s second goal
against Sweden in a victory that secured a place in the World Cup
semi-finals

England’s Harry Kane tries to control the ball against Colombia. He

scored a penalty during regulation time. It was his tournament-
leading sixth goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo nets hat trick with brilliant free kick in closing
minutes to steal a draw against Spain

8 July 13 - 19, 2018


The poverty of Ugandan elites
By Andrew M. Mwenda
Bursting the bubble of our `intellectuals’ by exposing
their most cherished ideals as a bunch of delusions
M
any Ugandan elites have been
shouting themselves hoarse
denouncing the tax on social
media. They also claim they are
already burdened paying “too many taxes”.
With a tax to GDP ratio of 14%, Ugandans
are among the least taxed people on this
planet. And after the abolition of Graduated
Tax (or tax per head), only 621,366 people
are registered to pay the direct personal
income tax, Pay As You Earn, in an adult
population of close to 18 million people.
But let us for argument’s sake say the
tax is bad. The solution is simple: orga-
nise politically and stop government
from collecting it. But I know Ugandan
elites are politically unreliable. They dare
not stand for their beliefs. They prefer to
sit in the comfort of their offices, houses,
and bars and pontificate against the
government as if Uganda needs the inter-
vention of foreigners to be saved from
President Yoweri Museveni.
This is where Museveni outshines all of
us: when he felt the election was rigged
in 1980 and the country mismanaged, he
did not sit idly complaining. He picked
guns, organised people, mobilised
resources, built a national political coali-
tion, and rallied international forces to
this struggle. After five years of combat
he triumphed.
Ugandan elites lack patriotism. They
want to get public goods and services for
free. They do not want to pay taxes that
fund such services. They see the state as
a cake to eat, not a cow to feed. Everyone
comes to the state in search of personal
advantage. Few see it as an institution
to build for the collective good. This
attitude stands in stark contrast to how
Ugandan elites relate to social events
like weddings, funerals, and churches
to which they devote so much money
without demanding accountability.
Some Ugandan elites claim they are too
poor to pay Shs200 per day for this tax.
But this tax is imposed on social media,
which is used on smart phones. How
come “poor” Ugandans afford expensive
smart phones? The social media tax is
imposed on the middleclass, not on ordi-
nary peasants. However, these elites use
the institutions of mass communication
to project their peculiar interests as those
of everyone. This is how democratic
debate in Uganda is rigged in favour of
The Last Word
a few.
All governments need revenue: to
keep law and order, to co-opt elites, and
to provide public goods and services
to their citizens. When a government’s
political survival depends on gener-
ating revenues from its people, it will
be driven by self-interest to govern in a
more enlightened fashion. It will listen to
its citizens about the policies necessary
for growth so that it can generate more
revenues.
For many years, the productive margin
in Uganda’s search for revenue did not
lie in the domestic economy; in our gar-
dens, factories, and shops. It lay with
foreign donors. For every fiscal shortage,
our government would take a begging
bowl to Paris, London, Brussels, and
Washington. This disarticulated the state
from citizens and made international
donors the most important influence in
policy making. It is impossible to build
a democracy where foreigners fund the
government because he who pays the
piper calls the tune.
Uganda’s actual liberation came acci-
dentally, when international donors
cut aid over the passing of the Anti-
homosexuality Act. The government
of Uganda could have compensated
this with new taxes. It was afraid of a
political backlash and went on a bor-
rowing spree from the domestic market.
In only five years, the domestic debt has
ballooned to Shs12.4 trillion, and interest
payment is now Shs1.9 trillion. The same
Ugandan elites who have been com-
plaining against this growing debt do
not seem to realise that only taxation can
get the country out of the debt spiral.
If this tax is economically destructive,
it will correct itself. The advantage with
a modern economy is that it has high
revenue elasticity. By elasticity I mean
responsiveness – the tendency to grow
in the face of positive incentives and to
decline in the face of negative ones. If the
tax on social media and mobile money
hurts the economy, it will cause a decline
in the rate of growth. It will not take long
for government to discover that it has
harmed itself.
When a government extracts revenues
from its people without formulating
favourable economic policies and pro-
viding public goods and services in
Opinion
return, private economic agents will
most likely withdraw or fail to invest.
Physical capital will depreciate, the
economy will decline. A government that
sought short-term gains through destruc-
tive taxes will find that in the long term
it has undermined the economy and,
therefore, its source of revenue. Any gov-
ernment facing a fiscal crisis will be in
political decay.
The claim that Ugandans do not want
to pay taxes because government is not
accountable is nonsense. In the last elec-
tion, opposition leader Kizza Besigye got
3.5 million votes (he claims 7 million).
If every one of the 3.5 million contrib-
uted just Shs 1000 per month to FDC,
the party would raiseShs42 billion per
year or Shs210 billion over five years,
or Shs558 billion if the 7 million votes
is the correct figure. With such financial
muscle, Museveni would become his-
tory. If Ugandan elites want change,
why are they not investing in the man
fighting for it and who has never stolen
the money they have contributed to his
cause?
Ugandans lack commitment to the state
and its politics because they see is as a
place you go to extract things, not one
where you grow the wealth of the nation.
That is why all our political parties are
cash-starved. No one wants to contribute
to politics, regardless of whether there is
a precedent of their money being stolen.
This sharply contrasts with Rwanda
where citizens pay taxes diligently and
even make voluntary contributions to the
state whenever need arises.
For example, Ugandans want increased
wages for teachers, medical workers, and
other government employees. They also
want free education, healthcare, cheap
water and electricity, good roads and
bridges etc. But they do not want to pay
for them. This shows we treasure our
faith, weddings, and funerals because
they are socially rewarding but we do
not treasure political liberation and eco-
nomic advancement. For example, if you
call a wedding meeting, everyone will
come and contribute generously. But
if you call a meeting to raise money to
begin a business, no one will show up.
That is the real problem of Uganda.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
July 13 - 19, 2018 9
cover story

Museveni’s secret
files on Kayihura
By Haggai Matsiko
That President Yoweri Museveni deploys different layers of spies against some
of his most senior security chiefs is no secret; what is unknown is how this
process sometimes works.
Take the case of the former Inspector General of Police, Gen. Kale Kayihura,
who is now in detention in Makindye Military Barracks in Kampala.
Although many reports claim that Kayihura is in detention over the March 17,
2017 murder of the Assistant Inspector General of Police Andrew Felix Kaweesi,
insiders say Museveni was, in fact, acting on information that Kayihura was
using crime preventers to train rebels in Mubende with the backing of Rwanda.

10 July 13 - 19, 2018


President Museveni shakes hands with Kayihura as other officials look on in 2017
P
resident Museveni was
convinced the police chief
was up to some mischief and
that he had the money to
implement it.
According to sources close
to State House, the President received
reports that Kayihura and the President
Principal Private Secretary (PPS) Molly
Kamukama had allegedly received a
kickback of Shs17 billion each—from a
police arms deal.
For critics, the allegations sounded
outrageous because for anyone to give a
kickback of Shs. 34 billion, at the very least,
the deal needed to be Shs.340 billion or even
double this figure as kickbacks tend to be
5-10 percent of the total value of the deal.
Such a deal would have easily wiped
police’s budget, which is about Shs. 500
billion.
However, insiders say President
Museveni rarely leaves anything to
chance and pays attention to these reports,
however outrageous they may seem. For
instance, in May last year, The Independent
reported how President Museveni had been
told that senior government officials had
hacked the central bank system and stolen
some $38 million. After reading this report,
President Museveni is said to have met the
agents behind these reports. Apparently,
one of the agents told him that he was
involved in transporting huge sums of
money for officials looking to sponsor rebel
activity. The agent claimed he had dropped
US$ 1.5 million in Mbarara, US$ 1 million
in Masaka and another US$ 1.5 million in
Mbale to coordinate rebel activity.
When the president probed further,
the agent said he had given the money to
someone at Agip Motel in Mbarara. But it
seemed suspicious that an agent would just
hand US$ 1.5 million to someone they did
not know just like that. The central bank
governor would also later report to Presi-
dent Museveni that these allegations were
a hoax as no such money had been stolen
from the bank. For insiders, this case was
one of the clearest examples that President
Museveni will not simply dismiss any intel-
ligence, however, unbelievable it may seem.
In the Shs.34 billion kickback case, those
behind this information told the president
that Kamukama invested her cut in real
estate, insiders say. But apparently, when
Museveni tried to trace where Kale had
That boy is very
dangerous,”
Kayihura
reportedly told
Kamugisha, “stay
away from him
cover story
put his loot, he could not put a finger on
it. Could it be in a secret war chest for
financing an impending rebellion? What
critics insist are “fake intelligence reports”
before the president suggested it could.
Against this background, The
Independent has learnt that on June
11 - two days before he was arrested,
Kayihura travelled to Kampala and met
the president’s son, Maj. Gen. Muhoozi
Kainerugaba.
Kayihura had got information that he
was to be arrested and his plan was to lobby
Muhoozi to intervene.
Maj. Gen. Muhoozi had over the years
become Kayihura’s close ally in the entire
security establishment and Kayihura hoped
to get him to help clear his name before
President Museveni.
It did not work. Part of the reason was
what Kayihura already knew – that the
allegations against him—specifically, that
the Rwandan leadership was using him to
attempt to overthrow Museveni, were of a
serious nature.
Besides, he had watched as the
Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI)
operatives drew the dragnet around him.
In one swoop, CMI had arrested
his close aides; Senior Superintendent
of Police Nixon Agasirwe, the former
commander Special Operations Unit, Senior
Commissioner of Police Joel Aguma, the
commandant of the police Professional
Standards Unit, Assistant Superintendent
of Police Magada, crime intelligence; Benon
Atwebembeire, Sgt Abel Tumukunde, the
Kampala Metropolitan Police flying squad
commander, Faisal Katende, flying squad
and Amon Kwarisima.
These had been taken to the Court
Martial and charged with unlawful
possession of firearms and grenades
July 13 - 19, 2018 11
cover story
President Yoweri Museveni and Gen. Kale Kayihura before the fallout.
ordinarily a monopoly of the Defence
Forces.
The group was also charged with
handing to the Rwanda government two
prominent persons; one Lt. Joel Mutabazi;
a former presidential guard for Rwanda
President Paul Kagame who had sought
refuge in Uganda, and Jackson Kalemera.
According to court proceedings, the two
officials were handed to Rwanda without
their consent. But Rwandan authorities say
these were handed to them through official
channels.
The Independent has seen a document
showing a list of persons, cars, cash, cows
and phones that Ugandan and Rwandan
police authorities officially handed to each
other. Mutabazi is listed amongst those
handed to Rwanda.
In another swoop, CMI had picked
Abdullah Kitata, the self-appointed patron
of Boda Boda 2010. While Kitata was
arrested as part of the investigations into
the murder of the Case Clinic accountant,
Francis Ekalungar, his outfit—Boda Boda
2010 would later be linked to the issues with
Rwanda.
In yet another swoop, CMI rounded up;
Richard Ndaboine, the former head of cyber
intelligence, Col. Ndahura Atwooki, the
former head crime intelligence, and Herbert
Muhangi, the former head of Flying Squad,
among others.
Kamugisha flees, Omondi arrested
By this time Kayihura knew that his turn
was fast approaching. The Independent has
learnt that since Kayihura’s arrest, several
of his close functionaries have been living in
fear of imminent arrest.
One of these, Blaise Kamugisha who is
the head of the once powerful National
Crime Preventers Forum, was last month
12 July 13 - 19, 2018
forced to flee to Kenya after a tipoff that
Internal Security Organisation (ISO) and
CMI operatives were looking to arrest him
over allegations that crime preventers were
working with Kayihura to organize armed
rebellion against Museveni.
Insiders say while in Kenya, Kamugisha
contacted President Museveni who advised
him to return to Uganda. By press time, The
Independent had learnt that Kamugisha
had returned but then again went into
hiding unsure if he can survive the clutches
of ISO – that is he cannot feel safe unless
and until he meets Museveni directly.
Given that Kayihura was the main
benefactor of the crime preventers, whose
numbers he personally put at 11 million,
it is clear to see how any suspected
rebel activity by the group can easily be
connected to him.
Kamugisha was a close Kayihura
associate and had been given the lucrative
billion shilling deal of supplying food to the
police force. Now, state media report that
this contract is part of the investigations
government is conducting linking Crime
Preventers with plans to organise a rebel
group.
Kamugisha’s case becomes even more
interesting when it is connected to that of
another young man, Michael Omondi; a
Kenyan student of Makerere University.
In April last year, police’s defunct Flying
Squad intercepted the 21 year-old student at
the Uganda-Kenya border post of Busia.
Omondi, a Kenyan, was returning from
his home in Kisumu. According to sources,
police was interested in him because of the
message he had reportedly carried on his
way out of Uganda - for Kenyan opposition
politician Raila Odinga. It was assumed he
was returning with feedback.
When he was intercepted, Omondi
reportedly called Kamugisha, who
was known to have a direct line to then
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayihura.
Omondi had studied with Kamugisha
and knew his connections. He now wanted
him to call Kayihura and secure Omondi’s
release.
But when Kamugisha called Kayihura,
what the general told him reportedly
stunned him.
“That boy is very dangerous,” Kayihura
reportedly told Kamugisha, “stay away
from him.”
So what could have made Omondi,
a 21-year old university student, very
dangerous?
At the time, police had accused Omondi
of driving Kaweesi’s killers to the spot
where the murder took place. From the
Busia border, they had driven him to Jinja
and he was now in detention at Nalufenya
detention facility, which had become
infamous for torture.
So Blaise also called Omondi’s sister, one
Mariam Awino, and told her that Police
Flying Squad had arrested her brother from
the border and taken him to Nalufenya
Police Post.
But Omondi’s sister easily dismissed this
because, she said, her brother did not know
how to drive.
Indeed, it would later emerge that
Omondi’s arrest had very little or nothing to
do with the Kaweesi murder.
But the scheme he was involved in
appeared extremely dangerous for
President Museveni.
It turns out, intelligence operatives and
some agents at State House had approached
Omondi proposing to him to carry sensitive
information to Kenya’s opposition politician
honcho, Raila Odinga. The information,
they said, would have a major bearing on
the Kenya presidential election of August
2017.
The agents claimed that they had a
database compiled by President Museveni’s
people, which had details of Ugandans who
would vote for Uhuru Kenyatta to give him
an edge against Odinga.
Around this time, campaigns for the
2017 Kenyan elections had already heated
up and the two main contenders—
Kenyatta and Odinga were already trading
accusations against each other and the fear
of election violence was already hanging in
the air.
Stakes were high. This would be the
fourth time Odinga was contesting for the
highest office in the land. Whoever was
vending information pointing to possible
rigging by Kenyatta, therefore, knew he
would have his competitor’s undivided
attention.
Omondi, who is said to be close to
Odinga, immediately travelled to Kenya to
relay this information and to get a down
payment the agents had requested.

But Odinga appeared skeptical and was
unwilling to deposit any money until he
was given a sample. Apparently, he asked
Omondi to tell the agents to give him a
sample of the data. However, after meeting
Omondi, Odinga called President Museveni
and told him about it, insiders say.
As Omondi returned from Kenya,
police’s Flying Squad intercepted him at
the Busia border. But given how politically
sensitive the issue was, police could not say
they had arrested him because of that issue.
This was April, a few weeks after
Kaweesi’s murder on March.17. Kaweesi
was killed in a suburb of Kampala City in a
hail of bullets that also killed his bodyguard
Kenneth Erau and driver Godfrey
Mambewa.
The incident saw Police, the Chieftaincy
of Military Intelligence, and the Internal
Security Organisation (ISO) in a flurry of
arresting all sorts of suspects. At one point
the number of arrested suspects was over a
hundred.
It now appears that the Kaweesi case had
become a carry-all for all arrests; including
those – like Omondi, that were totally
unrelated.
Apparently, after receiving information
from Odinga, President Museveni directed
the arrest of several intelligence officials
who were involved.
Apart from this, security agencies also
sent operatives to Nalufenya disguised as
suspects in the Kaweesi murder. The idea
was to spy on the suspects and get them to
voluntarily confess.
It would not be the first time this kind
of thing is happening. For instance, when
Mathew Kanyamunyu and Cynthia
Munwangari were arrested over the murder
of child rights activist, Kenneth Akena on
Nov.12 2016, another woman was also
arrested.
This woman would be detained with
Munwangari wherever police or the
prison authorities took her. The idea
was to get Munwangari to confide in her
about what really happened that day.
Likewise, security agencies had
planted spies; including soldiers from
the Special Forces, to spy on the Kaweesi
suspects.
At the time, Kayihura had camped
in Jinja and would be at the facility
sometimes participating in the
interrogations of the suspects. President
Museveni would call Kayihura and then
Kayihura would connect him to the SFC
operatives. One of the SFC operatives
kept in touch with President Museveni.
So Kayihura possibly knew about
the Omondi case and might have been
surprised when Blaise brought it up. The
other view is that Omondi, through his
State House connections, had other hot
information which he shared.
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta
Raila Odinga
Uganda, Rwanda suspicions
Going through some of these reports, it
is hard to sort fact from non-fact. But they
show a clear thread of a concerted effort to
implicate Kayihura.
Even if the reports may appear inaccurate
or “fake” as some insiders are referring to
them, those who have worked closely with
President Museveni say that he hardly
dismisses them before interrogating or
investigating them further.
Indeed, it is important to note that in the
past, President Museveni has acted on such
reports, especially when dealing with issues
Rwanda.
For instance, in the past The Independent
has reported how in January 2011,
Museveni once summoned Rwanda’s High
Commissioner to Uganda, Brig. Gen. Frank
Mugambagye for a briefing at State House
Entebbe.
At the time, tensions between the two
countries had been heating up.
Ugandan military intelligence had
cover story
arrested a young Rwandan travelling
through Ntungamo, brought him to
Kampala, and detained him under
accusations that he had been sent by
Rwanda to kill the First Lady, Janet
Museveni. But this was just one of any
reports that were getting to Museveni’s
desk almost on a weekly basis.
Another intelligence report to Museveni
claimed the Rwandan president was
heavily funding the election campaign of
Uganda’s main opposition leader, Forum
for Democratic Change (FDC) party
president, Dr Kizza Besigye. Then another
said Kagame had held a meeting with
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in Sirte,
Libya, during which the two agreed to
organise and finance an armed insurrection
against Museveni originating from the
eastern region of the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC). Museveni reportedly
told Mugambagye he had concerns arising
from intelligence reports he had received
- and wanted to send a verbal message
to President Paul Kagame of Rwanda
regarding them. But such reports were not
one way. Kagame, sources say, had also
been receiving reports of plots by Museveni
to destabilise Rwanda or even kill him.
Indeed, around the same period, the
Rwandan security services reportedly
got evidence that the Coordinator of
Intelligence Services in Uganda, Gen. David
Tinyefuza, had sent the Director General of
the External Security Organisation (ESO),
Robert Masolo, to South Africa to speak
to Rwandan dissident generals Patrick
Karegyeya and Kayumba Nyamwasa.
Masolo had then written a report to
Museveni, largely based on information
given to him by Karegyeya and Kayumba,
telling tall tales of how Kagame was heavily
funding Besigye using Sudhir Ruperelia’s
defunct Crane Bank.
It would take reassuarances from
President Kagame that his leadership was
not involved in any of these things for
President Museveni to ignore the reports.
Back then, at a meeting with
Mugambagye where Kagame replied to
Museveni, the Rwandan president said:
“Please inform President Museveni that I
personally or the government of Rwanda
generally have no desire, intention or
plan to influence the election outcome
in Uganda,” Kagame said, “Whoever is
writing such intelligence reports must be
harbouring an interest to cause mistrust
between our two countries.”
Reconciliation between the two
presidents in 2011 further buried all these
allegations and counter-allegations. Even
the young man who had been arrested was
later released and sent back to Rwanda.
But, it now appears, the Kayihura case
has once again led to a slew of “fake”
intelligence reports about Rwanda hitting
President Museveni’s desk.
July 13 - 19, 2018 13
news analysis

By Flavia Nassaka

D
avid Kizza Kakobogo died
on July 07 under mysterious
circumstances. He had been
drinking with his supporters
when he all of a sudden developed
stomach aches that he later succumbed
to. The death of the aspiring Local
Council One (LC 1) chairman for Gganda
village in Nansana municipality was
not taken lightly. With suspicions of
poisoning, many of his supporters
declared that, in protest, they were not
going to participate in the election that
would be held days later on July 10.
Former member of the Constituent
Assembly and NRM historical Francis
Babu watched the news of the rioting
villagers from his plush home in the
upscale Naguru suburb.
“I asked myself, Is this really
necessary?” he told The Independent as
he spoke of the hype that the election
was given. The posters, public address
systems and procession of cars are
typical of a political event according to
him and not a leadership one - like an LC
is supposed to be.
According to the Chairman of Electoral LC 1. contestant for Kifumbila zone Bukasa, John Kaddu campaigning for the position of the
Commission, Justice Simon Byabakama, chairperson on July 8.  INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
17million people were registered to
cast their votes and elections took place

at 28,749 polling stations in the 60,800
villages.
Contrary to Babu’s view, LC elections
have become a big political event, almost
at the level of parliamentary and district
elections, if not presidential elections.
Part of the reason is that Ugandans
had waited 17 years to choose their LC
leaders again – and most are unhappy
about the old set. The last LCI elections
were held in 2001.
Back then, the country was being
governed under a de facto one party
system called the “Movement System”
but it has since 2005 been under a multi-
party system.
In 2006 the LC I elections were
frustrated by a Constitutional Court
ruling on the petition by then opposition
member of Forum for Democratic
Change (FDC), Rtd Maj Rubaramira
Ruranga, who challenged the legality of
the incumbent Local Councils because
they were set up under a different
governance system.
He argued that ushering in the
multiparty system required amending
the law. The law was never amended
and the country has under gone over
three cycles of general elections without
choosing these grassroots leaders. The
dates would be set several times and
cancelled.
Many explanations have been made as
LC elections finally
Will they bring leadership or be another
layer of politicians at village level?
to why the country was not conducting
the polls.
First the government always said there
was no money to conduct the elections
until December 2016 when they resolved
to have the Local Government Act
amended such that people could now
line up behind their candidates during
elections of chairpersons for village
(LC1) and parish (LC2) levels instead of
the ballot box style.
The mode was rejected by; especially,
members of the opposition and some
civic organisations. For instance,
the Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral
Democracy (CCEDU) wrote an open
letter to President Museveni protesting
the mode of voting.
The coalition of some 800 members
across Uganda argued that voting
by lining behind candidates fails to
meet constitutional and international
standards for public elections and
could foment conflict and discord in
communities.
After successfully amending the
law in parliament, the committee on
Public Service and Local Government
recommended that the elections be held
not later than March15 last year. But, it
has taken more than a year for this to
finally happen.
Although this can partly explain
why there was unanticipated interest in
LC offices, if not the voting, some like
Makerere University Political Historian
Mwambutsya Ndebesa say the interest
is not in the vote but the relevance of the
office.
For him, the office is the first court
arbitrating on issues that affect the
village. Research by a local NGO
Barefoot Law Uganda has put the
percentage of people who seek justice
through the informal court system; like
the LC, at 80%.
His view was shared by the
president when he released a statement

14 July 13 - 19, 2018


encouraging voters to take part -
calling the LC office a cornerstone of
government planning and mobilisation
for development and stability.
Museveni said the country needs
the right people to head village units if
problems like land wrangles, insecurity,
and theft are to be nipped in the bud.
Museveni and his NRM party had
given each of their loyal MPs Shs3
million to spend on LC elections in their
respective constituencies. In addition to
that, they appointed regional mobilisers
to ensure their party wins the most LC
positions.
For Babu, this is exactly where his
party went wrong.
“Community elections shouldn’t be
about parties and politics. It should be
about leadership. People should vote for
a person they respect. Leadership has no
affiliations.”
Babu has held LC positions before. As
the Resistance Council (RC) Chairman
for Water Board Village in Nakasero
parish in the 1980s, Babu says he was
leading a village of about 250 people and
he would deal with their issues without
consideration for their political beliefs.
He only cared for the interests of the
village.
The voting would take a similar form,
he recalls.
“I had gone for prayers at All Saints
Church and they said we are choosing
Key figures
600,800
villages that voted
17 million
people registered to vote
28749
polling stations
3821
villages excluded from the polls.
They were not captured in the Electoral
Commission’s national data system.
you to be our leader,” he said and
another person seconded another name
to contest against Babu.
“We spoke for five minutes each,” he
says, “At the end of the speeches; my
colleague stepped down for me. Then
we elected members of the committee by
lining up behind them.”
He speaks of how the new system
news analysis
should have emulated the old RC
method since the LC office is more than a
political office but an entity that gives the
village direction.
According to local government
guidelines, a village should comprise 60
households and a parish, 300 households
and the LC I is the administrative unit at
that level. It is involved in maintenance
of law, order and security, mobilising
people for self-help projects, recruitment
into the police, army, and other security
agencies, and monitoring of activities
undertaken in the area by the central
government, local government, and
NGOs.
The LC 1 chairman; who works with a
committee of eight members, witnesses
transactions such as sale of land, houses,
cows or goats, and is a signatory on most
official documents which require local
council stamp.
These functions give the LC I immense
power in the day-to-day lives of citizens.
That is why, Babu says, if things go
wrong here, it is likely to impact the
operations of the whole country.
He, for instance, notes that it’s
also wrong to have the LC chairman;
especially now under the era of
multiparty politics, to choose members
of his executive. For Babu, this means
members who do not agree with the
office holder will have nowhere to run to.
He says conducting this election just
three years to 2021 when the country
is to go to general polls again is a test
to show whether Ugandans are able to
evaluate the kind of leader they want
and put them on the steering wheel.
Ndebesa says unfortunately the run-
up to the LC vote had become very
polarising. When we spoke before the
election he feared there could be chaos
- based on the intimidation and intrigue
considering that the method of voting by
lining was feared to cause.
Ndebesa spoke about people staying
away “because they are already
disgusted “.
He said this means the government
will have to conduct a lot of civic
education on the role of an LC leader if
the country is to reap anything from the
LC elections.
Babu agreed. He warned that because
a crop of people who do not command
respect might end up in vital positions,
there should be constant supervision and
education to give villages direction on;
especially, how the justice system works
if they are to eliminate the vice of people
taking advantage of their positions to
break the law. For instance he says it’s
time for people to know perks such as
giving leaders monies in case of a land
purchase being illegal.
July 13 - 19, 2018 15
news analysis
By Ronald Musoke

U
gandans might be blessed with
many lakes, rivers and streams
on top of being one of only 13
countries in the world able to
receive rainfall for at least eight months
every year but a recent study has found
that more citizens think their access to
water is getting worse.
The study titled, “Clean and safe?
Ugandans’ experiences and opinions
on affordable access to clean and safe
water,” was released on June 27 in
Kampala by Twaweza East Africa.
Twaweza’s survey under their Sauti za
Wananchior “Citizen Voices” programme
sought to gauge Ugandans’ experiences
and opinions on affordable access to
clean and safe water. The findings are
based on data collected from 1,971
respondents across Uganda between
January and February 2018.
The survey sought to find out how
Ugandans are able to access water from
a piped network or from any other
improved source; how widespread—and
how effective rainwater harvesting as
an alternative source is and, how long
it takes for people to collect water, and
who bears this responsibility.
The study found that in both rural and
urban areas, many people are forced to A boy fetches water in Budaka Town Council. Budaka in eastern Uganda is one of the few town
make difficult choices around cost, time, councils supplied with piped water.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
and convenience against health and

Uganda’s water
hygiene. Interestingly, the survey notes
that access to improved water sources is
improving in rural areas with no major
change in urban areas.

Three out of four Ugandans (74%)
have access to an improved water source,
meaning one that provides cleaner and
safer water. Still, Ugandans in urban
areas (86%) are more likely to use
improved water sources than those in
rural areas (69%), as are richer Ugandans
(84%) compared to poorer ones (71%).
Overall, one out of four citizens (24%)
have access to piped water but this
is much higher in urban areas (46%,
compared to 15% for rural citizens) and
among richer Ugandans (51%, compared
to 14% of poorer citizens).
Still, in both urban and rural areas,
boreholes are the main source of
drinking water for more households
(rural 38%, urban 23%) than any other
type of source. Just 2% of households
have water piped into their dwelling.
One out of six rural households (15%)
depends on surface water sources such
as rivers, streams, dams and lakes,
though this water can by very unclean.
Rainwater can provide an affordable
and accessible alternative source of clean
water; and eight out of ten households
(78%) harvest it.
challenge
Why Ugandans are struggling finding
water yet it is everywhere
Citizens in both rural and urban areas
said there are fewer water points (43%)
and distance to water points (39%). In
the urban areas, although there is access
to piped water, many households cannot
afford this water. There is also the issue
of irregular supply.
As a result, four out of ten citizens
or 40% of Ugandans say their access to
clean and safe water has worsened over
the last 12 months, compared to three out
of ten who say it has actually improved.
Further, for most households (69%),
the rainwater they are able to harvest
runs out after a week or less, the last
time they collected it. Only one out of ten
households (7%) was able to use it for a
month or more.
When it comes to the amount of time
spent fetching water, citizens in the rural
areas are the most disadvantaged as it
takes them one hour and 11 minutes on
average to collect water in rural areas
compared to 49 minutes in urban areas.
Despite these differences, a similar and
substantial proportion of rural (14%) and
urban households (10%), as well as richer
(10%) and poorer (15%) households have
to spend over two hours collecting water.
In one out of four households (25%),
the responsibility for collecting water
falls on the women, the female head of

16 July 13 - 19, 2018


households or the wife of the household
head. And in nearly two out of four
households (48%), children are fully or
partly responsible for this task.
Nationwide, and in rural areas, the
two main challenges cited by citizens
in accessing clean drinking water are
linked; a shortage of water points (43%)
and distance to water points (39%). In
urban areas, the cost of water (36%) and
irregular supply (29%) are mentioned the
most.
A large majority of Uganda’s
households (70%) treat their water before
drinking, to make it safer. This is again
higher in urban (82%) than in rural (65%)
areas. It is also higher among wealthier
households (89%) than among the poor
(52%).
Most of these households boil their
water (60%). Overall, citizens are not
satisfied with the trends in access to
water. Four out of ten citizens (40%) say
their access to clean and safe water has
become worse over the past 12 months,
compared to three out of ten (30%) who
say it has improved.
However, more citizens say their
access to water is getting worse than it is
getting better. Poor Ugandans (46%) and
those ones who live in rural areas (44%)
are more likely to say the situation is
getting worse than those in urban areas
(30%), and those who are relatively rich
Sam-Cheptoris Mary-Goretti Nakabugo
(28%).
As a result, half of the citizens (47%)
are not satisfied or not at all satisfied
with the performance of their local
government in terms of providing water
services. A minority—one out of four
households (28%)—are satisfied with
their local governments water services.
Few water sources
Nationwide, the two main challenges
cited in accessing clean drinking water
are linked: a shortage of water points
(43%) and distance to water points
(39%). In urban areas, the cost of water
(36%) and irregular supply (29%) are
mentioned most.
The average time required by rural
households to collect drinking water
is 71 minutes, of which 30 minutes are
spent waiting at the source. The times are
a little lower in urban areas: 49 minutes
total collection time, of which 23 minutes
are spent waiting. Two out of ten urban
households (20%) and a similar number
of wealthy households (25%) need less
than five minutes to collect water.
In comparison, in the rural areas,
14% of households need over two hours
to collect water, and even in urban
communities, 10% of households take
more than two hours to collect water.
Marie Nanyanzi, Sauti za Wananchi
Officer at Twaweza, said “On the positive
side, rates of access to improved water
sources are high by regional standards
and, according to other data sources,
appear to have been steadily rising in
both urban and rural areas.
Nanyanzi says the distance to a water
source plays into the time it takes one to
collect this water, the cost, and safety of
this water.
In the rural areas, it takes over an hour
to collect water and half of that time is
spent waiting in the queue. In the urban
areas, the time is much shorter (less
than an hour) but still people will take
an average of 20 minutes in the queue.
About 20% of households collect water
under 5 minutes and 25% of people in
urban areas spend under 5 minutes.
These perceptions appear to contradict
news analysis
the findings from the Uganda Bureau
of Statistics (UBOS) that access to
water is improving. Looking at longer
term trends, using data from surveys
conducted by the Uganda Bureau of
Statistics (UBOS), we can see a clear
increase in access to improved water
sources in rural areas since 1989, from
around 40% of rural households in the
early 1990s to around 70% now.
In urban areas, the increase has been
less dramatic, from around 80% in the
1990s to around 90-95% now.
Dr. Mary Goretti Nakabugo, the
Uganda Country Lead of Twaweza
and Regional Manager, Uwezo East
Africa noted that despite some important
successes, the story around access to
water is one of inequity, with rural areas
facing more marked challenges than
urban areas.
“The slower rate of growth in access to
improved water in urban areas presents
challenges for the future with population
growth and increased rural to urban
migration,” she said.
Nakabugo says the government will
need to double down on efforts in both
rural and urban Uganda to ensure that
the hard-won gains of the last 20 years
are not eroded.
Inconvenient water sources
Responding to the findings, Eng.
Joseph Oriono Eyatu, the commissioner
in charge of rural water supply and
sanitation at the Ministry of Water
and Environment said although the
distribution of water sources appears
to be everywhere on the map but once
you reduce it to the micro level, it is not
evenly distributed.
Eyatu said over 30 million Ugandans
live in rural areas yet there are up to
122,737 water sources scattered across
the country and these are not distributed
evenly.
Eyatu said there are up to 12,000 LC
villages that do not even have a single
source of water but we also have villages
that have over 10 sources. Some of those
villages don’t even have a spring or
borehole.
“It is the level of convenience which
has gone down. This is why people are
saying their access to water is getting
worse,” he said, “Everybody wants a
high level of water service. Everybody
wants a borehole in their compound
but it costs about Shs8million to sink
one.”
“It could be cheaper to invest in a
piped scheme but still this is beyond
our reach at the moment,” he said, “We
need to accept that Uganda is still a
poor country.”
July 13 - 19, 2018 17
interview
More French
This year marks the 229th
anniversary of Bastille Day
and you are celebrating it
under the theme: “1968: a
companies
new era for women.” Explain
the motivation behind this
T
theme.
his year’s Bastille
coming
Day reflects on a
particular moment in
1968 which brought
about a cultural revolution
in France. University
students started a movement
Stephanie Rivoal, the French Ambassador to saying they wanted a less
Uganda spoke to The Independent’s Ronald conservative society with
Musoke on the relevance of this year’s Bastille Day more freedoms.The trend was
theme and the current Uganda-France relations soon picked up by factory
workers. At the time, workers
were working in a “Fordism”
manner—working along a
chain, doing the same work
in a systematic way which
became boring. They wanted
to have something different.
The workers and students’
movements turned into
massive demonstrations in
the streets and even went
into violence. Then women
also picked up. At the time,
women were seen as stay-
home mums. They were there
to have and raise children.
They had very limited
access to contraception and
they were stuck in a certain
box. Women needed the
authorisation of the husband
to have a bank account and
to work. A woman needed
to refer to a male colleague
to have access to her own
money. Women were
even forbidden to wear
trousers. So women
wondered why they
have to submit to
men. So this year’s
Bastille Day is
celebrating the
start of this new
era for women.
We gained more
rights, more
independence
and more
emancipation.
My message is
this fight is not
finished yet
as statistics
still show that
women are
yet to realise
true equality
in terms of
rights and
18 July 13 - 19, 2018
opportunity.
Certainly this theme rings
true for Ugandan women too.
As an outsider, I am
amazed by the place of
women in Ugandan society;
the Speaker of Parliament is
a woman, the First Lady is
a minister. There are many
more powerful ministers,
powerful female MPs and
powerful ladies who are
running companies. I know
many of them personally so
I feel women have a strong
place in Uganda but this is
mostly in the urban areas. In
the rural areas, it is a slightly
different story. The women
are still very involved with
collecting the firewood,
cooking, and doing the work
in the fields. When I visited
Karamoja I discovered that
culturally women also do the
construction of houses and I
was wondering what men do
in that case. I find that women
in rural Uganda work harder
and they have probably too
much on their shoulders.
They are also exposed to
gender based violence very
much. This is unacceptable
as it is everywhere else in the
world. When you put down
women, the entire society
suffers. It is in the interest of
everyone to respect women
and give them some economic
opportunity.
Why, do you think, women
are still underrated the world
over?
It takes a deep cultural
change on the men’s part to
understand that women will
never be a threat to them. We
are their partners in life and
in the development of society
and once men understand
that sharing power would
mean that everyone benefits
and that domination is not
necessary and does not lead
to the right progression of
society, it will make a big
difference.
What explains the popularity
of Bastille Day among
modern French people?
The French people have
always liked fighting and
demonstrating for their rights,
justice and equality. It is

deeply ingrained in them. From a very
symbolic standpoint, Bastille Day is a
day of freedom and liberation. I think the
French people understand that rights,
justice, and equality require constant
attention, constant energy, and constant
fight and we should never sit back and
think that everything is fine. We should
always try to improve our society. So
we celebrate Bastille Day in a very
joyful way with one important concept:
freedom.
Away from Bastille Day, how have you
found your stay in Uganda so far?
The more I am in Uganda, the more
I love it. I have been to Karamoja twice
and I am going back in a few weeks after
Bastille Day. I have been to the north. I
visited the Gorillas which was a “wow”
experience for me. I absolutely loved
it. I went to see the chimps in Kibale
National Park. I also went to see Queen
Elizabeth National Park. I have visited
all the countryside and I am amazed
by Uganda’s beauty. I can relate to Sir
Winston Churchill’s quote about the
Pearl of Africa. The Ugandan people
have been warm and welcoming to me
and I enjoy a lot the rapport with the
Ugandan people. So I feel adopted by
Ugandans and I find it extremely nice to
work here.
What still does not work for you
though?
Well, it may seem anecdotal but I think
the pollution in Kampala is tough. I
think people should stop burning things
in the open air. We all complain about
the traffic jam although the quality of
roads has vastly improved. I am a very
impatient lady, so I don’t think there
is one country that can keep up with
my pace. But I wish everything would
be done quicker here. Most of the time
when I work with Ugandans, I put a lot
of energy and then things move a little
faster. So it is possible.
How would you describe the current
relations between France and Uganda?
I believe we are enjoying very friendly,
profitable and frank relations. I hope
that the authorities and the Ugandan
people are enjoying our presence and see
benefits. We are very pleased with some
developments; military cooperation, the
development projects, and the business
that we are bringing. We will continue
to help with the infrastructure, water,
waste management, and other priority
projects. What remains very important
is respect: respect of the country, respect
of the elected people and respect of
leaders and respect of all Ugandans in
every capacity. But I hope that even with
my acknowledgement of this, it does
not prevent me from making statements
about issues which I feel strongly about;
like the women, for example.
At the start of your tour of duty in
late 2016, you said that you were
particularly attracted to Uganda because
of its geo-politics, business prospects,
and humanitarian challenges. Have
these sentiments changed in any way?
Uganda is very much involved in
solving the crisis in South Sudan. Of
course there is Congo; Burundi and
Rwanda in the southern part and the
business relations with Tanzania and
Kenya. So I still believe Uganda is central
geographically but also in terms of
conflict resolution and building the East
African Community. In terms of security,
I believe we
are enjoying
very friendly,
profitable and
frank relations.
I hope that the
authorities and
the Ugandan
people are
enjoying our
presence and
see benefits
I know that AMISOM is staffed vastly by
the UPDF. We also know that terrorism
is still a threat in Somalia and it is one
of the top priorities of my government
to fight terrorism in any shape or form
and we will continue supporting Uganda
on that front. As far as humanitarian
issues are concerned, unfortunately,
the crisis is still there with the South
Sudanese refugees in the north but also
now with the Congolese, not forgetting
the historical refugees from Burundi
and some from Rwanda. The situation
remains fragile and we continue to see
how Uganda is trying to help yet they
have their own development concerns.
What do you make of the eternal
tension in the Great Lakes region?
Relationships among neighbouring
interview
countries are up and down. But when
you have strong economic links you will
have peace. Europe was built initially on
a treaty based on steel. We agreed not
to compete on steel and we agreed to
have an agreement between ourselves
of an economic nature and that was the
first pillar of Europe’s (stability). So I
am inclined to think that economic links
between countries would ensure that
these countries don’t fight each other.
How have you been promoting French
business interests in Uganda?
Total is now leading the oil project
in Uganda. It is good news for France.
We are hoping that would bring
more companies into Uganda. On the
infrastructure front, SOGEA SATOM
has been very active in Uganda on roads
but also on water treatment. They have
a strong appetite to do more work in
Uganda. For the first time, last year,
there was a delegation of 40 companies
to Uganda. They were from a variety of
sectors and they were led by the head
of the government’s syndicate business
union—the Mouvement des Entreprises
de France (MEDEF). That was extremely
positive. They will come again next year.
So over the last 12 months and 12 months
ahead, I think we will have over 100 new
companies come into Uganda to have a
look and see what they want to do here.
The numbers are growing and we are
very hopeful.
There is definitely a growing interest
from French companies to come and
invest in Uganda but what specific
challenges do they face once they are
here?
I shared their concerns the last time we
had a meeting with the President. The
number one thing that a businessman
needs in a country is stability; in
legislation and the tax regime. Things
need to be clear from the start. If they
believe that rules are going to change
every other year—on tax, work permits,
investment decisions, they get put off.
Right now, the rules are very clear
and there are many incentives. The
second thing they don’t like at all is
the bureaucracy—lost papers, delays.
The last thing is about keeping your
commitments. When you sign a
contract with whomever and you
agree on a schedule, this ought to be
respected, meaning that overturning
a signed contract or not respecting a
timetable kills trust. This is not me
talking, it is the investors talking and
because I come from a business side, I
understand them. Why should I invest
two years negotiating a contract and
when it is signed I don’t know whether
it will be honoured?
July 13 - 19, 2018 19
rwanda
Parliamentary polls
Seven parties seek alliance with RPF-Inkotanyi
By John Mbaraga
A
s preparation for the forthcoming
Parliamentary elections continue;
with political parties conducting
civic education and electing flag
bearers to represent them, it has emerged
that some of them could form a coalition
with the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front
(RPF)-Inkotanyi. Their strategy is simple;
to ride on RPF’s support to secure seats in
parliament.
Rwanda has 11 registered political par-
ties and four have so far confirmed they
are ready to take on RPF in the polls the
National Electoral Commission (NEC)
scheduled for September. They include the
Liberal Party (PL), the Social Democratic
Party (PSD), the Democratic Green Party of
Rwanda (DGPR), and the RPF. The other
seven political parties are said to be in talks
with RPF.
The Solidarity and Progress Party (PSP)
is one of these parties, and its chairperson,
Phoebe Kanyange, told The Independent
that they have already discussed the matter
of forming an alliance with RPF officials.
“We also gave them a list of 36 members
20 July 13 - 19, 2018
that will contest in the elections; and we are
targeting win at least five seats,” she said.
She said PSP prefers to ally with RPF to
benefit from its support to get the desired
seats in parliament.
“If we campaign independently, it will
affect the party’s performance,” she said.
Kanyange said that the party had already
conducted its primaries from village to dis-
trict levels to elect flag bearers, adding that
the idea of forming a partnership with RPF
was approved at the party’s May general
assembly, where the final list of contenders
was also announced.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled to
kick off on Sept. 02, with Rwandans living
abroad casting their ballots first, and on
September 03, the exercise will be carried
out within the country.
Shared vision
The Democratic Union of Rwandese
People (UDPR) party, which is also seeking
a coalition with RPF-Inkotanyi, says they
have encouraged their members to vote for
RPF in forthcoming Parliamentary elections
whether RPF accepts the UDPR proposal
or not.
Pierre Nizeyimana, the chairperson said
UDPR and RPF already have “mutual col-
laboration”. He added that the party execu-
tive council has already communicated the
decision to members.
The youth party leader says UDPR sup-
ports Rwanda’s Seven-Year Development
Programme spearheaded by RPF, and
wants to contribute in its implementation
process.
“Based on RPF and its Chairman Paul
Kagame’s vision to promote youth, we want
to combine efforts in youth promotion since
our party is dominated by young people…
we want their active participation in nation-
al reconstruction efforts,” he added.
The party has already named four flag
bearers, two men and two women. Current-
ly, UDPR has one senator in parliament.
The Labour Party of Rwanda (PSR) says
it is also looking to partner with the ruling
party in the forthcoming polls “because it
has good societal projects and political pro-
gramme which we want to support”.
While confirming the move, PSR presi-
dent Jean Baptiste Rucibigango, an MP in
the current parliament, said RPF’s political
programme is “unquestionable and the

party has helped contribute a
lot to Rwanda’s socio-economic
development; that is why we
want to compliment them”.
He added that campaigning
under the RPF flag will help
them secure more seats in parlia-
ment. Rucibigango revealed that
RPF has promised them two
seats.
Another party seeking to ride
on RPF’s back is Ideal Demo-
cratic Party (PDI) that has one
seat in parliament, which they
also got through a coalition with
RPF, making their decision to
continue in the marriage of con-
venience not surprising.
In the 2017 presidential elec-
tions, all political parties, except
Democratic Green Party, sup-
ported RPF’s candidate, Paul
Kagame who won over about
99% of the total votes cast.
RPF was cagy on the issue
of numerous parties seeking to
contest parliamentary elections
under its flag, with the party’s
Secretary General’s clerk saying
that the details of election prepa-
rations would be announced
during the general assembly
scheduled this month.
We will go it alone
As other small parties seek
the backing of the ruling party,
Centrist Democratic Party (PDC)
is still on the fence, weighing
their options, in the meantime.
Party president, Agnes Muk-
abaranga, told this publication
that preparations were going on
well. “We are a political party,
and we wish to be represented
in Parliament,” she said. Cur-
rently, the party has two law
makers, one in lower house and
another one in the upper house.
In 2013 Parliamentary elections,
the party had joined RPF. The
party chief, however, said they
would announce their position
at the party’s general assembly
next week.
There are 80 seats in the
Lower Chamber that are up for
grabs, 53 of which are for direct-
ly elected MPs belonging to
different political organisations.
A total of 24 seats are reserved
for women representatives, who
are elected through the National
Women Council structures,
while two seats are for youth
representatives, and one goes
to an MP for people living with
disabilities.
Mobile money links
Rwanda, Tanzania
New cross-border mobile money hub
enables international transfers
By Stephen Nuwagira
L
ocal traders doing business with Tanzania
and other Rwandans can now conduct
transactions with their business partners or
relatives in the neighbouring country via
mobile following unveiling of new cross-border
money transfer service by MTN Rwanda on July
05.
The mobile-to-mobile remittance service
between Rwanda and Tanzania will also enable
the telecom’s Mobile Money subscribers to send
money to Airtel Tanzania subscribers seamlessly
through the MFS Africa Hub.
The Hub connects mobile wallet customers
across networks and countries in sub-Saharan
Africa, enabling convenient and affordable
mobile-to-mobile international money transfers.
Already, MTN subscribers can conduct cross-
border mobile money transfers to Uganda, Kenya
and Zambia.
MTN chief business and corporate affairs
officer Chantal Kagame said the service brings
the convenience of instant cross-border money
transfers directly to customers’ mobile wallets.
The mobile money service has deepened financial
inclusion among Rwandans, supports the push
for a cashless economy, and will help to drive eco-
nomic growth.
“MTN Mobile Money services have improved
the lives of customers, and also supported the
developing Rwanda’s financial infrastructure.
The efficiency of regional remittance will see
customers transfer money easier, faster and more
conveniently across borders at a fraction of current
costs,” she said.
The launch of regional remittance with Airtel
Tanzania follows the recent reduction of MTN
MoMo tariffs by up to 80%. Customers can
rwanda
now send small amounts of money, even below
Rwf100, with transfer fees that start from as low
as Rwf3.
Tigo (now Airtel Tigo) pioneered cross-border
mobile money transfer services over four years
ago, when it launched the service between Tigo
Rwanda and Tigo Tanzania in 2014.
Airtel provides similar services across all its
operations in Africa. Over Rwf3,385 million was
pushed through cross-border mobile financial
services between January and December 2017,
central bank figures show, and the service is one
of the areas telecoms are targeting to drive growth
and expand their footprint.
How it works
The MTN Mobile Money ecosystem has
expanded extensively, enabling users to pay for
moto taxi fares in partnership with Yegomoto; and
settle parking fees in partnership with Kigali Vet-
erans Cooperative Society.
Kagame added that the firm has also partnered
with local banks to facilitate push & pull services
between financial institutions and customers’
mobile wallets. “We are now registering about
Rwf130 billion in monthly transactions and we
continue to lead Mobile Money in Rwanda with
1.7 million active subscribers,” she said.
To send money to Airtel Tanzania, MTN Rwan-
da customers will be required to dial *830# from
their handsets and follow the prompts, where
they will also view the equivalent amount to
send based on prevailing foreign exchange
rates. They will then be prompted to approve
the transaction with their MoMo personal iden-
tification number (PIN). Upon sending they will
receive a confirmation message that the transac-
tion has gone through.
July 13 - 19, 2018 21
rwanda
A solar powered grain drier at the agri expo last week.   Stephen Nuwagira.
Farmers fight climate change
Annual show exposes what must be
done to make agriculture profitable
By Elias Hakizimana and Stephen Nuwagira
B
ugesera District, like other areas of
the Eastern Province in Rwanda,
experiences long and severe dry
spells these daily because of climate
change. But it is the home of Jean Pierre
Hategekimana, a farmer – and he must
survive. He grows maize, vegetables, and
beans.
Until recently, for Hategekimana and the
other farmers in the Gashora sector, eking a
living as a farmer has been a gamble; plant
crops and the rain is plentiful and you will
get a good harvest. Plant crops and there is
a prolonged drought, and you lose every-
thing.
Last year, however, Hategekimana got
something that has quickly proved to be
a life saver - his mobile phone. With it, he
now receives up-to-date weather forecasts
and is able to properly plan when to plant.
The weather updates are supported by
the International Center for Tropical Agri-
22 July 13 - 19, 2018
culture (CIAT), Meteo Rwanda, and the
Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) and are
part of several interventions undertaken by
the Rwanda government to improve agri-
culture production and value chains.
Frank Rusanganwa, a senior weather
forecaster at Meteo Rwanda, says when
farmers can get weather information on
their phones, it is like they have an “auto-
matic weather station”.
When farmers can predict the weather,
it helps them safeguard against its effects.
The weatherman says the initiative is cur-
rently covering less than 50 per cent of
country, but would soon be rolled out serve
the majority of farmers in all 30 districts of
Rwanda.
Such innovations aim at making agricul-
ture more climate change resilient and sus-
tainable to ensure food security and boost
household earnings.
Most of these were on show by farmers
and experts who participated in the
recently-ended 13th Kigali Agriculture
Expo at Mulindi show grounds in Gasabo
District.
The Agriculture and Animal Resources
minister, Dr Geraldine Mukeshimana told
the gathering that climate resilient strategies
will be the bedrock on which the agriculture
sector’s transformation will be built.
She was speaking on the theme of the
annual agri-show which was “Investing in
innovation and agribusiness to transform
agriculture”. The agriculture sector employs
over 72% of the Rwanda population of
more than 12 million people, especially in
the rural areas. The sector has recorded
major gains with more farmers adopting
new innovations that have helped improve
production and value chains, but a lot still
needs to be done to make the sector more
sustainable, more productive, commercial-
oriented, and profitable.
Solar-power irrigation technologies, and
solar-powered grain driers, improved seeds,
mechanisation, and irrigation and agro-pro-
cessing technologies were all showcased.
Farmers like Hategekimana were also on
hand to narrate their success stories from
using climate resilient approaches to reduce

the effects of climate change, ensuring sus-
tainable crop and animal production, and
food security, while improved value chains
have supported market entry and made the
sector more competitive.
Hategekimana says the new practices
have helped make his farming activities
more sustainable and he now harvests
500kg of beans per a hectare compared to
200kg previously.
Several innovators, including university
students, exhibited farming tools like walk-
ing tractors, ploughs, and harvesters. Local-
ly-fabricated farm implements like planters
and sprayers were also showcased, raising
hope of easing access to affordable equip-
ment to support growth of the sector.
“These tools will enable farmers to
increase acreage under crop production and
boost yields,” said University of Rwanda’s
College of Agriculture, Animal Science
and Veterinary Medicine student, Sabrine
Mpozwanagusenga. The Agriculture mech-
anisation university student showcased a
seed planting machine she created. She said
locally-fabricated small farm implements
are instrumental in increasing crop yields.
Improved seed varieties
Nasson Twagiramungu, a banana grower
in Nyamasheke district, showcased an
improved banana variety locally known
as “ingoromoko,” which was almost taller
than him and weighs over 150kg. He was
able to increase production, harvesting
Iterambere potato varies that can weigh over 10kg per tuber.   Stephen Nuwagira
Twagiramungu grows high-yielding Ingoromoka banana variety.
about 30 bunches of bananas each month
from his half hectare piece of land, which is
five times more yields compared to when
one grows local banana breeds.
A bunch of the “ingoromoko” banana
variety costs Rwf20,000 each presently, and
Twagiramungu says the variety has enabled
many farmers to become food secure and
also improve their household incomes.
Jean Pierre Ahomuremyi, a potato
researcher at RAB, says they have been
able to develop varieties that are resistant
to pests and diseases, and can also be used
to make other products like biscuits, “man-
dazi” (dough nuts), wine and juice.
Known by their Kinyarwanda names
– “iterambere” and “gihingamukungu”
improved varieties are bigger in size, with
some potatoes weighing up to 10kg each,
and a farmer can harvest about 20 tonnes
per hectare. These varieties are more nutri-
tious and take just four months to mature,
Ahomuremyi explains.
“It is important to continue innovating
and developing new varieties, which are
drought and disease resistant, to make the
rwanda
sector more productive, sustainable and
resilient,” says Ahomuremyi.
Mpozwanagusenga says more should
be done to rev up innovation in the sector
and improve uptake of modern farming
technologies.
“People’s mind-sets also need to change
for them to adopt these technologies,” she
said.
For Alphonsine Uwimbabazi, third
year university student of Animal Produc-
tion, affordability and lack of necessary
infrastructure and facilities should also be
addressed because they affect uptake of
modern agriculture practices, like use of
artificial insemination.
Raissa Akimana, agriculture specialist in
Solar Irrigation Rwanda project, says use of
new technologies like solar energy-powered
irrigation equipment was supporting many
farmers to reduce the impact of prolonged
droughts that characterise the second part
of the year in Rwanda.
Irrigation plays a vital role in transform-
ing farming and is one of the key solutions
to the effects of climate change.
July 13 - 19, 2018 23
rwanda
Liberation Day
Kagame rallies Rwandans on unity, rebuilding country
By Francis Byaruhanga
R
wandans should continue working
together as the country moves onto
the next stage of liberation; one that
will ensure better social welfare for
all citizens and achieve its transformation
targets.
“The liberation struggle was the starting
point toward our economic development,
which gave us the foundation on which we
should build to realise the development
aspirations of our country,” said President
Paul Kagame while presiding over the 24th
Liberation Day (Kwibohora24) celebrations
at Rongi, Muhanga District in Southern
Province on July 02.
Kagame, who inaugurated the two model
villages and the different facilities built by
Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) during the
event, said continued collaboration and
hard work are essential in the this phase of
rebuilding Rwanda.
“The struggle was successful majorly
because collaboration; so we should
continue this collaborative approach to
improve the welfare of all Rwandans, as
well as be able to continue rebuilding the
country, including access to electricity by
24 July 13 - 19, 2018
all citizens, affordable housing, and better
infrastructure,” he said.
He added that liberation is about giving
citizens their dignity, and urged the security
forces, including police officers, to “tighten
their belts” and ensure the citizens and their
properties are safe and secure.
You must address cases of human
trafficking and insecurities that are rampant
along border areas because we cannot speak
of liberation without security, peace, and
improved welfare of citizens, the president
added.
“You have a right to access to electricity,
water and other services provided by
government; so you should hold us
accountable and demand that we deliver;
don’t pay anyone to give you these services
or anything else because it’s our duty as
leaders to serve you,” he added.
Don’t misuse facilities
The president urged residents of the
two model villages commissioned to use
the houses and other facilities in the area
appropriately, challenging them to work
hard and ensure they attain sustainable
development.
Liberation would be meaningless,
according to the RDF, if citizens and
survivors of 1994 genocide against the Tutsi
continue to struggle to get basic needs,
such as housing, or realising economic
development.
“Human security forms the basic
foundation of national defense and
stability,” said Minister of Defense James
Kabarebe, “This forms the rationale
for the defense intervention in various
areas of human security that continue to
pose threats to people and impede their
advancement.”
Beneficiaries speak out
Antonia Musabyimana, a mother of four
and one of the beneficiaries of the new
homes, thanked president Kagame and
the government for the support that “will
improve our standards of living”.
Musabyimana explained that her family
used to live in a high risk area.
“Floods would destroy my house during
the rainy season and my children would
struggle while trying to go to school during
the rainy season,” she said. Rwanda is
ranked globally as one of the safest places
to live and also one of the best places for
women to live, among others.

W
By Isaac Khisa
hen the shilling slid
against the dollar in
March 2015, hitting a
10- year low, the drop
was perceived as minor
and the local currency
would recover fast. Sadly, those who had
this view were mistaken.
Nearly four years down the lane, the
shilling has lost approximately 13% of
its value to Shs3, 880 against the popular
United States dollar – the currency that
many countries and companies use to
participate in international trade and to
borrow.
The problem appears to be shared by
the world’s emerging markets, making
governments unable to plan ahead.
Locally, this trend come at the time a
section of government executives and the
private sector players still argue that the
current trend is attributed to consistently
low value in the country’s exports
compared with imports.
But research by The Independent and the
financial experts paint a different picture.
Statistics from the Bank of Uganda (BoU)
show that the level of trade imbalance has
remained relatively the same over the past
four years but the local currency has ceded
ground from Shs 2,860 in January 2015 to
Shs3, 631 in January 2018.
By press time (July 06), it was trading
at approx.Shs3, 850 against the US dollar,
according to Bank of Uganda.
Meanwhile, statistics from BoU show that
as at January 2015, the country imported
goods worth US$510million compared with
US$ 529million in January 2018.
On the other hand, the value of exports
stood at US$219.5million compared with
US$337million during the same period
under review.
This presents a trade deficit of
US$290.5million in January 2015 and
US$192million as at the end of January this
year – representing a 52% drop.
In terms of monthly imports, Uganda
imported goods worth US$2,004million
during the first four months of the year
to April 2015 while export values stood
at US$910million. This represents a trade
deficit of US$1,084million.
However, the country imported goods
worth US$2,252million during the first four
months to April 2018 whereas the imports
stood at US$1,180million, representing a
trade deficit of US$1,072million.
Paul Emasu, a research analyst and
operations manager at a brokerage firm,
Crested Capital, told The Independent in an
Why shilling may
not recover soon
Cost of doing business likely to go up in
line with the weakening local currency
Gideon Badagawa
Louis Kasekende
interview that the shilling has been under
immense pressure in the recent past with
most of it driven by the growing strength of
the dollar against other currencies.
“This also wasn’t helped by our frail
balance of payment position given the fact
that we are a heavy net importer,” he said.
America factor
Suzan Khainza, a financial advisor
working with the Kampala Serena Hotels
re-echoes Emasu’s views. She said the US
decision to raise interest rates has made
foreign investors consider investing in the
US due to high returns rather than take the
risk in the emerging markets such as Africa.
Last month, the US Federal Reserve
raised short-term interest rates by a quarter
of a percentage point, its second rate hike
this year and the seventh since late 2015.
The Fed decided to increase interest
rates to encourage investors to continue to
invest in the US economy and create jobs
following recovery from the 2008 financial
crisis.
The Fed said the US labor market has
“continued to strengthen” and economic
activity has been “rising at a solid rate”
with household spending picking up and
businesses in fixed investment growing
strongly.
The Fed also said both overall inflation
and so-called core inflation for items other
than food and energy “have moved close to
2%” suggesting that Fed officials are getting
increasingly confident about inflation
reaching its 2% target.
In its latest forecast, the Federal bank
expected the U.S. economy to grow at 2.8%
this year, a little higher than 2.7% estimated
in March.
The U.S. unemployment rate is expected
to drop to 3.6% by the end of the year, lower
than 3.8% previously estimated.
Fed executives envisioned four rate hikes
this year, up from three estimated in March,
according to the median forecast for the
federal funds rate. Fed policy makers also
pencilled three rate increases in 2019 and
one in 2020.
“This coupled with reduced interest
rates have made us (Uganda) less attractive
for foreign investors to invest in our
treasury bills and bonds,” she said adding
“Kenya, with a more steady currency, is
offering more attractive interest rates on
short-term making Kenya a preferred
destination.”
Khainza said the dollar denominated
July 13 - 19, 2018 25
business
debt also has an impact as it increases the
government’s need for dollars.
The government has in the recent
past acquired billions of shillings from
external sources especially China to fund
various development projects including
roads, power dams and airports.

BoU’s view
During the Annual General Meeting
of the Uganda Institute of Banking and
Financial Services (UIBFS) last month,
Louis Kasekende, the deputy governor of
BoU, said there are fundamental factors
underpinning the depreciation of the
shilling against the US dollar.
“On the external front, the US dollar
has strengthened in the international
market and this is reflected in the
weakening, albeit with varying degrees,
of currencies of most emerging market
and developing economies,” he said.
“On the domestic front, the balance
of payments has weakened, reflecting
in part the strong import demand from
manufacturing, energy, trade and
commerce sectors.”

NSSF backtracks on
However, he noted that some element
of speculative trading has crept in, in the
past few days accelerating the pace of
depreciation of the exchange rate.

Uganda Clays debt

He, however, said BoU has adequate
reserve buffers to support the currency
whenever they deem the movements
to be out of line with economic
fundamentals.
Gideon Badagawa, the executive
director of the Private Sector Foundation By Isaac Khisa Byarugaba said UCL needs at least

Uganda told The Independent in an inter-
view that the cost of doing business in
the country is already going up as busi-
ness struggles to cope with the weakened
shilling against the dollar.
“We buy our raw materials in dollars
and therefore any decrease in the value of
our local currency will lead to a rise in the
cost of doing business and thus higher
prices for finished products,” Badagawa
said.
Badagawa said it is time for businesses
especially those involved in manufactur-
ing to try out import substitution where
possible to tame rising cost of production.
Paul Lakuma, a research analyst at the
macroeconomic department of the Mak-
erere University based Economic Policy
Research Centre told The Independent in
an interview that the weakening shilling
against the dollar is a wake-up call for the
business community to plan ahead.
“They (business community) need
to buy and save a lot of dollars during
lower prices for use during scarcity,”
he said.
He said companies also need to
ensure that there is enough inventory
of raw materials at all times to contain
likely market shocks.
N
ational Social Security Fund
(NSSF) does not intend to
convert its debt in the Uganda
Clays Limited into equity,
according to its Managing Director,
Richard Byarugaba.
Byarugaba, who was speaking recently
during the UCL’s Annual General
Meeting in Kampala, said the pension
fund is not interested in buying more
shares in the clays manufacturing firm.
“NSSF is not interested in converting
its debt into equity in the UCL because
you the shareholders will be diluted,” he
said.
“Acquiring more shares in the firm
means that the pension fund will
have more than 50% shareholdings in
the company, placing it in a position
of making majority decisions as
management but we are not in clays
manufacturing.”
Byarugaba said the Fund, which
currently owns a 32.5% stake in UCL,
neither operates nor has expertise in
operating clays manufacturing business,
a situation that made the two entities
search for new investors to inject cash
into the business for growth.
Shs11bn to stir faster profit growth.
This came amidst speculation that NSSF
intends to convert its debt in UCL into
equity.
NSSF extended an Shs11billion loan
to the company in 2010 to purchase
machinery for increasing kiln output at
Kamonkoli factory, located in the eastern
part of the country, and purchase spares
for the Kajjansi factory.
However, the loan which attracted a
13-15% annual interest had swollen to
Shs23.2billion. UCL’s Managing Director,
George Inholo, said the firm hopes to
return to profitability once it gets a new
capital injection.
He said the company plans to optimise
its Kamonkoli factory, now synonymous
with losses, to widen its market in the
eastern and northern region as well as
venture into western Kenya.
“We have also segmented the country
into 5 territories. We have 17 selling
points across the country and we have
several innovations we are going to
launch this year,” he said.
Last year, UCL saw its net profit grow
to Shs2.395bn compared with Shs2.375bn
in 2016 and Shs1.207bn loss in 2015 citing
increased aggressive marketing strategies

26 July 13 - 19, 2018


Good year for banks
Economy, stringent risk and loan
management to define 2018 performance
By Isaac Khisa & Julius Businge
B
ank of Uganda’s latest supervision
report for 2017 is generally portray-
ing banks as profit making when
compared with the previous year.
The report as usual, provides information
on the BoU’s supervisory activities during
the year, the reforms it has undertaken to
the regulatory framework, an evaluation
of the performance of the financial system,
and an assessment of risks to financial sta-
bility.
“During 2017, the performance of the
banking industry in Uganda strengthened,”
BoU Governor, Prof. Emmanuel Tumusi-
ime-Mutebile notes in the foreword of the
40-page report.
According to the report, net after-
tax profits more than doubled from
Shs302.1billion for the year 2016 to
Shs672.9billion for the year 2017 citing a
reduction in the provision for bad debts.
Return on equity (ROE) and return on
assets (ROA) improved from 8.3% and 1.3%
to 16.4% and 2.7% respectively, over the
same period under review.
However, six banks were loss-making
last year, one less than the seven banks that
registered losses for 2016 despite improved
profitability.
The aggregate industry Non Perform-
ing Loans ratio (non-performing loans
to total gross loans) improved from
10.5% as at December 2016 to 5.6% as at
December 2017. NPLs dropped by 45.8%
from UShs1.2trillion in December 2016 to
Shs652.1billion in December last year.
In terms of currency, the report states that
there was improvement in credit quality in
the industry’s NPL ratio for both foreign
currency loans and shilling denominated
loans, from 12.6% and 8.8% respectively
at end of December 2016, to 6.5% and 5%
respectively at the end of December 2017.
The agriculture sector (Shs158.2billion),
and Trade and Commerce (Shs137.2billion)
accounted for most of the banking industry
NPLs.
Notable also is that the proportion of
NPLs attributed to the Real estate, Build-
ing and Construction sector decreased by
Shs166.9 billion over the year ended.
The share of total loans to total deposits,
which averaged 74.2% in the four years
to December 2016, reduced to 64.1% as at
December 2017. In particular, banks con-
stricted credit to the real estate and manu-
facturing sectors.
However, the country’s total assets of the
banking sector grew, in nominal terms, by
12% from Shs23.7trillion to Shs26.5trillion
during the same period under review.
This was on account of a 204.1% increase
in banks’ holdings of BOU securities,
from Shs0.8 trillion in December 2016 to
Shs2.5trillion in December 2017.
Customer deposits grew by 12% to close
at Shs18.2trillion during the same period
under review, with shilling denominated
deposits accounting for Shs11.6trilllion.
Improved performance of the banking
industry is most desired because of the
importance it has on fuelling the economy
business
that is currently showing signs of recovery.
Bank branches
Whereas there were 24 commercial banks
as at the end of last year, the total number
of branches declined from 570 in 2016 to 544
in 2017, and the total number of automated
teller machines (ATMs) operated by com-
mercial banks decreased from 860 to 821
during the same period under review.
“This decline can be attributed to: the clo-
sure of Crane bank; and increased emphasis
on electronic banking channels to provide
financial services, leading to the rationalisa-
tion of bank branches through mergers and
closures,” the report says.
Overall, the growth in bank loans and
advances was subdued despite the easing
of monetary policy during the year. In 2017,
bank credit to the private sector increased
by 1.5% to Shs11.5 trillion, lower than 6.1%
growth registered in 2016.
The shilling denominated loans expand-
ed by 8.3% in 2017 to Shs6.9 trillion, which
was higher than the 7.5% growth registered
in the previous year. However, foreign
currency denominated loans fell by 7.1%
in 2017, down from the 4.4% growth reg-
istered in 2016. Foreign currency denomi-
nated loans constituted 40.7% of total loans
as at the end of December 2017, down from
44.4% as at end of December 2016.
Banks continued to exercise caution in
lending due to the high default rates suf-
fered in 2016, even though 2017 registered
significant improvement in loan perfor-
mance.
July 13 - 19, 2018 27
business
Enter analysts
Financial sector analysts that spoke to
The Independent expressed mixed reac-
tions about the sector’s performance and
what they expect in 2018.
“Going by the indicators the sector is
headed in a good direction,” said Joseph
Kibuuka, the head of investment banking
at Crested Capital, a brokerage firm.
Kibuuka said the banks learned lessons
from the past years and have become
more careful while selecting those to
extend loans. Going forward, he said
that if the economy (that was expected
to grow at 5.8% in FY2017/18 – the high-
est in recent years), remains stable and
steadily growing, it will boost perfor-
mance of the sector this year.
Similarly, Don Atwine, a banker work-
ing with FINCA Uganda said the 2017
performance was good but the sector still
needed to do better.
“2018 is likely to be a better year
because of the momentum gained last
year,” he said.
Earlier, Stanbic Bank Chief Executive One of the MTN service centres in Kampala.
Officer, Patrick Mweheire, said the bank-

Customers pull out

ing industry was likely to experience
tough times.
“2018 is going to be a tough year,
there’s no doubt. If you look at the yield

of Mobile money
curve…it is in the unchartered territory,”
he told journalists as he announced his
bank’s financial performance at the Sher-
aton Kampala Hotel on March 28.
“Banks in this country have never had
a Central Bank Rate of 9% (as it is at the
moment). It is a good thing for the econ-
omy (as interest rates will drop) but it is
New tax to hit business hard
very hard for banks to make money.”
Mweheire said this year is also likely By Isaac Khisa & Julius Businge e-commerce and digital communications

to be a challenging one and that banks
will have to do something else to make
money and grow their profits.
The 2017 supervision report comes at a
time Bank of Uganda (BoU) is cautioning
commercial banks on tightening require-
ments for securing loans as they move
to implement stricter provisioning stan-
dards required under the International
Financial Reporting Standard 9 (IFRS9)
that came into force last January.
The BOU has issued a circular to banks
regarding IFRS 9 and is evaluating the
banks’ compliance with the standard as
well as its likely impact on capital ade-
quacy and credit growth ahead of issuing
the final guidance.
Meanwhile, BoU expects the industry’s
performance to improve this year as eco-
nomic growth picks up and institutions
[banks] clear the legacy of bad loans.
The expected performance is pegged
on the improving macroeconomic
environment and accommodative
monetary policy, which is expected
to enhance the financial position of
households and corporations.
U
ganda’s latest Finscope survey
shows that the adult population
that has access to some form of
financial services from the formal
and informal sectors has more than doubled
to 78% since 2006 driven by mobile money.
But the progress could soon be eroded
with the introduction of tax on mobile mon-
ey transfer services as government seeks to
collect Shs114bn to finance the Shs 32 trillion
budget for the financial year 2018/19.
Albert Mucungizi, the chairperson of
Information, Communication Technology
Association of Uganda said in a statement
that government’s recent move to impose
a tax on mobile money transfer and social
media will increase the cost of doing busi-
ness and thus make the country a less attrac-
tive destination for investment.
“Additional charges added to Mobile
Money in particular threaten the survival
of innovative companies in the digital pay-
ments space, and make it more difficult for
innovators to create new solutions within
that ecosystem,” he said.
“Companies and individuals engaged in
or otherwise conduct business, job searches
among others, through social media may be
negatively affected by a reduced local online
audience,” he added.
Mucunguzi said the new mobile money
tax services will discourage people to revert
to cash and the informal economy and
decreases the ability of the government,
businesses and individuals to monitor and
account for economic activities.
The government, which had initially
imposed 1% tax on the value of mobile
money transactions – transferring and with-
drawals – in the new budget, slashed the tax
by half following uproar from the public.
This tax is an addition of the already exist-
ing 10% exercise duty on costs incurred on
mobile money withdrawals or money trans-
fer charges.
However, it maintained its stance on the
Shs200 social media tax commonly known
as over the top tax (OTT tax) daily, with the
hope to generate about Shs.284bn.
Julius Mukunda, the executive director
of Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG)
said there is need to drop the tax on mobile
money arguing that 61% of MTN mobile

28 July 13 - 19, 2018


money clients transfer less than Shs45, 000
and as such imposing a transaction value
tax will negatively impact this section of the
customers who use Mobile Money for basic
survival.
“Mobile money users still struggle finan-
cially... e.g 64% do not have an emergency
fund, 31% do not have enough food to eat,
and 59% spend more than they earn, “he
said.
He said imposing the new tax will nega-
tively affect the mobile money business and
ultimately impact on the revenue collection
potential (corporation tax) which telecom
companies pay to government.
In the neighbouring countries in the
region, Kenya, which has experienced a
faster growth in mobile money transfer
services in the world, raised mobile money
excise tax from 10% to 12% on withdrawal
charges amidst protest from the telecoms
that the move will hurt the poor most and
undo most of the gains made in promoting
a cashless economy.
Unlike Uganda that simply decided to
raise the tax without any specific plans
pegged to the additional revenue to be col-
lected, Kenya plans to use the funds realised
from the levy to fund universal healthcare
programme that aim to cover all house-
holds by 2022.
Similarly, Kenya, like many other coun-
tries in the world does not impose tax on
social media contrary to the blatant lie by
Godfrey Mutabazi, the executive director of
Uganda Communications Commission that
many countries in the world impose tax to
its citizens to access social media.
This development comes as data from
Bank of Uganda shows that mobile money
transfer services recorded a 44% growth in
the value of transactions to Shs63.1 trillion
as at the end of Dec. 2017 compared with
the same period in the previous year due to
increase in subscriber numbers.
This is double the national budget for this
financial year and more than double the
country’s Gross Domestic Product that now
stands at US$27bn. The number of mobile
money transactions also rose 23.8% to over
1.2billion during the same period under
review.
A section of mobile money agents that
spoke to The Independent said the transac-
tions have drastically reduced by more than
half.
“Even those who are coming to transact
are merely withdrawing and not depositing
because of the taxes,” John Okoth, an agent
at Arua Park, Kampala said.
“To make the situation even worse, we
also have to pay 10% withholding tax, up
from 6% previously. All this implies that we
cannot survive in this business.”
He said a number of mobile money
agents are now considering closing their
business in search for opportunities citing
low returns amidst surging rental costs.
Responding to the uproar over the
mobile money and social media tax, Presi-
dent Yoweri Museveni, said there can be
room to debate on the proposed 0.5% on
mobile money transfer.
“As to social-media tax, all the moral rea-
sons are in favour of that tax,” he said.
He said the social media users have no
right to squander the dollars by endlessly
donating money to foreign telephone com-
panies through chatting or even lying.
He said in 1991, tax collection to GDP
stood at only 4% and these rose to 12% fol-
lowing the formation of Uganda Revenue
Authority but it has stagnated for a long
time.
“Last financial year it rose to 14.2%. In
other countries in Europe, the tax to GDP
ratio is 30% or more. The average tax to
GDP ratio in Africa is 18%. Why is the tax to
GDP ratio in Uganda so low?” he asked.
He said the low revenue collection is
attributed to the fact that telephone com-
panies have been under-declaring calls
until recently when government acquired
machines to monitor the telephone calls and
other transactions. He said that many peo-
ple who should be paying taxes on income
from rent do not pay or underpay. In addi-
tion Museveni said absence of scanners on
the borders and slowness in introducing
electronic stamps to the goods imported
from outside at the factory level was also a
challenge.
Telecom executives speak
Telecom firms said there was a drop in
customer transactions but were yet to anal-
yse the big picture.
Sumin Namaganda, the communication
manager at Airtel Uganda told The Indepen-
dent that their immediate observations are
business
that there is a drop in customer transactions
and it is negatively impacting the mobile
money business.
She, however, told The Independent on
July 06 that it was still early days to predict
what could happen to the business if the
trend continued.
She said they were continuing to monitor
the trends along with the relevant stake-
holders.
Similarly Justina Ntabgoba, the senior
manager for corporate affairs at MTN
Uganda said the new mobile money tax
was a threat to the business of the company
and the agents.
But she quickly told The Independent on
July 05 that it was too early to determine the
specifics of the threat.
She said they were monitoring the new
developments of the mobile money and
related taxes to be able to make detailed
assessment of the impact on the business in
two weeks’ time.
Information Technology experts like
Michael Niyitegeka have also weighed in.
Niyitegeka told The Independent that the
new taxes may not destroy but will signifi-
cantly hinder the growth of IT spaces.
“Simplistic as they may seem they are not
progressive in nature,” he said.
On the OTT tax, he said it is equally not
progressive given the fact that internet
penetration in this market is still on the
low end. He suggested that the progressive
approach would have been to have more
people online, and then engage the OTT
providers like Facebook to register locally
so that they are able to file returns to Ugan-
da Revenue Authority. 
He said that over the last couple of years
the growth rate of revenues from the tele-
com sector has been slow mode, and this
could be attributed to a number of factors
including internet charges still being high
in addition to competition from amongst
telecoms themselves.
“…so grow numbers, encourage innova-
tions, pay attention to digital content and
digital skills,” he said.
Going forward, Mucunguzi said they
urge the government to ensure that all
future laws and regulations related to
Uganda’s ICT industry originate from a
predictable, deliberate process that incor-
porates evidence-based research and public
consultation.
“The ICTAU is also engaging the
ministry of ICT and National Guidance
together with its agencies the UCC and
NITA-U in order to push for a sectoral
dialogue on this issue and await their
response,” he said, adding that they
envision an ICT sector that nurtures local
innovation and welcomes investment.
July 13 - 19, 2018 29
 Executive Style
More Ugandans
seek jobs abroad
What is your leadership
I
style as CEO?
am an inclusive person. I
believe that everybody at
KHM is a leader. We win
as a team. Our company
operates with or without
my presence otherwise if it
was a one man’s company,
then, it would have possibly
collapsed owing to my fre-
quent travels.
What is your assessment
of the level of Uganda’s
labour export abroad?
As a country, we have
since 2015, exported over
70,000 workers to the
Middle East alone with
over US$2 million collected
in remittances back home.
This means that the num-
ber of people interested to
go and work abroad is very
high owing to the high level
of unemployment locally. We
receive about 50 people each
single day as KHM seeking
opportunities abroad. Given
the fact that we over 100 labour
recruiting companies in the
country is an indication that
more and more people are
interested to go work abroad.
Which kind of labour do you
export to these foreign mar-
kets?
We recruit and send profes-
sional labour such as drivers,
engineers, masons, administra-
tors, marketing and sales, cus-
tomer service, among others
as well as semi skilled. Semi-
skilled here include domestic
workers, security guards, driv-
ers, and factory helpers.
Which category attracts the
highest number of applicants
seeking to work abroad?
At the moment, the semi-
skilled category such as secu-
rity guards and drivers rank
highest in terms of job applica-
tion to work abroad. They only
need basics in communication.
30 July 13 - 19, 2018
What is the criterion for se-
lecting the applicants?
We have a streamlined
criterion for sending labour
abroad based on the need of
a prospective employer. For
instance, we look at the level
of experience, education and
medical fitness. Our own set
of human resource profession-
als carry out aptitude tests to
ensure that people selected will
indeed work once they reach
abroad and not always think
about home. We also carry out
a pre-registration orientation
where we interact with the
prospective employee, know
their expectations and inform
them of our expectations.
How can one get recruited
with companies such as
yours?
For one to be recruited to go
work abroad, he or she must
be a Ugandan with a Ugandan
passport, must be medically
fit, good employment record if
available, academic documents
and able to communicate.
The other is cost – we need to
know who is going to meet
the costs especially air fare to
Ibrahim
Bogere is the
CEO of KHM
International
Consultants, a
human resource
firm that exports
labour to the
United Arab
Emirates, Qatar
and South
Arabia. He
spoke to The
Independent’s
Isaac Khisa
about the
country’s labour
export abroad.
the destination of the job.
Currently, there are only
two destinations where the
applicant does not need to
meet transportation costs that
are Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
However, these destinations
cater for only domestic work-
ers (house maids).
How do you earn income
from these services?
Brokerage is accepted
throughout the world. We
normally charge a one-off
moderate fee for our services
that involves linking the pro-
spective employee to the
prospective employer. There
are normally three charges –
fare, service fee for an agent in
Kampala and the service fee
for the agent that is sourcing
the employee for the employer
abroad.
How do you protect these
workers while executing their
duties?
It is our obligation to keep
monitoring persons recruited
to work abroad as stipulated
by the Ministry of Gender,
Labour and Social Develop-
ment until the contract expires.
We have a regional office
in Dubai that keeps on
monitoring our workers and
ensuring that everything is
moving on smoothly such
as working conditions and
remuneration. We also have
a regional monitoring office
in the Gulf spearheaded by
the government of Uganda
and under the guidance of
UWERA (our umbrella orga-
nization) based in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia.
How do you prepare local
workers prior to taking up
jobs?
We normally have a
pre-orientation registration
where we take through pro-
spective employees of vari-
ous cultures of places they
are going to be deployed. We
also carry out a five- day resi-
dential training and issue them
with certificates before under-
taking work abroad. The other
area involves vetting these
prospective employees by the
security organs as well as seek-
ing consent from the guardian
or parent of that particular per-
son. We also strive to ensure
that the agent abroad is vetted
by the Ugandan Embassy in
those countries to ensure that
they are licensed and meet all
the requirements. In conclud-
ing a deal, the government also
approves of and appends the
signature on a given contract.
Some challenges, if any, that
the industry face?
One of the major challenges
facing our industry is human
trafficking. It is very difficult to
identify legitimate entities that
export labour abroad and indi-
viduals trafficking people out
of the country. For that, when
an individual who was traf-
ficked out of the country gets
a problem, all the blame tends
to go to the recruiting agencies,
tainting its image.

Management
AFC appoints new CEO
A
frica Finance Corporation, the in-
frastructure development finance
institution in Africa announced the
appointment of Samaila Zubairu
as the Corporation’s 3rd President and Chief
Executive Officer, succeeding Andrew Alli
who comes to the end of his tenor, having
successfully served in the position since
2008.
In a July 2 statement, the AFC said, Zubai-
ru is a distinguished Fellow of the Institute
of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)
and an accomplished infrastructure devel-
opment finance specialist with over 29 years
of professional experience.
He is the CEO of Africapital Management
Limited, in which position he established
a joint venture with Old Mutual’s African
Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM)
to develop the Nigerian Infrastructure
Investment Fund1 (NIIF1) for infrastructure
private equity across West Africa. He also
recently coordinated the US$300 million
acquisition of Eko Electricity Distribution Plc
csr
Coca-Cola rewards more soccer fans
A
s the World Cup competition
neared the finals in Russia, inter-
national beverage company, Coca-
Cola promised to reward soccer
fans with different goodies as one way of
showing its support to the global tourna-
ment, it said in a notice.
However, it did not state the actual
amount set aside for the activity. The com-
pany was among the 2018 FIFA World Cup
sponsors. It recently donated goodies to fans
csr
Muni Girls School crowned 2018 Stanbic champions
Stanbic Bank CEO Patrick Mweheire, handing
over a solar system worth Shs20mn to Muni
Girls.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA
M
uni Girls’ Secondary School
from Arua in Northern Uganda
emerged victorious in the third
edition of the Stanbic National
Schools Championship, following a highly
competitive finale held in Kampala.
The three other regional finalists who
csr
NBL plan to donate sanitary pads to 1,000 pupils annually
NBL's Onapito-Ekomoloit (2nd R),
others handing over sanitary pads.
E
mployees of Uganda’s leading beer
brewer, Nile Breweries Limited,
plans to donate pads to at least 1,000
pupils annually, according to the
company’s legal and corporate affairs direc-
tor, Onapito Ekomoloit.
Onapito, who was speaking during the
handover of 300 pieces of So Sure reusable
to Murchison Bay Primary School in Luzira,
and revelers at a popular hangout located in
Lugogo, a few kilometers away from Kam-
pala city centre.
The company’s Brand Manager, Miriam
Limo said the company has had a long-
standing relationship with FIFA since 1976
and has been an official sponsor of the FIFA
World Cup since 1978. Earlier this year, the
two global bodies partnered to do the fourth
FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour.
made it to the grand finale included; Mengo
Senior School, Nakanyonyi Senior Second-
ary School and Bweranyangi Girls’ Senior
Secondary School.
The finalists were tasked to create busi-
nesses, present their business plans and
explain the sustainability of their business.
Stanbic’s CSR Manager, Barbara Kasek-
ende said, “the team from Muni Girls was
outstanding throughout the competition
and deserved to win.”
The Bank’s Chief Executive, Patrick Mwe-
heire said the lender believes that investing
in education is a critical vehicle to fostering
development in the country.
Approximately, 6,000 students from
60 schools countrywide participated
in this year’s Stanbic National Schools
Competition.
business
a Kampala suburb, said the company’s
interests is to ensure that pupils stay in
school all times.
“We as NBL are interested in ensuring
that pupils remains in school during men-
struation period. Our hope is provide at
least 1,000 pupils with sanitary pads as we
keep on increasing in the subsequent years,”
he said.
He said the sanitary support is to ensure
that girls have a fair chance to play in life,
as they develop into responsible citizens
through education.
This comes as the NBL marks seven years
of providing 72 scholarship packages for
secondary school education, through its
Equity Scholarship programme, worth Shs
2bn.
The company also provides scholarships
at St. Mary’s College Lugazi to orphans of
the 2010 World Cup terrorist twin bombings
in Kampala.
banking
CDC group to reduce its
shareholdings in dfcu bank
C
DC Group has told DFCU Group,
the parent of listed dfcu Bank, of its
intentions to reduce its 15% stake
in the Ugandan holding company
which has major interests in financial
services and commercial real estate.
The London-based firm is a development
finance institution owned by the British
government and has been a major equity
partner of DFCU for five decades.
Irina Grigorenko, CDC Investment
Director in-charge of Financial Institutions
said they are “undertaking a review of its
investment in DFCU Limited which may
lead to the disposal or some of some or
all of its shares in DFCU over the short to
medium term.”
“It is our aspiration to exit in a manner
that causes minimum disruption to the
business and ensures the orderly trading of
DFCU’s shares,” she said.
However, it remains unclear how this
will affect the bank but CDC expressed
hope that dfcu would continue to “succeed
with the support of Arise B.V., its major
shareholder.”
Last year dfcu saw its net profit nearly
triple to Shs127bn, up from Shs46.27bn in
2016 and Shs 37bn in 2015 amidst increase
in Non-Performing Loans.
July 13 - 19, 2018 31
business

Uganda’s Mobile Money

transactions hits Shs63 tn
By Isaac Khisa growing appetite for

T
elecoms mobile
money transfer
services have
recorded a 44%
growth in the value of
transactions to Shs63.1
trillion as at the end of
Dec 2017 compared with
the same period in the
previous year due to an
increase in subscriber
numbers.
President Museveni (M) together with the Director of Saachi This is double the national
Manufacturers Uganda Limited, Anand Nainani (L) and the State Minister budget for this financial year
for Finance in charge of investment, Evelyne Anite (R) with one of and more than half of the
the Saachi staff pose for a picture with some of the Products after a country’s Gross Domestic
meeting at State House Entebbe on July 3. Product that now stands at
US$27bilion.
The Bank of Uganda’s
Annual Supervision Report
2017 shows that the number
of transactions also rose
23.8% to over Shs1.2billion
during the same period
under review.
The number of registered
customers across the
networks increased by
8.4%, from 21.6 million as
at December 2016 to 23.4
million as at December
2017, signalling the
money mobile money
transfer platforms.
This development comes
at the time the government
is introducing a 1% levy
on mobile money transfer
aimed at raising more
than Shs 115bn to fund the
proposed Shs32 trillion
budget for this new
financial year.
However, the report
notes that there were
incidents of operational
risk in the mobile money
payments, with several
fraud cases reported, some
of which were perpetrated
by staff of the Mobile
Money network operators.
“Therefore, this calls for
proper internal controls
at the MNOs to mitigate
internally perpetuated
fraud,” the report says in
part.
As at end-December 2017,
there were seven mobile
money service providers
and include; MTN, Airtel,
Uganda Telecom, Africell,
M-Cash, EzeeMoney and
Micropay.

Vincent Omoth (R), Marketing Manager Fresh Dairy pose for a photo with
Fresh Dairy officials, and pupils of Kazo Mixed Primary School, Yogemu
Primary School, Kirinya Catholic School and St. Thomas Bazadde Catholic
School during the unveiling of the Fresh Dairy Yoghurt Cup Challenge held
at Fresh Dairy offices on July 4.   INDEPENDENT/JIMMY SIYA Weekly share price movement (June 25)
Security June 25 June 12 Movement
BATU 30,000 30000 00
BOBU 155 160 3.1
CENT 1,429 1,435 0.4
DFCU 870 895 2.8
EABL 8,211 8,387 2.0
EBL 1,870 1,860 0.5
JHL 19,300 18,890 2.2
KA 437 362 20.7
KCB 1,851 1,851 00
NIC 17 18 5.5
NMG 3,606 3,778 4.5
NVL 450 450 00
SBU 32 31 3.2
UCHM 55 62 11.3
UCL 21 25 16
The Chairman of MTN Uganda, Charles Mbire addressing journalists on the UMEME 300 300 00
attack of the company’s data centre in Kampala on July 09. ALSI -- -- --

32 July 13 - 19, 2018


By Michael Niyitegeka
Employment in digital era
Leverage ICT and online recruitment platforms to
get that dream job by standing out of the crowd
Y
ou have probably heard this before;
the world’s biggest taxi firm, Uber
owns no cars of their own and the
world’s most popular media com-
pany, Facebook, does not create any con-
tent. Similarly, the world’s most valuable
retailer, Alibaba, does not own any stock
and the world’s largest provider of accom-
modation, Airbnb, does not own even a
hotel room of its own.
Back at home, we have seen the emer-
gence of similar companies such as
Jumia and Safe Boda, who transact huge
volumes of business daily, but do not
necessarily own the goods and services
they deal in.
Such is the technology revolution and
it is happening everywhere; even in the
world of employment- sooner than later,
you will no longer need to carry physical
CVs, late alone look for jobs. Jobs will be
looking for you; but only if you position
yourself right.
In applying for jobs, just like in every-
thing else, standing out of the crowd
is very critical. So, if you have been
applying for several jobs with almost
no luck; and not even a reply, perhaps
it because your resume is getting lost in
the many other countless applications.
This is because in reality, recruiters
don’t have a lot of time to read through
profiles. Therefore, having your skills
automatically matched to available jobs
saves everyone’s time- yours and the
employers, and increases chances of
being found and hired.
I have participated in a number of
recruitment processes for a number of
organisations and, I must say, one of
my greatest frustrations is having to sift
through several applications of candi-
dates who do not and or seem not to
even know what they were applying for.
Many times you will call a candidate and
they will mumble: “Did I apply? Which
organisation is this? Which position did
I apply for?” Having a couple of those
responses is a pain.
In others, you can clearly see there
is something they are trying to submit
but there is so much ambiguity which
points to lack of preparation; the can-
didate has what the employer could be
looking for, but when they are called to
the interview, they cannot quite put their
act together. But amidst this stack of
confused candidates there is also quite
a number of great people who have put
their act together, but because of this
frustration, sometimes, good candidates
get caught up in this maze and lose the
jobs of their dreams because of “recruiter
burnout.”
That’s why I have resorted to using
online recruitment platforms like Fuzu
and to help me deal with all the stress
that comes with the recruitment process.
This way I am able to meet with only
those candidates that are as close to my
requirements, due to the platform’s algo-
rithms that help separate the ‘chuff from
the wheat’.
I have used Fuzu for about two years
now and I was, therefore, elated to know
they opened up shop in Kampala.
For the uninitiated, Fuzu (www.fuzu.
com) a company that describes itself as
a “platform that specialises in career
development, recruitment and learning
solutions” is kind of the LinkedIn of East
Africa and more. However, this article is
not exactly about Fuzu but rather about
how to leverage technology to get found
or rather let the right job to find you.
In today’s world, employers are
increasingly turning to online solutions
to hire and if you are in need of a job, a
career change etc. it is about time you
also turned to online to position yourself
as that ultimate hirer.
Unlike the typical job search processes
which involves potential employees
waiting on end for those scarce jobs to be
advertised and then flood the potential
employer with thousands of applica-
tions, most online recruitment platforms
such as Fuzu, allow potential candidates
to set up their own profiles, which also
double as CVs and then the available jobs
are automatically matched to their quali-
fications.
Think of it as a small personal billboard
in the online sphere that basically puts
your CV out there to the world- opening
up endless possibilities in not just
comment
Uganda, but to the whole world. When
suitable and or relevant jobs are posted,
qualifying candidates receive notifica-
tions and decide whether they want to
apply or not.
Many times failure to get a desired
job is not due to lack of experience but
failure to get the brief right or self-
presentation and this needs to be empha-
sised in the school curriculum.
Since today, it has become fashion-
able to have at least two social media
accounts- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
etc. I would like to urge everyone out
there to add a third account that is per-
haps more life-changing than social and
that is a CV account- if that is what you
want to call it.
However, to fully appreciate and uti-
lise the technology enabled platforms
a certain level of digital competence is
required. It is important that one has a
certain level of understanding of how a
given platform works, by just uploading
the CV will not just deliver the job. ICT
enabled platforms like these follow a
given structure in profiling you, and
in many cases understanding the key-
words that define you is very important.
Having those in your profile is very
important. For platforms like Fuzu it is
not the length of your CV that matters
but rather what are the keywords that
define you and you can always attach
your detailed CV. The same applies to
the employers many have challenges in
clearly stating what the job role entails
or what attributes they are looking for
in a candidate. For effective matching
to happen it is therefore prudent that
both entities ably define themselves and
digital skills play a critical role.
In life, it is up to you to define who you
are and where you want to be, and you
have to actively work on it.
Michael Niyitegeka is a Program Consultant-
Applied ICT; Clarke International
University, Kampala.
July 13 - 19, 2018 33
comment
By Michael Meyer
Kenya’s perfect storm
Development priorities are hard to reconcile
with the realities of the rainy season potholes
I
t’s the end of the rainy season
in Kenya, and this year’s storms
have been almost biblical, washing
away not only people’s sunny
disposition, but also their bridges,
buses, livestock, and crops. But the
damage cannot be blamed on the
weather alone.
Roads have been hit especially
hard; potholes the size of cars litter
highways in the capital. Near the
offices of the United Nations on
Limuru Road, for example, traffic
backs up for a half-mile as vehicles
nudge into oncoming traffic to avoid
one particularly large water-filled
hole. Elsewhere, vehicles creep along
slowly, bouncing from crater to crater,
while the carless get tossed around in
matatu minibuses as they travel to and
from work.
You might ask why the government
doesn’t do something. After all,
potholes are a basic and highly visible
indicator of a country’s social and
economic wellbeing. Good roads
are an indicator of government
effectiveness, while bad ones suggest
incompetence. Any government
seeking to retain the support of voters
typically goes out of its way to make
roads passable. Why not in Kenya?
The reason is brute economics: the
government cannot afford it. Consider
the state of the Kenyan budget. Today,
roughly half of all revenue goes to
fund the inflated salaries and perks
of government officials, including
parliamentarians, governors, local
and national bureaucrats, and endless
legions of administrators.
Another 40% goes to repaying
interest on the country’s burgeoning
international debt, which now exceeds
half of Kenya’s annual GNP – a red
flag for credit ratings agencies. Add
to this the mysterious propensity
for about a third of the national
budget simply to disappear each
year, presumably into the pockets of
venal politicians, and Kenya has the
makings of a serious economic crisis
that is fast coming to a head.
The good news is that Kenya’s
34 July 13 - 19, 2018
weather-related chaos has coincided
with renewed efforts to address
administrative and budgetary
roadblocks. For starters, President
Uhuru Kenyatta recently announced
a major anti-corruption drive
that, unlike past efforts, is already
producing results. Several senior
government officials have been
investigated and charged; some are
already on trial, while others have lost
their jobs and have been placed under
house arrest. These are all firsts, and
the reason is obvious: curbing theft
by government cronies is among the
fastest and most effective ways to raise
revenues.
Of course, ending graft is also a
good way to reassure lenders, and the
timing of Kenya’s housecleaning is no
accident. In September, officials from
the International Monetary Fund will
return to Nairobi to review Kenya’s
financial performance – specifically,
its eligibility for a $1.5 billion standby
credit facility. Kenyan officials are
clearly worried, as the IMF has
already put Kenya on its debt watch
list and will almost certainly demand
Kenyan officials
are clearly
worried, as the
IMF has already
put Kenya on
its debt watch
list and will
almost certainly
demand further
belt-tightening
further belt-tightening. At the very
moment that Kenya needs to borrow
more to bridge a yawning budget gap,
its leaders are bumping up against the
cold calculus of international finance.
If we widen the lens further, Kenya,
like the rest of Africa, is approaching
a demographic tipping point that
must also be addressed. According
to Salih Booker and Ari Rickman of
the US-based Center for International
Policy, by 2035 Africa will have more
young people in the job market than
the rest of the world combined, and by
2050, one in every four humans will
be African. If sufficient employment
opportunities are created for this
youth wave, the benefits to African
economies will be profound. But if
future generations are unable to find
productive outlets for their skills, the
social fallout could be severe.
Kenya’s leaders understand this,
which is why the government has
made manufacturing, health care,
education, and affordable housing
top priorities in its Vision 2030
development program. But, as
laudable as these targets are, the
authorities’ ambitions are hard to
reconcile with the realities of a Nairobi
street during rainy season.
Lurching along a rutted track that
doubles as a major urban avenue,
Kenyans are all too aware that a
pothole is not simply a pothole; it is
a window into the deeper crises that
Kenya, like much of Africa, has put off
repairing for far too long.
Michael Meyer, a former Newsweek
editor, is Dean of the Graduate School of
Media and Communications at Aga Khan
University in Nairobi.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.

By Maxwell Gomera and Edward Mabaya
The expanding killer farms
Farmers expanding their areas of cultivation are
destroying wildlife habitats at an alarming rate
O
n April 3, the United
Kingdom announced a ban
on the sale of ivory that
is “one of the toughest in
the world.” By restricting the ivory
trade, the UK joined other countries
– including China and the United
States in using market deterrents to
discourage poaching and shield an
endangered species from extinction. As
British Environment Secretary Michael
Gove put it in the announcement, the
goal is to “protect elephants for future
generations.”
These are, to be sure, laudable
gestures in the service of a noble
goal. But ending ivory sales alone
will not reverse declines in elephant
populations. In fact, the biggest threat
facing these and many other species
is a far more ordinary human pursuit:
farming.
Throughout the developing world,
farmers are expanding areas of
cultivation in an endless quest for
fertile soil. In the process, critical
wildlife habitats are being destroyed
at an alarming rate. According to the
Food and Agriculture Organisation of
the United Nations (FAO), if current
trends hold, by 2050 the world’s
arable land will increase by some 70
million hectares, and much of the new
farmland will be on areas that are
currently forested. The risk is greatest
in South America and Sub-Saharan
Africa, where population growth
and food demand will hit tropical
woodlands particularly hard.
Poverty is at the root of this ecological
crisis, but poor farming practices
perpetuate the cycle of hunger and
habitat loss. In Africa, for example,
persistently low crop yields – often just
20% of global averages – are tied to
low seed quality, the unavailability of
fertilizers, and a lack of irrigation. As
soil health declines and output drops,
many farmers see no option but to look
for new land to cultivate.
Fortunately, there is a way to end
this vicious cycle. Research shows that
better farming practices and technology
can increase agricultural productivity
while reducing habitat loss and
protecting wildlife. This approach,
known as “sustainable intensification”
aims to boost the output of existing
farmland using techniques such as
integrated crop management and
advanced pest control. If applied
widely, sustainable intensification
could even reduce the total amount of
land currently under cultivation.
This is not an impossible goal.
Over the last 25 years, farmers in
more than 20 countries around the
world improved food security while
maintaining or increasing forest cover.
According to one study, between
1965 and 2004, farmers in developing
countries who planted high-quality
seeds were able to reduce farmland
by almost 30 million hectares – an
area roughly the size of Italy. These
gains could be extended further
if smallholder farmers had access
to modern equipment, better data
collection and analysis, and more
financing.
Critics argue that increasing the
productivity of smallholder farms
could backfire, especially if it
encouraged poor farmers to expand
their acreage in the hope of increasing
Poverty
is at the
root of this
ecological
crisis,
but poor
farming
practices
perpetuate
the cycle of
hunger and
habitat loss
comment
profits. To avoid this outcome,
intensification strategies much be
accompanied by strong conservation
planning.
At the same time, however, farmers in
developing countries cannot simply be
asked to stop using non-farm resources
adjacent to their fields. Many people in
poor communities rely on woodland
products for fuel and construction
materials, and government policies
that prohibit use of these resources
without offering adequate alternatives
will likely fail. Rather, the ideal
conservation approach in developing
countries would link agricultural and
economic support to strict limits on
farmland expansion.
That is far from being the case
today. Around the world, billions
of dollars are invested annually to
address environmental degradation
and poverty; many of the 17 UN
Sustainable Development Goals are
linked in some way to these two
concerns. And yet, most programs
designed to tackle these issues operate
in isolation. This is a mistake: solutions
to food insecurity and habitat loss must
be better integrated if either challenge
is ever to be solved.
No one doubts that well-meaning
policies like ivory bans can lessen the
ecological impact of human activity.
But, at the moment, farming – the
activity most responsible for damaging
the health of many species – is failing
to attract the policymaking attention
that it deserves. Until that changes
government strategies to protect
wildlife “for future generations” will
very likely come up short.
Maxwell Gomera, a 2018 Aspen
New Voices fellow, is Director of
the Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services Branch at the United Nations
Environment Program. Edward
Mabaya, a 2016 Aspen New Voices
fellow, is a senior research associate at
Cornell University.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
July 13 - 19, 2018 35
Nabatanzi reads out prescriptions off a morphine bottle to a patient. Morphine is considered a wonder drug for people living with chronic pain

Is it time to rethink chronic

pain treatment in Uganda?
Experts warn of growing danger as patients buy strong drugs such
as Tramadol over the counter and use them for mild pains
By Flavia Nassaka “Doctors couldn’t understand my pain,” oral liquid morphine which is considered

A
shraf Ssebandeke is a sickle cell
anemia carrier, which means that
under normal circumstances, he
should lead a normal pain free
life. But, as he told The Independent, he has
pain that never goes away and he has to
depend on medication to keep it in check.
he says, “They said it was impossible to be
a carrier and get crises. They first suspected
arthritis but I tested negative for it. Others
said I am a sickler but all the more than 15
tests showed I am a carrier.”
He is a rare case. And he says he has tak-
en almost all the pain killers on the market
until some ceased being effective, including
the miracle drug for people living with such
debilitating pain.
“I started with the likes of Tramadol, it
didn’t work and then I was given morphine.
It just intensified my pain,” he says as he
narrates how his constant pains confused
doctors into prescribing dozens and dozens
of pain relievers for him.

36 July 13 - 19, 2018


Ssebandeke says the mere thought of
getting another pain episode keeps him on
guard.
“I keep swallowing Brufen,” he says.
Ssebandeke’s pain avoidance strategy
shows that pain is not just physically chal-
lenging – it also takes an emotional toll.
And, this is at the center of why Ugandans
are abusing pain medications to the extent
that such common pain medicines as Pan-
adol and Aspirin are no longer effective for
some people.
When we spoke on July 05, Ssebandeke
he had been to Nsambya hospital visiting a
friend who was admitted with intense pain.
Ssebandeke explained that his friend
was taking up to 10 tablets every day of
Tramadol, a powerful opioid she had self-
prescribed. The drug, doctors who prescribe
it always warn, is very addictive. But Sse-
bandeke’s friend possibly did not know that
and also missed out on a doctor’s advice.
Soon, even the adult dose of two tablets a
day stopped alleviating her pain and when
she arrived at Nsambya Hospital, the doc-
tors resolved to give her oral morphine -
after every two hours.
Oral liquid morphine is also an opioid,
but it is heavily diluted to reduce its addic-
tive contents. Many people living with
chronic pain; especially those living with
HIV, advanced stage cancer and recently
sickle cell anemia have found solace in the
drug for their pain. Its use is considered an
innovative approach and has won Uganda
and its innovator Dr. Ann Merriman praise
as one of the countries that use cheap means
to save people from dying in pain.
Use of oral morphine
Kitovu Mobile Medical Center in Masaka,
is one of the facilities that has specialised
in managing pain through use of oral mor-
phine and Rose Nabantazi Mubiru who is
its in-charge officer says the drug – a mix-
ture of water and morphine powder comes
in various categories based on strengths. If
it is a green bottle, then it is a basic drug and
the red bottle is the stronger version of the
drug. It is recommended to be given in an
interval of four hours.
Nabatanzi says their goal in giving
people morphine is not just to treat their
pain but to also ensure that patients regain
their wellbeing and joy. Because the medi-
cine works to achieve this, she says when
patients take it they feel they are cured of
their underlying illnesses as it magically
takes away the pain in just two to three
days.
She says hey tell patients to take the drug
when experiencing pain and drop it when
the pain is gone. However, this seems not
what happens.
Joseph Lukwago, a 73-year old Catholic
priest who has been battling advanced
stage prostate cancer since 2016 is a typical
patient of the facility. When asked at what
point he ever puts the drug on hold, his
reply is clear.
“I now can’t live without it. I take it four
times every day,” he says.
Instead of reducing, he has opted for the
stronger Red label even though they recom-
mend it after the basic version has failed.
He only takes the green weaker strength
when there is a stock out for his first choice.
Nabatanzi says people seeking pain
relief are on an increase. From January to
June, she says, the facility had registered
156 new patients and yet every year they
treat about 400 patients. Estimates by an
American NGO; Treat the Pain Uganda, put
the deaths due to pain in Uganda at a high
69, 000 annually. The rising trend is typical
across the country. Up to 1800 people are
treated with an opioid morphine annually.
Experts in Uganda say they have heav-
ily guarded against abuse of the drug and
Joseph Lukwago Dr. Ann Merriman
there should not be fear. The fear, accord-
ing to them, should be abuse of other pain
relievers whose use is not regulated.
Dr Lodoviko Zirimenya, a clinician,
says treatment of pain like any other ill-
ness should be after a review by the doctor.
Unfortunately, many Ugandans in search
of quick fixes buy strong drugs such as
Tramadol over the counter and use them for
mild pains.
Globally, death from prescription opi-
oid overdose has quadrupled since 1999,
according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. From 2000 to 2015, more
than half a million people died of drug
overdoses and opioids account for the
majority of those deaths. This seems to be
mainly in America where an opioid epi-
demic has been declared.
For Dr Zirimenya, pain treatment should
have a goal.
“Do you just want a quick fix or you want
to recover? That’s what you should ask
yourself before taking that pain killer”.
For back pain, for instance which is a
major cause of disability - with global cases
increasing by 54% between 1990 and 2015,
health
Zirimenya says, for some, the solutions are
as simple as exercising. Yet people continue
taking cocktails of pain relievers unneces-
sarily.
He says the World Health Organisation
(WHO) has provided guidelines for treating
pain where one has to be assessed to see
if their pain requires medicine or not and
even when it requires medicine which class
it should be.
In 1986, the WHO developed a simple
model for pain treatment called the analge-
sic ladder to guide doctors in prescription.
The underlying principle, according to
Zirimenya who doubles as Clinical Direc-
tor at Hospice Africa Uganda the makers of
oral morphine, was that analgesics should
be used incrementally, starting with non-
opioids - the likes of Panadol, progressing
through mild drugs like Codeine, and final-
ly strong opioids such as morphine, dosed
in accordance with the patient’s reported
pain intensity.
The doctor says with advances in
research, it has been realised that prescrip-
tion drugs are not the only solution for
people’s pain problems.
‘Rethinking pain treatment’
Techniques like acupuncture – alternative
therapy used by the Chinese and chiro-
practic care are taking root in the country.
The likes of Ssebandeke are already taking
advantage. For his joint pains, he tells the
Independent, chiropractic services which he
seeks twice every week have really helped.
His chiropractor, Dr. Charles Sebwana,
who also doubles as the in charge of the
Chiropractic Unit at Mulago hospital says
they manually treat several nueromuscu-
loskeletal disorders – illnesses that affect
muscles, joints and bones through; espe-
cially manipulation of the spine.
Sebwana, who says most of the patients
he sees have tried pain killers or are using
them, adds that before handling a case, he
first establishes the source of one’s pain.
For him, although people get pain because
of underlying illnesses, pain is something
whose risk of acquiring increases with age.
Most of his patients are 40 years and
above who report with back and spine
problems but sometimes he gets those
below 30 years old whose pains are caused
by wear and tear of the musculoskeletal
system as result of lifting heavy weights and
maintaining poor posture like those who
sit in the same position at a computer every
day and those who drive long distances.
However, Zirimenya advises that instead
of focusing on treatment and elimination
of pain alone, experts should also strive
to make patients understand their pain
and manage it. This, for him, will not only
change people’s preference for drugs
even when they are not necessary but also
change their mindsets into believing the fact
that not all pains require medicines.
July 13 - 19, 2018 37
health

`Give youth
By Daniel C. Ntwari

A
lice Mukamana, a student in
Muhanga district, had a forceful

reproductive health
sexual encounter with an older
man when she was just 14-years
old and she got pregnant. She decided to
abort the pregnancy.

services’
Abortion is a crime in Rwanda and is
punishable by law with up 20 years in jail.
However, one can carry out legal abortion if
the pregnancy is a result of rape, incest, and
forced marriage, or if the pregnancy poses a
threat to the mother and child. For this, the Civil society activists want more access
woman or girl must apply to a competent
court of law to grant the right to abort and it
requires a doctor to endorse it.
to contraceptives, abortion rights
But Mukamana’s case had a complica-
tion. As a minor, which in Rwanda covers
anyone between the ages of 13-18 years; her
case could not be described legally as rape,
according to some interpretations. Her case
is called defilement; the act of having sex
with a girl below majority age of 18 years.
Mukamana went through the court process
and was awarded the right to get an abor-
tion. But by then it was already too late. She
was already eight months pregnant. Under
Rwanda law a legal abortion can only be
done when the pregnancy is below 21
weeks or about five months. Mukamana, a
child herself, was forced to have a child due
to the lengthy legal procedures.
Alice Mukamana is not her real name but
cases like hers come up whenever repro-
ductive health and rights are discussed in
Rwanda with civil society organisations
pushing for decision-making moving away
from the courts to the pregnant woman and
her healthcare giver.
According to Christopher Sengoga,
a human rights officer at Rwanda
Health Development Initiative (HDI); Patrick Kagaba speaking during the event.  Francis Byaruhanga.
a local health advocacy organization,
Mukamana’s unwanted child could have of postpartum hemorrhage 29%, sepsis and access to stigma-free reproductive
been avoided if Mukamana accessed 17%, severe malaria 12%, eclampsia and health services for adolescents.
comprehensive sexual reproductive abortion both at 9%. Women’s Link’s senior attorney,
health, enabling her to make her own While maternal mortality had declined Lydia Muthiani, says Rwanda has
choices and is equipped to handle such to 283 in 2015 compared to 750 in 2005, made progress in health but lack of
effects. And her desire to abort could also and estimated 300 to 400 women die access to adequate health services during
have been handled differently. annually due to complications related the pregnancy; including abortion and
“It shouldn’t be a taboo to talk about to unsafe abortion. About 1,700 are delivery, “puts women at risk of blame and
sexual reproductive education,” says treated for complications from induced prosecution for infanticide.”
Dr Aflodis Kagaba, the co-founder and abortions. On whether condoms should be allowed
executive director of HDI Rwanda, “Why should we lose 210 women in schools, HDI says some schools have
“Having everyone equipped with all because of pregnancy complications? started realising the importance for students
options available is the best way forward. We have to find measures to bring this to have access to condoms, calling on more
If they choose to abstain or engage number much lower,” Kagaba asked. schools follow suit and also provide holistic
sexual activities, at least they have the training for teachers on sexual reproductive
knowledge and information to take right Call for action health education to avoid all dangers of
decisions.” Now the activists are suggesting new unsafe sex like early pregnancy.
Rwanda’s Demographic Health measures to curb such deaths, including “We have to address the issue of low
Survey (DHS) for 2015 indicates that access to contraception by young people, access to contraceptives so that women can
complications due to unsafe abortions comprehensive sexuality education for consistently use them; more sensitisation
also contribute to maternal mortality children youth, access to safe abortion about reproductive health is also need espe-
in Rwanda. Statistics indicate that services for women, decriminalization of cially among churches which own 40% of
maternal deaths in Rwanda are a result sex work, review of the age of consent, health facilities in Rwanda,” Kagaba says.

38 July 13 - 19, 2018

 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Behind
`Coat
of many
colours’
Veteran artists
fights to preserve
cultural heritages
W
By Dominic Muwanguzi
hen artist, Stephen
Kasumba, designed a
jacket in the national
colours for Vice-Presi-
dent Edward Ssekandi
and other NRM legis-
lators during the inauguration of the 10th
parliament in 2016, he became a focus of
attention.
Who is the designer behind this stripped
blazer; many people asked. When his name
was revealed, many wondered how an
artist who hitherto was little-known came
to design the “controversial” attire. Not
known to many, Kasumba has a long his-
tory of using his art to preserve cultural
norms and forms. Therefore, making this
attire was no accident for the modernist
artist cum art lecturer who dominated the
local art scene in the 1990s and the first
half of the 2000s.
The black, yellow and red stripped
blazer came into being after the artist
had worked on a mural for the Germany
International Aid organization, Bread of
the World, which was celebrating its 50th
anniversary. The mural symbolised the
50 years of the organisation’s activities
and he was motivated to adopt a similar
concept locally.
He chose the medium of fabric because
of his present occupation as an embroi-
dery artist. The three colours of the
national flag evoke Uganda’s diverse cul-
tural heritage. Such composition echoes the
common trait observed in his paintings to
integrate African traditional motifs with cul-
tural practices, as tool to preserve Africa’s
iconography for future generations.
Kasumba’s artworks have traditional
motifs, such as African masks and fish,
washed in a monochromic palette, instead
of the bright coloured hues. More so, he
will paint gothic - like creatures - like can-
nibals with sharp protruding teeth and long
tails or horned human-beings to figura-
tively communicate the message of Africa’s
belief in the spiritual world of supernatu-
ral beings. This is a rejoinder to George
Lilanga’s (Tinga-tinga painting) style of
painting that emphasized the deployment
of such imagery (Msatani) in his art with a
purpose to evoke the traditionalist belief in
witchcraft. Nonetheless, such compositions
remain a rarity, regardless of the generation
of art and artists practicing because of the
cultural prejudices that are perpetuated by
the west and its concept of modernist art.
Kasumba stands out as a bold artist who
is never afraid to subject his art to harsh
criticism, including that it “promotes satan-
ic beliefs”. While his contemporaries played
along to the tunes of western art patrons,
his bravery defined his artistry. Some of his
contemporaries wished him dead for “cre-
ating the coat of many colours” but he has
never wavered in his craft.
Stephen Kasumba, 57, is a former senior
lecturer at Margaret Trowel School of
Industrial and Fine Art. Presently he runs
an embroidery unit in Wandegeya-Kubiri
at the junction that joins Bwaise –Kawem-
pe, Gayaza Road.
July 13 - 19, 2018 39
 Man divorces wife over World Cup Iran accuses
Big sporting events like the fans. In fact, they met in a Chely- mocking Messi’s performance, Israel of
World Cup are supposed to bring abinsk sports bar during the 2002 and how he couldn’t play football.
people together in support of their World Cup, but their love for the He was celebrating Messi’s goal, stealing its rain
favorite teams and players, but for two biggest rivals in modern foot- when his wife started mocking his
one Russian couple married for ball history – Lionel Messi and idol again, and he just snapped. Israel has been
14 years, the 2018 World Cup was Cristiano Ronaldo – ended their The very next day, Arsen went stealing Iran’s clouds
reason for divorce. 40-year-old 14-year marriage. The wife, after to the civil registry and filed for while also working to
Arsen and his 37-year-old wife, Argentina’s disappointing debut divorce. ensure that whatever
Ludmyla, are both big football at the 2018 World Cup, started clouds do make it into
Iranian air space are
Woman pronounced Wife trouble for World Cup official unable to release rain.
Brigadier General
dead, found alive advertising
The head of a Russian
agency tasked with
tall facades to pay tribute to his
wife, by using her as the model.
Gholam Reza Jalali,
head of Iran’s Civil
inside morgue creating large building facades Ivan Panteleev commissioned four Defense Organisation,
to promote the 2018 World Cup murals funded by the Moscow recently revealed that
refrigerator in Russia has come under fire for city budget, including that of wife. to journalists.Relations
using one of the nearly 50-meter- Some people didn’t like that. between Iran and
A South African woman was
Israel have always
found alive and breathing inside
been tense, but I doubt
a morgue refrigerator, despite
anyone imagined
paramedics pronouncing her
one side would go as
dead. A worker discovered her
far as to accuse the
after he went to check on the
other of stealing their
body and noticed the woman
clouds. Gen. Jalali was
was breathing, according to the
explaining his country’s
BBC. She had been in a car crash
prolonged drought.
that killed two others on June 24,
Jalali tried to back up
with the ambulance company
his claims by citing a
claiming she showed “no form
survey showing that
of life,” Times Live reported.
all mountainous areas
She was taken to hospital and is
above 2,200 meters
recovering. An investigation is
between Afghanistan
underway as family members
and the Mediterranean
are demanding how such a cru-
are covered in snow,
cial oversight could happen.
except those in Iran.

Wearing a tie might be Woman dumps boyfriend over cheap car

limiting your thinking They met at a party and when he and warned other women about “Fake
According to a healthy young offered to drop her at home in his Porsche Dudes”. But she got some
new report pub- men, 15 of whom Porsche Cayenne, she was wowed. negative feedback. What happened to
lished in `Neuro- were instructed A Porsche Cayenne costs about all those feelings she had developed
radiology’, wear- to wear com- US$220,000 (Approx. Shs840 million), for him?
ing a tie might be fortable open so she figured he was rich. Even
limiting workers’ collared shirts, when they went on dates in cheap
creative abilities. and the other 15 restaurants and he wore cheap clothes,
The scientists who were asked she thought he was rich but humble –
claim that wear- to wear ties in a which made her like him even more.
ing a tie squeezes Windsor knot, Trouble erupted when she uploaded
the neck veins and tightened to a a video of the Porsche Cayenne and,
limits the blood point of slight while some congratulated her on her
flow, potentially discomfort. They
catch, one friend wrote “That car is not
slowing down the found that the
Porsche Cayenne!” It was a Zotye, a
brain’s processing group wearing
Chinese copy of the Porsche Cayenne,
and limiting your ties had 7.5% less
costing around US$18,000 (Shs70
thinking skills. blood flow to
million). She ditched him and wrote:
They scanned their brain. Whoa.
the brains of 30 Now you know. You are a disgusting man. I must have
been blind to have ever loved you,”

40 July 13 - 19, 2018

Michelin calls for
worn tyre testing
If Michelin is right then the world could be
about to change the way it looks at tyres
By Paul Gover
M
ichelin wants buyers to use
braking performance with
worn tyres on a wet road — not
dry-road grip on a new tyre
— as their primary consideration for rub-
ber choice. It’s also keen to see real-world
testing of tyres, in a similar style to NCAP
crash tests and Europe’s new WLPT fuel
consumption tests, to give consumers a bet-
ter chance of choosing the safest rubber for
their vehicles.
“The problem is that all testing is now
done with new tyres. We need testing with
worn tyres,” says Cyrille Roget of Michelin.
“The only time a tyre is new is when it is
on the shelf. After that it is always worn to
some degree.”
Not surprisingly, Michelin has a vested
interest in a new scoring system and Roget;
the company’s worldwide director of sci-
entific and innovation communication, is
pushing the message.
It is about to launch its new Primacy 4
tyre after extensive research and develop-
ment that’s reflected in the slogan ‘Safe
when new, safe when worn’.
It’s a point Michelin proves during a
press preview in Thailand, where the Pri-
macy 4 comprehensively outscores rivals
from Dunlop and Bridgestone during wet-
weather braking exercises, which are the
toughest challenge for any heavily-worn
tyres.
In an 80km/h panic stop on a soaked
road, a heavily-worn Michelin even out-
scores brand-new tyres from one of its
rivals. But there is no real chance to test
the other claims for the Primacy 4, which
include more comfort and less road noise.
We do get a chance to speed around a
motorkhana in a Mercedes-Benz wearing
the Primacy 4, and about 5km in a Toyota
Camry — including a 200-metre ‘comfort
test’ — but there is zero chance for a realistic
assessment of the tyre.
The Primary 4 is a mid-level tyre in the
Michelin range — not nearly as grippy as
its headliner Pilot Cup Sport 2, but intended
for regular family cars and offering mileage
in the 40,000-50,000km range.
But it has a stronger focus on safety and
particularly wet braking, which Michelin
bonding in the rubber to an improved
tread design, which protects the piping
and grooves that remove water, as well as
slightly better wear and quietness.
It talks about ‘Evergrip’ technology that
boosts the pumping of water by 50 per cent
when worn, compared to a worn Primacy 3.
Testing was originally focussed on
Europe but now includes China and Thai-
land, using cars including the Camry and
Honda Accord, including comparative test-
ing with other Tier 1 and Tier 2 brands —
which Michelin does not confirm officially
research shows is a significant worry for
but include Bridgestone, Dunlop, Hankook
owners who — it says — can feel the differ-
and Goodyear.
ence well before the tyre is worn down to
Michelin is chasing original-equipment
the legal limit.
contracts for the Primacy 4 but is currently
“A lot of people have anxiety about the
focused on the aftermarket with plans to
safety of used tyres. As soon as you start to
sell the tyre in more than 170 countries
drive the tyre performance changes. A little
with an extensive advertising program that
bit at the start, then faster and faster,” says
focuses both on the tyre’s wet strengths and
Roget. But there are a couple of advantages
the concerns of ordinary drivers.
to worn tyres.
“Michelin starts a discussion around
“When worn, grip will improve on a dry
the worn-tyre performance. We think it is
road. This is like a racing tyre.
important, as an industry,” says Roget.
“When worn, the fuel consumption also
improves. One tank of five is consumed by
Source: motoring.com
the tyres because they are generating heat.
There is less heat in a worn tyre from the
tread.”Michelin spends more than $1 billion
a year in research and development by
around 6000 technical experts. It has
11,700 active patents and filed for
416 in 2017 alone.
It says its ‘innovation’ pro-
gram now covers everything
from replacing oil in tyres
with wood and futuristic
3D-printing of tyre treads
to cut environmental
impact and improve
safety.
“We need to think
about the future.
Tyres should be
designed to perform
well throughout
the useful life,” says
Roget.
Improving worn-
tyre performance, so
that people can get
closer to the 1.6mm
safety level than the
3mm level where
most people current-
ly replace their tyres,
could save 35 million
tonnes of CO2 a year,
says Michelin.
“That’s enough to
run New York City for
six months. It’s a big city,”
says Roget.
The research that resulted
in the Primacy 4 included
everything from better silica
July 13 - 19, 2018 41
Profile
Freddie David Egesa: The
private crime investigator
By Agnes E Nantaba Egesa says, he realised that although he father, George Wilson Egesa Ogoola, tried

P
rivate investigation remains scarce-
ly known to majority Ugandans
not because there are no private
investigators but rather due to the
thinking that it is the job of the government
security agencies. But this is a job that Fred
Egesa has done for the last 24 years and he
is still going. He has kept at his childhood
dream of pursuing justice.
“I have done many cases where I am
not paid because I love to pursue justice,”
he says adding that little was known about
private investigation until he hit the biggest
case of the time - the murder of Warren Ban-
tariza in 1994.
Egesa says he picked the trait from his
mother, Jane Nansubuga, who was always
pursuing justice.
“She was very kind and went into the
details of a case to seek justice and would
only punish after confirming the crime and
the criminal.”
“I look at investigation as a way of learn-
ing and the search for answers to many
puzzles and questions,” he says.
He has investigated several cases; includ-
ing one where government was alleged
to have a hand in the murder of then
Bukomansimbi District Woman MP, Susan
Namaganda in 2015, until the murderer was
arrested in Ssese Islands. But even with the
more than two decades in practice, Egesa
maintains that the world is too big for pri-
vate investigation thus the need for more;
especially in Uganda. And to him many
cases are handled by learners on the job
while others are unattended; which creates
a backlog.
Unlike before, in Uganda today there is a
statute under the Private Security Organisa-
tion’s Act under the police which guides the
work of people like Egesa. And with this in
place, other people have also joined in pri-
vate investigation.
His work leans more into investigating
government officials and undoing cases like
frame-ups done by police. He says he saved
a man who was falsely accused of killing his
own father and had been indicted for trial.
Egesa’s journey dates back to as far as
1981 when he joined the police under an
intelligence officers’ programme during
Obote II government. It was a special gov-
ernment course that took only about 20
trainees. Two years later, Obote’s govern-
ment was shaken by power struggles and,
had trained so much, he would not be able to stop him for fear that he would be killed
deliver any form of justice in the circum- for taking on something that involves nos-
stances. ing in people’s lives. Egesa followed his pas-
In 1994, he registered and applied for sion and as he prospered, he says he once
guns, recruited ex-service men from the employed his father to manage the accounts
army and the police under Missing Link of the company having been a business
Investigators and business started. man and a strong pillar in business.
Egesa cites some of the challenges along Egesa says he has gone through trainings
the way including clashing with security and is a qualified Investigative Specialist.
organisations like the Internal Security He went to Najjanankumbi Seventh Day
Organisation. Adventist, Kitante Secondary school, and
“The army and other security Light College Katikamu Light
organisations thought they were Secondary School. He is
monopolies in investigation a middle child among
work but were forced to feel the 13 children, was
our presence,” Egesa says, born and raised in
“We were fairly read so at Kampala although he
times, they would request is a Samia Mugwe
to look through our files.” from Busitema. He
Egesa says private inves- has been married
tigation should be con- for more than
sidered as supplementary three decades
investigation. As a career, with children. He
it can be an avenue for ex- envisions retiring
service men. after establishing a
“They are very knowledge- College for private
able and want to survive so investigation to off
they must be handled carefully load his knowledge
because some may even start and experience to the
advising criminals,” he says. young people.
It was not only opposition
from government security
organizations but
family as well.
Egesa’s

42 July 13 - 19, 2018


Freddie Egesa’s Liteside
Any three things that we
I
don’t know about you?
am a Pentecostal who
accepted the Lord Jesus
Christ as my savior at
only 11 years. Although
some people claim that it
contradicts my profession,
they should know that the
best spies were Joshua and
Caleb in the Bible because
they always had a proper
assessment and right
reports. Intelligence is about
proper analytical assessment
and drawing conclusions. I
am also the author of books
like ‘Satan is a liar’ and
‘The holy spirit our friend’
because the Holy Spirit has
really given me a boost of
wisdom.
What is your idea of perfect
happiness?
I wish I could have more
children because I love
carrying them and they give
me a lot of consolation. They
are genuine souls and most
times innocent. It is a trait
that I pick from my mother.
What is your greatest fear?
I am a simple but brave
person. There is no amount
of threat that can push
me off an issue that I am
passionate about.
What is the trait you most
deplore in yourself?
I am too good and soft;
ordinarily, people think that
they can drive me around or
take advantage of me.
What is the trait you most
deplore in others?
Unfairness; fairness is the
basis for doing what you
would wish others to do to
you.
Which living person do you
most admire?
I have respect for John
Nagenda; he says what he
thinks and never bends to
survive,
What is your greatest
extravagance?
I have so many files and
cases of poor people who
are unable to afford justice.
What is the greatest thing
you have ever done?
Writing the book ‘The
holy Spirit our friend’. I
believe that I gave it my all
and tore my life.
What is your current state
of mind?
I am at peace.
What do you consider the
most overrated virtue?
The urge to always hear
new things and eventually
lies come in handy. We are
not very analytical because
we want to feed on new
stuff everyday.
What does being powerful
mean to you?
Having a positive
influence on your people
without being deceptive. It’s
also being able to recognise
the problems of your people
and them knowing that you
can offer genuine help.
On what occasion do you
lie?
Investigatively, if you
are probing a matter, you
can frame up or window
dress to captivate the mind
of suspected criminals.
There are times we lie out
of respect but not to take
advantage of others.
What do you most dislike
about your appearance?
I am a fairly presentable
person.
Which living person do you
most despise?
Gen Kale Kayihura got
what all of us may never
get; the attention and trust
of the president, powers and
love of all Ugandans but
betrayed it all. The signals of
what he did to this country
are only vibrating.
What is the quality you
most like in a woman?
Being half woman.
What is the quality you
most like in a man?
Responsibility, fairness
and truthfulness.
What or who is the greatest
love of your life?
My children.
When and where were you
happiest?
In 1971, when I met
Rev. John who prayed for
me because I had been a
sickly child spiritually and
physically. In 1974, when
my father was released from
prison and in 1987 when
I married because I was
the smallest among the 11
couples of the day.
Which talent would you
most like to have?
I love singing even when I
am not very good at it. I also
love reading and writing.
Where would you most like
to live?
I have all chances of
leaving Uganda but I have
children to guide and they
need me.
What is your most
treasured possession?
I treasure everything
that I have worked for and
remember how I acquired
each one of them.
What do you regard as the
lowest depth of misery?
Detaining innocent people
deprives them of what
they are entitled to. Such
individuals die every day
just from the thought of
July 13 - 19, 2018
Q&A
advertorial
being innocent.
What is your favorite
occupation?
I am living my childhood
dream of being an
investigator. I feel good
when people come to me
and have their cases dealt
with.
What do you most value in
your friends?
I only have acquaintances
because if I have a friend,
I want to always live their
life.
Who are your favorite
writers?
I read mostly on security
and intelligence which have
no specific writers.
Which historical figure do
you most identify with?
Pinto Emmanuel lived
in his own shadow.
I love Gandhi’s non-
aggressiveness yet empathic
way. He could drive the
nail home in the simplest
of all means and was
even sympathetic to his
detractors.
Who are your heroes in real
life?
Mahatma Gandhi, Martin
Luther King, and Pinto
Emmanuel
What is your greatest
regret?
I regret the day I arrested
a wrong person. I had just
started investigation and out
of inexperience, I got him
detained. Although he was
released and we eventually
became friends, I still regret
it.
How would you like to die?
I don’t want a long illness.
What is your motto?
Fairness is Godliness.
43
Global comment
By Koichi Hamada
Retaining benefits of globalisation
Today’s globalised world is far from perfect, but
protectionism and isolationism will worsen things
I
n the last few years, for many people
and their leaders, globalisation has be-
come a scourge to be purged in favour
of greater protectionism and unilater-
alism. This represents a sharp departure
from the recent past when globalisation was
widely regarded as a positive force. What
changed, and why?
Key components of globalisation
include greater cross-border mobility of
goods, labour, and capital, each of which
promises significant overall benefits for
economies. Free trade enables coun-
tries to capitalise on their comparative
advantages, boosting all participants’
economic performance and prospects.
Migration can inject diversity and dyna-
mism into, say, an aging society, while
helping to reduce poverty in source
countries, such as through remittances.
And foreign direct investment (FDI) can
create employment, spur research and
development, generate tax revenues, and
enhance competition.
The problem is that these benefits
are not necessarily broadly shared. For
example, migration can put wage pres-
sure on lower-skill workers in destina-
tion countries. By enabling companies to
move operations to lower-wage markets,
the elimination of trade barriers can have
a similar effect. Even cross-border invest-
ment has its downsides, as domestic
players may struggle to compete with
foreigners.
Such factors have contributed to rising
inequality in many countries. In the
United States, for example, lower-skill
workers in the Rust Belt – the manufac-
turing region stretching from Michigan
to eastern Pennsylvania – have faced
decades of stagnant wages, while high-
skill workers in finance and technology
– Wall Street and Silicon Valley – have
enjoyed soaring compensation. While
economic openness boosts economies
as a whole, there is an obvious need to
ensure that the benefits are more equi-
tably distributed or, at least, that some
groups are not inordinately hurt by it.
Many economists argue that the key
to success on this front is to adopt
redistributive policies, typically via the
tax system. But such policies are very
difficult, if not impossible, politically.
That lesson has been learned by many
44 July 13 - 19, 2018
a progressive politician, including US
Senator Bernie Sanders, who tried and
failed to secure the Democratic nomina-
tion for the 2016 US presidential election
on a platform that focused on addressing
people’s frustrations with the increas-
ingly unequal status quo, largely through
redistribution.
More politically effective, but eco-
nomically and socially damaging, is
the approach of populists like U.S.
President Donald Trump, who offer sim-
plistic explanations that play on voters’
fears and frustrations (for example, by
blaming immigrants or countries with
trade surpluses) while pretending that
there are easy fixes (say, erecting walls
and import barriers).
Trump blamed the struggles of Rust
Belt workers on international competi-
tion. But that is only part of the story:
technological displacement has played
a larger role, though this has often been
ignored, not least because it is harder
to demonise. Meanwhile, the Trump
administration has pursued extreme
and morally unconscionable anti-immi-
gration policies, such as the recently
reversed policy of separating migrant
children from their families at the
southern border with Mexico.
The problem
is that these
benefits are
not necessarily
broadly shared.
For example,
migration can put
wage pressure
on lower-skill
workers in
destination
countries
Similarly, in many European coun-
tries, the backlash against globalisation
has translated into virulent opposition
to migration, not to mention increased
resistance to European integration.
Voters in Austria, Hungary, and Italy
have elected politicians who campaigned
explicitly against immigration. In the
United Kingdom, the 2016 Brexit ref-
erendum partly reflected a rejection of
the free movement of people within the
European Union.
By encouraging unilateralism, and to
some extent even authoritarianism, the
backlash against globalisation threatens
not only to prevent countries from
reaping the economic benefits of open-
ness, but also to undermine the struc-
tures of international cooperation that
have supported nearly three-quarters of
a century of relative peace since World
War II.
Reversing this trend will require, of
course, the unequivocal rejection of
policies that flout democratic values and
repudiation of the leaders who advocate
and implement them. But it will also
demand efforts to address globalisation’s
real negative effects – beginning with an
excessively unequal income distribution.
Here, measures like a carbon price or a
“Tobin tax” on international financial
transactions could help. In my country,
Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s
administration may need to consider
direct wage hikes.
Today’s globalised world is far from
perfect. But protectionist and isolationist
policies will only make things worse,
especially if they are used as an excuse to
deny basic human rights to immigrants,
among others. Balanced policies aimed
at reaping the benefits of openness – and
ensuring that those benefits are broadly
shared – may not be the most politically
expedient option today; but they would
do economies and societies a lot of good
tomorrow.
Koichi Hamada is Professor Emeritus at Yale
University and a special adviser to Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018.
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