News analysis Health Business

Behind teargas for Besigye, Is drinking cold Rwanda-Uganda feud:

house arrest for Bobi Wine water bad? traders turn to other markets

Issue No. 570 May. 03 - 09 2019 Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8

Lessons to
Bobi Wine from
Besigye
It’s defiance or death

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May. 03 - 09 2019 1
INBOX

Issue No. 570 May. 03 - 09 2019

News analysis Business Health Arts Motoring

Cover story
Lessons to Bobi Wine from Besigye
It’s defiance or death

5 The Week
30 Comments
Kidnapped American tourist
speaks out on Uganda Monetisation of garbage:
The incentives that must be
given to people to minimise
9 The Last Word
the amount of garbage that
The road to serfdom: How reaches landfills
Ugandans have cultivated a mindset
that is making them servants of
32 Health
foreigners in their own country
Is drinking cold water
bad?: A study investigated
14 Analysis the effects of different
drinks on the performance
Behind teargas for Besigye,
of 12 trained male athletes
house arrest for Bobi Wine: Should
opposition trust NRM promise on meetings?
35 Arts & Culture
27 Business Old is gold: Art inspired
by a humble life and a
Rwanda-Uganda feud:
grandfather’s idioms
traders turn to other markets

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

PUBLISHER: Independent Publications Limited, Plot 82/84, Kanjokya Street, P. O. Box 3304, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256-312-637-391/ 2/ 3/ 4 | Fax: +256-312-637-396 E-mail: editor@independent.co.ug | advertising@independent.co.ug
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2 May. 03 - 09 2019
 Offline

“We are now going to create our own radio

stations within the community. This is
through networking with the locals and
leaders at the grassroots. These grassroots
radios will help us pass information from
bottom to top and vice versa.”Dr Kizza Besigye,
opposition leader

City Businessman Sudhir Ruparelia has won a multibillion shilling case he filed in 2017 seeking
orders stopping Sebalu and Lule Advocates from representing DFCU bank in a matter involving
his former bank, the defunct Crane Bank, citing conflict of Interest

Kyadondo East
MP, Robert
Kyagulanyi aka
Bobi who was on “The Public Order Management Act is a
April 29 arrested well-framed act. It does not say ask for
as he headed to permission it simply says you notify the
Kibuli to respond
to Criminal police.”Mwesigwa Rukutana, deputy attorney
Investigations general
Directorate (CID)
summons and
arraigned before
Buganda Road
Magistrates
Court.

Nasasi Belinda, a
businesswoman on
April 27 won the
first-ever Uganda
`Miss Curvy beauty
pageant’. The “Parliament is not a haven or a place of
pageant became
controversial when safety for criminal conduct; if you commit
Tourism minister a crime outside Parliament, the privileges
Godfrey Kiwanda
suggested the and immunities of Parliament cannot
curvy women protect you. Parliament is not a haven for
could be tourist criminality.”Jacob Oulanyah, Deputy Speaker of
attraction
Parliament

Sub-counties which
400
have not been funded
for a full financial year
Candidates who Money UK has invested in
3316 Shs577bn
failed primary teacher Uganda to boost crop production
education exams and post-harvest handling

May. 03 - 09 2019 3
week

Prime Minister
Ruhakana Rugunda
(M), Gerald Siranda
IPOD Council
chairman (L), Frank
Rusa IPOD organiser
and Mwesigwa
Rukutana deputy
attorney general at
an IPOD meeting to
discuss the Public
Order Management
Act on April 25 at
Commonwealth
Resort Munyonyo.
IPOD stands for Inter
Party Organisation
on Dialogue.

ISO grills Kampala
taxi boss
In a continuation of its wide
ranging operations, the Internal
Security Organisation (ISO)
interrogated Yasin Ssematimba
over several days over allega-
tions that he was involved in
fuelling city riots, protests and
wrangles among taxi drivers
and operators in Kampala.
Ssematimba is the chairperson
of Kampala Operators and
Taxi Stages Association. Over
the past several years, the lat-
ter organization and similar
outfits have been implicated in
criminal activities. Most promi-
nently is Boda Boda 2010 whose
leader Abdullah Kitatta is facing
charges of murder at the General
Court Martial in Makindye,
Kampala. His organization was
implicated in robberies and
murders at the height of former
IGP Kale Kayihura’s reign.
Tension at Kampala city authority
Jennifer Musisi, former
KCCA executive director, is
reported to have left behind an
institution in disarray when she
resigned and handed over office
in December. Sources in KCCA
say directors, mid ranking staff
and other employees are in sus-
pense over the uncertainty that
has engulfed the city authority.
Most employees were work-
ing on four month contracts
and did not renew the moment
Musisi quit. Sources also say
employees are leaving in droves
because some believed in Musi-
si’s leadership and are not com-
fortable with the current leader-
ship of Andrew Kitaka, acting
executive director. The recruit-
ment of KCCA employees is
now back in the hands of the
Public Service Commission after
the Musisi-led KCCA had insti-
tuted their own independent
mechanism of hiring employees
on a four months basis.
Gov’t loses Shs2.5bn
on youth loans
The government through
the ministry of gender, labour
and social development has
written off Shs2.5 billion in
bad loans under the Youth
Livelihood programme. The
money has been extended to
2000 youth and the ministry
has given up on recovering the
money after several attempts.
Janat Mukwaya, the minister
for gender told lawmakers
while defending her ministry’s
budget of Shs162billion for
the next financial year. The
money was calculated from the
book value of Centenary Bank
which was an implementing
partner with the ministry when
the project was launched in
2012. Under the MoU with the
gender ministry, Centenary
Bank was supposed to manage
the funds and provide quarterly
reports to the ministry.

ACP Siraje Bakaleke case hangs in balance

Assistant Commissioner of
Police Siraje Bakaleke is still on the
run and the Ant-Corruption Divi-
sion of the High Court is actively
hunting for him to answer charges
of abuse of office, conspiracy to
defraud, kidnapping with intent to
confine a person, and conspiracy
to commit a felony. However his
lawyers asked the court to dis-
miss the case for lack of evidence.
James Byamukama, Bakaleke’s
lawyer said “It is not proper for the
defence to manage the state’s case
on whether to strike off someone
from a charge sheet or not, all
we can state is that the prosecu-
tion is not ready.” He said there
have been court appearances in
vain without any witness coming
forward since October 2018. “We
have made applications in this case
to have the witnesses’ statements
but this has either been ignored
or State just refused,” he added.
Bakaleke was one of former IGP
Kale Kayihura’s right hand men
and was implicated in the fleecing
of Shs1.4billion from South Korean
investors in a shady deal. He has
been on the run since Kayihura
was dropped as IGP early last year.

4 May. 03 - 09 2019
 Week

Kidnapped American tourist speaks out on Uganda

Kimberly Endicott, the
American tourist who was
kidnapped while in Uganda
told CBS, an American Telvision
that her captors turned out
to be her protectors too. In
her first interview about the
ordeal, Endicott spoke about
the humanity of the four men
who took her and her tour guide
Jean Mirenge, hostage and
their days in captivity before a
ransom payment secured their
release. “And then the sun is
setting and we keep walking
and it gets to complete, like,
pitch darkness,” she said during
the CBS interview and added,
“So at one point we stopped.
And I look up in the sky and I
see the most beautiful sky I’ve
ever seen in my life.” Endicott
bonded with the captors and she
revealed more. “It’s nothing like
I’ve ever seen before. And that
was when I became very aware
of humanizing myself to them
... I said, ‘Look at the sky.’ I said,
‘We don’t have this at home.”

Court awards Chief Justice in South

Shs2.6bn to fired
railway workers
5,105 former employees
of Uganda Railways
Corporation (URC) will have
Shs2.6billion as compensation
for lost time when they
were suffered wrongful
termination from the
railways body. The claimants
worked at the body from
1986 to 2004. The Court of
Appeal in a ruling led by its
head, deputy chief justice,
Alphonse Owiny-Dollo,
also ordered URC to pay
the former employees two
thirds of the costs of appeal.
Justice Kenneth Kakuru
and Stephen Musota made
up the three man panel.
The claimants worked at
as accountants, traffic staff,
civil engineers and in other
technical capacities. The court
awarded them Shs500, 000
each at a 17% interest rate
from June 2004 when they
filed the case at the High
Court till payment in full.
URC has filed an appeal to
the Supreme Court.
Africa for eye surgery
Chief Justice power to choose
Bart Katureebe is a leader of their
in South Africa for choice. In my
cataract surgery. considered view
He left the country therefore, the
shortly after the Justices of the
Supreme Court Constitutional
delivered its ruling Court were correct
on the age limit case to find that the
after an appeal by restriction on the
the Constitutional age of a President
Court. He was or the Chairperson
Eliud Kipchoge wins accompanied by
his wife Bernadette
Local Council V
was not a basic
fourth London marathon Katureebe
and personal
pillar of the
Constitution of
assistant, Aloysius Uganda.”
Kenyan long distance maestro ran in two hours two Natwijuka. The
minutes 38 seconds to win the London marathon for a Supreme Court
fourth time. Kipchoge set the world record last year in upheld the ruling of
Berlin and in London he ran his second fastest race. Kenya the Constitutional
wrapped itself in double glory when Brigid Kosgei, Court in a 4-3
25, became the youngest female London winner. She decision. Katureebe
completed her race in two hours eighteen minutes twenty ruled thus “To deny
seconds almost two minutes ahead of compatriot Vivian a person a chance to
Cheruiyot. Kosgei is slightly less than a month older than participate in vying
Aselefech Mergia, the previous youngest winner, of the for leadership of the
2010 race. It was a disappointing finish for Briton Mo Country because
Farrah who finished fifth. He was involved in a row with of age would
Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie days before the affect the people’s
race which is said to have distracted him. sovereignty and

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Dial *133*2# *terms and conditions apply |

Regulated by Uganda Communications Commission

for more bundles

May. 03 - 09 2019 5
Week
Farmers petition Speaker on sugar cane zoning
Sugar cane growers associa-
tions of Masindi, Mukono and
Busoga have petitioned the
Speaker of Parliament Rebecca
Kadaga over sugar cane zon-
ing to reject the idea terming
it as an out-dated model that
6 May. 03 - 09 2019
believes in wealth accumulation
by rent-seeking behaviours
i.e., “in this case Farmers land
(private property) is grabbed/
colonised for production
for a particular mill.” In the
petition, the farmers say some
conditions should be met before
any attempt to legalise zoning
is made: Farmers land in the
zone should be treated as an
investment meaning that at
least 60 percent shares of the
factory be owned by farmers,
since farmers supply more
than 70 percent raw material;
Farmers to be represented on
the factory governing board;
Government undertaking to
fully compensate farmers in
case of burnt cane above 10
months since the factory has
no capacity to crush cane in the
zone, which is a 25 km radius
has production potential of
10,000 tons cane per day, and
yet in Uganda no sugar factory
has this crushing capacity. Also,
the farmers want a penalty of
3 percent interest per month
for delayed harvesting of cane
beyond the stipulated time
frame of 18 months (Sugar
Policy 2010).
Changes in O-level
curriculum
Students in Ordinary Level
(O-level) will no longer have
to study for long hours in class
according to a new curriculum
approved by the government.
Classes will begin at 8am and
end at 2:50pm. The rest of the
time up to 5pm will be devoted
towards research projects or cur-
ricular activities. The National
Curriculum Development Cen-
tre (NCDC) has also cut number
of taught subjects at O-level by
more than half from 42 to 20. In
other changes, O-level exams
will account for 80% of the
marks for every student and the
other 20% will be derived from
continuous assessment. In some
syllabus changes, students will
be taught the NRA bush war
history which will replace out-
worn topics that comprise North
American and European history.
NCDC and Uganda National
Examinations Board (UNEB) are
now in harmonization talks on
how schools can record marks
for national grading.
Humour Did you know?
Rh-null is rarest and
most precious blood type

Rh-null or Golden Blood is an

extremely rare blood type that has only
The government seals Shs600b deal to export marijuana to Canada and Germany starting in June been identified in 43 people around the
world in the last 50 years. It is sought
after both for scientific research and
blood transfusions, but also incredibly
dangerous to live with for the people who
have it, because of its scarcity.
Human blood may look the same in
everyone, but it’s actually very different.
On the surface of every one of our red
blood cells we have up to 342 antigens –
the molecules that trigger the production
of certain specialised proteins called
antibodies – and it’s the absence of certain
antigens that determines a person’s blood
type. The 342 known antigens belong to
35 blood group systems, of which the Rh,
or ‘Rhesus’, system is the largest, with 61
antigens. It’s not uncommon for humans
to be missing one of these antigens. But
what if a human is missing all of the 61 Rh
antigens?
Until half a century ago, doctors
Ugandan women working in the Middle East continue to complain about the mistreatment and believed that such an embryo couldn’t
poor working conditions even survive in the uterus, let alone
develop into a normal, healthy adult. But
in 1961, an Aboriginal Australian woman
was identified as having Rh-null blood,
meaning she lacked all the antigens in the
Rh blood system, which made no sense at
the time. Since then, only 43 people with
Rh-null blood have been identified.
Rh-null blood can be given to anyone
with a negative Rh blood type, which is
why scientists often say that it’s worth
its weight in gold, but what if a person
born with this unusual blood type ever
needs a blood transfusion. That would
be a big problem, as they could only
receive Rh-null blood. This makes it
very dangerous to live with. If they
receive blood from someone who is
‘positive’ for one of the 61 Rh antigens
they lack, their own antibodies could
react with the incompatible donor blood
Civil Aviation Authority plans to ban taxi cabs that were manufactured 10years ago from cells, triggering a potentially lethal
accessing Entebbe Airport immune system response.

May. 03 - 09 2019 7

Inbox
Letters are
welcome !
The Editor welcomes short and
concise letters from our esteemed
readers on topical issues. Please
send them to:
The Editor, The Independent
Publications Ltd,
P.O Box 3304,
Plot 82/84 Kanjokya St,
Kamwokya.
Kampala,Uganda.
Email: editor@independent.co.ug
Mwenda, and capitalism,
Bashir and grave diggers
Refer to: “The fall of Omar
Bashir” (The Independent April
19). I seem to have a problem with
Andrew Mwenda and his Karl Marx
‘grave digger’ reasoning. If to do
well for previously impoverished
people when leading government
means ‘digging one’s political grave’
then those who want to remain in
leadership for as long as nature
enables them, cannot consciously be
doing ‘good’ for the people, unless
their motive is not self-interest.
Which also brings me to his view
on capitalism: While I may agree
that many capitalists (including
him?) seek profit first, I am inclined
to disagree on true innovators and
inventors. The creative part in the
process of invention is so precarious
that to put profit behind it, would
very easily abort it. The drive
behind it for many inventors is a
desire to feel you have done what
no one else has been able to do –
and if you can profiteer from that
effort, that would be ‘bonus’. Since
Mwenda likes reading, I would
– without blowing own trumpet
– advise him to checkout : https://
www.intechopen.com/online-first/
mechanical-engineering-design-
going-over-the-analysis-synthesis-
mountain-to-seed-creativity and
focus on section 3.1 of that work.
Dr Eng Kant Ateenyi
8 May. 03 - 09 2019
Follow us on Twitter @
http://twitter.com/#!/ugandatalks
Follow us on Facebook @
www.facebook.com/TheIndependentMagazineUganda
Thanks to government
for CCTV cameras
Refer to “Dozens injured in Kira Road
accident” (The Independent Online
April 25). Thanks to the government for
the introduction of CCTV cameras, now
road users should know whatever crimi-
nal acts are committed. Accountability is
key. No room for exit.
Julie
Why fly Uganda
Airlines
Refer to: “Museveni welcomes
‘baby’, pushes for East African
airline” (The Independent On-
line April 24). Why would I fly
on a Uganda Airlines plane (or
Rwandair, Kenya Airways) if I
can fly KLM or SN Brussels that
offer much better services?
G. Ndaruhutse.
East African Airline
not good idea
Refer to: “Museveni welcomes
‘baby’, pushes for East African
airline” (The Independent On-
line April 24). Amalgamating all
regional airlines into one airline
will create a monopoly. Do we
want a monopoly which will
result in higher ticket prices? My
opinion is for African govern-
ments to adopt the open skies
policy protocol. It is amazing
African governments have met
twice at the AU and signed the
open skies protocol but to no
avail. Our policy makers are
good at talking but no action.
Godfrey Mubiru
News analysis Health Business
Why NRM fears HIV treatment Fights at
Independent MPs breakthrough Posta Uganda
Issue No. 569 April. 26 - May 02 2019
Ushs 5,000,Kshs 200, RwF 1,500, SDP 8
Money fuels
fights within
Opposition
Why Mao, Besigye, Bobi Wine
cannot work together
www.independent.co.ug
Kira Road accident shows
value of street cameras
Refer to “Dozens injured in Kira
Road accident” (The Independent
Online April 25). We are so sorry for
those who lost their beloved ones. May
their souls rest in eternal peace. But the
government should introduce more
cameras on roads hope that camera
helped to show how accident hap-
pened.
Osbert Bamporere
On new Uganda Airlines
Refer to: “Museveni welcomes ‘baby’, pushes
for East African airline” (The Independent On-
line April 24). In 1977 Uganda airlines was born
after a “whimsical” thought by then Ugandan
president Idi Amin. It was rundown and eventu-
ally collapsed in 2001 during the reign of Presi-
dent Yoweri Museveni who, by any measure is a
more refined leader than Idi Amin. What makes
these two leaders “identical” is the manner in
which they arrive at critical decision. If what
Mr. Mwenda reported in these pages is
anything to go by, the idea of ” reviv-
ing” the airline was not borne out of
a thorough economic thought. There
was no feasibility study. It was another
“whimsical” thought- a culmination of frus-
tration that has led to this so called “baby.” As a
Ugandan, I am proud that we “own” an airline.
But I would be more proud if that airline was
protected from its earlier “inadequacies”
that led to its failure in the first place.
Rajab Kakyama

The road to serfdom
By Andrew M. Mwenda
How Ugandans have cultivated a mindset that is making
them servants of foreigners in their own country
M
y friend Henry Mayanja left
Uganda as a teenager and
lived in the UK for 20 years. He
worked for the UK government
earning a salary and thinking he had
made it. When he visited Uganda in 2011,
he found some ordinary guy he left in
Hima – uneducated, riding a bicycle and
selling milk – a successful entrepreneur in
Kampala with 24 lorries and investments in
real estate. The guy explained to Henry that
he had grown from the bicycle to a boda
boda, to a small pickup, to the lorries.
Henry felt challenged and resolved to
return to Uganda and enter business. He
went back to UK, got a second job, and was
earning £35,000 (Shs170 million) a year –
which to Ugandan ears sounds great. After
two years, he had saved £15,000 (Shs73
million) and bought two lorry-heads and
returned to Uganda in 2013. He partnered
with a friend who provided him five trucks
(pulled by lorries) and entered the logistics
business. Today Henry has over 70 lorries
with their trucks; his business is worth over
$5 million and is diversifying into real estate
and mining. The money he makes today in
Uganda is 20 times what he was earning in
UK.
The lesson from Henry’s story is
simple but fundamental: Ugandans do
not need to run to Europe and North
America to prosper. Our country has
many opportunities, which anyone
entrepreneurial can exploit and prosper
better than anything the U.S. and Europe
can offer. Yet very many Ugandans, even
the most educated and exposed, spend a lot
of time complaining about how government
has failed to create opportunities for them
to prosper. This is the most dysfunctional
mindset across our vast continent.
Government cannot create opportunities
for anyone. At best it can create an enabling
environment for people to succeed.
For instance, we have an estimated 20,000
Indians (or South Asians generally) in
Uganda i.e. 0.5% of the population. Then
someone recently told me that Indians (or
Indian owned businesses) pay 64% of our
tax revenues. If this number is correct, then
it reveals something fundamental about
this country: the thinness of indigenous
participation in the economy as productive
agents – exactly as colonialism designed.
Meanwhile 70% of Ugandans are peasants
living on agriculture, which contributes
The Last Word
zero in taxes. They are poor largely because
we do not have entrepreneurs to create
businesses that can employ them.
For many Ugandans hearing the
dominance of Indian capital in our
economy, the first intuition is to look for a
villain to blame. The best way to make such
a villain recognisable is to give him/her a
human face. So President Yoweri Museveni
becomes the villain. Of course Museveni
personally carries part of the blame for this.
He has been a strong advocate of Foreign
Direct Investment as a driver of economic
growth. He is also fascinated by Indians
and sees them as more entrepreneurial than
indigenous Ugandans. He has thus been
willing to use the state to support some of
them.
Yet most Indian entrepreneurs have
never received any direct state support but
they are thriving. In any case, limited local
ownership of the economy is a characteristic
feature of most of the economies of Africa.
In Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi,
Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone etc.,
foreigners own most of the businesses. This
demonstrates that many of the problems
we attribute to individual leaders like
Museveni are actually results of broader,
historical, impersonal forces. Leaders like
Museveni are consequences, not causes, of
the neocolonial character of the state.
I have grown increasingly to believe that
one of the main causes of our economic
backwardness in Africa is our mindset. This
is inculcated in us largely but not entirely
through our education system and in public
media.
There is a suffocating belief that the state
is the source of prosperity for individuals
and groups. The maxim, therefore, is that
individual and collective prosperity requires
a competent and honest government –
whatever these two adjectives mean.
This explains the over politicisation of life
in Africa – everyone wants to be engaged in
politics as the vehicle for improvement.
Yet there are many successful
businesspersons, most especially from
immigrant communities – Ethiopians,
Somalis, Eritreans, Indians, Chinese, etc. in
Uganda. Most of them come to this country
with nothing but their wits. They set up
businesses and within a few years they have
built thriving enterprises and are employing
Ugandans.
They succeed without seeking any reform
Opinion
of the state, in large part because their
immigrant status denies them the luxury
of thinking they need to change anything
politically to succeed. (I have deliberately
omitted South Sudanese because these
come loaded with cash after looting their
own state to invest here).
If the state and its corruption and
incompetence are the reasons many
Ugandans are unable to begin businesses
and prosper, how come immigrants do not
find this an impediment? This convinces
me that corruption (however morally
repugnant it may be) and incompetence are
excuses, not an explanation for the failure
of many Ugandans to set up businesses that
can grow and thrive.
Some Ugandans think, and in a few
specific cases correctly so, that success in
business requires political connections. But
the vast majority of successful immigrant
businesspersons in Uganda lack even the
most basic political connections to explain
their success.
Most of our people, especially the
educated, claim the government has not
“opened opportunities” for them. But if the
government has closed opportunities, how
come immigrants are making a fortune? If
we continue with the mindset of blaming
government for individual failures, we
shall continue to be servants/workers of
immigrant groups in our country. Soon
politicians seeking votes will whip up
nationalistic sentiments against immigrants
in order to rob them of their property.
This will lead to an economic collapse as
happened with Idi Amin’s economic war
of 1972.
I meet many Ugandans who can hardly
speak English (meaning they did not go
far in school) who have made a fortune as
traders, real estate investors, etc. Why are
the most successful indigenous Ugandans
in business equally the least educated?
Because they have not been indoctrinated
with the belief that their success depends
on government; so they seek to rely on their
wits too. Meanwhile the most educated
Ugandans work in NGOs, embassies,
government, multinational corporations, or
as employees of businesses of immigrants.
Why? Our education system teaches that
success comes from the state instead of
individual initiative.
amwenda@independent.co.ug
May. 03 - 09 2019 9
cover story

Lessons to
Bobi Wine from
Besigye
It’s defiance or death

10 May. 03 - 09 2019

Police arrests Bobi Wine
A
By Haggai Matsiko
n eventful five days from
Easter Monday April 22
to Friday April appears to
have made something snap
in Kyadondo East MP, Ky-
agulanyi Sentamu aka Bobi
Wine’s head.
It appears that the police’s restriction
of his political and musical activities have
pushed him from being an advocate of
political change by the ballot to a believer in
“change through defiance”.
In a sign of the change, Bobi Wine on
April 22 defied police in an attempt to stage
a music concert at his One Love Beach in
Busabala. Police reacted with teargas and
smashed his car window before arresting
him and other and carting off the music
equipment.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Martin
Okoth Ochola, in a letter signed by Assis-
tant Inspector General of Police Asuman
Mugenyi, had blocked the concert claiming
previous concerts at the same venue have
turned into a public nuisance, violated traf-
fic rules, among others on top of endanger-
ing the lives of other people who are not
even part of them. But that did not fool
anyone. It is clear police is targeting Bobi
Wine because of his opposition to President
Yoweri Museveni.
Dr. Livingstone Sewanyana, the Execu-
tive Director, Foundation for Human Rights
(FHRI), told The Independent that Musev-
eni blocks activities like Bobi Wine’s con-
certs because “he fears that he will mobilise
people and they will overthrow him”.
“What President Museveni needs to
know is that no military might can save
him from being overthrown,” Sewanyana
added, “But guaranteeing people their free-
doms and creating an environment where
everyone feels involved would. Without
that, people will always fight back.”
Bobi Wine says police has blocked 124
concerts of his since October 2017 when he
started openly identifying with the opposi-
tion to Museveni. Earlier he had refused to
be part of a coterie of musicians who sung a
campaign song praising Museveni.
The latest police attack on Bobi Wine on
April 22 was scarily similar to the infamous
attack on leading opposition politician
Kizza Besigye in Kampala in 2011. But Bobi
Wine was not scared.
Locked up in his home, with police
patrols and barricades all round, Bobi Wine
on April 23 announced his readiness to
lead mass protests if his rights continue to
be trampled on. He also released a video
of protest music against the police titled
`Afande’.
Then on April 25 he showed up unex-
pectedly at the funeral of a prominent oppo-
sition politician in Bugiri, eastern Uganda
and worked the crowds with the tale of
how he escaped from his own home to be
there.
“I sneaked out of my home which is
now a prison,” he told the cheering crowd
draped in red attire, capes, and bandanas
–the colours of his `People Power’ move-
ment.
“I do not support escaping from prison;
I am a law-abiding citizen. But I got out
because it was a violation of the law and
cover story
against my rights,” he explained.
While police had earlier on April 25 left
Bobi Wine’s, four days later, they struck
again and arrested while he drove to Crimi-
nal Investigation Department (CID) head-
quarters in Kibuli to answer for defying the
IGP’s orders earlier on Easter Monday.
He was arrested near the Mulago round-
about, driven to Nagalama police station in
Mukono district, and then driven back to
Buganda Road court.
At court, he pleaded not guilty to charges
that he and others held a public meet-
ing—the OTT tax demonstration on July 11,
2018)—without notifying police contrary to
provisions of the Public Order Management
Act (POMA). Court remanded to Luzira
until May 2.
Defiance gains support
Bobi Wine’s acts and feats of defiance,
which are likely to continue, have until now
been associated with one person; seasoned
opposition politician and former Forum
for Democratic Change (FDC) boss, Kizza
Besigye
In fact, until now, Bobi Wine has
appeared to disagree with Besigye on using
defiance as a strategy in the fight to end
President Yoweri Museveni’s 33-year rule.
Bobi Wine has been insisting that elections
can remove Museveni.
“For a leader to say a vote can never oust
Museveni without offering a solution is
disappointing. Don’t talk about democracy
and stand four times and on the fifth time
you say it does not work, we believe it
works.”
But the police’s continuous moves to
May. 03 - 09 2019 11
cover story
block him from holding musical concerts
appear to have taught Bobi Wine a new
lesson; that to survive, he must fight for his
right to perform his music and to politically
mobilise supporters.
Bobi Wine who says music is his source
of livelihood says he must hold concerts. By
blocking these activities, it appears, police
has forced Bobi Wine to resort to defiance.
In what many saw as an act of defiance,
Bobi Wine called for mass protests at his
home in Magere-Gayaza, on the outskirts of
Kampala city.
Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Betty
Aol Ocan; who on April 24 visited Bobi
Wine during detention, told The Indepen-
dent on April 27 that she is mobilising her
group for defiance too.
“It has become clear that police belongs to
one man, it is no longer the people’s police.
It is also clear that police is not the problem
but where they get orders, our police is
being misused with a lot of impunity,” she
said.
She said opposition leaders need to
develop an action plan against police brutal-
ity. “Even when we go to court,” she told
The Independent, “government doesn’t Police arrests Besigye
listen. So we go to the court of public
opinion—defiance, just like Dr. Besigye the only way is to resort to the
has been doing.” power of guns just like Musev-
She said she was encouraged by other eni did in 1981. Unfortunately,
legislators- Roland Mugume (Rukungiri when you analyse, you find
Municipality), Barnabas Tinkasimire that taking government by arms
(Buyaga West), Gilbert Oulanya (Kilak ends up causing even more
South) and Mathias Kasamba- were also chaos. So, we will keep pushing
there “standing with a colleague at a for a peaceful transition using
time his family was being traumatised the defiance approach.”
by police”.
She told The Independent that a big- Lessons from Besigye
ger group of legislators were planning The defiance approach has
Rwakafuzi Ssewanyana Ocan
to visit Bobi Wine’s home and protest been a subject of controversy
the police brutality. Ocan was disturbed since Besigye introduced it in
that in the case of Bobi Wine, government done about it. the build up to the 2016 elections.
brutality has gone extreme and blocked his For that, Ocan said, together with repre- Besigye had vowed not to participate in
source of livelihood; staging concerts at his sentatives of the opposition, the government 2016 elections if the electoral process was
own private beach in Busabala. side agreed that a committee comprising not reformed.
Ocan said she was disturbed that leaders secretary generals of political parties under But in a surprise move, he got nominated,
of opposition parties and ruling party repre- IPOD, the Attorney General and chaired by defeated then FDC President Mugisha
sentatives on April 25 had just condemned Democratic Party’s Gerald Siranda, drafts Muntu to win the party ticket and launched
such police brutality but police had with regulations that will guide implementation into campaign mode amidst intense criti-
impunity continued holding Bobi Wine of the Act. cism.
under house arrest. Ocan’s attendance of IPOD was a major “We are participating to win this election
She said she had been in the meeting effort at politics of negotiation because her and we shall win this election. We shall win
under the aegis of the Inter-Party Organ- party, the FDC, has for years boycotted the the flawed elections. We shall not win it by
isation for Dialogue (IPOD) on the Public meeting to protest police brutality. compliance but by defiance,” Besigye said
Order Management Act (POMA) that police However, she told The Independent, as while addressing journalists at his Katonga
often cites to break up opposition gather- she returned to Kitgum on April 27, she was Road office on October 8, 2015.
ings. greeted with teargas and found that police In reaction, then-Electoral Commission
She said the meeting attended by Prime was restricting the movement of people just chairman Badru Kiggundu said Besigye’s
Minister Ruhakana Ruganda, Deputy because the FDC was launching an office campaign was aimed at inciting violence
Attorney General Mwesigwa Rukutana, there. during the elections. Kiggundu even threat-
Security Minister Gen. Elly Tumwiine, “Some people are out there stranded ened that he would deploy the military to
Internal Affairs Minister Gen. Jeje Odongo, looking for police services but in other counter Besigye’s campaign.
and Defense Minister Adolf Mwesige at places police is deploying heavily just to As part of the defiance campaign, Besigye
Commonwealth Resort, Munyonyo agreed restrict lawful activities,” Ocan lamented, would routinely emerge from his home
that the police was implementing POMA in “this misuse of power and of public office is and start walking, a crowd would grow
illegal fashion and something needed to be disturbing. It pushes one into thinking that around and walk with him, the police

12 May. 03 - 09 2019

would pounce; often with teargas and live
bullets. The crowd would flee and Besigye
would get arrested and be taken to a police
cell until late in the night when he would be
released back home.
At one point, Police mounted a 45-day
siege at his home until pressure from dip-
lomats and activists forced them to leave.
Even after, he remained under tight surveil-
lance but did not stop his defiance activities.
At one point, the Deputy Attorney Gen-
eral, Mwesigwa Rukutana, sought a Consti-
tutional Court declaration that Besigye and
FDC’s defiance campaign was illegal.
On April 29 2016, Deputy Chief Justice
Steven Kavuma, who at the time headed the
Constitutional Court, issued the order and
banned the FDC activities.
But Besigye described Kavuma’s the
order as illegal and said he would defy it.
Besigye defied the Electoral Commission by
challenging the results of the 2016 election.
He said he had “incontrovertible evidence”
that he won the election with 52% of the
vote although the EC declared Museveni
winner.
Basing on this, Besigye demanded an
internationally supervised independent
audit of the 2016 election results. When
the EC did not act, Besigye decided to get
sworn-in as president. A day to the May 12
official swearing-in of President Museveni,
Besigye who had been under house arrest
escaped and emerged in the city centre.
Shortly after, a video of his purported
swearing-in emerged.
Besigye was then arrested and charged
with treason. Prosecution alleged that
Besigye and others, between February 20
and May 11, planned to forcefully ascend to
the Office of the President when he declared
himself the elected president of Uganda.
He was remanded to Luzira until June
1. But Besigye has not abandoned the cam-
paign. Following his release in July, he went
to work and later announced the people’s
government with fully-fledged structures.
However, ever since Bobi Wine
announced intent to run for president
in 2021 and his `People Power’ gathered
strength, the authorities appear to be target-
ing him more than even Besigye.
They have blocked his rallies, appearanc-
es on radio, and laid siege at his home. For
some, this is a sign that Museveni sees Bobi
Wine as a bigger threat. The question now
is whether Bobi Wine’s going the defiance
way will advance or frustrate his ambitions
for 2021.
Defiance is the only way out
Commenting on Bobi Wine’s acts of
defiance, prominent human rights lawyer
Laudislaus Rwakafuzi told The Indepen-
dent on April 27 that “reality will dawn on
all of the opposition politicians that defiance
is the only way out”.
Rwakafuzi said that neither court nor
parliament can help Bobi Wine because
even if Bobi Wine wanted a declaration
from court that the police actions were ille-
gal, it is likely it would take years to come.
“The law is helpless, institutions like
court that would help cannot,” he said.
He said Bobi Wine’s decision to escape
from his home to attend the burial cer-
emony of former Bugiri District chairperson
Siraji Lyavala on April 25, was an effective
act of defiance.
“It is only through defiance that politi-
cover story
cal activists like Bobi Wine will continue
to enjoy their rights within the law despite
efforts by authorities to restrict them,” he
said.
He said is difficult to get a judge who will
be bold enough to make the ruling because
President Yoweri Museveni appointed all
of them.
Even parliament cannot help Bobi Wine,
Rwakafuzi added, pointing to statements
made by the deputy Speaker of Parliament
Jacob Oulanyah while Bobi Wine was under
house arrest.
Oulanyah had ruled that intervening in
Bobi Wine’s troubles was not within parlia-
ment’s mandate.
“Let us make a distinction; parliamentary
privileges and immunities relate to what
you say and do in Parliament. They do not
relate to what you say and do outside Par-
liament. Please remember this it might help
you in future,” Oulanya told legislators.
He was responding to concerns raised by
Mukono Municipality legislator Betty Nam-
booze regarding police brutality against the
opposition.
Apart from Bobi Wine, police have in the
past few months blocked and dispersed ral-
lies organised by FDC’s Besigye and pulled
radio stations off air whenever Besigye was
to be a guest on talk shows.
On Bobi wine, Nambooze wanted Oulan-
yah to invoke the House provisions on
privileges enjoyed by sitting MPs to rescue
the legislator.
“I beg that government comes out clearly
on whether it is an offence to dress in red
and sing slogans of People Power,” Nam-
booze said.
Sewanyana of FHRI also told The
Independent that preventive detention,
which police is in the habit of exploiting, is
“unconstitutional as it tantamounts to politi-
cal persecution”.
He advised Bobi Wine and other activists
who find it hard to protest because of the
Public Order Management Act (POMA),
to go to court and seek orders reversing
police’s illegal actions.
“The court processes might not be expe-
ditious but it also depends on what one asks
for,” Sewanyana said, “I find that courts
find it easy to issue orders and injunctions.”
But he added: “Where authorities defy
court orders, a culture of impunity—where
Museveni is the law and the law is Musev-
eni—Ugandans must challenge this”.
He said that it was the duty of all Ugan-
dans to carryout all lawful actions such that
this does not become the order of the day.
“As long as Ugandans are not angry
enough,” Sewanyana warned, “this state of
affairs will remain. Ugandans need to know
that the President is supposed to govern
according to the constitution and the will of
the people not his whims.”
May. 03 - 09 2019 13
news analysis
Police officers arrest Bobi Wine in Kampala last year. Lawyers and the Opposition say police is misinterpreting the Public Order Management Act
Behind teargas for Besigye,
house arrest for Bobi Wine
Should opposition trust NRM promise on meetings?
By Ian Katusiime
A
meeting between leaders of
government and political parties
on April 25 to discuss how the
Uganda Police is implementing
the Public Order Management Act (POMA)
went badly for the Leader of Opposition
in Parliament (LoP), Betty Aol Ochan,
according to sources.
Three days before the meeting, on April
22, police claiming to be acting under
POMA had fired teargas and sprayed water
on supporters of rising opposition politician
Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine at his
One Love Beach Busabala, near Kampala in
Ssabagabo-Makindye sub-county of Wakiso
district.
Bobi Wine who is the Kyadondo East
constituency MP and a popular musician
was arrested and kept under house arrest
by police who barricaded his house in
Magere-Gayaza on the other side of the
district.
So when Ochan headed to the
Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo for the
14 May. 03 - 09 2019
meeting organised under the Inter Party
Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD), she
thought it would be the perfect opportunity
to raise the issue at the highest possible
level; with the Prime Minister Ruhakana
Rugunda.
Rugunda attended the meeting together
with Ministers Gen. Elly Tumwine
(Security), Jeje Odongo (Internal Affairs),
Mwesigwa Rukutana (Deputy Attorney
General), Mary Karooro Okurut (General
Duties) and Charles Engola (Minister of
State for Defence).
Representing the parties was Secretary
General Justine Kasule Lumumba and
Women League chairperson Lydia
Wanyoto for the ruling NRM, Secretary
General Nandala Mafabi and his Deputy,
Harold Kaija, and Salaamu Musumba,
the vice president for eastern Uganda, for
main opposition party FDC, and Secretary
General Fred Ebil for UPC. Secretary
General Gerald Blacks Siranda and Samuel
Lubega attended on behalf of DP. Siranda is
also the current chair of the IPOD Council.
Each party delegation had other members.
Heated meeting
Ochan who attended in her capacity as
LoP reportedly attempted to bring up the
issue of the incarcerated Bobi Wine but
the government side cut her off. She was
reportedly told the meeting was not to
discuss specific cases.
Sources that attended told The Independent
on condition of anonymity that the meeting
got quite heated. But it appears that the
government side had planned ahead for
that.
Although the meeting was initially
set to be at the more accessible Imperial
Royale Hotel in the middle of Kampala
city, it was shifted at the last minute to the
more reclusive Commonwealth Resort
Munyonyo, about 16km away on the edge
of Lake Victoria.
Sources told The Independent that
Rugunda and Lumumba decided that
holding the meeting in the city would
attract a lot of attention to it from journalists.
Even as Munyonyo was deemed far
enough, it was also decided that any
journalists who ventured out there would

not be allowed to cover the proceedings.
Instead, they would be locked out and
given a polished communique of what
supposedly was deliberated at the end of
the six hour meeting.
In the end what emerged officially was
that some common positions were reached
and assurances made on others. It was
agreed that a subcommittee comprising
the attorney general and the five secretaries
general of the political parties in IPOD
report back to the IPOD council in 10 days
with draft regulations for streamlining and
smoothening the implementation of the
POMA.
“I am very happy about this meeting, this
is the understanding we must champion.
We have agreed to set up regulations,” said
Salaamu Musumba.
“I feel happy that there are no hard
positions. There is a change of heart,” she
told The Independent after the meeting.
Rugunda who chaired the meeting as
Prime Minister did not say much in his
usual style.
“We have had a vibrant, candid and
productive discussion on POMA,” he said.
Frank Rusa, the executive director of
the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty
Democracy (NIMD), which is behind
the national dialogue process, “the main
takeaway from the meeting was getting the
ministers to sit and have a discussion with
the opposition on the interpretation and
implementation of the POMA”.
“NRM is serious this time, they are
involved a lot in preparatory processes and
even on the regulations of the POMA, and
they have shown commitment on forging a
way forward,” he said.
POMA contentious
However, unofficially, the take away was
that POMA as a law remains contentious.
Since POMA was enacted in 2013, it
has been used to break up rallies, make
arrests and cancel any meeting or assembly
organised by any opposition party or
individual.
Mainly it has been Dr. Kizza Besigye, a
veteran politician who has been targeted
but police attention appears to have
turned to Bobi Wine. A day after the
IPOD meeting, on April 26, Besigye and
other FDC leaders and supporters were
teargased and dispersed as they celebrated
the opening of their office in Kitgum town
in northern Uganda. The next day similar
scenes were repeated in Lira town. On April
29 Bobi Wine was arrested as he drove from
his home, with a huge crowd of supporters
in tow, to Kibuli Police CIID headquarters
to answer summons over the Busabala
incident. He was locked up at Nagalama.
Ochan has since told journalists that “the
police has made its own interpretation of
the law”.
“The implementation has been the
problem. The police turned the notice into
permission. And even then when you want
to notify them, they do not respond and
then teargas follows after,” she said.
Sources say even the government side is
“a divided house on this law”.
Some government officials reportedly
believe the police brutalization of the
opposition hurts the image of the
government and should stop. But the other
side, which is reportedly led by President
Museveni, believes opposition figures have
a mission to cause anarchy with the hope
of inspiring an insurrection and should be
blocked at every opportunity.
The problem starts with Section 5 of the
POMA. This states that “an organiser of a
meeting shall give notice in writing to the
authorised officer of the intention to hold a
public meeting at least three days before the
proposed date of the public meeting”.
The
implementation
has been the
problem. The
police turned
the notice into
permission. And
even then when
you want to notify
them, they do not
respond and then
teargas follows
That appears clear enough. However
on many occasions, leaders of opposition
parties say they write notices to police but
it does not respond. Sometimes police deny
receiving the notice. Both appear deliberate
ploys by police to frustrate the opposition.
Daniel Ruhweza, a lawyer and law
lecturer at Makerere University agrees with
those opposed to the law. He argues that
the implementation has turned out to be
totally different from the intention.
“It says notify the police of your intended
activity. It does not say seek permission, to
the best of my understanding. When you
notify the police, police provides guidance
and security if you require it.”
news analysis
He says the law was not intended for
what it is being used for and it is the reason
why it is only used to curtail those with
alternative views.
He says the way the police is
implementing POMA goes back to
Constitutional Appeal no. 09 of 2005; a
prominent case filed by Muwanga Kivumbi
against the government.
Muwanga Kivumbi argued that Section
32 of the Police Act did not give police
permission to prohibit political activity and
was unconstitutional if it did. He won. But
POMA appears to have resurrected the
police’s impunity.
“Right now where an activity is not in
the interests of the powers that be, it will be
prohibited,” Ruhweza told The Independent.
The issue of contention is that Section 8 of
POMA grants an authorised officer the right
to stop a public meeting.
Section 8(1) reads: “Subject to the
direction of the Inspector General of Police,
an authorised officer or any other police
officer of or above the rank of inspector,
may stop or prevent the holding of a public
meeting where the public meeting is held
contrary to the Act”.
Section 3 of the POMA has also become
contentious. It says, “The Inspector General
of Police or an authorised officer shall have
the power to regulate the conduct of all
public meetings in accordance with the
law”.
If those opposed to POMA say it majorly
talks about notification of the police, those
on the government side can as well say
the IGP has powers to regulate public
meetings and it is well within the IGP’s
right to interpret the broad powers as to
grant or deny permission for the meetings
to proceed.
Critics have argued that the POMA was
in many ways a replication of Section 32(2)
of the Police Act which was declared null
and void by the Constitutional Court in
the ruling of Muwanga Kivumbi vs the
Attorney General in 2008.
One of the judgments read; “It is my
considered view that section 32 (2) of the
Police Act gives the inspector general of
police excessive powers that which he
may use a he wishes to curtail people’s
rights and freedom of conscience, speech,
association and assembly…”
It adds that “In case the inspector
general of police sees any possibility of a
breach of peace at any assembly, the police
should provide protection.”
Ruhweza says as long as the
Constitutional Court does not come
out and declare clearly once again the
significance of POMA, there is going to
be an increase in the number of events
and public engagements that are being
frustrated by the misapplication and
misinterpretation of this law.
May. 03 - 09 2019 15
news analysis

Total E&P-led oil

project approved
Environmental activists raise concerns on NEMA's role
By Ronald Musoke

T
otal E&P has secured the green light
for its major oil project also known
as Tilenga to proceed after 10
months of evaluations by Uganda’s
environmental body.
Total E&P said the approval by the
National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA) is a major step in
Uganda’s journey to produce oil but con-
servationists are concerned that proper
procedures were not followed, which could
endanger the environment.
The Tilenga project is the main centre-
piece of the oil projects that are supposed
to bring into Uganda investments of over
US$ 20b but its location at the heart of Mur-
chison Falls National Park, one of Uganda’s
leading tourist destinations and home
to endangered species of animals, birds,
insects and reptiles, has for long made con-
servationists nervous.
By issuing a certificate of approval for
Tilenga’s Environmental Impact Assess-
ment (EIA), the National Environment Man-
agement Authority (NEMA) has intensified
these fears.
NEMA’s approval was a result of a 10
month process that involved several field
visits to the project area and public hear-
ings to capture concerns of especially the
affected communities.
“People expressed their views with
regards to the project violating their cultural
rights; the people also asked NEMA to
ensure that management plans for noise,
dust and water pollution are in place before
any approval is done,” Dickens Kamugisha,
the head of the Africa Institute for Energy
Governance (AFIEGO) a Kampala-based
non-profit told The Independent. Map showing proposed infrastructure required
Kamugisha is also worried about the to commercialize Uganda’s oil resources.  SOURCE: CNOOC UGANDA LTD
fact that the environmental body approved
the project without taking into account the and mining sector. should challenge these institutions in the
views of over 2000 people who turned up “The law clearly talks about the presid- courts of law, otherwise, these public hear-
for the public hearings last year. ing officer not being an interested party in ings are just a formality,” Kamugisha told
Kamugisha says civil society also took the project for which the public hearing has The Independent on April 26.
exception to the fact that the presiding offi- been called,” he said, “The approval has not The other longstanding concern has been
cer for the two public hearings was Fred been done in line with the concerns of the over whether oil activities can go on with-
Kabagambe Kaliisa, the former Permanent people.” out interrupting tourism activities in the
Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and “We are planning to take NEMA to court Murchison Falls National Park.
Mineral Development who now advises for breach of the law because we feel that if Rossini Silveira, a petroleum engineer
President Yoweri Museveni on the oil, gas the procedures have not been followed, we turned consultant who has over the last 25

16 May. 03 - 09 2019

years worked on projects in Australia, Nige-
ria, the U.S, Indonesia and the Middle East,
says that implementing the Tilenga project
in a sustainable manner will be hard.
He says that for some of the projects he
worked on which were located in parks; the
project managers took what he calls “consci-
entious decisions.” “Those plans need a lot
of scrutiny by independent auditors by all
means,” he told The Independent.
“Some of the roads in Murchison Falls
National Park are already being widened
and this is an obstruction to animals like
elephants and the increase in traffic in the
park could potentially increase the number
of animal kills,” Silveira said, “We might
have an oil project but we might not have
tourism for a while,” Silveira said, referring
to the fact that the oil project will probably
last a maximum of 30 years.
But Dr. Akankwasah Barirega, the com-
missioner for wildlife conservation in the
Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiq-
uities told The Independent that they have
participated in the review of the Tilenga
Project’s ESIA and they are “satisfied” with
the management plans.
“Of course we know that it’s one thing to
have the management plans on paper and
another to follow through with the imple-
mentation of those plans,” Barirega told The
Independent on April 26, “The impacts on the
environment will always be there but if the
mitigation mechanisms are followed then
the two projects should co-exist.”
Edgar Buhanga, the deputy director,
planning, monitoring and research at the
Uganda Wildlife Authority says UWA is
confident that the mitigation measures and
the management plans that have been put
in place will help the wildlife agency “pull
through” during the production phase just
like the conservation agency pulled through
during the exploration phase.
“Remember back then the industry was
relatively new and we had little or no expe-
rience,” he said.
“We have since developed specific tools
and a specific atlas for the Murchison Falls
National Park clearly identifying breeding
grounds and routes for the animals.”
“We have mapped the oil wells and we
have also done a baseline of what is in the
game park and we want to compare it with
what we will have after the restoration of
the project sites.”
“We want to ensure that there are no
spills and animal kills,” Buhanga told The
Independent, “We want to minimize impact
on tourism and the wildlife heritage in the
park.”
Joint venture partners
In a statement released on April 23, the
joint venture oil companies said NEMA’s
approval marks a key milestone in the prog-
ress towards the development of Uganda’s
oil resources. They noted that whereas the
approval is legally necessary to allow the
project go ahead, it is also an important
requirement for the final investment deci-
sion (FID).
“Total and its partners Tullow and
CNOOC are committed to being models of
excellence whose mission is to operate in a
safe and environmentally friendly manner
for current and future generations,” the
statement reads in part.
“We are fully committed to applying
best practices to the development of the oil
resources by avoiding potential negative
impacts as our first priority, minimizing
potential impacts and strictly adhering to
policies and standards that meet interna-
tional requirements such as the Internation-
al Finance Corporation’s (IFC) performance
standards (PS) of 2012, as well as national
environmental laws and regulations.”
The joint venture partners said an envi-
ronment and social management plan
(ESMP) has been developed in order to sup-
port the development and implementation
of the mitigation measures identified in the
Environmental and Social Impact Assess-
ment (ESIA). They also pledged to continue
the dialogue with all stakeholders including
NEMA as the project moves into the next
phases.
The Tilenga oil project constitutes License
Areas 1 and 2 which are currently oper-
ated by Total E&P Uganda B.V and Tullow
Uganda Operations Pty Ltd and is found
in the north of Lake Albert closer to the
Uganda-DR Congo border.
It includes; six oil fields, an industrial
area, buried infield pipelines and support-
ing infrastructure, including camps most
of which are within or near the ecologically
fragile Murchison Falls National Park and
the Nile Delta.
The impact assessment report describes
the main characteristics of the project, the
potential environmental and social conse-
quences as well as the corresponding miti-
gation measures that will be implemented
to avoid and minimize any potential nega-
tive impacts.
On top of hosting thousands of endan-
gered species, Murchison Falls National
Park also hosts a long stretch of the River
Nile, which is shared by Uganda, Rwanda,
Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi, South Sudan,
Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, DR Congo and
Egypt. The review process for the project’s
environmental and social impact assess-
ment started in June, last year, and included
two public hearings held on 12th and 15th
November, 2018 in Buliisa and Nwoya
districts where the project facilities will be
located.
Prior to the approval of the Tilenga proj-
ect, NEMA officials say they held consulta-
tions with several stakeholders including
UWA regarding interference with the ani-
mal corridors.
NEMA also held consultations with the
news analysis
Ramsar Secretariat and the Ramsar mission
in October, 2018 to harmonize the findings
with what was presented in the project’s
environmental and social impact assess-
ment.
In January this year, the NEMA board
also conducted a weeklong inspection of the
ecologically sensitive Albertine region with
particular focus on areas where oil and gas
operations are taking place.
The NEMA officials’ visit to the Albertine
region was done to assess the impacts of oil
and gas development activities on the envi-
ronment in the Albertine Graben; review
interventions and engage with district lead-
ers and other stakeholders on matters relat-
ing to environment and natural resources
management in the region.
The team visited the Tangi Camp, which
was previously used during exploration by
Tullow but was handed over to Total E&P.
It is one of the Tilenga development project
components, which Total E&P intends to
expand to accommodate more people and
equipment during the production phase
since it will be used as a material supply
base. But tourism experts say that when
the camp is expanded, it will eat into an
elephant corridor in one direction and rail-
way land on the other.
The NEMA team also visited the pro-
posed industrial area which comprises 29.57
sq km of land that will host a refinery, an
international airport, and petro-chemical
industries together with crude oil storage,
logistics and warehousing.
The team also visited the Nyamasoga
Waste Treatment Plant. The waste treatment
and disposal facility in Hoima is the first
engineered landfill in the country and was
established to treat waste generated from
the oil appraisal wells in the Albertine Gra-
ben, during the exploration phase.
It is perhaps this visit alongside other
engagements with many more other stake-
holders that convinced NEMA to approve
the project that has thrilled the joint venture
oil company partners.
Kingfisher ESIA
NEMA has now embarked on receiving
comments on the environmental and social
impact assessment for the Kingfisher project
in Hoima that was submitted by CNOOC
Uganda Limited, the Chinese operator that
is looking at developing oil production
infrastructure along the southeastern side of
Lake Albert.
Both the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects
are estimated to cost US$ 8bn and will
respectively have processing facilities with
capacity of up to 190,000 and 40,000 barrels
of oil per day.
These processing facilities are
supposed to feed crude oil into the
refinery and the 1,445km long export
pipeline once production, which is now
scheduled for 2022, starts.
May. 03 - 09 2019 17
news analysis
By Andrew Sudmant & Andy Gouldson

S
treet-lighting is important. It allows
informal vendors and traders to op-
erate for longer hours and improves
road and public safety. It also makes
streets feel safer and more secure, especially
for women.
But street-lighting is sorely lacking in
many of sub-Saharan Africa’s cities, and
where it is present it’s highly unreliable. In
Kampala, Uganda for example, just 8% of
the city’s paved road and street network is
illuminated. In cities faced with multiple
pressing challenges and very limited bud-
gets, street lighting is rarely a priority.
Even when there’s political will, there
are major barriers to implementing con-
ventional street-lighting. Many cities have
large areas of informal settlements which
aren’t connected to the national grid. The
upfront costs of grid connectivity and street
light infrastructure – like poles, lamps and
pavements – are huge. The solution may Solar powered street lights in Kampala, Uganda.

Why solar street

lie instead with solar lighting. We wrote
a policy research paper based on work
we did in two Ugandan cities, the capital
Kampala and Jinja; a secondary city with a

lights make sense

population of around 80,000, and found that
solar street-lighting could offer a cheaper,
more sustainable solution – and bring huge
benefits.
Solar street lights are cheaper to install
and operate since they generate their own
power, instead of drawing from the grid.
Saving money
We chose Kampala and Jinja because both
cities’ governments had installed solar street
lights in 2018: more than 1800 in Kampala
and 92 in Jinja. We wanted to know what
the lights’ impact had been since they were
installed and if this could be replicated in
other cities across Uganda and sub-Saharan
Africa.
We analysed national policy documents
and city development strategies and con-
sulted with research colleagues at Makerere
University in Kampala to identify a range of
stakeholders to interview. In total, we inter-
viewed 23 people including government
officials, NGOs and members of local com-
munities, like business owners and road
users. Across the two cities, the average
cost for a solar light was around USD$1,600
per solar street light pole, compared to
USD$2,150 for a conventional street light
pole. In Jinja the city’s US$350,000 electric-
ity debt led to the conventional street lights
being turned off. They are still off today.
If these projects were replicated nation-
wide, the Ugandan government could
reduce its upfront costs by 25%, electricity
costs by 40% and maintenance costs by 60%.
Solar lighting also had almost no operat-
ing costs because you put the lights up and
leave the sun to do the rest. Conversely,
conventional lighting incur large electricity
bills and higher maintenance costs because
bulbs need to be replaced more frequently.
They reduce its upfront costs by
25%, electricity costs by 40%, and
maintenance costs by 60%
Multiple benefits
Local residents and NGO workers we
spoke to identified many knock-on effects
from both solar street-light projects.
In Jinja residents of a low-income settle-
ment, where 20 solar street lights were
installed, said that the lights created safer
streets and allowed small businesses to stay
open for an extra five hours per day. This
is particularly important for low-income
groups who can now make more money in
the day.
The street lights have the potential to do
much more. For example, solar lights can
help increase trading hours for small busi-
nesses. And thanks to savings on electricity,
the cities’ governments could also redirect
saved funds into the setting up of more
street lights and other public services.
Rolling out
Though we found many benefits to the
use of solar street-lights, there were chal-
lenges too.
First, cities in Uganda, as in many sub-
Saharan Africa countries, lack the domestic
expertise to plan and implement new solar
lighting projects. This means municipalities
have to rely on external donors for devel-
oping city plans rather than developing
domestic markets which could spur nation-
al growth.
Second, though the economic case for
choosing solar over conventional street
lights is clear, municipalities lack the
necessary capital to finance their upfront
investment. There’s also a high risk that
replacement lights could be unaffordable if
municipal budgeting is not improved.
To overcome these challenges, national
governments should create a more robust
regulatory framework to grow and control
domestic solar markets; building the capac-
ity of municipal staff to plan, finance and
deliver infrastructure projects; and ensure
a wide range of stakeholders –- including
local communities –- are involved in the
planning of projects in order to maximise
the social returns.
Andrew Sudmant is a PhD candidate and
research Fellow in the Economics of Climate
Smart Cities research programme, University
of Leeds & Andy Gouldson is Professor of
Environmental Policy and Associate Pro-
Vice-Chancellor (Interdisciplinary Research),
University of Leeds. Lucy Oates, a Research
Fellow on the Economics of Climate Smart Cities
research program at the University of Leeds,
contributed to this article.

18 May. 03 - 09 2019
 pictorial

Uganda
Airlines
reborn

President Yoweri
Museveni was on
April 23 at Entebbe
International Airport
to receive two Uganda
Airlines Bombardier
planes at a colourful
ceremony marked with
dancing, photo-ops,
and grand promises of
aviation revival.

May. 03 - 09 2019 xix

news analysis

Successful popular protests like this one in Algeria are the exception not the rule.   EPA-EFE/AMEL PAIN

Repression increasing
across Africa
But if freedom is weakening,
so is popular demand for it
By Peter Penar & Carolyn Logan Burundi, Senegal, Togo and Zambia. Shrinking political space

I
n recent months, persistent
protesters in Algeria and Sudan
have faced down government
repression to depose long-time
political leaders. Unfortunately, these
two countries are the exception rather
than the norm.
More often than not, political
opposition in countries across the
continent has met a different fate
as governments have used a variety
of tactics to restrict freedoms and
dissent. These include shutting down
the internet (Cameroon, Zimbabwe),
imposing social media taxes (Uganda),
and imposing blogger licenses
(Tanzania). Governments have also
resorted to outright violence in
Freedom House’s 2019 Freedom
in the World Report suggests that
political liberalisation in countries
like Ethiopia and The Gambia belies
“creeping restrictions” and a general
trend toward authoritarian behaviour.
This trend is confirmed in the
most recent survey conducted by
Afrobarometer, an independent
African research network. It was
conducted between late 2016 and
late 2018 in 34 countries. On average
across all the countries surveyed,
citizens appeared to confirm that civic
and political space was closing. Many
also expressed a willingness to accept
restrictions on their liberties in the
name of security.
Two-thirds (67%) of the respondents
said they were at least “somewhat”
free to say what they thought. This
represents a 7 percentage point decline
across 31 countries tracked since
2011/2013.
When it came to the freedom to
discuss politics, the picture was more
troubling: 68% felt that they needed
to be careful about what they said.
Across a sample of 20 countries
tracked over the past decade,
expressions of caution had increased
by 9 percentage points.
If freedom is weakening, so is
popular demand for it. Six in ten
respondents (62%) believed that
citizens should be able to join any

20 May. 03 - 09 2019

political organisation
they choose. Yet, popular
insistence on freedom of
association declined by at
least 3 percentage points
in 21 of the surveyed
countries. It grew in just
seven countries (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Changes in
support for freedom to
join any organisation
(percentage points) | 33
countries | 2008-2018
Note: The Gambia is not
shown because it was first
surveyed in 2018.
In Gabon and Togo
more than 80% of citizens
rejected the idea that
the government should
have the right to ban
organisations that went
against its policies. In
both countries growing
popular discontent with
political processes was
met with government
efforts to repress
discontent.
In contrast, in Tanzania
just 39% of citizens
favoured full freedom
of association. The
government in Tanzania
has recently taken steps
to close political space.
Likewise, there was some
underlying support in
Kenya for increasing
efforts of social control.
Only 47% of respondents
supported freedom of
association.
Individual freedoms
versus security?
A second troubling
trend was the
considerable willingness
to accept government
restrictions on individual
freedoms in the name
of public security. For
example, a slim majority
(53%) of respondents
stood for people’s right to
private communication.
But a substantial minority
(43%) were willing to accept
that governments should
be able to monitor private
communications to make
sure that people weren’t
plotting violence. This
included monitoring their
cellphones.
More than two-thirds
supported the right to
private communication in
Zimbabwe, Gabon, and
Sudan, all countries where
civil liberties are still
contested. But only about
one-third or less of citizens
in Cameroon, Burkina Faso,
Tanzania, Senegal, and Mali
opted for freedom over
security when it came to
private communication.
Forty-nine percent of
respondents favoured
complete freedom of
religious speech, while 47%
thought the government
should be able to regulate
what was said in places
of worship. The lowest
levels of support for
religious freedom came
from Tunisia (21%), Mali
(23%), and Senegal (31%).
(Both Mali and Tunisia have
experienced major incidents
of extremist violence.)
Support for freedom
of movement is even less
robust. Only about one
in three Africans (35%)
said that even when their
country is faced with
security threats, people
should be free to move
about the country at any
time of day or night.   support for freedom of
Political liberalisation
Since these trends in
demand for and supply of
freedoms vary considerably
by country, more detailed
country-level analysis
would be instructive.
Looking in particular
at countries that have
experienced significant
political liberalisation in
recent years, we found
that Gambians generally
embraced freedoms of
association, communication,
and speech in religious
settings. But they
supported the idea that
the government should be
able to impose curfews and
roadblocks.
In contrast, in Burkina
Faso and Tunisia, the
majority of people
supported government
monitoring of private
May. 03 - 09 2019
news analysis
communications, regulation
of religious speech,
and restrictions on free
movement, with average
association.
These levels of support
for government restrictions
in Burkina Faso and Tunisia
are concerning, given that
political liberalisation in
both countries is relatively
recent and still vulnerable.
In Zimbabwe, where
the new government
has argued that a “new
dispensation” is afoot
since the ousting of former
President Robert
Mugabe, citizens
generally embraced
basic freedoms, and
saw no change in the
level of freedom of
expression over the
past decade.
But Zimbabweans
expressed high levels
of caution about
exercising basic
freedoms, suggesting
scepticism about the
government’s gestures
toward political
liberalisation.
Finally, more
established democracies
presented a mixed
picture. On the one
hand, citizens in Cabo
Verde and São Tomé
and Príncipe generally
embraced basic
freedoms. They also
rejected restrictions
on freedoms because
of perceived security
threats. Yet, the high
degree of tolerance
for restrictions on
basic freedoms in
Ghana highlights the
power – across much of
Africa – of the security
argument for restricting
individual freedoms.
Peter Penar is Assistant
Professor in the Department
of Political Science,
Michigan State University
& Carolyn Logan is
Deputy Director of the
Afrobarometer & Associate
Professor in the Department
of Political Science and
MSU’s African Studies
Center, Michigan State
University.
21
interview

Behind the Good

Country Index
Simon Anholt the co-founder of the Good Country Index has since
2014 been challenging governments around the world to harmonize their
domestic with international responsibilities by cooperating and collaborating
more without necessarily losing their competitive edge. He shared his views
with The Independent’s Ronald Musoke in an email interview

What is the “Good Country Index” all ened self-interest in international relations common measure which gives an overall

T
about? comes from the study of national image and ranking, a ranking in each of the seven cate-
he Good Country Index tries to its role in stimulating economic growth. gories, and a balance-sheet for each country
measure how much each country on Each year since 2005, I have been polling a that shows at a glance how much that coun-
earth contributes to the planet and sample of 25,000 people around the world try contributes to the world and how much
to the human race, relative to its size to measure their unprompted perceptions it takes away. The performance indicators
(measured in GDP). Most indexes measure of 50 countries and 50 cities in what is now are measured per GDP (in US dollars), to
and compare the performance of individual called the National Brands Index and City correct for the size of each country’s econo-
countries; their economic growth, stability, Brands Index. Analysis of the NBI database my, and create a level playing field.
justice, transparency, good governance, reveals that the countries which are per-
productivity, democracy, freedom, or even ceived to contribute more to the common What exactly do you look at when
happiness. But the Good Country Index good of humanity gain the most trust and analyzing a country’s contribution in the
tries to measure the impact of policies and approval worldwide, and in consequence categories?
behaviours of countries on the whole of tend to get the most tourists, talent, inves- The 35 datasets I use to create the seven
humanity and the whole planet as well as tors and consumers for their goods and sub-rankings include measure-
what they take away. services. In other words, if a nation ments such as the
wants to do well, it has to do number of foreign
What prompted you to come up with this good. students
index? study-
I came up with this index after realizing How do countries ing
that the biggest challenges facing humanity score what they score in
today are global and borderless—climate on the index? a
change, economic crisis, terrorism, drug I use 35 reliable
trafficking, slavery, pandemics, poverty datasets which mea-
and inequality, population growth, food sure how countries
and water shortages, energy, species loss, affect the world out-
human rights, and migration— just to men- side their own bor-
tion a few. The only way these challenges ders. There are five
can be met is through international efforts of these in each of the
(yet) the trouble is that most countries carry seven categories, cov-
on behaving as if they were islands, focus- ering the big issues
ing on domestic solutions to domestic prob- like education, sci-
lems. So I felt that measuring the external ence, war and peace,
impacts of countries, rather than continually trade, culture, health,
focusing on their domestic performance, censorship, the envi-
was one good way to start people thinking a ronment, and free-
bit differently. dom. Most of these
datasets are produced
Why should governments be interested in by the United Nations
collaborating internationally rather than system and other inter-
looking inwards? national agencies, and a
More collaborative behaviour can pro- few by NGOs and other
vide tangible and immediate benefits, organisations. These
thanks to cultural cross-fertilisation. The datasets are com-
process of teaming up with others facing bined into a
similar problems to find and implement
shared solutions is almost always more
productive than tackling those
problems alone. Another
striking example of the
potential for enlight-

22 May. 03 - 09 2019

country (according to UNESCO); each
country’s exports of periodicals, scientific
journals and newspapers according to the
International Trade Centre (ITC); the num-
ber of accumulated Nobel prizes assigned
to countries based on the laureates’ country
of birth as well as country of institutional
affiliation at the time of the award; the value
of UNESCO dues in arrears as a percent-
age of the country’s contribution (this is a
negative indicator); freedom of the press
(based on mean score for Reporters without
Borders and Freedom House index as a
negative indicator); the number of peace-
keeping troops sent overseas for UN mis-
sions; the attributed number of casualties of
international organised violence according
to the Uppsala Conflict Data Programme
/Peace Research Institute Oslo (UCDP/
PRIO) and this also is a negative indicator.
I also look at total exports of weapons and
ammunition according to ITC (a nega-
tive indicator) ; the number of refugees
hosted and the number of refugees overseas
(according to UNHCR); the number of UN
treaties signed; the country’s ecological
footprint (according to the Global Footprint
Network); the country’s compliance to mul-
tilateral environmental agreements on haz-
ardous waste and other chemicals; renew-
able energy share in the total final energy
consumption; the number of aid workers
and volunteers sent overseas (according
to the United Nations Volunteers); the
average transaction of sending remit-
tances from each country; development
cooperation contributions (aid according to
Development Initiatives); food aid funding
(according to WFP) relative to the size of the
economy; humanitarian aid contributions
according to the UN Office for the Coordi-
nation of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
relative to the size of the economy; as well
as international health regulations compli-
ance according to the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO).
On the 2019 index, Uganda does well in
the area of international peace and security
(42 out 153 countries), world order (52),
planet and climate (37) and health and
well being (29). What exactly has Uganda
done to score highly in these particular
categories?
Uganda performs better than many coun-
tries in a sufficient number of the 35 indica-
tors to achieve a higher overall ranking. It
is easy enough to identify from the website
www.good.country which are the individ-
ual ranks that push Uganda higher or lower
than other countries. But bear in mind that
countries can rank high in the Good Coun-
try Index as a result of doing less
harm as well as doing more
good. In the context
of the Peace and
Security rankings,
many countries
like Uganda do well mainly because they
do relatively little harm outside their own
borders, don’t export massive amounts
of weapons to other countries, and often
because they contribute substantially to UN
peacekeeping forces.
Uganda unfortunately scores poorly in the
area of science and technology (110 out of
153), prosperity and equality (81) and cul-
ture (109). What must the government do
to improve in these areas?
Performing better in the Good Country
Index would not be, in my view, a very
worthwhile aspiration for any country;
rather, it is the principle behind the index
that really matters. Countries need to find
new and imaginative ways of harmonizing
the country’s domestic and international
responsibilities. It hardly matters whether
this behaviour corresponds to a particular
dataset or category in the Good Country
Index. The important thing is to change the
country’s culture of governance from one
that has traditionally been fundamentally
competitive to one that is fundamentally
collaborative and cooperative.
Countries which are
perceived to contribute
more to the common
good of humanity gain the
most trust and approval
worldwide
What can we learn from the fact that three
of the bottom four (Yemen, Mauritania,
Libya and Iraq) on the 2019 index are
countries that are currently engulfed in
civil strife?
The lesson from these countries is not,
of course, that they are in any sense ‘bad’
countries but simply that their internal dif-
ficulties—whether this is conflict, poverty,
disease, inequality or corruption—takes
up all of their resources and energies, so
that they are unable to contribute in any
significant way to the world outside their
own borders. It is hoped that it won’t be
too many years before they are able to start
thinking about harmonizing their domestic
and international responsibilities.
You say that leaders from around the
world must realise that they are respon-
sible not only for their own people but, for
every man, woman, child and animal on
the planet. Unfortunately, there has been
an emergence of inward-looking populist
leaders around the world. Isn’t this quite a
frustrating development?
interview
Not frustrating, exactly. I understand
the appeal of nationalism very well, and I
certainly don’t think that people who vote
for nationalist politicians are mad, bad or
stupid. I just happen to think that the world
we live in is much more complex than this,
and “looking after your own interests” is
an over-simplification; it just doesn’t work
in the long term. Indeed, it increasingly
fails to deliver in the relatively short term
too. On the other hand, collaborating and
cooperating with other countries isn’t about
compromises or self-sacrifice; it’s about
enlightened self-interest. Working more
imaginatively and courageously with the
international community can produce better
domestic results, if it is done right. People
often frame collaboration between countries
as altruism or a moral duty but this misses
the point. Of course a head of government
is expected to consider his or her own popu-
lation’s needs first—but the underlying
assumption that coming first necessarily
means that everyone else must come last is
limiting.
How is this brand of collaboration sup-
posed to happen?
Pure “dual mandate” policies are
quite hard to find but there are plenty of
examples of cooperation and collaboration
between countries. In the U.S, for instance,
there is the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation (OPIC), a government agency
that helps American businesses invest in
emerging frontier economies. By supporting
investment in areas of poverty, famine or
war, it promotes stability and creates busi-
ness opportunities for the U.S. In Australia,
the seasonal workers’ programme was
designed to support Australian develop-
ment aid by boosting the incomes of work-
ers from the Pacific region while simul-
taneously filling chronic farming labour
shortages. In Brazil, the Itaipu Dam, one
of the world’s largest hydropower projects
initiated by Brazil to head off a looming
energy crisis is shared between Brazil and
Paraguay. It provides 17% of Brazil’s energy
needs while in Paraguay it provides 76%
of energy needs and has made the country
nearly independent of fossil fuel while
boosting jobs and development.
What would you say has been the most
important achievement of this index so
far?
The fact that, almost since the day it first
appeared in 2014, millions of people around
the world started having new kinds of
conversations: instead of asking how well
countries were doing, they started asking
how much countries were doing. They may
not all like the Index or its conclusions, but
it produces a different kind of argument,
and that’s the point.
May. 03 - 09 2019 23
Rwanda-Uganda feud:
traders turn to other markets
U
By Julius Businge
gandan traders are
slowly turning to other
markets in the region to
sell their goods as the
border standoff between
Kigali and Kampala
continues into the third month with no
solution in sight.
Rwanda closed all its common bor-
der posts with Uganda including;
Katuna, Kagitumba, Mirama Hills and
Cyanika towards the end of February
accusing Uganda of harbouring Rwan-
dan dissidents.
However, Uganda has Uganda has
strongly denied these accusations.
But as the behind-the-curtains-efforts
to re-open the borders continue, the
Minister of Trade, Industry and Coop-
eratives Amelia Kyambadde early last
month advised traders to opt for other
markets within the East African Com-
munity region and beyond in order to
survive. It appears the traders listened
24 May. 03 - 09 2019
to the minister’s counsel.
The Independent investigations reveal
that companies such as Hima Cement,
Mukwano and Roofing Rolling Mills
that have been exporting a substantial
amount of goods to Kigali are now re-
focusing their energy into the internal
market as well as Congolese, South
Sudanese, Kenyan and Tanzanian mar-
kets.
“We are now focusing on increas-
ing our market share locally as well
as exports to South Sudan, Tanzania
and DR Congo,” a source from one of
the companies that has been exporting
to Rwanda told The Independent in an
interview.
Gideon Badagawa, the Executive
Director of the Private Sector Foun-
dation Uganda told The Independent
on April 24 that exporters are now
increasing their reliance on other
neighbouring countries in the region
for trade as they await Rwanda’s next
decision.
“We still have open borders to the
north (South Sudan), open borders to
the west (DR Congo), and open bor-
ders to the east (Kenya),” he said.
Contract breach
Badagawa, however, said though
traders have an alternative market in
the region “most of our members have
contracts to supply Rwanda (and) for
as long as the borders remain closed,
these businesses are shrinking.”
He said opening up borders is criti-
cal for trade and investment across the
region.
Issa Ssekito, the spokesperson
of Kampala City Traders Associa-
tion (KACITA) told The Independent
that they are compiling losses from
individual traders and will share the
details at an appropriate time.
He said all goods destined from
Uganda to Rwanda or those that are
branded ‘Made in Uganda’ continue
to be rejected by Rwandan authorities.
Only those goods from Tanzania and
Kenya could enter Rwanda.
 business
“If Rwandan authorities
discover that goods are
Uganda’s imports from neighboring
coming from Uganda they countries from 2010-2018 (US$)
will order them back or
destroy them,” he said, “It 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18
is that bad.” Rwanda 6.1 8.9 7.4 12 9.5 12 10.6 20.6
As a result, Ssekito said
that some traders are cur- Kenya 535 680 591 602 608 600 520 513
rently buying goods made South Sudan 00 00 00 00 0.76 4.82 7.6 14.7
and branded in other East Tanzania 32.4 54.8 47.4 55.1 55.1 78.2 170 204
African countries and sell-
ing them in Rwanda. DR Congo 6.7 25.5 30 24.8 31.5 22.7 149.4 168
Interestingly, some of Source: Bank of Uganda
the KACITA members are
Rwandan nationals who
own shops both in down
town Kampala and Kigali. Uganda’s exports from neighboring
“You cannot separate who
owns what because of the
countries from 2010-2018 (US$)
cordial relationship the two
2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18
countries have been hav-
ing,” he said. Rwanda 175 208 217 224 253 206 188 198
Kenya 214 226 268 348 374 414 475 678
Impact on Uganda’s South Sudan 00 1.92 80 236 309 225 281 311
economy Tanzania 38 45 54 50 56 61 71 46
Enock Twinoburyo, a DR Congo 175 210 255 231 160 159 190 196
senior economist at the Sus-
tainable Development Goals Source: Bank of Uganda
Center for Africa in Kigali
told The Independent that
the continued conflict could same period under review.
shed-off Uganda’s projected Twinoburyo said the
GDP growth in the range of Uganda-Rwanda trade link-
1-2 percentage points. ages are far beyond simply
Uganda’s economy is the trade balance or least
projected to grow at 6.3% the trade channel.
in the current financial year “There are other several
2018/19 and also in the next mechanisms in which either
financial year 2019/2020, economy that is trade,
following a recovery from financial flows in form of
the slump during financial FDI and remittances – all
year 2016/17, according to of which have implications
the International Monetary President Museveni President Kagame for the financial sector,” he
Fund. said.
Data from the Bank of US$253million in 2014/15– US$56million in 2014/15 to Regional observers say
Uganda shows that Ugan- the highest ever recorded US$46million 2017/18/. the solution to the current
da’s earnings from Rwanda over the last eight years – to However, the value impasse lies in the hands
ranges between US$16-18 US$198million in 2017/18. of Uganda’s imports of two leaders – Uganda’s
million per month. Uganda On the other hand, the from Tanzania and President Museveni and
exports mainly food stuffs value of Uganda’s imports DRC also increased Rwanda’s Paul Kagame.
and construction materi- from Rwanda remains from US$55.1million “They should sit together
als including cement, iron minimal. In 2014/15, and US$31.5million and understand the situa-
and steel, salt, beverages, Uganda’s imports from to US$204million and tion, the challenges that the
spirits, vinegar, soaps, and Rwanda increased from US$168million, respective- business people are going
fuels among others. merely US$9.5million to ly, during the same period through because these are
On the other hand, US$20.6million in 2017/18. under review. two countries that have
Uganda spends on average Meanwhile, the value Kenya remains the for a long a time worked
of US$1-3million per month of Uganda’s exports largest market for Ugan- together” Badagawa told
on importing ceramic prod- to South Sudan and dan products with the The Independent.
ucts, edible vegetables and DR Congo increased value of exports increas- “If countries within the
raw hides and skins –from from US$309million ing from US$348million to EAC integration don’t work
its neighbour to the South- to US$311million US$678million during the together, there is no way
west. and US$160million to same period under review. you can sustain the mar-
Uganda’s exports into US$196million, respective- Interestingly, Uganda’s ket,” he said.
the EAC over the last four ly, during the period under imports from Kenya fell
years shows a decline in review. However, exports from US$608million to
exports to Rwanda from to Tanzania fell from US$513million during the

May. 03 - 09 2019 25
business
BRAC Uganda now
a commercial bank
The lender records a 21% drop in net profit to Shs
17.2bn in 2018 owing to increased expenditure
By Isaac Khisa
B
RAC, one of the largest
microfinance providers
in Uganda, has become
a middle-sized commer-
cial bank also known as a Tier
II credit institution, paving way
for its customers to deposit and
open savings accounts.
The lender rolled out its oper-
ation on April 25, with one of its
branches located on Kampala
Road upon getting a go-ahead
from the industry regulator,
Bank of Uganda.
Jimmy Adiga, the chief execu-
tive officer at BRAC Uganda
Bank Ltd told his guests during
the bank launch at the Kampala
Serena Hotel the organisation’s
transition into a bank will allow
it drive more impactful financial
inclusion.
“Our clients can now have
the confidence and trust of sav-
ing at a formal institution, a
critical component that ensures
resilience for low-income house-
holds in times of social or eco-
nomic shocks,” he said.
He said the bank will boost
agricultural production and
market systems through avail-
ing loans to traders and farmers,
ultimately improving the lives of
the population.
He revealed that the credit
institution will also introduce
bancasurance and money transfer services
and thus widening its business opportuni-
ties.
This new development is expected to
tighten competition in the Tier II credit cat-
egory currently dominated by Post Bank,
Opportunity Bank, Mercantile Credit Bank
Ltd and Top Finance Bank.
Nathalie Gabala, who represented institu-
tional investors – Equator Capital Partners,
DEG and Triple Jump which own a com-
bined 51% shareholding in BRAC, said they
are ready to help the credit institution to
grow especially in the development of new
products and rolling out internet enabled
26 May. 03 - 09 2019
services.
Mackey Aumo, director in charge of
national payments in the central bank, said
BRAC has entered the banking industry at
the right time and that it should leverage on
the recent reforms to in the sector to deepen
financial inclusion.
“You (BRAC Uganda Bank Ltd) are
coming in the right time, when many
good reforms have taken place such as the
amended Financial Institutions Act 2016
under which Tier II institutions are recog-
nised as banks,” he said.
“The licence you have also allows you
to do agent banking and have partners of
issuers of electronic money. You
are therefore coming at the time
when the sector is taking a new
direction of growth.”
BRAC started in 1972 as a
limited relief operation in a
remote village in Bangladesh. In
2002, it expanded into Afghani-
stan and currently has affiliates
in 13 countries with a focus on
Asia and Africa.
In Uganda, BRAC has been
working since 2006 to advance
women’s empowerment, pro-
vide education for children
and adolescent girls, address
gender-based violence, improve
livelihoods and skills for small-
holder farmers and support
people to lift themselves out of
abject poverty.
Two years later, it opened a
separate entity, BRAC Micro-
finance Ltd, a Tier IV financial
institution as a credit only NGO
serving mainly the rural house-
holds.
Currently, the lender covers
86 districts, with 163 outlets and
270,000 customers countrywide.
The company has also been
working with 105 schools and
awarded 5,600 scholarships to
students countrywide.
Profitability
Though BRAC has recorded
consistent growth in profits,
2017 wasn’t a good year.
Latest financial results shows that the
lender recorded a 20% decline in net profit
to Shs 17.2bn due to increased operational
expenditure.
BRAC total expenditure on opera-
tions increased from Shs56.9bn in 2017 to
Shs66.9bn in 2018. Provision of bad and
doubtful debts reduced from Shs 5.2bn to
Shs3.4bn during the same period under
review.
However, the entity’s asset increased
from Shs202.2bn to Shs243.3bn during the
period under review signalling its ability to
meet all the expenses.

Barclays Bank Managing Director Rakesh Jha flanked by Michael Segwaya addressing journalists at the bank’s headquarters in Kampala on April 25.
Taxes ‘eat’ into Barclays profits
Lender records a 5% drop in net profit to Shs 68bn
By Julius Businge
H
uge taxes paid to Uganda
Revenue Authority has seen
Barclays Bank Uganda Limited
record a 5% drop in net profit to
Shs 68bn for year ended December 2018.
Barclays bank financial results released
on April 25 shows that the lender’s taxes
to the taxman nearly doubled from Shs
14.8bn to Shs 28.8bn during the period
under review citing changes in the
treatment of tax law provisions.
However, the bank recorded an
increase in income from Shs304bn in 2017
to Shs339bn in 2018. This was equally
matched with an increase in operating
expenses from Shs 125bn to Shs 139bn
during the period under review, signaling
the need for the lender to devise means to
cut expenses.
On a positive note, the bank recorded
an increase in interest on loans and
advances – the core business of the bank
– from Shs131bn in 2017 to Shs144bn in
2018.
Further, its assets went up from
Shs2.4tn in 2017 to Shs2.7tn in 2018 –
comfortably cementing it in the top five
largest commercial banks in Uganda.
But its liabilities slightly increased from
Shs2tn in 2017 to Shs2.3tn.
The other area that managers have
to cautiously deal with is the large loan
exposures (large loans offered to single
persons) that the bank recorded at
Shs663bn in 2018, up from Shs415bn in
2017.
This is critical because failure by these
few individuals to pay back loans on
time would negatively impact the bank’s
capital levels – a situation that led to the
closure of some banks in the recent past.
During the year, the bank recorded 520
bank agents and plans to increase them to
1,000 by end of 2019. This is in addition to
diversifying its product offering to offer
insurance products under bancassurance,
according to the Bank’s Executive Director
and Chief Finance Officer, Michael
Segwaya.
Segwaya told The Independent that the
bank strong performance means that it
will continue to excel in extending its
services to the customers
On the digital front, Segwaya said
they have provided agency banking
and mobile banking that is facilitating
payment for utility bills for their
customers.
“The world is getting interconnected
and we are working to ensure we provide
business
convenience to our customers,” he added.
Tremendous performance
Segwaya said the customer deposits
that grew by 6% was as a result of
customers appreciating changes that were
coming onboard regarding rebranding.
The bank is expected to be rebranded
from Barclays to Absa soon.
The bank also excelled in the area of
non-performing loans that dropped from
Shs106bn in 2017 to Shs53bn in 2018.
Going forward, Segwaya said 2019
started off well as they are seeing more
growth in the bank’s balance sheet. They
are also seeing more customers taking on
more channels, more agents opening up,
and more transactions being recorded.
The bank is also gearing up for some of
the changes that will be coming through
as a result of changes in the brand.
“…and we are preparing our customers
for that,” he said.
The bank’s Managing Director, Rakesh
Jha described 2018 as a good year for
the bank. “We saw solid growth on the
balance sheet, coupled with growth in
income. We managed our costs very well
and the portfolio quality has improved
giving rise to very strong earnings for the
bank,” Jha said.
May. 03 - 09 2019 27
business
CIC Insurance sees
better times ahead
Insurer’s losses more than triple to Shs 6.39bn in 2018
By Isaac Khisa
C
ooperative Insurance Company
Africa Uganda Ltd, commonly
known as CIC insurance, recorded
a sharp drop in profits last year but
management assures its shareholders that
everything is in control.
The company’s financial results for Gen-
eral and Life businesses shows that its net
losses nearly tripled from Shs 2.33bn in 2017
to Shs 6.39bn in 2018 citing increased com-
petition and price undercutting in the coun-
try’s insurance industry that now boasts of
32 insurers.
However, the company recorded a sharp
increase in gross underwritten premiums
from Shs 14.2bn to Shs 23.4bn during the
period under review.
The premium ceded to reinsurers grew
93% to Shs5.8bn, with net premiums also
increasing from Shs8.6bn to Shs16.5bn.
Tom Gitogo, CEO at the CIC Group
revealed during the company’s Annual
General Meeting in Kampala on April 26
that the high commission expense and the
change in reporting to standards to IRFS9
also contributed to a drop in profit.
“We were extending our services to some
companies at slightly lower prices as they
test our services. At the same time, we have
also been offering high incentives to our
staff. However, going forward, we are no
longer going to offer these incentives,” he
said, adding that the company is expected
to break-even this year.
Yasin Nnume, the chairperson of CIC
Africa Uganda said they are reviewing
market opportunities that have the capacity
28 May. 03 - 09 2019
for growth, locally and in the region using
established groups such as cooperatives and
other aggregators like banks, churches and
schools.
“We will consistently review our general
and life business, analyzing account perfor-
mance in view of retaining businesses bear-
ing the potential of driving the company
towards profitable growth,” he said.
He, however, decried the low interest
of local cooperatives to buy shares in the
company.
He said though the company offered
724,900 shares in 2015 to the local coopera-
tives to acquire a stake, they were under-
subscribed.
“CIC Kenya still holds 90% of the share-
holdings in CIC Africa Uganda Ltd yet they
would like to own 51% and the rest owned
by Ugandan cooperative societies,” he said.
He said opportunities still exist for local
cooperative societies to acquire a stake in
the company.
He said CIC Kenya Ltd has even offered
to reduce its shareholdings further in the
Ugandan subsidiary to local cooperatives
similar to its operations back home.
Currently, 74% shareholdings in CIC
Kenya Ltd is held by cooperative societies
and the rest is listed on the Nairobi Stock
Exchange.
Regional performance
In terms of Group performance, CIC
Insurance recorded a 12% growth in gross
underwritten premiums to Shs614bn.
The Group’s before tax profit grew 64%
to Shs 31.5bn while asset base grew by 8%
to 1.2trillion.
Out of the total premium recorded, CIC
South Sudan saw its gross written premi-
ums more than triple from Shs5bn in 2017
to Shs18bn in 2018.
CIC Malawi also recorded an increase
in gross premiums from Shs4bn to Shs7bn
during the same period under review.
CIC Africa Ltd started its regional expan-
sion in 2014 to tap into the growing demand
for insurance services.
In Uganda, it partnered with the Uganda
Cooperative Savings and Credit Union Ltd
(UCSCUL) and the Uganda Cooperative
Alliance Ltd (UCAL), with a plan to own
51% stake.
In Malawi it partnered with the Malawi
Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives
(MUSCCO) to form a cooperative insurance
company co-owned on 50:50 basis.
In South Sudan, the regional underwriter
linked with the Cooperative Bank Group
operations, in which it is the majority share-
holder with a 69 % stake while Co-operative
Bank of South Sudan owns the remaining
stake.
Going forward, Japheth Magomere, the
chairperson CIC Group said the company
plans to invest in technological systems that
provide efficiency and value to customers.
“The e-Oxygen for instance is a system
that has contributed to the growth of medi-
cal business. As a result of this success, we
are launching medical insurance business
here in Uganda,” he said.
He said the company is looking forward
to building strategic partnerships with like-
minded organizations to break into new
and existing markets as well as provide
learning opportunity in their operations.
 business
CSR TECH

Airtel rewards internet driven entrepreneurs Kenyans win big in

African start-ups

graduate and founder of Spare-
Wo – an online shop for motor
spare parts; Pius Enywaru, the
founder of Fastlane Media and
Communications and George
Nsamba a self-taught film-
maker and proprietor of The
Ghetto Film Project all walked
away with Shs5m each for the
Most Innovative Hustle, Most
Internet-Driven Hustle and
Most Impactful Hustle respec-
tively. Launched in September
2018, ‘My Hustle’ is an online-
Airtel Uganda MD Somasekhar (R) and PSFU Executive Director, Gideon based series featuring different
Badagawa (L) hands over a dummy cheque to Edrine Sempebwa, founder budding entrepreneurs running
of SpareWo, an online motor spare parts shop
K
enyans took the lion’s
share of the over $1
billion that went into
African start-ups during
2018, with much of this money
going into fintech ventures
aimed at increasing financial
inclusion.
Partech, the US-based invest-
ment firm, says in its latest
annual report that Kenyans
received $348 million of total
$1.163 billion investors injected
into African start-ups. This is
double the $560 million in 2017.

O
n April 24, Airtel
Uganda celebrated
the end of a success-
ful season of their
testimonial digital series – ‘My
Hustle’. The company used this
TECH
MTN business seek to grow market on IT security
campaign to recognise the most
internet-driven, most innovative
and most impactful business
through both public vote and
a panel of judges.  Edrine Sem-
pebwa, a 27-year-old economics
small and medium enterprises
powered by the internet and
mobile money. V.G. Soma-
sekhar, the Airtel Uganda man-
aging director applauded the
participating entrepreneurs.
Driven by Fintech, financial
inclusion remains the main in-
vestment sector on the continent,
attracting 50 pc of the total fund-
ing last year.
However there has also been
a shift. Some 30 pc of the 2018
funding, (compared to 13 pc
in 2017), went to business-to-
business (B2B) ventures while
Consumer Services accounted
for 19.6 pc. Last year the figure
was 42 pc.
Tala, Cellulant and Dlight

P
an-Africa tech firm
MTN Business is
seeking to grow its
market niche by
introducing an IT security
management product targeting
Kenyan companies, according
to Business Daily.
The firm’s senior manager
and solutions architect, John
Muraya, said companies
BANKING
enrolling for the Managed
Security-as-a-service (MSSP)
product will have an all-round
IT security where MTN will
take over IT Security roles
leaving companies to fully
concentrate on their core tasks.
“One of the main headaches
today for IT security teams
is keeping up with the ever
increasing cyber threats and
their level of sophistication.
CSR
Organisations need a more
automated, ever-green
threat detection and remedy
mechanism that is neither
complicated nor involves
heavy capital investments,” he
said.
The technology will also be
available to multinationals,
small and medium enterprises
on a fully managed pay-per-
use model.
led the Kenyan success stories
attracting investments of $50
million; $47.5 million and $41
million respectively.
Nigerians came in second
across Africa at $306 million and
South Africans third with$250
million. Within the region Tan-
zanian start-ups got $75 million,
Rwandans got $19 million, the
Ethiopians $11 million while
Ugandans received only $2
million.

EADB gets new country manager Vivo energy to reward customers with Shs50m

F
rancis Ogwang (pictured) is the new
country manager of East African
Development Bank (EADB). He has
17 years of banking experience, eight
of which at middle management and senior
leadership levels. His banking experience
ranges from corporate and investment banking,
transaction banking to commercial and SME
Some of the Vivo Energy campaign winners
Shell Select participating store, spend at
least 50,000 shillings and fill in a raffle
ticket to enter a weekly draw to win
free shopping worth Shs50, 000.This
will automatically enter them into the
weekly draw to stand a chance to win
the grand prize. At the end of the pro-
motion, five lucky customers will each

V
banking and more. Before joining EADB, Ogwang walk away with a full kitchen make
worked at EcoBank Uganda ivo Energy Uganda has an- over consisting of kitchen essentials
limited and at Centenary nounced a campaign dubbed including a fridge, 12kg Shell Gas Lite
Bank Limited in different the “Kitchen Make Over” that cylinder, microwave, blender, kettle
capacities. He holds a Master’s will see Shell Select customers and coffee maker, all worth Shs25 mil-
Degree in Business rewarded with prizes worth Shs50 mil- lion. According to Evelyn Driciru, the
lion across its 21 outlets. The campaign company’s convenience retail brand
Administration and Bachelors of
is open to all customers. To participate, manager said the campaign runs for
Arts Degree – Economics both
customers are required to visit any two months until May 31.
from Makerere University.

May. 03 - 09 2019 29
business

BATU net profits

hit Shs13.7bn
By Julius Businge offset by improvement in pro-

B
ritish American To-
bacco Uganda Ltd
(BATU) has defied
the effects on taxes
imposed on cigarette products
two years ago to record a 14%
growth in net profit to Shs
13.7bn for the year ended De-
cember 2018.
Financial results released on
April 23 also shows that the
cigarette seller recorded an
increase in revenue by 3% to
Shs 154bn driven by excise-led
Centenary Banks MD, Fabian Kasi (C) hands over a dummy cheque worth pricing in the market.
Shs2 million to members of Christ Link Investment Club. This was at
The government imposed
the Investment Club of the Year Awards themed «sustainable growth for Shs55, 000 per 1,000 sticks as
investment clubs», recently in Kampala.    COURTESY PHOTO.
tax on locally manufactured
soft cup cigarettes in the Finan-
cial Year 2017/18; Shs5, 000
more from the old charges.
Also, the government charges
Shs75, 000 per 1,000 sticks of
imported cigar rates.
On the other hand, locally
manufactured Hinge lid ciga-
rettes are taxed Shs80, 000 and
the imported one taxed Shs100,
000 per 1,000 sticks.
The company’s cost of opera-
tions increased marginally by
1% to Shs49.9 billion during
the period under review
though they were partially
A donor gives blood to the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services in
Masaka on April 25. The blood donation drive was organized by Africell
in partnership with Uganda Marathon, a charity organization based in
Masaka District.   COURTESY PHOTO.
ductivity. However, finance
costs reduced significantly
by Shs1.8billion as a result
of lower overdraft utilisation
following the positive change
in the company’s supply
chain model that resulted
into reduced working capital
requirements.
BATU Managing Director,
Mathu Kiunjuri, said the com-
pany is currently worried of
the high incidence of illicit cig-
arettes in the market, adding
that it reduces the amount of
duty-paid cigarettes.
“We continue to engage the
government on the importance
of a stable, predictable and
fair tax environment to ensure
sustained business and govern-
ment revenue growth,” Kiun-
juri said.
Last year, BATU saw its taxes
paid to government increase
by Shs4bbn to Shs 90.5bn due
to increase in taxes on ciga-
rettes in the previous year.
The company’s Board of
Directors has recommended a
final dividend for the year as
Shs280 per share. This will be
subject to approval from the
Annual General Meeting slated
for May 22.

Weekly share price movement (April. 29)

Security April 29 March 29 Movement
BATU 30,000 30000 00
BOBU 129 130 0.7
CENT 1,178 1,182 0.3
QCL 173 190 8.9
DFCU 670 670 00
EABL 8,118 7,610 6.6
EBL 1,531 1,487 2.9
JHL 15,313 15,202 0.7
KA 183 185 1.1
KCB 1,660 1,619 2.5
NIC 14 13 7.6
NMG 2,140 2,214 3.3
NVL 334 334 00
One of the 14 Israeli celebrities gets up-close with a mountain gorilla at SBU 29 30 3.3
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The celebrities flew into Uganda on April UCHM 14 22 36
21 for a week long tourism trip. They visited several tourist attractions UCL 16 16 00
including Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Bwindi Impenetrable UMEME 300 298 0.6
Forest that was recently listed among the 25 most beautiful places on ALSI -- -- --
earth, the old Entebbe Airport among others.   COURTESY PHOTO

30 May. 03 - 09 2019

By Stephen Nwaloziri
Monetisation of garbage
The incentives that must be given to people to minimise
the amount of garbage that reaches landfills
A
s a child growing up in Lagos,
Nigeria, in the late 1990s, I
remember women roaming
through my community and
chanting in Yoruba, “onigo de o! Anra
bata rubber ati ayo t’on jo.” This trans-
lates as “The bottle peddler is here!
We buy rubber sandals and leaky (alu-
minum) pots.” Some families would
separate their waste, because they
could give some of it to these women
for cash.
There are far fewer of these peddlers
nowadays, perhaps because bottling
companies are no longer recycling the
bottles that the women gather. But a
large-scale effort along these lines to
monetise waste in Lagos, if properly
coordinated and funded, could poten-
tially have a huge impact on the city’s
garbage problem. And what works
in Lagos could hold lessons for many
other cities – and not only in the devel-
oping world.
In Lagos, action is urgently needed.
The city has a population of about 22
million and, as the World Bank has
highlighted, is heavily polluted. Espe-
cially in poorer areas, residents who
can’t afford to pay for waste collection
come out in the dead of night to dump
their garbage on the streets or in the
water. As a result, the city’s slums are
littered with paper, household waste,
and plastics.
By outsourcing most of the actual
waste collection and management to
some 375 private companies, the Lagos
Waste Management Authority, an arm
of the Lagos State government, has
helped to reduce waste significantly.
But much more can, and must, be done.
Unless people are given incentives to
monetise their garbage and minimise
the amount that reaches landfills, the
pollution problem will continue to
fester. Three options in particular look
promising.
For starters, Lagos could introduce
a green-exchange program like the
one established in the city of Curi-
tiba in Brazil. There, residents bring
their waste to designated local centers
in exchange for bus tickets or food.
Many workers in Lagos are already
switching from cars to state-run com-
muter buses because they cannot afford
the cost of fuel. If poorer people in
particular could receive bus tickets for
their waste, life would be easier for
everyone. There would be less garbage
on the streets, roads would be less
clogged, and people wouldn’t need to
wait for waste trucks to get rid of their
rubbish. In addition, households would
be more likely to separate waste if the
city gave food stamps or fruit to those
that recycled a certain amount of metal,
clean plastic, or oil waste, for example.
Second, Lagos could reduce its plastic
waste by working more closely with
bottling companies and other manu-
facturers. This could involve public-
private partnerships that require
each company to operate a recycling
center where consumers can bring
used plastics. Citizens will feel moti-
vated to recycle their plastic waste at
centers bearing recognisable brand
names, especially if a reward program
is involved. No bottling companies
currently have recycle-for-reward pro-
grams in the Makoko community of
Lagos could
reduce its
plastic waste
by working
more closely
with bottling
companies
and other
manufacturers
comment
Lagos, where I grew up. Introducing
such schemes would certainly help to
cut the amount of plastic waste that is
generated or discarded.
Lastly, campaigns to raise environ-
mental awareness would encourage
better waste management. By show-
casing ordinary citizens being mindful
of waste and their environment in
everyday life, such efforts can inspire
others to do the same.
My current work in Berea, Kentucky,
at The Greenie Project, a non-profit
student initiative which I started,
shows how environmental awareness
can spread. Our film “The Carlbergs”
chronicles a local family that hosts
huge contra-dance events in their
home in a sustainable way – by using
silverware and ceramic plates instead
of disposable plates and cutlery, and
by recycling. The film has inspired
other groups and small businesses in
the community, such as Berea Coffee
and Tea, to be more sustainable.
Similarly creative and locally relevant
approaches would work well almost
anywhere.
That includes Lagos, where the waste
problem hits the poor particularly
hard. To address it, we should create
the right incentives, as the bottle ped-
dlers in my part of the city did two
decades ago. Monetising waste will
encourage poorer communities to
participate, and awareness campaigns
can help to show just how easy it is to
be green. The result will be a cleaner,
more livable city that serves as an
example for others to follow.
Stephen Nwaloziri, founder of The Greenie
Project, is a program associate at the Berea
College Forestry Outreach Center.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.
May. 03 - 09 2019 31
comment
By Emma Nahayo Mugizi
Time to benefit from oil & gas is now
Investors will go through most of the over US$15 billion
capital expenditure during this development stage
A
t a recent meeting, Ernest
Rubondo, the Executive
Director of the Petroleum
Authority of Uganda
(PAU) described the progress of our
organisation and the oil and gas sector
in our country generally, with an
interesting analogy. He said we were
experiencing “progress by the drill
bit”.
We all listened keenly but the
comparison stayed on my mind for
some time after the meeting, until I
finally decided to research this “drill
bit”. As I read about it, I understood
the significance of the analogy.
You see, the drill bit, is the end (or
beginning) of a drill. There are several
types and sizes of drill bits in the oil
and gas industry, with the biggest
weighing 1,700kg – about the size and
weight of a small car. The drill bit
usually consists of two or three cones
that are made up of hard materials
and “sharp teeth”. It goes through
the ground, rotating, tearing away at
the soil, rock and sediments until it
reaches and penetrates the reservoir
rock, targeting oil or water or gas: a
reservoir can have a combination of
any of the three.
But the thing about the drill bit is
the process. There is an inevitable
process it must go through in order
to strike the oil. It has to go through
all the necessary levels and existing
stratigraphic (rocks and soil) layers
and also through the reservoir rock.
And that is what makes this analogy
brilliant.
The PAU is a fairly young
organisation: put in place by law in
2013.Its structure was set up in 2015
with the appointment of the Board
of Directors and management was
put in place in 2016/2017. Then a
bold and impressive strategic plan
was approved in 2017/2018. This was
followed by the current staff structure
with less than 50% of the positions
filled.
Every step the PAU has taken in only
32 May. 03 - 09 2019
three years so far is an important,
necessary and inevitable step of the
growth process. The progress we make
as an organisation is, and will be, in
stages. Just like the drill bit.
The same goes for the oil and gas
industry in Uganda. The urge to “see
our oil now” is quite strong, and
during some of the engagements we
have had with different stakeholders,
the “seeing is believing” mentality has
been hard to shake.
Simply put, there is a process,
an unavoidable, necessary process
that the country must go through
before we “see the oil”. Just like
the drill bit. The oil will be realised
during the production phase. The
stage we are in now, however, is the
development phase. Several studies
have been concluded; including
Front End Engineering and Design
(FEED) for the various projects, and
the investors are expected to take
the Final Investment Decision (FID)
this year. This stage also involves
construction of the infrastructure that
This stage
also involves
construction
of the
infrastructure
that must
be in place
before the oil
comes out
must be in place before the oil comes
out, including a Central Processing
Facility, Oil Refinery and Oil Export
Pipeline. Other infrastructure that
needs to be completed includes the
second international airport at Hoima,
the critical oil roads, and several
camps.
The good news for Ugandans,
though, is that this is not a “waiting”
stage like the exploration phase before
it. The time to benefit from oil and gas
is now; during this development stage.
At the core of the PAU’s purpose
is ensuring Ugandans benefit from
the oil and gas activities, and it is
crucial for us to spread this message.
Keep in mind that the investors
will go through most of the capital
expenditure (over US$15 billion)
during this time. The main benefits
for Ugandans are in form of the
opportunities for technical skills
employment and supply of goods and
services to the industry.
As the PAU and the sector progress
“by the drill bit” we shall continue
with the stakeholder engagement
programmes all over the country.
Our quest is to monitor and regulate
Uganda’s oil and gas industry in a
way that creates lasting value for
society and ensures an attractive
investment environment.
The writer is the Senior Corporate Affairs
Officer at the Petroleum Authority of
Uganda
www.pau.go.ug; corporateaffairs@pau.
go.ug
Is drinking cold water bad?
A study investigated the effects of different drinks
on the performance of 12 trained male athletes
By Beth Sissons slightly more calories, there
S
taying hydrated is vital for our
health, but there is some debate
about the best temperature for
water to be when people drink
it. Some advocates believe that drinking
cold water can be bad for you.
Consuming enough water every day is
essential for supporting all bodily func-
tions, including digestion and metabo-
lism, getting rid of waste, maintaining a
normal body temperature, and keeping
organs and tissues healthy.
In Western medicine, there is little sci-
entific evidence to suggest that cold water
is bad for the body or digestion. Drinking
plenty of water can help the body flush out
toxins, aid digestion, and prevent constipa-
tion. A small study from 2013 investigated
the effects of drinking water at different
temperatures in six people who were dehy-
drated, following mild exercise, in a hot and
humid chamber.
The researchers found that changing
the water temperature affected the sweat-
ing response of the participants and how
much water they drank. The optimal water
temperature in the study was 16°C (60.8°F),
which is the temperature of cool tap water
because the participants drank more water
and sweated less.
The researchers concluded that drinking
water at 16°C may be the best temperature
for rehydration in dehydrated athletes.
According to the Indian traditions of
Ayurvedic medicine, cold water can cause
an imbalance to the body and slow down
the digestive process.
The body has a core temperature of
around 98.6°F and Ayurvedic practitioners
reason that the body needs to expend addi-
tional energy to restore this temperature
after drinking cold water.
In the Ayurvedic tradition, cold water can
dampen “the fire,” or Agni, which fuels all
the systems in the body and is essential to
health. Ayurvedic practitioners also believe
that warm or hot water helps to ease diges-
tion.
Risks of drinking cold water
Some research suggests that people with
conditions that affect the esophagus, or food
pipe, such as achalasia, should avoid drink-
ing cold water. Achalasia is a rare condition
that can make swallowing food and drink
difficult.
A 2012 study found that drinking cold
water worsened symptoms in people with
achalasia. However, when participants
drank hot water, it helped soothe and relax
the food pipe, making food and drink easier
to swallow.
One 2001 study involving 669 women
suggests that drinking cold water may
cause headaches in some people.
The researchers reported that 7.6 percent
of participants experienced a headache after
drinking 150 milliliters of ice-cold water
through a straw. They also found that par-
ticipants with active migraine were twice
as likely to get a headache after drinking
cold water as those who had never had a
migraine. Some people claim that consum-
ing cold drinks and foods can cause a sore
throat or cold. However, there is no scien-
tific evidence to support this claim.
Benefits of drinking cold water
Some studies suggest that drinking
colder water during exercise may improve a
person’s performance and endurance.
For example, a 2012 study involving 45
physically fit males found that drinking
cold water during exercise significantly
reduced the rise in core body temperature
compared with drinking room temperature
water. Some people claim that drinking
cold water can help promote weight loss.
Although some studies suggest that drink-
ing more water can help the body burn
appears to be little difference
between drinking cold and
room temperature water.
Warm water can improve
circulation
People may find drinking
warm or hot water soothing,
especially in colder months,
while cool water can be more
refreshing in warmer weather.
Drinking warm water may
temporarily improve circula-
tion by causing the arteries
and veins to expand.
Research suggests that the temperature of
the water that people drink can affect levels
of sweating and rehydration. For example, a
United States Army study from 1989 found
that drinking warm water (40°C) rather
than cool water (15°C) may cause people
to drink less, which can lead to dehydration.
A 2013 study suggests that the optimal
water temperature for rehydration follow-
ing exercise may be 16°C, which is around
the same temperature as cool tap water.
The researchers reported that participants
who consumed water at this temperature
drank more water voluntarily and sweated
less than when they drank water at other
temperatures.
In a 2011 study, researchers concluded
that drinking cold water at a temperature of
5°C did “not improve voluntary drinking
and hydration status” in six Taekwondo
athletes. However, drinking water of any
temperature is essential for staying hydrat-
ed, especially when exercising or in hot
environments.
Conclusion
People should make sure they get enough
water each day, regardless of its tempera-
ture. The National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine advise that
females need to consume around 2.7 litres
of water a day to meet their hydration needs
and males around 3.7 litres. This intake can
come from both foods and beverages.
May. 03 - 09 2019 33
health
By Agencies
F
or some people, having a pretty face
is like having a winning lottery ticket
you can cash again and again.
Research tells us people who are
perceived to be attractive aren’t only more
likely to have better jobs and make more
money. They’re thought of as having more
positive personality attributions too.
If they commit a crime, they may be
viewed less harshly and may even be let off
more easily.
Standards of beauty can of course change
depending on the era and the culture or
the person. After all, there is the phrase,
“beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” for a
reason. But it is also true that some people’s
appearance is so physically attractive to oth-
ers, they can benefit from it.
So, can you find what genetically makes a
person attractive?
Right now, scientists understand very
little about what makes a person attractive
— at least when it comes to their genes.
But a new study from researchers at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison has
uncovered some of the genetics behind
beauty.
How the study found beauty
In a study published this month in
PLOS Genetics, lead author Qiongshi Lu,
assistant professor in the department of
statistics at University of Wisconsin-Madi-
son, and his colleagues used attractiveness
scores to locate and identify several genes
correlated to facial attractiveness in 4,383
individuals.
In order to rate attractiveness, the
researchers asked volunteers, or “coders,”
to score yearbook photos of individuals
on a scale from “not at all attractive” to
“extremely attractive.” Each coder looked at
12 photos.
The attractiveness scores in hand, the
researchers then compared the coders’ rat-
ing scores to each person’s genetic makeup,
looking for correlations or crossover genes.
Amid that genetic information they
found a “handful of candidate genes.”
They also found that those genes varied
by sex.
In females, the genetic variations that
most closely related to facial attractiveness
were linked to genes that affect body mass,
or the measure of a person’s weight and
height.
In males, the genetic variations were
linked to genes that affect blood cholesterol
levels.
The study authors point out that research
has found blood cholesterol levels play a
role “in the synthesis of testosterone and
other steroid hormones.” That may help
explain why attractiveness scores were tied
to a cholesterol gene.
The correlation between a female’s body
34 May. 03 - 09 2019
Is there a
beauty gene?
Scientists are trying to find it
mass and attractiveness, however, points to
one of the limitations of the study: Research-
ers don’t yet understand the roles of age,
physical body shape, facial expression, and
makeup in the perception of attractiveness.
Indeed, for every promising correlation
they found, unanswered questions remain.
“Similar to many other human traits,
there is not a ‘master gene’ that determines
a person’s attractiveness,” Lu said in a state-
ment. “Instead, it is most likely associated
with a large number of genetic components
with weak effects.”
The researchers said they also recognise
their study is based on a racially and ethni-
cally homogenous group of people of about
the same age and background — that is,
mainly white Midwestern American college
students of European ancestry.
The group is also small. Roughly 4,400
people is considered a moderate sample
size.
And the researchers didn’t replicate their
findings with any external cohort, or group
of people. “External replication and valida-
tion are critical steps in studies of complex
trait genetics,” the authors wrote in the
study.
Could we change beauty genes?
Genes alone don’t tell a whole picture
about attractiveness. A person’s lifestyle
can greatly influence that, says Dr. Charlie
Chen, a plastic surgeon with experience in
gene therapy research.
“Many features have environmental fac-
tors, such as smoking or diet, that change
the results of our looks, like facial skin tex-
tures,” he said.
Another complication is that beauty
ideals can change over time or in different
cultures.
But this search for attractiveness genes
might underpin something that other areas
of genetic research are wondering and
attempting: Can we eventually manipulate
or change genes to boost the chances of
attractiveness?
Perhaps, Chen says, but not anytime
soon.
“At this point, we can now identify parts
of the gene that determine or are associ-
ated with certain physical or hormonal
traits. These traits are likely multifactorial,
so there’s not a single gene that can be
switched on or off,” he said.
Chen explains this may be the next fron-
tier in beauty.
“The danger is certainly being able to
manually manipulate these genes, perhaps
even selecting certain genes of embryos
before birth,” Chen said. “This ability is
still far away, perhaps decades, but it is
certainly a caution as we progress in our
scientific understanding of beauty.”
Of course, attractiveness is an ever-evolv-
ing definition, one that may be more primal
than superficial.
“Theoretically speaking, sexual selec-
tion’s pretty well established,” said Andrew
Neff, PhD, a neuroscientist specialising in
molecular and cellular biology and manag-
ing director of Golgi Productions.
“Animals evolve not just for fitness but
for any arbitrary reason that enhances their
reproduction chances. If sexual selection
exists, and it’s driven by genetics, there has
to be some underlying genes, and this study
shows some prime candidates,” Neff said.
While this study was a “successful
attempt to pin down genetic components of
human facial attractiveness,” the research-
ers wrote, it could springboard many future
areas of research.
Source: healthline
 ART | BOOKS | SOCIETY | TRAVEL | CULTURE
Old is gold
Art inspired by a humble life and a grandfather’s idioms
E
By Dominic Muwanguzi
arly exposure to life’s trials;
with a single mother and con-
stant scarce resources, ensured
that Adrian Migadde looks to
art as a way out. In school, his
drawings made him friends
and paid his school fees. Later on, when he
was re-united with his retired civil servant
grandfather, he exposed him to immense
knowledge of the Buganda traditional cus-
toms, proverbs and idioms alongside the co-
lonial mannerisms. The old man also loved
the rich life. Today, Migaddes’s art mirrors
the different influence in rather paradoxical
ways.
His art is a delicate figurative mirror of
his life. But he works on large extravagant
canvases as if to mock his frugal past. He
grew up in a single small room, with every-
thing crammed into it. But his paintings are
dominated by old is gold concepts. His pal-
ette has rich golden as the background, with
vintage cars, classy Afro-haired women clad
in dapper colonial dress-codes to the fore.
It all appears to be a tribute the grandfather
who loved the rich life. The artist talks about
him fondly. He paid his school fees and
supported him in many ways; even paving
way for his future success as an artist.
His palette is also luminous bright, sug-
gesting his love for light. He says his love
for television inspired his love for light. The
telly is a constant backdrop in his studio.
“I loved T.V and I still do,” he enthuses
shyly as he peers at the large screen in his
small studio. And it influences his art. For
example, he paints white people a lot –
because they dominate the TV world. He is
also fascinated by the contrast between the
mobile forms and characters on TV and the
still images on canvas.
When he does paper collages, he likes to
layer his paintings with mostly of old inter-
national fashion-magazine cut-outs and the
prized certificates of his sage grandfather.
He scanned them and glues them together
to create monochrome background colours.
That the technique and its intricate applica-
tion validate non-traditional media in art
appears secondary. Instead, it shows that
while recycling in art is considered a nov-
elty today; in Migadde’s childhood, every-
thing was put into reuse endless times.
He interrogates the notion of cultural
preservation that is seemingly neglected
by contemporary society. His art seems
to imply that in order to move forward as
a community, we must embrace old gold
alongside the modern muse.
Adrian Miggade participated in the Afriart
Surfaces Conceptual workshop and exhibition
in 2017. He now runs a studio MAG Arts at
Makerere Kavule along the Bwaise- Kawempe
Highway. Images, courtesy of the Artist FB
page
May. 03 - 09 2019 35
Man cuts off his own finger after accidentally voting for wrong candidate
Pawan Kumar, a 25-year-old
Indian man from Uttar Pradesh,
chopped off his index finger
with a meat cleaver in despera-
tion, after accidentally voting for
the wrong candidate in India’s
national election. Kumar became
an overnight sensation, first in
India, and then globally, thanks
to a viral video of him with a
bandaged index finger after he
reportedly cut part of it off as
self-punishment for voting for
the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP) instead of the SP-BSP-RLD
candidate Yogesh Sharma. He
says he got confused by the party
symbols. He couldn’t live with
his mistake and decided to chop
off his finger in desperation. “I
wanted to vote for the elephant,
but I voted for the flower by
mistake,” 25-year-old Kumar can
be heard saying in the video. He
said seeing his marked finger
reminded him of his mistake, so
he decided to get rid of it.

Catholic man has been Sick of waiting for the government, Kenyan man digs road
nailed to a cross every A 45-year-old
Good Friday for 33 years man from rural
Kenya is being
hailed a hero
A Filipino Catholic man playing the role by his commu-
of Jesus Christ in a yearly Good Friday nity after single-
reenactment of his crucifixion was nailed to handedly digging
a wooden cross for the 33rd consecutive time a one-mile road
this Easter. through a bushy
58-year-old Ruben Enaje, from the baran- area using only
gay of San Pedro Cutud, in San Fernando rudimentary tools.
City, has been volunteering to get nailed to a The people of
cross on Good Friday since the 80s. Four- Kaganda, a small
inch nails are driven into his hands and feet village 80km north of the
and he gets lifted on a large wooden cross Kenyan capital, Nairobi,
for about five minutes, every Good Friday. had long been appealing to
The event attracts many people. Although local government officials to
wounds caused by the metal nails take up start work on a short stretch
to two weeks to heal, religious fanatics who of road that would shorten
volunteer to get nailed to a cross say it’s a their 4km daily trips to the
small price to pay for the opportunity to nearest shopping center.
express their faith in a special way. Both
Catholic leaders and public health officials
condemn the practice of crucifixion. Can throwing coins into airplane engines bring good luck?
On April 22 a 66-year-old
woman surnamed Wang
was detained for attempt-
ing to throw six metal coins
into the engine of a Tianjin
Airlines plane just before
take-off, apparently in an
effort to guarantee a safe
That’s when a local hero
Nicholas Muchami, who
earns a living doing odd
jobs during the day and is
a guard at night, decided
to take matters into his own
hand and dig the road him-
self, for free. Working from
trip. Chinese often do this.
Luckily, all attempts to
throw coins into airplane
engines have so far failed;
with the metal pieces land-
ing on the ground. But if
one such superstitious per-
son ever managed to reach
7am to 5pm,
he created a
dirt road just
wide enough
for cars to
drive on in
six days only.
The road
is already
being used
by students
and pupils
of Kaganda
Secondary School and
Kaganda Primary School
as well as the other locals.
Interestingly, none of the
people in Kaganda offered
to lend him a hand because
they didn’t want to the
work for free.
their target, the consequenc-
es could be devastating.
Ouyang Jie, a professor at
Civil Aviation University of
China, told journalists that
if a coin reached the delicate
engine core, it could cause it
to stop working midair.

Man sues supermarket after being cheated out of $0.008

A Chinese man recently took a super-
market chain to court after allegedly being
cheated out of 0.04 yuan (Approx. Shs30)
because the checkout clerk rounded down
the change he was owed.
Xiao claimed that after shopping at a
branch of Yonghui Superstores and offering
55 yuan (Approx. Shs30,500) for groceries
worth 54.76 yuan (Approx.Shs30,360), he
was given only 0.20 yuan (Approx. Shs100)
as change instead of the 0.24 yuan (Ap-
prox. Shs130) he was owed. He didn’t really
need the 0.04 yuan, but he considered the
supermarket’s rounding off system to be
cheating, so he decided to sue them and
draw attention to the practice, hoping it
would get fixed.
“I just wanted to say no to the business’s
unlawful practice and unreasonable rules,”
he said in an interview.
The superstore had no choice but to ad-
mit the mistake and apologise to Xiao and
the general public.
“The method of giving change by round-
ing up or down does not fully respect
the consumer’s rights and causes them
inconvenience,” the superstore lawyer said.
Court ordered the Superstores to pay Xiao
the change he was owed, as well as 50 yuan
(Approx. Shs30,000) in legal fees.

36 May. 03 - 09 2019
Here comes trouble
for your car paint
Natural hazards, household items,
and dangerous car items to avoid
By Motoring Guru
I
f you’re a typical car owner, you
possibly want the body of your car
nicely waxed, without scratches or
dents. In reality, your wish might
never become reality with all the dirt
roads we drive on, bird poo under the
tree shade, pools of flood water, and the
raw tar that clings like a leech. So we
thought we might do two things to help;
first is to let you know where danger
lurks by listing some of the things that
cause car body paint trouble, and two,
suggesting ways to deal with the trouble.
First, we list some common sources of
car body paint trouble. We group these
into three: Natural hazards, household
items, and car items.
Natural hazards include mud and
dust, bird droppings, raw tar, and ash.
Household items include coffee, soda,
shoe polish, salt, and shaving cream, and
sharp items (keys, nails, razors, scissors
etc. used by kids to deface the car paint).
Car items include brake fluid and fuel.
Most of these items cause trouble for
your car paint because they are corrosive,
are used badly or cleaned off badly. Most
of the natural hazards, such as bird poo,
are acidic and corrode the paint if left on
to dry. The ash is acidic; especially if it
mixes with a liquid when your neighbor
burns mowed grass and bits of ash
cover your car and are soaked in dew
overnight. By morning, the chemicals
might have penetrated passed the body
wax and onto the car paint. Some will not
go away however much you rub. Others
will hide under the skin of the paint and
cause corrosive trouble later. So get rid
of any ash real fast. The salt causes rust,
and the raw tar you pick up from driving
on roads under constructions is clingy.
The mud and dust must be hosed off and
not merely wiped off with a cloth that
leaves scratches.
The household items either are acidic,
such as coffee, or sticky such as the sugar
in the soda. So get rid of the ASAP.
The car items; brake fluid and petrol
contain chemicals which react with
chemicals in the car body paint to cause
trouble. In case of brake fluid, it is
caustic, and acts as paint thinner – eating
away the outer layer of your car paint
and causing it to peel. There is some
good news on this, however. Apparently
many new brake fluids are silicone-based
and not dangerous. But hey! Think safety
first when in doubt. Clean any brake
fluid on car paint fast.
The petrol trouble happens at the
pump usually. Either you want to fill
the tank to overflow or the attendant is
splashy sloppy, or forgets to replace the
fuel tank cover. In any of these cases, fuel
could spill onto the body. The fuel will
evaporate, but it can leave marks behind
and damage the clear coat.
You might be surprised to find out
that shoe polish can stain a car and
may be difficult, if not impossible to
remove. It’s important not to let it sit
or dry on the paint. To clean the polish
off your car, might require a special
detergent. Shaving cream too causes
discoloration of car paint if it’s left
there. Wash the vehicle thoroughly
with soap as soon as possible.
May. 03 - 09 2019 37
MP Bernard Atiku on being unselfish
‘I have witnessed street children barely two years old being
exploited to beg under the scorching sun and felt so low’
District Councillor a position that he says Oyavu village in Adumi Sub County which
By Agnes E Nantaba
enabled him build capacity and understand is among the seven sub-counties that make

B
how systems work. up Ayivu. He is the second born of nine
ernard Atiku is the Ayivu County
By 2011 Atiku was ready to contest for children of Etoru Rose and Ernest Yuma.
Member of Parliament. Now in his MP. He was enrolled at Wandegeya Muslim
second term, Atiku arrived in par- In Ayivu, Atiku prides in improving Primary School where he completed Pri-
liament in 2011 on the Forum for education in the county with the Ayivu mary education. He completed Ordinary
Democratic Change (FDC) ticket. But he fell Education Promotion Fund. Through the Level at St Joseph’s College in Ombachi
out with the FDC leadership in Arua and fund, best performing students are offered before joining Caltec Academy Makerere
ran on an ‘independent’ ticket in the 2016. scholarships at the different levels of educa- for Advanced Level. He graduated with a
He also campaigned for President Yoweri tion. The idea is to entice pupils to work bachelor’s degree in Development Studies
Museveni. Then he made news headlines in hard so that they benefit from the scholar- from Makerere University in 2004.
2017 after showering then- Arua Municipal- ship opportunity. He is married with four
ity MP Ibrahim Abiriga with punches dur- He also built a constitu- children.
ing debates on the controversial age limit ency office block that
bill. At parliament, his legacy project has he says will be used
been the amendment of the Children’s Act. even beyond his
It was signed into law by President Yoweri tenure as MP.
Museveni recently. Atiku
“It had been shelved for years and I hails from
struggled with it against the Government’s
Bill until mine was proved on grounds of
making more sense,” says Atiku, “I am
proud to keep a copy that the President
assented to.”
Atiku likes to see positivity in adversity.
The recent move by the Electoral Commis-
sion and leaders of political parties to enact
a tough law on independent candidates
complicates his re-election in 2021. But
Atiku is focusing on the positive in it. He
says independents need a law that spells
out their issues since they emanate from a
constitutional provision.
Atiku says: “The discussion is timely and
is good for the democracy of the country.”
“The act would spell out how one
participates in a multiparty political system
especially basing on the challenges and
weakness in the past elections,” says Atiku.
Atiku’s political career was ignited dur-
ing his last year at Makerere University as
a student of Development Studies. In one
of the lectures to close off the course, the
lecturer urged students to seek nominations
in the forthcoming general elections of 2006
because they had been trained as leaders.
This possibly did not make sense to many
of his peers, but Atiku gave it deep thought.
He says: “They were inspirational and
matching orders for anybody like me who
had political ambitions.”
The electoral process was in high gear
at the time of graduation and as a very
active member of Reform Agenda turned
FDC, Atiku grabbed the opportunity when
political space was opened for multiparty
politics. Atiku could not go higher than

38 May. 03 - 09 2019
 Q&A
news analysis

Bernard Atiku’s Liteside

Any three things that we have an open cheque Anyone who abuses I have witnessed street
from me. I am the patron their leadership children barely two years

I
don’t know about you?
am one simple of Onduparaka FC and I positions without old being exploited to
person and very am willing to give in my remorse. Leaders must beg under the scorching
humble but very best for the good of the stick to their promises sun and felt so low.
team. and work hard to deliver They don’t deserve such
emotional with
on them. inhumane treatment.
disappointments. If What is the greatest
you disappoint me, you thing you have ever What is the quality you What is your favorite
cannot guarantee how done? most like in a woman? occupation?
I would react. If I am It is still work in Selflessness. I like what I am doing
honest with you and progress. I would love at the moment because
you reward me with to see the lives of my What is the quality you through my position,
dishonesty, you will not people improve. I dream most like in a man? I have the liberty to
get the best of me. I am of setting up a model Selflessness. interact with and
also very time conscious village where my people motivate people.
unless the situation is appreciate humanity What or who is the
beyond my capacity to living in harmony and greatest love of your What do you most value
manage. peace. life? in your friends?
My parents and wife. Being of help to one
What is your idea of What do you consider another without having
perfect happiness? the most overrated When and where were an ulterior motive.
Being able to help virtue? you happiest?
those who are in need. Honour; we do a lot In 2004 when I Who are your favorite
of talking and many graduated from writers?
What is your greatest times praise those who Makerere University as I love to read the
fear? don’t deserve. We are the first graduate from writings of Nelson
Not being able to also easily gullible our family. I was also Mandela.
help those who are and this has limited happy at my traditional
desperately in need. our talent of invention wedding last year and Which historical figure
and innovation. I look at the birth of my first do you most identify
What is the trait forward to a moment child. with?
you most deplore in when we begin to take I am already falling
yourself? pride in our actions. Which talent would you short of his ways but I
Many times I am a most like to have? still look up to Nelson
perfectionist and some What does being Playing golf; especially Mandela to guide my
people interpret it to powerful mean to you? once I am out of active leadership path.
being unaccommodating. Being able to follow political engagement.
the rules of the game to The game keeps you What is your greatest
What is the trait you the latter. interacting with people regret?
most deplore in others? and uses the entire I regret being unable
Untrustworthiness and On what occasion do human aspect. to join law school due to
laziness. you lie? lack of finances because
I hate to tell lies save Where would you most it is something that I
Which living person do on a few occasions if it is like to live? really wanted to do.
you most admire? unavoidable and for the I don’t see myself
I give it to Obama; I good of a situation. living elsewhere apart How would you like to
was inspired by Obama from Uganda. die?
coming out as one of What do you most Instantly after growing
the distinguished global dislike about your What is your most old because long life
leaders. Even after his appearance? treasured possession? is beautiful and you
tenure, Obama remains This is what God has My character of have the opportunity
relevant and influential; made me to be and I selflessness; I reserve to witness many things
especially among young appreciate it. The beauty nothing if someone is in happen.
people. of man is from the need of my help.
inside. What is your motto?
What is your greatest What do you regard Self-belief.
extravagance? Which living person do as the lowest depth of
Football and education you most despise? misery?

May. 03 - 09 2019 39
Global comment
By Koichi Hamada
The international economic policy game
When it comes to trade, we need competition among
economic agents, but cooperation among governments
U
ntil relatively recently, specialists
in international relations had little
interest in game theory; some
were even “frightened” to hear
the term, as the chair of one of my pre-
sentations put it to me several years ago.
Today, many are better informed about
the strategic analysis of political actors’
behavior and decision-making. The rel-
evance of such analysis for economic poli-
cymaking is no less obvious: each player
on the world stage is not acting indepen-
dently, but rather considers other players’
possible reactions to his or her action.
All human interaction is characterised by
a mixture of competition and cooperation.
Competition among individuals, busi-
nesses, and countries advances human
welfare by creating incentives to work
hard, innovate, and excel. Cooperation
does so by harnessing the strengths of
different actors to drive progress toward
shared objectives. Which approach is pref-
erable depends on the context, including
what the other players are doing.
The mathematical foundations for ana-
lysing both cooperative and non-cooper-
ative interactions among rational agents
were developed by the late Nobel laureate
John Nash. When there are a large number
of participants, and none has a monopoly
on power, non-cooperative behavior by
many actors can lead to optimal perfor-
mance. In trade, for example, free competi-
tion among economic agents can produce
“Pareto efficiency”: resources are allocated
in such a way that any reallocation to ben-
efit one actor would hurt at least one other
actor.
Competition starts to become a problem
when national governments intervene in
the game, in order to give their country’s
firms an advantage. That is exactly what
U.S. President Donald Trump’s admin-
istration did when it imposed tariffs on
imports from China, which retaliated with
its own tariffs on imports from the United
States. Far from advancing human welfare,
this competition threatens to cause serious
damage to both economies – and to the rest
of the world.
It’s happened before. The U.S. Smoot-
Hawley Tariff Act, enacted in 1930 to
protect American farmers and other
industries, not only created imbalances by
40 May. 03 - 09 2019
hampering competition among economic
agents; it also spurred retaliatory mea-
sures, ultimately exacerbating the Great
Depression.
So when it comes to trade, we need com-
petition among economic agents, but coop-
eration among governments. The World
Trade Organisation was created precisely
to facilitate such cooperation, with the
WTO Charter dictating that tariffs must be
regulated, in order to keep trade broadly
beneficial. Within this framework, the
Trump administration’s actions are justifi-
able only if they correct distortions created
by China’s trade policy – in particular, its
failure adequately to protect intellectual
property.
In a world of flexible exchange rates, non-
cooperation also serves a useful purpose
in monetary policy. Within such a regime
– which has prevailed globally since the
demise of the Bretton Woods system in
1973 – one country’s monetary expansion,
by causing its currency to depreciate, tends
to increase employment at home, while
undermining employment in countries
with which it trades.
As with trade tariffs, this can spur more
countries to pursue monetary expansion,
in order to weaken their currencies and
Competition
starts to
become a
problem
when national
governments
intervene in the
game, in order
to give their
country’s firms
an advantage
boost their declining trade competitive-
ness. The Estonian economist Ragnar
Nurkse pointed out, in the 1930s – after the
gold standard was abandoned and before
the Bretton Woods system was established
– such competitive devaluations were
“beggar thy neighbor,” leaving both the
initiators and the world as a whole worse
off.
Barry Eichengreen and Jeffrey D. Sachs
demonstrated, however, that countries
recovered from the Great Depression only
after “jettisoning the gold standard, aban-
doning deflationary monetary policies, and
allowing (their) currency to depreciate.”
They showed that non-cooperative mon-
etary policy – set by each country with
the objective of achieving domestic mac-
roeconomic stability – produces desirable
outcomes for the world. After all, within a
flexible exchange-rate regime, a country’s
trading partners can always readjust their
own monetary policies to counteract or
even fully offset any negative effects from
its expansionary stance.
Though I once argued that coordina-
tion of monetary policy was necessary
for better performance under the fixed
exchange rate, I now completely agree
with them. The rules of the international
monetary game changed under flexible
exchange rates.
Given this, a laissez-faire approach should
prevail in the monetary-policy game.
That is why the Trump administration’s
criticism of Japan’s monetary expansion –
clearly aimed not at impoverishing trading
partners, but rather at promoting domestic
macroeconomic stability amid very low
inflation – is unwarranted.
The balance between competition and
cooperation can be difficult to strike. One
can only hope for a future in which more
political leaders recognise how game
theory provides a useful framework for
assessing the possibilities and choosing the
most promising.
Koichi Hamada is Professor Emeritus at Yale
University and a special adviser to Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2019.
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