Author: Johnson Thembo
The Leader of the Opposition, Hon Mathias Mpuuga has held discussions with members of the European Union delegation to Uganda on a range of issues touching Uganda’s governance issues, rule of law, human rights and the Opposition’s legislative strategy and targets for the 11th Parliament. Flanked by selected members of his shadow cabinet, Mpuuga told the EU diplomats that as representatives of the people, the Opposition in Parliament has a duty to push for improvements in service delivery and accountability.“The theme under which we operate in the 11th Parliament is accountability and service. The absence of accountability compromises not just…
Global efforts to end smoking have stalled and require a drastic overhaul to prevent one billion people from dying in this century, according to a new report by five leading experts, members of the International Commission to Reignite the Fight Against Smoking. Worldwide, an estimated 1.14 billion people use tobacco. Nearly 8 million die each year of tobacco-related causes. Since the creation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) treaty 18 years ago, tobacco demand has declined, but far too slowly and, in some low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), not at all. The Commission was established…
BUTAMBALA 13th October 2021. Residents of Kitimba and Mpanga in Butambala were in a joyous mood as electricity distributor Umeme switched on lines co-funded by the Government of Uganda and KFW this week. They say their future is brighter owing to the benefits of electricity with their eyes focused on commercial activity. Mathew Kakooza, a resident of Kitimba couldn’t hide his excitement at the new prospects of electricity in his village. “Our people are now able to engage in commercial activities to boost their income due to opportunities such as milling machines, pop corns and welding amongst others. Our children…
Day Three of the #WomenInFinTech #LevelOneProject Hackathon has successfully ended with discussions focusing on why young innovators must draw proper business cases and plans if they are to effectively manage their projects. Day three training was led Catherine Namara; a telecommunications engineer, project management expert, an alumna of the G4G (Girls4Girls) STEM and the current head of fundraising and strategy at Girls4Girls. Catherine Namara told the over 70 innovators taking part in the hackathon that they must get mentorship from people who have done amazing things and have been able to transcend through different levels of work. “Reach out to…
Members of Parliament’s Committee on the Budget have welcomed proposals by the Shadow Minister for Finance Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi (NUP, Butambala) which among others call for a review of the law and regulations relating to the management of the classified budget. The proposals are contained in the Opposition’s response to the Charter of Fiscal Responsibility for FY 2021/2022 – FY 2025/2026. Kivumbi appeared before the Committee on Tuesday, 5 October 2021 to defend his proposals which he says are intended to check the government’s excesses in terms of wasteful expenditure, improve revenue mobilization and save the economy from collapse.…
Following the resumption of service by popular social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – after a six-hour-long outage on Monday, October 4, below are comments from our cyber protection experts. Mr. Candid Wuest, Acronis VP, Cyber Protection Research: “While there’s no confirmation on what caused the incident from Facebook Inc, it’s possible that the issue lies with the BGP or DNS protocol – which happen to be popular targets among cybercriminals. There are various potential attacks against DNS infrastructure – from DDoS attacks to local DNS rebinding or hijacking a DNS with social engineering against the registrar. Looking…
Gulu. Power distributor, Umeme, has injected over sh17b in the past three years aimed at stabilizing and creating reliable power supply in Gulu City and the surrounding areas, a top official told stakeholders on Wednesday. “More than sh17b has been injected to improve reliability in Gulu City and the surrounding. I can feel the difference. Last time we were in Gulu, power went off more than five times, but this time around, we have not felt even a flicker more eight hours later. This is remarkable improvement,” Selestino Babungi, the Umeme managing director, said during the Bomah Hotel meeting in…
MTN Uganda is pleased to announce our intention to proceed with an initial public offer (IPO) and subsequently list on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). This follows the requisite approval by the Capital Markets Authority and Uganda Securities Exchange for MTN Group to sell 20% of its shareholding in MTN Uganda to the public. MTN Group owns 96% of MTN Uganda. The listing is in line with the Group’s strategic priority to create shared value, partly through ensuring broad-based ownership in its operating subsidiaries. It is also in line with the provisions of MTN Uganda’s NTO licence, which require its…
In a bid to support the green agenda, Umeme in partnership with Gulu City have launched a tree planting drive aimed at promoting environmental sustainability and effects of climate change. As part of its U-Green efforts, Umeme Ltd has partnered with Gulu City administration to plant 200 Tabebuia chrysotricha (pink trumpet) trees along Ring Road as a proactive measure to support the City’s ecosystem and mitigate the impact of climate change. Urban greening is very important in the wellbeing of the Urban and city dwellers. Umeme’s Managing Director Selestino Babungi speaking during the tree planting exercise said trees have planted…
The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB), the body in-charge of marriage registration in Uganda, together with the Buganda Kingdom have partnered to support traditional marriage registration and practices across communities. The two institutions are currently training a team of Buganda Kingdom Events Spokesmen (Aboogezi b’emikolo) on the different cultural and legal requirements of customary marriages. The practice has been that once a customary marriage is officiated, the couple received a Buganda Kingdom certificate and considers the marriage registered. Majority of Ugandans, even the elites are oblivious about customary marriage registration and related practices to secure their unions. The process of…