Author: Johnson Thembo
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has directed Minister for Finance Hon. Matia Kasaija to urgently respond to Parliament’s concerns on the delayed payment of Ugandan traders in South Sudan. The Speaker gave the Minister till Wednesday, 01 July 2020 to appear before the House and explain matters surrounding the delayed payment of the traders after Parliament appropriated shs76 billion for the purpose. “There are some articles in the Constitution which we can use to bring the Minster to order. If the Minister does not come here tomorrow, I am sending him to the Rules Committee for defying Parliament since April 2020,” Kadaga…
The creation of 15 new counties hit a snag following protests by several legislators who accused the Minister of Local Government, Hon Raphael Magyezi of unfairness in the selection criteria. This prompted the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga to refer the matter to the Committee on Public Service and Local Government and Public Service. “I have seen the records of the 2015 report, a number of decisions and resolutions were made. I think we need to look at them wholesomely; so I want to give the Minister three weeks and he reports back,” she said. Magyezi had presented a motion…
The Basongora have presented a petition to the Speaker of Parliament seeking direct involvement in the process of subdividing Kasese district. Presenting the petition on Tuesday, 30 June 2020, Dr. Annet Kezaabu highlighted a history of events that have caused the Basongora to be marginalised in their ancestral land forcing them to relocated to other regions. “Between 2010 and 2018, the Kasese District Council in utter disregard to the interests and legitimate concerns of the Basongora and other marginalised groups, passed respective resolutions to have Kasese subdivided into three more districts, which we realised would subject us to further oppression,”…
Parliament has passed the Sh1trillion Supplementary Expenditure Schedule No. 3 and Addendum to Schedule 3 for the Financial Year 2019/2020. The supplementary, which was time bound, was passed on Friday, 26 June 2020 by the House chaired by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga. Broken down, Shs 920.9 billion will be used for recurrent expenditure while Shs 166.7 billion for development expenditure. According to the Budget Committee report, the government has allocated Shs 89 billion additional funding to the Ministry of Health to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The money is intended for procurement of personal protection equipment for medical personnel, payment of…
The payment industry is increasingly experiencing a high level of disruption that is reshaping the payments space, thanks to a surge of new technology-driven processes. Operated by Financial Technology Companies (FinTech), the digital applications are enabling users to take payments to the next level in terms of speed, efficiency and convenience. And one firm that has greatly contributed to this disruption in Uganda is Craft Silicon, a Kenyan headquartered FinTech that provides customized banking solutions for the financial sector across the world. Craft Silicon was founded in 2000 when Kamal Budhabhatti developed an application to help manage expenses. It was…
The government is preparing a Bill to address the management of wetlands in the country following review of the National Wetland Policy. “I plan to table amendments on the National Wetlands Policy and present the Wetlands Conservation and Management Bill to Cabinet, and thereafter, present it on the Floor of the House,” said Hon. Beatrice Anywar, the State Minister for Environment. Addressing the plenary sitting on Thursday, 25 June 2020, Anywar said an inventory and assessment to determine location, composition, land use and tenure bordering wetlands had been conducted, culminating in the development of National and District Inventory Reports regarding…
A sculpture commissioned by UWEC to celebrate the legacy of Zakayo was unveiled by the Minister of Tourism Wildlife and Antiquities Hon. Col. (Rtd) Tom R. Butime at UWEC on Tuesday, 23 June 2020. Hon. Butime who was on his maiden visit as Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities recognized Zakayo as a primate conservation ambassador in Uganda. He further appreciated UWEC’s commitment to wildlife conservation education and encouraged the institution to breed species which are at risk of extinction in the wild. As part of the mandates, this role enables UWEC to build a healthy animal population as a…
The Clerk to Parliament, Ms Jane Kibirige, has donated Shs31 million to Kawempe Home Care, in support of children with cancer who cannot afford costs associated with treatment and care at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI). Ms Kibirige was moved on learning that about half of the children who seek treatment at UCI in a year survive as not all can be sustained on treatment due to costs involved. The Executive Director at New Hope Children’s Hostel, a subsidiary of Kawempe Home Care, Dr. Samuel Guma, said that many sick children stay for one or two months before abandoning treatment…
The Supreme Court on Tuesday started a month-long Civil Appeals and applications session to clear 52 claims. Notable among the matters to handled is the appeal by Male Mabirizi against the Kabaka of Buganda. The Justices participating in this session are; Esther Kisakye, Stella Arach-Amoko, Ruby Opio-Aweri, Faith Mwondha, Lilian Tibatemwa, Richard Buteera, Ezekiel Muhanguzi, Percy Night Tuhaise and Mike Chibita.
Ministry of Health has rolled out Larviciding as part of the activities to EndMalaria in Uganda. This was launched in Kabale District by the Minister of Health, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, this morning. Larvicding kills the young stages of the vector in the breeding sites thus reducing population of mosquitoes. Uganda is among the 10 high burden countries for malaria and accounts for an estimated 4 per cent and 3 per cent of the global number of cases and deaths respectively, despite positive trends realized over the past decade. Malaria continues to kill and prevent people especially children, from reaching…