The Monitor (Uganda) articles from August 2011

The Monitor (Uganda) archives from August 2011

Chase for Cash Breaking Mulago Hospital's Back.
August 31, 2011... Byline: Tabu Butagira Early this month, MPs threw out Mulago Hospital officials saying their Shs58b 2011/12 Financial Year budget did not reflect proper spending prioritisation. The House said it therefore could not endorse the estimates...

Malaria, HIV/Aids Money Diverted to Workshops, Allowances.
August 31, 2011... Byline: Mercy Nalugo MPs have blocked the diversion of over Shs 4.1billion Global Fund budget meant for treatment of malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV/Aids to allowances, seminars and workshops saying these are non- priority areas. The...

Striving for Better Breeds.
August 31, 2011... Byline: Lominda Afedraru Livestock in northern and eastern Uganda is currently affected by Peste des petits ruminant disease which causes the animals to have diarrhoea and ulcers in their mouths. The first outbreak was reported in 2006 when...

Tinyefuza, KCCA House.
August 31, 2011... Byline: Robert Mwanje The coordinator of intelligence services, Gen David Tinyefuza has finally vacated the much contested mayoral residence owned by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), ending a month of verbal battles over its possession....

Airtel Terminates UTL Interconnection Agreement Over Debts.
August 31, 2011... Byline: Walter Wafula Phone users on the Uganda Telecom and Airtel Uganda networks will not be able to either receive or make calls to each other starting next Monday, according to a public notice by Airtel. This follows the termination of...

Country's Inflation Rises to 21.4 Per Cent.
August 31, 2011... Byline: Farida Kulabako and Nicholas Kalungi As Ugandans continue to grapple with an economy in crisis, reports from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) indicate that by press time August inflation rate has risen to 21.4 per cent, up from...

Building Materials Have Ready Market - NSSF.
August 31, 2011... Byline: Walter Wafula The National Social Security Fund is ready to buy products of Uganda Clays to shore up the firm's profitability, according to a top official of the fund. Mr Richard Byarugaba, the NSSF managing director told...

Common Sense-What Identity Do You Have As a Citizen?
August 30, 2011... Byline: Robert Kalumba Don't you sometimes feel like you are constantly in a daze, lost in some maze of confusion, wondering exactly about the identity of Ugandans as a society and whether as a nation we do have a future that's representative...

Construction Diary-Getting Land.
August 30, 2011... Byline: Mike Ssegawa How genuine is the land you are buying? Securing land is one of the most important stages of building a house. You can own land by either inheriting it, grabbing it, or buying it. Most us are not fortunate to inherit...

Bringing Western Building Styles to Country.
August 30, 2011... Byline: Tabitha Wambui The first two phases of the multi-billion project pioneered by Property Services, a property management and development company in conjunction with Mukwano Industries Ltd, is one of the leading real estate projects and...

Sales of the Vegetable Are Unpredictable.
August 30, 2011... Byline: Sharon M. Omurungi The French beans (also known as snap beans) in Uganda do not have a ready market, according to Ms Betty Kaaya at Kansanga market. She says, "I can buy 10kilogrammes of French beans and could sell them in a week." ...

Timber On High Demand in Northern Region.
August 30, 2011... Byline: Cissy Makumbi The prices of furniture have gone up as a result of the absence of forests in the region, the National Forest Authority (NFA) Acholi sub region manager, Mr Aidous Obedmoth, has said. "Due to the civil war in the...

Landslides - The Curse Around Mt. Elgon.
August 30, 2011... Byline: David Mafabi They all went to sleep just like it was any other night but the next morning, many families were less by one person or many people. A mudslide had changed their lives forever. Many people move slowly through the...

Cement Drivers Strike, Paralyse Business At Hima.
August 30, 2011... Byline: Geoffrey Mutegeki and Felix Basiime It is now two weeks since drivers transporting Pozzolana, a major raw material in the manufacture of cement, went on strike and stopped supplying it to Hima Cement factory in Kasese District. The...

MPs Prove Heavy for Museveni to Swing.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Isaac Imaka Last Thursday, Parliament embarked on its first major national assignment; debating and passing the national budget. Four months into its term, the 9th Parliament is shaping up to be an institution which understands and...

Otunnu's Record Good for Country, Says Rwanyarare.(Interview)
August 29, 2011... Byline: Richard Wanambwa The Uganda Peoples’ Congress came into the limelight last week when a party member almost physically assaulted party president Olara Otunnu. Dr. James Rwanyarare, a former minister of Culture and chairperson...

Public-Private Ties Good for Continent's Food Basket Dreams.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Omoh Gabriel Dr Doyle Baker of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation last week said that Africa has the potential of becoming the world food basket if the right decisions are made. According to him, "Looking further...

Govt Praised for Not Banning Food Exports.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Walter Wafula The government has been commended for restraining itself from banning food exports to countries suffering from acute food shortage due to a long drought. "Uganda deserves a lot of credit for resisting the temptation...

What Happened to the Original Bonna Bagaggawale Programme?
August 29, 2011... Byline: Godfrey Muhindo I was at Post Bank Kampala Road branch recently and saw a notice of their Point of Sale machines in the bank hall. I did not know Post Bank was in this kind of business. As my eyes probed further, I realised that this...

Branding - The Silent Strategy That Can Make Or Break Your Business.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Nixon Kamukama Branding is a little known and used strategy that many business owners have often ignored. A few that have attempted to use it have only focused on its physical aspects such as labeling, logos, packaging and other...

High Interest Rates Having Knock-On Effect On Economy.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Martin Luther Oketch Loan interest rates are set to continue northwards as commercial banks react to the Central Bank Rate. As a result, the high lending rates are going to hit the government hard especially in the area of high...

The Youth Entrepreneurship Fund: A Headache Or a Cure?
August 29, 2011... Byline: James Abola During the late 1980s and early 1990s Dr Samson Babi Mululu Kisekka who served as Prime Minister and later Vice President of Uganda never got tired of urging Ugandan graduates to stop seeking jobs and become job creators....

Telecoms Woo Rural Population.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Nicholus Kalungi As times get harder, telecom companies must grow and maintain subscriber numbers to break even. Companies are now adopting packages that are directly aimed at winning over the rural population. This comes as an...

Criminals Force Government to Recall Diplomatic Passports.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Yasiin Mugerwa For the umpteenth time, government is promising to undertake a probe into how diplomatic passports have ended in the hands of "criminals and less deserving elements". But more embarrassing is the fact that there is no...

Four Die in Entebbe Road Crash.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Richard Wanambwa Four people on Saturday perished and several others were injured when two vehicles were involved in a head-on collision. The accident, that involved a taxi travelling from Kampala to Entebbe, and a Toyota estate car...

It's Time to Look Beyond Gaddafi.
August 29, 2011... The dramatic entry of Libyan rebels into Tripoli exactly one week ago, after nearly seven months of fierce fighting, practically ended Col. Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule. While there are still pockets of resistance, a substantial parts of...

Cholera Outbreak Threatens Lives in Flood-Hit Butaleja.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Nelson Wesonga At least 882 people in flood-hit Kanyenya Parish in Butaleja District urgently need water purifiers to avert an outbreak of cholera, the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has said. The heavy downpour in the area over...

Kitende Labours to Beat Lacolombeire.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Sean Solomon Oseku Brookside Diaries East Africa schools football defending champions St Mary's Kitende started their title defence with a hard-earned 2-1 win over 10 man Lacolombeire of Rwanda yesterday. Playing on a soggy pitch...

Chinese Not a Threat - EAC.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Isaac Khisa Chinese residing within East Africa are not a threat to regional integration as their stay is constituted under particular laws of partner states, according to an official of the EAC secretariat. In a statement sent to...

IGG Orders Investor Out of Jinja Land.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Abubaker Kirunda An investor in Jinja District who had been embroiled in a bitter feud with residents over 15 acres of land has been ordered out of the disputed property by the Inspector General of Government, Mr Raphael Baku. Mr...

Museveni Tells Youth to Join Co-Operatives.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Anthony Wesaka The youth should follow the right procedures while forming co-operative societies if they are to get monetary assistance from the government, President Museveni has said. Addressing a rally at Sazza Grounds in...

Inflation Takes a Toll on Ramadan.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Darius Mugisha Uganda is going through one of the worst times of inflation, but that has not deterred Muslims from honouring Ramadan. Besides, there's a lot more to Ramadan than fasting. Mr Farouq Semaganda, a lawyer and staunch...

Like Europe, Nation Needs Major Economic Reforms.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Fred Kakongoro Muhumuza Yesterday, we saw how Uganda has a structural bias against exports, a public sector deficit, and temporary sources of income. Today we look at corruption & debt, the trouble with quick fixes, and possible...

National Drugs Authority Courts Private Sector to Address Drug Scarcity.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Abdu Kiyaga The National Drugs Authority (NDA) has announced plans to incorporate the private sector to resolve persistent drug shortages in the country. The move comes after continued reports of drugs shortage especially in up...

My Brother and Tanganyika at 50.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Muniini .k. Mulera Dear Tingasiga: My youngest brother was born on Saturday August 26, 1961. To honour and celebrate the momentous events that were happening in East Africa under the stewardship of Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Chief...

Nation Joins Somalia Mission.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Risdel Kasasira Sierra Leone has promised to send a battalion of 850 soldiers to reinforce Uganda and Burundi peacekeepers in Somalia. The Sierra Leone defence and national security minister, Maj. Alfred Palo Conteh, was quoted by...

Odonga Otto Out of Danger, Says Doctor.
August 29, 2011... Byline: David Livingstone Okumu and Anthony Wesaka Aruu County MP Odonga Otto, who was airlifted to Mulago Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit after he lost consciousness on Friday, is out of danger, his doctor has said. Dr...

Giving Her Life to Orphans - Sister Mary Lunyolo.
August 29, 2011... Byline: David Mafabi She sits on the mat in her grey habit with children as though she is about to breastfeed the child she is carrying. The Catholic nun, who is dark and slightly tall, pushes herself in front of a mat, thinking about how...

Muslims in Joint Effort to Fight Poverty.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Faridah Kulabako In a bid to reduce poverty among Muslims, the community has launched an organisation to oversee the collection of Islamic tax commonly known as Zakat. The House of Zakat and Waqf will collect charities and...

Rebels Now Target 'Blacks'.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Tabu Butagira A Ugandan trapped in Tripoli has said rebels consolidating their hold on the Libyan capital are targeting, and killing, black Africans they suspect to have fought as mercenaries for Col. Muammar Gaddafi. "These black...

Libyans in Uganda Recognise Rebel Government.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Risdel Kasasira Libyans living in Uganda yesterday recognised the National Transitional Council as their legitimate government, a day after the African Union Security Council, including host country Uganda refused to do so. The...

Bulambuli Mudslide Death Toll Rises to 24.
August 29, 2011... Byline: David Mafabi and David Kazungu Two of the Namwidisi landslide survivors who were retrieved from the rubble of mudslides in Namwidisi, Sisiyi in Bulammbuli district have died bringing the death toll to about 24. The rescue crews led...

Museveni Attacks West Over Libya.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Yasiin Mugerwa President Museveni has reiterated his criticism of the West and attacked Nato for disorganising a friend, whose 42-year rule faces a humbling end. Speaking at the annual Muslims Iftar dinner at State House, Entebbe...

School Text Books Sold On the Street.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Patience Aimbisibwe When her daughter was joining Namagunga Primary School last year, Ms Namata was asked to buy at least three textbooks of different authors per subject. She wondered if a P2 child was going to use the books in that...

Nsibambi Honoured for Punctuality.
August 29, 2011... Byline: John K. Abimanyi Former Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi has been honoured as an effective time manager by the Makerere Institute of Social Development (MISD). A street clock has thus been erected outside the institute's premises along...

Uganda Clays Limited Shareholders Reject Directors.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Walter Wafula Shareholders of Uganda Clays Limited rejected retired executives who, they said were illegally re-appointed on the board during the firm's Annual General Meeting in Kampala on Friday. Minority shareholders including,...

Mafabi, Rallies, West, Against, Museveni.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Alfred Tumushabe & Franfurt Huheisa The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Nandala Mafabi, has said only few people from western Uganda have benefited from President Museveni and his NRM party, but the majority wallow in...

Freight Forwarders Sign Shs2 Billion Deal.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Faridah Kulabako The Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations has signed a Shs2.7 billion financing deal with TradeMark East Africa to support its training programme. Mr John Bosco Rusagara, the federation's...

Police Get Emergency Training.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Ephraim Kasozi The public might not be keenly conscious about how their efforts could cause secondary damage to victims of accidents when they try to help and rush them to hospital. Secondary injury can be a result of lack of skills...

Makerere - Striking Through the Years.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Patience Ahimbisibwe Nowadays, it seems impossible for a year to end without the threat of a strike or an actual one happening at Makerere University. If it is not the lecturers demanding better working conditions including a pay...

Teachers, Museveni Disagree On Salaries.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Abdu Kiyaga Teachers' Union officials and their leaders clashed openly before President Museveni yesterday as yet another effort to end a standoff over salary increment ended in disagreement. Before heading for State House,...

New Districts Losing Quota Chances.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Joseph Mugisa & Felix Basiime Ntoroko District is one of the new districts in Uganda and already its leaders are crying that the district is missing out on a number of opportunities in education. The Ntoroko District Education...

Schools Want Saving On Syllabus.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Abdu Kiyaga For more than a year now, John Kasalawo, a senior six student at Kalinabiri Secondary School has learnt how to make mats out of straws, bags out of sisal, bracelets and necklaces out of beads and paper. He is optimistic...

Ministers Survive Residents' Wrath Over Game Reserve Land.
August 29, 2011... Byline: James Eriku & Martin Okudi Three senior government ministers were caught up in chaos that erupted when the tour they took to identify the boundaries of East Madi game reserve that borders Amuru District turned rowdy. Residents...

Women Push for Divorce Law.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Mercy Nalugo Women activists are pushing for the re-introduction of the Marriage and Divorce Bill in Parliament. The activists demanded on Friday that the Bill be re-tabled as a matter of urgency so that it is debated and passed...

Anguyo Shines On Pirates Debut.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Lydia Bakumpe G4S Pirates' new signing Joel Anguyo proved that he is a good addition to the squad scoring two of the side's five tries to sweep away visiting Kenyan side Impala 36-12 in a friendly at Kampala RFC on Saturday. "It...

Knights, Warriors Unscathed.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Innocent Ndawula None of the Ugandan franchises bagged full points from their weekend fixtures. But Rwenzori Warriors and Nile Knights left their respective ovals unscathed and ostensibly the happier lot. Jonathan Ssebanja with a...

Government to Resume Talks With Buganda, Says Ssekandi.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Robert Mwanje President Museveni has appointed his Vice President Edward Ssekandi to resume talks with the Mengo establishment, more than three years after the talks collapsed due to allegations of mistrust and suspicion from both...

Balaalo Eviction Deadline Expires.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Jacky Adure An ultimatum issued by Nwoya District council for the Balaalo pastoralists to leave the district voluntarily expired yesterday. District officials, who last week gave a five-day notice, warned of forcible eviction if the...

Jazz Safari to Aid Ssese Women.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Robert Kalumba Women's income generating projects in Ssese Islands will be boosted by support from the upcoming Nile Gold Jazz Safari, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Kampala Ssese Islands. 20 per cent of the show's proceeds...

Donors Push for Electoral Reforms.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Emmanuel Gyezaho Uganda's biggest development partner, the European Union, is pressing President Museveni's administration to implement a raft of electoral reforms, including an overhaul of the current electoral commission and...

30 Percent of Locals Use Fake Phones.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Faridah Kulabako Uganda has the highest number of substandard mobile phone devices in East Africa, an industry player has said. This, according to analysts, results from the delayed enactment of the anti-counterfeit law by the...

Salary Rift in Fort Portal Threatens Service Delivery.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Felix Basiime & Geoffrey Mutegeki It all started with pay cheque amendments but the tides are looking ever volatile now, threatening to hit the core of Fort Portal Municipality and wash away the dreams its leaders hold for it. ...

African Media Sideline Women, Says Report.
August 29, 2011... Byline: Flavia Lanyero African media faces immense gender disparities, with men taking up most of the top and specialised positions, a report by the Federation of African Journalists has revealed. In East Africa where Uganda lies, only...

Don't Cut Down Mabira - Donors.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Emmanuel Gyezaho The European Union's top envoy to Uganda, Ambassador Roberto Ridolfi, has thrown his weight behind the chorus against a proposal by President Museveni to hand out part of Mabira rainforest to sugar manufacturer-SCOUL...

Usain Bolt Favoured As Daegu Event Starts.
August 28, 2011... The withdrawal of Jamaica's Asafa Powell from the 100m at the World athletics championships has left compatriot Usain Bolt an even stronger favourite to add to his glittering collection of medals. The colourful opening ceremony of the 13th...

A Murder Occurred, a Man Was Sent to Hang But the Key Suspect is At Large.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Richard Wanambwa When Agnes Nalutaya bid her sister Annette Nakiwala goodbye on 18 October 2001, little did she know that it was the last time she would see her alive. Although her failed attempts to reach Nakiwala by phone were...

Legislators Split Over Creation of New Districts.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Yasiin Mugerwa Parliamentarians are divided on the creation of more new districts. In a stormy debate in Parliament on Thursday, some MPs accused their colleagues of being beneficiaries of President Museveni's push for the creation of...

Flimsy Reasons Are Being Used to Throw Out Dictators.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Fredrick Masiga By the time you are reading this piece I am hoping we shall have heard the last of Gaddafi's endless chase with the rebels. As of Friday afternoon, the UK is reported to have sent a ferocious warhead into his bunker in...

We Have an Economic Opportunity.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Moses Balyeku On August 13, the President addressed a conference on modernisation of agriculture where he stated that the rising food prices should not be labelled a crisis but taken as an opportunity, especially by the farmers to...

KCCA Short of Road Reconstruction Funds.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Robert Mwanje Kampala residents will have to wait much longer than expected for good roads in the city as authorities yesterday announced that it lacks money to carry out major repairs. While inspecting a new pothole repair...

Uganda Posts Dismal Record On Human Rights Scorecard.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Victor Bwire Finally, Uganda submitted its human rights report to the UN Human Rights Council after failing to meet the July 4, 2011 deadline and causing anxiety as to whether the State was going to participate in the Universal...

Govt Moves to Contract Employment.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Martin Ssebuyira In an effort to ensure that district technical staff are active and productive, government is proposing to review their mode of employment from permanent to contractual. "The question of technical staff reporting to...

U-23 Side Kobs Hold Iraq to 2-2 Draw.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Abdu Wasike Twenty two years later, Iraq still can't beat Uganda. And Uganda can't beat Iraq. The two teams played a 2-2 draw at Al Shaab stadium in a friendly on Friday night. Kobs opened the scoring through Denis Iguma after 19...

Transitional Council Should Beware of Greed.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Nina Mbabazi Rukikaire As the curtain of the Libyan Gaddafi era comes down, we are reminded of a saying in Jane Austen's book, Emma. "Vanity working on a weak mind produces every kind of mischief". We see how the main players in this...

Locals Do Not Need Mehta's Sugar At All.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Alan Tacca Whether holding Ugandan or foreign passports, the majority of people of Indian descent doing business in Uganda are quite reasonable people who take seriously the things Ugandans hold dear. And I would recommend that...

State House Takes Entebbe Hospital.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Martin Ssebuyira Residents of Entebbe will have to look for an alternative centre to access medical services following a takeover by State House Entebbe of the hospital. State House cited security reasons for taking over the hospital,...

Districts Don't Bring Services.
August 28, 2011... We bemoan the profligate attitude of our political leaders but now, we may also realise that we might have just slipped beyond the point of self-repair. The government wants to populate the country with more districts bringing the total number...

Hotel That Answers the Call of the Tribe.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Nafha Maani Ebrahimi Many notes you read about this very urban African city, many stories you heard, but an update is always appreciated. I chose a Sunday to travel knowing too well that any other day of the week means meeting the...

Lunkuse Eyes Olympics.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Lydia Bakumpe Five pm in a pool filled with kids and this particular grey and red capped swimmer is impossile to miss. Confident and totally in her zone, her powerful breast stroke is a beauty to watch. Jamila Lunkuse is fierce in...

How to Defeat a Judge - Telling a Story From Legal Archives.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Justice Kanyeihamba This is a case of a magistrate who hated motor cars and motorists. It was well known that every driver of a motor car who appeared before him would virtually be convicted and given maximum punishment permitted...

Kiplagat Picks Baton From Kipsiro.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Sande Bashaija If Moses Kipsiro had travelled to Daegu, he would be preparing to fight for his first medal at the World Championships today. The Commonwealth champion had been entered in the 10,000m race, one of the two track finals...

Opposition Reads Shadow Budget.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Yasiin Mugerwa The Opposition has presented its alternative budget for 2011/2012 financial year, in which they suggest a cut of public expenditure, financial discipline and more funding to the agricultural sector as a solution to the...

Government Official Attacks Magistrate in Court.
August 28, 2011... Byline: Martin Ssebuyira Drama ensued at Entebbe court on Friday when a senior government official attacked a magistrate for continuously adjourning his case and 'failing to produce suspects he released on bail'. Mr Isaiah Tumwikirize, a...